Chapter 43: Black Stone City

“It is Senior Brother Tianshu’s guarded territory, the Youxi Outpost,” the boy replied.

Qin Wu’s heart skipped a beat; the name immediately reminded him of the Seventh Outpost.

Could this place also be some kind of outpost?

After thanking him, he returned to his room in a daze and looked down through the window.

The city ruins quickly passed by, followed by vast stretches of wilderness. Consort Lian asked, “What’s so special about that place? Why are you so excited?”

Qin Wu looked deeply at Consort Lian. After the game invaded reality, did these Cultivators know they were originally just NPCs?

“Your Highness, don’t you think the Seventh Outpost is strange?” he tested. “That place is completely different from us.”

Consort Lian scratched her head with her hair. “It seems normal enough. Nothing is surprising in a Secret Realm.”

“But speaking of which…” She fell into thought. “That place just now seemed similar to some buildings in the Seventh Outpost. It’s one thing in a Secret Realm, but why are there such strange buildings in reality?”

“Could it be that these people ran out from the Secret Realm?”

Qin Wu withdrew his gaze. It seemed Consort Lian was unaware of the game’s invasion.

The two stopped talking and quietly looked out the window. Soon after, a massive fortress came into view.

High, towering black walls protected the city. Outside the gates, people stood in long lines, looking like winding ants from Qin Wu’s height.

There were even off-road vehicles roaring below, kicking up dust as they drove toward the fortress.

Qin Wu’s heart pounded violently.

Could this be a shelter built by humans?

How did they manage to avoid being captured as blood food by the Cultivators?

【New Faction Discovered: Fifth Site】

A message suddenly popped up on the game panel.

【Faction: Fifth Site (Located in reality, within the Taixu Holy Land Domain. A human stronghold after the game invasion, using the Immortal Dao and modern technology to maintain a safe zone)】

【Prequel Plot: The Black Mist spreads, and monsters run rampant. Qin Wu fought his way to the high walls of the Fifth Site.

This is not a Sect or an Immortal Abode; it is a shelter in the apocalypse that survives by rules. To enter, one must first pass an assessment…】

【Would you like to start the prequel plot? Once completed, the Fifth Site will be unlocked?】

Qin Wu took a deep breath. It really was an outpost!

However, he was currently on the cloud boat, and the timing wasn’t right. Otherwise, he really would have wanted to go in and see what the Fifth Site was like.

It would have to wait until next time.

The cloud boat slowly sailed over the shelter. Outside the city gates below, a man in a black military uniform looked up at the passing cloud boat.

“What are you looking at?” An adjutant walked over, looking at the endless, dim sky. “A bird?”

“Nothing.”

The Commander withdrew his gaze. There was a barrier outside the Fifth Site. To protect the residents, some things were not real in the eyes of ordinary people.

“Alright, continue the inspection,” he said. “Contaminated individuals are not allowed to enter the shelter.”

…

…

A month passed, and Qin Wu woke up from his Cultivation.

Consort Lian’s head popped over. “Wake up, we’ve arrived at Black Stone City!”

The cloud boat stopped at the port. The boy outside happened to enter. “Senior Brother, we have arrived at Black Stone City.”

“I see, thank you.” He took out a few Spirit Stones and placed them in the boy’s hand.

“Thank you, Senior Brother.” He happily put the Spirit Stones into his Storage Pouch.

Qin Wu led Consort Lian onto the deck. Below them was Black Stone City.

It was like a massive isolated island, surrounded on all sides by a sea of fire. The water surged from time to time, crashing violently against the cliffs, and the charred rocks were instantly swallowed by the waves of flame.

There were actually many subsidiary cities or uninhabited islands around Black Stone City, but this was the largest and most prosperous, which was why the Holy Land chose Black Stone City as a garrison location.

Qin Wu flew down on his boat. As soon as he left the cloud boat’s protective shield, a wave of heat hit him in the face.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead and couldn’t help but say, “It’s way too hot here.”

