Su Luo’s voice grew softer, becoming almost inaudible to Shui Qingyue.
Jealousy surged within her. Su Luo’s lips were practically brushing against Li Tianjue’s face, yet he made no move to push her away. The two began to exchange whispers, their intimacy palpable, though Shui Qingyue couldn’t catch a single word.
“Big Brother Li, stay away from her. A man and a woman should not touch,” she fumed, rushing forward to pull Li Tianjue away.
“Hey, what are you doing!”
Shangxie Shaoqing extended his fan, blocking Shui Qingyue: “Miss Su is speaking with Brother Li. Are you trying to eavesdrop by getting so close? They are fellow disciples, what’s wrong with sharing a secret!”
Shui Qingyue wished she could rip Shangxie Shaoqing’s mouth apart: “Shut up! If you spout any more nonsense, I’ll tell everyone about the time you wet your pants as a child…”
“Hey, hey, hey, bringing up embarrassing past incidents is not right.”
Shangxie Shaoqing’s expression shifted. He pointed at her, saying, “Don’t think you can say whatever you want just because we were betrothed as children. Ever since you shaved the heads of all your attending maids when you were ten, I knew you were psychologically disturbed and quickly broke off the engagement…”
“Shut up, Shangxie Shaoqing, I’ll kill you!” Shui Qingyue’s pretty face contorted in anger as she unleashed several icicles towards him.
Du Wei, standing nearby, shouted, “Young Master, I’ll help you!”
Clang! Clang! The three of them began to fight.
After Su Luo finished speaking, Li Tianjue finally understood what this mysterious space was all about.
Having endured Su Luo’s breath on his ear throughout their conversation, his earlobes felt warm. Suppressing the slight discomfort, Li Tianjue asked curiously, “How did you know? And when did you team up with Shangxie Shaoqing?”
Su Luo blinked her eyes: “That’s another secret.”
Just as she was about to tell Li Tianjue about the divine soul of Emperor Haotian, Shui Qingyue quickly separated from Shangxie Shaoqing and shouted, “Stop! I don’t have time to fight with you now, Elder Sun and the others are here.”
She took out a sound transmission jade pendant from her spatial ring. Seeing that it was glowing, she quickly answered it, explaining the situation here and how they had avoided the giant warriors and the route to this place, before putting the pendant away.
Shui Qingyue smiled.
All traces of worry vanished from her face, replaced by her usual arrogance and aloofness.
As if deeming herself superior to Su Luo, Shangxie Shaoqing, and the others, she walked to the entrance to await the arrival of the people from the Primordial Holy Land.
A long hour and a half passed…
When the group heard movement outside the door, along with shouts of ‘Saintess,’ Shui Qingyue’s eyes lit up. She immediately flew out, filled with joy: “Elder Sun, you’re finally here!”
With reinforcements, Shui Qingyue no longer hesitated.
“Saintess, we rushed over as soon as we received the news. Indeed, you have discovered the Giant King’s Court!”
Not only Elder Sun and the others from the Primordial Holy Land, but also some cultivators who had followed Su Luo and the others earlier, had escaped here. In their moment of crisis, they had run behind Elder Sun and the others, finally managing to escape the giants’ pursuit.
“Senior Sister, you’re injured!”
Shangguan Hanyu rushed forward, looking at the wound on Shui Qingyue’s shoulder with concern. He said anxiously, “Why aren’t you bandaging it quickly? It’s bleeding, it must hurt so much. Here, let me…”
Shui Qingyue took a step back: “Don’t touch me!”
She curled her lips in disgust, glanced at Su Luo, and then feigned indifference: “It’s nothing, just a minor injury caused by someone. The important thing now is to find the Golden Horn quickly. It must be in that palace.”
“Su Luo again!” Shangguan Hanyu glared at Su Luo with unfriendly eyes.
First she had harmed him, and now she had harmed his Senior Sister. He swore he would get his revenge someday.
