22: Chapter 22 The Immortal's Palace

After watching for a while, Cao Yang felt a bit bored. These battles seemed dazzling, but in his eyes, they were quite low-level. He couldn't learn any combat techniques from them. Perhaps he would only gain something from watching Cultivators in the same Realm as himself.

On the high platform, the Sect Master said with satisfaction, "Not bad. Although this boy Shen Lang's Aptitude is a bit poor, he has perseverance and great Opportunity. His future Immortal path is limitless."

"Indeed, the Sect Master is right. Lang'er practices very hard. He broke through to the Soul Transformation Peak after returning from a trip the year before last. It must have been due to an Opportunity; he is someone with Immortal fate," a white-bearded Elder said, stroking his beard with a face full of pride.

The Sect Master looked at Ouyang Liuli again and said, "Junior Sister Liuli, I wonder if the Personal Disciple you recently recruited is here today?"

Ouyang Liuli cupped her hands and replied, "Senior Brother, he is here. Cao Yang is currently watching the matches at Platform Four with those two girls, Xinyu and the other."

In fact, the Sect Master had noticed the three of them long ago, but seeing Cao Yang's Soul Transformation Middle Stage cultivation, he just wasn't certain.

The Sect Master nodded and continued, "Junior Sister Liuli, how is the Realm of this newly recruited Disciple so high? I heard you say before that he only had Qi Refining cultivation when he first joined?" He looked at Ouyang Liuli, his eyes filled with doubt and curiosity.

Ouyang Liuli smiled slightly and explained, "Senior Brother, it's like this. My Disciple left the Sect for a period of time, and when he returned, his cultivation had reached the Soul Transformation Realm. He said he encountered an expert's Immortal Cave outside and received an expert's Legacy. Through a remnant soul Empowerment, he broke through directly to the Soul Transformation Middle Stage." She shook her head gently, appearing as if she also found the matter somewhat incredible.

After hearing this, the Sect Master and the other Elders showed looks of surprise and began to discuss it one after another. They all felt that this new Disciple must be someone of Great Luck; otherwise, how could he have such a fortuitous encounter?

The Sect Master frowned and asked worriedly, "Could the Realm from Empowerment be unstable? Will the Foundation be shaky?"

After all, although Empowerment was a way to quickly raise one's Realm, it often brought side effects, such as an unstable Foundation or a superficial Realm.

Ouyang Liuli quickly replied, "No, Senior Brother need not worry. I have checked; Yang'er's Foundation is solid, and his Realm is stable. Moreover, I have given him some Medicinal Pills to stabilize his Realm, which he must have already taken."

On the surface, she seemed full of confidence in her Disciple, believing he could overcome all difficulties. Inwardly, however, she thought, 'Senior Brother, your Realm isn't even as high as my Disciple's anymore. Cao Yang is an extraordinary person.'

Hearing this, the Sect Master nodded in relief and said after a moment of silence, "That is good then." He knew that for a practitioner, the importance of the Foundation went without saying. If the Foundation was unstable, future cultivation might be limited. But now it seemed the new Disciple's situation was quite good, allowing everyone to breathe a sigh of relief.

Soon, the day was almost over, and the results of the matches came out. Without any suspense, Shen Lang took first place.

At the same time, the thirty True Disciples and Inner Sect Disciples who would participate in the Exchange Meeting were selected. These were the most outstanding Disciples in the Inner Court, and they would represent the School at the Exchange Meeting. As for the Outer Court Disciples, they were not yet qualified to participate in the Exchange Meeting's qualifiers.

Cao Yang, Hua Xinyu, and Fu Xiaoya also prepared to return. Along the way, Cao Yang chatted happily with his two Senior Sisters, and his understanding of them deepened.

During their conversation, the two Senior Sisters suddenly took out two Storage Rings, handed them to Cao Yang, and told him they were meeting gifts for him.

