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Crossing the river, one arrives at the Celestial Palace of Leisure's outer city. A wide stone-paved road runs straight through vast farmlands, leading directly to the gates of the Celestial Palace. This road is straight, with no turns, stretching for miles and leading right up to the tall gate tower of the palace.
The Azure Wind Antelope moves swiftly along the thousand-mile stone road, reaching the palace gate tower in just over an hour. Mortals are not allowed to enter the Celestial Palace. Already, thousands of individuals dressed as Servants are waiting here. These people file in, each leading an Azure Wind Antelope, walking to the left along the wide stone path beneath the palace walls. There lies a small town with numerous houses closely packed together. Except for ten female Demon Fairies, all mortals coming from Xu Yang Immortal Palace will be temporarily settled in this small town.
Li Hong and Heavenly Torch sit inside a tent on one of the Azure Wind Antelopes, concealing their presence. They are dressed similarly to Xi Che, in short warrior attire, but without swords at their waists. The two remain silent until it is their turn. A mortal approaches, takes hold of the Azure Wind Antelope, and silently follows the others toward the town. However, after just a few steps, someone behind them shouts, "Stop!"
A celestial being from the Celestial Palace of Leisure lightly flies to the neck of the Azure Wind Antelope, lifting the white veil of the tent and peering inside. His expression changes sharply as he shouts, "Get down!"
Seeing their cover blown, Li Hong and Heavenly Torch remain calm and do not move.
However, among those ten guards from Xu Yang Immortal Palace, brows furrowed simultaneously. One of them, whom Li Hong now knows by name—strangely enough—called Xu Shiwann! He has always been the one issuing commands through sound transmission and seems to be the leader of these ten guards. Xu Shiwann coughs softly and slowly says, "These two are our guards from Xu Yang Immortal Palace; however, they are only responsible for escorting us and do not need to meet Carefree Immortal Emperor. Please let them pass."
The celestial being from Celestial Palace of Leisure raises an eyebrow and continues to scrutinize Li Hong and Heavenly Torch before stubbornly insisting, "Get down!" His expression grows increasingly fierce.
Xi Che and Xi He stand beside those ten guards from Xu Yang Immortal Palace and show concern upon witnessing this scene. Xi Che thinks for a moment and quickly bows respectfully, saying, "Senior Immortal, they truly are our guards from Xu Yang Immortal Palace; they are here to escort us back to Xu Yang Immortal Palace..." Before he can finish his sentence, a flash of white light suddenly shoots toward Xi Che with lightning speed.
This celestial being unexpectedly attacks Xi Che without any provocation!
Li Hong has no time to think; his body leaps out swiftly, arriving ahead of that white light before it reaches Xi Che. He flicks his finger.
With a crisp sound, that white light takes shape—a small Flying Sword hovers above the celestial being's head.
Li Hong shows restraint. However, having acted first, he merely uses a finger to deflect this celestial being's Flying Sword back at him. This display of power astonishes everyone present, including those ten guards from Xu Yang Immortal Palace who look utterly incredulous.
The crowd parts as a celestial being from Celestial Palace of Leisure flies forward; he appears to be the leader. He sneers and says, "Well well well! You Xu Yang Immortal Palace actually have some tricks up your sleeve this year; you’ve hidden such a master among mere mortals! If it weren't for Xiao Twelve's vigilance, you would have almost gotten away with it! What? Are you trying to play tricks this year? Do you think we at Celestial Palace of Leisure are easy to bully?" The last sentence is delivered with a fierce glare directed at Xu Shiwann.
Li Hong smiles lightly and seems unconcerned as he subtly turns his body to shield Xi Che and Xi He behind him. Heavenly Torch jumps down from the Azure Wind Antelope and strides confidently over to stand beside Li Hong. The two remain silent but direct their gazes toward Xu Shiwann, waiting to see how he will respond.
The ten guards from Xu Yang Immortal Palace originally wanted to eliminate them. If the people from Celestial Palace of Leisure took action and killed them now, Li Hong would be delighted to watch the show, so neither of them spoke, just waiting to see how he would respond.
Xu Shiwann frowned deeply, looking at Li Hong and Heavenly Torch, his expression revealing an indescribable strangeness, as if he felt both pained and troubled. After a long pause, he hesitantly said, "Brother Xiao Da, what do you suggest we do?" This statement was clearly a compromise.
Xiao Da immediately sneered, "Of course, we follow the old rules. Since you brought them here, I must report this to the Immortal Emperor. The Immortal Emperor will definitely want to meet the two of them." The last sentence was particularly significant; he glanced at Li Hong and Heavenly Torch while saying it.
Xu Shiwann frowned again, the pain on his face seeming even more pronounced. However, he still silently nodded in agreement.
Unbeknownst to them, they had already sealed the fate of Li Hong and Heavenly Torch.
Li Hong understood clearly; it sounded like a summons from the Immortal Emperor was a great opportunity. Without Xi Che's earlier warning, Li Hong and Heavenly Torch would have been thrilled. But with Xi Che's reminder, everything changed—being summoned by the Immortal Emperor meant death! Although he didn't know why.
Li Hong's mind raced while over a hundred Celestial Palace of Leisure immortals, like the ten Xu Yang Immortal Palace immortals, no longer looked at Li Hong and Heavenly Torch. When they occasionally glanced their way, it was with disdain as if they were looking at lifeless objects.
However, Li Hong spoke up with a grin and cupped his hands toward Xu Shiwann, saying, "Boss, the Immortal Emperor's summons surely isn't urgent. This is my first time here; I still want to explore a bit. How about we go check on those mortals first? Once they are settled, my brother and I will return here to wait for the Immortal Emperor's summons?"
