Shrouding the Heavens: Starting by joining the Holy Land of Yao Guang

Chapter 24 Holy City
Several days later, Li Yao traveled north, crossing thousands of mountains and rivers, experiencing several sunrises and sunsets, and finally approached the holy city of the Northern Region.

The Holy City, the absolute center of the Northern Region, is as famous as the Primordial Ancient Mine on this crimson land, and is revered as a sacred place by the inhabitants of the Northern Region.

The oasis where the Holy City is located is extremely vast, spanning tens of thousands of miles, and contains many towns. Compared to other states, the Holy State is the most peaceful. Even the most audacious bandits dare not plunder this oasis, because all the major powers have troops stationed in this state.

The north wind sweeps across the land, snapping the white grass; the snow season is not far off, and many pedestrians on the road are already wearing animal skin coats.

The road leading to the holy city was wide enough for more than a dozen carriages to travel side by side. Apart from the residents of the Northern Region, cultivators could be seen flying through the sky from time to time.

After arriving here, Li Yao resumed his low profile. He didn't even ride the rainbow; instead, he chose to travel on foot when he was hundreds of miles away from the holy city.

When they were less than two hundred miles from the holy city, there were significantly more pedestrians on the road, and strange beasts galloped about like the wind and lightning; most of them were cultivators.

Among them were even cultivators from holy lands and ancient families. Even before truly entering the holy city, Li Yao already sensed that the place ahead was a gathering place for powerful figures.

This city is a gathering place for heroes from all over the world; cultivators from the Central Plains, the Western Desert, the Northern Plains, the Southern Ridge, and the Eastern Wilderness all come together here.

An hour later, Li Yao finally approached the first city in the Northern Region.

This is a pristine land. Outside the holy city, the surrounding area of ​​150 miles is lush and green, where the changing seasons are imperceptible.

Although it is late autumn, the place is lush and green, without a trace of chill, just like springtime. A warm breeze caresses the face, the vegetation is abundant, and the spring water gurgles.

The spiritual energy here is incredibly rich, many times higher than in other places. Ancient trees reach for the sky, some hundreds of meters high, like small mountains, their branches stretching towards the heavens, and ancient vines, like writhing dragons, climb all over the cliff face.

Upon arriving here, the Heavenly Book absorbed essence at a much faster rate, comparable to its speed within the Yao Guang Holy Land.

The Yao Guang Emperor Scripture began to operate on its own, and the absorbed essence slowly returned to the Bitter Sea. Although the speed of cultivation improvement was not fast, it was like accumulating sand to form a tower. Over time, it would not be underestimated.

Half an hour later, Li Yao finally saw the legendary holy city.

The ancient city is extremely majestic, with its city walls lying horizontally like a dragon, stretching endlessly, as if cast from molten copper, shimmering with a metallic luster.

The magnificent city gate tower, standing a hundred meters tall, is imposing and extremely grand. From afar, the vast ancient city gives people a suffocating sense of oppression.

"This is the heart of the Northern Region..." a passerby exclaimed.

Throughout history, there have been many legends about the holy city. Consulting various ancient texts, one is surprised to find that it is indeed very ancient.

It is impossible to trace its origins back to any specific era. Since the advent of written records, this city has never moved its location, and its existence is unknown.

The Divine City, also its name, is said to have been suspended in the air countless ages ago, only sinking to the earth in the ancient times.

This ancient city is many times larger than the capital of a great nation, and is extremely magnificent. If one does not fly, even a cultivator would need a whole day to walk through the city.

The city was extremely prosperous, with numerous palaces and wide ancient streets. It boasted everything from gambling stone workshops and immortal buildings to romantic palaces, holy lord palaces, and demon king pavilions, all in an extremely luxurious manner. Mortals and cultivators mingled together.

Inside the city, people came and went, half of whom were cultivators. In such a place, no one dared to act recklessly, for they might accidentally bump into a descendant of an ancient family.

After arriving here, Li Yao surprisingly felt at ease.

On his way to the Holy City, even though he had been keeping a low profile, he still encountered bandits roaming the Northern Region. Fortunately, he was lucky; the strongest bandit he encountered was only at the peak of the Life Spring realm. He managed to overcome the obstacles and personally kill many bandits.

During this period of time, Li Yao had been on edge, fearing that a powerful figure would suddenly appear and attack him.

In the desolate northern region, where even birds wouldn't excrete wasteland, his identity as a disciple of the Yao Guang Holy Land might not be of much use.

But things are different in the Holy City. Although Li Yao intends to conceal his identity and do his own thing, if he really encounters danger, his first thing to do is to reveal his identity to intimidate others.

This is the Holy City. As long as he reveals his identity as a disciple of the Yao Guang Holy Land, unless he is someone like Ye Fan who is fearless, everyone will think twice.

Therefore, in the Holy City, a place where powerful figures gather and strong individuals abound, Li Yao's safety was actually somewhat guaranteed.

Walking down the bustling street, Li Yao felt his eyes were truly opened. There were inns, restaurants, gambling dens, and even brothels...

From this day forward, if anyone says that the life of a cultivator is boring, Li Yao will be the first to stand up and object.

Not far from where he had gone, at a corner, Li Yao saw a palace garden, with magnificent scenery, towering buildings, and resplendent gold and jade.

Upon arriving here, Li Yao stopped in his tracks. He looked up at the plaque above the palace, where he saw the three large characters "Five Elements Pavilion".

In the Northern Region, there is a powerful force called the Five Elements Palace. If its status were to be compared, it would be equivalent to the Tai Xuan Sect and the Xiao Yao Sect in the Southern Region, only slightly inferior to the top-tier holy lands.

Such forces involve a wide range of industries, including chambers of commerce and auctions.

No one flies within the city. Even cultivators strictly abide by the city rules. On the bustling streets, people come and go, shoulder to shoulder.

Many cultivators were entering and leaving the Five Elements Pavilion. Li Yao took out a mask, put it on his face, pulled up the hood, and followed the flow of people into the pavilion.

The palace garden is not a single entity, but rather divided into many smaller halls. Li Yao walked along the corridor, looking at the names on the doors of the smaller halls on the left and right.

These names are all very easy to understand. Anyone who comes in, even if it's their first time, will know what industries are involved in the palace just by seeing the names on the palace gate.

For example, the palaces that Li Yao just passed by had signs that read "Food Flavor Workshop," "Spirit Beast Workshop," and "Divine Treasure Workshop."

As their names suggest, Shiweifang is for eating, Lingshoufang sells all kinds of spirit beasts, and Shenzhenfang sells materials for forging weapons.

These were not Li Yao's destinations on this trip, nor did he intend to see them.

More than ten days have passed since the battle in the Origin District. If nothing unexpected happens, the Yao Guang Holy Land should be searching for his whereabouts, and at the very least, the Rising Sun Divine Island lineage is definitely looking for him.

He didn't have much time and had to make the most of it to finish his tasks as soon as possible. As for these leisure activities, he could experience them later when he had the chance.

After walking through the corridor and turning a corner, Li Yao finally saw his destination.

"Shen Gongfang!"

(End of this chapter)