Thus was Jiade sent away and imprisoned. Even a supreme powerhouse like him was bound and restrained here.
The Imperial City was vast, strewn with the remnants of stars.
Shi Hao was brought before an altar, constructed from divine stones of five colors, massive as a mountain, towering imposingly.
Just like that, he had arrived in the Imperial City—without delay, yet already set to depart. It all felt surreal, weightless to Shi Hao.
It must be known that in the past, only those who had signed the Ancient Covenant could enter. Today, he was fortunate to visit, a stroke of luck indeed.
He truly didn’t wish to leave so soon. He longed to explore this most mysterious city across the ages, but he was helpless, unable to linger.
Where was Ye Qingxian? Shi Hao yearned to see her—this peerless beauty who had once saved him. Some had even claimed she hailed from the depths of the Forbidden Lands of Life.
Recalling her mention of the Ancient Covenant, how she had taken away the Ancient Heavenly Man and the War Clan’s Ancestor, it was clear she had the deepest ties to this place.
Shi Hao spoke up, inquiring of those around him, especially the elder wielding the spiked club, hoping for a chance to meet Ye Qingxian.
Yet he was refused—without even an explanation. Their stance was firm and unequivocal.
Shi Hao was astonished. Ye Qingxian seemed extraordinary indeed, if even the city’s experts were unwilling to speak of her. What was her true origin?
Thinking of her—white robes like snow, a smile that could topple cities, standing alone in her transcendent beauty—Shi Hao sighed softly. To have come to her domain and yet be denied even a glimpse…
Regardless, it was time to leave. He could only shake his head in resignation.
Standing atop the altar, Shi Hao marveled at the grand five-colored teleportation array. It exuded an aura of boundless time, as if one could traverse epochs, cycling endlessly through the cosmos.
He studied it carefully. This altar bore a striking resemblance to the ruined one he had first encountered in the Black Abyss of the Immortal Ancient Ruins—the one that had borne a shattered cauldron. The materials were identical.
Yet one lay half-destroyed, while this one remained intact.
Clearly, this was a relic from the previous era.
With this realization, Shi Hao’s gaze burned brighter, scrutinizing the altar with even greater intensity. Even this Imperial City was a grand construct from the last epoch.
“Such an ancient city, such a mysterious place!”
Beyond its walls, a passage was suppressed, facing a world of utmost terror.
“The Borderlands!”
Shi Hao uttered these two words, yet something felt amiss. The battlefield he had glimpsed from the altar on the black ancient ship was far more intense—a city guarded by seven kings, locked in endless bloodshed against countless foes.
This was not that place. Where, then, were the true Borderlands?
The battlefield he had witnessed was incomparably fiercer than this desolate, deathly realm, where nine-tenths of the land lay shrouded in gloom.
“Elder, who exactly are those people?” Before departing, Shi Hao asked the spiked-club-wielding elder about the world he had mentioned—what kind of place it was, and how it related to Shi Hao himself. Instinct told him the elder knew.
Yet the elder gave no answer. The altar activated, initiating the teleportation.
A flash of light—Shi Hao felt as though he had stepped into a tunnel of time, cycling through countless lifetimes before hurtling toward eternity’s end.
This was a supreme teleportation array, mighty beyond measure, capable of sending one to the edge of the cosmos, traversing ancient realms.
The Three Thousand Provinces faded behind him. He had left the Upper Realm!
This was a colossal formation, its power unfathomable, tearing open a passage through the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.
For ordinary beings, this was unimaginable.
Shi Hao traversed radiant light, advanced through chaotic mist, crossing inconceivable distances. He had truly broken free from the Three Thousand Provinces.
“The Imperial City is so vast, yet I only saw a fraction—only a handful of experts. Who knows what other figures and wonders lie hidden there?”
Shi Hao knew he had merely glimpsed a corner, far from understanding its depths.
Before he could ponder further, fragments of time swirled around him, stars flickering along the journey.
Crossing realms destabilized the very fabric of space.
**Boom!**
A violent tremor—white mist churned, multicolored light surged, and Shi Hao emerged.
Blinking, he found himself standing atop a bone-carved platform, ancient in design yet white as jade.
“I’ve reached Boundless Heaven?!” Shi Hao marveled. The distance crossed was beyond imagination, yet he had arrived in moments.
