by Translator: Pokka; Author: 我本纯洁 (I Am Pure); Licensed From: Migu
After ending the cultivation session, Xiang Shaoyun felt incomparably fresh. He was confident that even if he faced Zhan Wushuang and Devil Concubine once again, he wouldn't need to use the primal inception energy anymore and would still stand a good chance against them.
He put his damaged saint armor away and wore a simple green outfit. When he stood there, his lofty figure actually gave off a sensation that he was someone to be looked up to.
With the Shark Devourer Saber on his back, he sat atop Money and withdrew the ghostrunes before flying away in a different direction. As for Aikai, he was a beastman. Although he was Xiang Shaoyun's follower, he had a different identity from Money and couldn't provide any assistance. Thus, he could only stay in the astral cosmos sea and continue cultivating inside.
After all, this was a competition between disciples. Mounts and puppets were allowed, but followers and servants were not, which was why Xiang Shaoyun had not released Aikai yet.
Xiang Shaoyun's next destination was not the massive palace since that was the place Zang Yuan had said the "lord" was at. Since it was a place even a super expert like Zang Yuan feared, going there would be the same as suicide.
However, many of the disciples were heading toward the massive palace. They all believed that there were some massive opportunities to be found there, opportunities that could allow them to reach heaven in a single bound.
The only thing those disciples found upon reaching the massive palace was countless corpses. The corpses were under the evil spirits' control and were madly attacking the disciples.
Some disciples were able to break into the palace, but none of them were seen again. Eventually, people came to realize that perhaps there was something terrifying inside. Even so, the many disciples were still throwing themselves to the palace like moths to fire. Ouyang Chuanqi, Han Chenfei, and the rest were among them.
After getting through the evil spirits, they arrived before the gate. There, a human skin dripping with blood could be seen hanging on the gate. It was as though the blood on the skin would never dry out, a sight that shocked anyone looking at it.
However, Ouyang Chuanqi, Han Chenfei, and the rest still decided to grit their teeth and enter. After entering, they found that their companions were no longer by their side. It was as though they had all been separated from each other, but it also seemed like they had fallen into an illusion that was clouding their perception.
Some weird shadows started appearing around them, like emissaries of death trying to bring them to hell.
Chapter 956: This Is a Sign of Great Danger
Xiang Shaoyun started searching all over the secret space, but he did not find anything too valuable. It seemed like the entire space had been scoured by the other disciples, leaving only corpses and evil spirits behind.
On the other hand, the ghostrunes had been able to feed incessantly on the evil spirits, growing stronger and stronger. Gui Qi was now a second-stage Devil Sovereign while the other ghostrunes had become Devil Sovereigns. With their talent to attack souls, they were now terrifying opponents to have.
One day, Xiang Shaoyun silently arrived near the massive palace. He was trying to see if he could find the Overlord Legion members and Xia Liuhui. He had to make sure they were well. When he arrived, a group approached him.
It was Jiang Qi and her companions from the Sacred Deer Academy. They were the same group Xiang Shaoyun had encountered at the beach when he was looking for directions to the island. He had a decent impression of Jiang Qi, but he had no idea why they were approaching him.
Jiang Qi cupped her hands at Xiang Shaoyun and said, "Greetings, Young Master Xiang."
Xiang Shaoyun returned the greeting and asked, "How may I help you, Senior Sister Jiang?"
Jiang Qi was the Sacred Deer Academy's number one genius. She was elegant and beautiful, and she did not have the air of arrogance all the other geniuses carry about them. In fact, she felt amiable and approachable.
She lightly nibbled on her lip and said, "I apologize for what happened earlier. I hope you won't keep that in your mind."
The people with her couldn't understand why she was apologizing. As far as they were concerned, they weren't at fault and there was no need to raise the topic at all.
Xiang Shaoyun waved his hands and said, "Don't worry, Senior Sister Jiang. I was the one who had intruded upon you."
