At this moment, Jian Zhen’s mind was sluggish.
Many questions flashed through his head, such as which big shot he had actually dual cultivated with, and why he was here, and why his transformation had been so painful.
All of it lingered in his mind like a mess of paste.
Suddenly, voices came from not far away:
“Hey, Ah Wen, how long are you going to keep watch over that dead person?”
“We’ve found the way down the mountain!”
“I don’t want to stay in this damned place for even a moment.”
“In this desolate wilderness, don’t waste time on strange people……”
The speaker’s words abruptly stopped halfway.
In the forest, the youth sitting on the ground wore a somewhat tattered white robe that wrapped him tightly from head to toe, though it was stained with mud, ash, and leaves. Only a small section of his arm was exposed, mottled with blue and purple bruises. That delicate little face, however, was clean and untouched by dust, especially those eyes, extraordinarily innocent.
The newcomers froze for a moment, then said, “This isn’t some kind of spirit, is it?”
Hearing this, Jian Zhen grew nervous and hurriedly said, “I’m not a spirit!”
After saying that, he paused again.
He, he, was he a spirit? He seemed to be a little grass that had gained consciousness, so did that count as a spirit or not?
Just as he was doubting himself,
The youth under the tree reacted quickly. He smiled and said, “He’s not a spirit from this marshland. His aura is very clean, without the smell of marsh demon qi. And look at the injuries on his body, he must have been trapped passing through this marsh just like us.”
There were about four or five people who had come.
Everyone’s gaze fell on Jian Zhen. Having just taken human form, he was inevitably a bit nervous.
A coat was draped over his shoulders.
The youth under the tree said to him, “My coat is a bit dirty, just make do with it. Once we go down the mountain and reach the city, you can buy new clothes. Don’t be afraid, we’re not bad people. We’re heading to Yao Clan’s Mist Mountain to seek a master and learn skills.”
Jian Zhen wrapped himself in the coat and said, “Thank you.”
The youth said, “Then tidy up your clothes. We’ll wait for you up ahead.”
Jian Zhen was very grateful to this person. Even though his whole body ached terribly, he didn’t act delicate, nodded, and said, “Alright, I’ll be quick.”
The youth and the others then left ahead.
When he finished putting on the coat and robe, Jian Zhen even checked his injuries. He didn’t know until he checked, and when he did, he was shocked. His body was mottled with bruises. If not for the fragmented memories of intimacy in his mind, he would have thought he’d been beaten up by someone.
Finally, after changing his clothes, Jian Zhen stepped over the grass on the somewhat soft earth and walked forward. The people under the tree looked over.
The leading youth said, “That coat suits you quite well. My name is Yu. These are my partners, Wang Can and Wang Man. A few of us are preparing to go down the mountain, would you like to come with us?”
Jian Zhen had no destination, but he also didn’t want to stay in this forest, so he nodded and said, “Yes.”
A smile appeared on Yu’s mud-stained face as he said, “That’s really great. What’s your name?”
Everyone looked at him.
For a moment, Jian Zhen got stuck. For the past hundred years he had been a blade of grass, and no one had asked this question. Someone had given it a name before, but how could he possibly say the name Zhuzhu out loud!!
Under everyone’s gaze.
The fair, clean-looking youth standing in the forest, wearing a gray robe, lifted his head and said, “My name is Jian Zhen.”
Yu nodded. “Brother Jian, then let’s head down the mountain first. This swamp will produce poisonous miasma in the afternoon; it’s not a place one can stay long.”
Jian Zhen agreed.
The group traveled together down the mountain. The swamp forest was surrounded by towering trees, and from time to time the faint cries of wild beasts could be heard. Everyone walked for about two to three hours before finally reaching the mountain path below.
The sky suddenly brightened, and beneath the endless blue sky, white clouds drifted across.
Yu said, “Ahead is Tianshui City. We’ve all been trapped in the marsh forest these days and must be exhausted. How about we rest in the city for a day before continuing our journey!”
The others had been traveling for a long time and were indeed tired, so naturally no one objected.
