"Once we climb to the top of Wolong Dam, we'll see Lingxu City."
Revisiting the old place after many years, Fu Shanyue pointed ahead with his riding whip, his tone tinged with nostalgia.
He had to channel his true power to speak; otherwise, the booming roar of water would drown out his voice so thoroughly that no one could hear him.
The party of over a hundred rode along the embankment flanking the Wolong River.
The mighty river surged forward, but upon entering a Z-shaped stretch of terrain, its channel narrowed sharply to just over a hundred and ten zhang across. The raging waters hurled themselves over a massive geological fault, plunging down a cataract of more than twenty zhang.
Seen from afar, the waterfall hung like a vast curtain.
Flanking the river, Wolong Dam was shrouded in mist at all hours. Even astride his bighorn rock sheep, He Lingchuan could feel the trembling vibrations as the fierce currents battered the dam.
The sun shone brilliantly overhead, casting two rainbows side by side across the water's surface.
This was Lingxu City's Welcoming Waterfall.
Whoever arrived here received an immediate humbling display, reminded first and foremost of their own insignificance.
Beijia's roads were ever broad and flat.
Without much effort, the company followed the sweeping crowd of travelers to the crest of Wolong Dam.
Even after hearing descriptions from Fu Shanyue and Shao Jian many times, catching his first glimpse of Lingxu City still left He Lingchuan shaken to the core.
*This is the world's greatest spiritual city?*
He almost thought he had stepped into the karst landscapes of Guilin. If it were a plain, countless strange peaks and bizarre rocks seemed to have been sliced clean off mountain summits by some invisible titanic force and transplanted onto flat earth. Craggy hillocks rose everywhere—some exquisite, some grotesque, some shaped like living beasts. One did not need to scale a towering summit to look down upon the lesser peaks and savor the dramatic scenery.
Yet if it were hills, the spaces between them were remarkably flat. Countless buildings sprang from the ground, and countless streams and rivers wound in meandering loops.
Since coming to this world, this was the first time He Lingchuan had seen an endless city.
Surrounding most city-states were farmlands, but here, as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but green groves and sprawling buildings.
It was also the first time He Lingchuan had seen a city without gates or walls.
As Bai Ziqi put it:
"Lingxu City has no need for protective walls."
If the earthly landscape still belonged to a normal city—merely grander in scale—what He Lingchuan saw when he looked up exceeded an ordinary person's comprehension:
Seven mountain peaks hovered suspended in the sky, varying in height and size.
The lowest hung a mere sixty or seventy zhang above the ground, while the highest was already nestled among the clouds.
Neither touching the heavens nor resting on the earth, each peak remained suspended, utterly motionless in midair. They were carpeted in lush verdure, draped with countless cascades and flowing springs.
Today, white clouds drifted from the gorges, meandering among the floating peaks.
Beside the verdant heights and clear waters, jade pavilions and jasper palaces stood half-revealed. Faint chimes and heavenly music frequently drifted down on the breeze to the mortal world.
Magnificent, majestic, mysterious—the immortal domains of antiquity could hardly have surpassed this.
He Lingchuan had brushed against death many times and possessed experience far beyond ordinary men, yet seeing this wondrous, ethereal spectacle still struck him with deep awe.
The other travelers were even more spellbound, gasps and murmurs of admiration rising continuously around them.
Fu Shanyue explained to He Lingchuan, "Those seven floating islands are collectively known as Upper Lingxu. The city on the ground before you is Lower Lingxu. The royal palace—the residence of the Demon Emperor—sits atop the highest floating island, Tianxin Island, and is called Lingxiao Palace."
As the mightiest sovereign in the mortal realm, he naturally looked down upon all living beings from on high.
He Lingchuan marveled, "If each island represents a heaven, the Emperor resides above the Seventh Heaven, looking down upon all splendor below."
Bai Ziqi smiled beside them. "Those words capture the Emperor's mind well."
"A spiritual city so divine and magnificent truly deserves to be called the finest under heaven." Flattery cost nothing, so He Lingchuan let it flow freely.
He had investigated its background: Lingxu City was built upon the ruins of the Dahuan Sect. In other words, this blessed spiritual realm had originally been the territory of immortals, later seized by Beijia. After several expansions, it had become the Upper and Lower Lingxu of today.
Lower Lingxu comprised a central main city flanked by four satellite cities, with a permanent population exceeding seven million.
Meanwhile, the seven floating islands of Upper Lingxu held fewer than nine thousand residents—though counting servants and attendants, the number reached two hundred thousand.
Even though he had already heard the answer from Shao Jian, He Lingchuan feigned ignorance and asked, "Emissary Bai, since the floating islands aren't connected to each other, how do residents travel between them?"
Before Bai Ziqi could answer, Fu Shanyue chuckled heartily. "Inside a magic artifact, travel is naturally a simple matter of course."
He had deliberately withheld this secret earlier, eager to see He Xiao look shocked. The fellow always wore an infuriatingly calm expression.
"A magic artifact?" He Lingchuan put on a suitably bewildered face.
Bai Ziqi explained patiently, "Upper Lingxu itself is a magic artifact!"
Beside them, Jiao Yu was already dumbfounded. He Lingchuan gasped, "These seven floating islands..."
"Indeed. The seven floating islands, along with Chikan Peak at the very center of Lower Lingxu, combine into a single, unified magic artifact. There is likely nothing comparable in this world." Unless seen with one's own eyes, anyone would find it hard to believe such a colossal artifact could exist.
Opening the eyes of these country bumpkins, Bai Ziqi could hardly suppress a note of pride in his voice. "The artifact contains an internal system. Between the ground and the floating islands, or from one floating island to another, people can be freely transported regardless of distance. It is known as the 'Jinghong Crossing.'"
