Heavenly Jewel Change

Chapter 243: XuanTian Citadel (1)

It was no wonder that the XuanTian Palace had actually escaped relatively unscathed from the Boundless Mainland. Their overall power was indeed astonishing.

The party continued deeper along their journey, and though the two guides were not moving at an exceptional speed, it was still around that of a five-Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Master. As such, the scenery around them flew past quickly. In around an hour, they had already reached deep into the mountain range.

As they continued walking, all of a sudden the terrain around them became extremely steep and precipitous, almost at a seventy degree upward slope. Luckily, there were small steps cut into the wall of the cliff, and it was still relatively easy for them to climb. Of course, this ‘ease’ was expressed towards Heavenly Jewel Masters; any ordinary human would find it extremely difficult to climb up.

As they continued up the steep cliff, it was almost a thousand metres before the terrain grew gentle once more.

By this point, the biting mountain winds had grown especially chilly; as they had almost reached the layer of clouds, the winds not only brought the bitter cold, they also brought swirls of moisture.

As they continued forward for another eight minutes, they reached a zone where the ground before them lay desolate, with not a single plant in sight. When Zhou Weiqing and Shangguan Bing’er saw the sight before them, they could not help but be fully surprised.

Indeed, anyone who saw the scene before them for the first time would definitely be just as shocked, as it was one that was just so unexpected and surprising.

There was no longer any road in front, instead a sheer cliff downwards into a bottomless chasm. All they could see was the clouds and mist of the mountain range, and even with their vision they could not see the bottom. Such a strange topographical arrangement advanced from both sides to form a large, circular formation.

It could be said that this place looked like a large and terrifying crater that had been blown in by a huge cannon. Right smack in the center of this bottomless abyss, which was the round sheer precipice, a single mighty pillar stood alone there. Most miraculously, right at the top of that pillar, there was actually a castle, a pure white, highly fortified castle.

Neither Zhou Weiqing or Shangguan Bing’er could have imagined that the headquarters of the XuanTian Palace would be situated in such an extreme and isolated area. If one did not have the power of flight, if the castle blocked off all access and routes, then it would be a nigh impossible task to leave this place.

Recollecting their thoughts after a while, only then did Zhou Weiqing and Bing’er realise that the XuanTian Citadel was actually joined to the outer cliffs by metal chains. There were at least a hundred of these metal chains, directly linked to all four cliff walls in all directions. However, even with these chains, if one’s cultivation was not sufficient, it would not be easy to cross to the other side.

The two guides looked at Zhou Weiqing. Although they did not speak, their meaning was clear; asking if Zhou Weiqing and Shangguan Bing’er would be able to cross on their own. In truth, even a three-Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Master should be able to cross as long as he was being very careful. Of course, that was regarding the difficulty; there was still a bottomless abyss below them, and if one’s psyche and willpower was not strong enough, being able to cross successfully would be another matter.

Zhou Weiqing smiled faintly, using his actions to reply them. With a tap of his feet on the ground, he disappeared in a flash, appearing on one of the metal chains. A faint green light surrounded his back as the Wind Attribute energies pushed his body along, as if he were sliding along the metal chain at a fast pace. The Wind Attribute energies would also protect him from the powerful mountain winds, dissipating them before they reached him.

To the two guides, Zhou Weiqing had clearly used a Stored Skill. However, if they could have seen his wrists below his sleeves, they would definitely be shocked to see his Heavenly Jewels were not even summoned.

This was the power of the Heavenly Dao Energy stage. Zhou Weiqing was just using the Wind Attribute energies in the air to push his body along, not his own internal power. Currently, it was as if his entire body had transformed into the wind.

Ordinarily speaking, when a Heavenly Jewel Master broke through to the Heavenly Dao Energy state, his greatest expertise would be in controlling the atmospheric energies of his own Attribute. Of course, now that Zhou Weiqing had reached such a height, his advantage was even clearer than ever. After all, he had six Elemental Attributes!! Furthermore, he was used to the powerful existence of the Six Ultimate Godly Light Formation, his communication and control of the atmospheric energies would naturally be far greater than any ordinary Heavenly Jewel Master.

From the edge of the cliffs to the XuanTian Citadel, there was about a thousand metres. However, just by sliding along like that, it was a matter of moments before they reached the other side.

At the entrance of the Castle, there were two familiar figures waiting for them. Their blue robes, adorned with the two symbols of the sun each. They were the two God Tier Consolidating Equipment Masters that had given Zhou Weiqing his examination the other day, Dreamwake and Nie Han.

Although it was not his first time seeing Dreamwake, Zhou Weiqing couldn’t help but feel his heart grip as he looked upon her breathtaking features. Currently, he was actually wearing the same robes as the two God Tier Consolidating Equipment Masters, with the two suns embroidered on the chest area.

“Greetings.” Zhou Weiqing greeted the two God Tier Consolidating Equipment Masters, but his gaze seemed to only land on Dreamwake. After all, the love of beauty was just human nature, especially this rascal Zhou Little Fatty had always had a strong libido, and his eyes were just too quick to reveal their lascivious light.

Towards his gaze, Dreamwake did not seem to mind much. With a faint smile, she said: “Congratulations, Master Zhou, for joining our XuanTian Palace as a Consecrated. Please, come in.” Being personally received by both God Tier Consolidating Equipment Masters, that already showed the importance the XuanTian Palace placed on Zhou Weiqing. Today’s gathering and feast was indeed held for his sake.

