Chapter 153: The Southern Spirit Continent

What else could she do? Just take it one step at a time.

Feng Ke'er sighed, "Let's find a place to stay first." Having cultivated diligently for several centuries, she had carelessly been thrown right back to where she started in the blink of an eye. Curse this damned Spirit World!

Her recent experiences, coupled with the bad news of her master being reduced to an unregistered black-market entity, poured down like bucket after bucket of cold water. At that moment, Hu Li felt profound melancholy mixed with immense regret. His once versatile, multifaceted heart felt as though it had been filled with molten lead, heavy and weighed down. Not a shred or sliver of the joy of ascending remained.

"Master, it's all my fault that you've been implicated."

Originally, Feng Ke'er had been quite depressed as well. But upon second thought, she realized the Spirit World was just inherently this infuriating. Five years from now, when she finally ascended on her own, wouldn't she still be subjected to layers upon layers of stripping and extortion? Yet this time, through a series of accidental lucky breaks, Hu Li had been mistakenly identified as a beast companion belonging to the Hu family of the East Spirit Continent, neatly dodging two layers of exploitation... Therefore, be content, my dear! Just treat it as having transmigrated all over again and starting completely from scratch.

Consequently, our heroine's mood greatly improved, and she turned to comfort her own "beast companion": "Things have reached this point, and it's not something you could control anyway. Besides, the ascension channel only opens once every five hundred years; if I missed this ascension, I would have to wait another five hundred years. Heaven knows what kind of situation it will be five hundred years from now, or whether the channel will open on schedule again! What's done is done, and peace must be made with the circumstances. Hu Li, stop letting your imagination run wild."

Sweating profusely, she only now realized that a bound guardian beast actually fell under the category of "pets." A demonic beast acting as a bound guardian beast was called a "demonic pet"; if replaced by a spirit beast, it was a "spirit pet"; and if it were a divine beast, it was a "divine pet"—meaning that bound guardian beasts originally belonged to the clan of "pets." Ah, well, she would just have to "pamper" him as much as possible then.

Naturally, Hu Li had no idea she was redefining his status all over again. Upon hearing her words, he was moved to tears and secretly resolved: Even if he had to be stripped of several layers of skin, he would find a way to secure an identity jade token for his master as soon as possible.

And for now... he would naturally obey his master's command and get settled first.

The area behind the memorial archway was completely vacant, and at a glance, it was obvious that restrictive barriers had been set up. He walked toward it. Sure enough, golden light burst forth. Emerging from the massive bluestone pillars of the archway came a bearded warrior clad in bronze armor and leather bracers, holding a spear twelve feet long.

The fellow's build was exceptionally sturdy, standing half a head taller even than Hu Li. Estimating with her eyes, Feng Ke'er figured he was at least two meters tall, and she mentally praised: Goodness gracious, as expected of the Spirit World! Even when comparing two black bear spirits, this guy's physique was far more robust than the black bear demon in the Returning Sea!

Indeed, the bearded warrior was none other than a fifth-tier black bear spirit beast.

"Identity jade token." Glancing over the cyan lotus mark between Hu Li's brows, he immediately turned up his nose and cast a sideways glance, arrogantly thrusting out a furry right hand.

Hu Li hurriedly offered it with both hands. With his previous experience serving as a foundation, he already knew this was called "arrival registration." The rules of the Spirit World were thus, and he had no choice but to comply.

However, this fellow showed no intention of taking it.

What was going on? With a swift spin of his brain, Hu Li immediately caught on, and alongside the jade token, an additional top-grade spirit stone materialized in his palm.

The bearded warrior rolled his eyes.

Too little? Hu Li added another stone.

That furry right hand still showed no sign of withdrawing! Left with no other choice, Hu Li added yet a third one.

Clearly, the bearded warrior was infuriated by this dense, uncomprehending block of wood, letting out a cold snort from his nose. Gritting his teeth, he grumbled, "One hundred spirit stones." In his heart, he had long since started cursing: Since you managed to land the role of a bound guardian beast, you must have some tricks up your sleeve—how could you possibly compare to ordinary demon cultivators? Why are you being so stingy with your offerings? Do you look down on your Grandpa Bear, or do you really look down on your Grandpa Bear!

