The Legend of Fangren

The closer you get, the more you are captivated by the city wall that stretches for hundreds of meters, like a natural barrier that keeps wild beasts out.

And this is only the rear wall of Emerald City. Emerald Forest is located behind Emerald City. Because it is protected by Emerald City, there are no wild beasts in the vast forest, and even ordinary people can pass through boldly, just like in the city. Therefore, it shares the same name as the city and is simply called Emerald Forest.

However, there is also an element of exaggeration in this story. It is called a forest, but it is actually a sea. The forest is vast, so how could it not have wild animals? It's just that there are fewer large animals.

The group came from the wilderness, not taking the official road, so it was not surprising that they met.

Just then, a rustling sound came from deep in the forest, and a white sheep with a single horn and one eye came into view.

Further behind, it appears there are others chasing them.

With the beast right in front of him, he had no time to think.

"Prepare to kill," the elder said calmly. The disciples behind him immediately took out their magical weapons and skillfully spread out.

Luohe stepped forward, taking the lead, gripping his spear with both hands. As the white sheep charged in front of him, he dodged to the side, twisting his feet and turning his waist, delivering a sharp thrust with his spear, striking the white sheep's eye with shock. In an instant, the sharpness entered the white sheep's vision, making it black out.

Qu Mei seized the opportunity to strike, pinning down Flying Hoof and tripping up Aries.

As Aries fell, everyone noticed that he was injured. With this fall, his life force was completely dissipated. He rolled and crashed into a tree, where he died.

"Fellow Daoist! Wait a moment!"

Just then, a man and a woman came chasing after them. The man called out to them and they arrived in front of them in the blink of an eye.

Seeing that the white sheep was dead, he breathed a sigh of relief. He glanced at the disciples, briefly checked their auras, and then went straight to Elder Qian, bowed and said, "Senior, my partner and I had been chasing this sheep with great effort, but we happened to run into you. I see that you have a high level of cultivation, and I hope you can share some of the spiritual medicine inside the white sheep with us as medicinal materials. We will not use the rest."

Elder Qian said, "Since that's the case, we only want the Aries's spiritual flesh, and the rest is all yours, how about that?"

The man was overjoyed and nodded hurriedly, "Thank you, senior."

At this moment, the woman behind the man stepped forward. Finding the clothing of the people before her very familiar, she immediately recognized them and said, "Senior, could you perhaps be a cultivator from the Dragon River Sect?"

Elder Xian nodded: "Exactly."

"So you're a fellow Daoist from the same lineage."

The woman was overjoyed and immediately pulled the man aside to introduce herself: "Senior, my name is Tu Xiaoqing. I was also a disciple of the Dragon River Sect at the Earth Rank. A few years ago, I descended the mountain when I reached the third Rank Qi Gathering Realm. This is my Daoist partner, named Nanhe. We are from the southeast border region. We are now members of the Emerald City Pill Association. Today, we are chasing this white sheep for the spiritual herbs needed for alchemy."

Upon hearing this, Elder Qian nodded and said, "I see. But I think this white sheep is only at the first level. Your cultivation levels are all close to the Qi Gathering Perfection stage. Why do you need such a low-level spiritual medicine?"

Nanhe smiled and said, "Elder, you may not know this, but the formation of pills requires the gathering of the five elements. This sheep is pure white, and the spiritual medicine is very likely to be of the metal element, which is extremely rare. Even if it is only of the first grade, it can still be used as a medicinal core."

Tu Xiaoqing then smiled and said, "I've calculated the dates, and today is the day when the sect's new disciples go down the mountain for their first training. I presume you are the elder leading the group? But why are there so few disciples, and it seems there is no Grand Elder accompanying them..."

To avoid any misunderstanding, Elder Qian explained the situation. The two people sighed, never expecting that such a large sect as the Dragon River Sect would encounter such an unexpected turn of events, with even the Grand Elder defecting from the sect.

"In that case, things might not be so stable for the cultivation world anymore. We also need to be careful in this Emerald City," Tu Xiaoqing said. "Elder, since we're going into the city, how about we travel together?"

"Alright."

Elder Xian nodded, and then the group entered the city together.

"Wow……"

Upon entering Emerald City, the disciples were astonished by the sight inside.

It can truly be described as: pavilions and towers stand in abundance, red bricks and green tiles cover the sky, colorful lanterns hang high like stars, and elegant flags flutter freely in the wind.

In contrast to the few tall wooden buildings in the city lord's mansions of the city lords and Qingye City, Emerald City has them everywhere.

The high-rise buildings on both sides are four or five stories high, with restaurants, canteens, flower shops, fabric shops, and other shops selling cosmetics, utensils, and clothing. The shop flags and signs at different heights are dazzling. It is such a bustling and intoxicating place that it makes the street, which is clearly more than 20 meters wide, feel so crowded that it seems like people are bumping into each other and can't move their legs.

Only after entering the city did I understand why the inscriptions on both sides of the city wall read: "High walls built of bluestone stand, a jade city for a thousand years and a hundred generations."

Such a bustling city, a prosperous age spanning centuries, would surely make even the most aloof hermit immortals pause for a moment.

No wonder this Senior Sister Tu descended the mountain at the third level and came here.

The group was even more relieved that they had followed the two fellow Daoists into the city; otherwise, even with a map, they probably wouldn't have been able to find the inn in the city for a while.

"Everyone stay close and don't get lost," Elder Qian instructed, but she herself couldn't help but take a few more glances at the bustling city. She sighed inwardly, "After so many years, this place is still so captivating."

Just like jade, precious and beautiful, occasionally a few cultivators can be seen flying over the streets. Their cultivation level is no less than the fourth level, and at the very least, it is the third level of Qi Gathering Perfection.

Tu Xiaoqing and her companion led the elder and disciple to the inn, and then said, "Senior, our pill shop is just two or three shops away. If you junior sisters want to buy some pills, feel free to come to our shop. We can help you choose good pills so you won't get ripped off by that cunning old man at the counter."

Elder Qian bowed and said, "Thank you very much."

Upon arriving at the post station, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

This Emerald City is so prosperous, yet the inn is surprisingly empty. After all, this is an official reception venue, and only those with a token can check in.

The elder then addressed his disciples, saying, "Jade City is located at the border, not far from the Fire Palace, less than 30% of the way away. We will stay here for a while to collect materials for mystical artifacts. During this time, we may temporarily join some cultivator teams. This will be important experience that you will all need when you go down the mountain to enter the world in the future."

Having said that, I'll use the rest of the day to get some rest.

But then, some cultivators appeared at the entrance of the inn, peering inside.

The innkeeper seemed unfazed and went forward to chase them away.

"Go away, go away. Today's guests are all disciples of the sect. It's their first time going down the mountain for training. How can we risk going to dangerous places with you?"

After driving the people away, the manager explained to everyone, "There are many cultivator families and independent cultivators in this Emerald City. Whenever a rare treasure, a ruin, a cave, or a mysterious realm is discovered in the wilderness, it will attract a group of people to search for the treasure. Independent cultivators also need to find helpers everywhere. Occasionally, some wandering independent cultivators who can be entertained will come to our inn, and those guys often come to visit."

"Oh..." the disciples understood, then asked the elder, "Elder, are we going on an expedition in the next few days?"

"It depends on the situation," Elder Qian said. "It's always uncertain and too dangerous for independent cultivators to take risks. We'd better contact the officials and clans in the city and go out with some soldiers to fight. If we get any materials, we can buy them at a cheaper price."