Chapter 0695: Sealing Day of the Taigu Immortal Path
Actually, Wu Yu did not care so much about the Taigu Immortal Path anymore.
Because he knew that most of the genius martial cultivators and demons had already died half a year ago.
Therefore, he did not know that a measly few hours was left.
Many people were waiting anxiously for their princes, for the hopes of their future, hoping that they would return at this final moment.
It was already so late, and many had already given up. If they were alive, they would know that they had to come out now.
However, some would not give up until the final moment. They were guessing - what if there was something important going on? That they had to tough out until the last?
The death rate on the Taigu Immortal Path was not considered high. At least for the most elite, the chances of an accident were not high. The bizarre deaths of Prince Le and the Perennial Shark were already considered a rare occurrence.
Right now, most of those that had not returned had been confirmed dead on the Taigu Immortal Path. However, seven of the most highly watched people had not returned. Under normal circumstances, they should have activated their Taigu Immortal Talismans and left.
There were roughly 10 people of their level who had entered. How could it be that only Princess You Xue had left?
For the Jambu Realm, this did not stand up to reason.
The past dozen times that the Taigu Immortal Path opened, such a thing had never happened before. If this bunch did not return, then it would shake the entire world. It would also cause future geniuses of their level to reconsider if they wished to take the risk for the upcoming Taigu Immortal Paths.
Wu Yu knew how crucial this was and therefore had prepared his story. He had gone through it with Princess You Xue. After ensuring that there were no flaws, they swiftly headed for the Dark North Royal Palace.
The Dark North Royal Palace was at the center of the Dark North capital, roughly corresponding to the palace of Capital Wu. Naturally, it was also the hardest place to breach in the entire Dark North Kingdom. The ancestors of the Dark North tribe had laid down foundations here some tens of thousands of years ago. Historically, it could be traced back to the time of the Heaven Devouring Evil Lord.
Perhaps even further back, although there were too few things that remained from that time.
But the Dark North Royal Palace had an illustrious history indeed. What appeared to Wu Yu to be a dazzling crystal palace at first glance was actually crafted with tens of thousands of spirit designs even in the most common of bricks. This was a city of spirit designs. It was hard to imagine just how terrifyingly impregnable the Dark North Royal Palace would be when all of them were activated.
There was not much need to guard the Dark North Royal Palace. Therefore, there were not many Dark Sea soldiers inside. The entire Dark North Royal Palace was enigmatic and remote. The spiritual qi here had condensed into a different state - a translucent, black mist that shrouded the entire Dark North Royal Palace and limited one's field of vision within it.
Even the gates of the Dark North Royal Palace were not guarded.
Princess You Xue boldly reached out to take Wu Yu's hand, leading him through the gates. She said, "Only when led by those allowed into the Dark North Royal Palace will you be able to enter. Otherwise, the Dark North Royal Palace's spirit designs will activate and reduce you to ash. This is an attack that not even the Dao Querying Three Disasters Realm cultivators can withstand. There are not many in this world who could force their way in. And most of them are likely to reach immortalhood. They have basically gone through two major dao crises or more."
Wu Yu understood this. Because anything that Princess You Xue thought, he would know. A woman's mind was complicated, and each day he was overwhelmed with information until his head throbbed. It felt like a burden, but for his own safety, he felt that it was not a chore. At least he could be sure that You Xue was not simply deceiving him.
She led Wu Yu by the hand into the Dark North Royal Palace. The Dark North Royal Palace was a martial cultivator's paradise, but those allowed in were few and far between. It was hard to see many people here. Perhaps many were cultivating in seclusion, especially the elites who were endeavoring towards immortalhood.
"Your father is inside too?" Wu Yu was very respectful of the Dark Sea Emperor. From the signals that You Xue was giving off, he was the most powerful person in the Dark North Kingdom.
"Daddy is off chasing the immortal path and is roaming about. He has not been in the palace for a long while. However, if anything major crops up, he naturally handles it." You Xue spoke of the Dark Sea Emperor with great reverence.
"Come with me." They seemed to be anxiously awaiting, and You Xue led Wu Yu through the Dark North Royal Palace with great speed. They did not meet many people along the way, although he gleaned much from their encounters with all sorts of spirit designs. The Dark North Royal Palace was huge, and it resembled Yan Huang Imperial City, albeit a much emptier version.
Finally, they reached a splendid palace, on which huge words were carved on a signboard: Dark North Hall.
When the two arrived, the Dark North Hall door swung open automatically. Before they had time to examine the dazzling splendor, they were sucked into the Dark North Hall, a remote and cool place. Wu Yu's eyes swept across, and saw that there was a total of five martial cultivators before them.
