Chapter 531: Miracle: Eye of Truth
At the edge of the plain, a magnificent, ethereal city shimmered before Feng Qi and the Lord of the Mist.
Lantern Jellyfish swayed in the wind, illuminating the city with a soft, ethereal glow.
Ahead lay a bustling cityscape.
A jade-paved street stretched forward, radiating a gentle jade-colored radiance. The buildings lining the street resembled ancient Chinese architecture, with red brick walls, green-tiled roofs, and ornate pavilions with upturned eaves. The city flickered between reality and illusion, lending it an air of mystery and poetic beauty.
What struck Feng Qi as odd was the complete absence of living beings within the city.
Beneath its vibrant facade, it felt like a ghost town.
“I don’t think we should go in,” the Lord of the Mist warned solemnly. “This city is too eerie.”
“We’ll retreat immediately if anything goes wrong. Let’s take a look inside first.”
Gathering intelligence remained a crucial objective for Feng Qi. This illusory city might hold the key to what he sought.
Without hesitation, he stepped onto the phantom jade steps leading into the city.
The Lord of the Mist sighed in exasperation, muttering under his breath about “reckless fools,” but followed Feng Qi onto the jade steps nonetheless.
In an instant, the world before them shimmered.
It was as if a transparent film had been torn away, instantly transforming the illusory scene into reality. Countless figures materialized before their eyes, jade stone streets lined with bustling stalls, and a cacophony of noise erupted from thin air.
Compared to the desolate, empty city they had just witnessed, this illusory city had suddenly become vibrant and alive.
“What’s going on?”
If I’m not mistaken, the illusory city you saw earlier was merely a set of spatial coordinates—like a spatial teleportation array. When you stepped onto the jade stone steps, you actually entered the array and were transported to this real city.
Feng Qi nodded in understanding after hearing the Narrator’s explanation.
He then noticed that his qi blood was slowly draining away. A faint, almost invisible stream of qi blood seeped from his bones, merging into the jade stone street beneath his feet.
“Something’s wrong here,” the Lord of the Mist said cautiously. “My qi blood is draining uncontrollably!”
“Don’t panic,” Feng Qi replied immediately. “Let’s observe further before deciding whether to retreat or stay.”
Scanning the crowd ahead, Feng Qi observed a diverse array of domain races mingling in the streets.
There were humanoid domain creatures three meters tall with rhinoceros-like heads, as well as others less than a meter tall dressed in ornate robes, and many more resembling extraterrestrial beings.
Remarkably, all these diverse groups coexisted peacefully within the city, without any conflicts.
Just as Feng Qi was marveling at the scene before him, lines of text materialized in his vision.
At first, he couldn’t understand the symbols.
But as the characters twisted and shifted, they gradually transformed into Chinese characters he could comprehend.
The Lord of the Mist experienced the same phenomenon, witnessing distorted symbols that eventually resolved into Mist Clan script he could read.
The text read:
Shadow City: City Rules
1. No combat is permitted within the city. Violators will be executed!
2. For every 76 seconds spent in the city, a portion of your qi blood value will be deducted as a stay fee, until death!
3. All transactions within the city are free and open. Shadow City provides comprehensive automatic translation services for all languages and scripts.
4. Destructive abilities are strictly prohibited. Violators who damage city infrastructure will be executed!
5. All travelers will be expelled from the city in 49 hours. Future invitations will be sent to travelers via randomly projected spatial coordinates.
6. Plundering or stealing resources from others is strictly prohibited. Violators will be executed!
Through the written introduction, Feng Qi learned that the city was called Shadow City.
Its exact origins remained unclear, but it appeared to be a trading hub where various races exchanged resources and goods. The city’s strict prohibition against killing suggested the backing of a powerful force.
After all, no one would obey rules set by the weak.
This unique city intrigued Feng Qi. He sensed it might be a place to gather crucial intelligence about the future world.
His initial hesitation about leaving vanished instantly.
At that moment, the Narrator’s voice echoed in his mind:
This is a goldmine! Gather intelligence quickly. There must be domain races from all over the world here—they’re bound to know a lot about the future world.
“I think we should leave,” the Lord of the Mist beside him said, pointing to a dying figure slumped against a corner of the street. The figure’s eyes were dull and lifeless, his body reduced to skin and bones, clearly drained of qi blood. Even if he wanted to leave now, he lacked the strength to move. “If we stay too long, we might end up like him—drained dry without even realizing how we died, like frogs in slowly boiling water.”
“Just a little blood, what’s the big deal? Let’s keep looking.”
Ignoring the overly cautious Lord of the Mist, Feng Qi continued down the jade stone path into the depths of the street.
The streets were lined with stalls displaying a bizarre array of resources and items.
There were purple spirit materials resembling coral, body parts and organs from domain creatures, and top-grade spirit minerals and spirit stones. The air was thick with the scent of medicinal herbs and a complex mix of other aromas. Under the glow of the Lantern Jellyfish, the surfaces of the goods displayed on both sides of the street shimmered with a faint, ethereal light.
“A’Bai, do you think they might be selling miracle items here?”
You’re dreaming. What race would be foolish enough to sell a miracle item? The value of resources can’t even compare to a miracle item. Owning a miracle item is like possessing a nuclear weapon—it provides immense deterrence against external threats and significantly boosts internal development. Trading a nuclear weapon for a pocketknife? Only someone who’s had their brain kicked by Suction Cup would do that.
If a miracle item were truly offered for trade, I guarantee the first to seize it would be the Shadow City’s mastermind. After all, integrity is worthless in the face of a miracle item. Trading integrity for a miracle item is a guaranteed profit.
Hearing the Narrator’s explanation, Feng Qi felt a pang of shame.
He had personally experienced the miraculous powers of these items; every miracle item he had encountered thus far possessed abilities that defied comprehension.
If a miracle item were to appear, the Shadow City would likely crumble.
Top-tier factions from all sides would inevitably converge to seize it.
Moreover, they would completely disregard the Shadow City Lord’s rules, showing no mercy when the time came to strike.
Rules are made by the strong to restrain the weak.
Therefore, any domain creature selling a miracle item within the Shadow City is undoubtedly here to disrupt the peace. Sacrificing a miracle item to destroy the city is like inflicting a thousand wounds on the enemy while suffering ten thousand yourself.
Continuing down the street, Feng Qi showed great curiosity about the goods being traded along the way.
He stopped at a vendor’s stall, crouched down, and began carefully examining the items on display.
The stall owner was a humanoid male wearing a mask with a blue-faced, fanged demon design. When he saw Feng Qi squat down to examine the merchandise, he didn’t bother to greet him, clearly unconcerned about Feng Qi running off with anything. His attitude was indifferent.
Feng Qi held in his hand a vessel resembling a wine urn, carved with a mystic turtle swallowing the sky. The surface showed clear signs of age-related corrosion, its texture rough and its appearance unremarkable.
Yet Feng Qi could clearly sense the vessel slowly absorbing spiritual energy from its surroundings.
(End of the Chapter)