Put away your magical powers now!.

Chapter 230 [Night Talk in the City of No Return] (6000 words)

Chapter 224 [Night Talk in the City of No Return] (6000)

In the evening, as agreed with the ship's manager, Chen Yan came out of the cargo hold of the airship at night to get some fresh air on the deck.

When he first boarded the flying boat, a mode of transportation between different realms, and came to the deck, two or three crew members clearly saw Chen Yan, but pretended not to see him.

The ship's steward, whom he had met once before, stood on the double-deck at the stern of the airship, gave Chen Yan a cold look, said nothing, and turned to enter the cabin.

No one came over to ask him anything, so Chen Yan was happy to have some peace and quiet. He walked onto the deck and onto the ship's side, first stretching his body and then looking out for a while.

Protected by a magic array, the airship flew at high altitudes without any wind protection. Standing on the deck, one did not feel the strong winds that one would expect at high speeds.

The entire flying boat moved forward under a radiant glow!
Looking up, the starry sky of the realm seemed so close, as if one could reach out and pluck the stars from the sky.

As the flying boat moved in all directions, the clouds scattered around it—only then did Chen Yan carefully observe the magic array on the boat, pondering the knowledge of magic arrays he had learned, and then matching them one by one.

This magic array doesn't seem to simply create a windproof barrier around the flying boat. The principle behind the array isn't that crude. Rather, it seems to use the power of magic to break through the surrounding wind, like a sharp knife that uses invisible sharpness to pierce through the wind resistance and then disperses the force of that wind resistance, transferring it to the surrounding area.

The way the wind force was neutralized by the wind itself was something Chen Yan experienced firsthand, and he couldn't help but marvel at it.

Although he had learned some knowledge of magic arrays, it was clear that while the book left by the old lady touched on some aspects of this, the lineage of the Ghost Clan Venerables was not proficient in magic arrays. It only recorded some basic principles of magic arrays and simple arrays, and had not touched on detailed, complex magic arrays.

The more Chen Yan realized this, the more he sighed in his heart.

If I hadn't personally visited this realm and witnessed the application of magic arrays in such a mature cultivation civilization, I would never have reached this level of understanding of magic arrays by simply trying to figure them out in the real world with the basic principles from books, working in isolation.

The principles of the magic array recorded in the manual now seem like basic mathematical formulas—learning the basic formulas doesn't necessarily mean you can solve difficult problems.

For the next three days, Chen Yan stayed in the cargo hold of the airship during the day, never venturing out or causing any trouble for the crew. Only at midnight each night would he quietly come out to study the principles of the magic array on the deck for one or two hours.

After three days, the crew got used to Chen Yan's presence and found that this fellow who was on the ship was not unpleasant. In the past, when the low-level rogue cultivators who were on the ship learned that it was the Gu family's ship, they would ask all sorts of questions and inquire about the Gu family. Some even wanted to take the opportunity to inquire about whether they could get close to the Gu family.

Chen Yan, on the other hand, was quite sensible and didn't say or do anything.

He was always polite to people. Even if the crew or supervisor ignored him, he would stand aside and nod politely whenever he encountered someone on deck, but he would never take the initiative to speak to them.

Chen Yan knew his own situation well; his background was ambiguous, so he naturally didn't dare to talk much with the Gu family.

Every night, he would sit on the deck studying the principles of the magic array, and occasionally ponder his own affairs.

This trip to the Southern Frontier is the territory of the Ghost Clan. I cannot reveal my identity, and I don't know how I can meet the old lady—a dignified saint, not someone I can just meet whenever I want.

Moreover, regardless of whether he sees him or not, he will eventually return to Xueya Pass.

Putting everything else aside, this time when entering the realm, Da Bai temporarily stayed outside Snow Cliff Pass. After he finished dealing with his own matters, he would eventually go back and take Da Bai with him.

That night, Chen Yan sat on the deck, looking at the starry sky. He took out a bottle of wine from his storage jade pendant, unscrewed it, and took a sip. In fact, in this situation, it would probably be even more pleasant to have a couple of snacks to go with the wine.

