Chapter 669: Chapter 665: Black Chicken Kingdom Chapter 669: Chapter 665: Black Chicken Kingdom Time flew by, and half a month passed in a blink of an eye.
Shen Luo and his two companions were ready, and they embarked on their journey towards the Western Regions.
The trio boarded a white flying boat and headed west. After a day and a night of flying through clouds and over the moon, they finally arrived at the border of the Great Tang.
Shen Luo sat cross-legged on the flying boat, silently operating the Nameless Cultivation Technique. A faint red light radiated from his body.
He had consumed all of the Elixir of Longevity made from Qilin blood. The Qilin, a symbol of good fortune, had an essence blood whose elixir effect was even better than the Dragon Blood he had obtained before. It extended his lifespan by about fifty years.
Moreover, as the Qilin is a fire-related sacred beast, just as his water-controlling ability increased when he consumed dragon's blood years ago, his ability to control the elemental force of fire has also increased significantly now.
Not long after, he opened his eyes and exhaled a turbid breath lightly.
Although he couldn't fully recover the lifespan he had lost, he was already quite satisfied. After all, such medicines, whether in the mortal world or in the world of cultivation, are items that defy the laws of nature, and obtaining them is itself a kind of luck that can't be sought after.
“Shen Luo, Shen Luo, no wonder your cultivation has made rapid progress recently, you really work hard in your cultivation! If I weren't helped by the resources of my master's sect, I would probably have been left behind by you, and I wouldn't have the face to see you.” Bai Xiaotian saw Shen Luo wake up, grinned and joked.
“Brother Bai, don't make fun of me anymore. I'm not talented, so I have to work harder. As the saying goes, a stupid bird flies early and diligence can make up for one's dullness. Speaking of which, where are we now?” Shen Luo smiled and changed the topic.
“We've just left the territory of Great Tang.” Bai Xiaotian said.
Upon hearing this, Shen Luo walked to the edge of the flying boat and looked down.
The flying boat wasn't too high, the view below was unobstructed; what appeared below was a continuous range of towering mountains.
However, the mountains here were dangerous, there were no Spiritual Veins underground, and the spiritual energy was thin. Not only was it uninhabited, but there also weren't many birds and beasts. The phrase 'wretched mountains and rivers' was the perfect description for this place.
“Master Golden Cicada, according to the records, when you went to the Western Paradise to fetch the scriptures, you left the territory of the Great Tang from the Two Realms Mountain below. There are rumors that your eldest disciple, Sun Wukong, was once trapped here. After you rescued him, he protected you all the way to the Western Paradise to fetch the scriptures.” Bai Xiaotian pointed to the largest mountain peak below and said to Chan'er.
As they were both from the Buddhist Sect, Bai Xiaotian respected Chan'er alot and respectfully addressed him as “Golden Cicada”.
“So this is the Two Realms Mountain!” Upon hearing this, Shen Luo was slightly stunned. He looked at the mountain peak indicated by Bai Xiaotian and took a closer look.
He'd read about this mountain in the literature. When the King of Great Tang was pacifying the western regions, he named this peak the Two Realms Mountain to mark the national boundary.
“Master Bai, what you said seems to remind me of something. Can we go down and take a look?” Chan'er looked at the mountain range below, his gaze a little confused, and then looked at Bai Xiaotian again. After hesitating for a while, he said so.
“Sure.” Bai Xiaotian gave a slight smile, waved his hand, and controlled the flying boat to descend.
Before setting off, his sect's elders instructed him to try his best to assist Chan'er in recovering his memories as soon as possible. Naturally, he was happy to see such a situation. Shen Luo was also interested in the natural scenery outside the Great Tang, and readily agreed.
The three of them stayed in Two Realms Mountain for a day. Bai Xiaotian led Chan'er around the mountain based on the records of Master Golden Cicada's journey to the west to fetch scriptures, hoping that it would help him recover his memory. Unfortunately, they were unsuccessful and continued their journey.
Next, Bai Xiaotian controlled the flying boat and moved along the path according to the journey taken during the original pilgrimage. Chan'er had a blank look upon seeing these places, and still couldn't remember any past memories.
Because they had to revisit these old places with Chan'er, the journey naturally took longer, it took well over a month before they arrived in the Black Chicken Kingdom.
“Is this the Black Chicken Kingdom? Huh, why is there such a strong aura of impurity?” The three of them stood on their flying boat, looking at the land below. Bai Xiaotian muttered.
Almost all of Black Chicken Kingdom at sight was covered with yellow sand and the Gobi Desert, very desolate, with sparse spiritual power in the air, but thin strands of black fog could be faintly seen mixed in, making the originally fair sky look somewhat grey and dull.
Shen Luo slightly furrowed his brows, the situation in the Black Chicken Kingdom was somewhat similar to the one in Dreamland.
“Master Golden Cicada, where should we go in the Black Chicken Kingdom?” Bai Xiaotian turned to ask Chan'er.
“As a little monk, I'm not sure, I thought I would remember something when we got to The Black Chicken Kingdom, but unfortunately, I still have no clue.” Chan'er shook his head a bit distressed.
“In that case, let's look around nearby first and find out more about the situation in the Black Chicken Kingdom.” Shen Luo suggested.
The condition of the Black Chicken Kingdom made him feel inexplicably worried.
“That makes sense.” Chan'er nodded.
Thus, the three of them searched nearby the border of the Black Chicken Kingdom, and soon found a rather large city.
Judging from the name engraved on the city gate, the city was called “Bai County City”. There was a large river and several broad roads outside the city. Looking at the geographical location, it was a key place for trade and commerce, and the city was quite large.
“It looks like a considerable city. We should gain some information if we inquire here.” Shen Luo said, as the three of them landed at a secluded spot outside the city.
Neither Chan'er nor Bai Xiaoyun objected, they soon arrived at the City Gate.
The architectural style of Bai County City was vastly different from the cities of the Central Region, very crude. Many rough murals could often be seen on the city gate and walls, with content entirely different from that of the Central Region, all depicting various scenes of people and beasts fighting.
The city gate of Bai County City was manned by soldiers. The soldiers' outfits were unique; donning felt hats, wearing half-body armor, and armed with spears and curved knives.
These soldiers were collecting silver coins from everyone entering the city, charging one silver coin per person.
Chan'er, as a Buddhist clergyman, was exempt from the entrance fees. Shen Luo and Bai Xiaotian were ordinary people. Naturally, they wouldn't mind spending a little money and handed a piece of crushed silver to the gatekeeping soldiers.
The currency in the Western Regions was gold and silver coins. However, due to the prosperity of Tang dynasty's trade, Tang currency could also be used here. In terms of weight, this piece of crushed silver was worth at least three silver coins.
“Two gold coins per person, how many of you are there?” said the soldier who did not take the silver coins, looking at the lavishly dressed Bai Xiaotian and said with a slight smirk.
“What! Isn't it one silver coin per person?” Bai Xiaotian frowned.
Although he didn't care about such a small amount of silver, it didn't mean he would be arbitrarily blackmailed by a few mortals.
“We decide how much to charge for entering the city. Judging by your weird clothes, you two are probably spies from another country. If you don't want to be thrown in jail, then pay up quickly!” The soldier saw Bai Xiaotian dare to retort, glared at him and roared.
The other soldiers, seeing this act of extortion, didn't stop it. Instead, they raised their weapons and pointed them at Bai Xiaotian and Shen Luo, with smiles on their faces as if they were tearing into a fat sheep, obviously not the first time they were doing this kind of thing.