Longevity Begins With Gu Refining

Chapter 159: Floating City

Things did not go as smoothly as Chen Qing had expected.

His team had only expanded to a thousand Foundation Establishment cultivators, and was unable to expand any further.

Other than the two hundred people from the Dragon-Elephant Tribe and the hundred or so new Foundation Establishment Cultivators that Lu Shenglong had recruited.

The other three armies only managed to gather around a hundred people.

A large number of the Fire Country's Foundation Establishment Cultivators had gone to the Vermillion Bird Tribe further south to seek refuge with the Vermillion Bird Tribe's Young Chieftain, Zhu Ning.

That was something that could not be helped. In the Fire Country, Chen Qing did not hold much prestige in the first place.

Moreover, he was merely passing through the Fire Country's territory and there wasn't much of a reason for him to bring the Fire Country's Foundation Establishment cultivator away to battle it out with Yan Shiying.

He was living a good life, so why should he risk his life for you?

Chen Qing merely pretended to be unaware of that and gathered a large number of Foundation Establishment Cultivators to continue their journey to the Ten Thousand Years Mountain.

No one had the right to stop them from heading to the Longevity Mountain to pay respects to Miao Shen.

Even if Zhu Ning wanted to attack, he would have to wait until Chen Qing paid his respects to God Miao.

Chen Qing intentionally slowed down his pace and sent out wraiths all over the place to search for more Foundation Establishment wraiths to expand his army.

As the Fire Country was further to the south, it was filled with ancient trees that reached up to the sky.

Compared to the Wu Country, there were more demons and spirit beasts here.

There were a large number of spirit plant Gu and wood-type Gu here. Most Foundation Establishment cultivators were skilled in wood-type spells.

That was also the reason why the Vermillion Bird Tribe's position in the Fire Country was so special, as the Wood element was afraid of Fire.

The Vermillion Bird Tribe's venomous insects were the bane of almost all the other tribes in the Fire Country.

Moreover, the Vermillion Bird Tribe had been the Fire Country's Prime Minister for nine generations, which had led to the Vermillion Bird Tribe's ability to command the entire Fire Country's lowest rung of society.

It could be said that before Chen Qing's arrival, all the chaos was just to show their faces in front of Zhu Ning of the Vermillion Bird Tribe, so that they could obtain a higher status in the Vermillion Bird Tribe's army.

There was a limit to the chaos here. After Chen Qing forcefully intervened, the Vermillion Bird Tribe quickly reacted. They gathered a large number of their former subordinates and formed an army that was not inferior to Chen Qing's.

After traveling for a few days in the Fire Country, he came to know that the Fire Country had a large number of Production type cultivators and Chen Qing felt that the Fire Country was more suitable for him.

He could use a single Production System cultivator as four.

Moreover, standing in the Fire Country, Chen Qing would be able to obtain a large amount of vitality with just a casual grab.

The vitality here was much more abundant than in the Martial Kingdom.

Chen Qing had also canceled his plan of heading south and conquering the surrounding tribes. Instead, he focused on heading south with peace of mind.

He needed time to improve his Dragonesque Butterfly to the Dao Integration Stage.

While he was at it, he would continue to improve his life-bound Light Butterfly. Currently, the material required for the Light Butterfly was the Nine Heavens Jade Water. After searching everywhere, there was almost no news of it.

Chen Qing could only hope to find some in the markets of the vassal sects at the foot of the Ten Thousand Years Mountain.

Chen Qing's group had settled down, Chen Qing traveled south while searching for materials to upgrade his Gu worms, it was a rather pleasant journey.

However, both he and Zhu Ning knew that a battle was inevitable between the two of them.

The Dragon-Elephant Tribe was also a top-notch tribe, but their relationship with the Vermilion Bird Tribe was not good. This could be considered a rare piece of good news.

Floating City.

A large number of Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators flew through the air like birds, heading to the Floating Sky City to report news or submit missions.

