Chapter 258: The City of Eternal Day

Chapter 258: The City of Eternal Day

Ji Xinghuo stood on a slope, his figure refracted by the light, gazing at a Highland tribe settlement nestled among the mountains in the distance.

"Too late again!"

He scratched his thick beard, a look of helplessness on his weary face.

Three days earlier, he had received a message from Chieftain Hanqiu, informing him of a war that had broken out between two Highland tribes. Ji Xinghuo had rushed over as quickly as he could, day and night, only to find that the war had already ended by the time he arrived.

And this was the second time it had happened.

Ten days ago, by the time Ji Xinghuo reached the site, all he saw was the victorious side cleaning up the battlefield and burning the enemy's corpses.

Having missed the wars twice in a row, he realized a problem.

The Bloody Highland was too vast.

Information transmission was also slow. Even if Chieftain Hanqiu sent the message as soon as he received it, there would already have been a significant delay before the message reached the chieftain.

Wars were frequent on the plateau, occurring daily, but most were not particularly large-scale.

Take, for example, the war between the Blood Fury Tribe and the Skull Crushers; because of its massive scale, both sides needed time to mobilize and prepare, as well as hire outside help, which allowed enough time for the information to be relayed, and for him to arrive at the battlefield in time to gather spiritual source energy.

That war involving the Blood Fury Tribe was already a rare occurrence in several years.

The smaller the scale of the war, the faster it erupted and ended. Sometimes, by the time news reached Tianzhuai Cliff, the battle was already over.

Ji Xinghuo attributed it to two reasons.

First was the slow transmission of information, which was beyond his control.

Second was his own slow speed of travel.

The former was the main cause.

As for the latter, even if he urged Qinghong to run at full speed without regard for its stamina, and then carried it on his body to rest when it got tired, taking over the running himself, he still might not be able to arrive in time.

"Impossible."

"My flying speed is even slower than Qinghong's running on the ground, and the consumption is too great for my stellar power to sustain prolonged flight."

"Unless the war happens somewhere not too far away, within a thousand kilometers."

No matter how Ji Xinghuo thought about it, he couldn't find a solution.

In the past ten days, he had been traveling almost non-stop, covering more than ten thousand kilometers back and forth, exhausting himself and Qinghong.

Not only had he failed to gather spiritual source energy, but he had also delayed his search for the Gale Beast.

"Rest for a day."

Ji Xinghuo turned away from the Highland tribe's settlement and set up camp elsewhere. After eating and drinking his fill in the tent, he took out a map of the Bloody Highland that he had bought on Earth and, by comparing it, located his approximate position.

"About 7,000 kilometers northwest of Tianzhuai Cliff."

"I've run so far!"

Ji Xinghuo was surprised even himself.

His eyes fell on a city icon on the map, west of his current location.

The icon was very eye-catching, unlike any of the other cities, located somewhat north of the center of the Bloody Highland, just over 600 kilometers away from him.

Flipping the map over, he found its introduction.

"The City of Eternal Day."

Ji Xinghuo's eyes lit up, and he immediately remembered that even before he became an outsider, he had come across information about this city numerous times on the Internet.

The City of Eternal Day was a city built by an extraterrestrial race, and within it stood a stargate.

Its status was similar to that of Olympia.

There were eight such stargate cities in the Thousand Peaks Forest, and over twenty in the Bloody Highland.

Since leaving Tianzhuai Cliff, Ji Xinghuo had also passed through two or three stargate cities, but just like how outsiders were not allowed to enter Olympia, each stargate city was heavily guarded, strictly forbidding any outsiders from approaching, practicing outright exclusion.

In the Star Realm, approaching the stargate of another race was extremely dangerous.

Ji Xinghuo had detoured far away from them.

However, the City of Eternal Day was a unique stargate city that was open to all races and welcomed outsiders.

The City of Eternal Day was established by the Crystal Intelligence Race.

This extraterrestrial race was very unique and unusual among the many extraterrestrial races; they were a rare form of silicon-based life.

To be precise, the Crystal Intelligence Race was non-carbon-based.

Compared to humans, the Crystal Intelligence Race had an almost infinite lifespan. According to Earth's calendar, their history spanned a million years, and they had been in the Star Realm for over seventy thousand years! Even in the entire True Dragon Star Domain and the Orion Arm, the Crystal Intelligence Race was one of the oldest races, akin to a living fossil of civilization.

Naturally, the Crystal Intelligence Race was extremely powerful.

This was also the reason and confidence behind their openness to outsiders in the City of Eternal Day.

