346: Chapter 341 Keep a low profile, keep a low profile even more

The moment the Void Shuttle pierced through the sea of clouds, the entire Tianhai City shrank into a dim mark beneath their feet.

The cabin, however, was quite lively.

Su Hongling sat right in the middle of the floor, the black sword resting across her knees, slowly scraping it with a whetstone. The blade had long been sharp enough to sever the Void Realm, but she still scraped it with great enthusiasm—purely because her hands were itching.

"Old Man, can we actually fight on this trip?" she asked without looking up. "My sword has been 'fattening' for three hundred years. If I don't take it out for a run, I'm afraid it's going to take root and sprout in the scabbard."

"We'll see." Su Lin leaned back in his main seat, too lazy to even lift his eyelids.

"What does 'we'll see' mean?" Su Hongling threw the whetstone aside. "If we can fight, we can fight. If we can't, we can't. Give me a straight answer."

"It means," Chu Weiwei chimed in, her sweet face beaming with a smile, "that you can only move once Revered Master gives the order. Before that, even if you see someone tearing up Revered Master's portrait right in front of you, you have to endure it."

"Who dares to tear up Revered Master's portrait!" Su Hongling stood up abruptly, her eyes wide.

"I was just giving an example," Chu Weiwei said, covering her mouth. "Second Senior Sister, your reaction really amused me."

Su Lin held his forehead, listening to these two lively characters go back and forth, and felt his brain starting to throb again.

When taking this group out, the biggest enemy was never the Heavenly Court; it was the endless banter on the road.

He even felt a bit of sympathy for the gods who were about to host the banquet. Those old fossils probably never dreamed that they hadn't invited a few lambs to the slaughter, but seven walking chatterbox engines plus a mobile arsenal.

Void Realm travel was extremely dull.

The Void Shuttle moved slowly along a secret route, and the scenery outside the cabin was monotonous to the extreme.

The dark purple sky was boundless, and occasionally, a few massive stellar remains floated silently, like tombstones completely forgotten by time.

This deathly silence only made the noise inside the cabin feel all the more vivid.

Gu Qiuyue hugged her Golden Abacus, sitting in the corner and rapidly clicking the beads. The crisp sound of the abacus beads colliding joined together, making one feel anxious.

"Sixth Junior Sister, what are you calculating again?" Luo Ximei drifted over, waving her folding fan.

"Calculating the cost of this trip," Gu Qiuyue said without looking up. "From Tianhai City to the Ascension Temple, we have to pass through the intersection of seven major domains. For every checkpoint we pass, the Heavenly Court charges entrance fees in Spirit Stones. I calculated it; the toll fees for this journey alone are enough to support half a merchant association."

"We're already at a critical moment, and you're still worrying about those few toll fees?"

"The accounts can't be calculated that way." Gu Qiuyue finally looked up, her golden eyes full of seriousness. "Fifth Senior Sister, money is something that should be saved whenever possible. Besides, on what grounds does the Heavenly Court charge us? This is clearly just making up excuses to extort us."

Luo Ximei was choked speechless by this merchant logic and could only shake her head helplessly.

This girl, even though she was a Golden Immortal, remained a penny-pinching miser at heart.

Su Lin heard this conversation, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but twitch.

Toll fees.

The Heavenly Court, those guys who harvested the entire Lower Realm, actually set up checkpoints to charge fees on their own turf.

This was either because they were dirt poor, or because they had extortion and blackmail carved into their bones. Truly, they were ruthless characters who could turn the Ascension path into a slaughterhouse business, unwilling to let even such small profits slip by.

"There is a checkpoint ahead."

Mu Qingxue's cold voice suddenly rang out, instantly suppressing all the noise in the cabin.

Everyone followed her gaze and saw a massive golden archway standing in the Void Realm ahead.

The archway was cast from unknown immortal gold, its surface flowing with intricate star patterns, exuding a terrifying pressure. On both sides of the archway hovered dozens of pure white warships, each engraved with a totem of a spreading Xuan bird on the prow.

That was the insignia of the Heavenly Court's Imperial Guard.

"Keep your aura restrained," Su Lin commanded in a low voice. "Remember, we are just a bunch of bumpkins who have just ascended to Golden Immortal rank and are here to attend the banquet. Low profile, keep it low profile."

He specifically glanced at Su Hongling.

Su Hongling curled her lips, extremely reluctantly suppressing her ready-to-burst Qi, and sat back in the corner, pretending to be harmless.

It's just that her gnashing expression didn't look like she was pretending to be harmless at all; it looked more like she was holding back something nasty.

The Void Shuttle slowed down gradually and stopped before the golden archway.

