After passing through more than a dozen successive doorways and flying up a steep, narrow passage, Hao Shuai emerged into a spacious hall. It was about half the size of the outer hall, but taller. Inside stood a platform about an acre in size, though it was not in the center. There were six doorways in all, and the whole structure was made of crystal, surrounded by a thin veil of pale mist.
A mere formation was no obstacle to Hao Shuai. With a wave of his sleeve, the mist gradually dispersed, revealing a golden bridge. One end was here, while the other disappeared into the distance, beyond sight.
Crossing the bridge, he arrived at an octagonal Golden Court spanning more than ten acres.
"Ancient cultivators really were more extravagant than the last!" Hao Shuai exclaimed as he gazed at the Golden Court before him, radiating golden light and an aura of holiness.
The Golden Court had been forged by Golden Mother Tianyi from Western True Gold, which she melted using the true fires of Heaven, Earth, and Man.
Hao Shuai hardly needed to explain how precious Western True Gold was. After all, the Southern Bright Leaving Fire Sword had been forged by Patriarch Bodhidharma from Western True Gold and the Essence of Li Fire from the south.
This Golden Court was several acres in size. Even if it contained other metals, it must have consumed dozens, perhaps nearly a hundred tons, of Western True Gold.
Inside, the ceiling arched overhead in a golden dome. Below lay a flawless, lustrous floor as smooth and white as jade, dotted with nineteen jade pillars.
The largest stood in the center. It was ten zhang tall and two zhang in diameter, shimmering with scarlet light and radiating a faint holiness.
The eighteen pillars