Everyone was astounded.

As bubbles started to dry out under the sun, powerful, surging airflow began to intertwine, covering every corner of the Hidden Dragon Ridge.

The howling wind was so strong that the trees in the mountain forest swayed, startling the birds that resided there.

No one could open their eyes, not even the warriors who were known for their strong Qi and blood.

A fierce gale sprang up, and dark clouds seemed to engulf every inch of the sky.

Everyone stood with bated breath.

Xiang Shaoyun got to his feet. He stared at the freshly burst bubble and saw in it a gradually forming Immortal Palace, which was surrounded by a divine aura. Upon seeing this, his heart grew heavy.

Xiang Shaoyun had to admit that Immortals were very strong indeed. His past two encounters with Immortals had ended badly, and that made him understand that currently, he was not qualified to compete against Immortals.

Nevertheless, it was precisely this that brought out the fight in Xiang Shaoyun.

Ever since he had gotten to the Great Grandmaster stage in his cultivation journey, he had lost sight of his goals. The appearance of Immortals in the present thus offered him a new window of opportunity.

Sooner or later, someday…

He will be qualified to talk to an Immortal on the same level!

Li Sansi, Kong Nanfei, and Mo Shougui closely stared at the underground palace, which had risen following the burst of the bubble.

Each of the pale blue airflows that revolved around the palace seemed to be full of wisdom. These airflows resembled elves that hovered between heaven and earth.

"What exactly…is this?"

Li Sansi, who was dressed entirely in white, was extremely puzzled.

Mo Shougui fixed his gaze on the Immortal Palace, his eyes filled with astonishment and greed.

Using his hands to support the book box on his back, Kong Nanfei took a deep breath before muttering, "According to Confucius, these pale blue airflows of wisdom are Spirit Qi. Spirit Qi from heaven and earth…is the key to breaking the shackles of martial arts and overcoming the restraints of heaven and earth."

Kong Nanfei's words brought even more shock to Li Sansi and Mo Shougui.

The immortal heritage of this underground palace must have been extremely precious to warrant such high praise from Confucius, the great philosopher who founded Confucianism.

It must be known that in the Great Zhou Dynasty, even if the whole world tried to go against the advisor, the word of the advisor was still the law.

Xiang Shaoyun remained silent. It goes without saying he knew about Spirit Qi. In fact, he knew it better than anyone else because… Spirit Qi was present in his body.

The bubbles dissolved completely.

It was as if all the violet from the sun's rays had been stripped to reflect the Immortal Palace.

Violet gas permeated the s.p.a.ce, creating an elegant and otherworldly atmosphere.

Surrounded by Spirit Qi, the gold glazed tiles and extensive vermilion walls of the palace were glowing.

Everyone was stunned.

A few kilometers away from the Immortal Palace…

Tantai Xuan was quivering from head to toe. He stared at that Immortal Palace in disbelief, a flush rising to his cheeks.

"Immortals… Immortals really exist in this world?"

"An immortal encounter would make anyone a king among mortals!"

Tantai Xuan's gaze was filled with greed and ambition.

Mo Ju, who was gently waving a feather fan, could not believe it too. All of this… was contrary to the knowledge of the world he had acc.u.mulated over the years.

Tantai Xuan was not the only one; the mayors of the other counties and the masters from the Hundred Schools of Philosophy were just as shocked.

Lv Mudui stood on a slope for an extensive amount of time, supporting himself with a green bamboo stick. Looking at the l.u.s.trous and brilliant Immortal Palace, he smiled, as if to say everything was under control.

Proudly, he took a glance at his side. The beauty, Qianqian, was stupefied. Her eyes were wide, and her mouth was agape, revealing her luscious red lips.

*****

The Immortal Palace was covered in Spirit Qi.

Xiang Shaoyun's gaze stiffened. He held the Qi Plaque in his hands tightly before his entire figure sprang into motion.

He wanted to be the first to s.n.a.t.c.h the opportunity to maintain possession of the Qi Plaque and enter the Immortal Palace.

