Chapter 331: The thousand dao city 1.

Su Yubing did not object.

When they finally reached the checkpoint, the guard asked, "Names?"

Mo Yuxin answered, "Mo Yuxin. Su Yubing."

The guard looked at them.

He frowned.

Then he looked at them again.

Something about their names seemed familiar.

He checked the registration scroll.

Nothing.

"Sect?"

"None."

"Purpose of entry?"

Mo Yuxin glanced at Su Yubing.

Su Yubing smiled.

"Travel."

The guard stared.

"Just travel?"

"Yes."

"For how long?"

Mo Yuxin thought about it.

"We do not know."

The guard sighed.

"Where are you staying?"

"We have not decided."

The guard stared at them as if they were the most difficult travelers he had ever encountered.

Finally he stamped their entry slips.

"Fine. Welcome to Thousand Dao City."

Mo Yuxin nodded.

"Thank you."

They walked through the gate.

The noise of the city hit them immediately.

Thousands of voices.

Hundreds of spiritual bells.

Flying ships overhead.

Merchant calls.

Street performers.

Distant sword clashes from an arena.

The smell of roasted meat.

The scent of alchemy.

The faint fragrance of spiritual flowers.

And above everything, the huge spiritual pressure of a city containing millions of people.

Su Yubing stood still for a moment.

Mo Yuxin watched her expression.

"What do you think?"

Su Yubing smiled.

"It is enormous."

"Yes."

"I think it is going to take us a long time to see everything."

Mo Yuxin squeezed her hand.

"Good."

Su Yubing looked at her.

"Why good?"

"Because that means we will have to stay together for a long time."

Su Yubing smiled.

She leaned closer and rested her head against Mo Yuxin’s shoulder while they stood at the entrance to the central street.

The sun was setting behind the city towers.

Golden light spilled across the enormous avenue.

Spirit lanterns began to light up one by one.

The heart of the Southern Continent stretched out in front of them.

Ten thousand roads.

Ten thousand stories.

Ten thousand paths of cultivation.

And somewhere in that city were sects, merchant clans, secret realms, treasures, rivals, old enemies, new friends, and countless problems that neither woman had any reason to involve themselves with.

Which meant, naturally, that they would probably end up involved in half of them.

Mo Yuxin looked at the city.

Then she looked at her wife.

"Food first."

Su Yubing laughed.

"You remembered."

"Of course."

"The immortal noodles?"

"We find them tonight."

"And after?"

Mo Yuxin smiled.

"Then we find a comfortable place to stay."

Su Yubing nodded.

"And after that?"

Mo Yuxin leaned closer and whispered something into her ear.

Su Yubing immediately blushed.

"You have been waiting all day to say that, haven’t you?"

"Yes."

"Shameless."

"You like me like this."

Su Yubing smiled and intertwined their fingers more tightly.

"I do."

Together, they walked deeper into Thousand Dao City.

Behind them, the gate closed for the night.

Ahead of them, countless lanterns illuminated the streets.

Neither woman knew how long they would stay.

Neither knew what would happen next.

But for now, there was no ancient gate, no strange voice, no hidden trial, and no mysterious enemy waiting for them.

There was only the city, the food they had come to find, the comfortable room they still needed to rent, and an enormous world waiting for them to wander through together.

And that was more than enough.

..

..

..

The eastern gate of Thousand Dao City was so large that Mo Yuxin actually stopped walking for a moment just to look at it. She had seen giant city walls before. She had seen ancient fortresses built into mountains, floating palaces stretching across the sky, and sect gates that were taller than most ordinary buildings. She had even seen cities that were surrounded by defensive formations powerful enough to stop a full army. Yet Thousand Dao City was different. It did not look like a place that had been built around one sect, one clan, or one ruler. It looked like someone had taken an entire region, decided it needed to become a city, and then simply refused to stop building.

The eastern gate alone was wider than several streets put together. Spirit beasts pulling heavy cargo wagons entered through one side, long spiritual carriages entered through another, and above them flying boats slowly descended through layers of transparent formation barriers. The walls on either side stretched so far that the end could not be seen from where Mo Yuxin stood. Massive towers were built into the stone every few hundred meters, and each tower carried a different formation flag. Some were defensive, some controlled the flow of spiritual energy, and others seemed to monitor everyone entering the city. Su Yubing stood beside her with one hand tucked into Mo Yuxin’s arm. For once, even she was quiet.

She lifted her head and stared at the gate, the towers, and the countless cultivators moving through the huge entrance. "This is ridiculous," she finally said. Mo Yuxin smiled. "In a good way?"

"In a very good way."

Mo Yuxin looked at her instead of the city. Su Yubing noticed immediately.

"You are doing it again."

"Doing what?"

"Looking at me when there is something much more interesting in front of you."

Mo Yuxin shrugged. "I have seen gates before."

"You have never seen one this big."

"I have seen bigger things."

"Such as?"

Mo Yuxin thought for a moment. There were too many answers. Ancient warships. Planet-sized formations. Worlds whose boundaries had once been visible from the void. She decided not to explain any of that.

"You."

Su Yubing stared at her. Then she laughed.

"You really like saying things like that."

"I say what I mean."

"That is exactly why you are dangerous."

Mo Yuxin smiled and tightened her hold around Su Yubing’s arm. "Come on. We are going inside." They stepped forward with the flow of travelers. The first thing they noticed was that the guards were not rude. That surprised Mo Yuxin more than the size of the city. The eastern gate had dozens of guards standing along the entrance, each wearing dark blue armor with silver formation lines running across the chest and shoulders.

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TO BE CONTINUED.