Volume 1, Chapter 189 – The Ten Immortal Ascension Experts Gather

The arrival of the Black Phoenix Chariot naturally drew the attention of every faction in the Central Province.

The magnificent chariot was drawn by nine black divine birds and escorted by twenty Azure Dragon Guards and ten female generals.

Even by the standards of the Central Province, such a procession ranked among the grandest.

Wherever it passed, cultivators in the cities below looked up, their eyes filled with awe and curiosity.

“Is that… Empress Qingxuan’s Black Phoenix Chariot?”

“It has to be! Black divine birds drawing the chariot and Azure Dragon Guards clearing the way! Who else could it be?”

“Look! Empress Lingshuang’s Ice Jiao Chariot is traveling beside it! Have the two Empresses come together?”

“My heavens! Haven’t Empress Qingxuan and Empress Lingshuang always been at odds? Why would they come here together?”

“That’s not all. Haven’t you noticed they came from the direction of the Southern Region? The Yaochi Empress may be with them too!”

“The Yaochi Empress? She’s come to the Central Province as well?”

“With the three Empresses here, plus our three Immortal Ascension experts of the Central Province, that makes six Immortal Ascension experts gathered in one place. Something momentous must be about to happen!”

Hushed exclamations and barely restrained discussion rippled through the crowds below.

Some leading sects had already picked up fragments of the news through their own channels.

Now that they had seen the two Empresses’ chariots with their own eyes, the rumors seemed all but confirmed.

The Black Phoenix Chariot and Ice Jiao Chariot proceeded one behind the other, slowly entering the territory of the Longteng Dynasty.

The great formation enveloping the imperial capital parted as though it possessed a mind of its own, opening a passage that allowed the chariots to fly straight inside.

Clearly, the Sovereign Longteng had issued orders in advance.

The imperial capital below gradually came into sharper view.

The city was prosperous, its streets and alleys crisscrossing beneath a ceaseless flow of people.

Rеаd oո ΚatRеаdіngСаfe

Unlike the easygoing Southern Region or the refined Eastern Region, the buildings here were generally tall and imposing, with a stately, ancient style.

Regardless of their cultivation, most of the cultivators walking the streets carried an air of confidence and composure.

Even more striking were the towering altars and cultivation towers throughout the imperial capital, all emitting intense fluctuations of spiritual energy.

The placement of these structures appeared random, but in truth, each aligned with the channels of an enormous formation.

They resonated with the entire imperial capital, faintly forming a vast spirit-gathering grand formation that covered the whole city.

Gu Han silently sensed the imperial capital’s presence.

She could clearly perceive a majestic force, radiant as the sun and commanding all directions. It flowed through the imperial capital, empowering both the city and the Sovereign Longteng.

A favored son of destiny, the quasi-immortal artifact Dragon Soul Sword, and seventy thousand years of national fortune, all gathered upon him.

Here, he was likely even stronger than the System had estimated.

The Black Phoenix Chariot did not stop at the dynasty’s outskirts. Instead, it followed the celestial river of spiritual energy, flying steadily toward Soaring Dragon Hall.

Wherever it passed, whether the dynasty’s patrolling guards or the cultivators and commoners in the city below, everyone stopped what they were doing.

They bowed respectfully toward the magnificent chariot in the sky.

Clearly, this was not Empress Qingxuan and Empress Lingshuang’s first visit.

About an hour later, the view ahead suddenly opened up.

The celestial river of spiritual energy converged here into a vast lake, its surface wreathed in multicolored light.

At the center of the lake stood an immense and majestic palace that seemed to have been carved from a single piece of divine metal.

The palace rose more than three hundred meters into the air. Its entire structure was pale gold, while the upturned eaves and interlocking brackets reached toward the heavens like dragon horns.

Images of mountains and rivers, the realm, and the sun, moon, and stars were engraved across its walls, shimmering with a faint golden radiance.

Reаⅾ оո ΚatRеadiոɡCαfе

Before the palace stretched an enormous white jade square. Its polished surface shone like a mirror, with faint spiritual patterns flowing beneath it.

This was the heart of the Longteng Dynasty: Soaring Dragon Hall.

At that moment, hundreds of guards clad in golden armor stood at solemn attention across the white jade square, each radiating a deep and steady aura.

Even the weakest among them had reached the Void Return realm, while the leading commanders were all in the Mahayana realm.

Like statues, they stood guard along the path leading into the great hall.

The Black Phoenix Chariot and Ice Jiao Chariot slowly descended at the edge of the square.

Gu Han, Qingxuan, and Lingshuang emerged from the Black Phoenix Chariot together and stepped onto the white jade square.

