Second Hall
After leaving the First Hall, Lin Ming headed towards the Second Hall.
After emerging from the underwater palace complex, he paused briefly in mid-air to regulate his breathing, circulating the remaining Spiritual Energy within his body for several cycles before setting off towards the Second Hall.
According to the markings on the map we obtained, the Second Hall was located northeast of the First Hall, separated by a vast area of Ruins.
The area was littered with collapsed palaces and broken stone pillars, resembling a forest of toppled blocks. Occasionally, one could see the remains of large magical artifacts half-buried in the rubble. Some of these remains, like broken swords protruding dozens of feet above the ground, were like giant bronze bells tilted among the Ruins. Clearly, even these important artifacts that guarded the palaces were destroyed in that battle.
Lin Ming flew for about two hours, bypassing several broken Spirit Formation along the way. Although most of those Spirit Formation were no longer effective, there were still a few remnants of Spiritual Runes clinging to life, like a group of old soldiers forgotten on the battlefield still guarding a position that had long since lost its meaning.
He avoided those dangerous areas one by one, relying on the array formations inherited from the Master of the Lin Residence, and did not encounter any major obstacles.
After traveling for more than two hours, the space around him suddenly began to fluctuate violently. The fluctuation was very similar to the teleportation he had experienced at the entrance of the Five Halls, as if an invisible hand had lifted him up from his spot and thrown him in a certain direction.
Then the scene before my eyes underwent a dramatic change.
Before me lay a sky shrouded in mist. The sky was a strange, deep blue-green, like a bronze mirror that had been laid out. Countless wisps of white mist swirled slowly on the surface of the mirror. Some of the mist was as thick as cotton, while others were as thin as gauze. They intertwined and entwined with each other, enveloping the entire sky in a hazy mist.
Beneath the sky was a majestic mountain that seemed to reach the heavens.
The mountain rose abruptly from the ground, its base tens of thousands of feet wide, its body steep and sheer, like a giant stone pillar driven into the earth.
The mountainside is shrouded in clouds and mist, dividing the mountain into two sections: the upper half soars into the sky, while the lower half disappears into Sea of Clouds.
At this moment, Lin Ming was on this huge mountain peak. He was standing on the upper part of the mountainside, with a flat Blue Stone platform under his feet. Several dead ancient pines grew on the edge of the platform. The pine branches were twisted like dragons. Although they had no needles, the posture of the branches still exuded a strong sense of vigor.
Amidst the mountain peaks, there are towering buildings that stretch as far as the eye can see.
The palaces and halls extend upwards along the mountainside, some perched on peaks, some hanging on cliffs, some hidden in valleys, and some spanning streams.
Each of these halls was several times larger than the side halls surrounding the First Hall. The eaves of the halls resembled a flock of giant birds about to take flight, and the bronze bells hanging from the eaves swayed gently in the wind, emitting a faint, muffled sound.
Grand halls stand tall, exuding a majestic and ancient aura, filling the entire world with a sense of vicissitude.
The walls of those palaces were covered with withered vines, the stone steps were covered with a thick layer of dust, and the square was scattered with pebbles and broken flagpoles. Even so, the magnificent atmosphere that emanated from the very core of the buildings still made Lin Ming nod in approval.
The Second Hall was relatively well preserved. Although it had also experienced a major battle, most of the main structures of those halls were still standing, unlike the First Hall which had collapsed into Ruins.
At the highest point of the mountain, Lin Ming immediately saw the most magnificent hall.
The grand hall was a thousand feet tall, constructed entirely of some kind of deep blue-green boulder, resembling a mountain peak sculpted into the shape of a palace.
The roof of the hall is domed, like an inverted giant bowl, with dense cloud and Lightning Patterns carved on its surface. These patterns gleam with a cold, eerie luster on the dark blue stone.
The stone steps in front of the hall have a total of one hundred steps, each more than a person high. The steps are engraved with fine anti-slip patterns, like rows of fine sand carved into the stone.
Humans were like ants before. When Lin Ming stood at the foot of this giant palace, he looked up and saw that the palace roof pierced into the clouds. He could not even see the upturned eaves clearly. He could only vaguely see a huge outline appearing and disappearing in the clouds.
Above the main hall was a plaque with the three majestic golden characters "Second Hall" written on it.
The plaque was about several tens of feet wide, and was cast entirely from some kind of dark gold metal. The characters on the plaque were vigorous and powerful, each stroke as if engraved deep into the metal, radiating golden light.
The golden light seemed to emanate a powerful surge, causing Spatial Fluctuations. Even the surrounding clouds were bathed in its golden light, resembling a Little Sun hanging above the palace gate.
"So this is the Second Hall..." Lin Ming looked at the massive hall and couldn't help but grin.
