High in the sky, fierce winds scattered the clouds. Three flying boats flew in triangular formation, each one cutting through the air like an arrow loosed from a bow.
Creak... creak...
The strained groan of the vessel's aging frame rang out constantly, grating against the wind.
At the prow, Luo Chen stood with a furrowed brow, casting a troubled glance down at the flying vessel beneath his feet.
Min Longyu sensed Luo Chen’s concern and said quickly, "I did everything I could to reinforce it
Luo Chen shook his head. "This isn’t your fault."
Min Longyu let out a relieved sigh.
After all, the Skyhawk Flying Boat was in terrible condition, worn, battered, and barely holding together. Back during the battle at Gaoling Plains, the Skyhawk Flying Boat had borne the brunt of the assault. It had first taken a direct hit from Tu Shan’s Heavy Recast Seal, then crashed and was immediately besieged by Dajiang Gang cultivators. Even though Duan Feng had put it away in time, many parts had already been badly damaged.
That was only the beginning. To escape Huo Quan’s pursuit, they had pushed the flying boat to its absolute limit, flying five full days and nights. That was the only reason they had managed to compress a two-month journey into less than one. This was one of the key reasons Luo Chen had persuaded Li Yixian to leave most of the mortals behind. Not only do they slow the group down, but more importantly, the Skyhawk Flying Boat simply couldn’t bear the weight any longer.
And it wasn’t just the Luo Tian Society. The flying boats of the Li and Nangong families weren’t in much better shape. Their hulls were scuffed and cracked, their surfaces dulled and dim, bearing clear signs of strain and wear. Fortunately, they were finally nearing their destination.
From the flying boat, someone called out, "President! Once we cross this Peach Mountain, we’ll be able to see Tianlan Immortal City!"
"Peach Mountain?" Luo Chen repeated, lowering his gaze to the landscape before them.
Ahead lay a gently sloping mountain. It wasn’t particularly tall, but its beauty was undeniable. The entire slope was blanketed with peach trees, their branches fanning out in all directions. Blossoms bloomed in stunning profusion, painting the mountainside in hues of pink and white. Yet, it wasn’t even peach blossom season.
Still, the mountain was overflowing with color. Hues of crimson, blush, and rose swirled together in a sea of soft petals that danced in the wind. Amid the flowering trees, elegant pavilions and layered towers peeked through the trees. Slender figures gracefully among them, as if the entire scene had been painted into existence. Some of these figures were fair-skinned, so striking that they seemed to glow beneath the canopy of blossoms like snow scattered through spring.
Luo Chen frowned slightly and activated Spirit Eyes. He peered into the scene with clarity. What met his eyes made his chest tighten with unexpected heat.
It was an open-air display of indulgence.
Ahem...
Beside him, Min Longyu gave a dry cough and spoke in a tone both awkward and reserved. "This mountain is under the lineage of the Grand Elder of Peach Blossom from Hundred Flowers Palace. Their trade here... is of the fleshly arts."
Luo Chen raised a brow. "Sounds rather similar to the Tianxiang Tower back at Dahe Market?"
Min Longyu gave a wry smile. "Tianxiang Tower? That's a backwater inn by comparison. Peach Mountain is famous throughout Tianlan Immortal City. On its busiest days, thousands of cultivators flock here for its... services."
Luo Chen gave him a long look, the corners of his lips tugging into a teasing smile. "Quite the expert, are you? Have you been here yourself?"
Min Longyu hurriedly waved both hands, looking flustered. "No, no! Just rumors! I’ve only heard of it, never visited myself!"
Luo Chen gave a faint smile, unconcerned by the matter.
While the two conversed, the cultivators aboard the flying boats had also taken note of the mountain below. The scene was breathtaking, with slopes of blossomed peach trees, beautiful women, and a thick haze of lust that clung to the mountain like incense smoke. It was the kind of view enough to make cultivators embarrassed.
Below, some of the daring female cultivators had already noticed them and were shamelessly waving silk handkerchiefs toward the sky.
"Fellow Daoist, come down and play!" one of them called, her voice sweet and shameless.
