Qin Yun conversed with Palatial Lord Essence Charm and company for about an hour before they saw a stretch of immortal palaces in the clouds a distance away.
“We have reached the Inspector Heavenly Alliance,” said Palatial Lord Essence Charm with a smile.
“Wow.”
“Sky palace, a sky palace!” Qin Yun’s niece and nephew shouted excitedly in their parents’ arms.
Qin Yun looked from afar and felt astounded. A palace above the clouds was shrouded amid mist. It looked like an immortal paradise.
After storing the golden flying boat, Palatial Lord Essence Charm led everyone on a cloud to reach the Inspector Heavenly Alliance.
“Senior Essence Charm.” Some of the young Daoists in the Inspector Heavenly Alliance were extremely weak. Most of them were at the seventh or eighth level of the Qi Refinement realm and had yet to knock open the gate of immortality. They were mainly in charge of miscellaneous chores.
A gray-robed man who had opened the gate of immortality came over immediately and appeared very polite.
Palatial Lord Essence Charm ordered, “Yanfu.”
“Senior Essence Charm,” replied Yanfu respectfully.
“Arrange for people to take good care of the family of our young friend, Qin Yun.” Palatial Lord Essence Charm instructed. Following that, he said to Qin Yun, “Qin Yun, your family can have a rest while we busy ourselves with proper matters first.”
“Alright.” Qin Yun nodded.
“It’s only necessary.” Qin Liehu said immediately from the side. Having arrived in the Inspector Heavenly Alliance, Qin Liehu and company were left in a state of bewilderment. These were the immortal realms or sky palaces of legends!
The gray-robed man immediately led Qin Liehu and company away genially.
The trio led Qin Yun away. “The moment we arrived in the Inspector Heavenly Ambassador, some of the Daoist children will immediately report it. Your conferment as an Inspector Heavenly Ambassador will also be arranged. Let’s bring you to see the Heaven-Inspecting Mirror. It saved your life after all.”
“I can see it?” Qin Yun was astonished.
“Haha, even these Daoist children can see it,” Daoist Yan said with a laugh. “Let’s go, it’s just ahead.”
…
Qin Yun was led along a path.
Soon, they came to what seemed like an ordinary hall in the Inspector Heavenly Alliance. The hall was extremely quiet and the moment they entered, they saw a gigantic bronze sphere floating in midair. On the bronze sphere, mountain ranges, great plains, lakes, and rivers could be seen…
“Senior Essence Charm.” The man and woman that were on duty were two Connate False Core realm cultivators. They immediately got up and spoke respectfully. They smiled when they saw Qin Yun.
“They were the two on duty during your battle with Gongye Bing,” Palatial Lord Essence Charm said with a smile as he pointed to the two.
Qin Yun said immediately, “Thank you, fellow Daoists.”
“There’s no need to thank us. We did not know that there was a warrant for your arrest. If we knew it earlier, we would have queried Palatial Lord Essence Charm in the middle of the night,” said the female cultivator immediately.
“It doesn’t matter if it was a little later.” Qin Yun laughed. After all, his family did not suffer any losses.
Qin Yun’s gaze landed on the gigantic bronze sphere. There were mountain ridges, plains, lakes, and rivers… Having roamed the world, he knew immediately from the landforms that the surface reflected the land in its entirety. Occasionally, there would be beams of light appearing in regions on the bronze sphere. Perhaps, powerful cultivators were sparring or it was the cultivation of powerful fiendish demons…
“No matter how powerful the Heaven-Inspecting Mirror is, it’s impossible to monitor everyone in the world.” Palatial Lord Essence Charm said, “Only when the fluctuations reach a particular threshold would the Heaven-Inspecting Mirror pay close attention to it. Neither is the Heaven-Inspecting Mirror omnipotent. For example, in special places like Daoist sacred lands, the Heaven-Inspecting Mirror is unable to monitor them.”
Qin Yun nodded, “The ones that can avoid the monitoring of the Heaven-Inspecting Mirror must be few in number. Few places in the world can prevent that. With this Heaven-Inspecting Mirror, we will be able to know the actions taken by the great fiendish demons, giving us the advantage.”
“Great fiendish demons? Many of them are old monsters that have lived for more than a thousand years. They are very crafty.” Palatial Lord Essence Charm said. “Let’s go, it’s time we leave.”
Palatial Lord Essence Charm and company led Qin Yun through the Inspector Heavenly Alliance as they introduced him to the various places.
The Inspector Heavenly Alliance was, in fact, a joint alliance between the Daoist sects, the Buddhist sects, and the imperial government. It allowed for more centralization of forces to deal with fiendish demons!
“There are two types of Inspector Heavenly Ambassadors. One of them is the Azure-token Inspector Heavenly Ambassador, while the other is the Purple-token Inspector Heavenly Ambassador.” Daoist Yan explained passionately to Qin Yun’s side. “To become a Purple-token Inspector Heavenly Ambassador, one has to be either at the Connate Golden Core realm or kill Connate Golden Core fiendish demons in the past. On the other hand, to be an Azure-token Inspector Heavenly Ambassador, they must be capable of killing a Connate True Core realm fiendish demon or have profound accumulations in the Connate True Core realm and be recognized by the Inspector Heavenly Alliance.”
“To be recognized by the Inspector Heavenly Alliance?” Qin Yun was puzzled. “Cultivators at the Connate True Core realm cannot immediately become Inspector Heavenly Ambassadors?”
“No.”