But Chen Yan didn't want to be disliked, so he simply put up with it.

After taking a few sips from the bottle, he heard the sound of clothes behind him. He turned his head and saw a crew member from a flying boat, dressed in gray, walking up behind him. His gaze was fixed on the bottle in Chen Yan's hand.

Chen Yan thought for a moment before smiling and saying, "Fellow Daoist, would you like to share a drink?"

This wine was no ordinary wine, nor was it something he brought from the real world. It was something that his steward, Zhang San, had purchased and stored in his cave when he was in Xitai City. It wasn't anything particularly old, but it was something that only cultivators were qualified to drink.

When Chen Yan left, he packed up all three bottles of wine from the house and took them with him. Now, seeing the crew member behind him, who clearly looked like he was craving some wine, he simply offered to take the initiative.

The crew member glanced at Chen Yan's face, but before he could speak, Chen Yan had already tossed him a bottle of wine. The crew member caught it, looked at it, and nodded, saying, "It is a specialty of Xitai City."

Without any hesitation, he took the bottle, unscrewed the cork, took a small sip, and when he looked at Chen Yan again, his eyes were no longer so cold. He smiled and said, "You're not so bad."

He paused, then looked at Chen Yan: "I heard you got on the ship through Steward Niu's connections?"

Chen Yan's expression remained unchanged; he gave a deliberately innocent smile and didn't say anything more.

He remained silent, but the crew member's attitude improved. He took a few steps closer and lowered his voice, saying, "Manager Niu never charges cheap fees, so you must be quite wealthy. How about it? Would you like to have a more comfortable stay on the ship from now on?"

Chen Yan was taken aback.

He then realized that this guy... was probably also trying to make a quick buck.

He wasn't initially interested, but since the other party had taken the initiative, refusing outright would be disrespectful. Now that he was on their side, offending them might not be a good thing.

"Fellow Daoist, to put it more comfortably, how exactly does it feel comfortable?"

"I suppose you're in the cargo hold on the ship, so it's not easy to get any food. You've probably been relying on fasting pills to get by these past few days."

Actually, there is food on board. If you would like some, just let me know.

"Let me make this clear first, this food is only for our own crew. If you want some, you'll have to pay for it."

Chen Yan laughed: "I'm short of money, and if it's too expensive, I'm afraid I won't be able to afford the food on the ship."

"It's not expensive at all. Since you can afford to board the ship, you can afford the meals too." The crew member smiled and said, "One meal a day, I'll just charge you two coins a day, how about that?"

Two coins a day, and a month's journey would cost around sixty coins.

For these crew members, this was a source of extra income.

Moreover, Chen Yan suddenly had a thought and looked up at the upper deck. He saw the ship's manager's figure flash by on the deck. Just as he looked in that direction, the man went into the cabin.

Chen Yan immediately realized what was happening.

This isn't some lowly crew member trying to make money; he's probably just a tool sent by the ship's manager to make money.

Indeed, people live off the land and water. Large families and powerful clans have their own rules, but they cannot completely control the lower classes. In remote areas, some people at the grassroots level will find their own ways to make money, which is impossible to completely prevent.

Moreover, this kind of behavior, even if one refuses, is probably not good—it might be a bit of a half-soft, half-hard approach. It's not exactly forced buying and selling, but it's definitely openly soliciting bribes.

If I refuse to pay this "food fee," although they might not kick me off the ship, they could still make things difficult for me during the rest of the journey.

For example, not being allowed to go on the deck anymore—locking yourself in the cargo hold for a month would be a tough time.

Well, we're just living under someone else's roof, Chen Yan sighed inwardly. He still had some money left in his pocket, so he figured he'd just spend a little to buy peace of mind.

Seeing that Chen Yan hesitated for a moment before nodding, the crew members' eyes showed a hint of a smile.

He left and returned a moment later, this time bringing a food platter.

