The Science of Cultivation [Xianxia]
Chapter 287: Return to Changjiao City

It only took Li Lang and Jun Ziyan four days to reach Changjiao City, the largest city in the province of Vermillion Dragon. During Li Lang’s previous visit, he delivered a certain letter to the Yan Clan that resided here.

“We’ve finally arrived. I can’t wait to sleep in an actual bed tonight,” Jun Ziyan muttered.

“Hmm, you can go rest in the inn right away if you want. I’ll just be visiting the various guilds in the city, not exactly danger-prone locations.”

The woman silently narrowed her eyes at him, as if determining whether she should say something or not before giving up, sighing to herself as she shook her head.

“You better not be trying to sneak away or something. Master will kill me if I let something happen to you, which in turn, means I’ll kill you if you get me into trouble.”

“I’m a man of my word. When have I ever lied to anyone?”

Jun Ziyan didn’t bother responding and simply enjoyed the view over the enormous city they were coming upon. It was a welcome sight, considering the two had spent the last four days nonstop traveling. The two rotated in shifts to stay in constant motion, never spending a night in any settlement or camping in the wilderness.

It allowed them to take the most direct path, barring a few sections of dangerous mountain ranges, cutting their travel time in half.

It didn’t take long before the two parted, Jun Ziyan staying behind in the inn while Li Lang headed off into the greater part of the city.

For the first time in years, he didn’t feel the need to hide his identity or agenda while in orthodox cultivator territory. He was sanctioned by all the big sects in his search for the Abductress, which in practice was quite broad in scope. Any local forces would have to aid in his search unless given good reason, otherwise they’d likely be censured by others.

It was a lot of power to give to a party, which was why Li Lang’s group, now known as Star Gem Academy, was eventually selected. The rationale behind it was that the waves that a bunch of Foundation Establishment cultivators could make were limited. The big players didn’t mind just offloading the issue to their juniors to deal with it.

However, before approaching any local forces, Li Lang’s first stop was the various crafting guilds. He had thought about it over the last two weeks and was determined to get certified in every craft to become a True Craftsman.

“Excuse me, how do I go about taking the test to become an official woodsmith?” Li Lang asked the young girl behind the reception desk.

She appeared no older than fifteen and blinked blankly upon noticing Li Lang’s presence. She then glanced around, as if searching for help, but found the entire lobby deserted.

The grand hall of the Woodsmith Guild was quite spacious in that it had high ceilings. It had to in order to support the various trees growing there. For some reason, the lobby of the guild looked more like a greenhouse than the inside of a grand building. The ground was full of dirt that likely went quite deep to allow the dozens of trees present to spread their roots.

While from the outside, it seemed just like a normal building, once inside, the walls were like glass, with the sun visible somehow. Li Lang instantly thought it was the one-way mirror he was familiar with, but he had confirmed the exterior really was made of wood and stone as it appeared. Despite not knowing the specifics of the material, he did note that it had similar properties and allowed sunlight to shine through.

The part Li Lang was more curious about was how that was possible, when there were evidently several floors above the lobby. The light ignored those other floors somehow and reached the first floor. If this could be replicated on a wide scale, Li Lang could see a lot of uses for it. Just its potential to grow a massive amount of crops and herbs would prove to be invaluable.

It would not only save space, but also simplify the maintenance. It was a lot simpler to water the crops if they were all stacked on top of each other in one building rather than spread across a large area. There just needed to be a simple water distribution system in place to trickle down between floors.

“Umm—umm, I’ll be right back!” The girl finally mustered the courage to open her mouth, yelling her words at the top of her lungs. She then jumped up from her seat and ran into the back, slamming the door behind her.

Li Lang was taken aback by the scene. It made him wonder if he had come to the right place. He had never expected a proper guild to be so irresponsible, using inexperienced children as receptionists.

No wonder this place is so deserted. This branch must be defunct.

Li Lang hesitated whether he should leave right away or at least wait for the girl to return. Unable to decide, he turned to his usual mechanism, ignoring the issue and busying himself with something else.

