Facts proved that one hundred million Sovereign Spiritual Liquid was nothing more than wishful thinking. Perhaps if it had been someone from the Martial Realm demanding it like in the original story, the Xia Emperor might have smashed pots and sold iron just to gather the amount.
But Liu Bai clearly did not possess that level of deterrence yet.
At present, Liu Bai could at most compare to an Greater Earth Sovereign. When joining forces with Mandala, he was enough to make the Xia Emperor deeply wary, but not enough to force him into complete submission. Therefore, within the Xia Emperor's acceptable range, the compensation ultimately became three Quasi Saint Artifacts and forty million Sovereign Spiritual Liquid.
Thus, the great battle finally came to an end.
Quite a few of the watching experts still felt unsatisfied, and many even felt somewhat regretful. Neither side had suffered enough losses to lose their qualifications for competing in the Ancient Heavenly Palace this time, making the entire battle feel almost pointless.
Of course, everyone also became wary of the suddenly rising Great Havenlaw Domain. Originally, many people had secretly rejoiced that no especially powerful factions from the Northern Region had arrived this time. Yet unexpectedly, from a mere Northern Realm, such a terrifying figure had suddenly emerged!
After returning to West City, Mandala and Liu Bai discussed matters briefly before giving the Myriad Saint Ancestor and the other two ten million Sovereign Spiritual Liquid each as compensation for their efforts during this battle.
The three were naturally overjoyed and immediately declared that if anything similar happened again, they would definitely go all out and kill the enemy!
As time passed, the spatial fluctuations outside the Ancient Heavenly Palace gradually stabilized, while the various major factions that had been waiting also began taking action.
At this time, the depths of the Extreme Western Lands also became increasingly lively.
Where there were many people, conflicts naturally arose.
However, with the Ancient Heavenly Palace about to open, everyone behaved with great restraint, so no major clashes erupted.
Around the encampment of the Great Havenlaw Domain, many surrounding factions already knew they were not easy to provoke, so they deliberately avoided setting up camp too close to them, sparing the Great Havenlaw Domain group from feeling crowded.
Under such boiling anticipation, another three days quietly passed.
When the fourth day arrived, Liu Bai, who had been sitting cross legged atop a mountain peak cultivating with closed eyes, suddenly sensed something and opened his eyes. He rose to his feet and looked toward the distant horizon.
The space there was still in a violent state, but the chaos was gradually calming down, and the fluctuating spatial cracks also showed signs of slowly stabilizing.
"It seems the world's restoration speed has accelerated. It will not be long before the passage can be opened…"
Mandala's voice sounded behind Liu Bai. She stood atop a green stone while fierce winds blew past, causing her clothes to flutter loudly. Her petite body seemed as though it could be carried away by the wind at any moment.
Liu Bai swept his gaze around. Hidden throughout this region of heaven and earth were countless Earth Sovereign experts, all waiting for this moment to arrive.
Two hours later, Liu Tiandao and the others also emerged from the camp. The former glanced at the sky and said solemnly, "Looks like it is our turn to act."
This time, the Northern Realm Alliance had quite a large number of people entering. The Great Havenlaw Domain alone had five people including Jiu You, and together with Mu Chen's group of three, there were already eight.
As for the remaining three major factions, each only had two slots, bringing the total to fourteen people.
"With our abilities, the spatial passage can support a maximum of fifteen people. However, that would likely affect the stability of the passage. Fourteen people would be much safer."
This arrangement had already been discussed beforehand. Although Liu Tiandao and the others had some opinions in their hearts, they did not dare voice them.
There was no helping it. The opposing side had two experts comparable to Greater Earth Sovereigns. Although their numbers were fewer, the spatial passage mainly relied on their power, meaning the others were already benefiting greatly.
Still, despite their smaller numbers, the three major factions had sent extremely strong participants. All of them were Ninth Grade Sovereigns, and Liu Tiandao even had a Ninth Grade Peak Sovereign under him.
"This person is called Xuanming Sovereign. He is an extremely famous expert in our Northern Realm. He has always acted alone and has an arrogant temperament, but this time he was recruited by the Sky Profound Palace with a huge price," Mandala softly explained beside Liu Bai.
Liu Bai nodded slightly.
Mandala glanced at everyone and said, "After entering the Ancient Heavenly Palace, everyone here will be considered allies. If someone encounters danger, I hope the others will lend assistance. In a place like this, if our hearts are not united, it will be difficult to even take a single step forward."
