Chapter 553: Yōu Míng Palace, Howling Wind Plains

Chapter 553: Yōu Míng Palace, Howling Wind Plains

In a vast canyon, a group of travelers was slowly making their way forward.

"Everyone, please be cautious. Once we pass through this valley, we will enter the Howling Wind Plains.

The plains are constantly battered by strong winds.

The sky above is also ravaged by celestial winds, making it difficult even for Core Formation Realm experts to fly. They can only travel on foot.

The Howling Wind Plains are also frequented by wind beasts and sand bandits.

If we encounter any wind beasts or sand bandits, please stand together and fight them off. Do not panic and run around recklessly.

Otherwise, if any accidents happen, our Carriage Company will not offer additional assistance."

As they approached the end of the valley, a towering armored giant riding a spirit steed with crimson scales shouted loudly.

After giving his warnings, he approached a formation-engraved cart and said politely:

"If any unexpected situations arise after we enter the Howling Wind Plains, as per our prior agreement, we would appreciate your assistance."

"Of course. It's rare for Commander Wang to allow us to join your journey. We should look out for each other."

An elder sitting in the cart, accompanied by two young children around seven or eight years old, smiled.

"Thank you, then."

Reassured by the elder's response, the armored giant returned to his position.

He had agreed to let the group travel with them because of their cultivation levels.

Although they had traversed the Howling Wind Plains many times, they could not guarantee it would be completely safe.

Having a few more experts around would provide additional security.

"This guy is really good at calculating. He doesn't want to pay us anything and just wants us to be his guards."

After the armored giant left, a gaunt youth in the cart snorted.

"At least we are traveling together. Don't be too picky", the elder advised. "I've heard that the sand bandits in the Howling Wind Plains have become more rampant recently.

If we travel alone, it would be very dangerous. Now that we are traveling together, we can ensure our safety."

"Hmph, Elder Qiao, I didn't agree to help. You just said you would.

If anything goes wrong, I won't waste my energy helping these useless people.

I'll leave on my own. I don't believe the Howling Wind Plains are that terrifying!"

The gaunt youth said coldly.

Elder Qiao, hearing this, opened his mouth but couldn't think of what to say.

He looked at the others, who seemed indifferent, and sighed.

He hugged the two timid children beside him, feeling worried.

For some reason, he had a feeling that things would not be peaceful in the coming days.

Thinking about this, he couldn't help but glance at a young man in the corner of the cart, who looked ordinary and was holding a gray cat.

This young man, though unremarkable in appearance, was only at the initial stage of the Golden Core realm.

However, Elder Qiao felt that there was something unusual about him.

The reason for this was that a few days ago, their group had been attacked by a mid-stage Golden Core realm spirit beast, causing many casualties.

Even the people in this cart had been intimidated by the beast.

However, the elder had noticed that while this young man showed signs of panic, there was a calmness in his eyes.

From that moment on, he felt that this young man was not ordinary.

But the spirit beast had been dealt with by the Carriage Company, and they didn't have a chance to act.

Over the past few days, he had observed the young man closely but couldn't find any clues.

This left him unsure whether the young man's panic was genuine or feigned.

"This Elder Qiao is spying on me again. He must have noticed something during the attack by the Core Formation Realm spirit beast a few days ago."

In the corner of the cart, Lu Qing, who was meditating, felt the subtle gaze and felt a bit helpless.

He had already changed his appearance and altered his soul aura.

Even if Nángōng Yuánwǔ and Mò Hóngyùn were standing right in front of him, they might not recognize him.

But Lu Qing hadn't expected that his transformation, which could deceive a Primordial Soul Realm expert, would be seen through by an elder at the third stage of the Golden Core realm.

The attack a few days ago had been sudden, and he had been meditating at the time.

When the Golden Core spirit beast attacked, he had acted panicked.

But who would have thought that Elder Qiao was so astute and still noticed his abnormality.

"His acting skills are still lacking." Lu Qing shook his head inwardly.

As the saying goes, the older one gets, the wiser one becomes. This Old Man Qiao was clearly a seasoned veteran.

Even with just a bit of pretense, his flaws were immediately exposed.

Sighing, Lu Qing decided to ignore it and continued to close his eyes and rest.