Even though He Lingchuan had prepared himself mentally, he was still rendered speechless.
Any ordinary person would have been moved to worship.
In fact, turning his head, he could see many travelers who had crossed the dam kneeling along the roadside, murmuring prayers toward the floating islands in the sky and performing full prostrations.
He, at least, could not bring himself to do that; his knees were too stiff to bend.
After a long pause, he asked softly, "How many profound crystals does such an immense artifact consume each day?"
*That* was the real question! Maintaining a single golden-armored guard felt burdensome enough to him; a monstrous artifact like Upper Lingxu must devour enough energy each day to shame a gold-devouring beast into suicide.
Bai Ziqi chuckled. "The base of Upper Lingxu is made of Xuandou stone, an otherworldly substance that naturally floats in midair. It is recharged through other means, which you will hear about later. What truly consumes energy is the Jinghong Crossing. Depending on the volume of people and cargo passing through, it burns through at least five hundred jin of low-grade profound crystals a day, with no upper limit."
Lavish—utterly lavish.
Wasteful—damned wasteful!
He Lingchuan recalled the three profound crystals on his person, which he had risked his neck investigating a case to obtain from Fu Shanyue.
What a naive bumpkin he had been—he should have asked for far more back then! For the muddy waters he was wading into now, even three hundred wouldn't be too much.
Look at Sun Fuping: right up until he died in the Panlong Desert, his personal belongings contained only a few mid-grade profound crystals.
And he was the National Preceptor of an entire kingdom.
Who could imagine that Upper Lingxu burned through more than five hundred jin of low-grade profound crystals every single day, just to cover travel expenses?
Seeing the awe on his face, Fu Shanyue felt satisfied.
"Come, let's enter the city."
Bai Ziqi smiled without a word.
No matter how sharp and resolute this youth was, he hailed from a minor state after all. How could his horizons and experience compare to a true resident of Lingxu City?
Lingxu City appeared vast from a distance, but once inside, one felt like a drop of water lost in the sea, surrounded by an immense, boundless expanse.
The four satellite cities functioned as four major districts. After Bai Ziqi led his party in through the Nanli District, he waved farewell to Fu Shanyue.
He needed to escort the prisoners to the celestial prison and then rush north to Mount Xu to report on his mission before dark, leaving him on a very tight schedule. Fortunately, Duyun Emissaries had transportation arranged along their route, and a carriage drawn by bo beasts pulled up at that moment.
The prisoners were loaded into the carriage, while the Duyun Emissary and his subordinates mounted their steeds, vanishing in a cloud of dust in the blink of an eye.
He Lingchuan also noticed a pale gold plaque hanging from the neck of Bai Ziqi's mount, the spirit deer. Carriages and horses along the street hurriedly yielded way. Fu Shanyue explained that this was an "Express Transit Token" issued for official vehicles. Only holders of this token were permitted to gallop at full speed on Lower Lingxu's thoroughfares; otherwise, all main roads were subject to speed limits, and exceeding them brought fines.
Even in a satellite city, the main avenues were wide enough for eight carriages to drive abreast. Yet Lingxu City's traffic was so heavy that the main thoroughfares were packed with a ceaseless flow of horses and carts, leaving almost no room to spare. Without an Express Transit Token, everyone had to move in orderly procession.
He Lingchuan glanced at Fu Shanyue. "Don't tell me you don't have an Express Transit Token."
In the short time since entering the city, he had already seen two or three parties bearing Express Transit Tokens galloping down the main avenue, scattering the crowd in panic.
Those riders were all young noblemen in fine attire astride splendid steeds, surrounded by entourages of servants, laughing and shouting as they came and went—not looking like officials on business in the slightest.
Fu Shanyue chuckled, fetched a plaque from his storage ring, and hung it beneath his mount's neck. "Of course I have one! Giddyap!"
He Lingchuan shook his head. Without needing any urging, the bighorn rock sheep broke into a trot, following close behind Fu Shanyue through the flowing traffic.
A particular type of beast of burden dashed back and forth along the road:
White-tailed moose.
These were essentially giant moose with palmate antlers, standing nearly eight chi tall at the shoulder, with exceptionally developed back muscles.
He Lingchuan frequently saw pairs of white-tailed moose harnessed side by side, pulling long, specially built carriages fitted with rear tow hooks that could evidently attach additional cars.
Every few hundred zhang, a green wooden sign stood by the road, bearing place names written in white characters.
Beside these signs, plain-faced commoners often waited with dull expressions.
Whenever someone waited by a sign, the white-tailed moose would halt, letting passengers board. A single carriage could hold up to twenty-three people when full.
*Uh...* He Lingchuan watched, utterly astonished. *Isn't this just public transit?*
Pointing at the deer carriage, he asked, "Can anyone ride these?"
"As long as you pay the fare, though you have to squeeze in with strangers. One passes by roughly every quarter of an hour." Fu Shanyue glanced over, thoroughly accustomed to the sight. "It makes it convenient for laborers to go out and work. They leave early and return late."
The white-tailed moose carriages traveled along fixed routes without needing a driver. However, they only operated within the same city sector; anyone wishing to travel to the main city of Lingxu or other satellite cities had to transfer.
Dusk was approaching, and glancing around, He Lingchuan noticed that the deer carriages were mostly packed to capacity, with latecomers forced to squeeze together or stand.
Fortunately, the moose possessed immense strength and endurance, so an overload of a dozen or so passengers was trivial for them.
For a colossal city, public transportation was an essential pillar of urban planning. Without these deer carriages, how could working folk move easily across districts?
Seven million permanent residents, combined with countless transient travelers, constantly tested the carrying capacity of this great metropolis.
Chapter 547