One of my fairy-like friends

Using spiritual energy is naturally much faster than usual, but because the spiritual energy is thin in these places, Mingyan can't absorb too much spiritual energy. Moreover, he also needs to conserve some spiritual energy to deal with sudden situations, so his speed has never been at full speed. After traveling quickly for a while, he has to wait for the spiritual energy to recover.

After repeating this process for two days, Mingyan arrived at the center of his journey, a city built by cultivators called Nanming City.

Although this city was built by cultivators and most of the people in it are also cultivators, it is open to mortals. However, mortals generally do not come here. After all, if ordinary people come, they will definitely be looked down upon by some arrogant cultivators. Many cultivators treat mortals no differently than ants. In their eyes, mortals are nothing but worthless lives and cannot be respected.

Naturally, ordinary people would not come to this town where cultivators gather.

Once Mingyan arrived outside the city, he could feel the rich spiritual energy of the place, almost rivaling that of the former Yutai Blessed Land.

The map shows that this city is also one of the cultivation forces, but its system is quite unique.

The owner of the city, namely the city lord of Nanming City, is the leader of this force. He also recruits disciples, just like any other blessed land, except for the different naming system.

Mingyan walked to the gate, but there was no one guarding it, so he went straight into the city. He planned to rest here for a while, inquire about some information, and then continue on his way.

The currency used for transactions between cultivators and mortals is different. Mortals use gold, silver, and copper, while cultivators use a special crystal called spirit crystal. Most spirit crystals are similar to gold, silver, and copper coins in the mortal world. They are mined from underground and contain rich ancient spiritual energy. This ancient spiritual energy is much more concentrated and pure than the spiritual energy that can be absorbed in the world today. If used for cultivation, it will be twice as effective.

It should be noted that although cultivators can generate spiritual energy on their own after the Yin and Yang tombs are built, the spiritual energy they generate is completely insufficient for the breakthrough required. Therefore, it is a daily practice for high-level cultivators to prepare some spiritual crystals when breaking through.

Before Mingyan left the sect, Liu Yunfeng gave him some spirit crystals in case he needed them.

Mingyan strolled around the city. Most of the cultivators in the city were not of high cultivation level, with many being cultivators at the Spring of Qi and Accumulation of Qi realms. Only a very few were at the Taixi realm. Mingyan could not sense any cultivators with higher cultivation levels than himself, but he figured there must still be cultivators at the Sea of ​​Qi or even higher.

When he went to the Huang family before, the people there were either ordinary people or cultivators at the Yinling or Yangling level or higher... Huang Junyi, Huang Qingfei, Huang Junru and others were even at the half-step Renying or Renying realms... They were a powerful clan that was almost at the top of the world, while this town was the cultivation world that cultivators of his level could come into contact with.

There were many vendors in the city selling so-called ancient materials. Mingyan was interested in selecting materials for his weapon, so he looked around for a while and then found that most of these materials had no spiritual energy, and those with spiritual energy were extremely rare. They were not suitable for forging high-grade weapons at all, so he left disappointed.

It's hard to find anything good at street stalls, and Mingyan wasn't willing to be ripped off. He didn't have many spirit crystals to begin with, and he couldn't afford to waste them on this.

"Young master, please wait." Ming Yan was just about to find a crowded place to see if he could find out any information when he heard someone calling him from behind. He stopped and turned around to see a young man wearing a crown and uniform walking towards him. He couldn't sense the man's cultivation level; he was either an ordinary person or someone with a higher cultivation level than him.

"Are you calling me, brother?"

"Hehe, that's right." The uniformed man smiled slightly. "My name is Chen Qiming, and I am a cultivator from Nanming City. I noticed that you are not wearing any identification badge, so I may ask if you belong to any sect?"

Mingyan used to have it, but now he doesn't, so he shook his head and said, "No."

"Is the young master a rogue cultivator?" The man in uniform addressed him respectfully as "young master," and Ming Yan naturally reciprocated with the same politeness.

"I suppose so. May I ask what's the matter?"

"Would you be willing to join Nanming City, young master? The path of cultivation is long and arduous, and it would be too lonely to cultivate alone. With more senior and junior brothers, you'd have someone to take care of you on your cultivation journey," the uniformed man said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Mingyan gently shook his head, "I am grateful for your high regard, but I already have someone I like, so I must decline your offer."

