At this moment, Duan Rong had already stepped through the light gate.
Ye Yunfei discovered that before him was a dazzlingly beautiful, picturesque world.
Looking around, he saw bright sunshine and flowers blooming everywhere. Butterflies and bees gracefully fluttered and danced between the flower clusters. A little deer, its whole body shimmering with divine light, stood by the side of a clear lake, drinking water. An old turtle basked in the sun on the riverbank.
Within the vast grasslands in the distance, various auspicious small beasts ran about. Peacocks flew across the sky, and even phoenix phantoms soared in the distance.
High in the sky, ribbons of all colors floated, looking from afar like rainbows filling the sky, dazzlingly bright.
In short, this world gave off a feeling of peace, tranquility, and sacredness.
'Truly worthy of a Deity's secluded cultivation ground! The energy and laws here are too advanced!'
Every single person who set foot in this world felt indescribable comfort all over their bodies. Every part of their body, every cell, felt as if immersed in a hot spring, warm and inviting, as if wanting to dance within this world.
'The cultivation realm I've been unable to break through for a long time now actually shows signs of loosening!'
'I feel like the blade technique I've cultivated for over a decade has suddenly soared a whole major realm! This is because, after entering this world, my comprehension seems to have received a sudden boost!'
...
Many people cried out in pleasant surprise.
'Such advanced energy and laws!' Even those Demigod experts were marveling.
'Cultivating in an environment like this, my strength will definitely increase rapidly!' one Demigod couldn't help but exclaim.
'The energy and laws existing in this small space belong to the Deity level. Although their quality has significantly declined after the passage of such a long time, they are still far more advanced than Demigod-level energy and laws,' Hun Lao sent a sound transmission to Ye Yunfei.
Truly worthy of a Deity's secluded cultivation ground! Everyone was marveling.
'Everyone, the remains of our Ancestor are definitely in this world! Let us first find the Ancestor's remains!' the Eternal Fortune Merchant House's Diviner Liu proclaimed loudly before leading the way forward.
'Indeed! Let us first find the Ancestor's remains!' the Myriad Methods Merchant House's Ancient Diviner also said and, with a wave of his hand, led the Myriad Methods group forward.
Every place in this world, every inch of space, was filled with brilliant, warm sunshine. Flowers bloomed everywhere; lush green grass covered the ground. Bees and butterflies danced gracefully amidst the flowers, intoxicating floral fragrance permeated the heavens and earth, and various auspicious beasts and birds roamed between heaven and earth. Everywhere was a scene of peace and tranquility.
All those walking in this world lowered their guard, feeling extremely comfortable.
'This butterfly is sparkling and glowing. Which race does it belong to?' a Heavenly Immortal from the Eternal Fortune Merchant House noticed a butterfly fluttering close to him, dancing gracefully and emitting an entrancing, delicate fragrance. He couldn't help but stretch out a hand and gently touch the butterfly.
With an 'Ah!' cry of agony, the moment his palm made contact with the butterfly, a look of horror appeared on the Heavenly Immortal's face. Then, a terrifying force directly pulverized his body, reducing it to dust—both form and spirit extinguished.
Ah! Ah! Ah...
At the same time, over a dozen people from the two great merchant houses let out agonized screams, their bodies exploding one after another into clouds of dust that dissipated with the wind.
These dozen or so people had all just touched butterflies, bees, small deer, or even flowers nearby, and in an instant, they were all crushed into nothingness by a terrifying force.
'Everyone, be careful! Most of the scenery we see before us is false, constructed through very sophisticated laws and illusory transformations! These animals, flower clusters, grass, and even the sunshine—they're all fake! This world looks peaceful, but it is actually incomparably dangerous!' the Eternal Fortune Merchant House's Diviner Liu, after performing a brief deduction, adopted a solemn expression and announced loudly.
Of the dozen or so Heavenly Immortals who had just perished, the majority belonged to the Eternal Fortune Merchant House.
'Has everyone noticed, those who met misfortune were all relatively far from Diviner Liu! Those closer to Diviner Liu didn't suffer any harm even if they touched those butterflies and bees!' someone from the Eternal Fortune Merchant House suddenly cried out.
'It must be because I possess our Ancestor's divine artifact here. Everyone, gather closer to me so that you can gain the protection of our Ancestor's treasure!' Diviner Liu said.
Hearing Diviner Liu's words, all members of the Eternal Fortune Merchant House began to close in around him. At the same time, the Myriad Methods Merchant House people also gathered around the Ancient Diviner.
Then, with the two Wizards at their centers, the two merchant houses formed two teams and proceeded forward.
