The imperial city loomed large and magnificent, like an ancient slumbering beast. A strong aura radiated from the city.
The walls of the city were built from a material called the Mysterious Ice Stone. Even if fifth circle xians attacked it with all their might, not a scratch could be made on it, let alone when the walls were reinforced with markings and enchantments.
Xuanyuan marvelled at the wealth of the Northern Dynasty. Half a kilogram of Mysterious Ice Stone was worth 5kg of pure energy source!
The entrance of the city was guarded by several soldiers, each of them at least in the imperial realm.
They all gave off an impression of seriousness, and bravery oozed out of them. Clearly, all the soldiers were carefully selected, and spirit was an important part of the process.
“Who are you?” A commanding voice boomed, as the commander of the city looked at Xuanyuan and his friends. He was at least at the peak of the emperor realm. ordinary imperial fighters would die if they were faced by his loud voice.
Although he had long known who they were, he still had to follow protocol, since he represented the front gate of the royal family.
Xuanyuan understood this. He knew that to get respect, giving respect was important. He replied, “My name is Xuanyuan. This is Miss s.h.i.+guan, the youngest princess of the Mo Clan. We are here to discuss matters regarding the recent war. Please inform the emperor.” He didn’t want to create any unnecessary trouble seeing that they were here to meet the emperor to resolve the tension.
“Let them in.” Just as the commander began to say something, Cheng Yin spoke up.
“Yes, Prince.”
Cheng Yin had become more determined ever since he had come out of the Endless Misery. Yuechang, Cheng Xu, and Cheng Yang still remembered the state he was in when he finally exited the Endless Misery. His bones were exposed, and his body was covered in blood. Despite almost dying, Cheng Yin had firmly held on, and his strength and willpower were all the more stronger now.
After saying that, the three princes flew away.
When Xuanyuan and Cheng Yin had met eyes, Xuanyuan sensed that Cheng Yin was no simple person. The firm and unremitting radiance in his expression had shown his strength.
Xuanyuan didn’t raise his head, bowing to show his grat.i.tude. He led the others into the city.
The imperial city was divided into three outer cities and three inner cities. Between each city there were several soldiers. Each progressive city had stronger soldiers, and the enchantments interweaving the cities were linked mysteriously with an antipersonnel disposition.
The pig looked at it, and boasted, “Haha, looks like I scared them enough to make them ask for help from a great-emperor level expert. These dispositions can only be set up by someone at that level.”
Xuanyuan just ignored his words, since he thought he was just bragging for no reason. It would be great if half the words that came out of his mouth were true.
However, he did understand that if the dispositions were activated, it would be impossible for him to get out. The pig didn’t have any way to deal with the enchantment right now, so he didn’t say much.
s.h.i.+guan still looked determined. It seemed that even if she died here, she would have no regrets.
Yin Zhenluo had been looking at Xuanyuan all the way. It seemed that he was getting stronger and stronger. Just a few days ago he was at 11 emperor dragons of strength.
Now that he had refined the elixirs from the a.s.sa.s.sins, his strength grew from 11 to 14 emperor dragons. He only had the Fangri acupoint left to refine in the abdomen.
While the three purple elixirs could match Yuan Tianlong’s in quant.i.ty, they fell far behind in quality.
Each time they pa.s.sed through a city, their guide was replaced. The imperial city was rigidly hierarchical. Their first guide was a seventh rank emperor realm fighter, adn their last guide was a sixth rank xian realm expert. The Northern Dynasty sure had a strong foundation of experts.
Even his masters, the Xians of the Five Elements, were only at the fifth circle of the xian realm.
As they walked through several palaces, corridors and long pavilions, they encountered several portals that interacted with each other in mysterious ways. They had both defensive and offensive functions.
They finally reached the Imperial Palace of the Northern Dynasty. It was covered in snow and frost, white as an angel.
Xuanyuan’s pupils suddenly shrank as he was shocked. “That’s the Wind and Snow Stone. Each kilogram is worth 50kg of pure energy source. I can’t believe they made an entire palace out of it. How valuable must it be?”
“Haha, all the dynasties have a long history. It’s natural that their capitals would contain such treasures. I a.s.sume that the emperor and the officials are now awaiting you in the Immortals Palace.” Greed said. It sounded as if he was familiar with the palace, and that he had some history with the Northern Dynasty.
“I can see the imperial palace, but not the Immortal Palace. Why is that?” Xuanyuan asked, surprised.
“The Devouring Emperor had once broken in. n.o.body could stop him, but the main reason why he could break in was due to his proficiency in techniques and dispositions. Otherwise, even he would have found it impossible to resist the millions of soldiers.” Greed laughed nostalgically. It sounded as if he missed dominating the world alongside the Devouring Emperor. He was waiting for the day Xuanyuan rose up.
Xuanyuan was shocked. The Devouring Emperor was a reckless man, killing people within their own territories. What could be the reason?
Just as Xuanyuan was about to ask, the commander, who was their guide, asked for the gate to be opened in a thundering voice.
Xuanyuan saw only snow in front of him, and a long stairway extending to a hall far above. This hall was the Immortals Palace.
“Everybody, please follow me.” The Commander of the Imperial City, a white haired man, stretched his hand out as he led the way.
“Thank you for your guidance.” s.h.i.+guan smiled and bowed.
“Haha, it is my pleasure. I hope that you get what you came here for.” The old man said these words, smiled, and disappeared.
There were 999 steps on the stairway to the Immortal Palace, each step made of Wind and Snow Stones.
Xuanyuan took the lead the entire way. As he walked, he thought, “Attentive Disposition, Sobering Disposition…”
These dispositions were continuous dispositions. While climbing, Xuanyuan could sense a mysterious aura that quietly moved and pa.s.sed on to Xuanyuan subtly.
Xuanyuan could sense that with each step, the pressure on them increased. As they slowed down bit by bit, Xuanyuan was shocked.
“It’s the Hard Disposition!”
Xuanyuan knew this disposition well. It made the entire journey as hard as climbing to the skies. If Xuanyuan wanted to make it to the Immortals Palace, he had to be able to climb all 999 steps.
“This is a xian cla.s.s disposition. If you want to break it, you need to have a firm will. This is a kind of test. Don’t worry, this disposition doesn’t harm us, it only tests us.” Xuanyuan immediately explained the characteristics of the disposition.
There was no doubt that Xuanyuan’s will was firm. He easily managed to shake off the pressure weighing on him. This held true for Yin Zhenluo and s.h.i.+guan as well. Only the pig roamed around, as if he didn’t even feel the pressure.
Several strong experts were hiding, exchangin their thoughts.
“I didn’t expect them to activate the Hard Disposition. It looks like someone is trying to make it difficult for them.”
“Is it the emperor’s orders?”
“Who knows? After all, the first prince was removed from his position due to Xuanyuan’s actions, and everyone knows that the emperor favoured him.”
“I wonder how long they can withstand it. After all, no one can completely resist it.”
Under their watchful eyes, Xuanyuan and the others continued to ascend, completely unbothered.
“How terrifying, they managed to reach the top.”
“What strong will!”
The four of them stood at the entrance to the Immortal Palace.