603: Chapter 603 Infiltrating the Heavenly Palace

["The predecessor? What happened to him?" you asked again.]

["He failed during his Breakthrough to the Mahayana stage and fell," Qi Yuan said with a sigh.]

[You didn't respond.]

[Qin Han suddenly stood up on your shoulder, stretching his neck to look ahead: "Wow... Daddy, what kind of bird is that? It's huge!"]

["Which one?" you asked.]

[Qin Han raised a paw and pointed into the distance: "That one, that one! The black one! Its eyes look so fierce!"]

[Qi Yuan glanced in the direction he pointed and shook his head with a smile: "You little fellow certainly have a good eye. That black one is a Three-Legged Crow, a descendant of an ancient exotic species. There are only a few in the entire Heavenly Palace."]

[Qin Han licked his lips: "Does it taste good?"]

[Qi Yuan shook his head with a laugh: "This spirit pet of yours is quite a glutton."]

[You patted Qin Han's head: "My apologies, he's been spoiled."]

[Qi Yuan burst into laughter: "Hahaha... I like this personality. Come, let's go see your Immortal Manor."]

[You nodded, and the two of you transformed into two streaks of light, flying toward the floating immortal mountain in the center of the city.]

[The immortal mountain gradually grew larger, surrounded by spiritual mist and clouds, and enveloped in golden light. Its territory spanned ten thousand miles—palace complexes, pavilions, Immortal Caves, Spirit Beast parks, Spirit Medicine gardens, back gardens, and great halls were all present.]

[You landed on the top floor of a white jade pavilion at the highest point of the immortal mountain.]

[Qi Yuan stood with his hands behind his back and introduced: "This Nanyang Immortal Manor has been renovated and expanded by successive Star Lords for countless tens of thousands of years. If you are not satisfied, you can rebuild it yourself."]

["It's good. I am very satisfied."]

[You nodded with satisfaction and looked up—in all directions was a boundless sea of clouds, with clusters of spiritual mist connected like a vast white land.]

[At the edge of the firmament, the outline of the earth loomed indistinctly within the sea of clouds.]

[Below, the city's pavilions were densely packed, mountains and rivers looked like lines, and spiritual rivers like silk ribbons, winding to the ends of the earth.]

[You looked up.]

[In the starry sky, several massive stars hung overhead—the other eight stars, along with the Nanyang Star beneath your feet, revolved around the central Heavenly Palace like stars surrounding the moon.]

[From a distance, the Heavenly Palace looked like a giant immortal palace floating in the galaxy, propped up by countless rivers of spiritual light, with light flowing and shimmering, grand beyond the mortal realm.]

[Qi Yuan stood with his hands behind his back and said with a smile: "Nanyang Star spans tens of thousands of miles and is one of the nine great Star Continents surrounding the Heavenly Palace. Nanyang City is the largest city on this star."]

[He turned his head to look at you, his smile carrying a hint of seriousness, "The Star Lord of Nanyang is the supreme ruler of this star, with a status second only to the three Mahayana cultivators."]

["I heard the three of them rarely make an appearance?" You glanced at him.]

["That's right." Qi Yuan smiled, his tone becoming a bit more casual, "It's common for them not to show themselves for a hundred years. They might be in some Secret Realm, or perhaps in seclusion deep within the Heavenly Palace. Maybe they have appeared, but we just couldn't see them."]

[You nodded.]

[Qi Yuan continued: "The daily affairs of the Heavenly Palace are decided by the Elder Council through discussion."]

[You didn't speak but nodded slightly—the entire Immortal Realm knew of these circumstances. The twenty-eight Integration Stage Cultivators of the Heavenly Palace were the Elders of the Council, and both Qi Yuan and Liu Tianxing were among them.]

[He looked at your expression and said with a smile: "Do you think there aren't many people? But these twenty-eight are the top Body Integration cultivators in the Immortal Realm. Those outside must bow their heads when they see us."]

[You replied with a smile: "I don't think it's few, I'm just reflecting."]

[He nodded with a smile and continued the introduction: "There are also over three hundred Void Refining Cultivators. Among those subordinate Sects and families, there are also some old fellows at the Early Stage of Mahayana."]

