Before the Heavenly River
Before the Heavenly River, many people had already gathered here.
The Heavenly River stretched across the sky, like a silver ribbon descending from the heavens. Its waters were almost transparent and milky white, and every drop contained an extremely rich Spiritual Energy.
The Heavenly River's flow was not rapid; in fact, it was extremely gentle. The milky white water flowed slowly through the riverbed, like a pot of spiritual soup simmered over a gentle fire for millennia. Its surface was calm, but its interior surged with a vast Spiritual Energy that could move even the most powerful Earth Sovereign.
A thin layer of mist hung over the river, slowly drifting through the air and enveloping the entire Heavenly River in a hazy, ethereal glow.
At the entrance to the Heavenly River is an extremely ancient seal, which is like a huge transparent glass that seals the entire Heavenly River within it. The surface of the glass is covered with densely packed runes.
The complexity of those runes far exceeded any formation Lin Ming had ever seen before; each rune was like a miniature star slowly rotating on the surface of the glass.
Outside the seal, several hundred people had gathered in scattered groups along the Heavenly River. Some sat cross-legged with their eyes closed, some were talking in hushed tones, and some were staring intently at the seal, waiting for the moment it would be opened.
"Hehe, I didn't expect you guys to be so fast." A figure smiled as he looked at a group of people who were approaching.
He was a young man dressed in a floral robe, with a fair complexion and a somewhat cynical smile on his lips, waving a folding fan in his hand with a whooshing sound.
His gaze swept across the faces of those people one by one, then subtly withdrew, a hint of apprehension flashing deep in his eyes.
This person is also one of the strongest among the younger generation of the Sky Luo Continent. He is known as "Flower-Faced Fox". His cultivation has reached the late stage of the Tier 9 Supreme. He is usually very shrewd and adept at dealing with various forces.
But the aura emanating from the figure at the very front of the group he was facing made him tremble slightly. He sensed a very clear aura of danger emanating from the latter, a feeling like suddenly smelling the scent of a tiger while walking in the jungle, sending chills down his spine even before they met.
The visitor simply nodded in response to the greeting.
The leader was dressed in a dark blue close-fitting outfit. His face was cold and indifferent, his eyebrows were like knives, and his lips were tightly pursed. He was like a sharp sword that had been sheathed, its sharpness concealed but its cold light hidden.
He simply nodded slightly to the Flower-Faced Fox and said no more, leading his team straight toward the seal.
The Flower-Faced Fox clearly noticed the newcomer's lukewarm attitude, so it immediately pursed its lips and stopped approaching. Instead, it turned its gaze to the vast Heavenly River, its eyes sparkling with a strange light.
He secretly calculated in his heart that the number of places for the Heavenly River Baptism was limited, and the Nine Residences Tokens were the keys to unlock them. Although he also had a token that he had found in a certain mansion, it was probably inferior to the token that the team had just had.
Following this group, another wave of people quickly arrived.
The lights and shadows arrived from all directions, some in groups of three or five, others alone and proud like eagles, each figure radiating a considerable Spiritual Energy fluctuation.
Among them were many familiar faces to the Flower-Faced Fox; they were all elite disciples from various powerful forces on the Sky Luo Continent, whom he had met in various Secret Realm and auctions.
However, these groups of people looked rather disheveled at this moment. Some had their robes torn to shreds, some had bloodstains still wet on their foreheads, and some groups were clearly missing several familiar figures, indicating that they had suffered considerable losses.
Most of the losses were backlashes encountered while traversing the dilapidated formations surrounding the Nine Residences. Although some of these formations had been broken for tens of thousands of years, the residual power of their Law was still enough to severely injure careless individuals.
At that moment, Qing Yanjing's figure flew in from afar, her Elegant Long Skirt drawing attention against the gray-white sky.
Qing Yanjing's figure swept across the sky with an unhurried and composed demeanor. Her late arrival was naturally because she had also gone to obtain the Nine Residences Tokens.
The Jade Slip containing the Spirit Residence in her hand marked its location. Along the way, she traveled from the Dragon Ascension Gate to the Spirit Residence, and then from the Spirit Residence to the Heavenly River. In between, she passed through several broken array areas and fought with several evil Puppet wandering among the Ruins, which caused her to waste a lot of time.
Fortunately, her journey to the Spirit Residence went smoothly. She found the Spirit Residence's token in the mansion, a jade Jade Pendant with a pure green Spiritual Runes, which was hanging quietly at her waist, swaying slightly as she flew.
Her arrival immediately drew the attention of the vast majority of people in the room.
After all, as a goddess of the Buddha Ancient Clan, even if she herself did not want to be ostentatious, the eyes of outsiders would still be drawn to her.
