Chapter 1954 - Mystic Pavilion

Shutting out the surrounding chatter, Liu Wuxie sealed his five senses. His physique had advanced beyond ordinary limits, and his unity with heaven and earth alone now rivaled the pinnacle of the Origin Immortal Realm. Reinforced by his immortal energy, his body could withstand the advanced teleportation array with little difficulty.

Cultivators continued to file in, filling the array's seats one after another. Special railings enclosed each seat to keep its occupant from being hurled around during transit.

Brilliant light blazed along both sides of the teleportation array as it came to life. A violent, twisting force swept through the passengers, and many Divine Immortals vomited where they sat. Foul odors mingled in the enclosed space.

Several Great Golden Immortals swept their hands through the air, scattering the stench before it could spread throughout the array.

Liu Wuxie swiftly brought his mind under control and circulated the unity of heaven and earth, setting his body against the pressure closing in around him.

The passage from Sandriver City to the Celestial Weave Domain would take at least two hours. A long ordeal stretched ahead.

Streams of dazzling colors swept past as the teleportation array ripped through space. From the spatial rift came a savage gust, cold enough to leave many passengers trembling. Several cultivators at the pinnacle of the Origin Immortal Realm accompanied Liu Wuxie on the journey, and the immense strain soon wrung screams of agony from every one of them.

"I can't hold on!" cried a cultivator at the pinnacle of the Origin Immortal Realm in despair. He burst apart, scattering a bloody shower through the teleportation array.

Drops of blood splattered across Liu Wuxie's face, but he couldn't spare the attention to wipe them away. Resisting the array's pressure demanded his full concentration.

Such perils helped explain why cultivators from the Celestial Weave Domain so seldom ventured to Eastern Emperor City. An immense distance separated the two, and crossing it by teleportation array meant enduring pressure that could crush a traveler. Even cultivators at the Great Golden Immortal Realm dared not treat the journey lightly.

For cultivators departing Eastern Emperor City, those same hazards turned the journey to the Celestial Weave Domain into a daunting undertaking.

Soon, another cultivator at the pinnacle of the Origin Immortal Realm exploded. No one offered assistance. Every passenger already had their own ordeal to endure.

Barely underway, the teleportation array had already claimed several lives. How many more would die before the Celestial Weave Domain came within reach remained anyone's guess.

The surrounding passengers wore lingering looks of confusion, despite their familiarity with scenes like these.

With his eyes firmly closed, Liu Wuxie endured spatial laws that pressed upon him with the weight of two mountains. Then his resistance faltered. Blood spilled from his mouth in a cough, and all color fled his face.

He set the Desolate Devouring Art in motion, drawing wood-attribute energy through his body to repair the injuries. His unity with heaven and earth granted him more than resilience; it also endowed him with extraordinary regenerative power. Damage that would force others into a lengthy recovery healed within him in far less time.

Death had taken every Origin Immortal aboard. Their blood smeared the crystalline wall until the teleportation array swept it away, clearing the interior and leaving only a few passengers marked by lingering traces.

By the time an hour had elapsed, pain contorted the faces of some low-level Divine Immortals. The relentless pressure had begun to deform their bones. Everyone fought to stay alive, on the verge of death.

The cultivators who had spoken about Liu Wuxie earlier turned toward him again. "How the hell is that brat still alive?" To their astonishment, he had survived completely unharmed.

Surprise briefly touched even the faces of the cultivators at the Great Golden Immortal Realm. It stirred no deeper interest, though, and none considered him worthy of serious attention.

As the journey neared the two-hour mark, the pressure reached its terrible peak. Roars of pain erupted from the Divine Immortals.

Liu Wuxie continued circulating the Desolate Devouring Art, determined to turn the unrelenting pressure into a means of tempering his physique. Each wave that crashed down upon him refined his body anew, bringing it closer to the level of the Divine Immortal Realm.

Little by little, the pressure loosened its grip as they got closer to the Celestial Weave Domain.

Liu Wuxie opened his eyes, stopped circulating the Desolate Devouring Art, and surveyed his surroundings. A sense of familiarity washed over him, stirring a surge of excitement tinged with melancholy.

The spatial passage narrowed until it closed, and the teleportation array ground to a stop. Another bout of vomiting swept through the passengers, coating the floor in filth.

They stumbled from the array, many propping one another up as they struggled merely to remain on their feet.

Liu Wuxie rose, steadied his gaze, and walked out. He had left Sandriver City at dawn, and the midmorning sun now warmed his face.

The dense laws of heaven and earth enveloped him like liquid, seeping through his pores and into his body.

"I'm back, Celestial Weave Domain," Liu Wuxie murmured.

This was the paradise of the Celestial Realm, fully deserving of its reputation. The laws of the Celestial Weave Domain surpassed those of Eastern Emperor City by dozens of times. Even Origin Immortals found it difficult to fly here and could barely glide through the air.

Soothing warmth filled his body as Liu Wuxie inhaled deeply. The immortal energy here exceeded Eastern Emperor City's density by dozens of times; under equal conditions, cultivation in the Celestial Weave Domain would prove at least 10 times as efficient. That disparity had made him so eager to leave Eastern Emperor City.

