nycdaug Chapter 147 The Palace of the Heavenly Clouds
Chapter 147 The Palace of the Heavenly Clouds
"Senior Sister, you're ranked number one!" Meng Qingyue shouted excitedly.
Xie Wanning pointed at herself in disbelief: "Me? Why is my ranking so high? Didn't I smash the scoring stone?"
"Senior Sister, you killed Shen Yuan all by yourself. He is one of the Four Great Demon Generals, so you deserve this first place." Mu Zhi walked over with a smile, a hint of admiration flashing in her eyes.
Xie Wanning lowered her head, making it impossible to see her expression.
Shen Yuan was killed by her sister, and she felt a little guilty, so she didn't dare to meet the admiring eyes of the others.
Lin Xuanjin patted Xie Wanning's shoulder and said with a smile, "Xiaolin, come on, your master will accompany you to Qingyun Square."
"Ah."
Upon arriving at Qingyun Square, one finds disciples from the eight major sects and smaller sects gathered there, all discussing the results of the sect competition.
"Have you heard? The winner of the competition is actually Xu Weilin from the Twilight Snow Sect."
"I didn't expect it to be her. I thought it would be Senior Brother Song."
"After all, it was she who killed the Demon General Shen Yuan all by herself. Without her, I'm afraid no disciple would have been able to come back alive."
……
Xie Wanning moved through the crowd, no longer receiving looks of disgust and hatred, but rather expressions of admiration and approval from the disciples. She lowered her head somewhat uncomfortably, but the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up in a smile.
Finally, it was time to announce the rankings. Yan Ze was injured and unable to participate in the ceremony, so the Cloud Soaring Sect Master, Ling Moqing, had to do it on his behalf.
All the disciples of the sects gathered on Qingyun Square, eagerly awaiting the final results of the sect competition.
Standing on the high platform, Ling Moqing announced: "The top ten in this year's sect competition are Lin Jingquan of Tianyan Sect, Xia Mengqi of Jiuding Division, Xiao Shuo and Su Anying of Wanshou Valley, Zhong Yingxiu of Bibo Court, Qin Muyang of Tianji Pavilion, Si Jinchuan of Yunxiao Sect, and Xu Weilin of Muxue Sect. Congratulations to all of you for having the opportunity to enter the Lingxiao Palace and obtain a celestial artifact."
Immortal artifacts are naturally the magical implements, elixirs, talismans, and other treasures left behind in the Lingxiao Palace by the ancestors of the eight major sects after they became immortals. They are all given the beautiful name of "immortal artifacts".
After speaking, Ling Moqing took out a pure gold key from his hand, which was densely engraved with incomprehensible runes.
Ling Moqing and the other six sect leaders poured spiritual energy into the key, which then soared into the air and quickly descended from the clouds to the ground.
"These are the immortal steps that lead to the Lingxiao Palace. You can go to the Lingxiao Palace by using these steps," Ling Moqing explained.
Song Huai'an stepped onto the immortal staircase, followed by Jiang Ci and Ye Qianqian. The others followed closely behind, with Xie Wanning being the last to ascend the immortal staircase.
The ten people walked slowly up the celestial steps, but none of them spoke.
Xie Wanning crept closer to Qin Muyang and whispered, "Hey, Fellow Daoist Qin, don't you disciples from your sects usually talk to each other? It's kind of awkward. You're usually quite talkative, aren't you?"
Qin Muyang picked up his fan and chuckled, "What does Miss Xu hope we'll talk about? We cultivate different techniques, belong to different sects, and usually have no interaction whatsoever. Besides, I've been in seclusion for three years; it's a miracle if anyone recognizes me, let alone that we're familiar. However..."
"But what?" Seeing Qin Muyang's mysterious look, Xie Wanning unconsciously moved closer.
“But I’m not usually a talkative person. I just really want to talk to you.” Qin Muyang whispered in Xie Wanning’s ear, his voice as soft as a feather brushing against her ear.
Xie Wanning was so frightened that she almost fell off the steps.
Qin Muyang swiftly grabbed Xie Wanning's hand, but his earlobes involuntarily turned bright red.
Unbeknownst to the two, the other eight sect disciples who had been walking forward with their eyes glued to each other had all slowed down and were listening intently to Xie Wanning and Qin Muyang's conversation, occasionally glancing over to see what they were doing.
Xie Wanning's hand felt as if it had been burned. She quickly withdrew her hand and turned her head to avoid Qin Muyang's gaze.
She quickened her pace and ran forward, ignoring Qin Muyang behind her.
Qin Muyang unconsciously grinned, but then suddenly remembered something, and the smile vanished in an instant.
The ten people finally arrived at the Lingxiao Palace.
