A Chaotic World

Chapter 68: Bluenight City

Bluenight City was the northernmost city under the control of the Scarlet Moon Kingdom.

While it was built in the middle of a vast plain, the city was actually located not too far away from the northern defensive gateway of the Scarlet Moon Kingdom Shadowfront Fortress.

Even though the fortress was strategically constructed in the mountain pass between Crimson Mountain and White Mountain, it did not completely block off the entire mountain pass.

Thus, there were still times when a wild beast would sneak past unnoticed.

For this reason, although such cases were few and far between, the Northern Gate of Bluenight City had always been heavily guarded.

Its walls did not have spikes protruding out of them like that of Shadowfront Fortress, but they were just as tall and sturdy, fortified to withstand the attack of wild beasts.

In a sense, Lu Tianzi was similar to these wild beasts.

Just like these wild beasts, he had sneaked past Shadowfront Fortress and headed South towards the main territory of the Scarlet Moon Kingdom.

After passing Shadowfront Fortress, it did not take long before Lu Tianzi managed to reach Bluenight City.

The city was a majestic sight, causing Lu Tianzi to be awestruck when he first saw it from afar, even slowing down his steps just to marvel at the magnificence before him.

Just the walls of the city facing the northern side already stretched on for hundreds of miles out in the open plain, far beyond the scale of either Ivory Rock City or Shadowfront Fortress.

At least in terms of area covered, there was simply no comparison between them!

But marvelling over the city was one thing. As Lu Tianzi approached the huge city gate, he still could not help but tense up a little.

Lu Tianzi took a subconscious glance at the pendant hanging by his neck.

This pendant was not an item that he possessed prior to leaving the cave chamber up on Crimson Mountain. It looked like a piece of exquisite jade, decorated with realistic carvings of the sun and the moon. Other than that, there seemed to be nothing special about the pendant.

However, that could not be further from the truth.

In order to mentally prepare Lu Tianzi for what he was about to face, Xihuang Yuanfeng had filled him in with information about the Scarlet Moon Kingdom before he left.

Even though it was information dated from who knew how long ago, at least there were still some bits that proved useful. That was also how Lu Tianzi learnt about Bluenight City in the first place.

By sending Lu Tianzi right into the kingdom of demons, Xihuang Yuanfeng naturally had to show off some of his means. Otherwise, Lu Tianzi would only get eaten alive once the demons scanned his inner world and realised that he cultivated the Spiritual Essence system.

In light of that, Xihuang Yuanfeng had passed him this jade pendant.

According to Xihuang Yuanfeng, as long as Lu Tianzi wore the pendant on his neck at all times, not even Origin Core realm martial artists would be able to detect his cultivation realm!

It would not be able to provide Lu Tianzi with an identity as a demon, but it at least hid his true identity as a human from the eyes of the demons.

In this case, as long as he deliberately drove his Slaughter Essence in front of others, there should not be any compelling reason for anyone to doubt that he was a demon as well.

However, knowing that in theory was one thing, but actually putting things into practice was a lot more intimidating.

As soon as the pendant failed to work as it should, Lu Tianzi would end up stranded within enemy territory, surrounded by demons!

Despite multiple reassurances from Xihuang Yuanfeng, with such an outcome possibly awaiting him, there was no way that Lu Tianzi could remain completely unfazed.

But Lu Tianzi knew better than to let his feelings show. He put on an air of confidence as he strode right up to the city gate.

"Entrance fee," the city guard muttered impatiently when he saw Lu Tianzi approach.

"How much is it?" Lu Tianzi asked in return.

"You don't know?" the city guard raised an eyebrow when he heard Lu Tianzi's reply.

This was the Northern Gate of Bluenight City, beyond which was only Shadowfront Fortress, nothing else.

Even though Shadowfront Fortress was a huge establishment in its own right, it was ultimately still a military base. The only ones stationed there were soldiers who would leave from time to time. And everytime they do, they would have to pass by Bluenight City.

How was it possible that this person did not know the entrance fee?

"So what if I do not know how much the entrance fee is? Is there a problem with that?" Lu Tianzi's tone was domineering as he swept his perception over the city guard in an unbridled manner.

Primary Essence Condensation realm!

After determining the city guard's cultivation realm, Lu Tianzi could not help but be slightly surprised. In Ivory Rock City, such a person could already be considered in the upper tier in terms of strength.

To think that in Bluenight City, even a mere city guard would have such strength!

Sensing that Lu Tianzi was probing him openly with such blatant disregard, the city guard frowned in anger. However, he still managed to hold himself back, first probing Lu Tianzi in return.

But to the city guard's horror, he was actually unable to detect Lu Tianzi's cultivation realm!

It had to be known that breaking into the Essence Condensation realm meant that martial artists would have their perception strengthened by multiplefold, such that anyone below the Origin Core realm would be unable to hide their cultivation realm from them.

