Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
When the golden light from the Golden Dragon Token Amulet enveloped Mu Chen and transported him through the spiritual array enshrouding the Ancient Celestial Palace, he could clearly feel the intense wave movement in the space surrounding him. The light in front of his eyes swarmed, and when he looked again, the scene between heaven and earth had changed.
Mu Chen stood in mid-air and looked up. What appeared in front of him was still an ancient world, but compared to the outer boundaries of the Ancient Celestial Palace, this was much more magnificent.
All over the world, there were thousands of green peaks rising from the ground with an abundance of strange stones. Even though this place had been abandoned for thousands of years, it was still full of the vast spiritual energy of heaven and earth. It could be seen what an amazing place it had been to practice one’s cultivation in those ancient times.
There were numerous peaks where innumerable palaces stood along a trail. The mountains had waterfalls like massive dragons roaring down with a rumbling voice that reverberated in the sky and earth. Countless huge, rocky islands were suspended in the sky, and those rocky islands were also full of palaces, showing that the world was once prosperous.
Mu Chen looked at this magnificent scene and couldn’t help but praise its grandeur. Daluo Territory’s Daluotian seemed shabby in comparison.
“Is this the real Ancient Celestial Palace?” Lin Jing’s curious voice rang behind him. She appraised the world and also let out a sigh of amazement. Facing such a grand scene, even if she was the little princess of the Martial Border, she had a high evaluation of the place, too.
Mu Chen nodded. He surveyed the surroundings, and he could feel that there was a constant flow of spiritual energy fluctuations between the earth and the sky. Those were the other treasure hunters who had broken into the Ancient Celestial Palace.
The silence of thousands of years was completely broken at this time. The Sovereigns who had intruded into the Ancient Celestial Palace, which contained an abundance of precious treasures, were like red-eyed robbers who wanted to turn the place upside down. After all, even the stupidest people knew how terrible the legacy of this ancient superpower was that had dominated the Tianluo Continent. It made people jump at the chance of garnering an opportunity for their fame to spread throughout the entire Tianluo Continent.
Mu Chen turned to the other strong men of the North Territory Alliance who were also salivating at this huge treasure, wanting to immediately search for it.
“If you want to hunt for treasure alone, you may leave for now, and if you meet with danger, you can ask for help from each other.” Mu Chen smiled. Their North Territory Alliance was rather loose, so he didn’t have to force these people to stay around him. Not only was it offensive, but the treasure would be unevenly divided, and that was even more troublesome. Thus, it was better to act separately, as long as they kept in touch.
Upon hearing his words, the people who were tempted by the treasures were instantly joyful, and they repeatedly nodded to express approval.
Mu Chen smiled as he finally warned, “Although there are many treasures in this Ancient Celestial Palace, it is still full of spiritual energy. In some places, there are even extremely obscure spiritual energy fluctuations. Everyone please be careful when searching for treasure. Do not trigger the spiritual arrays and end up losing your lives.”
The crowd nodded in thanks and then could not wait to take off. They turned into streams of light, plundering away into the endless trail of palaces of the Ancient Celestial Palace.
Seeing those guys leave, Nine Nether pursed her red lips and commented, “Without these burdens, it will be much easier.” Other than Xuan Ming Sovereign, the rest of the people, once met with a strong enemy, were not only useless but also burdensome. However, in the beginning they had to be brought along. After all, behind them stood the support of the North Territory’s Earthly Sovereigns. Now, the North Territory still needed the support of North Territory’s Earthly Sovereigns. Daluo Territory’s power alone was not enough to deter the top forces on the continent.
Mu Chen smiled. He had dismissed the others readily with so much understanding, as he also understood the implications. His true partners were the two beside him, and they were all he needed.
“What do we do now?” Lin Jing asked exuberantly. She appeared obviously ready to get into a big fight.
Mu Chen saw it and said, “This Ancient Celestial Palace is too vast, and its sudden disappearance is extremely strange, so we have to be more careful. In addition, according to my estimate, the first level of the inner region of the Ancient Celestial Palace should be at the location of the Nine Mansions, and after the Nine Mansions, one of the important objectives of our trip is the Sky Pool!”
The Ancient Celestial Palace under the Heavenly Emperor was divided into nine mansions and five halls, and the nine mansions were thought be in this area. Lin Jing’s beautiful eyes, which were full of spirit, suddenly lit up at the mention of the Sky Pool. “I wonder if the Ancient Celestial Palace’s Sky Pool is still as wondrous as before,” she said.
