Chapter 161: The Master of Heavenly Secret Pavelion, Daoist Master Tianji

Just as Qingyun and Ao Huang were about to charge their ultimate moves and blast towards each other once again, creating a terrifying storm of sword intent and dragon aura that threatened to tear the sky apart—

Kreeeeeeee!!

A crisp, clear cry of a crane suddenly echoed through the heavens, cutting through the oppressive killing intent like a hot knife through butter.

In the very middle of their impending, world destroying attack, a figure suddenly appeared. It was a very old man riding a pure white crane.

The old man wore a simple, baggy gray Daoist robe. What was most striking were his eyes, to be more specific his "cloud eyes." His pupils did not have a fixed color; instead, they contained the endless transformations of sky and stars, swirling with a profound, unfathomable Dao intent that seemed to look through the past, present, and future.

The old man didn’t even draw a weapon. He simply raised his cloud eyes, looked at the two terrifying half step Divine Lords, and gave his white crane a gentle tap with his finger.

Zhoooop!

With that single, gentle tap, layers upon layers of rune covered in formations instantly appeared out of thin air, covering the entire area like a giant net.

The incoming attacks from Qingyun and Ao Huang, which possessed enough power to cause unimaginable destruction and flatten large group of mountains hit the formations and were just wiped away effortlessly. It was exactly like swatting a mosquito.

The terrifying sword intent and dragon aura dissipated into a gentle breeze, not even rustling the old man’s gray robe.

Seeing this, Qingyun and Ao Huang’s expressions changed drastically. They instantly retracted all their auras and appeared before the old man in the blink of an eye, bowing deeply and respectfully.

"We greet Daoist Master Tianji," they said in unison, their voices filled with genuine reverence.

This old man was Daoist Master Tianji, the Master of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion. In fact, he was the exact reason why these two arrogant monsters had come to this ordinary mountain in the first place.

Daoist Master Tianji looked down at these two terrifying figures top of their areas bowing before him, his cloud eyes blinked slowly. He let out a long, exaggerated sigh.

"Sigh... You kids these days are getting more and more defiant," Daoist Master Tianji scolded, his tone sounded like a disappointed grandfather. "You start fighting without a single thought, unleashing your domains and ultimate moves, and you do it right in front of someone else’s houses! Have you lost your minds? If you damaged the mountain’s feng shui, how are you going to compensate the childrens inside?"

Hearing this, the corners of Qingyun’s and Ao Huang’s mouths twitched violently.

’Kids?’ they both thought indignantly. ’We are over a thousand years old! We are the peak of our domain!’

But then, they secretly glanced at the old man on the crane. Recalling that the master in front of them was actually several thousands of years old, having lived since the ancient era... they both silently sighed in their hearts. ’Yeah... maybe we really are just kids in his eyes.’

"Senior is right. We were too impulsive," Qingyun said smoothly, his face instantly returning to its calm, scholarly demeanor, as if he hadn’t just been trying to kill the dragon a second ago.

"Hmph. Just remember it next time," Daoist Master Tianji snorted. He patted his crane, and the layers of formations dissolved into light particles.

Then, the old man dismounted and began to walk towards the ordinary mountain.

Qingyun and Ao Huang quickly followed behind, their eyes flashing with curiosity. They knew the mountain was covered by a impenetrable barrier that even they couldn’t easily break. They expected the old man to use some grand magical treasure of some hand movements to force the barrier open.

But far from their expectations, Daoist Master Tianji didn’t stop, nor did he use any force. He just walked in casually with hands behind his back.

As he reached the mountain, he didn’t hit an invisible wall. Instead, his body passed right through it. A faint, water like ripple appeared on the seemingly solid surface of the mountain as he passed through, and then the surface smoothed out again.

Qingyun and Ao Huang exchanged a glance and quickly followed him, passing through the ripple without any resistance.

Once they stepped through, the scenery suddenly changed.

They were no longer on a normal mountain. They had entered a massive, hidden spatial pocket. This was the true location of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion.