Xu Shiwann fell for it; without thinking twice, he waved his hand dismissively. This time, he didn't even spare a glance at the two of them as if Li Hong and Heavenly Torch were already dead.
Li Hong and Heavenly Torch pulled Xi Che and Xi He onto Azure Wind Antelope, and the group moved again toward the small town.
However, behind them came the sound of rushing air as about twenty or thirty guards from Celestial Palace of Leisure followed closely behind, neither too far nor too near, seemingly prepared for long-term surveillance.
Xi Che looked worried and made eye contact with Li Hong. Li Hong showed no fear but still understood and cast a Phantom Shadow Talisman to shield their white silk tent.
Xi Che immediately said to Xi He, "Daughter, don't waste a moment. After you change the salt, quickly pack up Clear Water rations and Azure Wind Antelope's feed. Move fast; the sooner we set off, the better. Brother Li Hong, you and Brother Heavenly Torch need to find a way to hide for three days. If anything happens, we will meet ten thousand miles west of Xiaoyao City. We will wait for you there for ten days."
"Alright! That's settled. Additionally, my brother and I will take care of Xu Shiwann and his ten men. You two should be careful."
The four of them had made their plans, and the Azure Wind Antelope had already come to a stop at the entrance of the small town. In front of an archway marked with Xiaoyao City, thousands of mortals from Xu Yang Immortal Palace were being led away in groups of ten, while the Azure Wind Antelope was also being taken away one by one. The mortals of Xiaoyao City worked efficiently, with no extra people loitering at the town entrance.
When Li Hong and the others jumped down from the Azure Wind Antelope, they found only a small group of people under the archway. At the forefront was a middle-aged man who appeared to be in his forties, dressed in a Purple Robe. He was stout with a thick beard and wore a friendly expression, constantly grinning and chuckling, but his eyes revealed a hint of sharpness and cruelty.
This man was Yun Ling, the lord of Xiaoyao City in the outer city of the Celestial Palace of Leisure. This small town essentially served as the lord's residence, with all the houses in this bustling area belonging to him, along with his dozens of wives, hundreds of children, numerous stewards, thousands of warriors, and tens of thousands of Servants. The fertile lands extending two thousand miles beyond the Celestial Palace of Leisure and many mortals were also under his unified control. The immortals within the palace were too indifferent to deal with mortals directly; any matters were communicated through Yun Ling, making him effectively the king of this land.
Yun Ling smiled at Xi Che, yet remained rooted in place.
Xi Che, who appeared to be a martial man but was actually quite astute, quickly approached and cupped his hands in greeting. "I am Xi Che, honored to meet you, Yun Ling, the Lord of Xiaoyao City!"
Yun Ling smiled back but feigned modesty, clearly putting on airs.
Xi Che, however, seemed unfazed and remarked nostalgically, "I remember when I accompanied my uncle to Xiaoyao City. I was still an ignorant youth then. Even back then, I knew that the lord had an unlimited future ahead. Indeed, upon my return this time, my old friend has already risen to become the lord—congratulations!"
"Haha, you flatter me. By the way, who is this?" Yun Ling shifted his gaze toward the tall and athletic Xi He, his eyes clearly lighting up.
"This is my daughter, Xi He. Daughter, hurry and greet the lord!" said Xi Che.
Xi He stepped forward, bowed respectfully, and immediately returned to stand behind Xi Che. For some reason, she felt uncomfortable under Yun Ling's gaze from the very first moment.
Yun Ling's eyes lingered on Xi He for a while before casually sweeping over Li Hong Tian Zhu. He then gestured for Xi Che to enter the city while proudly introducing him and Xi He to the current state of affairs in Xiaoyao City. He didn't even glance at Li Hong Tian Zhu, clearly viewing them as mere attendants to Xi Che.
Seeing this, Li Hong chose not to explain; it seemed that no one had informed this lord about what had transpired at the entrance of the immortal palace. This indicated that there was a clear distinction between immortals and mortals in Xiaoyao City, as well as between the lord and his subordinates compared to the lower-ranking Servants.
It seems this is a world of power, where the upper class rules over the lower class, and the lower class governs those beneath them. Each layer has absolute power over the one below, while the lower class can only submit to the upper class. The three tiers have little interaction, each bearing its own class mark.
Li Hong shook his head; this celestial realm was indeed not a place for peace and prosperity, even worse than the war-torn Middle-Earth Human Realm. At least there, there was equality and relative freedom. But here, looking at the expressionless faces of the lowest Servants, it was clear they had long forgotten how to resist. This meant they had lost even that last bit of relative freedom; all they knew was unconditional obedience.
Such a world is pitiful. The same mortals enslave and oppress other mortals. Li Hong grew increasingly displeased with Yun Ling and the entire Celestial Palace of Leisure.
Li Hong's Divine Consciousness had firmly locked onto the twenty or so immortals lurking in the shadows behind them, deciding to take action against them first.
At this moment, the group had reached the entrance of the City Lord's Mansion, resembling a grand estate of mortals with a spacious entrance featuring six large openings. A row of lowly Servants stood outside with bowed heads, while enticing aromas of wine and meat wafted from within.
Yun Ling smiled at Xi He, saying, "Please come in," yet he did not glance at Xi Che, focusing solely on Xi He beside him.
The two figures were strikingly mismatched; Xi He towered over Yun Ling by three feet. Standing next to the tall and muscular Xi He made Li Hong think of a local specialty from Wuxi County in Changzhou—a short and pudgy clay doll. However, this did not diminish Yun Ling's admiration for Xi He.
Xi Che's gaze grew colder, his fists unconsciously tightening.
All of this was observed by Li Hong and Heavenly Torch.
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