He proceeded to closely examine the trees growing in the lobby. At first glance, they didn’t appear special, but the longer he stayed there, the more he felt a low thrumming of power coming from somewhere.

His suspicion turned out to be spot on, as he soon realized certain trees were filled with power!

They ranged from as low as the Mortal-grade up to the Saint-grade, and were all of the same species. These trees were genuinely fine heavenly materials.

Realizing the value of these specimens, Li Lang couldn’t resist and glanced around to confirm no one was here before moving to take a sliver of the fine specimens before him.

A small knife appeared in his hand as he moved to scrape off some bark, only to be thwarted in his attempts. The bark had proven too resilient for him to damage. He sighed at the misfortune of his inability to take advantage of the golden opportunity before him. He quickly reined in his disappointment and settled for the lower-grade trees.

However, before he could act, a voice softly called out from behind, almost making him jump.

“Greetings, young one. Are you interested in the Xuan Yuan Banyans?”

He turned to find a young woman, who appeared no older than Sima Xue, smiling gently at him. Behind her was the previous receptionist, tightly grasping at the hem of her robes while hiding behind her back.

“Why—yes, of course. I’ve recently started exploring the intricacies of woodsmithing, so I’m naturally enamored by these fine specimens.”

“You’re here to register with the guild and take the test?” the woman asked with an amused grin.

“That’s right.”

“Understood. Please follow me, then. Little Lan, you can return to your station.”

The young girl instantly looked relieved, instantly dashing back to her seat at the reception table. The older woman chuckled at the sight before walking up the set of stairs in the corner of the lobby.

“You’ll have to excuse her. She doesn’t do well with new people, but I’m sure that’ll change once she warms up to you.”

“Excuse me, Elder. I don’t mean to intrude on the guild’s affairs, but is it wise to have someone so meek be the lone receptionist?”

From the woman’s tone and unreadable power, Li Lang assumed the young woman before him was an old expert with a young appearance. The fact that she didn’t rush to correct him seemed to prove him right.

“The woodsmith guild is a little different from the others you are familiar with,” she replied while eyeing Li Lang’s various rings that signified his membership with the other guilds. “Most of our members are—let’s say a bit more eccentric on a good day, and are prone to be recluses. They usually send one of their little helpers to take care of their errands, so our guilds aren’t as busy as you would expect.”

“That is quite different from the other guilds, then. To be honest, I’ve never seen one this empty.”

“Ha,” the woman laughed as she gestured to follow along down a corridor on the third floor. “I assure you, this place is a lot more occupied than it seems. It’s just that they’re all holed up in various rooms.”

As if to prove her point, one of the doors they had just walked by clicked open. Li Lang turned around to spot a boy around twelve years old sprinting away. Curious at the scene, he leaned back to peek into the still-open doors, to find it full of plants and soil. A lone man was crouched in a corner, inspecting something, and the doors closed before he could see anything else.

“Mr.—, apologies, I don’t think I got your name yet?” his guide called out.

“Li Lang.”

“Very nice to meet you, Mr. Li Lang. I am Ci En, the elder who will be administering your test. If you would please enter, we can start the test right away,” the woman said as she opened the door to the adjacent room.

“Yes, of course, Elder. The pleasure is mine.”

With nothing holding him up, Li Lang went inside. He immediately noticed how the room was much brighter than the hallway. The sunrays seemed omnipresent within the building, albeit at different intensities. As a Foundation Establishment cultivator, there was no need to wait for his eyes to adjust. His eyes were drawn to the neatly tilled field before him.

It made him quite curious, as woodsmithing didn’t require planting seeds in the soil. The techniques he learned all simply required him to channel specific techniques into the seed. As if reading his mind, Ci En closed the door behind him and began to explain.

“It’s your first time at the Woodsmithing Guild, yes? As you know, our profession takes quite a bit of time before our works bear fruit. What you see before you allows us to cut down the time required for seeds to sprout. Otherwise, this test may take longer than you’d like. Shall we get started?”

Li Lang quickly made a high-priority mental note to ask how the fields before him could achieve accelerated growth before nodding.

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