Chapter 158: Peerless City

"We didn't mean to intrude, we apologize!" Elder Zixun immediately spoke up.

Staring at Elder Zixun, General Iron Blood glanced at him. He wasn't swayed by Elder Zixun's beauty; instead, he seemed to be analyzing how to handle the situation.

"Seven Stars Hall? Elder Zixun, I've heard of your name. Since today's incident was a misunderstanding, you may leave," General Iron Blood said after a moment of contemplation.

Upon hearing General Iron Blood's words, Zhongshan frowned. Not only him, but also Shui Wuren, Nan Batian, the other two male elders, and even Elder Zixun frowned suddenly.

It didn't make sense! According to what Shui Wuren had said earlier, the Great Yu Emperor Dynasty and the Great Luo Heavenly Dynasty had been at war for many years. It was impossible for them to let people leave so easily.

Zhongshan was puzzled, but he didn't dwell on it too much. After all, he didn't understand the delicate relationship between the two dynasties yet. He couldn't judge the overall situation based solely on Shui Wuren's words.

As for Shui Wuren, his eyes widened in disbelief. This was unreasonable, incredibly unreasonable.

"Thank you!" Elder Zixun nodded slightly.

With a step on the clouds, they returned the way they came, quickly departing from another direction.

General Iron Blood stood in the air, squinting his eyes as he watched Elder Zixun lead the group away, his brows furrowing.

"Why did you let them go, General?" a high-ranking officer flew up and asked.

"The Fangshan Conference is approaching. It's not advisable to provoke conflicts again," General Iron Blood said, looking into the distance.

"Yes," the officer immediately responded.

In the Divine Land, Zhongshan remained silent, refraining from speaking further. The Divine Land was home to hidden dragons and crouching tigers, and he would need to learn a lot in the future.

After flying for another three days, the white clouds finally stopped, and at this moment, they had arrived at their destination.

The white clouds slowly descended from the sky, and Zhongshan, at this moment, widened his eyes and looked ahead.

Ahead was a city, no, a super city. The scale of this city was so vast that even Zhongshan, with his extensive experience and exposure to countless mythological TV shows from his previous life, was awestruck.

Peerless City!

This city, when seen with Zhongshan's current Golden Core-level vision, was so large that he couldn't see where the city walls extended to. The city walls were too long, too long indeed.

The walls, as white as snow and as smooth as glass, seemed to have some kind of formation within them, faintly emitting light. But that wasn't the main point. The crucial point was the height of the city walls, 1,200 meters high. That was definitely 1,200 meters high, like a barrier between heaven and earth, blocking everything from the outside world.

Was this a city built by giants? No, even giants wouldn't be so exaggerated. 1,200 meters—that was equivalent to the height of a four-hundred-story skyscraper. And this was just the city wall?

Standing below and looking up at the top of the city wall could make one's hat fall off. Even some mist had begun to cover the skies above.

It was an imposing wall that seemed to pierce the heavens.

Zhongshan and his group stood at the southern gate of the city, and on top of the gate were three golden characters, "Peerless City."

A city of the Heavenly Dynasty, was this just one city of the Heavenly Dynasty? Thinking about his own Great Zhong Dynasty, Zhongshan took a deep breath. The future was indeed a long and arduous journey.

Beneath the pure white Peerless City, people were constantly coming and going. However, all those entering the city were not flying in, but landing on clouds or flying swords, entering through the city gates on foot.

At the city gates, two grand doors, as white as jade, stood wide open. Each door was a hundred meters wide and five hundred meters tall, guarded by numerous armored sentinels inspecting those entering the city. Most of the entrants cooperated willingly, with only a few, likely dignitaries, bypassing the checks and striding directly through the central passage.

"We've arrived; this is Wushuang City," Shui Wuhen explained to Zhong Shan and Nan Batian.

Elder Zixun walked proudly on the ground paved with white jade, heading toward the city gate, followed closely by two male elders. Naturally, Zhong Shan, Nan Batian, and Shui Wuhen followed closely behind.

Zixun walked with a haughty air, ignoring the city guards and stepping confidently toward the interior. The guards, recognizing something unusual about this group, quickly approached as if to stop them. At that moment, one of the elders behind Zixun produced an insignia-like object and displayed it briefly. The two advancing guards immediately bowed respectfully and retreated quickly.

Zixun led the way, striding through the city gate, which spanned a massive eight hundred meters. Despite its size, the interior was well-lit. After walking through the extensive gatehouse, Zhong Shan finally entered Wushuang City.

Stepping inside, Zhong Shan felt a surge of spiritual energy, even more abundant than that of the Kaiyang Sect. Cultivating here would undoubtedly be much faster.