Even if Old Man Qiao had noticed something amiss, as long as he didn’t bother him, it was fine.

He had concealed his cultivation and infiltrated this group, not only to broaden his horizons but also to hide his identity, avoiding unnecessary complications.

"Still, I didn’t expect that just a few years of seclusion would result in such a significant change in the outside world."

Lu Qing recalled the information he had overheard a few days ago in a certain city.

Originally, he had come out of seclusion to experience the bustling life of the city.

However, he accidentally overheard some diners in a tavern discussing the conflict between the Gōngshū and Nángōng families.

It turned out that since Gōngshū Yú’s death at the hands of Nángōng Yuánwǔ, the relationship between the two families had become increasingly tense.

But because Nángōng Yuánwǔ still controlled the lives of two Gōngshū family Primordial Soul Realm cultivators, the Gōngshū family had to tread carefully and temporarily suppressed their anger.

They chose to negotiate with the Nángōng family rather than declare war outright.

However, the situation soon changed due to a particular event.

It all started when Gōngshū Yú’s mother, a direct-line descendant of the Gōngshū family, could no longer bear the pain of losing her son.

She spent a large sum of money and placed a bounty on Nángōng Yuánwǔ’s head at the Yōu Míng Palace.

The Yōu Míng Palace was an extremely mysterious and powerful dark force.

It was said that this organization not only existed in the Tiānyuán Grand World but also had a presence in other grand worlds.

It was a widely distributed and terrifying force, not limited to a single grand world or even a single immortal domain.

The Yōu Míng Palace never involved itself in the internal conflicts of various grand worlds.

They operated in the shadows, dealing in intelligence and assassination.

Such a terrifying force had no limits in its actions.

The cost of hiring the Yōu Míng Palace for an assassination was extremely high, but once they were mobilized, few could resist their assassination attempts.

Even a powerful Primordial Soul Realm cultivator might not be able to escape.

Moreover, as long as you could pay the price, they would assassinate anyone, whether it be the head of a top-tier sect, the patriarch of one of the Thirty-Six Upper Clans, or even a Great Demon of the Demon Race.

However, the cost of assassinating such powerful figures was astronomical.

Even the Thirty-Six Upper Clans, with their vast wealth, might not be able to afford it.

Although she couldn’t afford the price to assassinate the head of the clan, Gōngshū Yú’s mother, after much deliberation, could still manage to pay for the assassination of a single Tribulation Primordial Soul Realm cultivator.

So, after she placed the bounty at the Yōu Míng Palace, it took only three days for Nángōng Yuánwǔ to be ambushed and nearly killed.

If not for an elder of the Nángōng family being present and intervening in time, he would have been utterly destroyed, both in body and soul.

Even so, it was said that Nángōng Yuánwǔ’s Primordial Soul had already collapsed, rendering him a cripple.

This assassination attempt enraged the entire Nángōng family.

Having one of their important members targeted for assassination by the Yōu Míng Palace was something they could not tolerate.

If they didn’t retaliate, others would think the Nángōng family was weak and easy to bully.

Therefore, after the incident, the Nángōng family immediately responded with the strongest possible action.

Not only did they declare war on the Gōngshū family, but they also beheaded the two Primordial Soul Realm cultivators who had originally accompanied Gōngshū Yú and sent their heads to the Gōngshū family.

As for the Gōngshū family, they were in a state of turmoil.

There had always been an unwritten rule among the Thirty-Six Upper Clans.

No matter how intense the competition, they would never place a bounty on each other’s important members through the Yōu Míng Palace.

Doing so would easily lead to an irreparable situation.

So, Gōngshū Yú’s mother’s actions had turned a justifiable cause into an unjust one.

Not only did they lose two powerful Primordial Soul Realm cultivators, but they also found themselves in a very passive position in terms of reputation.

However, in the face of the Nángōng family’s attack, they had no choice but to fight back.

Otherwise, it would demoralize their clan members, reduce their cohesion, and jeopardize their status as one of the Thirty-Six Upper Clans.

Thus, the conflict between the two powerful clans intensified.

In the end, even the Saintly Alliance had to intervene to mediate.

