Chapter 480: Panli City
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
After figuring out the direction in which they needed to head, Chen Zi and Mo Wen picked up speed and finally managed to get out of the brutal land of the forest.
A city appeared before their eyes. It had been built entirely with grey bricks and there were sentry posts all around. There were also troops of ancient martial art practitioners wearing armor patrolling the walls of the city. It was as though they had unknowingly walked into the past.
Chen Zi exhaled fiercely. Her clothes were a little tattered and there were traces of blood and muddy deposits all over her body. She looked exceptionally haggard.
She had already been trudging through the forest for four or five days and only people who had done the same would know just how dangerous things could be. If it had been her alone, even a hundred versions of Chen Zi would not have been enough. Along the way, they had encountered too many vicious attacks by the monstrous beasts. In the more serious cases, they had been surrounded and attacked by a group of beasts together. The escape from that brutal land would probably be the most unforgettable experience of her life.
In a period of just a few days, her understanding of Mo Wen had increased greatly. When Mo Wen had saved her from the claws and teeth of a Seventh level monstrous beast, she had even wondered whether he was actually an ancient martial art practitioner with the Golden Elixir realm.
A Seventh level monstrous beast was the highest level that a monstrous beast could attain. It was akin to an ancient martial art practitioner of the Golden Elixir realm. Any random Seventh level monstrous beast would already be a very scary presence. Generally speaking, if both were of the same level, the battle ability of the monstrous beast would usually far surpass that of the human ancient martial art practitioner.
She finally understood why Mo Wen had been so confident of himself. It was because he knew that he was that powerful.
“That is Panli City. It is a city that belongs to Qingzhen District.” At a glance, Chen Zi could recognize the place. Panli City had a very sad but beautiful legend behind it. It was said that a long time ago, there was a young man who had headed into the depths of the deserted forest to kill monstrous beasts. He never returned. His wife missed her husband dearly and stood on top of the city walls every day, longing for him to return. Days, then years, passed. Over time, the city then got its name of Panli City.
In the Green Ancient Mystery Dimension, the human ancient martial art practitioners had opened a total of eight pieces of land that were suitable for humans to live in. They were the Eight Major Districts and Qingzhen District was one of them.
A long time ago, the Eight Major Districts had been controlled by eight ancient martial art sects. Only the strongest sect in each district would have the right to control their own district. Normally, the sect that controlled a district would be named as one of the Eight Major Influences of the Green Ancient Mystery Dimension.
If a stronger ancient martial art sect appeared in a district that already has a reigning power, the more powerful sect was allowed to take over. 150 years ago, Daoyuan Sect, which had been in control of Qingzhen District, was in decline. Meanwhile, the Intentionless Sect was gaining power and had successfully taken over.
However, ancient martial art practitioners from different districts could not randomly head over to other districts to take power. It only became possible if they completely gave up everything they owned in their district and moved over to the new district. This rule had been in place for thousands of years and nobody had broken it before.
“Let’s go. When we’re in the city, we can look for an inn to take a bath. Then, from Panli City, we can head directly over to Intentionless City.” They had traveled through the forest for days and they were dirty and smelly. Chen Zi really wanted to just soak in the water and not come out for a few days and nights.
The two of them walked over to the city gate. It was already afternoon and quite a large number of people were returning to the city from all around. The city gate was packed with people flowing in and out.
“There is something that an ancient martial art practitioner from the Green Ancient Mystery Dimension must do, and that is to kill a monstrous beast.” Chen Zi looked at all those people returning to the city. The people were in ragged clothes and there were traces of blood on their bodies. Quite a number of them had also been injured. Some of the people were even carrying monstrous beasts over their shoulders. There were larger ones as well as the smaller ones, and the city gate was permeated with the smell of blood. There was even one person who was carrying a monstrous beast just like an elephant over his shoulder. It looked as though he was carrying a little mountain.
However, the monstrous beasts that had been hunted were not very strong. At most, they were either of the First level or Second level. There were very few that were of the Fourth level.
Other than training hard, the ancient martial art practitioners of the Green Ancient Mystery Dimension also had to attain sufficient Cultivation resources. That way, they could become stronger and attain a higher realm. The only method of obtaining Cultivation resources was to hunt for monstrous beasts. Then, they could sell them off to merchants or larger sects to exchange for some Cultivation resources.
Thus, everyone who was on the path of ancient martial arts was essentially killing monstrous beasts.
Of course, there were some who were not on the path, or those with insufficient talent, who had chosen to go into other careers. They decided to use the usual means to survive. However, with no exceptions, these types of people had very low status in the Green Ancient Mystery Dimension.
“Awoo!” The Phantom Wolf Cat that had been deep in slumber on Mo Wen’s shoulder had seemingly detected the smell of blood. It started to howl. Its blue eyes were fixed on the bloodied bodies of those ancient martial art practitioners carrying the monstrous beasts. Its intention to kill became obvious.
The ancient martial art practitioners nearby had all gotten a shock. After realizing that it was a Phantom Wolf Cat, their faces had all turned pale and not a single person dared to get close to Mo Wen.
The ancient martial art practitioners who went out to hunt often did not have very high Cultivations. Even an ancient martial art practitioner with the Qi Nucleation realm was rare. A grown Phantom Wolf Cat was a Sixth level monstrous beast. Even though that particular Phantom Wolf Cat was not big and did not seem to be fully grown, a normal ancient martial art practitioner with the Embryonic Breathing realm would not be able to withstand its attacks.
This young man actually had such a frightening and fierce beast perched on his shoulders. Just what kind of a person was he?
