Chapter 7: Jade City

“Master, those are Drones.” Terminal Ring answered Mu Yanxin’s question: “They are indeed a type of unmanned Marionette, operating through Programs preset within them.”

“What is a Program?” Mu Yanxin felt like a complete novice; he knew nothing since coming to this world.

It seemed he would have to ask the Terminal Ring whenever he didn’t understand something in the future.

“A Program is an Instruction Sequence constructed from Runes, mostly used in Divine Artifacts, Marionettes, Forbidden Wards, and Formation Arrays.”

“For example, my essence is also a Program. The more complex the Runes, the more functions can be achieved.”

“A powerful Artificer Grandmaster can perform Supreme Divine Abilities to change the sky, move mountains, and fill seas with just Runes.” Terminal Ring explained patiently and in detail.

Mu Yanxin, who now mostly understood what a Program was, continued to ask: “Were those Flying Ships carrying trash earlier also Drones? I didn’t see any Cultivators on them.”

“Yes, Master. Those are Yuzhen City’s Garbage Collection Ships. They are unmanned and on automatic patrol.”

“They collect waste from Yuzhen City and take it to the Junkyard, where it is sorted by automatic Marionettes and sent to factories for recycling and reuse,” Terminal Ring added.

“What is a factory?” Amid the back-and-forth between Mu Yanxin and Terminal Ring, the Gliding Board automatically flew to the entrance of Yuzhen City, taking less than ten minutes.

***

Arriving before the towering city walls and the magnificent Jade Gate, Mu Yanxin found that seeing it up close felt different from seeing it from afar.

Flying before this massive gate, he felt like an ant, sensing an inexplicable feeling of oppression.

On both sides of the gate stood two hundred-foot statues wearing golden armor. Below the thick White Jade columns were a thousand tiers of steps, and above were palace-style eaves.

In the center of the exquisite and gorgeous carvings was a head carving of a Vermilion Bird, as if it were watching everyone before the gate.

The entire gate, including the Golden Armored Giant Statues on both sides, had spiritual light flowing across its surface.

Mu Yanxin’s Spirit Sense could feel a powerful aura of Mana. If Yuzhen City were threatened, the gate itself would be a powerful defensive Forbidden Ward.

Mu Yanxin had visited several large cities built by Cultivators in his previous world.

He had marveled at their magnificence back then, but compared to Yuzhen City, those cities were like a candle’s flame compared to the radiance of the sun and moon.

The other Cultivators around him seemed used to it. They felt no sense of oppression and naturally flew into the gate.

Many Cultivators, Drones, and even Flying Boats were flying out of the city. It was much more prosperous than the Junkyard.

Mu Yanxin entered the gate with some trepidation, fearing the Forbidden Ward would discover he wasn’t from this world.

However, he encountered no trouble. The Terminal Ring flashed a green light, and he flew into Yuzhen City without obstruction.

Once inside the city, it was a different sight altogether. It was crowded and brightly lit. Countless Flying Boats, Flying Cars, planes, and Evasion Lights formed the Light Paths he had seen from outside.

These Light Paths circled around towering pavilions and grand buildings. Though seemingly chaotic, they were actually in perfect order.

Mu Yanxin had worried about how to blend into these complex yet orderly Light Paths that operated according to certain patterns and rules outside the city.

As it turned out, there was no need to worry. The Gliding Board naturally entered a Light Path, riding alongside other Cultivators and passing through the forest of pavilions.

Many floors of these pavilions had their doors open like palaces. At a glance, Mu Yanxin saw Divine Artifact shops filled with various items and Elixir Shops full of Elixir Racks and Drawer Cabinets. What surprised him most was that many pavilions housed Hotels.

Inside the Hotels, Cultivators sat around tables, clinking glasses and eating. The tables were filled with delicacies and fine wine. Most Hotels were packed with guests, and business was booming. A wafting aroma could be smelled while passing by.

But in Mu Yanxin’s understanding, Cultivators gradually reduced eating and sleeping once they began cultivation.

This was because impurities in food would block Meridians and affect cultivation. Even low-level Qi Refining disciples only ate Pills of Fasting to replace meals.

Mu Yanxin had reached Foundation Establishment in just over three months.

Since his memories began, he hadn’t needed to eat, relying solely on absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. In this situation, eating was more for the pleasure of the palate or to enliven a Feast.

But seeing so many Hotels bustling with activity, and seeing that the diners were all dressed as Cultivators, it was enough to show that they really did dine and eat frequently.

Combined with the snacks in the Terminal Ring and the Spiritual Energy faintly contained in the aroma of the food, Mu Yanxin seemed to think of something.

Could it be that the Cultivators of this world did the exact opposite of his original world, relying on eating various foods containing Spiritual Energy to cultivate?

But any food containing Spiritual Energy, such as Spiritual Rice, Immortal Fruit, or Demonic Beast Meat, was a Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure. They were of immense value.

Some would even cause Cultivators to fight to the death just to obtain them. How could so many Hotels sell them freely?

Pulling his attention away from the dazzling shops and Hotels, Mu Yanxin noticed the Light Paths around him again. Many Cultivators sitting on various Divine Artifacts were flying in the same direction.

The most common were Cultivators stepping on Flying Swords. Various Divine Artifacts such as hammers, sabers, halberds, and spears could also be seen.

There were also many Divine Treasures that glowed with spiritual light and flew at high speeds, which were clearly only possible for Golden Core Stage Cultivators to refine.

Some Cultivators sat on Divine Artifacts like Gourds, Jade Rulers, and Treasure Towers that weren’t weapons.

Even more were like the Gliding Board under Mu Yanxin’s feet, Divine Artifacts whose original forms couldn’t be discerned at all. Some styles looked like the Drone Marionettes that were also flying in the Light Paths.

Next were Cultivators riding various Spirit Beasts. There were all kinds of birds and beasts, wolves, tigers, and leopards. One Cultivator even sat on a seven-colored carp.

These Spirit Beasts each had incredibly powerful auras. Mu Yanxin couldn’t recognize the vast majority of them, but the few he did recognize seemed to be Barbaric Beasts that had long been extinct in his previous world, existing only in legends—such as the One-eyed Treasure Elephant, the Fire-bathing Heavenly Luan, and the Nine-colored Longevity Crane.

To think that such Barbaric Beasts could be seen on the street, serving as mounts for low-level Cultivators, made Mu Yanxin feel it was simply unbelievable.

The most ridiculous weren’t those riding Spirit Beasts, but the Cultivators in cars.

Some oddly shaped, streamlined Metal Cars didn’t need Spirit Beasts pulling them; they could fly in mid-air on their own, their style much like the Gliding Board.

Others in the style of Ancient Carriages were pulled by Spirit Beasts, and often by more than one. These carriages were usually hung with Jades and Gemstones, and the Spirit Beasts pulling them were rare and exotic, clearly meant for showing off.

Mu Yanxin was still observing the flying Cultivators around him when there was a sudden commotion ahead.

Then, the Divine Artifacts and Spirit Beasts on the Light Path ahead all automatically made way, including Mu Yanxin’s Gliding Board. It yielded automatically without his command.

A Jade Flying Boat slowly approached from ahead.