This was a large city floating in the sky, built on top of the Hanging Sky Mountain.

Standing above the clouds and overlooking the earth, it was as if he had completely transcended the mortal world.

Zhu Ning sat in the Vermilion Bird Palace Hall in the Floating Sky City, looking at his subordinates and expressing his opinion.

"In my opinion, there is nothing to discuss. He is a martial artist from Qing Xu, he dares to snatch people from our Fire Country, then we should beat him up!"

"He came here to pay respects to God Miao, can we stop him?"

"Doing so is disrespecting God Miao, Nine Li Country will definitely rise up and attack him!"

"Then what should we do?

Are we going to let him take away over four hundred Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators from our Fire Country? "

Listening to these extremely irritated voices, Zhu Ning wore a noble red robe and sat on the main seat with great self-restraint, looking at them with a smile, not showing the slightest dissatisfaction.

When everyone was almost done arguing, he looked at his sister, "Yan 'er, what do you think?"

Zhu Yan wore a red dress and a veil on her face. With a head full of wine red hair, she looked quite mysterious.

"Brother, why don't you betroth me to that Qing Xu?"

Zhu Ning looked at Zhu Yan playfully for a while, "You mean, if he agrees, we will pretend to help him fight against Yan Shiying for the sake of a marriage alliance?"

"When both of them are injured, we will swallow them up in one fell swoop?"

"In one battle, we will control the life and death of two countries' Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators."

Zhu Yan smiled, "If he doesn't agree, then we will attack him with the excuse that his small tribe humiliated our Vermilion Bird Tribe!"

Zhu Ning clasped his hands together, "Great idea, this is an open scheme, whether he agrees or not, he will be in a difficult position!"

"But, it can't be just that."

"Isn't he going to pay respects to God Miao?

Let's go pay respects to God Miao too. "

"I have a feeling that those who go pay respects to God Miao will be conferred a title by God Miao's messenger and receive a divine position under God Miao."

"Not only do we have to pay respects to God Miao, we have to do it before him!"

Zhu Ning stood up from his seat, "The Divine Weapon Treasure World will not appear for no reason, there must be a great opportunity inside, we can't let him take advantage of it!"

"Mu Zang, I order you to lead two hundred Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators and set off immediately. Mobilize the large tribes that are on good terms with us and harass Qing Xu's journey."

"Apart from leaving a hundred Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators to guard Floating Sky City, all the other troops will set off tomorrow and follow me to pay respects to God Miao!"

12th of September.

Chen Qing suddenly discovered something extremely awkward, and that was that he was about to run out of food!

Along the way, he actually did not come across a single daemon. If it was in the past, he could just find some wild fruits to fill his stomach, cultivators did not care about that.

If there were fewer people, he could still rely on the spiritual herbs on the ground that he could sense to solve the problem. However, with a group of over a thousand people, how could they possibly fill their stomachs with just a few spiritual herbs?

Su Yi took out the last remaining steamed bun and passed it to Chen Qing, "Guard Lord, there's not much food left. We actually didn't come across a single daemon or spiritual beast along the way."

"It's obvious that someone is playing tricks in the dark."

Chen Qing pondered for a moment before turning his head, "Zhu Ning?"

Chen Qing then asked, "Ma Yuan, what has Zhu Ning been doing recently?"

Ma Yuan clasped his hands and said, "According to reliable sources, he seems to be preparing to pay respects to God Miao!"

"Moreover, even with Zhu Ning's control over the Fire Country, I'm afraid it's not enough to reach the extent where not even a blade of grass grows."

"I'm afraid Yan Shiying is also involved in this."

Chen Qing asked, "Are you saying that Yan Shiying is trying to provoke a fight between us and Zhu Ning?"

"What has Yan Shiying been doing recently?"

Ma Yuan said, "According to the news from the Northern Lands, Yan Shiying is leading an army to attack a large tribe. The battle has been going on for three days."