At this moment, Shui Qingyue walked up to Li Tianjue and softened her voice: “Big Brother Li, Elder Sun and the others are here. You promised to help me. Will you accompany me to that palace to find the Golden Horn now?”
Li Tianjue hesitated for a moment, then said gravely, “Alright, I can accompany you to that palace and will do my best to protect you. However, whether the Golden Horn can be found or obtained is not something I can guarantee.”
“Wonderful! Big Brother Li, you’re so good to me.”
Shui Qingyue smiled enchantingly, giving Su Luo a provocative glance before leading the people from the Primordial Holy Land towards the distant palace.
Su Luo remained unbothered and said to Li Tianjue, “Senior Brother, you mentioned earlier that you have a way to prevent the giants from reviving even when we get close?”
“It’s just a guess. We’ll know if we try.”
Li Tianjue said as they walked, “Giants probably use the vertical pupils on their foreheads to sense their surroundings. Once someone gets close, they can awaken from their sealed state. As long as we don’t let them sense us, they might not revive.”
Su Luo nodded, also curious to see what Li Tianjue would do.
The group proceeded cautiously through the wide streets. The area resembled an ordinary city, except that everything was enormous, making them appear tiny.
Both Shui Qingyue’s group and Su Luo’s group made an effort to stay away from the giant stone statues they encountered along the way. However, upon reaching the vast plaza in front of the palace, where hundreds of stone statues stood densely packed, like soldiers in neat formation, they could no longer avoid them.
To enter the palace, they had to pass through the ranks of these giant warriors.
“Big Brother Li!” Shui Qingyue called out, turning to look at Li Tianjue.
“Senior Brother, be careful,” Su Luo reminded him.
Li Tianjue nodded slightly and walked forward unhurriedly.
He approached the giant stone statues, stopping at a distance of about five zhang, and slowly raised his hand. A magnificent aura permeated the air, and translucent flowers emerged from the void, forming a chain-like structure that wrapped around Li Tianjue.
The surrounding air became cold and sharp, and a faint mist appeared, exuding a mystical aura that stunned everyone.
Elder Sun exclaimed in admiration: “Flowers that are not flowers, mist that is not mist. One moment in the human world, one moment in the asura realm! Young Master Li’s ‘Mirror Flower Water Moon’ is indeed one of the ten great secret arts of the Xuanhuang Continent, truly formidable!”
Suddenly, the petals unfurled and flew towards the giant stone statues in front, attaching themselves to their foreheads, perfectly covering the vertical pupils.
After waiting for a moment, Li Tianjue walked forward step by step.
When he reached the stone statues, they still did not revive; they remained in their stone state. He then nodded to Su Luo and the others: “It’s fine now. Everyone pass through quickly. My flower-dancing technique has a time limit. If you don’t hurry, the statues will revive later.”
Shui Qingyue rejoiced and cried out, “Everyone, hurry!”
“Charge!”
“Quickly, don’t wait for the statues to awaken…”
Figures leaped up, darting into the ranks of the stone statues and swiftly heading towards the palace ahead.
The people from the Primordial Holy Land and the cultivators who had narrowly escaped were at the forefront.
Su Luo, riding on the back of the dragon hound, moved as fast as lightning, overtaking others. Seeing Du Wei lagging behind, Shangxie Shaoqing placed him on the back of a flood dragon and then leaped forward himself, following closely behind Su Luo.
Without further incident, it took everyone a quarter of an hour to successfully pass through the stone statue formations and stand at the palace entrance, catching their breath.
Even though nothing had happened, the invisible pressure had left countless cultivators breathless, their hearts pounding like drums. Fortunately, they had followed behind the people from the Primordial Holy Land and the Qingxu Heaven; otherwise, they would not have had this opportunity.
Suddenly, someone pointed towards the vast courtyard within the palace gates: “Look quickly, what is that?”
In the center of the courtyard stood a fountain.
Carved with railings and made of jade, it was exquisitely beautiful. A fine spray of water, shimmering with seven-colored iridescence, shot up and then fell, splashing out luminous pearls that landed in the pond.