Jian Zhen stared blankly at the towering city walls.
Yu walked over and asked, “Brother Jian, I see your physical condition isn’t very good either. Do you want to rest with us in Tianshui City?”
“Okay.” Jian Zhen had already reached his limit just making it this far. He asked, “But, which city is Tianshui City, and who does it belong to?”
Before Yu could answer.
The Wang Can brothers snorted with laughter: “Where did you crawl out from, you country bumpkin? Tianshui City is the largest city in the Three Realms. Because it’s closest to Wanmie Mountain, it doesn’t belong to any of the Three Realms’ races. Haven’t you gone out to ask around? Who in this world hasn’t heard of Tianshui City?”
Jian Zhen was straightforward. His eyes were firm, and he said righteously in a crisp voice, “Aren’t I asking right now?”
Wang Can: “……”
Something seemed off.
Yu turned to look at Wang Can, frowned, and said, “The Three Realms are so vast; it’s normal not to know everything. It hasn’t been easy for us to accompany each other on the road. Say less.”
Wang Can gave a light snort but ultimately said nothing more.
Yu smiled at Jian Zhen and said, “Don’t take it to heart. Let’s enter the city first.”
Jian Zhen nodded and said, “Thank you.”
Yu patted his shoulder and said, “What’s there to thank? We help each other out!”
The walls of Tianshui City were tall and imposing, the entire city bathed in a golden hue. After entering the main road, one could see crowds of people of all kinds coming and going, immortal disciples in white daoist robes, demon clan women in exotic gauze dresses, demon clans flying through the air, and ghost clan travelers cloaked head to toe in black. Everyone followed the flow of the crowd forward.
This place wasn’t like Ghost City, which required tokens; here, one only needed to be searched and, if there were no issues, could enter.
The streets inside the city were densely packed with pedestrians.
But the streets of the outer city were always filled with scattered small vendors, and there were none of the inns or places of rest they were looking for in the main city district.
Wang Can scratched his head in confusion. “That’s strange. Tianshui City should be very big. Why have we been circling around the outer districts and can’t find the way in?”
The others traveling with them naturally noticed that something was off as well.
Everyone stopped by the side of the street.
Just as they were hesitating, Jian Zhen spoke up, “Do we need to go through that wall over there?”
Following the direction of his finger, everyone saw that within the alleys along the street stood a pitch-black wall, all of it carved with complex and intricate patterns.
Wang Can walked over and pushed it, snorting with laughter. “This can’t be pushed at all, and you can’t pass through it either!”
Jian Zhen: “……”
Forget it.
A good blade of grass doesn’t argue with fools.
Jian Zhen turned to Yu and said, “Try placing your hand on the wall and injecting spiritual energy into it?”
Yu, who hadn’t spoken the whole time, had his eyes light up. The youth in the dusty gray clothes stood by the wall, green-tinged true qi slowly gathering in his palm, then he struck the wall with it. Yet the pitch-black wall showed no change at all.
Wang Can folded his arms at the side and said, “Yu, you’re really going to believe whatever he says? He doesn’t even know about Tianshui City, and you still believe he knows how to open the inner city passage, ”
A faint sound rang out.
Under the infusion of spiritual energy, the entire black wall actually began to emit a heavy, muffled rumble.
Sweat beaded on Yu’s forehead as he said, “Don’t just stand there, come help!”
Seeing that the stone wall really reacted, Wang Can and the others didn’t dare to delay. They hurriedly gathered their own true qi and injected it into the door as well. The two or three people behind also joined in, and the combined strength of four or five people poured into the wall. After a long ten-plus seconds, the entire wall finally emitted a slow, muffled sound and opened to the left and right.
The road behind the wall appeared before everyone, it was the brightly lit main city of Tianshui.
Yu panted, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and looked at Jian Zhen as he said, “It really worked. Thanks to you.”
Wang Can and the others also looked at Jian Zhen with some surprise.
After all, not long ago they had mocked him as a country bumpkin, yet this very person knew the method of entering the city that none of them knew, and it had actually worked.
