Marrying Wives and Attaining Immortality in a Chaotic World

Chapter 132: Clan

Just as the three of them were leaving the Laifu Inn, they ran into Zhou Xin.

“Brother Zhou, what happened to you…”

Xu Lian could hardly recognize him. The once dashing young man now looked pale, with sunken eyes and a gaunt figure.

Xiao Xixi was also shocked. “He has only been with the Ghost Bride for a few days. How did he end up like this?”

Jiang Xianyu explained, “In the past, there were people who were chosen by the Ghost Bride and managed to return alive, but they also ended up like this. It seems that the Ghost Bride can devour a person’s essence, energy, and spirit.”

She took out a bottle of pills and handed it to Xu Lian. “Husband, give this bottle of foundation-strengthening pills to Young Master Zhou.”

Although the pills were meant for Zhou Xin, Xu Lian didn’t feel uncomfortable. The young lady from a prominent family had a graceful way of handling things. Instead of giving the pills directly to Zhou Xin, she handed them to Xu Lian first, letting him pass them on. This subtle gesture clearly indicated the closeness of their relationship.

Xu Lian took the bottle and pressed it into Zhou Xin’s hand. “Take care, Young Master Zhou.”

Zhou Xin looked numb, his eyes empty. He mumbled a faint “thank you”, took the pills, and staggered into the Laifu Inn.

Xiao Xixi frowned as she watched him. “Is he going to be alright?”

Jiang Xianyu replied, “He should be fine. He knows that he’s very weak right now and that it’s difficult to survive in Yanfu County City. The fact that he came to the Laifu Inn to take refuge and recover shows that his mind is still clear”.

Xu Lian smiled and looked at Jiang Xianyu. “Xianyu, you are truly wise. No wonder you’re the leader of the merchant caravan.”

Jiang Xianyu said, “For the past three years, I’ve been busy with the caravan. Although it slowed down my cultivation, I’ve definitely gained a lot of experience.”

The three of them didn’t linger. They mounted their horses and rode off to the altar in Yanfu County Town.

The journey from Yanfu County Town to Taizhou Prefecture City was too long and would require passing through countless dangerous areas. Traveling by horse was simply impossible, so they had no choice but to use the altar.

It’s worth noting that the journey from Pingyang County to Yanfu County City, which only passed through four dangerous areas, had already cost more than ten lives, with a mortality rate of over ten percent. If they were to travel from Yanfu County City to Taizhou Prefecture City, it was likely that they wouldn’t even make it halfway before everyone perished.

Therefore, for such long distances, the only option was to use the altar.

In fact, every city had an altar, but the cost was prohibitively expensive, making it unaffordable for most cultivators.

Depending on the distance of the teleportation, the minimum fee was thirty thousand spirit stones, with no upper limit… Who could afford that?

Xu Lian asked Jiang Xianyu, “On the way to Yanfu County City, I heard that even cultivators who can fly through the air don’t dare to fly freely. What exactly is so terrifying about the sky?”

Jiang Xianyu explained, “The sky is just like the ground-it is filled with many dangerous areas. Moreover, it’s widely believed that the dangers in the sky are far more terrifying than those on the ground. That’s why no one would dare to fly in the sky under normal circumstances.”

The more Xu Lian learned about this world, the more he felt his own insignificance. It was as if the entire world was shrouded in mist.

He recalled what the White Fox Quarry Patrol inspector had said – even she hadn’t fully understood this world. This thought comforted Xu Lian… at least, it was some consolation.

When they arrived at the altar, the place was desolate, overgrown with weeds. It was clear that no one had used it for a long time.

Jiang Xianyu dismounted and stepped onto the altar. She spoke into the air, “We wish to go to Taizhou Prefecture.”

Xu Lian and Xiao Xixi also dismounted and stepped onto the altar.

Xiao Xixi was curious. “How does this altar work?”

As a low-level rogue cultivator, she was unfamiliar with such “high-end” things.

“To use the altar, the minimum fee is thirty thousand Spirit Stones. Since there are three of us, the minimum cost is ninety thousand spirit stones,” Jiang Xianyu explained.

She took out ninety thousand spirit stones and placed them at her feet.

Then she continued to add more Spirit Stones on top of that. “On top of the ninety thousand, we will add more until the price is sufficient. Then the altar will be activated.”

Seeing her spend so many Spirit Stones at once, Xu Lian felt a bit embarrassed. “Let me handle this.”

Jiang Xianyu looked at him. “Husband, you and I are one now. There’s no need to be so polite to me.”

Xu Lian hesitated for a moment but didn’t insist.

Jiang Xianyu kept adding spirit stones until she reached one hundred and fifty thousand. Finally, the altar began to glow.

