Chapter 534: Sea of Sand
"Indeed, there seems to be some unrest brewing in the Northern Glacial Immortal Region of late," Han Li remarked.
"May I ask for what purpose you're visiting Primordial Origin City, esteemed guest?" the woman asked.
"Truth be told, I'm planning to travel to the primordial land tomorrow," Han Li replied in a candid fashion.
"You're going to leave the city?" the woman asked as she stopped in her tracks with a surprised look on her face. "Are you traveling with someone else?"
"No, I prefer to travel alone," Han Li replied with a shake of his head.
"Please pardon me for sticking my nose into your business, but... with your cultivation base, leaving the city alone will be no different from throwing yourself to the wolves," the woman said as she extended an apologetic bow.
"Why is that? Is there some source of significant peril outside the city?" Han Li asked.
"Outside Primordial Origin City is an extremely vast sea of sand that's filled with countless natural sand traps that are incredibly deep. Not only will it be impossible for a cultivator to traverse through the unforgiving terrain, even beasts from other deserts are unable to survive there. Only by traveling on one of the large ships in the city will you be able to reach the other side of the sea of sand," the woman explained.
"Why can't a cultivator just fly over the sea of sand then? Are there some perils present in the sky as well?" Han Li asked.
"Even a Golden Immortal cultivator most likely wouldn't dare to traverse through the sea of sand on an aerial route. Primordial Origin City is very close to the primordial land, and there were often powerful primordial beings roaming through the sea of sand. Even many late-True Immortal cultivators have met terrible fates upon running into some of these primordial beasts," the woman explained.
Han Li could tell from the tone of her voice that she wasn't merely trying to scare him, and his brows furrowed slightly in contemplation.
"Aside from that, even if one is lucky enough to avoid all of those ferocious beasts, there are many mirages and illusions in the sea of sand that could easily lead one astray. If luck is on one's side, perhaps they'll be able to stumble their way back to Primordial Origin City in a few centuries, but if luck isn't smiling upon them, then..."
The woman's voice trailed off there, but the implications were already very apparent.
"Where can I go to board one of these ships?" Han Li asked after some contemplation.
"The ship dock is located near the beacon tower on the western city gate. These ships only make two trips a year, but you're in luck as the next ship will be departing in just half a month," the woman replied.
"If cultivators are susceptible to being attacked upon entering the sea of sand, wouldn't a ship full of cultivators be even more prone to attracting primordial beasts?" Han Li asked with a puzzled expression.
"Rest assured, esteemed guest. These ships were crafted by the city lord's manor, and I've heard that there are certain mechanisms in the ship that completely conceal its aura to avoid the detection of primordial beings," the woman explained.
"So you're saying that the ship is guaranteed to be able to reach the other side of the sea of sand?" Han Li asked as he raised an eyebrow.
"Nothing is truly guaranteed in life, esteemed guest. As recently as eight years ago, one of the ships was struck down by a primordial true spirit, and there were barely any survivors," the woman replied with a wry smile.
"If it can conceal its own aura, then how was it struck down?" Han Li asked with a surprised expression.
The two of them arrived in the backyard as they were speaking.
"From what I heard, a True Immortal Stage primordial hunter on the ship had slain a nest of juvenile Nine-eyed Centipedes on a hunting trip, infuriating the True Immortal Stage parent of the centipedes, which had been away from the nest at the time. It was able to catch a whiff of the cultivator's bloodline aura from the blood that he had shed at the nest, and that was what ultimately resulted in that tragedy," the woman explained.
"By primordial hunter, you're referring to cultivators who enter the primordial land to hunt for primordial beasts, right?" Han Li asked.
"Yes, but also no. Hunting primordial beasts is indeed one of the objectives of primordial hunters, but on top of that, they're also searching for strange and exotic plants, as well as ore, gemstones, and other resources from the primordial land," the woman replied.
"I'm sure there must've been countless primordial hunters over the years. Have any of them ever been able to piece together a map of the primordial land?" Han Li asked.
"I'm afraid not. If you're going to visit any of the shops in the city, make sure to be on your guard as all of the merchants claiming to have maps of the primordial land for sale are frauds," the woman replied with a shake of her head.
"Why is that?" Han Li asked.
"While it's true that countless cultivators have ventured into the primordial land over the years, they've only been able to explore a very limited area. The only people who have dared to venture deep into the primordial land and returned alive were almighty beings at or above the Golden Immortal Stage, and it's said that only cultivators at or above the High Zenith Stage have been able to pass through the primordial land to the neighboring Black Mountain Immortal Region. Cultivators of this caliber are extremely rare, and none of them would be willing to map out the primordial land as a public service for others," the woman explained.