“Oh...I see. Then I won’t insist. Of course, if you wish to return later, you can do so at any time. The registration point is at the City Lord’s Mansion.” The uniformed man was not angry after being rejected. He clasped his hands in a salute and said, “I will not disturb you any longer, young master. I hope you have a safe journey.”

The man in uniform then left, wandered the streets for a while, and then approached a cultivator at the Taixi Realm...

Upon seeing this, Mingyan realized that Nanming City was having trouble recruiting new disciples. How pitiful! That person was at least a cultivator at the Sea Illumination Realm, yet he was so enthusiastically trying to recruit people on the street... Didn't he have any shame?

Thinking about it, it makes sense. Nanming City is so close to the Fenglingyueying Holy Land. If there are any good talents, they will definitely go to the Fenglingyueying Holy Land. They can probably only pick up the cultivators that the Fenglingyueying Holy Land doesn't want... This is the awkward situation for a sect of this kind of blessed land to be too close to a holy land.

Mingyan withdrew his gaze, found a tavern, and went inside.

The aroma of wine wafted through the tavern. Many cultivators enjoy drinking, and most of the wine they drink is spiritual wine. Mingyan has a high alcohol tolerance and used to like to drink some wine before hunting to warm up, but he hasn't drunk any wine for a long time since he started cultivating.

When Mingyan entered, he was surprised to find that the sign on the door read "You can bring your own drinks." Mingyan was stunned for a moment, and then thought about whether he should take out the peach blossom wine that Huang Qingfei had given him and drink it... But after thinking about it, Mingyan gave up the idea. If these drunkards smelled the aroma of the peach blossom wine, they would probably cause trouble. So Mingyan asked the waiter to bring a pot of wine.

The waiters here are all cultivators at the Accumulation Stream Realm...

In the eyes of ordinary people, the difference between cultivation and cultivation is like heaven and earth. But in the eyes of cultivators, the stagnant springs are as common as dogs, and they basically live at the bottom of the cultivation world.

In the eyes of cultivators, strength is paramount; only the powerful can earn respect.

Mingyan sighed inwardly and began to listen attentively to the conversation in the tavern.

"I heard that Fenglingyueying has started its fall recruitment?"

"Yes, but this year there are very few male disciples recruited, which is quite different from previous years."

"Then my brother's chances of registering this time are slim, aren't they?"

"I remember your younger brother was 9 years old and already had comminuted angiography, right?"

"Yeah... I wonder if I'll be chosen..."

"I feel that nine years old is a bit late for accumulating qi. If one starts accumulating qi at nine, can one reach Yinling at sixteen?"

"That might be a bit difficult..."

Ming Yan's eyes flickered slightly. It seemed that the younger the age and the higher the cultivation level, the greater the chance of being chosen. However, Feng Lingyueying recruited very few male disciples? This puzzled Ming Yan.

Huang Feiyan had previously told him that Fengling and Yueying were divided into two academies: Fengling Academy and Yueying Academy. Fengling was for male disciples, and Yueying was for female disciples. They should both admit students in the same way... um...

Moreover, without Huang Junru's letter, he probably wouldn't have been able to get in... He's not young anymore, only reaching the Taixi Realm at sixteen. A holy land of the level of Fengling Yueying would probably look down on him; age is also a very important factor.

Just like that waiter, who looked to be in his twenties or thirties but was only at the Accumulation Flow Realm, he was completely different from a nine-year-old at the Accumulation Flow Realm. One could barely be called a genius, while the other was a complete mediocre talent.

Mingyan drank some wine and then left the tavern. There was very little information to be found here. Mingyan's spiritual energy had also recovered to a sufficient extent, and it was time to continue his journey.

He left Nanming City and continued his journey towards the Fenglingyueying Holy Land.

However, he hadn't gone far when Mingyan keenly noticed that someone seemed to be following him.

Mingyan was once a hunter with exceptional tracking and counter-tracking abilities, but he found it rather strange that someone was following him.

He didn't flaunt his wealth in the city, and his cultivation level wasn't particularly outstanding; he should have been inconspicuous in the city...

He vanished without a trace, disappearing almost entirely into the forest.

The other party quickly lost track of the clues left by Mingyan and stopped the pursuit. They lingered for a while at the last place where Mingyan's traces were found before finally leaving.

Little did he know, Mingyan had actually gone around to check things out. What he saw shocked him – a woman with...strange looks... Although he didn't know why she was following him, he figured it probably wasn't anything good. He sighed inwardly; men really need to protect themselves when they're out in the world...