He had already amassed a considerable fortune by looting from the First Hall to the Second Hall, but upon seeing this magnificent palace, his excitement for the treasure hunt surged back.
Without further hesitation, he swept past, transforming into a streak of light and heading straight for the giant hall.
Of course, despite his seemingly rapid progress, Lin Ming still extended his Spiritual Energy perception to explore his surroundings, so as not to stumble into any broken Spirit Formation.
His Spiritual Energy spread out like an invisible net before him, sweeping over every inch of the ground, every stone pillar, and every corner of the palace along the way.
Fortunately, the journey was exceptionally smooth, as the Spirit Formation that once covered this place seemed to have been completely destroyed in the great war of Ancient Era.
He only encountered two or three remaining fragments of the array halfway up the mountain. The Spiritual Runes were broken into pieces, like torn spider webs hanging in the corner. He simply flicked them a couple of times and completely dispersed the remaining Spiritual Runes.
Just a few minutes later, Lin Ming appeared in front of the main hall.
He landed on the last step of the hundred stone steps and looked up at the tightly closed bronze door. The two doors were each several tens of feet high and were cast entirely in some kind of dark blue bronze. The surface of the doors was engraved with dense Yun Lei, which extended from the door frame to the threshold, like a storm etched on the bronze surface.
He cautiously probed the two doors, extending his Spiritual Energy towards them. The moment he touched them, he felt an extremely powerful sealing force surging out from the cracks in the doors, like an invisible wall that forcefully repelled his senses.
The seal was of extremely high quality, reaching the level of High-Rank Grandmaster. Its structure was far more intricate than the array he had encountered in front of the inner treasury of the First Hall. The Spiritual Runes were layered and nested together like a copper wire mesh woven with dozens of layers. Each copper wire was connected to several others, so that moving one would affect the whole thing.
He simply couldn't force it open; if he tried to break it, it would probably take several days, and there was no guarantee he'd succeed.
This made Lin Ming frown and ponder for a moment. His wandering gaze suddenly stopped on the plaque above the bronze gate, where the three golden characters stood out conspicuously against the dark palace entrance.
Lin Ming's eyes flashed, and then he clenched his fist, and the token of the Golden Dragon Disciple appeared in his hand.
The token was entirely dark gold, with Dragon Patterns coiled around it, and it felt slightly warm in his palm, like a heart that had been awakened.
The token emitted a golden light, which then floated and shot directly into the plaque. The three large golden characters on the plaque lit up instantly upon the arrival of the light, like a string of lit golden lamps.
Suddenly, rays of light descended from the plaque, like fine golden threads extending downwards and entering the tightly closed door.
The golden lines spread across the gate like a group of golden snakes swimming on a bronze surface, filling in the Yun Lei one by one.
Creak.
The bronze gate, which had been tightly closed for thousands of years, finally creaked open at this moment. The sound was long and deep, like the sigh of a giant beast that had been sleeping for thousands of years as it turned over.
The two doors slid open little by little, and a very strong ancient atmosphere wafted out from the cracks.
Seeing this, Lin Ming couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He tossed the Golden Dragon Disciple Token in his hand and sighed with emotion.
Within this Ancient Heavenly Palace, the identity token was indeed of paramount importance; no matter where one went, the token was required to verify one's identity.
The bronze gate slowly opened, and an ancient, primordial aura swept in.
The aura was thick and fierce, like a gust of wind from ancient times, causing his robes to flutter wildly.
In that instant, Lin Ming seemed to hear countless sounds of fierce fighting, incredibly tragic.
The sounds poured out from behind the door, like a group of souls sealed inside the hall finally finding an exit the moment the door opened. There were the clanging of swords clashing, the booming of magic colliding, the screams of the dying, and the dull thud of war drums. The sounds intertwined like a tragic war song.
The door finally opened, and Lin Ming regained consciousness.
He hesitated for a moment, then took a step forward and entered the Second Hall.
The main hall was extremely vast, with a dome that hung hundreds of feet high. The stone beams at the top were like rows of giant trees spanning the sky, and the beams were covered with dense runes. Although most of the runes had faded, a few still stubbornly flickered with a faint light.
However, this once magnificent palace was now in ruins, with cracks all over the floor, clearly indicating that it had been the site of a great battle.
Most of the paving stones on the ground were shattered, and the fragments were scattered all over the ground like a piece of ice that had been smashed. The pillars of the palace were covered with deep marks from being cleaved by knives and axes, some of which were cracked from the top of the pillar all the way to the base, like a bamboo that had been split open.
Scattered throughout the hall were broken spiritual artifacts and withered bones. Some of the artifacts still retained faint Spiritual Energy fluctuations, while the bones were either intact or incomplete, scattered in various corners of the hall.