Chapter 1455 (Raw 1435): Entering the Palace First
The instant the geography was restored, the loose cultivators and the Holy Land elders still on the Ghost Mountains, who came to explore, immediately sensed it.
The ones present were all experts. Even though they do not understand geomancy, they could still sense the subtle changes in the surrounding geography.
Besides, the teams had Geomasters, so it went without saying that they noticed the change.
In the Cyclic Astral Palace"s group, the Sun Palace"s Palace Master, Chu Tian, frowned in confusion and asked, "What"s going on? Why did the geography of this Ghost Mountain suddenly return to normal?"
The Geomaster in that group was a white-clad old man. He was the exclusive Geomaster of the Cyclic Astral Palace and was nearly as skilled as Jiang Tian.
The white-clad old man muttered to himself for a while before replying, "It is extremely difficult to change the geography of a Ghost Mountain. The other party probably could not maintain it for too long. Or perhaps, the other party only needed to maintain it long enough."
When Chu Tian heard that, he nodded and said, "That"s right. Grabbing the initiative and entering first would be sufficient to leave us far behind. Since the geography is already restored, there is no need for us to hold back anymore. Let"s rush to the Immortal palace at full speed."
"Whoos.h.!.+ Whoos.h.!.+ Whoos.h.!.+"
The figures of the Cyclic Astral Palace"s group flashed. Under the lead of Chu Tian and the white-clad old man, they moved at full speed, rus.h.i.+ng to the Mirage Immortal Palace with all their might.
Such a scene happened at the various Ghost Mountains. These people already knew that they were one step behind, so they no longer held anything back.
---
At the center of the valley, by the entrance to the Mirage Immortal Palace, the faces of the two Immortal Venerates sank at the same time.
Immortal Venerate Ming Yue said, "Daoist Zi Yun is already dead. I no longer sense his aura."
"Who is that strong? When working with the Ghost Mountain, Zi Yun should be able to protect himself against a Ninth Heaven Martial Emperor." Some of the Immortal Cultivators behind expressed their confusion.
Immortal Venerate Tian Yi said, "Never mind. We should have expected some setbacks on this trip. No matter how prepared we are, there will always be some surprises. Let"s go on."
Immortal Venerate Ming Yue said, "I"ll leave some restrictions, then. That way, we will be able to buy some time and create more opportunities."
"Right, that would be good."
If outsiders were around, they would definitely feel shocked. The restriction that Immortal Venerate Ming Yue casually mentioned was actually a Major Magic Skill, the Icy Blood Moon.
---
Xiao Chen did not care about anything else for now. After the geography was restored, he relied on his considerable skill at seeking dragons and fixing veins with the aid of the Dragon Revealing Mirror and the Dragon Subduing Platform. With nothing to worry about, he progressed at an unusually smooth pace.
The Cycle Arts occupied his mind. He did not care about the Spirit Herbs and Profound Beasts that he discovered along the way. After a while, the ancient Immortal palace appeared before his eyes.
With the erosion of time, the majestic Immortal palace"s exterior no longer showed much of the Immortals" style.
The old, red brick walls, the eaves covered in dust, and the faint but visible cracks engendered a feeling of age and defeat.
It was far from overflowing with Spiritual Energy, unlike how it appeared from outside, after the thick fog dispersed. What was seen here was more real.
Xiao Chen felt moved. Even the most glorious legend faltered before the merciless ravages of time.
At the sight of this Immortal Epoch Remnant, Xiao Chen thought of the Thunder Immortal Ancestor in Misleading Fog Lake—the Thunder Immortal Ancestor who proclaimed that he "subdued" Xiao Chen while on his deathbed.
The doors to the Immortal palace were open. However, there was a manmade restriction blocking the way.
A bright scarlet moon barred the open doors. The bright moon"s surroundings flickered with an icy light that inspired fear for some reason.
"Sha! Sha!"
Footsteps rang out. Xiao Chen turned his head to look and discovered the Cyclic Astral Palace"s people rus.h.i.+ng over.
A total of five people came from the Cyclic Astral Palace. Aside from Chu Tian, the Sun Palace"s Palace Master, and the white-clad Geomaster, there were three peak experts, who were Eighth Heaven Martial Emperors.
It looked like the Cyclic Astral Lord put in his full effort, short of a personal appearance, for the sake of the Cycle Arts.
"The Shadowless Saber Sovereign!"
Chu Tian narrowed his eyes, feeling somewhat surprised. To think that someone managed to rush over before he did! He had heard of the fame of the Shadowless Saber Sovereign and did not dare to be too careless when facing such a person.
Xiao Chen turned his head back and said indifferently, "Palace Master Chu, you have something to say?"
