Supreme One Palace

"This is the entrance to the Southern Heavenly Gate. When you ascend to the upper realm, do not ask questions, do not speak, and do not look around aimlessly, lest you find it difficult to escape later!"

When Zhang Xuezhou awoke again, he heard the voice of his cheap martial uncle Yao Yuanguang giving instructions, and then darkness enveloped him once more.

This made him realize that his eyes were completely blindfolded, and he was trying his best to avoid any potential trouble.

My cousin seems to be waking up. Could we let him eat something first?

"This Heavenly Gate isn't a place where you can do whatever you want. You'd better behave yourself and not interfere with its operation, lest we all be wiped out without a trace. And the price I pay for going to the mortal realm once..."

Before Yao Yuanguang could finish speaking, he involuntarily let out a muffled groan.

Zhang Xuezhou felt a strong force coming from him, and a feeling of weightlessness, like riding an elevator, arose spontaneously.

It was as quiet as a vacuum; the surroundings fell into complete silence.

Yao Yuanguang held him with one hand and Rong Tianding with the other.

Zhang Xuezhou felt his breath catch in his throat as the air he was breathing in rapidly decreased, causing him to be immediately trapped in the breathing barrier of the Water Avoidance Technique.

This dull silence lasted for nearly 45 minutes before it ended.

I almost suffocated!

Rong Tianding's heavy breathing could be heard, and Zhang Xuezhou's breathing also began to return to normal.

The icy air, as cold as a howling north wind, entered their nostrils, and in a short time, they had been transported to another environment.

"Little Yao, have you recruited a suitable immortal seed in the mortal realm?"

A muffled voice asked a question, followed by Yao Yuanguang's quick bow in response.

"Then you'd better hurry up and find a heavenly horse to pull your carriage to the East Heavenly Gate!"

The questioning voices didn't make things too difficult for Yao Yuanguang. After several announcements, Yao Yuanguang was already carrying them and striding away.

Not long after, the feeling of being stuffed back into the carriage returned, along with the sound of Yao Yuanguang driving the carriage.

However, compared to a normal horse-drawn carriage, Yao Yuanguang made very little noise while driving; only the whistling of the cold wind constantly blew past his ears.

"Cousin, how are you feeling?" Zhang Xuezhou asked in a low voice.

"Cousin, I almost suffocated, but I couldn't move. I almost died just now," Rong Tianding replied in a low voice.

"We'll be seeing the Golden Cloud Goddess again soon, so we'll need to pass through the Heavenly Gate once more. You'll have to go through the Heavenly Gate again!"

Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding spoke in hushed tones, but Yao Yuanguang overheard them.

He said it casually, which made Rong Tianding bang his head against the carriage several times, clearly indicating that he didn't want to experience such a thing again, not even once.

But this shuttling doesn't end; not only have they not reached their destination yet, but they will also have to shuttle back twice more after finishing their business.

Just thinking about how holding his breath for almost 45 minutes at a time made Rong Tianding feel like he was going through torture.

"Your cultivation is too weak. I used Xuanbing to release my energy to power my breathing. No normal cultivator could withstand this kind of near-death experience!"

Yao Yuanguang had previously thought Zhang Xuezhou was too much of a burden, as he actually needed Rong Tianding to carry him.

But once he stepped through the Heavenly Gate, he couldn't help but feel that Rong Tianding had become a burden.

Under his protection, the other party almost suffocated even trying to pass through the Heavenly Gate.

"I am not a normal cultivator, I..."

Rong Tianding reflected on his years of cultivation and felt that there wasn't much difference between a cultivator like him and a rustic villager.

"I don't have a good father, good mother, or good master like you guys!"

Rong Tianding made a complaint, which made Yao Yuanguang fall silent as well.

Yao Yuanguang disliked Rong Tianding, but he also saw a reflection of himself in Rong Tianding.

This finally made him sigh, and he stopped being so demanding of Rong Tianding.

People's fates are indeed different. There are many like him and Rong Tianding who struggle through the years, but some people are born with good fortune.

For example, the being he reported to, or that great figure in the Immortal Court who was born into wealth and power.

