Chapter 261: 261. Chapter 258: Targeted by Shi Qiqiu

261. Chapter 258: Targeted by Shi Qiqiu

The twin-winged ship was indeed very fast. The three of them discussed cultivation along the way and had already arrived outside Ten Thousand Treasure City.

Throughout the journey, they discussed Dao arts. Whether it was Hu Wuxin or Mo Zheng, both were amazed by Ding Huan's understanding of the Great Dao.

Even though it had only been a short ten days, both of them gained a great deal.

It was Ding Huan who gained little, mainly absorbing some insights about the Dao cultivation world's spell techniques.

Ten Thousand Treasure City had not been established for long, yet its scale was dozens of times larger than Two Realms City.

On the surface, Ten Thousand Treasure City showed no sign of having just been built; its city walls and protective arrays were extremely well-developed.

At the city gate there was a huge plaza, surrounded by all kinds of shops.

Above the plaza stood four large characters: Opening Heaven Plaza.

Even before entering Ten Thousand Treasure City, Ding Huan and the others could feel the prosperity and bustle here.

Cultivators coming and going in an endless stream. Ding Huan guessed that few people here actually entered the Opening Heaven Battlefield; most were here to do business.

After all, until now, no one had come out of the Opening Heaven Battlefield, had they?

On the left edge of the plaza, there was an earth-yellow road at least three zhang wide.

A signpost by the road read "Opening Heaven Battlefield."

The wide earth-yellow road was nearly empty, indicating that not many people were entering the Opening Heaven Battlefield at present.

"Ding Huan, should we head straight there now, or...?" Mo Zheng pointed at the earth-yellow road.

Ding Huan smiled:

"My thought was to go straight in. It looks like that won't work now. Take a look over there."

Ding Huan pointed at an array announcement board outside Ten Thousand Treasure City.

The board listed several clauses; the fourth one clearly stated:

All cultivators from the Dao cultivation world above the Primordial Soul realm must report to the Opening Heaven Battlefield Mission Hall before entering the Opening Heaven Battlefield.

Ding Huan, Hu Wuxin, and Mo Zheng's cultivation levels were neither high nor low here.

With cultivation like theirs, there were countless others in Ten Thousand Treasure City and Opening Heaven Plaza.

Logically speaking, the three of them shouldn't attract attention.

However, each of the three was carrying a large pack on their back, which drew everyone's attention.

"You gentlemen must have just arrived at Ten Thousand Treasure City. If you plan to go to the Opening Heaven Battlefield in the future, purchasing a secret map of the Opening Heaven Battlefield will definitely increase your chances of obtaining treasures."

The moment the three of them entered Ten Thousand Treasure City, a young servant came up with a smile plastered on his face.

"No need. Step aside." Mo Zheng waved his hand without hesitation.

The servant didn't insist, turning to look for his next customer.

Mo Zheng said speechlessly:

"That's obviously a fake map, yet they dare to sell it openly. The management of this Ten Thousand Treasure City is really poor."

Ding Huan said lightly:

"No, what they're selling should be real maps."

"How could that be? The people who entered the Opening Heaven Battlefield haven't..."

Mo Zheng seemed to realize something mid-sentence and abruptly stopped.

Ding Huan had previously mentioned that the wristbands had monitoring arrays, meaning that every cultivator's path and surroundings after entering the Opening Heaven Battlefield were all monitored.

So even though no one could leave the Opening Heaven Battlefield alive, maps of parts of the Opening Heaven Battlefield had nonetheless emerged.

"How dare they?" Mo Zheng found it hard to believe.

Once these maps were sold, wouldn't it expose the fact that the monitoring arrays existed?

Ding Huan chuckled:

"Normally, these maps wouldn't be sold. But clearly they're not a monolithic block; someone inside wants to exploit the loophole to make a profit."

Both Hu Wuxin and Mo Zheng fell silent; they knew Ding Huan was right.

"Should we stay at this inn, then go report at the Mission Hall?" Mo Zheng pointed at an inn on the street.

Ding Huan shook his head:

"Let's report now. I have a feeling it'll be harder to move later."

He had calculated along the way that nothing would happen once they arrived at Ten Thousand Treasure City.

If he stayed in Ten Thousand Treasure City for more than a day, trouble would arise—mainly because of his backpack.

Some top-grade treasures couldn't be stored in storage rings. Ordinary cultivators might not know this, but how many powerful cultivators were there in Ten Thousand Treasure City?

A pile of Human Immortals, and Earth Immortals too.

These people would definitely be able to guess why he was carrying a backpack. Even if there was only a slight possibility, people would covet it.

The Opening Heaven Battlefield Mission Hall wasn't very crowded. Compared to the bustling Ten Thousand Treasure City and the packed Opening Heaven Plaza, the number of people here seemed disproportionate.

Logically, the busier a Dao cultivation city was, the busier its Mission Hall should be.

A Dao cultivation city like Ten Thousand Treasure City, with bustling streets but a desolate Mission Hall, was rare.

Arriving at the Mission Hall, the first thing they saw was the Opening Heaven Battlefield Registration Counter.

There wasn't a single person at the registration counter.

"Excuse me, is this where we register to enter the Opening Heaven Battlefield?" Hu Wuxin stepped forward and asked.

The young woman in charge of registration at the window glanced at the three of them: "Yes. Are you cultivators from a Flying Ascension Realm sect, or from the Dao cultivation world?"

All three of them understood what this meant; they had already seen it on the announcement board outside the city.

Cultivators from the Flying Ascension Realm who wanted to enter the Opening Heaven Battlefield needed to register which sect they were from.

