Chapter 1020: Return to the Main s.p.a.ce
It was difficult for Peng Lai Immortal Realm cultivators to head over to the main s.p.a.ce. They had to pa.s.s through inspections by various departments of the Huatian Palace. Even for inner circle members of the Huatian Palace, the level of the inspection was not relaxed. Fortunately for Mo Wen, he’d received a personal written introduction from Mo Qingge which directly granted him approval, saving him a lot of trouble.
The Teleportation Main Hall was on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge. This place was connected to the other mountain peaks of the Huatian Palace. Prior to this, when he was just starting out as a cultivator, he would almost never be questioned when using the Teleportation Main Hall’s teleporting stratagem. However, now he was a Primordial Soul Realm cultivator. Things certainly would not be as easy for him as it had been before. Still, it was all in order to protect the safety and stability of the main s.p.a.ce.
As he’d expected, when Mo Wen walked into the Teleportation Main Hall, a few large jade pillars immediately lit up with red light. The Main Hall was equipped with an alarm system. Once high ranking cultivators entered, they would have nowhere to hide, like a bug under a microscope.
“Senior, if you wish to leave the Peng Lai Immortal Realm, please present the relevant approval doc.u.ments.”
A few Huatian Palace executors immediately walked over and bowed to Mo Wen. All those that were on guard here were normal executors of the Huatian Palace. They naturally considered themselves juniors upon seeing Mo Wen. Of course, they would give him his due respect, but without the relevant approval doc.u.ments, they certainly would not let him pa.s.s. The higher the cultivation of the person, the stricter the controls would be.
Mo Wen handed over a jade book to the lead executor. After taking it from Mo Wen respectfully, he walked to a jade stone platform and placed the jade book on it. In the next moment, the red lights in the Teleportation Main Hall vanished and turned green.
“Senior, if you please.”
When the other Executors saw this, they immediately gestured in welcome to Mo Wen. Mo Qingge’s jade book was naturally equivalent to a pa.s.s.
However, when Mo Wen was about to walk onto the teleporting stratagem, a sudden change occurred. All the jade pillars in the Teleportation Main Hall once again changed colors, s.h.i.+ning more intensely red than they had been initially. Beams of red light shone down and enveloped Mo Wen.
The other Executors were shocked at the sight of this. They stood frozen in place. This was the first time they had encountered such a situation.
“Friend, please wait.”
An old man’s voice was suddenly heard in the Teleportation Main Hall. The elderly owner of the voice walked out from a side entrance and looked at Mo Wen sternly. His eyes repeatedly swept over Mo Wen, his gaze one of suspicion.
“What seems to be the matter?” Mo Wen frowned.
“There was an alarm set off in the Main Hall. We suspect that the problem is linked to you.”
The elder stood in front of Mo Wen, blocking his egress, and stared intently at him. He seemed to be trying to glean something from a study of Mo Wen’s eyes.
“Problem? What problem?” Mo Wen raised his eyebrows.
“We suspect that you have been hiding your cultivation level. You are actually above the Primordial Soul Realm, am I right? Otherwise, the Main Hall’s stratagem would not have given such an intense response. Also, there seems to be more than one life aura on you, which is strange.”
The elder looked at Mo Wen dubiously. He was also a Primordial Soul Realm cultivator and a veteran of the Senate. It was currently his turn to be stationed in the Teleportation Main Hall. The youth before him was highly suspect. On the surface, he appeared to be a Primordial Soul Realm cultivator. However, the elder could not see through him at all. Furthermore, the Main Hall’s stratagem response was clear evidence that this youth was not as he appeared, and was very likely hiding his actual level of cultivation.
Within the Huatian Palace’s teleportation hall, the higher the person’s cultivation level, the stricter their inspection would be. The difference between the level of scrutiny at the Primordial Soul Realm to the Tide Changing Realm was vast. The elder suspected that this youth was hiding his true cultivation level in order to make his way past the inspection.
