357: Outside Ascension City, another provocation was encountered.

The stone door of the secret chamber slowly rose.

A profound Aura, seemingly capable of swallowing all things, flashed out from within the door, so fast that it created an illusion.

Yun Tianhe instinctively took half a step back, the hairs on his entire body standing on end in that instant!

He stared intently at the figure slowly emerging from the darkness, his heart pounding wildly, almost leaping out of his throat.

It was still the same green robe, and the same excessively youthful face.

But Yun Tianhe felt that what he was facing now was no longer just a person.

That feeling was indescribable.

His cultivation at the Nascent Soul Initial Stage was so minuscule before this figure that he didn't even count as a speck of dust.

If the other party merely had a thought, he would be completely erased, leaving not even a trace!

“M-Master...”

Yun Tianhe's throat was incredibly dry. He used all his strength just to squeeze those two words out, his voice hoarse beyond recognition.

He suddenly knelt down, burying his head deep into the cold ground, his body trembling violently from extreme reverence.

“Rise.”

Shen Yuanmo's voice was still as calm as ever.

He merely glanced casually at Yun Tianhe kneeling on the ground, then walked straight to the main seat in the hall and slowly sat down.

“How are the investigations proceeding?”

“Reporting, Master!” Hearing this, Yun Tianhe felt as if he had been granted amnesty and hurriedly scrambled up from the ground.

Not daring to show any slack, he respectfully reported all the intelligence he had gathered over the past three months.

“The Ascension Conference will officially commence one month from now, in Ascension City, located in the center of the Eastern Region!”

“This ceremony is unprecedented in scale! Nearly all prominent Sects in the Eastern Region have dispatched Elders to attend! Among them are the number one Sword Sect of the Eastern Region, the Taiyi Sword Sect, and the unfathomably profound Wanfa Immortal Sect!”

“It is said that the leaders accompanying these two top Sects are genuine Void Returning Great Experts of their respective gates!”

Yun Tianhe's tone carried a hint of excitement and longing that was hard to conceal.

Void Returning Great Experts are legendary existences, usually as elusive as a Divine Dragon only showing its head.

Yet now, they are appearing simultaneously just for an Ascension Conference!

One can imagine how magnificent and grand this ceremony will be!

Shen Yuanmo listened quietly, his face devoid of expression.

Void Returning?

He has killed more than one of them.

“What about the divine treasury key?” That was the matter he cared about more.

Hearing those four words, Yun Tianhe's expression instantly became extremely serious.

He lowered his voice, speaking in a volume only the two of them could hear: “Master, your subordinate has found some clues regarding this matter.”

“There are rumors that the last divine treasury key briefly appeared in the Underground Black Market of Tianfeng City not long ago!”

“However, it only appeared for an instant before being bought on the spot for an unimaginably astronomical price! Its whereabouts are currently unknown!”

“Oh?”

Hearing this, a gleam finally flashed across Shen Yuanmo's eyes.

“Well done.”

Shen Yuanmo was quite satisfied with Yun Tianhe's performance.

He flicked his finger.

A crystal-clear jade bottle transformed into a streak of light and landed steadily in Yun Tianhe's hand.

“This... what is this?”

Yun Tianhe looked at the jade bottle in his hand, a bewildered expression on his face.

“Your reward,” Shen Yuanmo said lightly. “The Medicinal Pill inside is enough to help you achieve a Breakthrough to Mid-stage Soul Transformation.”

Boom!

In that instant, Yun Tianhe's mind felt as if it had been violently struck by a Nine Heavens Divine Thunder!

A complete blank!

Help him... achieve a Breakthrough to Mid-stage Soul Transformation?!

He wasn't dreaming, was he?!

Trembling, he opened the stopper.

An extremely rich medicinal fragrance, potent enough to intoxicate his Divine Soul, rushed out!

Just by taking a sniff, he felt a faint, almost imperceptible loosening in the cultivation Bottleneck that had been stagnant for hundreds of years!

“Th-th-this...”

Yun Tianhe's hands, holding the jade bottle, trembled violently, so excited that he couldn't speak a complete sentence!

He heavily knelt down once more!

“Thank you, Master, for the gift of the medicine! Thank you, Master, for the gift of the medicine!”

“Your subordinate... your subordinate is willing to go through fire and water for Master, even if it means dying ten thousand times!”

“Rise.” Shen Yuanmo's voice remained calm. “Prepare the flying boat. We depart immediately for Ascension City!”

“Yes, Master!”

...Half a day later.

A streamlined flying boat, inscribed with countless Wind-Attribute Runes, clearly a priceless High-Grade Spiritual Artifact, soared into the sky from above Tianfeng City!

The speed of the flying boat was extreme!

It transformed into a streak of azure light tearing through the sky, speeding toward the central region of the Eastern Region!

Aboard the flying boat, Shen Yuanmo stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his robes flapping loudly in the fierce wind.

His gaze penetrated the endless sea of clouds, looking toward that vast world filled with endless unknowns and opportunities!

Ascension City.

A sky city in the truest sense!

It was not built upon any mountains or land.

Rather, it was refined from a massive floating island spanning tens of thousands of miles!

The entire city floated above the Nine Heavens sea of clouds, shrouded year-round by dense Spiritual Qi and immortal mist, appearing faintly visible.

