34: Chapter 33 The Celestial Palace, Part Two

Nangong Miao turned her gaze toward the somewhat decaying pillars on either side, which were each inscribed with:

"The Immortal Dao is cut off, lingering with hesitation."

"Human figures drift away, never to return."

Withdrawing her gaze from the Wandering Immortal Palace, she swept her Divine Sense toward the sides, where rows of connected pavilions extended into the distance.

Many of the pavilion doors had already opened. The Cultivators stepping out were either examining the Immortal Palace in the Void Realm or looking around.

At this moment, the door of the pavilion adjacent to Nangong Miao's opened, and a familiar figure stepped out—it was Li Fan.

He looked around curiously at first, but seeing so many people, he slowly retreated back into the pavilion and closed the door.

Seeing this, Nangong Miao found it somewhat amusing; it was the first time she had seen a Cultivator who wasn't excited upon encountering the Wandering Immortal Palace.

"Could it be that he doesn't know the wonders of this Immortal Palace?"

She flew directly to the front of Li Fan's pavilion and pushed open the door, only to find Li Fan lying on a chair, with that familiar jar of spiritual supplements—yang-strengthening wolfberries—placed in front of him.

The pavilion was shielded against Divine Sense probing. When Nangong Miao pushed the door open and entered, she gave Li Fan, who was eating wolfberries one by one, quite a start.

He jumped up from his chair, but after realizing it was Nangong Miao, he let out a sigh of relief. Then, as if remembering something, he tensed up and held his breath.

Seeing the complex look in Li Fan's eyes, Nangong Miao knew exactly what the guy was thinking.

"Always thinking about lewd things?"

She walked to the table, sat opposite Li Fan, and took out some spiritual tea from her storage Magical Artifact.

Then, using the tea set provided in the pavilion, she warmed the vessels, rinsed the cups, added the tea leaves to awaken their flavor, filtered and poured the tea, and finally served a cup to Li Fan.

Her movements were gentle and slow throughout, her demeanor elegant and graceful.

She picked up her tea and sipped it silently, and Li Fan followed suit, taking a drink from his own cup.

A moment later, Nangong Miao set her tea down first. Despite her elegant demeanor, her words were startling:

"If we weren't in an illusion, you probably wouldn't have been able to break my defense."

Upon hearing this, Li Fan nearly spat out the tea in his mouth. He forced himself to swallow it and spoke awkwardly:

"Ah Miao, you know it's an illusion, so why do you keep following me?"

"I'm just a Qi Refining Cultivator, nothing special."

Li Fan continued to use the address for Nangong Miao from the illusion, but she didn't mind.

"I find you quite interesting."

Hearing Nangong Miao's perfunctory excuse, Li Fan was speechless.

Just as he didn't know how to respond, a young man's voice came from outside the pavilion. It wasn't loud, but it was perfectly clear in his ears.

"Fellow Daoists, according to precedent, this Immortal Dao Assembly will be hosted by our Grandmist Purple Heaven, Juehong Imperial Clan."

"So, it will be the old rules: spar with each other to determine the order of entry into the Immortal Palace."

Li Fan looked out through the window frame. A young man wearing a light purple robe stood with his hands behind his back in the Void Realm, his body wreathed in faint purple Qi.

"Juehong Imperial Clan, the contemporary Imperial Son, Jue Yingtian."

Nangong Miao also looked over and recognized him at a glance.

"His Physique and Spiritual Root are unknown; it is only known that he cultivates the Grandmist Purple Qi."

Not long after, another man in magnificent robes flew forward and exchanged bows with Jue Yingtian.

Seeing this person, Nangong Miao's expression became somewhat complex.

"Big Brother..."

As more and more Cultivators appeared, Nangong Miao successively announced their corresponding titles.

"Ling Yuntian, Young Lord of the Feathering Imperial Clan."

"Changfantian, the contemporary walker of the Qianyuan Xuangu Sect."

...

