Living in the Capital City is no easy feat.

This seems to apply in any time and space.

Similarly, in this world where demons and evil spirits run rampant, the Capital City naturally also gathers the most cultivators, with all sorts of schools and factions, full of variety.

Those who are less successful gather in the city, either being subjugated by various forces or wandering the mortal world. Those who become renowned, however, establish temples and shrines in the outskirts of the city.

Thus, Zhang Kui trudged through the snow and wind, often seeing Taoist temples and monasteries, either hidden in the mountains or perched on hills.

Before long, he saw dense pine and cypress forests, and at a fork in the road, a stone pill furnace covered in snow. Turning a corner, he saw an ancient Taoist temple, with a sign that read "Jade Flower Temple."

A small Taoist Child at the entrance was diligently shoveling snow, his face and hands red from the cold.

Upon seeing Zhang Kui's stature, the Taoist Child was momentarily stunned, then quickly saluted, "This... Dao brother, what brings you here?"

Zhang Kui laughed heartily,

"I am Zhang Kui, here to visit by appointment with Elder Huayan."

Saying this, he took out the badge given by Elder Huayan.

The Taoist Child, upon seeing the badge, was startled and stammered, "Dao brother, please wait, I... I will go inform my senior brother."

With that, he dropped the shovel and ran into the temple.

Soon, the Taoist Child came running back out, "Senior brother is currently exorcising spirits, sorry for the delay, Dao brother, please come in."

Zhang Kui nodded, dismissed his companion, and followed the Taoist Child into the main hall of the temple.

In the center of the hall lay a fat man in fur-trimmed clothes, presumably from a wealthy family, with several servants in blue clothes watching nervously nearby.

A dull-looking, black-faced Daoist was squatting down, grabbing around the fat man's ear with his right hand and surprisingly pulling out a thumb-sized little person.

The small figure was naked, with red beard and fangs, struggling and screaming, "Let me go, let me go, Cheng Henian, why don't you just die?"

The fat man sat up in fright, "That's the voice, that's the voice, it's always urging me to die, calling during the day and shouting at night."

The black-faced Daoist pinched the little figure, which turned into yin qi and disappeared, speaking monotone:

"This is an Ear Demon, often spawned in ditches, skillful in beguiling the mind. If you listened to it and committed suicide, it would drain your brain's essence."

The fat man, pale-faced, thanked repeatedly and left behind some silver before departing.

Zhang Kui watched with interest, remarking that indeed, business comes right to your door in the Capital City.

Afterward, the black-faced Daoist greeted him, "Taoist Friend Zhang, my master mentioned you. He went to the Capital City yesterday and should be back soon, please wait a moment."

After speaking, without introducing himself, he hurried outside, muttering to himself, "Forty-eight days, gotta be careful today..."

The Taoist Child brought in tea, saying respectfully:

"Senior brother is busy with alchemy, he's been absent-minded these two days, Dao brother, please forgive him."

Zhang Kui smiled slightly, unconcerned, sipping tea as he quietly waited.

Just now, he noticed a purple mist gathering and not dispersing in the back courtyard, confirming they were indeed practicing alchemy, part of the Outer Pill sect.

But from the pill furnace styles he had seen along the way, they were vastly different from the one he sought.

Whether it be the Golden Stone Pill from "Stone Boiling Skill" or the Herb Pill from "Eating Skill," the system suggested the best pill furnace choice—the Eight Trigrams Furnace.

Indeed, it was the Eight Trigrams Furnace of Tai Shang Laojun.

The Two Elements, Four Symbols, and Eight Trigrams transform all things under heaven, not only preventing pill energy leakage like the furnace in the back courtyard but also capable of refining magical treasures.

The Eight Trigrams Furnace is so powerful, yet difficult to create, not just due to the scarcity of materials, but especially because of the furnace fire.

Like the furnace of Tai Shang Laojun, made from Innate Divine Objects, and containing the terrifying Six Ding Divine Fire.

The power of the Six Ding Divine Fire is such that when it fell to the mortal world, it transformed into the ever-burning Flame Mountain, and Red Boy even practiced Samadhi True Fire from it.

Zhang Kui couldn't dream of obtaining such a furnace, a simplified version would suffice, but the key was the furnace fire...

As he pondered, a vigorous, aged voice suddenly rang out from outside the door.

