Chapter 73: A Slightly Peculiar World

Chapter 73: A Slightly Peculiar World

Where's the game interface?

A sense of alertness flashed through Qi Yuan's mind.

He hurried towards the entrance of Heaven's Forbidden Zone, but to his surprise, he couldn't return to it.

"So, once I leave the forbidden and dead-end zones, I lose the game interface?"

"Does that mean I'm no different from an NPC?"

Qi Yuan was stunned.

Soon, he accepted this reality.

"Even without the game interface, I can still annihilate extra-terrestrial demons!" Qi Yuan recalled the words of a certain expert and stopped dwelling on the matter.

"The only pity is that I can no longer contact Jing Li."

"It's unlikely that a cheesy scene of mistaken identity will occur, right?"

Qi Yuan had heard numerous stories of mistaken identities during arranged marriages and meetings.

"Xiao Jia," Qi Yuan called out softly as he held her hand.

Xiao Jia obediently shrank, eventually transforming into a bridal tattoo on Qi Yuan's chest.

Qi Yuan also put on the Faceless Mask he had obtained from the Ugly Robe Tyrant.

With his black blood armor and masked face, he resembled a demonic imperial guard from the court.

His figure shrank at that moment, taking on the appearance of an ordinary mortal.

"I look like a major villain now."

The Faceless Mask could temporarily block the perception of extra-terrestrial demons.

The Ugly Robe Tyrant, in his previous life, had been a talented genius.

Such a gifted youth was particularly disliked by the extra-terrestrial demons. The Blood Flesh Harvester descended from the sky, extracting his flesh and leaving only a human skin behind.

The Ugly Robe Tyrant, with the Faceless Mask, was able to isolate himself from the demons' perception.

Unfortunately, he had ventured into the Divine Garment Division, which had been polluted by the demons. When he recklessly broke through into the Heavenly Domain, the Blood Flesh Harvester extracted his flesh.

Qi Yuan was now a 99th-level powerhouse in the human realm, and his presence would attract the attention of the extra-terrestrial demons.

That was why he wore the Faceless Mask.

Carrying his great treasure sword, Qi Yuan looked southeast.

A massive Ancient Ji Tree came into view.

"It's so far away. Alas, without a spirit vessel and unable to create one, I can only travel by foot."

The game world and the real world were two separate realms.

In the game world, martial arts led to godhood.

In the real world of Canglan Realm, it was the path to immortality.

Practicing the techniques from the game world might not yield spiritual energy, but it was still possible.

Unfortunately, it was impossible to cultivate or draw inspiration from them in the real world to enrich the Qi Yuan Canon.

The first time Qi Yuan attempted to draw inspiration from the game world's techniques, he was shocked.

He questioned his sanity, wondering if he had gone mad to even consider cultivating game techniques.

"Let's go, to the Ancient Ji Tree, the Moon Emperor Kingdom, and meet in person!"

Qi Yuan transformed into a crimson residual shadow and headed towards the Ancient Ji Tree.

However, after an unknown amount of time, Qi Yuan suddenly fell from the sky.

In the desert, on wooden stakes, hung the corpses of humans, around fifteen in number, baking under the scorching sun like dried corpses.

They were small in stature and appeared to be children.

Vultures tore at the flesh as if scavenging in a pile of garbage.

Upon Qi Yuan's arrival, the vultures flapped their wings and flew away.

Qi Yuan observed these tender, skinny, and withered corpses, estimating their ages to be around eleven or twelve years old for the older ones and three months for the youngest, with many infants among them.

They seemed to have been brutally murdered and left to rot in the wilderness.

Qi Yuan glanced at the sun above.

"It's too hot to leave them like this."

With a wave of his hand, all the stakes sank into the sand.

Ordinary mortals, upon death, had their karma extinguished.

"This world isn't as wonderful as Jing Li described."

"Perhaps, I'm currently standing in the shadows."

Qi Yuan thought for a moment and flew back into the sky.

This time, he soared high above, seemingly unaffected by the mortal world.

There were too many worldly matters, and it was difficult to discern right from wrong. Or perhaps, what was right, and what was wrong?

A flash of crimson light streaked by.

The Ancient Ji Tree was less than a few hundred miles away.

Below, Qi Yuan spotted a city and decided to stop.

He had two tasks in this city.

First, he needed to ask for directions to the Moon Emperor Kingdom; second, he wanted to rest, eat, and change his clothes.

