Wait a minute, where is my master?

Qingmu City, city gate.

It was still deep into the night.

Yet, the city gates were wide open, with quite a few cultivators coming and going.

Aside from the cities within the territory of the Great Xia Empire, there was no curfew in the other large cities of the Nine Provinces Realm.

Of course, there had been a curfew in Qingmu City when the old dean of Qingmu Academy was struck by lightning, but that was a rare occurrence.

After all, such special circumstances had only happened this one time in thousands of years.

So why don't these large cities enforce a curfew?

The explanation is quite straightforward.

Over ninety-eight percent of the populace living in these large cities were cultivators, whose daily routines couldn't be viewed as those of ordinary people.

As for the remaining 0.2 percent, they were family members of cultivators. Ordinary citizens had no qualifications to live inside the large cities.

At most, they could live in the nearby counties, which would be the pinnacle of their lives.

This decree was issued by the top immortal sect of the Nine Provinces Realm, the Kunlun Immortal Palace, and was observed by all the other sects.

Back in the days when the Great Xia Empire was at its peak, Xia Xuanmin did not abide by this decree, and the Kunlun Immortal Palace didn't give him too much trouble over it. However, in the end, the Demon Sect strategized and made a move against Great Xia, and both the Kunlun Immortal Palace and the other great sects of the Nine Provinces Realm remained unresponsive.

Even Qingmu Academy, which had always been on good terms with Great Xia, only sent faculty-level forces to support them.

Of course, if the old dean hadn't been injured, he actually might have intervened. But he was struck by lightning.

And so, that possibility naturally became zero.

At Qingmu City, at the open space by the city gate.

"Boom!"

A mass of golden light plummeted into the earth.

Jin Xu and the others were already close to Qingmu City, so after speeding through the sky for a short while, they arrived.

"Hiss, that landing seemed a bit too harsh."

The little Taoist murmured to himself as he led two women and a bull out of the deep pit.

At the city gate, the sudden noise drew the attention of the comings and goings of cultivators, who glanced sideways, but no one approached to check.

The law enforcement cultivators at the gate kept quiet, peacefully collecting the entrance fee.

Such a landing was nothing special. They had even seen cultivators fall from their own flying swords due to acrophobia.

Every year in the Nine Provinces Realm, there are not a few cultivators who die from falls due to underdeveloped flying escape skills or inferior flying magical treasures.

Don't think the cultivation world is free of counterfeit and substandard products.

Besides, on their first day on the job, their team leader had emphasized that once the cultivators entered the city gate, anything that happened to them would be under their jurisdiction. If they hadn't entered the gate yet, they could care less if a flood was raging; it would have nothing to do with them.

The law enforcement cultivators remembered this principle of their duty and executed it strictly.

"My Lord, let's go. I'll lead you into the city," said Yu Yaoer as she took the lead after the four jumped out of the pit and headed towards the center of Qingmu City.

On the way from Gusu City to this place, Little Fish Demon had already told Jin Xu about it. More than two hundred years ago, she was taken back to her grandmother from this city, so naturally, she took on the role of hostess upon their arrival.

"Good, let's go. Little White, take this bull."

Jin Xu handed the Water Spirit Chain to the husky.

At this moment, the Taiji Bull was maintaining a human form, and the chain was tied around his ankles.

"Okay, temple master," responded the husky.

Entering Qingmu City cost two low grade spirit stones per person. After paying the fee, the group entered the city at ease.

There were no cultivators blocking their way this time, nor did any monks or the like suddenly appear.

After entering the city, the four roamed around for about a quarter of an hour.

He discovered that Qingmu City was indeed different from the cities within the Great Xia Dynasty's territory.

Firstly, although there weren't as many pedestrians on the streets as in Shangjing City, there were still quite a few. Furthermore, about ninety percent of them were cultivators, though most were low-level practitioners, like those with Qi Cultivation and Foundation Establishment whose spiritual power fluctuations weren't very strong.

But this still amazed Jin Xu, who had never seen streets filled with cultivators in either Shangjing or Gusu City before.

As for high-level cultivators, they were rarely seen out on the streets, though he wasn't sure if it was because of the night.

Secondly, there were no street vendors on the streets, only all sorts of shops run by cultivators, selling medicinal herbs, spirit pills, magical weapons, talismans, formation flags, as well as food and drink.

Of course, there were also those selling performances and their bodies.

Brothels, it seems, were a commonality for both mortals and cultivators.

Lastly, after wandering around for so long, they still hadn't come across an inn where they could stay. Jin Xu felt that Yu Yaoer was probably leading them on a wild goose chase.

"Little Yu, haven't we reached the lodging place yet?"

The little Taoist indeed wanted to experience the local customs and culture of Qingmu City, but he still felt that it would be better to continue exploring during the day, which suited his biological clock.

The night, isn't it for sleeping and practicing cultivation?

"Ah! Sir, I don't know where there's a place to stay, aren't we just strolling around?"

Yu Yaoer blinked her clear yet somewhat foolish large eyes, looking innocently dumbfounded at the little Taoist.

"Didn't you say you would lead us into the city? And didn't you mention that you were led away from here as a child?"

Jin Xu stopped in his tracks, expressionless; the fish was indeed just leading them around aimlessly.

"Exactly, haven't we entered the city?"

Yu Yaoer put her hands on her hips, looking indignant and justified.

"...She did indeed only say she would bring us into the city."

The little Taoist recalled the words spoken at the city gate and realized there was indeed no issue there.

Then Yu Yaoer continued, "I was indeed led away from Qingmu City by my grandmother, but sir, back then I was just a little fish fry with newly awakened spiritual intelligence. I had a memory span of only seven seconds, how could I remember the layout of the city?"

The Little Fish Demon wore an expression that said, "Don't count on me, I'm completely unreliable."

"Sigh~"

Jin Xu took out the Communication Jade Token from his storage treasure, ready to contact his acquaintance in the city, Jiang Xiulian.

He knew that with so many righteous cultivators in the city, it would be a waste of time to search for an inn on his own, so it was better to contact the number one chef of the Nine Provinces,

Meanwhile, Little White, who was leading the cow on the side, after hearing the conversation between the two, sneakily approached and whispered to the little Taoist, "Temple master, shall I ask the stray dogs of Qingmu City? They must know where to stay!"

"You lead the cow properly; stop causing trouble."

Jin Xu dismissed the suggestion from the husky while sending the message,

"Oh."

Little White sneakily withdrew.

Jiang Xiulian's response came back extremely fast; it was almost immediate after the little Taoist sent the message.

Jin Xu looked up, checked the names of the shops around him, and informed the other party of his location.

In no time at all.

A burly and robust Jiang Xiulian, with a headband and a refrigerator on his back, appeared around the corner.

"Little Taoist, long time no see!"

From a distance away, Jiang Xiulian called out in a booming voice.

Once he approached, Jin Xu noticed a hint of tiredness on the face of the first-ranked chef of the Nine Provinces, who was followed by two Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators that looked like shop assistants based on their outfits.

"Brother Jiang, we meet again."

Jin Xu greeted him with hands clasped together, politely speaking.

"Standing on the street isn't the way to go; come on, let's talk in my shop, where you can also stay."