"Haha, young friend, you've done good deeds in Qingzhou!"

With that, Elder Huayan walked in, laughing heartily...

Meanwhile,

Fatty Tiger carried Dong'Er to the outskirts of Haojing City within a short time.

As expected of the Capital City, the citizens along the way, though startled by Fatty Tiger, only avoided him without shouting "demon" and fleeing in terror.

But the city guards wouldn't let them off.

"Stop!"

Several fully armored guards immediately surrounded them, with a few crossbow beds appearing on the city walls, all aiming at Fatty Tiger.

Feeling the terrifying aura from the crossbow beds, Fatty Tiger shrunk his head, too scared to move.

Li Dong'Er, also a bit flustered, smiled awkwardly,

"Everyone, I am a Cultivator from the Beast Taming Sect, this is my tamed beast."

The city guards stared at her for a while, glanced at the bronze bell on Fatty Tiger's neck, and their expressions finally eased a bit.

"The people from the Astronomical Bureau are over there, you need to register for a Hand Guide, and if you don't leave before dark, you must register again."

"Thank you, thank you."

Dong'Er and Fatty Tiger both breathed a sigh of relief.

The process was quite simple, and they immediately entered the city once it was completed.

A bustling scene unfolded before their eyes.

The wide avenue, enough for ten carriages to pass side by side, was teeming with people, peddlers, traders from alien races, and officials in sedan chairs... all sorts of people coming and going.

Shop signs lined the streets, with shop assistants calling out and drunken wanderers being kicked out...

Unfortunately, Fatty Tiger had no interest in these, his nose sniffing wildly in the air.

"Girl, where are we going?"

"Xinghua Square, the food there is the most delicious!"

Despite being a six or seven-meter-long ferocious tiger, everyone avoided them. They crossed one arched bridge after another and quickly arrived at their destination.

Xinghua Square was indeed bustling.

Families with children laughed and chatted, small braids of children sat on their fathers' shoulders, eating candied hawthorn in big bites.

Street performers showed off fire-breathing and spear tricks, entertained monkeys and dogs, drawing loud applause at exciting moments.

Of course, the most important were the various food stalls and tea shops along the street, overwhelming in number and tempting in aroma.

"These kebabs are good, give me two hundred..."

"How did you roast this pig to look so shiny, I'll take one..."

"And this one, girl, I want to eat this..."

Fatty Tiger felt like he was in heaven, constantly devouring food, his eyes squinting with joy.

Seeing such a mighty tiger talking like a demon, despite having met people from the Beast Taming Sect, the surrounding diners were still somewhat afraid.

Thus, the pair, human and tiger, stood out noticeably.

Suddenly, the street fell silent.

At the other end of the street came another ferocious beast, white with black stripes, strutting confidently—a majestic white tiger.

A young girl in white, with skin like jade, an elegant demeanor, and eyes shining like stars, sat on the white tiger, accompanied by a group of strong armed retainers.

"Princess, look!"

One of the retainers suddenly pointed at Fatty Tiger.

"Mm, I see..."

The girl flashed a hint of disdain in her eyes, "Just a demon tiger, so clumsy and fat, how could it compare to Yunxin?"

The white tiger lifted its head proudly, speaking with a woman's voice, "Princess, this place is filthy, we should move on quickly."

The girl, addressed as a princess, nodded,

"Indeed, Sister Helian rarely visits the Capital City, let's not keep her waiting."

Saying this, she rode the white tiger towards an elegant three-story building.

Meanwhile, Dong'Er also noticed, excitedly tugging at Fatty Tiger and pointing, "Fatty Tiger, look, it's a white tiger, so beautiful!"

Fatty Tiger, chewing on a lamb chop,

"Mm, I see it, it's a female."

Dong'Er blinked, "Doesn't it excite you?"

"Hmph!"

Fatty Tiger snorted in disdain, "It's sickly, its offspring would be weak, I'm not interested at all."

Dong'Er was taken aback,

"Then what do you like?"

"It has to be robust..."

Just then, Fatty Tiger suddenly sniffed the air,

"What's that strange smell?"

As soon as he finished speaking, an alien race man with sunken eyes and brown hair suddenly knelt on the ground in the crowd, his eyes rolling back, body convulsing.

Suddenly, he looked up abruptly, his body exploding with a bang, a swarm of dark insects spreading like a tide toward the surrounding crowd...

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