Chapter 452: Temperamental Old Demon, Before the Eastern Palace

The moment the application was approved, three figures instantly appeared at the entrance of the Sky Star Tower. One belonged to the Reverse Spirit Blood Sect, a direct disciple of Barbarian Ghost Peak, Zhou Lingjun.

He looked utterly bewildered, unable to comprehend why he was suddenly pulled out when he had been perfectly fine hiding on the first floor. Could it be that he had stayed too long and the Tower Spirit couldn't tolerate it anymore?

The other two were cultivators from the Yellow Springs Temple: a peak Core Formation realm prodigy and an early Nascent Soul cultivator. Their fate goes without saying.

They were, of course, ground to dust by Old Devil Jiaoyang.

However, this time he held back, deliberately preserving both of their souls to forcibly extract their recent memories using a soul-searching secret technique.

Provided the core inheritance of the Yellow Springs Temple was not touched, the soul-searching secret technique could still be quite effective; at the very least, he learned all of Youmingzi's countermeasures.

There were two unexpected plans.

The first was to use the shattering of a jade pendant as a signal for everyone to exit the tower simultaneously at a critical moment, catching Old Devil Jiaoyang off guard. However, since Youmingzi himself didn't appear, something had clearly gone wrong.

The second was to use a secret method to send a message to the master of Yellow Springs Temple and the attendant of the Soul Transformation Venerable from the Heaven-Refining Demonic Sect. The pretext was that the Sky Star Tower contained opportunities for Soul Transformation, thus luring stronger individuals to contend with him.

The former was a strategy of unity, but unfortunately, demonic cultivators were consistently bad at such tactics. The latter was a ruthless strategy: once a Venerable arrived, no matter how incredible the opportunity one had obtained, they would have to dutifully offer it up.

If it had already been assimilated, that would be another matter.

"That pus-filled bastard," he cursed.

With the soul-searching complete, Old Devil Jiaoyang couldn't help but spit.

He didn't know how much Leng Gu had accomplished before his death. Plan one was fine, but he feared that Plan two had also been implemented.

Old Devil Jiaoyang's expression flickered uncertainly, and after a long hesitation, he said, "Little friend Wang, come with this old man into the Imperial Palace. Let those filthy Yellow Springs bastards have this damned Sky Star Tower."

"What about the direct disciples of the Nine Peaks, and fellow Daoists Youmo and Minghu? Are we just abandoning them?" Wang Yu said, surprised.

"The people from Yellow Springs Temple are coveting the opportunities within the Sky Star Tower, and they won't exit at the same time. Let fate decide who lives and who dies; this is a necessary step for them to become stronger."

Wang Yu fell silent. As for Ice Soul Fairy and the others, there was basically no need to worry; after all, they were all top experts among grand cultivators, and death wouldn't fall upon them, regardless of who else died. That's why Old Devil Jiaoyang could make such a quick decision. Regardless of whether it was right or wrong, he could, based on a momentary decision, abandon the opportunities in the Sky Star Tower for the sake of the Reverse Spirit Blood Sect. Similarly, he could also, due to changing circumstances, prioritize the gains from opportunities for the sect and clan. For the opportunities in the Imperial Palace, he would disregard fellow sect members.

Thousands of thoughts raced through Wang Yu's mind. It was difficult to judge Old Devil Jiaoyang's character through this brief interaction, so he could only follow his lead. After all, Jiaoyang was indeed one of the powers he could rely on. No matter how he looked at it, the other party had no reason to harm him.

"Then, as Great-Ancestor Lie said," Wang Yu began, "what about Zhou Lingjun..."

"Don't worry about him," Old Devil Jiaoyang interjected.

Glancing at the bewildered young cultivator within the Cangzhu formation, Jiaoyang casually threw him into the inner city of Dongji Capital, then transformed into a streak of blood-red light, carrying Wang Yu directly towards the Imperial Palace.

He knew Wang Yu had a token, which meant an opportunity to go first. Weighing the situation thus, opportunities should naturally be prioritized.

