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Chapter 204: Chapter 201: Aries Star Palace
Although the Sanqing Holy Temple is considered the foremost power of the Righteous Path in Qiantian, with the Earthly True Immortal Master Wushi himself said to be residing within, they still dared not interfere too much with the descent of the Heavenly Dragon Wood.
If there were any Primordial Spirit Monarchs from the Ten Great Demon Sects present in person, the temple might not mind annihilating them to weaken the power of the Demon Sects, but Gu Jinlai not only possessed the strength of a Monarch but was also a Heavenly Monarch.
If they dared to make a move against Gu Jinlai, it would mean violating the trial left by the Aries Star Lord and provoking the Heavenly Dragon Wood.
Provoke a terrifying being with combat power comparable to an Earthly True Immortal?
Aside from Master Wushi, who had not been seen for decades, no one in the Sanqing Holy Temple could easily bear such a cost.
Therefore, Gu Jinlai and the others easily reached the very center of the Sanqing Preaching Platform.
Here...
Stood a rectangular palace about two hundred meters long and forty meters wide.
The palace, with a total of ten floors, wasn’t considered luxurious or grand.
But, no one dared to underestimate it even a bit.
This was the Aries Star Palace.
One of the Holy Lands’ creators, it was the palace of inheritance left by the Aries Star Lord.
And beside this palace lay a monstrous behemoth.
A creature about eight hundred meters long and sixty meters in diameter, covered in dark scales, its massiveness resembling mountains, a terrifying existence that seemed to manifest the undulations of the earth.
The Heavenly Dragon Wood.
A kilometer in length, nearly a hundred meters in diameter...
Such a fearsome size, merely lying there, the oppressive aura emanating from its body still rolled in waves, suffocating enough to leave the fainthearted breathless.
Furthermore, the Heavenly Dragon Wood possessed sharp claws, and its unique bodily structure enabled it to spit out flames covering a vast area or to launch fireballs faster than flying swords, each packed with concentrated force. Each one posed a lethal threat to any being below the Saint Realm.
"Heavenly Dragon."
Gu Jinlai gazed at this ultimate weapon of the Heavenly Master Path.
Supporting such a massive body to rapidly soar through the void, it’s hard to imagine how immense the energy consumption must be for such a creature.
And judging from the energy it consumes, one can infer the astonishing power it can unleash.
How such a Heavenly Dragon could descend to Blue Star...
Apart from nuclear weapons, no other weapons could harm it.
Laser? Electromagnetic cannon?
The Heavenly Dragon could easily withstand the high temperatures of tens of thousands to over a hundred thousand degrees from lightning and thunder, utilizing Thunder Power as its energy.
From this alone, it’s evident how strong the Heavenly Dragon’s body is.
With Blue Star’s half-developed laser and electromagnetic cannon technologies, they couldn’t harm the Heavenly Dragon in the slightest.
...
As Gu Jinlai and his companions approached the palace, they naturally attracted much attention.
"Is that... Gu Jinlai?"
"Gu Jinlai from Tian Nan has arrived too? But it makes sense, how could he miss such a grand event as one of the few Heavenly Monarchs in existence today?"
"This Gu Jinlai is a true legend in Tian Nan. I’ve heard his name more than once to the north of Tianhe, where it’s said he has remedied the deficiency of Qi loss brought by the Qi Refining and God Transformation of the Heavenly Master Path, but is it true or false?"
Various discussions emerged from the crowd.
The current Gu Jinlai was no longer the unknown figure he had been before.
His name was known to all south of Tianhe, and even to the north...
With the convening of the Divine Sword Convention and the retreat of the Demon Demon King behind the barrier separating the north and south into Champsosaurus Swamp, news from both areas became accessible, and top powers learned of the rumors and legends regarding him.
Seeing his group walking towards the palace, the Descendants and Divinity Transformation Cultivators from various sects who had come with their Heavenly Masters had different reactions.
Among them, Jin Chan from Xuzhen Tower, who had once encountered Gu Jinlai, greeted him with a polite nod.
A Divinity Transformation Immortal from Cold Moon Sect also offered a greeting.
Their sects also had eight Heavenly Masters come, escorted by a route of Divinity Transformation Cultivators.
But unlike those Righteous Sects and forces leaning towards neutrality, due to concerns that venturing deep into Moon State might lead to misunderstandings, Divinity Transformation Cultivators from forces like Cold Moon Sect, Purple Night Sword Sect, and Human Immortal Hall remained at the border of Moon State, with only a few Refining God Immortals stepping into Sanqing Preaching Platform as a precaution.
Gu Jinlai’s gaze swept over these individuals.
He noticed a marked hostility from two powers.
One was of course Dragon Sparrow Manor, who had lost two Primordial Spirit Monarchs in Star State, so their hostility was not surprising.
But the other...
"Great Sun Sword Sect?"
Gu Jinlai looked towards that group of people.
"It’s the Great Sun Sword Sect," Zhang Yukan beside him said with a somewhat stern expression. "If it weren’t for them seizing our Great Sun Heavenly Sect’s foundation in times of crisis, the situation of our sect wouldn’t have collapsed to this extent."
Gu Jinlai nodded.
He didn’t want to waste time, "We should not delay, let’s enter the palace now."
After speaking, he instructed Cheng Wanli, "Be careful until we return."
"Understood."
Cheng Wanli nodded.
Just as Gu Jinlai and several Heavenly Masters were about to arrive in front of the palace, a group of over a hundred people came walking through the crowd.
The leader was a woman who appeared to be in her twenties, looking very young.