Also, the strangest thing that he had noticed was the youth actually have more than one life aura. From the readings the Main Hall’s stratagem had produced, this youth actually had four life auras, despite there only being one person before him. It was truly rather bizarre.
Not only were there several discrepancies detected about the young man, but they weren’t minor. All in all, it was, of course, impossible for him to let a person who set off so many red flags pa.s.s through.
Mo Wen was slightly stunned by the elder’s words. However, he swiftly realized what the issue was. He immediately understood that the life auras that the elder referred to were the members hidden away in the Junior Master’s PaG.o.da. Jade Xiu King, Ink Scaled King, and Dragon Girl had all reached the cultivation level of great attainment in the Tide Changing Realm. This was what caused the response of the stratagem to be so intense. This was also why the elder suspected that Mo Wen must be hiding his cultivation.
As expected of the Huatian Palace, the capacity of the Main Hall’s stratagem was incredible. It did not allow anything to slip past undetected. Even for those hidden in a container treasure like the Junior Master’s PaG.o.da, they were unable to escape its detection. The chances of slipping away were practically zero.
Thinking this might prove troublesome, Mo Wen frowned, for right then, he did not know how he might explain the situation, with regards to the Jade Xiu King and the others.
The holdup soon drew the attention of many in the area. A constant stream of people was always coming and going in the Teleportation Main Hall. The Huatian Palace was so big, so naturally, there was a perpetual crowd of travelers, ordinary executors from the Four Major Palace Halls who did not face very many restrictions.
“What’s going on? It seems that someone has been held back by Veteran Zhang Xuan.”
“The Main Hall’s stratagem’s response was so intense. This hasn’t happened in so many years. Could it be that that person has committed some crime?”
“Even Veteran Zhang Xuan has appeared. Something big must have happened. He is a Mighty Immortal Cultivator of the Senate. Rumor has it that his cultivation has reached the level of great attainment in the Primordial Soul Realm.”
…
Quite a few curious glances were being shot over. Since time immemorial, there was no end to rubberneckers who liked to watch when things got interesting. In a short while, many people had gathered around.
No member of the Huatian Palace Senate was ordinary. Even Mighty Immortal Cultivators who had reached the level of Primordial Soul Realm rarely joined the Senate. Usually, only those with great attainment in the Primordial Soul Realm or some incredible later stage Primordial Soul Realm cultivators were qualified to enter the Senate.
Many people were naturally interested in matters regarding Senate veterans.
“Mo Wen.”
A voice came unexpectedly from the crowd. Someone who recognized Mo Wen. A woman seemingly of quiet temperament and restrained demeanor.
“Pei Fengwu.”
Mo Wen, to his surprise, was looking at none other than Pei Fengwu, someone he was well familiar with.
It had been a long time since he had seen Pei Fengwu; not since Dragon City, in fact.
“Senior Zhang Xuan, has there been some misunderstanding? Mo Wen is an old member of Vermillion Bird Palace Hall. We know him well.”
Pei Fengwu stepped forward from the crowd to vouch for Mo Wen. She could not understand why Mo Wen was being held back by Veteran Zhang Xuan. Wasn’t Mo Wen just there to use the teleporting stratagem?
“Fengwu, this matter is of utmost importance. Even were he to be a member of the Huatian Palace itself, I could not allow this to slide.”
Zhang Xuan clearly knew her. His expression eased slightly. Pei Fengwu of the Vermillion Bird Palace Hall was famed for her genius. Her future was bright, and she could possibly become a member of the Senate in the future. Also, her master was the Vermillion Bird Palace Hall Hall leader. As one of the hall leaders of the Four Major Palace Halls, she held no little authority. For no ordinary veteran would be qualified to a.s.sume the office of Hall Leader.
Mo Wen frowned. He knew that in this matter, his members.h.i.+p in the Vermillion Bird Palace Hall notwithstanding, even if he revealed he was a veteran, Zhang Xuan would not let him go easily. This was the most controlled place in the Huatian Palace. Absolutely no exceptions could be made. For otherwise, should a Tide Changing Realm cultivator make their way into the main s.p.a.ce bearing ill intentions, how great would the ensuing chaos be?