Listening to the titles Nangong Miao reeled off, each more exaggerated than the last, Li Fan inwardly sighed that things were looking bad.

"Did they throw me into a top-tier dungeon?"

One must know that in the Xuannü Civilization, a top-grade Spiritual Root was already considered top-tier Aptitude, but for this group of people at the Immortal Dao Assembly...

They didn't care about so-called Spiritual Roots at all; what mattered was the Bloodline talent and ancient Legacy of the clans behind them.

Li Fan poured himself a cup of tea to calm his nerves, his mind already considering ways to make a run for it.

"How am I supposed to get back?"

Opposite him, Nangong Miao realized that Li Fan was truly a greenhorn who didn't understand anything, and she wondered how he had even managed to sneak in.

Thus, she slowly began to explain to Li Fan:

"The Wandering Immortal Palace is considered an illusion, but this illusion can manifest the things you desire in your heart into reality."

"However, once you enter this illusion, you have no control over what it is that you desire."

"It could be a toy you fancied in your childhood, or a Magic Treasure you wanted on a whim. It could also be the rare treasures or peerless Cultivation Technique you are most in need of right now."

"As the number of people entering increases, more items become real within the Immortal Palace illusion, making it harder to find what you want."

"Thus, the so-called Immortal Dao Assembly exists to arrange the number of people, the time, and the order of entry."

After finishing her long explanation, Nangong Miao took a sip of tea. She looked up and found Li Fan still resting his chin on his hand, eating wolfberries one by one, his expression unchanged.

"What, not interested?"

She was somewhat puzzled and continued:

"This is a chance to have your wishes fulfilled."

Li Fan tossed a wolfberry into the air, caught it in his mouth, and chewed.

"Listening to you, the Secret Realm in the Immortal Palace will probably be chaotic later."

"They are all people with top-tier Aptitude; I can't afford to mess with them."

As he spoke, he tossed another wolfberry into his mouth and sighed.

"I just want to go back and live my quiet life."

Watching Li Fan, Nangong Miao could see he wasn't joking, and she felt moved inside.

How she, too, wished to cast off her shackles and find a quiet place to spend the rest of her life, she thought, recalling the days she had spent with Li Fan in the Human Illusion.

If her father could truly let her go so easily, she wouldn't mind experiencing it all again with Li Fan...

A faint smile touched the corners of her lips at the table, but a moment later, her gaze became firm.

"Sailing against the current, if you do not advance, you retreat."

Nangong Miao understood that under the clan rules of the Zhonghuang Imperial Clan, retreating meant death, so she had no choice.

Setting her teacup heavily on the table, she stood up, engraving Li Fan's appearance into her mind.

It was he who had allowed her to briefly experience a time of leisure. Even if it was an illusion, it was enough before entering the Secret Realm of the Immortal Palace, where life and death were uncertain.

The flame on her brow had not yet recovered, and this journey was fraught with danger, yet Nangong Miao cupped her hands and uttered two words.

"Farewell."

She then turned and pushed open the door, without the slightest hesitation.

"Wait a moment."

Before she could step out, Nangong Miao was called back by Li Fan.

Although he was usually laid-back, he could see the heavy burden the woman before him was carrying.

Thus, Li Fan took an item out of his System space.

"Ah Miao, this item is useless to me, but you might find it useful."

A cluster of iridescent, hazy, colorful mist drifted slowly toward Nangong Miao. It was the exotic treasure that Li Fan had obtained in the Human Illusion Secret Realm: Human Illusion.

Seeing this, Nangong Miao was slightly taken aback and took the cluster of mist into her hand.

Thinking that Li Fan was willing to give her such a supreme treasure, the trust and closeness she felt for him deepened in the depths of her heart.

Li Fan leaned back in his chair, grabbing a handful of wolfberries and eating them like sunflower seeds.

"Go."

Hearing this, Nangong Miao did not reply. She nodded gently, put away the Human Illusion, turned, and flew out of the pavilion.