Two months after, the government buildings looked completely different, it was like a new small city was built within the city of Yangzhou.
The government area was much bigger than before. There were palaces, pavilions and even a castle within the area. It looked majestic and it gave the feeling of power and military might.
Besides, it seemed like it was still not complete. They hadn’t constructed any ramparts yet as they were still expanding outwards and reconstructing.
Apart from the Chi Xie troops who were constructing things, within the government area, there were other people as well. There were some people who had been hired to help and some others who were working as volunteers.
At that moment in Yangzhou City, everybody wanted to go to the government area and were happy to do some manual labour because there was an incredible quant.i.ty of pure Qi that seemed to be gathered there, which meant that it was an extremely beneficial place for cultivators.
On the path of cultivation, the pure Qi of heaven and earth could alter bones, flesh, blood, and improve cultivation. A cultivator would have never refuse a environment rich in pure Qi.
Besides, in Yangzhou City, there weren’t many people who had purity stones. Those who practiced cultivation using purity stones lived a life of luxury. Ordinary people could only absorb the pure Qi of heaven and earth which was present in the atmosphere. However, these days, the government area was filled with pure Qi in which the manual workers could bathe all day while working. Then, in the evening, they could practice cultivation in the outer area.
The government area was already divided into an inner-government area and an outer area. The inner-government area could be accessed only by Chi Xie soldiers, the core members of the government, it was strictly prohibited for other people to enter it. If someone tried to enter it, they would be executed on the spot.
At that moment, some silhouettes were pa.s.sing through the door of which led from the inner-government area to the outer area. They were Chi Xie troops galloping at full speed while creating a hurricane of dust. In a flash, they had left.
“Officer Lin Feng is such a heroic and majestic young man.”
“Indeed, as he’s as young as the rumors said. It’s such an honour to be able to see Officer Lin Feng.”
Outside, there was a lively crowd who saw the Chi Xie horses pa.s.s by. Their eyes were alight with excitement. These days, in Yangzhou City, Lin Feng had become a legend, a myth. His name was on everybody’s lips. Seeing Lin Feng was, for them, an honour. Besides, even though Lin Feng was the Marquis of Yangzhou, they liked to call him “Officer Lin Feng” even more.
The term “officer” was majestic and imposing, it perfectly corresponded with Lin Feng’s status.
“By the way, have you ever seen the officer’s girlfriend? She wears a fine veil just like a celestial being.”
“Of course I have seen her. Even though we can’t see her face, I can guess that she’s an exceptional woman. The officer couldn’t be with a girl who doesn’t match him. They definitely suit each other.”
People were making various comments. At that moment, Lin Feng’s horse had already rushed past.
“Meng Qing, everybody is saying that you are my girlfriend.” said Lin Feng on his horse while glancing at Meng Qing who was galloping next to him. Lin Feng was smiling, he had clearly heard what these people were saying.
Meng Qing glanced at Lin Feng but didn’t say anything. But Lin Feng kept smiling wholeheartedly. In the past, Meng Qing used to be ice-cold and expressionless. These days, she was at least looking at him which could be considered as an improvement.
A group of Chi Xie horses were leaving the government area, and then immediately they left Yangzhou City as well, galloping towards an ancient road.
…………
Celestial River was an ancient city with a history which dated back to millions of years.
That majestic ancient city, even though it had gone through the challenges of time, still had the atmosphere of an ancient city. At the entrance gate, there was an incredibly artistic ferocious beast carved into the stone. It was a legendary wild beast, a Phoenix. There was fire was burning on the back of its wings. That beast was filled with ancient Qi.
Celestial River also had another nickname: Phoenix City.
Celestial River was situated in the middle of the Xue Yue Country. It was surrounded by what seemed to be an endless desert. When one stretched one’s eyes as far as one could see, there was nothing but yellow sand. However, that geographical position didn’t affect the development of the city which was a huge trading center, one of the biggest in Xue Yue. The city was filled with flouris.h.i.+ng businesses of all sorts, including fields of real estate and different trade industries.
Local people were very rare. Since the beginning of time, Celestial River had been a city in which people came to carry out transactions and find the objects they desired the most. With time, the local population had almost gone extinct and most of the population was businesses.
There was a saying in Xue Yue which said: “If you need something, you will find it at Celestial River.”
In Celestial River, the average quant.i.ty of extremely strong cultivators was also higher than the national average to the extent that it had some of the strongest cultivators of the country. Those who didn’t have a high cultivation were embarra.s.sed to go there, considering they would encounter strong cultivators on frequent occasions.
On the street, when a person saw another unknown cultivator, maybe he was a cultivator of the Ling Qi layer or even of the Xuan Qi layer. That contributed to making the city even more appealing.
