Chapter 406: Six-Thought Mind Spell

"This journey will be very dangerous and full of unknowns. Are you sure you don't want to reconsider?"

Chan Hai Guanwu said this, a hint of surprise in her voice.

"I have thought about it for a long time. Perhaps I understand more, and I'm clearer about the dangers than you are." Li Wei-yi's gaze was resolute as he thoroughly relayed the news: the Monster Clan and the Rice Sect were joining forces to attack the Cloud Heaven Immortal Plain, with the involvement of the Nether Realm of the Dead and the Demon Nation. Naturally, he also included some internal information about the Heavenly Palace City.

This was an immense crisis of both internal strife and external threats, with enemies on all sides, powerful foes encircling them, and not a glimmer of a chance for victory.

A feast of division had already quietly begun in the shadows.

Everything valuable in the Heavenly Palace Realm—minerals, sacred scriptures, Daoist techniques, magical artifacts, potent medicines, and even people—were dishes on the table. Each faction had its own menu, eager to gorge themselves, to eat until they were bloated and satiated.

Chan Hai Guanwu was unusually calm: "It's largely consistent with our analysis, but the timeframe is more urgent than we anticipated. Furthermore, I hadn't expected them to dare directly attack the Cloud Heaven Immortal Plain. I had assumed they would first seize the Western Regions to establish a base."

"Those transcendent figures within the imperial court likely think the same way," Li Wei-yi said. "Without a foundation, there's no retreat. Once they fail, the cost will be extremely heavy."

Night fell, silent and still.

The carriage continued its journey, the road muddy and bumpy.

Chan Hai Guanwu's true form, leaving Li Ling's body which served as her vessel, appeared like a fiery mass inside the pitch-black carriage.

Li Ling took out a piece of Spirit Platform Blazing Star Stone, placed it in a bone lamp, and hung it on the carriage wall.

Chan Hai Guanwu, with her aura contained, sat cross-legged on the seat in a red robe, her black hair shimmering with a strange luster. Her hands were clasped over her Ancestral Field, appearing deep in thought.

An invisible aura emanated from her, not one that would stifle breathing, but rather an otherworldly Daoist essence, sacred and inviolable, impossible to approach or desecrate.

If she were hung on a wall like a painting, she would still appear perfectly natural.

Although Li Wei-yi managed to face her with equanimity, he could never fully dispel the sense of reverence and distance. Facing her, his heart carried a heavy weight. How could he not imagine her thousands of years of cultivation, the mountains of corpses and seas of blood beneath her feet? How could he not ponder her unfathomable martial arts attainments?

She was, after all, a teacher to those transcendent beings in Heavenly Palace City, once governing three hundred states, and having slain a Martial Emperor.

"How is your cultivation recovery progressing?" Li Wei-yi asked.

Chan Hai Guanwu gently shook her head: "I am walking a path of re-cultivation, and my cultivation must progress step by step. Given the current situation, I must complete the Yang Marriage as soon as possible, otherwise, I will always be constrained by the laws of life and the order of the Yang Realm, unable even to leave Li Ling's body during the day."

Li Wei-yi gave a wry smile: "That's too sudden!"

"No rush, I haven't prepared myself either," Chan Hai Guanwu replied.

Li Wei-yi looked at the elegant figure beside him: "Li Ling, this journey to Heavenly Palace City is fraught with uncertainty. How about you return to Li Prefecture first?"

Li Ling rolled her eyes at him: "Master and I dared to brave even the underground immortal mansion, why would we be afraid of Heavenly Palace City?"

Li Wei-yi's heart stirred, and he immediately asked, "Chanwu, what exactly were you doing at the underground immortal mansion? During the upheaval of the monk remains' revival, I faintly sensed your aura in the Saint Heart Layer."

Chan Hai Guanwu sat there like a jade statue of a celestial maiden. She should have been a solemn, awe-inspiring presence, yet before Li Wei-yi, there was a hint of an experimental fondness, and she smiled slightly: "Your Master Jar mentioned you. He said he met you once and gave you an opportunity."

"Master Jar?" Li Wei-yi tried hard to recall, then shook his head.

He had not seen Master Jar in the underground immortal mansion.

"You can ask him yourself later."

Chan Hai Guanwu said, "There were two main reasons for going to the underground immortal mansion. First, to search for material energy that could quickly restore cultivation and combat power."

"Just as you mentioned earlier, the revival of the monk remains."

