Chapter 644: Those Selling Steamed Buns Are All at the Golden Core Stage

"Why not fly over on your swords?" Nezha asked, puzzled.

"It's better to be cautious," Lin Xuan shook his head.

"We know nothing of the rules here."

"It would be troublesome if we accidentally violated some taboo."

After walking for an hour, the three of them finally arrived before the city gate.

The city gate was incomparably huge, a full hundred zhang high.

Hanging above it was a massive plaque, inscribed with the three large characters "Green Cloud City".

Each character was ten zhang square, radiating a powerful pressure.

"Green Cloud City?" Zhang Wuji read aloud.

"It looks like the largest city here."

At the city gate, two guards were inspecting those passing through.

These two guards wore silvery-white immortal robes and carried Long Swords at their waists.

Their cultivation was at the Nascent Soul Late Stage, their auras powerful.

"Stop!"

As the three of them approached, one of the guards reached out to signal them to halt.

This guard swept a casual glance over them, a look of contempt flashing in his eyes.

"Three bumpkins who ascended from the lower realms?"

"You dare come to Green Cloud City with such low cultivation?"

The other guard burst into loud laughter.

"Haha, Lao Li, are you mistaken?"

"They haven't even reached the Golden Core Stage; they wouldn't even qualify to sweep the floors here."

"Such trash can also ascend? The standards of the lower realms are truly getting lower and lower."

Hearing these words, Nezha's expression immediately darkened.

"What did you say?!"

Just as he was about to lash out, Lin Xuan grabbed him.

"Don't be impulsive," Lin Xuan said in a low voice.

"We are under someone else's roof now; we must bow our heads."

Seeing Nezha's reaction, the first guard became even more smug.

"What? Not convinced?"

"Kid, do you think that just because you were a king in the lower realms, you can walk sideways in the upper realms?"

"Let me tell you, in Green Cloud City, cultivators below the Golden Core Stage are all trash!"

"You don't even have the qualifications to enter the city!"

"Then may I ask..." Lin Xuan suppressed his anger and said politely.

"How can we enter the city?"

The guard sized them up and held out his palm.

"An entry fee of ten medium-grade spirit stones per person."

"What?!" Zhang Wuji's eyes widened.

"Ten medium-grade spirit stones? Isn't that too expensive?"

"Think it's expensive? Then get lost back to your lower realm!"

The guard waved his hand impatiently.

"Green Cloud City doesn't welcome poor wretches!"

Lin Xuan took a deep breath, struggling to remain calm.

"We truly do not have spirit stones."

"Could you make an exception?"

"You want to enter the city without spirit stones?"

The second guard sneered.

"What do you think this place is? A charity house?"

"However..." his eyes rolled.

"It's not that there's no way."

"What way?" Lin Xuan asked.

"Do hard labor," the guard pointed to the side of the city gate.

"The City Lord's Mansion is currently recruiting menial laborers, specifically to take in trash like you from the lower realms."

"Work as a laborer for three months, and you can offset the entry fee."

"But..." he chuckled.

"The mortality rate for laborers is very high, oh."

"Less than half survive."

The three of them looked at each other, all feeling immense pressure.

In the Three Realms, they were top-tier experts.

Respected by ten thousand, enjoying supreme glory.

But here, they didn't even have the qualifications to enter the city.

This disparity was truly too great.

"Forget it, let's enter the city."

A voice came from the side.

The three of them turned their heads to look; it was Su Yun, whom they had met in the town yesterday.

He walked up to the guards and took out thirty medium-grade spirit stones.

"This is the entry fee for these three."

"So it is Young Master Su." Upon seeing Su Yun, the guard immediately changed his expression.

"Why have you come in person?"

"I have some business to attend to," Su Yun said indifferently.

"These three are my friends; there is no need to charge them for entry from now on."

"Yes, yes, yes, of course there is no problem with Young Master Su's friends."

The guard nodded and bowed repeatedly.

"Please enter, please enter, the three of you."

Su Yun nodded at the three of them and walked into the city gate first.

Lin Xuan and the others followed behind, their moods complex.

They were indebted to someone again, which made them very uncomfortable.

"Fellow Daoist Su, we will remember this kindness," Lin Xuan said.

"You are too polite," Su Yun waved his hand.

"We are all cultivators; helping each other is only right."

"However, as you have seen, in the Upper Realm, strength is everything."

"Without sufficient cultivation, it is difficult to take a single step."

After entering the city, the three felt the vastness of the gap even more.

Azure Cloud City was incomparably prosperous, and the streets were wide.

There were countless cultivators coming and going.

But the cultivation of every single person was not simple.

A vendor selling steamed buns walked past on the street casually.

Their cultivation had actually reached the late Golden Core Stage.

"Even the ones selling steamed buns are at the Golden Core Stage?" Nezha was dumbfounded.

"Isn't this too exaggerated?"

What shocked them even more was yet to come.

A group of youths who looked to be fifteen or sixteen years old walked past from the side.

They were discussing their cultivation insights.

"I broke through to the Nascent Soul Early Stage yesterday," one youth said proudly.

"Hmph, what's so great about that?" another youth said disdainfully.

"I am already at the Nascent Soul Mid-stage, and I will be at the late stage soon."

"Stop arguing, all of you," the third youth spoke indifferently.

"I am already preparing for the breakthrough to the Transformation Stage."

Hearing these words, the three were completely stunned.

Youths of fifteen or sixteen years old, about to break through to the Transformation Stage?

This was simply unimaginable in the Three Realms.

"The Spirit Qi of heaven and earth here is indeed dense," Lin Xuan said thoughtfully.

"And the cultivation resources must be much richer than in the Three Realms."

"That is why the cultivators here are generally very strong."

Su Yun saw their shock and explained with a smile.

"The three of you do not need to be too surprised."

"The cultivation environment of the Upper Realm is indeed much better than the Lower Realm."

"Moreover, there is a complete cultivation heritage here."

"From Foundation Establishment to Transformation Stage, and even higher realms, there are mature cultivation techniques."

"Unlike the Lower Realm, where many heritages have already been severed."

"What realms are there above the Transformation Stage?" Zhang Wuji asked curiously.

"Integration Stage, Mahayana Stage, and the legendary Tribulation Transcendence Stage," Su Yun said.

"Cultivators at the Tribulation Transcendence Stage can ascend to higher planes."

"I heard that place is called the Immortal Realm, where true Immortals reside."

The three listened, feeling fascinated and yearning.

It turned out that what they thought was the end of cultivation was only a new starting point.

"My master is a cultivator at the Integration Stage," Su Yun continued.

"He is considered an Elder-level figure in the Azure Cloud Sect."

"And our Sect Master, I heard, has already reached the peak of the Mahayana Stage."

"He could break through to the Tribulation Transcendence Stage at any time."

"So powerful?" Lin Xuan said, shocked.

"Doesn't that mean they could destroy our entire Three Realms with a wave of their hand?"

"Just about," Su Yun nodded.

"The power of a single strike from a Great Vehicle stage cultivator is enough to destroy a small world."

"So you must never provoke these powerhouses."

"In the Upper Realm, strength determines everything."

The three of them walked along the street, looking at the bustling scene around them.

Their hearts were both shocked and excited.

What shocked them was that the gap in strength was so vast.

The cultivation base they took such pride in didn't even count as the lowest level here.