Chapter 823: Eighth Prince
Chapter 823: Eighth Prince
“Both of them contain holy veins of extremely high calibers, and they\'re referred to as the holy mountain and holy river of our realm. That\'s why the capital city was established here," Shi Chuankong said with a hint of pride in his voice.
"This does sound like the ideal location to establish the capital city. Is this also a city where cultivators and mortals coexist?" Han Li asked.
"That\'s right. The vast majority of the city\'s population actually consists of mortals and low-grade cultivators, and they reside in the outermost Laka Area. As for mid-grade cultivators at or above the Spatial Tempering Stage, they\'ll generally have their own cave abodes or clans, and most of them reside in the middle Maha Area. That\'s the most prosperous of the three areas, and it\'s home to countless shops, as well as the headquarters of our Vast Origin House.
“The innermost Naraka Area is reserved for nobility and cultivators at or above the True Immortal Stage. For all other residents of the city, entry to the area is strictly prohibited unless they hold a permit," Shi Chuankong explained.
"If we enter the city from here, we\'ll need to pass through both the Laka Area and the Maha Area before we reach the imperial city, and there are flight restrictions in the city, so we\'ll only be able to travel by carriage, and that would take too long. Hence, we should fly around to the northern side of the city, then enter from there," Shi Chuankong said.
This was Shi Chuankong\'s territory, so Han Li naturally raised no objections to his arrangements.
Thus, the two of them flew tight against the city wall, and it didn\'t take long before they reached a northern entrance of Night Sun City.
There were many entrances all around the city, and there had been a long line gathered in front of the southern entrance from before, but there were far fewer people at this northern entrance.
"There\'s a very stringent screening process for people entering and exiting the city, and each of the city gates has a Great Thousand Mirror Holy Array that can see through all disguises. Hence, you\'ll have to remove all disguises before you enter the city. Otherwise, you\'ll be seen as a spy," Shi Chuankong said as he made a hand seal, and a layer of black light flashed over his body as he reverted to his true appearance.
Han Li took a glance at the giant gray stone mirror hanging above the city gate, and sure enough, it was releasing bursts of gray light that shone down upon every single person entering the city.
He activated his Infernal Devilish Eyes and carefully observed the stone mirror for a moment, following which his brows furrowed slightly as a contemplative look appeared on his face.
Moments later, he made a hand seal, and a burst of bright azure light emerged over his body, while a string of cracks and pops rang out from all of his joints.
In the blink of an eye, he had also reverted back to his original appearance.
"So this is what you look like, Fellow Daoist Li. Rest assured, people from the True Immortal Realm aren\'t very welcome here, but you\'ll be fine when you\'re with me," Shi Chuankong assured as he made his way toward the city gate, followed closely by Han Li.
Two of the armored guards in front of the city gate immediately stepped forward, and one of them asked, "Who are you? This is the entrance to the imperial city!"
Meanwhile, the other guard\'s gaze fell upon Han Li, and a look of clear enmity instantly appeared in his eyes as he exclaimed, "You\'re an Immortal Realm cultivator!"
All of the other guards immediately turned to Han Li with clear animosity in their eyes upon hearing this, and some of them had even pointed their weapons straight at him.
Han Li\'s brows furrowed slightly, but he remained silent.
"He must be a spy from the Immortal Realm! Detain him!"
The one who had spoken was a brawny man with a coarse beard, and he was clad in a suit of dark purple armor as he approached Han Li in an intimidating fashion.
The nearby guards immediately flipped their hands over to produce lengths of thick purple chains that were etched with purple runes before surrounding Han Li and Shi Chuankong.
"What\'s going on over there?"
"There\'s an Immortal Realm cultivator, and Captain Luo Tie says that he\'s a spy."
"Really?"
All of the people near the city gate immediately gathered around to see what the source of the commotion was.
"Stand down! He\'s my subordinate!" Shi Chuankong yelled in an authoritative voice.
"Your subordinate? Who the hell are you supposed to be? Get out of the way or we\'ll detain you as well!" the brawny man by the name of Luo Tie scoffed in a cold voice.
"I am Shi Chuankong! How dare you speak to me with such blatant insolence?" Shi Chuankong yelled in a furious voice.
"Shi Chuankong? Isn\'t that the thirteenth prince\'s name? He\'s been away from Night Sun City for many years, could it be that he\'s suddenly come back?"
"Have you seen the thirteenth prince before? Are we sure this man isn\'t an imposter?"
"The thirteenth prince has barely made any public appearances in Night Sun City before, so I\'ve never seen him."
