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Chapter 563: Chapter 559: Spirit Pillar
"The Star Gate, truly a trans-era invention."
Gu Jinlai said, "The construction of such superstructures originally required the use of Demon Realm Rifts, but a millennium ago, a very small number of top creator beings like the Aries Star Lord evidently already possessed the technology to artificially create Demon Realm Rifts. The Star Gate of the Aries Star Palace is the best example."
As he spoke, he fiddled with the planet.
After a moment, his gaze settled on the projection of the planet, within the three layers of pale blue light, each varying in intensity.
According to the memory of the Aries Star Lord, the creator beings regarded these blue glows as Spirit Realm Spaces.
The further away from the dwelling places of intelligent life forms, the fainter the spiritual light becomes, referred to from inside to outside as the True Spirit Realm, Inner Spirit Realm, and Outer Spirit Realm respectively.
They are marked with blue lights of varying depths.
"Without a doubt, the Longevity World belongs to the category of the True Spirit Realm, where the spiritual energy in the Spirit Realm is most concentrated, however..."
Gu Jinlai was somewhat surprised.
Not just him, even the Aries Star Lord had this question.
That question concerned the Demon Realm.
The intensity of spirituality in the Demon Realm could not even compare to the Inner Spirit Realm, and it was weak even among the Outer Spirit Realm.
It was even inferior to the spirituality near open space of the Longevity World.
Yet such a world managed to nurture a large number of Demon Spirits that somewhat resembled the life forms of the Spirit Realm...
Out of curiosity, many creator beings had researched this topic and arrived at several conclusions.
The most widely accepted one was that the Demon Realm once experienced a fierce war that utterly destroyed its entire civilization.
This destruction was not limited to the physical world, but it extended to the Spirit Realm as well.
As a result, the Demon Realm became a world similar to a lifeless star in terms of spirituality.
"All things have spirits. When the ’Spirit’ of a world becomes exceedingly thin, it no longer has the foundation to give birth to life. Could it be that the Demon Spirits of the Demon Realm incessantly enter the Longevity World to plunder the Spirit of All Living Beings in order to ’revive’ their world? To allow their world’s ’Spirit’ to regain the capacity to nurture new life forms?"
Gu Jinlai turned to such a theory in the memory of the Aries Star Lord.
But all these theories stemmed from speculation, doubt, with no evidence to prove any of them.
Historically, some creator beings had also researched the life form of Demon Spirits, but...
Even the Catastrophic-level Demon Spirits seemed incapable of being considered as "complete" life forms.
Their birth, much like the Whirling Tree species created by the Pisces Star Lord, bore "artificial" hallmarks. 𝔫𝖔𝖛𝖕𝖚𝔟.𝖈𝖔𝔪
Only at the level of Spirit Venerable did they truly become "complete."
Yet, most Spirit Venerables knew nothing of the true nature of the anomalies in the Demon Realm’s spiritual essence.
At least, the Venerable Level Demon Spirits captured and studied by the creator beings did not reveal the real cause of the Demon Realm’s aberrations.
"No wonder the Holy Dynasty doesn’t care about deaths and injuries of devils below Spirit Venerable level, but once it involves the downfall of a Spirit Venerable devil, they erupt in a frenzy. In the end, it’s because Spirit Venerables are the true life forms of the Demon Realm, and those below... can just be regarded as conscious life forms of the Demon Realm? Or perhaps... bioroids? Clones?"
Gu Jinlai digested the memory of the Aries Star Lord while taking control of the Aries Star Palace.
Soon, his control over the Aries Star Palace had completely moved past the novice stage.
Although he could not reach the level of the Artifact Spirit Purple Sun, who knew every nook and cranny intimately, controlling this palace posed no problem at all.
"Alright, tell the Heavenly Dragon Wood to stop playing dead. Carry the Aries Star Palace and head to the mainland," Gu Jinlai instructed.
"Thank you for your mercifulness, Heavenly Monarch," Purple Sun finally heaved a sigh of relief at this time.
They knew their lives were spared.
As Gu Jinlai’s command was issued, above the sky dome, the three-hundred-meter diameter Ruins Beast rapidly descended, casting a vast shadow over the deserted island.
If seen by ordinary people...
With the spiritual impact constantly emanating from the Ruins Beast, close contact for an ordinary person would likely mean their soul would be crushed by the spiritual fluctuations, and their consciousness would dissipate.
Gu Jinlai needed to return to Lingxiao Palace and naturally couldn’t always carry this Ruins Beast with him.
Luckily, the Aries Star Palace, as the Aries Star Lord’s mobile residence, had a dedicated space to accommodate the Ruins Beast.
That was the reason he allowed this Ruins Beast named after the "Aries Star Lord" to enter the Star Palace.
As the Ruins Beast vanished into the Aries Star Palace, disappearing without trace.
The Heavenly Dragon Wood also flew up from the sea bed.
Even though it appeared battered and charred in many places, the powerful life force of a top-level Beast Taming creature allowed it to recover its basic motor functions in a short time.
Quickly, it propped up the Aries Star Palace, soared into the clouds, and headed towards the mainland, South of Tianhe.
...
South of Tianhe, Lingxiao Palace.
At this time, several important personages had already congregated near Lingxiao Palace.
Even a few key Military Workshops had been moved over.
On one hand, Lingxiao Palace, located in Starlight City, was originally built as the main stronghold, and on the other hand...
The situation outside was too chaotic, Lingxiao Palace was hardly a force to be reckoned with in the power struggle for supremacy, and if they were to divide their troops between Starlight City and Lingxiao City, they would easily be defeated one by one.
Therefore, it was more defensible for Lingxiao Palace forces to gather outside Starlight City.
