Chapter 2407: Traveling Through Yujing City

"This layout is quite impressive." In He Lingchuan's view, although the layout of Yujing City has changed greatly, the main thoroughfares' positions and directions remain largely consistent with before; otherwise, the demon soldiers of this ghost city wouldn't know where to go after leaving their own doors.

But as long as the main roads remain unchanged, they have a direction.

Zhu Xiuer then said: "Look, Duzhi Mountain is eleven li to our southwest, while the fissure entrance to the underground city is in the northwest, only five li in a straight line! But going underground still involves a long journey."

The True Person of Sihai held a coral horn in his hand, a physical object taken from the Shieldskin Fish Secret Realm.

"Everyone, let's part ways."

The eight people split into two teams, each rushing off.

Before the Earth Mother changes the terrain again, they must reach their destination.

……

Although everyone has a secret realm beacon to conceal their aura, how they proceed after leaving the Shieldskin Fish's ocean secret realm is up to each individual's abilities.

The True Person of Sihai directly pulled out a mercury barrier, had his team members step inside, and then strode forward boldly. This barrier synchronizes the surrounding scenery, creating an invisibility effect. As long as they don't encounter a great demon like Qingtu Gui, it's not easy to see through, and it saves effort.

He Lingchuan's team's method is even simpler: he took out three mirage horns and transformed the appearances of his three teammates into one-eyed, weak little giants.

Because of the One-Eyed Giant King Shuyan, the one-eyed clan is quite prosperous in Yujing City, with a total number exceeding seven hundred.

The one-eyed clan is not entirely giants; aside from the warriors who rushed into the Panlong Secret Realm, the other clansmen remaining in Yujing City are generally just a bit taller than humans.

Moreover, to other demons, the one-eyed giants all look roughly the same; the easiest distinguishing features are skin tone depth and height. The shorter one is, the weaker their strength.

Zhu Xiuer doesn't need to transform—she is inherently a demon.

Everyone knows that sneaking around in Yujing City is unnecessary; in the shadows of every building, there might be a few pairs of eyes peeking out. If they leave traces, the Earth Mother might find out.

Better to walk openly on the streets.

Yujing City is too large, with too many residents; aside from Qingtu the Great Demon, no one could possibly recognize everyone here.

Anyway, Yujing City has a barrier; once foreign enemies enter, the Earth Mother will capture them. Conversely, any demons or humans appearing on the streets are not enemies.

Following this principle, He Lingchuan's group of four encountered no fewer than four or five waves of demons on the street, but most only gave them a hurried glance without paying special attention.

The battle between Yujing City and Ling Mountain is extremely fierce; the city's demons have been spun by the Earth Mother like tops, each rushing off to their own tasks—who has the leisure to manage a few unfamiliar residents?

Thus, their advance went smoothly; they quickly covered seven li, leaving only four li to reach their destination, Duzhi Mountain.

Unfortunately, earth escape technique cannot be used here; otherwise, four li would be nothing but a lift of the leg.

Mingke Xianren also whispered: "It seems we will reach the destination one step faster than our senior brother."

Ling Jinbao asked: "Isn't their route shorter?"

"Just a straight-line estimate; in reality, from the surface to the fissure, it's a downward and diagonal descent, at least another fifteen li." Mingke Xianren gave a bitter smile: "This ghost city has many layers above and below; describing it as 'layer upon layer of peaks and ridges' is no exaggeration. My senior brother just took a wrong turn."

Took a wrong turn……sigh.

Ordinary cities are built on flat ground, with only one layer above, at most adding a cellar. But Yujing City itself is a museum of various terrains, from cliffs to ravines—just ask how many layers lie in between?

Not to mention the countless spiderweb-like paths intertwining between surface and underground.

Discussing the complexity of urban layout, among all the cities He Lingchuan has seen, Yujing City truly stands out as exceptional. Ordinary people entering without getting lost is simply against reason.

In contrast, He Lingchuan's group's destination is much clearer: first advance to the Changfeng Valley garrison, then reach Duzhi Mountain, and then begin climbing.

Setting aside the inherent evil and strange aura of the ghost city itself, the architecture of Yujing City is truly dazzling—from ancient times to the present, buildings from all eras and regions are dazzlingly diverse, combined in unimaginable ways: beneath cliffs lie ravines,

opposite marshes are snow mountains, and ancient temples stand beside strangely shaped statues.

This is a strange city that wouldn't even appear in the weirdest dreams—absurd, willful, and chaotic, yet the longer one looks, the more one feels a mad and wondrous charm; one must admit, it is also very splendid.

Walking through the streets is like passing through one strange, world-transcending dream after another.

He Lingchuan observed all along: "These houses, after looking at them for a while, actually seem quite pleasing."

As for the beauty of architectural layout, the Earth Mother truly has a unique insight.

Ling Jinbao also muttered: "Our luck hasn't been bad either."

We've made it this far smoothly, and the Earth Mother hasn't noticed our presence.

Who knows if it's his jinxed mouth, but right after he said that, a fierce wind blew up on the corner street, and suddenly dozens of demons rushed out, led by a tiger demon with striped patterns and a ferocious demeanor.

Seeing the four, it asked: "Where are you going?"

"Duzhi Mountain." He Lingchuan replied, "To deliver nutrients to the spiritual herbs."

Many spiritual herbs cannot be nourished by soil and water alone; they often have unique tastes. For example, "Rolling Thunder" must be regularly watered with rice-washing water; while Wind-Dew Golden Lotus is even greedier, favoring fresh blood.

Not just human blood—demon blood works too. When Wind-Dew Golden Lotus was sent to the Great Return Sect's sales fair for temporary storage, the seller attached a care instruction.

"Just idling around? Perfect, come with me!" The tiger demon said, turning and heading in another direction.

Its tone allowed no refusal.

The four exchanged glances and had no choice but to follow. Raising suspicion now would be bad.

Fortunately, the tiger demon's destination isn't far; after two alleys, a huge cave loomed ahead, and He Lingchuan only saw a "Z"-shaped steep downward slope.

In any city, a sudden connection from urban streets to a wild mountain cave would be strange, but placed in Yujing City, it's perfectly natural.

Inside the cave, red light flickered; even from afar, He Lingchuan felt waves of heat.

There is real fire in the cave, and its power is immense.

At the slope's top are more than ten large carts, each fully loaded with profound crystals!

Five-colored profound crystals, each exuding a luxurious aura, yet here they are piled together like mere stones.

The carts are pulled by strong oxen.

These oxen have white horns and brown bodies, stand two zhang tall, their bodies full of coiled muscles; it's said they can match the strength of wilderness elephants.

But here, they are merely cart-pulling laborers.

Thanks to the generous reward from reader Linghu Shize~