Gu Jinlai did not recognize the woman’s identity, but her attire, somewhat similar to Jiang Chongshan’s, along with the noble and elegant demeanor she carried, led him to guess her identity at once.
"Heavenly Monarch Gu."
The woman paid Gu Jinlai a small salute, "I am the Forty-Sixth Princess, Jiang Lingxue."
"Your Highness the Princess."
Gu Jinlai returned the salute.
"Is Uncle Chongshan faring well in Star State?"
Jiang Lingxue asked with a smile.
"Very well. Aside from reading and cultivating, he spends most of his time hunting devils... To date, the devils who have perished at his hands number in the hundreds,"
Gu Jinlai replied.
"Uncle seems to be quite content; such a life is enviable."
As Jiang Lingxue spoke, she looked at Gu Jinlai, "Recently, Heavenly Monarch Gu’s fame has been remarkable south of Tianhe, single-handedly ending the turmoil in Star State and annihilating one of the largest devil congregation areas – the Yunqi Mountain Range. Even my father, the Emperor, has nothing but praise for Heavenly Monarch Gu."
"His Majesty is too kind."
Gu Jinlai showed little surprise on his face.
The reason he caught Emperor Qian’s eye had something to do with his identity as a Heavenly Monarch and the devils of the Yunqi Mountain Range, but mainly, it was because he had taken in Star King Jiang Chongshan.
"With your current status as Heavenly Monarch, staying south of Tianhe is a bit of a waste of your talents. Central State Imperial City is the real grand stage suitable for you. Should the Heavenly Monarch be willing to go to the Imperial Capital, His Majesty will assuredly entrust you with an important mission. By then, whether it’s numerous top-tier cultivation techniques, the Heavenly Monarch’s inheritance, or even..."
Jiang Lingxue slightly emphasized her tone, "the various secrets and breakthrough methods of the Creation Realm, Heavenly Monarch Gu will be able to peruse."
"Secrets and breakthrough methods of the Creation Realm?"
Gu Jinlai’s pupils contracted, "Does the Imperial Family possess breakthrough magic skills for achieving the Creation Realm?"
"In our heyday, Daqian pacified the surrounding nations, and countless countries came to pay homage, accumulating an extremely rich heritage. While other powers lack the breakthrough methods for the Creation Realm, the Royal Secret Collection has preserved one,"
Jiang Lingxue said with a slight smile, without rushing, "Heavenly Monarch Gu can consider it well; there is no need to hurry with a reply."
With those words, she paid a small salute and turned to leave.
She was very confident that no Heavenly Monarch could resist such a temptation.
Especially for Gu Jinlai, who kept innovating within the path of Artifact Refining and seemed to be establishing his own school of thought as a Heavenly Monarch.
If he wished to access a broader world and domain, he would inevitably step into entirely new territories.
And only the Daqian Imperial Family could offer such an opportunity.
Even the Sanqing Holy Temple, the leader of righteousness as the top force of Qiantian, couldn’t produce a complete set of magic skills for breaking into the Creation Realm.
Gu Jinlai watched as Jiang Lingxue left without saying a word.
Zhang Yukan and others by his side were somewhat envious but whispered, "The Imperial Family indeed provides many privileges when recruiting Heavenly Masters, but it requires signing strict agreements with them and taking a True Spirit oath as proof."
"A True Spirit oath as proof?"
The cultivation of Heavenly Masters is highly subjective.
This kind of True Spirit oath is akin to an ideology; once violated, it would affect the future condensation of their True Spirit. For a Heavenly Monarch, the impact is even greater. 𝖓𝔬𝔳𝖕𝖚𝖇.𝖈𝔬𝔪
Some True Spirit oaths could even cause a Heavenly Monarch’s self-recognition to become erroneous, leading to the collapse of their entire cultivation system.
It’s like a man who loves money more than life suddenly one day learns that all the gold he’s spent his life savings to purchase is fake—the immense shock can shatter his Essence Qi Spirit, and even lead him down the path to suicide.
"The easier things are to obtain, the more you often need to bear in return. We should place our hopes on the inheritance of the Aries Star Lord; even if we cannot obtain the complete cultivation technique, breaking through more barriers will yield some top-tier secret techniques or even formulas for refining materials and artifacts,"
Zhang Yukan said.
Gu Jinlai nodded, and the group arrived in front of the palace.
The Heavenly Dragon Wood in front of the palace opened its eyes.
The huge dragon head was like a towering mountain; merely its gaze falling on Gu Jinlai and the others gave them a sense of immense oppression.
This was...
A legendary creature nearly impossible to defeat by human strength alone.
Gu Jinlai’s form stiffened slightly, as though an ordinary person standing in front of a super-sized Canglong, feeling an impulse to turn and flee.
But he suppressed the urge and paid a small salute, "Honorable Mu, we wish to enter the palace for the examination."
The Heavenly Dragon Wood stared at Gu Jinlai for a moment, its gaze seeming to contain a mysterious power that looked as though it could see through to Gu Jinlai’s True Spirit.
However, with Gu Jinlai’s primary cultivation of the Grand Sun Nine Refinements Visualization Method and his recent spiritual breakthrough, the "gaze" of the Heavenly Dragon Wood seemed to reflect off his crystal clear spirit, and in the end, it saw nothing but a dazzling brilliance.
This scene made the Heavenly Dragon, which had lived for over a thousand years and developed intelligence not inferior to humans, somewhat surprised.
But it did not show any reaction.
There might be something divine about Gu Jinlai, but what kind of genius Heavenly Master hasn’t it seen over the years?
It simply stated calmly, "Proceed."
Suddenly, the palace gates opened.
Gu Jinlai and the others bowed and stepped into the palace.