The expressions on Wang Can and the others’ faces were a bit awkward, their pride hard to maintain.
Yu patted Jian Zhen on the shoulder and said, “How did you discover that the door could be opened like this?”
Being patted made Jian Zhen’s already sore shoulder hurt intensely, but he could only smile bitterly. He couldn’t exactly say that the current Demon Lord had once taken him to Ghost City’s main city, and at that time had struck a wall from a distance, could he?
But thinking carefully.
Because he had always been by the side of the Demon Lord and the Immortal Lord and hadn’t really interacted much with others, he had never had a very clear understanding of this world’s scale of combat strength. It was only now, seeing that a door Ye Jisheng could open casually here required several people working together to the point of utter exhaustion to open, that he truly realized the weight of the Three Realms’ combat power ceiling.
Yu patted him and said, “Brother Jian, what are you spacing out for?”
Jian Zhen hurriedly came back to his senses. Seeing everyone else looking at him, he could only steel himself and say, “A guess.”
Yu was slightly surprised: “A guess? Brother Jian, you’re that amazing?!”
Wang Can snorted beside them: “Listen to his nonsense. Just look at his delicate skin and tender flesh, this isn’t something an ordinary family could raise. He’s definitely a little lover some big shot with status and power in the Three Realms keeps.”
Jian Zhen’s small face puffed up with anger as he earnestly corrected, “…I’m not.”
It was just a little blade of grass that had been raised.
Not kept.
Its flowerpot was great!
Meeting those clean eyes, Wang Can inexplicably felt a bit guilty: “Not, then not.”
The group didn’t stay long at the entrance. The main city district was right before them, and after all the rushing about, everyone naturally stepped inside. The main city was clearly much livelier than the outside.
As the lanterns were lit, lights stretched green and bright to the horizon,
Although this wasn’t Jian Zhen’s first time strolling the streets, after a hundred years in a pot, he was still inevitably drawn in by the surrounding bustling sights and couldn’t help but look around.
Suddenly, Yu pointed at a notice board ahead: “Look there, there’s a golden bounty notice!”
The others were instantly stirred.
Wang Can said, “Seriously? Golden bounty notices are the highest wanted orders in the Three Realms. Over thousands of years, only the most important wanted criminals of the major clans have been qualified to be posted. What kind of vicious criminal has appeared this time?”
Hearing this, Jian Zhen couldn’t help but feel a little nervous as well.
Following the flow of people to the notice board, after squeezing past the crowd, they finally saw two golden bounty notices stamped with the seals of the Immortal and Demon clan. On them was drawn the image of an immortal grass.
Yu read the words on it: “The Three Realms are searching for the whereabouts of an immortal grass. Anyone who can provide clues may obtain countless treasures and spiritual medicines…”
Upon hearing the words on this wanted notice, Jian Zhen froze completely.
Around him were the murmurs of discussion:
“What kind of person has such great ability to make the Lords of both realms issue a wanted order?”
“Such tremendous ability.”
“This immortal grass must have some powerful strength and special qualities?”
“Did it steal some great figure’s spiritual treasure?”
The crowd discussed animatedly. Suddenly.
The gazes of Wang Can and the others all fell on Jian Zhen standing at the edge of the crowd. After all, he had been picked up in the forest and his origins were unclear to begin with. If it were true, then they would have suddenly struck it rich!
Everyone knew this wasn’t very likely, yet they couldn’t help thinking this way.
Wang Can was the first to ask: “What is your original form?”
Jian Zhen was caught off guard by the question and hesitated for a moment.
Wang Can’s younger brother, Wang Man, was of the demon clan. He leaned over and sniffed Jian Zhen, his face showing confusion: “Strange. Normally, beings of the Three Realms, each clan’s members all have a scent that belongs to their clan, but I can’t smell anything on him.”
Jian Zhen’s whole body went stiff. For a hundred years he had never been independent. At this moment, his mind raced at high speed. Wang Man’s eyes were like those of an aggressive beast: “So, could you be the immortal grass those two are looking for?”
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