Only Ning Fan’s eyes remained calm and tranquil. He had seen gigantic palaces like this multiple times in the Ancient Heavenly Court within the illusory dreams of samsara.
"This is an Immortal Palace, a palace where an Immortal Emperor resides... It was probably one of the resting places for the Celestial Emperor in the past."
"Is Lu Wu in there? Lu Daochen once said that the reason why he asked me to save Lu Wu is because I’m a human. Therefore, I am able to enter this palace. On the other hand, I have the royal bloodline that can clear the evil mark off of Lu Wu... The evil mark is a punishment given by the great True Spirit Races to their traitors. It is also known as the Sinful Seal. Whoever has the evil mark would have their souls trapped forever even if they die, causing them to be unable to go through the cycle of samsara and have to endure eternal damnation... As for the formation light of this palace, it seems like it was specifically set up to keep watch on the demon race. So this is the reason why Lu Daochen set his eyes upon my identity as a human?"
"But there’s no door on all sides of this giant palace. How do I get in there? Or maybe I should call out to Lu Wu so that he would open the door from inside?"
*SHUA*
An idea suddenly struck Ning Fan. He instantly took out an ancient scroll painting and opened it with a shake.
It was a painting of a demon marshal wearing golden armor and a tiger head riding on a golden flame chariot which was being pulled by nine demon beasts.
The land where the golden flame chariot passed by was a medicinal garden with overflowing spiritual qi.
At the background of the medicinal garden, one could faintly see a large and magnificent palace of clouds which almost looked like the giant palace in front of them.
This painting was given to Ning Fan by Lu Daochen. According to hearsay, it was painted by an immortal painter of the Ancient Heavenly Court.
When he took out the painting, Wu Yan, Xi Ran and Yue Lingkong’s eyes all lit up with surprise.
"This is... an immortal painting! Mortal paintings could at most mislead the truth with a false appearance. On the contrary, immortal paintings could give life to the objects inside the painting. Although this is just a painting, it certainly was drawn with the hands of a True Immortal. In fact, this is not a painting but a scroll painting magical treasure!" Yue Lingkong was the first one to commend.
"Precisely. If this painting falls into the hands of a Void Refinement Realm cultivator, they would be able to summon the Void Refinement Realm expert in the painting to help him kill his enemies. The immortal who drew this painting is either a Shedding Void Realm expert or a Peak Crossing Truth Realm expert..." Yuan Yao’s viewpoint was at a much higher level and thus, she was more accurate with regards to the information of the painting.
Ning Fan did not explain the origin of this painting. Instead, he was seeking a way to enter the giant palace.
Lu Daochen handed me this painting. In some way, it is like a token of trust too.
Ning Fan took a light breath. He went forth to the giant palace with his fists cupped and said:
"This junior, Lu Bei, came from the Luo Yun Tribe at the request of the Cloud General to help Demon Marshal Lu Wu lift the evil mark and obtain the emperor’s star. I hereby request Marshal Lu to open the palace gates!"
Ning Fan’s voice was clear and bright and it echoed throughout the Cloud Palace three times.
When it subsided, the noise of a moving giant body was heard from within the palace. It seemed to have been awakened by Ning Fan as it gave out strong and vigorous sounds of breathing.
After a while, a hoarse and heavy voice finally bellowed out from within the palace like thunderclap.
"Cloud General? Mm... You’re the person who Lu Daochen invited. It can’t be wrong. This painting was the gift given to me by the ’Golden Tomb Immortal’. Lu Daochen had passed this thing to you. That is enough to show that you’re a credible person. However, just now you said that you came here with two objectives. Firstly, to help me clear my evil mark and release my soul and secondly, to take the emperor’s star away... Am I right?!"
*Rumble*
The voice abruptly became even more imposing and stern and was filled with a powerful forceful aura.
This aura was not any weaker than that of a Peak Void Refinement Realm expert!
The aura turned into a gale which blew towards Ning Fan as if it was trying to test him.
When the gust of strong wind approached him, the purple star in his left eye flickered and immediately, the incoming wind split into two and parted for him.
"Precisely. I’m here to fulfill my promise and obtain the emperor’s star. Marshal Lu, please open the palace gates!"
Ning Fan’s tone was neither humble nor arrogant. With a swing of his hand, he kept the scroll painting and patted his storage pouch again to take out a black chess piece.
Within the giant palace, Lu Wu sensed that Ning Fan had actually blocked his aura force with the power of his ancestral blood. To him, it was a little shocking.
A Mid Divine Transformation Realm cultivator can actually block my aura force... This young man is not weak...
When he noticed the black chess piece in Ning Fan’s hands, his eyes glinted with surprise.
"You have already obtained the approval of Lord Celestial Emperor!"
Ning Fan might not know what the black chess piece actually meant, but Lu Wu did.
In the year before he had gone into slumber, he had once passed a key to Lu Daochen. The key, however, was just the first step in obtaining the inheritance of the emperor’s star.
The second step was to use the key to unlock the remnant trace of intent that was left by the Celestial Emperor in the Star Palace and obtain his approval.
As for the third step, it was to use this black chess piece to comprehend the power of the Celestial Emperor’s Black Star!
Since Ning Fan was able to get this black chess piece, he undoubtedly had already obtained the approval from the remaining intent of the Celestial Emperor. That is to say, he certainly was eligible to acquire the inheritance of the emperor’s star!
There was no need for other tests anymore!
Nearly at the same moment, Lu Wu was ready to open the gate of the Cloud Palace. But when his gaze fell on the female corpse behind Ning Fan, an even more tremendous feeling of shock filled him, making him suddenly forget about the gate.
"Princess!"
Within the giant palace, the giant beast lay on the ground with his white fur hanging down. His appearance looked old and his eyes were dim but his facial expression was as calm as a quiet pond.
However, just as he saw the female corpse, his eyes shot out the light of excitement. He had never thought that he, Lu Wu, would be able to meet the Princess again 150 million years after the destruction of the Heavenly Court.
When the Heavenly Court was destroyed, Lu Wu was deprived of all his memories, Just like the other survivors.
Even so, he still remembered the Celestial Emperor and the Princess!
Originally, he was only surprised by the fact that Ning Fan possessed ancestral blood. At this moment, however, he was astonished at the appearance of the princess by Ning Fan’s side. He could not understand why a Divine Transformation Realm young man would be travelling together with the Princess.
All of a sudden, Lu Wu seemed to see an illusion.
At this moment, the young man standing outside the Cloud Palace was not an expert who possessed ancestral blood but ... a butterfly, a butterfly which he had seen many times in the Heavenly Court!
*Bang*
The light of the killing formation around the Cloud Palace turned dimmer and with a loud bang, a giant gate burst open.
"So your name is Lu Bei. You may enter the palace to accept the inheritance of the emperor’s star. But the others shall stay outside for the time being... The Celestial Emperor established an immortal formation on this palace. Other than the person who possesses the ’Celestial Emperor Chess Piece’, no one is able to come in unless they have Immortal Emperor Realm cultivation base... There is a black chess piece in your hand, while I have a white chess piece in mine... You, come in!"