Chapter 958: Hello……

Outside Lone Sound Cliff.

At one point, five figures of young men and women swiftly glided over from the distant woods near the cliff edge. Their appearances were unremarkable, showing no distinct features.

As if with a highly precise objective, when these five figures landed by Lone Sound Cliff, all five halted simultaneously and exchanged bewildered glances.

"Is this... Lone Sound Cliff?""That can't be right. If this is Lone Sound Cliff, why is there no one here?""By all accounts, with the wanted poster for Holy Slave Xu Xiaoshou out, this place should be the epicenter for infiltrators. Furthermore, Sword Immortal Rao should have noticed something amiss and brought his team here by now... Why is it so quiet?"

"Daishen, what do you make of this?" The group exchanged a few bewildered glances, all looking towards the young man who led them.

The man addressed as Daishen appeared to be at the Grandmaster Realm, with no distinguishing features, but he was, in fact, Shuangdai, the leader of the Five Gold Medal Hunter Squads.

Hearing this, Shuangdai merely scanned his surroundings, his nose twitching, then gravely stated, "A major battle happened here; there are traces of at least a Path Executioner having acted... Dark-attributed power?"

"Where are the people?" asked a woman beside him, plainly dressed, with bare feet, appearing to be a trial participant.

"They're all gone, most traces have been erased. It's as if people vanished into thin air; either they all entered an extradimensional space world, or they were all absorbed by spatial spiritual artifacts... Of course, there's another, larger possibility!" Shuangdai paused as he spoke.

The few people around him seemed to think of something at the same time, and exclaimed in unison, "The City in the Sky?"

"That's the only explanation," Shuangdai nodded. He couldn't think of any other reason for everyone on the scene to have vanished into thin air. Following the situation, the only conclusion he could draw was that there was a passage to the City in the Sky here.

"On the contrary, I feel like they're still here..." The bare-footed woman, Jinzu, mused with a furrowed brow. She walked around, touching the air, feeling as though an invisible, thin veil separated her from the truth.

"What makes you say that?" asked the small boy behind her.

"Just a hunch." Jinzu's lips curved into a slight smile, and she said no more.

Just then, the leader, Shuangdai, seemed to sense something. He raised his head towards the sky, his expression turning solemn. "Someone's coming. Hide."

No words were needed. The group swiftly disappeared into the Heavenly Dao, leaving not a single trace.

Not long after, two figures descended from the sky. One led a crane, the other stood on the crane's back.

As soon as they landed, the person leading the crane formed a hand seal with two fingers and stored the crane into a spirit-linking space.

Within the Heavenly Dao, the five integrated figures, clearly all exceptionally powerful, began communicating with each other through the Grand Void Realm:

"Who are these two?""What a grand display! So brazen!""One's a Path Executioner, one's in the Grand Void. Are they infiltrators too? Why aren't they hiding their cultivation?""Everyone, shut up! Can't you see they're not bothering to hide their cultivation? Either they're supremely confident, or they're of noble status and don't care about the rules of the Cloud Realm Mountain Range... Stop talking for now; the one without eyebrows is still in the Grand Void, so our Grand Void Realm might be discovered."

With the last word spoken, silence returned to the Heavenly Dao.

On Lone Sound Cliff, Bailian, in bewildered uncertainty, searched around twice, his spiritual sense directly penetrating the ground and the sky, but he still couldn't find anyone who should have been there.

"Master, did we come to the wrong place? Is this not Lone Sound Cliff?"

As soon as he spoke, Bailian realized something was off. The image of Lone Sound Cliff that he and his master had seen on the spirit mirror earlier was identical to this place. However, at that time, the spirit mirror showed at least a hundred people here. Now that the two of them had arrived, everyone had vanished into thin air?

"Heaven's Will World." Mu Lin, who had no eyebrows, simply uttered these few words and said no more.

Heaven's Will World? The five Gold Medal Hunter assassins hidden within the Heavenly Dao all froze, immediately agreeing wholeheartedly. Indeed, compared to the conclusion that there was a passage to the City in the Sky here, the appearance of the Heaven's Will World's inner dimension, drawing everyone in, was a more realistic answer.

The "Cloud Realm World" that enveloped the Cloud Realm Mountain Range was divided into an outer world and an inner world. The outer world was used for trials, only allowing for simple manipulation of Heavenly Dao principles and providing rudimentary ability feedback. The inner world, however, was much deeper, involving the profound mysteries of the Dao Division's Heaven's Will Arts. Therefore, this was also why Shuangdai hadn't thought of it immediately.

