Chapter 2260: Flash Gold's Largest City

People at the time called them "Thumb Whirlwinds" because the largest were only seven feet in diameter and ten feet tall, while the smallest were just waist-high.

Even curious ordinary people had long been warned not to provoke them, as they served as the plains' patrols.

The Hairy Ridge Giant was targeted by two small whirlwinds, which followed it for five *li*. Only after confirming it posed no threat did the whirlwinds turn and leave.

Everyone also saw a small whirlwind turn red and chase three or four people, who shrieked and yelled. This indicated it had detected something amiss and was preparing to act.

Sun Hongye cupped her hand over her eyes, watching the commotion. "Who are those people?" she asked.

"They're no good, that's for sure," Aunt Zhu replied coolly. "They probably had ill intentions earlier."

These people, thinking themselves clever, saw a merchant caravan ahead and dashed into the crowd, hoping to use the living people as human shields.

As local guardian spirits, the whirlwinds surely wouldn't attack innocent passersby, right?

The next second, the small whirlwind's body rapidly expanded, transforming into a massive wind monster over fifty feet tall. Its upper body was humanoid, while its lower body remained a whirlwind, and it even grew a pair of large hands!

Immediately, it grabbed these people and flung them high into the air!

"Tsk, tsk, they'll be half-crippled if they don't die from that fall."

After flinging the people away, the wind monster reverted to its small whirlwind form. Without even glancing at the merchant caravan before it, it calmly continued its patrol.

"The mountain-and-water spirit of this plain is a giant wind demon, and the small whirlwinds are all its avatars," Aunt Zhu finally told Sun Hongye. "This wind demon was formed from the gathering of spiritual essence from underground gale winds in Wind Demon Mountain of Baoshu Kingdom; it's an ancient remnant. Later, it couldn't stay there anymore, so its master transferred it to Jiuyou. It loves to be unrestrained and free, so Jiuyou appointed it as the plain's mountain-and-water spirit, tasking it with its duty of guardianship."

In the past few years, with the resurgence of spiritual energy, a large number of mountain spirits and wild monsters were enlightened and gained sentience. Not only did humanity flourish, but the supernatural beings in the mountains and wilds also became very active. Canyan's territory was too vast, making security relying solely on human effort extremely difficult.

Therefore, the Canyan Kingdom had requirements for its appointed mountain-and-water spirits: they must undertake security and patrol duties for their terrestrial and aquatic territories, strictly guard against and combat bandits and malevolent demons, and had assessment tasks, not allowing them to be lazy. Those who failed would be dismissed and would no longer enjoy the local offerings and vital energy.

At this moment, the Hairy Ridge Giant looked up at the sky and rumbled, "We need to hurry; a storm is coming."

Dark clouds loomed low on the horizon.

A storm on the plains was no laughing matter.

Ahead was a large town and a dense forest.

The variety of trees was rich, including phoenix trees, bayberry, camphor, and persimmon trees, among others. Surprisingly, they all grew very well together, each one lush and tall.

As the Hairy Ridge Giant approached, Sun Hongye noticed an ancient tree near the water, completely covered in white.

However, it was neither frost nor snow, but rather a tree full of white birds!

"Could that be the Immortal Post Forest?" Sun Hongye had heard of it for a long time and finally had the chance to visit.

"Exactly," Pu Hua said with a smile. "Actually, there are four Immortal Post Forests, one in each direction—north, south, east, and west—around Ju City. It is strictly forbidden to ride and fly over Ju City. If you came by mountain eagle, you must land here and transfer to a carriage or horse before entering Ju."

So the dense forest was full of birds that had flown long distances and landed here. After resting sufficiently, they might even take on a few jobs to other destinations.

The town itself was a large post station. Besides accommodating aerial travelers, it also served as a hub for carriages and horses traveling north and south.

This was the largest post station Sun Hongye had ever seen. Ordinary post stations were simply a row of small houses by the roadside, with stables and guest rooms, perhaps with some vegetables grown behind them. This was his first time seeing a post station that had grown into a town.

Ju City was the largest and most prosperous city on the Glimmering Gold Plain. Its astonishing flow of travelers necessitated such a large post station.

And according to Pu Hua, there were four such large post towns around Ju City.

In fact, many major cities in Glimmering Gold had issued "flight bans," not to prohibit birds from flying, but to forbid them from carrying passengers over the cities.

Sun Hongye asked curiously, "What happens if someone violates it?"

"Even if you wanted to go, the bird demon you're riding wouldn't agree," Pu Hua said, pointing to the sky in the east. "There's a barrier above Ju City. Once it detects a bird carrying passengers, an alarm bell on the city gate tower will be triggered, and at the same time, the wind demon in the sky will force you down. If you don't die from falling out of the sky, then you can look forward to jail time."

"The wind demon manages things there too?"

"If you fly closer, you'll see the wind demon's true form," Pu Hua encouraged him. "It's not formless and intangible as most people imagine."

Sun Hongye waved his hands repeatedly, "No, no, that's alright."

He wanted to be a law-abiding citizen, so he didn't need to know so much obscure knowledge.

After crossing another stretch of hills, Pu Hua pointed straight ahead and said to Sun Hongye:

"Look, that's our capital city!"

His words were full of immense pride.

The sky was covered with thick clouds, and on the ground lay a magnificent city.

It was a large city situated by a mountain and a lake, with two rivers flowing through Ju City. On the lake, golden ripples shimmered, and boats came and went.

Even from a high vantage point, Sun Hongye couldn't see the city's boundaries, knowing only that it stretched from the lakeside to the edge of his vision, amidst the mountains.

Buildings were closely packed and varied in height, predominantly yellow, white, and red. Some landmark buildings, such as the Thirty-Three Pagoda, were eye-catching bright orange. This was mainly determined by the colors of the local soil, minerals, and shells.

"This city is huge!"

"After Ju City was established as the capital, its area expanded sevenfold. It is now the largest city on the Glimmering Gold Plain."

Sun Hongye's eyes widened. "It expanded sevenfold in just a few years?"

Is that even possible? Doesn't planning, infrastructure, and construction take time?

"It wasn't built purely by human labor, so it didn't take that long. Times have changed," Pu Hua said, feeling pleased every time he broadened someone's horizons. "It happened to coincide with the resurgence of spiritual energy, and Ju City's expansion utilized mountain spirits, water spirits, and various divine and immortal creations. Those massive official facilities, like that pagoda—"

He pointed into the city, where the conspicuous orange pagoda stood tall.

"That wasn't built brick by brick by hand, but rather a very delicate 'embryo' was first created—what our Emperor calls a 'model'—then placed in its designated location, and then 'grown' large, just like planting a tree!"

Sun Hongye clicked his tongue in wonder. "That tall pagoda was actually grown?"

"Indeed, it took four months from start to finish," Pu Hua said with a chuckle. "During the growing of the pagoda, there were layers upon layers of onlookers. I also went to join the excitement and even lost a shoe. The way the pagoda grew out of the ground really resembled a bamboo shoot breaking through the soil, just taking a bit longer."

"It's not just the tall pagoda that's built this way." He gestured casually. "Look, the city walls, look, the temples—they were all grown like that, very quickly."