Nine Star Hegemon Body Art

“This is too precious! We can’t accept it!” said the elder upon seeing the peerless-grade golden pill.

“It’s just a single pill. Senior, don’t take it so seriously,” Long Chen replied immediately.

The elder sighed, “Young friend, it seems you aren’t aware of this, but… we are an isolated little city cut off from the rest of the world. Many of our people have never seen a medicinal pill in their entire life.”

Now it was Long Chen’s turn to be shocked, and he asked, “Are you saying you’ve relied entirely on yourselves for cultivation?!”

The elder nodded, and Long Chen stared in disbelief at the disciples. Only now did he realize that there wasn’t even a trace of medicinal pill aura coming from their bodies. They had never consumed a medicinal pill in their entire lifetime!

“Is there still an alchemy inheritance in the outside world?” asked a Human Emperor excitedly.

Long Chen was about to respond when the elder interjected, “Let’s talk inside the city. Who keeps their guests outside the gates to chat?”

Curious about their situation, Long Chen didn’t refuse. He also insisted that the elder accept the golden pill. At first, Long Chen thought the elder’s reluctance to take it was due to a lack of interest. However, it soon became clear that the pill was simply too precious for them, and they didn’t have the nerve to accept it. Only when Long Chen said that he wouldn’t enter the city unless they accepted it did the elder finally relent.

Accompanied by everyone, Long Chen passed through a gorge fortified with worn but sturdy defenses. He sensed powerful auras nearby and asked, “Senior, do we often face attacks here?”

“It’s not that frequent, but we have the Gold Lion race and the Stone Spirit race constantly eyeing us. We’ve fought before, and although everyone now minds their own business, we remain vigilant,” the elder explained.

“The Stone Spirit race? Is that not a kind branch of the Spirit race? Are they really warlike?” asked Long Chen.

“Ah, the Stone Spirit race you’re referring to is different. The ones we deal with are part of an evil branch of the Spirit race,” replied the elder.

Long Chen suddenly thought of the Stone Spirit lifeform he had encountered before. According to the elder, the Spirit race could be split between kind and evil Spirit races.

Long Chen had mostly met kind Spirit races. Once, he even got to know a Spirit race that sank into depravity in order to defend kindness, walking the line between good and evil. After thinking for a bit, he had also encountered wicked members of the Stone Spirit race.

He also remembered Shi Tongtian, the Stone Spirit he had once helped, and wondered how they were faring now.

After they got through the gorge, a large city appeared before Long Chen’s eyes, and an ancient aura struck him head-on. This feeling made him feel like he had been transported into the immemorial era.

“This city…” Long Chen muttered, awestruck.

This enormous city exuded a feeling of ancientness. Every single inch of it seemed to be telling people about the countless years they had witnessed.

LongChen had seen many ancient cities, but never one that looked as ancient as this. He was instantly drawn to its aura.

As they neared the city gates, Long Chen saw a massive board with the characters for “Tian Yu[1]” carved onto it. These characters were written in the original Jiuli immortal character, and Long Chen was surprised to recognize them, as they were among the few he knew.

Standing before the gates, Long Chen felt as if he could hear the whispers of an ancient era, a sensation that was hard to put into words.

Seeing Long Chen staring in shock, those experts were all very proud. The elder said, “This is Tianyu City. During the primal chaos war, the nine heavens and ten lands collapsed, and Tianyu City ended up falling here. It possesses its own divine pressure, which prevents the surrounding devil creatures from approaching us. That’s why we’ve survived until this day.

“However, back then, the world was in chaos. The devil creatures were running rampant, devouring the lifeforms of heaven and earth. The Gold Lion race and the Stone Spirit race were hunted by the devil creatures as well, and they happened to run into this place. Seeing that we were protected by Tianyu City, they wanted to seize it for themselves. After countless battles, everyone became too weak to continue. Unable to conquer our city, they agreed to a ceasefire. However, every time their power rises to a peak again, they will attack.

“They have never succeeded, but every attack costs us dearly. We don’t have the ability to strike back at them and can only passively defend. While they recover, we’re in a temporary truce. Our disciples might occasionally pass through their territory to hunt some low-grade devil creatures as training. Speaking of which, this particular ceasefire has lasted a long time. The Gold Lion and Stone Spirit races should have reached their peak once more, but they’ve yet to make their move. That’s why we’re on guard. It’s possible that this disturbance will break this fragile peace.”

“Patriarch, maybe you’re worrying too much. We’ve been keeping a close eye on them all this time! Everything is within control. There’s no need to be this nervous. I’ve found that lately, our disciples are so nervous that their cultivation speed has slowed down. This can’t continue,” interjected Chi Feng.

“To be vigilant during peacetime is entirely correct. In addition, pressure isn’t a bad thing. Growing up under pressure is a trial to the heart. It’s very important,” said Long Chen.

“The pressure has to be at the right level. Too much will have a negative effect,” scoffed Chi Feng.

Long Chen smiled slightly and didn’t reply. This fellow might be strong, but his vision was clearly lacking. The disciples Long Chen had seen were all sharp-eyed and determined; this level of pressure was far from too much for them. Still, Long Chen was an outsider, and it wasn’t his place to comment.

The elder didn’t argue either and brought Long Chen into the city. Long Chen touched the city bricks and frowned slightly, but he didn’t say anything.

He had discovered that this city was gravely worn down. Although its aura was still powerful, its actual defensive power had long since withered. He suspected that even he could destroy the city if he wished.

The elder brought Long Chen to a tall tower and had everyone else leave. Only the two of them remained in the tower. Gazing out into the distance, the elder sighed deeply.

“Young friend, are you willing to save Tianyu City?”

“What?” Long Chen’s eyes widened. He had no idea how to respond to that.

1. Heaven Feather ☜

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