Chapter 478: Entrance of the Palace
After some time, Xue Ying couldn't help but interject, "Isn't the location that Ouyang Kuishan just pointed out in the same direction where the disturbance just arose? Surely that has to mean the information is reliable."
"There's no hurry. If that really is the entrance of the High Zenith Palace, then it'll surely be protected by restrictions and guards, so even if others manage to get there before us, they won't be able to enter the palace anytime soon," Xiao Jinhan replied with a shake of his head.
"Are you saying that Ouyang Kuishan is lying to us? Surely not! If he had the courage to lie to us, then he wouldn't have betrayed Baili Yan," Xue Ying said as a hint of derision flashed through her eyes.
"Ouyang Kuishan is not to be fully trusted, and it's always better to be safe than sorry," Xiao Jinhan said as he pointed a finger at the array plate, upon which the same communication array was conjured up again.
The array flashed a few times, following which a projection of Lu Yue emerged.
"Greetings, Palace Master. Do you have some instructions for me?" Lu Yue asked with a respectful salute.
"Where are you right now? Did you sense anything just now?" Xiao Jinhan asked.
"I am currently situated in the southeast relative to the location where we split up, and I didn't sense anything just now," Lu Yue replied.
"I see. Keep searching that area, and report back to me immediately if you discover anything," Xiao Jinhan instructed.
Lu Yue nodded in response, and the communication was concluded.
Xiao Jinhan made a hand seal, and he was just about to contact someone else when a burst of black light suddenly appeared on his body.
His expression instantly changed slightly as he swept a sleeve through the air, and a black array plate appeared in his grasp, emanating rings of black light.
An indistinct black figure was standing in the black light, and it was the same person that he had spoken to atop the cliff last time.
"Palace Master Xiao, the entrance of the High Zenith Palace has already emerged. Feng Tiandu has already discovered it and is heading there right now. Everything has already been set up according to our plan," the black figure declared.
A hint of elation flashed through Xiao Jinhan's eyes upon hearing this, but he remained level-headed as he asked, "Where is the entrance?"
The black figure swept a sleeve through the air to release a burst of black light that conjured up a map, and there was a marked location on the map that was virtually identical to the location indicated by Ouyang Kuishan earlier.
"Alright, I'm coming right now," Xiao Jinhan immediately said, and the communication was concluded.
"Let's go!" Xiao Jinhan instructed as the ball of white light continued onward, and Xue Ying also cast an incantation seal into the ball of white light to accelerate it even further.
The Immortal Palace cultivators flew onward for a while before a burst of blue light suddenly appeared to their right, and it was rapidly approaching them, reaching them in the blink of an eye.
Xue Ying's brows furrowed slightly as the ball of white light drew to a halt at her behest, and she was just about to yell out at the approaching burst of blue light, but Xiao Jinhan gestured for her to remain silent.
The blue light up ahead faded, revealing a group of Vast Flow Palace cultivators, led by none other than Grand Palace Master Luo Qinghai.
"What a coincidence, Palace Master Xiao. You look like you're in quite a hurry. May I ask where you're going?" Luo Qinghai asked as he cupped his fist toward Xiao Jinhan and the others in a salute.
"How can I help you, Grand Palace Master Luo?" Xiao Jinhan asked in an indifferent voice.
"I discovered a set of ruins up ahead, but there's a restriction inside that's proving to be quite difficult to break. We've already been trying for several days to no avail, and we presume that there must be a precious treasure inside. Would you like to come and have a look with us, Palace Master Xiao?" Luo Qinghai asked with a smile.
"Where are these ruins?" Xiao Jinhan asked.
"Not far up ahead, only about half a day away from here," Luo Qinghai replied as he pointed in the direction that he came from.
Xiao Jinhan cast his gaze toward that direction to find that it was precisely the direction where the entrance of the High Zenith Palace was situated.
"From my observations, it seems like there's an ancient tomb under the restriction. I don't know who's buried there, but it's definitely a very important person," Luo Qinghai said as he pulled out a blue jade talisman.
The jade talisman released a burst of bright blue light at his behest, which transformed into a mirror of water that depicted a vast wilderness filled with howling wind and swirling sand.
There was also a massive yellow ovular light barrier in the image, and it was rather murky and indistinct, concealing what was underneath.
Only the outlines of a giant tomb could be made out through the light barrier, and it resembled a giant beast that was resting on the ground.
"Looks like you stumbled upon quite a stroke of fortune, Grand Palace Master Luo, but wouldn't you have much preferred for your Vast Flow Palace to have claimed this place alone? Why are you inviting me?" Xiao Jinhan asked.
"I just told you. The restriction outside the tomb is extremely formidable, and all of us have been attacking it non-stop for several consecutive days without being able to make much progress at all. If we're delayed any further, other powers will most likely begin to arrive on the scene.
