717: Chapter 718 Paying Homage to the Taiyin Immortal Emperor!

"Stop! Who goes there, daring to trespass into the Forbidden Ground?!"

The sharp shout was like an icicle, suddenly piercing the deathly silence of the ancient plains.

"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—!"

Dozens of streaks of light carrying a biting cold descended, revealing dozens of figures led by an old man with white hair at his temples, a majestic countenance, and wearing an ice-blue coiling dragon robe.

The old man's aura was as heavy as a mountain, clearly at the Peak of the Immortal Sovereign realm. He was the current Sect Master of the Mystic Ice Pavilion, Old Ancestor Hanpo.

Behind him followed over twenty Elders of the Immortal King and Immortal Sovereign realms, along with even more elite Deacons of the Immortal Lord realm.

Auras surged and Magic Treasures flickered as they faintly surrounded Gu Changge's group of three, looking ready to strike at the slightest provocation.

"Who are you?!"

An Elder with a face as red as a date and a fiery temper stepped forward. His voice boomed like a bell as he pointed a crystal ice longsword, flickering with cold light, at the group.

"This place is a Forbidden Ground guarded by our Mystic Ice Pavilion for generations. No one is permitted to step foot here! If you know what's good for you, leave immediately, or else..."

"So noisy."

Before he could finish, a lazy and clearly impatient voice sounded. Xiao Bai waved a hand and struck out with a palm.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Four muffled thuds rang out almost simultaneously.

The protective immortal light of that Elder and the three Immortal Sovereigns behind him shattered instantly like fragile soap bubbles, and the Magic Treasures in their hands flew out with a mournful wail!

The four felt an irresistible, overwhelming force slam into their chests. Their screams were cut short as they were sent flying backward even faster than they had arrived!

Each of them was in tatters, bleeding from their mouths and noses, their internal organs shaken. Their auras withered instantly. Though not fatally wounded, they didn't even have the strength to crawl back up for a moment, only able to stare at Xiao Bai in utter horror.

In an instant, the color drained from the faces of all the Elders and Deacons, their eyes filled with boundless fear and shock!

Who on earth were these people?

A casual slap sent four Immortal Sovereigns flying?!

Xiao Bai shook her hand, her gaze sweeping over the silence-stricken crowd. She let out a dissatisfied snort from her throat, as if saying: 'If you're noisy again, it won't be this light next time.'

This sudden commotion caused Yue Liuli, who had just slightly recovered from the shock of the Taiyin Immortal Palace's disappearance, to frown almost imperceptibly.

She slowly turned around, her cold silver eyes sweeping over the uninvited guests. A faint hint of displeasure at having her thoughts interrupted flickered in the depths of her eyes.

Only Gu Changge remained with his back to the crowd, his gaze still seemingly fixed on the void where his Master had disappeared, appearing oblivious to the tension behind him.

However, the heart-stopping calm surrounding him made the hearts of all the Mystic Ice Pavilion's higher-ups, including Old Ancestor Hanpo, tighten even more inexplicably.

"You said this place is the Forbidden Ground of your Mystic Ice Pavilion?"

Yue Liuli spoke indifferently. Her voice wasn't loud, yet it carried a bone-chilling coldness that seemed to freeze the Soul.

The Elder shuddered as her gaze swept over him, reminded of Xiao Bai's terrifying move just now.

Though terrified, he still steeled himself and said:

"Indeed! My Mystic Ice Pavilion has guarded this place for hundreds of thousands of years; this is known to all in the Cold Moon Immortal Realm! You all..."

Before he could finish, he saw his own Sect Master wave a hand to interrupt him. With an excited expression, the Sect Master walked slowly toward Yue Liuli, step by step.

His gaze was fixed on Yue Liuli's face and figure, especially the clear, cold moonlight flowing naturally around her, which was so pure it made his Soul tremble.

So similar, too similar!

She bore at least a seventy to eighty percent resemblance to the portrait of the Ancestral Master, which was protected by layers of Formations in the most core secret chamber of the Sect's Forbidden Ground!

No, it wasn't just the appearance!

It was the pure and vast Taiyin Dao Rhyme surrounding her, which caused the crude and mottled Cold Moon Mind-Cultivation Technique within his body to resonate wildly, wailing and cheering at the same time.

"No... Impossible! The Ancestral Master has long since... but this aura, this technique resonance..."

