Stirs Beyond the Seas — The Void Heaven Palace

Chapter 438: Stirs Beyond the Seas — The Void Heaven Palace

After a moment’s deliberation, Han Li spoke slowly under Wen Qiang’s expectant gaze:

“Brother Wen, since you are now a member of the Sublime Sound Sect, you should know that I am only a nominal elder. I have never interfered in the sect’s internal affairs. However, if what you say is true—that Fellow Daoist Siyue has suffered a great injustice—then I will naturally mention it to Fellow Daoist Zi Ling when I see her. Whether she listens, however, is another matter.”

Wen Qiang felt a slight disappointment that Han Li had not taken full responsibility for the matter.

But he also knew that his relationship with the other party was not deep. Saving his and his daughter’s lives and doing this much was already a sign of regard for their old acquaintance. He held no resentment. With a face full of gratitude, he gave repeated thanks. He then instructed Wen Siyue to step forward and offer Han Li another grand bow, but Han Li smilingly refused.

However, Han Li seemed to have a doubt and asked another question.

“Is Fellow Daoist Siyue not a disciple of the Right Envoy Zhuo? Have you not brought this matter to him?”

Hearing this, Wen Siyue’s expression grew even more gloomy. She softly explained:

“Senior Han, you may not know this. The person who sent me here on this errand was a close relative of my master. Master also hoped I would become his dual cultivation partner. I refused. This has greatly angered my master.”

Finished speaking, her face was full of helplessness, a strikingly beautiful and poignant sight. Even Han Li was momentarily stunned. But he quickly averted his gaze and turned to say to Wen Qiang:

“I still have important matters to attend to. I’m afraid I cannot travel with you. I will take my leave now.”

With these words, Han Li clasped his hands in a salute to the two.

Wen Qiang and his daughter naturally could not say anything to detain him. They quickly offered a few more words of gratitude. Han Li gave a faint smile, transformed into a cyan rainbow, and pierced the sky.

Watching the direction where the cyan rainbow had disappeared, Wen Qiang and his daughter were silent for a while. After a long moment, Wen Siyue spoke in a dissatisfied, charming voice:

“Father, you never told me you were an old acquaintance of our sect’s Elder Han! And from your conversation, it seems you knew this senior even before he formed his core. Can’t you tell your daughter about it? You know, Elder Han is quite a mystery to us disciples!”

As she spoke, her previous resentment had turned into curiosity.

Hearing this from his daughter, Wen Qiang sighed and said with some affection:

“I only met Senior Han a few times. We are not close. Besides, when I first met him, his cultivation level was no higher than mine. When I suddenly saw his portrait in the Reverence Hall, I was truly shocked. I couldn’t settle my mind for several days afterward. For him to have reached the Core Formation stage and become an elder of our sect is truly incredible!”

Wen Qiang’s voice trailed off as the memory of his first meeting with Han Li surfaced in his mind. He fell into a momentary daze.

Seeing this, Wen Siyue seemed to understand what her father was thinking. She quietly waited beside him. Once again, silence fell between father and daughter. Only the sound of wind rustling their clothes could be heard.

A month later, a certain stretch of boundless, open sea suddenly became lively.

Every few days, cultivators would fly swiftly toward this location, then, with great surprise, fly upwards toward the sky.

There, a majestic, enormous palace floated motionless in the air.

The palace was about a hundred zhang tall, made entirely of flawless white jade. It was exquisitely and magnificently crafted, emitting a faint, glowing light.

It was enveloped in a thick, golden light barrier, suspended a thousand zhang in the sky. The searching cultivators unhesitatingly flew towards the palace. With a flash of white light, they easily passed through the barrier and entered the palace.

One day, a cyan rainbow flew swiftly. It halted abruptly above the sea surface beneath the palace.

The cyan light converged, revealing a young man of ordinary appearance. It was Han Li, who had followed the map to this place.

He looked at the brocade map in his hand with some confusion, scanning the surroundings. But there was nothing but open space.

He then gazed intently at the sea surface below for a long while, still finding nothing.

The doubt on Han Li’s face grew even thicker.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, he snapped his head up to look.

“Hiss…”

Seeing the palace floating among the clouds, like a jade pavilion from a celestial paradise, Han Li drew in a sharp breath, a look of utter astonishment on his face.

He stared blankly at the palace for a good long while before coming back to his senses.