The instant Xiang Shaoyun made his move, Li Sansi and the others regained consciousness and instantly followed suit.

Buzz…

All of a sudden, the Immortal Palace shook.

In the dark, immortal music seemed to linger in the air.

In the next moment…

Li Sansi, Xiang Shaoyun, and the others were extremely surprised to find their Heaven Qi Plaques sparkling. Suddenly, the plaques flew out of their hands.

They were not the only ones who experienced this.

The masters who were originally looking on in the crowd and had their hands on the Qi Plaques could no longer hide.

Their Qi Plaques were drawn by an irresistibly strong force.

In response to the force, the plaques flew straight out of their hands.

The ten Qi Plaques shone brightly and floated before the Immortal Palace.

[With all the Qi Plaques present, the u003eu003eu003eImmortal Gate will now open.]

[The Land of Immortal encounters is also the spot of a hundred rotting bones. Life and death are predestined.]

All of a sudden…

Two enthralling messages, which were surrounded by a divine aura, appeared before the Immortal Palace.

Everyone craned their necks to view the messages as golden rays of light fell upon them.

In the next moment, the ten Qi Plaques spun in the air at full speed, causing the gate of the Immortal Palace to open gradually. A loud creaking sound accompanied the opening of the gates.

A horrifying suction force broke out unexpectedly.

The ten who possessed of a Qi Plaque were sucked into the Immortal Palace by the horrifying force. They had no control over their bodies.

With a roar, the gate of the Immortal Palace was once again shut.

The ten Qi Plaques shone with extreme brilliance, as though shooting stars were spread across every corner of the s.p.a.ce between heaven and earth.

The Qi Plaques disappeared; they were once again scattered across the earth.

Everyone was stunned.

The Immortal Palace was once again tightly sealed after it had absorbed those in possession of the Qi plaques.

"Why did the Immortal Palace shut just like that?"

A few kilometers away, Tantai Xuan clenched his fists. The blood vessels in his eyes grew increasingly visible. He did not have a Qi Plaque.

Mo Ju, who was standing at the side, narrowed his eyes too.

"The Heaven and Earth Qi Plaques are scattered after they opened the Immortal Gate once. If we were to collect these Qi Plaques once again… will we be able to open the Immortal Palace once more and finally enter?"

Such an idea came to Mo Ju's mind.

Tantai Xuan took a deep breath. "So what if we'll be able to enter? Now that the Qi Plaques have been scattered everywhere again, who knows how long we'll take to find them once more!"

"Guards!"

Tantai Xuan roared.

Behind him, a general approached with great respect.

"Gather the troops!"

"Prepare the fire crossbows! Since I don't have a Qi Plaque, I shall break the Immortal Gate open by force! I'll gain access to it even if it means I'll have to sacrifice numerous lives!"

Mo Ju wrinkled his brows while waving his feather fan.

"My Lord, you cannot do that!"

Mo Ju tried to persuade Tantai Xuan. He maintained his view that it was a better idea to search for the Qi Plaques, which had been scattered everywhere, to open the Immortal Gate once more.

"It's too late… Since it has been confirmed that Immortal encounters lie within the Immortal Palace, why does it matter that we're one of the first?"

"One can only become a king amongst mortals by obtaining an Immortal encounter!"

Tantai Xuan gave Mo Ju a pa.s.sing glance and paid no attention to the latter's attempts to advise him. He continued to issue orders.

Mo Ju let out a sigh. He suddenly doubted whether he had made the right decision by choosing to pledge his loyalty to the mayor of the North County, Tantai Xuan.

But it was not only Tantai Xuan.

After it had been ascertained that Immortal encounters lay within the Immortal Palace…

None of the mayors could sit still.

Some of the mayors sent their people to look for the Qi Plaques, which had been scattered throughout the earth, while others commanded their people to gather large troops. Tantai Xuan's command had taught them this.

They wanted to break open the Immortal Gate of the Immortal Palace with brute force and their human resources.

Even if it's an Immortal Palace in question, could it hold up against hundreds of thousands of troops?

