The Grand Xia Imperial Capital

Within the Yinglong Guard headquarters, the Crimson Dragon Mountains. An enormous pagoda-shaped teleportation array sat nearby, with a white-robed elder seated cross-legged beside it, waiting in silence.

“The Shaoyan clan really does hate Ji Ning to the bone. They’ve long since asked us to keep an eye out, and the moment we spot him, we’re to notify them immediately,” the ten servants maintaining the teleportation array murmured to each other. “They even sent a Yinglong Guard of their own clan to wait here permanently.”

“It’s been over a year now. Ji Ning must have left the Anchan Commandery long ago. This Shaoyan clan Yinglong Guard is still waiting here like an idiot.”

“They say Ji Ning killed the Shaoyan clan’s young master, Shaoyan Nong. How could they not be enraged? Our Anchan Commandery is Ji Ning’s homeland, and this teleportation array here is the largest in the commandery, capable of sending someone to anywhere in the Grand Xia Dynasty. Of course they’d set up a permanent watch here.”

Just as the ten servants were discussing this, the teleportation array suddenly lit up.

“Someone’s coming.” The ten servants all turned to look.

The white-robed elder, who had been sitting cross-legged the entire time, also opened his eyes out of habit. He had been waiting here for far too long. Every time the array lit up, or someone used it to teleport, he paid attention.

Humbuzz!

Inside the teleportation array appeared a youth dressed in animal hides, a small green serpent coiled around his arm. Beside him was a snow-white, large hound.

“Ji Ning!” The ten servants in charge of maintaining the array, as well as the white-robed elder sitting cross-legged in the distance, all exclaimed in shock.

An animal-hide-clad youth? A green serpent? A snow-white hound?

This was... this was far too iconic. An absolutely textbook image of Ji Ning.

“He... is that Ji Ning?” The white-robed elder couldn’t help but ask the ten servants maintaining the array. In his mind, even if Ji Ning did use the teleportation array, he should have done so discreetly! He should have changed his appearance, temporarily stowed his spirit-beasts where no one could see them, and changed his clothes. Ji Ning’s appearance here without any disguise actually made the elder find it hard to believe.

“Could it be a fake?” The thought flashed through the white-robed elder’s mind.

“It’s him. That’s Ji Ning,” the ten servants in charge of the array all spoke up. “We’ve seen him several times. No mistake.”

“That’s right. I am Ji Ning.”

The animal-hide-clad youth stood within the teleportation array, his gaze falling upon the ten servants.

The ten servants were so frightened they took several steps back. This was a branch of the Yinglong Guard. If Ji Ning dared to kill anyone here, he would be hunted down and placed on a wanted list! Although they knew the chances of Ji Ning acting were extremely small, the mere thought that Ji Ning was currently being hunted by the Shaoyan clan and might do anything made these ten servants feel a bit of fear.

“Everyone.” Ji Ning spoke. “I wish to go to the Grand Xia Imperial Capital. Please activate the teleportation array.”

“To the Grand Xia Imperial Capital?” The ten servants were stunned.

Instead of fleeing to some remote, isolated place, he was heading to the very heart of the Grand Xia Dynasty?

“Why haven’t you activated the array?” Ji Ning barked.

“Alright.” The ten servants were stunned for a moment, then quickly agreed. Regardless, the enmity between the Shaoyan clan and Ji Ning was a private feud. On the surface, Ji Ning was still a member of the Yinglong Guard. If he wanted to go to the Grand Xia Imperial Capital, they couldn’t stop him.

Immediately, the ten servants began to make fine adjustments to the teleportation array.

“Hold on. I’m also going to the Grand Xia Imperial Capital.” The white-robed elder walked directly over, stepping into the teleportation array.

Inside the array.

Ji Ning and the white-robed elder looked at each other.

“You’ve got some nerve,” the white-robed elder said in a low voice. “It’s only been a little over a year, and you actually dared to return to the Anchan Commandery.”

