STNS: Chapter 471 (Patreon)

The diversion was simple. Two days later, in the middle of the night, the Four Pillars led an assault on the palace’s front gates. They released techniques upon the gate. Fire, lightning, wind, and beams of light blasted at the gate to no avail. Gates like this were made from a special chi absorbing material that could defend against cultivation techniques up to a certain amount of power. There were also seals to further bolster the gate’s defense and also prevent intrusion from above. It was impossible to fly up.

Wu Jian had even tried teleporting inside of the base once and it didn’t work. Not only did it not work, but he smacked into the wall, which had hurt like nobody’s business and almost broke his mask. His mask now had a crack running through it. He didn’t think the gate was actually designed to prevent teleportation since, according to Wu Meiying, nobody on this planet had enough knowledge into the Dao of Space to use it (except him), but it was likely a happy coincidence of all that concentrated mana preventing him from being able to utilize his technique.

In either event…

Standing with Mei Xilan and the others, Wu Jian watched as the Four Pillars and their army launched technique after technique at the gate. All of them were like waves crashing against a rock. Perhaps, given time, they could destroy the gate, but they would exhaust most if not all of their chi doing so.

“Let’s go,” Mei Xilan said after watching for a moment longer.

“Where are we headed?” asked Hou Jingshu as they all made to follow Mei Xilan. “I’m guessing you know of a way into the palace?”

Mei Xilan nodded as she flew through the air, keeping low to the ground to avoid being detected by anyone. The others copied her.

“There are several secret passages that can only be accessed by those of royal blood. We’re going to use one of them.”

“And you’re sure they haven’t been discovered?” asked Shuchang.

“Positive.” Mei Xilan looked back at them. “These secret passages were not built by us. A peak Perfection Realm expert made them because he owed a favor to my family. Do not ask what the favor is. I don’t know either. However, it is protected by a complex concealment array and lock that can only be accessed by my blood.”

That was enough for Wu Jian to trust in her words, though Shuchang still looked skeptical.

They traveled all the way around the palace. Most palaces were located in the center of any city. Historically speaking, the primary function of a castle was defensive. Placing one in the heart of the city meant that it could serve as a stronghold during attacks, providing a safe haven for residents and a central location from which to coordinate defenses.

That was all before the era of cultivation, and times had changed, but a lot of palaces still utilized that placement. It had been like this for so long that most people didn’t even consider trying something else. In that regard, the Sui Kingdom’s palace was quite different since it was located on the edge of the city.

They soon traveled even further out of the city. Wu Jian wondered where they were going. He saw nothing but expansive planes for as far as the eye could see, but almost as soon as he said this, the air shimered and revealed their destination--a small pond that hadn’t been there before with a single island at its center. Sitting on the island was the ruined remains of a pagoda. He could tell that it had once been a majestic structure, but disrepair had brought it low. Not only was the roof gone but only two of the four walls remained.

“What is that?! It just appeared from nowhere?!” Youmei exclaimed.

“That is our entrance into the palace,” Mei Xilan explained.

“Master! Master! This is like the stories you and Big Sis Mei used to read!” Youmei exclaimed excitedly.

Mei Xilan tilted her head and frowned. Wu Jian chuckled. “She doesn’t mean you. There’s another woman with ‘Mei’ in her name who is quite close to us.”

“I see,” Mei Xilan murmured.

They landed on the island, and Mei Xilan led them into the pagoda, which was empty save a single statue that somehow remained pristine despite all of the decay surrounding it. Wu Jian studied the statue. It depicted a young woman who looked similar to Mei Xilan, though her proportions were a bit smaller. She had a lithe figure. Despite that, he felt like he could sense an indomitable strength from her.

“This is the statue of our founder,” Mei Xilan said. “Her name was Sui Milan. When my father named me, he chose a name that closely resembled hers. Sui Milan was a Realization Realm expert. Through her strength, we were able to create this kingdom. The secret passage is under here.”

There was a small divot at the base of the statue. Mei Xilan created a glistening silver dagger with ice, then slid the dagger smoothly along her palm, drawing blood. She held her hand over the divot and several drops of blood fell in. Wu Jian and the others watched on. The blood was absorbed into the stone and glowing patterns became visible upon the surface.

Wu Jian wasn’t sure what to expect--the statue sliding away to reveal a hidden passage maybe? That was how it always went in the stories he used to read. He was shocked when, instead of a secret passage opening up, a bright glow appeared to his left. He turned around and gawked when several chunks of stone slowly rose from the ground and began combining to form an archway. Swirling moats of chi gathered inside of the arch, which turned into a gateway.

“This is spatial energy!” Wu Jian exclaimed. “I see. The expert who helped you made a gateway like the ones sects use.”

“Yes, though this doesn’t lead to a separate realm. It just transports you from here to the palace or visa versa.”