The two guides who had brought them here bowed respectfully before leaving.

As soon as they entered the XuanTian Citadel, Zhou Weiqing’s eyes lit up. The interior was not decorated especially luxuriously, but all of the constructions and decorations were crafted from a type of jade stone. He had never seen such a jade stone before, but he could vaguely sense that it had an effect of gathering atmospheric energy.

As Zhou Weiqing continued walking in together with the other two, he said smilingly: “The atmospheric energies here are truly thick. Do both of you stay here often?”

Dreamwake nodded, saying: “Normally, when we are cultivating, we will stay here in the castle. However, when we are researching or creating Consolidating Equipment Scrolls, we will go to that previous valley Master Zhou had visited previously. After all, it is much quieter there, and more suitable in that regard. In the future, we will be colleagues, so Master Zhou can just call me by my name.”

As she spoke, she turned to look at Zhou Weiqing with a brilliant smile, her beautiful sapphire eyes seemed to be able to speak, causing Zhou Weiqing’s little heart to beat wildly abruptly.

A sudden piercing pain came from his back; it was Shangguan Bing’er using her nails to lightly poke into his back. Only then did Zhou Weiqing break free of his reverie. With a wide grin, he said: “Heh heh, in the future, both of you please call me by my name as well.”

While they spoke, the group had already reached the second floor. The massive door was already open, revealing the wide hall inside.

There were already quite a number of people gathered in the large hall, and as soon as they saw Zhou Weiqing’s party, they all stood up. Besides the four who were standing in the deepest ends of the halls who remained silent, the others all bowed down respectfully in greeting.

“Greetings, three honoured Consecrated.”

Zhou Weiqing had already been through so much, having seen various aspects of society including the upper echelons. As such, he just smiled faintly and nodded. Dreamwake and Nie Han did not have any other expressions, just leading him and Shangguan Bing’er into the hall.

Zhou Weiqing swept his gaze casually around the hall, but he was inwardly surprised.

There were at least a hundred people in that large hall, most of which were seated behind. Right in the center, there were around twenty or so seated. From the symbols on their chest, those seated in the middle were likely all Elders. As for the four old men who were in the depths of the halls, the four who had stood up earlier but not bowed down, they all had an astonishing Heavenly Energy reverberations around them. Without question, these were definitely the four Grand Elders of the XuanTian Palace.

However, one could not just underestimate those present who weren’t Elders. For them to actually be here at this point in time, they had at least two crescent moons embroidered on the front of their robes. In the entire hall, out of the more than hundred people, there was not a single person who was at a cultivation stage lower than the Zong Stage. Even those seated at the edges, with the lowest cultivation levels, were at least lower level Zong Stage, with seven Jewels! One had to know... these were all Heavenly Jewel Masters!

What kind of massive and terrifying power they held! If these people were to move out together, they could crush most of the smaller Empires in no time at all. This was especially so for the four Grand Elders, as they could give Zhou Weiqing a rather intense pressure.

Led by Dreamwake and Nie Han, both Zhou Weiqing and Shangguan Bing’er were brought to the deepest seats. Surprisingly, their seats were even further in than the four Grand Elders.

There were a total of four seats, and Dreamwake got Zhou Weiqing to sit at the first one on the left hand side, with Shangguan Bing’er having the second seat beside him. As for Dreamwake and Nie Han, they would be seated on the opposite.

From the seating positions, they could see that the God Tier Consolidating Equipment Masters’ status in the XuanTian Palace was actually higher than the Grand Elders. Of course, this was perhaps just on the surface, when it came to matters of internal affairs and deciding things, it was likely that the Grand Elders would have more say in things. However, this was still more than enough to show how much importance the XuanTian Palace placed on God Tier Consolidating Equipment Masters.

“Palace Master has arrived.”

Upon hearing the announcement, the XuanTian Palace powerhouses that had already seated all rose once more. On the side door, under the escort of four guards, the XuanTian Palace Master Dong Fang walked in front the back, all the in until he stopped at his place.

“Greetings, Palace Master.” Including the four Grand Elders, all of the XuanTian Palace members called out formally.

At this moment, the different ranks and statuses were shown clearly. Those XuanTian powerhouses at the edges who were not Elders were all kneeling on the ground. As for the core Elders, they were bowing respectfully. The Grand Elders were also bowing, but at a much lesser degree. Even the God Tier Consolidating Equipment Master Nie Han had inclined in a short bow. However, the greatest surprise for Zhou Weiqing was actually Dreamwake. Although she had stood up, she did not have any other actions, just standing there silently.

“Everyone, rise.” The XuanTian Palace Master, Dong Fang, waved his hands, and his rather neutral voice rang out.

Without knowing why, although this was actually the second time he had heard the voice, Zhou Weiqing was rather curious to find that it felt somewhat different to him. Yet, he could not tell what was the actual difference.

Dong Fang did not sit down, smiling as he remained standing there speaking: “Today is a great day for our XuanTian Palace, and I have some good news to share with all of you. All these years, although Masters Dreamwake and Nie Han have done their best, cracking their brains to help us, alas our Palace still lacks quite a lot of high quality Consolidating Equipment Scrolls.”