499: Time Spiritual Root Appears

Xiao Zhuo and the other two did not choose a noisy inn. Instead, they rented a small courtyard with a cultivation quiet room in the relatively peaceful Western District, mostly leased by Spirit Cultivators, for a few Medium Grade bone leaves of good quality, using it as their temporary lodging.

They had quite a few bone leaves, mostly from the Savage Beasts Xiao Zhuo had casually slain along the way, enough to allow them to stay here peacefully for some time.

After settling down, Tian Yidao and Du Mo followed orders and went out, mingling in taverns, teahouses, and even some intelligence trading places, secretly collecting information on the various Geniuses participating in the Spirit Sacrifice Grand Ceremony, and paying attention to any clues related to "Spirit Shaman."

Xiao Zhuo, on the other hand, would occasionally wander around the city, continuously perceiving the entire city with his Divine Sense to search for fluctuations of the Time Spirit Root, while also organizing and analyzing the constantly gathered information.

After several days, more and more news about the Spirit Sacrifice Grand Ceremony emerged.

This Grand Ceremony could be described as a constellation of stars, with almost all young Geniuses from various forces of the Northern Spirit Dynasty in attendance. There were even rumors that top Geniuses from the Southern Spirit Dynasty had secretly arrived, wishing to purify themselves using the Northern Spirit holy spirit altar.

Titles and rumors such as "The Young Marquis of Zhenbei Marquis Manor, possessing seventy-two Spirit Scripts, has initially Fused three Spirit Skills," "The Prime Minister's daughter, born with Spiritual Eyes, capable of seeing through the flaws of Spirit Skills," and "The Border Army's God of Slaughter, who Awakened a strange Slaughter Spirit Script in bloody battles," constantly reached Xiao Zhuo's ears.

These Geniuses were undoubtedly extraordinarily talented individuals, and their Spiritual Roots were diverse and strange. Among them, several even caused Xiao Zhuo's Divine Thought to linger briefly—either due to being mutated and rare, or having profound foundations far exceeding those of their peers.

However, there was still no trace of the Time Spirit Root.

It was as if this type of Spiritual Root simply did not exist in this world.

As for news about "Spirit Shaman," it was even more elusive.

All information pointed to one thing.

The Spirit Shaman lineage holds a revered and transcendent status; they are revered by the Northern Spirit Imperial Family, guarding the holy spirit altar for generations, and only they can preside over the highest-grade sacrifices and spiritual Awakenings.

Every Spirit Sacrifice Grand Ceremony is personally presided over by the contemporary Great Spirit Shaman.

However, in their daily lives, they live in seclusion, and outsiders have no way of knowing her residence, let alone contacting her.

Some say they reside in a Forbidden Ground deep within the imperial palace, others say they live in a certain Secret Realm; there are many theories, but no definitive conclusion.

As Xiao Zhuo's footsteps covered all parts of Holy Spirit City, his Divine Sense, like a comb, meticulously combed through the nearly thousand square kilometers of Holy Spirit City several times.

Although the imperial palace area had Restrictions, it could not completely block his silent investigation. There was no unique aura of a large gathering of Spirit Shamans within it, but there were two Spirit Cultivator auras that had reached the Ninth Order.

Other areas within the city yielded nothing.

His gaze finally turned to the four majestic, floating, inverted cone-shaped giant stones at the four corners of the city, with runes flowing ceaselessly.

Only at these four locations did his Divine Sense encounter a powerful obstructive barrier when attempting to delve deeper.

This barrier was not merely an obstruction; it was more like the wall of an independent Small World, closely integrated with the spiritual essence of heaven and earth, extraordinarily profound.

With Xiao Zhuo's ability, if he were to forcefully break through, he might succeed, but it would instantly alarm the entire Holy Spirit City, and the consequences would be unpredictable.

"Spirit Script Formation... forming its own space... It seems that the residence of the Spirit Shaman lineage is most likely in one or all of these four floating giant stones," Xiao Zhuo stood in the courtyard, gazing at the massive shadow in the distant sky, understanding dawning in his heart.

At the top of the giant stone, the outlines of palaces and pavilions were vaguely visible, enveloped by the flowing runic brilliance, adding to its mystery.

Since he couldn't investigate silently, he could only wait.

Wait for the moment the Spirit Sacrifice Grand Ceremony officially began and the Great Spirit Shaman actively appeared.

Days passed, and Holy Spirit City became increasingly crowded, the atmosphere growing more fervent.

Spirit Cultivators from all over almost filled all the inns in the city, and temporary camps even formed outside the city.

Every day, new Geniuses rose to prominence, and old powerhouses revealed deeper foundations.

Undercurrents of competition, probing, and even conflict occurred frequently, and the entire city seemed like a giant vortex, gathering the most turbulent undercurrents of the Northern Spirit Dynasty's younger generation.

Xiao Zhuo remained calm, either perceiving the entire city or closing his eyes to deduce Spirit Script combinations, waiting patiently.