"Haha! It"s nothing. I just did not expect someone to be faster than us. Brother Shadowless, you arrived before us. Did you manage to discover anything?"
Chu Tian"s expression recovered to normal. A smile flashed on his face. If possible, this person should not be offended, so he had best not offend him in case anything unexpected happened.
"I did not discover anything. A restriction was placed at the entrance probably by one of the Penglai Sea"s Immortal Venerates, based on the method."
The moment Xiao Chen said that, the Cyclic Astral Palace"s people all showed slight changes in expressions.
An old man stepped forward and approached the restriction at the entrance. After inspecting it, he returned and said, "Senior Chu, it is indeed the work of Immortal Venerate Ming Yue. It is his Major Magic Skill, the Icy Blood Moon."
Chu Tian frowned and said, "What is that old fellow thinking? We just want to get the Cycle Arts and do not conflict with his goals. Why is he repeatedly blocking us?"
Xiao Chen said coldly, "Palace Master Chu, you are rather naive. His repeatedly making moves clearly shows that his objective conflicts with ours. Otherwise, there would not be so many problems without any reason."
Irritation appeared on Chu Tian"s face. However, after some thought, he found that the Shadowless Saber Sovereign"s words made sense.
"Dong! Dong! Dong!"
Footsteps rang out again. Another group of people rushed over. The leader was Yang Tong, the Five Poison Sect"s Vice Sect Master. Soon, the groups from the Yinyang Paradise and the Heavenly Province Academy arrived as well.
As time pa.s.sed, more and more people turned up. When they saw the Icy Blood Moon restriction, they all frowned and did not dare to risk it.
"The difficult thing about this Icy Blood Moon restriction is that it is Immortal Venerate Ming Yue"s strongest Magic Skill. If this Icy Blood Moon were to strike a Minor Heaven Martial Emperor, it would be hard for that person to escape death. Even if he survived, he would be a cripple."
"I wonder who can break this restriction? Aside from a few Ninth Heaven Martial Emperors, the other Martial Emperors would have to consider carefully whether they want to break this restriction."
Various discussions rang out, spreading all sorts of horrors regarding the Icy Blood Moon.
Xiao Chen muttered to himself. He felt that this was a great move by the Penglai Sea"s people. The restriction was nothing much. However, whoever worked to break it first would suffer.
With impaired strength, one would be at a disadvantage when searching the Mirage Immortal Palace for treasures. The people behind would benefit for free.
Wait a minute, why do I not see that group from the Blood Clad Sect?
Aside from the Penglai Sea"s people, Xiao Chen paid the most mind to the Blood Clad Sect. However, when he looked around, he could not see a single person from the Blood Clad Sect.
Could it be that they already entered?
No way. I cannot keep waiting. If the other party"s goal has something to do with the Cycle Arts, I will not be able to take the loss.
"Look! The Shadowless Saber Sovereign is going up!"
"What is he doing? Even the Sun Palace"s Palace Master Chu Tian and the Five Poison Sect"s Vice Sect Master do not dare to act rashly. Could he be thinking of breaking that restriction?"
"He is really bold. However, even if he manages to break it, he will end up suffering greatly."
When Xiao Chen arrived before the doors, he attracted everyone"s attention. Many were elated. After the restriction was broken, they would be able to enter by following behind.
The Shadowless Saber Sovereign would definitely be injured—effectively eliminating one of their compet.i.tors. This killed two birds with one stone.
As Xiao Chen stood before the Icy Blood Moon, a cold Qi a.s.saulted his face. The bright scarlet moon was like a star made of ice.
After sizing it up, Xiao Chen could not help viewing this Magic Skill in a new light.
There were many tricks behind its simple facade. The light contained an icy small world. Once the restriction was forcefully broken, the entire small world would explode. With its fetters gone, the scarlet moon would enlarge infinitely.
After that, it would explode violently with a "bang." Just by thinking about the impact that one would suffer from being in close proximity made one tremble.
Simply put, the scarlet moon was like a huge bomb. The restriction was its fuse. It would ignite with just a touch.
Forcefully breaking it was definitely the most foolish method, which would result in the most miserable death.
However, how could one cross it without breaking the restriction? Many thoughts flashed in Xiao Chen"s mind as he eliminated ideas one by one.
After a while, Xiao Chen felt excited; he had thought of a way to deal with this.
The Heavenly Snow Divine Flame appeared in Xiao Chen"s palm. Then, before everyone"s eyes, he entered the light.
"Whoos.h.!.+ Whoos.h.!.+ Whoos.h.!.+"
"Move back! Move back!"
When the various people of the Holy Lands and the loose cultivators saw this scene, they quickly retreated, afraid of getting caught up in the resulting explosion.