[Your eyebrows twitched slightly—you already knew this from the war between the Immortal Sects and the Heavenly Palace.]

[A thought flashed through your mind: The Heavenly Palace is so wealthy; would these Body Integration and Void Refining Cultivators, soaked in power and resources every day, slowly forget what their own Dao was?]

[Power, resources, and status are like warm water—soak in it for too long, and the heart changes.]

[Just as you now feel no ripple in your heart when you see Nascent Soul Cultivators. It's like looking at ants, like looking at stones, like looking at an inconspicuous blade of grass by the roadside.]

[You knew this wasn't right.]

[The world shouldn't be like this, and sentient beings shouldn't be divided into ranks.]

[But the further the path of cultivation goes, the colder the heart becomes.]

[It's not that you want to be cold, but the road is too long; after walking for so long, you forget the path you came from.]

[You were once someone who came from that path, and you were once stepped upon by others.]

[It's just that after standing high and looking down for so long, one forgets to look up at the sky.]

[Qi Yuan saw you lost in thought, smiled, and cupped his fists: "Fellow Daoist Qin, from now on, this place is yours."]

["Alright, thank you. I will need to rely on you much in the future." You cupped your fists in return.]

["You're too kind." Qi Yuan's tone was relaxed, "By the way, there is currently a manager in the manor surnamed Zhou, in the Soul Transformation Stage, who has worked here for over three hundred years."]

["There is also a guard unit of a hundred people, with a commander at the Void Refining stage."]

["The remaining servants, handymen, and gardeners add up to just over two thousand."]

["If you find them unsuitable, just replace them."]

[You nodded: "Good, thank you for the trouble. No need to replace them."]

["Alright, then you get familiarized first. Contact me anytime if something comes up." After saying that, his figure flickered and he disappeared.]

[You turned and came to the square of the front hall.]

[In the center of the square was a spiritual pool. The water was crystal clear, with Spiritual Qi rising and turning into a thin mist. A few spiritual lotuses were about to bloom, with dewdrops rolling on the leaves like a pool of shattered stars.]

[Qin Han jumped down from your shoulder, squatted by the pool, and stretched out a paw to reach for a spiritual lotus leaf: "Daddy, is this edible?"]

["That's a lotus flower."]

["Can lotus flowers be eaten?"]

["They aren't for eating."]

[Qin Han grabbed a spiritual lotus leaf and took a bite—]

["Pah, pah, pah!"]

[He stared at the water surface with a look of grievance for a long time, then reached his paw into the water to rummage around.]

["Daddy, are there fish in this pool?"]

["No."]

["Oh... then what are we eating tomorrow?"]

[You didn't answer. Just as you were about to turn around, a streak of light suddenly shot out from the direction of the Heavenly Palace.]

[The golden light pierced through the clouds and mist, trailing a long tail of flame, and finally hovered above the firmament of the Nanyang Star. Everyone in Nanyang City stopped and looked up.]

[The golden light slowly unfurled like an imperial edict descending from the sky, with crimson-gold flame patterns flowing along the edges.]

[In the very center, a line of large characters appeared as if carved by blades and axes, radiating ten thousand beams of light—]

["By the Immortal Decree of the Flame Emperor. From this day forth, Qin Tian is the Star Lord of Nanyang, in charge of this star and governing all directions. All matters of military, politics, livelihood, conquest, and rewards are subject to his judgment. All Sects and families shall comply. By order."]

[As the handwriting entered your eyes, it actually carried a faint sense of heat, as if it weren't written on spiritual light but branded between heaven and earth, so hot that one dared not look directly at it for too long.]

[Qin Han tilted his head up, blinking his eyes, and whispered: "Daddy, what does it say?"]

[You didn't answer, looking up at the line of golden characters and laughing in your heart.]

[At the same time, within Nanyang City, a clamor arose.]

["Qin Tian? I wonder what kind of person this new Star Lord is."]

["Before we figure out this lord's temper, we'd better restrain ourselves. Otherwise, if we become the chicken killed to warn the monkeys, it won't be fun."]

["It seems I must find an opportunity to visit this lord in person."]

["The wind is rising... I wonder if it's for better or worse."]