The food was rather simple, just a bowl of meat and a bowl of vegetables—fortunately, it was still the kind of food that cultivators would eat.

To Chen Yan's dismay, the rice was ordinary rice, not the pearl rice he ate in Xitai City.

The dishes looked roughly prepared, probably the kind of food served to the lower-ranking crew members on a ship.

What's most infuriating is that after the crew member put down the food tray, he stood there and wouldn't leave, staring intently at Chen Yan.

Chen Yan sighed and took out sixty coins from his storage jade pendant to hand over to the other party.

The man accepted the food and smiled with satisfaction: "From now on, come to the deck for some fresh air every night, and I'll bring your meals here."

After saying that, he actually sat down on the ground and sat down with Chen Yan.

There was more than one pair of chopsticks in the dish, but this person picked up a pair and started eating food by himself.

Chen Yan found it amusing... Did they really have to take advantage of such a small thing?
I said it was my own food allowance, two coins a day for meals, just two dishes and rice, and this person still wants to stay and eat with me?

This guy has a thick skin. Seeing that Chen Yan's gaze was strange, he didn't care at all. Instead, he casually invited Chen Yan to sit down and have a meal.

Chen Yan took a deep breath, sat down, picked up his chopsticks, but only casually picked up a couple of bites to taste the flavor before stopping—the taste was far inferior to that of his servants.

This man ate and drank by himself, including the wine Chen Yan had given him. Before long, he had eaten most of the two bowls of food and wine by himself—but he didn't touch the bowl of rice made from ordinary rice.

Seeing that Chen Yan remained calm and composed, as if he was swallowing his anger, the man smiled and said, "You're a smart one, unlike that other guy who's all talk and no action."

The other guy?

Upon hearing this, Chen Yan's heart stirred, but he casually replied as if nothing had happened, "Oh, there are other people on this boat."

The crew member didn't bother to hide anything and said indifferently, "Everyone has their own way of making money. The manager can make money by selling tickets, while we lowly crew members can only earn a few coins for your food."

As he spoke, this guy actually put his hand on Chen Yan's shoulder and patted him, and said with a smile: "I think you are a good person. When you go out, you know not to act impulsively and you are also tactful in your words and actions. To tell you the truth, for the past three days, I have been watching you carefully on the deck to keep watch. I know you are a sensible person, so I came up to ask you if you want to eat."

Chen Yan smiled slightly but remained silent.

"Don't think I'm heartless," the crewman sighed. "The sixty coins you give me for food, the ship's foreman takes thirty coins each—he doesn't have to do anything, just show his face on deck, and doesn't have to say a word to you. This business, I'll be busy preparing meals, secretly watching people to see if they're willing to put up with me, if they're worth the money. For the next thirty days, I'll bring you food every day—just in case you're upset, I'll often chat with you for a bit, talk about whatever comes to mind."

I paid for the food, and after all that hard work, I only made about twenty coins from you at most. How can I compare to those in charge who just stand in the distance, show half their face, and get thirty coins?

Chen Yan smiled: "You feel like you've lost out?" "Not at all." The crew member chuckled: "If the manager hadn't shown up for you, you probably wouldn't have been willing to pay."

Okay, so you knew it all along.

After a moment's thought, Chen Yan understood the crew member's intention in telling him all this...

It's simply because I'm afraid of trouble.

Although he was disguised as a member of the Gu family, he was, after all, just a low-level crew member, a hard-working courier.

On the surface, these money-making methods are forbidden by the family, but those in charge may each have some connections.

As for the lower-ranking crew members, their status wasn't much higher than that of ordinary rogue cultivators—they just had a more stable livelihood.

If you encounter someone with a temper, you might be forced to pay for the so-called food expenses because you're under their roof.

If they regret it later and cause a scene—the manager is just a leader, and there might be even higher-ranking managers protecting him.

Meanwhile, lower-ranking crew members might suffer if they are upset.

The crew member seemed to be speaking frankly to Chen Yan, but in reality, he was using a combination of soft and hard tactics.

