Inside the palace of Returning Light Heavenly City, the lights still shone brightly. The afterglow of the universe, refracted from the crystal dome, flowed slowly above the hall like a flowing tide of starlight. The cultivators in the hall were still whispering about Hua Jingmeng's arrival.
Some marveled at his cultivation level, while others discussed the legendary Hongmeng Dao Medicine. The atmosphere seemed casual, yet it carried a subtle undercurrent of uneasy excitement.
Just then—the doors of the hotel palace slowly opened again.
A cold wind blew into the hall from the suspended corridor outside the door, causing the lights to flicker slightly. Several cultivators subconsciously looked up.
Three people walked in.
The leader was a man clad in a dark blue robe. His aura was restrained yet steady, and his steps Steady as a Mountain. The other man was tall and imposing, clad in black armor, with a curved blade hanging from his shoulder. He exuded a fierce aura. Between the two men was a slender figure.
The person's face seemed to be veiled by a faint layer of spatial ripples, making her features indistinct, with only her outline faintly visible. She wore a deep purple robe, the hem of which swayed gently with her steps. She was tall and slender, with a calm and elegant demeanor. Although her features were obscured, her posture and aura alone created an undeniable presence.
The three of them did not linger or speak to anyone in the hall; they went straight to the stairs.
With light and steady steps, he had already stepped onto the crystal steps leading to the second-floor elegant pavilion in just a few breaths.
The monks in the hall exchanged glances.
Someone whispered, "Those two people just now... they seem to be stewards of the Hua Family Lineage as well."
The other person squinted and nodded. "That's right, the aura is clearly from the Hua Family Lineage's cultivation method."
A nearby cultivator turned his gaze to the figure whose face was obscured and whispered:
"Who do you think that mysterious person in the middle is?"
The other person thought carefully for a moment and then answered in a low voice:
"Hua Jingmeng's older sister." "Hua Feiting."
The person next to him was slightly surprised. "That steward from the Hua Lineage?"
"Hmm." The man nodded. "Judging from her figure, it should be her. And her cultivation level matches as well, Mystic Void Realm High Stage."
The group exchanged glances, a hint of surprise on their faces.
"Two great stewards appearing together..." "Is the Hua Lineage planning something big?"
Someone shook their head and sighed, "Who knows? But the Skeleton Star Sea has certainly been quite turbulent lately."
The other person shrugged. "Forget it, let's focus on the competition in a few days."
"That's true." The other person smiled. "Having stayed in the Skeleton Star Sea for so long, I still haven't been to the North City, the Stele Forest Imperial City."
The person next to him immediately chimed in, "It wouldn't be bad to take this opportunity to go shopping."
As they spoke, the hall returned to its former lively atmosphere, and in the far corner of the hall,
Qin Yu remained sitting there quietly.
The pale blue spiritual tea in the teacup slowly released steam, his gaze calm and profound, as if all the noise around him was irrelevant.
But his thoughts were racing, "The Hua Lineage..." "The Lineage election is approaching..." Suddenly, he found himself Returning Light Heavenly City.
Qin Yu pondered to himself, "What is their purpose?" With that thought, he quietly expanded his divine sense.
The divine sense of Realm Breaking Realm · Middle Stage is extremely concealed, like an invisible thread slowly extending towards the upstairs elegant room, with almost no fluctuations.
However, just as his divine sense was about to reach the second-floor private room, an extremely sharp aura suddenly emanated from upstairs.
Hua Jingmeng suddenly opened her eyes, and the next moment, a powerful aura belonging to the Mystic Void Realm · Middle Stage suddenly spread out.
Boom--
The air in the entire hotel palace seemed to be pressed down by an invisible giant hand, the crystal lamps trembled slightly, and the expressions of the cultivators in the hall changed simultaneously.
Hua Jingmeng's cold voice came from upstairs. "Who is spying?" The oppressive aura swept across the entire hall like a tidal wave.
Countless cultivators felt a chill run down their spines instantly, and some even instinctively lowered their heads, afraid to move.
The moment the oppressive aura swept across the hall, Qin Yu's divine sense had already completely withdrawn, as quickly as if it had never existed.
He remained seated quietly, slowly raising his teacup, taking a gentle sip, his expression serene.
As if nothing had happened, Hua Jingmeng upstairs glanced around for a moment, her brows furrowing slightly.
The feeling of being spied on had vanished. He snorted coldly, and the oppressive aura receded, allowing the atmosphere in the hall to slowly return to normal.
