Many years had pa.s.sed, and Nie Tian entered the Green Illusion Dimension again, but this time escorted by Fang Hui from the Spiritual Treasure Sect.
He still remembered the time when he had taken a trial here. He had been at Qi Refining stage back then. Only because of An s.h.i.+yi had he been given a chance to enter this arcane dimension.
The images of him fighting Yu Tong and the others from the Blood Sect and Ghost Sect here surfaced in his mind, even though a long time had pa.s.sed since they had taken place.
Seeing that he drifted away in thought, Fang Hui, who was standing next to him, could only wait in silence.
After a while, Zhao Shanling started to lose his patience, and asked, “Where are we going?”
“I’ll show you.” Nie Tian summoned his Star Boat and flew forward, giving rise to a loud whoosh.
The desert, the lake, the muddy entrance, and the lakebottom palace...
Nie Tian took Zhao Shanling and the others all the way to the palace that was located under the lakebottom in the middle of a desert. He did it with such ease that he seemed to know the path very well.
Nothing seemed to have changed in the palace.
The twelve stone columns still stood towering, while the prismatic altar surrounded by the stone columns seemed to be exactly the same as the last time Nie Tian had been here.
Numerous grooves could be seen in the blackish-brown altar, where translucent, sparkling beast bones used to be kept. However, they had been drained of their power when the Frost Python had left, as they had been the source of power for the unique teleportation portal that was the prismatic altar.
It was also from those beast bones that Nie Tian had benefited and made progress in his cultivation.
“Hmm?!”
Upon seeing the twelve stone columns with dragon carvings and the altar in the middle of the s.p.a.cious underground palace, Zhao Shanling, Dong Li, and Fang Hui all gasped with astonishment.
“I had no idea there was such a curious place down here!” Fang Hui marveled.
Then, he turned to Nie Tian and asked, “Did you find it during your trial?”
Nie Tian smiled. “Yeah. I made significant advances in my cultivation here too. And that Frost Python left the Green Illusion Dimension through that prismatic altar.”
Dong Li also found this fascinating. “The Green Illusion Dimension is merely an arcane dimension, which doesn’t even qualify as a realm. Who would have thought that there would be such a unique teleportation portal in a low-grade arcane dimension like this?”
She touched and knocked on the stone columns as she circled around them. “All of them are carved with dragons. Six flame dragons and six frost dragons...”
Zhao Shanling nodded. “They seem to be the work of Ancientbeasts.”
“Do you know how to activate this altar?” Nie Tian asked.
With an arrogant smile, Zhao Shanling said, “Altars like this have far fewer secrets than the spatial patterns we found in the Realm of Unbounded Desolation. What this Ancientbeast teleportation altar lacks are only materials that contain spatial power. And after I make some small adjustments to its settings, we’ll be able to activate it.”
“The Frost Python left through this altar. I wonder where it leads.” Nie Tian said.
“No problem. Just give me a moment to make the adjustments.” With these words, Zhao Shanling first filled the grooves on the altar with s.p.a.ce Spirit Jades and other stones that contained spatial power. Then, he circled around the twelve stone columns in an attempt to figure out the spatial wonders within them.
At the same time, driven by curiosity, Fang Hui and Dong Li walked around in the s.p.a.cious palace.
WHOOs.h.!.+
Nie Tian suddenly summoned the Flame Dragon Armor from within his ring of holding.
Wreathed in blazing flames, the Flame Dragon Armor instantly raised the temperature in the underground palace to a great extent.
Immediately afterwards, the six stone columns that were carved with flame dragons turned crimson.
At this moment, the Flame Dragon Armor’s soul voice echoed in Nie Tian’s mind. Apparently, it was surprised to discover that the flame dragons carved on those six stone columns carried auras that were similar to its own.
WHOOs.h.!.+ WHOOs.h.!.+ WHOOs.h.!.+
Six streams of fiery light suddenly shot out of the Flame Dragon Armor into the six stone columns.