At this moment, Xin Tianqi and several important figures of Lingxiao Palace were staring with gravity at the intelligence report that had come from Sanqing Hall.
"This is the intelligence report sent by Sanqing Hall three days ago."
Xin Tianqi unfolded a report in front of Zhou Yi, Zhang Lihuo, Hong Ye, Lu Zhanxian, and others: "Sanqing Hall believes that Venerable Xuan Tian will inevitably grow into the next Emperor Tianji... even now, his power is already unbeatable. Thus, two months ago, Immortal Wu Zhong from Sanqing Hall sent out a call for aid, and the target of the summoning was none other than one of the two survivors from the battle of Emperor Tianji back in the day — the Abyss Lord Lin Yuan!"
"The Abyss Lord!"
This name sent a tremor through the spirits of everyone present.
"Sanqing Hall actually still has a way to contact this top-tier existence!?"
"That was a fearsome individual who reigned unchallenged a hundred years ago; now, a century later, who knows how much stronger he has become!?"
"This is a big problem now. The Abyss Lord once owed a great favor to Master Wushi. Although Immortal Wu Zhong and Immortal Wunian cannot represent Master Wushi, once the Abyss Lord arrives and learns of the cause and effect of Master Wushi’s downfall, Venerable Xuan Tian, who was behind the assassination of Master Wushi, will definitely become his target for killing. Without the covert protection of Venerable Xuan Tian, Sanqing Hall, with its two Top Saints, will be unstoppable!"
The others exchanged glances, seeing the worry in each other’s eyes.
"According to the message, the Abyss Lord has already answered Sanqing Hall’s call for aid and is on his way to Qiantian. It is expected that he will completely arrive in another three to five days. The message from Sanqing Hall means they hope that our Lingxiao Palace, the Daqian Imperial Family, Prince Zhenbei, and other forces will jointly go to Sanqing Hall to welcome this supreme powerhouse from a century ago."
Lu Zhanxian spoke gravely.
"Three to five days? They’re hardly giving us any time to react! Moreover, going to Sanqing Hall to welcome the Abyss Lord? If we go, can we even return safely?"
The solemnity was evident in their expressions.
"Things might not be as bad as they seem. After all, Xuan Yue is considered half a disciple of Master Wushi. Perhaps, we can gain the Abyss Lord’s approval through this relationship, ensuring the independence of Lingxiao Palace."
Zhang Lihuo pondered aloud.
His reasoning did spark a glimmer of hope in everyone.
Through the connection of Xuan Yue, Lingxiao Palace still had a certain chance of being treated differently by the Abyss Lord.
Just need to be cautious of Immortal Wu Zhong and Immortal Wunian from Sanqing Hall stirring up trouble and distorting right and wrong when the time comes.
And...
Ironically, Xuan Yue had once sought refuge in their Lingxiao Palace, yet now, they needed Xuan Yue’s strength to ensure the continuation of their legacy.
"Sanqing Hall sought the Abyss Lord’s presence as a move against Venerable Xuan Tian, to nip this huge potential threat in the bud, and secondly, to defend Qiantian."
Xin Tianqi said with a heavy tone: "You all should be able to sense it, with the Palace Master not showing up for over a year, the devils in the Three Thousand Marshes are growing restless again."
"Not just the Three Thousand Marshes, traces of devils from the Eastern Sea and Endless Mountain have also begun to appear more frequently."
Zhou Yi said: "Without Master Wushi, a number of problems have started to emerge."
"Given Qiantian’s current environment, the Abyss Lord will inevitably try to unite all sides of Qiantian to contend with the devil. Once he unifies Qiantian, he surely won’t have the time to deal with all its affairs, and much of it will likely fall on Sanqing Hall."
Zhou Yi remarked with a sigh: "To avoid being passive then, we can only work hard on our connection with Xuan Yue."
"There’s no other way."
The others nodded in agreement.
"The Abyss Lord was a supreme figure a hundred years ago. If Xuan Yue fails to secure his trust, and Sanqing Hall becomes his mouthpiece, won’t we all be at their mercy? Even if Palace Master Gu returns, it might not be enough to turn the current tide."
"Heavenly Monarch Gu..."
Upon the mention of Gu Jinlai, the mood of everyone in the room grew heavy.
A year and a half had passed.
With no news for such a long time, even though they all had utter faith in Gu Jinlai, they were beginning to feel apprehensive.
Just then, a voice suddenly rang out in the conference room.
"Oh? The Abyss Lord Lin Yuan? Sanqing Hall is summoning all of us to greet him? It seems I’ve arrived just in time."
Hearing this voice, everyone in the room was momentarily startled and almost didn’t react.
However, when they realized who the owner of the voice was, their faces were simultaneously flooded with ecstasy.
"Heavenly Monarch Gu!?"
"Palace Master!?"
"He’s back! He’s back! The Palace Master is back!?"
Everyone couldn’t hide the joy in their eyes as they rushed out of the conference room at top speed, looking in the direction from where the spiritual fluctuations had come.
They saw at the end of the sky, the Heavenly Dragon Wood carrying the Aries Star Palace was coming at high speed.
There was no grand fanfare, no purple mists rising high.
In an instant, the Heavenly Dragon Wood bearing the Aries Star Palace appeared above Lingxiao Palace.
Under the protection of the Heavenly Dragon Wood, a battle beast on par with the Strongest Void Immortal, a figure stood at the staircase in front of Aries Star Palace, smiling down at the people of Lingxiao Palace.
A golden sunshine casually sprinkled on his distinctive face, and in that moment, everyone couldn’t help but feel their spirits infused with an indescribable force, becoming incredibly fulfilled and stirred.
The spiritual pillar of Lingxiao Palace...
Had finally returned!
