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墨書 Inktalez
Today, Huang Yunfeng felt something was off. Besides his mood, there was something else that made him uneasy. After walking a few streets, he finally confirmed that he was being followed. Relying on his familiar memory, he entered a rarely visited dead-end alley and walked to the very end, staring intently at the wall. Huang Yunfeng calmed himself and called out softly, "Who’s there? Come out."
To his surprise, a light laugh followed his words, proving effective in drawing someone out. He had sensed someone trailing him but hadn’t felt it strongly enough to warrant concern until now.
"You’re a bit more impressive than I imagined! I was quite confident in my stealth skills," came a voice from behind.
Though he didn’t turn around, Huang Yunfeng could clearly sense the air behind him ripple and shift before a slender figure materialized from thin air. She was slightly frail-looking but stood nearly at his height, taller than most girls her age. The girl appeared to be around sixteen or seventeen and possessed an undeniable allure. With her long frame, oval face, calm demeanor, and graceful movements, she exuded the charm of youthful beauty.
Huang Yunfeng relied more on his mental scanning than visual observation. Although her attire was simple, as someone who often dealt in stolen goods, he could discern its value. Just her sleeveless top indicated a significant economic disparity between them. It was from a renowned Italian women's fashion brand; not to mention the cost of design alone was considerable. His own clothes were far less refined and hadn’t been washed in three months. Even a small accessory she wore would likely be worth more than his entire outfit.
"Why are you following me?" Huang Yunfeng questioned, logically noting that they clearly belonged to different social strata. They didn’t even know each other, so any potential motive for her following him was questionable. Although he sensed that her appearance wasn’t something an ordinary person could achieve and might relate to his recent strange experiences, he hadn’t provoked any trouble recently.
"You’re not very friendly!" she replied with an evident calmness and a slight smile that showed no signs of agitation.
"Friendly? We don’t even know each other; it’s already good we haven’t clashed." Huang Yunfeng had no inappropriate thoughts about this extraordinary girl; he merely feared getting entangled in some inexplicable trouble and thus maintained a basic level of politeness instead of lashing out.
"Following me without reason and still expecting friendliness? How ironic!" Huang Yunfeng wasn’t naive enough to think she was trying to befriend him.
"I’m curious why a human Cultivator would appear in this city. That’s why I followed you to see what you’re about."
After a brief pause, the girl who seemed only a year or two older than Huang Yunfeng continued with an air of maturity, "International regulations explicitly state that this city does not welcome any human Cultivators. While I don’t know your reasons for being here, you should at least notify us before moving freely."
Despite her being an undeniable beauty close to his age with a somewhat cold expression that remained within acceptable limits, Huang Yunfeng still found himself unable to respond appropriately.
Completely unaware of what she meant and dissatisfied with the implied threat in her words, Huang Yunfeng bared his teeth in a feigned lazy expression and remained silent.
"This is family territory; please show your identification." Today was a school holiday, and encountering an unknown Cultivator while casually strolling had left Peach Purple Yan visibly displeased.
Due to the irreconcilable conflicts between humans and monsters, humanity had long abandoned the idea of eradicating all supernatural beings after enduring multiple wars. Instead, they adapted to international trends by negotiating—this universal method for resolving disputes had also been adopted by Cultivators and monsters alike.
According to the 1982 Monster Autonomous Zone regulations established by China, there were eight designated zones where human Cultivators were prohibited from entering without cause—one of which encompassed the city where Huang Yunfeng lived. Separating Cultivators from monsters aimed to reduce friction. Some monsters wishing for a peaceful life could also avoid being innocently hunted by monster hunters and exorcists.
Indeed, some monsters had peculiar tastes and required tender children or virgin blood for sustenance. However, in the battles between humans and monsters, it wasn’t always humanity that held the moral high ground. Even benevolent monsters comparable to Tang Seng could fall victim to the wrathful hands of angry Cultivators.
The Monster Autonomous Zone was established, allowing only those monsters with no criminal records to apply for residency. For any reason, Cultivators were not permitted to enter the Monster Autonomous Zone to carry out extermination missions. If a criminal monster escaped into the zone, they would also need to apply for permission before a Cultivator could enter, and there would be certain restrictions.
After her parents were killed by human Cultivators, Peach Purple Yan was sent to live in this city by her grandfather. The old man had hoped she could live a peaceful and ordinary life. However, monsters capable of erasing their feelings for their parents were far rarer than humans.
Seeing human Cultivators swaggering through the autonomous zone, the girl's anger was palpable.
Huang Yunfeng had no idea that Peach Purple Yan was angry. He couldn't see what lay beneath her faint smile.
As a latecomer to the world of Cultivators, Huang Yunfeng knew almost nothing about them on Earth, let alone the politically charged nature of the Monster Autonomous Zone. However, having been a thug for so long, he understood the importance of not offending people recklessly. He also knew better than to rely on temporary power to engage in meaningless and unbeneficial actions. He had seen many thugs who, in a moment of foolishness, bullied someone who seemed simple-minded, only to be met with retaliation tenfold or even a hundredfold. If it were just someone with power or wealth, it might end with a beating at most. But if they were connected to some dark force, it could cost them their lives. This was why most small-time thugs never rose in status; they overestimated themselves and lacked restraint.