Legend has it that this Ascension City was personally refined by a Peerless Great Expert from the Ancient Era who traveled the Mortal World, using supreme power!

It is, in itself, a supreme treasure that transcends the scope of a Dao Artifact!

When Shen Yuanmo's flying boat arrived ten thousand miles outside Ascension City.

An invisible, yet vast and terrifying Restriction descended thunderously from the Void Realm ahead!

The flying boat's speed abruptly halted, having been forcibly stopped.

Looking around.

Thousands of flying boats of various shapes and sizes were already moored in the air space ahead!

They were densely packed, blotting out the sky!

Countless young Cultivators, possessing youthful yet sharp and vigorous Auras, were excitedly and nervously stepping off their respective flying boats.

Outside the city gate, lines stretched for several miles, forming endless queues.

They were waiting for inspection by the city guards before entering the city.

However, right at this moment.

A sudden change occurred!

A massive Warship, entirely engulfed in blazing flames, with the head carved into a lifelike Three-legged Golden Crow, and an extremely arrogant design.

It actually ignored the local regulations and forcefully pushed its way toward the city gate with a rampaging, overbearing attitude!

Every flying boat blocking its path was, without exception, flipped over by its violent wake!

Aboard the Warship, several young men and women wearing crimson Sect robes embroidered with a Blazing Sun Totem on their chests looked down arrogantly at the Cultivators below who dared not speak their anger.

The young man leading them had sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes, a handsome face, and his Aura had already reached the level of Great Perfection of Nascent Soul Stage!

He looked at the dishevelled Cultivators below, his eyes filled with undisguised contempt and disdain.

“Get lost! All of you, get lost for this Young Lord!”

“The Chi Yang Holy Sect is conducting business; all irrelevant personnel must retreat!”

The extremely arrogant and overbearing roar echoed throughout the entire sky!

The Chi Yang Holy Sect!

Hearing this name, the surrounding Cultivators, who were originally resentful, immediately had drastic changes in expression!

One by one, they looked as if they had seen a ghost, hastily maneuvering their flying boats to retreat to the sides, terrified of being targeted by this evil star!

That was the Chi Yang Holy Sect!

A top-tier existence among the second-rate Sects in the Eastern Region!

Not only does it have more than ten Soul Transformation Old Ancestors overseeing it, but it is also said that behind them, there is a Void Returning Old Ancestor who has lived for countless years undergoing Life-and-Death Seclusion!

Such a behemoth was simply not something that Loose Cultivators or Cultivators from small Families could afford to provoke!

Soon, that arrogant Warship arrived unimpeded at the very front of the line.

Its gaze fell upon the azure flying boat that was also stopped at the front, yet looked somewhat ordinary in design.

The Nascent Soul youth aboard the Warship frowned.

He actually steered the Warship directly toward the flying boat where Shen Yuanmo was, intending to crash into it violently!

He wanted to force this ignorant flying boat, which dared to block his path, to retreat as well!

“Master!”

Yun Tianhe's expression inside the flying boat changed instantly!

Naturally, he recognized the Blazing Sun Totem on the Warship, which represented the Chi Yang Holy Sect!

His heart immediately tightened!

However, the figure in the green robe standing before him remained as placid as an ancient well.

It was as if everything happening outside had nothing to do with him.

He didn't even lift an eyelid.

He simply faced the flaming Warship, which was violently rushing toward them with a savage posture.

And softly uttered one word.

“Shatter.”

The instant the word fell.

What was said became Law!

The magnificent, overbearing, and aggressive flaming Warship, the moment it was less than a Hundred Zhang away from Shen Yuanmo's flying boat.

The defensive Formation light screen on it, which was strong enough to withstand a full-force blow from a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator.

Suddenly, without any warning, it cracked like fragile glass, shattering inch by inch!

Immediately after!

An even more incredible scene unfolded!

The massive hull, crafted from incredibly precious Fire Copper Wood.

Under an invisible yet terrifyingly potent force of the Space Law.

Was forcibly twisted, squeezed, and disintegrated!

Finally, under the gazes of everyone present, who were filled with endless shock and disbelief.

It exploded thunderously!

Turning into a sky full of flaming wood shavings and fine dust!

The few Chi Yang Holy Sect Disciples who had been arrogant and haughty aboard the Warship.

Their expressions instantly froze!

The next moment!

“Ah—!”

Piercing screams filled with shock and terror echoed through the heavens!

Like dumplings dropping into a pot, they fell miserably from the exploding Warship toward the sea of clouds below!

The entire scene was deathly silent!

Everyone was completely stunned by this utterly domineering and unbelievable sight!

Their minds were blank!

That previously arrogant Nascent Soul Young Lord finally managed to stabilize himself in mid-air.

He looked at the Warship that had turned into sky-high debris, and then at the unharmed azure flying boat.

The expression on his face cycled from shock to confusion, and then to endless humiliation and rage!

He abruptly raised his head, pointed a finger at the green-robed back that hadn't turned around to look at him even once.

And roared furiously in a voice that was outwardly fierce but inwardly weak, filled with endless malice:

“You... you dare to destroy the flying boat of my Chi Yang Holy Sect!”

“You are dead!”

“My father is the Sect Master of the Chi Yang Holy Sect!”