Unexpectedly, Hu Li raised his eyelids pitifully and said, "Grandpa Bear, this subordinate truly doesn't have one hundred spirit stones on him." As he spoke, he fished out an empty, deflated storage pouch and opened it wide right before the guard's eyes.

The bearded warrior couldn't help craning his neck to look inside. Sure enough, the only thing resting in there was a single, lonely spirit stone.

Hu Li very perceptively offered up this last spirit stone as well.

Silently cursing the heartless Reception Department in his heart, the bearded warrior grumpily snatched the spirit stones and the identity jade token. The spirit stones were pocketed, while the jade token was pressed against his palm. A flash of white light passed, and the registration was complete. At the same time, a cyan bamboo slip, two fingers wide and half a foot long, materialized in his hand. He tossed the jade token and the bamboo slip back together, snapping, "Scram!" He was filled with all sorts of envy, jealousy, and hatred that this poor, cheap demonic beast had actually managed to become a bound guardian beast! Who had such terrible taste? Who was it!

"Many thanks, Grandpa Bear." Hu Li caught them, beaming from ear to ear as he hurried past the archway. Following registration, the restrictive barrier dissipated. Behind the archway lay a bustling, lively world of bustling traffic and surging crowds.

That cyan bamboo slip turned out to be a newcomer's guide, complete with a user-friendly map of the South Spirit Continent attached at the end.

According to the instructions in the *Guide*, newly ascended pseudo-immortals were first required to report to the External Affairs Courtyard of the South Spirit Continent branch of the Spirit World Alliance.

Once they reported, designated officers would be responsible for arranging immortal dwellings and other matters for them.

On the map, the terrain of the entire South Spirit Continent was nearly circular, marked with four main avenues distributed in a tic-tac-toe pattern, known as the "Immortal, Spirit, Treasure, and Law" grand avenues. In addition, the South Spirit Continent had four major docks named Jia, Yi, Bing, and Ding. Each dock connected to two grand avenues. For instance, the Jia Dock where Hu Li currently found himself led to the Treasure and Law avenues.

The External Affairs Courtyard was located at the intersection of the Treasure Avenue and the Immortal Avenue, not far from the Jia Dock—less than five miles away.

For Hu Li, that meant he could reach it just by taking a few steps.

The entire External Affairs Courtyard was a large compound with two courtyards deep, featuring red walls and green bricks, guarded by a row of life-sized stone-sculpted cloud cranes stationed at the entrance. However, these cloud cranes had various postures, just like the ones at the Immortal Ascension Platform; the only difference was that their beaks were all tightly sealed shut.

Free? This string of words popped up in the minds of master and servant almost simultaneously. Uh, well, no help for it—who told the Spirit World to revere spirit stones even more than Joy Valley?

What retribution!

There were guards at the entrance. Four of them, male, all transformed spirit beasts, dressed identically to the bearded brute earlier.

Upon seeing him, the expressions on these four faces were so envious they might as well have had the words "burning with jealousy" carved in bright letters across their foreheads.

According to the *Guide*, one only needed to present the identity jade token here. The former master of Joy Valley shook her head and sighed inwardly as she held the identity jade token, crestfallenly brushing past the four spirit beasts' jealous little glares and walking into the External Affairs Courtyard.

The place for identity registration was just inside the main gate, in the first room on the right.

There wasn't a single soul at the doorway. Hu Li frowned, walked up to the threshold, and was about to bow and announce his arrival.

"Come in!" a old woman's voice drifted out from inside. It was low, hoarse, and reeked of the twilight years. At a single listen, one could tell she was someone whose lifespan was nearing its end.

Hu Li lifted the thick cyan door curtain and poked his head inside.

Out of respect, he stood at the threshold with his head slightly lowered, not daring to release his spiritual sense to probe about.

Clearly, this humble and courteous gesture of his greatly pleased the old woman inside.

She covered her mouth with a light cough, and while sizing up the pseudo-immortal before her with clouded, aged eyes, she let out a clicking sound of admiration: "Not bad, you certainly grew a fine hide; no wonder you caught your master's eye. Sigh, it just goes to show that beauty is a sharp blade—true beauty really ruins people!" She couldn't be more sour inside: a base, lowly demonic beast had managed to secure a fine master the moment he ascended, with a boundless future ahead of him. Yet she, as a human cultivator, had wasted the prime of her years lingering vainly at the Great Perfection stage of the Void-Transformation realm simply because she couldn't catch the eye of a prominent cultivation family.