If they weren't cultivators from the Flying Ascension Realm but from the Dao cultivation world, and their cultivation exceeded the Primordial Soul realm, they needed to register their name and sect.

"We come from the Dao Cultivation World, and our cultivation has all surpassed the Primordial Soul realm," Hu Wuxin replied.

"What are the three of your names and your affiliated sects?" the woman asked again.

"Alliance Leader of the Dao Cultivation World Sect Alliance Hu Wuxin, City Lord of the True Hidden Dao City of the Dao Cultivation World Mo Zheng, Sect Leader of Blue Star Sect of the Dao Cultivation World Ding Huan," Hu Wuxin answered swiftly.

That woman also registered them very quickly, then asked another question:

"When will you enter the Opening Heaven Battlefield?"

Before Hu Wuxin could answer, Ding Huan asked in confusion:

"Does that need to be confirmed too? Once registered, do we have to enter the Opening Heaven Battlefield?"

The woman said blandly, "Not necessarily. Just give an approximate date of when you'll go in; it doesn't have to be exact."

"Then in the next two or three days."

After Ding Huan finished speaking, he looked at Hu Wuxin and said, "Old Hu, shall we buy some talismans and pills later?"

Although Hu Wuxin didn't quite understand Ding Huan's meaning, he was an old hand at the world, and without the slightest hesitation he said:

"Naturally we need to. I've heard there's a Talisman Pavilion in Ten Thousand Treasure City, and the talismans inside are of very good quality."

"Here, your three registration plates."

The woman cut off the conversation between Ding Huan and Hu Wuxin, tossing out three plates.

Hu Wuxin grabbed the plates and handed Ding Huan's and Mo Zheng's plates to the two of them.

Only then did the three of them walk out of the Mission Hall unhurriedly.

"Ding Huan, what did you mean just now?" The moment they stepped out of the Mission Hall, Hu Wuxin asked Ding Huan.

He felt that someone like Ding Huan would never shoot without a target.

Ding Huan said in a low voice:

"What I mean is, we head to the Opening Heaven Battlefield right now."

Hu Wuxin was stunned for a moment, then nodded:

"Fine, let's go now."

Almost at the same time that Ding Huan's group of three headed toward the Opening Heaven Battlefield, Shi Qiqiu, the head of the Changyan Academy, learned of something.

It was that today three very strange people had come to Ten Thousand Treasure City, and all three of them were carrying backpacks.

Coming to Ten Thousand Treasure City while carrying backpacks — this wasn't just strange, it was absolutely bizarre.

Because ordinary mortals simply couldn't reach Ten Thousand Treasure City.

As long as one wasn't a mortal, one would have a storage bag or a storage ring.

If someone had a storage magic treasure, why would they carry a backpack?

There was only one explanation: there was something a storage ring couldn't hold.

How big could a backpack be? Could a mere backpack carried on one's back really not fit into a storage magic treasure?

Even the worst storage bag should be able to hold it, right? Even the poorest cultivator who could reach Ten Thousand Treasure City shouldn't be unable to afford a storage bag.

Then why still carry a backpack? There was another explanation.

That was, the rules of the things inside the backpack were far higher than those of a storage bag or storage ring, even on an entirely different level, so they couldn't be stored.

After learning this news, Shi Qiqiu immediately inquired at the Mission Hall registration desk.

Then he clearly obtained a piece of information: these three people should be staying in Ten Thousand Treasure City for two or three days.

Moreover, among these three, there was one person he was paying particular attention to — that was Blue Star Sect's Sect Leader Ding Huan.

According to the information provided by Qing Yu, this Ding Huan had obtained the relic of an ancient cave dwelling.

Shi Qiqiu even suspected that the things in Ding Huan's backpack were from that relic. Because they couldn't fit into a storage ring, he could only carry them on his body.

Whether it was or not, he didn't intend to let Ding Huan off either.

From the information Shi Qiqiu had learned, Ding Huan's group of three wanted to buy some talismans and pills, and needed to stay in Ten Thousand Treasure City for two or three days.

This made Shi Qiqiu breathe a sigh of relief. Even so, he still set aside everything at hand and hurried toward Ten Thousand Treasure City.

A treasure like this had to be obtained in one's own hands as soon as possible; once missed, it would be forever out of one's reach.

Shi Qiqiu naturally understood this principle.

……

Leaving the Opening Heaven Plaza outside Ten Thousand Treasure City, there was only one path to enter the Opening Heaven Battlefield — that broad, earth-yellow road.

This broad road was entirely locked down by restrictions; one couldn't use a flying ship, nor could one fly through the air — one could only walk.

Ding Huan's group of three walked along that earth-yellow road for nearly an hour before arriving outside a formation gate.

Four characters were written outside the formation gate: Opening Heaven Battlefield.

Was this the entrance to the Opening Heaven Battlefield?

Ding Huan's group of three stood at this desolate formation gate, somewhat puzzled.

There were no cultivators on guard here, only a formation gate.

What opened the formation gate was their wrist rings.

"Before reaching the Ascension Realm, I thought there would be a lot of people here. After arriving at Ten Thousand Treasure City, I knew hardly anyone would come here, and now it's indeed so."

Mo Zheng sighed.

"Regardless, let's go in first."

Ding Huan calculated that every breath he lingered outside meant an extra measure of danger.

Walking to the entrance of the formation gate, before Ding Huan could even raise his wrist ring, the wrist ring emitted a ray of light, and the formation gate before them opened.

Ding Huan was the first to walk into the Opening Heaven Battlefield.

Seeing Ding Huan go in, Hu Wuxin and Mo Zheng didn't hesitate either; they both used their wrist rings to enter the formation gate.