Chapter 532: First Arrival at Yuan Wilderness

"Who was that lord just now? How imposing!" a tall, thin young attendant asked excitedly, gazing toward the peak of the golden giant mountain.

"Brother Sun, you've just been transferred to Lingxu Palace, so it's normal you don't know. That lord is Xu Yunping, Lord Xu, the fifth disciple under the Venerable Lingxu Immortal," said a square-faced attendant beside him, slightly older.

"Lord Xu's cultivation is getting more formidable," another attendant with thick eyebrows and big eyes murmured.

"I heard earlier that Lord Xu had been in seclusion, striving to break through the bottleneck of mid-Taiyi stage. Now that he's emerged, he should have successfully broken through, but his realm doesn't seem fully stabilized yet, otherwise there wouldn't be spiritual pressure leaking out," the square-faced attendant added.

"I heard Lord Xu has been a disciple under the Venerable Lingxu Immortal for only a few hundred thousand years, yet he's already cultivated to the mid-Taiyi stage. If we had even one percent of his talent, we wouldn't be stuck at our current realm," the thick-browed attendant sighed.

"Lord Xu is a cultivator who ascended from the lower realm; his potential is naturally beyond what ordinary people can hope to match. Even among the Venerable Lingxu Immortal's several disciples, he stands out. How could we compare?" the square-faced attendant said with self-deprecation.

The few chatted animatedly for a while, then continued their work.

A white rainbow landed before the hall atop the giant peak. The遁光 converged, revealing a young man in a golden robe and golden crown.

This person had handsome features, with sword-like brows and starry eyes, and wherever his gaze fell, it gave off a sharp aura.

On either side of the hall stood a golden-armored guard, holding swords and spears, their faces showing a metallic luster.

"Is the Master inside?" the golden-robed youth asked one of the golden-armored guards.

"The Venerable Immortal is inside," the golden-armored guard replied.

The golden-robed youth nodded, stepped through the gate, passed through several corridors, and entered a side hall.

The hall was empty, with only a silver platform at the deepest part, on which sat a golden seat.

A middle-aged man in a purple robe sat cross-legged on the seat. He had dark skin, a square face, and a broad nose, exuding an air of great authority.

The man's eyes were closed, and his body emitted streams of purple light. Within several zhang around him, a faint purple mist enveloped the area.

The entire hall was shrouded in a strange force. With the man's breathing, the purple mist trembled slightly, and the space within the hall buzzed and trembled, as if everything was under his control.

Seeing the purple-robed middle-aged man's condition, the golden-robed youth showed a hint of hesitation on his face. After a moment, he gritted his teeth and said softly, "Disciple Xu Yunping pays respects to Master."

The purple-robed middle-aged man's eyes twitched slightly, then opened. Two lightning-like crystalline beams shot out, looking toward the golden-robed youth.

The golden-robed youth's face suddenly turned pale, and his body trembled involuntarily.

"It's Yunping. What is it?" the purple-robed middle-aged man asked, the crystalline light in his eyes quickly dissipating and his aura receding.

"Reporting to Master, your disciple received a message from the North Cold Immortal Palace. The Palace Lord Xiao Jinhan led his disciples to explore the Nether Cold Immortal Mansion, but suffered heavy losses, nearly wiped out. Xiao Jinhan and several Golden Immortal elders all perished there," the golden-robed youth said, his heart relaxing as he quickly reported.

"Oh? Such a thing? I recall this Xiao Jinhan was at the peak of Golden Immortal stage. Have you found out how he perished?" the purple-robed middle-aged man asked slowly, his expression unchanged.

"After receiving the news, your disciple immediately investigated extensively, but only a few from the Immortal Palace who survived the Nether Cold Immortal Mansion know nothing of the specifics. However, Xiao Jinhan had been trying to unify the North Cold Immortal Domain, causing tensions with several other major forces there. His death should be related to those forces," the golden-robed youth added after a pause.

"I've heard something about Xiao Jinhan's affairs. He acted too hastily, but those sects are also audacious, daring to lay hands on the Immortal Palace Lord dispatched by our Heavenly Court. Issue orders: immediately send people into the North Cold Immortal Domain to thoroughly investigate this matter. If the situation is confirmed, kill all involved. The authority of the Heavenly Court must not be offended!" the purple-robed middle-aged man said, a cold glint appearing in his eyes as he spoke solemnly.

"Yes! Your disciple has already sent people to the North Cold Immortal Domain to investigate. I believe results will come soon," the golden-robed youth said, cupping his hands.

"Mm, make sure to get to the bottom of this," the purple-robed middle-aged man said gravely.

"Your disciple understands. But Master, I have another message to report to you," the golden-robed youth agreed, then continued.

"What else?" the purple-robed middle-aged man asked.