It was said that the heads of the two clans and many of their elders were currently in the Saintly Alliance, negotiating and arguing.

But what the final outcome would be, no one knew yet.

When Lu Qing heard these news in the city, he was still quite shocked.

He never imagined that in the Tianyuan Grand World, there could be a terrifying force like the Yōu Míng Palace, lurking in the shadows.

Its power was so formidable that even the demon race and the righteous factions were completely powerless against it.

Similarly, it specialized in assassination, much like the Seven Killings Pavilion and the Endless Void Tower in his home world.

Compared to the Yōu Míng Palace, those organizations were like infants playing make-believe, completely insignificant.

However, this realization also instilled a sense of crisis in Lu Qing.

The Yōu Míng Palace was a terrifying force that spanned numerous great worlds, even the Immortal Realm.

Its depths and resources were unimaginable.

There was no telling if it possessed some horrifying secret techniques that could predict his existence.

Therefore, he immediately left the city.

He then used the Formless Transformation Art of his Perfect Golden Core to completely alter his appearance, aura, and even his soul fluctuations.

He changed his identity several times, traveling far and wide, eventually leaving the territory of the Nángōng Clan.

Regarding Nángōng Yuánwǔ, although he sympathized with the man’s plight, he wouldn’t risk exposing his own identity out of a momentary sense of camaraderie.

After all, he didn’t know if the madwoman of the Gōngshū Clan had included him in the bounty on Nángōng Yuánwǔ.

If that were the case, showing up now would be like offering himself up as a fish on a platter.

Because of these reasons, Lu Qing disguised himself as an ordinary wandering Golden Core cultivator and joined a merchant caravan, slowly traveling.

The caravan moved at a steady pace, finally reaching the end of the canyon.

Even before they officially exited, everyone could hear the fierce wind howling ahead.

It sounded like the wailing of ghosts and the roars of spirit beasts, sending chills down their spines.

"Is this the Howling Wind Plains?"

Standing at the canyon’s exit, everyone looked at the howling wind and the swirling yellow sand ahead.

Their hearts trembled.

Even the few Core Formation Realm experts on the carts looked uneasy.

In the face of such overwhelming natural power, even with their formidable cultivation, they felt a sense of awe.

Lu Qing sensed the howling wind ahead and was also amazed.

The Tianyuan Grand World was indeed wondrous. Just the Celestial Winds blowing over the Howling Wind Plains were incredibly powerful.

A weaker Core Formation Realm cultivator, if they rashly entered, would likely suffer severe physical damage, their bodies cracking and blood splattering across the sky.

No wonder the Core Formation Realm experts on the carts chose to travel with the caravan rather than fly.

It was because of the natural hazards blocking their path.

"Everyone, please be patient. In about half an hour, the wind will weaken, and then we can enter the Howling Wind Plains."

At the front of the caravan, the armored giant held a Bagua-shaped treasure, seemingly making some calculations.

After a while, he shouted to those behind him.

Naturally, no one objected.

Looking at the terrifying scene ahead, they dared not enter just yet and could only wait patiently.

However, the armored giant’s prediction proved accurate.

After an hour, the wind indeed began to weaken.

By the time half an hour had passed, the swirling sand had settled, and the once obscured plain became much clearer.

"Alright, everyone can enter now, but the wind is only temporarily calmed.

It will pick up again soon.

Do not wander off, or you might get lost and find it difficult to rejoin the group."

The armored giant shouted loudly.

Hearing this, the smaller merchant groups behind him felt a jolt of tension.

They immediately became fully alert, reminding themselves not to fall behind.

The caravan gradually entered the plain.

Though called a plain, it more resembled a desert.

The ground was covered in thick layers of sand, which reached up to the ankles with every step.

If not for the sparse vegetation around, it would truly seem like a lifeless desert.

Fortunately, the carts in the caravan were inscribed with formations and wouldn’t easily sink into the sand.

Led by the armored giant and others, the caravan slowly moved forward.

As they delved deeper into the Howling Wind Plains, the wind started to pick up after about two hours, growing stronger and causing the sand to fly again.

In the distance, they could hear the faint roars of beasts.

The armored giant, positioned at the front of the caravan, heard these roars and his face instantly changed.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end