Outside the city walls, a long queue had formed.

Qi Yuan joined the line at the very end.

In front of Qi Yuan was a plump, white-skinned man.

Qi Yuan looked towards the city, which was named Kunwu City.

There were about a hundred people lined up outside the city gates.

The sun blazed overhead.

The man in front of Qi Yuan wiped his sweat.

From his appearance, he seemed either wealthy or of noble birth.

Qi Yuan stood quietly, his gaze shifting to the other side of the wall.

There, another entrance was designated for the queue, but it was different from Qi Yuan's. It was a privileged entrance with fewer people.

However, the privilege wasn't for the wealthy or powerful, but for the elderly.

Most were fifty years or older, some even sixty and above.

They didn't need to queue and could enter the city directly.

"Respecting the elderly and loving the young, the people of Kunwu City are so kind-hearted," Qi Yuan couldn't help but exclaim.

Hearing this, the plump man in front of Qi Yuan turned around, "You're not from around here, are you, friend?"

He looked at Qi Yuan's mask and flinched, seemingly startled, but quickly regained his composure, "Your words are only half-right."

"Oh? Which half?" Qi Yuan asked.

"Respecting the elderly is right, loving the young is wrong," the man said, "In Kunwu City, once you reach fifty, you're exempt from labor and provided for.

If you fall ill, a doctor will personally visit and charge nothing; if you..."

The man's eyes glinted with a lewd smile as he continued, "The brothel girls will visit you, and they won't charge a penny."

In this city, the elderly were provided for by the government, covering all their needs.

"Wow, that's amazing!" Qi Yuan was taken aback.

Could this be considered a utopian society? Moreover, after reaching fifty years of age, one could retire and enjoy life without working.

This sounded even better than Blue Star.

On Blue Star, there were still many people working past sixty years old, and some didn't even have retirement benefits, barely surviving in their later years, with illness being their downfall.

Jing Li was right; this world indeed had its beautiful scenery, and Qi Yuan also discovered some delightful highlights.

A society where the elderly could enjoy their twilight years was undoubtedly a commendable one.

"Unfortunately, I'm only thirty-five this year. I'll have to wait for fifteen more years, and I don't even know if I'll live that long," the fat man sighed, his tone revealing a gloomy expression.

"What was the other half I got wrong?" Qi Yuan asked.

"The other half that was wrong..." The fat man lowered his voice, "was love for the young."

"Hmm?" Qi Yuan was still puzzled.

"Not only do they not love the young, but they also don't care for anyone below fifty years old," the fat man said in a nervous tone.

Qi Yuan still didn't understand.

The fat man continued, "In Kunwu City, age is the greatest source of power.

Anyone over fifty can enjoy all privileges.

But if you're below fifty, hehe..."

As he spoke, the fat man paused and let out a cold laugh.

"Those who are alive are worse off than beasts."

"What do you mean by that?" Qi Yuan's gaze swept over the people in line ahead.

He noticed a woman holding a child, her expression blank. The child in her arms was already lifeless, a cold corpse.

"For example, if a child shows disrespect to their parents, especially those over fifty, do you know what the consequences are?"

"What are they?" Qi Yuan asked.

It's generally not right for a child to show disrespect to their parents.

"They'll die!" the fat man said grimly.

Hearing this, Qi Yuan was startled, "Is Kunwu City in such chaos? Are there only lunatics living here?"

He wondered if he should ask for directions in another city.

Otherwise, what if he didn't yield to the elderly and was killed on the spot?

"Did you see the woman in front?" The fat man pointed to the woman holding the child.

"Yes."

"The child in her arms died yesterday," the fat man said, his expression filled with regret. "Her child weaned late, and at night, while drinking milk, he accidentally bit her.

She shared this story with some women as casual gossip, and it reached the government.

Her child... was executed for disrespecting filial piety!"

Currently, she's still holding her child's corpse, but soon... even the corpse will be gone."

Qi Yuan looked at the woman, tightly clutching her child with a blank expression.

"Young man, if you're not over fifty, you'd better keep a low profile in the city, especially when encountering the elderly, you must show respect," the fat man cautioned.

"I think I should leave here," Qi Yuan said.

Kunwu City was different from what Jing Li had described.

Could he have gotten lost and ended up in the wrong place?

Unfortunately, the game interface was gone, and he couldn't contact Jing Li.

