John remained calm, but couldn't help but feel some tension. Paying with spirit crystals had never been something he had to be cognizant of, and so it had been a natural reaction to pay with his spirit crystals. Only after handing them over did he realize the problem.
'Hopefully this doesn't cause a problem.'
The guard stared at the crystals for a moment, then at John. A questioning look appeared on his face.
"Where did you get these spirit crystals?" the man asked.
A perplexed look appeared on John's face, as if he had not been expecting such a question. Answering too quickly would reveal he had already expected such a question.
"From a merchant near the Light Dao Sect," John shrugged. "Is there something wrong?"
"These crystals…they're quite strange," the guard replied, still studying them closely. "They feel…different than what I'm used to."
"I thought so as well," John nodded in agreement, "but the merchant assured me that the Qi quality within is exactly the same as the crystals were used to. I thought them quite a novelty, so I agreed to the exchange."
The man nodded silently, as if John's story made sense. He put the crystals away a moment later, and gestured for John to enter the city.
"You may enter," he said.
John nodded calmly, but felt rushing relief internally. He stepped past the guard and through the city archway, which was several hundred yards wide and tall, allowing for large carts to enter. Hundreds of other cultivators flowed through in each direction as he stepped through the archway and into the city proper.
A sprawling city came into view, one half a dozen miles across. It wasn't a large city when compared to other cities he had seen, as the mountaintop space was limited. However, the city was still quite impressive, as it was built vertically instead of outwards.
Thousands of buildings stretched up over a mile high, like a city of massive reeds stretching into the sky. The buildings were styled differently than he was used to, appearing sleeker and more eye-catching. Glass covered most of the exteriors, unlike the buildings back home, which were mostly solid stone or other materials, with glass windows being used much less frequently. Not all the buildings had glassy exteriors, but enough did for him to notice.
A large street hundreds of yards wide stretched forward into the distance, seeming to go straight until it reached the opposite end of the city. The tallest buildings lined the main road, while the buildings became shorter as they approached the city walls, almost making the city look like a mountain made of buildings.
Smaller roads stretched off the main road periodically, each then branching again to form a grid like pattern to the city.
John took in the sight for a moment, unsure of where to begin.
'The first thing I need to do is find some place to stay for a few days. Afterwards, I'll explore the city, and try to find out if I can gather more information about this world. If I can find an information network that might have information on Lilian, that would be perfect.'
Plan in mind, John started walking down the main road, exploring deeper into the city. He asked a few merchants for places he could find lodging, and was directed towards a decently priced hotel close to the main road; Coiling Serpent's Hotel.
The hotel was nearly a mile tall, and was made from the same glass-like material as many of the other buildings, giving it a sleek design. Two coiling serpents, carved of some sort of stone, sat on either side of the entrance.
John entered the hotel and was greeted with a bustling main lobby. He found an attendant to attend to his needs, and was situated with a room a short while later for the modest price of one High-Grade Spirit Crystal per day.
'I figured the prices of this world would be completely astronomical due to the city entrance fee, but it seems as though the fee is just unreasonably high.'
A High-Grade Spirit Crystal for a single day of lodging was still a much higher price than any on the Divine Martial Continent, but thankfully John was not lacking when it came to Spirit Crystals. The attendant had eyed the strange Spirit Crystals the same way the guard had done, but accepted them nonetheless.
John entered his room, which was on the one hundred and twelfth floor, and found a lavishly decorated room greet him. Comfortable and stylish furniture, a perfectly isolated meditation room, an indoor pool and sauna, and more. If he was here for rest and relaxation, such a room would be very much to his liking.
He nodded his head in approval and entered the meditation chamber, as night was soon approaching. John focused on his usual routine, consisting of mediating before the holy gate and sinister gate, as well as focusing on his Dao's closest to a breakthrough, primarily focusing on the Dao of Space, as well as a fusion between the Dao of Lightning and Dao of Destruction.
While he had managed to fuse the first stages of the Dao of Lightning and Power, John was sure the Dao of Destruction was a better fusion with the Dao of Lightning, as that would make it closer to tribulation lightning, which was terrifyingly destructive.
After spending many hours on the Dao's, John ended his night with a long cultivation session, activating his Primordial Extermination Lightning Technique, the amazingly profound cultivation technique gifted to him by Celestial Soulrend. Thousands of small whirlpools of Qi appeared within his body, pulling in the thick Qi of this world into his body, and then his dantian. A satisfied feeling filled his body as he felt his essence cultivation grow at a noticeable speed, much faster than he was capable of on the Divine Martial Continent.
After a full and satisfying night of cultivation, the morning sun arose, starting a new day. John cleaned up the dirt of being in the Immortal Forest for several weeks, donned a new robe, and stepped back into the streets of Greatcrest City.
'Time to find out what I can about this world, and hopefully Lilian as well.'
