Sky Dragon Palace, Dragon Court.
After the brief journey along the Four Seasons Path, by the time everyone reached the Sky Dragon Court, they had already prepared for the worst.
The Dragon Court of the Sky Dragon Palace is an exceedingly vast and open courtyard, remarkably akin to the flower garden found within noble estates.
The only difference is that this flower garden is situated tens of thousands of meters in the sky.
Instead of brown soil at the bottom, there lie tiles crafted from Cloud Crystals.
Below the tiles, clusters of white clouds can be clearly seen, and the Five Saints Town below shrinks to the size of a palm.
Even the majestic Xuan Beast Ridge, viewed from the Dragon Court, resembles a winding and unsightly green centipede.
Four pathways intersect in a "field"-shaped layout, with the Dragon Court located at the very center of this configuration.
Perhaps considering the exhaustion of Dark Practitioners who have passed the Four Seasons Path, a Dark Spirit Array that restores Dark Power is placed at each exit of the paths.
Surrounding them is an assortment of sweet-tasting fruits, and a clear stream like a silvery ribbon winds around the Dragon Court, flowing with a babbling sound.
Several vibrantly colored, unnamed birds sing cheerily amidst the Dragon Court.
Neither the earlier Four Seasons Path nor the construction of this Sky Dragon Court is without a testament to Dragon Slayer Hero Mo Kang’s extraordinary craftsmanship.
Just as Lord Jin Nuo and others arrived at the Sky Dragon Court ahead of Yue Jinghua, appreciating the exquisite design of the Court, people from the Divine Court emerged from the direction of Autumn Walnut Avenue.
Two groups of people who had been separated for a day and two nights met again high above the ground; naturally, both Jin Nuo and Divine Son Zong Shaoqing tensed up upon this reunion.
Jin Nuo glanced over at the Divine Court, observing that the palace disciples and Judgement Envoys were neatly dressed, apparently unharmed. After a brief headcount, he noticed they were only short by one person, and he couldn’t help but inwardly lament.
It seems that choosing the Spring Path was a mistake, and traversing the Autumn Walnut Avenue must have been much easier.
Despite his gripes, Jin Nuo, a noble by birth, maintains his composure. Even if cursing internally, he keeps the dignified demeanor expected of a noble. He strides forward as if greeting a long-lost friend, "Divine Son, it’s wonderful to see you well and healthy. How have you been?"
Zong Shaoqing’s expression is unchanged as he quickly scans the Imperial Soldiers, not finding Yue Jinghua among them.
After a brief moment of surprise, Zong Shaoqing still smiles warmly: "Peng Bo, the youngest captain of the Imperial Black Dragon Camp Dragon Rider Team. Lord Jin Nuo, greetings to you."
The two exchanged pleasantries for quite a while, and after beating around the bush, Jin Nuo chuckled, "It seems that the team led by the Divine Son has suffered the least loss on this journey to the Ancient Hero Treasure. The Divine Court will surely gain a great bounty."
Zong Shaoqing replied with a light smile, "Lord Jin Nuo’s team is also quite intact, only missing..." He purposefully paused, as if counting the number of people in Jin Nuo’s team.
Jin Nuo, not willing to show any weakness in their numbers, hastened to say, "Unfortunately, we lost a soldier, but the others are all safe and sound, and some of our brothers are still trailing behind."
Zong Shaoqing’s smile widened slightly as he nodded in sympathy.
Mid-conversation, a disarray of footsteps was heard coming from the Fiery Fire Path.
Ran Wu from the Five Saints Mercenary Branch and another middle-aged mercenary rushed out.
These two were plagued with bad luck; having narrowly escaped from the Molten Python Corpse King, they encountered several Molten Python attacks on their way to the Dragon Court. In addition, they were periodically harassed by Giant Winged Mosquito Kings appearing out of thin air.
The two were caught between a rock and a hard place and had no choice but to run for their lives. Eventually, they managed to get through the Fiery Fire Path.
Upon seeing the people from the Divine Court, both of them visibly relaxed.
Ran Wu brought his hands together in a salute, paying his respects to Zong Shaoqing and Jin Nuo.
"A Five-star Mercenary has died," was the immediate realization for everyone, signifying that the Five Saint Mercenary Branch suffered the greatest loss this time.
Although everyone had arrived, they soon encountered something utterly inconceivable.
Before reaching Dragon Court, everyone thought that there would be a secret passage leading to the Ancient Hero Treasure.
However, upon arriving at the Dragon Court, they found no secret passages, only a vista of abundant flowers, flowing water, and the endless white clouds beneath the transparent Crystal Stone tiles at their feet.
After a thorough search, the three factions managed to partially recover their Dark Power at the Dark Spirit Array at the exit of the Four Seasons Path.
In the meantime, Weiwei and Shalman remembered Yue Jinghua’s "training" by successfully peddling Aunt Chi Xi’s Spiritual Food, making a handsome amount of dirty money on the side.
As the sky gradually darkened, Yue Jinghua finally appeared leisurely at the exit of Spring Path.
Seeing Yue Jinghua safe and sound, Weiwei and Shalman immediately rushed over to her.
"What about Yue Chen?" When Shalman saw Yue Jinghua returning alone, with no sign of Yue Chen or Ye Zi, he knew something must have happened last night. However, with the absence of sadness on Yue Jinghua’s face, he felt slightly relieved.
"He went back home first," Yue Jinghua forced a smile but a fleeting shade of sadness passed through the depths of her eyes.
"We should have sent him back earlier," Jin Nuo, delighted to see Yue Jinghua return to the group, went up to give her a bear hug.
Just as he was about to hug her, Jin Nuo felt a chilling whoosh down his spine, as if someone was glaring at him.
He paused, looked around suspiciously at the surroundings of Dragon Court, saw nothing amiss, and could only scratch his head, muttering to himself.
"Hua-" Yue Jinghua discreetly observed the situation of both the Divine Court and the Five Saints Branch.
Her gaze inadvertently met with Zong Shaoqing for a brief moment, those purple eyes containing a faint smile.
Recalling the words Yue Chen whispered in her ear before he left, Yue Jinghua immediately averted her gaze.
"Divine Son?" It was Song Mu, who was reporting the results of the survey, who noticed the Divine Son seemed to be lost in thought and couldn’t help but ask.
"Go on," Zong Shaoqing withdrew his gaze, frowning almost imperceptibly. Follow current novᴇls on novèlfire.net
"I have led a search in all directions, including several Judgement Envoys skilled in spiritual power searches. We have scoured this entire Dragon Court, yet found no secret passages or opportunities," said Song Mu. This Dragon Court was like a glass protective shield suspended in the air.
Unconnected to the heavens above or the earth below, it isolated from the world, devoid of any passage that would allow people to continue downwards.
"Let’s wait a little longer," Zong Shaoqing said calmly, looking through the transparent Crystal Stone tiles at the evening sun slowly setting in the west.
On the other side, Jin Nuo also received feedback from several Imperial reconnaissance soldiers. Their findings were almost identical to that of the Divine Court; they too had found no secret passages.
Jin Nuo glanced at the clouds flowing hazily beneath his feet and said, unhurried and unfrustrated: "Let’s wait. Perhaps, the night will bring us a great surprise."