Chapter 150: First Palace of Falling God
Chapter 150: First Palace of Falling God
Among over six hundred disciples of the Soul Martial Realm, more than a hundred were chosen, including Ye Xinyi, Nie Jiaolong, Du Yaru, and Hong Xiu Tian Xiang—all beautiful women blessed with luck.
The remaining five hundred disciples would be assigned two days later, based on the status of Lou Ri City’s nine branches and each palace’s needs.
When Cheng Lingyu entered the portal, he was swept into a time and space vortex. In a blink, he stood inside a grand palace.
Silence enveloped the vast, empty space, making him feel tiny.
The palace soared dozens of zhang high, spanning hundreds of zhang wide. Built from nameless stone, its weathered surface radiated antiquity and desolation.
Cheng Lingyu frowned. Though grand, the palace seemed too ancient for Lou Ri City. Was this an ancient ruin?
No one else was present. Dust blanketed the floor, untouched for years.
“Strange… where am I assigned?” he muttered, his gaze drifting to the palace doors.
Without lingering, he flew toward the entrance, his body oddly weightless here.
Outside, rolling clouds and white mist obscured all else.
Crossing the threshold, a faint trembling shook him—as if breaching an invisible barrier—and he stood outside.
Turning back, he gasped.
The towering palace had vanished. In its place stood a crumbling stone hall, mere zhang in size, resembling a weathered shrine.
“This place is… shabby.”
Compared to the first palace at the mountain’s base, this broken structure seemed pitiful.
The hall perched near the summit of a jet-black stone mountain, the sky stretching endlessly above.
Cheng Lingyu stared. “Is this the summit? The first of the upper four palaces on a ridge?”
Squinting into the distance, he spotted another peak piercing the clouds, its summit crowned by a faintly glowing palace.
Circling the hall, he found the steep, black peak offered little footing. The palace loomed above the cloud sea, its base hidden.
Peering down revealed only mist. “Xiyun Divine Mountain has nine ridges… which is this?”
Alone and ignored, he lingered briefly before returning to the hall.
As he neared the doors, runic marks flickered across his skin, breaking a seal. One step carried him inside.
The space expanded instantly, vast and towering—utterly unlike the exterior.
“Brilliant spatial manipulation. This hall is extraordinary.”
His own footprints marked the dusty floor, trailing to the center.
This ancient palace had twelve stone pillars arranged in a “hui” formation, creating a hollow interior.
Cheng Lingyu circled the pillars, noticing each was carved with intricate patterns holding mysterious secrets. The markings resembled spiritual diagrams – profoundly complex yet fascinating, drawing his complete focus.
Unaware of how much time had passed, he eventually wandered back to the entrance. Night had fallen, the cloud sea now misty with distant pinpricks of light.
Stepping outside to view Xiyun Divine Mountain’s nightscape, Cheng Lingyu detected strange spatial ripples nearby – as if invisible forces were intruding.
“Who’s there?” His heart pounded as he whirled around, eyes glowing violet-red with the Magic Eyes technique.
“Low Realm, but firm foundations.”
A figure solidified beside him – a wrinkled old man in dusty gray robes, his unkempt hair matching his weathered appearance.
The elder’s thin lips curled. “Xiyun has nine ridges. This is Fallen God Ridge. I guard these mountains.”
“Fallen God Ridge? Nearly shares Fallen God Mountain’s name. How should I address you, elder?”
The old man gazed distantly. “Names fade… In youth I was Shi Shouxin. Now they call me Elder Shi.”
Cheng Lingyu bowed. “Disciple Cheng Lingyu greets Elder Shi.”
“Save formalities – I’m just a caretaker. Came through the left portal directly?”
At Cheng Lingyu’s nod, the elder mused, “First time in my life seeing someone arrive straight at this palace. Your fate differs from others.”
“Please enlighten me – what makes this place special?”
Elder Shi glanced at the structure. “This is Fallen God Palace. Even gods shun it.”
“A cursed place?”
The elder’s enigmatic smile answered nothing. “Count the lights in the cloud sea.”
“One… eight lights total. With this place, completing the nine ridges?”
“Yet only eight glows. This ridge stays dark.”
“Why?”
“Find that answer yourself.”
Cheng Lingyu studied the shadowed palace. What did his arrival here signify?
“Elder, explain Xiyun’s nine ridges and Lou Ri City.”
“Xiyun Divine Mountain has graced Brilliant Star Continent for millennia. Lou Ri City belongs to Tianyang Empire’s Three Saints and Four Peerless, structured across nine branches mirroring the ridges.”
“With such history, Lou Ri must have many experts?”
“Wrong. Among the Six Major Forces, we’re weakest. But Xiyun’s mystique deters invaders – even gods perished here.”
“Why our weakness?”
“Remote western borders mean fewer people, fewer talented cultivators. Geography limits growth.”
“Which ridge dominates?”
“Lou Ri Ridge leads. Feixing, Xuanmoon, Mingmo, Xingyun follow – Five Prosperous branches versus Four Declining. New eight hundred disciples may help.”
“And the weaker branches?”
“Youxing and Anmoon manage. Yunjir struggles. This Fallen God Ridge – weakest, least populated.”
Cheng Lingyu grimaced. “My Luck shines bright.”
“Each ridge holds secrets. Mingmo Ridge rose from mediocrity a thousand years ago when their unparalleled genius overpowered the Three Saints and Four Peerless, winning glory before vanishing like a comet – our greatest regret.”
“Elder, my two companions – how find them?”