From his vantage point, Zhong Shan saw numerous floating islands scattered across the sky in the distance. Below, the terrain was diverse, with plains, mountains, rivers, and lakes. The city encompassed all these features. Far off, mystical light curtains in red and blue hues added to the fantastical scenery. There were even luminous orbs of the same colors floating in the sky.

Seeing Zhong Shan and Nan Batian's wide-eyed wonder, Shui Wuhen unfurled his paper fan and smiled, explaining, "This is Wushuang City. The city has two types of light curtains. The red ones denote restricted areas where no one is allowed to trespass, such as private residences or military and governmental locations. The blue ones indicate public areas where flying is prohibited; one must walk."

"Got it," Zhong Shan nodded, committing the information to memory.

"Other areas permit flying, but you must not exceed the height of the city walls," Shui Wuhen continued.

"Oh?" Zhong Shan asked in confusion, noting that although there were floating islands and luminous orbs in the sky, none of them exceeded the height of the city walls.

"Heh, that's because the city has an 'Apocalyptic Sky Thunder Array' in the high altitudes. Anyone flying too high will be struck by heavenly thunder," Shui Wuhen said with a smile.

Heavenly thunder? The sky above was shrouded in mist and bathed in sunlight, showing no trace of such danger. Nonetheless, Zhong Shan chose to believe Shui Wuhen. Looking around, he noticed that while many people were flying within the city, none flew higher than twelve hundred meters.

"What about those blue light orbs in the sky? Didn't you say flying isn't allowed within the blue light curtains?" Nan Batian asked in confusion.

"Haha, those blue orbs are actually floating islands, shrouded in illusion arrays. Red illusion arrays signify restricted areas, while blue ones are public spaces. There's no need to fly above the floating islands," Shui Wuhen explained.

"I see," Nan Batian nodded.

As Shui Wuhen introduced the city to Zhong Shan, an elder summoned a cloud that appeared beneath their feet, carrying the group swiftly toward a distant red light curtain. Wushuang City was vast; even strong cultivators took nearly half an hour to reach a large red light curtain. This was a restricted area, guarded by numerous soldiers.

As the group flew closer, more than a dozen guards surrounded them. After the elder showed the token again, the guards bowed respectfully and stepped aside.

The six of them proceeded directly inside. The light curtain offered no resistance; it merely cast a red glow, obscuring the view from the outside while allowing those inside to see out without any interference. Within the restricted area were several mountains with streams flowing down, creating a picturesque scene. Scattered across the mountains were simple cottages, while in the central valley stood a cluster of lavish buildings.

The elder led the group on a cloud to the plaza in front of the buildings. The central hall bore a plaque with the characters "Nan Tong" inscribed on it.

As they descended from the cloud, a group emerged from the buildings, led by an official in a voluminous robe, slightly overweight but exuding a vigorous presence. A retinue of officials followed him.

"Father," Shui Wuhen called out immediately.

The leading official, recognizing the group at once, brightened upon seeing Shui Wuhen. He quickly turned to the three elders and said respectfully, "Thank you, elders."

"Nan Chengtong, these three are our chosen candidates. You know what to do," Elder Zixun said suddenly.

"Yes, Elder. Rest assured, I will handle everything properly since they are chosen by the Kaiyang Sect," the man replied with a smile.

Zhong Shan scrutinized the man. From Shui Wuhen's address, it was clear he shared the same surname, Shui. Elder Zixun's reference to him as Nan Chengtong indicated it was an official title.

Elder Zixun nodded in acknowledgment. Suddenly, she turned to Zhong Shan, her piercing gaze fixing on him. Since the defeat of Tian Sha, Elder Zixun hadn't looked directly at Zhong Shan until this moment.

Under her cold stare, Zhong Shan frowned slightly and said, "Elder Zixun."

At his address, Zixun's hand tightened slightly, showing a hint of tension, though her expression remained icy. "You are the one I selected. Take this as proof," she said, handing him a round token. The front bore the characters "Seven Stars," while the back read "Zixun."

"Yes," Zhong Shan nodded and accepted the token.

Shui Wuhen and Nan Batian also received tokens in the same manner.

After distributing the tokens, Elder Zixun looked back at Nan Chengtong and said, "These three are in your care now."

"Of course, Elder," Nan Chengtong immediately agreed.

Elder Zixun then turned and flew away on a cloud, followed closely by the other two elders.

Holding the token and watching the departing Elder Zixun, Zhong Shan took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. From her cold gaze, Zhong Shan sensed her complex emotions. However, given the circumstances, could any woman face Zhong Shan and remain calm?