Although Wang Yu preferred the Nascent Souls of the Yellow Springs cultivators, he knew he couldn't fight a stronger opponent. Moreover, if Soul Transformation cultivators truly arrived, exploring the Imperial Palace a step ahead while those people hadn't exited the Sky Star Tower yet was indeed a good choice.

At Old Devil Jiaoyang's speed, in just half a cup of tea's time, he followed the main avenue of the palace city, sweeping low over countless buildings and palaces like a streak of light darting through a labyrinth.

The Imperial City of Dongji Capital was its absolute core. It not only had buildings equivalent to those in the capital city in terms of regulations but also imperial steps, grand halls used for court assemblies, the emperor's bedchamber, the various halls of the imperial harem, royal villas, and so on, covering all aspects from work to daily life. All were constructed according to the capital city's specifications, and if he ever had the chance to visit the ancient immortal city's imperial capital in the future, this experience might come in handy.

The entrance Old Devil Jiaoyang chose was called the East Dragon Gate.

The Imperial Palace's city walls were not high; their symbolic meaning outweighed their practical use. However, the formations and restrictions were never ambiguous, always made to the highest standards.

Immortal Dynasty cultivators particularly emphasized the concepts of circulation and eternity. Perhaps because they bore the heavy responsibility of permanently suppressing ancient devils, they favored restrictions and formations that could absorb spiritual energy from heaven and earth and operate spontaneously. Having self-repairing capabilities would make them even more perfect.

The formation covering the Imperial Palace was a very rare fifth-tier grand formation that Wang Yu found difficult to identify. Old Devil Jiaoyang, however, spoke with a tone of deep emotion.

"I've long heard that the ancient Immortal Dynasty used the Nine Capital Dragon Subduing Formation to guard the imperial palaces of the four capitals," he said. "Seeing it today, it truly lives up to its reputation. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable would find it difficult to break through a fifth-tier grand formation."

No wonder those old fogeys weren't in a hurry. This last thought only echoed in Jiaoyang's mind, something that absolutely could not be spoken aloud. He was fortunate to have Wang Yu, who possessed the token, by his side.

"Given the strength of the Nine Capital Dragon Subduing Formation," he continued, "even if the method for breaking the formation is correct, it would still take a Soul Transformation Venerable more than ten days to open it. This period is our opportunity."

Wang Yu's mouth twitched, and he couldn't help but say, "How about I give you the token? This junior still wants to wait for Youmo and Minghu."

"That's not suitable," Jiaoyang replied. "The token was bestowed by the Sky Star Tower. What if there are rules we don't know about that could cause it to lose its intended effect? That would be troublesome."

"Alright then," Wang Yu conceded.

Approaching the East Dragon Gate, he placed the token on the spiritual energy barrier. Immediately, a path wide enough for one person opened up as if water were parting.

Wang Yu glanced back, then walked in first. Jiaoyang followed closely behind, transforming into a streak of blood-red light and moving alongside Wang Yu. The Imperial Palace's formation showed no abnormal reactions, which greatly relieved him.

As long as they successfully entered, the next step was to choose their targets.

Jiaoyang asked Wang Yu, "Little friend Wang, do you have any preferred targets? Perhaps you should act with this old man, so we can look out for each other."

Wang Yu immediately fell into deep thought. Cultivators of this era had a very weak concept of dynasties; after all, it was a world governed by sects, and the lords of various spirit cities were all dispatched by the sects governing their respective regions. Only cultivators with high cultivation levels had some understanding of the so-called ancient Immortal Dynasty due to excavating ruins. However, to know in detail what functions each department had or what they did daily, that was impossible. A major characteristic of cultivators exploring ruins was destructive excavation, with their focus always on various treasures. They were not interested in the history of the Immortal Dynasty's culture, systems, or people's livelihoods. Of course, the mysterious stone tablets recording the secrets of the Ice Prison Realm were an exception.

Theoretically speaking, somewhere in this Imperial Palace, there must be stone tablets left by Immortal Dynasty powerhouses. The secret information recorded within them was priceless, and he should definitely search for them to glimpse some ancient truths. The events surrounding the fall of the Immortal Dynasty remained a mystery to this day!

"I want to visit the Human Emperor's Scripture Repository," Wang Yu replied.

