Chapter 53 Foreign Land

  "I don't even know where I've come to." Fang Li rubbed his temples and looked up, only to find himself on a stone-paved official road, with weeds swaying in the wind on both sides, rustling softly.

  "Hah!" Fang Li let out a deep breath and shook his head, emitting a laugh that was both self-mocking and reluctant.

  Across millions of miles, a fellow villager by chance...

  Qing'an City is also somewhat famous in the Great Gan State, with rich local products and a constant stream of merchants coming and going. Moreover, there are some young sword-carrying knights who come and go, adding to its colorfulness.

  Fang Li walked along the official road, all the way to the city gate, and saw that above the city gate, in seal script, were written three large characters: "Qing An City". He couldn't help but feel a slight sense of relief. It seemed he was still within the borders of Zhongzhou, at least these characters he recognized, and wasn't afraid of being unable to communicate.

  "Halt! If you want to enter the city, show your pass." The four armored guards at the city gate suddenly raised their long spears and blocked Fang Li's way.

  "What's this 'road lead'?" Fang Li furrowed his brow, unsure what it was.

  Seeing the expression on his face, the four guards' eyes lit up at once, and they smiled: "You must be from out of town, we have a rule in Qing'an City that you need to have a road guide issued by the prefecture government of various places in Daqian Country to enter. If not... then you need to pay an entrance tax of 50 taels of silver."

  Fang Li didn't say a word, took out 50 taels of silver from his bosom and threw them to the guards, then quietly walked into the city.

  Jian Fangli had already walked far away, and the four guards suddenly burst out laughing loudly.

  "Oh my, Old Liu, a 50 taels of silver entrance tax? You actually dared to ask for it, this is 50 times the original entrance tax! The most ridiculous thing is that the little brat didn't even say a word and actually paid it, I almost popped my eyes out!"

  "Just by looking at that kid, I can tell it's his first time coming to Qing'an City. Of course, the entrance tax will have to be a bit more." The guard collecting the money burst out laughing, and couldn't help but feel pleased with himself.

  "Aren't you afraid he won't be able to pay?"

  "If you can't afford it, then get out. You can't enter the city without money. Besides, that kid won't be poor either. Don't look at his shabby clothes, but the sword in his hand is a genuine Xuan Tie steel, which is very valuable. Now I'm starting to regret whether this entry tax should have been lower."

  "Could it be a cultivator? It's said that in a few more days, the Xuan Yang Sword Sect will open its mountain gate and many young geniuses will go to try their luck, to see if they can be accepted as disciples. If that's really the case..." The speaking guard's face flashed with a hint of worry.

  "Don't worry, there's no true energy fluctuation on that kid's body. If he were a cultivator, I wouldn't dare to stop him either?"

  "You little scamp, your eyes are really poisonous"

  The four of them burst out laughing again.

  Qing'an City has been quite lively these past few days. The Xuan Yang Sword Sect is about to open its mountain gates, and the local cultivator families are eagerly awaiting it. Many out-of-town cultivators have also rushed over, and on the streets, one can see all sorts of young cultivators everywhere.

  "I didn't think the atmosphere of cultivating immortality in Qing'an City was so prosperous, with geniuses everywhere." Fang Li couldn't help but frown, feeling a bit surprised that many cultivators around his age had reached the fifth level of Qi Refining. What's more, he found that some of them were even at the sixth level of Qi Refining, which shocked him. Putting all these young cultivators in one city was indeed visually shocking.

  But he was wrong, these people were not all monks from Qing'an City, but rather gathered from all over the world.

  "Shopkeeper, do you have maps for sale?"

  Fang Li came to a grocery store and saw that all the goods sold inside were related to monks, and he couldn't help but ask.

  "We have detailed maps of Qing'an City and the map of Daqian Country, which one would you like to buy?" The shopkeeper was a man in his fifties wearing a green robe, who immediately put on a smile when he saw the customer come in.

  Fang Li furrowed his brow and suddenly asked, "Do you have a map of Zhongzhou?" To be honest, he had never heard of the Great Gan State before, so naturally, he didn't know how far it was from the Great Qi State. If there was a map of the entire Zhongzhou, maybe he could still find some hope to return.

  He heard Fang Li's words, the shopkeeper suddenly changed his expression and said displeased: "Young master is intentionally looking for trouble, isn't he? The territory of Zhongzhou is so vast, with thousands of large and small countries, who can create a complete map? Even if it really exists, it's not something our small shop can sell."

  Seeing the shopkeeper's appearance, Fang Li shook his head helplessly. It seemed that it would be really difficult to return in a short period of time. However, Fang Li still held a glimmer of hope in his heart and asked persistently: "Shopkeeper, have you ever heard of the Great Qi State?"

  "I've never heard of it," the shopkeeper shook his head, but his face finally looked a bit better. He continued, "You young people always like to run outside for no reason, thinking that there are more opportunities outside. If you really have good fortune, why not try to join the Xuanyang Sword Sect? The Xuanyang Sword Sect is a great sect, no worse than others. If you can cultivate to the Yuan Ying stage, you'll be able to fly freely and roam the sky, going wherever you want, touring the entire Middle State, isn't that wonderful?"

  Fang Li was taken aback, seemingly lost in thought. The Yuan Ying period? It seemed too far-fetched, and besides, joining a sect wasn't that simple. Fang Li shook his head, thanked the shopkeeper, and turned to leave.

  With a heart full of disappointment, Fang Li dazedly entered a small shop, ordered a pot of wine and started drinking alone. A question kept swirling in his mind: What to do next?

  Now he only felt a blackness in front of his eyes, unable to find any direction. The hatred for Taishang Laozu was still unavenged, his mother and sister were still in the Great Qi Kingdom, but he himself couldn't find a way back, and it was even possible that he would never be able to return... Hundreds of millions of miles, this was an insurmountable chasm for Fang Li at present. Unless, as the shopkeeper had said, he could break through to the Yuan Ying period.

  "Reached the Yuan Infant Stage? Haha." Fang Li self-deprecatingly smiled. There are countless cultivators in the world, but how many geniuses can truly reach the Yuan Infant Stage? One in a million? One in ten million? Or perhaps one in a hundred million? It's possible that even when his lifespan has ended, he still won't be able to break through.

  Take a step back, even if one really breaks through, can their mother and sister wait? Even if they reach the mid-stage of foundation building, it's likely that the old man with the long eyebrows won't be able to wait. Perhaps by the time they return to Daqi Country to seek revenge, all they'll face is a handful of yellow earth.

  It's probably understood that way. Fang Li smiled wryly and suddenly burst into tears, it turned out he was drunk.

  Fang Li's actions scared the shopkeeper so much that he couldn't help but shout: "Young master, young master, are you okay?"

  Seeing him unresponsive, the shopkeeper wanted to go forward and support him, but was pushed away by the drunk Fang Li, almost flying out.

  The shopkeeper fell to the ground, instantly letting out a cry of "aiyou", and also felt a surge of anger in his heart. However, knowing he was no match for Fang Li, the shopkeeper didn't dare approach him rashly, but instead shouted loudly towards the upstairs: "Old lady boss, missus, quickly come down, someone is making trouble in our store!"

  As the shopkeeper's voice fell, a beautiful figure floated down and shouted: "Who dares to be wild on my turf!"