Cultivating Through The Game

Light flashed in Lu Yu's eyes once more; he was no longer in the Great Rift Valley.

He and Hong Chu appeared above a formation of stones, not far from a low market, and further out the tall city walls could be seen.

From the chat interface, Lu Yu knew where he had ended up.

This was the marketplace outside An Nan City...

Looking around, more stone formations were arrayed on the ground, occasionally flickering with light, Martial Cultivators emerging from within.

Some appeared on the stone formations with their prey, others bore bloodied traces, masks of sorrow on their faces, while some dashed away as soon as they materialized...

Around the stone formations were buyers with wooden carts who, upon seeing Martial Cultivators returning with prey, rushed toward them.

No one else stood beside Lu Yu's stone formation.

Hong Chu stared at this stranger who had returned with him; he knew nothing about the man's identity, but given that he managed to escape the pursuit of a Four-Winged Storm Jiao, his strength was certainly formidable.

Just as Hong Chu was about to inquire of Lu Yu, a young man with an oddly mature aura approached, and seeing him, Hong Chu felt anger surge to his temples.

If it wasn't for this man's mistaken intelligence, would I have suffered such losses?

"An Youwei!" Hong Chu growled through clenched teeth.

An Youwei approached, seeing Hong Chu return alone in such a disheveled state, a glimmer of disappointment crossed his eyes.

It seemed Hong Chu didn't get what he wanted.

Hong Chu strode up to An Youwei in a few steps, reaching out to grab him by the collar to question him, but An Youwei casually swatted his hand aside.

Failing to seize An Youwei's collar, Hong Chu didn't show embarrassment, but yelled in anger, "An Youwei, you bastard!"

An Youwei remained calm, with a slight smile, "Why the insults, Elder Hong? Where are your disciples and colleagues?"

Hong Chu's face flushed with anger, unable to speak as An Youwei brazenly exposed his wound.

"Hmph!" All of Hong Chu's anger turned into a grunt.

"I'll settle accounts with you sooner or later." He left after throwing down his words.

Watching Hong Chu leave, An Youwei turned to Lu Yu with a smile and asked, "Friend, have you also returned from the Thunderstorm Forest? I wonder if you found anything? If you have Thunder Source Fruit, I am willing to pay handsomely for it."

Lu Yu shook his head and said, "Elder Hong and I were both being chased by monsters, fleeing in utter panic, where was the chance to harvest treasures like Thunder Source Fruit."

"Is that so? Then I was presumptuous. If you don't mind, my sect's Flowing Water Pavilion would be delighted to have you as a guest." An Youwei said with a smile.

"Thank you for the invitation, but I have pressing matters and can't accept." Lu Yu said politely.

After exchanging pleasantries, Lu Yu left directly, heading in the direction of An Nan City, tracing the path Hong Chu took.

Watching Lu Yu depart, the smile on An Youwei's face vanished, a shadow flashed in his eyes, "Ungrateful!"

He waved his sleeve and headed towards another teleportation stone formation.

Walking along the streets of the market, people constantly approached Lu Yu, trying to sell him goods, Spirit Weapons, Spiritual Treasures, Spirit Medicines, Spirit Materials... all sorts of items; some even tried to push Spirit Stone ore.

Their Spirit Weapons and Spiritual Treasures bore bloodstains, showing they were of questionable origin, which was why they dared not openly sell them.

They wanted to discreetly sell these items cheaply.

Some felt the items were a bargain and negotiated prices with sellers in cornered alcoves.

But Lu Yu had no need for any of them; he ignored and rejected every vendor who approached.

Lu Yu even released Tiger's Might, exuding a deterrence so that weaker vendors couldn't approach him, and those who could, feeling his unapproachable aura, quietly made way for him.

Approaching the gates of An Nan City, Lu Yu's first impression was a bit disappointing as he looked at the gates piled with skulls on either side.

No ordinary city would have a pile of skulls, six or seven meters high, at the entrance.

Besides the skulls, many wooden cages hung on the walls, containing emaciated, despondent natives and criminals.

Most of these natives and criminals lay in the corners of their cages waiting to die, denied even the right to suicide, as they were stripped of all strength before being caged.

Some newly captured natives, with menacing appearances, glared at the passing people below, the fierce lights in their eyes seemed like they wanted to tear open the cages and leap out to devour them.

Under the vicious gazes of a few natives, Lu Yu entered An Nan City.

Inside An Nan City, Lu Yu discovered that the inside and outside were like two different worlds; outside was rugged and primitive, inside was a refined ancient city.

Walking on streets paved with stone bricks, Lu Yu gazed into the distance, looking for traces of the Divine Weapon Pavilion.

The Divine Weapon Pavilion spanned the north, south, east, and west of the Great Zhou Dynasty; wherever there were cities, there would be branches of the Divine Weapon Pavilion, and the Southern Regions should be no exception.

An Nan City had been established for over twenty years, and the Divine Weapon Pavilion should have set up a branch here as well.

Sure enough, he hadn't walked far before seeing the distinct sign of the Divine Weapon Pavilion, its signboard emanating a rainbow glow.

Entering the branch of the Divine Weapon Pavilion, Lu Yu presented his Identity Token and immediately received the attention of the pavilion's steward.