Volume 1, Chapter 208 – Xianwu City

For some unknown reason, after traveling for several days, Shi Lan did not encounter many large beast hordes along the way.

At most, they numbered only a few thousand, with just a handful of Innate Realm demon beasts, let alone any Earth Fiend Realm demon beasts.

Since there were no large beast hordes, Shi Lan picked up the pace somewhat and shifted her focus toward cultivation.

Her current cultivation was already not far from the peak of the mid-stage Earth Fiend Realm. The acupoints in both her legs were nearly all opened.

With the help of the precious medicines and spiritual materials gifted by Cangyue, her cultivation began advancing steadily.

Samsara had once mentioned teaching her the art of alchemy, so that the medicinal power of those spiritual materials would be easier to absorb.

After giving it some thought, Shi Lan declined. She already felt she did not have enough time even for cultivation, much less any spare time to devote to exploring the pill path.

Although the medicinal power of those spiritual materials was somewhat difficult to absorb, using Black Domain to refine and convert them did not take too much effort.

Moreover, besides cultivation, she still had to set aside some time to comprehend the Heaven Extremity Seal within the system’s virtual space.

Although Shi Lan had only grasped a bit of the surface of this supreme killing secret art, its terrifying power had already begun to show.

There was still quite a bit of phoenix blood left in the Qiankun Bracelet, but Shi Lan had no plans to continue absorbing it for the time being. The aura of that phoenix blood seemed to be extremely obvious in the eyes of the demon race and might attract trouble.

Traveling onward in this way, more than half a month soon passed. Yet the closer she got to Xianwu City, the more demon beasts began to appear with each passing day.

Beast hordes numbering over ten thousand became a common sight, and Shi Lan even encountered shapeshifted Demon Kings’ demon clouds three or four times. From afar, they blotted out the sky and covered the sun.

Seeing this, Shi Lan became even more cautious.

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Although she had not obtained the complete inheritance of Guiyun Sword Sovereign, the memory fragments within that inheritance had still given her a far deeper understanding of the sword path than most people, and she now wielded Golden Rainbow with complete ease.

Ordinary beast hordes made up of several thousand demon beasts could not stop Shi Lan’s sword edge at all.

No matter how great their numbers, low-level demon beasts at the Innate Realm and below were nothing more than nourishment for Shi Lan to sustain herself through battle. They were like adding oil to a fire—apart from helping her recover her strength, they served no other purpose.

In the blink of an eye, another half month passed.

Between one deserted city and the next, bones covered the wilds. The earth itself had been dyed a dark red. Autumn rain fell again and again, yet it could never wash the color away. Clusters of wild grass, nourished by blood and flesh, grew even more luxuriantly.

Shi Lan moved quietly across the land, slowly drawing closer to Xianwu City.

She did not dare slaughter demon beasts as recklessly as before, because the density of demon beasts in this region had already reached a horrifying level.

Almost every few dozen li, she would run into a beast horde of over ten thousand. As for the demon clouds in the sky, one followed after another without end.

After crossing this region with extreme caution, the number of demon beasts finally began to drop sharply.

After nearly a month of travel, Shi Lan had added dozens of Earth Fiend Realm demon beast souls to those under her hand, and all the acupoints in both her legs had already been completely opened. Her cultivation steadily stepped into the peak of the mid-stage Earth Fiend Realm.

All the acupoints in her four limbs had now been opened. Of the seventy-two acupoints, forty-eight were already unlocked. Once she opened the remaining twenty-four acupoints along her back, she would be able to step straight into perfect completion of the Earth Fiend Realm and set her sights on the Heavenly Astral Realm.

At present, nearly a year had passed since the system first issued that mission. Of the one thousand Earth Fiend Realm demon beasts required, there were still a little over two hundred left. The difficulty was by no means small.

Once traces of demon beasts gradually disappeared, Shi Lan soon discovered signs of human habitation.

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It was a convoy hurrying along the road—more than twenty horse-drawn carriages, over fifty swift horses, and nearly a hundred martial artists serving as guards.

Most of the guards were at least at the fifth stage of the Body Tempering Realm, and their auras were steady.

At the very front of the convoy rode a chestnut stallion, with a fair-faced middle-aged man seated on its back.

This man’s aura was around the second stage of the Innate Realm, but it was somewhat unstable, clearly showing that he was injured.

Shi Lan did not conceal her movements, and the martial artists in the convoy quickly noticed her.

When the fair-faced middle-aged man at the front saw the battle armor on Shi Lan’s body and the aura she made no effort to hide, his expression shifted slightly. He flew down from his horse, stepped forward to greet her, and bowed.

“I am Feng Zhe. Greetings, my lady.”

The matter of the demon race invasion had long since spread throughout the world, and the Demon-Suppressing Army had already entered the public eye. Almost everyone knew of them by now.

Thus, when the guards saw Feng Zhe’s respectful attitude, none of them found it particularly strange. They all lowered their heads with reverence, not daring to show the slightest impropriety.

“Where have you come from, and where are you headed?” Shi Lan asked after sweeping a glance over the convoy and finding nothing amiss.

“We came from Linjiang City and are heading to Xianwu City,” Feng Zhe replied respectfully.

“How far is it from here to Xianwu City?”

Shi Lan only knew the general direction of Xianwu City; she was not clear on the exact remaining distance.

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“There are still four thousand three hundred li left.”

Shi Lan was inwardly startled. How could it be this close? If so, then the demon race vanguard was less than thirty thousand li from Xianwu City.

For demon beasts at the Earth Fiend Realm and above, that distance was practically negligible.

“You should hurry on your way. The demon race vanguard is not far from here.”

After pondering for a moment, Shi Lan waved her hand.

“Many thanks for the warning, my lady.”

Feng Zhe thanked her with a grave expression.

“Uncle Feng, why have we stopped?”

“What happened?”

Several young men and women stepped down from the carriages, asking in confusion.

Feng Zhe turned and glanced at them a few times. When he turned back and was just about to speak, he discovered that the woman who had been standing before him had already vanished without a trace.

At the horizon, a streak of brilliant light was shooting rapidly in the direction of the Sacred Martial Immortal Sect, trailing a rolling wave of air behind it.

Now that only this little distance remained, Shi Lan naturally had no intention of wasting any more time. She immediately rode her sword at full speed.

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The speed of the Cloud-Stepping Boots was no longer quite enough. After all, they were only an artifact, and after so much travel, the fact that they had held up until now was already no small feat.

A distance of several thousand li was crossed very quickly.

A colossal city, nearly a thousand li in both length and width, appeared within Shi Lan’s field of vision. Human streams like swarms of ants were converging upon it from every direction.

After so many twists and turns, she had finally arrived…

Shi Lan’s spirits lifted, and her speed increased again.

When she came within a hundred li of the giant city, Shi Lan suddenly felt a heavy pressure descending from above, and her body gradually sank downward.

A flight-restricting formation.

To cover such a vast area—what a tremendous undertaking.

Shi Lan drew in a quiet breath. She did not resist the pressure and descended to the ground, then, without slowing by much, rushed straight toward the city gate.

A short while later, Shi Lan reached the gate. Soldiers of the Demon-Suppressing Army stood guard on both sides, while before the gate stretched a long line of people, extending for dozens of li as it slowly flowed into the city.

Shi Lan frowned slightly. Instead of joining the line, she went directly to the other side and handed the black Demon-Suppressing Token to one of the guards at the gate.

“Please wait a moment, Thousand Commander.”

The soldier of the Demon-Suppressing Army respectfully received the Demon-Suppressing Token and turned to verify Shi Lan’s identity.