However, what made the five curious was... Who were these two newcomers? How could they deduce this immediately? The Heaven's Will World created by the Holy Divine Palace's Dao Division — was that eyebrowless Grand Void practitioner so familiar with it? Did he even have an intimate understanding of the Heaven's Will World's inner dimension?

"Everyone, be careful. This Grand Void practitioner doesn't seem simple..." Shuangdai cautiously whispered in the Grand Void Realm that connected the five of them.

No one responded.

On Lone Sound Cliff, after a moment of daze, Bailian also immediately reacted, but he appeared quite puzzled and asked in return:

"The Cloud Realm World's inner dimension? That's not right. The Heaven's Will World's inner dimension can only be activated by members of the Dao Division, and it comes with numerous prerequisites and restrictions. With Yu Zhiwen's power, she probably couldn't even activate the inner dimension without preparing for several days. How could she... provide such timely support?"

As soon as these words were uttered, the five individuals hidden within the Heavenly Dao were even more alarmed.

Who was this guy? He was clearly just a Path Executioner, yet he understood internal information about the Holy Divine Palace, such as the Heaven's Will World, including its restrictions and prerequisites?

The Five Gold Medal Hunter assassins prided themselves on having a thorough understanding of the continent's secrets. But when it came to anything about the Holy Divine Palace, they didn't even know where to begin to obtain information. Therefore, at this moment, this pair of a Path Executioner and a Grand Void practitioner, just by their display of knowledge, made the five feel that they were even more formidable than anticipated.

"Everyone, be more cautious. This Path Executioner isn't simple either..." Shuangdai hesitated for a moment, then chose to remind them again.

This time, the Grand Void Realm wasn't silent; a muffled response appeared: "Stop talking, we all know. Just shut up!"

Shuangdai: "..."

In the real world, Mu Lin didn't respond to Bailian's words, merely giving his disciple a faint glance.

Bailian immediately shrunk his neck, pondered seriously for a moment, and then spoke with sudden realization:

"Indeed, Yu Zhiwen is completely occupied. Does Master mean Situ Yongren has made a move? Hmm, I think highly of that young man too, but he's a bit arrogant..."

Still, there was no response. But Bailian was used to his master's way of speaking and didn't find it unusual.

He turned his gaze, scanning the surrounding space once more, and said with a touch of excitement:

"Master, I can act and directly refine the Heavenly Dao principles of this space. Then I can rescue Xu... erm, all the trial participants trapped in the Heaven's Will World's inner dimension! I believe that due to the allure of the Holy Power treasures, many trial participants who urgently need rescue have surely come here. They are all promising young talents for the Holy Palace's future; they cannot be sacrificed in this struggle for the Grand Dao!"

With a flip of his hand. Accustomed to no response, Bailian no longer waited, and with a soft 'thump' in his palm, a white flame blossomed.

In the Grand Void Realm, used for communication by those hidden within the Heavenly Dao, where everyone had implicitly agreed not to communicate anymore, several simultaneous exclamations of shock suddenly burst forth:

"Blazing White Flame?!""Is he Holy Slave Wuxiu?""No, no, Holy Slave Wuxiu is long gone. He mentioned the Holy Palace... Are they from the Holy Palace? Holy Palace envoys?""My goodness! One of the Holy Palace's Five Authorities, he's Bailian of the Blazing line?!""And the other one... not 'Holy Slave Wuxiu', he's 'Holy Palace Wumei'! Mu Lin! Mu Lin is here too?! Are they insane? What's going on?"

At this point, the group seemed to remember their earlier implicit agreement, and simultaneously fell silent, saying no more.

"Everyone, please just shut up..." After a long pause, Shuangdai, still shaken, urged them again.

"Stop talking!" As soon as he spoke, another muffled, fearful voice rang out. And then, the Grand Void Realm fell silent once more.

"Put away your ignorance!" On Lone Sound Cliff, Mu Lin's cold gaze swept over, directly extinguishing the flame in Bailian's palm with his presence.

"Your current identity is that of a Holy Palace envoy. The Heaven's Will World's inner dimension has appeared, indicating that the Holy Divine Palace has encountered a formidable enemy. Do you want to be on the opposing side to the Holy Divine Palace?" Mu Lin was on the verge of smacking his disciple's head, but remembering there were still people peeking around and that his disciple was already one of the Holy Palace's Five Authorities, he showed sufficient respect.

"So what do we do?" Bailian, lacking enthusiasm, withdrew his hand boredly.

"Wait for an opportunity." Mu Lin finished speaking, then seemingly casually turned his head to look at the mountain forest behind them, saying no more.

Bailian paused slightly, understanding his master's unspoken meaning—that their identities were not suitable for acting now, and that the Heaven's Will World's inner dimension could just wait for others to break it.

