Chapter 712: 712
Wu Qi was walking in a long, dark passageway within Yu Gu's Supreme Tower while his ears rang with the sharp hisses of countless poisonous insects and animals . As he strode on, he crossed paths with groups of Oracles, maidservants, and guards, who stopped in place, bowing respectfully and silently as he passed . No one dared to raise their eyes above his waist .
Great Yu was a rigidly stratified dynasty . It was old, conservative, dull, and boring like granite; of all things in it, the Directorate of Celestials was known to be the oldest, most conservative, and the hardest part of this piece of granite . As Wu Qi walked down the passageway, some of the guards and Oracles at the sentries not only held their breath, but also used mystic arts to stop their hearts from beating for fear that they would make a noise that would disturb Wu Qi, the man who was King Yang Qiu's current favorite confidant .
He came to the hall where King Yang Qiu and the others were having a good time . Standing outside, he could hear strange voices coming through the thick and heavy bronze door . With a faint smile on his face, he considered for a moment, then turned and walked slowly out of the Supreme Tower through the tunnel in front of the hall .
From the outside, although Yu Gu's Supreme Tower appeared to be only about a mile in both width and length, the space within was extremely vast . It took Wu Qi more than seven minutes to walk out of it from the secret chamber .
Standing at the exit located at the top part of the Supreme Tower, Wu Qi spent a moment overlooking the scenery of Greenwood Plain . The moon was shining brightly in the sky, sprinkling its soft, silver light onto the Shadowless Greenwood . A faint green light could be seen radiating out of this mystical ancient divine tree, warm and jade-like, reaching thousands of miles away . Under the blanket of the light, the vast expanse of grassland looked quiet and peaceful . However, the quietness was occasionally disrupted by roars of wild animals ringing out from the lakeside across the distance, which told him that some carnivorous animals were having a night hunt .
Then, he turned to look at the hundreds of Oracles standing guard outside the Supreme Tower and said in a deep voice, "If His Excellency asks about me, tell him that I'm visiting the Greenwood Pass!"
All the Oracles bowed silently, signaling that they had heard Wu Qi's order . Wearing black robes and having their faces well-hidden under their hoods, these Oracles stooped like back paper-cut figures under the silver moonlight . Although Wu Qi had become accustomed to how they carried themselves, he still could not help but shudder at the sight .
Shaking his head, Wu Qi jumped off the Supreme Tower and landed on the ground down below . The fluctuation of an energy vein was quickly detected by him . His body blurred into motion as he exercised the Kuafu Steps and took a step forward, and in the next moment, he came to the exit of Greenwood Plain, standing in front of a long, narrow valley stretching between two lofty mountains . Connecting Greenwood Plain and the outside world, the valley measured about a hundred miles in length and three hundred feet in width . The two mountains, spotted with caves and crisscrossing plank roads, were where an army of one hundred thousand soldiers was stationed .
Wu Qi waved his hand at the sentries on the top of the mountain, then his body flickered and disappeared, reappearing on the other side of the valley . After passing through a layer of air about a mile in thickness and sticky as glue, he came to a basin in the valley and saw a mighty city looming not far ahead . As he stood there observing the city dotted with specks of light, the gusting night breeze brought the sound of women's joyful laughter and men's hoarse yells into his ears .
The mighty city was none other than Greenwood Pass . As it was built between mountains, it only had two tall rows of walls, which were forged using metal and densely covered with countless magical runes and restrictive spells . Inside, the city was thriving with businesses, and one could find almost anything there, including wine, women, and gamble . In fact, Greenwood Pass was purposely built for the soldiers protecting Greenwood Plain in and around this valley . Every few days, soldiers who were off duty would come to the city for pleasure .
The great value of the divine liquid it produced made Greenwood Plain an extremely important place for Great Yu . Because of that, it was permanently garrisoned by an army of one hundred thousand soldiers . Without permission, none of these soldiers were allowed to leave the area a hundred miles around Greenwood Plain; and to take care of their various needs, Greenwood Pass was built .
In the beginning, it was purely a military town serving only the soldiers . But because the nearby mountains produced powerful demon beasts and spirit beasts, and were abundant with spirit herbs and rare minerals, it attracted a large number of hunters and merchants who used it as a trading hub . As time went by, today's Greenwood Pass had become the largest trading center within this mountain range, even more bustling and prosperous than Zhong Ning City, the capital city of Zhong Province .
Wearing a black war robe and a blood-colored cloak, Wu Qi walked into Greenwood Pass with a relaxed expression . On either side of the spacious street were numerous shops, restaurants, brothels, gambling houses, and various other businesses . It was true that the culture of Great Yu was conservative, but no matter how conservative a place was, businesses such as brothels and gambling houses always existed . As a hundred thousand soldiers were stationing in Greenwood Plain, and because their salary was higher than average, the number of entertainment outlets such as brothels in this city was also greater than in other cities .
King Yang Qiu's troops had been stationed here for thirty-six days, but because Wu Qi was busy crafting his Dark Yin Celestial Tower, this was the first time he had had the time to visit Greenwood Pass . Even though it was already midnight, the city was still very lively, filled with a savage flavor of life . The air was constantly ringing with a peculiar piece of symphony, pieced up by the loud screaming and moaning of women and the deep panting of men echoing out of the brothels, the jarring sounds produced by all kinds of gambling devices in the gambling houses, the cursing and noises of fighting between drunk men in restaurants, and the stomping of feet and clapping of hands from the onlookers . . .
The shops were open, too, and were all dimly lit with only a few lamps . Every now and then, men with surreptitious behavior could be seen sneaking into these shops and showing the shopkeepers their loot in the dark, hoping that it would bring them a return enough for them to live comfortably for the rest of their lives . As a matter of fact, shops in Greenwood Pass did better at night than during the day, because if one sold something for a lot of money during the day, one was likely to be robbed in the streets within a few steps after leaving the shops . However, at night, it was much more concealed and safer .
From time to time, muffled laughter could be heard coming out of some shops . Clearly, someone had found something of great value in the mountains, and the shopkeepers had offered them a higher price than they had imagined . Although these shops were protected by various restrictive spells, Wu Qi's innate divine sense could freely enter and leave them . While smiling, he glanced through those loots, then lightly shook his head .
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