Aspiring to the Immortal Path

Chapter 851: Emergence

Flying through the Astral Winds was undoubtedly a major test of a cultivator's defenses, reaction time, and flying ability.

Some people were so skilled in defense that they could even fend off those special gusts of wind. Others were able to react quickly enough to dodge the winds in time. Still others just flew extremely fast such that they were able to quickly get through this dangerous region.

There were also those who used valuable treasures to resist these natural dangers, but while this let them get through the Astral Winds, it made them a target of human greed. Tang Jie watched as a cultivator took out a protective umbrella and was subsequently murdered by a wandering Earth Immortal over it. It had been done in an extremely furtive manner, but it hadn't been able to hide from Tang Jie's Celestial Eye.

In comparison, large-scale defensive Dao Arts like Tang Jie's were much more rare.

Kun Wu was approaching his limits evading all those gusts of wind, upon which he saw Tang Jie barging through, his palace blocking all the Astral Winds. Delighted, he shouted, "Brother Tang, help me!"

Seeing this, Tang Jie waved his hand, drawing Kun Wu into the Infinite Palace.

When Kun Wu entered the palace, he found that the storm had vanished without a trace. He sighed in relief and bowed to Tang Jie. "Brother Tang's methods are truly impressive."

Tang Jie chuckled. "Just sit right there. Formations have been laid out in the palace, so don't recklessly move around. I'm going to help the others."

Since he had started rescuing people and since saving more people was no extra effort on his part, Tang Jie decided to pick up the cultivators of the Jadestone Alliance and send them into the Infinite Palace.

These wandering cultivators were in a wretched state amidst the winds, and Reverend Whitestone was focused on stealing treasures and cared not for their safety. Thankfully, Tang Jie had come to rescue them all, and they all expressed their utmost gratitude. Tang Jie didn't put on airs, simply smiling and continuing to save others. Other than the cultivators of the Jadestone Alliance, he even saved other wandering cultivators, and in the blink of an eye, nearly a hundred cultivators were seated in the Infinite Palace. However, they were all at Deification or below. Soul Projection cultivators were strong enough to deal with the winds.

As for the Rosecloud Domain group, he wasn't worried about them at all, for Yun Tianlan was there.

Reverend Whitestone grunted, commenting to himself, This kid's got a pretty nice way of buying hearts and minds. It seems that he must have entered the Five Elements Dao, using Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth to create this palace. The outside can serve as a defensive barrier while the inside is full of traps—quite the ingenious concept. But exposing a trump card to save people is too unwise, and in a fight, it can now easily be dealt with. However, even if he has a Dao Art, he's only at Deification, so I could still kill him easily, so what's the point in thinking about all this?

Reverend Whitestone laughed at himself for wasting so much time on this topic, after which he went about his business.

While Tang Jie was saving people, Xu Miaoran continued to steal Mustard Seed Bags. But since there were so many people around, she couldn't open them, and she was also running into the problem of having so many Mustard Seed Bags that it was getting hard to hide them. Fortunately, they finally passed through the danger zone at this point, and a vast palace complex appeared before them.

Such was the vastness of this complex that it had to cover millions of square kilometers, and all the opulent buildings dazzled everyone.

It was no wonder the Court of Myriad Domains had yet to be scavenged clean over all these years. In area alone, it was the size of a huge country.

Back then, Immortal Emperor Yu Cheng had gathered the strength of countless Immortals to create this court within the endless void, and its grandeur was something an ordinary person could not understand. It was no wonder just a small fragment of this court had the Rosecloud Domain frothing at the mouth.

When the Court of Myriad Domains appeared before Tang Jie, there was a boom within his mind, and that vision from before replayed itself.

The Martial Lord wielding a giant axe stood in the void while countless Immortals attacked him, the resplendent Court of Myriad Domains wavering and trembling under his might until it finally shattered!

Yes, this was the Court of Myriad Domains!

As he gazed at this complex, Tang Jie clearly recalled everything he had seen that day.

He could even recall every corner and cranny as if he was viewing a three-dimensional map, able to examine it from every corner.

This made Tang Jie tremble.

He had never had such a clear memory before, so why was it that when he saw the Court of Myriad Domains, it seemed to awaken some sort of memory in him?

His body shivered.

Xu Miaoran noticed his strange expression and softly asked, "What's wrong?"

"Oh… I'm fine." Tang Jie came to his senses and turned away from the court. "The Infinite Palace is just taking a lot, and I'm rather tired."

The cultivators heard this and said, "It's all because we're dragging down Brother Tang."

The more people to protect, the greater the energy he would have to consume. Everyone thought that Tang Jie was expending all of his Dao power for them, but in reality, Tang Jie had entered the Dao of Five Elements long ago. The Infinite Palace was a Dao Art he had mastered long ago, and he had accumulated more than a thousand Dao Runes and had added even more over time, so his Dao power was not easily consumed. But Tang Jie was happy to keep this a secret and gain some free sympathy points.

Seeing that they were about to arrive at the court, Reverend Whitestone said, "Entering through the vortex here will get us into the court. As the formation has weakened, the winds have gotten in, which means you will still encounter some in the court. While it will be much less, everyone still needs to be careful. The court itself has numerous traps, so everyone must not get careless."

