Immortality and cultivation begin with full comprehension.

Chapter 656 Domestic Situation, Entering the Capital (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
The three moved extremely fast, dodging the spies of the imperial army along the way, and arrived at the territory where the valley was located in less than half a day.

A hundred miles outside the valley entrance, several fresh corpses lay scattered about; judging from their clothing, they were rogue cultivators attempting to cross over.

Li Yunjing suddenly raised his hand to signal to stop.

He focused his senses and said in a deep voice, "There's an ambush."

Before the words were finished, the surrounding black mist suddenly surged, and dozens of dark figures rushed out of the mist, surrounding the three of them.

The leader was dressed in a black robe, his face was withered, and he was clearly at the third level of the Golden Core Realm.

"Hehe, three more fat sheep have arrived."

The man in black robes chuckled sinisterly, "Leave your 'storage rings' behind, and we'll leave you with your corpses intact."

Li Yunjing calmly took out the "Yin Yang Five Elements Heavenly Evolution Sword" and smiled at the two women, saying, "It's really interesting to encounter a Tribulation Cultivator."

"Ugh! A bunch of stupid trash who don't know what's good for them!"

Neither Zhao Qi nor Su Muqing were easy to deal with; they were eager to try their luck against these ordinary cultivators.

Li Yunjing flicked his sword finger, and the "Yin Yang Five Elements Heavenly Evolution Sword" instantly split into five sword lights, with five colors flowing: blue, red, yellow, white, and black, which slashed towards the men in black.

"Let's try out my new ability."

Li Yunjing's lips curled up slightly, his sword technique changed, and the five-colored sword light suddenly surged.

Since his spiritual root achieved a breakthrough, he has benefited greatly, his cultivation speed has increased significantly, and his divine sense has increased from ninety miles to ninety miles!
His cultivation speed was also rapid, and his ability to recover energy was twice as fast as before!
Previously, Li Yunjing could maintain a high-intensity attack for more than a dozen moves for a long time; now, he can maintain it for thirty or forty moves!
This increased his combat power exponentially!
With the addition of various auxiliary tools, it can even boost abilities by more than three times.

Li Yunjing even had the idea of ​​killing a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator at the third level, let alone these Golden Core Realm and Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators.

"not good!"

Upon seeing this, the black-robed cultivator's expression changed drastically: "This is a tough opponent! Retreat!"

He was experienced in combat and reacted very quickly, but it was too late.

The cyan sword light transformed into a towering tree, blocking the retreat route; the crimson sword light ignited a raging fire; the yellow sword light caused the earth's veins to tremble; the white sword light exuded a chilling aura; and the black sword light surged in like a tidal wave.

"The five elements revolve, endlessly generating new life!"

The five-colored sword light intertwined into a net, instantly enveloping dozens of cultivators.

Screams rose and fell, and in the blink of an eye, all the cultivators had perished under the sword.

"My combat skills have indeed improved! I just unleashed a move, and the magical power within my body is still at its peak, without any loss!"

Li Yunjing sheathed his sword, leaving only a charred corpse on the ground.

"These cultivators are quite wealthy."

Zhao Qi searched a man in black robes and found several storage bags containing tens of thousands of spirit stones.

Su Muqing inspected the other spoils of war: "It seems they plundered quite a few passing cultivators here."

"You can divide these things equally!"

Li Yunjing's expression shifted, and he took out a black token from the black-robed man's arms, on which was engraved a hideous ghost face.

"The Mighty Demon Sect?"

He frowned slightly. "No wonder they dared to set up an ambush here. So they are from the 'Great Strength Demon Sect'."

"Wasn't the 'Great Might Demon Sect' wiped out by the 'Chang'an Dynasty' a hundred years ago?"

Zhao Qi was startled upon hearing this: "How could their people be here?"

"It seems to have been revived."

Li Yunjing crushed the token. "We shouldn't stay here any longer. Let's enter the valley as soon as possible and leave using the teleportation array!"

The "Mighty Demon Sect" is a very famous sect in the "Luofu Continent".

Back then, he was doing very well, but the demonic sects were all very arrogant, and in the end, he offended too many people and was wiped out by a joint effort of many forces.

The sudden appearance of people from this sect was quite unexpected for Li Yunjing.

Of course, this only applies to accidents.

In the world of cultivation, many extraordinary encounters involve obtaining relics from the ancients, allowing one to gradually cultivate from nothing.

Some extinct sects have been brought back to life in this way.

Before he could finish speaking, a sinister laugh suddenly came from afar: "You killed someone from my 'Mighty Demon Sect' and you think you can just leave?"

