The magnificent cloud boat was engraved with countless intricate array patterns.
As the array patterns flickered, wave after wave of immensely powerful surges erupted from them.
Li Guanqi's vision blurred and swayed. Immediately following that, countless Black Armor Guards lined up on both sides.
Spiritual light shimmered, and a staircase carved from ice crystal stone materialized in midair.
In an instant, cultivators throughout all of Yuntian City held their breath.
Shen Bing, Palace Master of Qingyang Palace, and the effeminate Ji Shaolin had both arrived.
At this moment, the experts of both sects had come in full force, yet of the Taixuan Sword Sect, only First Elder Liu Dongshi had arrived leading a group of sect elders.
He Yuanting and the true core powerhouses of the Taixuan Sword Sect were nowhere to be seen.
After Li Guanqi saw all this clearly, an ominous premonition seized his heart.
Yet blood blurred his vision; his physical strength and spirit had reached their absolute limits.
In his daze, he seemed to see a tall, slender woman slowly floating down from the cloud boat.
Her steps were slow, like an earthly empress inspecting the world under heaven, her commanding aura compelling every cultivator to bow their heads.
However, Li Guanqi was too far from the outskirts of the city to make out her features.
Vaguely, he saw countless Black Armor Guards flanking the path, escorting the woman toward Yuntian City's City Lord Manor.
To reach the City Lord Manor, one inevitably had to pass through Yuntian Square.
Thud! Thud!
The Black Armor Guards' synchronized footsteps struck awe into the heart. The countless watching cultivators were now forbidden from flight.
Even so, chatter among the crowd continuously reached Li Guanqi's ears.
"A peerless beauty! How could a woman be born this gorgeous?"
"Indeed! Any so-called kingdom-toppling beauties I've ever seen would pale in comparison before her."
"That face, that figure... Just a few more glances and I'd gladly shave ten or a hundred years off my life!"
Listening to the discussions around him, the sounds buzzed in Li Guanqi's ears until he couldn't make out anything.
Liu Chuan's barrier remained in place; Li Guanqi could not see, nor did he care who had arrived.
Shen Bing stood three feet away from the woman, slightly bowing his torso to show respect.
Smiling, he spoke: "Might Miss Meng be staying in Yuntian City for a few days? Both our Qingyang Palace and the Tianming Court have prepared banquets, and we hope Miss Meng will grace us with a visit."
The woman slowly halted. Her black hair was loosely pinned behind her head, adorned with a small, ice-blue flower.
A splendid blue gown trailed slightly on the ground, its crossover collar accentuating collarbones deep enough to hold a sip of morning dew.
Her features were delicate and refined, her lips rosy and teeth pearly white, her skin fair as snow, and her slender shoulders faintly exposed.
Her waist was slender enough to be clasped in a single hand, while her bust was full and proud.
A pair of ice-blue eyes was as tranquil as still water, gazing impassively at Shen Bing as he beamed servilely beside her.
Even a single glance at that exquisite face would send a tremble through one's heart, and those eyes were utterly soul-stirring.
A natural aloofness seemed to radiate from her, keeping people a thousand li away.
Turning her head slightly, she parted her lips. "Visit your sects?"
Her voice was like a spring stream flowing with thawing snow in early spring—clear, crisp, and melodious.
The moment those words were spoken, the smiles on Shen Bing and Ji Shaolin's faces froze, while the experts behind them lowered their heads even further.
Behind the woman stood a white-eyebrowed old man with a slight hunch, his face lined with the deep creases of time.
With hands tucked into his sleeves, the elder stood silently three feet behind her.
His drooping eyelids concealed most of his gaze, yet a mere sweeping glance sent a shiver through both Shen Bing and Ji Shaolin.
Ji Shaolin hurriedly offered an accommodating laugh. "Hahaha, of course, of course. It is completely understandable that the Saintess is in a hurry on this trip."
As he spoke, he nudged Shen Bing with an elbow.
Hearing this, Shen Bing reined in his displeasure; he was sharp enough to read the room.
He quickly echoed with an appeasing smile: "Hahaha, quite so, quite so. We have already prepared a welcome banquet for you at the City Lord Manor. Perhaps..."
The woman raised a hand slightly, staring straight ahead as she said softly, "Forget it. I am tired."
Having said that, she turned to the elder behind her and spoke gently: "Elder Li, oversee the repairs and replenishment of the cloud boat as quickly as possible. Let us not waste time."
The elder in plain white robes bowed slightly upon hearing this and answered in a low voice, "Understood, Saintess. At the earliest, it will take two days before we can set out. These two days will serve nicely for you to rest."
The woman nodded slightly, then proceeded toward the City Lord Manor without looking back.
Shen Bing and Ji Shaolin dared not interject. It seemed this high branch was not so easy to climb...
Suddenly, the woman paused slightly, turning to look at the barrier beside her, and asked with mild curiosity, "What is this barrier about? The reek of blood within is quite heavy."
Shen Bing sneered and said, "It is nothing. The reason Sect Master He did not come today is that his son, He Yuning, was severely injured by the person inside. He Yuning's survival is still uncertain. Both witness and physical evidence are present, yet the culprit inside remains stubborn and refuses to confess."
The woman nodded slightly, paying the matter little heed.
She only wondered whether she should visit the Taixuan Sword Sect later. After all, He Yuanting was an old acquaintance of her father. If she could lend a hand, it would serve as an account to give her father upon her return.
Blind dates... The mere thought gave her a headache. She had no idea why her father was in such a rush.
Roughly half a year ago, her father had heard some news—she did not know what—and ever since, he had been constantly introducing her to various young talents, prodigies, and monstrous geniuses.
However, none of them caught her eye. For some reason, she always felt something was missing.
The woman cast a sideways glance at the barrier, an ice-blue glint suddenly flashing in her eyes.
To her eyes, the thick barrier was as good as nonexistent.
Immediately after, she saw the scene inside.
A colossal true dragon, a figure covered in wounds, and a large white radish whose breath was as faint as gossamer.
All three figures had their limbs and bodies pierced by pitch-black chains, their dried blood staining the links purplish-black.
The man's lean, robust body twitched involuntarily; it was hard to imagine the agony he was enduring.
His hair hung loose and disheveled, completely obscuring his face.
The woman turned her gaze toward Jiuxiao; she had some interest in this true dragon.
Withdrawing her gaze, she decided to make a trip to the Taixuan Sword Sect once she was settled.
A true dragon comparable to a Tier Six Great Demon was truly wasted following a person like that.
Suddenly, among the crowd, a black-clothed man plucked a lifeless golden beetle from his ear, his face shifting drastically!
At that very moment, a heaven-shaking pressure abruptly erupted from within the Taixuan Sword Sect!
BOOM!
The terrifying pressure swept across a hundred li in an instant!
In a flash, the wind and clouds roiled; the cloudless, clear sky became densely shrouded in dark clouds in the blink of an eye.
Amid flashes of lightning and rumbling thunder, wild winds raged, and a tempest burst forth!
Chapter 500