To think that he was unable to detect Lu Tianzi's cultivation realm could it be that this young looking punk was actually an Origin Core realm expert?

The city guard's back started to be drenched in cold sweat.

An Origin Core realm martial artist was not someone whom he could afford to offend!

Right now, he was working under the name of the City Guards and the other party would likely not dare to kill him. But if he was not careful in handling this matter and offended the other party, an Origin Core realm martial artist could still make his life extremely difficult in the future!

The city guard's frown immediately disappeared, replaced promptly by a big smile reminiscent of the radiant sun.

"I apologise if I have somehow offended sir with my words earlier, but I truly do not mean it," the city guard clasped his fists towards Lu Tianzi embarrassedly. "It should have been our duty as city guards to inform people of the entrance fee, and I was simply checking if sir knew it beforehand. It costs ten copper to enter Bluenight City, but to express my sincere apology, please allow me to pay for your share."

Lu Tianzi was not expecting such a sudden change in the city guard's attitude, but after thinking about it, he could understand the reason as well.

Since the misunderstanding had been formed, there was no reason for him to clear things up either.

The copper coins used by the Scarlet Moon Kingdom were not the same as the currency used in Ivory Rock City. However, Lu Tianzi had previously obtained a considerable amount of money from the corpses of the demons he had killed, so paying the ten copper would not be an issue to him.

Even so, why would he volunteer to pay when there was no need to?

In any case, he had already achieved his goal of testing the use of the jade pendant. Even though Xihuang Yuanfeng repeatedly assured him of the pendant's ability, Lu Tianzi knew better than to just trust him blindly.

Now that Lu Tianzi had made sure Essence Condensation realm martial artists' perceptions were truly blocked out, it was just a matter of whether Origin Core realm martial artists would be hindered by its effects as well.

"It's good that you understand then!" Lu Tianzi nodded before proceeding into the city, his expression never faltering for a single moment.

Seeing that Lu Tianzi seemed to have accepted his apology, the city guard only heaved a sigh of relief before resuming his duties.

Bluenight City was not only much larger than Ivory Rock City, but it was far more prosperous as well.

Even though it was located at the very edges of the Scarlet Moon Kingdom, its streets were still bustling with life, with various activities going on and multiple stores soliciting customers with their goods.

There were all sorts of items being sold, from crude ores to treasure weapons, from pieces of cloth to fantastically designed clothing.

Lu Tianzi strolled down the streets while carefully observing the interactions between people, examining the goods on sale.

By doing so, he was trying to understand more about the culture within the city.

From his observations, the way demons acted was no different from humans. If Lu Tianzi really had to name a difference, it would be that there were far more demon martial artists than human martial artists.

It could be that the demons placed more emphasis on individual strength, or that they simply had more resources to go around. Lu Tianzi did not know for sure.

After strolling around for awhile, Lu Tianzi rented a room at a decent looking inn before taking his time to enjoy a proper meal at the restaurant area on the ground floor.

Having spent such a long time in the wilderness, Lu Tianzi could not help but to spend some money indulging in the luxury of eating proper dishes at a restaurant.

Of course, the main reason was still because he needed to gather information about the city.

After all, his level of understanding about the demons and this Bluenight City was still dangerously low.

In order to fit the image of a demon, Lu Tianzi had no choice but to brush up on this level of understanding!

And where could be a better place to gather information than at inns where people let down their guards after drinking their hearts out?

Indeed, Lu Tianzi was not disappointed by any means.

The restaurant area was crowded with drinking men and women, most of them chatting at the top of their voices as though they were afraid that their companions would not be able to hear them over the others.

Placed in such a situation, Lu Tianzi did not even have to try in order to hear what everyone else was saying. Bit by bit, Lu Tianzi's understanding of the demons slowly grew richer.

Just then, a certain conversation grabbed his fullest attention.

"Have you heard the rumours? It looks like for the upcoming Beast Hunt, Nanlan Qianxue is going to be the one leading the group!" a bulky man exclaimed.

"Nanlan Qianxue? You mean the greatest talent that the Nine Suns Sect has ever seen in the last century, that Nanlan Qianxue?" his companion answered in surprise.

"Of course it is! Why would I bother talking about anyone else?" the bulky man nodded.

"Why would she be given such a task though? I heard that given the overwhelming talent she possesses, the Nine Suns Sect has always be giving her special treatment to groom her as a potential candidate to succeed their current sect master!" his companion remarked.

"Who knows?" the bulky man shrugged. "These Beast Hunts are the main source of beast cores for unaffiliated martial artists like us. Since all of us require beast cores to progress in our cultivation, there will always be plenty of people joining. Could it be that she just wants to take this chance to compare herself to us unaffiliated martial artists?"

"If that is the case, then I really have to join the upcoming Beast Hunt no matter what!" his companion grinned in anticipation. "Who knows? Perhaps I would even be able to catch her eye with my incredible strength!"