He moved with the crowd into a bustling street. Throughout the Celestial Weave Domain, prodigies converged from far and wide.

Rather than hurrying to the Azure Jade Palace, Liu Wuxie took time to explore his surroundings and search for lodging. After so many years away, every familiar sight stirred a flood of emotions within him.

Yet the earth-shattering battle at Soul-Severing Cliff had already slipped from everyone's memory.

Liu Wuxie chose a small inn and checked in. The larger establishments served mostly Great Golden Immortals and Immortal Kings, and he would stand out among such guests. At a modest inn, a mere Profound Immortal could take a room without inviting suspicion.

Once inside his room, he opened the window overlooking the street. Nothing obstructed the view beyond it.

"Ancient Providence City looks much the same after all these years," Liu Wuxie murmured. He shut the window and headed out of the inn. His priority was to learn more about the Azure Jade Palace.

He passed the teahouses and restaurants without stopping. None would provide the information he needed about the Azure Jade Palace. After following the crowd through several streets, he came to a halt before an old, unremarkable building.

Above its entrance hung a sign reading "Mystic Pavilion." Few visitors crossed the threshold beneath it.

The Mystic Pavilion held no standing as a superpower; intelligence, bought and sold, formed the foundation of its wealth. With enough money, a client could uncover almost anything, right down to an Immortal Emperor's waking and sleeping hours.

Liu Wuxie remembered rumors that the person backing the Mystic Pavilion had reached the Immortal Emperor Realm. No one, however, had ever verified them.

Ten Immortal Emperors were known to the world, but the Celestial Realm certainly concealed others. Some had abandoned worldly affairs long ago, rarely showing themselves as they pursued still higher cultivation.

A young servant dressed in blue stepped forward the moment Liu Wuxie entered. The blue silk band around his head identified him as a member of the Mystic Pavilion, and every member wore one.

"How may we help you, Young Master?" the attendant asked.

Selling intelligence was only part of the Mystic Pavilion's trade. The organization also handled illicit assignments and procured rare goods. So long as a client could meet its price, there was little it could not provide.

Should Liu Wuxie require materials his own connections couldn't obtain, he could entrust the search to the Mystic Pavilion. It would find a way to secure them, but its usual fees were exorbitant, far beyond what an ordinary person could afford.

"I'm here to purchase information," Liu Wuxie replied.

"We offer several tiers of inquiry. Which would you prefer?" the attendant asked. Moving up a tier meant paying a higher price.

Five tiers governed the Mystic Pavilion's services, with vast differences between their fees. Liu Wuxie had visited only once in his previous life. On that occasion, he had chosen the highest tier and spent about 100 million immortal stones on a single question. Even the lowest tier ranged from a few hundred to over a million immortal stones.

"I'll take the second tier," Liu Wuxie replied, settling on one he could still afford.

A higher tier could drain him of even the tens of millions of immortal stones.

"This way, Young Master," the attendant said. He escorted Liu Wuxie along a passage and into a small room, where a tiny window faced him.

Upon leaving, the attendant shut the doors, isolating the room from the outside so that no one could overhear the coming exchange. That single precaution made the Mystic Pavilion's commitment to its clients' confidentiality clear.

The little window slid aside. Through the opening, a hand extended.

"Each question costs five hundred thousand immortal stones," said a voice from the other side. No answer would come before payment.

Liu Wuxie retrieved five hundred thousand immortal stones from his interspatial ring, packed them into a small pouch, and laid it on the outstretched palm.

"What's your question?" the voice asked after taking the payment.

"Who revealed Immortal Emperor Liu's whereabouts and allowed him to be trapped at Soul-Severing Cliff back then?" Liu Wuxie asked. Rather than asking about the Azure Jade Palace, he reached into the past, seeking the betrayer who had given his enemies the chance to surround him.

"That information exceeds your chosen tier. You'll need to select a higher one to receive an answer. The price would be approximately one billion immortal stones," the voice replied.

The sum was so staggering that Liu Wuxie almost cursed aloud.

"Then tell me how far the Heavenly Alliance's territory now extends," he asked, redirecting his inquiry.

"That counts as your second question," the voice reminded him. The hand appeared through the tiny window once more.

Left with no other option, Liu Wuxie took out another five hundred thousand immortal stones.

"As far as the Mystic Moon Sect in the east, the Bloodmist Temple in the west, and Heavenly King City in the north."

Not a word was wasted. Those few names traced the Heavenly Alliance's reach across the Celestial Realm, allowing Liu Wuxie to map its boundaries.

A sharp breath caught in Liu Wuxie's chest. According to Vandore, the Heavenly Alliance controlled only about one-third of the Celestial Realm. However, the Mystic Pavilion's answer revealed a different reality. Its influence already extended across the eastern, western, and northern regions.

At that rate, it was only a matter of time before Xiao Wufa held the entire Celestial Realm in his grasp.

"How can I join the Azure Jade Palace as quickly as possible?" Liu Wuxie asked. He had no time to study the palace at leisure. What he needed was the most direct path into its ranks.

"The price is five hundred thousand immortal stones," the voice replied, and the hand extended through the tiny window yet again.

With that cold demand, his expenditure reached 1,500,000 immortal stones in the span of a few breaths.