"The monk remains of the ancient Bhagaloka Sect, which had been gone for tens of thousands of years, could rapidly recover their cultivation and become extremely powerful upon revival. This was linked to certain energy substances in the Saint Heart Layer."

"This is also why I had to bring your three masters with me!"

"Second, I discovered some clues in the memories of Wang Zhi and Wang Shouxin. They had both visited the Rice Sect's main altar and experienced spatial teleportation. Spatial teleportation arrays are not simple; only a few were left behind from the ancient Bhagaloka Sect era."

Li Wei-yi said, "So, you deduced back then that the Rice Sect's main altar might be in the underground immortal mansion?"

Chan Hai Guanwu nodded and added, "Actually, the most important information I obtained was that the Rice Sect had been searching everywhere for humans with a specific birthdate, gathering them and then sending them en masse to their main altar. Wang Zhi and Wang Shouxin were both involved in this."

"This particular birthdate belongs to Yu Yao."

Li Wei-yi was secretly startled and quickly recounted the scenes from Tang Wanzhou's memory.

In Tang Wanzhou's memory, many people had died by the altar at the Rice Sect's main headquarters, their corpses piled like mountains, and blood stained everything red.

"Could those humans you mentioned, sent to the main altar, be the sacrifices used by the two Rice Ancestors to perform their curse spells?" he asked.

Chan Hai Guanwu said, "I've been to the Saint Heart Layer, but I didn't reach the place you described. Now, with the information we've gathered, most of our questions are answered."

"Based on the curse fluctuations in the Saint Heart Layer's space, I deduce that the spell they are casting is likely the Six Thoughts Soul Curse."

"Is it related to the ancient Heavenly Emperor's Six Thoughts Inner Demon?" Li Wei-yi asked.

Chan Hai Guanwu replied, "He created it."

Li Wei-yi was very puzzled, frowning, "How could the Rice Sect possibly know the exact birthdate of someone like the Grand Palace Master?"

Chan Hai Guanwu's expression remained calm, but a cold glint flickered in her eyes: "Aside from me, no more than three other people know. To cast the Six Thoughts Soul Curse, it's far more complex than just a large-scale sacrifice."

Li Wei-yi's heart was filled with shock, and he finally realized where the true danger lay on this journey to Heavenly Palace City.

Time was pressing, so they no longer traveled by carriage.

After burying the deceased spirit coachman underground, Chan Hai Guanwu and Li Wei-yi quickly hurried to the Cloud Heaven Immortal Plain. Instead of heading to Nanyan Pass, the closest of the four passes, she led him to an ancient and primeval dense forest.

After passing through the dense forest and then a mile-wide stretch of rocky terrain, they found themselves before a towering, steep cliff face that rose straight into the clouds.

Dawn had broken.

Chan Hai Guanwu once again concealed herself within Li Ling's body.

"The Cloud Heaven Immortal Plain absolutely cannot be a natural formation. What exactly is its origin?" Li Wei-yi asked, gazing at the tricolored cliff face before them. Stretching endlessly to the left and right, it completely blocked off the entire world.

"There are many legends, but with endless ages passed, they are impossible to verify. In essence, the struggle for supremacy in the Heavenly Palace Realm is a contention for the Cloud Heaven Immortal Plain. Its cultivation environment and resources surpass even those of Xiaoyao Jing."

"The substance added to forge Spring Coins is an essential rare material for crafting Hundred-Character and Thousand-Character artifacts. In the Heavenly Palace Realm, only the Cloud Heaven Immortal Plain possesses it. It is also extremely rare in other realms."

"Whoever seizes the Cloud Heaven Immortal Plain holds the right to mint currency."

"Regarding the Six Thoughts Zen Monastery you mentioned earlier, there's an ancient immortal earth mine there. I expect the Demon Nation's people have surely been digging for immortal earth underground."

"Whoosh!"

Chan Hai Guanwu stepped forward and gently pressed her palm outward.

Instantly, a layer of formation light veil, dozens of meters in radius, appeared on the cliff face.

Profound formation runes pulsed on the light veil.

Any Holy Spirit Mind Master encountering these runes would find them daunting, not daring to touch them, let alone decipher them.

Even a slight misstep could trigger the formation's deadly power, reducing them to ashes at the foot of the cliff.

Chan Hai Guanwu showed no fear. A spiritual light flickered between her brows as her mind power meticulously penetrated the veil, separating the runes layer by layer.

The foundational formation of the Cloud Heaven Immortal Plain was her legacy.

