''Hey, look at those people! Have they gone mad?''
''Which power do they come from? Don't tell me they aren't afraid of the lightning here!''
''Ignore them! If they have a death wish, leave them be!''
Shun Long's group attracted quite a bit of attention as they headed deeper inside the King's Palace.
This was only natural since most groups would walk slowly and would stare at the sky above them in trepidation, afraid that the purple lightning bolts would annihilate them at any moment. Even the groups of peak Dao Kings, like the inner court disciples of the Holy sect, would have to be careful of the purple lightning, but Shun Long didn't seem to care about that at all, as he led Bai Longtian and the others deeper inside the palace.
Shun Long could sense that the deeper inside the King's Palace he entered, the clearer he could now sense the myriad of Daos around him.
However, Shun Long had also noticed, that with each step he was taking towards the depths of the palace, he could also feel a faint invisible pressure that was coming from his surroundings as it bore down on his body.
This natural pressure was extremely bizarre and it seemed to have originated from the very Daos themselves, hindering anyone from walking any further.
Naturally, it wasn't just Shun Long who was feeling this pressure, but everyone else who had entered inside the King's Palace as well.
With every step that they took towards the depths of the palace, Jiang Chen and the rest could all feel the ever-increasing pressure that was blocking their way, slowly becoming even stronger.
However, it still wasn't enough to stop Shun Long's group.
After all, even normal peak Nascent Soul cultivators would be able to resist this level of pressure easily, let alone Xingyi and the rest.
...
Just an hour had passed from the time that Shun Long's group had entered the King's Palace, before Liu Mei's body suddenly trembled, as she abruptly stopped in her tracks.
Xingyi and the others all noticed this sudden change as well, as everyone else halted their steps and turned their attention towards Liu Mei.
''Mei'er.''
Shun Long was the first one to move, as his body immediately vanished, appearing right next to Liu Mei almost instantly.
However, just as he was about to touch Liu Mei's body, a sense of lethal danger filled Shun Long's heart, as he quickly retracted his hand without any hesitation.
At the same time, a pitch-black aura erupted from Liu Mei in the next moment, instantly stunning Xingyi and the others.
''Brother Shun... don't tell me that...''
Bai Longtian's words were stuck in his throat as he looked at Liu Mei with a look of clear disbelief in his eyes.
Jiang Chen and Xingyi were equally shocked when they saw this scene in front of them, while Shun Long nodded his head before he answered
''Right! Mei'er is breaking through!''
Liu Mei's condition attracted quite a few envious looks from the nearby disciples who were walking close to Shun Long's group and were also heading towards the depths of the palace.
Everyone who saw this scene could easily guess that Liu Mei had suddenly gained insights and was already breaking through to the Dao King realm! For someone to have a breakthrough just an hour after the opening of the King's Palace, it was only natural that it would attract the envy of the people around them.
''Master, this isn't surprising. Cultivators of the Dao of Death don't struggle too much in their Dao comprehension. The real question is whether she can survive the Heavenly tribulation or not.''
Little Black's voice had turned somewhat serious as he stared at Liu Mei from the foggy space inside the 'Stone of Time'.
Although Shun Long was slightly surprised by the sudden changes around Liu Mei, he knew that Little Black was right.
Since Liu Mei's cultivation, the purity of her soul, and her Dao comprehension had all reached the peak of rank 9 in the Nascent Soul, she wouldn't have too much trouble taking the final step to begin her breakthrough to the Dao King realm.
After all, the Dao of Death was different from most other Daos, and was rather special in terms of its Dao comprehension. For Liu Mei to gain insights into the Dao of Death, all she needed to do was absorb the death aura around her.
Although there was no dense aura of death in this outer region of the King's Palace, Liu Mei who was already half a step away from breaking through had managed to obtain a spark of insight and had now reached for the door of the Dao King realm.
No matter whether she wanted to or not, her breakthrough was about to begin.
Seeing Liu Mei unconsciously move her body and sit on the ground with her eyes closed, Shun Long didn't hesitate as he sat down in front of her and waved his hand, as he took out a wooden, silver-colored guqin from the 'Stone of Time' and held it with a serious look in his eyes.
Shun Long knew that Liu Mei's breakthrough to the Dao King realm wouldn't just involve the Heavenly Tribulation, but the negative side-effects of the 'Blood Absorption art' as well.
During her breakthrough to the Nascent Soul stage from the peak of rank 9 in the Spirit realm, Liu Mei had almost died back then, when she and Shun Long were both participating in the third test of the Holy sect.
Naturally, Shun Long was already aware of the dangers of the 'Blood Absorption art' and wasn't going to leave things to luck this time.
Jiang Chen, Xingyi, and Bai Longtian, all moved as well, as they spread around Shun Long and Liu Mei, forming a triangle-shaped formation around them.
Although the chances of someone interrupting Liu Mei during her breakthrough were extremely low inside the King's Palace, especially considering that Liu Mei didn't have any enemies outside the Holy sect, if someone really had any malicious intentions, the 3 of them weren't going to let that person get close to Liu Mei and ruin her breakthrough.