A stream of light flew out from the white warship and landed outside the shield of the Void Shuttle. It was an Imperial Guard officer clad in silver soft armor, his face stern, his eyes filled with condescending arrogance.

"Who comes? State your name and immortal registry." The officer's voice came through the shield, without the slightest bit of courtesy.

Su Lin waved his hand, and the hatch of the Void Shuttle opened slowly. He stepped out, stood on the gangway, his expression calm.

"Tianhai City Lord, Su Lin. Accompanied by my seven disciples, responding to the Heavenly Court's decree, heading to the Ascension Temple to attend the Ascension Ceremony."

Upon hearing this, the officer's eyes flickered slightly.

The title of Tianhai City Lord had been deafeningly famous in the Taihuang Immortal Domain recently.

The news of Golden Immortal Xuanming's fall had long since spread throughout the thirty-six major domains. An existence capable of seizing a city from under a Golden Immortal was by no means an ordinary person.

"So it is City Lord Su." The officer's tone softened slightly, but the arrogance remained undiminished. "Routine inspection. Please show your immortal registry jade plaque, City Lord, and submit to a Divine Sense scan."

Divine Sense scan.

Su Lin's eyes turned cold instantly.

These people wanted to take the opportunity to probe their true strength.

"A scan is unnecessary, right?" Su Lin said indifferently. "Since we are here by invitation, does the Heavenly Court not even have this bit of trust?"

"Rules are rules." The officer's face darkened. "Don't say you are just a small city lord; even if other Golden Immortal old monsters from other major domains came, they would still have to obediently accept the scan. City Lord Su, are you trying to defy orders?"

Su Hongling in the cabin heard this and immediately wanted to stand up.

"Defy your head! This lady will punch..."

"Hong Ling." Su Lin didn't even turn his head, just calmly spat out two words.

Su Hongling's movement stopped abruptly, and she sat back down sullenly, still muttering something under her breath.

Su Lin turned his head, looked at the arrogant officer, and suddenly smiled.

"A scan is fine."

He extended a finger and pointed to his own glabella. "However, there aren't many people who can handle my Divine Sense. Are you sure you want to try?"

This sounded like bluffing, but the officer inexplicably felt a chill run up his spine.

He subconsciously released a thread of Divine Sense, probing toward Su Lin.

Just as that thread of Divine Sense was about to touch Su Lin, a bottomless, terrifying aura that seemed capable of devouring everything flashed out from Su Lin's body without warning.

The officer only felt as if his Divine Soul had been fiercely gripped by an invisible giant hand; before his eyes, shocking scenes of countless stars being born and dying and the Dao collapsing flashed by instantly.

"Pfft."

He spat out a mouthful of blood, staggered back several steps, his face as pale as paper.

That probing thread of Divine Sense, along with most of his Divine Soul power, had actually been crushed to powder by that aura in an instant.

"You... who exactly are you..." The officer's voice was trembling uncontrollably, and his eyes toward Su Lin were filled with fear.

In that instant just now, he clearly felt the aura of death.

If the other party had used just one more point of force, his little life would have been left right here.

"A city lord who doesn't like being scanned." Su Lin withdrew the fleeting pressure, his expression returning to calm. "Now, can we pass?"

The officer dared not say another word.

He endured the surging Qi and blood, scrambled back to the warship, and even forgot to check the immortal registry jade plaque.

The golden archway opened slowly, revealing the route to the next area.

The Void Shuttle restarted and passed through the archway steadily.

Inside the cabin, Su Hongling looked at the officer's disheveled state and laughed heartily.

"Hahaha, Old Man, that move of yours was beautiful! You scared that kid until he was pissing his pants!"

"Revered Master is Revered Master, taking care of someone without even moving a muscle." Chu Weiwei came over with admiration in her eyes. "Much cleaner and neater than Weiwei's poison."

Su Lin sat back in the main seat, but his face held no ease.

He tapped the armrest and pondered: "Didn't you notice anything wrong?"

"What's wrong?" Su Hongling scratched her head. "Isn't he just a blind watchdog?"

"The Formation of that archway." Cold Moon, who had been silent, suddenly spoke, a hint of gravity flashing in her golden eyes. "I just looked at it carefully. That Formation looks like a checkpoint for inspection on the surface, but it actually hides a murderous intent within. Once triggered, it is enough to trap an expert at the Golden Immortal Perfection level."

"There are seven such checkpoints from Tianhai City to the Ascension Temple."

Su Lin took over the conversation, his eyes becoming deep.

"Think about it, the Heavenly Court went to such great lengths to set up seven checkpoints capable of trapping and killing Golden Immortals along the way, just to collect some toll fees and scan a few guests attending the banquet?"

