Chapter 406: Come In
"Fellow daoists, it seems that the Northern Glacial Immortal Palace is determined to defy us to the end, so there's no need for us to hold back any longer. Let's combine our powers and break this restriction by force!" Qi Tianxiao declared in a cold voice.
Everyone in the cave had been frantically searching for the entrance of the immortal manor over the past few years, and as a result, they had developed a great deal of resentment toward the Northern Glacial Immortal Palace. Hence, they were more than happy to heed Q Tianxiao's rallying call.
"Are we just going to leave it at that, fellow daoists? The Immortal Palace needs to suffer the consequences for what they've done! Not only are we going to break this restriction, we should kick them out of here and relegate them to the fate of not being able to enter the immortal manor, just like what they tried to inflict upon us!" Chen Pi yelled.
Everyone immediately fell silent upon hearing this, while contemplative looks appeared on the faces of all of the most formidable Golden Immortals present.
Generally, everyone tried to get along with the Northern Glacial Immortal Palace, and it was often referred to as the leading power of the Northern Glacial Immortal Region, but that was only due to how formidable the Immortal Palace was and the fact that there were generally no conflicts of interest between the Immortal Palace and other sects.
However, the Immortal Palace had put its ambition on full display in the wake of the Blaze Dragon Dao incident, and their sealing of the immortal manor entrance was a move that encroached upon the rights of everyone, so it was no wonder that they had become widely condemned.
Luo Qinghai, Feng Tiandu, and all of the other Golden Immortals were clearly moved by the idea.
They didn't know how many people the Northern Glacial Immortal Palace had sent to the Black Wind Sea, but there was no way that they would be a match for all of these formidable powers combined, so kicking the Northern Glacial Immortal Palace out was certainly a possibility.
Luo Qinghai and Feng Tiandu exchanged a glance with one another, and right as they were about to say something, the black restriction suddenly began to ripple and quiver.
Immediately thereafter, the nine grids reappeared on its surface one after another, while the ripples became more and more pronounced.
A few moments later, all of the nine grids abruptly lit up with dazzling radiance, but the light faded just as abruptly as it appeared, following which the entire black restriction was also lifted, revealing the dim cave beyond.
Everyone was already prepared to lash out, but all of a sudden, it was as if they had punched into a wall of cotton, and they began to exchange bewildered glances at one another, at a slight loss for what to do.
Immediately thereafter, a voice rang out from within the cave.
"Come in, fellow daoists."
Having seen Xiao Jinhan in person back in the Blaze Dragon Dao, Han Li could tell that this was Xiao Jinhan's voice.
Luo Qinghai, Feng Tiandu, and the other prominent Golden Immortals present exchanged a few glances, then made their way into the cave.
Even Qu Ling decided to follow behind Luo Qinghai and the others after a brief moment of contemplation.
All of the True Immortals present immediately followed along, and that naturally included Han Li, who was trailing along behind Daoist Hu Yan.
Before long, everyone had entered the cave.
Not only had the black restriction at the entrance of the cave been lifted, the entire array around the blue gate of light had also disappeared, but the nine stone pillars were still standing.
Without the seal in place, the blue light radiating from the gate had become several times brighter than before, and it was also giving off a glacial aura interspersed with formidable bursts of spatial power.
The glacial aura and the spatial power intertwined while the blue light within the gate surged violently, looking as if it were about to erupt out of the gate altogether.
At the same time, the world's origin qi above Red Moon Island was also churning violently, forming a series of balls of dazzling radiance before exploding amid bursts of dull rumbling.
The Northern Glacial Immortal Palace cultivators were situated near the gate of light, observing the cultivators making their way into the cave, and they were led by Xiao Jinhan, who was standing with a warm smile on his face, as if he were a hospitable host welcoming his guests.
Han Li was standing in an obscure corner, and after a quick count, he discovered that there were around two or three dozen Northern Glacial Immortal Palace cultivators present, close to half of whom were Golden Immortals.
What was rather surprising to him was the three dao lords, including Ouyang Kuishan, were also present.
As for the rest of the Immortal Palace cultivators, they were either at the late-True Immortal Stage or at the pinnacle of the True Immortal Stage.
The Northern Glacial Immortal Region was clearly far more formidable than any single other power present, and it was certainly worthy of its title as the premier power of the Northern Glacial Immortal Region.
However, with so many power joining forces, the collective lineup of cultivators was significantly more formidable than that of the Northern Glacial Immortal Palace.
All of a sudden, Han Li noticed a group of black-robed figures standing beside the Northern Glacial Immortal Palace cultivators, among which were Lu Jun and Lu Yuqing.
He hurriedly ducked behind a physically-imposing man standing in front of him upon seeing this.
The disguise that he had adopted using his Transient Guild mask could fool others, but Lu Yuqing had shown that she was able to identify him through her innate ocular ability.
"Please pardon our intrusion, Palace Master Xiao," Qi Tianxiao said with a hint of a mocking sneer on his face.
