All Things Are Contracts

Cities vanished beneath their feet, only for new ones to appear. Though the scenery of foreign lands was beautiful, Zhanyue couldn’t appreciate it. A journey that would normally take over a month was completed in just one short day by flying sword.

As night fell, illumination Towers lit up like beacons across the ground. When Zhanyue was in the city, the illumination Towers seemed enormous, illuminating vast areas. But now, from the sky, these towers were merely tiny circles of light dotting the earth.

Compared to the vast World, the areas of human habitation at night were only a tiny fraction. Even though humans were the largest race in this world. This made Zhanyue feel the same despair he had felt gazing at the stars in his original world – small and powerless.

The Alchemy Daoist slowed down and descended. A majestic city appeared before Zhanyue’s eyes. It was far larger and more prosperous than Pearl City, with towering buildings rising from the ground. Such tall structures were rare elsewhere, but here they were ubiquitous. These high-rises reflected the light from the illumination Towers, casting various fluorescent colors. The city was colorful and enchanting, as if covered in neon lights. This characteristic was mainly due to the extraordinary minerals used to build these tall structures. For a moment, Zhanyue thought he had traveled back to the modern city he came from, with neon lights everywhere, a riot of colors.

“The capital of the Thousand Beauties Empire, Myriad Purple City, is also known as the Dream City. The minerals used to build these structures are a specialty of the Thousand Beauties Women’s Country and are never exported. The most beautiful night scenery in the world can only be appreciated here,” the Alchemy Daoist explained.

He took out a jade pendant, and the invisible city-protecting barrier didn’t activate, allowing the Alchemy Daoist to enter freely from the sky.

Zhanyue saw that the central area of Myriad Purple City was clearly enclosed by huge palace walls, forming a pattern resembling a rose. People on the ground probably couldn’t see it, but Zhanyue could see it clearly from midair. The buildings inside the walls were completely different from those outside. Instead of towering high-rises, there were walls made of glass petals, layer upon layer, enclosing the people and things inside. People in the surrounding high-rises couldn’t see a single blade of grass inside. The multicolored light reflected from the surrounding buildings shone on the flower palace, making this huge glass flower appear in different colors from different angles.

“A flower in the mortal realm that doesn’t attract butterflies, bathed in five colors at night, blooming brilliantly; Since ancient times, beauties have been said to topple cities, but only this city topples beauties. This is where the Thousand Beauties Empress resides, the imperial palace of the Thousand Beauties Empire – the Glass Flower Palace,” the Alchemy Daoist sighed with emotion every time he saw this huge glass flower. He had many stories from his youth in this place.

The two landed on a circular platform with a stone tablet beside it, inscribed with the words “Guest Reception Platform”. Even the Alchemy Daoist followed the proper procedures here, after all, this was the imperial palace, and the current Thousand Beauties Empress was his junior.

“Sen… Senior, the person you said you’d introduce me to is… is the Thousand Beauties Empress?” Zhanyue finally understood, still trying to recover from his shock.

Soon after, two beautiful female officials approached. When they saw the jade pendant in the Alchemy Daoist’s hand, they were both startled. That pendant meant free access within the palace.

“Take him to see the Empress,” the Alchemy Daoist instructed one of the on-duty female officials, then said to Zhanyue: “Kid, speak carefully in front of that girl, her temper isn’t too good. I won’t go with you.” The Alchemy Daoist sensed a divine thought probing and immediately fled on his flying sword.

The female officials curiously observed the Dao cultivator, not daring to ask more. This senior actually dared to call Her Majesty the Empress “that girl” – clearly someone they couldn’t afford to offend. Then they turned their gaze to Zhanyue, observing this handsome young man.

“Young Master, please come with us. Her Majesty summons you to the Phoenix Luan Palace for a meeting,” the female official said. They had already received a message from the Thousand Beauties Empress.

Passing through maze-like corridors, Zhanyue headed towards the Phoenix Luan Palace with a nervous heart. If the Thousand Beauties Empress was willing to help, Baizhi’s predicament would be easily resolved.

Soon, a magnificent sleeping palace appeared before Zhanyue’s eyes. Such a large palace actually only housed the Empress and a dozen palace maids. As for guards? They were completely unnecessary, because the Thousand Beauties Empress herself was the strongest expert in the Thousand Beauties Women’s Country. The palace maids around her were also all exceptionally skilled.

“We’ve arrived. Gong Xiaoyun, please take over,” the female official responsible for receiving guests brought Zhanyue to a palace maid. Without the Empress’s permission, they couldn’t enter. Only the palace maid could lead Zhanyue in.

“Young Master, although you’re a guest, I still need to remind you of the proper etiquette. When you go in, don’t let your eyes wander, don’t move around carelessly, and don’t speak out of turn,” the palace maid named Gong Xiaoyu reminded.

“Thank you for the reminder, miss. I’ll remember,” Zhanyue replied.

The Phoenix Luan Palace was the Empress’s sleeping quarters and generally didn’t receive outsiders. But since the Alchemy Daoist had brought someone in the middle of the night, it must be urgent, so the Empress didn’t move to another location but received Zhanyue here.

As soon as Zhanyue entered the great hall, he sensed a fragrance, like flower scent but more mellow, very pleasant. The decorations in the hall were all world treasures – paintings by famous artists, sculptures by great craftsmen, rare gems, top-grade silks…

Entering the inner hall, a screen appeared before him, hanging down to Zhanyue’s waist level. In the candlelight, it was somewhat translucent. Through the screen, Zhanyue could see a huge dragon bed. The bed was so large that not just one, but ten people could sleep on it. The dragon bed was also covered with thin gauze curtains, with only a graceful silhouette visible inside, the face completely unclear.

Zhanyue knew to stop here; one step forward would be overstepping.

“Junior Zhanyue pays respects to Her Majesty the Empress,” Zhanyue bowed respectfully. In this world, kneeling wasn’t necessary.

“Uncle Master didn’t come with you?” The Empress spoke. Her voice was very aloof, with a hint of dominance, but even so, it was very pleasant to hear.

“Uh, the Alchemy Daoist senior didn’t come,” Zhanyue answered. Although he couldn’t see the Empress, her divine thought was constantly locked onto him.

“That old thing, he borrowed a few top-grade spirit herbs from me last time. Looks like he doesn’t want to return them. If he’s willing to visit my master more often, what are a few spirit herbs worth?” The Empress sighed inwardly, feeling indignant for her master, then asked, “What’s your relationship with him? Are you his new disciple?”

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