Although Consort Lian was also at the Qi Refining stage, her physical strength was at least at the Foundation Establishment level, so she didn’t feel much discomfort.

But Qin Wu had a water-attribute Spiritual Root, while this place was filled with fire-attribute Spiritual Qi, with very little water-attribute Spiritual Qi.

He was already starting to regret it, wondering if he shouldn’t have come here.

“I should have investigated before choosing,” Qin Wu sighed.

He shouldn’t have come just because Meng Shujian was here. In a place like this, it would be lucky if his cultivation didn’t regress after a year.

Moreover, the Spiritual Qi in the air was violent; even fire-attribute Cultivators would probably be unwilling to come here.

“No wonder it’s a barren land,” Qin Wu sighed deeply, feeling the coolness brought by the mysterious frost jade pendant. Luckily, he had bought it.

He followed the crowd into the city.

The city walls and buildings were all made of a very hard black stone, which was the origin of the name Black Stone City.

Because of the hot climate, even the wind carried scorching heat, so the city’s residents wore very light clothing.

Most men were bare-chested, and women only wore plain-colored tube tops covered with a layer of thin gauze, paired with neat short trousers.

Perhaps because of the Formations in the city, it wasn’t as hot inside as it was outside, at least to a degree the people could tolerate.

Qin Wu was still wearing the attire of the Taixu Holy Land—wide robes and large sleeves. He looked full of Immortal Qi, but he was very conspicuous in Black Stone City.

Few Cultivators came here, and they usually flew directly into the Inner City from above, so he could feel the people around him looking at him curiously, which was a bit awkward.

However, Consort Lian looked around with great interest and even had him buy her a few hair accessories.

“Not bad, not bad.” Consort Lian changed her hairstyle with satisfaction.

Half an hour later, the two entered the Inner City.

In the very center of the Inner City stood a towering black tower, which was the location of the core of Black Stone City’s defensive Formation.

Qin Wu took out his token and walked into the high tower.

“Greetings, Senior Brother.” He walked to the top of the tower and saw a Senior Brother sitting cross-legged in the middle of the Formation. He cupped his hands and said, “I am the candidate to take over the guard duty this time.”

That Senior Brother opened his eyes, stood up, walked in front of Qin Wu, and looked at him expressionlessly.

After a long time, he slapped Qin Wu’s shoulder and laughed loudly, “Finally! I’m finally leaving this godforsaken place!”

“I’m never coming back to this shithole again!”

“Hahaha! Hahahaha!”

He rushed out of the tower, laughing wildly. Qin Wu watched his back in silence for a long time.

Why did it feel like he was worse off than being exiled to the frontier?

Consort Lian also watched his departing back. “He has a fire Spiritual Root; he must have been tricked into coming.”

Black Stone City had dense fire-attribute Spiritual Qi, so many Disciples had their eyes on this place for Cultivation, but they only realized the truth after arriving.

The Spiritual Qi here was violent and completely unsuitable for Cultivation. Moreover, staying for a long time could lead to fire toxin entering the body.

Thus, the guard duty in Black Stone City became a punishment.

The cultivation requirement had also dropped from Foundation Establishment all the way to Qi Refining.

Qin Wu rubbed his temples. Guarding mainly involved protecting the surrounding area, and the cultivation level should be at least at Foundation Establishment. But Black Stone City was a special place; he only needed to maintain the operation of the defensive Formation.

Perhaps because of the scorching sea of fire, the Black Mist in the vicinity of Black Stone City was thin, and there weren’t many monsters.

As long as one didn’t leave Black Stone City, it was indeed much safer.

Since the previous Senior Brother had already left, Qin Wu took Consort Lian and flew toward the City Lord’s Mansion.

The City Lord was a local Foundation Establishment Cultivator of Black Stone City, essentially a Loose Cultivator. Since he was coming here to guard, he needed to greet the City Lord.