People of the Sacred Demon Palace
Swish!
Lin Ming's figure swept across the sky, his dark robes fluttering in the sea breeze.
His gaze swept across the palaces on the islands, from east to west, from near to far, constantly identifying the shape and location of each palace, trying to find the main hall where the Mandala itself resided.
Some of the palaces on those islands were built of red stone, some of Qing Mu, and some of white jade, each with a different style. He had carefully examined each one, but none of them matched the dilapidated hall he had seen in the light and shadow of the Scripture Repository.
His search lasted for nearly half an hour.
As time went by, Lin Ming's brows furrowed slightly. By now, he had searched almost half of the islands in this ocean, passing them over one by one like chess pieces on a chessboard.
Some of these palaces did indeed have peculiar Spiritual Energy fluctuations. Some palaces had a miniature Spirit Gathering Formation buried underground that was still in operation. Some palaces had a Jade Slip that was not completely corrupted sealed in the wall. Some palaces still had a very faint trace of the Law remaining on the Altar. Clearly, they were extraordinary objects in the past.
However, those fluctuations did not match Lin Ming's impression. The scale, location, and structure of those palaces were very different from the hall with the Mandala body that he saw in the light and shadow. Obviously, it was not the place where the Mandala body was located.
"Let's search some more." Lin Ming gritted his teeth and once again rushed towards the last unexplored area.
He was even faster than before, his figure flashing across the sea like an elongated black shadow, leaving the white waves behind him like a torn tail.
He increased his speed to the limit, and the invisible sensory network spread out to its maximum extent, like a giant hand sweeping across the sea, touching every island, every reef, and every whirlpool.
However, half an hour later, Lin Ming, who was standing in the sky above the ocean, looked rather grim.
He explored almost the entire sea, from east to west, from south to north, leaving no island unexplored, yet he still couldn't find the grand hall he remembered.
The sea surged beneath his feet, waves crashing down one after another, like a group of mischievous children mocking him.
The sea breeze tousled the stray hairs on his forehead. He raised his hand to tuck them behind his ears, pressing his fingers against his earlobes to suppress his restlessness.
"The grand hall I saw before couldn't be fake." Lin Ming's face was ashen as he suppressed his anxiety and tried his best to calm himself down.
He saw the grand hall clearly in the light and shadow of the Scripture Repository, remembering even the exact location of the cracks on the pillars and the bones on the ground; it could not possibly be an illusion.
But why couldn't he find it at sea? And he didn't seem to see the First Hall's residence either. He had searched all the way here, and although the palaces on those islands were of various sizes, none of them were qualified to be called the "First Hall".
As the head of the Five Halls, the First Hall must be far larger than the other four halls, at least ten times larger than the main halls of the Nine Residences. Yet, he hadn't seen a single hall of that size on this sea.
Lin Ming's lips were pressed tightly together. He scanned the sea, his gaze stretching from the surface to the horizon, repeatedly considering various possibilities in his mind. He murmured, "Could it be out here on the sea?"
If not at sea, then where? He had searched all those islands and scanned every inch of the sea, finding nothing but scattered palaces.
He stared down at the surging sea, the waves crashing beneath his feet, white foam gathering and dispersing, and beneath the surface lay a deep, dark blue, its bottom unseen.
After a moment of silence, Lin Ming's eyes suddenly narrowed. "Not at sea, then could it be at the bottom of the ocean?"
Swish!
Lin Ming's figure transformed into a streak of light and shot down almost instantly, like a pebble launched downwards by a slingshot, finally plunging into the sea with a splash.
The sound of the water splashing created a white spray on the surface of the sea, and then his figure was swallowed up by the dark blue expanse.
As he ventured deeper into the sea, his Spiritual Energy senses spread out, like a net cast into the water, extending in all directions.
The sea was much calmer beneath the surface than above; the waves that surged on the surface transformed into slow, undulating currents underwater, causing his robes to flutter slightly.
The light filtered down from above, turning into a hazy blue-green hue that grew darker the deeper one went, until below a hundred feet, only a deep, inky blue remained.
Then he saw towering palaces, like giant beasts lying prostrate in the deep sea.
Those colossal palaces were more than ten times larger than the islands in the sea. Each one was hundreds of feet tall and was built entirely of some kind of dark blue-green stone. The eaves of the palace roofs pointed upwards like the fangs of giant beasts.
The colossal palaces were connected by wide stone paths, which were covered with waterproof Spiritual Runes that kept the seawater out, forming passageways that could be walked on the seabed.
The entire seabed resembles a giant city submerged in water. Although most of it has collapsed, the remaining outline still allows one to imagine its former grandeur.
Seeing this, Lin Ming finally breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out that the real First Hall was underwater, not on the surface of the sea.