"Thank you for your advice, Reverend. We will keep it in mind," everyone shouted, but their expressions were cold and unfeeling. You said that you would protect us all, but you didn't even try to save us. Instead, it was Tang Jie who protected us all. It seems like this Reverend Whitestone really isn't worth trusting.

Reverend Whitestone didn't care, and with a flick of his sleeve, he flew into the vortex.

Tang Jie put away the Infinite Palace and flew with Xu Miaoran into the vortex.

The vortex was made from Astral Winds, but while they were powerful, it wasn't like those torrents of bizarre and sinister winds, so even Xu Miaoran could hold out against them. After traveling through the vortex for a time, they finally emerged in an area of devastation and ruin.

Collapsed buildings and debris were scattered all over the place, and not a single blade of grass grew in the soil. It was like someone had looted the place and then burned everything for good measure.

It was true that the place had really been looted. The Court of Myriad Domains had already opened many times, so there would definitely be nothing left around the entrance. As for the burning, that was the work of those special gusts of wind.

Ordinary Astral Winds were much weaker among the ruins, but occasionally, a dazzling gust of wind would come down from the sky, like howling ghosts.

Down below, the ruins led to the other parts of the Court of Myriad Domains, and once cultivators entered, they would usually split up to search for treasures.

Tang Jie didn't act recklessly, instead joining everyone else in standing next to Reverend Whitestone.

After a little while, everyone in the Jadestone Alliance had arrived. Reverend Whitestone looked them over and nodded. "Everyone is here. Very good."

Everyone thought in unison, It's not like you did anything.

Reverend Whitestone then looked at Tang Jie. "Your name is Tang Jie?"

Tang Jie bowed. "Tang Jie pays respects to the Reverend."

Reverend Whitestone nodded in satisfaction. "You did very well. It's thanks to you that we were able to enter this place without losing anyone. But you shouldn't have gone overboard and saved cultivators that aren't part of this alliance. They not only aren't our people, they might even become our opponents in the future. What's the point in saving them?"

Tang Jie replied, "This one let his emotions get the better of him. I will not repeat my mistake."

Whitestone nodded.

He didn't have much to say if Tang Jie was using his emotions as an excuse. It wasn't like he could say, The Great Dao is heartless, so you should have let them die! If that were the case, nobody in the alliance would follow him anymore. So he limited himself to, "One who seeks to accomplish great things must not be restrained by small details. While we must keep benevolence and virtue in mind, we cannot let ourselves become too softhearted."

The matter was ended there.

The Wind Moon Scholar asked, "Reverend, where should we go now?"

Reverend Whitestone pointed in a direction. "That way."

They followed Reverend Whitestone's finger and saw a collapsed archway in the distance.

Three words were still visible on the signboard: "Southern Heaven Gate".

This archway had been made of Snow Jade, but the years of erosion had completely ruined it. Perhaps for this reason, the structure had been left alone. As for the rest of the area, these ruins were ruins because everything that could be taken had been taken.

Reverend Whitestone explained, "Past this arch is the Violet Firmament Palace, home of one of the court's 28 Star Lords, the Violet Lightning Star Lord. It was there that this old man got the Violet Thunderbolt Sword. This palace has many traps, but there are also still many treasures within. This old man has only taken one ten-thousandth of it. Fortunately, in my last two adventures, I developed a deep understanding of this place. Everyone just needs to follow me to get rich."

Everyone's hearts leaped in joy.

The 28 Star Lords had been directly beneath the Four Sages, all of them peak True Immortals. Comparing them to regular True Immortals was like comparing Celestial Heart Chiefs of the six major sects to ordinary Soul Transformation cultivators.

The treasures left behind by such a person were naturally worth looking through, so everyone followed Reverend Whitestone.

Only Tang Jie was left frowning. As he watched them leave, he whispered, "Strange."

"What's wrong?" Xu Miaoran asked, wondering why her lover wasn't moving.

Tang Jie replied, "That doesn't lead to the Violet Firmament Palace, but the Unbounded Palace, so why did Reverend Whitestone say that?"

Xu Miaoran said in surprise, "'The Unbounded Palace'? The home of the Unbounded Immortal Elder? Isn't that one of the court's Four Sages?"

"Correct." Tang Jie nodded. "The Unbounded Palace is the home of the Unbounded Immortal Elder!"

"But how do you know that?"

Tang Jie froze.

Yes, how do I know that?

He couldn't find the answer.

But he just happened to know. The moment he arrived in this palace complex, information regarding the Court of Myriad Domains had begun to emerge in his mind.

---

Author's Note: Replying to a question from the previous chapter. Mustard Seed Bags aren't that sturdy. They're able to last because their owners are protecting them, so when the owner dies, the Mustard Seed Bags are done for. Thus, stealing Mustard Seed Bags has to be done quickly, the moment someone dies. For this reason, those Earth Immortals have to put all their attention on the Mustard Seed Bags so they can act immediately. Meanwhile, Xu Miaoran is relying completely on her speed. I had already considered all this, but while I wrote, I realized that there was no space to explain, so I decided not to. It seems that some readers still managed to catch this detail, so I'm answering it now. If you have questions, you're welcome to bring them up, but don't even bother if you can't be polite about it.

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