Chapter 212: Chapter 212: Meeting an Old Friend in the Main City

A vast, endless world of ice and snow.

In the sky, a Flying Ship sped past. Li Ping stood quietly at its bow.

His gaze was fixed on the monotonous scenery below, but his mind was silently reviewing his conversation with the Foundation Establishment Cultivator, Ma Fangshan.

Not long ago, Ma Fangshan had informed the two of them about the general situation for humans in the Land of the Far North.

While they were mulling it over, he had enthusiastically invited them to stay in Tiangu Market, even offering to relinquish his position as the market’s master.

They would have become the ones in charge of the hundreds of thousands of mortals and over a hundred Cultivators in Tiangu Market in one fell swoop.

The offer seemed tempting, but neither Li Ping nor Xiao Yunzhi were people who craved power, so they naturally refused outright.

And after they had refused, Li Ping could clearly sense Ma Fangshan breathe a sigh of relief.

Clearly, the sudden appearance of two experts with higher Cultivation than his own in the market had made him quite uneasy.

Next, Li Ping had asked him about the geography of the Land of the Far North and the general locations of the eight human Main Cities.

Afterward, despite Ma Fangshan’s repeated attempts to make them stay, he and Xiao Yunzhi left Tiangu Market.

Right now, they were heading toward the Main City to which Tiangu Market was a vassal: Flying Snow City, which was ruled by the Cultivation Sect, the Flying Snow Sect.

According to Ma Fangshan, Flying Snow City was over a hundred thousand li away. While that sounded far, it was actually the closest Main City to Tiangu Market.

This made Li Ping marvel all the more at the vastness of the Land of the Far North.

A distance like that could cut across more than half of the Western Wilderness, yet in the Land of the Far North, it was merely the space between a Main City and one of the markets under its jurisdiction.

And within this vast region, to say it was sparsely populated would be an overstatement. It was a place where almost no humans lived.

「...」

Li Ping’s gaze fell upon the elegant figure beside him, and he asked calmly, "Yunzhi, what are your plans now?"

According to Ma Fangshan, the Land of the Far North wasn’t completely cut off from the outside world. With the Magical Power of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, as long as one had enough Spirit Stones, one could pilot a Flying Ship south without stopping, day and night. After several years of continuous flight, one could return to human-populated lands.

Moreover, Flying Snow City happened to be in the western part of the Land of the Far North. Heading south from there would lead directly to the Western Wilderness.

However, Li Ping had offended the Late-stage Core Formation Cultivator Hua Wuji, so he had no plans to return to the Western Wilderness for the time being.

As for going to Great Zhou?

He would have to fly east across the Land of the Far North for several decades before heading south. Only then could he successfully reach Great Zhou.

Not only would it be a massive delay, but the journey would also require passing through the territories of several Alien Races. For a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, that was simply too dangerous.

Therefore, Li Ping’s plan was to go to Flying Snow City, settle down there in secluded cultivation, and not come out until he reached Core Formation.

In any case, he was a Loose Cultivator; it was all the same to him where he cultivated.

Xiao Yunzhi, on the other hand, was a Sect Cultivator, and the Xiao family she belonged to was a massive Cultivation Clan.

Her masters, family, and friends were all in the Western Wilderness... Li Ping wasn’t sure what she intended to do, which was why he asked.

If Xiao Yunzhi wanted to return to the Western Wilderness, then Li Ping would have no choice but to part ways with her.

Hearing Li Ping’s question, Xiao Yunzhi shook her head. "I foiled the Spirit Control Sect’s plot in the secret realm. If I return to the Western Wilderness now, I might bring trouble to my Sect."

Although she deeply hated Old Devil Lu, Xiao Yunzhi had to admit it: for Old Devil Lu to have defeated her ancestor, his strength likely surpassed everyone else in the entire Western Wilderness. Even Junior Master Qiu was no match for him.

If they were to truly confront him, the Academy Palace would likely suffer a great loss.

So she was unwilling to go back now and attract a powerful enemy for the Academy Palace.

Meeting Li Ping’s gaze without flinching, she smiled and said, "I will probably need to cultivate for another ten years or so before I can attempt Core Formation. Therefore, I plan to form my Golden Core here in the Land of the Far North before returning to the Western Wilderness."

Li Ping nodded slightly and said calmly, "That’s a good plan. Flying Snow City should have a Tier Three Spirit Vein, which will be enough to meet your needs for Core Formation, Yunzhi."

In truth, though he appeared calm as he spoke, his heart was already filled with emotion.

’If I remember correctly, Xiao Yunzhi is more than ten years younger than me.’

’That means she’s only in her early sixties now. In another ten years or so, she’ll be in her seventies.’

’Attempting Core Formation at seventy!’

’The most enviable part is that she has no bottleneck for Core Formation. It’s a natural process for her, with a one hundred percent chance of success.’

Li Ping could only think: ’A Cultivator with a Celestial Spiritual Root... Truly terrifying!’ freⅇ

Still, for Li Ping, this was a good thing.

’Once she reaches Core Formation, given our decent relationship, I’ll have a Core Formation Cultivator to rely on.’

’Although, it would be a bit embarrassing if word got out that I was mooching off a woman.’

「...」

Li Ping and Xiao Yunzhi took turns piloting the Flying Ship, flying at full speed day and night. Their pace was astonishing.

After just over ten days, a towering, gigantic city of ice crystal appeared in their vision. As they drew closer, the colossal city grew larger and larger.

Amidst the vast, endless ice and snow, the giant city stood tall and unyielding, like a giant from ancient legends.

