Chapter 99: Chapter 34 Celestial Music on Cloud Platform, Jade Pond Golden Lotus
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Vast sea of clouds, Iron Chain Long Bridge.

No shore in sight ahead, nor the place from whence we came.

Even though Xu Yinglian possessed the Seven Orifices Exquisite Heart, realizing the bridge couldn’t possibly lack an end, she couldn’t help feeling an inexplicable tension rising within her.

Fortunately, her senior brother was by her side…

Sensing her thoughts, Kunlun Mirror quickly and quietly withdrew its Invincible Character Setting aura.

Thus, Xu Yinglian gradually noticed a warm sensation coming from the palm of her senior brother, as if he was infusing her with strength.

If she knew what the “Suspension Bridge Effect” was, she would understand that in perilous circumstances, girls instinctively develop a reliance and fondness for the boys beside them, a natural physiological phenomenon evolved by humans.

Of course, Junior Sister Xu didn’t understand this; all she did was tightly grasp her senior brother’s hand and desperately move her legs forward, with the Feather Jia Sword waving ceaselessly by her side, ready to strike out at any moment.

After an indeterminate amount of time, the two of them finally arrived safely on the opposite shore.

What they saw was a wide Cloud Platform, clear springs like crystal, white jade for tiles, with ethereal immortal melodies harmonizing in the distance, contributing to the surrounding aura of transcendental sanctity.

“What the hell is this?” Kunlun Mirror complained, “Even if it’s built to imitate the Divine Palace of the Queen Mother of the West, playing music every day like this is quite excessive, isn’t it noisy?”

“Doesn’t the Divine Palace of the Queen Mother of the West have an atmosphere group?” Qiu Changtian asked.

“What is an atmosphere group…” Kunlun Mirror sighed, “Of course not, the Empress prefers serenity.”

“Who is the Empress?” Though he knew the answer, Qiu Changtian asked intentionally.

“Of course, it’s the Queen Mother of the West,” Kunlun Mirror said, “But she has left this world a long time ago.”

“Ah Jing, I would like to hear the details.”

“That’s a long story. In short, nearly ten thousand years have passed, the Immortal Realm has grown increasingly distant from the Mortal Realm—now they are nearly forever separated, unable to interfere with each other,” Kunlun Mirror said in a tone of melancholy, “If it were not so, this world wouldn’t have just me busying with the task of mending the heavens.”

“If you wish to listen, there will be time later. Right now, we should focus on finding a way to leave this place.”

“Let me tell you: the Divine Flame Path holds an almost fanatical obsession and admiration for the abodes of Immortal Sects, so I estimate that since this place is built to imitate the Divine Palace of the Queen Mother of the West, the terrain and environment should be similar.”

“If that’s the case, then behind the Divine Palace, in the flat peach orchard, there exists a ‘Rain Well,’ which leads to the Lower Realm, corresponding to the exit from this mysterious realm,” Kunlun Mirror concluded.

Upon hearing this, Qiu Changtian nodded and then turned to his junior sister, saying,

“To my knowledge, the Divine Flame Path holds an almost fanatical obsession and admiration for the abodes of Immortal Sects…”

He repeated Kunlun Mirror’s analysis to Xu Yinglian, which caused her to slightly furrow her brows in mild surprise,

“So the exit is likely in the backyard of the Divine Palace? Well, we have no choice but to explore this place anyway.”

“Correct,” Qiu Changtian agreed, “However, as we move on, we are bound to encounter other dangers like golden armored warriors. Junior Sister, stay close behind me and do not wander off on your own.”

“Of course,” Xu Yinglian replied coldly, “Also, senior brother, could you let go of my hand first?”

Qiu Changtian was momentarily startled, realizing he was still holding onto his junior sister’s hand. He then released it with an easy smile.

Xu Yinglian gently massaged her left hand, which had just been held, her expression slightly unnatural as she asked,

“Shall we head directly to the Divine Palace ahead? Or should we first explore this Cloud Platform?”

“Caution is paramount. It’s better to thoroughly explore first,” Qiu Changtian responded, “If there’s danger like golden armored warriors here, and we’re unaware and proceed deeper, only to get trapped between forces from before and behind, that would be troublesome.”

“That makes sense,” Xu Yinglian nodded.

The two of them began to explore the Cloud Platform.

Though the platform was vast, there weren’t many structures obscuring the view. Only pools, Heaven’s Gate, and archways stood.