Wang Yu's answer surprised Jiaoyang slightly.

"You want a regular Soul Transformation inheritance?" Jiaoyang asked.

"Not exactly," Wang Yu replied. "This junior is very interested in some ancient knowledge. It seems possible to learn about the Upper Realm and information regarding the Immortal Palace from there."

"In that case," Jiaoyang mused, "it is quite important."

The Immortal Palace was the culprit behind transforming the Ice Prison Realm into a prison for ancient devils. All cultivators in the Ice Prison Realm today actually originated from the bloodlines left by the divine generals who accompanied that immortal who descended to the lower realm back then. They were not native beings of the Ice Prison Realm. Wang Yu's desire to visit the Scripture Repository to check ancient records was not a casual excuse but genuine curiosity.

After hesitating for a moment, Old Devil Jiaoyang decided to split up.

"For now, it's just the two of us here, and splitting up might not be a bad idea," Jiaoyang said. "This old man intends to visit the Longevity Medicine Vault. Little friend Wang, if you uncover any ancient secrets, don't forget to share them with the sect. All of it will be converted into merit points, and anything the sect possesses can be given as a reward."

Wang Yu immediately nodded, his face full of gratitude. "Thank you for your guidance, Great-Ancestor Lie," he said.

But as the two separated and the latter disappeared around a street corner, Wang Yu's expression quickly turned cold, and he sighed expressionlessly.

The Longevity Medicine Vault was where the ancient Human Emperor, when collecting resources from across the world, meticulously selected and placed all rare and potent spiritual artifacts. Its defense level was certainly much stronger than that of an immortal official's medicine vault. But the harvest wouldn't be small either; perhaps the lowest would be fifth-tier precious pills, and acquiring even a few would be a huge return!

But Wang Yu wasn't optimistic about him. The Human Emperor's private treasury had defenses even stronger than the Imperial Palace's gigantic fifth-tier formation. Even he, holding the Water Ancestral Order and authority token, dared not enter, for fear of dying inside. The ancient Human Emperor's power and methods were certainly far superior to his, and since Jiaoyang couldn't forcibly break through the Imperial Palace's formation, one could easily deduce the difficulty. The chance of Jiaoyang breaking into the Longevity Medicine Vault was less than one in a thousand. Similarly, Wang Yu wanting to enter the Scripture Repository would also most likely fail.

As he pondered, his thoughts gradually became clear. He only had ten days to ascertain whether Leng Gu had attracted Soul Transformation Venerables as planned, which would determine whether he could break through formations and restrictions of excessive strength. It was highly possible that he would gain nothing by the time limit. However, if there was no notification and no Soul Transformation Venerables arrived, there would be plenty of time for him to break through even more formidable formations and restrictions. Either way, he wouldn't lose out. Therefore, what mattered now was whether he had self-awareness.

After much consideration, Wang Yu chose a subtle location—the Eastern Palace!

The Eastern Palace was generally the residence of the Crown Prince. For an Immortal Dynasty, the Human Emperor was the most powerful and longest-lived cultivator. Unless one day, the Human Emperor grew tired of his position and wanted to try being an ancestor, only then would he yield the position to the Crown Prince. Therefore, the Crown Prince of an Immortal Dynasty held a very awkward position, being highly revered but having no real power. They could be called the eternal Crown Prince. With no future, they wouldn't gain the support of ministers, nor would they have the resources and energy to decorate their residence. Thus, Wang Yu felt that the Eastern Palace was the most suitable place for him to breach within ten days.

As time passed, Wang Yu avoided the green lion evil-suppressing stone carvings along the way and successfully arrived before a resplendent grand hall. This was the Eastern Palace. It was more solemn and elegant than Wang Yu had imagined, but its area was much smaller, not even comparable to the Empress's residence. It was clearly not highly valued.

When he tried to enter, he was indeed blocked by a formation restriction. Wang Yu touched his lower back and took out a necklace strung with numerous storage rings. From one of them, the countless "Barrier-breaking Talismans" he had acquired as spoils of war surged out like dragons. Even the lowest-grade ones were third-tier.

"—Break!"