"That does make sense," Han Li mused with a slight nod.
"You must've come to Primordial Origin City as you're also interested in becoming a primordial hunter, right? I advise you to limit your activities to the already charted areas of the primordial land. There will be no lack of bounties waiting for you even in those explored areas," the woman suggested.
Before long, the two of them had already arrived in front of a courtyard in the B-grade garden.
Han Li swept his gaze over the courtyard to find that it had been arranged in a triangular formation, with a main room at the center, on either side of which was a side room, and in the middle was a small garden filled with vibrant flowers and young immortal plants.
The woman pulled out an azure jade badge that was engraved with the words "Rain Hearing Courtyard", then swept it through the air.
The restriction that encompassed the entire courtyard instantly split open, following which a gentle, fragrant breeze blew out from within, and a pair of maidservants emerged before extending a collective curtsey toward Han Li.
"Both of these maidservants are Core Formation cultivators with their virginities still intact. If you take a liking to them, then that would be a great honor for them. Otherwise, you can just have them perform some servant duties for you," the woman said as he offered the jade badge to Han Li with both hands.
"I don't require any servants. I'm used to being on my own," Han Li said as he accepted the jade badge.
The two maidservants weren't inferior to the woman who had guided Han Li here in the looks department, and a hint of disappointment flashed through their eyes upon hearing this, but neither of them dared to say anything.
"In that case, I'll have them leave you in peace. Please rest for a moment, the wine and food that you ordered will be here shortly," the woman replied.
"You have my thanks," Han Li said as he tossed a brocade pouch toward the woman.
The woman caught the cloth pouch, then inspected its contents momentarily with her hand concealed up her sleeve, and a combination of shock and elation appeared on her face as she exclaimed, "I am in awe of your generosity, esteemed guest. How about I take you to an A-grade courtyard instead?"
"There's no need for that, this courtyard is just fine. You can all go now," Han Li said with a dismissive wave of his hand, then made his way into the courtyard.
A faint smile appeared on the woman's face as she looked on at Han Li's departing figure, and she pulled a top-grade spirit stone out of the brocade pouch for closer inspection.
......
The next day, Han Li departed from the Faint Smoke Garden early in the morning.
Having slept an entire night, Jin Tong was completely reinvigorated, and at this point, she had already picked up a wide array of different foods from the street side stalls.
"Are we leaving now, Uncle?" Jin Tong asked with a reluctant expression.
"There's no hurry to leave," Han Li replied in an ambiguous fashion, then made his way toward the western city gate, quickly arriving at the dock there.
"What are we doing here, Uncle?" Jin Tong asked.
"Wait here for me for a bit," Han Li said to Jin Tong, then made his way into a nearby black building.
A short while later, he emerged from the building with a black talisman in his hand, upon which was engraved a design of a large ship.
"What's this?" Jin Tong asked with a curious expression as she grabbed the spirit talisman from Han Li.
"It's a ship ticket," Han Li replied, then briefly explained to Jin Tong why they were going to travel by ship.
"With our powers, there's no need to travel by ship. It would be much faster if we just flew straight through the sea of sand," Jin Tong said as she pursed her lips in displeasure.
"This is going to be our first foray into the primordial land, so it's better to be a bit more cautious. On top of that, seeing as there's a ship that can cross this sea of sand, why wouldn't we take advantage of it?" Han Li said with a smile.
Jin Tong thought about this for a moment, then shrugged her little shoulders before continuing to enjoy her feast.
After stowing the ship ticket away, Han Li made his way toward the bustling streets in the city.
Even though he had a very large collection of pills and resources, most of them had been taken from the storage tools of Gongshu Jiu and the others, so they may not necessarily be useful to him. Hence, he had to prepare some things in preparation for the upcoming journey.
Given this city's close proximity to the primordial land, there had to be many resources unique to the primordial land being sold in the city, so it was definitely worth exploring.
However, Primordial Origin City was massive, and many places were enshrouded in restrictions that could keep out spiritual sense.
It was going to take far too long to just explore the city blindly, so Han Li made his way into a nearby variety store, where he purchased a book that introduced the city to newcomers.
After reading through the book, he developed a rough grasp of the city's layout.
He stowed the book away, then continued onward, and it wasn't long before he arrived in a prosperous area in the inner city.
In contrast with other parts of the city, this place was a giant white jade plaza.
There were close to 100 wide streets branching out in all directions with the plaza acting as the central point, and hovering in the air above the plaza was a white palace that looked as if it had been entirely constructed out of pristine white jade.
There were countless large white runes swirling around the palace, releasing bursts of white light that enshrouded the entire plaza and all of the streets around it.
This was the largest business area in Primordial Origin City, and it was certainly living up to its reputation.
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