Chapter 269: The Situation Inside the City

Chen Mo sank his consciousness into the Token, and countless streams of information flowed in.

The first information to arrive was the situation of the Xuanhuang World and Ju Hai City; a rough map explained that the interior of Ju Hai City is mainly divided into four levels.

The outermost layer is the front line, where the Refuse Sea Pass is located; Supreme Great Abilities, the administrators maintaining the Array, and True One powerhouses are all within this area.

One layer further in are various secret cultivation grounds and the stations of the many factions of the Xuanhuang World.

Rogue Martial Artists who have come from various Small Worlds can also choose to join a faction here, or remain unconstrained and continue to cultivate here as rogue practitioners.

The powerhouses responsible for guarding the Refuse Sea Pass, after rotating, mostly stay in this layer to cultivate and replenish their state before entering the Array for rotation again.

As for the layer further in, the Martial Artists residing there are mostly Heavenly Human or supernatural cultivators from the Xuanhuang Da Tiandi, or Qi Refiners of the Nascent Soul or Spirit Severing realms.

Aside from cultivating, their most important task here is to prepare material supplies for the Martial Artists guarding the Array, as well as to perform preliminary processing on the materials needed to maintain the Array.

And the final layer is where Chen Mo is currently located, the very center of the entire city.

Teleportation Arrays are spread throughout this place; powerhouses arriving from all parts of the world and Martial Artists arriving from the Xuanhuang Da Tiandi all enter the city through the Teleportation Arrays here.

But wanting to obtain these contributions is by no means an easy task; the simplest method is to enter the Refuse Sea Pass to stand guard.

Actually, these plant spirits also belong to a category of the Demon Race, but they do not like killing, nor do they like moving very much.

This has no requirements for Martial Artists, as long as one's strength reaches the True One Realm, and the rewards are quite generous.

Among them, the Heaven, Earth, and Human realms are mostly inhabited by the Human Race, with a small number of other relatively common races living there.

In the vast majority of cases, they have very, very little interaction with those Demon Race beings that were born with intelligence and have undergone Shape Transformation from beasts.

Even though the lifespan of the Demon Race is longer than that of the Human Race, upon reaching the Heavenly Human Realm, most only have a lifespan of seven or eight thousand years, not exceeding ten thousand.

Of course, Xuanhuang Heaven has no mandatory constraints on Martial Artists; it merely issues countless tasks, and if a Martial Artist completes them, they can obtain alliance contributions or heavenly treasures.

For example, the Thunder Domain; the thunder storms inside are incessant, and it is a place where few living people can survive.

Ju Hai City is currently governed by Xuanhuang Heaven; the reason it is named this is because the current Spirit of Xuanhuang comes from the Xuanhuang Heaven of the Ancient Heavenly Court of the past, and was later refined by several Supremes working together.

Because their lifespans are too long, if they were to get to know a Human Race Martial Artist, they might close their eyes once and that Human Race Martial Artist would have already turned into dry bones.

Spending one hundred years in such a hall is equivalent to only one year passing in the outside world. Of course, to cultivate in this state, the contribution required is also very high.

These tasks all exist, and the rewards fluctuate based on risk and difficulty.

As for the Demon Race that have transformed from trees, at this realm, their lifespans are counted in at least tens of thousands of years; for those with special varieties, living for over one hundred thousand years is also a normal matter.

Chen Mo obtained this Token and automatically joined Xuanhuang Heaven.

Wanting to activate these Arrays requires a not-insignificant amount of resources, but every True One Martial Artist who comes to Ju Hai City from the outside world...

Yet there are still Martial Artists who use the wild thunder within to temper their own cultivation, borrowing the power of Thunder to hone their physical bodies.

Within every ten years, there is one free opportunity to use the Array to leave this city.

Aside from the general situation within this city, there is also the situation of the Xuanhuang Da Tiandi.

This opportunity cannot be accumulated; if not used within ten years, it is forfeited.

