The masters of the four regions' sacred lands
In the void.
"It's about time I headed to the next stop."
Lin Yu murmured with a faint smile.
Ever since transmigrating, he had already decided to return to the Qianyuan Sect, where he had once shed his sweat, and take a look.
"But before that, there are still a few things to do..."
A plump, adorable figure surfaced in Lin Yu's mind, and a slight smile touched his lips.
"At this point, that stupid cat should be just about to complete its transformation."
"If I remember correctly, it was in the bitterly cold lands of the empire's northern region..."
"Then I'll go take a look first."
With that, Lin Yu abruptly accelerated, his figure vanishing from the spot in an instant!
Such was the terrifying speed of a Tribulation Transcendence Period expert!
The empire's northern region, in the bitterly cold lands.
This ice field lay almost at the northernmost edge of the Great Yan Empire.
The temperature here had also dropped almost as low as it could go!
Thick layers of ice never melted, day after day.
Yet this ice field, rarely visited by humans and almost never touched by sunlight, was different.
At this moment, an unusual, eerie atmosphere emanated from it.
Amid that bitter cold, there seemed to be a barely perceptible trace of scorching heat!
"It should be somewhere nearby."
Lin Yu swept out with his powerful immortal sense and instantly locked onto his target's location.
"Sure enough, it's these four."
Lin Yu nodded slightly.
In the instant his immortal sense swept past, he had detected four very familiar presences.
Those presences belonged to experts from the sacred lands of the Great Yan Empire's four regions!
Every one of them had come in person!
The Great Yan Empire possessed vast territories.
Geographically, it was divided into four regions: east, west, south, and north.
Thousands of years ago, the imperial family of the Great Yan Empire had already split into four branches.
Those four branches had respectively become the later imperial families of the eastern, western, northern, and southern regions!
Every change of emperor sparked fierce overt and covert struggles between the four regional imperial families, and the process was brutal!
Only the victor could inherit the throne!
However, these four regional imperial families were merely what everyone could see, the strongest powers the four regions displayed to the world.
Only a tiny number of experts knew that beyond the imperial families, other powers existed within the four regions-the true rulers of the cultivation world!
Those rulers in the shadows were the four great sacred lands!
Each of the four regions-east, west, south, and north-had its own sacred land!
The sacred lands of these four regions were truly transcendent powers within the Great Yan Empire!
The sacred lands never participated in ordinary sect conflicts or worldly affairs.
The vast majority of people were not even qualified to learn that these four great sacred lands existed!
Only the upper echelons of first-rate powers and young people who performed outstandingly at their respective regions' grand sect gatherings could learn of the sacred lands' existence!
Among them, a few young members of the generation whose extraordinary talents dazzled at those regional sect gatherings would even be admitted into a sacred land, becoming Holy Sons of supreme status!
Of course, such outsiders were ultimately a minority.
The strongest members of each sacred land were still the Holy Sons the sacred lands had raised themselves!
They represented the true pinnacle of the younger generation throughout the entire empire!
Even the empire's imperial family, split across four regions, could only concede their inferiority!
Yet the Holy Lords of these four transcendent sacred domains had actually gathered together in this far northern land!
Such a sight was not seen once in ten thousand years!
"Heh, Old Han, to think someone like you, a divine dragon whose head is seen but never its tail, would come join the excitement too?"
Among the four, a man in long black robes spoke first.
Although his face likewise looked far from young, not the slightest weariness could be heard in his voice.
"Hahaha, Old Li, even little sister Ying is here this time. How could my southern region's sacred land possibly miss out?"
On the other side, the man addressed as "Old Han" laughed heartily, jutting his lips toward the beautiful married woman off to one side.
In truth, neither man's face could really be called old; at most, they only looked middle-aged.
However, upon hearing their words, the beautiful woman merely gave a cold snort without offering any response.
Clearly, these people could hardly be said to get along well in their everyday dealings.
"All right, everyone, stop bickering. I can sense that this emperor-grade immortal beast's evolution has already reached a critical stage!"
"It could awaken and emerge at any time within the next three years!"
The middle-aged man who had remained silent suddenly spoke pensively, and the other three immediately sharpened their gazes.
At the center of the four people's encirclement stood a gigantic, crystal-like triangular solid.
A layer of sacred radiance shone from its surface, while immense power could faintly be sensed within.
One glance was enough to tell that it was anything but ordinary!
"Heh, an infant emperor-grade immortal beast really is something you don't see once in ten thousand years..."
Li Lieyang, the eastern region's Holy Lord, licked his lips, a trace of greed appearing in his eyes.
Whichever of the four obtained and refined this emperor-grade immortal beast would reap immeasurable benefits!
After absorbing this immortal beast's essence, they might very well touch the threshold of the legendary Tribulation Transcendence Period!
The Holy Lords of the four great sacred domains were all currently at the peak of the Mahayana Realm!
They were the true pinnacle of fighting strength within the Great Yan Empire!
But the gap between the Mahayana Realm and the Tribulation Transcendence Period was like a heavenly chasm, difficult to cross!
Even the four great sacred domains possessed no supreme experts of the Tribulation Transcendence Period!
"Hmph, Li Lieyang, stop ogling that immortal beast."
Beside him, Han Fei, the western region's Holy Lord, said unhappily, "Who this immortal beast will belong to is still undecided!"
"Heh, in any case, the final winner certainly won't be you." Li Lieyang sneered, looking very much at odds with Han Fei.
"Wait patiently." Xiao Qing, the southern region's Holy Lord, who appeared the most unfathomable of them all, spoke again:
"Even we cannot predict the consequences of an emperor-grade immortal beast's emergence!"
"When the time comes, we'll each rely on our own abilities, and whoever is fated to obtain it shall have it!"
A trace of ruthlessness filled Xiao Qing's gaze. Li Lieyang and Han Fei exchanged a glance, but neither voiced any objection.
The southern region's Holy Lord, Xiao Qing!
An exceptional expert with the greatest chance of breaking through to the Tribulation Transcendence Period in the Great Yan Empire!
The Great Yan Empire's undisputed number one!
"All right, all right, stop arguing. When the time comes, whose hands the deer falls into will be decided by ability."
"Still, this immortal beast did appear in my northern region, after all. None of you has the advantage I do."
Off to one side, the beautiful woman who had been watching coldly all this while spoke. Even Li Lieyang and the others dared not meet the trace of seductive charm emanating from her eyes.
The northern region's Holy Lord, Liu Weiying!
The only female Holy Lord among the masters of the four great sacred domains!
"Still, I would advise you all to keep a closer eye on that immortal beast."
A faint languor appeared in Liu Weiying's eyes:
"If this fellow escapes, or someone else plays the oriole waiting behind us, we'll become quite the laughingstock..."
"Heh, little sister Ying, what kind of joke is that? With the esteemed Holy Lords of all four regions gathered here, what could possibly go wrong?"
Li Lieyang laughed heartily:
"Under our surveillance, absolutely no one in this world could take this immortal beast away without anyone knowing!"
Beside him, Xiao Qing also slowly closed his eyes, expressing his agreement with Li Lieyang's words.
Yet at this moment, none of the masters of the four great sacred domains noticed that a fluctuation of power beyond their detection had already seeped through the surface of that crystalline triangular solid...