Chapter 34: Celestial Palace
The wind howled past his ears as Baha flew at full speed, quickly shaking off the pursuing Tianba clan behind them.
After leaving the ruins, Baha didn't stop until they had crossed the suspension bridge before lowering their altitude.
The nearly two-kilometer-long suspension bridge swayed slowly in the wind. Su Xiao released his grip on Baha's claws and landed in front of the bridge.
Su Xiao had now reached the other side of the suspension bridge. He waited for the Tianba clan to give chase. If they came, this bridge was the only path.
Through preliminary exploration, Su Xiao understood the terrain of the front half of the Divine Realm. After passing through the Divine Realm Gate, one would enter the Earth Palace, the place guarded by the Wolf God.
Beyond the Earth Palace lay a vast wilderness teeming with wildlife. The Tianba clan hunted and gathered fruits here, and the blind old man's wooden cabin was located in this wilderness.
Past this wilderness was the Abyss, which split the Divine Realm in two. To cross the Abyss, aside from flying, the only way was a two-kilometer-long suspension bridge.
After crossing the bridge was a stretch of ruins. The architecture of the ruins had a strong Tianba style, as the Tianba clan favored making ornaments in the shape of aquatic creatures.
Earth Palace → Blind Man's Cabin → Abyss Suspension Bridge → Tianba Ruins.
Standing before the suspension bridge, Su Xiao placed one hand on the bridge surface. If the Tianba clan pursued, he could use the bridge as a tactical advantage to kill a small portion of the pursuing Tianba.
After waiting a few minutes, no vibrations came from the bridge. This indicated one thing: the Tianba clan, before being fully eroded by the Source, were rational enough to know that this bridge was a place of certain death.
The reason the Tianba clan was imprisoned within the Divine Realm wasn't because they were foolish, but because they trusted their former allies, Talin and the Holy Guardian, too much. Or rather, they might have deliberately allowed themselves to be trapped inside the Divine Realm.
The [Source] was within the Divine Realm. Though the Tianba clan appeared imprisoned, they could actually use the Divine Realm's isolation from the outside world to slowly develop the [Source]. The Wolf God was one of their achievements.
Even if the Wolf God was a failed product, making Source power coexist with divine energy was an extremely difficult task. More importantly, the Wolf God had rationality and wasn't completely driven by Source power.
The current situation was neither good nor bad for Su Xiao. Amu and Liu had been captured, but they should be safe for the short term. Su Xiao could understand the Tianba clan capturing Liu, but taking Amu alive as well puzzled him.
After recalling the Wolf God's appearance, Su Xiao speculated that the Tianba clan might be trying to infuse Source power into Amu's body, attempting to combine Source power with ice energy to solve the problem of Source erosion.
"Baha, scout the surrounding area."
Su Xiao wasn't too worried about Source power being infused into Amu, because Amu had an elemental constitution. Infusing Source power into Amu's body couldn't be done in a short time; there would be no problem within a few days.
The Tianba clan weren't scientists; they were warriors. Their research on the Source was to solve the problem of Source erosion.
After Baha's reconnaissance, Su Xiao learned that the Tianba clan in the ruins had already withdrawn and weren't guarding the other end of the suspension bridge. The Tianba clan members earlier had seen Baha could fly, so they didn't bother with pointless actions.
Upon hearing this news, Su Xiao leaped up, grabbed Baha's claws, and Baha flew toward the other side of the Abyss.
Bubu Wang had already followed the several hundred Tianba clan members, with the main target being the Qin Leader. First, they needed to find the Tianba clan's settlement, where Amu was likely imprisoned.
Baha bypassed the suspension bridge and flew over the right side of the ruins on the opposite side of the Abyss, tracking the coordinates left by Bubu Wang along the way.
After passing the ruins, Su Xiao had Baha lower altitude. Flying over Tianba territory was dangerous; if a Drowning-type Tianba targeted them, Baha couldn't withstand a few arrows.
After descending, Su Xiao arrived at a canyon. The Tianba clan ahead had just passed through here not long ago.
Walking through the narrow valley between the cliffs, vegetation covered the mountain walls on both sides. An eagle's cry came from ahead. As he exited the valley, the sunlight became somewhat harsher.
A vast expanse of towering buildings appeared ahead. There were several hundred of these structures, each one magnificent yet ancient-looking.
These towering buildings were constructed on a lake that stretched beyond sight. Steam rose from the surrounding area, and many water birds perched there.
Puzzlingly, these towering buildings were filled with massive boulders between them, using the boulders as filler to connect the several hundred structures into one entity. Around them, iron bars several meters wide and giant rivets reinforced the whole thing.
Upon closer inspection, it became clear that these originally magnificent buildings had been used as a foundation. Suspension bridges connected these buildings to the surrounding mountain walls, allowing passage across the lake.
[You have arrived at the Celestial Palace (originally the Divine Realm).]
Standing on the cliff beside the lake, Su Xiao looked up at the towering architectural complex before him.