Such a span would take even the mightiest cultivators countless lifetimes to traverse—if a path even existed.
From the Three Thousand Provinces of the Ten Earths to Boundless Heaven of the Nine Heavens—this was a journey of extremes.
“I’m months late. I wonder if I can still enter Celestial Academy.”
Stepping off the platform, he was immediately engulfed by a tidal surge of spiritual energy.
“Far denser than the Three Thousand Provinces!” This was his immediate observation.
Typically, abundant spiritual energy meant a land ripe for cultivation, breeding formidable experts.
By all accounts, this was a world of immense power!
The rise and fall of such lands dictated whether the cultivation world flourished or declined.
“So… empty.”
Shi Hao frowned. Though the spiritual energy was rich and mist swirled, the place felt eerily silent—devoid of mountains, rivers, or vegetation.
White fog stretched endlessly into the distance.
“If they sent me to Boundless Heaven, there must be a destination. Did they deliver me straight to Celestial Academy’s gates?”
Before departing, he had asked how to enter the academy after teleportation.
“Hm?”
Soon, Shi Hao sensed something amiss. The ground ahead was unnaturally flat, paved with massive divine stones.
Activating his Heavenly Eye, runes condensed in his pupils, twin beams scanning the surroundings.
What he saw stunned him.
He was inside a palace—an enormous one, spanning tens of thousands of miles, suspended in the void. The bone platform lay within.
Shi Hao was speechless. He had thought himself on open land, only to realize he stood within a colossal structure.
Choosing a direction, he flew toward it, stirring the mist like an immortal traversing a celestial realm.
Soon, he reached an entrance—a pair of massive bronze doors, slightly ajar.
Standing before them, Shi Hao prepared to push.
The doors were absurdly large, towering thousands of miles high—more like cliffs than gates.
With a rumble, they opened.
Stepping through, he was immediately met by an overwhelming presence, barring his path.
Beyond the doors, amidst swirling mist and chaotic energy, an elder sat cross-legged on a stone slab, a worn mat beneath him.
His eyes opened—twin bolts of lightning splitting the clouds.
Bald but for snow-white brows half a foot long, the elder exuded solemn dignity, inspiring awe.
This was no ordinary expert—his gaze alone seemed to pierce souls, making spirits tremble.
Shi Hao’s scalp prickled. From the Imperial City to this mysterious structure in Boundless Heaven, he had encountered one unfathomable powerhouse after another.
He sighed inwardly. He needed to grow stronger, and fast—this world was far too perilous.
“Greetings, Elder,” Shi Hao offered respectfully.
“Interesting. Three strands of immortal energy—a heaven-defying talent. But will you blaze brightly like those in history, or fade like a fleeting bloom?” the elder mused.
Shi Hao was startled. This man could perceive his condition with terrifying clarity.
“Since you were sent here, I care not for your status or past deeds. Only the trials ahead matter,” the white-browed elder stated.
“Elder, what do you mean?” Shi Hao sensed something ominous in the elder’s tone.
“All sent here have erred and must face due punishment.”
The Imperial City’s teleportation array, vast beyond measure, could send one to precise coordinates.
Clearly, after deliberation, they had chosen this place for him.
“I erred?” Shi Hao bristled. It was Jiade who had provoked him!
“Evidently, or you wouldn’t be here.”
Shi Hao’s expression darkened. He’d been framed. Jiade had invaded his consciousness—yet he was the one punished?
“Fear not. Those sent to this ancient hall face only minor chastisement—no unforgivable crimes.”
Shi Hao exhaled in relief. At least no enemies would pursue him here.
With a wave, the elder sent Shi Hao hurtling from the colossal structure into the distance.
“What kind of punishment is this?” Shi Hao was baffled.
Below stretched a vast, azure lake.
“Leave this realm, and your penance ends,” the elder’s voice echoed.
This was clearly a unique pocket dimension—yet one vast as a world.
Flying toward the horizon, Shi Hao encountered others—listless, injured figures.
Startled, he learned these were all geniuses. Only the exceptional were exiled here.
Some wore tattered robes, having languished for centuries without escape. The shortest tenure was several years.
“Damn it!” Shi Hao cursed. He refused to accept fault—yet here he was, trapped.
He had no time to waste. Years, even centuries here were unthinkable. He had to leave—now.
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