Laszlo's face fell, his enthusiasm immediately cooling. "Alright then, tiger pelt it is."

  "You good-for-nothing fatty, at it again with your swindling! Stand right there! See if I don't flay you and pull out your tendons!"

  Just as Leo was about to take the booklet with "Immortal City Regulations" written on the cover, a voice like a thunderclap rang out. Looking up, he saw a middle-aged Taoist priest in blue robes, wielding a longsword, charging towards them with murderous intent.

  "Young brother, keep the booklet. I'm off!" Seeing the newcomer, Laszlo's fat trembled. He shoved the booklet into Leo's hands, snatched the tiger pelt as if grabbing for treasure, and vanished into the grass with astonishing speed and well-practiced movements.

  "Let that wretched fatty get away again!" The blue-robed Taoist stomped his foot in frustration and regret. He stopped and asked Leo, "Young brother, did you see clearly which direction that fatty ran?"

  "No, he escaped too quickly, and there's a lot of tall grass around. I couldn't make it out clearly. Is that man your enemy?" Leo was now full of questions.

  "Enemy, not exactly. It's just that damned fatty's heart is truly wicked. He specializes in swindling and cheating, deceiving low-level loose cultivators traveling to Moonwatch City from secular kingdoms. Seeing he took something from you, you must have been tricked too," the Taoist said indignantly.

  "This Immortal City Regulations booklet should be somewhat useful, and the price isn't high," Leo said, showing the booklet.

  "Not high? It still costs one spirit stone! Once you reach the city, right at the city gate entrance, there are notices about the city's rules and systems. That damned fatty just copied them by hand, deliberately exaggerated the consequences severely, and uses it to fool passing low-level loose immortals who haven't been to the city before. And that map scroll is even more common in the city, costing only one low-grade spirit stone. That fatty sold it to me for three stones! He swindled me of all my possessions, leaving me struggle in the city." The Taoist stomped his foot angrily, his face flushed red, heartbroken over those extra wasted spirit stones.

  Leo was dumbfounded. He had witnessed the black-robed old man's craftiness, Wynn Draper's arrogance, the Draper family's disregard for human life, and Vesper's shrewdness. But this was the first time he had encountered someone so utterly shameless. Luckily, this Taoist priest had appeared in time; otherwise, he would have likely been cheated out of at least one or two extra spirit stones.

  "If that fatty has been doing this long-term, he must be very familiar with the terrain around here. And his escape speed is very fast. If you truly want to find him, perhaps you could disguise yourself, change your appearance, pretend to be a loose cultivator heading to Moonwatch City. That might work."

  "Thank you for the suggestion, young brother," the Taoist said, finding it reasonable, his expression immediately brightening.

  "Might I ask, brother, how does one get to Moonwatch City? How far is it from here?" Leo inquired.

  "Follow this official road straight ahead. After about two hours, there's a great snowy mountain shrouded in clouds and mist. There's also a small path on the snowy mountain. Cross over it, and you'll see a majestic city. That is Moonwatch Immortal City," the Taoist explained.

  Leo clasped his hands in thanks. After bidding farewell to the Taoist, he headed in the direction indicated. A wave of excitement surged within him. From the waiter's conversation and the recent encounter, he could judge that he was indeed not far from the immortal city now. If not near the immortal city, how could he encounter two cultivators in one day, both with cultivation levels somewhat higher than his? Previously, traveling through some secular kingdoms, he might pass tens of thousands of people without meeting a single cultivator.

  Sure enough, following the Taoist's instructions, after two hours, undulating great mountains blocked the way ahead. Clouds and mist swirled around the mountain waist, indicating the mountain's height. Tiger roars and ape calls echoed in the mountains; cold winds howled. A narrow, winding path snaked upwards, its end not visible.

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  Leo used the Wind Riding Technique to travel along the mountain path, which was much slower than on flat ground. No wonder secular mortals who can go to the immortal city must either be legendary martial artists or have a cultivator's protection along the way. Otherwise, just the extreme cold on these snow peaks is enough to freeze a person solid. Only legendary martial artists with profound inner strength can barely withstand it. Even for him at Qi Refining Level Two, traversing these towering, undulating snow peaks wasn't easy either.

  After several days, Leo finally crossed to the other side of the snow peak. "Moonwatch City!"

  Two hundred miles later, when a majestic, towering great city loomed before his eyes, Leo's heart was filled with excitement and awe. The massive grayish-blue stone blocks, of an unknown type of rock, each looked to weigh at least tens of thousands of kilos. At a glance, one couldn't see the end of the city walls. Had he not seen it with his own eyes, Leo could hardly have imagined such a massive city existing in the world. Its imposing grandeur was condensed like mountains.

  After the initial shock, Leo approached the city gate. Already, several hundred people were queued up there.

  Seeing so many cultivators for the first time, Leo was inwardly astonished. Among the crowd, only about a dozen or twenty had cultivation levels similar to his. For others, he couldn't determine their exact cultivation, but from the spiritual pressure they emitted, he knew their cultivation was much higher than his, at least mid-stage Qi Refining, or even late-stage Qi Refining masters.