The ancient gods once ruled the entire continent from this center. They enslaved the human race and built these towering structures to display their status as gods. After all, they were once monsters, and there were things they would never admit to or allow to be mentioned. So they had to be above everything, even their dwellings had to be high and mighty.
After the ancient gods were defeated, this place became the Tianba clan's territory. But these architectural styles didn't match Tianba aesthetics, so they filled the gaps between the buildings with boulders and built their own dwellings atop these magnificent structures.
Su Xiao looked around and saw no Tianba guards. The scattered suspension bridges around were chaotic.
Having Baha fly straight up now would be unwise. If they flew high and encountered a group of Drowning-type Tianba, the joke would be on them.
Su Xiao didn't immediately head up to the Celestial Palace. Instead, he had Baha continue reconnaissance nearby.
An hour later, Baha returned. It had discovered a city to the west. Based on its observations, at least over a hundred thousand Tianba lived there, and judging by the surrounding roads, this wasn't the only major city within the Divine Realm.
Baha noted that the Tianba living there weren't strong. Their skin was pale rather than blue-white, indicating that the Source power within them was very thin.
It was normal for the Tianba clan to thrive within the Source Divine Realm. Not every Tianba was powerful. The Tianba Su Xiao had encountered earlier were likely a very small portion of the entire clan.
The Tianba clan had risen over several centuries. For Talin and the Holy Guardian to fear them, their population couldn't be small. The fertile Source Divine Realm was likely the territory the Tianba gained after their victory in war.
The Tianba clan naturally had the concept of talent. Determining whether a Tianba had talent could be approached from two aspects: talent in martial techniques and tolerance for Source power.
The Tianba Su Xiao had fought were likely one in a hundred, or even one in a thousand. Given the Divine Realm's abundance, it could easily support over a million ordinary Tianba.
Differences in skin color and physique meant Su Xiao couldn't normally explore the Tianba's major cities. He even suspected that the Tianba clan could be a faction to join, possibly with a reputation system or similar.
Setting these thoughts aside, Su Xiao walked along the suspension bridge toward the architectural complex ahead. From a distance, the complex looked like a mountain, completely connected together.
A winding stone staircase, fixed to the outer walls of the buildings, spiraled upward. From the wear marks on this "Spiral Stairway," it was frequently used.
Walking up the stone stairs wasn't dangerous at first. Even if one slipped, they'd only fall into the lake below. But as they ascended, the spiral stairs grew narrower, eventually becoming less than two meters wide.
Su Xiao looked down. They were now a hundred meters above the lake. For him, this height was nothing.
Continuing upward, though Amu and Liu had been captured, this indirectly improved Su Xiao's infiltration ability. The chances of him and Baha being discovered weren't high. As for Bubu Wang, that guy might already be at the Celestial Palace.
The higher he climbed, the more Su Xiao couldn't understand the architecture of this world. He had already ascended over a thousand meters, yet the spiral stairs still hadn't ended. Even if a large area of buildings was connected as a foundation, at this height, the foundation would definitely collapse.
The problem likely lay with the lake below. This lake seemed to be connected to the energy of something above, anchoring the foundation here. The foundation acted like a tree, conducting energy.
After climbing about 1,300 meters, the stairs finally ended. Flat stone ground appeared ahead, with several hundred two- or three-story pavilions situated here, as if built in the sky. The Celestial Palace had arrived.
Within the Celestial Palace, "mist" drifted ethereally. This wasn't actually clouds, but steam rising from the lake below, gathered here for some reason.
The sky seemed to darken slightly, as sunlight was blocked by a layer of water vapor, lowering the temperature in the Celestial Palace by a few degrees.
...
Celestial Palace, inside a certain pavilion.
Sss, sss, sss～
The sound of sharpening came. A Tianba with a long braid was sharpening a narrow-bladed short knife. She rubbed her thumb across the edge, confirmed it was sharp enough, and walked toward the inner room.
Liu was suspended in midair, a bump swelling on her forehead. Seeing the female Tianba approaching, her body began to tremble.
"Don't worry, I'll finish quickly. A few days ago, I skinned one of my own kin and finished in just half an hour."
The female Tianba pulled at her own facial skin, like lifting a piece of cloth. Seeing this, Liu felt her scalp tingle and her blood run cold.
"Such a nice skin. You're well-liked among your kin, aren't you? Don't worry, I'll peel it off completely."
The female Tianba spun the knife in her hand, the blade pressing against Liu's ear. Liu's breathing nearly stopped as tears rolled down her cheeks.
"He... he can disguise himself as anyone."
Liu suddenly spoke. The female Tianba spun the knife again, using the blunt end of the handle to brush across Liu's neck.
"His name is Kukulin Bai Ye!"
Hearing Liu's words, a smile appeared on the female Tianba's face.
"Go on. What method does he use to disguise himself as others?"
What the female Tianba didn't notice was that behind her, Bubu Wang was holding up a sign, teaching Liu what to say step by step.
Bubu Wang was doing this on Su Xiao's orders, to gain faster entry into the Celestial Palace.