Chapter 241: Reigning Over the World (10) — Heavenly Palace Above, As Different as Heaven and Earth

An unknown amount of time passed. The white light that had flooded their surroundings from the teleportation slowly faded, swallowed whole by boundless, heavy darkness. In the blink of an eye, the surroundings plunged into a void of eternal, deathly silence.

In the profound darkness, a single point of faint azure light ignited first, swaying like a firefly in an endless night.

A second point closely followed, then a third... Countless specks of starlight emerged one after another from the depths of the void. As if guided by some invisible Dao force, tens of thousands of light motes gathered and spiraled around Jiuyou. They flowed and swirled in a dense mass, as if an entire shattered sea of stars had fallen into this place.

The specks of spiritual light flowed, gathering and dispersing as though wielding a brush to paint upon the void. Immortal pavilions and jade towers slowly took shape from the radiant mist. With layered flying eaves and intersecting temple halls, the overlapping palaces stretched out in a continuous expanse, displaying the prosperous grandeur of an ancient immortal court.

Among the pavilions and cloudy watchtowers, countless exotic beasts formed of starlight shuttled back and forth. Kunpeng flapped wings that blanketed the sky; phoenixes trailed tails of flowing rosy clouds; skylarks swept past high terraces; golden-scaled spiritual fish darted through the luminous mist; strange lions and spiritual tigers paced beside jade steps. Various bizarre and wondrous beasts appeared incredibly lifelike as they roamed within this void Heavenly Palace.

With a sudden, soft sound, the spiritual light constructing the illusion dispersed, then frantically solidified right in front of Jiuyou. Real, tangible palatial pavilions unfolded in midair, suspended in the vast void like an unrolled ancient scroll of the starry sky. Only the exotic beasts remained formed of starlight, leisurely roaming among the temple halls and winding corridors.

Jiuyou stood outside the cage of heaven and earth, the endless, vast starry sky resting right beneath his feet. The entire magnificent immortal court had been built suspended above the sea of stars.

Even though he had lived for a thousand years, passed through countless dangerous lands, tempered his mind to be as placid as an ancient well, and seen the peerless wonders of Tianyuan Mountain, he had never witnessed such a magnificent and vast scene.

Even for someone as inherently self-serving and cold as him, whose mind was nearly impossible to shake, his heart faintly trembled at this moment. He stood silently, momentarily speechless. The shock did not stem from yearning, but from marveling that such an unimaginable creation actually existed in this world.

"Fellow Daoist Jiuyou, you should believe my words now. As different as heaven and earth—this is absolutely no empty talk."

Bai Xuanyi's voice drifted leisurely from his side, breaking the void's silence.

"When I first arrived here, my mind was shaken just like yours," he said. "Even stepping foot into this Heavenly Palace again today, I still sigh in admiration at this grand masterpiece. I truly do not know what kind of ancient sage could have forged such a miracle."

Jiuyou suppressed the rare ripple in the depths of his heart, swiftly concealing the surprise in his eyes. His expression returned to its usual indifferent calm.

A thousand years of cultivation had long since taught him that no matter how magnificent the wonder, to him, it was merely an external object.

He slowly raised his eyes, gazing at the endless expanse of suspended temple halls in the distance.

"It is indeed magnificent," he said, his tone steady and flat. "To think such an isolated mystic realm was still hidden within this world... it exceeds my expectations. Only, with such a grand Heavenly Palace, I wonder what kind of profound mysteries are hidden behind it."

"Within the world?" Bai Xuanyi smiled faintly, his voice slowly echoing in the void. "Fellow Daoist must be joking. Where we stand right now has long transcended the borders of our original Cultivation World."

Jiuyou raised an eyebrow slightly, a trace of doubt flashing through his eyes.

"What does Fellow Daoist mean by this?" he asked. "Could it be that this place is not a mystic realm left behind from ancient times?"

"Naturally not." Bai Xuanyi shook his head gently, gazing at the suspended jade pavilions and palaces around them. "This place is an independent minor world forcefully carved out beyond the world, directly within the endless, turbulent spatial currents. It cannot be mentioned in the same breath as ordinary mystic realms. Compared to the Mount Tianyuan Mystic Realm you once set foot in, the difference is like clouds and mud."