Chen Qing was puzzled, "It's just a large tribe. Yan Shiying is leading an army there and he hasn't taken it down after three days?"

"It seems that Yan Shiying is heading south as well."

"Send people to pay close attention to the army heading south. Yan Shiying has an army of over a thousand Foundation Establishment Cultivators. It's impossible for him to completely hide his tracks."

"Yan Shiying is planning to place the main battlefield in Fire Country so that he won't be affected."

Chen Qing thought for a moment and said, "According to Yan Shiying's route, he should be far behind us. At most, he should be near the Source of Dao."

"Since he wants to provoke a war between us and the Vermillion Bird Tribe, let's go along with his wishes."

Su Yi thought for a moment and understood Chen Qing's considerations, "Lord Wei, you mean that Yan Shiying wants to provoke a war between us and the Vermillion Bird Tribe."

"Once he arrives here, he will be able to reap the benefits. Why don't we strike first and gain the upper hand, and take advantage of the fact that he hasn't arrived, and flatten the Vermillion Bird Tribe?"

Chen Qing said, "Since they're not allies, we'll have to fight sooner or later. Why don't we strike first?"

Su Yi asked, "But what reason do we have to send troops?"

Chen Qing said, "Just use Zhu Ning's interference in our worship of God Miao as an excuse to send troops directly!"

Su Yi said, "But we don't have any evidence?"

Chen Qing laughed, "In this chaotic world, what evidence do we need? As long as we take down Floating Sky City, we'll definitely find evidence!"

"Lu Shenglong, gather four hundred Foundation Establishment Cultivators and follow me to Floating Sky City of the Vermillion Bird Tribe. Within three days, we'll take down Floating Sky City!"

Lu Shenglong was pleasantly surprised when he heard this. Their Dragon Elephant Tribe had always been at odds with the Vermillion Bird Tribe and had long disliked them.

"Yes, Lord Wei!"

Chen Qing said, "Su Yi, Zhang Can, Yan Bailiang, pretend that I'm still here and continue to head towards Longevity Mountain."

"If there's no food along the way, I'll allow you to pretend to be a cult and rob the surrounding tribes."

"Since they want to play dirty tricks on our march, then I can't care less."

That night, Chen Qing and Lu Shenglong led four hundred men and set off in secret, rushing towards the Floating Sky City.

After traveling for two days, they arrived a hundred miles away from the Floating Sky City. They found a mountain stream and hid within it.

After resting for a short while, Chen Qing called Ma Yuan over and said, "Go and communicate with the Extreme Light Sect in Floating Sky City and ask about their military deployment!"

Chen Qing waited until dawn when Ma Yuan finally returned.

"Lord Guard, Zhu Ning has already led a large number of Foundation Establishment Cultivators to pay respects to God Miao."

"The current Floating Sky City only has a mere hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators left."

Chen Qing pondered for a moment and said, "Order Su Yi, Zhang Can, and Yan Bailiang to stop advancing and prepare to intercept Zhu Ning on his way back to Floating Sky City!"

After waiting for another two days, a messenger finally came to report. "Lord Guard, Su Yi, Zhang Can, and the rest are ready."

Chen Qing stood up and said, "Everyone, follow me to take down the Floating Sky City. If we succeed in this battle, the entire Fire Country will be ours and Yan Shi will not dare to come over easily!"

"At that time, the entire Fire Country will be our backyard. All the spirit herbs, all the treasures, will be ours!"

"Winner takes all, it's all in this one move!"

"Everyone, follow me and charge! We will take down the Floating Sky City!"

Chen Qing immediately led his men and set off for the Floating Sky City. Everyone held spirit stones in their hands to recover their spirit energy as they followed Chen Qing towards the Floating Sky City.

When he first saw the Floating Sky City, Chen Qing's heart was filled with amazement. There was actually such a strange mountain in this world!

It was a huge mountain suspended in the sky and the Floating Sky City was built on top of this mountain.