Suddenly, darkness fell between heaven and earth, and a gigantic ghostly hand emerged from the clouds, grabbing down towards the three of them!

That oppressive aura was clearly from a Nascent Soul level being!

"Old monster Nascent Soul!"

Su Muqing's face turned deathly pale.

"You can't stop us!"

Li Yunjing remained calm under pressure. The sword light of the "Yin Yang Five Elements Heavenly Evolution Sword" instantly merged into one, and the sword body shone with dazzling five-colored brilliance: "Five Elements United, Break!"

A dazzling sword light shot into the sky and collided fiercely with the ghostly hand.

Amidst the deafening explosion, a section of the ghost hand was severed!
"what?"

A surprised voice came from within the clouds, "A mere Golden Core cultivator could actually injure me?"

Dark clouds rolled in, and a gaunt old man emerged from the air, his eyes glowing with a ghostly green light.

He stared at the sword in Li Yunjing's hand, a greedy look on his face: "What a fine sword! It should belong to me!"

"How dare the remnants of the 'Great Might Demon Sect' be so arrogant?"

Li Yunjing had already leaped up, pointing his sword at the old man: "Today, we will not interfere with each other, and we will go our separate ways. If you insist on making things difficult for me, I will make sure your blood is spilled on the spot!"

"How arrogant!"

The old man laughed in fury: "You brat, you're courting death!"

The fact that a Golden Core cultivator spoke to him, a Nascent Soul cultivator, like that infuriated him!
The two instantly engaged in battle, their sword energy and ghostly aura intertwining, causing the surrounding rocks to crumble.

Zhao Qi and Su Muqing exchanged a glance, knowing that staying here would only be a burden to Li Yunjing, so they immediately retreated slowly to the north.

"Old ghost, you really don't know what's good for you!"

Seeing that the two women were far away, Li Yunjing suddenly changed his sword style, and the Yin and Yang energies once again erupted from the "Yin Yang Five Elements Heavenly Evolution Sword".

The Yin and Yang energies and the power of the Five Elements merged together, transforming into a chaotic sword energy that forced the old man back several steps.

Taking this opportunity, he took out a fourth-level "Samadhi True Fire Talisman".

"Boom!"

A fiery dragon soared out, baring its fangs and claws, flying towards the man. Along its path, space distorted. By the time the old man had finally managed to quell the "Samadhi True Fire" in his frantic efforts, Li Yunjing's figure had vanished instantly.

"A fourth-tier talisman?"

The old man was both shocked and furious. "That despicable brat!"

At this moment, Li Yunjing, Zhao Qi, and Su Muqing had traveled a hundred miles and entered "Cold Crow Valley".

The three traveled swiftly and soon arrived at the depths of "Crow Valley".

The valley was shrouded in mist, and a market town built of bluestone could be vaguely seen sitting in it.

At the entrance of the market stands a stone tablet with four simple and ancient characters: "Hanya Market".

"This is the 'Crow Valley' market."

Li Yunjing put away the "Yin Yang Five Elements Heavenly Evolution Sword" and explained to the two women, "This place is located in a no-man's-land, jointly managed by several rogue cultivators, and is dedicated to providing services for cultivators who need to conceal their whereabouts."

Upon entering the market, shops line both sides of the street.

Unlike the hustle and bustle of ordinary markets, this place was unusually quiet. The cultivators coming and going were all in a hurry, and most of them wore masks to conceal their aura.

"Let's go to the teleportation hall first."

Li Yunjing did not patronize these shops, but instead led the two women through several alleys to a black stone palace.

A bronze mirror hangs above the palace gate, its surface gleaming with a faint blue light.

"Where are you three going, fellow Daoists?"

A deacon wearing a bronze mask walked out of the hall, his voice hoarse.

"Beilingfang City."

Li Yunjing took out a storage bag and handed it over, saying, "This is the payment."

"Three hundred spirit stones each, three people in total, nine hundred."

The steward scanned the area with his divine sense and nodded, saying, "Fellow Daoist is knowledgeable! Very good! Please follow me."

Following the butler through the long corridor, the three arrived at a stone chamber filled with runes.

The ground was engraved with a complex teleportation array diagram, and twelve high-grade spirit stones, most of which were used, were inlaid around it.

"Stand in the center of the formation."

The steward activated the formation with a hand seal, saying, "Beiling Market is a thousand miles away. You may experience slight dizziness during the teleportation process, which is normal."

"understand!"

Li Yunjing and the other two nodded and stood on the formation.

As the formation lit up with a blinding white light, Li Yunjing and the other two felt dizzy and disoriented.

