sinovels Chapter 43 The Void Heaven Palace is about to end
Chapter 43 The Void Heaven Palace is about to end
After Wang Tianlong had completely stabilized his injuries in the secluded palace and carefully put away the half-page of the "Heavenly Void Jade Book," he didn't linger any longer. He knew that time was precious in the Void Heaven Palace and opportunities were fleeting.
He quietly left the healing area, once again transforming into a shadow that blended into the wind, traversing the intricate palace corridors and side halls. This time, his goal was clearer: besides continuing to search for possible rare treasures or legacies left by predecessors, he hoped to find some healing elixirs or clues to aid in refining and deciphering the "Heavenly Void Jade Book." After all, while the Heavenly Void Jade Book was valuable, it was nothing more than a piece of scrap metal if it remained undeciphered.
He became even more cautious, spreading his divine sense to its fullest extent, not missing any abnormal energy fluctuations or hidden traces of restrictions. Along the way, he discovered several side halls, some empty, clearly already visited; others bearing the marks of fierce battles and a faint smell of blood, indicating a brutal struggle had taken place; there were also one or two well-preserved quiet rooms or alchemy rooms, which he spent some effort to break through, obtaining several good thousand-year-old spiritual herbs and a bottle of "Heart-Clearing Pills" that were also somewhat effective for Nascent Soul cultivators, a small but worthwhile gain.
However, he remained vigilant. The sudden appearance of the ancient demon Hei Ming made him realize that the hidden dangers within the Void Heaven Palace went far beyond the competitors from the human and demon races.
On the Ice Soul Fairy's side, however, it was a completely different scene.
Guided by the vague clues obtained from the black jade slip, and combined with her ultimate control over the ice-based laws and her superb stealth techniques, she avoided most of the fighting areas and dangerous restrictions, traversing the maze quickly and accurately.
Although the layout of the Void Heaven Palace was grand and complex, several key landmarks mentioned in Tian Ding Zhenren's notes (such as the "Star Corridor," the "Illusory Light Passage," and the "Heavenly Ladder") provided her with important references. After several days of careful and perilous stealth (during which she nearly triggered powerful restrictions or alerted other Nascent Soul cultivators exploring the area), she finally arrived near the area described in the jade slip, located at the highest point of the entire Void Heaven Palace complex.
After passing through a long "star corridor" entirely formed of starlight, and then over a seemingly dead end that actually requires a specific ice-based spell to open, the view suddenly opened up.
She stood on a platform that seemed to float in endless void. The platform was not a physical entity, but rather constructed from pure starlight and some kind of transparent spatial crystal, yet it felt incredibly solid underfoot. Looking up, she saw no palace ceiling, only a deep and vast "starry sky" that seemed almost within reach, with countless stars slowly moving along mysterious trajectories, casting a cool, clear glow.
At the center of the platform stands an ancient, nine-story tower, its surface as smooth as jade, each level inscribed with different celestial patterns and intricate spatial runes. At the very top of this tower, suspended in mid-air, is a fist-sized, transparent crystal core that constantly shifts and changes its seven-colored light! Inside the crystal core, the miniature phantom of the entire Void Heaven Palace complex can be vaguely seen moving about, and countless fine rays of light extend from the core, disappearing into the surrounding endless void, as if controlling the operation of the entire palace complex.
This is the true core of the Void Heaven Palace—the Star Gazing Platform! And that radiant, transparent crystal core is the key to controlling part of the power of the Void Heaven Palace—the Void Heaven Palace Core!
Ice Soul Fairy arrived at the Star Gazing Platform and faced the core of the Void Heaven Palace.
As she stepped into the core area, she instantly experienced immense pressure on her soul. She withstood it by relying on her "Ice Soul Body" and the "Mysterious Ice Jade Soul Technique".
She struggled to climb the nine-story platform, and the pressure suddenly disappeared.
She immediately sat cross-legged and attempted to refine the palace core with her essence blood and natal divine sense.
A massive flow of information and the power of laws surged into her sea of consciousness, mixed with the residual will of True Immortal Tianding and the faint resistance of the palace core. The Ice Soul Fairy felt excruciating pain in her soul, nearly collapsing.
She focused intently on her spiritual platform, channeling all her energy into her cultivation technique to digest and integrate this power. Her aura fluctuated violently, and blood seeped from her body, freezing into ice.
Success or failure hinges on this moment. Success means control of a portion of the Void Heaven Palace; failure means annihilation.
On the other side, after separating from Wang Tianlong and the others, Gu Mo Hei Ming used the restrictions of the Void Heaven Palace to escape, but he did not immediately venture into the core area. He found an abandoned alchemy room that was equally secluded and well-protected, set up several demonic concealment formations, and began to refine the ice-attribute Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Treasure Short Sword that he had just seized.
The sword resisted fiercely, its illusory ice phoenix roaring incessantly, releasing a chilling aura and sharp sword intent, clearly possessing a high level of spirituality and unwilling to submit to demonic energy. However, Hei Ming was, after all, an ancient demon at the peak of the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm, ruthless in his methods and possessing profound cultivation. He spent several days, sparing no effort to deplete his demonic energy, and even resorting to a certain demonic secret technique that damaged part of the artifact's spirituality but could accelerate the refining process, finally forcibly imprinting his demonic consciousness mark on the core of the short sword, thus gaining initial control over it.
"Ice Phoenix Sword... a low-grade Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Treasure, not bad." Hei Ming stroked the cool ice phoenix patterns on the sword, feeling the powerful ice-elemental laws contained within, and a satisfied smile appeared on his lips. Although this sword was not very compatible with his own demonic attributes, its power was indeed extraordinary, enough to raise his attack power by a level, making it a top-tier treasure in the human realm.
"However, it's a bit of a pity that it got away with that kid who's proficient in wind-elemental magic." A sinister glint flashed in Hei Ming's eyes as he recalled Wang Tianlong's astonishing speed and decisive response. "That kid's movements are unpredictable, his escape techniques are extremely fast, and his combat experience is also seasoned. He's definitely not an ordinary rogue cultivator. The jade box he stole probably contains something no less valuable than this Cold Dragon Sword, and might even be better..."
He felt a strong interest and apprehension towards the jade box that Wang Tianlong had taken. Something that could make a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator fight so desperately for it was no ordinary object.
"If I encounter it again, I must find out what it is, and by the way... I'll get back the loss of the Cold Dragon Sword with interest." Hei Ming sneered and put the Cold Dragon Sword into his demonic energy to nurture it.
After refining the treasure, he didn't rush to explore the main hall or search for more opportunities like the others. The Demon Dove's primary task for him was observation and intelligence gathering, with seizing the treasure as a secondary objective.
"Judging by the time, Brother Mo Jiu's 'Soul Hunting' operation outside should be almost finished, right?" Hei Ming pondered. "Inside the Void Heaven Palace, almost all the top cultivators from the human and demon races have gathered. To compete for the treasure, deaths, feuds, alliances, betrayals... all sorts of dramas are unfolding. This is the perfect opportunity to observe their strength, methods, interpersonal relationships, and... see who has obtained the most valuable treasure."
He decided to change his strategy, no longer actively venturing into dangerous areas to compete, but instead becoming a shadow, secretly following and observing those who had gained something, or those who were powerful and might obtain opportunities. For example, the wind-attribute boy (Wang Tianlong), the Star Palace Master, the Flood Dragon Clan Chief, Xuan Qingzi of Kunwu Mountain, and the Ice Soul Fairy, whose whereabouts seemed mysterious, as he later heard about her, and so on.