In a mighty fleet, the host rode the clouds and flew straight towards the Cang Ao Immortal Abode. For Patriarch Jiang Yun and the other Heaven Immortals, whose ages were younger than one hundred thousand years old, finding an abode left behind by Immortals from the time before the last two Great Apocalypses was indeed a very exciting event. A Thirty-Sixth Tier Heaven Immortal was actually the weakest and lowest existence in the hierarchy of Immortals, while Minor Heavenly Circle Realm too was a place like a stepping stone for all the other mighty Immortals. Thus, it was not difficult to understand how much attraction an ancient immortal abode had for Patriarch Jiang Yun and the others.
If not for the reason that they had doubts about the origin and background of Myriad Immortals Planet, which led them to send people to capture barbarian leaders so as to seek the answers, perhaps the six Heaven Immortals would have long lost their patience and forcibly broken the last restrictive spell of Cang Ao Immortal Abode, rushing in and looting to their heart's content.
Wu Qi was following closely behind Patriarch Jiang Yun, while stealthily running his eyes around at the emperors and ministers of six dynasties, whose faces looked calm and composed.
A priceless planet preserved after a grand war before the last two Great Apocalypses? And it happened that several millions of stars and planets in the vicinity of this priceless planet were destroyed, leaving behind only the Flaming Nether Ocean that even a Gold Immortal could not enter freely? While this priceless planet was located right inside the Flaming Nether Ocean, it was not discovered by anyone after so many years?
Also, descendants were left behind after the war of the three armies. It was conceivable that these emperors and ministers of six dynasties were the descendants of the cultivators in those years. Because of the chaotic state of the natural energies, these descendants could hardly attain higher cultivation base, with the strongest among them stopped at Nascent Soul realm, only having a life expectancy of several thousands of years, eventually dying from old age as a result. With two Great Apocalypses equal to ten billion years, and through the passing of several tens of thousands of generations, it was natural and right for these descendants of cultivators to forget the valiant records of their forefathers.
It was until one hundred thousand years ago, when the natural energy finally returned to a calm state, that the descendants of the cultivators finally raised in the wilderness. They grew slowly stronger and mightier, prosperous and flourishing. And finally, during a time of roughly two thousand years ago, led by Yan Dan and the other Emperors, the armies of six dynasties defeated the barbarian alliance, then gradually developed to their current stage, forming the six mighty dynasties!
Wu Qi sighed in his mind. This was a flawless story, and at least Wu Qi could not find any loopholes in it.
It looked like Patriarch Jiang Yun and the others had a firm belief in the story as well, and they had no more doubts in mind. In fact, if Wu Qi were not from the same place where Yan Dan and the others came from, and he was very familiar with their names and their deeds in the past, perhaps he too would be fooled by the story.
"How exactly did they come to this world?"
"What exactly are they trying to achieve in this world?"
Wu Qi frowned, and instinctively took a step closer to Patriarch Jiang Yun. Through his keen sense, Patriarch Jiang Yun noticed Wu Qi's little movement. He turned and smiled kindly at Wu Qi, then nodded and said, "Do not be afraid, my good disciple. Although it is an abode left behind by an ancient Immortal, but through the ages, the formation of underground energy veins has changed, and many restrictive and defensive mechanisms in the abode have become broken because of that. There aren't many dangers in this place. Hehe, two Great Apocalypses! Many long years have passed indeed!"
Taking the opportunity, Wu Qi said, "Master, please be extra careful. After all, this is an abode left behind by an ancient Immortal. Those restrictive and defensive mechanisms are non-living things, and they will decay through the years. But, what we need to be cautious about are the living beings that might survive through the years and still live in the abode!"
Patriarch Jiang Yun and the other Heaven Immortals' faces fell instantly, while Qing Shen the old Daoist cried out in shock, "Disciple-Nephew Wu Qi is right! If there really is a living being in the abode, what kind of cultivation base will it possess? Fellow Daoists, we should really be extra careful!"
Behind them, the emperors and ministers of six dynasties, and the elite disciples from two immortal sects, looked apprehensive in their faces.
Patriarch Jiang Yun gave Wu Qi a praising glance, then nodded and said, "You are one good disciple with careful thoughts!" Then, he turned to give a fierce glance at the many disciples from White Cloud Immortal Sect and snapped, "How many years have you lived for? And, you are not as vigilant as a disciple who has just joined the sect!"
