Chapter 728 - 220: [Completely Different] (8,600 Words) _5
Some family and clan medicine fields and estates are often vast, all enclosed within arrays.
And it is heard that after passing West Platform City, the further you go into the Domain Realm, the more restrictions there are.
Many places of natural beauty, as long as the Primordial Qi is richer, are all claimed as forbidden areas by powerful families and clans, often isolated by arrays spanning thousands or even tens of thousands of miles.
If you were to fly through on your own, unless you are a top Great Power, people might watch you pass and at most respectfully see you out of their territory.
If you are an ordinary cultivator, attempting such a thing is courting death. You would be accused of trespassing on their lands or violating their forbidden areas, and if they kill you on the spot, it would be a senseless death!
Assuming these are ownerless wilderness where you can pass at will is a significant misconception.
Official flying ships or those of sects and powerful clans have their own routes; they either circumvent the territories demarcated by family and clan formations or have permission to pass, flying grandly overhead.
Chen Yan had obtained a map of the Domain Realm from You Su Yi. Traveling from the Western Border to the Southern Border, even in a straight line, is a journey of hundreds of thousands of miles!
To put it in perspective, the Earth’s equatorial circumference in the real world is only about eighty thousand miles.
This shows that the Domain Realm, this planet, is much larger than the Earth in the real world.
Despite the planet’s size, gravity hasn’t crushed anyone, possibly because the planet has low material density?
Or perhaps this world’s dimensional rules differ from those of the real world?
Chen Yan didn’t dwell on those questions, but pondered the attendant’s words in his heart.
To the Southern Border, he must go—this is the main reason he came to the Domain Realm!
Because... the Southern Border is the home of the Ghost Race!
On this journey to the Domain Realm, he’d brave the perilous thousands of miles to find a chance to visit the Ghost Race’s land and see if he could meet the old lady!
Seeing Chen Yan remain silent, the attendant waited deliberately before taking a deep breath, moved a bit closer, and spoke in a low voice, "If you want to try your luck at the South City’s storehouse, I can introduce you to a family relative who makes a living there, working in the storehouse of a clan sect. He can help find you a nearby flying ship to the Southern Border and find a way for you to join the passage.
But... as for how to smooth things over..."
Chen Yan nodded and immediately understood, smiling, "Tell me, how much does smoothing relations cost?"
The attendant quickly calculated in his heart, glanced at the dishes the guest ordered, and recalled the previous tip, quoting a price he deemed the guest could afford: "Two hundred coins... but I can’t guarantee that you’ll make it onto the ship.
After all, there might not immediately be a flying ship to the Southern Border, and maybe you’ll have to wait a few days.
Moreover, stewards on family and clan ships have different temperaments; some are flexible, while others are intractable traditionalists—meeting such people, smoothing things over might not help.
But my relative has a good reputation. After receiving payment, you’ll most likely wait five or six days for definite news—if successful, you’ll be taken to meet the ship’s steward and get on board.
If not, half of the two hundred coin smoothing fee can be refunded."
"Only half refunded if it doesn’t work?" Chen Yan deliberately sneered.
The attendant was unperturbed, speaking slowly, "Respectable sir, this is how it works—success or failure is yet to come, but the smoothing work needs doing first, inquiries must be made, and gifts sent before people give feedback.
If it doesn’t work, how can my relative retrieve the gifts from the clan’s steward to refund in full?
Getting back half shows decent credibility. If you don’t believe it, you can check with others before coming back to me."
Chen Yan nodded; the statement seemed reasonable.
He currently had over two thousand coins left.
The two hundred coins... he could afford to spend.
"Let’s be clear, the two hundred coins are just for smoothing relations; you’ll still need to pay a ticket price to the steward for boarding."
Chen Yan laughed, "That’s quite the deal, how much is the ticket?"
The attendant lowered his head, "I only guided someone to Yellow Capital, for which the ticket was around three hundred coins.
If it’s to the Southern Border, I estimate it’ll be double."
So that’s six hundred coins, plus the two hundred for smoothing, totaling eight hundred.
Good heavens, cutting off three Fierce Beast Race heads wouldn’t cover a one-way trip to the Southern Border.
Chen Yan promptly took two hundred coins from his Storage Jade Pendant and gave them to the attendant. The attendant, seemingly used to such dealings, placed the money in the serving tray, covered it with his sleeve, and smiled, "You are generous, kind sir! I thank you.
Please wait five days and come back to find me. I will surely have an answer for you—you are a cultivator, and I am but a mere mortal. You could crush me with a flick of your finger; deceiving you is unthinkable."
As he was about to leave, he suddenly recalled something, looked at Chen Yan and frowned, "I heard you say you gained a chance at Snow Cliff Pass to enter cultivation, but are you registered at Snow Cliff Pass?
Whether official flying ships or private family ships, you need identification registration to board.
If not, carrying someone with a sensitive background could lead to lengthy repercussions."
Understood, a passenger real-name system.
Chen Yan could relate to this as the real world operates similarly.
However, he... genuinely had no registration.
The attendant, unconcerned, smiled and said, "If you haven’t registered at Snow Cliff Pass, you can do so at the Immortal Reception Platform in West Platform City’s administrative headquarters.
And... registering there means getting a stipend every ten days; it’s a free stipend if you don’t claim it."
After learning the administrative center’s location and the registration process, Chen Yan let the attendant leave.
He quickly devoured the food on the table and, after a hearty meal, walked out the restaurant door, checked both directions, found his bearings, and headed towards West Platform City’s Inner City.
This Domain Realm, this cultivation civilization, truly differed from what he had previously imagined!
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(This Chapter mainly explains the Domain Realm’s world framework and background setting; the plot doesn’t move much, but these elements must be explained. Fortunately, it’s just this section; not much more requires explanation later.)
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