Chapter 593 - 325: Primordial Immortal Palace

The report from her subordinate took the Elder Sect Leader of Xuannü Palace somewhat by surprise.

The various legends surrounding the Child of Destiny, as well as His importance, were no longer much of a secret in the Qingming Continent’s Cultivation Realm.

It was just that from the distant Hongmeng Era to the present day, no one had ever seen a true Child of Destiny with their own eyes. Perhaps some Cultivators had, but the outside world had no way of learning the truth.

Now, as time passed, the news that the Child of Destiny had descended upon the Qingyao Continent had spread. It had attracted the attention of the major powers on other continents, regardless of whether they believed it or not.

Therefore, in recent years, powers from other continents had continuously dispatched their experts to secretly infiltrate the Qingyao Continent. They conducted covert investigations, attempting to uncover the truth.

If it was indeed true, then they had to find the Child of Destiny and bring him back to their Sect, no matter the cost.

Whichever power managed to get its hands on this unprecedentedly valuable bargaining chip would see its strength grow by leaps and bounds. In the future, it wouldn’t be impossible for them to unify a continent, or even this entire world.

After a brief silence, the Elder Sect Leader of Xuannü Palace spoke softly, "We’ve sent quite a few people to Yuzhou, have we not? Has there truly been no good news so far?"

Another masked Female Cultivator reported cautiously, "The Child of Destiny named Ling Changqing has movements that are too mysterious. Furthermore, he cannot be divined using any Secret Method of Celestial Secret Calculation. So it’s not just us; all the other powers have come up empty-handed."

According to the intelligence gathered by Xuannü Palace, almost every significant power across this world’s fifteen continents, as well as some of the larger archipelagos, was now aware of the Child of Destiny’s arrival. After all, so many years had passed.

As a result, the Qingyao Continent was now rife with undercurrents. This was especially true for the Yuzhou Cultivation Realm, where an unknown number of foreign Cultivators had disguised themselves to conduct covert investigations throughout the state, attempting to find any trace of Ling Changqing.

"That’s good, in a way."

The Elder Sect Leader nodded. "As long as they haven’t succeeded, that’s good news for us. Besides, I believe the great opportunity within the Hongmeng Divine Hall was most likely taken by him!"

She paused, her soft and pleasant voice tinged with a hint of helplessness. "We had originally thought that if we could obtain this important opportunity, we could revive the Sect’s prestige and restore it to its former glory. But now, that’s no longer an option."

"Of course, it’s not all bad news. The Chiying Demon Sect and the Li Huo Divine Palace have suffered such a huge loss, so they’ll have to lie low for a while. The pressure we face in the future will be significantly less."

Back when Xuannü Palace suffered its calamity, it lost more than half of its High Grade combat power, along with many important territories and resources. The Chiying Demon Sect and the Li Huo Divine Palace were the main culprits.

Now that they had suffered a major setback, it was naturally a welcome development for Xuannü Palace. They would have more time to recover and grow.

"...Elder Sect Leader, since that Ling Changqing is known to be lecherous, why not have the Saintess make a trip herself? She could also select a group of the Sect’s elite disciples to take with her. If he just lays eyes on them, we might get an unexpected reward?"

A third masked Female Cultivator suggested softly.

The Elder Sect Leader smiled. "Indeed. Since the rumors all say he is a man of strong passions and desires, there must be some truth to it."

"My Xuannü Palace has countless beauties. As long as he comes, anyone in the Sect who does not yet have a Dao Companion will be his for the taking. I would even pass my own position on to him. I refuse to believe he won’t be tempted!"

Immortal Monarch Mi Yue was the Elder Sect Leader’s most favored Direct Disciple and the Sect’s chief Saintess. Not only was her beauty peerless and her grace unmatched, but her innate talent and aptitude were also outstanding, marking her as a heaven-blessed prodigy. She was already regarded by everyone, both inside and outside the Sect, as the only choice to be the next Elder Sect Leader.

The Sect Leader believed, ’If my own Direct Disciple takes charge of tracking down Ling Changqing, perhaps it wouldn’t be long before good news arrives?’

A moment later, Immortal Monarch Mi Yue, who was in Cultivation in Seclusion in her own private sanctuary, received a top-secret message from her master.

Not daring to delay, she hastily dealt with the matters at hand and began to gather personnel and prepare resources.

Early the next morning, an exquisitely crafted, magnificent palace, wreathed in a bright crimson glow, rose slowly into the air. It flew out of the Qingcheng Mountain Range’s main peak area, then instantly accelerated and vanished into the depths of the vast sea of clouds.

Besides Immortal Monarch Mi Yue herself, she was accompanied by several hundred Female Cultivators. Their Realms ranged from Golden Core to Void Refining, and every one of them was a peerless beauty of captivating grace, personally handpicked by her.

At the same time, the other nine super-powers on the Qingming Continent all made similar arrangements.

...

Deep within a desolate and silent range of stone mountains in the heartland of the Qingming Continent, a Tianzhou Skyboat shrouded in rosy light slowly descended.

"...Wives, is this the place?"

On the foredeck, Ling Changqing surveyed the countless, uniquely shaped stone peaks that filled his vision. They exuded an ancient, weathered aura, and he asked with some confusion.

On the surface, this place was desolate and barren to the extreme. Within a radius of ten million li, there wasn’t a speck of green, no source of water, no living creatures, and not even the slightest trace of Spiritual Qi. It was a completely forbidden zone for life.

It was hard to believe that Immortal Venerable Doumu, who had once dominated the world and awed the Ancient Era, would establish her blessed sanctuary here.