“This is my hometown. Why wouldn’t I dare?” Ji Ning glanced at him. “Have you been waiting here for over a year? That’s rather pitiful.” This person’s strength was quite ordinary. Ji Ning’s divine sense swept over the white-robed elder. He estimated this elder was a Wanxiang Adept, or perhaps a being far beyond Ji Ning’s level, a terrifying existence so high above him he couldn’t even detect it.

Given Ji Ning’s current divine sense and his sensitivity to the Dao, for him to not detect anything at all meant the other party was at least at the Celestial Immortal level.

Clearly, this elder squatting here wasn’t a Celestial Immortal.

“You returned to the Anchan Commandery, and now that your whereabouts are exposed, you want to flee to the Grand Xia Imperial Capital instead? Hmph, Ji Ning, you can’t escape. Anyone my Shaoyan clan wants to kill will die without a doubt,” the white-robed elder said.

“Oh, is that so? Then come and kill me.” Ji Ning said mockingly.

“The two of you, the array is set. Destination: Grand Xia Imperial Capital.” The ten servants said as they retreated from the array.

Soon, the teleportation array lit up.

Whoosh.

The teleportation array was empty. They had vanished.

The Grand Xia Imperial Capital was the core of this entire major world. It was a place where dragons and snakes mingled, where the strong were as numerous as clouds. Compared to it in terms of city size and the number of experts, the Anchan Commandery was merely a remote, backwater town.

Within the Grand Xia Imperial Capital stood a majestic mountain ten thousand li tall, the true highest peak in the capital. It was named — the Yinglong Divine Mountain!

The Yinglong Divine Mountain was the tallest structure, while even the most imposing palace in the Imperial City, the Heaven-Mang Hall, was slightly inferior to it.

The Yinglong Divine Mountain was ten thousand li high, while the Heaven-Mang Hall within the Imperial City was nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine li high! These were, respectively, the first and second tallest structures in the Grand Xia Imperial Capital... and it was said that throughout the entire Grand Xia Dynasty, there were no taller buildings. Yes, buildings. The Yinglong Divine Mountain itself was actually a giant magic treasure!

Halfway up the Yinglong Divine Mountain, numerous enormous teleportation arrays were located. This was the central hub of this major world. Teleportation arrays from other major worlds also arrived here.

Whoosh.

One of the many teleportation arrays halfway up the mountain flickered, and a group of people appeared. It was a white-robed elder, an animal-hide-clad youth, a small green serpent, and a snow-white large hound.

“That’s Ji Ning. Go report it immediately.” As soon as he appeared, the white-robed elder’s gaze fell upon two armored soldiers at the edge of the mountainside, and he sent them a mental transmission. These two armored soldiers were members of the Shaoyan clan permanently stationed here, tasked with receiving Shaoyan clan guests and the like.

“Ji Ning?”

The two armored soldiers were startled. They exchanged glances, and then one of them immediately flew down from the mountainside.

Ji Ning, however, led Little Qing and Uncle White to the edge of the cliff with an air of leisurely calm, completely overlooking the boundless capital below. Looking down from this great height... there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky. Although they were at an altitude of three thousand li, there was not a trace of mist below. Everything was perfectly clear.

There wasn’t even a speck of dust. Everything was visible in perfect detail.

Looking down, he could see the spectacular, enormous city below, its end completely out of sight. He could only vaguely see, in the distance, another equally imposing and massive Immortal palace hall on the other side. That was where the Grand Xia Emperor usually resided — the Heaven-Mang Hall. The Heaven-Mang Hall was nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine li high, and as a whole, it was a single magic treasure. It radiated a dazzling array of lights, including gold, silver, red, cyan, and purple...

These countless rays of light illuminated the entire Imperial Capital.

At the same time, at a height of around six thousand li up the Heaven-Mang Hall, clouds began to appear. It was a layer of incomparably beautiful red clouds.

“I’ve heard that the Grand Xia Imperial Capital’s Heaven-Mang Hall is nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine li tall, with red clouds at six thousand li, followed by other layers of clouds above. There are nine layers of clouds in total! In terms of majesty... it is fully comparable to the Cloud Palace of the Heavenly Court. Seeing it today, it is truly extraordinary.” Ji Ning was filled with awe.

