I picked up skill fragments in the demon world

#576 - Jinling

Chapter 573 Jinling

Looking from afar, Jinling City came into view, resembling an ancient ferocious beast crouching on the ground, with vast divine light soaring into the sky, enveloping all directions.

“Tenth-order deities! And five of them!” Zhang Chen opened his Dharma eyes and looked from afar, seeing the entire Jinling City shrouded in the divine aura, which even suppressed the dragon energy of the land.

“Once cultivators reach the tenth order, the dragon energy's suppression greatly weakens. This Jinling City is extraordinary, actually nurturing tenth-order divine powerhouses, and five of them. You should know that even the Pingbian Royal Mansion, gathering the fortune of the entire Northern Territory, only nurtured an eleventh-order divine dragon. Jinling City, in terms of area, is not even half the size of the Pingbian Royal Mansion's territory, yet it can nurture five tenth-order beings, showing the depth of its fortune.” A hint of caution appeared in Zhang Chen's eyes.

Once cultivators reach the ninth order, the gap between various systems becomes infinitely small. Whether it's the Immortal Dao, other Yin God Dao cultivators, or Incense God Dao cultivators, the difference between them is already negligible. Everyone has begun to comprehend the laws of heaven and earth, and come into contact with the power of the laws of heaven and earth. What everyone competes for is the mastery of divine abilities.

And at this realm, the difference in foundation becomes apparent. Some people have inherited teachings from their masters, and don't need to comprehend divine abilities from the laws of heaven and earth, directly using the divine abilities passed down by their masters. Some people hold innate spiritual treasures, and some inherit unknown powers, further widening the gap between them.

“If there are already five tenth-order beings, then who knows how many ninth-order Yang Gods are hidden in the dark.” Zhang Chen began to be vigilant in his heart: “I can't be reckless! I must play it safe! Although I now have the ninth-level skill Solar Charcoal Fire, its power is mediocre and too singular. If I fight against a true ninth-order Yang God-level powerhouse, I may not have the upper hand.” A hint of caution appeared in Zhang Chen's eyes: “However, the higher the level of the gods here, the greater the probability for me to fish in troubled waters.”

He wanted to steal the power of incense to improve his skills, and a small amount of incense power would not be enough.

Jinling is rich in natural resources and talented people, gathering the essence of the sun and moon. The population density is much greater than that of the Pingbian Royal Mansion's territory. Otherwise, the incense within a small Jinling City would not be able to support five tenth-order innate gods.

“One of them has a magnificent aura, while the other's aura is slightly weaker, a step behind. Although they have the aura of the tenth order, they seem to lack a bit of refinement.” Just as Zhang Chen was analyzing in his heart, a voice rang in his ears:

“Is that Jinling City?”

A group of people stood in front of a carriage, looking at the distant hazy outline, their voices full of fatigue.

Because the distance to Jinling City was too far, everyone could only see an outline from afar, but precisely because they could only see the outline, they could more directly experience the grandeur of Jinling City.

“That is Jinling City.” Zhang Chen said.

“We've traveled a long and tiring road, and we've finally arrived.” Zhang Shi sighed, her voice full of emotion.

“The real test has only just begun.” Zhang Chen muttered: “Let's eat first! Looking at a mountain can tire a horse to death. We can see the outline of Jinling City now, but it will still take at least a day to reach Jinling City.”

Hearing Zhang Chen's words, the family began to cook. Zhang Chen casually broke off a blade of grass and put it in his mouth, thinking about how to enter Jinling City. If his family's whereabouts were leaked and they were wanted and hunted down by the imperial court, and it was Shen Qiu's doing, then the other party must have already prepared everything in Jinling City, waiting for his family to drill into it.

“What should I do next?” A hint of contemplation appeared in Zhang Chen's eyes.

“What are you planning to do? If it's really as you said, and the Shen family harbors ill intentions towards us, we might as well avoid the Shen family and quietly take root in a remote corner of Jinling City. With our current abilities, we can always avoid starvation. There's no need to go and rely on the Shen family.” A trace of worry appeared in Zhang Shi's eyes.

“It may not necessarily be that the Shen family is wary of us. Perhaps it's just a faction led by Shen Qiu who harbors ill intentions towards us.” Zhang Chen denied Zhang Shi's words. He had to go to the Shen family, because Zhang Shi had said that there were things his mother had left for him there. How could he not go and see?

“The more Shen Qiu doesn't want us to go to Jinling, the more we have to go. Not only do we have to go, but we also have to directly visit them and catch them off guard.” Zhang Chen made a decision.

Hearing Zhang Chen's words, Zhang Shi no longer tried to persuade him, but simply said: “You have the final say in our family. Since you've spoken, we will naturally follow your instructions.”

Hearing Zhang Shi's words, Zhang Chen didn't say much, but instead thought about the matter of entering the city.

To enter Jinling, the city gate was the first hurdle. Zhang Chen had a premonition that if Shen Qiu returned to Jinling City ahead of time, he would definitely make some arrangements at the city gate.

“I wonder if my fake travel permit will work.” Zhang Chen was a little worried. The next moment, he used the Escape Technique and disappeared from the spot. When he reappeared, he was already in front of the Jinling City gate, where hundreds of soldiers stood, constantly checking the passing travelers and examining their travel permits.