The Lingxiao Palace is built from top-grade spirit stones, and each stone has a history of over a thousand years. Each stone is as big as a coconut and is extremely valuable.
The doors of the Lingxiao Palace slowly opened as the ten people approached.
What comes into view are countless high-grade magical artifacts, talismans, elixirs, and even lost peerless martial arts techniques. Once mastered, they would be virtually invincible in the world.
The ten people entered the palace and began to choose the treasures that suited them.
Xie Wanning's gaze swept over the talismans and pills, all of which were grade nine talismans and pills.
It's strange that even the Lingxiao Palace doesn't have any tenth-grade talismans or pills.
Xie Wan Ning recalled that when she was in the Abyss of Ten Thousand Demons, her grandmasters told her that none of the talismans, magic weapons, pills, or spirit beasts had a tenth-grade rank; these were just legendary treasures that only existed in the Immortal Realm.
The Lingxiao Palace did not have any tenth-grade treasures, and none of these ninth-grade treasures caught Xie Wan Ning's eye, since she could refine them herself.
She wandered around the palace at will. The palace had two levels; the first level contained all sorts of rare treasures, but the second level had been inaccessible for nearly ten thousand years, and no one knew what was on the second level of the palace.
Suddenly, hundreds of swords flew towards Xie Wanning, who immediately activated her defensive talisman to prepare for defense.
But instead of attacking Xie Wanning, the hundreds of swords flew around to another figure.
That was Song Huai'an. The swords circled around him, and every now and then one of them would tentatively touch him with its scabbard. All the swords were trembling slightly, as if they were very excited.
The swords in the Lingxiao Palace are all peerless immortal swords, waiting here for ten thousand years in the hope of finding a suitable master.
Song Huai'an was born with a sword physique and was the most talented sword cultivator among the ten. If the immortal swords didn't choose him, who would they choose?
Xie Wanning helplessly spread her hands. She had to admit that Song Huai'an's swordsmanship talent was unmatched. In both her past and present lives, Xie Wanning had never seen anyone with a stronger swordsmanship talent than Song Huai'an.
Xie Wan Ning glanced at the Luo Ze sword at her waist and touched it tenderly.
Which sword cultivator doesn't love swords? Xie Wanning naturally cherished the Luoze Sword very much, so she wanted to have several more precious swords to reduce the wear and tear on the Luoze Sword.
Suddenly, the Luo Ze sword was drawn and flew out swiftly. It darted wildly among the treasures, like a dog running across a meadow.
"Luo Ze, come back!" Xie Wanning stepped forward to stop him, but was left behind by Luo Ze's sword.
The sword light was merciless, and it nearly injured others several times.
"Xu Weilin, keep your sword under control!" Lin Jingquan shouted in dissatisfaction.
Xie Wanning quickened her pace, looking apologetic.
But then Luo Ze's sword slowed down and stopped in front of a wooden box.
The wooden box seemed to sense the arrival of the Luo Ze sword; it shook incessantly, emitting violent clanging sounds.
Xie Wanning then arrived at Luo Zejian's side. She frowned slightly and tried to grab Luo Zejian, but Luo Zejian nimbly dodged, the blade striking the wooden box and flashing with sword light.
Xie Wanning looked closely at the wooden box. It was a meticulously crafted box made of ebony, with even unfamiliar golden characters engraved on it.
She placed her hand on it, but the wooden box emitted a golden light, instantly burning Xie Wanning's hand.
Xie Wanning winced and withdrew her hand, but then she saw Luo Zejian tapping on the wooden box. She realized that the contents of the box were very important.
She examined the wooden box closely and noticed a lock at the opening. She channeled her spiritual energy into it, and a complex array appeared before her.
Xie Wanning looked at the formation, recalling the formations she had seen before, and felt a headache coming on. The formation in front of her was composed of thirteen interconnected formations. Each formation was linked to the others, and deciphering the formation before her would require a great deal of time and effort.
She focused on breaking the formation, her back soaked with sweat.
"Fellow Daoists, hurry up, the door is about to close!" Xia Mengqi shouted from outside the door.
The Lingxiao Palace is only open for one hour.
Blood seeped from the corner of Xie Wanning's mouth; her spiritual power was almost exhausted.
Luo Zejian darted around nearby, seemingly just as anxious as Xie Wanning.
I do not know how long it has been.
"Fellow Daoist Xu, you're the only one left. Hurry up and come out," Qin Muyang called out.
"puff!"
She spat out a mouthful of blood as Xie Wanning completely deactivated the formation. The golden characters on the wooden box disappeared, and the lock opened instantly.
A sword flew out of the wooden box, and Xie Wanning was about to grasp it when it slipped from her grasp and instantly pierced her heart!
"Xu Weilin!" A figure rushed over and caught Xie Wanning, who was about to fall to the ground.