“That's why I'm inviting you to come and help us break the restriction, and we'll split the treasures inside evenly between our two sects. What do you say?" Luo Qinghai asked as a serious look appeared on his face.
"If this is a restriction that even you can't open, then it's most likely beyond me as well," Xiao Jinhan refused with a shake of his head.
"Don't worry about that, Palace Master Xiao. Even though we haven't been able to break the restriction, I've managed to find a way to do so, but it requires six Golden Immortals working together at once, and that's why I'm inviting you to come along," Luo Qinghai replied with a smile.
Xiao Jinhan contemplated the offer momentarily, then turned to Xue Ying as he said, "Your Vast Flow Palace already has five Golden Immortals, so you only need one more. Xue Ying, take everyone else and make a trip to the ruins with Grand Palace Master Luo."
Xue Ying's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, and she hurriedly said to Xiao Jinhan through voice transmission, "But Palace Master, what if this is a trap..."
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing," Xiao Jinhan interjected, and Xue Ying fell silent upon hearing this.
"Deputy Palace Xue Ying will also suffice for the task," Luo Qinghai said. "Time is of the essence, so let's set off right away, Deputy Palace Master Xue."
Immediately thereafter, he swept a sleeve through the air, releasing a burst of blue light that swept up all of the Vast Flow Palace cultivators before flying away into the distance.
"I'll be going then, Palace Master," Xue Ying said to Xiao Jinhan, then flipped a hand over to produce a bird-shaped flying boat for all of the Immortal Palace cultivators to pile onto.
"Make sure to help Grand Palace Master Luo to the best of your abilities," Xiao Jinhan instructed, making sure to place extra emphasis on the word "help".
Xue Ying nodded in response, then made a hand seal, and the flying boat immediately departed, vanishing into the distance in the blink of an eye.
Xiao Jinhan looked on as the two groups departed into the distance, and only after all of them had completely vanished out of sight did he continue onward as a streak of white light.
Several days later, a streak of white light arrived from afar, then faded to reveal Xiao Jinhan in the sky above a giant canyon.
His hands were clasped behind his back, and his robes were flapping audibly in the wind as he inspected his surroundings.
The location that had been pointed out by both Ouyang Kuishan and the shadowy figure wasn't very far away from this place.
Some time later, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he shot forth like lightning, flying toward a certain direction in the canyon in complete silence.
......
At the foot of the canyon was a giant rectangular stone wall that was white in color and several thousand feet in size. Its surface was extremely smooth, and it seemed to be an enormous gate.
There was a piece of scenery engraved onto the stone wall from left to right, and it was extremely vibrant and lifelike.
Behind the stone wall was a thick white light barrier that was flashing incessantly, and there were many people gathered in front of the stone wall, split up into four different factions.
The largest group consisted of the Dawn Fall Sect's cultivators, with almost all of the Dawn Fall Sect cultivators who had entered the immortal manor present. All they were missing were a couple of True Immortal cultivators, who had presumably perished elsewhere in the immortal manor.
Not far away from the Dawn Fall Sect's cultivators stood a group of Southern Dawn beings, but out of their four Golden Immortals, only the elderly man and the elderly woman were present, while the other two were absent.
As for their True Immortal cultivator, only about half of them were present, and it was unclear whether the other half had already perished or were still on their way.
The group with the second-least number of people was Ouyang Kuishan and the other two Blaze Dragon Dao Dao Lords, while the final group only consisted of two people, namely a man and a woman.
If Han Li were present, he would've immediately been able to identify them as Daoist Hu Yan and Yun Ni.
Right at this moment, a figure emerged in the sky amid a flash of golden light.
The new arrival didn't say anything, and there was no aura escaping from his body at all, but everyone was struck by a sense of pressure in his presence.
It was none other than Xiao Jinhan.
His arrival was met with varying degrees of dismay from everyone, with the exceptions of Ouyang Kuishan's trio, who immediately approached him with elated expressions.
"We pay our respects to the esteemed palace master!"
"Good job. The three of you will be rewarded once we leave the immortal manor," Xiao Jinhan said.
"Thank you, Palace Master!" Ouyang Kuishan's trio replied in unison.
Xiao Jinhan's gaze then swept over the Southern Dawn beings and the duo of Daoist Hu Yan and Yun Ni, and his brows furrowed ever so slightly.
"These people were most likely nearby as well, and they arrived not long after the phenomenon here subsided," Ouyang Kuishan hurriedly explained via voice transmissions at the sight of Xiao Jinhan's expression.
Xiao Jinhan gave a slight nod and offered no response.
"Welcome, Palace Master Xiao. I wasn't expecting you to get here so soon. Why are you here on your own? Where are the other fellow daoists from the Immortal Palace?" Feng Tiandu asked.
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