Ding Huan and his group had been fleeing for three full days before they finally stopped.
"Xiao Tu, I haven't felt hungry even after several days of not eating, but now I'm starving despite eating several energy capsules in one day."
After Ding Huan decided not to flee any longer, Qi Xinyue couldn't help but express the thoughts she had been holding back.
Ding Huan nodded, feeling hungry as well.
Now, he was almost like an ordinary mortal, needing to eat twice a day, or else he would noticeably feel the pangs of hunger.
Energy capsules didn't seem to stave off the hunger in this place.
Qi Xinyue didn't understand why this was happening, but Ding Huan had some vague understanding that it probably had to do with the Heaven and Earth Rules.
Ding Huan's Divine Will had already detected a city bustling with people, the city gate bearing three ancient characters: Jihe City.
From Lu River to Jihe, it seemed he was quite fated with rivers.
First task would be to settle down in this city, the rest he would figure out slowly.
On the way to Jihe City, Ding Huan pondered.
However, there were too many powerful individuals here, and much of what he tried to calculate was unclear.
But in general, there seemed to be no life-threatening dangers, so preferring not to think too much, he decided to take up residence in the city first.
"We've finally come to a city."
When the group arrived outside Jihe City, Lou Buzhi swallowed hard.
Clearly, he was starving too, he just hadn't mentioned it.
Although Jihe City wasn't as large as Four-direction City, the vibrancy of its population wasn't much less.
Compared to Four-direction City with its diverse races, Jihe City was predominantly Human Tribe, without the presence of races like the Minotaur.
Ding Huan decided to lead the group to find a Rest Inn first.
As he entered the city, he took note that there seemed to be a simple Defense Array outside Jihe City.
Among the people in Jihe City were martial artists and cultivators, along with many plain mortals without any cultivation.
Ding Huan didn't sense any Foundation Establishment Cultivators, but there were quite a few gene cultivators with strength equivalent to third to fifth level.
Since he had just arrived here, Ding Huan didn't know whether the locals would integrate various skill genes.
Ding Huan chose a Rest Inn that seemed not too expensive.
"A standard room for one night is fifty True Industry coins."
The attendant greeted Ding Huan and his three companions, plus a pet, with a smile, as they approached to check-in.
Ding Huan took out a crystal stone he had obtained from Sister Tou:
"I've run out of True Industry coins. Can I exchange this to get some?"
Ding Huan knew that this crystal stone actually came from this place.
It was likely a fragment of some kind of vital force stone, which people from here had brought over to the Four-direction Star Land for trade.
Since it was something from here, trading it shouldn't seem too abrupt.
The attendant shook his head upon seeing the fragment of crystal stone in Ding Huan's hand:
"My friend, you should go to the bank for exchange. We can't do it here; it's not good if there's too much or too little."
Ding Huan's Divine Will had already detected a bank diagonally across the street called Yunji Bank.
Watching the backs of Ding Huan and his group, the attendant felt somewhat curious.
Surely, no one in the True Industry Empire would not know where to exchange Broken Essence Crystals for True Industry coins, right?
Unaware of the attendant's thoughts, Ding Huan had already arrived at Yunji Bank.
"What's the current rate?"
As soon as he entered Yunji Bank, Ding Huan took out a broken crystal stone and asked, seemingly experienced.
The attendant glanced at the broken crystal stone in Ding Huan's hand:
"The current rate is three thousand True Industry coins for one broken crystal stone."
Ding Huan wasn't just making empty talk; he knew that in Four-direction Star Land, one crystal coin could be exchanged for ten thousand purple gold coins.
Having never seen a crystal coin, he assumed it was made from these kinds of broken crystal stones.
According to this exchange rate, his broken crystal stone should be worth ten thousand.
Even accounting for discounts and losses, one piece shouldn't exchange for a mere three thousand.
The attendant lazily replied:
"That's the highest price. If you're not willing to exchange, you can check with other banks."
Helpless, Ding Huan pulled out two broken crystal stones:
"I'll exchange two pieces."
The attendant quickly handed over six True Industry coins.
Ding Huan noticed that each of these True Industry coins was one thousand in denomination, and he promptly pocketed five thousand:
"Could you exchange this thousand for some smaller denominations?"
The attendant didn't mind and provided Ding Huan with five hundred-denomination coins, and the rest were ten-denomination coins.
Ding Huan's divine will swept over the cashier's money chest and noticed one-denomination and five-denomination notes.
Comparing them, Ding Huan fully understood.
It wasn't easy to counterfeit True Industry currency because the higher the denomination, the greater the amount of essence crystal embedded.
Moreover, the minting technique was quite sophisticated, locking all the energy within the essence crystals.
Once the energy dissipated, the True Industry coin could very likely fall apart.
With six thousand True Industry coins, Ding Huan immediately bought several books on the culture and geography of Star Land, including introductions to the Mortal World of Triple Heaven Star Land, the True Industry Empire, Jihe City, and more.
