Chapter 2071: Illusion Night City

After five or six days, the giant ship finally flew out of the wasteland, and a vast expanse of hills appeared ahead.

Small black-green hills rose and fell one after another, looking as if they stretched on forever.

The giant ship plunged into the sky above the hills, and after a few more flickers, it vanished into the void at the edge of the horizon.

A month later, in a basin surrounded by hills, a massive city built from yellow mountain stone appeared. It covered an area of over a thousand miles, half built against the mountains and half enclosed by a wall over a hundred feet high.

The entire giant city was covered by a yellow, hazy light barrier that looked like an inverted cauldron, clearly protected by an extremely profound, massive restriction.

Han Li stood at the bow of the flying ship, gazing at the giant city in the distance with a thoughtful expression.

"Brother Han, this is Illusion Night City, where my Bai family resides. Although this city cannot compare to the super-giant cities of the Sacred Realm, it is not small for such a remote place. There are over a dozen existence at the Demon Venerable level alone. Our Bai family is one of the four great clans of this city. Whether you wish to buy something or encounter any trouble, as long as you mention the Bai family's name, I believe most people will give you some face," Bai Yunxin said with a light smile as she stood beside Han Li.

"Many thanks for your kindness, Fairy. I do indeed intend to purchase some items in your city." Han Li's expression stirred slightly upon hearing this, and he replied with a faint smile.

"Since Brother Han is alone, why not stay at our Bai family's Guest Pavilion? With your cultivation, I believe the elders in charge of the clan would not object," Bai Yunxin said, her beautiful eyes flickering as she probed him.

"The Guest Pavilion! Fairy, you still haven't given up on recruiting me?" Han Li laughed dumbfoundedly.

"Your cultivation has already reached the late stage of Void Refinement, only half a step away from entering the Body Integration stage. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to slay that group of Demon Bats so easily. With such astonishing cultivation and being a rogue cultivator, any clan would vigorously recruit you. Our Bai family is naturally no exception," Bai Yunxin said with a smile, not avoiding the subject at all.

"But my answer remains the same as before. I have no intention of attaching myself to any clan for the time being. My cultivation is currently facing a bottleneck, and I need to travel for a period of time before I can hope to advance to the Demon Venerable stage. Therefore, I will not be joining any faction for the next few hundred years. However, I can promise that if I ever truly wish to join a clan, I will consider the Bai family first." Han Li yawned and replied vaguely.

"I will keep Brother Han's words in mind. Our Bai family's doors are always open to you. As for meeting the ancestor Futian, I will report it to him as soon as I return. Given your help to us in the wasteland, it shouldn't be a big problem." Bai Yunxin sighed with some regret.

"I heard that if one wants to cross the Illusion Howl Desert, it is best to have an Eight-Legged Demon Lizard as a mount. Does the Bai family raise such demon beasts?" Han Li smiled and suddenly changed the subject, as if asking casually.

"Eight-Legged Demon Lizard! Why does Brother Han want to find such a demon beast to enter the Illusion Howl Desert?" Bai Yunxin was startled and asked with surprise.

"I do indeed have that intention. Otherwise, it would take too long to cross the Illusion Howl Desert on foot. What, does the Bai family not have this demon beast?" Han Li's eyes flashed, and he asked calmly.

"We have them, but it is likely impossible for Brother Han to obtain one. Not only our Bai family, but the other clans will also not sell Eight-Legged Demon Lizards to outsiders." Bai Yunxin frowned, replying with difficulty.

"Oh, why is that? If it is a matter of price, I have some savings and could take out a large portion to purchase one." Han Li was not surprised and asked calmly.

"Even with more demon stones, our great clans would not sell the Demon Lizards to outsiders. The scarcity of this demon beast is one reason, but the main reason is that, in a sense, these Demon Lizards are the foundation of our clans' foothold in Illusion Night City. How could we easily give them away?" Bai Yunxin hesitated before saying meaningfully.

"Foundation of the foothold? What does that mean? A few demon beasts can be linked to this!" Han Li's expression stirred, truly puzzled.

"Although the reason is not a very important secret, I cannot easily disclose it without the permission of the clan elders. Brother Han might as well ask when you meet ancestor Futian. If the ancestor tells you himself, there will naturally be no problem. Moreover, only the clan ancestor can make decisions regarding the Eight-Legged Demon Lizards." Bai Yunxin hesitated before saying with some solemnity.

"So that's how it is. It seems if I want to obtain an Eight-Legged Demon Lizard, I will need to consult senior Futian." Han Li said thoughtfully.

Bai Yunxin nodded and said nothing more.

At this moment, the giant ship finally arrived in the sky near Illusion Night City, and its light converged as it descended, stopping in front of a city gate dozens of feet high.