At that moment, outside of Celestial River, a group of Chi Xie horses were galloping on the yellow sand surrounded by a cloud of yellow dust. They were galloping towards Celestial River. That group was composed of only three people, Lin Feng and two others.
Lin Feng and Meng Qing were galloping at the front and Ba Dao, who was wearing a mask and following them. These days, Ba Dao seemed introverted. He was also able to better control his aggressiveness and his temper.
“Meng Qing, Celestial River carries out very liberal politics, you can enter as you wish. However, inside, it can be perilous, people are cruel and merciless. A person should not hide their presence or they may be attacked by others.” said Lin Feng to Meng Qing. Meng Qing’s lifestyle used to be completely different so Lin Feng was doing his best to tell her as many things as possible.
“Alright.” said Meng Qing while slightly nodding. Lin Feng turned his head and looked in front of him. Coming from the left, two armored horses were rus.h.i.+ng into the city before them.
“Two cultivators of the ninth Ling Qi layer.” whispered Ba Dao behind Lin Feng and Meng Qing. Lin Feng was stupefied. As expected, the rumors about Celestial River were true.
At that moment, they were rus.h.i.+ng through the yellow desert, then arrived on a road made of bluestone leading towards the city gate.
But at the same time, two silhouettes descended from the air landing under the Phoenix City gate blocking their way.
Lin Feng, Ba Dao and Meng Qing reined in their horses which started trotting and eventually came to a stop.
They looked at the two silhouettes who were in front of them. They were two men, who were about thirty years old. One of them looked ice-cold and dark while the other had an evil smile on his face. These people were definitely not here with good intentions.
“What do you want?” said Lin Feng sounding cold.
“Every person who wishes to enter the city must pay a fee of ten purity stones of medium quality which means that you three have to pay thirty purity stones in total. Three hundred purity stones of lower quality would be fine as well.” said the one who was smiling evilly.
Lin Feng frowned.
“Celestial River is the city of freedom, you can enter and leave as you wish. Since when do you have to pay a tax? Besides, even if there was a tax, why would I give it to you?” said Lin Feng sounding detached.
“Because I say so. So no need to speak nonsense.” said the evil looking person furiously when he heard Lin Feng.
Lin Feng’s facial expression turned ice-cold. A moment ago, two people had entered the city and these two didn’t stop them. When they arrived, these people came down. They most probably thought that they were weak.
As expected, Celestial River was a heaven for strong cultivators and h.e.l.l for weak ones.
“What if I don’t give you anything?” said Lin Feng sounding indifferent.
“If you don’t give me anything?” said the man with the evil smile. Even though Celestial River was full of extremely strong cultivators, not all of them were strong. Lin Feng was very young and had high natural talent but how strong could young cultivators be when compared to their elders? Young people like Lin Feng were the favourite targets of these two men.
They were always stationed above the city gate and stealing purity stones. It was extremely easy to get purity stones because people who came to Celestial River often had all their money to purchase goods.
“If you don’t give it, you will die!” said the one with the evil smile on his face. He released some deadly Qi.
“Sacrificing three lives for thirty purity stones of medium quality, are you sure that it is the right decision?” asked the one with the evil smile. His Qi was getting denser and denser.
“No need, I’m sure.” said Lin Feng while turning around and moving his horse forwards. These two men smiled coldly and said: “Do you think that you can just leave like that?”
But at the moment they finished talking, Ba Dao rushed over to them releasing a terrifying Qi. At that moment, Ba Dao’s Qi turned into blade energy, it was extremely sharp and ice-cold.
At that moment, these two men’s facial expressions changed drastically. His blade Qi was extremely powerful, there was also blade force. Besides, that Qi had the force was at the seventh Qi layer, which was the same level as theirs.
“Die!” said Ba Dao. In these two men’s eyes, an expression of hopelessness appeared. A bright, resplendent and dazzling light cut through the air and removed their heads from their body.
Ba Dao remained expressionless.
“Let’s go.” said Lin Feng and the three people entered Celestial River.
At that moment, in the distance, there were a few silhouettes, two boys and one girl. When they saw these two heads fly away, they took a deep breath.
“What a strong and powerful blade!” said the girl in a low voice. These three people had arrived in Celestial River earlier but because of these two people, they hadn’t dared enter the city and were trying to hide in the distance. Ba Dao had immediately killed the two men.
“Who’s the person who’s wearing the mask? He should already be a master of blade force. I heard that the second core disciple of the Hao Yue Clan, the Blademaster, was also coming to Celestial River, could that be him?” whispered the girl. The two boys on her side said: “If he is the Blademaster, who are the two others?”
The young girl shook her head indicating that she didn’t know either. Immediately after, these three people entered Celestial River.