Those gazes, filled with curiosity, scrutiny, a mixture of admiration and apprehension, were like a swarm of fireflies gazing at a bright moon.
Seeing this, Qing Yanjing, who was already used to it, ignored the gazes of these people.
Her expression remained aloof, her clear, cold eyes calmly sweeping over the crowd gathered on the south bank of the Heavenly River, as if searching for something.
But after scanning the area, she still couldn't find the person she was looking for, the one who dared to move the entire Star Residence before her.
She frowned slightly, then looked away, walked to the front of the seal, found a quiet spot, and waited for the Heavenly River to open so she could find the person who had moved the Star Residence.
After Qing Yanjing arrived, the sound of wind breaking could be heard continuously from the distant rear, and one after another, flashes of light and shadow arrived and landed outside the Heavenly River.
Those figures of light and shadow all possessed considerable strength, many of them being Tier 9 Supreme beings, and numerous of them were powerful individuals cultivated by top forces on the Sky Luo Continent.
There was an elder from the Sacred Demon Palace of the Southern Region, dressed in a dark green robe, surrounded by a chilling aura; there was a True Disciple from the Primordial Sect of the Western Region, with a burly build like an iron tower, whose every step made the gravel beneath his feet tremble; there was the Hidden Guard Leader sent by the Xia Imperial Dynasty of the Eastern Region, dressed in a black outfit, his face obscured by the shadow of his hood.
At the same time, there were also some unfamiliar but equally powerful faces, who were likely forces from outside the Sky Luo Continent.
There was a young man dressed in white with a long sword without a sheath hanging at his waist. Runes were faintly flowing on the sword, and its aura was extremely sharp. There was also a woman whose face was covered with a thin veil. She exuded a cold aura, as if she had walked out of the depths of the Netherworld.
In just over an hour, the area outside the once quiet Heavenly River began to bustle with activity.
Countless powerful Spiritual Energy surged into the sky, indicating that those who came here were not benevolent.
The fluctuations of Spiritual Energy intertwined, collided, and compressed each other, causing the entire space on the south bank of the Heavenly River to tremble slightly.
Although most of the people gathered there were strangers to each other, no one dared to be careless in such a situation. Each of them gathered some of their Spiritual Energy in case someone suddenly attacked them.
Splash!
As more and more light and shadow converged, the magnificent Heavenly River in front seemed to be stirred as well, and a clear and melodious sound of water echoed out.
The sound of the water was initially very faint, like a drop of dew falling into a lake, but it quickly grew louder and more frequent, like a symphony played by countless water droplets resounding between heaven and earth.
The sound of water echoed, and everyone felt their Spiritual Energy surge. It was an extreme longing, like a traveler who had been thirsty for a long time suddenly smelling the scent of a clear spring.
The Spiritual Energy within everyone yearns to enter the Heavenly River, to be Purified and refined.
That longing surged from the depths of their bones, like an uncontrollable instinct, causing everyone present to take half a step toward the Heavenly River.
Just then, four more figures rushed in with a whooshing sound.
The four figures arrived with incredible speed, like arrows shot from a bow tearing through the sky, leaving four afterimages of different colors in the gray-white sky.
The leading figure, a dark black figure, was the fastest, followed closely by a streak of purple-gold light, and then two slightly weaker beams of light.
Four beams of light streaked across the distant horizon, slowing down when they were still thousands of feet away from the Heavenly River. Even so, the shockwaves they sent pebbles flying to both sides of the gravel beach below.
"Who are these two mysterious experts leading the group?" some people murmured as they looked at the four arriving people.
After all, the aura of the man and woman was in no way weaker than that of the strong people on the field. The man was tall and slender, with a handsome and youthful face, and his aura was as deep as a pool. The woman was graceful, her Purple-Gold Dress fluttering gently in the wind, her face was exquisite and bright, and she exuded an extremely noble bloodline pressure.
However, to the vast majority of people, the two of them were complete strangers, like two people who had appeared out of nowhere.
However, some people were shocked at this moment.
Xu Ru from Horizon Tower stood on one side of the crowd, her red dress standing out against the grayish-white daylight.
At that moment, she was staring at the four figures. Her large, bright eyes widened suddenly when she saw their faces, and she covered her mouth in shock, exclaiming, "These people are still alive after Xia Emperor made his move?"
Her voice wasn't loud, but it reached the ears of many people clearly on the now quiet pebble beach.
Those who heard her words turned to look, their faces showing a mixture of surprise and doubt.
The news of Xia Emperor's intervention spread like wildfire in the Far Western Lands. Most people believed that the black-clad youth who dared to kill the younger brother of the Emperor of the Great Xia Imperial Dynasty had been killed on the spot by Xia Emperor. Seeing him appear here in person was a shock that struck everyone's understanding like a heavy hammer blow.