Only then Han Ning breathed a sigh of relief. If this Yan Yangzi was a fake, she would be punished as the person who brought him here.
“Follow me,” said Han Ning.
Of course, she ignored Han Tian and Wutian.
“Do you want me to bring you to the thatched hut, Brother Wu?” said Han Tian jokingly.
Wutian nodded. He would not say no because he was not familiar with the place.
“You really take it as a matter of course, huh?” Han Tian pouted, then went around the palace to the back.
“Bring the Gobbler to meet me at midnight, young man.”
Just when Wutian moved ahead, a voice suddenly spoke into his mind. He looked back at the fire qilins. After thinking about it for a while, he nodded and caught up with Han Tian.
This place truly lived up to its reputation as a sacred land. It looked and felt as one with all kinds of auspicious beasts roaming around.
“This is the accommodation of the registered disciples!” Han Tian acted as a tour guide as they went.
There was a massive palace up ahead. It was multiple-ten-story high, entirely built of glittering white jade stones.
A ten-thousand-foot-long square was in front of the palace, laid entirely with iron stones. The square had seen better days. At this time, countless people were sparring in the square. Needless to say, this was the fighting ring of the registered disciples.
That explained the use of ironstones in the square; only stones as tough as iron stones could withstand the abuse of the cultivators.
“Beat him!”
“I will spare you no mercy!”
Battle cries, shouts, cheering, and jeering resounded through the square. But there was a smile on the faces of these people. It was a friendly atmosphere.
As Wutian and Han Tian went through the square, they attracted envious stares. The disciples in the square were especially respectful and their eyes lit up when they saw Han Tian was dressed in a purple robe.
“The intern disciples’ accommodation is right up ahead!” said Han Tian.
Intern disciples were dressed in green robes, their cultivation base naturally a notch higher than that of registered disciples. So there were inevitably many cracked iron stones in the square.
The more Wutian discovered, the more he was astonished. The Yan Clan was truly out of the ordinary. Their number of registered and intern disciples alone was well over ten thousand.
In contrast, the nucleus disciples’ accommodation was relatively small. There was no one in the square as they had all gone on missions.
Han Tian told him that only the registered, intern, and nucleus disciples respectively stayed together. The canonized disciples were staying with their respective masters in different places.
This was a symbol of status.
The direct disciples, on the other hand, stayed even further deeper in the complex, and were under the oversight of the clan master. Here, other than the great hall of the clan master, there was no other building. But there were ninety-nine majestic, towering mountain peaks nearby.
This mountain range was named Ninety-Nine Grotto-Heavens, and it was no coincidence that there were ninety-nine direct disciples here occupying one grotto-heaven, respectively.
“Beneath the Ninety-Nine Grotto-Heavens is a Quintessence Auspicious Vein that has an unlimited supply of Essence elixir. It is also a place coveted by most disciples,” explained Han Tian.
Clouds formed by the essence elixir drifted through the mountains where birds and auspicious beasts lived. As Wutian came into this place, it felt as if he had walked into a sea of essence qi. It was tranquil and soothing to the heart and mind. Without needing to use his breathing method, he could already feel the essence qi flowing into his lungs. That was how high the concentration of the essence qi was.
Wutian would not be surprised that even an idiot cultivating in his place could become a genius.
Han Tian pointed at the two mountain peaks in the middle, looking at it admiringly. “That two peaks are where the grotto-heavens of First Senior Brother and Second Senior Sister are. They sit right in the middle of the Quintessence Vein, where the essence elixir is the most concentrated.”
“So which one is yours?” asked Wutian curiously.
Han Tian scratched his head and faltered. “The—the one at the rightmost.”
Wutian shook his head. That mountain peak at the rightmost might not be as strategic as those in the middle, but its essence qi concentration was not less than 100 times higher than the outside world. Yet Han Tian was still not happy about it.
“That’s enough of that. The thatched hut of the great elder is right behind the mountain range.” Han Tian hurried Wutian to move forward.
There were many exotic demonic beasts along the way. They were all incredibly powerful. Some of them were remnants of the ancient species with terrifying ability. Wutian was already shaking like a leaf with just a glimpse of their mightiness.
As the two passed the mountain range, they came to a vast region of level ground growing with towering ancient trees and roaming with all kinds of insects and beasts.
“The thatched hut is right there.”
Han Tian led the way into the dense forest. They threaded along, seeing the lush green vegetation, insects, animals and demonic beasts on the forest floor. These living things did not run away as they had been used to the presence of humans.
After going for an hour or so, the view opened up in front of them.
Right ahead was a small lake, about a thousand-foot across. The lake water was as clear and calm as a mirror, growing with sacred lotus that gave out a refreshing scent, attracting butterflies dancing around.
Colorful fish jumped out of the water occasionally, screwing up the mirror-like lake surface.
On the side of the lake, flowers bloomed in different colors, attracting even more bees and butterflies.
Amid this beautiful scenery of flowers stood three thatched huts that looked completely out-of-place. The consolation was, the energized air here was just as good as that at the Ninety-nine Grotto-Heavens.
“Here you go. There is where you are going to stay from now on!” Han Tian mocked him.