Another example is the Wind Domain; there is almost no land to stand on inside, yet the Nine Heavens Gale rages.

This hall can control the time flow between the inside and outside at a ratio of one to one hundred under maximum activation.

Besides this, one can also take on other tasks, such as alchemy, artifact refining, or going to the Xuanhuang Da Tiandi to collect resources.

Using alliance contributions allows one to cultivate in the many secret grounds within Ju Hai City; there is also a Hengyu Asking Dao Hall here, but it is different from the hall Chen Mo possesses.

The entire Xuanhuang Da Tiandi can be roughly divided into one hundred and eight domains; Heaven, Earth, Human, Spirit, and Demon are five of the more famous domains among them.

As for the Spirit and Demon realms, they are the Spirit Race and the Demon Race.

The Spirit Race here includes not only beings born of heaven and earth, but many plant spirits are also included in this.

For these plant spirits, a single closed-door cultivation or slumber might last for hundreds or thousands of years.

If one wishes to raise the power of the Karma Fire Compass to the maximum, this Fire Domain must be visited.

Within it, there are even many extremely special spiritual roots growing.

Therefore, except for a small number of top powerhouses and certain longer-lived races, these plant spirits do not have much interaction with other races.

The only drawback is that there is a certain amount of risk.

As for other secret cultivation grounds and medicinal pills that can provide help to True One Martial Artists, these are all available within Xuanhuang Heaven; as long as there is contribution, Martial Artists can purchase them.

If Chen Mo wants to go to the Xuanhuang Da Tiandi to cultivate next, or leave Ju Hai City to return to his own world, he also needs to use these Arrays.

What Chen Mo cares about most is still the Fire Domain, which contains infinite strange fires.

The Xuanhuang Da Tiandi is vast beyond compare, and its area is difficult to calculate precisely; I am afraid only those Great Ability Supremes know exactly how big the Xuanhuang Da Tiandi is.

Aside from these few realms, there are many other peculiar realms within the Xuanhuang Da Tiandi.

Or rather, it is not just the Demon Race; they have very little interaction with other life between heaven and earth because their lifespans are too long.

For example, the dragon, phoenix, and qilin—these three are the most common Divine Beasts; there are also some rarer Divine Beasts, such as the Kunpeng, Baize, Xiezhi, and Bifang.

Chen Mo currently still has one opportunity to use the Teleportation Array to leave at any time.

The special wind that could be found during the Ancient Heaven and Earth period, along with the Qi of the Nine Heavens, can all be found within it.

Aside from this information, the Token provides a more detailed introduction to the information within Ju Hai City.

In addition to these, it also places emphasis on introducing the factions within Ju Hai City.

Today, the situation of the world is different from the past; originally, wanting to join these factions to obtain the cultivation techniques and secret manuals within them was an extremely difficult matter, and a Martial Artist could only join one faction.

But under the current circumstances, whether it is the Human Race or the Demon Race, they cannot be bothered with these matters.

As long as one pays a certain amount of contribution, a Martial Artist can exchange for the cultivation techniques within these factions.

But these factions are still recruiting Martial Artists; they control many secret cultivation grounds. Although these secret grounds are also open to the outside world, the price to use them is not low.

If one joins these factions, the cost to be paid will not only be much lower, but there may even be opportunities for free use every once in a while.

And those cultivation techniques that originally required spending alliance contributions to exchange for will, to a certain extent, be opened to Martial Artists for free.

Of course, for some more important cultivation techniques, if a Martial Artist is eager for quick success, they can only spend contributions to exchange for them.

And if one does not want to spend contributions, one can only slowly grind it out within the faction.

Even if one spends contribution points to exchange for them, the price is still much lower than if one did not join a faction.

Of course, a Martial Artist can still only join one faction; after joining one side, if they wish to obtain Secret Techniques from other factions, they can only do so by spending contribution points.

