NABC Chapter 2086 Peak of Heavenly Monarch
Chapter 2086 Peak of Heavenly Monarch
Chapter 2086 Peak of Heavenly Monarch
However, that's not all.
Within those realms of Tai Cang, there exist even darker and more profound entities.
Their auras were faint and elusive, seemingly integrated with the surrounding world, yet also existing independently of it. Chen Fei merely extended his divine sense slightly, attempting to sense one of their auras.
"Om..."
An indescribable sense of terrifying oppression, as if the entire sky had collapsed, instantly affected his soul.
It was an absolute gap in the level of life, a ruthless crushing of the power of rules.
Before Chen Fei could even react, he felt as if his soul was being firmly grasped by an invisible hand, and his thoughts froze for a moment.
"Lord Xuanqiong..."
Chen Fei understood, and at the same time, a complex and indescribable emotion welled up within him. It was awe of absolute power, and also a yearning for a higher path.
These powerful figures above the Tai Cang Realm are the key figures who can truly influence the overall situation of this exploration of the ruins, and even determine the discourse power of various forces.
"Come with me to pay homage to the Supreme Lord."
Just as Chen Fei's heart was filled with emotion, Wei Zhongqian's calm voice came from ahead.
With a wave of his sleeve, he put away the silver-white celestial vessel. Instantly, hundreds of people from Emerald Screen Peak were suspended in mid-air beneath the dark sky, surrounded by dense demonic energy and various powerful auras.
Wei Zhongqian led the group towards a vast and magnificent area, where a huge palace, entirely made of white jade and lapis lazuli, with upturned eaves and carved beams and painted rafters, floated in the air.
The palace was surrounded by a faint aura of immortality and auspicious clouds. In this environment filled with demonic energy, it was like an immortal fortress, radiating a reassuring light and majesty.
Above the main gate of the palace, the three large characters "Zhenyuan Hall" are engraved in ancient seal script.
This is the forward command center and the strongest sanctuary for the Danchen Sect's current exploration operation.
Cao Feiyu moved closer to Chen Fei without making a sound, and used a telepathic technique to gently whisper in Chen Fei's ear: "Ahead is the Zhenyuan Hall, the temporary palace of Zhang Taishang. All matters concerning our sect's exploration of the ancient Heavenly Court ruins will be under the command of Zhang Taishang."
Cao Feiyu's voice carried a hint of heartfelt awe and respect: "Supreme Master Zhang was already the Xuanqiong Heavenly Lord ten thousand years ago, and now he has reached the supreme realm of the peak of the Heavenly Lord."
In the Dan Chen Sect, those below the sixteenth level of the Tai Cang Realm are all disciples. Those above the sixteenth level can be inner sect elders or disciples.
To obtain the title of Supreme Sovereign, one must be at the peak of the 17th-level Profound Sky Heavenly Monarch Realm.
This is an absolute recognition of strength, status, and contribution; every Supreme Elder is a pillar supporting the sect.
As the group arrived outside the tall and magnificent gates of Zhenyuan Hall, even before entering, a vast and awe-inspiring pressure, as deep as the ocean, already subtly permeated the air, causing people to involuntarily restrain their aura.
In front of the palace gate, there were disciples dressed in the standard Taoist robes of the Danchen Sect, with cold faces and a deep aura, all of whom were at the Tai Cang Realm level.
Wei Zhongqian stepped forward and announced his identity and purpose. Soon, a disciple who was in charge of the hall came forward, bowed to Wei Zhongqian, and then led them into the bright and spacious hall.
The hall was extremely spacious, with a ceiling that could not be seen. The walls and pillars were carved with various mysterious Taoist patterns and auspicious bird and beast designs, emitting a faint halo.
The entire hall gives people a sense of spaciousness, solemnity, and majesty.
At the head of the main hall, instead of a traditional high throne, was a cloud-like platform bathed in a hazy glow. At this moment, a person sat regally on the cloud platform.
He was a man whose exact age was hard to discern. He wore a simple gray Taoist robe and had an ordinary face with unremarkable features. However, his eyes were exceptionally clear and bright, as if they could reflect the movement of the Milky Way and the flow of time.
His aura was completely concealed. Sitting there, he was like an ordinary person without any cultivation, yet he was completely integrated with the entire hall and the outside world, as if they were one.
At this moment, this Master Zhang was slightly bowing his head, intently manipulating a constantly changing and shifting illusory image floating in front of him.
The phantom was composed of countless points of light, lines, color blocks, and flowing clouds, constantly combining, decomposing, and evolving, like a living map, or perhaps deducing some incredibly complex secret of heaven.
Chen Fei lowered his head and looked down with the others, not looking directly at the Supreme Being above, but his eyes still couldn't help but glance at the ever-changing phantom.
At first glance, it seemed mysterious and incomprehensible. But after a few moments, a thought suddenly struck him.
The terrain outlines, mountain ranges, and unique aura of demonic energy mixed with chaotic earth vein power in the phantom were exactly the terrain of the Ninefold Kun Abyss.
Although the phantom was extremely large and complex, and also superimposed with a certain special energy flow and rule manifestation, its basic terrain structure gradually overlapped with the Kunyuan map in Chen Fei's memory.
“I’m not familiar with the eighth and ninth levels of Kun Abyss,” Chen Fei thought to himself, because he hadn’t entered them the first time he came here. “But I won’t mistake the first seven levels of Kun Abyss.”
"It seems that Zhang Taishang is using his supernatural powers to monitor and deduce the changes throughout Kunyuan in real time, especially the parts related to the ancient celestial court ruins..."
"Disciples of Cuiping Peak greet Supreme Master Zhang." Led by Wei Zhongqian, hundreds of people from the hall bowed in unison, respectfully cupping their hands in greeting to Zhang Duchuan on the cloud platform.