Peach Purple Yan asked Huang Yunfeng to show his identification. He scratched his head and rummaged through his pockets, helplessly saying, "I didn't bring my ID; what do you want me to prove? Should I take you to my house or the police station?"
Seeing that Huang Yunfeng showed no hostility, Peach Purple Yan's expression became sweeter. She smiled lightly and said softly, "Who cares about that! I want you to tell me which organization or Sect you belong to."
Huang Yunfeng clapped his hands and said nonchalantly, "If you don't mind, let's find somewhere to eat while we chat. I have no idea what you're talking about. I don't belong to any Sect or organization, and I've lived in this city for over ten years without ever hearing about anyone claiming territory here."
Peach Purple Yan could tell at a glance that Huang Yunfeng was powerful but couldn't discern his exact level. As he spoke, she suddenly relaxed—not because she had let go of her hostility toward him but because the helper she had been summoning had finally arrived.
"Then our Ancestral Temple warmly welcomes you as our guest; we can talk there without any issues."
When Huang Yunfeng was momentarily taken aback, he suddenly felt an extremely dangerous aura rising from behind him. He quickly turned around and saw a remarkably indifferent young man appearing silently behind him.
For some reason, Huang Yunfeng felt that this young man was like a cold sword hidden in its sheath, exuding sharpness between his brows and lashes. It was this young man who had just spoken. Huang Yunfeng shrugged it off without concern and readily agreed, "I'll go with you! But how come I've never heard of an Ancestral Temple in this city?" He initially thought there would be a fight needed to "convince" him otherwise; however, Huang Yunfeng's compliance left the young man and woman who appeared afterward at a loss for words. Peach Purple Yan reacted quickly and smiled as she said, "Fang Jian, please take our guest away!"
Although Huang Yunfeng had never considered resisting, he wasn't the type to trust others blindly either. Along the way, he subtly inquired and finally grasped some common knowledge. On Earth, ordinary animals had no intelligence; aside from living and dying naturally, they were merely food for humans. However, some species were born with exceptionally high intelligence. Since ancient times, these unique beings had distanced themselves from human society and formed their own circles of life. On Earth, humans referred to them as monsters; Huang Yunfeng thought differently: "Perhaps they are descendants of aliens living on Earth who have forgotten their ancestry." His reasoning wasn't unfounded; after seeing Shi Qingyuan's advanced technology equipment, he preferred to believe that some things came from scientific forces of strange worlds.
The so-called Ancestral Temple was not a temple at all. When Huang Yunfeng was brought into an ordinary office building and stepped through what appeared to be an odd door, he never expected the Ancestral Temple would look like this.
As soon as he opened the door, he found himself standing at the top of a tall tower. Before him lay an immense space filled with brilliant light and grandeur. There was no ground beneath him; white clouds rolled beneath his feet. Hundreds of islands floated in mid-air like a dazzling fairyland.
The islands suspended in mid-air were adorned with various ancient-style palaces built in an orderly manner. The largest floating island was right beneath Huang Yunfeng's feet. Each corner featured an extremely tall tower made of shimmering material that was neither stone nor jade—standing thousands of feet high and resembling colorful needles piercing the sky from afar.
Now standing atop the western tower, Huang Yunfeng gazed down at the land below and the scattered aerial islands beyond; he felt as if he had entered a dreamlike world.
"This is your Ancestral Temple? It's so peculiar... No! It should be marvelous, truly marvelous!"
Huang Yunfeng's reaction surprised Peach Purple Yan. "I can't believe someone has never even seen the Small Universe Realm; what a Rube." With this thought, Peach Purple Yan lowered her opinion of Huang Yunfeng by three points. "He’s probably just a lucky fool who suddenly gained power and knows nothing about cultivation..."
The boy who had been ignoring Huang Yunfeng finally spoke up, "This Sky Tower is our entrance and exit passage. You need to go down to the ground first; someone will receive you there. Come over, and I'll take you down."
Seeing the boy's outstretched hand, which was pale and clean with long fingers, Huang Yunfeng grimaced and said, "I can walk by myself; I don't need two big men holding my hand."
With just that one sentence, the boy's face turned ashen. Without saying another word, he turned and leaped off the high tower, shooting out a white light from his hand as he flew downward.
Peach Purple Yan called out several times, but the boy did not look back. Frustrated, she stomped her foot and scolded, "Fang Jian! What am I supposed to do now that you've left? There are no stairs down here, and I can't fly yet!"
Huang Yunfeng turned around and realized that this tower was indeed terrifyingly tall—probably as high as ten World Trade Centers stacked on top of each other. Moreover, this exit only had the door leading back to the real world behind him and an empty platform. There were no stairs at all. However, when faced with Peach Purple Yan's fierce glare, he chuckled and said nonchalantly, "It doesn't matter if I've been abandoned; I'll take you down myself."