There were two largest cities on the Bloody Highland: one was the Luoyan Tribe, located in the southwest at the Red Emperor Blood Mountain, and the other was the City of Eternal Day in the central region of the plateau. While the Luoyan Tribe was the nominal leader of the Highland tribes, the Crystal Intelligence Race was the protector of over twenty other extraterrestrial races on the plateau.

Ji Xinghuo was intrigued by the Crystal Intelligence Race.

Among the numerous alien races and extraterrestrial civilizations known on Earth, the Crystal Intelligence Race, along with the True Dragon People and the Winged People, was one of the most fascinating and enigmatic, often sparking curiosity.

After all, they were silicon-based life forms, a type of existence that was purely science fiction before the stargate's opening.

After resting for a night, Ji Xinghuo's physical energy and stellar power were fully restored, and Qinghong was also rejuvenated and ready to carry him westward.

The central region of the Bloodstain Highland had a slightly higher altitude than the eastern part, with more treacherous and continuous mountains, resulting in significant changes in terrain elevation. To save time, Ji Xinghuo often carried Qinghong with him, flying directly over these challenging stretches.

Even so, it was almost evening by the time he approached the City of Eternal Day.

It was now "Frost Month," the second-to-last month of the cold season, and the nights had stretched to over twenty hours each day, with colder temperatures.

The City of Eternal Day was built on a relatively flat highland, spanning an area of over a million square kilometers. It had few and low-lying mountains, offering a rare expansive view in the Bloodstain Highland. Several rivers flowed down from the surrounding mountains, forming icy rivers that resembled silver snakes dancing across the land.

As Ji Xinghuo stepped onto this highland, he gazed upon the undulating terrain, feeling a sense of regret.

If it were the hot season, this place would undoubtedly be a vast green grassland, with majestic scenery and pleasant weather. But now, in the cold season, all he could see was a vast expanse of white, with raging winds and frost in the sky, making it hard to find shelter from the elements.

Using his electromagnetic sensing, Ji Xinghuo detected the presence of others and immediately recalled Qinghong, choosing to proceed on foot through the wind and snow.

After more than an hour...

The golden glow in the western sky descended behind the mountains, and night fell instantly.

Despite the darkness, Ji Xinghuo could still see, and he spotted a road extending westward, paved with stone slabs that were wide and smooth, resembling a highway.

He gazed into the distance and noticed a bright area in the pitch-black night, spanning a considerable size.

A column of light shot straight up into the clouds.

Even in the midst of the cold wind and frost, the light column was visible from dozens of kilometers away, like a beacon guiding travelers in the darkness.

Ji Xinghuo continued along the road for another ten-plus kilometers, and gradually, the brightness ahead increased, becoming more and more luminous. With his eyesight, he could now make out a dazzling city, bright as day, that evoked a sense of wonder.

As he drew closer, roads from all directions converged, and the number of travelers increased.

Ji Xinghuo discreetly observed these aliens.

There were Highlanders, the Biao Tribe, the Dan People, the Wastelanders, and the Forest Patrol Clan—all common ethnic groups in the Bloodstain Highland—as well as numerous extraterrestrial species, many of which he was seeing for the first time. Although most resembled humans, each had distinct characteristics.

Ji Xinghuo could only identify three or four of the extraterrestrial races.

Like himself, they were headed toward the City of Eternal Day, but in the wilderness, everyone maintained a safe distance from each other.

Ahead, a massive silhouette emerged in the night—a semi-transparent bubble with a diameter of about thirty kilometers. It resembled an overturned bowl, covering the entire city. The cold wind and frost were kept outside the bubble, while the interior of the bubble presented a completely different world!

Ji Xinghuo was deeply shaken by what he saw.

The first impression this alien city gave him was one of brightness and grandeur! The outermost perimeter featured a hundred-meter-high wall, not built from ordinary stone but from pristine white crystal, from which the bubble that enveloped the entire city seemed to emanate, like its base, glowing with subtle light.

Within the city, towering spires rose in a well-ordered fashion, each distinct from the other.

The design of these spires was entirely dissimilar to the skyscrapers of Earth, exuding grandeur and elegance, with edges adorned by golden, dazzling embellishments.

All the structures in the city, including the spires, were constructed from crystal.

Hovering above the sky were numerous platforms and plazas, illuminated by countless crystal lamps emitting radiant light that brightened every corner.

Most of the city area was flat, encircling the tallest mountain in the city's center, which stood about three kilometers high. Compared to the other mountains in the Bloodstain Highland, this height was rather modest. The entire mountain surface had been transformed, with platforms of varying heights connected by smooth stairs, adorned with towering spires that resembled a crystal forest, reaching up to the mountain's peak.

At the mountain's summit stood a crystal palace, from which a massive column of light soared, piercing through the bubble and disappearing into the depths of the night, reaching heights unknown.

