Chapter 1602: White Creek Mountain

"The place we're going to this time is White Creek Mountain in the Imperial Alliance!" Luo Ruoxi explained, looking at the rapidly passing white clouds from the back of a Saint Beast.

"White Creek Mountain?" Zhang Xuan was startled. "I know this place..." The painting he had acquired from Emperor Qingtian had depicted the shape of this mountain range, featuring a phantom image of Master Kong, which he later humorously altered to a beauty bathing. At the time, he hadn't known its precise location until he inquired with Luo Xuanqing.

After that, one event followed another, and he never had the opportunity to visit. Could it be that the so-called phantom image of Master Kong actually concealed the Heaven's Mandate Token he had left behind? That was quite possible; otherwise, it wouldn't have caused the Qingtian Royal Family of the Otherworldly Demons to deploy all their forces, with even the Ruthless One getting involved.

"Since we know the location, why don't we use a teleportation array? It would be faster!" Zhang Xuan suggested, now aware of their destination.

"That won't be necessary!" Luo Ruoxi smiled faintly. "Setting up a formation is too troublesome and not very safe... Wu Chen!"

"Yes!" The young boy nodded, stepped forward to the window, and gently tapped it with his finger.

With a whoosh! The air before them twisted wildly, space folded, and in the blink of an eye, a massive vortex formed.

The vortex spun faster and faster, its affected area expanding. Soon, at its very center, a stable and empty region formed, much like the eye of a typhoon.

The Saint Beast beneath them seemed to have long been accustomed to such a sight. Its wings flapped, and it charged straight towards the typhoon's eye ahead.

"This is space compression..." Zhang Xuan's heart jolted, his face filled with disbelief.

Powerful experts could compress space, achieving feats like "shrinking the ground to an inch" and traveling a thousand li in a single step.

He had thought it was merely a legend, but unexpectedly, the young boy before him had accomplished it with such ease.

"It's not exactly space compression; it's merely a utilization of space," the young boy said with a smile, looking ahead. "Normal space appears very stable and flawless to us, and even divine sense cannot detect any anomalies. But in reality, there are some special wormholes that, once found, allow for easy jumps to much farther places, freeing one from the constraints of distance."

"Oh!" Zhang Xuan replied, only half understanding. Although he had studied the Heaven's Book of Void Derivations, he had only reached the third realm, still a great distance from the peak.

"This type of spatial leap is a technique only Ancient Sages can use. Wu Chen also succeeded by leveraging the blood of some special Saint Beasts and his profound understanding of space," Luo Ruoxi explained.

"Hmm!" Zhang Xuan nodded, unable to suppress his curiosity any longer. "How can Wu Chen be so powerful at such a young age?" The young boy before him looked only thirteen or fourteen, yet possessed strength that Zhang Xuan could only match by using Master Kong's blood. Even seeing it with his own eyes, it felt somewhat unbelievable.

"His bloodline is special; he may look young, but he has actually lived for an unknown period," Luo Ruoxi replied, shaking her head and not dwelling on the question. She pointed forward. "We've arrived!"

He hastily looked forward and realized that the flying Saint Beast beneath them had already passed through the channel, and a majestic mountain range abruptly appeared before them.

This great mountain pierced the clouds to an unknown height and covered a vast area of unknown width. At first glance, a tremendous sense of oppression washed over him, making it difficult to even breathe smoothly.

"It's White Creek Mountain!" Zhang Xuan's expression was solemn.

The mountain before him was precisely what he had seen in the painting of the bronze mask—identical in every detail. However, the real mountain was even more majestic and awe-inspiring than its depiction.

"The Heaven's Mandate Token is within this mountain range, but its exact location? I'm not entirely sure. However, we can use a special item to investigate." Luo Ruoxi hummed softly, then lightly drew her wrist through the air, and a book-like object appeared before her.

This book carried a unique aura, giving off an ethereal, dreamlike sensation. Zhang Xuan glanced at it, about to speak, when he suddenly sensed something. He flipped his wrist, and a crystal ball appeared in his palm.

Qiuwu Palace! This ruin had been left behind by Ancient Sage Qiuwu, Master Kong's attendant. It was also here that he and Luo Ruoxi had confirmed their romantic relationship. At this moment, the crystal ball, which represented Qiuwu Palace, vibrated continuously, as if it held a special connection to the book.

"This..." Zhang Xuan was filled with doubt.

As the controller of Qiuwu Palace, he clearly sensed that the book before him and the crystal ball in his palm shared a common origin, an inseparable connection.

"This book was obtained from Qiuwu Palace. We can use it to find the exact location of the Heaven's Mandate Token!" Luo Ruoxi said, seeing the doubt in his mind.

"This..." Zhang Xuan was stunned. He had been with the girl all along, so when had she taken this without his knowledge?

Legend had it that Qiuwu Palace contained a treasure that could locate the Heaven's Mandate Token. He had specifically entered it several times but never found it, never expecting it was already in her possession.

"I entered Qiuwu Palace precisely to find this item. After entering the palace, I walked alone for a while, and that's when I found it!" Luo Ruoxi explained, seeing his confusion.

"Hmm!" Zhang Xuan nodded. He had always found it strange that the girl had insisted on entering Qiuwu Palace with him but then didn't claim any treasures, didn't even glance at cultivation manuals, and even let him refine the entire palace. Now he understood her true objective.

As they spoke, the book emitted a soft hum and flew straight up the mountain.

"Follow it!" Luo Ruoxi said no more, immediately following. Zhang Xuan also kept pace.

Flying straight upwards, it wasn't long before they reached the mountainside, where the book stopped.

"It's here..." After a careful look, Zhang Xuan nodded. This was precisely the spot in the original painting that he had modified to depict a beauty bathing.

It seemed this book had pinpointed the correct location without any error. There should be a folded space here, allowing entry into some ruin to search for the so-called Heaven's Mandate Token.

"Now that the location is determined, we just need to wait here. Unless something unexpected happens, the one who captured Zhao Ya and Wei Ruyan will surely come!" With a wave of her hand, Luo Ruoxi retracted the book into her ring, not rushing to find the folded space.

"The Zhang Clan, the Luo Clan, and the Master Teacher Pavilion each possess a Heaven's Mandate Token. Are you certain they will come here?" Zhang Xuan asked, puzzled. Since their objective was to open the Temple of Confucius and they had already captured Zhao Ya and others, even if they wanted to find Heaven's Mandate Tokens, the Master Teacher Pavilion, the Zhang Clan, and the Luo Clan would be their primary targets. It's unlikely they would know there's one here, right? After all, without that painting and the book in Luo Ruoxi's hand, even they couldn't have known about this place.