In the corner, Qin Yu put down his teacup, his eyes flickering slightly.
"Their perception is quite sharp." In her mind's eye, Xiao Yue chuckled softly. "It seems these people from the Hua Lineage... are indeed not simple."
The hotel palace beneath the crystal dome remained brightly lit, with rays of light from different universes flowing slowly through the lobby, like colorful galaxies reflected on the jade floor. After the oppressive aura of the Profound Mystic Void Realm dissipated, the atmosphere in the hall gradually returned to normal.
The crowd began to converse in hushed tones again, the clinking of wine cups and the soft murmur of steaming spirit tea filling the space once more, as time slowly passed.
About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea passed, and suddenly, a series of steady and orderly footsteps came from the crystal steps leading to the second-floor elegant pavilion.
Many cultivators in the hall subconsciously looked up and saw Hua Jingmeng and Hua Feiting descending side by side.
Hua Jingmeng was still wearing that dark gold patterned robe, his steps were calm and arrogant, and his brows carried an undisguised sharpness. Beside him, Hua Feiting was tall and slender, her purple robe swaying gently under the light of the crystal lamp. Her aura was even deeper than before, and her face was still shrouded by a layer of faint spatial ripples, as if she did not want anyone to truly see her appearance.
Behind them, ten cultivators followed slowly.
These people were dressed in the same Hua Lineage battle robes, their auras Steady as a Mountain, and spatial cracks were faintly floating around each of them, as if they could tear open the void at any time.
There were ten people who Realm Breaking Realm · Supreme.
The group of twelve descended the stairs slowly, and the atmosphere in the entire hall involuntarily became heavy. Many diners even subconsciously stopped talking.
When Hua Jingmeng reached the last step of the stairs, he suddenly stopped and turned his head slightly.
Those cold eyes swept across the hall again, this time even more carefully than before.
As if trying to etch the essence of everyone present into his memory, his gaze, sharp as a knife, slowly swept across the hall.
Many cultivators lowered their heads unconsciously when they were caught in that gaze, and even their breathing became cautious.
In the corner of the hall, Qin Yu remained quietly seated.
He gently raised the teacup in his hand, slowly sipping the pale blue spiritual tea, his entire being as calm as a deep pool of water.
He didn't look up, nor did he react in any other way. It was as if the appearance of these twelve people had nothing to do with him.
Hua Jingmeng's gaze lingered in the hall for a moment, but ultimately found nothing amiss. She snorted coldly and flicked her sleeve.
"Let's go." The next moment, the twelve people walked out of the hotel palace together.
The tense atmosphere in the hall gradually relaxed, and many cultivators breathed a sigh of relief.
In the corner, Qin Yu remained sitting quietly.
But he had already made up his mind.
"I'd like to see..." "What's going on with the Hua Lineage? They've even brought three extra people."
Qin Yu finished the last sip of tea, then slowly placed the teacup back on the table, his movements calm and unhurried.
He then stood up, his robes swaying slightly, and walked steadily toward the restaurant entrance.
No one noticed his departure the moment he stepped out of the palace.
The dazzling, endless brilliance of the crystal walls of Returning Light Heavenly City once again came into view. Flying boats came and went on the suspended streets, and the afterglow of the distant Skeleton Star Sea refracted under the dome like a flowing cosmic sea.
At that moment, Qin Yu's gaze sharpened slightly, and the distant void had returned to calm.
The figures of Hua Jingmeng and her group of twelve had long since vanished; they had clearly disappeared into the void. Qin Yu remained calm.
But the next moment, an extremely subtle golden causal line slowly emerged in his sea of consciousness.
That was a wisp of causal fluctuation that he caught the instant Hua Jingmeng and the others left, as fine as a hair.
Yet it pointed firmly to the distant depths of the void. Qin Yu stretched out his finger and gently touched that thread of cause and effect.
In an instant, countless spatial fluctuations flooded into his senses.
Direction: North; Aura: Hua Lineage; Distance: Rapidly moving away from Returning Light Heavenly City.
A very faint smile curved Qin Yu's lips. "Found you."
The next moment, he raised his hand and gently slashed forward with his five fingers. Crack—space was torn apart like a mirror.
A deep void rift appeared before him, its interior dark and profound, with faint glimmers of light visible in the distant universe.
Qin Yu stepped into it, and his figure vanished instantly. The rift closed, and the sky Returning Light Heavenly City returned to calm, as if no one had ever left.