Hearing this, Jiuyou shot a sidelong glance at him, his heart barely stirring. Even the fact that his past background had been seen through was well within his expectations, offering not a hint of surprise.

In the past, the Blood Abyss Sect had investigated his background until everything was brought to light. Later, he personally annihilated the Blood Abyss Sect, and the feud between them was already known to all under heaven. Bai Xuanyi only needed to capture a surviving Supreme Elder of the Blood Abyss Sect and use the Soul-Snatching Secret Technique to pry into their memories; his past identity and origins would naturally be completely known to the man.

The void momentarily fell into silence. Both of them were clear on the matter; many thoughts did not need to be spoken aloud, everything understood without words.

A moment later, a faint sneer curled on Jiuyou's lips.

"As expected of a Dao Lord," he said, his voice neither high nor low, carrying a hint of mockery. "To possess such heaven-reaching abilities that you could deduce and see through the fact that this place is an outer-realm minor world. I am afraid all matters in this world would struggle to hide from Fellow Daoist's eyes and ears."

Bai Xuanyi hurriedly raised a hand and waved it, his expression quite humble and mild. "Fellow Daoist overpraises me. I do not have such heaven-reaching abilities. Being able to see through the truth of this world must be credited to Fellow Daoist Hong. This person is proficient in the Dao of Formations, and their ability to deduce heavenly secrets is utterly peerless. They spent centuries calculating and divining before finally managing to roughly lock onto the location of this minor world. How could this old man dare to claim the credit? It will not be long before you can meet this person."

Having said that, he nodded slightly to Jiuyou, his body yielding slightly to the side. He took the lead and stepped forward, walking toward the depths of the layered temple halls.

Jiuyou's expression remained calm. Without saying more, he silently stepped forward, closely following behind Bai Xuanyi.

Starlight flowed beneath their feet as the two walked through this ancient Heavenly Palace suspended in the turbulent currents. Around them, the exotic beasts formed of starlight slowly swam past.

As they walked, Jiuyou's gaze frequently swept over the scattered immortal pavilions around them, then fell on the roaming starlight beasts, his eyes hiding an indifference that scrutinized all things.

The two walked steadily forward, stepping onto a long corridor that stretched across the sea of stars. The entire corridor was condensed from purple-gold star points, suspended deep in the void and brimming with immortal charm.

Taking in Jiuyou's expression, Bai Xuanyi spoke softly to clear his doubts.

"These creatures are not mortal demonic beasts; they cannot even be considered truly living things. Strictly speaking, they are origin phantoms derived from this minor world, from this Heavenly Palace itself. They are a part of the mystic realm."

As his voice fell, Bai Xuanyi lightly flicked a finger. The purple-gold starlight of the corridor beneath their feet instantly scattered. With every step the two took forward, the corridor behind them melted away by a fraction. The sky full of starlight gathered in midair, condensing into schools of agile star-fish that let out clear, distant, and strange long cries, flicking their tails as they leisurely swam toward the distant sea of stars.

"This world is indeed extraordinarily miraculous," Jiuyou said, letting out a rare, heartfelt sigh.

Up ahead, Bai Xuanyi stroked his beard and smiled, then raised his hand and lightly clapped. The scenery of tens of thousands of temple halls around them suddenly retreated rapidly, their afterimages flashing and dissipating in layers. Only the purple-gold corridor beneath their feet remained unaffected, extending endlessly as if it would never end.

The figures of the two stood completely still, yet they could clearly perceive the corridor carrying them as it shuttled through the void at extreme speeds, incomparably profound and mysterious.

In an instant, the corridor suddenly stagnated, and all movement came to an abrupt halt.

At the end of the corridor, a giant gate hundreds of zhang tall stood majestically. The gate was grand and imposing, like an immortal hall stretching across the sea of stars. Starlight flowed and spiraled around it, its radiance dazzling and blinding. The starlight beasts around it became even more numerous, running back and forth, increasingly agile and frequent.

When Jiuyou and Bai Xuanyi arrived in front of the gate, all the roaming exotic beasts seemed to receive an invisible command. They paused, turning their heads in unison, their gazes falling entirely upon Jiuyou.

At the same time, Jiuyou's sharp Divine Sense quietly detected that within the giant gate, four deep, ethereal, mysterious, and unfathomable powerful auras were lying dormant.