Hearing this, the fat man sighed helplessly, "Where can you go? All the cities around here are the same."

Qi Yuan looked puzzled, "If it's just one city enforcing this, it's understandable.

But if it's a hundred cities, aren't there any rebels?"

The young and strong should be the backbone of this world.

But here, the young and strong are suppressed, which sounds extremely unreasonable.

The fat man chuckled bitterly, "Rebellion? The Black Robe Watchmen will appear, and even the strongest warriors will die. What can we use to rebel?

Although we live cautiously, at least we have something to look forward to. Living to fifty years old will make it all worthwhile."

Qi Yuan mentally noted the name Black Robe Watchmen.

The line moved forward, and more people joined from behind.

Seeing the crowd, the fat man stopped talking.

Qi Yuan stood in place, deep in thought.

Suddenly, he had an idea, "At the Ascension Platform, I've killed for hundreds of years. I'm the oldest old man, and I'm the top privileged class!"

Qi Yuan instantly found a reason to convince himself.

"Screw queuing!"

He prepared to use the old man's dedicated passage.

However, after some thought, Qi Yuan rejected this idea.

"I look too young; they won't believe me."

"I'm from the Divine Realm, screw queuing!"

Qi Yuan directly entered the city stealthily, and no one noticed him.

Inside the city, Qi Yuan, wearing a mask, walked among the crowd.

On the street, a peddler hawked various finished medicinal ingredients and snacks.

In the restaurant, steam rose from the bamboo steamers, creating a white mist, and Qi Yuan could smell the rich aroma of freshly baked white bread from afar.

He looked around; all the peddlers, assistants, and shop managers were young, not a single elderly person in sight.

Most of the people strolling on the street were old men.

Many white-haired old men were supported by their young sons, who were extremely careful.

It was a heartwarming sight of filial piety.

But for some reason, Qi Yuan felt something was amiss.

He didn't dwell on it further and headed straight to the tavern, where he ordered a meal and changed into a new set of clothes.

Qi Yuan emerged from the tavern.

"Sigh, I'm too shy. Although I'm old enough, I still paid for the meal. I couldn't bring myself to eat for free," he said.

"The food here doesn't taste good. I wonder how Jing Li's cooking is?"

"I wonder how delicious Jing Li's crispy sweet duck is?"

"Oh no, it's been so long since I last messaged her. She might think I'm not coming!"

"I need to quickly find out the location of July Town in the Moon Emperor Kingdom."

"Oh no, what if I meet her and we chat, and things get awkward?"

"Qi Yuan was well aware that if two people who had been chatting online for a long time and got along well met in person, there was a high chance they would hit it off, especially if they were not unattractive and didn't have any obvious flaws.

But he hadn't even met this person yet, so why was he thinking about it?

Qi Yuan left the restaurant and headed to a shop called Kunwu Wind Voice.

He had learned about this shop from a waiter while dining at the restaurant.

This shop sold information and had considerable influence in Kunwu City.

As Qi Yuan stood in front of the shop, a pleasant voice called out, "A distinguished guest has arrived. Please come in."

A tall woman with a black veil covering her face emerged from the shop, making it impossible to see her features.

Qi Yuan noticed that she was an Imperial Rank expert.

Furthermore, when she saw his mask, her body seemed to react, but the reaction quickly vanished, well hidden.

"I'd like to purchase a map of this area," Qi Yuan said.

Hearing this, the veiled woman lightly parted her red lips and said, "Please wait a moment, esteemed guest."

She turned around, opened a drawer, and spread out a map in front of Qi Yuan.

"Is this map to your satisfaction, esteemed guest?" the veiled woman asked softly.

Qi Yuan was slightly stunned. Who did business like this?

In this martial world, martial artists had photographic memories.

Once they glanced at the map, it would lose its value.

Nevertheless, Qi Yuan took a quick look, and a puzzled expression appeared in his eyes. "Does this map definitely include all the countries surrounding the Ancient Ji Chun Tree?"

"Yes," the veiled woman nodded affirmatively.

"Why isn't the Moon Emperor Kingdom or July Town included?" Qi Yuan asked.

The veiled woman hesitated upon hearing this. "I've never heard of the Moon Emperor Kingdom or July Town."

Qi Yuan was taken aback.

Could this person be lying to him?

Or had Jing Li deceived him?

Or had he remembered it wrong?

"However, I have heard of the Moon Emperor Clan. I'm not sure if it's the one you're looking for."