But he did not recklessly approach the palace. Instead, he pondered for a moment on the spot. Suddenly, his expression shifted. With a flash of cyan light, his figure vanished without a trace.

A moment later, a red cloud flew swiftly. It stopped not far from where Han Li had disappeared.

The red cloud dispersed, revealing an old man with fiery red hair. He held another similar brocade handkerchief in his hand.

He glanced at the handkerchief, then coldly surveyed the area. Without hesitation, he looked up at the sky and immediately spotted the airborne palace. A joyful expression spread across his face.

Without a second thought, the red-haired old man transformed back into a red cloud and flew towards the sky.

Only after the old man’s body flashed with white light and he had entered the golden barrier did Han Li’s figure reappear nearby.

His brow was deeply furrowed, his expression shifting between light and dark.

Over the next seven or eight days, Han Li patiently concealed himself to the side. He witnessed two more Core Formation cultivators fly into the barrier and enter the palace. Each one also carried a brocade handkerchief map.

Finally, Han Li could wait no longer. On that day, he himself flew before the golden barrier. With a flick of his hand, he took out the map.

He slowly infused spiritual power into the map. Immediately, a white spiritual light emitted from the map, enveloping Han Li within it.

Then, with a light step, Han Li passed through the golden barrier as if it was not there.

He looked back at the barrier, then at the extremely ornate palace. Without further hesitation, he flew over.

Only when he flew close to the palace did Han Li notice a three-foot-large silver ancient text above the entrance, ten zhang high: “Void Heaven Palace.”

These three characters were not only imposing in style, but the strokes were incredibly sharp and formidable. He merely stared for a moment, and a piercing pain began to well up in both his eyes.

This gave him a tremendous fright. He quickly lowered his head, not daring to look again, shocked to the core!

Glancing at the deep, mysterious palace entrance, Han Li steeled himself and cautiously walked in.

The moment he stepped through the entrance, Han Li was stunned.

For what appeared before him was a straight, narrow passage that seemed to stretch endlessly. The passage was also made of crystal-clear jade.

That would have been fine, but the passage was only twenty to thirty zhang wide, yet three to four hundred zhang high. Walking into it was an incredibly oppressive and deeply uncomfortable experience.

Han Li frowned. After a moment’s thought, he released his spiritual sense, but his expression immediately changed slightly.

The moment his spiritual sense touched the surrounding walls, it was bluntly rebounded. It could not penetrate even half an inch, let alone explore the palace’s condition.

A sharp light flashed in Han Li’s eyes. He focused his gaze on one jade wall.

Only then did he notice a faint, almost imperceptible glow shimmering on its surface. Without careful inspection, it was impossible to detect.

It seemed the entire passage had been enchanted by a master of great magic.

Han Li reached out a finger and gently stroked the jade for a while.

Though he could not identify the exact type of prohibition, the unfathomable spiritual power contained within it caused his heart to tremble.

He silently withdrew his finger. Cupping his chin, he pondered silently in the passage for a moment before lifting his foot and walking forward again.

Han Li narrowed his eyes, casually glancing left and right as he walked unhurriedly.

Since this place was enchanted, he did not have to worry about someone lying in ambush. He could boldly walk forward.

However, this passage, like a small canyon, was truly long. It took Han Li a full meal’s worth of time before he leisurely reached the end.

An exit radiating a water-blue light appeared before him.

Han Li’s spirits lifted slightly. He quickened his pace and hurried over.

The sight that greeted him caused his pupils to contract and his heart to leap in alarm.

Within the blue light was a massive, square hall.

The hall was a full three to four hundred zhang wide, extremely majestic and grand. Even if several thousand people entered at once, it would not seem crowded.

Even more peculiar was that several dozen thick jade pillars stood evenly spaced throughout the hall.

These pillars required several people to encircle, and they were finely carved and polished. Each one was engraved with various rare birds and strange beasts that Han Li had either seen or never seen before. They were all lifelike, brimming with spiritual energy, and none were the same.

And atop some of these pillars, dozens of cultivators in various attires were standing or sitting.

With a few exceptions, these cultivators each occupied a pillar alone. None spoke loudly; each was minding their own business.

Han Li’s arrival only drew the lazy attention of a small portion of these cultivators. However, a few among them revealed expressions of surprise.

A bitter smile appeared on Han Li’s face. For he also recognized these few people.