Palace

The next day

Zhou Hao, who was in the middle of his cultivation, slowly finished his practice. He had successfully broken through to Spirit Consciousness Sixth Order, so he planned to leave Shilpo Mountain Stronghold today.

After leaving Shilpo Mountain Stronghold, he intended to head towards "Luoyang Town," that large town where merchants frequently appeared.

Since he was already here, he naturally had to experience the prosperity of this world!

"Let's go!" Zhou Hao said, looking at the spacious room.

The room was spacious because he had stored the bed in his Storage Ring. Fortunately, his Storage Ring had a large capacity, otherwise, it would have been difficult to fit a large bed.

"Gold, Silver, Yuanbao, and Jewels, we're leaving." Zhou Hao, along with them, flew directly away from Shilpo Mountain Stronghold.

The villagers looked up and knew Zhou Hao had left. Without Zhou Hao, an outsider, they found themselves unaccustomed to his absence for a moment.

Following the map provided by Ma Hongyun, Zhou Hao flew east. At their current flying speed, they would arrive in no time.

It all depended on whether Zhou Hao wanted to go fast or slow.

Zhou Hao looked down and saw that the main road indeed had quite a few merchants on it. Some who didn't have Storage Rings were traveling with goods loaded onto beast-drawn carts.

"Dad, there are people over there," Zhou Yuanbao suddenly said, pointing towards the nine o'clock direction.

Zhou Hao turned his head and saw a group of people digging in the ground, unsure of what they were doing.

"Do you want to go take a look?" Mu Jinyin asked, flapping its wings and flying to Zhou Hao's side.

Zhou Hao thought for a moment and nodded, "Let's go take a look! We're not in a hurry anyway."

"Ah-choo~"

Jewelry suddenly sneezed.

Zhou Hao immediately knew it had detected a Mysterious Grade Treasure and asked, "Which direction?"

Jewelry pointed in the direction they were heading.

Zhou Hao smiled, "So, they have Mysterious Grade Treasures on them!"

Looking at it this way, these people didn't seem ordinary, as Mysterious Grade Treasures weren't something just anyone could possess.

Just as they were getting closer, a man with long, flowing hair flew towards them.

"Who are you, sir? Please state your name," Jiang Jun, the long-haired man, asked with clasped hands.

Zhou Hao paused, then mimicked his gesture, "Zhou Hao. May I ask who you are, brother?"

"Jiang Jun," Jiang Jun replied indifferently.

He continued, "The Jiang Family of Tianyang City has matters to attend to here. Please, all extraneous individuals, do not approach, or do not blame Jiang for being ruthless with his sword."

Zhou Hao curled his lip, "Can you not speak in such convoluted ways? Also, I haven't heard of any Jiang Family in this area."

He hated people who tried to pressure others with their family background right from the start.

"It seems you wish to spar with me." Jiang Jun's long sword suddenly appeared in his hand, and a sharp ringing sound echoed.

Zhou Hao shrugged. Since the other party had a weapon, he decided not to act himself and planned to let Zhou Yuanbao teach this kid a lesson.

"Yuanbao..."

Just then, a powerful golden light erupted from the location of the group.

Jiang Jun abruptly turned his head and immediately flew over.

Zhou Hao watched that area. In the next moment, the earth shook and the ground cracked, and a massive dark shadow rose from beneath the earth.

Everyone immediately took to the air.

After the dark shadow revealed its full form, everyone realized it was actually a colossal palace.

Zhou Hao was also quite surprised, not expecting to encounter such a major event just by passing through.

"Ding~"

A long, clear chime sounded from the palace, drawing the attention of everyone present.

On a protective barrier outside the palace, a number thirty appeared.

"What does this mean?" Zhou Hao didn't understand.

Just then, Jiang Jun and the others flew over together and broke through the protective barrier.

At this point, the number changed, becoming twenty-three.

A flash of inspiration struck Zhou Hao, and he immediately understood what the number meant: the number of people who could enter.

Jiang Jun had brought six people in earlier, and then the number decreased by seven.

Zhou Hao hesitated whether to join the commotion. After all, the palace looked quite extraordinary. However, he glanced at Zhou Yuanbao and Mu Jinyin, and his confidence immediately surged. With these two guardian deities present, there was no need to be timid.

He immediately took Zhou Yuanbao and the others and flew in.

The next moment, the number twenty-three dropped again, becoming twenty-two.

The commotion here was significant, and it was estimated that powerful individuals would soon flock over. However, with a limited number of spots, it was first come, first served, and it depended on who was faster.

After entering the palace, Zhou Hao didn't see Jiang Jun and the others; there was only an empty grand hall.

"Ah-choo~"

Jewelry started sneezing as soon as it entered.

Zhou Hao's eyes darted, and with a slight smile, he picked up Jewelry, letting it guide them.

This place was too mysterious, and Zhou Hao didn't feel safe letting Jewelry run around freely, so he had to hold it.

Soon, with Jewelry's guidance, they found a bottle of pills, a Mysterious Grade Low Rank Pill to Break Limits, the very one Xu Shan had killed Shi Po for.

Zhou Hao obtained it with ease. He wondered if this was ironic.

Xu Shan had dared to poison his own Big Brother for this pill, yet Zhou Hao got it effortlessly, obtaining five pills at once.

"Ah-choo~"

Jewelry had found something new.

Under Jewelry's direction, Zhou Hao found a Mysterious Grade Mid Rank cultivation technique called Mysterious Spring Divine Art in a hidden compartment in a room.

The name sounded quite impressive, but its rank wasn't particularly great.

Still, it was better than nothing, so Zhou Hao took it all.

"Hm?" Zhou Hao glanced up and noticed a Soaring Serpent totem carved on the ceiling.

"Carving a totem in such a place? There must be something fishy."

When Zhou Hao tried to fly, he found he couldn't.

He looked at Zhou Yuanbao and Mu Jinyin and frowned. Why was he the only one who couldn't fly?

"Dad, there's an anti-flight formation here, so you won't be able to fly," Mu Jinyin reminded him.

"Then why can you guys fly?" Zhou Hao asked.

"Because we're stronger!"

Zhou Yuanbao and Mu Jinyin said in unison.

Zhou Hao's mouth twitched. Fine! He had asked a redundant question.

He pointed to the totem on the ceiling and instructed Zhou Yuanbao, "Go take a look."

Zhou Yuanbao flew up and followed the Soaring Serpent's patterns, finally stopping at the eye area.

"Did you find anything?" Zhou Hao asked immediately when Zhou Yuanbao stopped.

Zhou Yuanbao turned back and said, "There are two drops of Soaring Serpent blood in the Soaring Serpent's eyes."

Zhou Hao waved his hand, "Then take them out!"

Although he didn't know much about Soaring Serpents, the Soaring Serpent blood should be a high-grade treasure.

Zhou Yuanbao dug out the Soaring Serpent's two eyes.

The next moment, the room began to shake, and the entire ceiling pressed down.

Zhou Hao quickly grabbed Zhou Yuanbao and the others and ran.

"Phew, this cursed place really does have mechanisms," Zhou Hao exhaled and pouted.

He had been wondering if there would be any traps here, and sure enough, there were. His decision not to let Jewelry run around earlier was the right one.