Even though imperial court Mind Masters had reinforced it layer by layer over the past thousand years, the runes and formation structure all originated from her lineage. She knew them intimately, allowing her to open a gap.

Li Wei-yi and Chan Hai Guanwu passed through the formation gap and ascended to the Cloud Heaven Immortal Plain.

Sunlight bathed the land, and spiritual energy surged powerfully.

She took a deep breath, her face beaming with a bright, youthful smile, and asked, "What is the one thing you most want to do right now?"

"Find a place to have a good meal, and while I'm at it, inquire about what's happened these past few days, to plan our next steps," Li Wei-yi replied.

"Then that's what we'll do."

The two of them commandeered an exotic beast carriage, obtained civilian registers, and used a disguise technique to successfully enter Heavenly Palace City.

After entering the city, Chan Hai Guanwu's keen eyes constantly observed both sides of the streets. When she saw ancient buildings, she would pause and gaze at them for a long time, attempting to match them with images from her memory, but ultimately failing.

They did not go to the Heavenly Pavilion.

Li Wei-yi always felt that the Heavenly Pavilion had a peculiar way of vexing him; something always seemed to happen whenever he went there.

On the main thoroughfare not far from the city gate, they found the most bustling and lively restaurant.

The restaurant was located at a crossroads, adjacent to the Heavenly Street, which was over a hundred meters wide. In the center of Heavenly Street was the Imperial Way, a path wide enough only for the carriages of Immortal Realm magnates.

At midday, the entire ground-floor hall was filled, with martial arts experts above the Five Seas Realm making up the majority.

This was not normal!

Li Wei-yi, accompanied by Chan Hai Guanwu, booked a private room on the third floor overlooking the street.

He indulged in a bit of extravagance, setting out a grand banquet. After all, his companion was the former mistress of Heavenly Palace City, an extraordinary woman of Martial Emperor caliber.

He couldn't be too shabby when treating her to a meal.

Chan Hai Guanwu only ordered a pot of thousand-year-old precious wine.

Various pieces of news drifted from the hall outside, unable to escape their keen hearing.

"Snow Sword Tang Ting is taking advantage of the situation! Knowing that conflict is about to erupt in the Western Regions, she actually intends to seize Fengzhou."

"Fengzhou itself has many proud daughters of great clans who have drunk from the Mother-Child Spring, and with women from all over the world converging there, how can the imperial court defend it? Who knows how many people will voluntarily open the city gates and welcome them with cheers."

"There's nothing they can do! Who told Tang Wanzhou to defeat the Demon Child, seize the Nine-Layer Demon Tower, and master the means to neutralize the threat of the Mother-Child Spring?"

"It's said that Tang Wanzhou defeated the Demon Child with only fourteen sword strikes."

"If Li Wei-yi is a legendary Mind Master, then she is a legendary martial practitioner."

"She's the most talented person in a thousand years, daring to call herself the Young Lord in the Northern Regions. The Demon Child was just unlucky to encounter her."

Li Wei-yi pondered silently, sensing that Snow Sword Tang Ting's actions were pushing the Monster Clan and the Rice Sect to make their move earlier than planned.

"After the New Year's Eve battle, Li Wei-yi disappeared. There are rumors that he was purged by a cult and secretly executed."

"He uncovered the secret of the Mother-Child Spring, offending many people he shouldn't have. This world is too dark; good people don't come to a good end."

"The commendation order issued to him by the Third Palace Master is a complete joke. I suspect that the imperial court was actually behind Li Wei-yi's predicament."

"Rumble!"

On the street outside, deafening hoofbeats and shouts of alarm rang out.

Doors, windows, tables, and chairs rattled.

"The Demon Nation army has entered the city!" a martial practitioner outside cried out in horror.

Li Wei-yi stood up, extended two fingers, and pushed the window open a crack.

Outside, on the wide Heavenly Street that stretched north to south, a thick black cloud surged from the direction of the city gate.

A dense aura of death permeated the air, causing plants to wither.

Within the black cloud, two columns of black-armored cavalry advanced rapidly.

Their entire bodies were encased in armor, their faces obscured.

Their mounts, like crawling bone giants, were six to seven meters long, with skull-like heads, long flowing hair, and eyesockets burning with ghastly flames, exuding an indescribable sense of terror.

At the very front were four powerful figures from the Demon Nation—three men and one woman. They wore blood-handprint demon armor, held long spears, and exuded a formidable aura, their eyes haughtily sweeping over the crowds of onlookers.