Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Ye Futian and his group settled down in a tavern upon entering Wangdu. The taverns of Wangdu were as luxurious as palaces, and they were extremely comfortable. Although practitioners could technically live without eating, drinking, or sleeping, they couldn’t travel non-stop without limit. Furthermore, many needed to cultivate, so a place to stay was necessary.
The palace was located right at the top of a beautiful mountain peak. Around the mountaintop, various other palaces were scattered around. There was order within the disordered arrangement, and the scenery was stunning, and it was tranquil, so certainly, it was a very suitable place to cultivate.
Of course, this mountain located right at the center of Wangdu was not a natural structure; rather, it was manmade.
Ye Futian walked to the edge of the palace. He was on the face of the mountain, and the entirety of the prosperous ancient city was in his view. This was likely the most prosperous city that he had ever visited; even the Original Realm’s largest city could not begin to compare to this.
“Shall we take a walk outside?” Lin Qiu asked as he stopped beside Ye Futian. They had become more familiar with each other on their journey, especially after having bonded over wine.
“Sure,” Ye Futian replied. Lin Qiu looked towards the people behind him and asked, “Since everyone has followed the Alchemy Emperor all the way here from the Taiyuan Continent, why don’t we go out for a stroll and take in the view of Wangdu?”
They had been cultivating in the Dragon Submission Mountain Range of the Dongxiao Continent all this while, so they had certainly visited Wangdu more than once before. They would more or less be familiar with this place.
The Alchemy Emperor had also visited Wangdu a couple of times before, and it was because of his journey here that he got to know the villa lords of the Dragon Submission Villa. Actually, most of those at the pinnacle of Renhuang-level cultivation in this continent tile knew each other. After all, there weren’t that many people who had attained such an advanced level of cultivation.
“Sure,” everyone nodded. Even though the Alchemy Emperor had been to Wangdu several times, it was the first time that the youths from the Tower of the Alchemy Emperor visited this place. They all wanted to explore this city with countless of years of history, this ancient city that slowly became the top city in the entire Dongxiao Continent.
“Let’s go,” Lin Qiu walked to the black dragon and climbed on its back. The dragon instantly let out a mighty roar and flew straight forward. The others also followed closely behind, traversing on air. However, they all kept their altitude to a minimum to more clearly take in the sights of Wangdu.
Ye Futian and Xia Qingyuan stood on Little Condor’s back. The wind blew straight at them, and their long robes fluttered behind them. They were casually taking a tour of the place, so they weren’t flying very quickly.
“Where do you all want to go? I know this place a little. I can show you around,” Lin Qiu said as he looked at the people traveling in the air beside him.
“Nah, we don’t have anywhere particular in mind. Let’s take a stroll,” replied a follower of the Alchemy Emperor.
“Alright, then let’s do that,” Lin Qiu nodded and began to lead the group at the front. A short while later, they saw an extensive infrastructure in front of them. In it, many virtuosos were gathered, and it was very crowded. There were viewing platforms at the top of the infrastructure, and there were quite a few people seated there, watching what seemed to be an ongoing battle.
“What’s that place over there?” Ye Futian asked.
“That is the Heavenly Battle Palace,” Lin Qiu replied. “It’s a place where people pit their skills of the Path against each other. Every day, countless practitioners will head here to battle others, and with time, this place has become a pretty renowned place in Wangdu. Mostly, Saint-level practitioners would spar with each other. Once in a while, there will be Renhuangs too.”
Ye Futian nodded his head. Practitioners all loved to battle. Back in Emperor Xia’s Realm, there was also a Jiutian Temple, which was also a sacred sparring ground. Having encountered a very similar place here was thus no surprise. Furthermore, the people sparring were all a lot stronger. Any random person he picked out in the grounds was likely to have attained the Saint-level, and there were even Renhuang virtuosos partaking in sparring.
“Do you want to take a look?” Lin Qiu asked.
“Ah, there’s no need,” Ye Futian replied. Having been through countless fights himself, he was not very interested in this.
“Okay.” Lin Qiu continued forward. They passed by several different places. One of them had stairs that rose tens of thousands of feet into the heavens. At the top, there was an ethereal aura of deities. Lin Qiu looked in that direction and explained, “This is the Goddess Peak. The goddesses in the goddesses residing there all have extremely high cultivation levels. This faction was founded by a very powerful person. In Wangdu, many practitioners fantasize about the goddesses from this Goddess Peak.”
“How many top-tier factions with a similar level of power are there in Wangdu?” Ye Futian asked curiously. The Penglai Continent had several such powerful factions, and needless to say, the Dongxiao Continent certainly had numerous. However, he was curious how many such factions are there in this one main city Wangdu.
“I have not actually explicitly tried to count before, but according to what I know, the number stands between twenty to thirty,” Lin Qiu said nonchalantly. Ye Futian felt a ripple course through his heart.
