“This is where we, the Disciples of Penglai, reside. That yellow line over there marks the border between Penglai and the Wanling Sect, but as long as you don’t cause trouble with the Wanling Sect’s people, you’re free to go over there for a visit.”
“This token is a temporary ID badge. Just hang it on your waist. If you lose it, make sure to get a replacement immediately, or else the Patrol Team might mistake you for a troublemaker and detain you.”
“Some senior brothers and sisters prefer quiet, so it’s best not to make too much noise here and disturb their cultivation…”
The Penglai base looked like a small city floating in the sky. From time to time, unfamiliar cultivators would fly in from outside, either to buy spirit items at the Spirit Tool Shop or to rest briefly at the Inn.
The bases of the five great Saint Lands were scattered throughout Zhongzhou. The Saint Lands relied on countless bases to tightly monitor all activity within Zhongzhou, guarding against any major incidents in the Core Region of the Cultivation World.
Ordinary cultivators could use these bases as absolutely safe transit points. As long as they had no criminal record, the Saint Land bases wouldn’t shut their doors on them.
In fact, the Saint Lands quite welcomed wandering cultivators to visit their bases. After all, running a base required operational costs, and the spending of these lone cultivators could somewhat ease the financial burden of the Saint Lands.
“I thought it would be very quiet here, but I didn’t expect it to be so lively…” Hua Jian looked at the shops lining the street, feeling her worldview had once again been refreshed.
So this is what a Saint Land base is like—not as aloof and distant as she had imagined.
“The Tian Dao Sect’s base is pretty much what you expected, but the other Saint Lands’ bases are generally quite bustling. The Sword Sect even hosts a grand Arena where eager sword cultivators come every day looking for fights,” Su Xiaoxiao whispered to Hua Jian as she gave a bit of insider info about the sword cultivators.
As they spoke, the two had already arrived outside the Penglai Guest Courtyard, where independent small courtyards sat one after another.
Each courtyard was filled with the songs of birds and the scent of flowers, surrounded by beautiful scenery. In other places, staying a night here would probably cost at least several hundred spirit stones.
“This is too good…” Hua Jian gasped. She had originally thought that after leaving the Linlang Pavilion, her lodging conditions would get worse, but now she was told her accommodations had actually improved?
It felt like she was dreaming!
“Because you’re a little guest brought here by Senior Sister Ma, the sisters stationed here have assigned you a courtyard. Don’t feel embarrassed—these courtyards rarely fill up, so it’s better to have you stay here for a couple of days than to leave it empty,” Su Xiaoxiao said as she gently pushed the hesitant Hua Jian inside, showing her around the courtyard.
Though small, the courtyard had all the essentials, including even a miniature Pill Refining Room.
“Considering some guests might have special needs, the courtyard is also equipped for cooking. Basic ingredients can be bought at the nearby shops…”
Cultivators at the Spirit Master rank still couldn’t achieve complete fasting and needed to draw energy from the outside world to maintain normal bodily functions.
Higher-level cultivators didn’t need to eat, but not everyone was like sword cultivators who wanted nothing but swords and cultivation.
Many cultivators didn’t mind satisfying their taste buds now and then, eating delicious food to restore their sanity points.
After introducing all the courtyard’s facilities, Su Xiaoxiao watched as Hua Jian neatly put away her belongings before finally relaxing and leaving.
Once familiar with the courtyard layout, Hua Jian decided to first take a stroll around the marketplace outside.
The market inside a Saint Land base had to be more reliable than those down below, Hua Jian thought.
When she finally arrived at the market, she realized it was indeed more trustworthy, but the prices were outrageously high.
Just a glance at the prices told Hua Jian these were far beyond her reach. A bottle of Rejuvenation Powder that normally cost ten spirit stones was being sold here for twenty.
Did the price of the medicine shoot to the heavens along with its effects?
Besides these ridiculously overpriced items, Hua Jian spotted some intriguing novelties.
“Don’t miss out! Come see the latest Hundred Fragrance Flower developed by the Wanling Sect! A packet of flower seeds is only five spirit stones. You can’t lose or be cheated!”
Drawn by the call, Hua Jian looked toward the source and saw several young girls dressed in colorful skirts sitting in a small shop filled with fresh flowers, energetically hawking their wares.
Outside the shop stood a girl about Hua Jian’s age, holding a basket full of multicolored petals, with several butterflies and bees fluttering around her head.
What kind of look was that…?
Before Hua Jian could figure it out, the butterflies and bees around the girl’s head suddenly seemed to sense something and flew straight toward her.
“Huh?! Little butterflies, little bees, don’t fly away…” The girl tried to stop them, but with only her two legs for running, how could she keep up with these winged creatures?
She had barely gotten halfway when Hua Jian was already swarmed by the little insects.
Seeing the gleaming stingers on the bees’ abdomens and the shimmering edges of the butterflies’ wings, Hua Jian was too stunned to move.
They wouldn’t sting me, would they? A cold sweat trickled down her forehead. These little creatures radiated spiritual energy—it was clear they weren’t ordinary animals.
“Sorry, I don’t know why they flew over,” the girl holding the basket finally caught up and said apologetically.
Under Hua Jian’s wary gaze, she reached out, catching the bees and butterflies one by one, then stuffed them into a storage bag.
It seemed these little bugs were the girl’s “pets”?
Though Hua Jian didn’t understand why someone would keep such pets, she was willing to respect the girl’s preferences—just as long as the little creatures didn’t keep bothering her…
Sniff sniff… Hua Jian was still pondering this when the girl leaned closer and inhaled deeply.
“So fragrant…”
At that remark, goosebumps immediately rose on Hua Jian’s arm. Why would this girl say something so strange right off the bat?
“Well, if there’s nothing else, I’ll just…” Hua Jian thought it best to slip away quietly. Something about this girl felt off.
But before she could turn and leave, the girl grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward the flower shop.
While pulling her along, the girl shouted to the other girls inside with an excited expression, “Senior Sisters, I found a fragrant girl!”
My goodness, can people really say things like that? Hua Jian nearly choked. Why had she been running into so many odd characters recently?
Could this be the karmic retribution for all the mischief she’d caused?