Ding Huan did want to buy some introductions to the Taoist Realm and the Ascension Realm, but, alas, such materials were not available in the Mortal World.
After making the purchases, Ding Huan and the others went straight to get something to eat.
They were truly hungry.
The staple food here was also a type of rice, and Fierce Beast Meat was simply roasted or boiled without any sophisticated culinary techniques.
The only advantage was that the portions were large and filling.
Lou Buzhi demonstrated to Ding Huan and the others with his actions why he was so heavy.
While eating, Ding Huan couldn't help but wonder why on Earth and in Four-direction Star Land, one meal could last him many days, yet here, he felt hungry so quickly?
If it was as he suspected, related to the Heaven and Earth Rules, how could one actually touch these rules?
Could it be that touching the Heaven and Earth Rules marked the real beginning of Daoist cultivation?
With Ding Huan's current knowledge and strength, he naturally couldn't figure it out.
After eating their fill, Ding Huan paid out a hundred and twenty True Industry coins.
This made Ding Huan feel that True Industry coins truly didn't last long.
Instead of going back to the same rest inn, Ding Huan and his companions switched to a new one, the Traveler's Inn.
Unlike other inns, the Traveler's Inn was not quiet.
Because on the first floor of the Traveler's Inn was a Rest Building, or rather, a tea room.
The difference between a Rest Building and a Rest Inn is that the latter provides lodging, while a Rest Building is a place for individuals to rest and relax.
Here you could drink tea, eat pastries, and even have a drink.
Ding Huan wasn't there for cultivation; his purpose of staying there was to pick up on some news from the Mortal World.
Choosing a place with a tea room was also aimed at catching more pieces of information about Triple Heaven Star Land.
The rooms this time were more upscale; for the three of them plus Lao Liu, there were four rooms in total, costing nearly three hundred True Industry coins a night.
With only six thousand True Industry coins in hand, and having already spent some on books and food, Ding Huan had to find a way to earn money quickly, or he would soon be stranded.
"Brother Huan, thank you. If it weren't for you, I might still be wandering the streets."
After settling into the Rest Inn, Lou Buzhi was extremely grateful; he had made the right choice.
Brother Huan was a man of deep feelings, and even though they were not close friends, Brother Huan took good care of him because they both came from Four-direction Star Land.
Ding Huan patted Lou Buzhi:
"Don't worry, since there is a Cultivation World here, the Cultivation World will definitely recruit disciples from the Mortal World. I'll go inquire about it later.
You can cultivate, so you must have a Spirit Root and will surely be able to enter the Cultivation World."
Ding Huan was certain Lou Buzhi had a Spirit Root, for Lou Buzhi was capable of cultivation, and not with any mere gene cultivation technique.
Qi Xinyue was able to cultivate without having merged with any gene spiritual root, which naturally meant she also had a Spirit Root.
What he was really worried about was himself, since he had generated his Spirit Root through a genetic Spiritual Root Potion.
Since everyone had a room, the first thing Lao Liu did upon returning to his was to attempt breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm.
The guy was completely obsessed with the breakthrough to Foundation Establishment as a demonic cultivator; changing locations always meant he would try to break through to Foundation Establishment.
On the spaceship, he was restricted by Ding Huan, who didn't allow cultivation, or else he would have certainly attempted the breakthrough there.
Once Ding Huan got to his room, he took out the cultural and geographical records to study.
Half an hour later, Ding Huan tossed the records into the Star House.
He now roughly understood where he was situated.
The Triple Heaven Star Land had no detailed introduction; his current location in the Mortal World was essentially an Empire world.
There were hundreds of large empires in the Mortal World, and even more medium and small-sized ones.
These empires were essentially descendants of the Taoist Realm, or established by cultivators from the Taoist Realm who were unable to advance.
Almost all of the empires were related to the Taoist Realm, and those unrelated had long vanished in the dust of history.
The True Industry Empire was no exception, deeply connected to the Taoist Realm, providing various convenience services for the backers from the Taoist Realm.
Their backers, in turn, ensured their protection.
True Industry coins were one such service.
True Industry coins were not something that any ordinary mortal workshop could produce, but rather they were crafted by powerful beings of the Taoist Realm through the use of arrays, essence crystals, and certain metallic materials.
Incorporating Daoist Cultivation Skills into their makeup made it very difficult to replicate these coins.
Other empires' currencies were more or less the same, with a few of the closer empires even having mutually accepted currencies.
What Ding Huan was most concerned with was the days the Taoist Realm would come to the True Industry Empire to recruit disciples, as introduced in the True Industry records.
Every year, the Great Sects of the Taoist Realm came to the Mortal World to recruit disciples twice—once on a large scale at the beginning of the year, and a smaller scale mid-year.
Ding Huan checked their current time period and realized there was a little more than a month left until mid-year.