“You know about that, too?” Mu Chen was a little surprised, and then suddenly realized that with her father’s identity, Lin Jing naturally was aware of this Ancient Celestial Palace’s secrets.
Lin Jing nodded and said, “I once heard my father say that the reason why the Ancient Celestial Palace was able to be called the overlord of Tianluo Continent was, of course, the power of the Heavenly Emperor. However, the Sky Pool’s existence was also the reason. At that time, the purpose of countless prodigies joining the Ancient Celestial Palace was to get baptism in the Sky Pool.
“It is said that the Sky Pool’s baptism can truly transform people, and at the same time, they can refine and cultivate their own spiritual energy. Even the Sovereign Celestial Body that they practice can be enhanced in this baptism.
“It is rumored that people who were a Complete Grade Nine made breakthroughs to Earthly Sovereign during the baptism.”
Nine Nether’s expression changed slightly. As she got closer to the rank of Earthly Sovereign, she knew just how difficult it was to break through that layer of shackles, and that countless Ninth Grade Sovereigns in heaven and earth could not cross that step in their whole lives. This showed how difficult the breakthrough was.
Perhaps Lin Jing’s hearsay was a little exaggerated, but it was enough to show the wondrous effects of the Sky Pool.
Mu Chen smiled and said, “But not everyone is qualified for the Sky Pool’s baptism. According to the rules of the Ancient Celestial Palace, only by getting the approval of the disciples of the Ancient Celestial Palace and obtaining the Pledge of the Nine Mansions can one enter the Sky Pool.
“Although the Ancient Celestial Palace has changed a lot, I am afraid this rule is still preserved, just like the Dragon Entrance Gate. So before we do this, we have to find out where the nine mansions are and see if we can get a pledge.”
Upon hearing this, Nine Nether nodded slightly. Now that there were countless strong people who had entered the Ancient Celestial Palace, they must also want to enter the Sky Pool. With limited resources and many vying for them, they had to get started as soon as possible.
Mu Chen was aware of this, too. With a wave of his hand, he said, “Let’s go. We should go, too.” Mu Chen’s voice fell as he looked up at the vast ancient world and said no more. With a move, he transformed into a stream of light and headed towards a floating rocky island in the distance. Behind him, Nine Nether and Lin Jing quickly followed and began to explore the huge and ancient palace.
The first rocky island they had sought out had nothing to gain, and many of its palace halls had already been turned into ruins. Some of the spiritual artifacts that they occasionally found had faint spiritual energy but were close to shattering. Judging from the environment on the island, Mu Chen could tell that an earth-shaking battle had taken place there.
Though the first search had been fruitless, the three were not discouraged as they kept moving on.
It was during this kind of exploration that Mu Chen found out about something that was rather headache-inducing. He discovered that there were many suspended rocky islands, each with a spiritual array surrounding it. Although the protective capability of these spiritual arrays was not very strong, they were able to insulate themselves from the outside, so no one knew what the interior of the island was like unless they shattered the spiritual array.
There were at least tens of thousands of suspended rocky islands in this Ancient Celestial Palace. If they had to crack open each of them one by one to explore them to find the location of the nine mansions, how much time would it take?
In this kind of situation, Mu Chen and his party were quite helpless, and could only forcibly shatter each rocky island’s defense. Fortunately, their helplessness did not last long, for they found an unremarkable harvest on one of the rocky islands. It was a jade scroll found beside a skeleton. It not an indescribable super power but an ordinary map.
When Mu Chen laid eyes on the map, it was as precious to them as any treasure. That was because this map marked the division of many areas in the Ancient Celestial Palace, and among them, there were the distribution points of the Nine Mansions, and even later, the Five Halls. With this, they were able to bypass the countless rocky islands and head straight to the Nine Mansions.
“Mu Chen, you are amazing!” Lin Jing cheered. The empty rocky islands before had made her feel somewhat depressed.
Mu Chen grinned, too. He scanned the map, then looked up to the northwest, saying, “According to the map, one of the nine mansions, the Wind Mansion, should be in that direction. We can go and explore it.”
The Wind Mansion was one of the nine mansions. Its owner was a Lower Earthly Sovereign. Such a place should have real treasures.
“Let’s go!” Mu Chen’s gaze was ablaze and without hesitation, he transformed into a stream of light, skimmed over rocky islands, and headed straight to the place indicated on the map.
They stopped after only a dozen minutes when a small rocky island appeared in front of them. However, no one expected that on this unremarkable rocky island was one of the nine mansions, the Wind Mansion!