Flying Snow City covered an area of several hundred li. Beneath the city ground lay a large Tier Three Spirit Vein, with numerous Tier One and Tier Two Spirit Veins branching off from it.

The city itself was primarily for Cultivators to live and trade in.

Outside the city, using the power of Arrays, the Cultivators of Flying Snow City had extended the habitable area outward by nearly a thousand li, creating an environment suitable for mortals to live, reproduce, and farm.

These mortals were mostly the descendants of the Cultivators inside the city.

While the Cultivators protected the mortals, more promising new Cultivators would be born among the mortals, providing a constant influx of new blood.

In front of the city gates, which were dozens of zhang high, Cultivators occasionally came and went.

Li Ping piloted the Flying Ship to a stop near the city gate, then flew out with Xiao Yunzhi and put the ship away with a wave of his hand.

He had only to release a hint of his aura for the faces of the Qi Refining Cultivators guarding the gate to show respect.

However, Flying Snow City had a Core Formation Cultivator presiding over it. Li Ping didn’t dare to be so brazen as to enter the city and provoke them; he still had to follow the basic rules.

Under the respectful guidance of a guard, he and Xiao Yunzhi went to a palace next to the city gate. After paying the required Spirit Stones, they each received an identity token.

They both registered as Loose Cultivators from an outer region.

As for his name, Li Ping casually wrote ’Yan Buping’.

It was the same logic as before: no one in the Land of the Far North knew him, so he could be called anything.

Besides, his main reason for coming to Flying Snow City was to find a quiet place for secluded cultivation. He didn’t plan to interact much with other Cultivators, let alone make any connections.

He had no intention of spending his entire life in a harsh environment like the Land of the Far North. He would leave after reaching Core Formation.

After getting their identity tokens, the two passed through the city wall, which was made of Ice Jade, and entered the city.

Flying Snow City wasn’t divided into an Inner City, Outer City, and Cyan Dragon Mountain like Fenglan Immortal City. In fact, Flying Snow City only had a single city wall. Once inside, all one could see were rows of beautiful, crystalline buildings.

This was a characteristic of the Land of the Far North; the Cultivators here were accustomed to using the Spiritual Material ’Ice Jade’ as a building material.

Although Flying Snow City had no inner or outer city divisions, the concentration of Spiritual Qi naturally varied throughout the city due to the distribution of its Spirit Veins.

After discussing it, Li Ping and Xiao Yunzhi decided to rent a cultivation abode with a Tier Two Upper Grade Spirit Vein together.

They chose to rent together not because they couldn’t afford it separately.

The main reason was that in an unfamiliar place where they knew no one, living together meant they could look out for each other.

Besides, Cultivators had long since transcended the mundane world and didn’t place as much importance on the propriety between men and women.

The two got their bearings, then rose into the air and flew toward the city center.

「...」

Upon reaching the central district, Li Ping and Xiao Yunzhi were just about to ask for information on renting a cultivation abode.

Suddenly, a hesitant voice sounded in his ear. "Uncle Li?"

The voice was slightly aged, but Li Ping recognized it immediately. He looked up in disbelief and happened to see inside a shop by the street.

A tall, middle-aged man with graying temples was staring at him, his expression one of disbelief.

Although his appearance had changed from memory, looking much older, Li Ping recognized him at a glance. The middle-aged man was none other than Daoist Ji’s grandson, Ji Shu Xuan.

"Shu Xuan, what are you doing here?" Li Ping walked over to the man and asked, surprised.

He remembered that nearly twenty years ago, Ji Shu Xuan had accepted a conscription from the Immortal City and gone to fight in the Yan Kingdom for a chance to reach Foundation Establishment.

His luck hadn’t been good, however. Not long after, Li Ping had received news that he had gone missing.

At the time, Li Ping had thought he’d met an unfortunate end.

Who would have expected to see him again now, here in the Land of the Far North, millions of li away from the Western Wilderness?

"Uncle Li, it really is you! I thought I’d just run into someone who looked like you." Seeing Li Ping again, Ji Shu Xuan was overjoyed.

Overcome with surprise and delight, he quickly invited Li Ping and Xiao Yunzhi into the shop to entertain them.

Ji Shu Xuan was not alone in the shop. There was also a young Female Cultivator at the Qi Refining Seventh Level. Ji Shu Xuan introduced her as Ah Yun, his wife.

Ah Yun also bowed respectfully to Li Ping and Xiao Yunzhi.

After they sat down, Ji Shu Xuan began to recount his experiences.

The more Li Ping listened, the more astonished he became. By the end, he sighed with deep emotion. "Shu Xuan, you’ve really suffered all these years."

He never expected that Ji Shu Xuan’s disappearance was because he had been captured alive by the Tuluo People and sold into slavery.

Even more unexpectedly, Xu Guikai had happened upon the enslaved Ji Shu Xuan while fleeing the Western Wilderness and had saved him because of his connection to Li Ping.

According to Ji Shu Xuan, after being rescued by Senior Xu, he had followed him to Flying Snow City. With Senior Xu’s approval, he and Ah Yun had become cultivation partners.

After so many years, and after having children, he had come to consider Flying Snow City his home, and his desire to return to the Western Wilderness had faded.

He never thought he would be able to see Uncle Li again before his lifespan ran out.

Li Ping looked up. Ji Shu Xuan’s hair was streaked with white, and his appearance could just barely be called that of a handsome older man.

Meanwhile, his own face was frozen in its youthful appearance.

To an uninformed outsider, they might think Ji Shu Xuan was the elder and Li Ping the junior.

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