After a short while, they saw the light and found themselves in another similar teleportation hall.

"Welcome to 'Beiling Market'."

A female cultivator in a green dress greeted them with a smile, "Is this your first time here? Would you like a guide? It will only cost twenty spirit stones."

"No need! Continue teleporting!"

Li Yunjing politely declined the guide's offer, saying, "Next stop, 'Flying Dragon Market'!"

"Alright! Nine hundred spirit stones for three people."

The female cultivator in the green dress was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said. After paying the spirit stones again, Li Yunjing and his companions appeared in another market.

Immediately afterwards, Li Yunjing and the other two kept teleporting, with teleportation arrays lighting up one after another. Finally, they arrived at a large market and even activated four or five teleportation arrays.

The dense teleportation left the Nascent Soul Realm cultivators who were chasing behind dumbfounded, unable to discern where Li Yunjing and his companions were headed.

After a day of continuous teleportation, using hundreds of teleportation arrays, they finally arrived at "Qinglong Market," which was not far from the capital.

Although this market is called a market, it is more like a small town.

This is a crucial military stronghold specifically designed to protect the imperial capital.

Around the "Chang'an Dynasty" are four wards: Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise. Each ward is garrisoned by a city guard.

Upon entering the "Qinglong Market," Li Yunjing did not rush to the capital.

He wanted to observe the situation in the capital to see what the winds were blowing and whether there was any danger before deciding whether to enter.

"Let's find a place to stay first."

Li Yunjing pointed to a three-story restaurant not far away with a plaque that read "Zui Xian Lou" (Drunken Immortal Pavilion), and said, "Let's go have some food and learn about the situation here."

Zhao Qi and Su Muqing understood, nodded, and followed Li Yunjing to the restaurant.

Inside the private room of "Drunken Immortal Pavilion," Li Yunjing ordered a table of spiritual food.

After the waiter left, Li Yunjing sipped his spiritual tea while quietly releasing his divine sense to detect the conversations taking place throughout the restaurant.

"Have you heard? Fighting has broken out in 'Purple Cloud City'!"

A deliberately hushed voice came from the next private room, "The Xiao family is determined to rebel this time!"

"you do not say!"

Another person chimed in, "It is said that the Xiao family's ancestor has already broken through to the Nascent Soul realm, no wonder he dares to challenge the imperial court."

Li Yunjing raised an eyebrow and continued to listen intently.

"If you ask me, the imperial court has indeed gone too far these past few years."

Inside the main hall, several rogue cultivators were talking loudly: "The taxes are getting heavier every year, and even we rogue cultivators have to pay a 'spiritual energy tax'!"

"Shh! Keep your voice down!"

His companion glanced around nervously. "You don't want to live anymore? What if the 'Patrol Division' hears you say that..."

"What are you afraid of?"

The man, however, remained unconcerned, saying, "The imperial court doesn't care about these things now. I heard even the Imperial Guards have been transferred to the front lines!"

"Hehe! Let them fight! Let the Zhao and Xiao families fight to the death, we'll just watch the show."

"I wonder if the imperial court still has a chance to turn things around after its several defeats?"

"I think their time is up."

……

In a private room on the second floor, several richly dressed cultivators were having a secret conversation: "My father sent word that thirty percent of the court officials have secretly contacted the Xiao family. If the war goes against us, I'm afraid..."

"Be careful!"

The older man quickly interrupted, "The walls have ears!"

Li Yunjing withdrew his divine sense and seemed to be deep in thought.

Having gathered information from various sources, Li Yunjing had a general idea of ​​what was going on.

It seems that the Xiao family's uprising has indeed shaken the foundation of the imperial court, and even the cultivators near the capital are beginning to feel uneasy.

At this moment, the waiter brought in the sacred food.

Li Yunjing asked casually, "Brother, what's been happening in the capital lately?"

"Are you from out of town, sir?"

The waiter looked around and lowered his voice, saying, "Things are really tense in the city lately. Just a few days ago, a cultivator was arrested by the 'Inspection Bureau' for discussing politics!"

"Oh?"

Li Yunjing handed over a spirit stone, saying, "We're new here, so we hope you can give us some pointers."

"If you have nothing else to say, it's best not to talk nonsense in the city."

The waiter deftly collected the spirit stones, his voice even lower: "'Qinglong Market' is a bit better, but if you go to the capital, you must be careful with your words and actions! In particular, don't go near the imperial city. It's heavily guarded now; not even a fly can get in."

"I see!"

Li Yunjing nodded, understanding the situation.