Master is truly wise... Bailian mused inwardly.

Just then, he followed his master's gaze, and his entire body abruptly stiffened.

"Clang, clang—" Sounds of colliding metal came from the nearby forest. Then, a scruffy uncle, carrying a sack over his shoulder like a scrap collector, burst out of the concealing forest and landed on the path by the cliff.

He abruptly stopped and saw the two figures ahead.

Someone's here? Someone is faster than me?

On the other side, Bailian was already stunned. He immediately recognized the newcomer's appearance: eight fingers, a scar on his neck, a scruffy appearance, almost no spiritual power fluctuations, yet carrying a distinct aura of a high-ranking individual...

"Bazun An?!" Bailian roared in his mind, so terrified that all his pores opened wide, and blazing white flames ignited on his body.

Within the Heavenly Dao, the five Gold Medal Hunter assassins also gasped in horror:

"The Eighth Sword Immortal?!""My heavens! He's here too? Didn't the intelligence say he disappeared after finishing things in the skies above the Cloud Realm Mountain Range?""What's he doing here? He doesn't care about Xu Xiaoshou's head... Er, is he here to protect someone?""Stop talking!""Oh, right."

No one noticed that behind the scruffy uncle, there was also a subtle black figure lurking in the shadows of the trees. After seeing the two individuals on Lone Sound Cliff who made no effort to conceal their cultivation, the black figure froze for a moment, then silently ripped through space, hiding within the spatial currents.

"He might not be Bazun An...""I heard there's a very convincing imposter...""But he's definitely an enemy!"

Bailian's thoughts raced wildly, finding it hard to calm his mind. As one of the Holy Palace's Five Authorities, his combat power was considerable. But since Holy Slaves were, after all, on the opposing side of both the Holy Palace and the Holy Divine Palace, his first impression upon seeing the scruffy Bazun An was that he should act and capture him, but he might very well fail...

At this moment, after Mu Lin's seemingly casual glance, his gaze did not linger on the newcomer for a moment, as if he hadn't seen anyone arrive at all, and he looked directly back at his own disciple.

"More people might come to this place soon. Since we can't act, let's hide for now."

Bailian's brow twitched, a flash of insight striking him, and he thought of something: This must be the opportunity Master spoke of! That's right, whether this guy is the real Bazun An or not, he's definitely an enemy, definitely an infiltrator. And Holy Slave Xu Xiaoshou is currently one of the enemies and infiltrators. So, Bazun An's appearance here might not be a bad thing. He might even be here to protect someone.

"Thinking the same thing as me... But why does it feel a bit strange..." Bailian's emotions were a mix of five flavors, giving him the illusion of being in cahoots with the underworld.

But seeing that the uncle carrying the sack in the distance made no unusual moves, he extinguished the blazing white flames all over his body, pretending he hadn't seen the man arrive either.

"Master, where should we hide?" Bailian raised his eyes, looking around.

"You've reached Path Executioner; you can hide within the Heavenly Dao," Mu Lin uttered calmly.

"Oh." Bailian didn't hesitate for a moment, knowing it was a better option than hiding behind physical objects, and with a 'swish', he and his master simultaneously merged into the Heavenly Dao.

After achieving Path Executioner, the human body became more attuned to the Heavenly Dao, allowing one to briefly reside within it for comprehending their own Grand Dao principles. However, this highly practical ability was used by many powerful individuals at or above Path Executioner to conceal themselves. With the Heavenly Dao providing cover, it was nearly impossible for those below Path Executioner to detect anything amiss.

Just as he had barely merged into the Fire Element Grand Dao, Bailian's thoughts abruptly turned chilling. If he still had a physical body at that moment, he would surely have leaped up like a startled rabbit. For within this Grand Dao, he sensed others of his kind—other hidden individuals!

"Who's there?!" Bailian was so startled he almost tried to escape the Grand Dao and return to reality. But at that moment, his master's gentle fire-element ability was transmitted to him, seemingly signaling him to remain calm.

It was also at this moment, as Bailian calmed his mind, that he noticed the five presences also within this spatial Grand Dao were even more nervous, more anxious, and more terrified than himself!

Oh right, I'm 'white', and they're 'black'... Bailian remembered his master was by his side and immediately ceased panicking.

He had been in the Holy Palace for a long time, out of practice with combat, so it was normal for him to feel timid about fighting. Normally, he wouldn't simply leave the Holy Palace with just one other person, which meant his life might be in danger.

But with Master Mu Lin present, everything seemed to be manageable.

In the awkward atmosphere, the five presences were the first to send a tentative greeting. "Hello..."