Chapter 144: The Royal Capital of Great Xia

The golden-robed man, violently shaken and sent flying backward, narrowed his eyes and looked toward the middle-aged man standing before him. Dressed in coarse linen, holding a rustic immortal sword, and with graying hair, this middle-aged man exuded an air of vicissitudes and decadence. "Cangu Sword Immortal?"

"Cangu Sword Immortal?" Yun Tian frowned slightly in confusion as he looked at the back of the figure in coarse linen. With so many immortals in the Great Xia World, he certainly did not know many of them. Yet judging by the reaction of the golden-robed man, this Cangu Sword Immortal evidently possessed a formidable reputation and immense strength. Why would he step in to help? He could not recall ever knowing him!

"Cangu Sword Immortal, why block my path? I am avenging my son; this affair would seem to have nothing to do with you, no?" the golden-robed man asked in a deep, dissatisfied tone. Although Cangu Sword Immortal was immensely powerful, ranking among the very top loose immortals of the Great Xia Dynasty, the golden-robed man himself held an extraordinary status within the dynasty and thus had no need to be excessively fearful.

Swish... Cangu Sword Immortal sheathed his immortal sword into the rustic scabbard on his back, his voice sounding somewhat low and hoarse: "I have come under the orders of Prince Qi, sent to escort Young Master Yun Tian to the Great Xia Imperial Capital."

"Prince Qi?" Hearing this, the golden-robed man's expression changed drastically. Within the Great Xia Dynasty, the only ones who could be enfeoffed as princes were members of the imperial Xia Mang clan, and they were required to possess the cultivation level of True Immortals. The entire Great Xia Dynasty did boast several such royal princes. Yet Prince Qi was unquestionably the foremost among these True Immortal princes, the most powerful existence, and stood at the absolute pinnacle even among True Immortals. In terms of status within the Great Xia World, he was second only to the Great Xia Emperor.

Hearing the name of Prince Qi so abruptly, how could the golden-robed man remain calm? One had to realize that he originated from the demon race, yet served as an official in the Great Xia Dynasty and was himself an immortal, which gave him considerable status and power. However, compared to Prince Qi, he ordinarily lacked even the qualifications to request an audience.

Immediately afterward, the golden-robed man could not help but turn his gaze toward Yun Tian, his eyes flickering uncertainly. "Young Master Yun Tian?"

"Young Master Yun Tian?" Yun Tian was also slightly dazed. Prince Qi? Wasn't he a True Immortal prince of the Great Xia Dynasty? Why would he send someone to escort him to the imperial capital, and why did this Cangu Sword Immortal address him as Young Master Yun Tian? What was going on here?

At this moment, Cangu Sword Immortal slowly turned around and gave Yun Tian a slightly courteous, slight bow. "Cangu greets Young Master Yun Tian!"

"Indeed... What on earth is the relationship between this kid and Prince Qi?" Seeing this, the golden-robed man's eyes constricted, and his heart could not help but tremble violently.

At this sight, even Yu Qiu and the heavily injured Bai Ze in the distance stared at Yun Tian in mingled shock and doubt.

"Ahem..." Clearing his throat with a slight cough, Yun Tian could not help but ask in puzzlement, "Um, Senior Cangu Sword Immortal, you said that Pri... Prince Qi sent you to escort me to the Great Xia Imperial Capital? Why?"

Cangu Sword Immortal did not answer directly. Instead, he turned his head to look at the golden-robed man and said coldly, "Immortal Jinpeng, are you still not leaving?"

The golden-robed man clenched his teeth, but still cupped his hands slightly toward Cangu Sword Immortal, before transforming into a streak of light and flying away without uttering another word.

Cangu Sword Immortal then turned his gaze toward Bai Ze and Yu Qiu. Bai Ze, exceedingly tactful, cupped his hands with a flattering smile, exchanged a few words with Yun Tian and Yu Qiu, and then directly used spatial teleportation to return to his old lair in the Yunmeng Marsh. Yu Qiu, meanwhile, furrowed her delicate brows slightly.

"Senior Cangu, Yu Qiu is my cultivation partner; there is no need for her to avoid you," Yun Tian said, seeing that Cangu Sword Immortal was looking at Yu Qiu in silence.

Hearing Yun Tian say this, Cangu Sword Immortal raised an eyebrow in apparent surprise before looking at Yun Tian. "It seems Young Master Yun Tian knows very little about his own lineage."

"Lineage?" Yun Tian could not help frowning in confusion. "Senior Cangu, what do you mean by that? Am I not a descendant of the Yun clan of Tianyun Mountain?"

"Young Master Yun Tian is indeed a descendant of the Tianyun Mountain Yun clan, but do you know what your mother's surname is?" Cangu Sword Immortal asked.

"My mother? Her surname is Xia! Wait, Xia? Could it be..." Speaking instinctively, Yun Tian suddenly thought of something, and looked at Cangu Sword Immortal in startled doubt.

