Immortal Road.

This person's cultivation was restrained, but he didn't deliberately hide it. He was also a Void Realm cultivator, otherwise he wouldn't have spoken to Lin Shan. Moreover, there were quite a few Void Realm cultivators on the road. In a prosperous place like Yunzhou, without special privileges, everyone had to obediently accept restraint.

Hearing that Lin Shan was new to the area, and since I had nothing else to do, I enthusiastically introduced him to the local situation.

"Fellow Daoist, you've come at a good time. The Yunzhou Grand Gathering is held once every thousand years. It is a special commemorative festival established to remember when the monsters caused chaos and Immortal Yunyan stepped forward to save the people of the region from disaster."

"During this period, various immortal cities will hold events of all kinds and categories. Not to mention tea parties and auctions, alchemy competitions, weapon crafting competitions, formation demonstrations, and treasure appraisal competitions will attract huge crowds. There will also be popular competitions such as beast taming and horse racing, fishing and making friends, and farming in the herb garden."

"Even major shops will stock up on rare and precious items on a large scale according to the anniversary celebration. In order to compete for prices in the business war, various forces will also jointly hold sect competitions and immortal martial arts tournaments. Elite disciples from many factions will compete on the same stage, staging one fierce battle after another. The betting odds outside are going crazy!"

"There's much more that I can't go into detail about. If you're interested, I happen to be participating, and I can take you into town to have a look."

"Oh? It's so lively?"

Lin Shan's heart skipped a beat!

Since I was unfamiliar with the area, it would be good to have a local expert as a guide and learn something from him.

"May I ask your surname, sir?"

"My surname is Jin. Our cultivation levels are equal, so you can just call me Jin Chi."

They're both at the Void Refinement stage, so there's nothing wrong with them addressing each other as peers.

"I am Xing Shuzi. Thank you for your help, Fellow Daoist Jin."

When you first arrive in a new place, you must be vigilant. Changing your identity in each place is an experience he has gained over the years of traveling around the country, so as to avoid being traced by someone with ulterior motives.

During this period, he achieved great success in star cultivation. His cultivation techniques, secret arts, and inheritances all originated from Xing Shuzi. It can be said that he is highly similar to that guy, so it is not too much to impersonate him. After all, he still owes me the final payment!
That's right, Lin Shan is petty and still holds a grudge about something that happened ten years ago.

"Hehe, Fellow Daoist Xing, watch the road. The path ahead is clear. Let's go over there first."

During the speech, the monks on duty at the intersection let people pass, and those on either side stopped to wait, allowing for smooth flow of people in front and behind.

Everyone stood up, and the spirit birds beneath them stopped preening their feathers and flew across the intersection one by one. The old Taoist Jinchi rode his white crane and flew over, blending into the crowd in an orderly fashion.

Lin Shan also continued straight along his own path, not daring to overstep the bounds in the slightest. It seemed that the air traffic control in Yunzhou was quite strict, as no one was seen violating the rules.

Half an hour later, after being stuck in traffic for a long time, they finally arrived at the city.

The magnificent and imposing city before us is suspended in the middle of the canyon, supported by two sides, connecting the north and south of Yunzhou. No wonder it is called a hub.

They entered through the west gate, above which were engraved the two large characters 'Xiao Rong'.

Xiaorong City.

The crowd below was bustling with activity. There were a total of nine passages, each manned by a monk who was on duty at checkpoints to register people.

This process is similar to when I first entered Qiyun Ridge. It's just that they give you an identity card, verify your qualifications, and classify your consumption level. Every place in the Immortal Realm does this.

Lin Shan did not hide his cultivation level this time, after all, there were too many powerful people here, and the Void Realm stage was not particularly conspicuous. With Elder Chuyun's wealth as a guarantee, the assessment went very smoothly.

When asked about any special professional titles during registration, and upon learning that he was a seventh-rank appraiser in the Imperial Appraisal Bureau, the officer's expression instantly changed to one of respect. He entered the information into the jade token and kindly reminded the officer:

"Senior is a highly skilled individual. In Xiaorong City, you enjoy subsidies for renting or buying cave dwellings. If you join a local power, you will also receive a settlement allowance. Buying a cave dwelling comes with a spirit-gathering array that allows you to claim land and draw veins. You will also have high-level access to the city's cultivation technique pavilion/scripture library, and free access to living necessities/apprentices. Your descendants and disciples will be admitted to the sect without examination and will receive intensive training."