"That incident ends here, then," said Jiang Qi with a smile. "What do you think about going into the massive palace with us?"
This was her actual goal. Xiang Shaoyun had an impressive combat strength, and if he went with them, he would be able to help them reach farther.
Xiang Shaoyun answered, "Sorry, but I don't intend to enter."
"Why so, Young Master Xiang? Have you not noticed that this whole surrounding area is actually the palace's outer perimeter? There must be some amazing treasures inside, or even some inheritance that can help us enter the next realm faster," said Jiang Qi. She was finding it hard to believe that Xiang Shaoyun didn't intend to enter.
Before Xiang Shaoyun could say anything, the man dressed in gold beside Jiang Qi said with derision, "The palace is filled with danger. He is smart enough to know he's not good enough to survive, and it is understandable that he doesn't dare to enter."
His words were definitely unkind, and even Jiang Qi frowned. However, Xiang Shaoyun acted like he didn't hear anything. He couldn't be bothered to get into an argument for something so petty.
"What if I tell you Xia Liuhui is inside?" Jiang Qi said.
"What? He entered?" Xiang Shaoyun exclaimed in alarm.
"That's right. It has been half a month, and nobody has seen him since. Those who entered with him have gone missing too," said Jiang Qi solemnly.
The news made Xiang Shaoyun nervous. Without any hesitation, he charged toward the gate, riding atop Money.
Several puppets under the evil spirits' control started throwing themselves at him. The puppets consisted of powerful zombies and demonic beasts, and their cultivation realms were not low. They could all attack with powerful corrosive energy, and they had killed dozens of disciples so far. This human and his mount were their new targets.
"He's being too reckless! Let's go!" Jiang Qi roared and charged over with her group, intending to join hands with Xiang Shaoyun.
What they saw next stunned all of them. They saw Xiang Shaoyun drawing his Shark Devourer Saber and swinging it at the puppets, destroying them with pure brute force. None of the puppets could stop him, and eventually, he alone was left standing before the gate.
The puppets were all sovereign grade. Perhaps they weren't comparable with actual mid-stage Sovereigns, but they were strong enough that fourth-stage Sovereigns couldn't defeat them easily. Xiang Shaoyun was only a Dragon Ascension Realm cultivator, yet he was able to cut his way through so easily, demonstrating an incredible combat strength.
The man in gold beside Jiang Qi gulped, and he started trembling. He knew that even if Jiang Qi herself fought, she would only be able to deal with one or two puppets. And yet Xiang Shaoyun was able to charge right through them easily. Wasn't he a tad bit too strong?
"Go with him!" Jiang Qi shouted and chased after Xiang Shaoyun.
As far as she was concerned, if she stayed with him, her safety would be guaranteed. Standing before the gate, Xiang Shaoyun stared at the human skin dripping with blood and frowned. Inwardly, he thought, This is a sign of great danger.
He activated the Nether Soul Domain and sent his senses into the palace. Unfortunately, his senses weren't able to enter. He grew even more cautious.
"This is a place even Zang Yuan feared. I need to be careful," muttered Xiang Shaoyun. With the power of Yun Flame wrapped around him and Money, they entered the palace.
As soon as they entered, something odd happened. Xiang Shaoyun felt like both he and Money had fallen into an illusion. He completely lost all sense of direction, and he couldn't see anything but a boundless expanse of mist. A chill started creeping up his
spine.
"Money, can you see what's around us?" Xiang Shaoyun asked.
Money replied anxiously, "No."
"Come back inside the astral cosmos sea immediately," said Xiang Shaoyun.
"No, boss. I can sense an aura with the same origin as my race. I need to go take a look," said Money as he actually took the lead and left.
Xiang Shaoyun calmed down and tried figuring out what was going on with his gift of instincts. Unfortunately, the place was filled with a dense mist, and a formation seemed to be in place. He was unable to detect anything.