Nearly an hour later, when they passed through the Heavenly Gate again, Yao Yuanguang moved the Xuanbing he was holding closer to Rong Tianding.

He watched as the ice melted, releasing bursts of breath that helped Rong Tianding breathe more easily.

As they moved silently through the air, streaks of light flashed across the sky, creating a rainbow-like display of color.

As Yao Yuanguang looked down, he could see points of light that shone like stars. As he continued to descend, those points of light transformed into mountains and rivers.

Eighteen floating mountains drifted in mid-air, and more floating mountains surrounded the Daoist palace in the very center.

A series of booming sounds came, and Yao Yuanguang felt his legs go weak, and then he landed in the center of the floating mountain.

He pulled the black cloth wrapped around Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding's heads, and when the intense white light entered their eyes, Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding also saw the three ancient characters 'Taiyi Palace' on the Daoist temple.

"Tai Er Palace!"

Rong Tianding read a sentence aloud, which made Yao Yuanguang roll his eyes several times.

If someone can't even distinguish between the "Yi" in "A, B, C, D" and the "Er" in "One, Two, Three, Four," giving them an ancient secret manual would likely lead them astray in some unknown direction.

"It's been so long since anyone called this place Tai Er Palace!"

To Yao Yuanguang's surprise, a voice suddenly spoke up from within the Dao Palace.

The other party's voice changed, and then switched to the more modern official language of the Han Dynasty.

This caused Yao Yuanguang to kneel down immediately.

"Disciple Yao Yuanguang pays respects to the Golden Cloud Goddess!"

"Don't be so formal. I received a message from my disciples saying that you've found the blood of the Ancestral Dragon?"

Youyou uttered only a sigh, but didn't say anything else. Instead, she quickly brought up Yao Yuanguang's matter.

"Where is your ancestral dragon blood?" the voice asked.

"Reporting to the Golden Clouds Primordial Lord, chaos has gripped the mortal realm, the emperor has passed away, and the ancestral dragon's blood, which he treasured, was taken from the palace and, by fortuitous opportunity, consumed by this young man," Yao Yuanguang said. "Moreover, the ancestral dragon's unique Technique Method, Annihilation Armor, has already developed within him!"

"Oh?"

Whether the Essence Blood reside within the Ancestral Dragon's body, in the jade bottle, or in the human body, it doesn't matter to some beings.

"This young man has some connection with us. We hope that when Yuanjun takes the Essence Blood of the Ancestral Dragon, he will spare his life. This disciple will be eternally grateful," Yao Yuanguang said.

"That's interesting!"

A faint voice responded from within the Taiyi Palace.

On the path of seeking immortality, many people act like madmen.

If it weren't for the Immortal Court's powerful suppression, these people would have gone mad and acted recklessly.

Jinxia Yuanjun rarely encountered anyone who still retained a semblance of rationality when undertaking a mission to report back.

Normally, a person tasked with reporting back would be eagerly awaiting the handover of the mission at this stage, and then expecting to be rewarded with a golden elixir to prolong their life. They would not care about the life of the person or thing handing over the mission.

"Does the one next to him also have the Essence Blood the Ancestral Dragon?"

Jinxia Yuanjun sat in the Taiyi Palace, and could see outside the Taiyi Palace through a mirror.

He could discern Rong Tianding's condition, but he found it difficult to discern Zhang Xuezhou's condition for the time being; the other party seemed to have no connection with the Ancestral Dragon's Essence Blood.

"This is my disciple..."

"My Lord, if you accidentally endanger my cousin's life while drawing blood, I am related to him by blood, and perhaps a blood transfusion could save his life!"

Just as Yao Yuanguang was about to tell the truth, Zhang Xuezhou spoke up.

This made him widen his eyes, signaling Zhang Xuezhou not to cause trouble in such a place.

If he had known Zhang Xuezhou was just rambling, he would have not only blindfolded him, but also covered his mouth.

"You know about blood tests, and you also know that blood relatives can receive blood transfusions?"

To Yao Yuanguang's surprise, the Golden Clouds Goddess in the Taiyi Palace did not immediately study Rong Tianding, but instead became interested in Zhang Xuezhou's words.