Not long after, Liu Ming, accompanied by Qing Gu and the others, walked out of the main hall and headed towards the direction of the flying ship.
It was currently early morning.
"Greetings, Patriarch." When the dozen or so Qing family disciples saw Liu Ming's arrival, they immediately became serious and bowed to Liu Ming.
Liu Ming smiled and waved his hand at these disciples, telling them to dispense with the formalities.
Most of these people were at the Jin Dan realm. Among them, the one with the highest cultivation was standing at the very front. He was a young man with a square face, and his cultivation was already at the peak of the late Jin Dan realm.
"You are Qing Yu, right?" Liu Ming casually glanced at the young man and said lightly.
This Qing Yu was the disciple that Qing Gu and the others favored the most in recent years. Liu Ming had also occasionally heard of this Qing Yu's name. Previously, he felt that this disciple's aura was restrained, so he made this guess.
"This disciple is Qing Yu, greetings, Patriarch." Qing Yu did not seem to expect that Liu Ming also knew his name, and his expression was a little excited as he bowed again.
Liu Ming usually kept a low profile and rarely walked around the family. Although all the Qing family disciples respected Liu Ming like a god, there were very few who had seen Liu Ming.
"No need to stand on ceremony, it's getting late, let's go." Liu Ming smiled and flew onto the flying ship. Qing Yu and the others hurriedly followed.
"I wish Patriarch a smooth journey." Qing Gu and the others bowed.
Liu Ming smiled bitterly in his heart. His trip to the central imperial city was unpredictable. Even he did not know what the outcome would be.
After a short while, the flying boat glowed with azure light, and it transformed into a grand azure ray of light that shot off into the distance.
… …
Liu Ming did not pay attention to the trivial matters on the way. Not long after leaving the Cloud Scraping Valley, he directly handed over the control of the flying ship to Qing Yu. Then, he entered an exquisite cabin at the highest level of the flying ship and shut himself in for the whole day.
The flying boat flew quietly along the way and didn't encounter any accidents. It only stopped at some cities along the way.
The closer they got to Yu Province, the more people they saw in the cities along the way. Most of them were in groups and seemed to be in a hurry. Most of these people had the emblems of the major families embroidered on them. It seemed that they were also going to pay tribute to the Central Imperial City.
In recent years, although the Liu Clan had rebelled and occupied a few states, overall, the Central Dynasty still had the absolute upper hand. No matter what the aristocratic families did in private, they naturally would not offend the Central Dynasty for a mere tribute.
Therefore, although the tribute ceremony this time was not as lively as in the past, it was still a rare occasion in a hundred years.
After half a month, Qing Clan's airboat arrived at Yuzhou Province safely.
After entering Yuzhou, they naturally encountered more tributary groups on the way.
At this time, Liu Ming was not in the mood to continue cultivating in seclusion. Instead, he spent most of his time standing at the bow of the ship, looking into the distance.
Speaking of which, Yuzhou was indeed the headquarters of the Central Dynasty. It was the most prosperous state among the 33 states of the Ten Thousand Demons. There were many cities, and one could see a big city almost every few thousand kilometers.
At this moment, Qing Yu stood respectfully behind Liu Ming and asked softly, "Clan leader, we should be arriving soon, right?"
Liu Ming looked in the northwest direction and nodded noncommittally, but he did not say anything.
Originally, Liu Ming had always been rather mysterious in the eyes of the middle and low-level disciples of the clan. In addition, Liu Ming had always given people a rather serious feeling. Therefore, when Qing Yu was chosen to pay tribute with Liu Ming, he was very uneasy.
However, along the way, Liu Ming did not restrict him at all. Instead, he would give him a few pointers on cultivation from time to time.
With Liu Ming's current cultivation and vision, a few pointers would naturally benefit Qing Yu immensely.
Therefore, although he was still in awe of Liu Ming, there was also a trace of childish admiration in him.
Near the Qing Clan's flying ship, there were many large flying magic tools flying in the northwest direction at different speeds. Naturally, they were all the tribute teams from various places.
Woo, woo, woo …
A low buzzing sound came from behind.
The expressions of Liu Ming and Qing Yu changed. They turned to look behind them, only to see a huge blood-red flying ship breaking through the clouds and flying in the distance.
The flying ship was hundreds of meters long, and there were many large blood-red flags on it. There was a row of oars on both sides of the flying ship that looked like wings. With a seemingly light stroke, the blood clouds on both sides rolled violently, and the flying ship flew hundreds of meters forward at the same time.
In just a dozen breaths, the blood-red flying ship surpassed the Qing Clan's small flying ship and flew to the front.
"Patriarch, look at the flags on the flying ship. Could it be …" Qing Yu looked at the blood-red flying ship's flag in front of them, which was embroidered with a blood-red peacock pattern.
"Yes, that should be the tribute team of the Kong Xiang Clan." Liu Ming nodded slightly and said lightly.
Qing Yu took a deep breath. The status of the four great clans was extraordinary. They were existences that local clans like the Qing Clan had to look up to.
"There's nothing to be surprised about. After a few days, you will also be able to see the Demon King." Liu Ming said indifferently.
"Yes." Qing Yu's heart trembled when he heard this, and he hurriedly replied respectfully.
Liu Ming looked at the gradually disappearing ship of the Kong Xiang Clan. His eyes flickered, and no one knew what he was thinking.
