Chapter 111

Chapter 111: Origin of the Empty City

Yun Xi’s words immediately caught everyone’s attention. All of them lowered their eyes and fell into thought.

Zhou Lang Chen turned to his junior brother and asked, “Junior Brother Bai, do you remember the exact time you sent the distress message?”

Junior Brother Bai was the Famed Sword Sect disciple who had explained what happened. He thought for a moment, then answered, “It was during the Zi hour (11 p.m. to 1 a.m.). That was when the empty city was being crushed. I thought the space might be chaotic enough to create an opening, so I used my identity jade token and sent three distress messages. I didn’t expect one of them would actually get through.”

Zhou Lang Chen nodded. That also explained why his own identity jade token showed the message’s location as the City Lord’s Residence.

Zi Jing lifted a hand and smoothed her hair, then said, “After Fellow Cultivator Bai successfully sent the distress message, we also tried searching for a way out at that hour, but we still found nothing.”

They were all cultivators. The flaws Zhou Lang Chen could see were flaws they had noticed too.

Yun Xi cleared her throat again and said, “What I mean is a specific day. Do you remember? Before we were sent here, the cultivators and shopkeepers in the city all said that in two days, the City Lord’s successor, Master Li Cang Yuan, would hold a bonding ceremony.”

After hearing Yun Xi, the trapped cultivators thought for a while, and then some responded.

“We didn’t hear about it before we were sent here,” some said.

Others replied, “I did hear about it, but I was in a hurry and didn’t plan to go watch.”

“I heard about it too,” someone else said. “I even went to ask around, but I couldn’t find out who Master Li’s partner was. I felt something was off, so I decided to leave early. I even warned the people who were planning to go watch, telling them to be careful. A bonding ceremony is a huge event, yet no one even knew the partner’s name. That didn’t make sense. Now it seems I was sent here because I opened my mouth and gave that warning.”

Low murmurs spread among the cultivators as they compared notes and confirmed each other’s memories.

Zi Jing looked at the little girl in front of her with fresh respect. She hadn’t expected Yun Xi to be so sharp. Her beautiful eyes shifted as she said, “So Li Cang Yuan plans to use his bonding ceremony to stir up trouble.”

That was the only thing Yun Xi could think of. Otherwise, why go to such lengths to keep them trapped here? She nodded and spread her hands. “Probably. But we don’t know much about Master Li. We really have no idea what he wants to do.”

Mu Ning Zhu rubbed her forehead, feeling the situation was getting out of hand. If she had known, she would never have taken the flying ship to Twin Mountain City.

Qin Tong Shuang’s expression also changed again and again, her brows knitted tight. This was not something they could solve, and her cultivation was still far too low.

Zhang Yan, who had been quiet, started rummaging through his storage pouch as if searching for something important.

Zhou Lang Chen said loudly, “Fellow Cultivators, we’re all trapped here together. We’re in the same boat. If we want to escape, we have to work together and pool our ideas, or none of us will leave this place.”

He continued, “Everyone think carefully. Maybe we missed a clue that can help us find a way out.”

After Zhou Lang Chen spoke, everyone racked their brains and tried to recall what happened when they entered Twin Mountain City.

Zhang Yan found what he was looking for: a booklet bound in animal hide. He handed it to Mu Ning Zhu first and said, “Senior Sister Mu, this is a collection of odd notes I bought. It has some records about the two ascended cultivators of Twin Mountain City. Maybe it contains a clue.”

Mu Ning Zhu flipped to the page Zhang Yan mentioned and read carefully, then handed the booklet to Yun Xi.

With a sweep of her spiritual sense, Yun Xi absorbed the contents at once, then passed it to Qin Tong Shuang.

Since it was only one page, Qin Tong Shuang read quickly and passed it to Zhou Lang Chen.

After Zhou Lang Chen finished, Zuo Die Er and Ming Ya also leaned in to read. In the end, the booklet made a full round and returned to Zhang Yan’s hands.

Only then did Zhou Lang Chen speak. “From these records, it’s not hard to guess that this empty city, which is identical to Twin Mountain City, is a space jointly opened by two Soul Transformation cultivators. It’s like a reflection of the real Twin Mountain City.”

Mu Ning Zhu continued, “The two Soul Transformation cultivators of Twin Mountain City cultivated a special technique that let them transfer cultivation to each other. When they did this, both of them were in an extremely fragile state and couldn’t be disturbed even a little.”

“So they opened this safest place together and used it as their cultivation ground,” Mu Ning Zhu said.

Yun Xi nodded as well. “Right. There’s no place safer than this. Even if someone sensed spiritual power fluctuations, they would only search in the real Twin Mountain City. They would never imagine a space like this exists.”

Zuo Die Er frowned. “Even if we know where this empty city came from, what good is it? We still haven’t found any clue about the exit!”

Ming Ya immediately softened her voice to smooth things over. “Senior Sister Zuo, don’t rush. If the two great experts could come here to cultivate, then there must be a way out. Otherwise, how would they leave?”

That calmed Zuo Die Er a little, but her eyes turned and she blurted out, “Soul Transformation cultivators can tear space apart. Of course they can leave easily. We don’t even have a Golden Core cultivator here. How are we supposed to tear space and get out?”

Yun Xi admitted Zuo Die Er was right, but did she have to say it so bluntly? That was like pouring cold water on their own heads. Some cultivators’ expressions had already changed.

Yun Xi said helplessly, “Fellow Cultivator Zuo is right, but you’re forgetting something. The City Lord of Twin Mountain City only has Nascent Soul Stage cultivation. He can’t tear space either. And the way they sent us in here relied on a formation, which means there has to be a way out.”

Yun Xi’s words steadied everyone. With Ming Ya’s reminder, Zuo Die Er also realized she had spoken too bluntly. She forced an awkward smile and shut up.

“So Fellow Cultivator Wei means what we need to find is a hidden formation inside the City Lord’s Residence?” someone asked.

“Yes.” Yun Xi admitted openly. “The only thing I can think of is a formation. But I haven’t cultivated for long, and I don’t know much about formations.”

Zhou Lang Chen thought for a moment and said, “In that case, during tonight’s Zi hour, when the two spaces overlap, we’ll search the City Lord’s Residence carefully again. If a teleportation formation exists, there’s a good chance it will show itself at that time.”

This time, no one objected. All the cultivators were then assigned to different areas, each responsible for a specific section. That way it would be less chaotic and less likely to miss clues.

At the Zi hour that night, the empty city was crushed again, and the City Lord’s Residence trembled once. Every cultivator released their spiritual sense and searched the areas they had been assigned.

Yun Xi quietly released her Nascent Soul Stage spiritual sense. What she watched was the entire City Lord’s Residence. At the instant the space finished crushing down, she saw someone use a message talisman, and that person’s message talisman left this space through some kind of node.

Yun Xi’s bright almond eyes widened. She never expected a spy to be hiding among a group of victims.