Abbot Lunar Magus explained, “There is nothing to be doubted for experts at the Connate Golden Core realm. Every one of them cultivates in the best heritages and have a deep understanding of the Heavenly Dao. Therefore, it is only natural that they become Purple-token Inspector Heavenly Ambassadors. However, the Connate True Core is different. Some of them might cultivate only in second-rate legacies and do not have pure and exquisite Quintessential Essence. Reaching the Connate True Core realm for them is the limit. They also lack the strength so they naturally will not be recognized. Take me for example, I’m an itinerant cultivator. I had fused magus arts and Daoist arts as one, and I was only recognized and made an Azure-token Inspector Heavenly Ambassador after eight decades of being at the Connate True Core realm.”
“As for you, you are different.” Daoist Yan said with a chuckle. “You killed a Connate True Core realm fiendish demon in a direct assault. There is no need to doubt your strength. As long as you are not a human traitor, you can be made an Azure-token Inspector Heavenly Ambassador. It all depends on whether you are agreeable to it.”
“You must be agreeable to it, right?” asked Palatial Lord Essence Charm.
“Naturally.”
Qin Yun nodded.
He had seen a lot. So he naturally did not falter from killing fiendish demons.
As the group walked, they quickly came to a majestic grand hall.
On both sides of the hall stood some cultivators. All of them had extraordinary bearing and a few of them even matched Palatial Lord Essence Charm.
“Essence Charm is here.”
“Is this Qin Yun, from your Jiang Prefecture’s cultivation world?”
“Impressive. At just twenty-one years of age, he is capable of producing the flying sword art of Rainbow Blooming Sword Beam?” One cultivator after another smiled at Qin Yun.
Palatial Lord Essence Charm exhorted him. “Stand here. In a while, you will be today’s star.” With that said, he walked to have a casual chat with other old friends of his.
Qin Yun stood in the middle and waited quietly.
On both sides were Purple-token and Azure-token Inspector Heavenly Ambassadors who were waiting to witness the ceremony.
“The Elder arrives!” A Daoist child shouted loudly.
From the back of the grand hall, an elder with a large beard walked out. He looked ordinary as though he was mortal. He was smiling at Qin Yun.
“Elder.” Palatial Lord Essence Charm and company all bowed respectfully.
Qin Yun was alarmed as he immediately bowed. “Elder.”
“There’s no need for these niceties.” The bearded elder chuckled.
On first look, Qin Yun found him to be an ordinary person. However, he suddenly felt a fear-invoking power suffuse from the bearded elder’s body. The power seemed to represent the heavens or the earth.
“Oh?” The bearded elder frowned slightly. As formless light scattered down, it quickly repressed the power that left Qin Yun feeling trepidatious. After repressing it, the bearded elder returned to being ordinary.
“Elder.” Palatial Lord Essence Charm and company were a little worried.
“It’s fine. The punishment inflicted by the heavens is only a little troublesome. It will be over after bearing with it.” The bearded elder looked at Qin Yun with a smile. “Your name is Qin Yun?”
Qin Yun responded hurriedly, “Yes.”
“You are pretty impressive. You defended against the demon horde in the northern borders, killed that water ape in Grand Dominance, and also eliminated a fiendish demon spy.” The bearded elder nodded. “You are only twenty-one and you have already grasped an impressive flying sword art such as the Rainbow Blooming Sword Beam. Impressive. I wonder, which sect are you a disciple of? Such an excellent disciple should have been known to our cultivation world long ago.”
“I am Qin Yun, an itinerant cultivator. By fortuitous luck, I obtained a Sword Immortal Legacy in my youth before I embarked on the path of cultivation,” replied Qin Yun respectfully.
There was no need to conceal his present strength anymore.
Furthermore, there were only a few sects with Sword Immortal Legacies. It was pointless trying to conceal the matter.
“An itinerant cultivator?”
The other Inspector Heavenly Ambassadors that were in the grand hall watching the procession were taken aback.
“Qin Yun, you say that you are an itinerant cultivator? You managed to independently cultivate and knock open the gate of immortality?” said a middle-aged man immediately.
“Yes.” Qin Yun nodded.
The middle-aged man said immediately, “The outer sect disciples, inner-sect disciples, inherited-teachings disciples my Sword Tower selects… have to go through countless experiential training and a great deal of nurturing; yet, the number of sword immortals that manage to knock open the gate of immortality before the age of twenty is pathetic! This… to cultivate independently without seniors or masters helping you, you managed to knock open the gate of immortality?”
The bearded elder laughed loudly when he heard that. “Wonderful! To cultivate to such a stage at the age of twenty-one without any masters or seniors just because you obtained a legacy is truly rare! Very rare! We, humans, have talented people every generation!”
Qin Yun bowed slightly as he listened humbly.
“Alright, Qin Yun. Let me ask you. Are you willing to take on the role of Inspector Heavenly Ambassador, watching over a region of the world so as to protect humans!?” The bearded elder said loudly. His voice resonated in the hall as the witnessing Inspector Heavenly Ambassadors in it fell silent.
Qin Yun said solemnly, “I, Qin Yun, am willing to watch over a region of the human world and protect humans without regrets even at the cost of a hundred deaths!”
He already had such an understanding after experiencing the battlefields in the northern borders.
“What a great saying! Without regrets even at the cost of a hundred deaths!” The bearded elder’s eyes lit up. “Qin Yun, Inspector Heavenly Ambassador Qin! Accept this token!”
With that said, an azure-colored token flew towards Qin Yun.
Qin Yun accepted it respectfully with both hands.
The bearded elder, as well as the Inspector Heavenly Ambassador witnesses, all experienced vicissitudes of emotions when they saw the scene.