Out of the one hundred and fifty thousand spirit stones, fifty thousand turned into streams of light and merged into the altar, likely for its maintenance. The remaining one hundred thousand vanished without a trace, leaving Xu Lian puzzled.

Jiang Xianyu explained quietly, “The Laifu Inn, the underground market, and the altar in Yanfu County City all belong to Mian Pavilion. Fifty thousand Spirit Stones will be used to maintain the altar, while the other hundred thousand will be transferred to Mian Pavilion.”

Xu Lian was astonished. “In a chaotic place like Yanfu County, no one dares to damage these three places. It seems that Mian Pavilion’s influence is immense, enough to intimidate all the sects and demonic forces in Yanfu County?”

Jiang Xianyu nodded. “The Mian Pavilion in Yanfu County is very mysterious. They rarely show themselves and don’t participate in the competition for cultivation resources. Instead, they set up neutral places such as markets, inns, and altars all over the world, earning countless Spirit Stones in the process.”

Xu Lian couldn’t help but ask, “How does Mian Pavilion compare to the Yi Sect in Pingyang County?”

Jiang Xianyu replied, “Everyone in the Yi Sect joins through avatars, and their true identities are unknown. Their territories and branches are scattered all over the world. Both the Yi Sect and Mian Pavilion are renowned major powers, but it’s hard to compare them since neither has ever revealed their full strength. Who knows?”

The light from the altar reached its peak.

The three of them felt a sharp pain in their eyes and had to close their eyes.

After a moment, Xu Lian felt the world spinning around him, dizzy and disoriented. The light before his eyes disappeared, and he couldn’t help but open his eyes to see how teleportation worked.

What he saw made him exclaim, “Holy Shit!” His entire body turned cold, and his hair stood on end.

The space around them had twisted. He, Jiang Xianyu, and Xiao Xixi were no longer on the altar, but were traveling through a spatial tunnel. The surroundings looked like glass.

What was terrifying was that outside the spatial tunnel, a creature that was both human and non-human was clawing at the tunnel as if trying to dig its way in.

Xiao Xixi opened her eyes and was also frightened. She instinctively hid in Xu Lian’s arms. “What is this thing? Is it going to come in?”

“It won’t come in,” Jiang Xianyu assured them. “It is said that anyone who uses spatial teleportation will encounter this creature. It’s always outside the tunnel, clawing, but it has never managed to break through. There’s a legend that in ancient times, this creature was too ferocious, so some powerful figures joined forces and banished it outside of space. Ever since then, whenever someone uses spatial teleportation, it appears searching for a way back”.

Hearing that there was no danger, Xu Lian and Xiao Xixi both breathed a sigh of relief.

Xu Lian couldn’t help but marvel at how deep and mysterious this world was. What he knew so far might not even scratch the surface.

After a while, another bright light appeared.

The three of them felt a sharp pain in their eyes and had to close them.

When the light disappeared, they opened their eyes and saw an astonishing sight.

Before them stretched an enormous canyon, extending to the horizon with no end in sight.

The canyon was a thousand zhang deep, with a river flowing slowly at its bottom.

The color of the river water was strange – sometimes red, sometimes white, sometimes blue, sometimes black… ever changing, like a dreamlike river.

On both sides of the canyon, countless cave dwellings had been carved out, densely packed like a honeycomb, making one’s scalp tingle… Anyone with trypophobia would surely be overwhelmed.

Between the countless cave dwellings, numerous paths connected them, forming a labyrinth.

People came and went on these paths, and the traffic was busy, creating an incredibly lively scene.

“Is this the Taizhou Prefecture City?” Xiao Xixi exclaimed in surprise.

Xu Lian, like a curious child, had a different focus. He was more interested in the river at the bottom of the canyon. “Why is the river water of such a color?”

“Look at these bumpkins, so clueless. Haha!”

“Hurry up and get off the altar. Don’t hog it if you’re not using it!”…

Some people laughed, while others urged them to move.

Only then did Xu Lian and Xiao Xixi notice the crowd around them, waiting to use the altar.

The altar here was nothing like the desolate one in Yanfu County. It was quite crowded with users.

Thinking about it, it made sense. After all, this was Taizhou Prefecture City, where experts were as numerous as clouds, and there were naturally more people with the means to use the altar.

Xu Lian and Xiao Xixi quickly stepped down from the altar so as not to delay others and cause public anger.

“Young lady, you’re back?”

“This humble servant pays his respects to the young lady!”

A few people who were waiting in line to use the altar saw Jiang Xianyu and excitedly came over to greet her.

Jiang Xianyu nodded. “You all go about your business. I’ll go home on my own.”

The people replied “Yes” and returned to the line, seemingly needing to use the altar for something far away.

The crowd couldn’t help but look at Jiang Xianyu.