Tian Yidao and Du Mo continuously sent back updated intelligence.

The next day was the official opening day of the Spirit Sacrifice Grand Ceremony!

The entire Holy Spirit City, from early morning, plunged into a boiling frenzy.

Countless commoners and Spirit Cultivators poured into the streets, converging towards the central area of the city—the massive plaza in front of the Imperial City.

That was where the Grand Ceremony would be held!

Xiao Zhuo and the other two also left early, mingling among the crowd, heading towards the central plaza.

However, at noon, just before the Grand Ceremony was about to officially begin.

From far in the sky, a piercing, majestic roar suddenly echoed!

A powerful, overbearing, and terrifying aura carrying Dragon might rapidly enveloped nearly half of Holy Spirit City from afar!

"Roar—!"

Everyone looked up in shock.

They saw a colossal creature tearing through the clouds in the hazy sky, flying rapidly towards them!

It was a flying Dragon over twenty zhang long, covered in dark green scales, and possessing massive fleshy wings!

Its head was ferocious, its pupils like molten gold, and the fierce might it exuded was comparable to a Peak Seventh Order Savage Beast King!

Even more astonishing was that behind this powerful flying Dragon, it was pulling an incredibly massive war chariot!

The war chariot was entirely dark golden, ancient and ornate in style, with countless intricate runes carved into its body, and dark curtains hanging around it, obscuring what was inside.

A flying Dragon pulling a chariot, traveling through the air!

What kind of display was this? What kind of power?

The entire Holy Spirit City seemed to fall silent for a moment under the might of this war chariot.

"It's... it's a Cloud Dragon! A flying Savage Beast King comparable to a Peak Seventh Order!"

"Pulling a chariot with a Cloud Dragon... Which force is this? So arrogant?"

"Looking at its direction, it's heading straight for the Imperial City Plaza! Is it a participant in the Grand Ceremony?"

The crowd instantly erupted, exclamations and discussions rising like a tsunami.

Even from the direction of the Imperial City, several powerful auras faintly rose, seemingly in vigilance, yet also in welcome.

The war chariot moved extremely fast, disregarding Holy Spirit City's ban on flight, and under the gaze of countless shocked eyes, flew directly towards the sky above the Imperial City Plaza.

However, just as the war chariot was about to cross the outer city area and enter the inner city's airspace, it did not land directly. Instead, it subtly adjusted its direction, actually flying straight towards the floating inverted cone-shaped giant stone in the southeastern corner of the city!

This scene once again caused an uproar among the crowd below.

Being able to head directly to the floating giant stone almost confirmed that the person inside the chariot was of such noble status that the Northern Spirit Imperial Family would open its doors for them!

Xiao Zhuo's gaze had been firmly fixed on the flying Dragon war chariot from the moment it appeared.

In the depths of his pupils, silver light flowed, his "Spirit Group - Divine Eye" already activated to its extreme, penetrating the layers of curtain obstruction, trying to see the situation inside the chariot.

However, the runes on the war chariot were quite peculiar, able to greatly interfere with Divine Sense and probing Spirit Skills.

But just as the war chariot turned, flew over the area where Xiao Zhuo and the others were, and slightly lowered its altitude for an instant.

A gentle breeze happened to blow, lifting a corner of the window curtain.

Through that fleeting gap, Xiao Zhuo's gaze suddenly captured the side profile of a figure sitting upright inside the chariot—

It was a woman dressed in a luxurious black robe, her face shrouded in a faint halo, making her exact age unclear.

But in this fleeting glimpse!

An extremely faint, yet exceptionally unique fluctuation, as if transcending the river of time, emanated from within the carriage!

Although it was so faint as to be almost imperceptible.

But... Xiao Zhuo's heart suddenly pounded!

This fluctuation... this feeling... it couldn't be wrong!

It was the Time Spirit Root! Although extremely faint, its essence was exceptionally high!

It was the Time Spirit Root he had been painstakingly searching for!

Moreover... besides the Time Spirit Root, there was also a hint of space!

The flying Dragon war chariot did not stop, and under the gaze of countless eyes below, it flew directly into the halo surrounding the floating giant stone in the southeastern corner, disappearing behind those majestic palaces.

Xiao Zhuo stood in place, gazing at the floating giant stone with flowing runes, his eyes deep, a slight curve slowly appearing at the corner of his mouth.

He had searched high and low for it... Finally, it appeared!

Although he couldn't determine the exact identity of the woman in the chariot, since she possessed the Time Spirit Root, this trip was worth it!

Furthermore, her ability to enter the floating giant stone directly indicated her extremely high status and position.

Xiao Zhuo suppressed the excitement in his heart and regained his composure.

The Time Spirit Root had been found. Next, he only needed to know the woman's identity. After finding a Spirit Shaman to activate all his Spirit Scripts, it would not be too late to seize the Spiritual Root.

"Let's go to the plaza."

He spoke indifferently, leading Tian Yidao and Du Mo, following the surging crowd towards the Imperial City Plaza.