“That’s nothing to be surprised of, actually. Considering the prestige of Wangdu in the entire Donghua Domain, virtuosos from countless continents would gather here, and naturally, many powerful factions will be formed. Furthermore, this is the strength of this city even after the collapse of the Heavenly Path. It is said that before the catastrophe, there were numerous Tianshen-level figures. I can’t imagine just how that period was like,” Lin Qiu said.
Ye Futian nodded his head. Cultivating was difficult, but the number of humans in the world was massive and limitless. Even if the rate of success was extremely small, powerful figures could still emerge. As time passed, practitioners also grew stronger, and top-tier Renhuangs would also become more numerous.
Furthermore, once anyone got to this level, as long as they were a little careful, they would also not die easily.
The group continued forward. In the air, people were traveling in mid-air continuously, and they were all virtuosos at various levels of cultivation. They noticed that at that moment, several people were all headed in a certain direction. It seemed like something had happened.
“Let’s go take a look,” Lin Qiu said, and then instantly moved in that direction. They noticed that below them, many virtuosos were heading in the same direction, gathering in a certain spot. They saw that structure after structure had been built into the ancient mountain in that area, looking very majestic.
At that moment, many practitioners were gathered in front of the ancient mountain. Some were floating in mid-air, while others were standing on the ground, looking at the sight in front of them.
“This… is this alchemy?” Ye Futian let out an expression of surprise. A strong fragrance of elixir wafted out from there. At the front of the ancient mountain, many people were refining elixirs. A hot aura permeated the air around them, shrouding the vast space.
“This is the Alchemy Divine Palace, the sacred ground of alchemy in Wangdu,” Lin Qiu said as he looked at the people beside him, who were all alchemists too. It was sheer coincidence that they had arrived here. He did not intentionally bring them here but rather was merely following the flow of people.
A number of them glanced at Lin Qiu. It was obvious that they doubted that it was sheer coincidence. However, Ye Futian did not think too much about it. They moved closer to the outer circle to observe and saw many practitioners refining elixirs. Furthermore, all of the alchemists were Renhuang-level figures.
“What are they doing?” Ye Futian asked. “Shouldn’t alchemists be practicing their craft quietly in alchemy towers? These were Renhuang alchemists they were talking about; why would they be refining elixirs in public?” Ye Futian thought quizzically.
Naturally, they were not doing this to show off their abilities.
“This should be the alchemy convention organized by the Alchemy Divine Palace. These people are most likely alchemy grandmasters from various places. Alchemy grandmasters are rare in the world of cultivation. The Alchemy Divine Palace could be considered the top sacred ground of alchemy in the Dongxiao Continent. Back when the Supreme Deity Donglai was still alive, no one could compare to the Penglai Eastern Deity Island. However, ever since he passed away, the Alchemy Divine Palace had been pushing for itself to be recognized as the authority of alchemy. They have ambitions to become the most powerful alchemy faction in the Donghua Domain,” a follower of the Alchemy Emperor explained to Ye Futian. He was a disciple of the Alchemy Emperor, and so he knew a little about the world of alchemy.
The Alchemy Divine Palace had become extremely renowned. As an alchemist himself, he naturally knew about it, and in fact, knew quite a bit about this faction.
Ye Futian nodded his head. No wonder there were so many practitioners and virtuosos gathered here. All practitioners wanted to make acquaintances with alchemy grandmasters. Since there was an alchemy convention being held here, naturally many people did not want to miss the opportunity and had all come here.
“How are their alchemy abilities?” Lin Qiu looked at Ye Futian and asked with a little curiosity. He guessed that Ye Futian was a disciple of the Alchemy Emperor’s junior, and if he was right, then Ye Futian should also be an alchemist.
The people beside him also glanced at Ye Futian. Lin Qiu did not know that Ye Futian was the heir of the Supreme Deity Penglai that he just mentioned. They were also very curious about Ye Futian’s alchemy abilities. He claimed to be only a beginner and was not really well-versed in alchemy. They didn’t know just how much of it was true.
Ye Futian looked in that direction and said, “Not too bad. They can all refine elixirs of the same level as their own cultivation level, so they are eligible alchemists.”
An alchemist could be considered average if he could refine elixirs of the same level as their own cultivation. As their cultivation increased, their alchemy abilities would also increase. Alchemists who could refine elixirs that had a higher level than their own were considered genius alchemists.
As for those who could refine elixirs that had levels that were way above their own cultivation, they would be considered inhumanely prodigious.
Prodigies like Ye Futian were not common at all. Furthermore, his combat abilities far surpassed his cultivation level as well.
“That’s a cocky tone,” someone nearby commented as he glanced at Ye Futian. The alchemists who could participate in the alchemy convention were all very skilled. Yet, Ye Futian’s judgment was that they were only “not bad” and could pass as alchemists.
Just barely eligible alchemists? the person thought.
“Do you also know how to refine elixirs?” someone else asked.
“A little.” Ye Futian was not too bothered by them. He nodded as he smiled lightly!