Suddenly, he smelled a corrosive stench. The stench was extremely faint, and if he hadn't cultivated the Limit Stimulation Technique, he wouldn't even notice it. Thankfully, the technique had also greatly enhanced his sense of smell. He could also smell that the source of the stench wasn't too far from him.
Suddenly, a rope shot out from the mist. The attack came too abruptly. Fortunately, Xiang Shaoyun had prepared himself. He instantly lowered his head before spinning around and swinging his saber backward.
Clank!
Chapter 957: Celestial King's Palace
Xiang Shaoyun put a lot of strength into the swing, and even a sovereign-grade puppet would be directly cut in two. But his saber actually struck something hard, creating a crisp clank. Money moved as though he could read Xiang Shaoyun's mind and instantly turned small before coiling around the attacker, trying to figure out who the attacker was.
Money was as strong as a Demon Sovereign, and the attacker had not expected to be caught. The attacker was dragged before Xiang Shaoyun, but it continued resisting and attacked Money's body. In his pain, Money released the attacker.
Even so, Xiang Shaoyun was able to get a clear look at who the attacker was. The attacker was an ancient zombie clad in a set of armor. It carried a rope in hand, the same rope it had used to attack Xiang Shaoyun.
Without any hesitation, Xiang Shaoyun sent a blanket of flame toward the zombie. He assumed that the zombie was also under the control of an evil spirit like the zombies he had encountered outside. But this time, he was mistaken. The zombie was still moving freely amid the flame and continued attacking with the rope.
"This is an actual puppet zombie!" Xiang Shaoyun exclaimed in alarm and proceeded to swing his saber repeatedly, pushing the zombie back again and again.
The zombie had an astonishingly strong defense, and it did not fear his attacks. It continued sending its rope at Xiang Shaoyun, as though its goal was to capture instead of to kill him. Xiang Shaoyun naturally wouldn't give it a chance. He moved away from Money and spun around the zombie. An inch-long golden radiance appeared around his fingers as he stabbed the radiance at the zombie's neck like it was a dagger.
Finally, the zombie's head was severed. The zombie collapsed onto the ground and could no longer attack. After putting the corpse away, he found that Money was gone.
"Money, where are you?" Xiang Shaoyun shouted.
He received no reply. It was as though Money had vanished into thin air.
"This is a terrifying illusory formation. I need to break the formation before I can get out of here," muttered Xiang Shaoyun. He started using the profundity of earth to receive feedback from the ground beneath him, trying to look for the formation's weak point.
The profundity of earth was supposed to allow one to have a clear grasp of one's surroundings, and it had never failed Xiang Shaoyun. But this time, it failed him.
He could sense some formation lines from the ground, but there were a lot of them, and they spread out and covered an extremely wide area. Not even the profundity of earth could let him fully sense the entire formation. It was as though he was only seeing the tip of an iceberg.
"This is a powerful and massive formation," he exclaimed in admiration when he sensed the formation's profoundness.
Xiang Shaoyun didn't know much about formations, but he had read some books about them. He had also heard some simple theories from Zhuge Zhantian. When Xiang Shaoyun noticed just how powerful the formation was, he became even more cautious. He moved slowly, trying to search for the path of survival.
His senses found a certain path, and he followed it. He took the first step, and when nothing happened, he took the second step. That went on for nine steps until everything before his eyes suddenly changed.
A small path appeared before him. The alley was only wide enough for one person. The green path on the ground emanated an ancient sensation, and the mist that seemed everywhere couldn't enter the pathway, as though the path was the path leading to freedom.
Xiang Shaoyun trod the path, knowing that it either led to the outside world or to an importation location within the palace. Whatever the end result might be, he had to walk the path to figure out more.
The path wasn't short. Even after walking for an hour, the end was nowhere to be seen. However, Xiang Shaoyun was currently standing on elevated ground, and he was now overlooking all the dense mist.
Many zombies could be seen roaming around in the mist. They were akin to prison guards in charge of capturing all the intruding disciples.
