Chapter 2166: In the Shadow
At the Snow Clan…
There was lots of snow around, as normal. Some old men were together walking on the ice.
“How strong is Zhe Tian now?” whispered one of the old men at that moment.
“He’s now a Zun cultivator. He’ll definitely break through to the Huang Qi layer within two years,” replied the other one.
“Good. Have you noticed anything strange?” asked the old man.
“Nothing. He now understands several sorts of strength. He’ll be able to turn them into cosmic energies in the future. Before his eighteenth birthday, he’ll definitely be a great emperor!”
“Alright, before Zhe Tian breaks through to the Di Qi layer, don’t let him go out. Don’t spoil him, either. He must retain the heart of a newborn baby.”
“I understand.”
“What about Ling Long? She still refuses to come out?”
“Yes, she’s been meditating in seclusion. Sometimes, she helps Zhe Tian train. But there’s always someone following her. Nothing will happen to her. Besides, she’s trying to become a great emperor now.”
“Good. Don’t put too much pressure on her. Is Xue Ao back?”
“I don’t know where he is,” the old man smiled wryly and shook his head.
“No problem. If I remember well, the Meeting of the Continent of the Nine Clouds is going to start soon. Send some people to watch,” said the other old man with a nod.
——-
Somewhere else, far above the clouds, floated a celestial castle. A young man was seated cross-legged within, his eyes closed. Behind him were eighty-one ancient doors. They contained a terrifying sealing Qi.
Not far from him was a middle-aged man. He looked like a god. He had his hands clasped behind his back. He looked calm and unruffled as he watched the young man who was practicing cultivation.
At that moment, the young man opened his eyes, and suddenly the eighty-one ancient doors turned into nine doors before merging into his blood. He smiled and looked to the middle-aged man. “Teacher!”
“I’ve told you many times not to call me teacher. I don’t have disciples,” said the middle-aged man calmly. The young man scratched his head, looking embarrassed, but he smiled and said, “In my heart, you’re my teacher. Without you, I wouldn’t be who I am today.”
“As you wish. The Fortune Shrine is going to organize the Meeting of the Continent of the Nine Clouds. If you have time, you can go and watch,” said the older man, before turning into a beam of light and disappearing.
The young man watched the silhouette disappear and smiled wryly. Even though that man had taught him a lot, he still had some enigmatic and unfathomable powers. However, the young man didn’t even know who he was, he only knew that he was extremely strong, stronger than he could imagine.
He didn’t even know if the body he saw was that man’s real body!
“Meeting of the Continent of the Nine Clouds?” repeated the young man with a smile. Then, his silhouette flickered and he left.
—————-
In Godly Clouds City, in the Eastern Town, in Golden Mountain…
All the strong cultivators gathered together, thirty of them. They were going to participate in the Meeting of the Continent of the Nine Clouds. There were many people behind them, all people who had been accepted into the city.
In front of them, an aged yet strong cultivator stood there, his eyes closed. He released no Qi at all. However, the crowd knew that he was incredibly strong. He was going to bring these people to the inner part of the city for the Meeting of the Continent of the Nine Clouds.
“Is everybody here?” asked the old man indifferently, his eyes still closed.
Someone next to him replied instantly, “We can leave anytime. Everybody is here.”
“Alright,” replied the old man with a nod. He opened his eyes. The people had the sensation those eyes could make them faint. He glanced over at the crowd. They all had one thought: this old man was terrifying!
“Since everybody is here, let’s go!” said the old man calmly. He waved and suddenly, power surrounded the crowd. Its strength was dazzling. Everybody was lifted up into the air, before turning into a beam of light and disappearing. They weren’t teleporting, but the crowd understood that at this kind of speed, the difference between moving and teleportation wasn’t big. It was a terrifying speed!
After a few seconds, the crowd suddenly stopped. They glanced around and realized there was nothing around them, they were stuck in some other space. In front of them was a door a hundred zhang high. It looked both dignified and majestic. There were some grand carvings on it, extremely lifelike. The Dragon God of the East, the Vermilion Bird of the South… they looked alive. The door was truly impressive!
“That’s the door to the inner part of Godly Clouds City? What is on the other side?” Lin Feng studied the door. It seemed to separate two worlds. Why were the twelve towns of Godly Clouds City outside? What kind of place was the inner part of Godly Clouds City? Why weren’t the two parts connected?
A strong wind started blowing. The crowd turned around and saw a group of people wearing black clothes. Those people had been brought by Demon Sect. Very quickly, the two other groups also arrived: Holy Cultivation Tower and Ghosts and Spirits Temple!
Lin Feng saw some people he knew. They had been brought by other groups!
“So everybody is here?” asked a Holy Cultivation Tower cultivator calmly.
The leaders of the groups nodded, and someone said, “Summon the Wheel of Fortune.”
The four lead cultivators nodded, stepping forwards, and dazzling lights suddenly illuminated the door. Instantly, the door began to shine, and blinding lights rose to the skies.
People raised their heads, their hearts pounding. They could see something: twelve lights! Those lights seemed indestructible and eternal…
The inner part of Godly Clouds City is open!, they thought. The Meeting of the Continent of the Nine Clouds, finally!
There was a door in front of every group of people from the twelve towns. The twelve doors had now opened themselves. The crowd looked at them, but only saw boundless emptiness within.
The four strong cultivators turned around and looked at the crowd. “Cross the door. You must all respect the strict rules. If you violate the rules, you’ll get killed, you understand?”
“Yes!” everybody nodded. The four strong cultivators looked particularly grave and solemn. They glanced at one another and nodded. “Follow us!” they said at the same time as they turned around and crossed the door.
“Pfew…” Many people took a deep breath. They all wanted to see the inner part of Godly Clouds City, and what glories were there!
However, when they crossed the door and saw what was behind, they were stunned. Was this the inner part of Godly Clouds City?
All they could see was a boundless emptiness with millions of platforms, going on endlessly!
“Go, let’s go.” The four strong cultivators led the way, and the crowd followed. After a short time, they arrived before flight of stairs which led to the platforms. Nobody said anything, they just followed calmly.
After a short time, stars appeared in the sky. The platforms started glittering and showing some brilliant lights. A terrifying hurricane wind swept past them with a howl as multiple energy waves rose and fell. The platforms started rotating and rising up.
“What’s going on?” murmured Lin Feng and some others.
Where were they going? Nobody knew…
The strong cultivators of the twelve towns rose up into the air along with the gigantic platforms. The platforms turned into real worlds. It felt like they could see the remotest corners of the world around them. Everybody seemed caught in a dream, and could only watch.
People on the platforms had the impression they had shrunk down, because they could see the groups from the twelve other towns. They understood that only a thousand people could participate in the battles.
The platforms continued rising. Nobody knew where they were going, and so they didn’t move.