"The Moon Emperor?" Qi Yuan muttered.

Although the Moon Emperor Clan and the Moon Emperor Kingdom differed by only one word, the gap between them was significant.

Even if the Moon Emperor Clan established a kingdom, it would still be the Moon Emperor Imperial Kingdom.

"The Moon Emperor Clan has twelve lakes, namely First Moon Lake, Second Moon Lake, Third Moon Lake... Each lake has a branch of the Moon Emperor Clan living on its shores.

I'm not sure if this is related to the July Town you mentioned."

"Where is it?" Qi Yuan asked hurriedly.

If it was just one coincidence, he could let it go, but two consecutive coincidences indicated a problem.

The veiled woman hesitated.

"You can just speak freely," Qi Yuan said.

Seeing this, the veiled woman said, "The Moon Emperor Clan refuses to follow the Hundred Cities Decree and is currently at war with the Hundred Cities Alliance. Going there now might be dangerous and could implicate innocent people.

The Hundred Cities Decree is also known as the Filial Piety Decree.

The Hundred Cities Alliance requires the Moon Emperor Clan to follow filial piety. Anyone who rebels against their elders will be executed!"

"Where is it located?" Qi Yuan asked.

"It's here," the veiled woman said as she marked the location of the Moon Emperor Clan on the map. "Seventh Moon Lake is here, just a few miles away from the main trunk of the Ancient Ji Chun Tree."

"Thank you for the information," Qi Yuan said sincerely. "I don't have enough gold or silver on me, but since I see that you're an Imperial Rank martial artist, I'll give you this martial technique. By cultivating this technique, you may have a chance to break through to the Sovereign Overlord realm."

As he spoke, Qi Yuan casually took out a piece of paper from the shop and, with nimble movements, wrote down a martial technique in just over ten breaths.

This technique was a regular one from the memories of a Divine Realm expert.

It happened to be suitable for the veiled woman before him.

Moreover, since she had shown him kindness, he wanted to repay the favor.

The veiled woman took the technique and examined it closely. "This... this..."

Her face lit up with excitement.

The technique's level was extremely high and very suitable for her. If she cultivated it, it wouldn't be long before she became a Sovereign Overlord.

She wanted to express her gratitude, but the person who gave her the technique had already disappeared without a trace.

"Senior?" She wanted to say something but ultimately held back.

About ten breaths later, an elderly woman emerged from the shop, lifting the curtain.

Her face was full of wrinkles, and she said, "Lian, did you find out that person's background?"

The veiled woman's eyebrows furrowed. "His strength is at least that of a Sovereign Overlord, maybe even..."

"The Divine Realm?" The elderly woman's eyebrows knitted together.

"If it's the Divine Realm, then he must have come from the Forbidden Zone," the veiled woman said excitedly.

"Or perhaps not," the elderly woman said. "He could be bait set by the Hundred Cities Alliance."

Hearing this, the veiled woman's expression fell. "We haven't had contact with the Forbidden Zone for nearly a thousand years.

The Black Robe Watchmen's influence is growing stronger.

Can we really win?"

"Our purpose for existing tomorrow is to eradicate the Black Robe Watchmen and restore a clear and just world!

Don't worry, Lian. The Black Robe Watchmen act against the Heavenly Dao and will surely face heavenly retribution!" The elderly woman's eyes flashed with murderous intent.

Her son, her daughter, and her husband had all died at the hands of the Black Robe Watchmen.

She was at odds with them.

"Hmm," the veiled woman responded, nodding silently.

"Lian, close the shop. Let's go to the Moon Emperor Clan," the elderly woman said, having made up her mind.

"Okay."

"This way, we can also use the Hundred Cities Alliance and the Moon Emperor Clan to see if that faceless person is an adult from the Forbidden Zone or just bait set by the Black Robe Watchmen," the elderly woman said in a low voice.

...

The moon rose above the treetops.

The lake shimmered with ripples, and Jing Li sat on a green stone by the lakeshore.

She occasionally looked up, her eyes filled with disappointment, but then she became hopeful again.

Aunt Qin stood not far away, observing Jing Li's behavior, and she heaved a sigh, though it was unclear what she was sighing about.

At that moment, a voice sounded in Aunt Qin's ear, "Aunt Qin, it's been a long time."

Hearing the clear and pleasant voice, Aunt Qin's body stiffened.

"It's you? The High Priestess!"

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end