Chapter 186

Lin Hui stood at the edge of the Moth Carriage, gazing downward and outward.

The ground of the Inner City—its hills, plains, streams, and roads—shrank rapidly beneath them. They were ascending at incredible speed.

The altitude climbed higher and higher. The details of the earth blurred, obscured by the thinning mist in the air.

"Watch out," Hong Ling warned.

Before Lin Hui could react—

Poof!

With a muffled thud, the Moth Carriage plunged headlong into the high-altitude sea of mist.

Everything instantly turned pure white; the dense haze obliterated all sight. After several breaths of blind ascent—

Poof.

The Moth Carriage burst from the sea of mist, rushing into a spacious, high-altitude sky flooded with brilliant golden sunlight.

The vast white ocean of cloud churned and rolled beneath their feet, its peaks gilded with faint golden light. On the distant horizon, a golden sun—something Lin Hui had not seen in far too long—hung quietly, radiating a warm, peaceful brilliance.

Beneath that sun, a cluster of snow-white Moon Towers rose like a forest of white bamboo growing from the misty sea. Tiny gray Moth Carriages flitted in and out around them like insects.

"Well? How does it feel?" Hong Ling smiled, patting a somewhat dazed Lin Hui on the shoulder.

"Very good... very good. Is that sunlight? The sun?" Lin Hui stared at the golden orb, which appeared only the size of a fist. A faint, profound emotion he hadn't felt in years welled up in his chest.

To the vast majority of people living in this world, sunlight was merely a brightness that filtered down from outside the Mist. They did not know the specific appearance of the sun; they could only vaguely discern a slight outline through the haze. But at this moment, after so many years, Lin Hui finally looked upon a star again.

A deep emotion, sprouting from the very bottom of his heart, diffused through him. In that instant, his comprehension of the Typhoon Sword Technique surged forward.

The realm of the sword technique, which had only just broken through to the Fifth Rank, instantaneously jumped, filling half the progress bar to reach the mid-stage of the Fifth Rank. Countless fragments of information flowed and interwove in his mind—concepts of stars, the atmosphere, planetary gravity, and typhoons...

Suddenly, he grasped a faint enlightenment regarding why the next realm of the Typhoon Sword Technique was named the Star Breath Sword Canon.

Breath of the Multitude Stars... Breath of Stars...

Beside him, watching this scene, the smile on Hong Ling’s face faded involuntarily, replaced by deep envy. Only a fellow martial practitioner could understand how rare Lin Hui’s current state of comprehension was.

Not only him, but Hong Lingxiang, who had been resting with her eyes closed nearby, opened them to gaze at Lin Hui with a strange look.

"Is this the posture of a true genius?" Hong Ling transmitted his voice. "Lingxiang, you sleep in the same room as him tonight."

"...He is very good, but not my type," Hong Lingxiang refused via voice transmission. She paused, then added, "Besides, isn't he betrothed? To that monster..."

"You're scared?" Hong Ling laughed.

"Who wouldn't be?" Hong Lingxiang retorted.

"True. Everyone is scared."

The two spoke no more, watching the Moth Carriage rapidly approach the Moon Tower.

The section of the Moon Tower above the sea of mist was completely different from the lower parts. The upper section featured an entirely open-air courtyard style. From the outside, one could see layers of exquisite, magnificent white ornamentation and the general scenery within.

Some layers were entirely swimming pools, rivers, and waterfalls, dominated by water. Others were filled with empty, towering stone pillars, where pairs of figures strolled and rested. There were bustling market layers for trading and beautiful garden layers planted with all kinds of fresh flowers.

From a distance, Lin Hui noticed that the people here mostly wore simple moon-white robes with silver edges. Their features were exquisite and perfect, and everyone wore a relaxed, joyful expression.

As the Moth Carriage flew closer, he saw even more. Before he could distinguish the details, the moth slowed and flew into the middle layer of a Moon Tower, landing gently.

This layer was at least a hundred meters high. Between huge stone pillars, the ground was filled with white pavilions of all sizes. Signs hung outside the establishments: Hundred Flavors Residence, Food is Heaven, Fragrant Water Caltrop Pavilion, and Pungent Flavor Mansion.

All were food shops. The people entering and exiting were exclusively exquisite white-robed men and women.

The Moth Carriage stopped in an open space at the edge of the layer, lining up with other carriages. Hong Ling led the two of them onto the platform.

"It happens to be time for dinner, so we won't go back just yet. We'll go straight to the Food Layer," Hong Ling explained with a smile.

"Why are there so few people now?" Hong Lingxiang asked in confusion, "Usually, there are at least twice as many people at this time."

"It's because of the Purgatory matter earlier. The Clear River Sect was wiped out, and the Sect Master was polluted by Purgatory. Extreme Desire Heaven is furious and has sent quite a few people down to handle the matter. The Taisu Primal Disk suspects there might be a problem with the seal on the Purgatory Gate. So now they've sent one group to purify and another to investigate the Black Army. You know the Black Army has always been responsible for sealing those pollution gates," Hong Ling said casually.

"So that's it... Then what about Mother? As one of the Elders of Extreme Desire Heaven, she has always been in charge of security supervision... this time..."

"Oh right, Mother is probably busy too. We might not necessarily see her when we get back," Hong Ling clapped his hands in regret.

"Wait, were you planning to take Lin Hui to see Mother from the start?" Hong Lingxiang suddenly realized, glancing at Lin Hui, who was looking around with novelty. She transmitted her voice to her brother.

"That's right," Hong Ling nodded.

"Why?" Hong Lingxiang looked shocked. "Aren't you afraid Mother will take a fancy to his connections and comprehension, and give us another sibling? Mother is an Elder of Extreme Desire Heaven; condensing Trueblood again is difficult, but she can do it."

