Ziwei Immortal Path

Chapter 169 The City Without Walls

In the depths of winter, the biting wind is as sharp as a knife, cutting into one's face with every stroke.

Within the territory of Baima, on Zhanchai Mountain, wind and snow raged, and the pines and cypresses were covered in silver.

Two streaks of light flashed across the low sky, moving side by side, brushing against the snow-covered treetops and stirring up a flurry of falling snow.

After a short while, they landed in a snowy forest and suddenly stopped, revealing two figures, a man and a woman.

The man was short and unremarkable, with a sallow complexion and thin frame. His topknot was slightly disheveled. He held a banner in his hand, on which was embroidered a strange bird with colorful feathers, a sharp beak, and a thin tongue. This was none other than Tong Runyuan, a ninth-level Nascent Soul cultivator who had lost to Xu Boyang in the third round of the Earthly Realm competition at the Taihe Martial Arts Banquet.

The woman had a beautiful face, her hair was styled in a bun, and she wore a white fur coat and a sheathed short sword. She was none other than Su Jielin, the ninth-level Nascent Soul cultivator who had lost to Xu Boyang in the second round of the Earthly Origin level.

Both of them were originally disciples of the Qing Shen Daoist family. One came from Fuling Town in Nanhuai County in the south, and the other came from Cangwu City in Cangwu County in the north. Originally, they were going in opposite directions, but now they are traveling together.

The two were in a hurry. As soon as they landed, they looked around cautiously.

"Brother Tong."

Su Jielin looked slightly tired. He sat down under a large pine tree with protruding roots, quietly took out a Qi Gathering Pill, swallowed it, and asked softly,

"Should be arriving soon?"

"It'll be soon. We'll reach the territory of Wubi City in no more than three days."

Tong Runyuan dared not relax, holding the Dharma banner, his eyes like those of a hawk, constantly scanning the snow-covered forest.
"Then we will be safe."

Upon hearing this, Su Jielin's face lit up with a hint of joy, but it quickly faded as if she were recalling something. A wave of sadness washed over her, and tears welled up in her long eyelashes. Realizing this, she quickly lowered her head to wipe away her tears and whispered:

"Brother Tong, don't worry, once we reach Wubi City, I will marry you and become your Daoist partner to cultivate together. I... I'll give you everything..."

Tong Runyuan was somewhat taken aback. He glanced back at her, and understanding the implication, his sallow face flushed slightly. He coughed lightly, then looked away.

"This is not the time to say such things. Miss Su, just keep your promise."

Su Jielin looked sorrowful and lowered her head to say softly:

“Brother Tong, you saved my life and now you’re willing to take me with you. I’m truly willing to follow you for the rest of my life. I only hope that after we arrive in Wubi City, we can live peacefully and stay together forever, bidding farewell to the years of wandering and hardship. I’ve really had enough of this life.”

Seeing her lowered eyes and sorrowful face, Tong Runyuan felt both pity and emotion, and whispered:
"Miss Su, don't worry, I won't lie to you. I didn't tell you before because I was afraid you wouldn't believe me. Actually, I have a distant cousin named Lu Feihu, who is a cultivator in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage."

“He was originally from my Qing family’s side, but he went out and is now the Divine Robe Patrol Envoy of the Daofu Patrol Division of Wubi City.”

“He is highly skilled, has remarkable abilities, and has extensive connections. If we go to him now, we will surely have a good life in the future and will no longer be bullied.”

"Brother Tong."

Su Jielin twitched her delicate nose, gave a sorrowful smile, and asked,

"Forgive me, but I've been at home since I was little and haven't heard of the world's affairs. I'm also ignorant of the general situation. I've heard that Wubi City is the largest city in the country, embracing all rivers, and that Wubi City Government is a top-tier power. Why would there be a Taoist force in the city?"

“Miss Su misunderstands. Strictly speaking, the ‘Wubi Dao Mansion’ cannot be considered a Daoist force. It is under the jurisdiction of Wubi City Mansion and is one of the six mansions under Wubi City Mansion.”

“This Wubi City not only has the Taoist ‘Wubi Dao Mansion,’ but also Confucianism, Buddhism, demons, witches, and dragons have their own mansions, and their powers are roughly the same, each governing a part of the people in the city.”

Su Jielin's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, turning somewhat pale:

"Brother Tong, for the past year, we've been relentlessly pursued by those families, constantly on the run. Now that we've arrived in Wubi City, are we going to run into them again?"

Seeing that her face had turned pale and her lips were white, Tong Runyuan knew that she was like a frightened bird at this moment. She would be terrified at the mere mention of these families.

She sighed unconsciously and said softly:
“Miss Su need not worry. Although the members of the six families in Wubi City come from all over the country and have many connections with various families, they only obey the orders of the Lord of Wubi City and will not be dispatched by him.”

"To put it bluntly, Wubi City is very different from other schools of thought in the world. They believe in the idea of ​​universal harmony and think that Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, demons, witches and dragons can coexist normally without the need to set up layers of barriers to guard against each other."

