"Who goes there?" The black-faced cultivator was startled by the unfamiliar voice. Without a moment's thought, he spat out a streak of white light to shield his entire body, then formed a series of hand seals with both hands. The puppet warriors that had been stationed on either side immediately lit up with spiritual light and rose into the air one after another.
"Wait, Brother Cao — that is Senior Han! You must not be discourteous!" The white-faced middle-aged man, upon hearing the stranger's words, had gone several shades paler. Seeing the black-faced warrior spring into action, he immediately called out in an anxious voice to stop him.
"Senior Han?" The black-faced warrior was bewildered.
But since even a man of comparable cultivation to his own was being this cautious, it surely meant this visitor was no ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator. After all, the two of them were within a pocket-dimension restriction — more than capable of holding their own against an early-stage Nascent Soul opponent.
Could it be that the newcomer was a mid-stage Nascent Soul old monster? That was not something he and a handful of mechanical puppets could hope to contend with.
With this thought, the cultivator surnamed Cao moved his spiritual sense, and the puppets that had already risen into the air settled back down to their original positions, motionless once more.
"Good — at least you had the sense to call them off. Otherwise I'd have had no choice but to bully my juniors." The man seemed to let out a soft snort as his voice drifted down once more.
Immediately after, a flash of azure light appeared in the sky above the two of them. A young man in a green robe materialized there with his arms crossed, gazing down at the pair with eyes as cold as ice.
The black-faced warrior swept his spiritual sense over the newcomer's body in alarm, and a violent shudder ran through him. An expression of disbelief and terror crept onto his face.
The man had made no effort whatsoever to conceal his cultivation — he was a late-stage Nascent Soul great cultivator.
But since when had a great cultivator surnamed Han appeared in the Great Jin? How had he not heard a single word of it?
The thought of how close he had come to ordering his puppets to attack this man sent a chill racing down the black-faced cultivator's spine. He hastily bowed deeply toward the sky:
"This junior did not realize Senior had arrived here. If I caused any offense, I humbly beg Senior's understanding!"
The young man in the air heard this but remained expressionless, offering no reply. Instead he lifted his gaze toward the aerial palace not far away, and a flicker of surprise appeared in his eyes.
Below, the black-faced cultivator was now drenched in cold sweat, yet he did not dare rise uninvited — for fear of offending this senior powerhouse and bringing upon himself a catastrophe. With the eccentric tempers some Nascent Soul old monsters were known to have, such a thing was entirely possible. He had no wish to perish without even understanding why.
Fortunately, at that moment the white-faced middle-aged man finally spoke up to rescue him.
"Senior Han, didn't you say you would give this junior a few months to report the matter to the Hall Master? How is it you've followed me all the way here?" The middle-aged man offered a bitter smile, then cupped his hands toward the figure in the sky as well.
"I had no choice. My time is limited, and I have no intention of waiting idly. It will be simpler to speak with your Hall Master directly. This must be the so-called Heavenly Secrets Hall I've heard about — said to reside within a pocket dimension, and a rare drifting space at that, one whose entrance shifts position every few years on its own. An ordinary person would never get the chance to see it. Now that I'm here, I can say it hasn't disappointed me. You may rise as well. Since you're a guard here, I won't take what happened earlier to heart. But I wish to see your Hall Master — you'll lead the way." The young man's final words were directed at the black-faced cultivator in an indifferent tone that brooked no argument.
Cao Weifeng's heart, which had just settled, sank once more. He cast an uneasy glance at the middle-aged man beside him.
The truth was, he still had no idea what this great cultivator's intentions were — friend or foe!
The white-faced middle-aged man's mouth twitched. After a moment's hesitation, he gave the black-faced cultivator a slight nod.
Cao Weifeng no longer hesitated, and quickly called out:
"Since Senior commands it, this junior naturally dares not refuse. However, the Hall Master is currently receiving an honored guest. If this junior may first send word ahead, then I can lead Senior there — how would that be?"
"An honored guest?" The young man paused briefly, a hint of surprise flickering in his eyes, but his expression remained flat as he gave a nod.
The black-faced cultivator was inwardly delighted. He hastily raised his hand, drew a voice transmission talisman from his storage pouch, and spoke a few hurried words into it in a low voice before sending it off. It transformed into a streak of fire and shot toward the aerial palace.
Then, after offering the young man an apologetic smile, he walked into the jade gate of his own accord and ascended the jade stairs that rose into the sky, taking the lead.
The white-faced middle-aged man quickened his pace by two steps and followed close behind.
Both of them were traveling on foot — neither dared ride a flight light directly up the jade stairs.
"A flight-restriction formation!" The young man furrowed his brow at the sight, but then a faint, cold smile curved at the corner of his mouth. Azure light shimmered around his body, and he simply drifted forward through the air, apparently entirely unaffected.
The two men below watched this and could only smile bitterly to themselves.
The surrounding restrictions were formidable enough — any cultivator below the Nascent Soul stage could not rise more than three chi off the ground. But for a late-stage Nascent Soul great cultivator, they were naturally nothing to speak of. The two could only pretend not to notice and continue leading the way ahead.