The vast hall was silent all around; only the air, as though time itself had frozen within it, flowed slowly onward.
No one knew how long passed before a sound finally came from that lofty place above.
It was only a single, brief word, yet it carried the boundless majesty of the nine heavens.
"Summon!"
That word bore an authority so overwhelming that no thought of refusal could arise, crashing heavily down upon the woman below.
Beyond the palace gates, a biting cold wind howled through, sweeping up the dust from the ground.
Lu Xuan's mysterious black robe snapped loudly in the wind as he stood there in utter stillness, like a statue.
This feeling?
Lu Xuan raised his gaze toward the towering palace gates before him, his eyes filled with wariness and caution.
It was a feeling so terrifying that even he, a Divine Mansion Realm martial artist, felt his heart pound in alarm.
Since he had begun cultivating martial arts, this was the first time Lu Xuan had ever felt the urge to flee a thousand miles at once.
Lu Xuan narrowed his eyes slightly, a faint purple light shining from his pupils as though he were weighing something.
With his movement technique, Within Reach, Yet Worlds Away, so long as he used it at once—
Lu Xuan could break free of the Shackles imposed by Heaven and Earth Power upon the Divine Mansion Realm, treading upon empty air as if it were solid ground.
One step would carry him across mountains and rivers, letting him flee a thousand miles away in the blink of an eye.
Once that thought flashed through his mind, Lu Xuan's tightly drawn nerves relaxed slightly.
The caution lingering in his heart was ultimately suppressed by Lu Xuan.
Suddenly!
The palace gates before