He rattled off a string of benefits, clearly having mentioned them many times before.

Upon hearing this, Lin Shan bowed and thanked him. It seemed that what Lie Yunsheng said was true. The competition among the major immortal cities in Yunzhou was fierce, and they were resorting to any means to attract and retain talent.

The other party then kindly reminded me:
"The Yunzhou Grand Gathering is being held in the city. Senior, you might want to try participating in the treasure appraisal event. If you can stand out, you can not only win big prizes, but also have the opportunity to be favored by the Immortal Sect and become their guest!"

An antique appraisal event?

Lin Shan's eyes lit up; this was exactly his area of ​​expertise!
The old Taoist priest Jinchi, who was traveling with them, smiled and agreed.

"Hehe, the treasure appraisal event is quite lively. I heard that officials from the Heavenly Appraisal Bureau are also presiding over it. Gold will always shine, and Fellow Daoist Xing has arrived at the place to make his grand plans! Moreover, you can't just participate in one of the grand events in Yunzhou. In addition, it's also good to make friends through fishing. This old Daoist specially crafted a precious fishing rod for this purpose."

At this point, it was clear that everyone in the queue around him was casting interested glances at him. There were quite a few anglers present, all eager to see what his precious fishing rod looked like.

Old Taoist Jinchi shrank back, realizing he had let something slip. As the saying goes, one should not flaunt one's wealth, so he quickly pulled Lin Shan into the city.

"Fellow Daoist, could you show me your precious staff?"

Lin Shan is also very interested in fishing. Don't forget, he even has a "fairy fishing rod" in his hand!

When it comes to fishing, the man in the straw hat from the lower realm is an expert. Perhaps I, who was in the air force in my previous life, also have considerable talent in this life.

"Ahem, there are too many people around now, so I'll take it out and show it to you when we're alone."

The old Taoist priest Jinchi was shifty and cautious, always looking around, afraid that someone might covet his treasure.

The streets inside the city are wide, and although the crowds are huge, the road layout is very redundant, so it's not crowded when walking.

The shops on both sides are all brand new and impressive, with architectural features featuring strong cloud patterns around the perimeter, giving them a refreshing and antique feel.

The monks passing by were all spirited and confident, dressed smartly and dashingly, each one a respectable person.

The female cultivators were also dressed in light gauze and silk, their figures graceful and elegant. The whole street was full of beauties, their eyes sparkling as they walked. They were dressed casually and freely, their fair skin exposed. It was clear that the people here were of very high quality and there were very few lewd people.

Unfortunately, the old man next to Lin Shan is not a decent person.

The old Taoist priest Jinchi kept his eyes straight ahead, appearing dignified and otherworldly, but in reality, he was constantly sending telepathic messages, commenting on this and that, his mouth practically watering.

"That female cultivator is quite something, with a stunning figure, like a graceful phoenix. I'd give her a nine out of ten!"

"That fairy is so alluring! Look at her exquisite features and delicate hands. If only I could kiss her!"

"Oh my, that female cultivator looking at the round fans at the stall, those long legs are longer than my life! I really want to kneel at her feet!"

"Incredible! Absolutely incredible! Jade feet! Jade feet! This deserves a perfect score. This old Taoist priest loves to admire jade feet the most!"

Lin Shan's lips twitched, feeling extremely ashamed. Even though he was communicating secretly, he still felt like he had done something wrong, and he looked around nervously, afraid of being noticed.

However, this old man has a good eye; his comments are often insightful, and even he can't help but take a few more glances at him—he is indeed quite a sight to behold.

They wandered around for the whole morning. The size of the immortal city was beyond their imagination. The two of them were tired and thought about finding a place to rest.

Jinchi Laolu passed by a teahouse and stopped to take a look. When the waiter at the door saw him hesitate, he quickly ran to the street to solicit customers.

"Are you thirsty, sir? Why not come to our teahouse to listen to some stories and storytelling, and relax a bit? Look how hot the midday sun is!"