******

On Beiluo Lake Island…

Lu Fan leaned against his wheelchair with a bronze cup in his hands. The goblet contained warm green plum wine.

He sat upright on his balcony, as the winds changed right above him.

The wind blew, causing his white robe and his hair to flutter gently along with the breeze.

He stared at the chessboard as lines began to s.h.i.+ft up and down in his eyes.

"Upon gathering ten Qi Plaques, one will be able to open the Immortal Gate. After the gate has been opened once, the Qi Plaques shall be scattered across the earth. Things are more precious if they are available in small quant.i.ties. This way… everyone will be devoted to chasing after this Immortal encounter."

Lu Fan fiddled with the wine gla.s.s in his hands as the corners of his mouth tugged slightly upward.

Lines s.h.i.+fted up and down in the pupils of his eyes, signifying the ceaseless operation of Soul Strength. Through the Spirit Pressure Chessboard, he seemed to be able to view everything that had happened in the Hidden Dragon Ridge.

He heard Tantai Xuan's rant and saw the troops and arms that many of the mayors had prepared.

Lu Fan drank another mouthful of green plum wine, smirking as he shook his head.

With a change in his line of sight, he gazed at the Immortal Palace.

******

In the Immortal Palace…

Xiang Shaoyun, Li Sansi, Mo Shougui, and the others remained standing where they were.

Compared with the splendor of the outside, the inside of the Immortal Palace was dead silent. It was even dark and damp to some extent, and the smell of death filled the air.

Yet the Immortal Palace was very s.p.a.cious, and rows of white candles could be seen everywhere. The candles were lit, and their dancing flames lit up the dark underground palace.

"This Immortal Palace… does resemble a royal cemetery."

Li Sansi said slowly, his voice echoing throughout the underground palace.

Xiang Shaoyun shot him a glance without saying anything. He furrowed his brows and looked around.

There were clearly almost a thousand wisps of Spirit Qi in the Immortal Palace. Why… was it that not a single wisp could be seen now?

Where did all of that Spirit Qi go?

"Immortal graveyard? Immortals can die too?"

Mo Shougui asked.

Kong Nanfei did not respond verbally. Instead, he took out a metal compa.s.s from his book box.

Even after he set the compa.s.s on the floor, the compa.s.s failed to measure anything.

"This Immortal Palace is too strange…" Kong Nanfei took a deep breath.

On the other hand, Mo Shougui held onto his sword and surveyed his surroundings, squinting his eyes.

"Do you think this Immortal Palace is a trap?"

"It seems as though someone is deliberately guiding us into this Immortal Palace step by step."

"Could this be… a trap set by Confucius, who colluded with the Yinyang School?"

Mo Shougui suggested. He shot a glance at Kong Nanfei, and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

Kong Nanfei kept the compa.s.s and carried his book box. With a beaming smile, he looked at Mo Shougui and said, "You know too much."

"Shut up."

Suddenly…

From afar, Xiang Shaoyun spoke indifferently.

Mo Shougui still had something to say, but the atmosphere within the Immortal Palace had abruptly changed.

With a buzzing sound, the rows of white candles and their dancing flames…

automatically turned green.

******

On Lake Island…

Reflected in Lu Fan's eyes were the respective positions of the ten people who possessed Qi Plaques and were now inside the Immortal Palace.

"The first stage in the setup of the Secret Realm is the Grave of an Ancient Qi Pract.i.tioner."

"Immortal encounter, Immortal encounter... Since it's an Immortal encounter, I can't let all of you obtain it so easily, of course."

"There is Spirit Qi in the grave. The Spirit Qi will turn into ghosts, and the one who successfully kills these ghosts shall be able to take a Spirit Qi bath…"

"Furthermore… the duplicate version of the emperor should be regaining consciousness by now…"

Lu Fan mumbled before downing another mouthful of wine and chuckling.

"Everything is predestined."

Lu Fan placed a white p.a.w.n on the chessboard.

Right as the white p.a.w.n was set down…

In the depths of the Immortal Palace at the Hidden Dragon Ridge…

A pair of eyes that had been tightly shut for eons suddenly flew open.