Seeing both Zhu Bufan and Emperor Yan watching him, Huo Ling didn't know what to say for a moment and just shook his head, saying, "No, I don't know where this place is either, but I remember my grandfather once mentioned that there is a highly dangerous area beneath Divine Sword Peak, and he and some Elder Level figures referred to it as 'that place'."

"It must be it then," Emperor Yan sighed, "Indeed, I have suspected that we have never left the vicinity of Divine Sword Peak, it's just that my Spiritual Sense has been blocked, hence I couldn't conclude anything."

For a while, the three of them fell into silence; after a long time, it was Zhu Bufan who spoke first: "Since we're already here, let's take a look around."

The suggestion by Zhu Bufan was a solution in a situation where there was none; Emperor Yan went back to rest within Emperor Yan's Breaking Army, while Zhu Bufan and Huo Ling began wandering around this gigantic stone passageway.

The area here is unimaginably vast and constructed uniformly with bricks of the same size; these bricks were engraved with numerous demonic spirits, and with the dim lighting, it appeared quite eerie.

After circling the stone passageway a few times, Zhu Bufan and Huo Ling finally found the way out—not a real path, but a burst of Spiritual Energy gushing out like a fountain.

"Earth Vein Spiritual Energy," Seeing the steam-like substantial Spiritual Energy spurting out, Huo Ling exclaimed in surprise.

It turns out that this Earth Vein Spiritual Energy is also a type of Spiritual Spring, where, in the deep abyss, some Spiritual Energy flows like rivers, and perhaps in some places, there would be such small eruptions.

The most significant purpose of this type of Earth Vein Spiritual Energy is not to saturate the environment with dense Spiritual Energy like a Spiritual Spring typically does, since the amount of Spiritual Energy it emits is quite limited; however, Earth Vein Spiritual Energy has a very special effect.

"Now I finally understand why that demon had an Eight-direction Escape Talisman; so that's what it was." Seeing the Earth Vein Spiritual Energy, Zhu Bufan instantly realized why the demon had an Eight-direction Escape Talisman—because with it, one could escape along the flow of the Spiritual Energy using the talisman, so when Zhu Bufan saw the Earth Vein Spiritual Energy, he was relieved that he had not destroyed the talisman.

"Let's go." As Zhu Bufan extended his hand, he was still a bit worried Huo Ling might decline, but unexpectedly, Huo Ling calmly and indifferently held Zhu Bufan's hand, which secretly relieved Zhu Bufan and helped him understand that Huo Ling was not unreasonable.

Standing over the Earth Vein Spiritual Energy hand in hand, Zhu Bufan immediately took out the Eight-direction Escape Talisman; a burst of Primordial Qi inputed, and the talisman emitted a strong crystal-like glow.

The bright green light quickly covered both their bodies, a flash of intense light passed, and they vanished from the spot. When they regained their consciousness, they found themselves in a rural area.

Looking around, both Zhu Bufan and Huo Ling were puzzled; they saw plenty of plants, but Zhu Bufan really couldn't name them.

Looking up, they didn't see the sun or anything like that; between the sky, a layer of grey mist obscured their vision, and looking into the distance toward the horizon, they could see a ghostly silhouette of a city.

Similarly, Huo Ling clearly saw the dark shadow of the city in the distance; both of them looked puzzled. They had never heard of a city existing within the Divine Moon Spiritual Realm. In fact, from the surrounding environment, it seemed no longer part of the Divine Moon Spiritual Realm, but exactly where was hard to determine.

"Let's go into the city and ask around to find out what this place is." With neither of them having any clues, Huo Ling suggested to check out the city. Hearing Huo Ling's suggestion, Zhu Bufan nodded, and both of them swiftly flew toward the direction of the city's dark shadow.

Deploying their speed, only trails of their afterimages remained in the void; whether Zhu Bufan's full-powered Thunderbolt Step or Huo Ling's Riding the Waves, their speed was incredibly exaggerated. Soon, they could clearly see the outline of the city.

As the city appeared larger and closer, Zhu Bufan and Huo Ling could hardly suppress their astonishment, because the city in front of them was truly bizarre.

Seeing the massive city walls, around four to five zhang high, the stones used in building the city were ink-black, making the entire city seem as though it would absorb all the light, possessing an eerie atmosphere.

"Not right." Upon seeing the entirety of the city, Huo Ling quietly said: "When I was a child, I went down the mountain to Tianfeng Empire with my grandfather. The cities there, whether in architectural style or materials, were different from this one. Have we even left the borders of the Tianfeng Empire?"

"Oh? You've seen the cities below the mountain before?" Huo Ling's words drew all of Zhu Bufan's attention, since if that were the case, things would indeed be a bit odd. Leaving the Divine Moon Spiritual Realm and leaving the Tianfeng Empire were two different matters, after all the Divine Moon Spiritual Realm was only part of the territory of the Tianfeng Empire!