It seems that a heart-to-heart talk can dissipate some of the resentment the other party feels about being pressured to spend money.

This also saved him from some potential trouble.

Chen Yan understood the other party's intentions, smiled, glanced at the guy, and said seriously, "Don't worry, since I've given the money, that's it. I won't bother you afterwards."

The crew member looked satisfied: "I knew you were a sensible person."

He paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Don't worry, if you need anything during this month on the ship, I'll take care of you as much as I can. I don't have much authority, but the managers usually prefer to stay in their cabins and cultivate. They're lonely and bored on the ship, and they're too lazy to come out and waste time talking to us."

As long as he can't see, and if it's convenient for you, I can do it.

Chen Yan naturally knew that this man was just making empty promises and talking big – he would only earn twenty coins from this deal, so how much favor could he possibly do for him with such a small amount of profit?

But I'm just saying nice things to comfort myself.

However, Chen Yan's heart stirred, and he smiled and said, "I don't need anything else, but I come out every night to get some fresh air. If we have time, we can have a bite to eat and a couple of drinks together, which can help relieve the boredom of the journey."

The crew member blushed. He knew that selling someone's food and then keeping it for himself was taking advantage of them.

Chen Yan said calmly, "I don't have much of a appetite, but I do have a strange quirk: I love listening to stories and anecdotes. You've traveled all over the country and seen a lot, so if you're willing, we can have a drink and chat together every night. You can tell me some stories and anecdotes."

The crew laughed heartily upon hearing this, becoming even more satisfied with Chen Yan. They nodded and said, "That's easy! We ship sailors may not have much else, but we have a bellyful of stories! We've seen and heard a lot, and when it comes to being well-informed, even ordinary cultivators, whose cultivation is much stronger than ours, may not know as much as we shipwrights."

Chen Yan immediately feigned great interest and promptly took out the last bottle of spirit wine and gave it to the boatman.

Then, he took out a jar of wine from his storage jade pendant.

This jar of wine was not from the outer realms; he brought it from the real world.

A case of Moutai liquor was emptied from every bottle (to prevent the trademarks and packaging from revealing any traces), and then placed in a ceramic jar without any markings, sealed tightly, and stored in a jade pendant.

Chen Yan has ten more jars of this kind of Moutai stored in his jade pendant.

Chen Yan gently tapped open the seal on the jar, and a rich aroma of soy sauce-flavored liquor immediately wafted out.

Whether in the virtual world or the real world, very few crew members dislike drinking.

The crew member smelled the aroma of the wine, his eyes lit up, he picked up a spoon, took a sip, and nodded, saying, "Although it's ordinary wine, not brewed from spiritual grains, the aroma is quite novel."

As he spoke, he simply put away the spirit wine—he had been waiting for so long and planned to keep it safe to drink slowly, while the ordinary wine that Chen Yan had taken out could satisfy his craving now.

"Since you're not stingy, I won't stand on ceremony with you. Tell me, what do you want to know?"

Chen Yan nodded and slowly said, "This time, our ship is heading to the City of No Return in the Southern Frontier... To be honest, I've never been to the Southern Frontier, much less the City of No Return. I just want to hear you tell me about the customs, landscape, and people of the Southern Frontier..."

That way, I won't arrive at the place completely unfamiliar with everyone and everything, utterly clueless about the rules and regulations.

The crew member breathed a sigh of relief and laughed, "I see. You've come to the right person."

If you ask me about other places in southern Xinjiang, I might not be able to say much.

But if you're asking about the "City of No Return," then I've been running around this place for ages. I go there at least three to five times a year!

As he spoke, the crew member pointed to the cargo hold on the ship and laughed, "Our job is to serve our family by transporting goods and running ships."

Our family owns a large medicinal herb field in western Xinjiang, where we grow various local specialties and medicinal herbs. Some of these herbs are rare in southern Xinjiang, so we have to transport them to southern Xinjiang several times a year.

"This place is not a city of return. If I go there, I must rest and play in the city for a few days..."