Luo Chen couldn’t help but laugh in exasperation. He hadn’t expected to find such an unrestrained place right outside Tianlan Immortal City. Compared to this, the Tianxiang Tower of the Hehuan Sect seemed like child’s play.
Luo Chen remarked wistfully. "If Fellow Daoist Zeng Wen were still with us, this place would be his paradise."
But just as the words left his mouth, his body tensed. It wasn’t a third-tier demonic king, nor a passing Golden Core cultivator. It was just Xiugu carrying her son, Zeng Yilong, walking past behind him.
Luo Chen could feel a pair of eyes glancing at him, cool and faint. He had clearly said the wrong thing.
Amid the flirtatious cries of the female cultivators below, the flying boats passed over Peach Mountain. Then, Luo Chen held his breath.
There it was. A vast and majestic city loomed in the distance, crashing into Luo Chen’s vision like a siege hammer, utterly overwhelming. Its walls were a deep greenish-black, stretching endlessly across the horizon. Towering a hundred zhang high, they spanned hundreds of li. It was imposing like a divine decree carved into the land. From those walls, a suffocating pulse of spirit power radiated outward. Though faint, but undeniable. The higher one’s cultivation realm, the more one could feel its pressure. This was not the aura of a grand city but more like the slumbering presence of an ancient beast lying dormant across the earth for millennia. If it ever awoke, it would scorch the land for a thousand li, overturn rivers and seas.
Luo Chen lifted his gaze!
At the heart of the city stood a towering peak, its summit obscured beyond sight. Only its mist-shrouded waist was faintly visible, vanishing and reappearing through the clouds. A white dragon seemed to roar downward from the hidden summit!
No, that wasn’t a dragon! It was a waterfall, one a hundred zhang wide and of unfathomable height! And outside that cascading torrent, streaks of radiant light darted back and forth, cultivators in flight, each glowing with the energy flow of Foundation Establishment or even Golden Core strength. Yet before that waterfall, they seemed as small and fleeting as mayflies.
Luo Chen swallowed hard, his voice low and stunned. "Where... does that waterfall come from?"
By his ear, a soft murmur rose. "Falling from the heavens, striking the earth into waves. This immortal city... is called Tianlan."
Tianlan Immortal City... Luo Chen took a deep breath, tore his gaze away from the scene, and looked back.
Behind him, every member of the Luo Tian Society had stepped out, crowding the flying boat from end to end, their gazes locked onto the vision ahead, stunned into silence.
On the second flying boat, the hunched-backed Nangong Jin attempted to straighten up, but in front of this once-in-a-lifetime spectacle, he only seemed more bowed and worn. Nangong Qin, on the other hand, trembled uncontrollably in his wheelchair, overwhelmed by awe. Aboard the Li family’s flying boat, Li Yixian stood quietly, her beautiful eyes shimmering with unshed tears. Her gaze, slightly unfocused, clung to the sight before her.
This was the place cultivators truly yearned for. Not Dahe Market. That backwater outpost was nothing but a crude imitation of real civilization.
Nearby, Li Ao had completely lost his usual composure. The proud young man now darted across the deck in excitement, pointing toward the immortal city in the distance and shouting like a child. All his former arrogance had vanished without a trace.
Whoosh!
A streak of light flashed behind them. From the direction of Peach Mountain, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, clothes disheveled and hair windswept, shot into the sky.
As he passed overhead, he turned back with a mocking sneer. "Rabble cultivators from the countryside, speechless, aren’t you?"
He made no effort to hide the scorn in his voice. Many of them heard it. For a moment, countless low-tier cultivators turned red with shame, wishing they could crawl into the ground.
Luo Chen slowly shook his head and raised his right hand. "Lift your heads. Straighten your backs. We’re entering the city."
Swish!
With a crisp rustle, every cultivator of the Luo Tian Society obeyed at once. As one, they raised their chins and squared their shoulders, eyes following Luo Chen’s calm and resolute figure.
Min Longyu, who had been drifting in a haze of old memories since their return, snapped out of it. His gaze settled deeply on Luo Chen. In that instant, he seemed to feel a surge of boundless pride erupting in his chest!