Chapter 640: Underground Palace!
Although Li Yun and Ye Qingxue followed the principle of moving during the day and hiding at night, the past month had still been filled with danger. Several times, they had brushed against death, and on more than one occasion, they had nearly fallen into true mortal peril.
Fortunately, despite how dangerous the journey had been, Li Yun and Ye Qingxue ultimately succeeded in escaping Darkwood Forest.
Within that month, Ye Qingxue’s cultivation had reached the peak of Xiantian Realm, while Li Yun had also advanced to the peak of the 4th level of Earthly Core Realm. He was now only one step away from the 5th level.
"Hoo!"
The moment he stepped out of Darkwood Forest, warm sunlight shone down upon him. The sunlight was not intense, yet to Li Yun, it felt dazzling to the extreme, as if his eyes were burning.
This feeling was understandable. After spending a whole month inside Darkwood Forest without seeing the sun even once, seeing daylight again naturally brought such a sensation.
Beyond Darkwood Forest lay the territory of Cloudheaven Prefecture. After Cloudheaven Prefecture was the Endless Ocean, and only after crossing the Endless Ocean could Li Yun arrive at the Southern Martial Domain.
Although Cloudheaven Prefecture’s overall strength was slightly stronger than the Southern Martial Domain, it was not stronger by much. It could already be considered a remote corner of the Azure Void Region.
In a place like this, the Ironblood Sect was clearly unwilling to spend too much effort. Along the way, Li Yun and Ye Qingxue did not encounter many Ironblood Sect cultivators. Even when they did, those cultivators had very ordinary cultivation, and not a single one had reached the Heavenly Core Realm.
Under these circumstances, Li Yun and Ye Qingxue smoothly passed through Cloudheaven Prefecture, crossed the Endless Ocean, and finally reached the Southern Martial Domain.
"Is this Master’s hometown?"
Upon entering the Southern Martial Domain, Ye Qingxue immediately became curious. She really wanted to know what kind of place had given birth to someone like Li Yun.
But soon, she felt somewhat disappointed.
The spiritual qi in the Southern Martial Domain was very thin, even inferior to her own hometown. The number of powerhouses was also extremely small. Even Mortal Core Realm cultivators were rarely seen, let alone Earthly Core Realm or Heavenly Core Realm experts.
The Ironblood Sect clearly did not pay much attention to this place. There were almost no stationed cultivators until they reached Martial Ascension Gate. Only there did the number of Ironblood Sect cultivators finally increase.
At this time, the area around Martial Ascension Gate had been completely occupied by the Ironblood Sect. Hundreds, or perhaps even thousands, of black-robed Ironblood Sect cultivators surrounded the entire sect. The weakest among them were in the Mortal Core Realm, while the strongest had reached the Half-Step Heavenly Core Realm.
Among these black-robed cultivators, there were also some purple-robed cultivators mixed in.
Seeing this, Li Yun’s expression immediately darkened.
He was not unfamiliar with the attire of those purple-robed cultivators. It was the unique clothing of the Starheaven Ancient Kingdom.
’No matter what, I should first see what the situation is like inside Martial Ascension Gate.’
His gaze turned cold. With a flash of his figure, he appeared on a mountain peak near Martial Ascension Gate. Then, he activated the Nine Tribulations Divine Eye.
With Li Yun’s current cultivation, his vision could easily cover the entire Martial Ascension Gate. His gaze swept across the area, and his expression grew even gloomier.
At this moment, inside Martial Ascension Gate, the numerous disciples of the sect had all been captured. This included disciples from the four peaks, the other great sects, and the various forces under Martial Ascension Gate. They were bound with chains and even had collars around their necks, marking them as slaves.
Some of these disciples were assigned to sweeping, some were forced to mine, some had to tend captive demonic beasts, and some had even become experimental subjects for the Ironblood Sect cultivators’ cultivation. Many female disciples, in particular, were directly confined inside a courtyard and reduced to playthings for the Ironblood Sect disciples.
Among them were Fu Yan, Xiao Han, and several others Li Yun knew.
"Damn it."
Although he had long known the Ironblood Sect’s conduct, witnessing this scene firsthand still caused intense killing intent to surge in Li Yun’s heart.
He suppressed his killing intent and continued observing the situation inside Martial Ascension Gate.
Soon, he saw another familiar face.
In a medicinal field, Zhu Ximen looked numb. His clothes were tattered, and he appeared to have aged by ten or twenty years. Chains covered his body, and he was laboriously swinging a hoe.
"Boy, hurry up!"
Behind him, a purple-robed cultivator lashed Zhu Ximen with a whip, his face filled with impatience. He sneered and said, "Boy, do not think we do not know that you are friends with that Li Yun kid. Senior Brother Feng Wuyin specifically ordered us to add some extra flavor for you."
Crack!
He violently whipped Zhu Ximen’s back, tearing open his skin and flesh, then roared, "Hurry up and finish hoeing this land. After that, there is still a lot of manure waiting for you to water the fields with."
Watching this scene from afar, Li Yun’s gaze grew even colder. His killing intent continued rising, and this purple-robed cultivator had already been added to his mental kill list.
He forced himself to calm down and continued looking toward the depths of Martial Ascension Gate.
Soon, he saw a giant sword-shaped pagoda with nine stories. Each story had a giant sword carved into it. It was the Sword Mist Pagoda within Martial Ascension Gate.
However, at this moment, the entire Sword Mist Pagoda had collapsed to the ground. It was severely damaged and had clearly been completely destroyed.
At the original location of the Sword Mist Pagoda, a dark cave had appeared, extending into a magnificent underground palace.
"Hm?"
Li Yun could not help feeling surprised.
There was actually an underground palace hidden beneath the Sword Mist Pagoda?
Not only had he been unaware of this underground palace, he believed even the four peak lords and the sect master likely did not know anything about it. Otherwise, he would surely have heard about it before.