"In this land of Baima, Wubi City governs half of the country. Apart from Wubi City, there are actually many other forces resting and recuperating in the surrounding area of ​​tens of thousands of miles. They are all more or less protected by Wubi City."

"However, this protection is only to prevent the invasion of the six major powers of Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, demonism, witchcraft, and dragonism. The Great Harmony of the World is the creed of Wubi City, but they also believe in the law of natural selection. Apart from not allowing private fights between forces within the city, once people leave the city, the city government will not care about anyone's life or death."

"The reason why the White Horse is in such a state is precisely because of this."

"I see."

Su Jielin suddenly realized,
"According to Brother Tong, does that mean our Taoist sect also has influence within the territory of Wubi City?"

Tong Runyuan nodded:

"Of course there are, but these forces are not necessarily human. The Daoist sects of Wubi City, for one thing, they can't stand the stubborn way of the Qingshen Daoist sect. For the other, they regard the Great Harmony of the world in Wubi City as their guiding principle, advocate equality for all living beings, encourage all kinds of competition, learn from each other's strengths, and do not stick to their own ways, but pursue freedom."

"Thirdly, their identities are relatively complicated. Jie Lin, you should know that there are many cultivators in this world. It is not only humans who cultivate Taoism that can be called Taoism. The Southern Wilderness Barbarian Demons, the Li Witches, the aquatic tribes of the Crystal Palace, and even the Dragon Clan all have cultivators. They are also hybrid human-demon children or human-witch children born from the intercourse between our Taoist cultivators and other races. They are also part of Taoism."

"But these outcasts, because of their special status, cannot be accepted by the Qing Shen Daoist school. Therefore, they can only reproduce and thrive in Baima."

"The Fen River Plain has always been a battleground for the six major powers in the country, where the fighting is fierce. Therefore, these aliens rarely venture south to this place. The vast majority of them only operate within the territory of Wubi City."

"The territory of Wubi City is extremely vast, and everyone calls it the 'Land of No Walls'. There are countless strange and unusual sects in this place, and many of them fight each other for territory. Wubi City only cares about who holds the 'Wubi Token' and does not care about the life, death, gain, or loss of specific sects."

"What is the 'Boundless Token'?"

Su Jielin, curious, tilted her head and asked.

Seeing that Su Jielin had unusually spoken more to him, Tong Runyuan was secretly pleased and explained:
"The Wubi Token is a token issued by the city lord of Wubi City to all forces, large and small, within the Wubi City government. It is similar to the Immortal Sect Token of our Qingshen Daoist sect and is a symbol of status." "Once you possess the Wubi Token, it means that you have the right to establish your own sect in Wubi Land. Moreover, as long as you can maintain your position, you only need to pay sufficient tribute each year. Depending on the level of the Wubi Token, the Wubi City government will provide you with corresponding benefits."

"Therefore, the Wubi Token is a highly sought-after item in the Wubi Land. Countless sects fight tooth and nail for a single token, hoping to get on the good side of the behemoth that is Wubi City."

"Although the city government cannot guarantee your safety, it will provide ample resources. As long as you have the token, you can enter Wubi City and become a partner of the city government, achieving mutual benefit and win-win cooperation."

Su Jielin clicked her tongue in praise:
"So Wubi City is this shrewd. It seems Brother Tong was right. Your distant cousin must be an extremely formidable figure."

“Jie Lin, although I have never been to Wubi City, there are quite a few families from my Nanhuai region who have gone out, and many of them have intricate connections with the various families of Qingshen. So I have heard quite a lot of information.”

Seeing a hint of envy in her beautiful eyes, Tong Runyuan smiled slightly and continued,

"The six prefectures of Wubi City are directly under the jurisdiction of the Wubi City Lord. The six prefecture lords are all powerful figures with cultivation levels equivalent to the Yellow Court Taoist masters. In particular, the prefecture lord of the Taoist prefecture, Yun Zhu, whose Taoist name is 'Sleeve Universe,' is already a late-stage Yellow Court Taoist."

"Each of the six prefectures controls a department in Wubi City, and the Wubi City Patrol Division is under the control of the Dao Prefecture. All Daoist cultivators who join the Patrol Division are uniformly called Divine Robe Patrol Envoys."

Su Jielin's eyes lit up: "So, this Senior Lu must be a very popular figure in Wubi City?"

Tong Runyuan chuckled:

"Well, not quite. The Daoist Academy's 'Divine Robes' are actually quite numerous, and they are all Foundation Establishment cultivators. In addition to the Daoist Academy's 'Divine Robes,' Wubi City also has the Confucian Academy's 'Light Robes,' the Buddhist Academy's 'Sea Green,' the Demon Academy's 'Barbarian Fang,' the Witch Academy's 'Nuo Mask,' and the Dragon Academy's 'Azure Scale,' all of whom are outstanding individuals."