The one facing the great doors of the Dark North Hall was sitting on a pitch-black throne. The throne was established on top of a snarling tiger, with the man's feet resting on the black tiger's head.
The man on this throne caused Wu Yu to stiffen. He was a middle-aged man wearing plain clothes of black, and with a long beard. He looked very cultured, but a pair of ice-cold eyes lurked beneath his scholarly exterior. Those eyes were like windows to an icy world. A casual look had Wu Yu feeling chilly from head to toe. Although this man was not that big in stature, he gave off an overwhelmingly tyrannical aura as he lounged on the chair.
Wu Yu naturally knew that this person was the Dark Sea Army General, and also Princess You Xue's royal uncle, brother by blood to the Dark Sea Emperor. His name was You Shang.
Normally, within mortal kingdoms, the brother of the emperor would be cut off by the emperor himself. It would be best if he was not in direct control of the army - after all, a power struggle was a worry. But it did not seem to be like that here. Wu Yu guessed that the Dark Sea Emperor was simply too powerful and could stop a few armies and You Shang by himself. That was why he was not worried about mutiny.
Before he could explore this further, the other two on the left and right also exuded powerful stress on Wu Yu and Princess You Xue. Flicking his gaze across them, Wu Yu saw that there were three men and one woman. They were roughly the same age as You Shang and had been cultivating for 300 years or more. They were in their prime!
Evidently, these people far outstripped those like Duan Yi by a huge margin. They were definitely in the Dao Querying Three Disasters Realm. If he guessed right, You Shang should be the strongest here. Wu Yu could feel that he was at least twice as strong as City Lord Yuan.
If ordinary mortals wanted to become immortal, the Dao Querying Realm was the final frontier. One would go through three crises and attain dao enlightenment. If one succeeded, one would rise, while failure would lead to crumbling. It was the most horrifying realm - fraught with risk, excitement, and reward.
To Wu Yu, these were the experts who ruled the entire Jambu Realm. They were not geniuses - they had already converted their genius potential into practical power.
Amongst the four, the one that Wu Yu paid the most attention to was one dressed in golden dragon robes. His eyes were gold and he had a fiery gaze. He was a bonfire in this dark night, standing out from the others! This environment was very dim, so his light was especially blinding. Especially since he was paying special attention to Wu Yu. Wu Yu could see that he was from the Yan Huang Ancient Country. He had come for the Little Duke, and from the anxiety in his eyes, he was indeed worried about the Little Duke.
Of the remaining three, one was wearing a sword lanyard and had a full head of white hair. There was a deadly air about him, hidden under his affable manner. This person had to be from the Eternal Sword Dao, and had come for Feng Jianqing.
Another person was in black robes, but the loose-fitting robes could not conceal her curvy body. There was something compellingly sexy about this woman that made one unable to take one's eyes off her. Although her charms were on par with City Lord Yuan’s, she was even more beguiling. This person should be from the Devilsky Court.
Fourth was a scholarly-looking person who looked very genteel. He gave one a refreshing feeling, and he was generous with his smiles, even while he was anxious. White clouds swirled around his person, and even without an introduction, Wu Yu knew that he was from the ghostly cultivator world's Rising Cloud Nation.
The Dark North Kingdom was actually a martial cultivation kingdom, but gloomy and cold. In contrast, the ghostly cultivators of the Rising Cloud Nation were sunny and warm.
It wasn't always easy to tell.
As the pair entered, the most senior Dark Sea Army General said, "Xue Er, you've met these few before. Time is of the essence, and I will not belay things. They have questions for you. Just answer them. After all, there is less than two hours left until the Taigu Immortal Path seals."
You Xue said, "Didn't they ask everything last time already? I don't have much to say. I really don't know anything about where they went."
You Shang looked at Wu Yu. "This time is different. Another is present." Evidently, he knew of Wu Yu and his display at the Immortal City of Northern Frost.
He might even know about the matter of the sinister dragon.
Princess You Xue hurriedly introduced these people to Wu Yu. She only needed to think it.
"The one from Yan Huang Ancient Country is called Yan Qing. He's the personal guard of the Eastern Region Duke, and very highly placed in the Yan Huang Ancient Country. He works directly for the Eastern Region Duke and is his personal messenger."
The Eastern Region Duke was a fearsome presence. He ruled over almost an entire continent of land and was roughly equivalent to the Dark Sea Emperor.
"The one from the Devilsky Court is the woman. Her name is Qing Xueyin, and she is the aunt of Prince Feng. She has a powerful intelligence network and is a woman with the mind of a snake and the heart of a scorpion. But she cares quite a lot about Prince Feng.
"The one from Rising Cloud Nation is the army general of the Rising Cloud Nation's Daqi Legion, and also highly placed. His name is Qingwu Daqi."
There was one more.