Bowing his head slightly, Wu Qi smiled and said nothing. He was a thief for years in the Underhand Sect, and he knew that many wealthy but psychotic men liked to use living things to safeguard their treasures in safe boxes. As a matter of fact, he had many experiences of pulling out venomous snakes from safe boxes. Also, the Scroll of Stealing had mentioned many things to pay attention to when looting an immortal abode, among them including the possibility of facing some living guards. Once, the shadow figure who taught Wu Qi the Scroll of Stealing met an ancient divine beast in the treasure vault of some almighty expert - a three-headed black Qilin, and was chased by it for a whole three years!
When Patriarch Jiang Yun was praising Wu Qi, the disciples from White Cloud Immortal Sect just bowed and listened attentively to him. But among the host of Great Yan, Great Chu, and Great Wei, some of them had their faces turned unsightly. These people were gazing coldly at Wu Qi, as they were unhappy that Wu Qi had seized the attention which should be received by them.
Wu Qi felt the unfriendly glances, but he was unmoved by them. Before one or two Heaven Immortals could be produced from among the emperors and ministers of six dynasties, he had no fear at all. Even if someone were about to make the breakthrough, he or she would still have to survive through the Heavenly Tribulation. Wu Qi had no interest in helping these people transcend their Heavenly Tribulation, but when someone he did not like was facing the tribulation, Wu Qi did not mind to throw some mischiefs at them.
There were many mystic techniques in the Scroll of Stealing which he could use to cause some troubles. For example, when someone was at the most critical moment of his tribulation, he could sprinkle a big handful of Drunken Dragon Powder at him, causing the person to die without knowing why! At the thought of that, Wu Qi could not restrain himself but to turn back, bare his teeth, and smile at those people. As expected, he saw Lu Buwei, Xiang Yu, and a few others turning their heads slowly to look in the other direction.
The clouds flew at an incredible speed. Very soon, the host arrived right above the silver light spot in the center of the lake. With a command given by Patriarch Jiang Yun and Qing Xin, the old Daoist, everyone lowered their clouds. Then Patriarch Jiang Yun performed a hand incantation to split the water apart, and everyone rode on their clouds and flew into the lake through the opening.
A very obvious difference was immediately observed when everyone moved. Of course, the six Heaven Immortals were flying at the forefront, and Wu Qi, who gained the popularity among the three White Cloud Immortal Sect's Ancestral Masters, was following closely behind them. After them were the disciples from the two immortal sects, as they flew in a strict parade and put up high vigilance. According to their cultivation base, their expertise, and the characteristic of their magical treasures, they formed into two formations with the combined offensive and defensive abilities, flying slowly down into the lake. Vaguely, a menacing aura could be sensed exuding from them.
On the other hand, the emperors and ministers of six dynasties did not travel in a formation like those disciples of the immortal sects. But, each of them did have their own position in the lineup: the six emperors were flying at the foremost, while behind them to the left were civilian officials, and military officials to the right. They flew in a proper sequence according to their official posts, the rank of their nobility, heedless of their cultivation techniques, expertise, and the characteristic of their magical treasures. If they were outside the Myriad Immortals Planet, at the Liyuan Galaxy, such a lineup would definitely be thrown into a great confusion when struck by enemies. Nevertheless, it looked grand and magnificent, a good way to show off indeed.
Soon, the great company arrived at the deepest point of the lake. Before them stood a jade-color gateway, translucent and glittering brilliantly. A silver light beam was shooting out from it right into the sky above, and a row of four ancient characters could be seen engraved on the top of the gateway- 'Cang Ao Immortal Abode'. The gateway was entirely made with cold white jade of fine quality, and was nourished by a small energy vein flowing right underneath it. Over the long period of time, the gateway itself had transformed into a rare and precious treasure.
The gateway stood two hundred feet tall, and was left with a very thin skin of jade, while the rest had all turned into jade essence that took a silvery-green hue, sticky as a paste, and seen flowing slowly behind the thin layer of jade skin. As it had been ten billion years since the gateway was erected, the amount of energies accumulated in the jade essences had reached an awe-inspiring level, and a very strong energy steam was constantly bursting from it. It transformed an area of one hundred miles in circumference at the bottom of the lake into a land rich in natural energies.
