Chapter 1676: Breaking Into the Ancient Hall
Approaching noon, a snow-white exotic bird pulled a sacred chariot wrapped in starlight, heading toward the Wind Dome within the Inner South Garden.
Only seven figures followed behind the sacred chariot. Zhang Ruochen, Big Beard, and Blind Man were among them. The other four were encased in crystalline star armor and rode metal sacred beasts shaped like earth dragons, carrying war spears as thick as bowl rims in their hands.
As the metal sacred beasts walked, loud booming sounds echoed from the ground.
According to the rules of the Truth Divine Temple, only cultivators from major worlds ranked in the top thousand of the Sacred Merit Ranking were allowed to enter the Inner Four Courtyards. However, with the resources of the Thousand Star Civilization, arranging a suitable identity for Zhang Ruochen to bring him into the Inner South Garden was not a difficult task.
"I see quite a few cultivators from the Thousand Star Civilization participating in the Sealing God Platform Assembly. Why are only a few of us going to the Wind Dome?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
On the right, the gaunt Blind Man was taciturn, acting as if he hadn't heard Zhang Ruochen's voice.
On the left, Big Beard explained to Zhang Ruochen, "The Wind Dome is not a place just anyone can go. Weaklings who barge in are no different from walking to their deaths."
The so-called Wind Dome was actually a barren hill, only a few hundred meters high, neither majestic nor magnificent.
Arriving at the foot of the Wind Dome and looking up, one could see a dilapidated ancient hall perched there, surrounded by no vegetation, standing alone and exuding a sense of desolation.
The stone steps leading from the foot of the hill to the ancient hall were nearly buried in soil. Only upon close inspection could one see traces left behind from countless eons ago.
The strong from various ancient civilizations had mostly gathered at the base of the Wind Dome.
Except for the camp of the Heavenly Beginning Civilization, the other ancient civilizations had only dispatched a few beings. Each was a top-tier powerhouse, with cultivation at least at the Fourth Step Saint King realm.
Behind the Heavenly Beginning Fairy's mount, the White Feather Peacock Chariot, the number of gathered beings exceeded the total of all other ancient civilizations present.
Most of them were not cultivators from the Heavenly Beginning Civilization, nor were they assistants invited by the Heavenly Beginning Fairy. Instead, they had gathered voluntarily, hailing from various major worlds.
These beings had come to challenge the Wind Dome solely because of the Heavenly Beginning Fairy's vow. The vast majority were hot-headed young men, though there were indeed some true experts among them.
Without paying any compensation, having so many cultivators willing to fight for her, the Heavenly Beginning Fairy naturally wouldn't drive them away.
Besides the ancient civilizations, Zhang Ruochen also spotted figures of some Divine Heir disciples. These Divine Heir disciples were either born in ancient civilizations or had close ties to one.
After the Great Venerable arrived, Zhang Ruochen and the other space cultivators were arranged together, standing at the center of the ancient civilization faction's crowd, protected by two silver giants wielding battle axes.
Clearly, the tasks of attacking the palace complex and dealing with ancient ferocious beasts would not fall to them.
They would only be called upon when truly needed.
With the scarcity of space cultivators, such treatment was not surprising.
Besides the six of them, there were also some array masters gathered nearby, belonging to the protected group.
The Great Venerable, radiant with golden light and exuding the bearing of a supreme leader, laughed heartily and said, "The cultivators of the Heavenly Realm Faction and the Demon God Realm Faction entered an hour ago. Since everyone is here, let us set out."
Entering earlier did not mean one could seize the Divine Spring first.
On the contrary, those who entered first would be the first to battle the ancient ferocious beasts, clearing the path for those who came later.
Though it appeared to be just a hill a few hundred meters high, climbing it brought an immense oppressive force, as if an invisible sacred might—or divine might—was pressing down on them.
Entering the hall, the view immediately expanded. Before them, clouds and mist drifted, and sacred energy surged.
If not for the ground covered in sacred blood and the remains of ancient ferocious beasts, one might have thought they had arrived in a celestial realm. Clearly, a fierce battle had erupted here not long ago, and all the ancient ferocious beasts had been cleared away.
True Miao Little Daoist poked his head out from Zhang Ruochen's collar, a hint of surprise in his eyes. He used his spiritual power to communicate with Zhang Ruochen, "The folded space here has been opened?"
"Mm," Zhang Ruochen nodded.
In the distance, palaces stretched one after another, interspersed with towering peaks and unknown regions shrouded in black yin energy.
From deep within the palace complex, bone-chilling roars and muffled battle booms occasionally rang out. The area was too vast to determine where these sounds came from.
A Saint King with a pair of fleshy wings on his back soared into the air, trying to get a high vantage point to see what was happening deep in the palace complex.
"Get down immediately! Are you looking for death?" the Great Venerable roared.
The Saint King turned pale with fright, quickly retracting his wings and trying to descend back to the ground.
Suddenly, a black rift appeared above the Saint King's head, like the maw of a giant demon, biting off half his body.