The mountain stretched for tens of miles and was surrounded by clouds, giving it a celestial atmosphere.

Many of the Foundation Establishment cultivators who followed Chen Qing felt uneasy when they saw that they were about to attack such a mystical city.

Chen Qing swept his gaze over the crowd and when he saw the fear on their faces, he understood. After all, they had never experienced war. When they saw such a scene, even if they had the advantage in numbers, they would still be afraid.

Chen Qing shouted, "Four hundred against a hundred and you're still so afraid? You still want to enter the Death World and cultivate the profound entrances? Wash your necks clean and wait for death!"

"Yan Shi Ying's butcher's knife won't care if you're afraid or not. It's all a matter of one slash!"

Chen Qing rushed out in large strides. Everyone saw a scene that left them flabbergasted. The 600 feet tall Chen Qing had grabbed the Floating City with both hands!

Chen Qing pushed with all his strength and the ground under his feet collapsed by several hundred feet. The entire Floating Sky City was pushed several feet by him and the entire Floating Sky City shook.

Seeing this scene, Chen Qing was slightly satisfied. With the strength of one dragon, coupled with the Earthwalker, and the Lawful Embodiment of Heaven and Earth, he almost had the strength of eight dragons!

Terrifying power surged through his body as Chen Qing grabbed the Floating Sky City again. It was as if he wanted to drag the entire city down from the sky!

When the Foundation Establishment cultivators behind him saw this scene, they finally overcame the fear in their hearts.

Lu Shenglong raised his spear and said, "Everyone, charge with me and seize the Floating Sky City!"

"In the city, there are treasures that the Vermillion Bird Tribe has collected for thousands of years. It's enough for each of us to break through a small realm!"

Following Lu Shenglong's encouragement, the four hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators charged toward the Floating Sky City!

Suddenly, countless fiery red arrows rained down from the sky. The entire Floating Sky City was set ablaze at this moment.

The scarlet flames spread to the surroundings, trying to block all of them from entering the Floating Sky City.

Lu Shenglong took the lead and flew to the top of the city. He waved his spear in the fire and started killing.

Every time he waved his spear, blood would rain down.

Zhu Yan hurriedly woke up from her cultivation. The shaking of the entire Floating Sky City woke her up with a start. She flew into the sky to take a look. Chen Qing was like a giant from the primordial era. He was actually using brute force to shake the entire Floating Sky City.

The intense shaking caused everyone in the city to have no choice but to think of ways to protect themselves except for the Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Countless tall buildings collapsed and all kinds of things rolled into a pile.

"Is this still a Foundation Establishment cultivator?"

Chen Qing grabbed the edge of the Floating Sky City with both hands and leaped to the top of the city. The Great River Sword appeared in his hand. With a swing of the Great River Sword, he swept a group of Foundation Establishment cultivators away!

The blazing scarlet flames might be able to stop other Foundation Establishment cultivators, but to Chen Qing, it could not hurt him at all!

Zhu Yan flew into the sky and shouted in the city, "Qing Xu, my Vermillion Bird Tribe has no enmity with you in the past. Why are you attacking my Vermillion Bird Tribe!?"

Chen Qing laughed, "Don't worry, there will be soon!"

When Zhu Yan heard this, her face immediately turned pale. With such a great reward, there would definitely be traitors.

As long as they took down the Floating Sky City, there would naturally be evidence to prove that the Vermillion Bird Tribe was the one who started this.

Zhu Yan's face turned cold, "Fine. Since you want to die, I'll fulfill your wish!"

"My Vermillion Bird Tribe has been the ruler for nine generations. How can it be so easy for you to take us down!?"

After she finished speaking, she took out a scarlet token from her sleeve, "Soul Fire Flight, Vermillion Bird Soars, rise!"

The entire city instantly turned fiery red. Endless flames entwined in one place, condensing into a huge flaming Vermillion Bird. With a single strike, it sent Chen Qing flying. He coughed out a mouthful of blood.

(End of Chapter)