The stream of light from the depths of the void retreated rapidly beside Qin Yu, and the thread of cause and effect, like an invisible trace of fate, extended from afar, gently guiding his figure. That thin, hair-like causal fluctuation trembled slightly in the silent void, like a thread of destiny spanning space, subtly connecting Qin Yu with the Hua Lineage members fleeing ahead. Qin Yu's aura was extremely concealed.
He seemed to merge into the void itself. He did not deliberately speed up, but simply followed the line of cause and effect. However, his mind, which had reached the realm of Realm Breaking, was already able to perceive the veins of space. Therefore, the faint ripples of cause and effect left by Hua Jingmeng and the others were as clear as a slowly burning trajectory in his perception.
Before long, the void ahead suddenly distorted slightly, and a dark ancient forest gradually appeared. This ancient forest floated in a remote star region of the Skeleton Star Sea. The forest was vast, with towering ancient trees, each tree reaching tens of thousands of feet in height, its trunk like forged black iron, its branches and leaves a dark blue hue.
From afar, it resembles a silent ocean, with a thin layer of mist shrouding the ancient forest. This mist is not ordinary water vapor, but rather a kind of ancient, Annihilation Structure breath, making the entire forest appear exceptionally quiet, even starlight falling into it would be quietly swallowed up.
Qin Yu's figure stopped at the edge of the void. His gaze narrowed slightly as he looked into the depths of the ancient forest. The causal lines suddenly became disordered here, as if deliberately obscured by some force, indicating that Hua Jingmeng and her group had entered the forest. A moment later, the causal fluctuations suddenly disappeared completely, as if the existence of the twelve people had vanished from the world at the same moment.
Qin Yu did not approach any further. He stopped at the edge of a void rift outside the forest and slowly descended into the shadow of an ancient tree. The Fate Soul essence within his mind quickly subsided, and he suppressed his Dao fluctuations to an almost imperceptible degree. Even his divine sense ceased to emanate, as if he had become a speck of dust in the forest.
He gazed silently at the dark, ancient forest ahead, his eyes deep and thoughtful. "Strange..." Qin Yu pondered to himself, "What are the Hua Lineage doing in this ancient forest?"
This place is clearly not an ordinary place for cultivation. Deep within the forest, there is a faint ancient aura flowing slowly. The aura is not strong, but it carries an indescribable sense of oppression, as if this forest itself is slumbering with some cause and effect forgotten by time.
Just as Qin Yu was still pondering, suddenly, his Fate Soul trembled slightly, and a familiar aura came from the depths of the ancient forest.
The aura was extremely faint, yet it carried a Daoist fluctuation that he had encountered before, causing Qin Yu's gaze to narrow slightly.
A slight spatial ripple suddenly emanated from the nearby forest, and one figure after another slowly emerged from the void rift, like a stealthy team entering this silent ancient forest.
Qin Yu glanced sideways, looking ahead through the shadows between the ancient trees.
The person at the very front was tall and stern-faced, wearing the robe of a steward of the Boundless Realm Divine Sect. Faint, Void Evolution patterns flowed across the robe, which were the unique Daoist markings of the Boundless Realm Divine Sect.
Ye Wuhen, a steward of the Boundless Realm Divine Sect, Realm Breaking Realm Initial Stage.
His aura was calm yet sharp, clearly indicating that he had deliberately concealed his Fate Soul fluctuations. He was like a long sword with its edge hidden, moving slowly forward in the shadows of the ancient forest.
Beside him was a young man.
The young man had a handsome face and a cool temperament. He wore a light blue robe, and the aura of his Fate Soul had not completely subsided, indicating that his cultivation level was still in the Severed Thought Realm.
Gu Linfeng, Severed Thought Realm · Middle Stage, Qin Yu's gaze lingered on the two of them for a moment.
A clear cause-and-effect relationship instantly surfaced in his mind: Hua Jingmeng and her group had arrived here first and deliberately concealed their tracks.
Then, the people from the Boundless Realm Divine Sect appeared. This was clearly not a coincidence, and a faint chill flashed in Qin Yu's eyes.
He understood that the twelve members of the Hua Lineage had not come to Returning Light Heavenly City for any transaction or rest.
Their real target was this Boundless Realm Divine Sect's team.
The air deep in the ancient forest suddenly became even heavier, as if a causal storm yet to erupt was quietly gathering.