Great Immortal With Boundless Mana

Chapter 216: Qingyun

The scorching sun hung high in the sky, and the blue sky seemed boundless.

A black and gold flying ship soared through the azure sky at high speed. The ship had a pointed front and a round middle, resembling a huge golden jujube seed.

The four-zhang-long flying ship had a two-zhang-long cabin in the middle, capable of accommodating twelve people.

Currently, there were only four people and a small black cat in the cabin.

Gao Xian and Yun Chenglin, the manager of the Yunshui Tower in Lianyun City, sat facing each other, chatting along the way.

Yun Chenglin mainly introduced Gao Xian to the local customs of Qingyun City and gave a general overview of the Qingyun Sect.

Yun Chenglin was tactful and only touched on the situation of the Qingyun Sect briefly.

Gao Xian chatted casually and had no intention of prying into any internal information from Yun Chenglin.

If one were to talk about the scale of power, the Qingyun Sect was a hundred times larger than the Lianyun Sect. The complexity of its internal affairs was something even Yun Qiushui would find difficult to explain in a short time, let alone Yun Chenglin, who was just a peripheral steward of the Yunshui Tower. He probably had no access to any confidential information of the Qingyun Sect.

He knew that the information he had heard was likely just rumors. If he were to believe everything he heard, he might end up in trouble.

Gao Xian's idea was simple: to obtain the identity of a true disciple.

As the saying goes, it's good to lean against a big tree for shade.

He had coincidentally met Yun Qiushui, and he naturally wanted to make use of this connection.

The path of cultivation was full of twists and turns, and one wrong step could change one's destiny.

Being able to cultivate in a major sect like the Qingyun Sect would undoubtedly save him from taking countless detours.

While Gao Xian was chatting with Yun Chenglin, Wan Yingying, who was leaning against the window, suddenly exclaimed excitedly, "Brother, Qingyun City, we've arrived!"

Wan Yingying's position allowed her to see the huge city ahead, although she couldn't see it clearly. She could only see vast stretches of buildings sprawling across the land, with densely packed structures that seemed to stretch endlessly, making it impossible to see the end.

Yun Chenglin stood up and looked outside. A smile appeared on his face. "That's Qingyun City ahead. Our journey has been quite smooth."

From Lianyun City to Qingyun City, it was at least several thousand miles away. Although the flying ship was fast, it still took two days and two nights to reach their destination.

During this journey, they flew over desolate mountains and hills, with barely any signs of human habitation.

There were inevitably various demonic birds and beasts, some of which were even faster than the flying ship.

The flying ships traveling between Qingyun and Lianyun cities often encountered attacks from these demonic birds and beasts. That was why they used fully enclosed flying ships made of black and gold.

Yun Chenglin had traveled between the two cities many times, but such a smooth journey was quite rare. Therefore, he was in a good mood.

Yun Chenglin had important matters to attend to in Qingyun City this time, so he brought along Gao Xian, Wan Yingying, Da Niu, and a small black cat.

For this, Gao Xian paid eight hundred spirit stones as transportation fees. This was already a discount given by Yun Chenglin, considering Gao Xian was a regular customer.

Gao Xian initially thought the price was a bit expensive, but after the journey, he felt it was acceptable.

The enclosed flying ship was not spacious, but it was still comfortable. Especially for Wan Yingying, who was young and had low cultivation, she couldn't withstand continuous flying day and night. She needed proper rest.

The small black cat was also delicate and needed careful attention. Only Da Niu was tough and could endure. He had been taking care of Wan Yingying and the small black cat for the past two days, and he looked tired now.

Seeing Qingyun City, Da Niu's spirits were lifted. They had finally arrived.

Gao Xian stood up and walked to the window, and the enormous Qingyun City came into view.

Qingyun City and Lianyun City were very similar in terms of topography, both nestled among mountains and rivers.

The difference was that Qingyun City was backed by towering green mountains, with green clouds swirling around the peaks, connecting the green mountains and blue sky.

With such high mountains and vast sky, the clouds were ethereal, and flocks of birds circled among them. Occasionally, streaks of light would appear, giving it a touch of celestial aura.

Below the mountain peaks, the huge city walls were neatly planned, and the crisscrossing straight streets divided the city into distinct areas, like a giant chessboard.

Gao Xian couldn't help but sigh at this sight. In his previous life, he had seen many well-planned cities, but when it came to meticulousness, Qingyun City far surpassed all the cities he had seen.

Every street in Qingyun City is exceptionally straight, without any curves or unnecessary buildings obstructing the way.

Yun Chenglin introduced, "Qingyun City has thirteen main streets that run through the entire city, with a total of 169 blocks. According to the two main streets in the middle, the city can be divided into four districts: east, south, west, and north."