Chen Mo roughly looked over the situation of these factions, but did not examine them carefully; his top priority at the moment was not joining a faction.

Rather, it was to first find a way to locate the avatar of Senior Fengdu Niangniang; with her help, everything he needed to do next would be much easier.

If he could not find her for a time, he could also first look for Martial Artists within the Huantian Alliance to help him familiarize himself with the situation here.

Many things are not explained very clearly on this Xuanhuang Heaven Token.

If he wishes to understand the full picture, it is still best to find someone who has resided here for a long time to ask clearly, and this person must be reliable.

As Chen Mo fully mastered the Token, the Xuanhuang Qi gradually dissipated.

Seeing this, Xuan Yangzi cupped his hands in a salute and smiled, "Since you have obtained the Token, fellow Daoist, you are now a member of our Xuanhuang Heaven. This world is vast, and you may explore it as you please."

After speaking, he took a Jade Slip from his Huai.

"This poor Daoist hails from Qingxuan Temple. Since you are new here, fellow Daoist, you should choose a faction to join.

Inside this Jade Slip is the general situation of my Qingxuan Temple, the Secret Skills and Secret Lands we control, and the preferential treatment for Martial Artists.

You may take a look, fellow Daoist; if you wish to join my Qingxuan Temple, just take this Jade Slip and go there."

Xuan Yangzi was all smiles as he handed over the Jade Slip.

As a member of Qingxuan Temple, helping the sect recruit Martial Artists was also something he ought to do.

If there really were a Martial Artist who took the Jade Slip he gave out to join the temple, he would also be credited with a merit.

"Many thanks, fellow Daoist." Chen Mo took the Jade Slip and thanked him; the information inside this Jade Slip was much clearer and more explicit than what was in the Token.

Not only did it contain the Secret Skills and Secret Techniques of Qingxuan Temple, but the Secret Lands they controlled were also all marked upon it.

Beyond that, Martial Artists of various realms enjoyed different treatment if they were willing to join.

As a True One Martial Artist, if Chen Mo could join Qingxuan Temple, he could immediately choose one Secret Skill to practice for free.

If he wished to purchase other Secret Techniques, he would only need to pay half the price of an outsider.

Not only that, a Martial Artist could practice in any Secret Land within the temple for free for three years.

And every ten years thereafter, one year could be spent practicing in any Secret Land.

Furthermore, if one wished to practice in other regions, one only needed to pay Xuanhuang Heaven contributions, and the price would also be half that of an outsider.

And for every hundred years spent within the faction, the reader could also obtain one other Secret Technique for free.

Not only that, this Jade Slip also provided a detailed introduction to the various types of Secret Techniques possessed by Qingxuan Temple.

Chen Mo still only gave it a rough look; even if he were to join a faction next, he would have to compare three different ones.

Just looking at one faction would not do; it would be best to obtain detailed introductions from several factions and compare them one by one.

He would see which faction's Secret Techniques he truly needed before considering joining.

"I still need to go and receive other fellow Daoists, so I shall take my leave first." Xuan Yangzi cupped his hands in a salute, and after speaking, he turned and flew away.

After he left, Chen Mo did not stay in this palace for long either, and left with long strides.

Moving away from this palace, he was in no hurry to head into the Fire Domain.

Although the Xuanhuang Heaven Token contained a general introduction to the Fire Domain, it was not very clear or explicit.

If he were to enter it himself, he feared he would be like a fish entering the sea, unable to stir up any waves.

If he wanted to collect Strange Fire as quickly as possible, he still needed to obtain some clearer intelligence.

Chen Mo strode away from this palace complex and soon arrived before a city wall.

This city wall was far from as majestic as Juhaiguan, yet within the blue-gray wall bricks, there were still endless Arrays lying in wait.

Above the city wall, there was a Heaven-Man Martial Artist every ten miles, a Supernatural Martial Artist every hundred miles, and the entire city wall was patrolled by three True One Martial Artists.

The defense of this city wall could not really be called very tight, but that was normal; this place was the very core of the entire city, so it actually did not require such strong defenses.

The reason was very simple: if the Mirage Sea monsters were truly able to enter here, then the only role of this defensive line would be to delay them for a moment.

As for holding them off? That was an entirely impossible matter.

Those stationed here were mainly to prevent chaos from arising within.

Chen Mo stepped up to the checkpoint and took out the Xuanhuang Token he had just obtained.

Walking within Ju Hai City, a Token was required to pass every checkpoint; those with insufficient authority could not head to the outermost layer, Juhaiguan.

Chen Mo, of course, would not encounter this problem; the authority of the Token depended solely on the level of one's cultivation.

Those with insufficient cultivation risked danger by rashly heading to Juhaiguan, but the strength of the True One Realm was already enough to walk there.

Showing the Token, Chen Mo passed through this checkpoint and continued to walk toward the outer perimeter of the city.

The third layer of Ju Hai City was not like the fourth; although there were streets here, there were no pedestrians, and the vast majority of Martial Artists were busy.

Refining pills, forging weapons, preparing materials to repair Arrays, and sending these materials continuously to the frontier.

Only in this way could the Arrays be maintained for a long time, and only then could they continuously resist the attacks of the Mirage Sea creatures without falling into a disadvantage.

Of course, whether it was Xuan Yangzi, the Mirage Sea, or other Martial Artists within this world.

All understood that this was a helpless measure; as long as the power of the Mirage Sea did not cease, everything they were doing now was just barely resisting.

It was all to seek a variable, and a temporary chance to survive.

As for when this variable would arrive, no one knew.

Chen Mo passed through the third layer and finally arrived at the second layer of Ju Hai City.

There were many Secret Lands for practice here, and all the major factions of the Xuanhuang World had a presence here.

Occasionally, one could see many Martial Artists coming and going, and their strength was at least the True One Realm.

Chen Mo estimated that if he wanted to find the avatar of Fengdu Niangniang, it would either be here, or he would have to head further toward the outer perimeter.

Many Great Abilities were stationed within Juhaiguan, but he did not understand this, and wanting to find them within the vastness of an entire checkpoint was by no means an easy task.

Furthermore, barring any unexpected circumstances, Martial Artists of the True One Realm could not possibly travel throughout all areas of Juhaiguan.

The reason Chen Mo came here first was still to seek out Martial Artists within the Huantian Alliance.

He took out the Token of the alliance; although there was no Tongxuan Stone here, there was also no suppression from the Return Ruins.

Even on the third level, where the power exerted by the Token is suppressed to the Innate Realm, the Tokens can still sense one another.

Since the power of Ju Hai City is not restricted, the mutual sensing between the Tokens is naturally even easier.

Chen Mo channeled the wonders of the Token and instantly sensed that there were two Martial Artists within the third level also holding Huantian Alliance Tokens.

As for whether there were any Huantian Alliance Martial Artists on the other levels, they had no way of knowing.

Ju Hai City appears to be a single entity, but in reality, each layer of the city wall can be viewed as a Boundary Wall.

Between the city walls are endless Arrays, and although the Huantian Alliance Token has some profound mysteries, it is not enough to perceive through these endless Arrays.

Fortunately, there were Huantian Alliance Martial Artists on this level, so Chen Mo did not need to go to other levels to search.

He determined his own direction and the distance between himself and the two Martial Artists.

Chen Mo immediately changed direction and rapidly approached the two Martial Artists.

Before long, he arrived in front of a courtyard; the courtyard was furnished simply, with only a few quiet rooms for cultivation.

Courtyards like this are quite common here, where Martial Artists rotated off the front lines come to cultivate.

Chen Mo stepped into the courtyard and lightly knocked on the gate.

"Who is visiting?" a response quickly came from within the courtyard.

(End of this chapter)