FVN Chapter 635 Ten Thousand Gu City! Goodbye, Eighth Prince!
Chapter 635 Ten Thousand Gu City! Goodbye, Eighth Prince!
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Jin took out a jade slip from his sleeve, infused it with spiritual power, and projected a huge map of light and shadow. Pointing to dozens of points of light on the map, he said, "Currently, the confirmed forces participating in the Hundred Sects Conference, besides the teams of the three princes of my Zhao Kingdom, include the delegations of the four first-level cultivation countries: Great Yu, Great Yan, Great Chu, and Great Qi, as well as Gu cultivators from dozens of tribes on the Great Desert Grassland. Among them, the three strongest tribes are the Blood Gu Tribe, the Snake Gu Tribe, and the Corpse Gu Tribe. They are led by their tribal chiefs personally, aiming directly for the top spot. As for the delegations of those first-level cultivation countries, although their strength is not as great as ours, they should not be underestimated. The person leading the Great Yu delegation is an old acquaintance of Elder Chen."
Chen Fan paused slightly in the hand holding the wine bowl.
"Eighth Prince, Qin Zhan."
Just as Zhao Jin finished speaking, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from outside the hall.
A moment later, a scout clad in black armor strode into the hall, knelt on one knee, and reported: "Your Highness, delegations from various countries have begun to arrive outside Wan Gu City. The deadline for registration for the Hundred Sects Assembly is set for noon two days from now. The Gu King has decreed that all participants must complete their registration before nightfall tomorrow; latecomers will not be accepted."
Zhao Jin waved his hand to signal the scouts to leave, then turned to the assembled crowd and said, "Everyone has heard that. Get some rest tonight, and we will set off for Wan Gu City early tomorrow morning. It is about a thousand miles from Beifeng City to Wan Gu City. Monsters roam the grasslands, and Gu cultivator tribes are scattered everywhere. You must all obey my orders and not leave the group without permission."
Everyone readily agreed.
After the banquet, Chen Fan did not return to his room, but instead went up to the observation deck on the top floor of the stone fortress alone.
Night had fallen, and the wind on the grassland was even more biting than during the day, carrying a dry and desolate atmosphere.
The stars hung low in the sky, seemingly within reach, and the moonlight spilled across the vast grassland, turning the dark green sea of grass into a silvery white.
A few campfires can be faintly seen in the distance; that is the camp of a tribe on the grassland.
Further away, a jet-black mountain range stretched across the horizon, like a sleeping behemoth.
Looking into the distance, Chen Fan shook his head inwardly, secretly hoping to meet the Eighth Prince again...
……
The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Northwind City came alive with activity.
The three teams, fully equipped, set off towards Wan Gu City in three unique sand boats, each aboard aboard Zhao Jin's command.
The sand boat is powered by spirit stones and has floating array patterns engraved on its bottom. It can fly three feet off the ground on the grassland. Although it is not as fast as the spirit boat, it is stable and quiet and will not disturb the swarms of Gu insects on the grassland.
The boat was made of ironwood from the grasslands, with a black flag of the Zhao state on each side, fluttering in the morning breeze.
Chen Fan stood at the bow of the boat, his gaze sweeping over the scenery along the way.
Looking out, the grassland stretches out in the morning light, the boundless dark green sea of grass undulating in the wind, like the breath of the earth.
Occasionally, one can see a few herds of wild horses galloping past in the distance, their hooves thundering and kicking up clouds of dust.
Several golden eagles with wingspans of several meters circled in the sky, their sharp eyes fixed on the sand boat, seemingly judging whether these unfamiliar visitors were worth pouncing on.
After traveling for about two hours, the outline of a huge city appeared on the horizon ahead.
The city was built entirely of black stone from the grasslands, with walls over a hundred feet high. The walls were covered with densely packed Gu patterns and arrays, which shimmered with a faint dark green light under the sunlight.
Countless tents and makeshift wooden houses are scattered around the city, surrounding it like stars around the moon.
People came and went among the tents, dressed in various styles. There were leather robes of grassland Gu cultivators, magic robes of Zhao Kingdom cultivators, black robes of Boundless Sea Demon cultivators, and even a few cultivators dressed in the attire of Great Yan and Great Chu could be seen moving among them.
We've arrived at Wan Gu City.
The sand barge slowly came to a stop on a designated berth outside the city gate.
As soon as Chen Fan stepped off the sandboat, a commotion arose behind him.
Looking back, they saw that Song Tianren and his group had also disembarked from the sand boat and were being questioned about their identities by a group of grassland Gu cultivators at the edge of the mooring platform. Song Tianren's face was gloomy, and Duan Wuliang was negotiating with the Gu cultivator leader; the atmosphere was quite tense.
Chen Fan withdrew his gaze and was about to walk towards the city gate when he suddenly heard a booming voice coming from not far away.
"Chen Fan!"
The voice was rough and bold, with a hoarse and cheerful quality unique to veteran border soldiers, and could be heard clearly even in the noisy city gate.
Chen Fan paused, turned around and looked in the direction of the sound.
A group of cultivators dressed in the robes of Yu the Great were seen disembarking from another sand boat. The leader was a burly middle-aged man with a square face, thick eyebrows, a wide mouth, and strikingly bright eyes.
He wore a set of worn-out black iron armor, which gleamed coldly in the grassland sunlight.
It was none other than the Eighth Prince, Qin Zhan.
Chen Fan's perpetually calm expression finally softened slightly, a barely perceptible smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. He stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Eighth Prince, how have you been?"
Hahaha!
Qin Zhan strode up to Chen Fan, looked him up and down, and suddenly burst into laughter, the sound of which made several grassland Gu cultivators around him turn their heads.
He slammed his palm heavily on Chen Fan's shoulder, the force almost making Chen Fan stumble: "Good lad! I heard about you on my way here. Slaying Li Jiuyuan, destroying Black Reef Island, and even robbing the Fourth Prince right in front of him at the Treasure Pavilion, tsk tsk tsk, you never have a moment's peace! I knew you were no ordinary person back on the Yu King's Ship, and now, in such a short time, you've become Zhao Kingdom's top honorary retainer, and you're even representing the First Prince at the Hundred Sects Conference. Very well, very well, I knew I hadn't misjudged you!"
Chen Fan's shoulder ached from the pat, but he didn't flinch, only shaking his head slightly and saying, "Your Highness flatters me. I was just lucky. But why did Your Highness also come to this grassland? Did the Great Yu court also receive an invitation from the Gu King?"
"Of course." Qin Zhan withdrew his hand, his smile fading slightly. He lowered his voice and said, "The Gu King clearly wants to demonstrate the strength of the grasslands to the entire Tiannan Star. All four first-level cultivation kingdoms received invitations. Those old foxes in the court discussed it for a long time and finally pushed this task onto me. I originally thought it would be too much trouble to make this trip, but I didn't expect to run into you here. So it wasn't a wasted trip."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over Chen Fan again, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. "Chen Fan, your cultivation... how come your aura has improved so much in just a few months? I feel you're at least two or three levels stronger than you were on the Yu King's Ship back then?"
"It was a matter of chance." Chen Fan didn't elaborate, simply glossing over the matter.
Seeing that he was unwilling to say more, Qin Zhan did not press him further.
Having lived for over a thousand years, he knew that everyone in the cultivation world had their own secrets, and that it was a great taboo to inquire about other people's opportunities.
He simply patted Chen Fan on the shoulder, his tone tinged with genuine emotion: "No matter what, I'm truly happy to see you doing so well. For a little eunuch who came from the sealed land to reach this point is no small feat. I've lived for over a thousand years and seen countless people, but you're one of the few I've met."