“I see.” Wu Jian walked closer to the gate and leaned forward as though to study it. “This gate… isn’t as stable as the ones used by the Heavenly Sword Sect. Maybe that’s because it’s older? It looked like the sealing array used to create it might be outdated. How long ago did you say this was built?”

“The palace was built around 1,500 years ago, so… around that time I guess,” Mei Xilan answered.

That was older than the Heavenly Sword Sect. The Four Guardian Beast sects were the predominant power back then. While some techniques had been lost to time and war, there had also been a lot of progress in other areas. The warp gates that could transfer people from one place to another was an example of that.

“Let’s get going,” Mei Xilan said. “This gate won’t last for long, and we don’t know how long the diversion will last for either.”

Everyone walked through the gateway. Wu Jian tried to sense the eb and flow of spatial energies as he stepped through, but this technique was much weaker than the ones he knew of. He couldn’t glean any insight into the dao of space from it.

Glancing around after stepping through the portal revealed an abandoned room that looked like it might have once been a sitting room. The interior was richly decorated with lacquered panels and furniture inlaid with mother-of-pearl and gold leaf. He glanced at the walls. Intricate carvings depicting scenes of various periods and landscapes were displayed. Maybe this was detailing some historical moment of the Sui Kingdom.

“It doesn’t look like this place has been touched,” Hou Jingshu said. She walked over to a low table made from a type of hardwood, running her finger along the grains as though checking for dust. “Everything is so clean too. If this has gone unused all this time, I would have expected it to be dirtier.”

“There are seals in place to prevent the accumulation of dust and grime,” Mei Xilan told her. “Though I imagine they’ll need to be recharged soon. Nobody has been here since my family was ousted. This place, like the pagoda, is protected by a sealing array that prevents anyone not of royal blood or with the royal family from seeing it.”

Leaving the room revealed that the Palace of the Sun consisted of a complex of multiple buildings and courtyards. The expansive palace had several interconnected courtyards that served different functions, such as a courtyard to celebrate a specific holiday or one with administrative functions. Many buildings within the complex had gently curbed, multi-tiered roofs adorned with elaborate ceramic tiles. The most common color was yellow. Mei Xilan told him it used to be purple. Each roof had edges that featured sun symbols, which had been used to replace the lotus symbols of the palace’s previous owners.

“Even the fountains have been replaced,” Mei Xilan said sadly, looking at a fountain with a statue of a person holding a sun above their heads. “The many fountains surrounding the palace used to feature the lotus. It’s a symbol of purity and enlightenment in my kingdom.”

“You can replace them once you’ve been reinstated as queen,” Shuchang said.

Mei nodded. “Yes, you are right. It still hurts to see though.” She shook her head. “Anyway, let’s split up as planned. I’m counting on you three.”

“You can leave the gate and Soul Eclipse to us,” Wu Jian said.

“Um, Youmei will do her best to help!” Youmei added.

Wu Jian, Youmei, and Shuchang split off from Mei Xilan and Hou Jingshu and began making their way toward the main entrance known as Sun Gate. They passed by several gardens. Most of them contained traditional sculptures and rock formations. There was no one present right now. Even from this distance, he could hear the sounds of techniques being released and slamming against the door. They soon reached the gate, which was being guarded by hundreds of disciples. The three of them hid behind the a rock formation.

“Well now, how are we going to do this?” asked Shuchang.

“We were asked to open the gate so Mei Xilan’s army can subdued the Undying Sun Sect disciples, which means being discreet,” Wu Jian said. “I am simply going to teleport myself over to the release mechanism and open the gates before they notice me.”

Shuchang pouted. “If that’s all this takes, then what’s the purpose in me coming with you?”

Wu Jian shrugged. “Backup in case things go south?”

“So I’m just backup now?!” Shuchang said in a sad whisper.

They were fortunate the seal itself was not what prevented people from entering. The gate was just a normal gate. What made it unbreachable from the outside was the locking mechanism. The seal prevented cultivators from using techniques to break the gate open, but it could be opened from the inside via the locking mechanism.

The lock itself was a massive construct built into the gate. He could see a giant keyhole where a key would go, which meant someone had a key. He glanced around and saw a guardhouse not far from the gate. Several hundred disciples were between him and it, but he took a deep breath, focused himself, then folded the space between him and the gate.

[Spatial Warping]

He appeared right next to the guard house and slipped inside before anyone could notice him. Several guards were inside. They hadn’t looked up from the game they were playing. Huh. It looked like they were playing a popular card game.

“Did you need something? Our shift isn’t over--”

Wu Jian reacted before they could realize he was an intruder. He appeared behind the first person and snapped the man’s neck, then launched his fist forward, releasing a potent spatial sword that stabbed through his target’s carotid artery. The two other guards stood up, but he killed the third one quickly, then forced the last member to kneel. Staring down at the man who looked ten seconds away from pissing himself, Wu Jian made his demand.

“Where is the gate key?”