"Sir, even if you go to the capital, try your best not to cause trouble. The management is too strict now. Our manager has a home in the capital, but he doesn't like to go back anymore. Every time he enters the city, he is subject to strict checks!"

The waiter gave one more piece of advice before taking his leave.

After the waiter left, Zhao Qi set up a soundproof barrier: "Husband, it seems the situation in the capital is more tense than we imagined."

"The Xiao family has made quite a move this time."

Li Yunjing nodded: "It seems that the Zhao family's rule has truly been shaken."

"This is actually a good thing for us."

He picked up a piece of spirit beast meat. "The imperial court is too busy taking care of itself to have the energy to track down our whereabouts."

"Should we still go to the capital?"

Su Muqing was somewhat worried.

"Go, of course."

A glint flashed in Li Yunjing's eyes. "There are long-distance teleportation arrays in the capital. We can use these arrays to travel directly to the northern frontier, which is a million miles away."

After the meal, the three of them found an inn to stay at.

"These are all materials provided by Xiao Yuntian."

Li Yunjing took out three jade slips: "Take a look at them and memorize the rules and customs, so that it won't be easy for others to notice anything unusual!"

"it is good!"

Zhao Qi and Su Muqing knew the seriousness of the matter, so they immediately took the jade slip and memorized its contents.

The next morning, the three checked out of their hotel room and headed towards the capital.

Just ten miles from "Qinglongfang Market", a wide official road, hundreds of feet long, came into view.

The official road was paved with green jade, and every ten feet on each side stood a bronze beast statue about ten feet tall, which gleamed with an ancient luster in the morning sun.

"This is the 'Chaotian Road' leading to the capital."

Li Yunjing pointed into the distance, "It is said that this road has existed since the founding of the country and has remained intact for hundreds of thousands of years."

As the distance closed, a majestic silhouette gradually emerged on the distant horizon.

It was a colossal city that almost reached the sky, with walls over ten thousand feet high, their entire surface a dark gold, resembling a coiled dragon in the morning light.

"This...this is the capital city?"

Su Muqing looked up at the city wall that was getting closer and closer, her beautiful eyes filled with shock.

Even from dozens of miles away, the overwhelming aura that swept over us was enough to take our breath away.

In the "Southern Continent," there are no behemoth-level dynasties; most exist in the form of families or sects.

But this place is different. In the "Luofu Continent", there are three major dynasties, and the "Chang'an Dynasty" is one of them.

"Legend has it that the walls of the imperial capital were built by mixing 'mysterious heavenly gold' with dragon blood, and even a Nascent Soul cultivator could not budge them."

Zhao Qi was also seeing such a magnificent building for the first time: "I never thought it was real!"

"amazing!"

Even Li Yunjing nodded secretly, his expression solemn.

The "Chang'an Dynasty" was on par with the "Shenxiao Dao Sect".

Of course, since the two sides had not yet gone to war, Li Yunjing did not know who was stronger or weaker, but in his heart, he still felt that the "Shenxiao Dao Sect" was more powerful.

However, the magnificent city before him still greatly shocked Li Yunjing.

He pondered for a moment, "If the Shenxiao Dao Sect were to replace the Xiao clan and launch an attack on this giant city, could it conquer it within a hundred years?"

He wasn't sure about this!

The closer one gets to the capital, the denser the crowds become on the official roads.

There were cultivators piloting flying boats, caravans driving spirit beasts, and mostly ordinary people traveling on foot.

Everyone lined up in an orderly fashion, waiting to enter the city for inspection.

Li Yunjing and his two companions concealed their auras and blended into the crowd as ordinary Golden Core cultivators.

As the procession moved slowly forward, the details of the capital city gradually became clearer.

The city walls were covered with mysterious runes, and there was an arrow tower every hundred paces.
A giant crystal ball floats on the rooftop.

At the city gate, two teams of golden-armored guards stood holding halberds, each exuding the aura of a Golden Core cultivator.

Above the city gate, the two gilded characters "Chang'an" gleamed brightly, faintly surrounded by a dragon-like aura.

"Line up for inspection!"

A guard shouted, "Everyone, prepare your identity jade tokens!"

Li Yunjing took out a fake jade token that he had prepared beforehand and whispered, "Remember, we are now rogue cultivators from the Southern Frontier, here in the capital to purchase elixirs."

The Xiao family was well-prepared and handled this small matter very clearly.

After a thorough check, the three men's identities were found to be in order. After paying thirty low-grade spirit stones, they were finally allowed to enter the city.

The scene before my eyes was even more breathtaking!
(End of this chapter)