“Yes, yes, yes!” Elder Shi hurriedly stepped aside, exhaling a long sigh of relief.
Lin Yun walked past him, returning to Huaixi.
“Lord… Lord Lin,” Huaixi stammered, visibly nervous.
Though he’d always respected Lin Yun, witnessing the four alliance leaders bow to him made Huaixi, a mere small-tribe member, unsure how to act.
“Relax, Huaixi. When the Wuji Heavenly Palace opens, we’ll go in together,” Lin Yun said with a smile, patting his shoulder.
Lin Yun sat on a nearby rock.
Now, they waited for the Wuji Heavenly Palace to open.
…
Time passed, and a day went by in a flash.
The scene remained quiet, with no one daring to trouble Lin Yun again.
At noon, 12:00.
Buzz!
The Wuji Heavenly Palace, floating ahead in the sky, suddenly radiated dazzling light.
“The Wuji Heavenly Palace is opening!”
The crowd erupted in excitement.
Everyone knelt in reverence toward the palace.
Lin Yun stood, gazing at the palace with anticipation in his eyes.
“It’s finally opening?” His voice carried hope.
For twenty years, Lin Yun had longed to expel the Soul-Breaking Poison and restore his cultivation. Apart from the Chaos Stone, he’d found no viable solution.
Now, the Wuji Heavenly Palace offered hope!
Strengthening his physical body could purge the poison.
According to the artifact spirit, he’d likely need the Chaos Body to do so.
Achieving the Chaos Body was daunting!
But the Wuji Heavenly Palace gave him a glimmer of hope.
As Lin Yun watched, the palace’s massive gates slowly opened. Eight rainbow-like beams extended downward, forming eight paths to the palace!
“We can enter the Wuji Heavenly Palace!” an excited voice cried.
“Hold on!” a booming voice halted the crowd.
The four alliance leaders approached Lin Yun.
“Lord, please go first,” they said, gesturing respectfully.
“Huaixi, follow me. If I can help inside, I will,” Lin Yun told him.
“Thank you, Lord!” Huaixi nodded eagerly.
Lin Yun chose a rainbow bridge and stepped onto it, Huaixi close behind.
“How strange!”
On the bridge, Lin Yun felt the light beneath his feet flow like water, coiling around them.
With a slight effort, he lifted his foot free.
For the weak, crossing this bridge would be nearly impossible, explaining why the alliances required at least the Flawless Body stage to participate.
Lin Yun moved quickly, while Huaixi lagged but could still pass.
Soon, Lin Yun reached the bridge’s end.
The colossal Wuji Heavenly Palace loomed before him.
Encircled by mist, it resembled an immortal realm—grand, majestic, awe-inspiring. The gates, dozens of meters high, stood fully open.
Looking up, Lin Yun couldn’t see the palace’s top through the fog.
He waited briefly at the bridge’s end until Huaixi arrived.
“Huaixi, let’s go in.”
They walked toward the palace’s gates.
As they entered, the four leaders below ordered, “Everyone, up the bridges!”
The tens of thousands surged toward the eight rainbow bridges, brimming with excitement and hope.
This could be their chance to change their lives!
The four leaders gathered.
“For Lord Lin to enter the Wuji Heavenly Palace, he must truly be under a hundred years old!” the Northern Alliance Leader marveled.
“In the last twenty thousand years of recorded history, no one with his strength has entered.”
“Which floor will he reach? The eighth? Or… the ninth?”
They speculated among themselves.
They knew if Lin Yun reached the ninth floor, he’d break a twenty-thousand-year record!
…
Inside the Wuji Heavenly Palace.
As Lin Yun stepped in, the light dimmed slightly.
He scanned the vast first floor.
No dangers were apparent here.
Passing the rainbow bridge seemed enough to seek merit on this floor, with the bridge as the initial test.
Lin Yun’s gaze settled on a glowing spot over three thousand meters away—a door.
He guessed it led to the second floor.
“Huaixi, are you staying on this floor?” Lin Yun asked.
“Lord, I’m heading straight to the second floor. I’ll return here for merit if I can’t go higher,” Huaixi said.
“Good. Let’s go to the second floor!”
Lin Yun led Huaixi toward the door.
Moments later, they reached the glowing portal to the second floor.
It shimmered with radiant light.
“Let’s go!”
Lin Yun charged into the portal.
Boom!
Inside, light enveloped him, exerting a binding force, trying to push him back.
“Break!”
With a slight burst of strength, Lin Yun shattered the light’s grip.
As it dissipated, the surroundings changed.
“I’ve reached the second floor of the Wuji Heavenly Palace,” Lin Yun said, smiling.
The early floors should be easy, especially for him.
He surveyed the second floor.
It resembled the first, dotted with numerous stone pillars.
Beneath each was a cushion, likely for receiving the floor’s merit.
But Lin Yun wasn’t interested; the lower floors’ merits were for the Wuji Realm’s weaker cultivators.
Huaixi appeared beside him.
“Huff… huff…” Huaixi panted, clearly strained by the portal’s test.
