CHAPTER 454: 454 MOON COOL CITY

"Yun Xiao, is it? Interesting!"

The woman in black stared at the rapidly vanishing tiny black dot in the sky, one person and one demon. After a long while, an unusual smile emerged on her face, but wrapped under a black scarf, only her laughter could be heard.

"But... you can’t escape from the hands of Shen Xingmou!"

The self-proclaimed Shen Xingmou, the woman in black, withdrew her gaze and slowly raised her right hand. In the palm of her jade-like hand, a black five-star imprint seemed to be emitting a certain aura.

And this aura seemed to have formed an inexplicable connection with the person gradually fading into the distance in the sky, guiding someone to seek out their target.

...

Yun Xiao, riding on the back of the Blood Winged Fire-Eyed Lion, sensed the aura behind him and finally wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. The terrifying woman had not pursued him, which greatly relieved him.

In fact, with Yun Xiao’s current Power of Soul, he couldn’t truly sense the woman in black’s actual Meridian Qi Cultivation, but merely based on her ability to severely injure Ran Xing with a word, she was probably no ordinary person.

Therefore, Yun Xiao wasn’t sure whether that woman had reached the Heavenly Rank Third Realm. If that was indeed the case, chasing him through the air would still mean certain death for him.

A Heavenly Rank Third Realm expert could harness the Sky Power, allowing one to tread on the void and fly through the skies, and their speed was not much slower than some ordinary Flying Beast Pulse Demons.

Regardless, the Blood Winged Fire-Eyed Lion had not broken through to the Seventh Rank, which was the Earth Rank level of human Cultivators. It relied solely on its flight talent, which seemed somewhat insufficient in front of a Heavenly Rank expert.

"It seems that woman hasn’t reached the Heavenly Rank Third Realm!"

Yun Xiao, having much more insight than Ran Xing, sensed that the dangerous aura behind him was gradually fading, and he was now certain. This undoubtedly brought an end to his immense tribulation this time.

Tonight in these mountains, Yun Xiao truly faced death several times. Strictly speaking, it was that woman in black who saved his life, otherwise, he would have died under the joint hands of Yu Qian and Ran Xing.

All these ironic twists and turns, even if the woman in black ultimately wanted to kill Yun Xiao, the coincidences allowed him to escape and it can’t help but be said to be fate.

"Just who is she?"

Although Yun Xiao had some guesses, he was still utterly clueless about the identity of the woman in black. Now he just wanted to enhance his own strength as quickly as possible; perhaps the upcoming Countries Hidden Dragon Conference would be a good opportunity.

Each Countries Hidden Dragon Conference, besides many honors, also had the possibility of being selected by the big sects of the Middle Three Realms, and for the champion or the top few, there were substantial rewards.

Counting the days, the Countries Hidden Dragon Conference should be starting in just over a month. The time needed to travel from here back to Baiyue City in the Xuanyue Empire was about the same, so there was no moment to delay.

Fortunately, this time Yun Xiao had the Blood Winged Fire-Eyed Lion. With this Flying Beast Pulse Demon, he was not worried about being late; the only concern was the mysterious woman in black.

Worth mentioning is, over the following days, Yun Xiao did not encounter any trace of the woman in black. Even when resting in the cities of the Lingtian Empire, no trouble occurred again.

And one day when he arrived in Xuri City on the southern border of the Lingtian Empire, the Fire Cloud Rat Chi Yun suddenly appeared from nowhere, giving Yun Xiao a great surprise.

Chi Yan, not seen for several months, had its Demon Meridian Qi Cultivation now surprisingly broken through to the Advanced Fifth Rank and was even showing signs of advancing to the Sixth Rank.

"It seems this fellow has found some good stuff somewhere!"

Yun Xiao, petting Chi Yan on his shoulder and looking up at the Blood Winged Fire-Eyed Lion far up in the sky, contemplated, wondering if staying with him was too restrictive for the Fire Cloud Rat.

Whenever stopping for rest in a city, Yun Xiao didn’t bring the Blood Winged Fire-Eyed Lion along because it was too conspicuous. Although with the strength of the Blood Winged Fire-Eyed Lion, he wasn’t afraid of any Cultivator on the Hidden Dragon Continent, he couldn’t guarantee not encountering the woman in black again.

Especially if showing off so openly, it would almost certainly expose his whereabouts, and if the woman in black traced him again, he would probably become a homeless dog again, and the luck might not be as good as last time.

After leaving Xuri City and heading south for several hundred miles, he would reach the border of the Xuanyue Empire. For some reason, upon returning to the Xuanyue Empire, Yun Xiao felt his tensed spirit somewhat relaxed.

"There’s Moon Cool City ahead!"

Yun Xiao, standing on the back of the Blood Winged Fire-Eyed Lion, gazed down at a huge city below, murmured a few words, then lightly stepped on the lion’s back, signaling the great beast to dive downwards.

