Krune and Iem took a look around first to be sure that they weren't in danger. However, so far, nothing happened after they arrived here. Only after that did they spare some time to look at the underground City in front of them.
"What is this place?"
Iem shook his head.
"I have no idea, but it seems that the labyrinth before was made to protect this city. Or maybe it was some kind of trial to arrive here, like those of a sect."
At the moment, Krune and Iem are at an advantaged position, so they could see part of the City behind the walls. The City was completely lit. It was also possible to see people inside the tall buildings too. Without a doubt, this isn't a ghost city or anything like that.
At the same time, Luvile informed them.
"The time acceleration disappeared here. We are back to the normal flow."
Krune and Iem nodded. They also noticed that their connection with the Laws were back to normal.
"Could it be that this is just one more City on the planet we are staying, and we just so happened to use the wrong entrance? Like, we took some kind of ancient passage that isn't used anymore?"
Krune and Iem smiled bitterly. If that was really the case, then it would be too much of a bad joke. Why would anyone go to the extent of sending them through that trial then? Of course, that's just an idea. They need to go there and check it first.
Krune and Iem then moved in the City's direction. But just as they started to walk, the ground below them began to tremble. Krune and Iem had kept their Divine Senses active all the time. Although it couldn't go far, it still reached a 1km distance. That being said, they soon found the reason for the tremor below them.
Without even thinking, Iem and Krune jumped to the sides, just in time to avoid being swallowed by what seemed to be a giant worm. Since it was close to them, they could at least see its cultivation... or so they thought. Just like the Azure Beetles, this worm had no cultivation what so ever. However, the might it displayed was definitely at the Divine View Realm for sure.
Iem snorted as his body crystallized. Just as the worm tried to burrow back into the ground, Iem appeared at its side like a ghost.
Bang!
With a punch, the worm's intention of escaping crumbled as it was sent flying! Still, Iem narrowed his eyes. He had used 70% of his strength just now, but the worm didn't die. Not only that, it immediately took the inertia to turn its body and escape into the ground once more. This time, it succeeded. One must remember that be it Krune or Iem, ordinary Divine View Realm cultivators or demon beasts were just playthings.
Soon, the ground stopped tremble as the worm disappeared from their senses.
"Its attack power was only comparable to the Divine View Realm's initial stages, but its defense was ridiculously high. I reckon that even an ordinary peak Divine View Realm would have a hard time to survive my attack."
Krune nodded. He didn't try to kill the worm since it was obviously only moving on instinct. There was no sentience behind its actions at all. It was simply looking for food just like any other low-level demon beast.
"Still, we can't see any cultivation realm. Could it be the same for the people inside the City?"
Iem and Krune had no answer to that question.
"Anyway, let go there to take a look."
Krune pondered a bit before saying.
"Take a look at the city gates and the area around. Even though the City seems enormous and full of life, there isn't a single cultivator or demon beast outside. Usually, a City would have a lot of people and beasts coming and going. However, there isn't a single living soul out."
Iem had to admit that Krune was right.
"I know what you mean. We are outsiders, and there isn't anyone outside the city gates we can get information from. We still don't know what their instance towards guests like us are. That being said, we should instead try to sneak inside, is that correct?"
Krune nodded.
"It would be for the best if no one can tell who we are. At least not before ascertaining the situation."
Iem then looked at the City Walls before saying.
"Then we have a problem. There is a formation covering the entire City. It goes all the way to the skies and enters the earth. I can only see one passage, which is the City Gate. If we don't go there, how do you expect we enter it?"
"Can't you open a hole with your Formations Master Skills?"
Iem immediately shook his head.
"I've been in the Higher Realm for two months only. I spent half of it working for free in the Formations Guild, so I didn't have much time to train. Even after I concluded my free labor time, I only had a few weeks to practice the new formations. How do you expect me to be proficient with such little time?"
Krune had to admit that Iem was right.
Iem then continued.
"We have two choices at the moment. We wait for the City to open on its own and try to sneak inside. However, we don't know if someone will come out or not. Who knows, we might spend years without a single shadow appearing. The other is to go straight there and find out what is this place straight away."
Krune didn't want to waste time here, much less did Iem. In the end, they decided to take the risk of being attacked and went there straight away. Luvile and Harold were also prepared to help the two of them in case something went wrong. Of course, Krune and Iem decided to change their appearances just in case.