Old Ancestor Hanpo muttered to himself, his face flushing with an unnatural redness from excitement. His pupils contracted to the limit, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably.

He stared intently at Yue Liuli, as if using all his lifelong cultivation and courage to confirm a fact that should have been impossible.

The Elder and the other high-ranking members of the Mystic Ice Pavilion were bewildered by their Sect Master's extremely abnormal reaction, and they all looked toward Yue Liuli.

Then they looked back at the Sect Master. For a moment, no one dared to speak, and the atmosphere in the field became eerily stagnant.

Finally, in the silence, Old Ancestor Hanpo's Adam's apple bobbed violently. In a voice that was nearly a sleep-talker's murmur and trembling beyond recognition...

He painstakingly spat out, word by word, the conjecture that even he found absurd, yet seemed to be the only logical explanation:

"Are... are you the Taiyin Immortal Emperor?!"

As soon as the four words 'Taiyin Immortal Emperor' were uttered, it was like a thunderclap exploding over the ancient plains!

The Elders of the Mystic Ice Pavilion behind him all turned pale with shock!

The Taiyin Immortal Emperor?

Wasn't that a supreme being who had long since fallen in ancient legends? Had the Sect Master gone mad? To address a strange woman like that?!

Hearing this sudden title, Yue Liuli's eyes shifted slightly to Old Ancestor Hanpo. A faint, barely perceptible trace of surprise flashed through her eyes that he could speak this long-buried title.

"You... recognize this Emperor?" Her voice was ethereal and indifferent, neither admitting nor denying anything.

She simply looked at the Sect Master of the Mystic Ice Pavilion before her, who was so excited he was nearly fainting, with that heart-stoppingly calm gaze.

It was as if she were waiting for his next words, or perhaps scrutinizing this group of strangers who had occupied her homeland.

This silent admission and her indifferent posture that rose above all else became the final straw that broke Old Ancestor Hanpo's reason.

"Thud—!!!"

A heavy, muffled sound rang out.

Old Ancestor Hanpo, the hegemon who had ruled the Cold Moon Immortal Realm for hundreds of thousands of years, under the disbelieving gazes of all his Disciples behind him...

...knelt down heavily before that moonlit figure without hesitation, in the most humble and devout manner!

His forehead struck the cold ground heavily, his voice hoarse and broken:

"This unworthy Disciple, the thirteenth Sect Master of the Mystic Ice Pavilion, Hanpo, pays respects to the Taiyin Immortal Emperor!! Greetings to the Ancestral Master!!!"

This kowtow and this shout seemed to have undone some ancient Seal.

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

Behind him, the twenty-plus Elders of the Immortal King and Immortal Sovereign realms could no longer remain standing, and they all knelt down toward Yue Liuli!

"We pay our respects to the Taiyin Immortal Emperor!"

"Greetings to the Ancestral Master!!"

The voices were chaotic at first, but soon converged into a world-shaking wave of sound that echoed across the vast, empty ancient plains.

The Immortal Lord Deacons had long since prostrated themselves on the ground, not even daring to lift their heads to look up.

A dense mass of people knelt on the ground.

Yue Liuli stood silently in place, a very complex light flickering deep within her silver eyes.

"You call me Ancestral Master? What is the connection between the Mystic Ice Pavilion and the Taiyin Immortal Palace?"

Old Ancestor Hanpo did not dare to rise. With his head touching the ground, his voice choked with emotion:

"In reply to the Immortal Emperor! The founding ancestors of my Mystic Ice Pavilion were a lineage of peripheral Named Disciples, affiliated families, and miscellaneous servants of the ancient Taiyin Immortal Palace!"

"After the Immortal Palace departed into seclusion, the ancestors, being on the periphery, fortunately survived. They then followed the ancient teachings, guarding this Sacred Ruin for generations, waiting for the Immortal Palace's return!"

He looked up, tears streaming down his face, as if pouring out millions of years of perseverance, humiliation, and confusion all at once:

"However, the Immortal Realm was shattered, the world fell into chaos, and wars never ceased. The Legacy was severed many times. We Juniors have low cultivation levels and have long since dared not call ourselves Disciples of the Immortal Palace."

"We could only change our Sect's name to Mystic Ice and live in a corner, waiting in secret. I never imagined, never imagined that today I would truly be able to see the Ancestral Master's true face! Heaven has eyes! The ancestors be praised!"