Chapter 1042: Secrets of Xuantian

After Xia Wushuang's brief explanation, Li Qing finally understood what the Xuantian Divine Palace was.

It was an ancient hall, renowned throughout the spirit realm, housing rare divine treasures. It was even said that one might find an opportunity to advance to the Great Ascension Realm within its walls.

The Xuantian Divine Palace wandered aimlessly across the spirit realm, spending most of its time drifting in the endless oceans or the void beyond the heavens.

Whenever the Xuantian Divine Palace descended upon a land, it signaled that the palace would open at a certain point in time.

Before it opened, various Black Iron Tokens—artifacts crafted from black iron—would appear across the continent.

The Black Iron Tokens possessed no special powers; they were merely ordinary black iron objects. Some were swords, others were shields, and they came in various forms.

However, these tokens were the key to entering the Xuantian Divine Palace. As long as one held a Black Iron Token, regardless of where they were on the Azure Profound Continent, they would be automatically guided into the divine hall once it opened.

Consequently, a craze for collecting Black Iron Tokens had swept across the entire Azure Profound Continent.

"However, there's no discernible pattern to how these Black Iron Tokens appear. One might even find one tucked into their own bed while they sleep."

"The Black Iron Tokens cannot be forged. They bear unique marks, as they were autonomously refined by the Xuantian Divine Palace itself."

"Do you have any idea what the current market price for a single Black Iron Token is?"

Hearing this, Li Qing's expression turned curious.

Xia Wushuang held up three fingers and said gravely, "Three million spirit stones. And that's just the current price; it's bound to keep rising."

The mere entrance ticket alone was worth three million spirit stones, and yet there were more buyers than sellers. This made Li Qing's heart race with astonishment.

"What kind of treasure could possibly be in the Xuantian Divine Palace to justify such a staggering price?" Li Qing was deeply skeptical. Three million spirit stones was by no means a small sum.

However, Xia Wushuang shook his head. "No one can say for sure what the Xuantian Divine Palace's origins are, but any treasure one might obtain from within is said to be a priceless, world-defying rarity."

"Do you know? Someone once obtained Chaos Origin Qi from within and offered it as a sacrifice to a supreme True Spirit. In return, they received that True Spirit's protection and was bestowed with True Spirit Blood, thereby becoming a True Spirit Noble Clan."

"There is no need to doubt the truth of this, for this is an event that actually took place on the Heavenly Origin Continent."

Hearing Xia Wushuang's words, Li Qing's eyebrows shot up.

Chaos Origin Qi—this was the most precious substance in the world. Even the birth of a chaos supreme treasure was inseparable from it.

Furthermore, Chaos Origin Qi could be used to nourish a chaos supreme treasure, which was the only way for such a treasure to grow.

This was unlike ordinary spirit treasures, which could be placed within one's body and slowly increase in power by being nourished with one's own pure true essence. A chaos supreme treasure could only absorb the chaos aura left over from the creation of the heaven and earth.

"Even Chaos Origin Qi is present? Could the Great Ascension Realm powerhouses really not be tempted by it?" Li Qing's eyebrows shot up again. This was something that even powerful True Spirits would covet.

However, Xia Wushuang shook his head. "More than once, peerless powerhouses have tried to force their way into the Xuantian Divine Palace, but unfortunately, none have succeeded."

"It is said that this might be a place of the immortals. Even those in the Great Ascension Realm cannot do anything about this Xuantian Divine Palace."

"Not only that, but the Xuantian Divine Palace cannot be located through methods like divining heaven's will. Its whereabouts have always been elusive."

"To enter the Divine Palace, one must possess the Black Iron Token. No matter how strong one's cultivation is, they must abide by this rule."

Hearing this, Li Qing suddenly understood. If it was related to a True Immortal, then it wasn't surprising at all.

However, since the Black Iron Token was so rare, Li Qing didn't hold out much hope. He only intended to let fate decide.

Next, he descended and entered the boundaries of this prosperous walled city, meeting the curious gazes of the people within Yujing City.

This was the first time Li Qing had properly observed this prosperous walled city. When he had arrived before, he was still evolving the Five Elements Secret Method in his mind and had no time to pay attention to the city's luxurious sights.

Yujing City was a metropolis with structures spanning from the heavens to the earth. Glazed palaces, resplendent halls, and classically elegant pavilions stretched as far as the eye could see, leaving one breathless.

A wide river bisected the city, splitting Yujing City into two halves and creating a truly magnificent sight.

As for the Imperial Palace of the Great Yu Kingdom, it was nestled in the deepest part of Yujing City, where a seventh-rank spirit vein resided—the area with the most concentrated spiritual energy in the entire city.

Li Qing took a moment to admire the city's prosperous scenery and marveled inwardly, thinking that the city truly lived up to its name, Yujing, for it was indeed incomparably prosperous.

"In the heavens, the White Jade Capital, with its twelve towers and five cities."

After his moment of reflection, he flew toward the location of his cave abode.

Having just entered the Void Refinement Realm, he wanted to fully experience the changes within himself.

But very soon, someone stopped him.

"Congratulations to this fellow daoist on advancing to the Void Refinement Realm. Judging by the scale of that Great Heavenly Tribulation, your aptitude must be truly world-shaking."

This was a human cultivator dressed in a long white robe. He had a handsome face with regular features and spoke with the refined air of a scholar.

Li Qing observed the man for a moment and realized he was merely a cultivator at the Divine Transformation stage. Yet, the man had the audacity to address him directly as "Fellow Daoist."

Li Qing replied coolly, "Thank you for your congratulations, Fellow Daoist. May I ask what this is about?"

While he wasn't particularly strict about the cultivation world's rigid social hierarchy, he saw no reason to be overly warm to someone who showed him so little respect.

The handsome young man in the white robe smiled faintly and said, "You look unfamiliar, Fellow Daoist. I assume you've just arrived in Yujing City from elsewhere?"

"I am from the Meng Clan of the Great Yu Kingdom. I'd like to invite you to join us as a Guest Elder or Honored Elder—a fairly relaxed position. Would you be interested?"

Li Qing had absolutely no interest in the offer. He shook his head and said, "I have no intention of joining any faction at the moment. Thank you for the invitation, Fellow Daoist."

The young man from the Meng Clan was momentarily stunned. He hadn't expected such a curt and definitive refusal, without even a hint of interest in hearing the terms he was offering.

And so, he watched as Li Qing brushed past him and returned straight to his cave abode.

"This..."

It wasn't his fault. Li Qing simply had no intention of joining any family faction.

Ordinary cultivating families relied on bloodlines to maintain their bonds. An outsider who joined might not even receive many benefits and could even find themselves embroiled in a lot of trouble.