Chapter Forty: Wind Spirit and Moon Shadow

After asking the female cultivator who had been following him for some unknown reason to leave, Ming Yan hesitated. He wondered if he should disguise himself. He felt that his face would cause him a lot of trouble. Ming Yan had heard that some talented and handsome male cultivators were captured by female cultivators to be used as furnaces. If they were good-looking, it would be fine, at least they could die under the peony flower. But if they looked strange, it would be a double torment of mind and body.

Ming Yan didn't want to be used as a furnace, regardless of how good-looking the other party was... Being exploited as a furnace would severely damage one's cultivation, not only harming the body but also easily causing a decline in cultivation, and possibly even turning one into a cripple.

But he didn't know any disguise techniques; he could only apply strange pigments to his face as a substitute. Perhaps that would actually attract attention...

After thinking it over, Mingyan decided to abandon the idea.

After all, once they arrive at Fenglingyueying, there shouldn't be any foolish female cultivators who dare to capture disciples of the Holy Land to use as cultivation vessels, right? They would face fierce retaliation.

After the minor incident, it took another two days for Mingyan to finally see his destination in the distance. He stood on the mountaintop and looked into the distance, where clouds and mist swirled, and he could barely make out the mountains.

According to the markings on the map, that is the Fengling Yueying Holy Land. It is still at least half a day's journey away from the Fengling Yueying Holy Land, but you can already feel the surrounding spiritual energy gradually becoming denser, comparable to the previous Nanming City. However, it is clear that no blessed land dares to get so close to the Holy Land.

Mingyan left the mountaintop and headed towards the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Holy Land, gradually seeing other cultivators along the way.

Previously in Nanming City, Mingyan had heard that Fengling Yueying was recruiting new disciples. These cultivators must have signed up as well, right?

Most of these cultivators are not very old, generally younger than Ming Yan, and their cultivation levels are similar to Ming Yan's. Most of them are not outstanding, and it is unknown whether they will be chosen in the fierce competition.

Ming Yan wasn't particularly conspicuous in the crowd. He followed the main group towards Fenglingyueying. There must have been at least seven or eight hundred people in this group. Did they all want to enter the Fenglingyueying Holy Land...?

The closer Mingyan got to the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Holy Land, the more he could feel the dense spiritual energy. Unlike in the outer courtyard of the Phoenix Clan, Mingyan could feel a faint pressure as he approached the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Holy Land, and the closer he got, the stronger the pressure became.

If what Mingyan felt in the outer courtyard of the Huang family was gentleness, then what he feels now is majesty.

As you approach, you can gradually see the situation within the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Holy Land. The majestic mountains reveal their true forms through the clouds and mist. They stand tall on the earth, appearing extremely steep, like peerless swords pointing straight to the sky, their sharpness fully revealed! Above them, you can see clusters of buildings stretching endlessly as if carved into the mountains. Countless floating islands are suspended in the air, connected by chains. Waterfalls cascade down from above, like a Milky Way falling from the celestial realm to the mortal world. As the mist permeates the air, it appears even more ethereal, creating a breathtakingly beautiful scene on earth.

This is the Sacred Land of Wind Spirit Moon Shadow... another sacred land of cultivation standing at the pinnacle of the world, a place where one can realize their pursuits and desires.

Ming Yan withdrew his gaze, and could feel the intense pressure even more. He turned to look at the others around him and found that many cultivators had pained expressions and slowed their steps, as if they were enduring something.

Mingyan was somewhat puzzled. Although he could feel a strong sense of pressure, he could bear it completely. He moved lightly and slowly distanced himself from the others.

Many cultivators, like Mingyan, were not affected by the pressure. Mingyan paid attention to them and found that they were all teenagers who looked to be twelve or thirteen years old, and he could not tell their cultivation level.

Generally speaking, there are two possibilities if you can't discern their cultivation level: either the other person isn't a cultivator and has no cultivation to begin with, or their cultivation level is higher than yours, making it impossible to tell. These youths are actually more powerful than you...

The relaxed-looking young men and women also noticed Ming Yan. One of the boys showed goodwill towards Ming Yan and nodded slightly to him, while the others either glanced at him coldly and ignored him, or looked at him with sarcasm.

These people were indeed arrogant, but that was normal. Seeing a cultivator older than them and with lower cultivation level showing such an expression was understandable. Ming Yan didn't take it to heart, but simply smiled in response to the kind-looking young man and continued walking forward.