Pei Fengwu looked helplessly at Mo Wen. As she had just arrived, she was unsure about the cause of Zhang Xuan’s intervention.
“Sir, please follow me. I appreciate your cooperation in letting me carry out my duties.”
Veteran Zhang Xuan looked at Mo Wen. While his words were civil, the more polite he became, the more officious he appeared. In order to prevent accidents from happening, he held control over the Main Hall’s stratagem. Should Mo Wen show any signs of resistance, he was prepared to use the power of the stratagem to suppress him immediately.
After all, Zhang Xuan was inclined to be cautious when dealing with a person like Mo Wen, especially as he could not discern what level of cultivation Mo Wen actually was.
“I issued his traveling doc.u.ment personally. Is there a problem?”
Just as Mo Wen felt trapped between a rock and a hard place, a cold voice cut through the main hall. There was suddenly another person in the main hall. The speaker was a stunning beauty who had arrived unnoticed.
“That’s Deputy Head of Parliament Mo.”
“It’s actually her! Deputy Head of Parliament Mo!”
“She is legendary for being the number one beauty in the Huatian Palace. She is an authority figure of high position and power in the Huatian Palace. She’s actually appeared here. My eyes are not deceiving me, are they?”
“Ah! Quickly, look! That is Deputy Head of Parliament Mo. I’ve seen her from afar before.”
…
Mo Qingge’s appearance caused the entire main hall to break out in whispers. Everyone looked excitedly at the new arrival.
“Senate Deputy Director Mo.” Upon seeing her, Veteran Zhang Xuan’s expression also changed. He bowed deferentially at once.
Not only was Mo Qingge the Deputy Head of Parliament, but she was also the Senate’s Deputy Director. Although her position as Deputy Head of Parliament’s bestowed authority and position that outweighed that of her other role as Senate Deputy Director, for Senate veterans, they viewed the Deputy Director as their highest superior.
The position of Director of the Senate had always been held by the Grand Palace Lord. However, the Grand Palace Lord never involved himself with matters of the Senate. That charge was entrusted to the Deputy Directors.
“Veteran Zhang Xuan, I see no problem with Mo Wen. If anything untoward occurs, I will take responsibility. Let him pa.s.s,” Mo Qingge said, in a matter of fact manner.
“At once.”
Zhang Xuan gave a.s.sent respectfully. Mo Qingge had personally weighed in; there was nothing else to say. Everyone knew that Mo Qingge was like the sun in the sky within the Huatian Palace. She would very likely be named the next successor to the Grand Palace Lord. Her current rank placed her on par with any Deputy Palace Lord. Recent rumors claimed that she was about to break through to the realm of Supreme Profundity. No one knew if she’d succeeded. However, what was certain was that it was a matter of when not if.
Mo Wen gave Mo Qingge a grateful look for her timely arrival and a.s.sistance. If anything happened, Mo Qingge would certainly be held accountable.
Mo Wen saluted Mo Qingge with his fists before stepping onto the teleporting stratagem. As he did so, hurriedly, Pei Fengwu stepped onto the teleporting stratagem alongside him. As an executor who had yet to break through to the Primordial Soul Realm, she could come and go freely.
In a flash of brilliant light, Mo Wen and Pei Fengwu disappeared from the teleporting stratagem.
Mo Qingge turned and left the main hall, the corners of her mouth subtly curling up into a smile. Veteran Zhang Xuan could not identify the cause of the alert Mo Wen had triggered, but she could. A container treasure. Mo Wen actually had a container treasure on his person, hiding no less than three people inside of it. Each one of them at a high level of cultivation.
Up until that point, she had been worried about Mo Wen. She realized she did not need to worry in the slightest. A container treasure! In the entire Peng Lai Immortal Realm, there could not be very many of them. Who were the three people inside the container treasure? Their cultivation levels had actually reached great attainment in the Tide Changing Realm. For his enemies in the large sects, dealing with Mo Wen would not be as easy as they imagined.