After being reborn, I took my childhood sweetheart to cultivate immortality.

Seeing the forest becoming increasingly crowded, Yu Jinchen suggested, "Since there's nothing of value left anyway, why don't we head out and find the nearest town to stop for a while?"

Xu Qingman immediately smiled and said, "Okay, I agree."

Looking at the ancient city gate with the three large characters "Dragon Hidden City," Xu Qingman knew that they had finally arrived at the city closest to that primeval forest.

There were quite a few people coming and going at the city gate, but at a glance, there were not many low-level cultivators. They had only been standing there for a few minutes when they saw that there were a total of twenty-eight cultivators entering the city, including three Nascent Soul cultivators, five Foundation Establishment cultivators, only two children in the Qi Refining stage, and the rest were Golden Core cultivators.

Moreover, they didn't see a single ordinary person among the crowds coming and going, and they didn't know why.

After checking their clothes and finding them to be acceptable, the group began to enter the city one after another.

Upon entering the city, each person is required to pay an entrance fee of one low-grade spirit stone.

Before they entered, the Foundation Establishment cultivators guarding the city gate warned them that flying was forbidden in Dragon Hidden City, and that they were not allowed to cause trouble. Otherwise, they would be fined and thrown out of the city by the guards.

The streets of Dragon Hidden City look much like the ancient streets depicted in TV dramas. However, the shops sell magical artifacts, elixirs, and other items needed by cultivators.

Having just entered the city, no one knew the situation here, and they dared not wander around recklessly.

So, after strolling around the streets, they heard from passersby that there was a nice inn called Wangyue, so they decided to stay there first and then make further plans.

I heard that the Moon Gazing Inn was opened by a Nascent Soul cultivator. Moreover, he was a disciple of a major sect, and even the city lord had to give him some face.

Therefore, as long as you stay at Wangyue Inn, you are very safe, and generally no one dares to go in and cause trouble.

However, precisely because the inn provides a strong sense of security, the price is not cheap.

Each ordinary room costs five high-grade spirit stones per night.

After settling into their accommodations, the group went to the inn's lobby and nearby hotels for meals. Historically, such places have always been the best choice for gathering information.

They learned from the other diners that this continent was called Lingchuan Continent.

Lingchuan Continent, Xu Qingman's heart stirred. Wasn't that the world where Little Stone Head originally lived? Now, she listened even more attentively to everyone's conversation.

The city is named after the Dragon Hidden Mountain Range outside the city.

It is said that ten thousand years ago, there was indeed a tenth-order dragon named Jiuyuan in the Dragon Hidden Mountains. What that dragon liked to do most was to transform into human form and fight with the nearby cultivators. However, it never harmed anyone, and the nearby cultivators were not afraid of it.

But from some point onwards, no one saw it again. Some said it must have gone into seclusion to cultivate, while others said it had transformed into a dragon and ascended to heaven. That's why this mountain range came to be known as the Dragon Hidden Mountain Range.

When Jiuyuan was around, the monsters in the mountains got along relatively well with humans because of his control.

However, after its disappearance, the control of this mountain range was taken over by a ninth-tier wolf demon. The wolf demon hated human cultivators more than anything and would always lead the mountain's demon beasts to cause conflicts with human cultivators.

Therefore, since then, Dragon Hidden City has experienced a monster outbreak roughly every ten years. And this year, Dragon Hidden City will once again face a monster surge.

Upon hearing this, Xu Qingman and the others felt a lingering fear. The terrifying aura that Yu Jinchen had sensed that time was very likely from this ninth-tier wolf demon.

Like human cultivators, demon cultivators are divided into eleven levels. The strength of a ninth-level demon beast is roughly equivalent to the Void Transformation Realm of a human cultivator.

What incredible luck! Did they just barely escape death?

After everyone finished eating and returned, they gathered in one room to summarize the information they had collected.

It's worth mentioning that every room at the Moon Gazing Inn has a high-level soundproofing and defensive array. So there's some reason why they charge such a high price.

After everyone was seated, Yu Jinchen finished recounting what they had found out. Lei Zhensheng then continued with the information his team had gathered, much of which matched what Xu Qingman and her group had learned.

However, they also heard something even more important. The Lord of Dragon Hidden City was sending out invitations to cultivators throughout the land for each beast tide.

He promised that every Golden Core cultivator who signed up to stop the beast tide would receive five hundred high-grade spirit stones. Furthermore, during the beast tide, all inns would waive accommodation fees.

Nascent Soul stage cultivators receive 1,000 high-grade spirit stones. For each level of cultivation a cultivator advances in, the amount of spirit stones they receive doubles.

Therefore, whenever a beast tide occurs, many cultivators flock to Dragon Hidden City. Even the major sects do the same.

These cultivators came here for two reasons: first, to earn this considerable amount of spirit stones; and second, to take the opportunity to hone their combat skills in order to accelerate their cultivation.

Monsters are treasures from head to toe; the more you kill, the more spirit stones you can sell them for. Furthermore, the Dragon Hidden Mountains are rich in rare and precious treasures. This is a good opportunity to venture into the mountains and search for treasures.

The period following each beast tide is always much safer than usual, which attracts more and more cultivators.

Next, they went to the area around the city lord's mansion to gather information.

City Lord Ji Hanzhou is over five hundred years old and has the cultivation level of the Integration Stage. His manor houses eight Nascent Soul Stage experts, twenty Soul Transformation Stage experts, and many more Soul Transformation to Spirit Transformation Stage experts.

There is also a city-protecting army composed of 150 Nascent Soul cultivators and over 1,000 Golden Core cultivators.

It is rumored that the City Lord's Mansion also harbors an ancestor at the Nascent Soul stage or above. However, no one has ever seen him, and the City Lord himself has maintained a vague attitude towards this matter.

Now, the situation in Dragon Hidden City has been largely clarified.

Afterwards, the group discussed their future.

Going back is definitely out of the question now. Because the only way back is through the Dragon Hidden Mountains, which would inevitably lead to a horde of beasts rushing towards us.

But if we were to go somewhere else, it would be better to stay and kill demons. Now that we have embarked on the path of cultivation, we cannot be afraid of anything, as this can easily cause inner demons and is detrimental to our cultivation.

Besides, after the beast tide subsides, the Dragon Hidden Mountains will be a perfect opportunity for treasure hunting. We can also take advantage of the journey to search for various spiritual herbs and fruits deep within the mountains to bring back.

Now that we've decided to stay, we must make all the necessary preparations. We need to prepare plenty of various defensive magical artifacts, as well as healing and energy-replenishing pills.

The first thing to do is to sell the spiritual herbs, fruits, and monsters you have to exchange for some spirit stones.

Since everyone carries similar items, to prevent price gouging due to too many of the same type of goods, people cannot sell them in the same store.

Before parting ways, Xu Qingman reminded everyone, "Fellow Daoists, we have picked too many Fire Lotus Fruits this time. To avoid causing trouble, I suggest that you sell as few as possible."

“Yes, I agree with Fellow Daoist Xu. If too many of them suddenly appear on the market, it will inevitably attract the attention of those with ulterior motives, which may bring danger to our hometown.”

Upon hearing this, Lei Zhensheng's junior apprentice, Meng Nanchuan, immediately realized what was going on and expressed his concerns as well.

"right"

"As it should be."

Everyone agreed.