"During the opening of the Nether Cold Immortal Mansion, I heard that the Immortal Prison's Patrol Envoy Gongshu was tracking a key criminal of the Reincarnation Hall and also entered. It seems Patrol Envoy Gongshu also perished inside," the golden-robed youth said after a slight hesitation.

"Gongshu? Could it be Gongshu Jiu of the Gongshu clan?" the purple-robed middle-aged man raised an eyebrow at this.

"It is indeed that person," the golden-robed youth said.

"Although Gongshu Jiu's strength is not outstanding among the Patrol Envoys, he is still a Taiyi Jade Immortal. No one in the North Cold Immortal Domain should be able to kill him. Was it the work of the Reincarnation Hall?" the purple-robed middle-aged man stood up and asked.

"This is still unclear. However, if the Reincarnation Hall had sent a Taiyi-stage person into the North Cold Immortal Domain, we should have known. Should your disciple also send people to investigate this matter?" the golden-robed youth shook his head and said.

"No need. The Immortal Prison has always acted independently. If their people die, they will investigate themselves. We don't need to interfere," the purple-robed middle-aged man waved his hand and said.

"Yes," the golden-robed youth replied.

"You handled this matter well. The North Cold Immortal Domain is under my jurisdiction and must not be compromised. Go make arrangements to quickly finalize the candidate for the new Palace Lord of the North Cold Immortal Domain," the purple-robed middle-aged man said after a brief deliberation.

"Yes," the golden-robed youth replied again, then quickly walked out.

"North Cold Immortal Domain... North Cold Immortal Domain..." the purple-robed middle-aged man paced back and forth in the hall, murmuring to himself.

After a moment, he suddenly stopped, a flash of purple light on his body, and his figure vanished from the hall.

...

Far across the ocean to the southwest of the Shang'a Continent lay a more expansive continent called Linhuang Continent.

The eastern part of this continent was a hilly region with rolling mountains, dense forests, and rampant miasma, with few cities.

Over a hundred thousand li inland from the eastern coast stood a towering cliff over a thousand zhang high, stretching millions of li from north to south, lying across the eastern part of the continent.

Though it was the same continent, it seemed as if heaven had cut it in two with a single stroke. Above the cliff was a vast green oasis stretching for a thousand li, while below the cliff was a rolling yellow sand desert stretching for ten thousand li.

On the cliff that separated the two realms stood a ten-thousand-li-long wall like a crouching black dragon, with a grand pass every ten thousand li, filled with restrictions and beacon platforms for transmitting signals.

Despite the continuous passes and countless beacon platforms, there was only one city on this border: Yuanhuang City.

Near evening, a round orange-red sun had already sunk below the city wall. Warm light stretched from the horizon, shining on the black-gleaming city wall, coating the cold black steel rock with a soft glow.

On the west side of the city wall, the ten-thousand-li sand sea below the thousand-zhang cliff glowed with a dark gold in the twilight. Except for a few specks of dust raised by a gentle breeze, there was no other movement.

In stark contrast, on the other side of the wall stood a huge city covering nearly a thousand li, with crisscrossing streets and numerous mansions. Though it was not yet dark, lanterns had already been lit everywhere, creating a bright scene.

Due to the city's immense size, only the inner city in the center was somewhat orderly. The outer city seemed to have expanded arbitrarily eastward along the main roads, spreading out like a fan without much planning.

At this moment, on the ancient bluestone road leading to the outer city, two figures, one tall and one short, walked slowly, side by side.

The shorter one was a little girl about eight or nine years old, dressed in a festive red short jacket with gold trim. She looked very delicate, holding three sticks of candied hawthorns in her hand, swaying as she walked beside the tall man.

The tall man wore a green robe, his aura restrained, and his eyes were bright and spirited.

The man was none other than Han Li.

And the little girl in the red jacket, whose little braid on top of her head shook three times with every step, was naturally Gold童.

The first stop on the route map given to him by Jiao San was the same as the location told by Hu Yan Daoist: this Yuanhuang City. Han Li planned to gather more information here before deciding how to arrange his journey to the Barbarian Wilderness Realm.

"Uncle, why don't you just suppress your own realm? Why do you have to make me suppress mine too?" Gold童 asked, puzzled, while eating the sweet and sour candied hawthorns.

"You're already at the late Golden Immortal stage. Your aura is too strong; you'll stand out in a crowd and attract attention," Han Li replied, his gaze fixed on the edge of the city in the distance.

"Isn't that perfect? I hope some bold Golden Immortals come to provoke me. Then I'll take care of them all and collect a bunch of magic treasures as snacks. Lately, I always feel hungry," Gold童 said excitedly upon hearing this.

"Our top priority is to leave the North Cold Immortal Domain. You must not cause any more trouble. Otherwise, you'll turn into a ring and stay on my hand instead of following me in human form," Han Li stopped and warned seriously.

"No! I know, I know... I was just saying," Gold童 shook her head and muttered.

As the two spoke, they walked along the ancient bluestone road and arrived at Yuanhuang's outer city.