There were some demon clansmen entering and exiting, and upon seeing the giant yellow ship stop nearby, they immediately avoided it from afar, most showing expressions of awe.

It seemed these demon clansmen recognized the origin of this giant ship!

At this time, Han Li and the Bai family's demon clansmen walked down from the giant ship.

Bai Yunxin pinched a spell with one hand, and the giant ship flashed with light, shrinking countless times into a yellow light a foot long, which flashed and vanished into her body.

The group, including Bai Yunxin, headed toward the city gate with some excitement.

After all, having been away from home for so long, they were naturally eager to return.

Han Li always wore a calm smile, blending into the crowd and appearing unremarkable.

There were a dozen guards in battle armor at the city gate. Upon seeing Bai Yunxin and the others, several immediately came forward to greet them respectfully, then opened the way, allowing the Bai family group to pass into the city swaggeringly.

Other passing demon clansmen didn't mind this at all, clearly long accustomed to such scenes.

After Bai Yunxin nodded slightly, she led the team into the city.

Once inside the city gate, rows of square or round earthy-yellow houses appeared before Han Li, dense and packed, looking like mounds of earth stretching on forever.

Between these houses, several exceptionally wide streets crisscrossed, seeming fewer than in ordinary cities.

Among these houses, there were occasionally giant buildings that were significantly taller, either in the shape of giant towers or giant pavilions over a dozen stories high.

Han Li swept his gaze nearby and immediately withdrew it.

Not only did this city have a flight restriction, but it also seemed to have extremely powerful restrictions limiting spiritual sense. Even with his powerful spiritual sense, he could only probe about a few miles; anything further was blurry.

Of course, it wasn't that Han Li couldn't probe further, but doing so would certainly trigger these restrictions, thereby exposing his true cultivation.

At this moment, once the Bai family group stepped onto a nearby street, they immediately stopped by the side of the road.

Han Li's brows twitched, but he ultimately didn't ask anything.

As a result, after a short while, several beast carts pulled by a dozen monsters that looked like deer yet not deer, horses yet not horses, appeared at the other end of the street with a rumble, and like a gust of wind, they arrived in front of Han Li and the others in an instant, stopping abruptly.

On the side of the beast carts, a giant ancient character "Bai" was engraved, and at the front, there was a man in leather robes driving each monster.

"Greetings, Lady. This servant, under the Master's orders, has come to welcome you home." A burly man with pitch-black skin jumped down from the lead beast cart, bowed deeply to Bai Yunxin, and said with extreme respect.

"I understand. Brother Han, do you really not intend to go to the Bai family first? Even if you don't intend to join the clan now, finding a place to stay is an easy matter! If you stay in the clan, you might even see the ancestor that very day!" Bai Yunxin waved her hand at the burly man, then turned to Han Li and said with a charming smile.

"No need. Fairy Bai has just returned to the clan and likely has many things to handle. I also intend to look around the city first and will pay a formal visit another day." Han Li smiled slightly, cupped his hands, and said.

"Since Brother Han's mind is made up, I will say no more. This jade pendant is my personal item; please keep it well. When the time comes, you can come directly to the Bai family to find me with this token, and no one will question you."

Bai Yunxin showed a hint of regret, flipped her hand, and a hazy green jade plate appeared between her fingers, which she flicked over with a shake of her wrist.

Han Li did not stand on ceremony, caught the jade pendant, and swept a glance at it.

This jade pendant did not seem to be refined from ordinary jade; within the translucence, there were faint traces of blood threads, and a picture of a flying celestial maiden was engraved on the surface. The maiden's appearance even vaguely resembled Bai Yunxin herself.

Han Li's heart stirred, and after nodding, he put the jade pendant away.

In the following time, the Bai family group boarded several beast carts and immediately rolled away along the street.

Watching the beast carts disappear, Han Li shook his sleeves, turned around, and strode toward another street, vanishing into the crowd of demon clansmen in the blink of an eye.

Although Illusion Night City did not have a Sacred Ancestor-level existence sitting in town, it was quite famous in the Demon Realm for being able to gather over a dozen Demon Venerables in one city. The number of high-level demon clansmen gathered here far exceeded that of ordinary giant cities.

Unlike Blood Crow City where Han Li had stayed before, the number of various buildings in this city far exceeded his imagination.

Not only were there material shops, artifact refining shops, and other ordinary businesses, but he even saw a demon hall specializing in teaching ordinary demon arts, where many ordinary demon clansmen frequently entered and exited.

This made him click his tongue in wonder.

This demon hall was similar to the Daoist halls in the Spirit Realm that specialized in teaching basic spells. He didn't know if it was something the demon clansmen originally had or if it was copied from the Spirit Realm.

When Han Li passed by a giant tower, he swept a glance at the plaque hanging above it, and a look of surprise flashed across his face.

===== CHAPTER 2072 =====