The voices were uniform and echoed in the spacious hall.
Upon hearing the sound, Zhang Duchuan paused slightly as he manipulated the illusory figure. He looked up and glanced at the people in the palace.
That casual glance made everyone, including Chen Fei, feel completely seen through, as if all their secrets and thoughts were laid bare before this Supreme Being.
However, this feeling came and went quickly, as if it were just their illusion.
"No need for formalities. The ancient celestial ruins have changed and may open tomorrow, so please be prepared."
"Yes, we will obey the Emperor's decree!" Wei Zhongqian led the way, and everyone on Cuiping Peak bowed in response once again.
Upon receiving the imperial decree, Wei Zhongqian dared not cause any further disturbance and led the group out of the main hall.
Stepping out of the magnificent gates of Zhenyuan Hall and back into the outside world, where the air was filled with demonic energy and various other energies, Chen Fei couldn't help but let out a soft sigh of relief.
Although Zhang Duchuan did not deliberately exert pressure, being in the same hall as such a being still put considerable psychological pressure on him.
Chen Fei recalled the fleeting glimpse of Zhang Duchuan he had just seen in the hall, and suddenly remembered that when he was in the first Kun Abyss, a vast and magnificent mirror light shone into the Kun Abyss from the sky, and then a Taoist stepped out from the mirror light and entered the depths of the Kun Abyss.
"Was it Zhang Taishang who was holding the Taiyan Mirror that day?" Chen Fei couldn't help but whisper to Cao Feiyu beside him for confirmation.
Upon hearing this, Cao Feiyu nodded and said, "Yes, it was indeed Elder Zhang who took action that day, using the power of the Taiyan Mirror to suppress the Kunyuan Demon Tide. Now, the Taiyan Mirror, one of the sect's most precious treasures, is in the possession of Elder Zhang."
The group from Cuiping Peak retreated from the core area where Zhenyuan Hall was located and stopped on a relatively flat cloud platform about a hundred miles away from the hall.
Many people from other peaks of the Danchen Sect have already gathered here. Each person occupies a small area, sets up simple protective and isolation formations, and begins to patiently wait for the official opening of the ancient heavenly court ruins.
Chen Fei also found a relatively quiet corner, sat down cross-legged, and his gaze inadvertently swept over the cultivators from various sects and factions around him, observing their auras and the relationships between them.
Just then, Chen Fei's gaze paused slightly, landing on a group of people about several dozen miles ahead. In the center of that group stood a middle-aged man with a cold face and eyes as sharp as a hawk's.
“Shi Pojun…” Chen Fei narrowed his eyes and silently recited the name in his mind.
That's right, that person was the same Tai Cang Realm expert who had used his power to intimidate others for Shi Zhou Shuo at the foot of Cui Ping Peak that day. Unexpectedly, we've encountered him again here.
Seemingly sensing Chen Fei's gaze, Shi Pojun, who was talking to the person next to him, also turned his head to look, and the two men's eyes met briefly in the air.
Upon seeing him, Shi Pojun showed no hostility whatsoever. Instead, he gave a peaceful smile and nodded slightly in the direction of Chen Fei.
Chen Fei's expression remained unchanged. He nodded slightly in response, also facing the direction of Shi Pojun. His manners were impeccable, neither servile nor arrogant.
Chen Fei withdrew his gaze, no longer looking in the direction of Shi Pojun, but his mind was already rapidly recalling information about this person.
"Shi Pojun... if I remember correctly, this person should be a late-stage half-step Tai Cang Realm expert." Chen Fei thought to himself.
This realm is quite unique and somewhat awkward within the Tai Cang Realm.
The term "half-step late-stage Tai Cang Realm" simply means that one has already refined half of a sixteenth-grade high-quality spiritual material, making them stronger than ordinary mid-stage Tai Cang Realm cultivators, but they have not yet truly broken through to the late-stage Tai Cang Realm.
"This is the late stage of the half-step Tai Cang Realm..."
Chen Fei shook his head, feeling it wasn't worth it, because to truly break through to the next level, he would still need a complete set of sixteenth-grade high-quality spiritual materials.
The half that was refined earlier... was basically wasted.
In other words, the half of the sixteenth-grade high-quality spiritual material that Shi Pojun refined back then did indeed forcefully pry open a crack leading to the late stage of the Tai Cang Realm, making his strength and even his understanding of the rules slightly better than that of ordinary mid-stage Tai Cang Realm cultivators.
However, this improvement comes at a huge cost.
This is fundamentally different from the half-step Profound Sky Heavenly Monarch realm that the Heavenly Mandate Palace can bestow.
The half-step of the Heavenly Mandate Palace is not forcibly built up by incomplete spiritual materials, but rather originates from a certain supreme rule of the Heavenly Court of Heavenly Mandate, which directly imprints a temporary seed of destiny or realm on the person who passes the trial.
The rules of the Heavenly Mandate Palace are the true path of destiny. Afterwards, all that is needed is to find half of the seventeenth-rank low-grade spiritual material, and use it as a guide, and the destiny will be completely transformed into reality, breaking through to the seventeenth-rank Profound Sky Heavenly Monarch Realm in one fell swoop.
The half-step ahead is a foundation, not a burden.
This is the true, smooth road to heaven, completely different from the wrong path taken by Shi Pojun.
Although Chen Fei had some judgment on Shi Pojun's seemingly unwise choice, he did not look down on him in the slightest.
On the path of cultivation, choices may have their pros and cons, but one's current strength is undeniable. Shi Pojun's current combat power is far greater than that of an ordinary mid-stage Tai Cang Realm cultivator.