"You\'re the thirteenth prince? What a joke! The thirteenth prince left Night Sun City and the Holy Realm many years to carry out a secret mission for the Holy Monarch, and there\'s been no news of him ever since. If you claim to be the thirteenth prince, then how about you show me your Heaven Sealing Token as proof?" Luo Tie sneered.
"Who do you think you are to be asking for proof of identity from me?" Shi Chuankong snapped in a cold voice.
A Heaven Sealing Token was an identification token that was assigned to each prince by the Holy Monarch, and it was also a powerful devilish treasure that contained some of the Holy Monarch\'s power, able to protect its owner in times of peril.
Back in the Gray Realm, Shi Chuankong had been caught in the crossfire in a battle between two Dao Ancestors, and he was only able to survive thanks to the protection of his Heaven Sealing Token. After that, the Holy Monarch had used the power in the token to activate the Virata Lute and teleport him and Han Li back to the Devil Realm.
However, the Heaven Sealing Token had been overexerted to the point of destruction while activating the Virata Lute.
"So you don\'t have a Heaven Sealing Token? If you ask me, you\'re just an imposter! How dare you impersonate the thirteenth prince! Guards, detain both of these scoundrels!" Luo Tie yelled as he waved a hand through the air, and the purple chains in the hands of the armored guards immediately shot forth toward Han Li and Shi Chuankong.
A hint of surprise flashed through Han Li\'s eyes upon seeing this. He wasn\'t expecting these people to actually dare to attack Shi Chuankong.
"How dare you!" Shi Chuankong roared in a furious voice as he swept a sleeve through the air, and a giant purple hand appeared out of thin air, then grabbed onto the oncoming chains before tugging on them violently.
All of the chains were instantly snapped, and the armored guards were sent flying with blood gushing out of their mouths.
"You dare to attack the city guards? Are you trying to rebel?" Luo Tie roared as he thrust a palm forward, and a gust of fierce devilish wind swept out of his body, then transformed into a black wind dragon that pounced at Shi Chuankong.
Countless black runes were swirling around within the wind dragon, and it was giving off a glacial aura that caused the nearby space to twist and warp.
A look of intense righteous fury appeared in Shi Chuankong\'s eyes as he pointed a finger forward, and a beam of silver light shot out of his fingertip, instantly piercing straight through the black wind dragon\'s body.
The black wind dragon dissipated with a despairing wail, while the beam of silver light continued onward without pause, reaching Luo Tie in the blink of an eye.
Luo Tie\'s expression changed slightly upon seeing this, and he shot back in retreat while opening his mouth to release a burst of black light that clashed against the silver light.
A faint crack rang out, and the burst of black light was snapped into two. Inside was a black flying dagger, and it had also been snapped in half.
As for the beam of silver light, it wasn\'t even slowed down in the slightest, and it was on the verge of piercing through Luo Tie\'s head.
As a prince, he had never endured such humiliation in Night Sun City, let alone at the hands of a mere captain, and there were many people in the city observing the unfolding events both openly and in secret, so if he didn\'t stand up for himself, not only would he be denounced a coward, the third prince would also be made a laughing stock by extension.
Right at this moment, a streak of golden light shot forth, and it wrapped itself around the beam of silver light in a flash, causing it to explode on the spot.
"Long time no see, Chuankong! You\'ve been gone for a very long time, and I\'ve been very worried about you. Now that you\'re back safe and sound, I can finally heave a sigh of relief."
A tall and imposing purple-robed figure emerged from the city gate.
This man was even taller and more muscular than Luo Tie, and his skin was golden in color, giving him the appearance of a golden statue.
Shi Chuankong\'s expression darkened slightly at the sight of the purple-robed man, and he offered no response.
"It\'s the eighth prince!"
"So that really is the thirteenth prince!"
"I knew he looked familiar!"
All of the nearby bystanders were looking at Shi Chuankong with stunned expressions.
At the same time, many of them had also turned to look at Luo Tie with a hint of sympathy intermingled with schadenfreude in their eyes.
"What\'s gotten you so worked up, Chuankong? You were going to kill Luo Tie if I hadn\'t intervened," the purple-robed man said.
"He openly disrespected a prince and ordered to have me detained. Should he not be killed for these transgressions?" Shi Chuankong asked in a cold voice.
Han Li had overheard from the bystanders that the purple-robed man was the eighth prince, and his brows furrowed ever so slightly.
On the way to Night Sun City, Shi Chuankong had already briefed Han Li on his relationship with his siblings, so Han Li knew that the eighth prince was allied with the eldest prince.