Mandala

The spirit vessel was swift, and Futu Yijing soon reached the Extreme Western Land of the Tianluo Continent. Once they drew near the region, he sent the Futu Ancient Clan member piloting the vessel back, intending to cover the rest of the journey on foot.

West City was a major city on the edge of the Extreme Western Land. Despite its importance, however, it had languished in decline over the years, its sparse population leaving it tottering on the brink.

Upon entering West City, Futu Yijing found that its buildings bore the marks of time's scouring, their dilapidation beyond anything he had imagined.

Yet this run-down city was packed with people everywhere he looked, their spiritual energy varying wildly in strength.

The city was truly a place where fish and dragons mingled.

Clearly, the emergence of the Ancient Heavenly Palace Ruins had breathed new life into this major city in the Extreme Western Land of the Tianluo Continent. Its prosperity and bustling crowds had reached almost unimaginable heights.

And streaks of light continued to pour toward it in an endless stream, filling the sky as they hurtled through the air.

The allure of the opportunities within the Ancient Heavenly Palace Ruins was plain to see.

Countless spiritual energy fluctuations rippled through the vast city. Even from an immense distance, one could sense the turbulence caused by spiritual energy gathering so densely that the spiritual aura of heaven and earth seethed.

Some of those streaks of light carried obscure yet powerful spiritual energy fluctuations, but none could stir any interest in Futu Yijing.

There was not a single Upper Earth Sovereign to be found in the entire city.

Futu Yijing had originally thought he would be pressed for time, which was why he had taken a spirit vessel here. Now, however, it seemed he had arrived a little too early.

Just as Futu Yijing was lamenting his early arrival, a spiritual energy fluctuation caught his attention.

"An Upper Earth Sovereign?" Futu Yijing's gaze pierced through space toward a mountain peak outside the city.

The spiritual energy there seethed no less fiercely than in West City, yet there were far fewer people than within its walls. Anyone capable of producing such fluctuations clearly could not be merely in the Supreme Realm.

After a moment's thought, Futu Yijing rose into the air and shot in that direction at tremendous speed.

On a mountain peak outside West City, numerous figures moved about, busy with some unknown task.

Among them, a little girl sat at the very center, and everyone around her treated her with great respect.

"Domain Lord, Emperor Mu and the Nine Nether Emperor have already gone ahead to West City to gather information." The man who spoke looked as though he had yet to wake up properly.

"I was the one who sent them," the little girl said indifferently.

The Upper Earth Sovereign spiritual energy fluctuation Futu Yijing had sensed was emanating from this little girl.

These people came from the Northern Realm. The little girl was Mandala, the Domain Lord of the Northern Realm's Great Luo Heavenly Domain, while the drowsy-looking man was the Sleeping Emperor, the most mysterious of the Great Luo Heavenly Domain's five emperors.

At that moment, a man clad in black battle armor, with a golden crown atop his head and an exceptionally heroic countenance, abruptly appeared before them.

The instant he appeared, everyone moving about came to a halt, their gazes filling with wariness as they turned toward him.

The Sleeping Emperor no longer looked remotely sleepy.

This man had appeared before him without a sound, and he had not detected the slightest hint of his approach. Had the man not been standing right before his eyes, he likely would still have remained unaware of him.

The man who had suddenly appeared was Futu Yijing, who had come from West City.

At that moment, a trace of surprise also flashed through Futu Yijing's eyes.

He had not expected the Upper Earth Sovereign spiritual energy he had sensed to belong to Mandala of the Great Luo Heavenly Domain.

What a coincidence.

Still, Futu Yijing's interest was piqued. Had he not been able to discern Mandala's cultivation clearly, it would have been difficult to associate her outward appearance with an Earthly Sovereign.

Unlike those around her, Mandala regarded Futu Yijing with a much graver look.

The others were wary of Futu Yijing, but even though they could not see through his cultivation, their Domain Lord was right beside them. That gave them a strong sense of security.

Their Domain Lord was an Upper Earth Sovereign, after all.

Mandala, however, was different. She had no other powerful expert beside her to provide that supposed sense of security. She, too, could not see through this man's cultivation, though the spiritual energy he unconsciously emitted gave her some inkling of it.

This fellow was stronger than her!

Even if he was not a Complete Earthly Sovereign, he was certainly someone who had reached the level of Upper Earth Sovereign long ago.

She had been the Domain Lord of the Great Luo Heavenly Domain for so long that, while she could not claim to know every Earthly Sovereign on the Tianluo Continent, she knew most of them.

Yet she had never seen or even heard of the man before her.

"There's no need to be so wary. If I wanted to attack you, you wouldn't even have a chance to react," Futu Yijing said with a wave of his hand.

His words clearly did not make those around him lower their guard. Instead, they grew even more vigilant.

"Lower your guard. He's telling the truth." Mandala also waved her hand.

She knew perfectly well that his remark had not been directed at her subordinates, but at her.

Only after their Domain Lord spoke did the Sleeping Emperor and the others relax their guard, while inwardly pondering the man's identity and cultivation.

Their Domain Lord's words had carried another very obvious implication: this man was at least her equal in strength.

Understanding that implication, the Sleeping Emperor and the others could not help marveling at the allure of the Ancient Heavenly Palace. At the same time, they could already foresee how fierce the struggle over it would be.

They had only just arrived, yet they had already encountered someone whose strength rivaled their Domain Lord's.

"You're a sharp one," Futu Yijing said.

"What brings you here, sir?" Though those around her had relaxed their vigilance, Mandala had not lowered her guard in the slightest. Spiritual energy circulated within her, ready for her to strike immediately if he made any suspicious move.

"I arrived too early and had nothing much to do. I sensed your spiritual energy, so I came over to take a look. But now, there really is something I'd like to ask." Futu Yijing paid no mind to Mandala's little precautions.

Even Maha You, with his Complete Earthly Sovereign cultivation and the Maha Immeasurable Calamity, one of the Thirty-Six Peerless Divine Abilities, could do nothing but take a beating at his hands. What chance did Mandala have when she had only just become an Upper Earth Sovereign?

"Is there a kid named Mu Chen in your Great Luo Heavenly Domain?"

Futu Yijing had not seen Mu Chen here, so he needed to confirm whether his own appearance had caused any deviations in Mu Chen's experiences.

Even though he had never appeared in Mu Chen's life, he still needed to make certain of that to avoid triggering a butterfly effect.

"Do you have business with him?" Mandala's gaze grew even more guarded as she looked at Futu Yijing.

She had never heard that the kid Mu Chen had an Earthly Sovereign backing him.

Since this was not an Earthly Sovereign backing Mu Chen, he could only be an enemy. Otherwise, why would he remember someone like Mu Chen, who was merely in the Supreme Realm?