  At the massive city gate, over a hundred guards in armor, holding sharp blades, stood strictly and formidably on guard. Their cultivation levels were uniformly mid-stage Qi Refining or above. The armor was bluish-black, each with a shield-shaped simple and ancient emblem on the chest, its meaning unknown.

  The spiritual pressure emanating from them made one's heart palpitate involuntarily. As for their weapons, they were of all kinds, not uniform in style—sabers, spears, swords, halberds. They glowed fiery red, earthen yellow, emitting different spiritual energy fluctuations, far superior to the green sword at his waist, which he had obtained from Wynn Draper.

  At the slightest commotion near the gate, these guards would step forward to suppress it.

  Several leading soldiers inspected each person wanting to enter the city. An officer-like young man stabbed a long spear into the ground and lay back on a reclining chair, leisurely feigning sleep to rest.

  Seeing the soldiers checking, people ahead all showed a palm-sized wooden token. Leo felt somewhat uneasy and suspicious. Does entering Moonwatch City require special credentials? I don't have such a token.

  "Your turn. Show your waist token!" After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, it was Leo's turn. The inspecting soldier addressed him.

  "I... I don't have a waist token," Leo said, his heart tightening. If this were a secular city, he wouldn't be this nervous, but any of these soldiers had cultivation levels far higher than his.

  "No waist token? Lost it, or first time in Moonwatch City?" The officer who had been feigning sleep stood up from his reclining chair and asked.

  "First time in Moonwatch City," Leo answered truthfully.

  The officer's eyes opened wide, a flash of red light passing through them. Leo felt as if the other could see right through him. Spiritual Eye Technique. This officer is likely a fire-attribute cultivator. It's just that his cultivation is much higher; that's why using the Spiritual Eye Technique gives him this prickly, uncomfortable feeling.

  "Go to the clerk over there to register and receive a waist token," the officer said, not giving him much trouble. After scanning him with the Spiritual Eye Technique, he lay back down again.

  Leo nodded. On the other side of the soldier, there was a man dressed like a private secretary, equipped with brush and ink.

  "Name, place of origin?" The clerk lifted his eyelids, glanced at Leo.

  "Leo, from Arn, in the kingdom of Asgard."

  "Asgard? Where's that?" The clerk asked, puzzled.

  "Probably some small secular kingdom. The Central Continent has hundreds or thousands of secular kingdoms. Who knows, some get destroyed, new ones appear," a soldier nearby laughed.

  "True, just need to register. Why bother with the details," the clerk also laughed, shaking his head. He took out a small black token identical to others, wrote Leo's name on it, and handed it to him. "Be careful not to lose it. First one is free. If you lose it, you'll need spirit stones to get a replacement. Also, if there's an emergency inside or outside the city, entering or exiting requires strict inspection. Not having a token will be very troublesome."

  "Thank you for the reminder," Leo said, taking the token quickly and expressing thanks, simultaneously feeling a sense of relief. Now he had the freedom to enter and exit the immortal city. The token had faint spiritual energy fluctuations, likely made from a type of spiritual wood.

  Walking through the gate, on the city wall were clearly posted the rules and regulations of Moonwatch City: prohibitions against fighting or brawling in the city, unauthorized climbing of walls, etc. Flipping through the Immortal City Regulations booklet in his hand, sure enough, it was all copied from these notices. Having been fooled once for nothing, Leo felt secretly annoyed. Although that tiger pelt wasn't of great value, he disliked the feeling of being played.

  Inside Moonwatch City were streets running in all directions. The people coming and going were basically all cultivators. Those with higher cultivation than him were everywhere. Previously, in secular kingdoms, he had always been the superior one. Suddenly being in a place where anyone at random was stronger than him, Leo felt somewhat of a letdown. However, coming from a poor family, he quickly adjusted his mindset.

  Arriving at Moonwatch Immortal City for the first time, Leo looked around with great interest.

  On both sides of the streets were shops of various sizes, similar in layout to secular cities, but the goods sold were vastly different.

  Passing by a shop called "Dawn Family Weaponry," inside were a dazzling array of various weapons: sabers, spears, arrows. The spiritual pressure emanating from them made Leo's heart race. Such divine weapons and sharp tools could easily slice a person in two with a gentle swing—a world of difference compared to secular swords.

  At the entrance of Dawn Family Weaponry hung a recruitment sign, stating: "Artificers who can forge spiritual tools, and artificer apprentices needed."

  Besides weapons, there was also a "Helix Family Pill Shop." Previously, from Vesper, he learned that early Qi Refining used Qi Gathering Pills, mid-stage used Qi Recovery Pills, and late-stage, great perfection used Essence Energy Pills.

  Besides these few types, the pills displayed in Helix Family Pill Shop included others he hadn't heard of, primarily focused on cultivation and healing. Additionally, there were spiritual wines and teas that helped rapidly recover mana.