Chapter 455 - Earthly Qi

Long Chen looked up and saw a city on the horizon. It looked like a giant laying down on the ground. A massive, yellow plume of Qi floated from the city center to the sky. Long Chen sensed a strong surge of Earthly Qi from the yellow plume.

“The Earthly Qi is so thick here!” Long Chen realized that the nature’s spiritual energy in the area was tens of times denser than in the Counter Essence Realm.

“Of course. The cities of the Divine Martial Empire are built on Earth Veins. It might look barren, but the ground beneath us is actually the Earth Vein where liquid nature’s spiritual energy flows through. If you look at Yellow Martial City, the yellow plume comes from a hole on the ground that allows nature’s spiritual energy to flow upwards. That’s why nature's spiritual energy here is so dense.”

“No wonder those at the Divine Martial Empire are so much stronger. The dense nature’s spiritual energy makes them much stronger from birth.” Long Chen was speechless.

“You are correct. Yellow Martial City is just a normal city, but even those born in a smaller city would be able to unlock all of their Dragon Veins and reach the Ninth Dragon Stage. They can also form their Human Core at the age of one!”

Long Chen was speechless. His grandfather had spent his entire life cultivating to reach the Ninth Dragon Stage, but those born here could reach it just by being born!

“Yellow Martial City is one of the more populous cities in the region. The yellow plume that’s shooting up towards the sky is the Earthly Qi. Thanks to its nourishment, those who live in the city can easily reach the Heavenly Core Realm without any issue,” Jiang Cheng explained as they ran towards the city.

Long Chen was indeed shocked.

After seeing how grand the Divine Martial Territory was, he felt that the gap between him and Ling Xi was getting wider. If the Divine Martial Territory was this strong, Ling Xi’s family was definitely leagues above that; it was possible that there were Divine Martial Realm cultivators in her family. There was no way Ling Xi’s parents would approve of their marriage with his current strength.

Time to start working even harder,

Long Chen swore to himself. He didn’t lack the resources nor talent. He only needed time.

Jiang Cheng suddenly asked, “Didn’t you want to go to the Ancient Demon Domain? Yellow Martial City is the largest city next to the Ancient Demon Domain. Just pass through the city and you will be able to reach it.”

Long Chen nodded. “Thank you for explaining it to me. I will repay you one day.”

“No need. We were brought together by fate. I should do what I can to help you.” Jiang Cheng flashed a smile.

His smile was innocent enough, but he was wearing an attire that suspiciously resembled that of a young master.

Long Chen soon reached the city and saw that it was roughly the same size as the Biyang Imperial Capital, but it was much more grand. While the Biyang Imperial Capital was exquisite, Yellow Martial City was gnarly like a beast waiting to kill something.

When he got close, Jiang Cheng gave him a golden identity token. “Brother Yang, this is mine. You can just enter the city with it and use the name ‘Jiang Cheng.’”

“Then what will you use?”

“My family is somewhat influential, so I have another, but mine is a fake name.”

Long Chen nodded. Being able to forge an identity token and using it meant that his family was nowhere as weak as he had thought. They soon reached the gate, and Long Chen saw thousands of Martial Alliance members wearing golden-yellow robes guarding the entrance.

Long Chen lined up with Jiang Cheng at the back of the line. They soon moved forward without any issues as no one dared to cause trouble here. The Martial Alliance was here, and everyone knew that offending them was a bad idea.

Soon, it was Jiang Cheng's turn. Jiang Cheng took out another golden identity token and presented it to the guards. Long Chen failed to see the name on it, but the guards were visibly shaken and bowed a little before letting him enter the city.

Long Chen noticed what was happening.

Who is he?

“Jiang Cheng, come quick,” the real Jiang Cheng said to Long Chen.

Long Chen nodded and gave the golden identity token to the guard. He examined the token, looked at Long Chen, and then gave him the permission to enter.

The guards didn’t react when they saw the name on mine, but they did when Jiang Cheng showed his golden identity token. That meant that Jiang Cheng’s real identity token was the one in his hands and mine’s a fake. He’s tricking me!

“Brother Yang, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I’m just shocked at how dense nature's spiritual energy is here.” Long Chen smiled. The spiritual energy in this city was indeed stronger than in the Counter Essence Realm. The gas coming out of the cracks on the ground made the place feel like a furnace.

But it was very comfortable to be in the city.

“Yellow Martial City is just a regular city. You might have a chance to go to the headquarters of the Martial Alliance at Martial Overlord City one day. Then you will know what dense nature's spiritual energy really feels like.” Jiang Cheng’s eyes revealed a look of admiration.

“You haven’t been there before?”

“Of course not. Only important members of the Martial Alliance are allowed to enter. I am nowhere near qualified.”

They continued walking and talking to each other. Long Chen looked at the crowd around him and found that indeed everyone here was very strong. He never spotted anyone below the Earthly Martial Realm.

“Jiang Cheng, are you taking me to get an identity token?”

He initially trusted Jiang Cheng somewhat, but based on the reaction of the guards outside the city just now, Jiang Cheng likely was not as kind as he had thought. Long Chen wanted to know what his goal was.

Xiaolang was currently in Long Chen’s robes. He looked at the city with curiosity.

“My friends in the Martial Alliance are at the western side of the city. We are at the eastern side right now. We can get there soon, but I want to get something at the auction today. It’s starting soon, so I was hoping that you could wait for me a bit.” Jiang Cheng revealed a bitter expression at the mention of the delay.

Long Chen thought about it. He had Blood Warp, and Jiang Cheng was only roughly at the Third Passage Stage, so he wasn’t a huge threat. Long Chen nodded. “You’ve helped me quite a bit, so I don’t mind the small delay. Please show me the way.”

“Thank you, Brother Yang.” Jiang Cheng nodded and took Long Chen around the city. They arrived at a building that resembled the Dawn Trading Alliance’s headquarters. Under the guidance of the guard, Jiang Cheng led Long Chen into the auction hall. It was starting soon, and Jiang Cheng entered the VIP booth.

Long Chen looked down from the window and saw that it was dark down there. After waiting for a moment, the stage lit up. A beautiful girl wearing revealing clothes walked to the center of the stage and interacted with the guests.

The girl’s voice was sweet, so the guests were quickly enamored. She smiled and started the auction.

“Yang Qing, don’t worry. I’m only here for one item, but then again, it would be a waste to let the other treasures go. I should probably get twenty items or so. If you need anything, just let me know and I will help you if I can. Just think of it as a gift. How does that sound?” Jiang Cheng smiled.

“Thank you, Brother Jiang.” Long Chen smiled. If Jiang Cheng wanted to harm him later on, there would be no harm in taking advantage of him while he could.

Soon, items started being presented. The first few were various elementary Heaven-tier items. A small auction house in Yellow Martial City would normally have several intermediate Heaven-tier items.

There were various items being auctioned off, such as spiritual herbs on the level of the Bloodseal Lotus, Heaven-tier techniques, and Divine Arms. But Long Chen didn’t need anything at the elementary Heaven-tier right now. Jiang Cheng was waiting for the latter half of the auction, so they waited without talking.

After dozens of items had been auctioned off, Xiaolang suddenly moved excitedly in Long Chen’s robes. He stared at the item on display, and Long Chen knew that it was incredible.