Were you praising someone or cursing them? Hu Li lowered his head even further to conceal the resentment on his face.

Inside the spatial orb, his master was practically flipped upside down with rage—ruin your head! You're the pervert here!

Clearly misunderstanding the peculiar reaction of a certain demonic pet, the old woman stared with dim, lustful eyes and smiled lecherously, "I am the manager here. Little cutie, hand your jade token over to me, and I'll register you." Anyone who could take on a demonic pet probably wasn't a proper, legitimate scion of a cultivation clan; they had to be one of those fellows with mediocre fortune. Hmph, what was so great about that?

Ever since becoming a Demon King, our fox had not heard anyone address him in such a frivolous manner for a very long time, and a surge of anger flared up. He took several deep breaths in succession to keep from lashing out on the spot.

Muttering an acknowledgment, he presented the identity jade token with both hands.

The old woman extended a withered, branch-like claw, took the jade token, and took advantage of the moment to give his palm a solid, lingering stroke to take advantage of him.

Hu Li snapped his hands back instantly, clenching them into fists: I'll endure this!

"Nine-tailed Silver Fox, granted the surname Hu by his master!" With flashes of white light glowing in her palm, the old woman couldn't help crying out in shock, lifting her head in disbelief to stare up at him. "Your master's surname is Hu? From which clan?" If he truly were a scion of the Hu family from the East Spirit Continent, then even someone casually plucked from the bunch was not a person of her status to provoke.

Hu Li lifted his head open and above board, glaring angrily at her, bypassing all questions to answer directly: "You are not worthy to hear my master's name!" Pangu the Great could bear witness that everything he said was the absolute truth.

After all, he had once been a figure crowned as a "King." With this burst of anger, his overbearing aura burst forth completely.

The old woman possessed merely the cultivation of the Great Perfection of the Void-Transformation realm; though she wore the uniform of her post which warded off pressure, she still shivered violently.

Her expression shifted drastically, and her still-functioning old brain raced to logical deductions: This demonic pet possessed an outstanding appearance and extraordinary bearing... and besides, those people at the Reception Department had actually let this demonic pet pass without trouble... Could it really be that some young noble lady of the Hu family had privately claimed him? With beauty taking precedence, it was truly hard to say!

What qualification did a low-level manager like her have to pry into the private affairs of the cultivation world! Forget it, forget it!

"Great Immortal, please wait a moment; this subordinate will be done shortly." She instantly changed her tune, efficiently opening the jade scroll on her desk, picking up a spiritual brush, and writing away in a flurry of scratches.

Hu Li knew he had successfully bluffed the old and lustful manager. Given his temperament, he would never deign to utter another half-word to her. However, thinking of his master's current predicament, he furrowed his brows and sneered, "May I ask if every newly ascended newcomer has to register here?" Newcomer—this was a new term he had learned from the *Guide*.

The old woman had already finished writing, laid down her brush, and returned the jade token with both hands. Not daring to look him in the eye any longer, she lowered her eyelids and replied, "Indeed. This subordinate will arrange a dwelling for you right away. There is simply no other way; all newcomers must stay in our South Spirit Continent for a full three years before they can relocate to live in the East Spirit Continent."

This was something the *Guide* had never mentioned. Hu Li didn't really care about relocating or not relocating to the East Spirit Continent, but he deeply resented such rigid population control systems. Most importantly, his master couldn't spend three years hidden away in an ear-clearing artifact without seeing the light of day! Thus, upon hearing this, his brows furrowed even deeper: "Does that mean within three years, I can only stay in the South Spirit Continent?"

++++++++++Dividing Line+++++++++

The neighborhood's internet connection had malfunctioned, and from yesterday until now, it still wasn't working. The office was on holiday again. Therefore, waiting and waiting with no other option, Peak had to ask her husband to upload the newly updated chapter from his workplace. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to cast recommendation votes and monthly tickets; your support is my greatest motivation.)

Tongtian Baodian 153_Tongtian Baodian Full Text Free Reading_Chapter 153 South Spirit Continent Update Complete!