Chapter 421 - Part 1

When it comes to the region, Daze County is twice the size of a typical Xinming County and is rich in resources.In the entire county, there are eighteen cities, big and small.

The ancestral land of the Tian family, commonly known as “Tian Town,” was not originally called by this name, but as time went by, most people only remembered the character “Tian.”

The mystic Seven-star Tower is located here.

The fields on both sides of the official road should be uniformly planned, looking neat and perfectly symmetrical.

They could completely overlap with the official road at the center.

The main city itself is square, and from a distance, it looks like a heavy black block—the wall bricks of the built town are all black, neat, and solemn.

It resembles iron more than bricks.

The carriage stopped under the city gate, and only when looking up did one discover the city’s original name, a single character: “Ji.”

Ji City.

This character is also square, with no personal style to speak of.

It possesses only the strictness and neatness of each stroke.

It gives one an indescribable feeling upon seeing it.

“Seeing this character, I feel a sense of urgency!” Jiang Wang said.

Li Fengyao glanced at him but said nothing.

The character “Ji” originally depicted a person approaching utensils, preparing to dine, conveying a meaning of “about to” or “approaching.”

The carriage entered the city calmly.

Neither the prestige of the Lord Marshal’s residence in Qi Country nor the current relationship between the Zhong Xuan Family and the Tian family would allow any foolish incidents to occur here.

Everything seen with the eyes, the shop fronts, streets, and markets, were all orderly and neat.

Ji City, like the word “Tian,” was square, orderly, every part divided equally, neither more nor less.

It was uncertain whether it was the Tian family that imparted the style to this city or if such a city had nurtured the prominent Tian family of Daze in Qi Country.

Xiao Tong managed the carriage, driving along the wide streets.

Pedestrians consciously walked on the sides of the road, and even the vendors were neatly aligned on both sides of the street, with none encroaching on the pathway.

To say “managed” was actually not accurate, as “Qu Hei” didn’t need urging.

Xiao Tong just needed to say “left” or “right,” and it would adjust its direction on its own.

Jiang Wang seriously doubted whether it was a pure-blooded demon beast, rather than some mixed breed with demon beast bloodline.

The latter, although also a rare mount, had a spirit not nearly as fine as “Qu Hei.”

Speaking of which, the Tian family and the Zhong Xuan Family had swapped interests, with a ten-year development right of Chongjia Island in exchange for the position of Governor of Sunshine County for Tian Antai.

Both parties profited, but in truth, only Zhongxuan Sheng personally suffered a loss.

This time Zhongxuan Sheng proactively sought a spot in the Seven-star Tower from the Tian family, also implying a willingness to let bygones be bygones and mend relations with the Tian family.

It was also to prevent them from helping Zhongxuan Zun, as it was originally Zhongxuan Zun alone who facilitated the interest exchange between the two families.

They had every reason to continue cooperating.

However, even though Zhongxuan Sheng had obtained a spot from the Tian family, Jiang Wang did not wait for the Tian family’s reception.

He and his servant Li Fengyao both stayed in the inn located in Ji City, quietly awaiting the opening of the Seven-star Tower.

The Seven-star Tower opens when Star Power is at its peak in September, a date which is not fixed.

In some years, the entire month of September passed without the Star Power reaching the threshold, making those years “silent years” in contrast to “glorious years.”

There are also years when the Seven-star Tower opens, but the relics are few, and participants gain little, referred to as “dim star years.”

Now, according to the information released by the Tian family, this year’s Star Power in Ji City will peak between September 12th and 14th, so the Seven-star Tower’s opening time is also set within this range.

From the information recorded, the past openings of the Seven-star Tower had durations ranging from a maximum of one month to a minimum of nine days.

Jiang Wang was almost certain he would miss the September opportunity to challenge the blessed lands in the Taixu Illusion Realm.

He was used to falling in the blessed land rankings; his only regret was missing a chance to compete with strong opponents.

Although he and Li Fengyao now addressed each other as “little Wang” and “Sister Fengyao,” and had traveled to Ji City together, they actually did not talk much on the way.

Both were immersed in their own cultivation.

The same was true upon reaching the inn.

Three guest rooms were opened in total, one for Jiang Wang, one for Li Fengyao and Xiao Tong, and one for Qu Hei alone, who also fended for himself when it came to food, with Xiao Tong personally preparing everything.

Hmph, it’s just a horse that pulls carts.

This thought had churned countless times in Jiang Wang’s heart during the journey, but he had never spoken it aloud.

It was clear that this mystical horse had a temperamental nature.

After it entered the room, it began to smash everything in sight—a rampage of hooves and tail against the room’s tables and chairs.

The innkeeper rushed over with a pained expression, and Xiao Tong stood by, paying for the damages “one silver after another,” until Qu Hei had “remodeled” the entire guest room to nothing but an open space with a bed that now lacked its canopy.

Hence, why should it have a room to itself?

Jiang Wang still had many things he could not fathom.

For instance, why each guest room in the inn was identical, with materials, layout, and even orientation of tables, chairs, and beds being exactly the same.

His room looked no different from the one Qu Hei had “remodeled.”

Did they really need to make everything so exactly the same, so symmetrical?

There was no sign of any individuality whatsoever.

Ji City was not somewhere that made him feel comfortable, but no matter where he was, his cultivation practices did not change.

Jiang Wang sat cross-legged on the bed and soon lost himself in meditation.

Walking through the mists of obscurity, Jiang Wang’s Tenglong Dao pulse ventured farther and farther, and the map of the entire Five Prefectures Sea in his mind grew clearer.

Several times he had come close to the flickering Divine Power Seeds of the first Inner Mansion, yet each time, Jiang Wang chose to pass them by.

As Jiang Wang’s personal strength incrementally increased, so did his Heaven and Earth Lonely Island, but that process was much slower.

Like always, he halted before the “warning line,” the Tenglong Dao pulse turned back, descended onto the Heaven and Earth Lonely Island, and his cultivation for the day was complete.

Not wanting to waste time, Jiang Wang instantly entered the Taixu Illusion Realm with a mere thought.

Having traveled with Li Fengyao, he hadn’t had the chance to enter the Taixu Illusion Realm.

Although entering the realm was quite secretive and had not been discovered by others yet, there was no need to flaunt it like a treasure before others.

Such a prompt sounded.

Competition in the Taixu Illusion Realm was fierce as well, and one could lose a title with just a moment of inattention.

Fortunately, the drop in the rankings wasn’t significant; it seemed that his strength was still quite solid at the level of the Ascending Dragon Realm within the Taixu Illusion Realm.

Regardless, the benefits that came with the title could not be forfeited.

After a brief adjustment, Jiang Wang began a new session of matched battles.

“Again with the Taiyin Star Power, and again…”

A soft voice echoed within a small tower in the Tian Mansion.

“Interesting.”

The voice trailed off.

The small tower had two floors.

If the entire Ji City was shaped like a large “Tian” character.

Then the Tian Mansion was like a small “Tian” character enveloped within the larger one.

And this two-story small tower at the Tian Mansion was right at the center point of the “Tian” character.

As the center of both the Tian Mansion and the entire Ji City, the appearance of this small tower was exceedingly mysterious.