Chapter 176: The Privilege of Merit

Chu Xuan heaved a sigh of relief and immediately set off towards the east. The extraterritorial battlefield had undergone significant transformations. Each opening event reshaped the landscape, turning mountains into valleys and gorges into plains.Entire areas would mysteriously vanish, yet cities built on solid ground remained steadfast, such as the Reincarnation Divine Church's Realm Tower, the Feather Transformation Heaven Palace's Feather Transformation City, and the Majestic Sword Sect's Majestic City, among others.

Wan Wuying had informed him through the spiritual sense jade slip that there were only two cities suitable for loose cultivators to enter.

One was Lei Family City, controlled by the profound Nascent Soul family of the Lei Clan, which welcomed all comers.

The other was Righteous Dao City, managed by a newly ascended Nascent Soul cultivator and two False Soul cultivators, claiming to be open only to cultivators of the righteous way, strictly forbidding demonic cultivators.

Other cities were almost exclusively under the control of major sects like Feather Transformation Heaven Palace and Majestic Sword Sect and were not recommended for loose cultivators.

Chu Xuan had no intention of visiting those cities. Lei Family City seemed like a good choice. However, as he traveled, he realized he was lost.

"Isn't this... surely this spiritual sense jade slip is a 500-year-old map?!" he exclaimed. "There's clearly no path ahead, just a dried-up massive trench!"

Chu Xuan looked at the thousand-zhang-wide gorge before him and laughed helplessly. The extraterritorial battlefield exerted a strong suppressive force on flying magic treasures, reducing their power by half.

In Mystic Azure Star, Chu Xuan could easily have flown across, but this was the treacherous extraterritorial battlefield!

With such a wide chasm, who knew what demons and monsters lurked in its unfathomable depths? It was better not to fly unless absolutely necessary.

Resolved to follow his instincts, Chu Xuan decided to take a detour.

This detour took him far away from Lei Family City and, ultimately, he arrived at... Righteous Dao City. Searᴄh the nôᴠel Fire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Chu Xuan looked at the large sign over the city gate and smacked his lips. Righteous Dao City... it wasn't entirely off-limits. With his accumulated virtue, anyone would give him a thumbs up in praise. Who would dare to suspect him of being a demonic cultivator?

With this thought, Chu Xuan strode confidently towards the city gate.

At the entrance of Righteous Dao City, two cultivators at the early stage of the Golden Core guarded the left and right sides, while a middle-aged bald cultivator at the mid-stage of the Golden Core took charge of the registration process.

A line of cultivators slowly made their way into the city. Those who met the criteria of Righteous Dao City were registered and issued entry tokens. Those who did not were naturally expelled.

"Cultivation method is righteous and balanced, approved! Next!"

"Cultivation method is violent, disapproved! Next!"

"Cultivation method is prolonged and gentle, approved! Next!"

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"This cultivation method... Seductress Technique... ahem, approved, next!"

A curvaceous woman fluttered her eyelashes seductively at the middle-aged cultivator, who, swayed by her charm, swiftly marked her as approved.

"She's clearly a demonic cultivator, how can she pass..." a female cultivator in line exclaimed in dissatisfaction upon seeing this.

The middle-aged cultivator glanced over and saw the complaining woman was robust and burly. He scoffed, "With such a formidable physique, you must practice demonic cultivation. Expel her!"

"At once!" the two early Golden Core cultivators stepped forward to remove her.

"I am not a demonic cultivator! I really am not! It's about to get dark, I need to enter the city!" the woman protested.



However, the cultivators of Righteous Dao City were indifferent. They picked her up and threw her far from the city gates.

Meanwhile, a squad of enforcement officers rushed out from within the city, glaring menacingly at everyone.

The Golden Core cultivators in line lowered their heads and shrank back, unwilling to meet their gaze. Those with any ambition had gone to Lei Family City. Only those with no other options came to Righteous Dao City.

Of course, there were also those like Chu Xuan who had lost their way and inexplicably ended up here.

"It's going to be dark soon, can we hurry it up?" another cultivator called out after a while.

The middle-aged cultivator, noticing the gathering darkness on the horizon, hastened the registration process. However, verifying each cultivator's technique was time-consuming, and speed was not an option.

Chu Xuan watched the sluggish pace, shaking his head. He knew well that when darkness fell, a vast number of Nether Crocodiles would emerge from the ground. While he had Yin Thunder Seeds capable of blasting them open, using such a method in public would surely prevent his entry into Righteous Dao City.

"I didn't want to use my special privileges..."

Chu Xuan sighed, and suddenly, a golden wheel of merit rose behind his head. The wheel spun quietly, brilliantly dazzling. Faint auspicious light burst forth, fragrant and imbuing him with fortune, captivating all who saw it.

The sudden burst of golden light from the wheel of merit immediately caught everyone's attention, including that of the middle-aged cultivator responsible for registration.

He was astounded and quickly jogged over to Chu Xuan, exclaiming, "With such immense virtue, Master, why didn't you say so sooner!"

"My name is Duan Que. Please, Master, follow me! The gates of Righteous Dao City are always open for you!" he said, gesturing for Chu Xuan to follow.

Chu Xuan smiled faintly and walked with confident strides. Some cultivators in the line, confused, began to shout.

"Why does he get to cut the line!"

"Yeah, why! Just because he has a glow behind his head?!"

A few bold ones even tried to follow Chu Xuan into the city. Duan Que scoffed, "This master's virtue is boundless! How can you compare?!"

"Enforcement team, stop them!" he commanded. The cultivators of the enforcement team sprang into action, stopping the others from following and causing them to stumble backward.

Chu Xuan entered Righteous Dao City with ease as Duan Que spoke to the guards at the gate, "You two take over the registration, I will accompany the master for a while."

He then turned to Chu Xuan with a smile plastered across his face. "Fellow daoist possesses such merit! You must have saved many mortals!"

Chu Xuan nodded, "I hail from the Southern Wilderness of Mystic Azure Star, from the Golden Dragon Temples, and my dharma name is Huikong. It's just some minor deeds of merit, hardly worth mentioning."

Duan Que bowed even deeper, realizing he was in the presence of a high monk, "Oh, it's a high monk! My apologies for any disrespect!"

"Fellow daoist Huikong, please follow me. Such a person as yourself has been specifically mentioned by the three seniors; we must treat you with the highest respect. You may choose any third-tier cave dwelling for free, without any charge of spirit stones, for five years."

Chu Xuan smiled and nodded, "Please convey my thanks to the three seniors."



At that moment, he looked towards the sky. The light that had lingered there was now being engulfed by darkness. The gates of Righteous Dao City creaked as they closed slowly but firmly. The guards at the gate and the members of the enforcement team promptly returned inside.

Those who had not completed their registration or had been identified as demonic cultivators and denied entry were left outside. Some tried to storm the gate but were easily shot down by the enforcement team on the city walls.

Soon, a horde of Nether Crocodiles swarmed from the caverns below. Screams filled the air outside, but the cultivators inside the city seemed indifferent as if such horrors were all too common.

Chu Xuan pressed his palms together, "Dragon Buddha above, I cannot bear to witness such a dreadful sight. Let us proceed, Benefactor Duan."

Duan Que nodded vigorously, "I, too, cannot bear to see death. Let us move on swiftly."