Gao Xian looked with interest at the layout of Qingyun City, which seemed similar to Lianyun City but larger and more orderly.

According to Yun Chenglin, when Qingyun City was built, a Nascent Soul sword cultivator from the Qingyun Sect personally used his unparalleled Sword Intent to draw the thirteen main streets of Qingyun City.

After thousands of years, the unparalleled Sword Intent still remained, maintaining the order of the thirteen streets.

So, in fact, Lianyun City imitated the layout of Qingyun City. However, without the unparalleled Sword Intent to divide the blocks, it couldn't be as orderly as Qingyun City.

Even from such a distance, Gao Xian could feel the abundant spiritual energy of Qingyun City. According to the division of spiritual energy, Lianyun City could be considered a second-grade spiritual land, while Qingyun City was at least a third-grade spiritual land, especially Qingyun Mountain, where the dense spiritual energy was like clouds.

Gao Xian sighed in his heart. With such a spiritual land, it was no wonder that cultivators from all over were eager to come here.

"Qingyun City has three million people, with one million registered residents and over two million non-registered residents."

Gao Xian curiously asked, "What do you mean by registered and non-registered residents?"

"Registered residents are the locals of Qingyun City, who are officially registered in the city's household registration. Non-registered residents are cultivators without household registration."

Yun Chenglin explained, "Qingyun City has high expenses, and the locals enjoy various benefits. Non-registered cultivators have to pay higher costs for their clothing, food, shelter, and transportation. The high cost of living here makes it difficult for ordinary independent cultivators to settle down."

As he spoke, Yun Chenglin also felt emotional. As a steward of the Yunsuilou, it took him many years to obtain the registered residency of Qingyun City.

Most of his family, relatives, and friends did not have registered residency, and he had no solution to this.

Registered residency was passed down through generations, and despite having hundreds of thousands of registered households, there were not many that were passed on to outsiders.

Every year, a large number of independent cultivators with dreams came to Qingyun City and invested everything here. However, the vast majority of them could only return home alone, without even qualifying to retire in Qingyun City.

Yun Chenglin quickly realized that he shouldn't have said these things and hurriedly added, "Those are all low-level cultivators. Fellow Daoist is a Foundation Building cultivator. Even if you go to the Wanzong Main City, you will have no problem."

Gao Xian smiled, "I am unfamiliar with this place, so I will rely on Fellow Daoist for guidance."

"I dare not say guidance. If Fellow Daoist has any requests, just let me know. I still have some connections in Qingyun City..."

Yun Chenglin hurriedly smiled. Although he was a steward of the Yunsuilou, Gao Xian was a Foundation Building cultivator, and there was a considerable gap between their identities.

He addressed Gao Xian as Fellow Daoist, which was already somewhat presumptuous. However, since Gao Xian insisted on it and they were cooperating happily, he went along with it.

Yun Chenglin didn't have high expectations for Gao Xian's future. Gao Xian was known as the number one Foundation Building cultivator among the four sects, which was undoubtedly impressive within the four sects' territory.

But this was Qingyun City, which governed thirty-six sects. Small sects like Lianyun and Qingfeng, located on the edge of Mingzhou, could only rank at the bottom among the thirty-six sects.

During the once-every-sixty-years Qingyun Conference, all the geniuses from each sect would gather here.

It would be extremely difficult for Gao Xian to sweep through the crowd and take the lead.

In any case, Gao Xian was not someone he could afford to offend. If the other party had any needs, he would do his best to help.

The Xuanjin Flying Ship slowly descended outside the north gate of Qingyun City. Yun Chenglin led Gao Xian and the others to register, and each person paid ten spiritual stones in exchange for a waist token representing temporary residence.

Yun Chenglin explained, "The waist token needs to be replaced every six months. If you don't have a waist token, you will be arrested by the law enforcement team. The consequences are quite severe, so Fellow Daoist and the others must be careful."

Wan Yingying and Da Niu were both speechless. They had to pay twenty spiritual stones without doing anything for a year of residence. The price was exorbitant.

Gao Xian didn't mind. Such rules were meant to accumulate wealth and better control the population, preventing too many independent cultivators from flowing in.

Gao Xian hired a carriage and arrived at the doorstep of a house in the DC district according to the address he had left before.

Da Niu went up to knock on the door, and after a while, Zhou Ye, who looked impatient, came out and opened the door. "Who is it?"

Zhou Ye was taken aback when he saw Gao Xian at the door. "You're here..."

Gao Xian looked past Zhou Ye and towards the courtyard. "Where's Yuling?"

"Uh..."