Cangu Sword Immortal nodded. "It seems you have guessed it. Correct, your mother, Xia Qing, should properly be named Xiamang Qingqing. She originates from the lineage of Prince Qi. Although her branch is considered quite ordinary among the descendants of Prince Qi, she still flows with the purest bloodline of the Great Xia imperial family. And you, Young Master Yun Tian, naturally possess the bloodline of the Xia Mang clan."

"Me? The bloodline of the Xia Mang clan?" Yun Tian pointed at himself in utter astonishment. Good grief, in the blink of an eye he had turned into a member of the imperial family? Who could make sense of this?

"Indeed!" Cangu Sword Immortal continued without pause. "Ever since you entered the Black-White Academic Palace, all your intelligence records have been collected and archived by the Great Xia imperial family. Your talent is considered top-tier among countless young descendants of the Xia Mang clan. Prince Qi has already been paying attention to you for some time. He originally intended to let you grow and mature at your own pace, but because the Immortal fate Gathering occurs once every three hundred years and is only a few years away, Prince Qi has dispatched me to escort you to the Great Xia Imperial Capital so that he may personally cultivate you."

The Immortal fate Gathering? Personal cultivation? Yun Tian felt a stir in his heart; he indeed held some interest in this Immortal fate Gathering. Since Prince Qi was prepared to personally cultivate him as a descendant, various treasures and divine abilities surely would not be withheld. This was a rare and excellent opportunity to learn various divine arts and secret techniques. The heritage of the Great Xia Dynasty was simply not something the Black-White Academic Palace could compare to.

"Young Master Yun Tian, when do you think you can accompany me to the Great Xia Imperial Capital? Prince Qi is still waiting, so we had best depart as soon as possible," said Cangu Sword Immortal.

Yun Tian nodded with a smile. "Very well. However, I need to inform my mother and make some arrangements before I accompany you to the imperial capital."

"Very good!" Cangu Sword Immortal also nodded, and accompanied Yun Tian and Yu Qiu on a trip to Yun Tian City of the Xiamang clan.

When Xia Qing heard that Yun Tian was going to the Great Xia Imperial Capital, and that Prince Qi had specifically sent someone to summon him, she was surprised, excited, and filled with complex emotions. Truth be told, although she was a descendant of the Xia Mang clan, over hundreds of millions of years there had been far too many members of the clan, and only a tiny minority held genuine status and power. The branch from which Xia Qing came had long since declined, and to her, an exalted ancestor like Prince Qi was merely a figure of legends.

However, seeing that her son was so outstanding and had caught the eye of Prince Qi to be personally groomed, Xia Qing naturally had no objections. After giving Yun Tian a series of meticulous instructions, she allowed him and Yu Qiu to leave with Cangu Sword Immortal.

...

The Great Xia Imperial Capital served as the core of this vast world, a bustling melting pot of dragons and serpents where the strong gathered like clouds. Whether measured by the scale of its city walls or the sheer number of powerful cultivators, Antan City was nothing more than a remote, petty town in comparison.

Within the Great Xia Imperial Capital stood a towering, majestic mountain ten thousand miles high, which was also the true highest peak in the royal capital: the Yinglong Divine Mountain.

Mount Yinglong was the tallest structure in the royal capital, dwarfing even the most majestic Heavenly Radiance Hall within the imperial city by a slight margin. Mount Yinglong stood ten thousand miles high, while the Heavenly Radiance Hall inside the imperial city stood at nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine miles. These were respectively the first and second tallest buildings in the Great Xia Imperial Capital, and no structures of such height could be found across the entire Great Xia Dynasty. Indeed, both Mount Yinglong and the Heavenly Radiance Hall were actually artifact-buildings.

Halfway up the Yinglong Divine Mountain lay a massive teleportation array, serving as the central hub of this vast world. Ordinarily, immortals from other great worlds even used this array to travel to the Great Xia World.

Hum... Accompanied by spatial fluctuations, three figures abruptly appeared within the teleportation array: Cangu Sword Immortal, Yun Tian, and Yu Qiu.

"What a magnificent Great Xia Imperial Capital," Yun Tian could not help walking toward the edge of the cliff, looking down to survey the spectacular, massive city below. He could not see the end of the city at all, and could only faintly make out another equally majestic and colossal immortal grand hall in the distant distance—the Heavenly Radiance Hall, where the Great Xia Emperor ordinarily resided. The Heavenly Radiance Hall was itself an entire palace forged as a divine artifact, radiating dazzling multicolored light that illuminated the entire royal capital.

At the same time, in the upper reaches of the Heavenly Radiance Hall, starting from roughly six thousand miles upwards, banks of clouds began to appear—a layer of incomparably resplendent red clouds, with yet more cloud layers above them, totaling nine tiers of clouds. In terms of sheer imposing majesty, it could entirely rival the Heavenly palaces of the celestial realms. One could well imagine the power and prestige possessed by the emperor of such a vast world.