Wutian shook his head and wanted to say something.
“You have finally arrived, Wutian!”
Right then, Shishi scampered out. She was holding a bundle of wild flowers in her hand, her hair tied up in a pair of ponytails, her dress fluttering in the air exactly like an elf.
“Are you being naught today?” Wutian carried her up in his arms, tapping her nose gently.
“Of course, not!”
“So where are Little Tian and Master?”
“They have gone in there!” Shishi pointed into the dense forest, pouting. “Grandpa master didn’t bring me along. He isn’t being fair!”
“I will leave you to it, Wutian. I have got to report back to Old Thing. Or else, he will eat me alive.” Han Tian said his goodbye. The Old Thing that Han Tian talked about was the Yan Clan Master.
Shishi waved at Han Tian. “See you again, uncle… maybe not.”
“I will make you see sense next time, you little rascal!” Han Tian snapped after he staggered and almost fell to the ground.
“He is a bad guy, Wutian. Don’t play with him next time,” said Shishi.
“Whatever. You got it.”
“This is more like it, Wutian. Let me show you your house that grandpa master has arranged for you.” Shishi jumped down from his arms, held his hand as she scampered toward one thatched hut.
They pushed the door open. The air inside the thatched hut was just as fresh as on the outside. On the ceiling hung a few luminous pearls that glowed in a soft light. So the interior was bright. It was also clean and simple; other than a stone bed, there was nothing else inside.
“This is your house. It is stingy of Grandpa master to build such a small house.” Shishi creased her nose.
“It’s fine. Now, go play with the demonic beasts. I have stuff to do,” said Wutian with a smile.
“Okay.” Shishi pouted. She was reluctant to leave, but also understanding. She left Wutain alone and sulkily went out of the house.
Wutian sat cross-legged on the stone bed, trying to study the Power of Thunder inside his forehead. He had accidentally triggered it when he was killing Huoshi and disappeared right after that.
Power of Thunder, formed by a heavenly might, possessed incredible energy. If he could master it, it would definitely make a badass weapon.
Besides, he could also take a glimpse of the source of the thunder, master its essence, making himself a god of thunder to increase his combat strength.
But it was a long process.
When he extended his consciousness to his forehead, he was stunned. Just like last time, there was nothing there.
He was flustered. Power of Thunder was triggered only when he was under threat from Huo Yunzi as he was killing Huoshi. Could it be that only during times of crisis could this mysterious thing be triggered?
He shut his eyes suddenly and started to perform some finger gestures.
It was a divination skill.
Since his grandpa died, he had stopped using this skill. But right now, in a spur of the moment, he wanted to seek insight of his past, and of his parents’ whereabouts.
While he was at it, a milky flow flashed on his forehead. He had got it this time.
Just when the milk glow flashed, he saw a speck of dust infused in his flesh before disappearing in a flash. Now matter how hard he searched, he could not find it.
That vision of a vast piece of heaven and earth appeared in front of his mind’s eye again. The starry sky, and bright moon, mountains and rivers, trees and grass; they were all the same, just like the first time.
A fuzzy view of a majestic mountain peak was at the edge of this heaven and earth. It looked like a terrifying primordial vicious beast lying in wait for its prey under the moon.
A massive palace sat on the top of the peak. Only its silhouette was visible, but Wutian could sense a hint of its air.
A buzz was reverberating in his mind; that was the air of the bloodline.
Wutian was excited. At first, he had only seen the palace. Now, he could sense the power of his family’s bloodline.
Blood is thicker than water; that was how it should be.
Could it be that this place was my home, and my father and mother were here?
His finger gestures became quicker as he wanted to take a closer look.
Right then, thunder roared in clouds, and lightning flashed in the sky. A storm gathered and rain poured down. A gigantic hand suddenly reached down from heaven, blocking out the sky and all communication.
His body jolted and blood spurted out of his mouth. The vision was gone; all he saw was darkness.
He wiped the blood away and immediately tried his finger gestures again. This time, he ignored that mysterious thing on his forehead. He focused his mind on looking for that world and seeing if his parents were there.
A vision came. But when he sensed the power of the bloodline, that merciless gigantic came down again with even more force than before, as if it had been angered.
Wutian was sent flying out backward, leaving behind a hole in the wall of the thatched hut.
“What happened, Wutian?” Shishi heard the noise and ran up.
He shook his head and came back in to start the finger gestures again.
Every time, the outcome was the same; a gigantic hand came down with more power each time. The thatched hut had been destroyed, and he was even flung into the lake the last time.
He was stubbornly persistent, but still he was no match for that gigantic hand. If he were to continue, he would most likely get himself killed.
“Why! It is just one more step, yet it feels so far. Why…”
Wutian looked up at the sky and roared. He just wanted to see the faces of his parents, yet that merciless gigantic hand stopped him from taking that one more step.
It was so near, yet so far. He was upset for failing to take a peek.
“The cultivation. That’s right! If I could have higher cultivation, I could see more!”
Wutian was not a person who would take no for an answer. After divining a few times, he had figured out the mystery behind this: he could see more with each higher realm he attained.
“I will see it one day. You won’t be able to stop me again.”