Carrying Chi Yan, he jumped down from the lion’s back, and seeing the Blood Winged Fire-Eyed Lion soaring into the sky afterward, Yun Xiao chuckled lightly and strode towards the North Gate of Moon Cool City.

Moon Cool City, that was the largest city in the northern part of the Xuanyue Empire, and it could also be described as a military city, because it housed the Xuanyue Empire’s army that resists the invasion from large northern countries, serving as the first line of defense for the Xuanyue Empire’s north.

A city like this naturally bustles with activity, almost comparable to Xuri City in Lingtian Empire. When Yun Xiao stepped into Moon Cool City, a wave of clamor assaulted his senses.

Walking on the streets, Yun Xiao surveyed the diverse crowd, feeling that it was even livelier than a few months ago when he had passed through. Moreover, many young faces with different attire exuded an aura that was not to be underestimated.

"It seems these people are all here for the Countries Hidden Dragon Conference!"

With a quick thought, Yun Xiao figured out the context—this time’s Countries Hidden Dragon Conference was held in Baiyue City, the imperial capital of Xuanyue Empire. As the grand event approached, naturally, the young elites from various empires would flock from all directions.

The Countries Hidden Dragon Conference claims to involve "all nations," and although the whole Hidden Dragon Continent may not have ten thousand empires, there are definitely thousands. Some young talents coming from the north of Xuanyue Empire must pass through Moon Cool City.

"Last time at the Meridian Refining Master Guild, I forgot to ask Chairman Gu Dao if there was any Mixed Element Grass!"

Yun Xiao’s expression turned slightly embarrassed. In fact, one of his purposes for this trip to Lingtian Empire was to find the Mixed Element Grass which could help Ling Wan’s Mixed Element Qi breakthrough to the Meridian Union Realm.

However, subsequent events were so numerous and complex that he obviously forgot this matter, which was the key to whether Ling Wan could break through to the Meridian Union Realm.

Therefore, Yun Xiao decided to stay in Moon Cool City for a day to see if there was any news about Mixed Element Grass in this bustling city.

"The trading area seems to be in South City!"

Yun Xiao had been to Moon Cool City once before, rushing through without learning anything about Mixed Element Grass, so he only knew the general direction.

Moon Cool City is a military city, entirely controlled by the army, hence it does not have a City Lord’s Mansion. The trading area is set in a separate location in South City.

Yun Xiao walked leisurely, arriving in the region of South City in no time. This place was busier than North City, with the sounds of peddling and bargaining echoing one after another.

"Squeak squeak!"

The Fire Cloud Rat Chi Yan on Yun Xiao’s shoulder sniffed with its small nose and emitted an excited squeak, causing Yun Xiao to pat its head without good humor.

"Be quiet, you can’t just eat anything you like here!"

After scolding Chi Yan, seeing it lie down, Yun Xiao no longer paid attention and continued to walk. His Power of Soul spread out, sensing the Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures on various stalls.

"Kid, the seventh stall on the left!"

While Yun Xiao was aimlessly wandering, a familiar voice suddenly echoed in his mind. Without looking, he knew it was from the Golden Snake Worm.

Yun Xiao always deeply trusted this being, now believing it came from a plane higher than Nine-layered Dragon Cloud. Its insights, perhaps, were not comparable to his own.

Therefore, without any hesitation, Yun Xiao headed straight for the seventh stall on the left, but upon closer inspection, he felt somewhat disappointed.

The stall owner, a stout middle-aged man, had some random items on display, which seemed worthless.

With Yun Xiao’s discernment, at a glance, although these items looked weird and peculiar, they were actually worth nothing. Even ordinary people would find them useless.

"It seems this stall owner has a similar knack to Pavilion Master Gong of the Treasure Pavilion!"

Looking at the stall owner, who was relaxed with slightly closed eyes, Yun Xiao suddenly remembered a familiar figure—the owner of that shadow had already met King Yan.

"Hey, how could I have forgotten this!"

Thinking of Gong Qizhen, the deceased Pavilion Master of Treasure Pavilion who died at his hands, Yun Xiao slapped his thigh and then touched his Waist Storage, sensing the contents inside, with an expression of mixed laughter and tears.

In Yun Xiao’s Waist Storage were two unopened Waist Storages that were obtained when he and Xu Hongzhuang jointly killed Gong Qizhen and Qiao Lin. These Waist Storages contained numerous Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, along with millions of Gold Coins—an extremely significant wealth.

Yun Xiao felt a mix of laughter and tears because back in Lingtian City at the Meridian Refining Master Guild, he had worried about a few thousand Gold Coins for a deposit, eventually covered by Crown Prince Nie Qianqiu of the Empire.

Clearly, Yun Xiao had forgotten about these two Waist Storages until now, seeing the stall owner who looked very much like Gong Qizhen reminded him that he too was an extremely wealthy tycoon.

"Hey, kid, what are you looking at—are you buying or not?"

While Yun Xiao was pondering privately, an impatient voice suddenly rang beside his ear, coming from the stall owner in front of him, and his opened eyes seemed to be looking at a poor country boy.