Hao Ren was shocked, he had no idea what to do with the system, the task sounded very easy but the impact it had on his state of mind, it was definitely not going to be as pleasant as it sounded, however, he quickly consoled himself, "Tch, the reward makes up for it."
That said, Hao Ren got on the back of his horse, and said, "Let's go, back to the gate of the city."
Blue Wise was true wise, it navigated back to the gates of the city, and the same guard from earlier asked, "Senior, how can I help you?" Fresh chapters posted on novel⸺fire.net
Hao Ren asked, "Can you tell me where to buy the map of the seven cities?"
The guard nodded and said, "In the city, the shop, Yu Scribe. There you can get all the maps you want."
Hao Ren nodded and entered the city again. He was met with the same environment as to what he had left earlier. This time he didn't min how other acted, he only minded himself. After some navigation he came upon the shop, and said, "Blue Wise, stay here."
The horse snorted and then closed its eyes as he stood. Hao Ren chuckled and patted it's nape. He entered the shop and looked over to the side. He found a middle-aged man, sitting behind the counter with parchment before him as he outlined a few things on it. Hao Ren waited till the person finished his stroke before asking, "Do you have the map for the Spirit Siphon Continent?"
The man raised his head and said, "Fifty spirit stones."
Hao Ren raised his brow and then asked, "Can I see it first?"
The man said, "You will have to pay me fifty spirit stones for that as well, Sir. Cultivators can remember everything, how can I just show it to you?"
Hao Ren couldn't help but chuckled and took out fifty spirit stones. He thought that the map was a bit too costly but it was what it was. The man took out a thick book from the space ring. Hao Ren was shocked, he turned the pages and found that it was different sections of the map that displayed each kingdom or land in great detail.
The shopkeeper said, "You can imprint it with a drop of your blood and wherever you go, this blood drop will move correspondingly on the map."
Hao Ren was shocked, and asked, "This is a spiritual map?"
The person nodded and said, "Yes."
The young man thanked the shopkeeper and then he went out of the shop. He hopped on the back of his horse and left the city. The bell tied on his hand calmed his thoughts throughout the path. Once he was out of the city, he smeared a drop of blood on the book, and after a few moments, it turned on its own.
The drop of blood appeared at the border of the City of Lust, then he located the route he needed to take to head to the City Of Rage. The young man moved on his horse, he closed his eyes to comprehend the few things he sensed inside the city of lust, and then induced that emotion in his sword play.
The journey continued, and apart from stopping for the night to rest and eat some game, Hao Ren didn't stop. When he was moving, he realized that as a cultivator, his affinity towards the seven emotions have grown a little indifferent. Since he was going to move through all seven cities, they he needed to experience them as a human as well.
After another week, he reached the City of Rage. In the city walls were huge, and they were painted red. Looking at the hazy barrier around the City, Hao Ren knew that this place was important, and also sensitive. As he approached the barrier, he got down the horse and said, "Blue Wise, you stay here, I will go in alone, I am not getting any good vibes here."
The horse nodded, and moved to the side. Hao Ren smiled, he had realized that Yin had taught this guy to cultivate and awakened his wisdom root. Hao REn put his hands behind his back and moved ahead through the barrier. As soon as he was inside the barrier, he heard loud voices and he felt heat.
As he drew closer to the city walls, he was surprised, it wasn't red paint, but blood that caused the color of the walls to become so striking. He approached the gates, and the person on the gates was dressed like a savage. His body covered with beast pelt, and he looked at Hao Ren as he said, "Tch, another jade rabbit came to play in the mud."
Hao Ren didn't reply and the man continued, "Once you go inside, there is only one rule. You will have to stay for a year. If someone attacks you, you can kill them directly. However, if you attack someone and manage to survive the conflict, you will be slaughtered and then your blood will be splashed on the city wall."
Hao Ren clicked his tongue and said, "Kinda novel, isn't it."
The savage froze for a second and then chuckled, "Indeed, as long as the blood belongs to the others."
Hao Ren tossed him a spirit stone and entered the gate. As soon as he was inside, his smile vanished and he let out a breath. The scent of spilled blood was traveling in the air. If the walls were standing out, then the entire city was dancing at the moment. Every building was covered with red blood as paint. The cobblestone road had a stickiness to itself, as if fresh blood was thickening.
Hao Ren could not understand how could such a city exist. What's more, he could not fathom how this place was a kingdom even. As he went to the depth of the city, he found that the scent of blood lowered a lot. However, he saw another stone gate.
Some people were walking in and some came out. Hao Ren was surprised at this marvel, because he saw the people were exchanging human heads. Suddenly, he heard a voice, "Kid, you new here?"
This comment attracted many gazes at Hao Ren and the young man nodded. The person said, "If you want to get through the get, you need hundred kills. Today is your first day, so you are safe unless you open attack on someone."
Hao Ren asked, "I can attack just anyone because I want to?"
The man chuckled and said, "See, there are ten rows of houses from here to the inner gate. You need to have ten kills from each lane. The only rule is, the ones in the higher row cannot attack you until you attack them."
Hao Ren nodded, and looking around he asked, "What do you people even do here? I mean what is so great about this killing?"
The man chuckled and said, "The Dao of slaughter."
Hao Ren nodded, and then he understood what was going on here, as he appeared behind the speaker, and said, "If I see you ever again, you will die first."
That said, a sword appeared in Hao Ren's hand, and he began to kill. His speed was quick, he took down ten people with ease, and then he took down their heads and made his way towards the second lane of houses. The people were shocked, they didn't expect that Hao Ren would be so cruel, and uncaring for his own safety.
Hao Ren continued the onslaught till the fifth lane and sat down on the empty home of a person that had just fallen. The young man went inside, took a pill, and sat down to recover his strength. However, the entire city knew about him within a few minutes.
The young man pondered over what Dao of slaughter meant. As to why he stopped in the fifth lane, it was because he could sense that as he advanced through, the opponents got tougher. It was not the realm of cultivation that he was talking about, but the realm of comprehension.
The people here were using a baleful energy to counter and this energy was something they comprehended from killing different people. When Hao Ren sat down to perceive the source of this energy he found that the energy came from the center of the city.
He cleared his mind and sensed the aura before absorbing it. However, as soon as he absorbed it, he realized that this distinct energy didn't mix up with his spiritual energy, but it was a completely different source that was equally strong as the spiritual energy. He closed his eyes and immersed himself in the depth of cultivation.
Han Lingshi sensed something and a smile appeared on her face. She was still in seclusion and was infinitely close to the Dao Sky realm. She opened her eyes and found a talisman burning before her, a calm voice sounded, "In seclusion at City Of Rage, Kingdom of Seven Emotions. Don't come here, its complicated, look after yourself. I love you, will message when I wake up."
Han Lingshi sighed and shook her head as she said, "Once I reach the next realm, then I will give you a surprise. Behind her, a golden Halo manifested, this Halo was something that she condensed thanks to the devotion of the citizens."
Hao Ren didn't know how long it had been, but he absorbed as much bale energy as he could, and then he picked up his sword, ready to attack.