Chapter 65: Welcome to the Misty Sea

Chapter 65: Chapter 65: Welcome to the Misty Sea

The two of them flew onward, passing over forests and cities, occasionally spotting a few cultivators below.

But what puzzled Ye Xuan was how Yi Xin had been able to recognize him, even though he was wearing a straw hat to mask his aura.

"Almost none of the cultivators I’ve met have recognized me. So how did you manage to recognize me so quickly?"

"We have an aura-binding technique. All I need is a trace of the qi aura you’ve left behind, and I can use it to detect where you are, even though that straw hat does a good job of hiding your aura from my eyes," Yi Xin answered.

"Unfortunately, it’s a technique from our cultivation school. I don’t even know whether people like you can use it or not."

Ye Xuan fell silent for a moment, then responded by clearing his throat and nodding.

He had no idea what the truth was, whether she was lying or telling the truth.

But judging by what she said and how she said it, her expression was firm and confident, not the kind of face a skilled liar usually wears.

Up ahead, Ye Xuan could see a mountain range with its peaks hidden in the clouds.

It lay directly in front of them, right past the wall of the Xiao Empire.

"Once we get past the imperial wall, we’ll be fully inside the Misty Sea Region."

Ye Xuan agreed, glancing back now and then at the landscape of the Xiao Empire, which he was leaving behind for the sake of his own safety.

Going to the demonic region was dangerous, maybe even more dangerous.

But at least he had no enemies there, and he wouldn’t be haunted constantly by the pressure of the big sects’ cultivators.

Yi Xin sped ahead, and Ye Xuan followed from behind.

He had left the Xiao Empire behind. Now he was fully inside the Misty Sea Region.

"There’s something I need to tell you," said Yi Xin, turning to look at him.

"When entering a city, every cultivator is forbidden to fly. If you get caught, your cultivation base will be stripped and you’ll be executed on the spot."

"So be careful!"

"I understand," Ye Xuan replied.

They kept flying, staying alert to their surroundings. Ye Xuan glanced down and saw villages inhabited by mortals.

But unlike the villages in the Xiao Empire, the people living in free regions like the Misty Sea Region lived in poverty.

Their bodies were thin, their houses were rickety and rotting, and their clothes were shabby.

What surprised him was how they reacted when a cultivator flew past.

They immediately scrambled away in a panic and hid in the darkness. Ye Xuan saw this and grew curious.

"Doesn’t anyone want to take care of them?" Ye Xuan asked.

"The people who live in the villages are outcasts from the cities. They live like cockroaches, scavenging for food in filth, and they don’t hesitate to eat the bodies of other people to survive."

"The cities don’t want to look after them, let alone the sects. We’d rather leave them alone than deal with them."

Ye Xuan fell silent in shock, then went back to flying after Yi Xin.

Far ahead of them, Ye Xuan saw a city sitting in thick fog among the hills.

Following the rules that applied there, Ye Xuan landed and walked on the ground.

He and Yi Xin joined the line of people waiting to enter the city.

There were four guards dressed all in black, like sect robes. They searched the newcomers, asked why they had come, and then collected an entry fee.

The line grew shorter and shorter until it was Yi Xin and Ye Xuan’s turn.

Yi Xin took something out of her bag of holding, a red token, and let them see it.

"Welcome, Lady Yi Xin."

"Let’s go in, Ye Xuan," said Yi Xin.

Ye Xuan nodded and walked in, paying no attention to the stares of the two sect cultivators on duty at the gate.

Now he was inside the city. Yi Xin turned and introduced the city to Ye Xuan.

"This is Mingze City," said Yi Xin, "One of the cities controlled by the Netherworld Palace Sect."

"There’s a lot you can find here, from taverns and cultivation shops to auction houses, and even pleasure houses."

While Ye Xuan was listening to Yi Xin’s explanation, his steps came to a halt when he heard a faint sound coming from a dark alley between two buildings.

A half-naked woman stumbled out of it, her eyes streaming with tears, her body filthy and degraded.

Two men grabbed her from behind and dragged her back into the alley.

"What’s with you?! Do you want to save her?!"

Ye Xuan narrowed his eyes, his instincts stirring as if to save the helpless woman.

But suddenly Yi Xin stepped in and stretched out her arm, as if to block him.

The young man glanced at the woman, and Yi Xin responded by shaking her head without saying a word.

"Come on... let me show you the best place for you."

In the end, he didn’t save the woman and left the place. Ye Xuan naturally asked Yi Xin why she had stopped him from saving her.

"People are so cunning. That’s one of the many scams that happen all the time in the cities of the Misty Sea Region."

"When your naivety kicks in and you go to rescue them, you’ll walk right into the trap they’ve set up inside the alley."

"If you’re lucky, they’ll only rob you. If not, they’ll refine you into a pill," Yi Xin explained.

I didn’t know there were scams like that. That woman’s acting looked so real.

"The most important thing for you is to avoid looking at things too much. Sometimes they take offense if you see something you’re not supposed to see," Yi Xin said.

"The Misty Sea Region really does have its own dangers," Ye Xuan answered, "I don’t know what would have happened to me if I’d recklessly come to the city alone."

"I’d bet money... you would have been dead within the first hour in the city."

Yi Xin stopped walking and arrived at a pagoda with ten floors towering into the sky. Yi Xin pointed at it and invited Ye Xuan to go in first.

When the pagoda doors opened, the first sight that met Ye Xuan’s eyes was a stage decorated with naked erotic dancers.

Guests had come and gotten drunk, and quite a few were even having sex while enjoying the show of the dancers’ curves.

[Close your eyes, Ye Xuan!]

"What is this?" Ye Xuan asked in a whisper.

"The best pleasure house in the city," Yi Xin explained, "Relax. I’m not going to sleep with you, not today."

"Someone’s already waiting for us here. Come with me."