Chapter 38: Black Rock City

A streak of black and red light flashed quickly across the sky.

Wei Yang, holding Ye Xian'er in his arms, flapped his black wings and swept through the air.

His speed was significantly faster than when they first arrived in the desert.

Three months ago, when they first entered the Tagor Desert, one was a one-star Dou Ling, and the other was a one-star Da Dou Shi.

Now, three months later, as they were leaving, one had become a seven-star Dou Ling, and the other a nine-star Da Dou Shi.

Of course, these were just superficial gains and didn't mean much.

The hidden gains were far more precious.

Xian'er, who initially had only a poison attribute, now had both fire and poison attributes, along with a pure and rich wood attribute. After refining a peak fourth-tier beast fire, she began playing with fire.

Wei Yang, who originally had a hint of sun attribute in his fire, now also possessed a pure and rich wood attribute, having similarly refined a peak fourth-tier beast fire.

They both now had the foundation to become alchemists.

Of the eleven lotus seeds they had, only five remained, which was a rare and valuable treasure.

They also obtained the Green Lotus Core Flame, a rare and precious heavenly item.

Wei Yang's overall soul power had more than doubled.

Oh, and there was that mysterious black iron scroll they exchanged from the mercenaries.

All these were significant gains!

Flying through the air, Wei Yang felt a wave of contentment.

…

«Brother Yang, aren't we supposed to return to Wutan City? Why are we heading to Black Rock City?» Ye Xian'er peeked out her small head, watching the rapidly retreating scenery as the desert terrain gradually transformed into rocky hills, and asked curiously.

«We lack alchemist heritage. We're going to Black Rock City to… um, borrow some things from a friend,» Wei Yang said.

In Black Rock City, there was a third-tier alchemist named Gu Te, who was the brother of Dan King Gu He.

Although he was only a small third-tier alchemist, his collection was extremely rich…

According to the original story, his collection was so vast that any alchemist in the Jia Ma Empire would be envious.

He not only had alchemist heritage but also many pill recipes, precious herbs, and other valuable items.

He also possessed a treasure called Ice Spirit Cold Spring.

These were the reasons Wei Yang sought him out.

He believed that someone with such a rich collection would not disappoint him.

After this job, they would hide in Wutan City and quietly grow stronger for a while. Wei Yang thought.

Ye Xian'er's eyes sparkled as she understood Wei Yang's intentions and couldn't help but smile.

Robbery? Borrowing?

It didn't matter.

As long as it was something Brother Yang wanted to do, it had to be right and deserved full support.

…

Three days later.

Wei Yang flew all the way and smoothly arrived at his destination: Black Rock City.

He gradually slowed down, looking ahead at the faintly visible silhouette of the giant city.

As the distance closed, the city, bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun and reflecting a faint red light, became increasingly clear.

«Black Rock City, we're here!» Wei Yang exhaled softly and smiled.

Ye Xian'er, curious, poked her head out and, seeing the huge city's silhouette, exclaimed, «Is this Black Rock City? It looks much larger than both Wutan City and Stone Desert City!»

«Yes, it's indeed a large city.» Wei Yang nodded.

Black Rock City was a large city located in the eastern province of the Jia Ma Empire.

Its scale was much grander and larger than Wutan City.

In terms of overall strength, Black Rock City ranked among the top large cities in the Jia Ma Empire.

As they got closer, Wei Yang could see the city more clearly.

He was surprised to find that the entire massive city wall was constructed from neatly arranged black rocks.

This black rock was an extremely hard material.

A city wall made entirely of such black rock could withstand the full power of a Dou Wang without being shaken.

This showed the strength of the black rock.

A city wall made entirely of black rock had incredibly strong defenses.

As they neared Black Rock City, the road below them became increasingly crowded with travelers.

The flow of people extended towards the city gate like a long dragon.

Wei Yang landed in a nearby secluded forest.

Then, the two walked out of the forest and merged into the crowd on the road.

In such a large city, the daily flow of people was enormous, so naturally, the entry and exit at the city gate were orderly.

After a while, Wei Yang and Xian'er reached the city gate, paid the entrance tax, and entered the city smoothly.

Passing through the somewhat dark city wall passage, their vision suddenly opened up.

The bustling noise hit them like a wave, making their heads buzz.

Shaking their slightly dizzy heads, the two held hands and stood at the street corner, looking at the dense crowd.

Having been used to the quiet underground magma world, they were a bit overwhelmed by the sudden lively scene.

After a moment, Wei Yang came to his senses and sighed, «It's truly one of the empire's top cities.»

Ye Xian'er, recovering from her shock, nodded blankly, «So many people!»

Everywhere they looked, the crowd was so dense they couldn't see the end of it.

«Let's find a place to stay first.» Wei Yang pulled Xian'er into the crowd and walked forward.

«Brother Yang, the city is so big and there are so many people. Where does the friend you want to… um, borrow from, live?» Xian'er asked quietly, clinging to Wei Yang.

«I don't know either, but he's famous in Black Rock City. We can just ask around,» Wei Yang whispered back.

«Oh, what do we do after we find him?» Xian'er asked nervously, her beautiful eyes cautiously observing their surroundings.

«We'll do this and that, and then this…»

«Mm…»

The two whispered like conspirators.

Well, they were indeed conspirators.

Not thieves, but robbers.

Bandits!

Soon, they stopped in front of a grand and luxurious inn.

After looking at the inn's scale, Wei Yang nodded in satisfaction, «This will do.»

He pulled Ye Xian'er inside.

…

That night, after just a brief outing, Wei Yang had already gathered information about Gu Te.

The information was easy to find.

Gu Te was very famous in Black Rock City.

Not only because he was Dan King Gu He's brother, but also due to his peculiar personality.

Despite having good alchemy talent, he didn't focus on alchemy but was obsessed with collecting all kinds of rare treasures, which kept his alchemy level at the third tier.

His obsession with treasures was almost pathological.

Once he found someone with something valuable, he would pester them until he got it.

Very annoying and troublesome.

Although he was a third-tier alchemist and a Da Dou Shi, he was also Dan King Gu He's brother. In the Jia Ma Empire, no one dared to provoke him casually.

Without Dan King Gu He's protection, with his Da Dou Shi strength and vast collection, he would have been robbed countless times.

Despite his annoying nature, Gu Te wasn't inherently bad, just stubborn.

And he hated anyone mentioning «Gu He» in front of him.

Although he knew he owed his success to his brother's help, he would fly into a rage if anyone mentioned Gu He to his face.

So, he chose to live in Black Rock City, far from Yun Lan Sect, giving Wei Yang the perfect opportunity.

(Chapter ends)