"Yes, although we only went to Baiyun City in the Tianfeng Empire, the cities in the Tianfeng Empire are different from this one." With a firm nod, Huo Ling continued.

During their conversation, they had approached the city gates. There, at the city entrance, four soldiers clad in full black armor, wielding black jade long spears, were standing guard outside the gate, while many people were coming and going, a bustling scene.

Looking at each other, both of them slowed their steps, seeing the bustling gate, Zhu Bufan and Huo Ling joined the crowd waiting to enter the city.

"Halt! Pass token!" When it was Zhu Bufan and Huo Ling's turn, the gatekeeper soldier suddenly blocked their way and after giving them a quick once-over, said: "You two are unfamiliar, where did you come from?"

"We are disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect." Hearing the cold, emotionless question from the Black Armor soldier, Huo Ling slightly furrowed his brows and responded.

"Heavenly Sword Sect?" Upon hearing Huo Ling's words, the Black Armor soldier displayed a mocking smile, but quickly restrained it and then said: "No matter which sect you come from, if you want to enter Heiyan City, you need a pass token from Heiyan City."

"How then can one obtain the token?" Seeing that the Black Armor soldier though arrogant, only blocked their path without resorting to violence, Zhu Bufan also furrowed his brows and patiently inquired, knowing it was wise to endure since they were unfamiliar with this place.

"Jade!" Without any hesitation, the Black Armor Leader said: "Just give us jade, and you can get the token. Of course, not just any ordinary jade, it has to be graded jade." After speaking, the Black Armor Leader cast a disdainful glance at Zhu Bufan, clearly implying that someone as young as him couldn't possibly produce anything of value.

Mocked by the Black Armor Leader's gaze, Zhu Bufan felt inward fury. Since joining the Heavenly Sword Sect, Zhu Bufan had endured these types of scornful eyes for ten years, and whenever he encountered such looks, his anger flared. If not for the unclear situation now, he would have already taught this man a lesson.

"Will this do?" Zhu Bufan took out a fist-sized Purple Essence Jade that sparkled with purple brilliance in his hand. Seeing the Purple Essence Jade in Zhu Bufan's hand, the Black Armor Leader's eyes burst with undeniable greed, and the other three city guards also appeared equally avaricious.

"Let me verify its authenticity first." The moment his greedy eyes appeared, the Black Armor Leader reached out to grab the Purple Essence Jade from Zhu Bufan's hand, but Zhu Bufan quickly grasped the leader's hand.

"You!" Feeling his hand gripped as if clamped by an iron vise, the Black Armor Leader's face revealed an angry expression. However, it quickly turned from an angry red to a purplish hue, and then to a deathly pale, as he felt the overwhelming power in Zhu Bufan's hand, which far exceeded his capacity to endure, sending throbbing pain into his mind, making him break out in a cold sweat.

Seeing that their leader's complexion was off, the other three Black Armor soldiers finally reacted, lifting their black jade long spears and rushing toward Zhu Bufan.

"Scram!" A wave of fire in a semi-circle erupted around Zhu Bufan, the dark green Poison Fire containing a high temperature blast, instantly knocked all the attacking soldiers to the ground. Seeing Zhu Bufan deploy the Poison Fire, the Black Armor Leader's pupils shrank to the size of pinheads. However, due to the pain, he could only groan without being able to speak. Those soldiers, who hadn't even entered the Body Refining Realm and barely counted as cultivators, would have turned to dust had Zhu Bufan not shown restraint.

"Real or fake jade can be identified from a distance by observing its color, brilliance, and the contained spiritual energy." After knocking the three Black Armor soldiers to the ground, Zhu Bufan suddenly seemed to start chatting idly to the Black Armor Leader: "Of course, there is a lot to it. Do you want me to 'personally' teach you how to recognize jade? After all, if you always need to personally verify it like this, people would really doubt your familiarity with jade."

Hearing this, both Huo Ling and the onlookers understood that Zhu Bufan was not just chatting idly but was actually taunting this man. Seeing his nearly deathly pale face, one could imagine his current condition.

"I dare not—no—dare not ask for the gentleman's teaching, just—just the gentleman's cultivation level—can waive the entry—fee—" Enduring the excruciating pain, the Black Armor Leader spoke in a trembling voice; he didn't dare to speak loudly, for he knew that doing so would only make Zhu Bufan make his pain even more unbearable, and soundless.

"Oh? So you mean, I don't need to give you the jade?" Zhu Bufan squinted slightly, seeking confirmation again, and only after the Black Armor Leader nodded desperately and produced two pass tokens, did Zhu Bufan slowly release his hand, saying: "This captain's loyalty to his duty is admirable. Let's go." After speaking, Zhu Bufan took the lead and walked into the city gate.

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