Hidden Spatial Passages were secret pathways concealed within the space, connecting distant regions of the world through routes that ordinary cultivators could neither see nor detect.

Unlike teleportation formations, which requires carefully prepared arrays and enormous quantities of resources, these passages naturally occurs by spatial disturbances or made by powerful beings. Some connected two locations thousands of kilometers apart, while others led to isolated secret realms, ruins, or small worlds hidden beyond the boundaries of ordinary space.

However, not every spatial passage was safe to traverse. The space between connected locations could be unstable, and a passage that had remained dormant for thousands of years might collapse without even a warning once someone entered it.

More dangerous passages contained spatial turbulence capable of tearing apart the bodies of even higher level cultivators. Discovering a hidden spatial passage was therefore considered an opportunity as well as a risk.

Major sects and ancient clans would spare no effort to investigate a confirmed passage, especially if it led to an unexplored realm or an inheritance left behind by a powerhouse. Yet such discoveries were exceedingly rare, and many passages remained undiscovered for countless generations, concealed beneath mountains, seas, within the depths of forbidden lands, or even behind a normal tree in mortal village.

These spatial barriers can only be sensed by someone with exceptional spiritual perception. Even if a cultivator managed to discover one, determining where it led and whether it could be traversed safely was an entirely different matter.

And to have such thing as mere transportation route, one can imagine how terrifyingly high background Heavenly Secret Pavelion have.

The interior of the pavilion was breathtakingly grand and mystical. Giant, floating islands in the sky filled with auspicious clouds. Waterfalls of pure, liquid spiritual energy flowed upwards into the sky. Massive golden astral sphere, the size of mountains rotated slowly in the distance.

Thousands of disciples in white robes were flying on swords, paper cranes, or magical beasts. They were incredibly busy, holding jade slips, calculating divinations, recording heavenly secrets, and managing the pavilion’s vast intelligence network.

However, the moment Daoist Master Tianji appeared, the entire bustling area seemed to pause.

Everyone, from the swiping disciple to the elders, stopped what they were doing and bowed deeply, their voices echoing in unison: "We greet the Pavilion Master!"

"Continue your work," Tianji waved his hand gently.

As the disciples resumed their tasks, their eyes couldn’t help but sneak glances at the two figures following behind the old man. When they recognized who it was, the entire pavilion practically exploded.

"Ah! Is that... is that Sword Venerable Qingyun?!" a young female disciple said loudly to her friend, her eyes shining with stars. "Look at his eyes! It’s so sharp, yet so elegant! I heard he once cut the River in half with a single finger! Isn’t that cool??!"

"Shh! Keep your voice down!" her friend hissed back, though her own eyes were wide with shock. "But look at the other one! That’s Patriarch Ao Huang of the True Dragon Clan! I heard he once ate an entire beast a size of mountain just to digest a pill! His muscles are also huge and terrifying!"

"How is this possible? Sword Venerable and Patriarch Ao Huang? They are natural enemies! How hard is it to see just one of them in a lifetime, let alone both of them present here at the same time."

"Are they here to seek the Master’s divination? Or did something major happened involving our Heavenly Secret Pavilion? If I could, I want to be their personal attendant!"

Listening to the excited, fanatical discussions of the younger disciples, Qingyun’s eye twitched with embarrassment, while Ao Huang’s face filled with pride, though they didn’t dare to show it in front of Master Tianji.

Daoist Master Tianji ignored the gossip, leading them through the floating islands and into a elegant, and simple wooden hall located at the very center of the pavilion.

The hall was decorated with elegance. A small bronze brazier in the center burned rare spiritual incense, creating a calming atmosphere.

"Sit," Tianji said, walking to the main seat and sitting down cross legged.

Qingyun and Ao Huang respectfully took the two guest seats opposite him. A moment later, a beautifully dressed disciple gracefully walked in, serving them each a cup of steaming, fragrant spiritual tea.