When Qiu Changtian and Xu Yinglian arrived at the edge of the pool, they saw withered lotus leaves and shriveled lotus pods, as if everything had died off over the ten thousand years.

“Huh?” Kunlun Mirror suddenly exclaimed, “These are actually the Jade Pond Golden Lotuses, where did they get these from?”

“Jade Pond Golden Lotuses?”

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“For this world, it is quite a rare spiritual object of the Immortal Sects. Eating its seeds can open up all the body’s orifices, increasing the efficiency of breathing and Qi Refinement.”

“I see, so are there any Illusion Technique traps around this pond…”

“There are no traps,” the Kunlun Mirror answered.

Thus, Qiu Changtian conjured his Yu Long Sword and directly swept toward the pond.

Xu Yinglian was startled and quickly readied her Feather Jia Sword in a defensive stance, only relaxing when she confirmed that there were indeed no Formation traps within the Jade Pond.

The senior brother is too reckless, what if there were hidden Restrictions triggered?

She pondered to herself and was tempted to give her senior brother a lesson, but then another thought came to her:

Could it be that senior brother noticed some detail that confirmed the absence of traps and Formation here, which is why he made a decisive move?

Indeed, no matter what, it ultimately proved that senior brother made no mistake. If I rashly chastised him and he rebutted with evidence to mock me, it would only show my lack of observation…

Humph, I refuse to fall for senior brother’s trick.

[Invincible Character Setting, Synchronization Value +1.]

Qiu Changtian received the prompt, remained silent, and kept his expression unchanged. He meticulously peeled the shriveled lotus pod that his Sword Light had swept up and finally found two intact seeds.

“Jade Pond Golden Lotus Seed, want to eat one?” He offered one to his junior sister.

“Can this seed really be eaten?” Xu Yinglian asked, pinching the seed between her fingers and closely examining it in the light.

“Of course,” Qiu Changtian confidently stated, and in his mind, he asked Kunlun Mirror, “Right?”

“Spiritual object of the Immortal Sect, it might lose Spiritual Power over time, but it’s still edible,” the Kunlun Mirror provided an answer.

Therefore, Qiu Changtian popped the seed into his mouth and chewed on it.

Well, it was crunchy like a fried potato chip, hard like a roasted pea, but the taste wasn’t anything special, and he didn’t feel anything after eating it.

Seeing her senior brother eat so decisively, Junior Sister Xu naturally followed suit and tossed it directly into her mouth.

“Cough! Cough cough cough!” The seed unfortunately slipped into her throat, got stuck in her esophagus, and induced violent coughing.

Qiu Changtian quickly went to pat her back, just as Xu Yinglian tensed her chest and swallowed hard, finally managing to get it down and avoiding becoming the first Cultivator in history to choke to death.

Then she turned around and glared at Qiu Changtian.

“Junior sister, don’t be hasty,” Qiu Changtian said with a soothing smile. “This seed is a spiritual object from the Immortal Realm. Although it has lost much of its Spiritual Energy, it should still have the effect of opening all the body’s orifices and increase the efficiency of breathing Spiritual Energy.”

Xu Yinglian was moved immediately. Improving the efficiency of breathing Spiritual Energy directly affected the efficiency of cultivation leveling; even a slight improvement was incredibly precious.

With this in mind, she turned to look at the lotus pod on the ground again, unable to resist checking it over one more time.

Unfortunately, Qiu Changtian had not been mistaken; there really were only two seeds, with no more left.

Xu Yinglian still wasn’t convinced and stretched her neck to peer into the Jade Pond, hoping to confirm whether there were any undiscovered pods.

Qiu Changtian found this amusing and asked her:

“Is the junior sister looking for koi fish in the pond?”

Xu Yinglian’s cheeks turned slightly red, realizing that her senior brother was teasing her, so she defiantly retorted:

“I am just wondering why there is a pillar standing oddly in the center of that pond? Don’t you think it’s very conspicuous?”

Qiu Changtian followed her gaze and indeed saw a short pillar in the middle of the Jade Pond, rising above the water, with a groove at the top where there was a mirror placed.

“That’s the Jade Pond Mirror Stand,” said the Kunlun Mirror with a distant tone. “I was once placed upon it within the Western Queen Mother’s palace, silently reflecting all living beings, oblivious to the passage of seasons.”

“Is that so?” Qiu Changtian then looked at the mirror on the mirror stand.

As his gaze fell upon the mirror surface, it seemed to flicker with a subtle and imperceptible light.