Peach Purple Yan's expression darkened as she coldly replied, "To be able to fly using demonic energy or spiritual power, you need at least the cultivation level of a Divine Guardian. Do you have that ability?"
Huang Yunfeng felt somewhat embarrassed and asked curiously, "What is a Divine Guardian? Flying doesn't seem too difficult!"
Rolling her eyes at him, Peach Purple Yan replied coldly, "Whether human or demon, cultivation is divided into two major stages: Refining Qi and Divine Guardian. The Refining Qi stage is quite complex; humans have their Buddhist and Taoist paths along with other cultivators, each with different insights and levels of cultivation. Demons are similar. The purpose of Refining Qi is to gather natural energy within oneself and generate immense magical power. Due to differences in methods, the demonic energy and spiritual power cultivated can vary greatly in nature. However, to break through to the Divine Guardian level requires reaching the highest level of Refining Qi along with many other constraints and opportunities." At this point, Peach Purple Yan added lightly, "There are fewer than a hundred experts at the Divine Guardian level on Earth; they are all key figures closely monitored by various parties, each with detailed records. If you could fly, I’d expect the sun to rise from the west at midnight."
In summary, Refining Qi roughly corresponds to legendary practices like refining essence into energy or refining spirit into void—things like that—while Divine Guardian might refer to cultivation at the Starlight Body level. Huang Yunfeng felt quite pleased with himself. Without further explanation, he grabbed Peach Purple Yan and jumped off the platform. Not expecting him to do this, Peach Purple Yan screamed loudly in fright.
After a long while, Peach Purple Yan realized she was descending rapidly but not in a straight line; instead, they were gliding at a steep angle toward the direction where Fang Jian had flown away. She widened her eyes in surprise and managed to stammer out, "What exactly are you?"
After being refined into a Starlight Body by Shi Qingyuan and cultivating his Indestructible Golden Body, Huang Yunfeng had already evolved once. Although he couldn't escape Earth's gravity to soar through space yet, flying within this atmosphere was not difficult for him at all. This world was strange but generally similar to Earth. He had been quite afraid of flying earlier; however, in front of Peach Purple Yan, he decided to show off.
As the breeze brushed against his face, Huang Yunfeng suddenly found that flying felt quite nice—a comfortable sense of freedom washed over him.
Peach Purple Yan thought while being pulled along by Huang Yunfeng: "This guy can fly without any magical tools; he's even stronger than Fang Jian!" Just as she thought this, a white light returned; Fang Jian had calmed down after getting angry and remembered that Peach Purple Yan couldn't descend from Sky Tower alone. He was about to rush back when he saw Huang Yunfeng smiling as he flew toward him while holding Peach Purple Yan. Fang Jian couldn't help but snort coldly as his expression turned extremely strange.
"A Divine Guardian-level expert? You have quite an impressive background!"
Huang Yunfeng chuckled sheepishly and shrugged dismissively as if it were nothing special. "Just a stroke of luck."
As Huang Yunfeng slowly descended, Fang Jian, who had remained silent for a while, finally pointed ahead and said, "All matters of our clan are decided by the elders of the Ancestral Temple. As a human cultivator, your entry into the Monster Autonomous Zone without cause means that whatever judgment you face will depend on your performance from here on."
Huang Yunfeng shrugged his shoulders, still unable to grasp the concept of humans and monsters. It wasn't entirely his fault; Peach Purple Yan was stunningly beautiful with a curvaceous figure, and Fang Jian was a remarkably handsome young man. Huang Yunfeng couldn't possibly associate them with anything monstrous.
The floating island beneath their feet was mostly covered in dense forests. At its center stood a magnificent temple that appeared to occupy a vast area. The three of them landed in front of the Ancestral Temple, where Huang Yunfeng noticed people practicing everywhere.
A man in white was sitting cross-legged on a piece of blue stone, seemingly either meditating or sleeping. Nearby, several individuals were sparring in an open space. Their combat skills—whether in speed or strength—were extraordinary. Huang Yunfeng truly doubted he could win in a one-on-one fight against any of them.
"The Ancestral Temple is where our clan trains its juniors. All underage monsters must receive training from their seniors here. What you see are merely beginners; the real elites are deeper inside," Peach Purple Yan explained as they walked.
After passing through four or five courtyards, Fang Jian finally said lightly, "We've arrived! You can go in by yourself."
Huang Yunfeng felt quite puzzled about what he was about to confront but thought to himself, "It's just meeting an old man; what's so scary about that? Although there are quite a few people here... Damn it, I should have known better than to come in."
He initially wanted to encourage himself, but as he ventured further inside, a solemn atmosphere made him reconsider. He calculated that if he needed to escape with all his might, he could reach the entrance of Sky Tower in just a few seconds.
"How grand! Truly magnificent..."
Stepping into the central hall, Huang Yunfeng was immediately captivated by the grandeur of the building itself. The interior of this temple was exceptionally tall, reaching at least twenty meters from the ground to the ceiling. There were no columns within the entire hall, which spanned over a hundred meters in both east-west and north-south directions. Such architecture would likely be impossible to construct with current human technology.
(To be continued)
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