Chen Zi looked at the Phantom Wolf Cat on Mo Wen’s shoulder and smiled a little helplessly. Even she did not dare offend this little guy. Even though it was sticking to Mo Wen, she did not dare to touch it at all. She did not understand just what kind of magic Mo Wen possessed to tame such a wild Phantom Wolf Cat and transform it into a well-behaved little tabby cat.
Although there were ancient martial art practitioners in the Green Ancient Mystery Dimension that kept monstrous beasts as pets, those that could be kept as pets were not very powerful. Very few sects could tame a powerful monstrous beast like the Phantom Wolf Cat. With a fierce Phantom Wolf Cat by his side, nobody would dare to offend Mo Wen.
Mo Wen looked at the Phantom Wolf Cat on his shoulder and his mouth curled up into a smile. He had brought the Phantom Wolf Cat along on his journey simply because the trip had been too dull, so he wanted a pet for accompaniment.
“You can return to the forest now.” Mo Wen released the Phantom Wolf Cat onto the ground and waited for it to go back to the forest. There was no point in him keeping it by his side anyway so he did not see why he could not just release it.
“Awoo awoo!” Nobody expected that when Mo Wen had released it, the Phantom Wolf Cat would actually refuse to leave. It made circles continuously around Mo Wen and kept howling. One of its claws was grabbing at Mo Wen’s pants, as if afraid to be separated from him.
“What are you following me for?” Mo Wen asked helplessly. He had hypnotized the Phantom Wolf Cat once but it was no longer under hypnosis. There was no reason for a Phantom Wolf Cat that had regained its freedom to not want to leave. Could it be that one hypnosis would remain effective forever? Even Mo Wen did not feel that it was possible. There had to be something wrong with this Phantom Wolf Cat. Using the Soul Power to hypnotize a monstrous beast would only be effective during the hypnosis period. If the Phantom Wolf Cat had attacked him as soon as the hypnosis had worn off, he would not have been surprised. But now it was actually refusing to leave.
One of the Phantom Wolf Cat’s claws was grabbing on to Mo Wen’s pants. It raised its head slightly and looked up at Mo Wen pitifully. Its large eyes were filled with sadness, as though Mo Wen was an irresponsible person that was about to abandon it.
“If you don’t like it, why don’t you give it to me?” Seeing the pitiful look of the Phantom Wolf Cat, Chen Zi felt love flow from within her. She fiercely rolled her eyes at Mo Wen.
The Phantom Wolf Cat was a very rare monstrous beast. It was very good at assassinations and could be said to be a natural assassin. It was also a monstrous beast that had too many cases to be listed of it defeating ancient martial art practitioners. It was considered to be a very powerful monstrous beast.
Moreover, a fully-grown Phantom Wolf Cat was a Sixth level monstrous beast. Once it was fully grown, it would strike fear in the heart of any ancient martial art practitioner it encountered. They would always have to be wary of its surprise attacks.
The Intentionless Sect raised a few Sixth level monstrous beasts but none of them were as valuable as the Phantom Wolf Cat. Yet, this lad Mo Wen did not know how to cherish it.
“I’ll give it to you then.” Mo Wen was a little unwilling to bring a monstrous beast along with him. To him, a monstrous beast like the Phantom Wolf Cat did not have much value. He picked the Phantom Wolf Cat up from the ground and placed it onto Chen Zi’s shoulder.
Chen Zi liked it wholeheartedly. She extended her hand, wanting to pet the Phantom Wolf Cat. However, the Phantom Wolf Cat was not having any of it. It bared its teeth and extended its claws, all the while howling non-stop as it tried to jump off Chen Zi’s shoulder.
Mo Wen glared at the Phantom Wolf Cat with fury. The Phantom Wolf Cat felt very aggrieved as it perched unwillingly on Chen Zi’s shoulder.
“Humph, what’s so good about following him. Next time, with me, you will get to eat all the delicacies,” Chen Zi said indignantly. However, the Phantom Wolf Cat simply did not understand what it meant by “eating all the delicacies” and its expression was pathetic.
Chen Zi and Mo Wen slowly walked into the city, the Phantom Wolf Cat on Chen Zi’s shoulder attracting all the attention.
Ancient martial art practitioners that lived in the Green Ancient Mystery Dimension often had a certain understanding of monstrous beasts. They had been taught from a young age about Cultivation and the hunting of monstrous beasts. It could be said that in the Green Ancient Mystery Dimension, other than those with no talents at all, those with even the slightest bit of talent were considered ancient martial art practitioners.
It was very possible that in one village, every single person would be ancient martial art practitioners. However, training in ancient martial arts and being a master in ancient martial arts were two completely different things. Only a small proportion of the people that were able to Cultivate to the highest realm.
Mo Wen looked around him curiously and noticed that the city of the Inner world was very similar to the ancient cities. There were stalls on both sides and there were people walking along the streets. There were restaurants, teahouses and inns. However, the stalls along the street were mostly selling food. There were very few that were selling toys. Most of them were about the ancient martial art training techniques or Cultivation techniques, and there were also many stalls dealing with spiritual medicine and weapons, as well as all kinds of strange resources.
Although the two of them had attracted quite a bit of attention along the way, nobody had dared to come forward and approach them. The reason was simple. The fierce name of the Phantom Wolf Cat was not given without reason. Hence, nobody dared to offend a person who owned a Phantom Wolf Cat. Of course, there were always exceptions and Mo Wen had met with one.
“Isn’t that a Phantom Wolf Cat! There are actually people who have tamed the Phantom Wolf Cat. Come on, let’s go over.” A group of people began to walk over from the opposite side of the street. A youth in a white shirt had spotted the Phantom Wolf Cat on Chen Zi’s shoulder and a look of surprise had lit up his eyes immediately. The youth began to stride over with big steps.