Chapter 310 - 228: Golden Core Level Yin Demon
"The property of the Celestial Palace’s hierarchy..."
Zhang Yao furrowed his brow, speaking in a deep voice:
"The whereabouts of Man Tian Sheng’s corpse is a confidential matter; I am unable to disclose it."
"If Fellow Daoist Heze insists on dwelling on this, then there’s no need to discuss my invitation to join the Zhiyao Celestial Palace any further."
Back at the Jade Divine Palace, he had never intended to take Man Tian Sheng’s body; after all, he was not cultivating any unorthodox paths.
Since the corpse was not in his possession, and he was not the one who killed Man Tian Sheng, it was impossible for him to take responsibility.
What does the loss of the Celestial Palace hierarchy’s property have to do with him?
"Fellow Daoist Qingxu, please calm down!"
Upon hearing this, Elder Heze immediately stood up to apologize:
"I was being reckless; I hope Fellow Daoist can forgive me."
Saying this, he paused before speaking softly:
"How about this, when I return, I’ll report that Man Tian Sheng’s corpse is completely destroyed and beyond recovery."
"This way, both of us can give an account. What does Fellow Daoist think?"
Man Tian Sheng’s corpse was not the property of either him or Elder Heze; he didn’t want to offend this Elder Qingxu over this matter.
"That would work..."
Zhang Yao pondered for a moment before cautiously asking:
"In your opinion, is it likely that the Celestial Palace hierarchy will pursue this matter further?"
"The probability is low."
Elder Heze said with a certain tone:
"Fellow Daoist Qingxu might not be aware, but even though Man Tian Sheng signed the ’Zhiyao Gold Contract,’ he is mostly considered insignificant by the Celestial Palace hierarchy."
"Firstly, his cultivation is limited; he has just recently broken through to the early stage of the Golden Core, and the contract signing wasn’t long ago, so the Celestial Palace hasn’t invested much in him."
"Secondly, he also had to regularly perform tasks for the Celestial Palace and pay Spirit Stones, which is another cost of signing the ’Zhiyao Gold Contract’..."
Hearing this, Zhang Yao immediately understood:
"So he’s purely a worker for the Celestial Palace’s hierarchy?"
"The resources the Celestial Palace invested in him might have already been largely recouped, hence the lack of attention."
"Fellow Daoist, you hit the nail on the head."
Elder Heze smiled and said:
"As I mentioned earlier, Man Tian Sheng wouldn’t have had the opportunity to reach the Golden Core in his lifetime if not for being favored by the higher-ups within the Celestial Palace."
"To sign a Magic Contract in exchange for the chance to refine a Golden Core, I’m afraid countless Foundation Establishment Cultivators in the world wouldn’t hesitate at all."
Hearing this, Zhang Yao couldn’t help but nod slightly in agreement.
The conditions of the Zhiyao Gold Contract might be harsh, but they were not as dire as being a slave. Without this Magic Contract, Man Tian Sheng would have died of old age long ago, not to mention attaining the Golden Core.
It’s just that for those who naturally achieve the Golden Core as cultivators, unless they are utterly desperate, no one would be willing to sign this kind of Magic Contract.
"Hmm..."
Zhang Yao deliberated for a while, carefully considering, then slowly said:
"I am willing to join the Zhiyao Celestial Palace."
"Good!"
Upon hearing this, Elder Heze laughed heartily and said:
"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist, you will not regret this decision!"
As he spoke, he flipped his hand, and a blue-purple Command Token appeared in his palm, which he handed to Zhang Yao:
"Please accept this, Fellow Daoist; it’s the membership Token for the outer members of the Zhiyao Celestial Palace."
Zhang Yao took it, and then heard Elder Heze advising:
"Remember, this Token only serves for the simplest identification and cannot verify the specific identity of the members itself."
"If you want to utilize the Celestial Palace’s resources and conveniences, this ’Palace Travel Record’ is the most crucial."
As these words fell:
Elder Heze reached into his sleeve and solemnly took out a Jade Scroll, casting a Spell to lift the Restriction, then gestured for Zhang Yao to probe it with Divine Thought.
"Buzz!"
Zhang Yao extended a wisp of Divine Thought, swiftly scanning the contents of the Jade Scroll, which turned out to be a massive map.
The scope of the map was beyond anything Zhang Yao had ever seen, covering the topography of the Celestial Continent’s Nine Mansions and Fifty-four Countries of Central Plains. Although it was a mere approximation, it was still astonishing.
What moved Zhang Yao the most was:
In every mansion of the Celestial Continent’s Nine Mansions, there was a Zhiyao Celestial Palace established. Among the Fifty-four Countries, within the Cultivation Realm of Forty-nine Countries, there was a Zhiyao Celestial Palace established.
"This truly is a giant that spans the Central Plains..."
Zhang Yao took a deep breath, suppressing the shock in his heart.
Although he had anticipated the scale of the Zhiyao Celestial Palace, he didn’t expect it to be this vast.
Fifty-eight palaces, even if each palace had only one Golden Core Cultivator stationed, that would be a total of fifty-eight Golden Core Ancestors!
Moreover, those stationed in the palace are certainly trusted internal members of the Celestial Palace, and the number of outer members is even larger. Considering its scale spanning the Central Plains, having hundreds or thousands of Golden Core Realm members is unsurprising.
"No wonder Elder Heze described the power leveraged by the Zhiyao Celestial Palace’s channels as ’vast’."
Zhang Yao thought of this, and a trace of joy emerged in his heart:
"With the help of Zhiyao Celestial Palace’s channels, collecting the remaining Heaven and Earth Treasures will be at least dozens of times more efficient!"