Jiu You and the others solemnly nodded.
Meanwhile, that Xuanming Sovereign merely lifted his eyelids and swept his gaze over Jiu You's group before saying, "Great Heavenlaw Domain Lord, please rest assured. This old man will naturally look after these juniors to some extent."
Although his voice was hoarse, it carried an arrogant tone that made the others who had been selected curl their lips in disdain. This old fellow really relied too much on his seniority.
However, his attitude was not surprising. Among this group, even those at the Ninth Grade Sovereign level were mostly only at the Initial Phase Ninth Grade Sovereign Realm. Since these newcomers had not personally witnessed the scene where Jiu You and Ling Xi joined forces to slaughter the Great Xia Dynasty's Ninth Grade Sovereigns, it was only natural they would misunderstand their strength.
But Jiu You and the others said nothing. Although the old man was somewhat arrogant, his intentions were ultimately good, so there was no need to provoke him.
As for divine beast geniuses like Zong Qingfeng and the others, who were even prouder by nature, since even Jiu You had not spoken, they naturally would not say anything either. After all, they had never intended to travel together with these people anyway.
"Since everyone is prepared, then we can set out now." Mandala ignored these matters, glanced at the sky, and directly spoke.
As her words fell, the members of the Great Havenlaw Domain transformed into streams of light and headed toward the deepest parts of the Extreme Western Lands.
Likewise, when the Great Havenlaw Domain moved out, the other major factions had long since made preparations as well. One stream of light after another streaked across the sky, leaving radiant trails behind before vanishing into the distant horizon.
As they ventured deeper, Liu Bai also began to feel the terrifying nature of the shattered space.
Wave after wave of oppressive spatial storm aftershocks spread outward from afar. The tearing sensation from those storms made everyone feel as though the Spiritual Energy within their bodies was about to be ripped out.
"What tyrannical spatial tearing power!"
Mu Chen's expression turned solemn. This was only the aftermath. If they were actually within the storm itself, then both their physical bodies and Spiritual Energy would probably be torn into powder instantly.
Looking at Liu Bai and the others ahead, Mu Chen also felt somewhat fortunate.
If they had not encountered this senior this time, then with only himself and Sister Ling Xi, they likely would not even have had the opportunity to enter the Ancient Heavenly Palace.
Of course, what he did not know was that even without Liu Bai, as long as the little princess Lin Jing was by his side, they would still have obtained a chance to enter the Ancient Heavenly Palace in the end.
Perhaps this was the treatment granted to the Child of Destiny of the Great Thousand World. Even though a transmigrator had altered his growth trajectory, at crucial moments, the corrective power of fate would still guide him back onto the proper path.
Naturally, Liu Bai paid no attention to any of this. At this moment, he was staring at the space before him.
The space ahead had actually begun to show signs of shattering. Black spatial cracks extended outward like giant dragons, and the spatial fluctuations spreading from those cracks made even Earthly Sovereigns feel their scalps turn numb.
Very quickly, Mandala and the others finally stopped tens of thousands of feet away from one of the spatial cracks.
Vast Spiritual Energy surged out from Liu Bai's body, shielding Jiu You and the others behind him and isolating them from the effects of the spatial storm.
Standing before the enormous spatial crack, darkness surged forth like a bottomless black hole. However, if one looked carefully, they could faintly see ancient palaces deep within the darkness, radiating an ancient and mysterious aura.
"This place will do..."
This spatial crack was relatively stable and perfectly suitable as an entrance into the Ancient Heavenly Palace.
Mandala turned around and exchanged glances with Liu Bai and the others before the five simultaneously made their move.
Terrifying Spiritual Energy pillars, so dense they appeared almost solid, burst out from the bodies of the five. Like heavenly pillars supporting the sky, they violently charged into the black crack torn open by the spatial storm.
Boom!
The pillars swept forward, and thunderous roars immediately echoed out. The heavens and earth themselves seemed to tremble, while the spatial storm within the crack was gradually torn apart under the stirring of the vast and endless Spiritual Energy pillars, eventually forming an opening roughly a dozen feet wide.
"Move!"
Liu Bai's expression was extremely serious, and his eyes were filled with gravity.
Only after truly opening the spatial passage did he realize just how difficult it was to maintain this region of space.
Especially with so many people entering at once!
