White clouds surged like ocean waves, and a cloud whale slowly appeared on the horizon.

Its body was immensely large, almost occupying half the sky. Its colossal frame cast a faint shadow upon the mountains below the blue sky.

As the cloud whale drew closer, the massive shadow on the ground gradually enveloped the foot of Fire Persimmon Mountain.

“Look quickly! What is that?” The citizens of Fire Persimmon Immortal City pointed towards the sky, exclaiming in astonishment at their discovery.

“Such a massive demonic beast, with the aura of the Nascent Soul level! Run! A great demon of the Nascent Soul level is attacking the city!”

However, before such panic could spread, Fei Si’s voice echoed throughout the city.

He informed the citizens not to worry, that what was approaching was not a demonic beast, but a vehicle of the Flying Cloud Nation merchant caravan, a cloud whale.

Upon hearing this news, the citizens discussed amongst themselves.

The panic quickly dissipated, replaced by excitement and curiosity.

Everyone was familiar with cloud merchants: the merchant caravans of the Flying Cloud Nation frequently traveled the Five Lakes and Four Seas, their footprints covering the entire cultivation world, making them very famous.

The reputation of the Flying Cloud Nation’s merchant caravans was also very high, worthy of public trust.

“But this is the first time I’ve seen a cloud merchant using a cloud whale as a vehicle. Clearly, this is a large-scale caravan.”

“Is that a cloud whale? It’s too big, simply breathtaking.”

Numerous cultivators, employing their various magic arts, looked up at the sky, carefully observing the cloud whale.

The cloud whale’s head was rounded and broad, its huge, wide forehead seemingly capable of holding the entire sky.

It had a pair of massive eyes, as blue as crystalline gems, as large as small lakes, revealing tranquility and wisdom.

The whale’s side fins, like unfurled giant white feathers, gently glided, stirring up gusts of wind and swirling the surrounding clouds into vortices.

Its tail fin was extremely broad and powerful, each gentle flick seeming capable of propelling the entire sky.

The cloud whale glided across the horizon, its speed sometimes slow, sometimes fast. The natural clouds in the sky seemed to respond to its call, naturally gathering around it, thus forming magnificent streams of clouds.

The cloud whale’s immensely massive body gracefully traveled through the cloud streams, as if it were the guardian of this realm, serene and composed.

Although the cloud whale’s life aura was of the Nascent Soul level, it gave no sense of oppression whatsoever. Instead, looking at it brought a sense of tranquility to the mind.

Suddenly, the cloud whale emitted a low, lingering hum. The sound seemed to come from the depths of the horizon, piercing through the clouds, carrying a primal and pure power that reached the deepest parts of people’s hearts.

At the moment the whale’s hum sounded, the entire sea of clouds fell silent. The countless citizens of Fire Persimmon Immortal City all closed their mouths, listening attentively to this ethereal sound.

The cloud whale quietly passed over the long sky, gradually approaching Fire Persimmon Immortal City.

Sunlight streamed down, passing through its body and transforming into a soft radiance, as if even the blazing sun had become gentle because of it.

The citizens of Fire Persimmon Immortal City were almost all looking up at the cloud whale.

Each movement of the cloud whale’s cloud fins and tail fin was so elegant and unhurried, filled with natural grace, as if it had merged with this sky.

This was truly a wondrous sight!

Finally, the cloud whale slowly stopped, suspended high in the air, maintaining a safe distance from Fire Persimmon Immortal City.

Despite the cloud merchants’ good reputation that spread throughout the world, this cloud whale was a Nascent Soul level existence after all, so there were still concerns. Thus, it consciously stopped in the sky.

After a moment, a group of people emerged from within the cloud whale’s body and slowly flew towards Fire Persimmon Immortal City.

In Fire Persimmon Immortal City, Fei Si ascended into the air to meet this group of people.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the two sides met in mid-air.

Fei Si was not surprised. Because the cloud merchants’ formal invitation had been delivered more than ten days ago.

Fei Si had only allowed this cloud merchant caravan to come to Fire Persimmon Immortal City for trade after receiving approval from Meng Kui.

“Elder Fei Si, this humble one is Song Fuli. It is truly an honor to have the privilege of doing business in Fire Persimmon Immortal City!”

Fei Si nodded and smiled, carefully observing the Golden Core cultivator before him.

Song Fuli was a middle-aged man with an ordinary face, a broad nose, and a pair of tiger eyes that gleamed brightly. He didn’t look like a businessman; instead, he resembled a brave general who had fought on battlefields.

After a greeting, Fei Si immediately requested to see Song Fuli’s cloud merchant identity token and the approval document issued by the Flying Cloud Nation.

Fei Si carefully inspected the identity token, then unfolded the approval document to check if it bore the official seals of the Flying Cloud Nation and the Southern Bean Nation.

After confirming that everything was in order, he returned the token and other items to Song Fuli.

“Mister Song, please follow me.” Fei Si led Song Fuli and flew back to Fire Persimmon Immortal City.

Song Fuli, accompanied by several people, first entered the city with Fei Si, while the other half of the people behind him began to wave back, directing more people to fly out from within the cloud whale.

