Chapter Ninety: Arrival

After three days.

The warship of the Mirror Snow Pavilion slowly came to a halt.

The cultivators on board leaned out one by one, all of them flushed with excitement.

After more than half a month of travel, they had finally arrived at their destination, the sacred haven of wandering cultivators: Azure Sea Immortal City.

A towering and magnificent metropolis swelled larger and larger in everyone’s sight.

Even the surrounding mountains and rivers seemed like mere anthills beside this colossal city.

Azure Sea Immortal City covered thousands of acres, sustained beneath by a vast, high-grade third-tier spiritual vein.

Yet not everyone could enjoy the spiritual qi of that vein; only a small number of high-level cultivators living in the city center were qualified to do so.

A third-tier spiritual vein was, for all practical purposes, the exclusive privilege of Core Formation forebears and False Core experts.

Beyond that, the city also possessed several branches of first- and second-tier veins.

The whole of Azure Sea Immortal City was shrouded beneath a third-tier grand formation, radiating a faint blue sheen like rolling waves.

Mist coiled through the air, and immortal aura surged vast and pure.

“At last, we’re back!”

“I was almost suffocated alive up there. I’m practically moldy from being stuffed under the deck!”

“I’m going straight to the largest Blossom-and-Dust Garden in Azure Sea Immortal City and let off some steam.”

“I swear I’ll never go to the Cloud Marsh Wastelands again. What a damned scam.”

...

Countless cultivators on the warship turned into streaks of light, summoning flying artifacts and hurrying toward the immortal city without a moment’s delay.

Qin Ming stepped onto the deck and stood with his hands behind his back, quietly gazing down at the city below.

A moment later, Wu Jiang and Mu Ruyin approached with smiles on their faces and came to stand before Qin Ming.

“Fellow Daoist Qin, let’s be on our way as well. The Lingsi Archipelago is still some distance from Azure Sea Immortal City.”

“The Mirror Snow Pavilion’s vessel can only bring us this far. We’ll have to make the rest of the journey ourselves,” Wu Jiang explained with considerable deference.

Qin Ming smiled and nodded. “Please wait a moment. I need to bid someone farewell before heading to the Lingsi Archipelago together.”

“By all means, Fellow Daoist Qin. We’ll wait here,” the two of them replied.

At that moment, Gu Qingzhao, dressed in plain white, and the shopkeeper Liao also came out.

Gu Qingzhao possessed a cool, noble grace, like someone beyond the mortal world.

She walked slowly up to Qin Ming, her bright eyes curved in a smile. “A thousand miles may be escorted, but all meetings must at last end in parting. Fellow Daoist Qin, it seems we must say farewell here.”

“Thank you, Fellow Daoist Gu, for your arrangements over these past days. I am deeply grateful,” Qin Ming said with a slight smile.

Gu Qingzhao replied, “Such a trivial matter is nothing. After all, Fellow Daoist Qin is now an honorary guest elder of our pavilion; a few arrangements are only proper. If Fellow Daoist Qin ever changes his mind, you are always welcome to formally join us.”

“I will await you in Azure Sea Immortal City.”

“Many thanks for your kind offer, Fellow Daoist Gu. Once I’ve settled in, you are always welcome to come by my place as well. We’re not far apart, after all,” Qin Ming said with a carefree laugh.

Gu Qingzhao nodded. “Certainly.”

“Hey, Fellow Daoist Qin, what do you mean by that?”

“Why didn’t you invite me?”

“You’ve forgotten about me, haven’t you?”

Shopkeeper Liao deliberately put on an aggrieved expression as he spoke.

“Of course not. You’re welcome anytime, Shopkeeper Liao.”

“It’s just that I haven’t found a place to stay yet,” Qin Ming said with a smile.

“If Fellow Daoist Qin encounters any difficulty, you need only come find me in Azure Sea Immortal City,” Gu Qingzhao said, taking two jars of spirit wine and some spirit tea from her storage bag and handing them to Qin Ming. “A small token for seeing you off.”

“May Fellow Daoist Qin’s path in immortality remain evergreen.”

Qin Ming accepted the gifts, feeling a warmth in his heart, and returned the courtesy with clasped hands. “There is no need for the two of you to see me farther.”