The First Hall's tastes are truly strange. Instead of living on the surface of the sea, he insists on building the entire palace on the seabed, causing all those treasure hunters to wander aimlessly on the ocean. He muttered a complaint to himself, then put away his relaxed demeanor and spread his Spiritual Energy senses again, carefully scanning each of the giant palaces on the seabed.
Call out!
Lin Ming's figure glided across the seawater like a fish, leaving a long trail of bubbles in the deep blue water.
His Spiritual Energy senses spread out, and he probed again, this time finally yielding results.
Among those underwater palaces, one was located in a way that perfectly matched the palace in his memory. Although most of it had collapsed, the remaining pillars and foundation were in the same orientation as the light and shadow he had seen.
"Found you!" Lin Ming felt a sense of certainty and sped off towards the main hall.
His figure appeared before a seabed Ruins, behind Ruins stood an ancient, dilapidated palace.
The surroundings of the main hall were exactly the same as what Lin Ming had seen before: the roof was mostly broken, the door was hanging crookedly on the frame, and the stone steps in front of the hall were covered with cracks.
Moreover, a strange, ethereal fragrance seemed to emanate from the depths of that hall. The fragrance was diluted considerably by the seawater, yet it still stubbornly seeped out from the cracks in the hall's doors, like a thin thread stretching from inside the hall all the way to the outside.
The fragrance was extremely unique, unlike any floral scent he had ever smelled. It carried a deep and ancient sweetness, like a drop of honey dropped into the deep sea. Although it was so faint as to be almost undetectable, its sweetness could penetrate right to the bone, making one intoxicated.
That's the fragrance of flowers, the fragrance of Mandala Flower!
Looking at the dilapidated hall, Lin Ming finally couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Although the palace door was crooked, there were still extremely faint Spiritual Runes remaining on the door frame. They lit up slightly the moment he stepped in, like a pair of half-open, half-closed eyes glancing at him, before going dark again.
The main hall was protected from the corrosive effects of seawater. Although the Spiritual Runes were damaged, they still stubbornly continued to operate, creating a dry space within the hall.
The interior of the main hall is exceptionally magnificent and spacious, with a high dome, numerous pillars, and the stone bricks on the ground, though mostly broken, are still flat.
It's likely that this place was an important location in the First Hall in ancient times, perhaps even the place where the First Hall held meetings or cultivated.
The interior of the main hall was also in ruins, clearly indicating that an extremely fierce battle had taken place there. The exposed white bones were scattered beside the pillars, piled up in the corners, and lay across the middle of the hall's passageway, revealing the brutal carnage that had once taken place.
Lin Ming's gaze swept across the main hall. The next instant, his expression suddenly changed, and he abruptly looked up at the end of the hall.
There was a Stone Door there, and behind the Stone Door was the place where the Mandala was. The Stone Door was about three zhang high, and it was carved entirely from some kind of dark green stone. The surface of the gate was engraved with a circle of dense Mandala Flower intertwined and spread, like a flower field compressed onto the door panel.
However, Lin Ming paid no attention to any of this, because he saw two figures standing in front of the Stone Door.
Lin Ming vaguely remembered one of the two figures. It was a young man dressed in dark blue tight-fitting clothes, with a sinister face, high cheekbones, and a dark green token hanging at his waist, on which was engraved a ferocious demon.
He was a disciple of the Sacred Demon Palace.
Lin Ming's gaze then shifted to the person's side. There, in the shadows, was another figure.
He was dressed in a black and white robe, and seemed a bit old. His hair was gray, his face was thin, his cheekbones were high like a dried-up mountain ridge, his eyes were sunken, and his eyes were half closed, like a skeleton dozing in the shadows.
However, there was no Spiritual Energy fluctuation around it, like a stone thrown in a corner, posing no threat whatsoever.
However, it was precisely this that made Lin Ming feel threatened.
He didn't believe that someone so weak could have overcome all those obstacles to get here. Although most of the Spirit Formation remaining in those underwater Ruins had been destroyed, the remaining Restriction alone were enough to tear a Tier 9 Supreme to shreds.
Those who can reach this stone Stone Door are definitely not as harmless as they appear on the surface.
Upon seeing Lin Ming's arrival, the Sacred Demon Palace disciple turned to the man in the black and white robes, bowed slightly, and said respectfully, "Elder Zuo, we'll leave this to you. The Palace Master said he doesn't want anyone to enter this hall."
Elder Zuo?
Upon seeing the man's respectful demeanor, Lin Ming's pupils suddenly contracted. He then looked at the man in the black and white robe with disbelief.
This person is actually an elder of the Sacred Demon Palace? To be entrusted with such an important task, and even to the point that the disciples are ranked below him, it is clear that this elder's strength must have reached the Earth Sovereign!