"The City of Eternal Day truly lives up to its name," Ji Xinghuo murmured as he quickened his pace, drawing closer to the city. As he entered the range of his electromagnetic sensing, he noticed something peculiar about the city.

He paused, taken aback by what he sensed.

There were numerous blind spots within the City of Eternal day that evaded his electromagnetic perception.

These areas weren't exactly blank, but they were filled with interference in the magnetic field, as if a vast amount of garbage information was used to obscure the true state, preventing him from discerning anything clearly.

It was as if the magnetic field changes were being shielded.

Although these blind spots weren't extensive, amounting to less than one-tenth of the city, Ji Xinghuo was still astonished.

For the first time, his electromagnetic sensing had failed to provide him with any useful information. These areas included the interior of the walls, the majestic crystal spires, and some interior and underground spaces of certain structures. Clearly, these were critical areas within the City of Eternal Day.

As he approached the city, the darkness was dispelled by the radiant light emanating from it.

Below the towering walls was an enormous gate.

Ji Xinghuo walked towards the gate, and as he drew closer, the true grandeur and majesty of the gate became even more difficult to fathom. The massive transparent bubble above seemed to be a protective barrier.

The bitter cold wind and frost seemed to collide with an invisible wall, unable to penetrate beyond the gate.

He retracted his gaze and looked beyond the gate.

Even though the magnetic field was shielded, the fluctuations in etheric energy around the walls couldn't be concealed. Through Ji Xinghuo's eyes, he could see that behind those pristine white crystal walls lurked an immense flow of energy, moving in a distinct pattern that indicated an artificial construct.

However, what truly captured his attention were the guards at the gate.

"The Crystal Intelligence Race!"

Although he had read about them in the data, seeing this extraterrestrial race in person sparked his curiosity.

There were six Crystal Intelligence guards, and their appearances couldn't have been more distinct.

Three of them resembled humans.

Their heights varied significantly, with the shortest standing at about 1.7 meters and the tallest nearly reaching 3 meters.

However, these three had bodies similar to humans, with torsos and four limbs, standing upright on two legs. Their builds were exceptionally broad and robust, their skin crystalline, and their bodies appeared to be made of crystal. Each wore a layer of intricate metallic armor that wasn't merely "worn" but seemed to be an integral part of their bodies, as if the armor had grown out of them.

They had heads but no necks.

Their faces, too, were crystalline, with vague features that made it hard to distinguish their expressions unless one looked closely.

The differences among these three humanoid Crystal Intelligence beings were already striking, but compared to the other three, they at least retained a humanoid form.

The other three included two that resembled large scorpions.

They had six legs supporting a robust torso, with the upper body standing upright like a human's. They had four upper limbs—the top pair resembling arms, with one hand holding a weapon, and the lower pair ending in massive pincers. A thick crystalline tail extended from the back, helping to balance their weight.

The last Crystal Intelligence guard resembled a fierce beast, with four limbs on the ground, a mouth full of sharp teeth, and a crystalline body covered in thick metallic armor that left no vulnerabilities exposed.

Ji Xinghuo was awestruck by the diversity of their forms.

Indeed, just as the data had described, the Crystal Intelligence Race had no fixed form.

At birth, they all started out the same, without a specific gender, and as they grew, they could choose different forms according to their preferences.

About half of the Crystal Intelligence Race chose the humanoid form.

In addition, the other popular forms included scorpion-like, spider-like, serpentine, and beast-like shapes, with numerous variations within each category.

Beyond these mainstream forms, there were also many Crystal Intelligence beings with bizarre and unique appearances.

Ji Xinghuo remembered a phrase from the data vividly, "You won't find two identical members of the Crystal Intelligence Race in the world."

All six of these Crystal Intelligence guards were Legendary beings of the fifth stage!

They stood motionless on either side of the road leading to the gate, as still as statues, without even the slightest hint of breathing.

"It's extravagant to have Legendary beings guarding the gate," Ji Xinghuo thought to himself, shaking his head slightly. The City of Eternal Day had over a dozen gates, and if each gate was guarded by six Legendary Crystal Intelligence beings, that would amount to hundreds of them.

Such a display of power was unimaginable on Earth.

The Crystal Intelligence guards merely observed the non-Crystal Intelligence beings passing through the gate without interfering or conducting inspections.

Everyone before Ji Xinghuo had entered the city without incident.

Ji Xinghuo strode confidently towards the gate, but unexpectedly, one of the humanoid Crystal Intelligence guards suddenly moved and turned towards him.

"Please stop," the guard said as it approached.

Ji Xinghuo halted, a look of surprise on his face. He didn't understand why he was being stopped when everyone else had been allowed to pass without issue.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end