...

Wu Jiang and Mu Ruyin watched from the side, inwardly shaken beyond measure. They had never expected the pavilion mistress of Mirror Snow Pavilion to personally come see him off.

And from the looks of it, the two sides appeared to be on very intimate terms.

Qin Daoist had become more and more mysterious in their eyes.

After parting from Gu Qingzhao, the three of them rode their flying artifacts and set out for the Lingsi Archipelago.

At first, their flight speeds were fairly well matched.

But after half a day, Wu Jiang and Mu Ruyin’s speed noticeably slowed, and they were completely left behind by Qin Ming.

This was not only due to the difference in cultivation, but mainly because their flying artifacts were worlds apart.

At that pace, it would take at least another three days to reach their destination.

So Qin Ming simply had the two of them board his own Radiant Light Shuttle.

Wu Jiang and Mu Ruyin were also riding an excellent flying artifact for the first time, and their eyes lit up with excitement.

In this way, their traveling speed suddenly increased quite a bit.

...

The territory of the Wei Kingdom was divided into twelve circuits, governing three hundred and sixty prefectures and counties.

The Lingsi Archipelago lay at the far northern edge of Jiangbei Circuit; to the north, eerie mists shrouded the land, while to the east it merged into the Eastern Sea.

A day later.

Qin Ming, driving the Radiant Light Shuttle, arrived above the Lingsi Archipelago.

A vast expanse of lakes, rivers, and seas unfolded before his eyes.

Countless islands dotted the waters like stars strewn across the sky.

Rivers and waterways of every size formed a dense network, with many boats traveling to and fro, presenting a scene of a hundred vessels contending to surge ahead.

The surface of the water shimmered in reflected light, mirroring the blue sky and white clouds.

It was an entirely different world from the Cloud Marsh Wastelands.

“Fellow Daoist Qin, we’ve reached the Lingsi Archipelago. I’d like to invite you to my home for a visit,” Wu Jiang said, having returned to his homeland. He took a deep breath, his face full of excitement.

“Our Wu family may not be one of the great houses, but we do occupy an island of our own, with a high-grade first-tier spiritual vein. If you don’t mind, Fellow Daoist, you are welcome to come and sit awhile.”

Qin Ming asked, “Oh? I thought the Lingsi Archipelago was under the jurisdiction of the Zhao clan of cultivators?”

“It’s not quite so simple. Before the Zhao family took over these islands, many families and wandering cultivators had already been living here.”

“The rights to those islands naturally remained in their own hands.”

“Of course, the spirit islands under the Zhao family’s administration are of better quality.”

“For example, our Wu family has lived here for generations for over a hundred years, and the Red Jade Spirit Island has remained in our clan’s possession to this day.”

“I see.” Qin Ming nodded thoughtfully.

Then he said to the two of them, “Fellow Daoists, you should head back to your clan first. I have some matters to attend to.”

“Ah, Fellow Daoist Qin, you really won’t come to our humble home for a visit?” Wu Jiang suddenly panicked inwardly.

Qin Ming smiled faintly. “There’s no need to worry, Fellow Daoist Wu. I’m only going to wander casually through the nearby Heavenly River Market.”

“You can send me a message tomorrow.”

Seeing that Qin Ming was determined, Wu Jiang could only say with some regret, “Very well then, Fellow Daoist Qin. I must return to the clan.”

“We’ll meet again tomorrow.”

With that, Wu Jiang and Mu Ruyin each summoned their flying artifacts, bade Qin Ming farewell, and departed.

Qin Ming looked down at an island below and urged his spiritual power downward.

Heavenly River Market was not Zhao family property, but rather a marketplace jointly established by the many Qi Refining families of the Lingsi Archipelago. These families exchanged goods here year-round, attracting many wandering cultivators from outside, and the market gradually grew in scale.

Heavenly River Market stood upon an island with a second-tier medium-grade spiritual vein.

The island covered more than ten thousand acres.

The market was bustling with life, already crowded with people.

Qin Ming controlled the Radiant Light Shuttle and descended.

“Fellow Daoist, this is your first time entering the market, so you need to pay two spirit stones,” said the guard at the market gate respectfully upon seeing Qin Ming, a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator.