Chapter 376: Ruins of a Celestial Palace
Bang! Bang! Bang!
One Ghost-Faced Hummingbird charged through their defenses after another, breaking into the Transforming Mountain Tower Ship like streaks of lightning. Soon, the hull was riddled with holes. Everywhere you looked, there were signs of devastation.
From time to time, piteous screams rang out.
The room Su Yi and Hua Xinfeng were in was under attack as well. However, every time a Ghost-Faced Hummingbird drew near, Su Yi grabbed it, plucked its fangs, and put them away for later.
He was like a hunter sitting around and waiting for his prey to come to him, and he struck with unerring accuracy.
About fifteen minutes later.
The Transforming Mountain Tower Ship overpowered the Ghost-Faced Hummingbirds’ ambush and continued ahead.
The moment they left, Su Yi saw a figure silently appear deep within the eerie green lotuses.
It was a man in a black cloak. His skin was fair as jade, while his eyes were an unearthly blue-green. A bright red, coiled whip hung from his waist, and he held a blood-colored gourd aloft.
He seemed to sense Su Yi’s gaze. He seemed stunned, but then, he raised his hand, smiled, and waved.
As if he were seeing off an old friend.
Then, the man in the black cloak silently disappeared.
“Yet another one of the Possessed.” Su Yi’s gaze was deep and distant as he committed the man’s appearance to memory.
“Young Lord, what did you see?” asked Hua Xinfeng.
“Someone reckless and foolish enough to provoke me,” said Su Yi calmly. “He’d best pray I never catch him.”
He then turned to face Hua Xinfeng and described the cloaked figure’s appearance. “Do you perhaps know this person?”
Hua Xinfeng shook her head. “If he’s been possessed, it’ll be hard to guess his identity. No one hides their presence and origins as well as the Possessed. Take the Great Qin’s sixth prince, Qin Fu, or the Hidden Dragon Sword Sect’s leader, Nie Xingkong. If you hadn’t alerted us, I never would have dared imagine that they’d been possessed.”
Su Yi gave the matter no further thought.
The Ghost-Faced Hummingbird’s attack was actually a good thing for him, as he’d effortlessly gathered over sixty Hummingbird Fangs.
This was no different from picking up a bunch of tier-five spiritual materials for free.
After this battle, the Transforming Mountain Tower Ship was severely damaged, and it was covered with holes. Afterward, they took a headcount and discovered that nine of the Xiantian Martial Ancestors on board had been killed.
Gu Qingdu was the one navigating, and these losses made his heart ache. His expression was dark and unsightly.
Qin Dongxu and the other experts looked displeased as well.
They’d only just barely reached the Sea of Chaotic Spirits, yet they’d already encountered such grave misfortune. It was only natural that this would sour their mood.
However, the rest of their journey proved uneventful. Although they encountered numerous potential calamities, they managed to avoid them all right in the nick of time.
Four hours later.
Dimly discernable cries emanated from a distance, echoing through the air, like a bawling infant, yet somehow terrifying.
“We’re here!” Qin Dongxu stood beside the railing, his eyes flashing with anticipation.
Gu Qingdu, Clarifying Truth, and the other top experts stood beside him. All of them looked into the distance, irrepressible shock on their faces.
Off in the distance, they saw divine light hovering in the air, like a misty, radiant waterfall stretching over tens of thousands of feet. The light only emphasized the area’s seemingly holy atmosphere.
A building reminiscent of a celestial palace hovered in the sky. It was so vast, it seemed limitless, and it was carved entirely out of a material like divine gold or immortal jade. It emanated countless arcs of radiant light.
Even from a distance, it looked like the abode of gods or immortals!
“Young Lord, look! That’s the manifested power of the ruins of the Immortals’ Sword House. It’s been hovering there for days now, attracting attention from cultivators all over the world,” said Hua Xinfeng, her eyes lighting up with eagerness. “One look at the phenomena appearing around it, and it’s obvious that incredible fortune awaits within the ruins!”
Su Yi stared intently into the distance for a moment, then said, “This is indeed a place of great opportunity, but it’s also a land of grave peril. When we go inside, don’t covet whatever treasures we might encounter without first getting a clear sense of their secrets. It won’t be too late to act?after we understand the situation clearly.”
In his eyes, that “holy radiance” couldn’t hide its murderous intent, which was so vast, it towered into the dome of heaven!
Hua Xinfeng nodded. Inwardly, she felt somewhat tense. After all, they had far too much competition, and they’d surely encounter numerous unpredictable dangers.
Suddenly, Qin Dongxu’s infuriated voice rang out. “Dammit! Someone’s already beaten us to the punch! They’ve gone into the ruins ahead of us!”
The crowd followed his gaze and saw that the two hundred-foot-tall doors to the structure like a floating celestial palace were already open. Misty light emanated from within the doorway, obscuring the scenery inside.
“Didn’t we deduce that the power sealing the entrance to the ruins wouldn’t disperse for another three days?” Gu Qingdu furrowed his brow.
“Someone must have broken the seal early,” said You Changkong, his expression dark.
Just the thought that someone had beaten them here and perhaps seized the good fortune inside infuriated them.