The cabin went quiet instantly.

The abacus beads in Gu Qiuyue's hands stopped moving.

Luo Ximei put away the smile on her face.

Even Su Hongling, who was always carefree, frowned.

"Revered Master means..."

"These seven checkpoints are a giant cage." Su Lin said slowly. "Their purpose is not to keep us out, but to trap everyone who goes in. Once there is an accident at the ceremony, these seven checkpoints will fall simultaneously, locking us completely inside the Ascension Temple."

At that time, it would be like closing the door to beat the dog.

It really was a meticulously laid death trap.

Su Lin sneered in his heart.

These gods, although their methods of doing things were crude, they didn't hesitate at all when it came to dealing dirty hands.

It was clearly intended to wipe out all the disobedient newly ascended Golden Immortals in one go.

"Then are we still going?" Su Hongling asked.

"Go, why not go." Su Lin stood up, walked to the porthole, and looked at the endless Void Realm outside. "Since they want to close the door to beat the dog, then we will go in and see who the real dog is."

He turned his head and swept his gaze over his seven disciples.

"Remember what I said. Until it's time to flip the table, no one is allowed to reveal their true strength. Let them think we are just seven clueless prey. When they show all their trump cards and close that door completely..."

"That is when we will overturn this Ascension Temple, along with their Heavenly Court."

The Void Shuttle dragged a long tail flame in the Void Realm, driving unswervingly toward the Ascension Temple hidden deep in the clouds.

When the Void Shuttle passed through the third golden archway, the atmosphere in the cabin had quietly changed.

No one was bickering anymore.

Su Hongling returned the black sword to the scabbard on her back, sat cross-legged in the corner, and closed her eyes to adjust her breath. Her originally extremely flamboyant Qi was now completely restrained, and she was unusually quiet.

Chu Weiwei no longer pestered Su Lin to act spoiled.

She took out the colorful poison bottles from her sleeves one by one, placed them on her knees, and checked each one to see if the Seal was intact. On that sweet little face, for the first time, the cuteness faded, leaving only focus and coldness.

This silence was more heart-sinking than any noise.

Su Lin leaned on the main seat, taking it all in.

These girls were usually laughing and joking, but once they smelled real danger, the killing instinct honed from mountains of corpses and seas of blood would instantly awaken.

This was the foundation of how they had survived until today.

"The fourth checkpoint is ahead." Mu Qingxue spoke softly. "Revered Master, the garrison at this checkpoint is twice as large as the previous ones."

Su Lin opened his eyes and looked out the porthole.

Sure enough, on both sides of the archway ahead, hundreds of white warships were densely arranged, forming a suffocating iron wall.

The Xuan bird totems on the prows shimmered with cold light in the Void Realm, and waves of Heavenly Immortal level pressure intertwined, making this airspace almost solidify.

The further in they went, the stricter the security.

This wasn't inviting guests; it was clearly escorting prisoners.

"It seems our weight as 'honored guests' is quite heavy." Luo Ximei waved her folding fan, her tone carrying a bit of mockery. "The Heavenly Court has moved out half of its foundation."

The Void Shuttle slowed down and stopped.

This time, no officer came out to inspect.

In the center of the archway, a blinding golden light lit up directly. As the golden light dissipated, a figure appeared out of thin air.

It was a middle-aged man clad in golden battle armor, his face resolute, his brow revealing the dignity of one who had long been in a high position. Nine golden Law chains circled around him, each emitting a terrifying aura capable of tearing the Void Realm.

"Tianhai City Lord Su Lin?" The man's voice was like a great bell, booming and echoing in the Void Realm. "I am the commander of the fourth checkpoint, Lei Gang. I have been ordered to wait here for a long time."

Su Lin stepped out of the hatch, stood on the gangway, his expression calm.

"Waiting? Commander, your words are a bit too heavy."

"Why does City Lord Su ask when you already know?" Lei Gang's eyes were as sharp as knives, piercing directly at Su Lin. "The good deeds you did in Tianhai City, the Heavenly Court has seen them all. Slaying Golden Immortal Xuanming, forcibly occupying a city. If it weren't for orders from above to deal with rebels like you publicly at the Ascension Ceremony, I could take your head right now."

The dagger was revealed at the end of the map indeed.

Su Lin sneered in his heart.

These people didn't even bother to cover it up.

It seems the truth of this Ascension Ceremony was even more direct than he had imagined.

All that talk about announcing to the world and entering the ranks of immortals was bullshit.

This was a grand banquet for a public execution.

"Oh?" Su Lin raised his eyebrows, pretending to be surprised. "Didn't Golden Immortal Xuanming die in an accident? How did this account end up on my head?"