Chapter 575: Entering the Divine Mansion

After seeing Zhu Shuang’er off, the group returned the way they came.

“Young Master.”

Nursing Director Zhang reported,

“As you instructed, we’re almost done packing. We can depart within three days.”

“Mm.” Zhu Ju nodded.

“Any word from Zhu Ying?”

“Miss Yingg wanted to come with us, but the Nie Family won’t allow it.” Nursing Director Zhang bowed.

“Nie Sheng doesn’t plan on leaving, either.”

“…” Zhu Ju frowned, then shook his head.

“Then forget it.”

Taiyuan Prefecture was already a place rife with conflict. Of course, he hoped to take his sister with him when he left.

But since it wasn’t possible, he wouldn’t force the issue.

The Nie Family.

They were still quite powerful. Even if Demons caused chaos in the future, they’d be able to protect their clan and escape.

“Master.”

Ming Nianwei spoke softly from the side.

“The Wenda Sect’s surveillance on us is weakening. It seems they must have found a lead.”

“Is that so?” Zhu Ju smiled faintly.

“Who would dare to move against the Wenda Sect? And why is the Sect so concerned with Qian Hu?”

“Mmm…”

“What’s going on?”

Before the words were out of his mouth, he saw a familiar figure on the street ahead, spurring her horse into a frantic gallop.

This was the city’s main street, where galloping was extremely dangerous, and she had never been so reckless before.

“Qian Shiyao!”

A figure in dark red followed close behind, shouting,

“What are you doing?”

It was Zhou Ruxuan!

Using her Body Technique, she chased the wildly galloping Qian Shiyao out through the city gates and into the open country.

“Master?” Ming Nianwei glanced at him.

“Follow them,” Zhu Ju said, his expression puzzled.

“Let’s see what’s happening.”

“Yes.”

Ming Nianwei complied. With a gentle wave of her long sleeve, several Spirit Talismans floated out, and the figures on the street vanished without a sound.

The people nearby clearly saw this happen, but it was as if their senses had been clouded; they didn’t find it strange in the slightest. The only one unaffected, Nursing Director Zhang, certainly wasn’t about to say anything.

WHOOSH…

The Gang Wind howled.

Ming Nianwei stood with Zhu Ju atop a cloud, looking down at the figure galloping on horseback below.

Mages are different from Martial Artists.

Cultivators are adept at borrowing the Power of Heaven and Earth, so they can cultivate a Flying Escape Method as early as the Sixth Grade.

Martial Artists, however, must combine their Qi Blood with Gang Sha. Only after the qualitative transformation at the Fifth Grade can they leave the ground and fly.

“Master, it looks like she’s heading toward the mines.”

Checking their direction, Ming Nianwei frowned.

“Qian Shiyao has been despondent ever since Qian Hu was taken by the Wenda Sect, but she isn’t an impulsive person. She certainly wouldn’t go charging through the streets on horseback.”

“Strange…”

“It’s like her Divine Soul has been affected.”

“It’s the bloodline.” Zhu Ju stroked his chin. Under the gaze of his Formless Divine Light, he could see more clearly.

“She has that Demon bloodline in her as well, though it’s extremely diluted. Now that the bloodline has been stimulated, it has clouded her Divine Soul and consciousness.”

“Mmm…”

“It seems someone is making a move against Qian Hu, and she’s being affected because they share the same bloodline.”

He couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows at this. ‘The Qian Family’s Demon bloodline is truly extraordinary to allow for a connection over such a great distance.’

As they spoke, Qian Shiyao and Zhou Ruxuan had already charged into the mining area, one after the other.

Qian Shiyao leaped from her still-galloping horse, landing on all fours and charging forward like a cheetah or a fierce tiger.

Spurred on by the bloodline within her, her speed was astonishing.

But Zhou Ruxuan, not wanting to hurt her, found herself unable to stop her for a moment.

SWISH!

Qian Shiyao became a gray blur and plunged into an abandoned mine shaft.

“Don’t make a move yet.” Zhu Ju appeared beside Zhou Ruxuan, stopping her from trying to forcibly subdue Qian Shiyao.

“Let’s follow and see what happens.”