Patriarch Jiang Yun and Qing Xin the old Daoist exchanged a look, then suddenly stretched out their right hands and began to splay a finger-guessing game.
After three rounds of guessing, Patriarch Jiang Yun laughed aloud as he won the game, which also meant this gateway now belonged to White Cloud Immortal Sect. In the meanwhile, Qing Xin, the old Daoist, was seen saying some curse words under his breath while slapping his right hand a few times, as if he were blaming the hand for not doing the job well and causing the rare treasure to slip through his fingers.
Wu Qi and the others stared with their mouths agape, as they were astounded by the way these two mighty Heaven Immortals decided the ownership of an extremely rare and precious treasure.
And yet, all the disciples from two immortal sects seemed quite accustomed to that and took no notice of what had just happened. It looked like this was not the first time the two Ancestral Masters played the game like this.
Noticing the puzzled look on Wu Qi's face, Qing Wu Immortal transmitted her voice over to Wu Qi, "Jiang Yun, Qing Xin, and his brothers are the true brothers of life and death. They are friends since they were little. Together they cultivated the Dao and traveled the world, and the friendship has continued for nearly one hundred thousand years. Throughout all these years, White Cloud Immortal Sect and Tranquil Vimalā Sect have been supporting each other, because of which we were able to set our foothold in Liyuan Galaxy. You don't have to stand on ceremony with Tranquil Vimalā Sect, as they are like a family to us."
Wu Qi gave Patriarch Jiang Yun, the old Daoists Qing Xin, and his brothers an envious look. It was indeed a remarkable achievement to keep a friendship continue for nearly one hundred thousand years without being ruined by any external factors. When Wu Qi was on Earth, he had seen many people being stabbed and killed their own 'brother of life and death' just for the sake of a piece of bread.
After the ownership of the gateway was decided, six Heaven Immortals exchanged a look, then Patriarch Jiang Yun unleashed the Whitecloud Heaven-Swathing Flag, enveloping everyone behind him with the white clouds. Laughing loudly, he said, "Today, we're blessed, for we can enter the immortal abode later. If there are many dangers inside, leave the place as quickly as possible. If there are not many dangers in there, you can explore it freely, searching for your own immortal fate! And, if you are fortunate enough to find one or two immortal items, according to the sect rules, you can claim them as yours. Also, according to the sect rules, if you find three or above magical treasures of the same grade, you will have to submit them to the sect. Understand?"
Wu Qi was startled immediately, while Yan Dan and the others also turned to look at Patriarch Jiang Yun with great amazement.
The sect rules of White Cloud Immortal Sect and Tranquil Vimalā Sect were extremely lenient! Could that mean if a Houtian disciple found two immortal items there, they would both belong to him? A sect rule such as this was...
Wu Qi took a deep breath and nodded his head quietly. It appeared he was struck with a great fortune, as he had joined a pretty decent sect. With that, if he found something valuable in the future, there was no need for him to keep hiding it forever. He rubbed the two rings on his fingers, then turned and gave Lu Buwei a big smile. Lu Buwei looked back at him smilingly and nodded his head slowly.
Six Heaven Immortals waved their right hands at the same time, cast out six immortal thunderbolts and smote the gateway. The air shook immediately, and an entrance shone with great brilliance as it opened before them.
An immense amount of immortal aura came rolling out from the entrance. Wu Qi and all the others felt as if they had just drunk some hard liquor; a dizziness struck their heads and nearly knocked them out.
Patriarch Jiang Yun cried hastily, "All disciples below the realm of Nascent Divinity, hold your breath now! This is the immortal aura, not something you can withstand! As for disciples of Nascent Divinity realm, remember to keep a watch on your own condition at all times with divine will. When your Nascent Divinity begins to emit a golden gleam after absorbing the immortal aura, you have to stop absorbing immediately, or you'll risk having your fleshly body exploding!"
Wu Qi quickly held his breath upon hearing Patriarch Jiang Yun's words. However, the ten Gold Cores in his Seven Stealing Heaven Meridians began to crazily devour the immortal aura that came in contact with his skin like a pack of hungry wolves.
Wu Qi was startled at first, then he was immediately struck with a great joy!