Lin Shan was also eager to find a place to sit down, but he didn't expect that the old guy next to him was not only lecherous, but also stingy!
Hesitantly inquired about the price.

The waiter had no choice but to stand on the street under the scorching sun, introducing various set meals to the two of them, and in the end, he was even bargained over.

"Senior, I'm just a handyman, I can't make the decisions." Seeing this, Lin Shan simply said that he would treat everyone and pay for everything. Only then did the old Taoist Jinchi follow him into the teahouse.

As soon as I entered, I heard a burst of cheers. The gentleman in the center of the stage was playing the clapper and was reaching the climax of his story, with spittle flying everywhere. The story he was telling was about a "murder, robbery, and double-crossing" plot!

The surrounding tables were full of customers, who listened intently to the jokes, occasionally shouting and yelling, and many of them were holding their breath for the protagonist in the book.

Upon hearing this, Lin Shan exclaimed, "I know this person well!"

Led by the servant, we arrived at a window seat on the second floor near the stairs, where we set out melon seeds and a teapot and began to listen to the storyteller's ramblings.

"After a great battle, the trees withered and died. The old monster of the Void Cave, knowing he couldn't escape, sighed: 'So be it! In the world of cultivation, those who rob others will eventually be robbed; those who harm others will inevitably be harmed. In the end, for whom do we toil and toil in this business of killing and plundering?'"

Snapped!
The wake tree fell.

"Gentlemen, this is the perilous path to immortality. How many people, driven by greed for worldly possessions, have harbored murderous intent, only to find that all their scheming and plotting have cost them their lives! To find out if this old monster of the Void Cave can escape, please listen to the next chapter!"

After finishing his story, the storyteller casually bent over and clasped his hands in a gesture of respect, asking for tips from upstairs and downstairs. Unexpectedly, this was met with boos from the entire audience, followed by various shouts and curses!

Jinchi, the old Taoist priest, also slammed his fist on the table in anger, stood up, and greeted the whole family. It turned out he was a man of strong character.

"If you're going to tell the story, tell it all at once. What's with this 'to be continued' thing? I paid money and you're just leaving it halfway through. Isn't that annoying?"

Lin Shan stood there speechless. "You're spending my money, okay?"
The storyteller was severely scolded, so he had to make an excuse that he was thirsty and would go down to rest. He would be back soon to tell the second half of the story, and asked everyone to be patient.

There were also some savvy people in the room who knew this was a tactic to keep customers and deliberately delay the time, because the teahouse booths were charged by the hour, while the tea and dried fruit were free.

After waiting for a full half hour, just when everyone was getting impatient, the storyteller finally walked onto the stage, yawning repeatedly, as if he had just taken a nap.
This guy clearly needs to be disciplined!

The crowd suppressed their anger and listened to the second half of his story. When they learned that the protagonist of the book had fought beyond his level and defeated the Void Realm Old Monster with his primordial spirit body, and finally returned with a full harvest, they immediately turned their anger into joy and began to shower the storyteller with spirit stones as a reward.

The atmosphere was lively, and the old Taoist Jinchi stroked his beard and smiled, raising his teacup and drinking it all in one gulp.

Lin Shan sighed inwardly. People in the immortal realm also like the protagonist of a wish-fulfillment novel. It seems that the idea of ​​a protagonist who makes a comeback and acts arrogantly is always relevant. A Nascent Soul cultivator defeating a Void Transformation cultivator? Isn't that ridiculous?

They spread out their entire domain, and even the most powerful primordial spirit is useless against them. How did they manage to turn the tables and kill you?
However, you can't use your brain when listening to storytelling; if you take it too seriously, you'll lose.

The storyteller himself was only at the Nascent Soul stage and had no understanding of the methods of the Void Transformation stage. Many of his supernatural battles were described in a vague and ambiguous way, and could only be taken as entertainment.

However, the old Taoist Jinchi next to him seemed to be listening with great interest. After finishing, he took out a few spirit stones from his pocket and threw them onto the table.

"Hahaha, wonderful, wonderful indeed! Fellow Daoist Xing Shuzi, although this gentleman doesn't understand Void Realm combat, he's quick-witted. Next time, I really want to hear him tell stories about Void Realm cultivators defeating True Immortals; that would be truly exhilarating!"

