Chapter 4 The Nine-Star Immortal Carriage

"Get on the carriage." Beishan Baiwei took Ji Ning by the arm and walked toward the carriage.

The carriage was about five or six zhang wide, and the interior was naturally spacious. As soon as Beishan Baiwei and Ji Ning entered, Beishan Baiwei said, "Sit, sit."

"This carriage is really comfortable." Ji Ning could not help but sigh. Inside the carriage were twelve seats, each covered with extremely soft fur, making it truly comfortable to sit on. "Young Master Baiwei, what about the flames on this carriage?" He had not felt any power from the flames when he came up.

"It's an external manifestation formed by releasing elemental energy." Beishan Baiwei smiled and then ordered outside, "To the Carefree Grotto."

"Yes, young master." The woman outside immediately responded respectfully.

Whoosh.

The flaming carriage began to move forward swiftly.

"Did you notice? My maidservant and this carriage are both puppets." Beishan Baiwei said proudly.

"Ah." Ji Ning was startled. "Both puppets?"

He really hadn't noticed, after all, this was the heart of the Beishan clan's territory, and Ji Ning would not casually release his divine sense to investigate.

"Right." Beishan Baiwei said proudly, "That maidservant is a puppet bestowed by my father, capable of unleashing combat power at the peak of the Wanxiang stage. She is fearless and makes the best guard."

Ji Ning nodded.

"As for this carriage, it's called the Nine-Star Immortal Carriage." Beishan Baiwei looked smug. "Once it flies, even a Primordial Daoist can't catch up. Moreover, it contains the 'Nine-Star Heavenly Flame.' Once released, this flame can burn everything—even some weaker Primordial Daoists can be burned to death!"

"What?" Ji Ning was shocked.

Nine-Star Heavenly Flame?

Able to burn Primordial Daoists to death? Even if only the weaker ones, it was still incredible, given it was merely a puppet treasure.

"Haha." Beishan Baiwei quickly added, "The female guard was given by my father, but this Nine-Star Immortal Carriage is only borrowed temporarily. It's my father's personal vehicle. Even if I sold all my treasures, I couldn't afford a fraction of it. I can only use it temporarily here in Anchan City."

Ji Ning understood. So it was the personal vehicle of that 'Beishan Blacktiger.' He couldn't help but marvel at the profound底蕴 of the Anchan Beishan clan—a single Beishan Blacktiger could possess such an astonishing vehicle.

"Puppet treasures at the level of the Nine-Star Immortal Carriage already possess intelligence." Beishan Baiwei stroked the armrest, clearly fond of the immortal carriage. "When I said 'to the Carefree Grotto,' I was actually speaking to the carriage. The Nine-Star Immortal Carriage will automatically take us there."

Ji Ning had to admit.

It was truly domineering!

Traveling in an immortal carriage capable of contending with Primordial Daoists was indeed impressive. This gave Ji Ning a taste of the extravagance of the Anchan Beishan clan.

"Look outside." Beishan Baiwei pointed outward.

Ji Ning looked through the window. The Nine-Star Immortal Carriage was very fast, and the streets of Anchan City were extremely wide, so the scenery outside flashed by in a blur.

"The most mysterious part of Anchan City is the West City." Beishan Baiwei pointed outside. "When you entered Anchan City, you should have seen a booklet describing the city. Although it marks many mansion names, what can you tell from those names?"

"Beishan Blacktiger's mansion is quite large." Ji Ning smiled.

"Haha, there are over a thousand mansions with the prefix 'Beishan'—all belonging to relatively prominent members of my Anchan Beishan clan. The mansions come in three sizes: ten li square, one li square, and a hundred zhang square." Beishan Baiwei smiled. "If you think these are the residences of the truly powerful figures of my clan, you'd be sorely mistaken."

"Oh?" Ji Ning was puzzled.

"The booklet should also list more mansions, but only by name—like 'Shanshui Mansion,' 'Qianguang Mansion'..." Beishan Baiwei looked at Ji Ning.

Ji Ning nodded. There were such mansions, but he didn't know what they were for.

"Among them are detached residences of Primordial Daoists, and even of immortals." Beishan Baiwei looked at Ji Ning. "Even some immortals of my clan, because their lifespans are so long, do not have the prefix 'Beishan' on their mansions. Thus, outsiders find it hard to know how many scattered immortals and earth immortals my Anchan Beishan clan actually has."

Ji Ning was secretly startled.

"Many mansions are empty." Beishan Baiwei spoke freely about these secrets. "If some of the most顶尖 figures across the endless lands of the Grand Xia Dynasty come to Anchan City, my Anchan Beishan clan will gift them a detached residence. Even if they only come occasionally, these mansions must be maintained at all times."

"So..."

"The West City of Anchan is a real mix of dragons and snakes. You must not offend anyone in front of those mansions of unknown origin." Beishan Baiwei said. "As for the North City, most of it is occupied by the Yinglong Guard."

"Yinglong Guard?" Ji Ning was surprised. "I heard the Anchan Commandery branch of the Yinglong Guard is on a towering mountain."

"Right, not far from here, called the Red Dragon Mountain Range." Beishan Baiwei shook his head with a smile. "The Yinglong Guards are very free. Who would want to stay on that desolate mountain? Anchan City is bustling and lively, and it also serves to monitor the major powers in the city. Of course the Yinglong Guard has large residences here."

Ji Ning nodded.

"The North City is mostly occupied by the Yinglong Guard."

"The South City is mostly occupied by the cultivator army of my Anchan Beishan clan." Beishan Baiwei smiled. "This is already an open secret, though it's not written in the simple booklet given to all who enter the city."

