Chapter 747: Divine Martial Guard (I)
A magnificent divine hall floated beneath the firmament, hidden within a gap in the void. This was the dwelling place of the gods, exuding boundless majesty and solemnity. Every part of the hall was a masterpiece of craftsmanship, radiating an air of unsurpassed grandeur and nobility. An aura of majesty, magnificence, and ancient vicissitude emanated from within. As Lin Zheyu peered at it through his spiritual Heavenly Eye, he could not shake the feeling that merely looking upon it was an act of blasphemy. His gaze instinctively tried to turn away.
"The Hall of the Gods!" Ji Haozhong's eyes widened as he suppressed his shock and sent a secret voice transmission. "You can actually see the Hall of the Gods?"
"Mm..." Lin Zheyu withdrew his gaze and said, "I can't see it. I only vaguely sensed something unusual deep in the sky. I'm guessing that might be where the Hall of the Gods is located."
To make out the divine hall hidden beneath the firmament, he had pushed his spiritual Heavenly Eye to its limit. Even then, he could only see a vague phantom of the hall. Yet that alone was already astonishing. To avoid revealing anything too shocking, Lin Zheyu deliberately understated what he had perceived, claiming that he had only vaguely sensed something unusual. As for it being the Hall of the Gods, he presented that merely as a suspicion.
"Huff... You scared me to death." Ji Haozhong let out a breath and rolled his eyes. "I heard that the Hall of the Gods is hidden in the deepest reaches of the Black Tortoise Realm. I didn't think about it at first, but then I started wondering how the Hall of the Gods had somehow ended up in the sky. So it was only your guess."
That had truly scared him. For a moment, he had actually thought this fellow could see the legendary Hall of the Gods hidden in the depths of the Black Tortoise Realm.
"Besides, the Hall of the Gods isn't something just anyone can sense. It's said that only great experts who have reached the Deity Transformation realm can perceive the Hall of the Gods hidden in the depths of the Black Tortoise Realm." Ji Haozhong shook his head and continued, "I'd say what you sensed was probably a divine residence, though it could also have been some other unusual dharma treasure."
If Xiao Yu could truly see the Hall of the Gods, that would be far too astonishing. Would that not mean his perception was comparable to that of a Deity Transformation realm expert? How could that possibly be!
Ji Haozhong clicked his tongue in amazement. "Still, being able to sense something unusual there is already remarkable. I can't detect anything at all. The perceptive power of the spirit divine ability you've awakened should already be comparable to that of a Nascent Soul realm expert."
And that was only its perceptive aspect. Who knew whether it possessed other abilities as well? Ji Haozhong could only envy such a powerful spirit divine ability, but envy would get him nowhere. Only martial artists who had opened the three great divine repositories had a chance of awakening a spirit divine ability, and it was merely a chance. According to incomplete statistics compiled by the Martial Alliance, only one in every ten martial artists who opened the three great divine repositories managed to awaken one. The effects and power of these divine abilities also varied greatly. One as powerful as Xiao Yu's was rarer still.
Could that really not be the Hall of the Gods? If that was the Hall of the Gods, wouldn't that mean the deepest reaches of the Black Tortoise Realm aren't underground, but high in the sky? That's right. Who said the deepest reaches of a realm had to lie far beneath the earth rather than deep within the heavens?
Lin Zheyu's thoughts raced as countless possibilities flashed through his mind. He had a feeling that it probably, perhaps, just might truly be the Hall of the Gods.
"If that's the case, then what I sensed might have been some other unusual region or dharma treasure." Lin Zheyu motioned to the others. "All right, let's head inside first and find an inn."
Within Black Tortoise City, the group strolled along the bustling streets, relaxed expressions appearing on their faces as they felt the dense spiritual qi around them. The concentration of spiritual qi here far surpassed that of Yanwu City, where the Martial Alliance was based. It was so abundant that even Lin Zheyu could not help feeling envious. Mortals born here would possess stronger physiques than ordinary people outside the city, even if they had no aptitude for immortal cultivation.