"That's exactly what I planned," Hong Ling replied nonchalantly.

"!!!" Hong Lingxiang was completely speechless.

After two seconds, she transmitted her voice dryly. "But I really don't want another outsider dad..."

"If she gets pregnant, great. If not, given Mother's personality, it doesn't matter. She'll just treat it as hospitality for a guest from afar. What are we worried about? That's Mother's business," Hong Ling said.

"...Fine," Hong Lingxiang nodded.

At this moment, Lin Hui still had no idea that the gap between the Moon Tower’s views on men and women and those of the outside world was so immense it would completely overturn his understanding.

He currently pretended to be calmly surveying his surroundings, but inside, he was secretly rejoicing. He hadn’t expected the Moon Tower to place such importance on Purgatory. Fortunately, he had evolved the Extreme Cold Heaven Ginseng King in time to suppress and seal his Purgatory fire aura. Otherwise, coming to the Moon Tower now would have been no different from walking into a trap—throwing himself into a tiger’s den.

By now, Hong Ling had led them to a pavilion named Qianxun Tower.

Two beautiful young girls standing at the entrance stepped forward to welcome them.

"Would the guests like hot pot, stir-fry, steamed dishes, or raw food?" one girl asked softly.

"Give us a stir-fry private room," Hong Ling said familiarly. "Also, can't I eat you first?"

He smiled, pulled the girl close, and gently pinched her cheek.

Then—

Rip.

Under Lin Hui's shocked gaze, he tore the girl's cheek right off and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing slowly.

"Is it plum flavor this time? The taste isn't bad."

"Yes, the Master adopted the voting opinion from the second ranking last time and changed us to plum flavor," the girl answered with a smile. No blood flowed from the wound on her face; instead, a creamy white substance similar to pastry was visible, emitting a faint sweet fragrance.

Soon, Lin Hui saw the wound on the girl's face recover rapidly, healing and returning to its original state in less than two seconds.

"Brother Lin, want to try some? Don't worry, they aren't real people. They are human-shaped pastries made by the owner of this shop using his own special Divine Method." Hong Ling saw Lin Hui's expression and knew what he was thinking. This was one of his great pleasures in bringing guests here.

He laughed heartily.

"This..." Lin Hui scrutinized the two girls carefully. He couldn't tell at all that they were made of pastry, yet he had witnessed Hong Ling's action with his own eyes. "Eye-opening... truly eye-opening," he sighed.

"Actually, it's not just them." Hong Ling reached out and snapped a piece of white stone off the pavilion door frame next to him, stuffing it into his mouth. "This is the Food Layer—a layer consisting only of food. So everything you see here, apart from the guests, can be eaten. This door is made of glutinous rice cake. It's very sweet. The flavor is a bit simple, but you can casually eat some when you're bored."

Surprised, Lin Hui also reached out, crushed a small piece, and put it in his mouth.

Sure enough, it was soft and sweet, carrying a rich glutinous rice fragrance. Aside from the texture being a bit hard, there was nothing wrong with it. This didn't affect martial artists like them; with their strength, even the hardest beef bones could be eaten as snacks.

"Everything here automatically recovers after being eaten, so eat with peace of mind." Hong Ling led his sister and Lin Hui into the pavilion.

Inside, they passed through a main hall where a sparse number of diners were eating. The vast majority were white-robed individuals dressed similarly to the Hong Ling siblings; they were likely all Truebloods.

A small number were like Lin Hui, guests who had been brought in. He even saw a tall guest with a dragon head and human body playing cards with friends after finishing a meal.

After his surprise, Lin Hui found the design of the Moon Tower completely unexpected. He also began to worry again about his Purgatory background being detected here, and felt some regret about his decision to rashly accept the invitation.

However, if he missed this opportunity, he didn't know how long he would have to wait to enter the Moon Tower again. Only the invitation of a Trueblood could allow entry so easily. Taking a little risk was worth it.

The three entered the private room, sat down, and waited for the dishes.

Hong Ling started chatting again about the recent troubles in the Inner City.

"Lin Hui, you probably aren't clear on what the Purgatory Gate is, right? Be sure to be careful when you go out recently. If you see people or monsters with red eyes, high body temperature, covered in blisters, or looking as if they've been burned or scalded by fire, remember not to make contact. It's best to get away immediately."

"Why is that?" Lin Hui's heart stirred slightly as he asked earnestly.

"Because those are the characteristics of Purgatory-ization," Hong Ling sighed.

At this moment, three beautiful young girls dressed in thin gauze walked slowly into the room.

"The juice for the three of you is here. Please enjoy."

Lin Hui looked at the three of them and didn't see anything in their hands. He was just about to ask when he saw Hong Lingxiang pull one of the girls into her lap, press her mouth against the girl's, and start sucking.

She sucked a large mouthful, released, and swallowed with a gulp.

"The taste isn't bad this time. Yam and Bayberry Juice is indeed the most classic." She grabbed the girl's small mouth again and resumed.

To the side, Hong Ling did exactly the same, pulling a girl into his lap. "Drink, drink. They are Juice Girls; their bodies are full of juice. They aren't living people, eat with peace of mind."

Lin Hui looked at the last girl, who was staring at him with big eyes. For a moment, he didn't know what to do.

"Don’t be afraid. I actually helped design their appearance back then. The outside is just a layer of edible canvas, and the inside is all juice. They’re only fitted with Relics to provide voice and movement," Hong Lingxiang said with a smile, noticing Lin Hui’s hesitation.

Lin Hui was speechless. Even knowing this, he still couldn’t get past the hurdle in his heart.

Soon, he watched as the bodies of the two girls rapidly deflated, finally collapsing into two thin sheets of colored canvas, which the Hong Ling siblings casually folded and placed on a nearby chair.