In that instant, hundreds of golden-armored guards bowed in perfect unison, their movements so precise that they seemed to have rehearsed them thousands of times. They called out together:

“Welcome, Empress Qingxuan! Welcome, Empress Lingshuang! Welcome, Yaochi Empress!”

Their powerful voices rang with a metallic resonance, echoing across the open square and lending the scene an even greater air of solemn grandeur.

Qingxuan and Lingshuang had clearly long since grown accustomed to such displays.

Although it was Gu Han’s first time here, she remained calm and composed, utterly unaffected by the overwhelming spectacle.

“Your Majesties, the Sovereign is waiting inside. Please follow me.”

An elegant-looking elder in purple-gold robes hurried forward and bowed respectfully.

He was the Grand Elder of the Longteng Dynasty and one of the Sovereign Longteng’s trusted confidants. His cultivation had already reached the peak of Tribulation Transcendence.

Empress Qingxuan acknowledged him with a quiet murmur.

Led by the Grand Elder, the three women crossed the white jade square and walked toward the towering Soaring Dragon Hall.

The closer they came, the more extraordinary the palace seemed.

Rеαⅾ оո KаtRеаdіnɡСаfе

The golden light flowing across the palace was no mere decoration. It was the manifestation of the dynasty’s fortune and the power of its dragon vein, both concentrated to an astonishing degree.

The palace doors, over thirty meters tall, already stood wide open.

Warm, lustrous spirit jade paved the floor, polished to a mirror sheen that reflected the starlight of the vaulted ceiling.

The interior was vast, appearing to stretch for several li at a glance. Clearly, it contained a space far larger than its exterior suggested.

At the far end of the hall, atop a nine-tiered dais, stood two enormous dragon thrones side by side.

Seated upon the throne on the left was the Sovereign Longteng, dressed in purple-gold dragon robes with an imperial crown upon his head.

His face was handsome and commanding, his eyes as deep as an endless starry sky, and his bearing as steady as a mountain.

Simply by sitting there, he seemed to become the center of the entire hall, naturally emanating the imperial presence of a ruler who commanded the realm.

The dragon throne on the right was slightly smaller and carved entirely from warm white spirit jade. Seated upon it was Sacred Lord Yaoguang.

Today, she wore a pale white palace gown. Her features were pure and exceptionally beautiful, her bearing gentle and serene.

Yet on closer inspection, her complexion was somewhat paler than most. Though the aura surrounding her remained vast, it carried a faint sense of waning vitality.

Several equally magnificent jade seats, though built to slightly lesser specifications, had already been arranged along both sides of the hall below.

Several figures were already seated.

Gu Han swept her gaze across them, taking them all in at once.

The first seat on the left was occupied by a gaunt-faced elder with snow-white hair and beard, dressed in grayish-white Daoist robes.

He held a horsetail whisk and sat with his eyes closed, resting quietly. His aura was elusive and ever-changing, as though he had merged with heaven, earth, and nature itself.

He was none other than Old Man Tianji, one of the three Immortal Ascension experts of the Central Province.

Below him sat an elderly monk with a compassionate face.

Rеaԁ оո KаtReαⅾіոɡСаfe

He held a strand of crystalline prayer beads, gently rolling them between his fingers as his lips moved, seemingly reciting scriptures in silence.

The Buddhist light around him was restrained, yet he naturally exuded a peaceful, tranquil presence that seemed capable of delivering all living beings from suffering.

He was Buddha Lord Wufa of the Great Leiyin Temple in the Western Region.

Across from Buddha Lord Wufa, in the first seat on the right, sat a cold-faced middle-aged man in black robes.

His aura was icy and grim, with baleful energy faintly coiling around him, forming a stark contrast with the Buddha Lord’s peaceful presence.

He was the lord of the Heavenly Demon Hall in the Western Region: Demon Lord Wutian.

Below Demon Lord Wutian sat a handsome, otherworldly middle-aged man in a cyan scholar’s robe.

He held a book in his hands and appeared completely engrossed in it. His aura was balanced and tranquil, carrying an ethereal trace of immortal grace.

He was Venerable Baiyun, one of the Eastern Region’s two Immortal Ascension experts.

Across from Venerable Baiyun, in the last seat on the left, sat a burly man with a wild aura.

He was drinking deeply from a wine gourd, its rich fragrance spilling through the hall. His eyes shone brightly, and every casual glance carried an air of primal wildness.

He was the Desolate God, one of the Northern Region’s two Immortal Ascension experts, renowned for shattering all arts through raw strength.

Besides those five, three jade seats remained empty, clearly reserved for Qingxuan, Lingshuang, and Gu Han.

The instant the three women stepped into the hall, every gaze inside turned toward them in perfect unison!

Curiosity, scrutiny, probing interest, calm, indifference… all manner of gazes intertwined.

An invisible pressure spread through the hall like a rising tide.