"Boom."
Only two bloody legs fell from midair.
As the black rift appeared, a fierce yin wind swept through the world, howling mournfully. Even cultivators at the Saint King realm felt their scalps tingle and their legs tremble involuntarily.
The entire scene fell silent. No one dared to breathe loudly.
After a moment, the black rift vanished.
Staring at the two bloody legs on the ground, many beings who had harbored wishful thinking now felt a strong urge to retreat, unwilling to go any further.
Beside Zhang Ruochen, a voice sounded: "What exactly was that black rift just now? Could it be a space rift?"
The speaker was one of the six space cultivators, Li Qinghai.
Pu Shan Monk shook his head and said, "It shouldn't be. The other side of a space rift is nothingness, but that black rift was filled with dense yin energy."
The little girl from the Space Divine Temple, Mo Xiaogu, showed a fearful expression and asked, "As long as we don't fly into the air, that black rift shouldn't appear again, right?"
Gu Feng squinted and chuckled, "Hehe, little girl, why are you so scared? Want to come over to Uncle Gu? I'll protect you."
Mo Xiaogu's pretty face grew even more frightened. She moved toward Li Qinghai and Zhang Ruochen, hiding behind them, afraid of Gu Feng getting close.
Gu Feng had been staring at Mo Xiaogu's chest, but his gaze was suddenly blocked by Zhang Ruochen. A dark look flashed in his eyes as he said, "Kid, when I first saw you, I really didn't expect you to be able to cultivate the Way of Space. How about showing us your abilities?"
"Nothing to show... Hmm, the Great Venerable and the Heavenly Beginning Fairy are leading the way ahead. We should move deeper."
Zhang Ruochen ignored Gu Feng and walked straight ahead.
Li Qinghai caught up with Zhang Ruochen and reminded him, "Brother Lin, Gu Feng seems to hold a grudge against you. You must be wary of him. This man has a notorious reputation—ruthless and capable of anything."
"Thanks for the warning."
Zhang Ruochen felt a bit of goodwill toward Li Qinghai and began conversing with him. "Brother Li, since you're not a disciple of the Space Divine Temple, how did you come to walk the path of space cultivation?"
Zhang Ruochen rarely encountered space cultivators and was quite curious about them.
Li Qinghai smiled and said, "Although I'm not a disciple of the Space Divine Temple, one of my clan's ancestors was once a formidable space cultivator there."
"That ancestor always wanted to find an heir within the clan to pass on his legacy. But comprehending the Way of Space is incredibly difficult. Without exceptional talent, it's impossible to comprehend a single space rule during the Fish-Dragon Ninth Transformation and integrate it into the sacred soul."
"I succeeded by sheer luck and was then designated as the heir."
Zhang Ruochen asked, "Since your ancestor was a space cultivator of the Space Divine Temple, why didn't you join the Space Divine Temple?"
Li Qinghai shook his head with a wry smile. "To be honest, my ancestor said my talent in the Way of Space is too poor. Cultivating space should only be an auxiliary, not a main focus. Otherwise, I'd never hope to charge into the Great Saint realm in this lifetime."
Beside them, Mo Xiaogu chimed in, "Yeah, yeah. Focusing on the Way of Space makes it too hard to raise cultivation. I'm still stuck at the First Step Saint King realm."
Zhang Ruochen turned to glance at Mo Xiaogu, and the little girl's face flushed red. She lowered her head, looking pitiful, and said, "That pervert Gu Feng has been scheming against me. I can only feel a bit safe following you two big brothers. Please help me!"
Li Qinghai immediately patted his chest and said generously, "Xiaogu, don't worry. With Brother Li here, no one can bully you."
Zhang Ruochen remained silent, as if lost in thought.
After all, she was a Saint King. Was she really that timid?
Beings like Qing Mo, who were naturally timid, were quite rare.
"This girl is probably putting on an act, trying to use me and Li Qinghai to deal with Gu Feng," Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
Mo Xiaogu's approach was understandable, a matter of human nature.
But it showed she had a scheming mind. In any case, she absolutely couldn't be treated as a simple little girl; otherwise, at a critical moment, she might cause great trouble.
The cultivators of the ancient civilization faction advanced more than ten miles into the palace complex before finally encountering ancient ferocious beasts, sparking a fierce battle.
Before this, all the sacred fruits near the palaces had been picked, and the sacred medicines dug up.
But now, as Zhang Ruochen looked ahead, he saw some towering, magnificent halls where tall, verdant sacred trees grew. Their trunks coiled like flood dragons, breathing in and out the sacred energy of heaven and earth. On the trees hung sacred fruits, emitting a distant fragrance.
Some cultivators fought the ancient ferocious beasts, while others attacked the formations around the palaces, trying to pick the sacred fruits inside.
Zhang Ruochen felt tempted and wanted to pick some as well.
He could tell that the sacred fruits on those trees were extraordinary. If he could swallow a few, his cultivation would surely increase greatly, giving him a chance to break through to the Fourth Step Saint King realm here.