Early the next morning, Li Guanqi awoke from his cultivation as usual.
His realm had completely stabilized at the eleventh layer.
He was enamored with this powerful sensation.
Taking out the magical longsword he acquired yesterday, he could clearly feel, with the flow of his Primordial Energy, that this sword was much stronger than any ordinary fine iron sword.
He then practiced his sword techniques dozens of times, only stopping when he had expended his last bit of strength.
The calluses on his left hand were even more pronounced than those on his right.
The repeatedly split skin at the base of his left thumb had long since turned into tough calluses.
The Sword Spirit watched the youth practice with an amused expression, occasionally offering a comment or two.
As dawn fully broke, Li Guanqi packed up his things and headed towards Heavenly Sword Peak.
The vast square was sparsely populated at this time.
Approaching, he spotted a few familiar faces.
Lin Dong from Heavenly Earth Peak waved at Li Guanqi with a joyful expression.
Another person's lips curled into a smile.
"I knew my bet was right; the last one had to be you."
Even without looking up, Li Guanqi knew the speaker was Ye Feng from Heavenly Gold Peak, the "Gambling King."
In the past few months, he had won at least three hundred Spirit Stones from Ye Feng.
So, he had jokingly given Ye Feng this nickname.
Another person was Zhong Lin, whom Li Guanqi had met during the first class at Heavenly Water Peak.
The last person was a disciple from Heavenly Water Peak, a woman with a gentle and cool demeanor.
Her beauty was stunning, truly a national grace and heavenly fragrance!
Her name was Ke Qin, a disciple from the previous cohort and a student of Lan He. She had already reached the pinnacle of the ninth layer of Qi Refining.
Her realm was significantly higher than that of Lin Dong and others.
Lin Dong and Zhong Lin were both at the peak of the seventh layer of Qi Refining, seemingly ready to break through to the eighth layer at any moment.
Ye Feng was also at the ninth layer of Qi Refining, and one couldn't help but admire his equally high talent.
The leader of the group turned out to be Shen Lan, the Peak Master of Heavenly Water Peak.
Upon seeing Li Guanqi, a sharp glint flashed in Shen Lan's eyes.
She teased, "You lad, always practicing the sword. Just make sure you don't fall behind in Spirit Spells."
Li Guanqi nodded sheepishly, as he hadn't attended the classes at Heavenly Water Peak for quite some time.
Shen Lan didn't say much more, and Li Guanqi nodded slightly to Ke Qin as a greeting.
Suddenly, Shen Lan's hand flashed with light, revealing a boat the size of a Spirit Stone in her palm.
As everyone watched in astonishment, Zhong Lin explained to Li Guanqi.
"This is called a Cloud Boat, a spiritual tool capable of long-distance travel. It's often used for journeys."
With a wave of her hand, Shen Lan threw the Cloud Boat into the air, where it expanded to a size of ten feet!
The boat had sails on both sides, seemingly for steering.
Everyone boarded the Cloud Boat, which then began to ascend under Shen Lan's control.
Watching the Great Xia Sword Sect shrink below them until it disappeared into the clouds.
A layer of blue protective shield appeared around the Cloud Boat, which then sped off into the distance at an incredible pace.
Shen Lan spoke softly, "The place we're heading to is within the domain of Zhenyue Mountain."
"Let's take this opportunity to discuss the powers surrounding us."
"Orient Loong Island, Myriad Immortals Sword Faction, Purple Dawn Sword Pavilion, Seven Strings Sect, and finally us and Zhenyue Mountain."
"Within a hundred thousand miles, these six sects are the most powerful, the rest are not worth mentioning."
After a pause, Shen Lan continued, "Among them, the Great Xia Sword Sect, Zhenyue Mountain, and the Myriad Immortals Sword Faction are the strongest, surpassing the other three."
"And these six sects jointly oversee the Yunmeng Immortal Palace!"
"You all must have heard of the wonders of the Yunmeng Immortal Palace."
At this point, Li Guanqi suddenly asked with some confusion, "Elder Shen, if the Yunmeng Immortal Palace is so magical, aren't you afraid it will attract the coveting of others?"
Shen Lan chuckled and replied, "Your question is very good, because the Yunmeng Immortal Palace has one flaw."
"That is, only disciples in the Qi Refining stage can enter this secret realm, and the treasures found within almost never exceed the Golden Elixir Realm."
"In other words, this secret realm isn't of much use to those with stronger realms and powers."
"But as a trial ground for our disciples, it's quite suitable and much less dangerous."
Li Guanqi nodded slightly, understanding.
No wonder no one tried to seize it; it was of limited use…
At that moment, the voice of the Sword Spirit suddenly rang in Li Guanqi's mind.
"Oh? The Hundred Passages Realm, interesting."
Li Guanqi asked with his mind, "What is the Hundred Passages Realm?"
The Sword Spirit's languid voice slowly replied, "It's what you call this Yunmeng Immortal Palace."
"It was formed by the remnants of powerful beings from the higher realms."
"These secret realms naturally attract fragments of space from the void and connect with them."
Li Guanqi frowned slightly, not fully understanding but getting the gist of it.
While sitting on the boat, Ye Feng and Lin Dong were walking around, clearly fascinated by everything.
Li Guanqi, however, sat at the stern, entering meditation to cultivate.
Shen Lan smiled approvingly and thought to herself, "A genius indeed, but the key is he works even harder than others."
"Li Nanting has truly taken on a good disciple…"
The Cloud Boat's speed was much faster than a thousand miles a day.
Even so, after a day and a night of travel, they finally saw the vague outline of a towering mountain.
The mountain was immense, reaching into the clouds!
Around it, numerous Cranes and tamed flying beasts passed by.
Next to their Cloud Boat, another massive Cloud Boat appeared!
This one was red, with two sails on the side, and its speed was astonishingly fast.
It whizzed past them closely!
The Cloud Boat began to shake violently, and the light screen trembled.
Shen Lan quickly took the helm and infused more Primordial Energy to stabilize it.
Li Guanqi also stood up slowly and looked towards the rear of the red Cloud Boat.
He saw a young man with a stern face staring intently at him.
A rare cold smile appeared on Li Guanqi's face.
"Zhao Yuanlin!"
"Elder Shen, which sect's Cloud Boat is that?"
Shen Lan's expression darkened as she said, "Myriad Immortals Sword Faction! They've always been at odds with us."
"When we're in the Yunmeng Immortal Palace secret realm, if they cause trouble, give them a good thrashing!"
Everyone shared a knowing smile upon hearing this.
Buzz!!
The protective formation of Zhenyue Mountain opened, and the Cloud Boat slowly docked at the platform.
The Cloud Boats of various forces had already docked, and they were the last to arrive.
Before they could disembark, a sharp and harsh voice rang out.
"Shen Lan, is the Great Xia Sword Sect so poor?"
"You can't bear to replace this old Cloud Boat, so slow, everyone's been waiting for you."
Proofreader & Editor: Lotas