As he spoke, the man explained some things about the City of No Return to Chen Yan.

No Return City is a major city in the Southern Frontier—although not the largest in the Southern Frontier, it is still among the top cities.

Most cities in this region are similar, with one city governing one area and each city having a governing office responsible for its management.

The city is divided into inner and outer sections, and between immortals and mortals.

However, compared to Xitai City, No Return City has several differences.

Other cities are simply divided into immortal and mortal realms, with cultivators residing in the inner city and mortals living in the outer city (mortal city).

However, the city of non-return is divided into three parts.

Beyond the inner and outer cities, there is another territory in the City of No Return, which is the [Demon City], a district within the city occupied by local demon cultivators.

However, demon cultivators do not have the concept of immortals or mortals—even mortals among humans are at least intelligent, advanced life forms.

However, this concept does not exist among the demon race.

Demon cultivators are undoubtedly advanced life forms, holding the same status as cultivators.

However, demons who have never cultivated... do not actually exist.

Demons who haven't even begun to cultivate are essentially animals that haven't yet developed intelligence!

It's less a demon and more a wild beast.

Southern Xinjiang is vast, more than twice the size of Western Xinjiang.

The entire southern border region was divided and governed by three different forces.

The first one is naturally the territory of the human race. The cities in this area, like those in Xitai City, are occupied and governed by the human race.

However, the territory of the Southern Xinjiang people is actually the smallest.

The demon race occupies the largest territory.

The demon territory in the Southern Frontier spans over ten thousand miles, encompassing vast forests, numerous mountains, rivers, and lakes. It is said that there are no fewer than several thousand mountain ranges and peaks. Even some of the ancestral lands of the demon race are located within the demon territory of the Southern Frontier.

The so-called ancestral land of the demon race is the hometown of a demon tribe that has produced a Saint-level Venerable.

The demon race is considered to be in a remote realm of immortals and outwardly obeys the immortals' rule, but they don't usually interact with the human race or exchange goods. Only a few aristocratic families that have produced venerable saints can enter the demon race's territory to exchange goods and trade with them.

Apart from that, other cultivators were not very willing to enter the territory of the demon race.

Besides the human and demon races, another major force entrenched in the southern border is... the ghost race!
"In the southern borderlands there is the Ghost Realm of the Ghost Clan, with millions of tribes. It has eighteen prefectures, but instead of a capital city, there is a Yama Palace in each city, which is governed by a Yama King."

Like the demon race, the demons don't usually like to interact with the outside world, and they only remotely obey the Sendai Dominion.

The ghost race has generally coexisted peacefully with humans, but it has a long history of enmity with the demon race. The two sides are not very harmonious. Although they are both peoples of the realm and obey the Sendai, they have had their share of private squabbles.

However, in recent years, it is said that the Ghost Clan's ancestor has been in seclusion studying the Heavenly Dao, and has not issued any decrees for many years. Without the protection of their ancestor, the Ghost Clan has been bullied by the Demon Clan, and some of their territory has been eroded by the Demon Clan over the past few decades.

At this point, the crew member whispered, "The City of No Return you asked about used to belong to the Ghost Clan, but it was later taken over by the Demon Clan."

When Sendai learned of this, it issued an edict ordering the demon race to return the City of No Return to the ghost race. However, the distance was vast and the edict was far, and although the edict was issued, the demon race was barbaric and might not necessarily carry it out. Even if they did, it would be far from being carried out.

So now, only half of the City of No Return has been returned to the Ghost Clan by the Demon Clan, while the other half remains in the hands of the Demon Clan.

Currently, the City of No Return is divided into East and West cities.

The eastern city belongs to the ghost clan and is governed by the Yama King of the City's Yama Palace, while the western city is occupied and controlled by a demon king of the demon clan.

Currently, the area between the Eastern Ghosts and Western Demons is devoid of human territory. There are few human cultivators in the city; they are merely allies of the demon or ghost races.

(End of this chapter)