Su Jielin's expression darkened slightly, and she sighed softly:
"The world is indeed vast and full of hidden talents. I grew up in Qingshen and thought that the world was dominated by Qingshen, with people from all directions paying homage and all nations coming to worship. I never expected that I would end up with my family destroyed and my family dying. I realized that I was like a frog in a well, unable to see the mountain I was looking at."

Seeing that she was recalling her sad memories again, Tong Runyuan comforted her:

“Sister Lin, although Qing Shen suffered a calamity and fell apart, you and I are considered lucky. If we hadn’t been eliminated early from the Taihe Martial Banquet and left Yuchuan early, avoiding falling into Li Wu’s trap, and hadn’t encountered the escaped cultivators on the way and learned of the fall of Cangwu and Nanhuai, we would probably be food for the Lich right now.”

Su Jielin nodded silently, deeply agreeing: "This is a stroke of luck amidst misfortune."

"Sister Lin, to be honest, the demise of our Qing Shen Dao Sect does not mean the demise of the entire Daoist school. The world is vast, and there are countless Daoist cultivators. It's just that without the blazing sun, they have all turned into countless stars in the sky."

Su Jielin knew this in her heart and nodded:
“Brother Tong, I understand. Our Taoist school is currently in decline and no longer has the ability to carve out a territory or establish a fiefdom. However, it is still difficult for any school to completely destroy us.”

"It's not that it's difficult to achieve, it's that it's simply impossible. In ancient times, all cultivators in the world revered the Dao. It is said that the first sage of Confucianism was also a disciple of the Dao Ancestor, and only later did he comprehend his own Dao. In ancient times, Confucianism, barbarian demons, and the Crystal Palace all received the favor of my Dao."

Tong Runyuan's expression was resolute.
“Even if the Daoist sects in other places perish, the Daoist sects in Wubi City will continue to exist. I heard from my cousin that the city lord of Wubi City is a member of our Daoist sect.”

"Is there such a thing?"

Su Jielin was both surprised and delighted, and couldn't help but stand up, "That's wonderful!"

"It's true."

Tong Runyuan continued:

"So, Linmei, don't worry. As long as we can enter the city and find our cousin, we will live in peace from now on."

"Ah."

Su Jielin responded softly, stepped forward and took Tong Runyuan's arm, her face flushed with shyness, and whispered,

"From now on, Lin'er will listen to Brother Tong."

Tong Runyuan saw her head slightly bowed, and smelled the delicate fragrance of orchids. He felt a surge of joy and couldn't help but lower his head to sniff. Realizing he had been somewhat inappropriate, he slightly turned his body and said seriously,
"Alright! Let's not delay any longer. Once we reach the land without walls, the risks will be much smaller."

As they spoke, the two rested for a moment, then summoned their flying shuttle again, took to the air, and braved the swirling snow to head west.

After the two left, a thin, long snow leopard suddenly jumped out of a snowdrift in the nearby woods. It was agile and left no trace in the snow. In its mouth, it was clearly holding a bloody human hand!
Its deep blue eyes watched the two figures disappear into the air, then it raised its head twice and swallowed the hand. It opened its mouth and uttered a difficult sentence.
"The remnants of the Green God...delicious...delicious, go tell the King..."

After saying that, he leaped several times and disappeared into the vast snowstorm.

Two days later, the wind subsided and the snow stopped, but everything was still covered in white.

After flying day and night for two days, Tong Runyuan saw that Su Jielin was exhausted, so he kindly suggested that she take a rest.

Since learning that Tong Runyuan had revealed his background in Wubi City, Su Jielin has regarded him as her only lifeline and has begun to look at him with new respect.

Although Tong Runyuan's appearance was far from that of her ideal husband, now that her family was destroyed and she was a homeless dog, what else could she ask for? She had already adjusted her mindset, from forcing a smile for him every day to being completely obedient to him.

The two descended into the mountains and walked among them, with Su Jielin clinging tightly to Tong Runyuan's body like a little bird.

Tong Runyuan was overwhelmed by lust at the sight of this beautiful young woman offering herself to him. He felt extremely uncomfortable and immediately summoned the "Colorful Glutton" from his [Ebony Banner] and flew away.

A moment later, the strange bird flew back, circled in the air, and cawed twice.

Tong Runyuan was delighted to see this and lowered his head to say:
“Lin-mei, we’ve been traveling these past few days and are quite tired. It’s getting late, and there’s a cave to the south. Why don’t we rest here for the night and make sure we arrive at Wubi City by tomorrow afternoon?”

Su Jielin knew exactly what he wanted to do. Now that Wubi City was within reach, it was only a matter of time before the deed was done, and there was no turning back. She could only blush and nod shyly.

Tong Runyuan was overjoyed and quickly urged the "Colorful Glutton" to lead the way, while he himself took Su Jielin's arm and hurried after them.

A moment later, the cave came into view, hidden behind a dense, lush forest.

"Linmei, please wait here for a moment. I'll go in and take a look first."

(End of this chapter)