From the Flame Dragon Armor, Nie Tian learned that the flame dragons carved on the stone columns contained flame dragon flesh auras, although such auras were almost too weak to detect.
Perhaps it was because they had dissipated over the years, or because the flesh auras had been consumed to a great deal after the previous teleportation.
Many years ago, when Nie Tian had touched these stone columns for the first time, he had found them bursting with unbelievable flame power and benefited from them. But now, the flame power and flesh auras they contained were nothing to him.
Instead of benefiting from them, he had to strengthen the flesh auras within them with his Flame Dragon Armor.
Zhao Shanling nodded and said, “Hmm, it might be helpful to fuse these stone columns with flame power. However, you should know that the other six stone columns are of the frost attribute. All these stone columns and the prismatic altar promote each other. The flame power and frost power within these stone columns support the altar; they need to be balanced.”
While casually explaining this to Nie Tian, he took out a handful of crystals that were wreathed in frosty mist from within his ring of holding.
CRACK!
After he crushed them with his hand, ice shards that looked like fragmentary diamonds streamed into the six stone columns that were carved with frost dragons.
Being infused with frost power, the six stone columns instantly became wreathed in thick frosty mist, and the frost dragons on them became incredibly lifelike.
BOOM!
At this moment, the prismatic altar suddenly lit up and emanated intense spatial fluctuations.
Standing by the altar, Zhao Shanling kept running his knife-like fingers on it, as if to gently adjust its settings, so that the destination could be locked down for their upcoming teleportation.
“Nie Tian, is your master still in the Shatter Battlefield?” Fang Hui suddenly asked.
He and Wu Ji had been sworn friends. Back when Nie Tian had visited the Spiritual Treasure Sect, Fang Hui had helped him on various occasions for the sake of his friends.h.i.+p with Wu Ji.
Later, Wu Ji had accompanied him to the Realm of Unbounded Desolation to partic.i.p.ate in the equipment forger convention in the Tool Sect.
He knew that Wu Ji hadn’t returned since he had entered the Shatter Battlefield. Every time he thought of him, he would worry for his safety.
“Thank you for asking. My master has entered the Saint domain.” Nie Tian answered, beaming.
Fang Hui was flabbergasted. “The Saint domain?! He’s entered the Saint domain?! How is that possible?!”
Wu Ji had been at the Soul realm when they had last met. He was well-aware of how many cultivation barriers needed to be broken if one wanted to make the advances from the Soul realm to the Void domain, and eventually the Saint domain.
While he was still at the middle Soul realm, which was a significant distance from the Void domain, his sworn friend, Wu Ji, had already entered the Saint domain?
How could Fang Hui not be flabbergasted?
“It’s understandable that you find this hard to believe. I did too.” Nie Tian said with an understanding tone. “My master’s incredibly fast advances in his cultivation are thanks to the river of time he found in the Shatter Battlefield. He has been practicing cultivation by it this whole time. That’s why he’s made such rapid advances without running into any cultivation barriers.”
Still overwhelmed, Fang Hui muttered with glazed eyes, “I can’t believe he’s the first from the Domain of the Falling Stars to enter the Saint domain...”
“It’s done,” Zhao Shanling called out and beckoned for Nie Tian and Dong Li to come over to him. After the two of them joined him on the altar, he said, “If you want to, we can go take a look at the heaven and earth on the other side of this portal right now.”
“You were rather apprehensive in the Realm of Unbounded Desolation. Why are you suddenly so confident?” Dong Li asked curiously.
“This portal is much simpler,” Zhao Shanling explained. “I can send a wisp that’s a mixture of my spatial power and soul awareness through it. So I have every reason to believe that I can get us there and back safely. In comparison, that spatial formation in the Realm of Unbounded Desolation is far too complicated. I couldn’t send any power through it, which made me uncertain.”
Nie Tian nodded. “Sure. Activate the portal. Let’s go take a look at the heaven and earth on the other side.”
At this moment, Fang Hui snapped out of his daze and joined them on the altar. As soon as he did, the spell formation thrummed to life.