Meanwhile, Feng Tiandu, Qu Ling, Luo Qinghai, and the others were all scrutinizing Xiao Jinhan in silence.
"It's so good to see so many of my old friends here. My sincerest apologies for not coming out to greet you sooner," Xiao Jinhan said with a faint smile.
Feng Tiandu clearly wasn't in the mood for small talk, and he said in a cold voice, "Let's not waste any time here, Palace Master Xiao. I'm sure you heard the discussion that we had outside, right?"
"I take responsibility for all of my actions, so all of you can do anything that you please. Our Northern Glacial Immortal Palace is fully prepared to bear the consequences," Xiao Jinhan replied in a calm manner.
Meanwhile, all of the Northern Glacial Immortal Palace cultivators had placed their hand on their storage tools, and they weren't displaying any fear at all.
"Do you think that we wouldn't dare to go through with our plan, Palace Master Xiao?" Qu Ling asked as a cold gleam appeared in her eyes.
"Your combined powers do indeed exceed that of our Northern Glacial Immortal Palace, but I suggest you think before you act. These stone pillars form an array that can be detonated at any that I please.
“The resulting explosion won't be able to destroy the entrance, but it'll certainly be sufficiently powerful to destroy the space near the entrance. As for what'll happen to the entrance itself, you're free to speculate on that," Xiao Jinhan said in an indifferent voice.
Qu Ling's expression darkened slightly upon hearing this, and everyone else also became rather hesitant about how to proceed.
Before anyone had a chance to say anything, Qi Tianxiao yelled, "You think an empty threat like that is enough to stop us?"
"If you don't believe me, then you're free to give it a try," Xiao Jinhan replied in a calm and composed manner.
Meanwhile, Feng Tiandu and the others were communicating to one another through voice transmission.
"Fellow Daoist Feng, you're one of the top array masters of our Northern Glacial Immortal Region. Can you tell if those stone pillars really are capable of doing what he claims?" Luo Qinghai asked.
"Even I don't recognize all of the runes on these pillars, but my experience tells me that this is indeed an extremely formidable array, and if it were to be detonated, the consequences would be catastrophic," Feng Tiandu replied.
"What a sly bastard that Xiao Jinhan is. Are we just going to let them off the hook?" Qi Tianxiao asked in a disgruntled voice.
"It'll take a very long time to unravel this restriction, and if a battle breaks out, we definitely won't be able to prevent him from detonating those stone pillars. Our top priority is to enter the immortal palace, so it looks like we have no choice but to adopt a more peaceful approach. Let's see what he says first," Feng Tiandu said.
Luo Qinghai, Qi Tianxiao, Qu Ling, and the others were silent for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
"You've gotten the better of us this time, Palace Master Xiao. We'll settle for a peaceful resolution," Feng Tianxiao said.
None of the other Golden Immortals said anything, but it was clear that Feng Tiandu had the authority to speak on their behalf.
Qu Ling began to make her way off to the side, and all of the True Immortals gathered in that direction hurriedly dispersed to give her a wide berth.
The other powers were feeling rather indignant, but seeing as the Vast Flow Palace and the Dawn Fall Sect had already given up on pursuing this matter, they naturally weren't so foolish as to oppose the Northern Glacial Immortal Palace on their own. Even Chen Pi and the group of Southern Dawn beings had fallen silent at this point.
A subtle hint of relief flashed through Xiao Jinhan's eyes upon seeing this, and he said with a faint smile, "The Infernal Frost Immortal Manor is enormous and filled with countless treasures. Even though it's emerged many times in the past, the treasures in it still show no signs of running out. All of us have come here for the immortal manor, so why ruin the peace with a pointless conflict?"
"You've been here for the longest out of all of us, when do you think the immortal manor will descend, Palace Master Xiao?" Feng Tiandu asked.
"It'll definitely descend in two more days at most. However..."
"What is it?" Feng Tiandu asked.
"In order to reassure everyone, I've already withdrawn the restrictions at the entrance of the cave, but it would be best to keep the entrance of the immortal manor somewhat sealed. Otherwise, we'll be faced with a difficult predicament if the profound glacial qi within erupts outward," Xiao Jinhan replied.
As soon as his voice trailed off, the blue light within the gate abruptly began to churn and rumble, following which a thick pillar of blue light erupted out from within, rising up directly toward the heavens.
The air temperature in the entire cave instantly plummeted drastically, and a layer of blue ice crystals quickly spread over the entire area.
Everyone hurriedly conjured up layers of protective spiritual light upon seeing this while flying away from the gate of light as quickly as they could, and the ice crystals spreading over the cave were also promptly shattered under everyone's collective efforts.
However, the glacial qi within the pillar of light was so formidable that some of the weaker True Immortal cultivators present still suffered some internal injuries from the infiltration of glacial qi into their bodies.
All of the Golden Immortals present hurriedly unleashed secret techniques or released spirit treasures to protect their entourages, and the entire cave erupted into a chaotic frenzy.
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