He even dared to slay a true immortal?

Lin Shan almost spat out his drink. You just want mindless fun, right? But for some reason, he actually felt a little excited.

I immediately felt the charm of storytelling.

While drinking tea here, you can hear people chatting around you. Many people don't try to hide their boasting, so you can gather a lot of useful information.

As he inquired, he heard many descriptions of this grand event in Yunzhou, in which the prodigies of various major forces were all involved.

"Do you know that the final reward for this alchemy competition is said to be the legendary Ascension Pill, a celestial-grade elixir that can make you an immortal with just one bite!"

"Really? It's just a pill, is it really that miraculous?"

"I've also heard that the prize for first place in the weapon-refining competition is a genuine immortal artifact!"

"Hiss~~ A celestial artifact was just given away so casually?"

"It's not as simple as you think. It's probably decided internally. Think about it, to win first place in such a vast Yunzhou competition, one must be a true master of weapon crafting from a top immortal sect. They're just using this as a gimmick to pass it on to their own people."

"That's true, what you said makes sense."

"I've also heard about a beast-taming horse racing event where winners in each category receive prizes. Would you like to participate?"

"What's the point of us ordinary people participating in that stuff? In the end, aren't we just a foil for the rich kids? I think the fairest thing is farming! To be honest, I spent ten years as an apprentice in the outer sect's herb garden of a certain immortal sect, and I've mastered all kinds of cultivation techniques."

Lin Shan listened and listened, but he didn't hear anything about a fair program.

So many prizes sound tempting, they're clearly not for ordinary people, you need to be really good at them to win.
However, participation is the most important thing, and it is said that the top ten will all receive something.

After waiting in the teahouse for an hour and a half, I called the waiter to come and settle the bill.

"Gentlemen, this will be two rank-five spirit stones for you!"

"So expensive?"

Lin Shan was slightly surprised. The cost of living in this immortal city was really not cheap. It was fine for him, but for ordinary Nascent Soul and Divine Spirit cultivators, it was quite painful. He just didn't know what their income level was like.

Once on the street, the old Taoist priest Jinchi led him around to learn about local prices, which were indeed outrageous; poor people couldn't even afford to look at them.

They do get a discount when renting a cave dwelling. The courtyard facilities that come with the Cave Void stage are available for one seventh-grade spirit stone, which can be used for half a Jiazi (60 years), equivalent to thirty years. This is also the starting price.

Lin Shan and the old Taoist Jinchi discussed it for a while and decided not to settle down here yet. So they decided to find an inn outside to make do for now, since there was no need to rent such a nice cave.

Through their conversation, he could sense that the old man seemed to be short of money and desperately needed to earn some extra cash through the Yunzhou Grand Gathering.

We finally arrived at a lake.

All around here is a rolling sea of ​​clouds, with golden lotuses blooming all over the lake in the center, and there is also a small island where about a thousand cultivators have gathered.

A floating bridge leads directly to the island, and a plaque at the entrance explains that this is a branch venue of the Yunzhou Grand Meeting.

"found it!"

Master Jinchi laughed loudly and strode forward to meet with the person in charge of the venue.

"I want to sign up for the competition and make friends through fishing!"

At the same time, he pulled Lin Shan aside and asked him if he wanted to come along, pointing to the canvas hanging next to him and reading it aloud.

"The prizes for the tournament are generous. The first place winner will receive a Seven-Colored Mud Carp, which is said to be a spiritual creature that can help one become an immortal! The second and third place winners will catch a Nine-Tailed Dragonfish, and eating one will allow them to break through their current realm! The fourth, fifth, and sixth place winners will encounter a Silver Mud Spearfish, which will allow them to comprehend supreme divine powers on the spot."
"Fellow Daoist Xing, we'll be rich just by catching one!"

Lin Shan was better off not listening, because once he did, he was tempted!
"You mean these fish are in the pond?"

"That's right! The organizers of the Yunzhou Grand Event put it in there themselves. You're amazing if you managed to catch it."

The supervising monk nodded firmly, reassuring him completely.

"However, participation requires an entrance fee: one seventh-grade spirit stone per cultivator at the Void Transformation stage!" (End of Chapter)