The closer they got to Feng Lingyueying, the more intense the pressure became, but Mingyan and the seven or eight young men and women all successfully reached the gates of Feng Lingyueying.

At the foot of the mountain gate, Ming Yan raised his head and looked at the plaque. It had four large characters on it: "Wind Spirit Moon Shadow". Laws were flashing on it, and he could feel the flow of spiritual energy. It was extremely majestic, as if it was pressing down on his heart, making him feel extremely heavy.

Beneath the plaque, two men and two women stood side by side. When they saw Mingyan and the very young boy walking over together, they all looked surprised, as if they were quite astonished that Mingyan could come to this place.

The two men and two women were all quite powerful, so they could naturally sense that Ming Yan's cultivation was only at the Taixi Realm.

"Stop, wait a moment for the others," one of the female cultivators said, suppressing her unusual expression.

Mingyan turned around and looked behind him, and found that although many cultivators looked distressed, they gradually walked over. Before he knew it, about a hundred people had gathered.

Or rather, only about a hundred people remained. The remaining hundreds of people failed to reach the door, and those who didn't make it to the door will probably be eliminated.

"The fact that you've reached the foot of the mountain proves your talent is exceptional. Now, you need to follow the path behind us up the mountain on your own. Once you reach the summit, you'll qualify for the second test. Let me make this clear: from the moment you feel the pressure, you've entered the formation. The more talented you are, the easier the journey will be. This has nothing to do with your cultivation level; it's simply about how well your body adapts to spiritual energy and laws. This partially reflects your cultivation talent. The same applies as you go higher, and the higher you go, the more rigorous the pressure becomes. If you lack confidence, you can give up here. Otherwise, if you force your way through and suffer internal injuries, the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Holy Land will not be responsible."

"If we reach the summit, will we be considered disciples of the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Holy Land?" asked a boy of eleven or twelve years old.

"It's just a ticket to the second test." The female cultivator glanced at the young man and said, "Now that everyone is here, let's begin the climb."

As he spoke, the four cultivators who were blocking their way stepped aside, opening the path up the mountain for the remaining hundred-plus people.

Mingyan started walking up the mountain.

The pressure was intense, but apart from feeling a little uncomfortable, Ming Yan was not affected in any other way. He walked quickly, and since it was a test of talent, he was eager to show off his abilities.

Both Huang Feiyan and Huang Junyi praised his exceptional talent, giving Mingyan a great deal of confidence. He forged ahead without hesitation, and indeed, the pressure wasn't too heavy.

"That person looks to be about my age, and he's only at the Taixi Realm, so why is he so relaxed?" A young man who had been walking from a distance and was already panting heavily was quite unconvinced when he saw Ming Yan walking on flat ground.

"As I said, this has nothing to do with cultivation level; it's purely about innate talent for cultivation," the female cultivator replied calmly. In fact, she had also noticed Ming Yan and was somewhat surprised, because if Ming Yan had such good talent, he shouldn't have such a cultivation level at such a young age... It seems he probably entered the immortal sect very late, wasting some time.

The young men and women who had initially looked down on Mingyan showed different expressions when they saw him walking at the front of the group. They put away their contempt and tried to catch up with Mingyan, but Mingyan's steps were light and quick, and he quickly climbed up the mountain, turning two steps into one.

"Holy crap, what kind of monster is this guy?" A teenager couldn't help but curse as he watched Ming Yan walk faster and faster while his steps became heavier. "How can he take several steps at a time?"

The other teenagers were also quite speechless. Everyone else was undergoing a tense and difficult test, while Mingyan seemed completely relaxed, as if he were just taking a stroll...

The two male cultivators supervising the training beamed with delight. "Looks like we've found some promising talent..."

For some reason, the higher Mingyan climbed, the lighter he felt, and even the oppressive aura he felt at the foot of the mountain had vanished. He found this strange; could the formation have malfunctioned? Looking back, he saw the others still struggling to climb, realizing the formation was still working...

Well, although I don't know what's going on, it's always good to keep climbing.

Even Ming Yan was unaware that his body was undergoing subtle changes after sensing the intense pressure. With the support of these changes, the increasingly heavy pressure became completely insignificant to him, and he casually surged upwards.

This change went unnoticed by others, including Mingyan himself, but within the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Holy Land, one person discovered it...