“Why did the Jiang family’s messenger call her ‘young lady’?”

“She seems to be Jiang Xianyu. A few years ago, I saw her from a distance. I heard that she went to the Ghost Child Ridge between Pingyang County and Yanfu County to find her destined partner. Did she succeed and return?”

“Is the young man beside her the one?”

“Yes. But the other woman also seems to be quite close to him. Could she be his sister?”

Good heavens… Xu Lian exclaimed inwardly. The people in the prefecture city were sharp-eyed. They had already guessed his origin so quickly. Of course, it was also because Jiang Xianyu was too famous in Taizhou Prefecture, attracting a lot of attention, which led to this.

Jiang Xianyu seemed to want to avoid attracting too much attention. She hired a carriage and hurriedly left with Xu Lian and Xiao Xixi.

Xu Lian noticed that in addition to carriages, there were also various vehicles drawn by exotic beasts on the street. There were even carriages pulled by ghosts… He felt a chill in his heart, wondering if they weren’t afraid that the ghosts might suddenly turn on them.

“Husband, you asked earlier why the river water in the canyon is this color.”

Jiang Xianyu paid close attention to Xu Lian, remembering every word and action, never overlooking anything he said.

Xu Lian replied, “I was just asking. If it’s not something I should know, then you don’t have to tell me.”

Jiang Xianyu said, “This isn’t some secret, but it’s a long story to explain.

In this world, no city appears for no reason. Most cities are built around cultivation resources.

For example, Pingyang County was built around the Spirit Tree, which emits spiritual energy to aid cultivation.

Similarly, Yanfu County exists because of the Nightbloom Flower.

The Taizhou Prefecture City is no different. The whole city was built over the canyon of this illusory river, because the river also emits spiritual energy that benefits cultivation.

However, the origin of the Illusory River is quite complex.

Its source is the Demon Sealing Cave.

In ancient times, the ancestors of the Thirteen Clans of Taizhou Prefecture sealed a great demon and his eight powerful subordinates in the Demon Sealing Cave.

Inside the cave, there is a grinding array that slowly erodes the great demon and his eight subordinates. The spiritual substances ground from them flow out, forming this Illusory River, and thus the Taizhou Prefecture City was established.”

She explained in great detail, allowing Xu Lian to understand more clearly.

Xu Lian was astonished. The spiritual substances ground from the demon and his subordinates had formed an entire Illusory River, sustaining the cultivation of all the cultivators in Taizhou Prefecture City? How powerful must that great demon and his eight subordinates have been? It was beyond his imagination. However, they were still sealed by the ancestors of the Thirteen Clans, which showed how powerful those ancestors must have been.

Xiao Xixi widened her eyes. “Miss Jiang, is your Jiang family one of the Thirteen Clans?”

Jiang Xianyu nodded. “Besides the Jiang clan, there are also the Ji, Yao, Gui, Si, Ying, and other clans.”

As she spoke, her expression dimmed slightly. “However, the Thirteen Clans have gradually declined. They no longer possess the glory of their ancestors and have become local powers in Taizhou Prefecture City. They no longer have the strength to extend their influence to other prefectures, and even their control over Taizhou Prefecture City has weakened as it has been infiltrated by various sects, demons, and other forces.”

The ancestors sealed demons and ascended to the pinnacle of the cultivation world, while their descendants gradually declined. Xu Lian couldn’t fully grasp this sense of contrast, as he came from a humble background… so humble that he lived in an old earthen house on the old street of Green Bamboo Town.

“A dying dragon is still stronger than a horse,” said Xiao Xixi. “No matter what, they’re still much stronger than some small and medium-sized families.”

Xu Lian held Jiang Xianyu and comforted her, “It’s alright. We young people will work hard. Even if we can’t become peerless experts and bring glory to our ancestors, at least we won’t bring shame to them.”

Jiang Xianyu said softly, “Husband, you should be mentally prepared. Even though the Thirteen Clans have declined, they still cling to the dream of being the top clans. They often act high and mighty, and the rules within the Jiang family are very strict. Some members of the Jiang family will definitely test you, and even members of other clans might cause you trouble.”

“…”Xu Lian frowned for a moment, then relaxed. With his current strength at the seventh stage of the Dark Strength Rank, he wasn’t afraid of the young geniuses from Taizhou Prefecture City. As for the older generation, they probably wouldn’t stoop so low as to bother him, right?

“Xianyu, don’t worry. For your sake, I’ll endure what I have to.”

“It’s not about enduring. The more assertive you are, the better,” Jiang Xianyu said.

Xu Lian understood. The Thirteen Clans still held themselves in high esteem and clung to their dreams of becoming one of the top clans. If he were too submissive, they would look down on him. Being more assertive would make it easier for him to be accepted by them.