Sprinting through the dark alleys of the city, I avoid all eyes and the slightest hints of spiritual centers. In conjunction with my other scans, I use it to determine the best way to reach the teleporter in a timely manner.

Not much time later, I arrive at the edge of the alleyways. For the next several kilometers, the streets are relatively open with markets installs all around.

Farther out than that, there are even more areas where merchants and nobles alike converse and meet. While there are alleys in these areas, they’re so regularly frequented or used for multiple purposes, that I can’t as easily stealth my way through them. In contrast, the open street is filled with people of all kinds and there are no spiritual senses going over the crowds. It will be a straight shot toward the teleporter, if I can make it through this section.

So, I do. I walk calmly and merge with the crowds, just like I did when I was gaining money.

And I make it there without issue.

As I arrive, I can see the teleportation section is surprisingly simple. It is an area in the middle of a square, that has a large number of guards standing nearby. Each of them has Qi treasures that with a blue tether, almost ethereal, connecting them in the center of the array. Even the briefest glance quickly reveals that this is a way for the guards to control who can go in and out, as well as a warning signal.

The teleportation works so quickly that people just move through it and disappear. All the guards do is take a look over the person, before moving them into the area that they disappear at.

However, that’s not the only thing that’s going on. The only people I see going through this teleporter are clearly wealthy people.

Others look enviously towards this area, before moving on with whatever goods they have.

It’s obvious that there are requirements to moving through this.

I already know I’m running out of time and my scan lets me know I should be able to easily get through, with only a little trouble, so I move towards it quickly.

As expected, the guard closest to my entry point stops me. What He says surprises me.

“So, you must be the one They told us to watch for.”

Immediately, I use my scan to navigate this situation.

I stand there, unmoving. My eyes locked onto his.

As we stand there in silence, his brow sweats. Despite the fact that he has to be at minimum a foundation establishment cultivator.

Before my scan can finish to tell me what to do or to say, he steps out of the way before saying.

“I-I’m sorry for my impertinence sir… this miserable me had eyes but could not see Mt. Tai.”

He then locks into his previous place, as if afraid to step out again.

Without further ado, I move through the array, which sends me through a swirling blue mist that obscures everything from view. This mist swirls for a few minutes. Enough time to consider what just happened.

Like everything else that happened, it’s strangely simple.

Only the truly powerful or foolish would dare stare down a teleporter guard when being questioned.

They guard countless locations, that could be accessed through the hub, and have to ascertain threats in an instant. Their senses and memories are unmatched because of this.

By me standing so still and confidently staring into his eyes, I gave off the same air as those noble children with enormous backing.

Just like them, I may not have cultivation, but that wouldn’t matter for him if those backing me did. Every sense would be telling him there is more than meets the eye with me.

Even if a group Like the alchemy Guild asked him to give me some trouble, they wouldn’t expect him to risk his standing or life to do so. Which could happen if the wrong group was angered.

Not only that, but his senses would carry weight. His feeling about me will probably be taken as hidden information that there is something far deeper about me. Which would actually be right, just not in how they would suspect.

But that no longer matters.

Because the blue mist opens up to reveal something far grander than the simple array that was in the city square.

White Spires rise to the heavens. Appearing is if between two cloud layers. an infinite horizon spreads out in front of us.

I think us, because I’m not the only one here, since many people Appear to have been teleported in from a blue mist that rises from the cloud ground.

It’s not only people that come in, but objects and creatures. I can see long caravans emerge from the mist, only to disappear soon after walking less than 100 meters straight forward.

Even for those who don’t move forward or even at all, they disappear after a time.

After looking around, I can see an arrow in front of me pointing ahead. As I follow it with my eyes, it’s almost as if I can now see a variety of portals with names above them, overlaid upon the scenery in front of me.

The portals also shine with the blue mist surrounding them and within them are still pictures of the area we’re planning on going to. Of course, something of this level would not be as simple as that, as each picture gives a deep impression of the area it goes to.

Among these is the one I’m looking for; I can see The Injured Web. It’s far to my left, but the arrow seems to hone in on it, as I walk towards it.

My scan notifies me that I’m actually still walking straight, it’s just my perception that has me walking over to the left. It’s an interesting combination of space manipulation and perception manipulation.

The jungle I’m going to, From the picture, gives the impression that it is mainly for people who have reached the Qi condensation tier. An area equally full of resources and danger.

It also tells me that there will be a protection array that I will arrive at via the teleportation array. The reason this is important is that not all locations have such a thing.

When I want to return to the outer city, I just need to return to the teleportation array within that area and it will move me back into the hub.

That information gives me the last of what I need to know about what I’m heading into. So, I continue moving forward.

Just before I step into the portal, I can see a red mist emerge from the ground nearby. Someone is looking desperately around, like they either attempted to sneak into here or break in. Almost immediately, I can see the pillars move towards the man. It is only now that I realized what those pillars actually were.

The legs of giant cultivators.

The last thing I see before entering the portal is a massive hand reaching toward the man as he cowers in fear.

And then the world opens back up to a massive plain with a surrounding jungle. There are a few buildings around. Just enough that someone could barely consider this a village.

As I look around, I could see behind me is a similar teleporting setup to what I saw when I was in the outer city. The only difference is that this one only has three guards instead of 12.

These guys also look much less prestigious than the others. Which it is to be expected, as this is likely not a consistent visit location for wealthy individuals.

They give me a quick once over and change back to watching out toward the jungle.

One thing I do note as I move on from here, is the lines that are carved into the ground and shining slightly. Reaching all the way to the edge of this clearly artificial plains, I can tell from the symbols I recognized that this is a protective array Which not only hinders any creatures with evil intentions or beasts, but also boosts the guards and anyone who fights Alongside them.

It also suppresses any demonic cultivation. Which would be good if anyone tried to use this as an access point to the teleportation hub.

All in all, this looks to be a good staging point before I decide to move into the jungle and find this flower. To my understanding, there are no restrictions to practicing your cultivation within this safety area.

I’ll be using that to its full potential now.

Alright. Let’s see the power of cultivation.