'This world is fraught with danger everywhere. If it weren't for those two artifacts, these people would have no way of moving about in this world,' Hun Lao remarked.
Hun Lao possessed an extremely acute perception of spatial fluctuations and could feel that this world was filled with dangerous auras.
'Yes. Without those two artifacts, even Demigods wouldn't dare move around freely in this world,' Ye Yunfei nodded, surveying his surroundings with vigilant eyes.
Although Ye Yunfei was inside the Shadow Tower, he could clearly perceive all conditions in the vicinity.
As the two merchant house teams proceeded, Ye Yunfei clearly sensed numerous terrifying undercurrents of energy and laws swirling menacingly around them, ready to attack at any moment. However, above the heads of each merchant house's Wizard hovered a divine artifact. It was precisely because of these artifacts' presence that the terrifying energy and laws in the surrounding space gradually calmed down.
'It seems your decision to blend into the Myriad Methods Merchant House's group was an absolutely correct one. If you had entered by yourself, you might not have been able to move freely in this world,' Hun Lao spoke again.
'Indeed,' Ye Yunfei nodded.
'Over there! A palace!' Suddenly, at this moment, someone pointed into the distance, where a massive golden palace stood, resplendent and magnificent, radiant with divine light.
'That must be our Ancestor's secluded cultivation site! Let's hurry over! Everyone, follow me!' the Eternal Fortune Merchant House's Diviner Liu shouted loudly, then led his people rushing towards that palace.
'All members of the Myriad Methods Merchant House, follow behind me!' Not wanting to fall behind, the Ancient Diviner waved his hand and led his own group charging towards the palace.
The members of both merchant houses stayed close to their respective Wizards, not daring to stray too far.
A moment later, both groups arrived before the palace's main gate.
Rumble...
An unimaginably powerful, terrifying energy suddenly manifested and swept towards the two merchant house groups.
Everyone from both merchant houses turned pale with fright; even the two Wizards and those Demigod experts felt chills running down their spines.
'A Deity's secluded cultivation site truly cannot be approached casually. The residual energy and laws left behind casually by a Deity are simply not something ordinary people can withstand!' Hun Lao cried out in shock.
At this very moment.
The artifacts hovering above the two Wizards' heads suddenly emitted waves of auras, enveloping and protecting everyone within.
The next moment, the terrifying force surging towards the crowd slowly vanished.
'It's our Ancestor's artifacts protecting us again!' members of both merchant houses cried out excitedly.
Ye Yunfei also inwardly celebrated his choice to blend into the Myriad Methods Merchant House's group. Otherwise, even if he could have made it here, he might not have been able to enter this palace.
'Everyone, fear not! Our Ancestor's artifacts are protecting us! Come, let us enter!' the Eternal Fortune Merchant House's Diviner Liu declared loudly. Summoning his courage, he stepped forward and reached out to push open the palace's great door.
When Diviner Liu pushed the door open, everyone's hearts leapt into their throats, prepared to turn and flee at any moment.
But in the end, nothing happened.
While pushing the door open, Diviner Liu channeled his energy into the artifact above his head, causing it to blaze with rolling light as it flew ahead of him.
'Our Ancestor is watching over us! Everyone, follow me inside!' Diviner Liu roared, leading the charge through the palace gates.
'Let us also enter!' Seeing this, how could the Ancient Diviner be willing to fall behind? He immediately stimulated the artifact above his head, causing it to also emanate waves of light as he rushed in close behind Diviner Liu.
The other members of the two merchant houses also scrambled and pushed forward with all their might, squeezing and jostling each other as they charged towards the palace entrance.
During the mad dash through the gates, hostility between the two merchant houses ran high. Encountering members of the rival faction, they were utterly without courtesy, releasing their energy to try and push the others aside.
As a result, the strongest Demigods from both houses were the first to enter the palace, followed closely by the more powerful Perfect Heavenly Immortals. The weaker ones were directly shoved aside and could only enter once everyone else had.
Duan Rong was a Perfect Heavenly Immortal of the Myriad Methods Merchant House. Under Ye Yunfei's control, his movements were extremely nimble and fluid as he followed right behind one of Myriad Methods' primary-level Demigods and entered the palace.
The interior of the palace revealed a radiant square shimmering with divine light!
The entire square was paved with a type of extremely advanced spatial energy crystal stone. It didn't appear very large at first glance, but upon entering it, it felt like stepping onto an endlessly vast continent.
In the very center of the square stood two ancient altars. Seated cross-legged atop each altar was a gleaming, translucent skeleton.