A large group of cloud beasts, with various forms, including cloud horses, cloud oxen, and so on, dragged countless cargo boxes, forming a long line like a snake, slowly flying towards Fire Persimmon Immortal City.

The citizens became excited, some even raised their hands and cheered.

They discussed animatedly.

“No wonder the area on the west side of the city was cleared out so early.”

“It seems the City Lord’s Mansion had arrangements long ago. That area is specifically for the cloud merchants to settle and set up shops.”

“I’ve never seen a merchant caravan of such scale and size before. I wonder what new and novel items they’ve brought. It’s truly exciting.”

Fire Persimmon Immortal City became bustling.

Ning Zhuo’s residence.

The sixteen-year-old young cultivator also stood by the window at this moment, looking at a corner of the sky through the window.

“The merchant caravan from the Flying Cloud Nation?”

Ning Zhuo also showed a hint of anticipation.

In fact, he had always had a good impression of the Flying Cloud Nation. This was because his mother came from the Flying Cloud Nation.

Song Fuli and Fei Si walked together.

During the descent, Song Fuli looked down at the entire Fire Persimmon Immortal City and saw a scar within it – the ruins left from the previous Golden Core melee.

Song Fuli showed a trace of worry: “I wonder how your esteemed City Lord views the recent Golden Core melee?”

Fei Si quickly reassured him: “It’s just that Lord Meng Kui didn’t make a move. The previous melee was far from reaching the level that required his action! Your esteemed caravan can rest assured, everything is within the control of our City Lord’s Mansion.”

Song Fuli sighed softly: “Fire Persimmon Immortal City was built not long ago, it is a truly new city. Due to the existence of the Lava Immortal Palace, the city’s protective array is also not fully laid out.”

“The emergence of the Lava Immortal Palace this time might be a good thing. Perhaps it’s an opportunity for the immortal city array to be relaid?”

“However, before that, I hope that the caravans entering the city can have the ability to protect themselves.”

Fei Si nodded slightly, he scanned the several cultivators behind Song Fuli.

These cultivators had a rather fierce demeanor, some with scars on their faces, some with cold eyes, clearly all skilled in combat.

The cloud merchants were able to travel around the world and do business everywhere, naturally relying on powerful military protection.

The Nascent Soul level cloud whale was one layer, and these caravan guards and cultivators were clearly the second layer.

Fei Si mused: “As long as your esteemed caravan brings equipment that meets or is below the standards we previously negotiated, we will approve it.”

Song Fuli smiled: “That’s good.”

He needed to do business and make money here, while the City Lord’s Mansion, represented by Fei Si, needed to satisfy the demands of a large number of outside cultivators.

The materials that Fire Persimmon Immortal City could provide were unable to satisfy the large demands of the outside cultivators.

After all, Fire Persimmon Immortal City was still just a new city and had never accommodated so many outside cultivators.

In the past, Fire Persimmon Immortal City could be self-sufficient, but now, the demand was too great, causing businesses in all sectors of Fire Persimmon Immortal City to generally explode, but still unable to meet the buyers’ needs.

Because of this, a series of public security problems arose, further affecting the City Lord’s Mansion’s stable rule over Fire Persimmon Immortal City.

The cloud merchants make money, the vast number of cultivators obtain a large amount of material replenishment, and the City Lord’s Mansion can stabilize public order and also receive a large sum of taxes.

This is a win-win situation that everyone desires.

Therefore, as soon as the cloud merchants appeared, they were widely welcomed.

They quickly erected a large number of shops, tents, and even built tall buildings on the empty space in the west of the city.

From the first day of business, the cloud merchants’ goods sold out!

By the second day, Ning Zhuo wore a plain mask artifact, slightly altered his appearance, and left his residence to come to the cloud merchant shops in the west of the city.

In just one day, the west side of the city had changed dramatically.

Shops of all sizes stood tall, all bearing the characteristics of the Flying Cloud Nation. These pure white, grayish-white, and dappled buildings were generally tall and slender, as if they were about to soar into the clouds.

In comparison, the buildings in Fire Persimmon Immortal City were built very broad and thick, giving a sense of solidity.

The thicker a building is, the better it can isolate temperature.

The temperature on Fire Persimmon Mountain is generally higher.

The temperature in the Flying Cloud Nation, on the other hand, is suitable, but there is abundant rainfall and frequent thunderstorms.

The higher a building is built, the more it can store rainwater and utilize lightning and strong winds.

Ning Zhuo walked among these shops, experiencing the exotic flavor of the Flying Cloud Nation.

People bustled around him, and the constant noise in his ears consisted of bargaining, laughing, and playing.

The entire Fire Persimmon Immortal City had entered a festive atmosphere due to the arrival of the cloud merchants.

Ning Zhuo chose a material shop and walked in.

He needed to acquire some clouds as materials to refine into the Floating Cloud Scarf again.

The clouds produced by the Floating Cloud Scarf were not merely the effect of spiritual power; each propulsion also consumed the cloud silk contained within the Floating Cloud Scarf.

The material shop was incredibly busy, and many people were purchasing this basic material.

After inquiring about the price, Ning Zhuo purchased some floating clouds, and also purchased some floating cloud silk.

Floating clouds were considered raw materials, while these floating cloud silks had undergone a processing step and were slightly more expensive than floating clouds.