"Only the East City is where most of the wealthy merchants, great traders, and scattered cultivators gather."

...

Along the way, Beishan Baiwei also told Ji Ning about some relatively secret matters that anyone at a certain level would know. It broadened Ji Ning's horizons.

Moreover, the West City had many places of pleasure.

The most famous among them was the Treasure Hill!

"Treasure Hill covers an area of six hundred li. It's a mountain within the city, hollowed out inside, filled with countless treasures. They sell spirit beasts, slaves, and various gambling battles... In short, any pleasure you can imagine can be found in Treasure Hill." Beishan Baiwei shook his head helplessly. "But Treasure Hill is backed by the imperial clan of the Grand Xia Dynasty! In every commandery city across the endless lands, there is a Treasure Hill, earning the Grand Xia Dynasty immense wealth."

"Today, I'm taking you to the Carefree Grotto." Beishan Baiwei winked at Ji Ning. "The top pleasure spots in all of Anchan City are Treasure Hill and the Carefree Grotto."

"Treasure Hill can be found everywhere in the Grand Xia Dynasty."

"The Carefree Grotto is unique to Anchan City, opened by three Celestial Fox Immortals." Beishan Baiwei grinned. "Of course, it also has the support of my Anchan Beishan clan. After all, we can't let Treasure Hill take all the wealth."

Ji Ning laughed too.

"Young master, we've arrived." A voice came from outside.

The Nine-Star Immortal Carriage slowed down and quickly stopped.

Beishan Baiwei led Ji Ning off the carriage and pointed at the enormous building before them: "This is the Carefree Grotto."

Ji Ning was momentarily stunned. In the distance was a gigantic, magnificent building shaped like a massive fox—a fox several hundred li long. The entrance was at the mouth of the fox's lowered head. The dense, rich天地元气 around made Ji Ning feel extremely comfortable.

The Whitewater Marsh also jumped off the carriage, standing beside Ji Ning, looking at everything with awe in its eyes.

"Young Master Baiwei, please, please come in." A tall, burly man with ox horns ran over. His surging aura startled Ji Ning. This demon, not restraining his aura at all, allowed Ji Ning to confirm he was likely at the Wanxiang level.

"Mm." Beishan Baiwei nodded casually.

"And this is?" The great demon looked at Ji Ning.

"This is my good friend, Young Master Ji Ning." Beishan Baiwei said directly.

The great demon quickly nodded: "Young Master Ji Ning's first visit, I see." He was very polite as he led the way.

Ji Ning glanced around and quickly noticed that many people were entering the Carefree Grotto for pleasure, but most had no attendants greeting them. Even when there were attendants, they were mostly innate beings, at most Zifu cultivators.

Only Beishan Baiwei had a Wanxiang great demon come out to greet him specially.

Ji Ning, the Whitewater Marsh, and Beishan Baiwei walked inside.

Along a wide, beautiful corridor, they soon arrived at a great hall. On the left side stood a row of beautiful women—some demons, some cultivators—and on the right side stood a row of men, also demons or cultivators.

"Greetings to Young Master Beishan and Young Master Ji."

They all bowed respectfully in unison, their sleeves brushing the ground.

Being welcomed so respectfully by so many demons and cultivators, all shouting in unison, Ji Ning was momentarily stunned. Fortunately, his soul was strong, and he quickly recovered.

"Good heavens, no wonder it's run by three Celestial Fox Immortals and the Anchan Marquis's estate." Ji Ning marveled.

In the hall sat many guests.

Among them were four people Ji Ning recognized.

...

Meng Jun, Meng Yan, and Meng Xin were led by their clan uncle into the Carefree Grotto. The bald middle-aged man said, "The Carefree Grotto is a top-tier pleasure spot. In terms of pleasure alone, it surpasses even Treasure Hill. The food here is beyond what you can imagine in the clan. Since you'll soon be joining a sect, I'll let you see the sights today."

"Is this the silverfish from the Extreme Min region?" Meng Jun praised as he ate. Meng Xin and Meng Yan were also eating with great delight and excitement.

Nearby, some beautiful demons who were innate beings danced gracefully, while human innate being women played stringed instruments...

"Hm?" The bald middle-aged man, Third Uncle, suddenly turned his head.

From another passage in the hall, a group of beauties exuding demonic or cultivator auras quickly emerged, along with an equal number of men. They lined up neatly in two rows, as if waiting for someone.

"A big shot is coming." The bald middle-aged man said quickly.

"What's wrong?" Meng Yan looked over in confusion.

"Their auras are all released—they seem to be Zifu great demons and Zifu cultivators." Meng Xin exclaimed.

"Wow, who are they welcoming?" Meng Jun's eyes lit up. If he could curry favor with such a big shot, wouldn't he soar to the heavens?

Suddenly—

The two rows of beautiful women and men stretching to the depths of the corridor all said respectfully, "Greetings to Young Master Beishan and Young Master Ji." The sound echoed throughout the hall.

"Young Master Beishan?" The bald middle-aged man, Third Uncle, said in a low voice, "It's the Beishan clan of the Anchan Marquis's estate, and definitely a direct descendant of high status. Otherwise, the Carefree Grotto wouldn't make such a fuss. But who is this Young Master Ji?"

"Let's see the big shots of Anchan City." Meng Jun stared intently.

Many in the hall were looking toward the corridor entrance.

A young man in black robes with a tall crown walked in, beside him a youth in animal skins, followed by a divine beast, the Whitewater Marsh, and a maidservant.

"Brother Ji Ning?" Meng Jun, Meng Xin, and Meng Yan were all stunned.

...