The former Five Elements Wanderer, Liu Cang, despite experiencing numerous hardships and having good luck, still spent almost three hundred years.
Zhang Yao originally prepared to endure a long life with patience, slowly bumping into opportunities, but he didn’t expect that with the assistance of Zhiyao Celestial Palace, he would suddenly see hope.
The Five Elements Wanderer was someone from over two thousand years ago, but he was completely unaware of Zhiyao Celestial Palace’s existence.
According to Zhang Yao’s speculation, either the Zhiyao Celestial Palace had not yet appeared at the time, or its scale was not large, so the Five Elements Wanderer Liu Cang had never heard of it.
"Fellow Daoist Heze."
After chatting with Ancestor Heze for a while, Zhang Yao asked:
"Why is there no Zhiyao Palace in the Mani Kingdom?"
"Ah, there’s no way around it."
Upon hearing this, Ancestor Heze also revealed a look of helplessness:
"The control Mani Temple has over the land of this country is terrifyingly strong!"
"Even if the people of Zhiyao Celestial Palace manage to infiltrate, they can’t avoid being monitored everywhere, so they simply withdrew."
"Fortunately, among the Fifty four Countries of Central Plains, there aren’t many special countries like the Mani Kingdom. In the majority of the countries, the Celestial Palace counts as a colossal existence hidden deep beneath the waters."
Zhang Yao nodded slightly, appearing thoughtful.
After chatting for another half an hour, Zhang Yao escorted Ancestor Heze out of Changle Palace and then turned back to the Sealed Demon Hall.
"Boom!"
A few moments later, an Escape Light shot up into the sky, flying out of Changle Palace.
Inside the Sealed Demon Hall, Zhang Yao sat cross-legged, aside from separating Divine Thought to drive his Magical Power and constantly refining Demonic Qi, the rest of his mind projected remotely into the Incarnation Puppet.
This Incarnation Puppet could only be controlled within a hundred thousand miles; beyond this range, the connection would break.
However, fortunately, the location of the Zhiyao Palace in the Bingzang Kingdom, neighboring the Mani Kingdom, was just within the hundred thousand miles range, saving him from needing to ask for help from others.
"This feeling is indeed like a very small scale, simplified version of the Divine Travel Array."
In the sky, Zhang Yao maneuvered the Incarnation Puppet to fly while still comprehending the wondrous use of the puppet body.
Being able to remotely project Divine Thought and consciousness, the core Forbidden Technique of this Incarnation Puppet, and the Divine Travel Array must have some similarities.
Zhang Yao, being an expert in Arrays and Artifact Refining, probed his Divine Thought into the puppet’s core, constantly capturing the traces of Magical Power circulation, attempting to deduce the core Forbidden Technique.
As long as he can deduce four or five parts of it, he will be satisfied.
First, he would be able to independently research and deduce Communication Treasures for ultra-long distances in the future; second, he could also prevent Ancestor Heze from doing anything to the Incarnation Puppet that he couldn’t detect.
...
A few days later, after slow Tunneling Speed, the puppet finally flew into the Bingzang Kingdom.
Thanks to the power source of the puppet being a top grade spirit stone; otherwise, it might not have been able to cross the long Desolate Zone, which further made Zhang Yao aware of the limitations of the Incarnation Puppet.
After several days of low-key flying, Zhang Yao, holding the Celestial Palace Command Token, smoothly entered the Zhiyao Palace within the Bingzang Kingdom.
Soon:
He used the Zhiyao Celestial Palace’s platform to issue a bounty for seeking corresponding Heaven and Earth Treasures to all the palaces, all members of the Celestial Palace.
As for the internal channels of Zhiyao Celestial Palace, he made inquiries; while various Spiritual Gold Treasure Materials were indeed much cheaper than outside, unfortunately, there was nothing he needed.
In this regard, Zhang Yao had already expected it.
After all, the Heaven and Earth Treasures he needed were exceedingly precious, and even if they existed within the Palace, they were likely in the hands of the high levels of the Palace and unlikely to be released.
After completing this matter, Zhang Yao maneuvered the Incarnation Puppet back to the Mani Kingdom and thereafter focused entirely on profound cultivation practices.
In the blink of an eye, more than seven years passed.
In the seven years, Zhang Yao daily refined and comprehended harmoniously, practiced Divine Techniques, exchanged knowledge with many Golden Core peers, and participated in two Dharma assemblies, leading a very fulfilling life.
On this day:
"Phew..."
In Changle Palace’s Sealed Demon Hall, Zhang Yao exhaled a mouthful of Muddy Qi and slowly opened his eyes.
"What’s going on with Daoist Tianshuang, still no news...?"
He frowned slightly.
Back when Daoist Tianshuang left, he said he would be back in a few years, and now more than seven years have passed, and still no word.
If not for the fact that he was at least a Golden Core Ancestor, Zhang Yao would’ve doubted whether something unexpected happened to him on the way back, and whether he’s already in grave danger.
"I don’t know if this person is reliable or not."
"If he can’t help me obtain the Ten Thousand Years Ice Soul, then I need to make preparations early and find another way..."
As Zhang Yao pondered, his expression suddenly changed, and he abruptly turned his head.
"This feeling..."
In his perception, the Earthly Miasma overflowing from outside the Demon Suppression Well suddenly became violent.
With Divine Thought probing further:
The Earthly Miasma within the Demon Suppression Well was boiling like water, with faintly massive vortices rising, as if something in the well’s depths was inhaling and exhaling Demonic Qi!
"This is the sign of a Golden Core Level Yin Demon emerging!"
After making his judgment, Zhang Yao was thrilled, revealing a hint of a smile:
"After waiting all these years... finally, it’s here!"