Fortunately, the zombies weren't killing the disciples. They merely caught all the disciples and threw them somewhere that seemed to be some sort of burial ground with thick corrosive aura and a massive amount of death aura. If the caught disciples couldn't resist the auras, they might eventually turn into zombie puppets and then fall under the formation's control, becoming part of the palace's guards.
Xiang Shaoyun felt a chill creep up his back when he saw the disciples being captured. If it wasn't for his extraordinary reaction time, he would have probably suffered the same fate.
He also saw Jiang Qi's group charging along with two zombies approaching them. He couldn't just stand around and watch on as she was captured. He hurriedly transmitted to her, "Immediately move to your right, or all of you will die. This is an illusory formation. Nobody can escape this place."
Jiang Qi reacted quickly and moved to the right. She also told her companions to do the same. Ultimately, only three of them were able to escape, whereas the zombies captured the other four.
Xiang Shaoyun did not attempt to rescue the four. Instead, he moved faster along the path, constantly looking around for Money and Xia Liuhui.
Soon, he found that, like him, Money was also on a path. However, Money's path led to an entirely different location. They could see each other, but their paths were separated by thick mist, and they had no way of approaching each other.
"Money, let us both search for our own opportunities," Xiang Shaoyun transmitted.
"Ok. Be careful, boss," replied Money.
Money then vanished, traveling farther down his path, while Xiang Shaoyun continued searching for Xia Liuhui. At the same time, Xiang Shaoyun was also trying to see if any Overlord Legion members had been tossed into the burial ground.
After scanning the burial ground and finding that nobody close to him was there, he started moving faster down his path.
After an indeterminate amount of time, he finally reached the end and found himself at a big city, a big floating city, to be precise. He was currently standing before the door of a towering palace.
The palace looked ancient and exuded a majestic aura, as though it was the most exalted being in existence. On the pillars around the palace were sculptures of dragons and phoenixes. The walls inlaid with gold markings, the massive vermilion door, the bell by the entrance, and the qilin statues before the door all signified just how extraordinary the ancient palace was.
Hanging above the door was a wooden signboard with three golden words: Celestial King's Palace. It was a domineering name, and the three words emanated a massive pressure that gave one a sensation that these were words not to be blasphemed.
Chapter 958: Falling Coffin
The Celestial King's Palace was a place to be worshipped. It was located high in the air, as though it was overlooking all living beings. Xiang Shaoyun knew it definitely hid a massive secret, and the secr
et probably lay right before his eyes. It remained to be seen whether he could uncover it.
Just as he was about to approach the Celestial King's Palace, some memory fragments surfaced in his mind. He saw the leader of the army of 50,000 soldiers he had seen when he had gotten the Holy Spirit Banner. He also learned that the leader was known as the Celestial King. This palace was his private residence.
The Celestial King was the war god of the past, one who had served his nation with countless military victories. Ultimately, he was schemed against and was forced to turn from his own nation. Instead of robbing his country, he stayed to himself and lived a carefree life. Alas, the people from his previous country did not wish to spare him. They amassed a large army and attacked him, and he ultimately fought to the death.
But had he truly died? That was still a mystery, as Xiang Shaoyun saw the same war god returning to the Celestial King's Palace with his entire body dyed red in blood. The Celestial King eventually locked himself in the palace.
The bloody human skin hanging outside was the skin of his enemy. He had personally skinned his enemy and hung the skin on the gate to warn all future intruders. After isolating himself, he sealed the entire secret space, and this place vanished from the face of the world.
This had all happened many, many years ago. Xiang Shaoyun was somewhat stunned when he saw the memory fragments for no apparent reason. He had a feeling the war god had some sort of relationship with him. It almost felt like he was the same war god, but that shouldn't be possible.
He was confident because from some of his recovered past life's memories, he was the Overlord, and his mount was Big Black. The Heaven Conquering Overlord Manual and Overlord's Nine Nether Steps were his ultimate techniques. He was sure of these memories. If so, what were the memories he had been seeing recently?