Liu Dashao stared at him in astonishment, and suddenly a thought struck him. He asked, “Senior, does that mean you’ve been inside before?”
Liu Dashao noticed a subtle twitch flicker across Jia Zhuangyuan’s face, which quickly returned to normal. Then, with a faint, forced smile, Jia said something strange: “In that place, I met a person.” He looked up at Liu Dashao and continued, “Jiuliandun, ninety-nine peaks reaching the heavens—all carry the number nine…” Liu Dashao felt that Jia’s eyes carried an indescribable sense of fear. Then, in a slow, slightly distorted tone, Jia told him, “I feel like he has come to this ninety-ninth heaven too.”
Without any apparent reason, Liu Dashao felt a chill run through his body, causing him to shiver. Before he could react, Jia returned to his usual self and loudly pointed ahead, saying, “Everyone, look! The gates of Wuji Daozang are already visible.”
Everyone stopped and looked forward. Indeed, the dense forest was nearly at its end, and their current location marked the boundary between the woods and the city. The trees had begun to thin out, and the entire purple-hued expanse of Wuji Daozang was now clearly visible to all.
Liu Dashao refocused his attention on Jia Zhuangyuan. Those final words still sent a lingering chill through his body.
With Wuji Daozang finally in sight, everyone felt a surge of motivation. As the vegetation grew sparser, their pace quickened significantly. Within less than ten minutes, they finally stood beneath the massive celestial palace, constructed entirely of magical purple crystal.
The entire Wuji Daozang left everyone in awe. The palace resembled an incomparable, enormous crystal—completely translucent and radiating dazzling purple light. Anyone standing before it couldn’t help but feel an urge to kneel and worship.
The massive gates stood half-open, revealing a passage wide enough for two people to walk side by side. The path inside was paved with shimmering, multicolored transparent crystal tiles.
Everyone marveled below the city gates, unable to fathom whether this place was real or imagined. Yet here it stood before them, undeniably real. After a long pause, Jia Zhuangyuan’s voice brought everyone back to reality. He said, “Everyone, let’s go inside. There may be even more wonders within to amaze us.”
Nodding in agreement, the group proceeded toward the half-closed gates.
Just as they crossed the threshold into the city, a sudden flash of golden light streaked past their eyes. Before they could react, two enormous birds abruptly appeared in the passage inside the gates, standing there with narrowed, sharp eyes fixed upon them.
These two birds were precisely the pair of Fenghuangs the group had seen earlier in the jungle. Their sudden appearance, blocking the path forward, caused everyone to freeze in place, uncertain of what to do.
They stared at the two Fenghuangs, who in turn gazed coldly back, silent and unmoving. Yet their intent was unmistakable—they would not allow anyone to enter Wuji Daozang.
What was happening? Why were the Fenghuangs blocking their way? As the group stood locked in a tense standoff with the birds, a deafening, earth-shaking roar suddenly echoed into their ears. Everyone’s hearts pounded—what was that sound?
The two Fenghuangs appeared to hear the noise too. Suddenly, they flapped their wings and took flight, letting out loud cries as they soared into the sky above the city. This sudden turn of events left everyone puzzled.
At that moment, a long, echoing dragon’s roar reverberated through the valley, and everyone looked up to see the Azure Dragon from the blue lake suddenly appear above Wuji Daozang.
Fan Debiao exclaimed in shock, “Oh my! Isn’t that… isn’t that the Azure Dragon from the blue lake?”
Suddenly, everything became clear. That earth-shattering roar had been the sound of the Azure Dragon breaking free from its confinement. And those two Fenghuangs were likely the guardians of Wuji Daozang, originally intent on preventing their entry. But just as the Azure Dragon broke free and appeared above the city, the Fenghuangs had abandoned their confrontation with the group to intercept the dragon instead.
Looking up, everyone saw the two Fenghuangs flying toward the Azure Dragon, stretching their beautiful wings and letting out cries that seemed to warn the dragon not to approach Wuji Daozang. However, the Azure Dragon appeared unimpressed. It opened its mouth wide, roaring at the Fenghuangs, baring its fangs and claws in a fierce display, seemingly trying to intimidate them.
The dragon and the two Fenghuangs faced off midair, screeching at each other. But both sides seemed cautious, unwilling to launch the first strike.
At that moment, a golden beam of light suddenly shot up from deep within the purple-glowing city of Wuji Daozang, piercing straight into the heavens. Everyone gasped in shock, unsure of what new anomaly had occurred.
Upon seeing the golden light, the Azure Dragon seemed extremely agitated. Twisting its body, it raised its head and let out a mighty roar toward the sky. Its pair of dragon horns suddenly radiated a brilliant blue light as it charged furiously toward the two Fenghuangs.
The Fenghuangs seemed to sense the dragon’s attack. Flapping their wings, they elegantly split left and right midair, narrowly avoiding the dragon’s horns. Then, their long beaks struck swiftly toward the dragon’s eyes.
The Azure Dragon had no choice but to withdraw, retreating back to its original position. Clearly furious, it shook its head and tail, glaring fiercely at the two Fenghuangs blocking its path. Suddenly, it turned and flew away, leaving the spectators below puzzled. Had it really given up after just one exchange?
The pair of Fenghuangs in the air let out joyful cries, circling gracefully through the sky, their high-pitched calls seemingly mocking the dragon.
Seeing the dragon and phoenix battle end so simply, everyone felt disappointed. Fan Debiao shook his head, somewhat disheartened, saying, “They say the dragon is the king of all divine beasts, yet it turned out to be so weak. I didn’t see the sacred bird Fenghuang as particularly impressive either. This whole thing was rather dull. Seems like those ancient legends were just exaggerated stories.”
At that moment, Jia Zhuangyuan let out a cold snort and said, “Not necessarily. I suspect the Azure Dragon will return to challenge the Fenghuangs again. Where that golden light rose must be where the dragon seeks something. It won’t just give up and leave.”
Everyone looked at Jia Zhuangyuan in astonishment. At that moment, Liu Dashao felt that Jia’s entire demeanor—his expression and his eyes—had become somewhat strange. Recalling their earlier conversation deep in the forest, Liu Dashao had a vague sense that Jia was hiding something in his heart, something connected to their current predicament. Liu Dashao silently speculated: could it have something to do with the mysterious legend of Jiuliandun from the Warring States era? Although Jia had never admitted to exploring the legendary Jiuliandun, Liu Dashao was certain—he must have entered it before.
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