Volume 1, Chapter 460 – Opening

The Central Heaven Domain was a land of outstanding people and rich spiritual essence. The lands of thirteen prefectures all belonged to a single man, something ordinary people could hardly even imagine. Throughout the Vast Land of Shenzhou, King Xuan was an unquestioned titan.

Chu Hanzhou had ruled as a king over his own territory for ten thousand years already. His power was deep-rooted and sprawling, tangled through countless connections, and the number of first-grade forces under his command was no fewer than the fingers on one hand.

Within that region, King Xuan was heaven itself.

Racing onward at full speed, Shi Lan had only just entered the Central Heaven Domain when an exceedingly ostentatious royal carriage blocked her path.

The carriage was entirely violet-gold. Six strange beasts lay before it, motionless, terrifying fluctuations of laws spilling from their bodies.

“May I ask if Your Excellency is Shi Lan?”

The one driving the carriage was a middle-aged, long-bearded man in an azure flood-dragon robe. His speech and bearing were proper and measured, and his strength was far from weak. He had already stepped into the Heaven-Man Realm.

“Yes.”

Shi Lan did not hide it. To travel so flamboyantly through the Central Heaven Domain in a royal carriage, there could be no one behind it but one of the great princes below the Sovereign.

“By King Xuan’s order, I have come to receive you. Please enter the carriage, Your Excellency.”

The long-bearded man smiled, opened the carriage door, and after one human and one demon boarded, he urged the six strange beasts forward and called out loudly,

“This humble one is Xue Tian. If there is ever anything I can help with in the future, just say the word.”

Other than King Xuan himself, he had never seen anyone ride in this carriage. Even King Xuan’s own children had never enjoyed such an honor.

That Shi Lan was receiving this treatment was proof enough of how exalted a guest she was. If he could leave some impression now, then if an opportunity came in the future, even a casual lift from her might be enough to benefit him for the rest of his life.

…

Reαⅾ οո ΚаtRеaⅾiոɡСаfе

The royal carriage traveled all the way southwest. Shi Lan closed her eyes to rest, while Tianbai glanced twice at the spirit fruits on the table before shutting his eyes as well.

Faint sounds of wind and thunder echoed outside the carriage. Yet in less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, everything around them fell silent.

“Your Excellency, we have arrived.”

Xue Tian’s voice came from outside.

Shi Lan pushed open the door. The carriage hovered in midair, and beneath her lay a magnificent complex of towers and palaces. Dense spiritual qi had condensed in the void into threads and gathered into spirit mist, wrapping the entire palace complex in dazzling divine light.

“Please follow me.”

Xue Tian released the reins and descended toward the palace first. Shi Lan followed at an unhurried pace with Tianbai.

The palace gates stood wide open. Attendants in dark armor stood on both sides, men and women alike, offering not the slightest obstruction.

Along the way, Shi Lan saw many unfamiliar faces. The auras they gave off felt somewhat familiar: heaven-born nobility, attended on all sides with utmost dignity.

That aura belonged to the great clans and aristocratic houses. Those who could set foot here were by no means ordinary members of such families. Every one of them was a figure standing at the very peak.

Shi Lan looked straight ahead and followed behind Xue Tian until they reached a grand hall.

“Your Excellency, please.”

Xue Tian stopped at the doorway and did not proceed farther.

Several nearby groups also halted, blocked by their guides. Only one or two people stepped out from each crowd and entered the hall.

Shi Lan crossed the threshold in a single step, and Tianbai followed after her.

Reаԁ оո ΚаtRеаdіոɡCafe

Xue Tian remained by the door, his head slightly lowered, not saying a word.

Inside the hall stood dozens of figures.

At a glance, Shi Lan saw Chu Hanzhou seated upon the king’s throne.

Different from when they had interacted in private, Chu Hanzhou’s expression now was filled with lofty indifference, as if he were a divine king looking down upon the mortal world. Beneath the jade steps, all was dust.

The instant their eyes met, Chu Hanzhou gave a slight nod in greeting. A trace of surprise flickered in his eyes as he noticed the change in Shi Lan’s cultivation.

The few people who had entered at the same moment as Shi Lan were immediately flattered and overwhelmed. From their angle, it looked as though King Xuan were nodding to them.

Shi Lan moved to one side and silently sized up the people in the hall.

There were no weaklings present. Most were figures at the level of human Heavenlords.