Both skeletons emanated a profound divine brilliance, as dazzling as two blazing suns, making it difficult for people to gaze directly at them.
Though merely skeletons, they nonetheless possessed overwhelming power.
Therefore, everyone entering the palace felt the energy radiating from those two skeletons flooding the heavens and the earth, filling the entire palace. The space inside the palace was like an invisible swamp, with an omnipresent, terrifying pressure madly squeezing in from all sides.
A sense of dread, of worship, of submission—seemingly rising from the depths of their soul bodies—welled up, making everyone, including the Demigod experts, want to immediately kneel and bow their heads in submission to those two human skeletons.
At this moment, everyone was extra cautious, even breathing carefully and not daring to make any large movements.
Everyone in their hearts understood that the two human skeletons upon the altars must surely be the Ancestors of the two great merchant houses.
'Look! Upon both altars, there are large piles of divine crystals!' Hun Lao exclaimed in a shocked sound transmission to Ye Yunfei almost immediately upon entering.
Ye Yunfei had also noticed that both altars were piled with heaps upon heaps of divine crystals, a massive quantity. Ye Yunfei guessed these crystals were likely used to sustain the formations contained within the altars.
The value of those piles of divine crystals alone was incalculable!
'Everyone, the one on the left is the Ancestor of our Eternal Fortune Merchant House! Heaven takes pity on us, to have finally allowed us to find our Ancestor's remains!' Diviner Liu's gaze fixed upon the human skeleton on the left altar. Trembling with excitement all over, he roared out loud and then knelt down heavily on both knees, beginning to perform the grand kowtow ceremony of obeisance towards the left altar.
'Follow Diviner Liu in paying respects to our Ancestor!' an advanced-level Demigod from the Eternal Fortune Merchant House bellowed.
Then, all members of the Eternal Fortune Merchant House, following Diviner Liu and that advanced Demigod's lead, paid their respects to their Ancestor in unison, their emotions running high.
'The one on the right is the Ancestor of our Myriad Methods Merchant House! All members, join me in paying homage!' Almost at the same time, the Ancient Diviner shouted, then led the Myriad Methods Merchant House members in paying respects to the right altar.
'I never imagined my descendants would also find this place.' Suddenly, from the altar on the left, a hazy figure slowly manifested, eventually solidifying into a distinct form that stood atop the altar, surveying the Eternal Fortune Merchant House group.
This was a somewhat lean middle-aged man, dressed in azure robes, his eyes sparkling like stars.
'It... It is the Ancestor! Everyone, the Ancestor's spirit manifests!' Diviner Liu of the Eternal Fortune Merchant House was momentarily stunned, then became so agitated his face flushed crimson. His body trembled violently as he roared out.
'Ancestor! We are all descendants of the Eternal Fortune Merchant House, who came specifically to find you! We pay our respects to our Ancestor! May our Ancestor bless us!' Diviner Liu continued shouting.
'We pay our respects to our Ancestor! Ancestor bless us!' All members of the Eternal Fortune Merchant House, seeing the lean middle-aged man upon the altar, also roared in unison.
Since portraits of the Ancestor hung in the Eternal Fortune Merchant House headquarters, depicting precisely this lean man on the altar, everyone recognized their Ancestor at a glance.
'Mm, my descendants have come as well.' Just at this moment, from the altar on the right, a human figure also slowly took form—an unremarkable-looking, solidly built middle-aged man.
'Ancestor! We are all descendants of the Myriad Methods Merchant House, who came specifically to seek you!' The Myriad Methods Merchant House's Ancient Diviner took one look and immediately recognized this man as their Ancestor. Ecstatic, he bellowed out immediately.
'Everyone, the Ancestor of our Myriad Methods Merchant House has also manifested his spirit! Follow me in paying homage!' the Ancient Diviner roared, then led his merchant house in an excited display of reverence towards their Ancestor.
The Ancestors of both merchant houses had manifested!
'Both Deities left behind Soul Power imprints. Though just Soul Power imprints, the Soul Power imprint of a Deity must be terrifyingly powerful. You must not act recklessly. You may not be able to handle these two Soul Power imprints left by Deities,' Hun Lao, observing the two men upon the altars, immediately warned Ye Yunfei via sound transmission.
'Indeed. These two are only Soul Power imprints left behind, but I might not be able to handle them. We can only play it by ear and see how things develop,' Ye Yunfei smiled bitterly.
'Baicang, I never imagined, our descendants came here simultaneously,' the Myriad Methods Merchant House Ancestor smiled as he addressed the Eternal Fortune Merchant House Ancestor.