The Journey of Immortal Cultivation

Chapter 963 - 528: Duling City (Part 2)

In order to show respect to the local authorities, it’s customary for cultivators to store away their flying artifacts when entering large cities and to walk in on foot, and she was no exception. Qi Zai’s tall true body was practically a pass, as the gate guards looked upon her with respect. Every day, many cultivators come and go through the gates, and these guards have already trained themselves to have Eyes of Golden Flame.

She was early, with several days remaining until the Old Grand Dowager’s birthday. Ning Xiaoxian was not in a hurry to visit the prefecture but instead chose an inn to stay and comfortably enjoyed a hot bath before releasing all the hidden guards from the God Demon Prison. Having spent most of the journey passing time within the prison, they were eager to disperse once she rested, quickly merging into the bustling crowd outside and disappearing. The hidden guards had their own ways to communicate and could promptly gather if Ning Xiaoxian summoned them.

Qi Zai and Qingluan, the two birds, had traveled hard all the way, and now arriving at a new place, she didn’t feel right to stop the couple from holding hands and going shopping, so when Ning Xiaoxian went out, she only brought Jiu Mo, with another largely indifferent demon, Faceless, tucked in her sleeve.

Having washed away the dust of the journey, she was finally free to carefully observe the city. Perhaps due to its seaside location, most houses weren’t very tall, but their external walls were quite colorful. Ordinary people’s houses mainly used round wood with a narrow diameter as building material, while the roofs used palm leaves unique to the shore to replace thatch, pressed down firmly. However, the sea breeze is highly erosive, so wealthy homes never leave wood exposed, instead using lime, clay, and fine sand to construct outer wall protections, also locally sourced.

Numerous small buildings in this city have outer walls and eaves corners that shimmer with subtle colors in the sunlight, and upon closer inspection, it turned out to be finely crushed colored shells from the sea mixed into the walls to create the embedded hues.

Duling City has several shallow rivers running through, thus various shaped and styled small bridges abound, from the bridge surfaces to the main street, buildings of different styles are close together like fish scales, all bathed in the rich glow of autumn. Walking along the way with Jiu Mo, she observed nothing but bustling prosperity. It was unlike the extravagance she witnessed in Rock City in her early years, which seemed rootless, ready to vanish with a gust of wind, whereas Duling City’s wealth was so securely founded that even from afar, one could see faint purple air rising over the city, consolidating without dispersing, indicating the people’s peace and stability, the abundance of goods and resources—truly a place with solid roots and evidence-based good feng shui, able to maintain such prosperity for long.

Seeing her gazing around as they walked, Jiu Mo could not help but ask, "Where are we going?"

Ning Xiaoxian shrugged, "I don’t know."

"You don’t know?" This response was decidedly irresponsible.

Ning Xiaoxian replied with a grin, "Isn’t it a woman’s nature to enjoy wandering? Since we have nothing planned today, why not explore? Wouldn’t that be interesting?" Seeing Jiu Mo not speaking and his eyes showing disapproval, she remembered: Indeed, including Jiu Mo, Hidden Stream Demons have always been in a rush when leaving the Ba Snake Mountain Range, fearing to delay the return and suffer more, not having much time to leisurely waste outside on shopping.

"Let’s go." She pulled Jiu Mo along, wandering without further talk.

The ready-to-wear shops in this city like to hang rolls of colored fabric under their signs, making them very easy to identify. As they entered a shop, they saw that the garments for sale indeed matched the style of the streetwear outside — vibrant and bright colors like water red, lemon yellow, deep purple, etc., were popular, appearing both enthusiastic and uninhibited, yet utterly distinct from the subtle elegance of the Central State region.

Both appeared to be young and beautiful, precisely the kind of customers ready-to-wear shop owners favored, and whenever they entered a shop, Jiu Mo felt himself growing stiffer amid the endless chatter of mortals. Normally, if anyone dared to babble like this in her ear, they would likely be whipped into pulp, but seeing Ning Xiaoxian happily smiling without a shred of impatience, she had to forcibly suppress her temper until Ning Xiaoxian pressed a heap of clothes on her to try, startling her to ask, "Are these for me?"

"That’s right, quick, go try them on." Ning Xiaoxian said decisively, pushing her into the dressing room.

Mortal clothing was so cumbersome to wear! So many ties, so many buttons. Her hands could concoct the finest poisons, yet she struggled with these fragile clothes! Reluctantly, Jiu Mo put on new garments, and after a long time, walked out with a rigid expression.

"Wow, so cute! Truly an angelic face with a devilish figure." Ning Xiaoxian exclaimed softly, and the shop owner and female customers outside all applauded, evidently the snow gauze soft silk garment, or the short, witty, colorful young girl’s attire, all accentuated her bright eyes and white teeth, ample chest and slim waist, distinctly different from the gentle beauties popular at the time, contrasting with her delicate baby face, oddly yet tantalizingly beautiful.

This ready-to-wear shop had commissioned an Ice Condensing Talisman to make an ice prism for customers to view themselves in when trying on clothes. The bespoken lovely clothes, like gilding for Buddha, so astounded Jiu Mo upon seeing herself that she was in a daze. Ning Xiaoxian stood beside her, smugly praising, "I have a good eye for clothes, every piece fits well. Ah-ha, only your figure could make these clothes look so stunning. Shopkeeper, pack them up."

Naturally, Jiu Mo was oblivious to what "angel" and "devil" were. Her usual attire was her life-bound treasure made from Phoenix Feather, never needing such mortal garments! However, seeing her own reflection in the mirror, she couldn’t help but feel dazed for a moment, suddenly flashing in her mind the rigid, expressionless face of someone that she wondered what his reaction would be upon seeing her dressed like this. (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets on Qidian.com, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com for reading.)