Zhang Chen followed behind the crowd, wanting to see if there was a way to fish in troubled waters, but as he approached, he gradually saw the guards stationed at the city gate checking the travel permits of the passing pedestrians. Zhang Chen's heart gradually sank: “There's no chance.”

“Name!”

“Little one, Wang Erniu!”

“Where do you live?”

“Xiguan Village, outside the city.”

“The accent matches. Why are you entering the city?”

“……”

The guard constantly compared the travel permit to the spoken language and physical appearance, causing Zhang Chen's eyelids to twitch. With the other party's method of questioning, his family had no chance of sneaking in.

Even if everyone was scattered and tried to sneak in, they couldn't escape the questioning about their accent.

Without saying anything else, just the problem of his family's accent would definitely not pass.

“This is troublesome! If I want to use the Combined Sand Art or activate the swarm of bees in Jinling City, I'm afraid I won't get any benefit. After all, there are countless experts in the city. If I make a move with too much commotion, it will definitely attract the attention of the experts in Jinling City.” Zhang Chen withdrew from the queue and turned back to find a solution.

“What should I do? How can I sneak into Jinling City?” Zhang Chen walked among the green hills and clear waters, various thoughts flashing in his mind. He never expected to be stumped in front of the Jinling City gate.

When he returned to the camp, Zhang Shi had already prepared the meal. Seeing a trace of melancholy between Zhang Chen's brows, she asked: “Are you worried about the Shen family's matter?”

“I'm not worried about the Shen family. I'm worried about how we should enter the city gate. The inspection in Jinling City is strict. With our travel permits full of flaws, it won't be easy to sneak in.” Zhang Chen took the rice handed over by Chengyu, sat on a stool, took a bite, and then expressed the worries in his heart.

“What if we sneak in with a large merchant team?” Zhang Shi asked.

Zhang Chen shook his head: “I'm afraid it will be as difficult as ascending to heaven. We don't know any large merchant teams, and besides, we don't have any money. Why would they help us?”

Hearing Zhang Chen's words, a glint flashed in Chengyu's eyes: “I have an idea.”

“What idea?” Zhang Chen turned to look at Chengyu.

Chengyu said with a smile: “You have the ability to enter the city. Why not ask that young lady from Guangji to see if she has any way to let us in.”

Hearing Chengyu's words, Zhang Chen's heart stirred. This was indeed an idea.

According to the psychology of his previous life, if you want to ask someone for help, the most likely person to help you is someone who has helped you before.

“But I don't know the whereabouts of that young lady. I can't find her. How can I ask her for help? Unless you have that young lady's personal belongings, I can use the treasure to lock onto the aura on that young lady and then find her whereabouts.” Zhang Chen said.

“It's a coincidence. When that young lady gave us the elixir, we still have the sachet that contained the elixir.” Zhang Shi put down the rice bowl, quickly walked to the carriage, took out the sachet, and handed it to Zhang Chen.

It was a red sachet with hundreds of flowers embroidered on it with gold thread. The entire sachet was only the size of a baby's fist, looking small and exquisite.

“Since I already owe her a favor, one more time won't make a difference.” Zhang Chen put away the sachet. After eating, he used the Escape Technique to enter Jinling City, and then came to a deserted corner and took out the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror. He used the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror to absorb the aura of the sachet, and then Zhang Chen poured mana into the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror. Then, the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror opened, a light flashed on the mirror surface, and then a burst of water vapor rose up, and then a large expanse of white entered Zhang Chen's eyes.

“What a white mirror surface! No, what a big mirror surface!” Zhang Chen felt the blood flow in his body quicken, and he quickly closed the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror, taking a deep breath: “Do not look at what is indecent! Do not look at what is indecent! I, Zhang Chen, am definitely not such a despicable villain.”

Shen Family

In a small courtyard

Water vapor filled the room, and a graceful figure was washing her body in a bathtub. Suddenly, at a certain moment, the jade stone on Jiang Nan's chest burst out a red light, emitting scorching heat, stimulating Jiang Nan to suddenly raise her head, subconsciously grabbing the bath towel on the edge of the wooden barrel to cover her graceful body.

“Someone is spying! Using divine power on me.” Jiang Nan frowned, stroking the jade stone hanging around her neck, a trace of panic appearing in her eyes: “This jade stone was left by my mother in the past. It is said to have been passed down from the Innate Era, dug from a large tomb, and can detect the fluctuations of mysterious power…”

As the jade stone gradually returned to coolness, Jiang Nan slowly stood up from the bathtub. Without bothering to wipe off the water stains, she directly picked up her clothes and put them on: “The Shen family has strict rules. Who dares to be so presumptuous?”

In a small alley, Zhang Chen closed the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror and then put the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror into his sleeve: “How embarrassing!”

“I wanted to find that young lady to be a recommender, and then directly storm the Shen family, but who knew such a thing would happen. I definitely didn't do it on purpose.” Zhang Chen muttered to himself.

“But that Miss Jiang family's figure is really good!” Zhang Chen mumbled, walking into a teahouse next to him, ordering a pot of tea, drinking tea while calculating the time.