“It’s so tall. They say the Heaven-Mang Hall and the Yinglong Divine Mountain are both magic treasures,” Little Qing exclaimed. “Look at the endless light radiating from the Heaven-Mang Hall. The sheer power of it... if such a massive Heaven-Mang Hall is a magic treasure, what kind of treasure would it be?”

“At least an Immortal-ranked one. It’s very likely a Pure Yang magic treasure,” Ji Ning said softly.

“Let’s go down.”

Ji Ning led Little Qing and Uncle White, directly flying out from the mountainside.

Whoosh!

Riding the wind, they flew through the air, gazing at the boundless Imperial Capital, utterly shaken.

How could this be a city of the mortal world? It could only exist in the Heavenly Realm.

“Legend has it that the Immortal wanderer Dong You once led a group of Immortals and Fiendgods from a major world, charging straight into the Heavenly Realm, forcing the powers there to bow their heads, and reuniting with his beloved.” Ji Ning sighed in admiration. “Looking at the sheer momentum of the Grand Xia Imperial Capital, I believe that the emperor of a major world does indeed possess this level of power.”

Ji Ning had also noticed.

In books about the Heavenly Realm and the Netherworld Kingdom, there didn’t seem to be much reverence for the Celestial Thearch.

It was as if the emperor of a major world could speak with the Celestial Thearch on equal footing. That was the feeling Ji Ning got from reading many texts.

Flying down from the Yinglong Divine Mountain, they landed on a seemingly cloud-paved main road.

On this enormous cloud-covered street, a single glance revealed people riding magic treasures, riding in chariots, or riding spirit-beasts. In short, not a single mortal was visible.

Ji Ning turned his head to look behind him. Behind him was the Yinglong Divine Mountain, so tall its peak was lost from sight. “The Yinglong Divine Mountain is actually a bit taller than the Heaven-Mang Hall. The Heaven-Mang Hall is the residence of the Grand Xia Emperor. The Yinglong Divine Mountain is merely the headquarters of the Yinglong Guard. Why is its status elevated so highly?”

Ji Ning felt a flicker of doubt. The height of buildings was subject to strict regulations. The Heaven-Mang Hall was nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine li tall. No one in the various commandery cities throughout the land would dare to build a structure as tall as that. Yet the Yinglong Divine Mountain was actually a bit taller.

“This truly is an Imperial Capital,” Ji Ning said. “Let’s go. First, let’s take a look at the Imperial City.”

Ji Ning stopped thinking about it.

He directly took out a puppet-driven chariot. The chariot was wreathed in a watery mist, and in front of it, a black dragon puppet was pulling it... This chariot was something left behind by Shaoyan Nong! Although the treasures left behind by Celestial Immortal Juhua far outnumbered Shaoyan Nong’s, with many better Immortal chariots, Ji Ning felt it was better to be a bit more low-key.

Whoosh. The black dragon chariot flew through the air. Ji Ning sat in the chariot, with the green serpent on one side and the Whitewater Hound on the other.

Soon, the chariot arrived at the foot of the Imperial City wall.

The walls of the Imperial City were over ten thousand zhang high. There was a massive gate, and at the gate, four humanoid Fiendgods, each also ten thousand zhang tall, stood guard. Of these four Fiendgods, one had fiery red skin, with flames snorting from its nostrils. One was completely cyan, surrounded by a watery mist. One was covered in a golden light, with sharp, metallic qi emanating from its eyes. The last was pitch black, with a massive serpent coiled around its body.

These four Fiendgods guarded the city gate. Whether entering or leaving the Imperial City, one had to obtain their permission.

“My heavens.” Ji Ning stared at the four ten-thousand-zhang Fiendgods guarding the gate, trembling inwardly.

“Master, these four Fiendgods... their aura feels like, like each one of them is on par with that thing from the Mount Yujue Wasteland.” Little Qing and Uncle White were also filled with awe.