""What? Qianling is back?"
Hun Qianxue suddenly looked up, his face filled with wild joy, as he hurriedly followed up:
"Is the news reliable? Is Qianling all right? She didn't encounter any danger, did she?"
He and Hun Qianling were biological siblings. Since she left for her experiential training, there had been no news of her, and his heart had been filled with constant worry.
Now that the Hun Family was facing internal troubles and external threats, struggling at every step, his sister's return was not only the comfort of blood ties but also one of the few pieces of good news. While it might not have a huge impact, it could at least provide him with some peace of mind.
"However, she also brought someone back with her. What is the relationship between them?"
"Reporting to the Patriarch, the news is reliable. Young Miss Qianling is safe and sound. She is accompanied by a fellow Cultivator, but they don't seem overly intimate; perhaps they are friends."
The reporting Cultivator quickly replied.
Hun Qianxue breathed a sigh of relief, a long-absent smile appearing on his face, his eyes filled with relief:
"Good, good! It's good that she's back! Arrange for her to see me immediately."
"Yes, Patriarch!"
The reporting Cultivator withdrew at the command. Hun Qianxue stood in the center of the hall, the fatigue in his heart dissipating slightly.
...
As day and night cycled, the thousand spirits vessel sped through the vast Void Realm for ten days before finally arriving at Qianhun City. As the flying vessel gradually slowed down, a magnificent and grand city gradually came into the sight of Han Xuanji and Hun Qianling.
Qianhun City had a long history and its name had been changed several times. It was renamed Qianhun City because the Hun Family had taken residence there.
Although it lacked the deep heritage and massive scale of a provincial capital like Jiuxuan City, it was still considered a large-scale city. Buildings lined the streets row upon row, stretching for hundreds of thousands of miles. From afar, it looked like a giant beast crouching on the earth, exuding a steady and heavy aura, sufficient to accommodate trillions of living beings to live and multiply.
Han Xuanji's gaze slowly swept across the entire city, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration. For a city of this scale, if the Powerful Experts of the Eternal Continent didn't have world-shaking abilities, it would have been impossible to design such a massive city that balanced scale, defense, and livelihoods. It was truly a masterpiece of divine craftsmanship.
Surprisingly, the city had no traditional walls. Instead, it was replaced by a layer of invisible light curtain, flowing gently like water ripples, enveloping the entire city. One could faintly feel the surging, majestic energy beneath the curtain.
Hun Qianling noticed his gaze and explained with a smile:
"Brother Han, look at this light curtain covering the whole city; that is the City Defense Formation of Qianhun City.
This Formation was personally laid down by a Saint of the Dao of Formations from the Holy Court back in the day. Its power is boundless. Normally, it only maintains basic functions, but once fully activated and combined with the city's large-scale war secret treasures, it's enough to directly confront a Powerful Expert of the Eternal Saint level. This is also the foundation for our Qianhun City to stand among the ranks of large cities."
"Impressive."
Han Xuanji nodded slightly, thinking to himself.
In the Eternal Continent, various crafts had already developed to their Peak. The Dao of Medicinal Pills, the Dao of Formations, and the Dao of Artifact Refining—each path possessed infinite possibilities, truly deserving of the name 'a hundred schools of thought blooming together'.
The payment that Formation Saint collected must have been an astronomical figure.
Although Qianhun City had no walls, it still had city gates. Under the operation of the City Defense Formation, the Law of space was firmly restricted, and Cultivators could not fly through the air at will.
Whether it was a personal flying vessel or a large transport ship, all had to enter and exit along specially designated paths.
Han Xuanji looked out and saw several wide vessel paths where densely packed vessels shuttled back and forth. There were small, exquisite personal vessels and large, heavy transport vessels, coming and going in a constant stream, a scene of bustling activity.
"The number of practitioners from the myriad races entering and leaving Qianhun City every day is truly high,"
Han Xuanji sighed softly. Although he had seen the bustle of traveling Cultivators in Jiuxuan City before, seeing this massive number of vessels shuttling through Qianhun City was still somewhat novel.
After all, he was a newcomer who had only recently stepped into the Eternal Continent, and he looked upon everything on this continent with a sense of curiosity and inquiry.
Back when he was in the Spirit Realm and the Immortal Realm, he spent most of his time cultivating diligently within his Sect, focusing solely on studying the Great Dao. He had never observed the world so closely, nor had he ever seen a city of this scale or the myriad races of Cultivators coming and going. Besides the specialized vessel paths, there were also wide pedestrian walkways with countless Cultivators moving through them. Some wore various robes and carried luggage, clearly Cultivators on a journey.
"It seems not everyone can afford a flying vessel."
Han Xuanji looked at the flow of people on the pedestrian walkway.
The worldly rules of the Eternal Continent were extremely powerful. Without reaching a certain Realm of cultivation, it was incredibly difficult to fly through the air.
Usually, only upon reaching the Eternal Dao Master Realm could one barely manage to fly normally for travel. Moreover, the flight altitude was limited and the speed wasn't particularly fast. Flying randomly in the wilderness made one extremely susceptible to attacks from airborne Vicious Beasts, which wasn't worth the risk.
For those Cultivators whose cultivation had not reached the Eternal Dao Lord level or those from ordinary backgrounds, walking or taking public vessels was the most reliable way to travel. However, some were unwilling to spend the money and chose to travel on foot.
In addition to the vessel paths and pedestrian walkways, Han Xuanji also noticed some massive entities slowly entering and exiting. They had various forms—some looked like Dragons, others like tigers—appearing like actual Vicious Beasts.
He looked closely and realized these were not real Vicious Beasts, but large-scale mechas with peculiar designs.
Hun Qianling followed his gaze and explained with a smile:
"Those are not Vicious Beasts; they are large-scale Combat Secret Treasures, masterpieces of the Dao of Artifact Refining in the Eternal Continent.
This type of Combat Secret Treasure requires multiple Cultivators to operate in coordination, and the primary controller must possess extremely strong Soul cultivation to precisely control every movement of the mecha. This is also the core military strength that our Hun Family relies on for survival."
She pointed to the dragon-shaped mecha not far away and continued:
"Look at that dragon-shaped secret treasure. It looks massive and clumsy, but it is actually incredibly flexible. The minimum cultivation for a controller is only the Eternal Dao Master Realm, yet it can unleash power at the Eternal True Lord level; if it were an even more powerful top-tier secret treasure, it could even unleash power at the Saint level, enough to turn the tide on a battlefield."
"It is indeed another way of thinking about becoming stronger."
Han Xuanji nodded slightly, feeling quite moved.
This Eternal Continent truly had a vast variety of methods, completely different from the Immortal Realm where he was previously. Cultivators in the Immortal Realm mostly focused on polishing their own cultivation and comprehending Daoist principles, striving to break through Realms with their own strength and rarely relying on external objects.
But the Powerful Experts of the Eternal Continent, in order to break through Bottlenecks and increase their strength, had researched countless paths. This 'mecha' was one such shortcut—even if one's own cultivation was limited, they could unleash power far exceeding their own. A powerful controller could even use a mecha to achieve a leap in status, jumping from an ordinary Cultivator to a regional powerhouse.
This also indirectly proved how difficult cultivation after the Eternal Dao Master Realm truly was.
If one relied solely on their own comprehension, trying to break through to Eternal True God or even Eternal Saint was as difficult as ascending to heaven. It was no wonder the Cultivators of the Eternal Continent would find alternative paths, studying all kinds of secret treasures and techniques just to seek a sliver of a possibility to become stronger.