Once Krune and Iem got close to the City Gate, it slowly began to open. From inside, a cultivator with a black robe strode outside. Behind him, one could see another three cultivators.
The leader of the group then looked at the two with an awful expression.
"What the hell are you doing outside? Don't you know that it's the Rarin Giant Worms mating season? They are everywhere looking for food for their young. Consider yourselves lucky that you haven't been eaten yet."
The man looked at the two of them with some skepticism. Krune and Iem were using some weird clothes that he couldn't recognize. However, the City was enormous, and there was no lack of eccentric people. Because of that, the man thought that they were one of those.
Krune and Iem were taken aback. How the hell would they know something like this? They just arrived in this place, after all. Nevertheless, considering Iem and Krune's power, those 'Rarin' worms posed zero to close to none danger to the two of them.
Fortunately, there was good news. The man's language was the same used on the surface. It's just that it had a strong accent compared to the people and beasts outside.
As for thinking that Krune and Iem come from somewhere else, it seemed like that the man didn't even consider such a possibility. Obviously, that made Krune and Iem a little puzzled. Could it be that they never get outsiders coming?
Krune swept his Divine Sense over the man and let out a sigh of relief. He was able to see his cultivation. The man at the front was a Semi-Divinity Realm cultivator. It's just that Krune couldn't tell at which stage he is at the moment.
Iem analyzed the man's words and quickly reached a conclusion. He then sent Krune a Divine Sense message to leave the conversation to him.
"Sorry, sir. But we really needed to go out to train and cultivate; we had no other choice."
The man narrowed his eyes after hearing that.
"So you are one of those lunatics. No wonder you weren't afraid of leaving the City with such a low cultivation realm. I can see that you had just broken through into the Divine View Realm recently. Anyway, even if this trip allowed you to breakthrough into the next realm, Cinna City has its rules. The penalty for leaving the City without authorization is 100 Gold Coins. Since there are two of you, it is 200 Coins. I'm not going to give any discount either."
Krune and Iem were taken aback. Gold? Why would cultivators use Gold? Only ordinary people who don't cultivate would use this kind of currency. No, first of all, this was a currency in the Mortal Realm. Ever since Krune and Iem arrived here, they had never seen anyone using Gold, only Godly Stones.
However, neither Krune nor Iem took Gold out. Krune had a lot of Gold in his spatial ring that he liked to use in restaurants managed by ordinary people back in the Mortal Realm. However, his Gold Coins would definitely have a different format and size than those used by this City, and so would Iem's. One thing was the use of different clothes. After all, everyone has their own tastes. However, other Gold Coins would definitely be seen with suspicion.
Still, there was something in their favor here. The man seemed to not care about their identities! Iem was just testing the waters to see if they could pass without revealing their background. Truth be told, he wasn't harboring many hopes that it would work. The moment the man started making questions, Krune and Iem would definitely not be able to answer him. Fortunately, the man seemed to not care as long as they paid the price. Just from the looks of it, this Cinna City doesn't seem to have that many rules.
"Sorry, sir. We don't have Gold with us at the moment. Is there another way to pay for the penalty?"
Just as the man was about to talk, Krune put his hand on Iem's shoulders before saying.
"Don't worry, brother. I have brought some gold with me. You can pay me back later after we return home."
Iem was taken aback. He already told Krune that they couldn't show a different Gold Coin from the Mortal Realm, so what was he planning to do?
Krune ignored Iem's surprised face and stepped forward. He then took out 200 Gold Coins and passed it to the man. After verifying that the Gold was legit, the man nodded his head and let them pass. At the same time, he gave them a piece of advice.
"If I were you, I wouldn't stay close to those lunatics of the Axel Gang. You were lucky to come back alive this time, but that most likely won't happen again if you repeat it."
Iem and Krune smiled and pretended that they agreed with him.
"Thank you for your advice, Sir."
Right after, Iem asked Krune through a Divine Sense Message.
"How did you get those Gold Coins?"
Krune laughed before saying.
"The Formation that protects the City doesn't block Divine Sense. I was lucky to spot someone making a payment with Gold Coins. After that, I just had to change the shape of the Gold that I have. At out cultivation level, using Godly Energy to shape the metal is a piece of cake."
Iem opened his eyes in realization.
"No wonder..."
Finally, they entered the City. However, they soon noticed that it was far from what they expected.