“Everyone, you need not panic. Ruins like this are perilous and unpredictable. Just because someone has gone inside doesn’t mean they immediately found the good fortune within,” said Qin Dongxu. He took a deep breath, then said gravely, “Besides, even if someone did obtain the fortune within these ruins, so long as we attack together, we can seize it right back!”
“Come on! Let’s go in.”
With that, he led the way inside.
The various experts on board the Transforming Mountain Tower Ship soared after him and towards the hovering celestial palace.
This grand possession disappeared completely after passing through the palace gates.
Although no one noticed, before passing through the gateway, Su Yi paused to glance at the distant waters before retracting his gaze and continuing through the doors.
Thousands of feet below the water’s surface, a handsome young man in apricot?Daoist?robes was visibly startled. “Who was that guy? Isn’t his divine sense a bit?too?terrifying?”
Were Ge Changling present, he would recognize him at a glance. This young man was none other than his disciple, Ge Qian.
“What are you afraid of? They’ve entered the ruins of that Immortals’ Sword House. That makes them no different from a bundle of garlic chives just begging to be harvested,” said a leisurely, aged voice from within Ge Qian’s soul.
“Old man, are you sure that someone has arranged a death trap inside the Immortals’ Sword House?” asked Ge Qian, visibly uncertain.
“It might be a death trap, but it’s still a land of opportunity. Someone plans to kill two birds with one stone. They want to seize the good fortune inside?and?harvest all the chives who’ve come here in hopes of obtaining it,” said that aged voice, sounding a bit solemn. “We’d best not get involved.”
Ge Qian snickered. “In the past, weren’t you the one urging me to take more risks? You even swore that nothing on the Azure Continent could possibly threaten you!”
His tone was rife with mockery.
The aged voice instantly lost his temper, as if his embarrassment transformed into anger. He said viciously, “You don’t understand anything, you little punk! We got here a few days ago, and since then, we’ve seen at least three Possessed, as well as multiple Origin Palace Realm heretical cultivators. Even the weakest of the bunch are in the Grain Avoidance Realm. You’re still just a Xiantian Martial Ancestor. How are you worthy of testing yourself against them?”
He paused, then sighed, “I was once a mighty expert who held even the stars in contempt. Imperial Realm experts had to lower their heads before me. None dared disrespect me. Who would have thought I’d sink so low? Nothing remains of me but a wisp of soul… If not… Hmph! Crushing those ants would be no harder than turning over my hand!”
“Enough,” snapped Ge Qian. “When will you learn to stop bragging like that? If you did, I’d think better of you.”
He then furrowed his brow. “What’s strange is that there’s still no sign of Su Yi. This is an incomparably grand opportunity. Don’t tell me he’s not interested?”
When Ge Qian brought up Su Yi, that aged voice was instantly solemn. “Perhaps he’s already here and we simply failed to discover him.”
“You think? But I’d really like to see his bearing for myself,” said Ge Qian longingly.
Not long ago, he returned from the Dark Sea to the north of the Great Zhou and immediately heard the whole list of Su Yi’s shocking accomplishments. Just listening made him break out in cold sweats.
He’d only left for a little while, yet Su Yi had already grown so strong that he could kill Earthly Immortals as easily as if they were dogs or chickens!
This left Ge Qian stunned, but more than that, it left him celebrating his initial decision not to make trouble for Su Yi. If he had, he would have been the one in trouble!
“You want to fight him? Although you’re both Xiantian Martial Ancestors, and although you cultivate the Xuanwu True Essence Sutra I taught you, and although your accumulations and combat prowess are also sufficient to cross cultivation boundaries and slay ordinary Grain Avoidance Cultivators, were you to face Su Yi….”
Before the aged voice could finish, Ge Qian cut him off. “I just wanted to see him for myself. Just looking from a distance is fine. Who said I wanted to fight him? I still want to live a while longer, you know!”
The aged voice fell silent, then spat, “Coward!”
He sounded disappointed, as if bitter than iron couldn’t become steel.
Ge Qian thought nothing of it.
Suddenly, the owner of that aged voice sensed something, and he cried out, “Hurry! Circulate the Xuanwu Aura-Sealing Incantation!”
Ge Qian’s heart shook. His instincts, tempered through years of extreme caution, made him respond to the voice’s warning immediately. He circulated his secret art, completely withdrawing every last trace of his aura. His entire life force seemed to disappear, as if he were nothing but a cold rock on the ocean floor.
Whoosh!
Practically simultaneously, a terrifying divine sense swept across the surrounding waters, like the piercing gaze of a deity. It was accompanied by an imposing aura so powerful it was suffocating.
Ge Qian’s hair stood on end.
Meanwhile, a white ape stood on the surface of the water. It was hundreds of feet tall, like a hill.
The giant ape’s eyes were clear and calm, like limpid pools. Its arms were crossed, and it carried a golden halberd.
There was a wide prayer mat on its left shoulder, where a woman in pristine white robes sat languidly.
She was dressed like a man, with red lips and pearly white teeth. She held a snow-white feather fan in her right hand, which she waved gently, looking leisurely and relaxed.
It was as if she were here on vacation. She stared at the distant ruins of the Immortals’ Sword House for a while, then laughed. “Chongyang, let’s go take a look at the Isle of No Return. We can come back here later.”
The mountainous white ape gently inclined its head and said respectfully, “Yes, Master.”
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