Cao Yang was a bit surprised, but he gratefully accepted the gifts and thanked the two Senior Sisters. Although they were certainly of little use to him, Cao Yang still accepted them to foster their relationship and close the distance between them.

Returning to his Immortal Cave, Cao Yang sat cross-legged on his bed, calmed his mind, closed his eyes, and began to meditate. It was time to use the one-time-use Immortal Artifact Jade Token he had obtained not long ago.

With a thought from Cao Yang, a Jade Token with an ancient aura and covered in runes appeared in his hand.

Cao Yang funneled his spiritual power into the Jade Token, and it lit up with a glow. When Cao Yang opened his eyes, he appeared in front of a grand palace, still holding the Jade Token in his hand.

The palace looked ancient and magnificent. On a golden plaque, four large characters were written: "Shangxiao Immortal Palace."

Cao Yang approached the palace doors and observed closely, discovering a hole in the door that perfectly matched the Jade Token. He took out the Jade Token and inserted it.

Rumble...

The palace doors made a loud noise and automatically opened to both sides. After a moment's thought, Cao Yang stepped into the hall.

Upon entering, what met his eyes was a huge square plaza with four side rooms on either side and the largest main room directly opposite.

The side rooms were labeled as the Immortal Pill Room and the Immortal Technique Room, while the main room was labeled as the Cultivation Room.

Cao Yang first entered the Cultivation Room, only to find that it wasn't just one room; there was a small door next to the main room, which seemed to lead to another small chamber.

After looking inside, the room wasn't large, containing only a Jade Bed that clearly could accelerate cultivation speed.

Cao Yang opened the small door and was startled to find a person inside. Only after a closer look did he realize the person was dead, allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief.

A grey-robed Elder leaned against the wall, eyes tightly shut and hands hanging powerlessly. Cao Yang approached and found that the Elder looked like a living person; the body showed no signs of decay, yet there wasn't a hint of breath.

Taking the Storage Ring off the Elder's hand, he saw that besides a blue Low Grade Immortal Sword and a green Top-Grade Magic Treasure sword, there was also a Jade Slip, a large quantity of Top-Grade Spirit Stones, and a small amount of Low Grade Immortal Stones.

Cao Yang observed carefully again. Aside from a token with "Lingxiao Sect" written on it tucked under the Elder's robes at his waist, there was nothing else.

Besides the old man, there was also a Teleportation Formation in the small room. Next to it was only Spirit Stone powder, likely left behind after the Spirit Stones were exhausted.

Cao Yang returned to the Cultivation Room and looked at the Jade Bed with some confusion. If the Elder's Lifespan had been exhausted, shouldn't he have died on the Jade Bed? There were no signs of a struggle in the small room, and the Elder's body didn't look like it had been injured.

However, it was certain that the Elder was an Immortal. His specific Realm could not be determined since his Immortal power had long since dissipated. Cao Yang used his Void-Breaking Immortal Eye, but he could only see that it was an Immortal Corpse with no further information.

Next, Cao Yang also checked the Immortal Pill Room and the Cultivation Technique Room. Unfortunately, the Medicinal Pills and Cultivation Technique Jade Slips had all turned to ash. It seemed the Elder had been dead for a very long time. Of course, those pills were certainly not true Immortal Pills; the rooms just had intimidating names.

Cao Yang returned to the Cultivation Room, waved his hand to store the Jade Bed, glanced at the Immortal Corpse, and after thinking for a while, decided to let it rest in peace in the ground.

Walking out of the palace, he buried the Immortal Corpse under a large tree outside. He swept his Divine Sense across the exterior; this was just a five-hundred-mile-wide Grotto-heaven. Aside from the palace, there were only some Spiritual Plants and Yao Beasts. Cao Yang directly activated the Jade Token. When he opened his eyes, he found himself back in his Immortal Cave. Looking at the Jade Token which had shattered into pieces in his hand, he breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, it hadn't sent him somewhere very far from the Sect.