Lin Zheyu even discovered that there were martial artists cultivating Martial Dao within Black Tortoise City. As for the power of faith within the city, it was nowhere near as abundant as he had imagined. Most of the power of faith was absorbed by the Hall of the Gods as soon as it entered the Black Tortoise Realm.
As they strolled through Black Tortoise City, people streamed back and forth along the streets. There were immortal cultivators as well as large numbers of sturdy, well-built mortals, making the city exceptionally lively. The mortals who lived in Black Tortoise City showed little fear toward the many cultivators arriving from outside. Quite a few even stood in the restaurants lining the streets, curiously watching the passing cultivators.
Lin Zheyu curiously observed the unusual social environment of Black Tortoise City. He found it quite interesting that immortal cultivators and mortals could coexist here so harmoniously. On second thought, however, it made perfect sense. Almost all the mortals living here belonged to the Wei Clan.
In terms of status, many of them were more distinguished than ordinary immortal cultivators. Although they themselves were mere mortals, many of their relatives, even distant ones, were powerful experts. This intricate web of relationships had given rise to Black Tortoise City's peculiar social order.
Ji Haozhong pointed toward a beautiful mermaid among the crowd and asked in surprise, "Huh? Isn't that someone from the sea clan? There are actually sea clan cultivators attending Great Wei's Ascension Assembly?"
She was a beautiful woman with a human torso and a fish's tail. Her upper body was clad in a gleaming, ornate, close-fitting breastplate made from fish scales. It covered only the essentials and looked very much like a bikini, leaving much of her smooth, alluring, snow-white skin exposed. Below the waist was a long, slender fish tail.
Lin Zheyu gave Ji Haozhong a sidelong glance. "How would I know? This is my first time attending the Ascension Assembly too. Haven't you been to it several times before?"
He had noticed the female merfolk cultivator as well. Lin Zheyu had been about to ask Ji Haozhong about her, only for the other man to beat him to it.
"Uh, I wasn't asking you. I was just voicing my surprise and confusion," Ji Haozhong said with a light cough.
The group continued onward as Ji Haozhong looked around at the cultivators throughout the city. Soon, they were surprised to discover that the sea clan was not the only unusual group present. Barbarians, ancient yao, and even bald Buddhist monks were there too.
"Did only cultivators from Great Wei attend the Ascension Assembly in the past?" Lin Zheyu asked.
Ji Haozhong nodded. "Yes. I've attended three times, and I've never seen any cultivators from outside Great Wei before."
Then the corners of his mouth curled upward, and he chuckled.
"We definitely made the right choice coming to this Ascension Assembly. Something important and interesting is bound to happen. Qiu Kun and the others really missed out by not coming." Ji Haozhong grinned.
Lin Zheyu and the others headed toward the central district of Black Tortoise City while curiously taking in the city's prosperity. The Ascension Assembly was divided into a main venue and several secondary venues. The main venue sat in the central district of Black Tortoise City, while the secondary venues were scattered across other areas outside the city. Some of the more famous secondary venues included the Sword Tomb, Hundred Refinements Mountain, Fire Dragon Cave, Forbidden Mountain, and several others.
𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦
Before long, Lin Zheyu and the others arrived in the central district. With so many cultivators attending the Ascension Assembly, many of the higher-end inns had already been completely booked by wealthy cultivators. Lin Zheyu's group had no intention of staying anywhere too luxurious anyway. The prices here were frighteningly high.
Staying at an overly luxurious inn would simply be a waste of spirit stones.
The rooms in Black Tortoise City's inns were divided into three grades: Heaven, Earth, and Human. Heaven-grade rooms were the most luxurious, while Human-grade rooms were the most economical. Even at the most ordinary inns, the cheapest Human-grade room still cost fifty low-grade spirit stones per day. Lin Zheyu and the others found an ordinary inn that was not too shabby, and each rented a Human-grade room for sixty-five low-grade spirit stones per day.