“You’re here, too.” Sweat beaded on Zhou Ruxuan’s forehead as she said urgently,

“I don’t know what happened just now. All of a sudden, Shiyao started trembling, her eyes turned red, and the next thing I knew, she’d grabbed a horse and was charging this way.”

“Mm.” Zhu Ju nodded.

“Let’s keep up with her. We’ll talk on the way.”

“Okay.”

The three entered the mine shaft, and Zhou Ruxuan continued as they walked,

“I called out to her the whole way. At first, she responded, but then she just started sprinting like a madwoman.”

“Huh?”

“It’s heading down?”

“Master,” Ming Nianwei said, her voice trembling as if she had sensed something.

“Something isn’t right.”

“I know.”

Zhu Ju’s expression was grave.

With a light tap of his foot, the Bright Armor appeared on his body. The Five Elements Mountain also began to circle above his head, casting down its Five-Colored Divine Light.

In the next instant.

They followed Qian Shiyao, lunging forward and silently merging into the stone of the mountain.

WHOOSH!

As if the world had been turned upside down, the scene changed dramatically.

“A Secret Realm?”

“A Divine Mansion!”

Zhu Ju and Ming Nianwei spoke at the same time, astonished expressions on their faces.

*

*

*

A blazing sun hung high in the sky.

The Gang Wind swept across the heavens.

Range after range of high mountains stretched endlessly to the horizon.

It was hard to imagine that such a place was hidden beneath the mine.

On a certain mountaintop.

Four figures stood under a tree, gazing into the distance, each with a different expression.

Surprise, confusion, bewilderment, ecstasy…

“It’s actually a Divine Mansion!”

Ming Nianwei’s voice trembled.

“To think there’s a Divine Mansion hidden in Taiyuan Prefecture…”

“No!”

“It must be that the Qian Family’s bloodline can open this Divine Mansion.”

“What’s a Divine Mansion?” Zhu Ju asked.

“You seem very excited.”

He knew of Secret Realms and lesser worlds, but he had never heard the term ‘Divine Mansion’. ‘Perhaps it’s just a different name?’ he wondered.

“Master, you don’t know what a Divine Mansion is?”

Ming Nianwei looked puzzled, and a thought surfaced in her mind.

‘I know his Cultivation is profound, even stronger than Li Chengxia’s, but it’s so strange how he lacks the most basic common knowledge.’

‘He clearly possesses one of the highest Cultivation levels in the world, yet he knows nothing about the situations of the Major Sects.’

‘And now, he doesn’t even know what a Divine Mansion is.’

‘What is going on?’

Though her mind was racing, she showed nothing on her face and instead began to explain.

“For a Martial Artist’s Cultivation, Qi Blood is primary. The Lower Three Grades are for strengthening Qi Blood, the Middle Third Grade for condensing Gang Sha, and the Upper Three Grades for comprehending the Dao. As for the Super Grade…”

“…the Great Dao merges with the self, giving birth to an inner heaven and earth. This is called a Divine Mansion, and it is a path walked by both humans and Demons.”

“An inner heaven and earth? A Divine Mansion?” Zhu Ju narrowed his eyes.

“Are you saying that a Super Grade expert can create a world inside their own body?”

“That’s right!” Ming Nianwei nodded.

“The stronger their Cultivation, the larger the Divine Mansion. It is said that the internal Divine Mansions of experts at the Demon Saint and Celestial Venerable Realms are indistinguishable from a true world. The Great Dao within is complete, and they can even contain many powerful beings.”

“A nascent Divine Mansion, however, is just a barren wasteland. As the Cultivator’s comprehension of the Great Dao deepens, the laws within the Divine Mansion become more and more complete.”

“Judging by this Divine Mansion, its master must have been an incredibly powerful Super Grade expert!”

Zhu Ju looked over at the unconscious Qian Shiyao, reached out to lift one of her eyelids, and fell into thought.

「A moment later.」

He let out a soft sigh.

“Luh Wu!”

“Human body, tiger face, nine tails. The guardian Divine Beast of Kunlun, and the chief of countless mountain gods.”

“Luh Wu?” Ming Nianwei’s eyes narrowed.

“A thousand years ago, a Super Grade Demon Venerable named Luh Wu did indeed perish near here.”

“It seems this is its Divine Mansion.”