Meng Feiyu smiled. "Husband, don’t be deceived by appearances. The blessed land of the Doumu Immortal Palace wasn’t like this back in the day. You’ll know once you go inside."

Ling Changqing nodded and silently activated his Celestial Secret Technique to make a divination. The surrounding environment in his Divine Thought’s perception immediately underwent a subtle change, rippling faintly like a reflection in water.

But when he tried to investigate further, he found that his Magical Power was being consumed at an unusually fast rate. In the blink of an eye, less than thirty percent remained.

"Husband, stop looking. Your Cultivation is insufficient right now. You can’t handle it."

Xue Qingtan’s full and warm body leaned against him. Her enchanting jade-like arms wrapped gently around him as she spoke in a soft, quiet voice.

"Alright."

Ling Changqing nodded, giving up on his attempt to force it.

Next, Xue Qingtan steered the Tianzhou Skyboat to patrol the area several times before finally pinpointing the location of the hidden entrance.

During this time, Ling Changqing cautiously tried to perform his divination twice more and, as expected, noticed more clues.

The Tianzhou Skyboat descended slowly, hovering three zhang above the ground. Xue Qingtan departed alone, landing on a rugged, grayish-white boulder below.

As she waved her jade-like hands and formed a series of profound and mysterious Spirit Techniques, the surrounding space immediately reacted, like a stone tossed into a calm lake.

Spiritual Light flashed, and layers of spatial ripples spread out, expanding in all directions at a speed that seemed slow but was actually fast.

"Hm? Won’t this be detected by outsiders?"

The noble, gorgeous, and dignified Bai Qingyi asked with a slight frown.

She had keenly noticed that these spreading spatial ripples showed no signs of weakening; they could still be clearly perceived ten million li away.

"That’s right. It’s unavoidable."

The charming and bone-deeply beautiful Meng Feiyu whispered, ’Perhaps it won’t be long before Cultivators from other powers notice something is wrong and follow the trail to investigate?’

Ling Changqing wasn’t concerned. "It doesn’t matter. Once we’re deep inside the Immortal Mansion Ruins, it’ll be useless for them to come."

’That makes sense,’ Bai Qingyi thought. ’This kind of thing is always first come, first served. As long as we get the opportunity, we can ignore whoever comes after.’

A few dozen breaths later, the disturbance Xue Qingtan was creating grew larger and larger. The ground began to ripple like waves, gradually revealing large patches of gray and black patterns, and the temperature rose sharply.

A strange hum resonated on the level of Divine Thought, one pulse after another.

It was as if some Ancient Giant Beast of unimaginable size was ending its long slumber and slowly reawakening.

Then, a great expanse of crimson light also appeared in the Celestial Vault above. Spiraling clusters of radiance continuously spawned and split off, soon stretching across the entire sky in a dazzling, brilliant, and phantasmagorical display.

"It’s causing such a huge commotion?"

Luo Binghu’s fine brows knitted together. ’I’m afraid that soon, every Cultivator on the entire continent will know, and then...’

"Husband, it’s ready!"

At this moment, Xue Qingtan, who was on the ground, let out a sigh of relief.

Before her, a circular Light Gate more than ten zhang in diameter, covered in magnificent, tassel-like patterns, slowly emerged and then solidified.

An indescribably mysterious, profound, and ancient aura emanated from the Light Gate, but Ling Changqing didn’t sense any danger.

"So we... just go straight in?"

Ling Changqing asked.

"Yes, just go straight in. Don’t worry about anything else. They won’t cause us any trouble."

Xue Qingtan explained with a smile that these heaven-and-earth phenomena were an unavoidable part of opening the Doumu Immortal Palace and weren’t worth worrying about.

As long as they were the first to control the Core Array Restriction of the Doumu Immortal Palace, it didn’t matter how many Cultivators came later—they would just be lambs to the slaughter.

So, Meng Feiyu put away the Tianzhou Skyboat, and then the assembled beauties, along with Ling Changqing, entered the depths of the circular Light Gate.

Hundreds of millions of li away, atop a steep, perilous, and cloud-piercing peak, two vigorous old men in Feather Cloaks were engrossed in a game of Go.

But a moment later, one of the old men casually looked up, and his expression changed instantly.

"Huh? What... what is that commotion over there?"

He held a game piece, his face filled with disbelief.

His dear friend across from him glanced back, then shot to his feet. "Has another Ancient Immortal Mansion Ruin appeared? And from the looks of it, it’s not one of the common ones, either!"

"Brother Yan, opportunities like this are rare,"

the old man said with a laugh. "It’s not far from here. This must be our fated chance!"

"There’s no time to lose! Let’s go take a look!"

The two old men of the Divinity Transformation Realm said no more. They summoned their Magical Treasures and transformed into streaks of Escape Light, vanishing on the spot.

As time went on, the heaven-and-earth phenomena from the opening of the Doumu Immortal Palace were seen by more and more Cultivators, and the news quickly spread throughout the entire Qingming Continent.

In an instant, the upper echelons of powers like the Li Huo Divine Palace, the Chiying Demon Sect, the Ye Family, the Yu Family, the Xuannü Palace, and the Shaohao Immortal Sect all learned of the event.

However, this meant little to Ling Changqing. He had already entered the depths of the Immortal Mansion Ruins with his bevy of beauties.

Before long, massive, hastily assembled teams of Cultivators began to appear. Without exception, their destination was the heartland of the continent—the location of the legendary Doumu Immortal Palace ruins.