After another seven or eight days, the Qing Clan finally arrived at the destination of this trip. It was located in the northwest of Yu Province, in front of the Central Imperial City.
Looking from afar, the entire imperial city was surrounded by mountains and rivers. It was majestic, and it occupied an area of thousands of miles. The tall city wall was like a giant dragon, winding and coiling in a hexagonal formation, protecting the entire imperial city.
Looking at this scene, even Liu Ming, who had traveled all over the sky, swam through the underworld, and traversed the wilderness, could not help but have a strange look in his eyes. He was extremely shocked.
Qing Yu and the other disciples of the Qing Clan were even more stunned.
The Central Imperial City occupied a vast area, and the magnificent buildings were more than ten thousand times bigger than the Qing Clan's. It was magnificent and luxurious, and it was not something that an ordinary clan's city could compare with.
On the north side of the Imperial City was a green mountain peak that was tens of thousands of feet tall. The peaks rose and fell, stretching for thousands of miles. On the east and west sides, there were two moats that stretched for thousands of miles.
Only on the south side of the city, the city gate was wide open, and it stretched for thousands of miles. Inside and outside of the city gate, there were imperial guards standing guard every ten steps or so.
The entire Central Imperial City was surrounded by water on two sides, and mountains on one side. The only way to pass through was from the south side. Those who came to pay tribute to the Central Imperial City could only enter from the south side.
In this way, the entire imperial city was easy to defend, and difficult to attack. The layout was excellent.
At this moment, Liu Ming and the others were hundreds of miles away in midair, so they could see the entire city.
Other than the outermost city wall, there were actually two layers of circular city walls inside the city, dividing the entire Central Imperial City into three areas.
The outermost area was the widest, and it was also the most densely populated area in the entire imperial city. One could vaguely see the shops and pedestrians inside, and it was a bustling and prosperous scene.
The layout of the second area was quite different from the ordinary compact cities of the Myriad Demon Continent. Although the area was much smaller than the outermost city, the buildings built around the city were more than ten times larger than ordinary shops and residences. Scattered mansions surrounded the innermost area, and every mansion was grand and majestic, showing the extraordinary identity and status of the owner. Although it was not as magnificent as the innermost area of the imperial city, it was not something that ordinary aristocratic families could compare with.
The innermost area was naturally where the imperial city was located, and it was also where the current Demon King, Huangfu Yong, resided.
The Demon King Palace occupied an area of more than a thousand miles, and there were dozens of tower-like buildings that reached into the clouds, intersecting with each other. They were all hidden mysteries, and they were surrounded by black-purple Qi, making them faintly discernible, making them look even more mysterious.
At the base of these giant towers, there were many pavilions and pavilions, one after another, and it was hard to tell how many pavilions there were.
"We're finally here," Liu Ming muttered to himself as he narrowed his eyes and looked at the majestic imperial city in the distance.
Suddenly, Zhao Qianying's beautiful face flashed in his mind, and his heart, which was as calm as an ancient well, could not help but be moved.
"Let's enter the city early and find a place to stay first." Liu Ming coughed lightly again, pulling Qing Yu and others who were still a little dumbfounded back to reality, and he said lightly.
Qing Yu's face suddenly turned red, and he smiled embarrassedly. He naturally had no objections to Liu Ming's suggestion.
Hence, under Liu Ming's personal control, the flying boat landed on an empty space several tens of miles away from the imperial city.
Liu Ming and the others landed on the ground, and the flying boat quickly shrank and flew into Liu Ming's sleeve.
After flying for a while, the group finally arrived at the southern city gate.
Although there was only one gate, there were many entrances to the city. There were more than a dozen entrances, and at each entrance, there were guards clad in purple armor inspecting the entrances.
But even so, there was still a long queue at each entrance.
From the way they were dressed, it seemed that most of the people lining up to enter the city were aristocratic families that were paying tribute to the Demon King.
Although the queue was long, the speed at which they entered the city was not slow. It didn't take long before it was Liu Ming's turn.
"Are you also here to participate in the Demon King's tribute ceremony? Which prefecture are you from? Tell me your names. " A guard with a cultivation of Jin Dan indifferently looked at Liu Ming's group. Facing Liu Ming's Celestial Phenomenon cultivation, he did not reveal the slightest bit of reverence.
This was not surprising. Almost every aristocratic family that came to participate in the tribute ceremony, as long as their strength was not too weak, would be led by a Celestial Phenomenon Elder. There were even some large aristocratic families with Profound Enlightenment Ancestor personally leading the group.
"We are from the Quan Prefecture's Yan Yun Mountain Range, the Qing Clan." Liu Ming smiled, and did not say anything. He took out the Qing Clan's token and the title deed of the dynasty in the Cloud Scraping Valley.
"Oh, so you are an aristocratic family from Quan Prefecture. Please come in. According to the arrangements made by the court, your residence will be in the Zhen Xin Garden in the second city district. This is the entry token. Take this token and head to the Zhen Xin Garden. There will be people who will arrange your residence for you, as well as the matters of the tribute ceremony. " The guard leader released his divine sense and checked the token carefully. He then took out a purple jade token and passed it to Liu Ming. At the same time, he spoke rapidly.
This long sentence only took two to three breaths of time for the guard leader to finish speaking. His words were like arrows. It was likely that he had said similar words countless of times in the past few days.
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