After Lin Xuanji left, Su Zimo took out the map and compared against it carefully.
A moment later, he discovered to his shock that his current location was less than five kilometers away from the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty!
The Minor Transference Talisman that was used in the primordial ruin had actually teleported them nearby the Great Zhou’s capital!
After the battle at Dongling Valley, Su Zimo’s rampant escape had brought him a long way away from Ethereal Peak.
Without any other means, given his cultivation realm, if he were to leave from this place, it would take him several months to reach back to Ethereal Peak even if he were to rush day and night without any rest or sleep.
Worried about the safety of everyone from Ethereal Peak, Su Zimo pondered for a moment and decided to check out the capital first and see if he could find out any news.
Putting away the map, he soared into the skies on his flying sword with Night Spirit and sped in the direction of the capital.
An hour later, at the border between the sky and the ground ahead, a towering black walled city came into view.
The city wall extended from the ground left and right, but there was no end to it!
One could feel the grandeur of the city merely by looking from afar!
It was as if a primordial divine dragon was lying on the horizon.
“That’s the Great Zhou’s capital?”
The closer he approached the city, the more he could feel its magnificence.
Compared to the city before him, the Yan Country’s capital was like a mansion in a real city – it was a world of a difference.
At a close distance, one could clearly see signs of the surface of the city walls being weathered by the elements. While it was old and mottled, the city stood upright and indestructible over countless years!
That was because this was the core of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
The Emperor’s territory, the capital of the dynasty!
There were three tall city gates in the direction of Su Zimo’s city wall where many guards of the capital stood on both sides. The traffic was endless and more than half of them were cultivators!
“Hey, that cultivator up there! Anyone that’s beneath Golden Core is forbidden from flying in the capital. Come down quickly!”
Right then, a shout from the city gate interrupted Su Zimo’s thoughts.
Unknowingly, he had already arrived at the city gate of the capital on his flying sword and the guard below was referring to him.
Even a vassal state like Yan Country had various rules in its capital, let alone this majestic city that was the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty!
Putting away his flying sword, Su Zimo descended in front of the city gate and headed into the capital with the crowd.
He looked around carefully and noticed that the guards would collect ten spirit stones as entrance fee each time they encountered cultivators.
Qi Refinement Warriors paid ten inferior-grade spirit stones while Foundation Establishment Cultivators paid ten middle-grade spirit stones.
As for Golden Cores, they could enter directly.
Su Zimo was not bothered by the rules and did not want any trouble, so he handed ten middle-grade spirit stones casually to a guard.
One of the guards could tell that it was Su Zimo’s first time in the capital and reminded him out of kindness that there were many rules in the capital and he should watch out for them.
If he broke any, he could be kicked out of the capital for minor offenses. As for major offenses, he could be dealt with severely!
Expressing his thanks, Su Zimo entered the capital.
Upon entering, he nodded silently.
The spirit qi in the capital was clearly thicker than outside.
There should be an array formation master who set up a massive Spirit Gathering Formation in and out of the Great Zhou’s capital to achieve such an effect.
Su Zimo walked through the long street paved with bluestone and fell into deep thought.
Even Golden Cores would not be able to attain true inedia and had to eat.
Only Nascent Souls would possess supreme Dharmic powers and were able to consume rain dews and absorb the essences of the universe. Nourishing their bodies with the qi of day and night, they could attain inedia.
Therefore, the best place to obtain information in the Great Zhou’s capital was a restaurant.
Raising his head, Su Zimo caught sight of a two storied restaurant not far away on his left.
Noon had yet to arrive but there were already plenty of customers within, mostly cultivators.
Entering the restaurant, Su Zimo did not head up to the private rooms on the second floor. Instead, he looked for a seat nearby the windows on the first floor and sat down, casually ordering some food.
Before long, more people gathered on the first floor.
Many cultivators were gathered in small groups as they discussed the recent happenings of the cultivation world.
Su Zimo listened in while sipping his drink in no hurry.
A long time later, someone in the crowd suddenly remarked, “There’s two more years till the sect competition. I think Ethereal Peak is doomed this time round.”
“That’s right. Because of such a huge change in Ethereal Peak, there will be plenty of empty spots on the four ranking lists. Let’s see who’s able to clinch the top seat this time round.”
“Yes, I think many sects and cultivators have their sights set on the primordial ruin and are thinking of finding some treasure there. By that time, they will definitely shine in the sect competition.”
Just as everyone was discussing, a green-robed cultivator popped out of nowhere and asked suddenly, “I heard that many Foundation Establishment Cultivators of Ethereal Peak were killed at Dongling Valley. What happened thereafter? How many disciples of Ethereal Peak managed to escape?”
Everyone turned to look at Su Zimo with weird gazes.
He gave an embarrassed smile. “I’ve been out adventuring for a long time and have just returned. This is the first time I’m hearing of this.”
“Oh.”
The cultivators nodded in realization.
Someone said, “That massacre was a huge blow for Ethereal Peak! From what I know, only a dozen or so out of the many Foundation Establishment disciples managed to escape. Of the three great legacy disciples, two of them died in that battle.”
Su Zimo felt slightly better that it wasn’t a complete annihilation.
However, he was still worried about little fatty and Leng Rou’s safety.
“What about the Golden Cores of Ethereal Peak? What happened to them?” Su Zimo pondered for a moment and asked.
“It’s even worse!”
A cultivator at the side shook his head and replied, “I heard that of Ethereal Peak’s five Golden Cores, only one managed to escape and he was seriously injured. No one knows if he’s dead or alive.”
Su Zimo sighed internally.
As they had mentioned, the blow for Ethereal Peak was huge!
Almost all of their top Foundation Establishment Cultivators had perished in Dongling Valley.
Only, he did not know whether Peak Master Wen Xuan or Elder Yu was the Golden Core who had escaped.
Right then, another cultivator added, “I heard news that initially, none of the Ethereal Peak disciples could escape at all. However, a change happened to the situation. In order to save his sect mates, one of the disciples decided to sacrifice himself and lure away more than half of the enemies…”
“Yes, I’ve heard about that as well. It’s truly a pity that someone like that is dead,” Another person shook his head with a regrettable expression.
Su Zimo realized that the disciple of Ethereal Peak they were talking about should be referring to him. However, what they knew was far from the actual truth.
“Actually, that person might not be dead, right?” Su Zimo continued casually.
“Heh!”
Someone scoffed coldly, “He was being hunted down by a few Golden Cores and countless Foundation Establishment Cultivators. How could he have survived?”
Another cultivator chimed in, “If he’s not dead, I’ll pluck my head off right now and let you guys kick it around like a ball…”