Jiu You's gaze sharpened upon seeing this. After glancing at the people behind her, she instantly transformed into a streak of flaming light and rushed into the opening. Mo Ling, Zong Qingfeng, and the others naturally followed immediately behind her.
Mu Chen took a deep breath as intense heat surged deep within his eyes before he also threw himself into the opening.
The Undying Golden Body. Whether he could obtain it and whether he could defy fate and change his destiny would all be decided today!
After everyone had entered the spatial passage, Liu Bai and the others quickly stopped supporting the space.
Although it had only lasted a short moment, the pressure it placed upon the five of them was enormous.
"I hope they manage to gain something inside..." Liu Tiandao said with anticipation.
Although the Northern Realm had formed an alliance, Liu Tiandao was unwilling to remain beneath others forever. Furthermore, with Liu Bai's current performance, the high level combat power of the Great Havenlaw Domain already surpassed the combined strength of their three major factions. Once they returned, he was not even sure whether the Sky Profound Palace could still maintain its independence. Thus, he held enormous expectations for this Ancient Heavenly Palace expedition.
"Who can guarantee such things? We can only wait," the Demon Emperor beside him replied.
Mandala and Liu Bai glanced at them but said nothing, merely sitting down cross legged on the spot in silence.
From this point onward, everything depended on the younger generation themselves. No matter how much those outside worried, it would be useless.
Moreover, Liu Bai had already handed his Elder Token to Jiu You. Presumably, this would allow them to travel far more smoothly than the others.
Inside the spatial passage, although the passage constructed by Mandala, Liu Bai, and the others looked crooked and unstable, it was still fairly sturdy. Therefore, Jiu You and the others rushed toward the depths at full speed, not daring to relax in the slightest.
Along the way, they also spotted quite a few teams traveling through other spatial passages. However, perhaps because the strength they displayed during the battle against the Great Xia Dynasty had been too terrifying, these people had all been frightened.
In any case, every group they encountered along the way was extremely wary of Jiu You's large party. No one dared jump out and provoke them, allowing them to enter the Ancient Heavenly Palace without any danger along the journey.
Ancient desolation filled the world. The sky was dim, and space remained unstable, with spatial cracks occasionally stretching across the heavens.
Jiu You frowned slightly as she looked toward the vast land below. In the far distance, mountain peaks rose from the ground, and atop those mountains, ancient palaces could vaguely be seen.
If one looked even farther away, they could faintly make out stone islands suspended in the sky, though all of them appeared barren and desolate.
It was as though the entire world had remained silent for tens of thousands of years.
Mu Chen looked at this desolate world and exchanged glances with Ling Xi and Lin Jing. Their expressions were all somewhat grave.
This was because they could sense certain residual auras lingering throughout this world.
These auras were so faint that only those with exceptionally keen perception could vaguely detect them. Yet those traces of aura gave them an indescribable sense of pressure.
One could imagine that in ancient times, countless terrifying experts must have existed here. With a single thought, they could shake the heavens and earth. Even after tens of thousands of years, their residual aura still had not completely dissipated, continuing to oppress those who entered.
Jiu You glanced at the group. Although she wished to separate from them, according to the information Liu Bai had provided, they had not yet truly entered the region of the Ancient Heavenly Palace, so it was still too early. Their next task was to search for the legendary Dragon Ascension Gate.
Previously, Liu Bai had used Mandala's identity to reveal quite a few secrets regarding the Ancient Heavenly Palace to Jiu You, naturally including many important locations within it.
Jiu You did not doubt any of it. After learning that Mandala originated from the Ancient Heavenly Palace, any information Liu Bai spoke about concerning the Ancient Heavenly Palace instantly became believable.
However, what she did not know was that many things were actually unknown even to Mandala herself.
Strictly speaking, the current Mandala was not truly Mandala's original body. Her current body was merely a spore detached from the vines of the Ancient Mandala Flower.
This resulted in most of Mandala's memories being sealed away. Only after completely merging with her original body would she truly become whole once more.
Of course, no one else knew about such matters. Even Mandala herself was unaware, which allowed Liu Bai to casually spoil information without any concerns.
Originally, that Xuanming Sovereign had intended to seize control of the group's leadership. Unfortunately, he knew absolutely nothing about the Ancient Heavenly Palace, making the situation rather awkward because he had no idea which direction to take.
In the end, Jiu You took the initiative to lead the way, directly choosing a direction toward the ancient palaces atop the distant mountains, while everyone else hurriedly followed behind.
...
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