The occasional weaker few were all still young, belonging to the category of heavenly prodigies, and each had an extremely powerful Heavenlord accompanying them. Shi Lan even saw two Pseudo-Emperors, their aura fluctuations obvious. They were on the verge of drawing down a world-ending tribulation.

Shi Lan herself also received many measuring looks. Her portrait had already spread throughout the Vast Land of Shenzhou along with the Heavenly Prodigy Ranking, and quite a few people recognized her.

Shi Lan paid those gazes no mind. She made no effort to hide her aura either, and the powerful aura of the Heaven-Man Realm was fully on display.

Now that her cultivation had reached this level, she no longer deliberately concealed it. What she showed before others, at every moment, was always her strongest posture. It would save her a great deal of unnecessary trouble.

In this world, only the strong could obtain true respect. What the weak could receive was only the compassion of a small handful of the strong. Far more often, all they received was bullying.

The speed at which her strength had advanced made many experts’ pupils contract, their hearts filled with dread.

Not long ago, she had still only been a junior who had barely stepped into the Nascent Soul Realm. In the blink of an eye, she had entered the Heaven-Man Realm, sitting on equal footing with them and honored as a mighty figure.

Rеаd οո ΚаtReαdіnɡСаfе

Such a terrifying gap, such speed, was simply unheard of.

Even the reincarnation of a great emperor could not possibly cultivate at such a horrifying pace.

The several heavenly prodigies present were far less sharp in their perception than their elders. They only felt that they could not see through Shi Lan’s depth and instinctively grew wary.

As a stir spread through the hall, Chu Hanzhou slowly rose to his feet. Several rows of motes of light appeared before him. At a tap of his finger, they scattered outward, neither more nor less than exactly forty, falling into the crowd.

The quotas for entering the realm had already been allocated, but after seeing Tianbai behind Shi Lan, Chu Hanzhou raised his hand again and casually carved out one additional slot from the allotments above the heads of two people nearby, then sent it over.

“King Xuan, please wait!”

Seeing two motes of light fall before Shi Lan, one Heavenlord grew anxious. His black hair flowed like a waterfall, clear radiance spreading around him. As his blood and qi circulated, a faint trace of imperial might flowed within it.

Clearly, he came from some imperial clan.

“Shi Lan is one thing, but this little demon is taking up a slot as well? Isn’t that somewhat wasteful…”

According to the earlier distribution, his family should have received at least two slots. Now only one remained, and one had been given to a mere little demon in the Myriad Phenomena Realm. Naturally, he found that hard to accept.

“Are you questioning this king’s decision?”

Chu Hanzhou’s expression remained utterly calm, but within his deep eyes there rose and fell phantom scenes of a starry sky collapsing.

“I would not dare. King Xuan, please forgive me!”

The Heavenlord abruptly came to his senses. Cold sweat seeped from his back, and he lowered his head in apology, not daring to speak again.

If he uttered one more word of nonsense, he would not be walking out of this hall alive today.

Reаd оո КаtRеаԁіոɡСαfе

…

Boundless Demon Domain, Feather Emperor Hall.

A phoenix-shaped clasp hung in midair, giving off a faint glow as it swept through the void, searching for coordinates.

Seventeen Heaven Demons of the Divine Phoenix race stood with heads raised, their eyes full of expectation.

To restore the Divine Phoenix race to its ancient glory was the lifelong wish of every one of them.

Within the mausoleum of the Demon Emperor Huang Ze lay that very possibility.

If they could retrieve the complete Divine Phoenix Undying Scripture, then the Divine Phoenix race’s return to the summit of the demon race would only be a matter of time.

Qinglan stood in a corner. At her side were ten Heaven Demons under the Feather Emperor’s command, among them four demon grandmasters at the great perfection of the Heaven Demon realm.

Such demon grandmasters were almost equivalent to having one foot already inside the Emperor Dao domain. They were extraordinarily powerful.

With those Heaven Demons at her side, barring any mishap, Qinglan would encounter almost no danger within Huang Ze’s mausoleum.

In the corner on the other side stood more than ten figures with differing auras, clearly from the several most powerful demon races.

The most striking among them was a woman in green robes, with skin like ice and bones like jade, white teeth and red lips, and naturally seductive charm hidden in the upward tilt of her eyes.

The remaining Heaven Demons all clustered around her like stars surrounding the moon.

The green-robed woman’s gaze shifted, and when she noticed Qinglan being protected in the midst of the ten Heaven Demons, she immediately began walking over with measured steps.