Chapter 2359 Returning to the Forbidden City

On that day, Ye Xiaoqi ordered a blockade of all news related to Lin Xun.

Both of them knew that what had happened on Flying Aeth Cloud Island was destined to be impossible to keep secret.

However, as long as no one knew that Lin Xun was the culprit, it was enough.

On that very same day, Lin Xun set off for the Forbidden City of the Ziyao Empire.

Whoosh!

In the depths of the clouds that the people of the world could not perceive, there was a stream of light that was so faint that there was no shadow traveling at a blazing speed.

The world had suppressed Lin Xun’s cultivation by a large margin. His originally perfect fourth realm Emperor Stage cultivation was now at the first realm. Despite that, his speed was still getting faster and faster, far beyond ordinary comprehension.

In the end, he was like an indistinct stream of light. His every movement only flashed in the void once before it disappeared thousands of feet away.

There were many fierce birds soaring in the sky, some of which were thousands of feet long. They appeared in flocks. When they saw that a human had entered their territory, they were somewhat annoyed and wanted to teach the intruder a lesson. However, in a flash, they were left far behind by Lin Xun.

Those who tried to block him, no matter how powerful their cultivation and strength were, were smashed into pieces in an instant.

Lin Xun's heart was like a ball of fire, burning fiercely.

Since he had learned that the Lin Clan members and the imperial family had mysteriously disappeared into thin air, worry and anxiety raged within him.

Furthermore, the news that Qinglu Academy, the Rune Master Association, Golden Jade Hall and other forces associated with him were in trouble made his murderous intent surge.

In the past, he had journeyed alone in the Ancient Wasteland Domain through many difficult situations and with enemies all over the world. He killed his way through them, leaving a trail full of blood, and therefore made enemies with many ancient sects.

After the Conflict of the Nine Domains had ended, he had obtained the title of Number One of the Nine Domains Battlefield. Furthermore, he had won the first great victory in the history of the Ancient Wasteland Domain, so no one in the entire domain dared to underestimate him again.

Even great sects like the Omega Sword Sect and Heaven Axis Holy Land could only swallow their anger and dare not suppress and target him as before.

Unfortunately, he had no idea that his former foes would target Qinglu Academy and other forces associated with him after arriving in the lower realm! Furthermore, it was because of him that they did this!

"Do you really think that I have disappeared..." Lin Xun's murderous intent was roiling within him, yet his eyes had become even more calm and indifferent.

In the past, the distance between the East Sea and the Forbidden City was less than a hundred thousand miles.

However, after the recovery of aeth qi concentrations, the territory of the entire Ziyao Empire had expanded by a ginormous amount, becoming completely different from before.

At Lin Xun's current speed, it took him several hours to get even close to the area where the Forbidden City was originally located.

Along the way, he passed many cities and felt that there were many hidden auras in those cities. There were many Saints, and the strongest even had quasi-Emperors.

In the wilderness, it was even more dangerous, presenting a primitive and prehistoric scene, with undulating mountains and fierce beasts everywhere.

Between the mountains and rivers, monkeys were screaming and tigers were roaring. Lin Xun even saw a green centipede thousands of feet long, with its body coiled into a mountain. It was munching on aeth clouds and drinking aeth dew, and it looked incredibly solemn and majestic.

There were also other large monsters that were fighting each other in the wilderness, stirring up the wind and clouds, in order to compete for territory.

In addition, there were many other monster-beast tribes. They all occupied different territories, acting as if they were tyrannical kings on their own lands.

The cultivation of these monster-beast leaders was almost at the Quasi-Emperor Stage, and even the weakest ones were at the Saint Stage!

Such cultivators did not exist in the previous Ziyao Empire.

However, along the way, Lin Xun didn't see any real Emperors.

"The revival of aeth qi concentrations has changed and transformed everything in this world..." Lin Xun sighed.

In the past, Kings were considered a dominant existence in the Ziyao Empire. Now, any old monster was a Saint!

While musing over these new findings, Lin Xun spotted the Forbidden City from afar!

Fifty years was an extremely long time for the largest city in the Ziyao Empire. The changes in the Forbidden City today were beyond Lin Xun's imagination.

He gazed down from a high altitude and saw multiple towering sacred mountains rising from the ground. The highest observatory in the Forbidden City now looked extremely small in front of these giant blessed mountains.

The entire city was now like a small world embedded in a huge territory.

The sky and earth were filled with brilliant auspicious light, and the aeth qi currents were like falling waterfalls of divine light as they traversed over the Forbidden City.

From a distance, it looked like the place where the gods lived, sacred and vast.

Even Lin Xun couldn't help but be surprised. He had traveled through the stars and heavens over the years and had seen countless cities and worlds with extraordinary beauty.

Despite that, the current Forbidden City was still a rarity.

From this, it was easy to see why the Forbidden City was regarded as the All Dao Holy Land. The transformation that had occurred during the past fifty years has made this former imperial capital completely different.

While Lin Xun was thinking, he zoomed down and went to the Forbidden City.

Mind Cleansing Peak was the ancestral land of the Lin Clan. It was one of the seventy-two aristocrat peaks of the Forbidden City. Before the revival of aeth qi concentrations, it was also considered a famous blessed land in the world.

Lin Xun had no idea what it would look like now.

The Forbidden City was a picture of prosperity, with sacred mountains around it towering to the sky. Inside the metropolis, streets criss-crossed each other, making it resemble a spider-web. On both sides of the streets, various buildings were lined up in rows, and the bustling crowd shuttled through them like surging water.

Rather than saying that this was a city, it was better to say that it was an entire world of its own because the territory was too vast.

When Lin Xun walked into it, he almost thought he had arrived at the wrong place. The familiar scenes from his past could no longer be seen now.

He took a deep breath, suppressed the surging emotions in his heart, and walked forward calmly. His consciousness spread and continued to sense.

The Forbidden City of today was no longer a place he was familiar with. It had become extremely strange and new, so he needed to gather some information first.

As he walked he saw cultivators everywhere. Their cultivation levels ranged from the lower five realms, the King Stage, and the Saint Stage... In fact, there were even many hidden quasi-Emperor auras.

Among those cultivators, there were monster-beasts that have transformed into human form, and there were also sea creatures from the Spirit Burial Sea, shuttling through the city openly.

On the streets, there were all kinds of buildings, including pill shops, martial halls, treasure pavilions... They could be seen everywhere, and the scale was extremely amazing.

In the Forbidden City today, even ordinary people who could not cultivate had bodies that were full of energy, which was completely different from the past.

Fifty years of aeth qi concentrations increasing, fifty years of a turbulent sea!

Through Lin Xun's spirit sense, he overheard various conversations and discussions, and he sifted through them until he gathered the pieces of information that he wanted to know.

In the current Forbidden City, the real masters were multiple dao sects from the Ancient Wasteland Domain forces such as the Omega Sword Sect, Heaven Axis Holy Land, Spirit Treasure Holy Land, Mysterious Metropolis Sect, etc.

After decades of competition and fierce conflicts, these major forces reached an agreement ten years ago with each other that they would no longer fight and confront each other within the Forbidden City.

They did this to avoid unnecessary conflict with each other, which would only weaken all of them.

After all, the aeth qi concentrations in the world were currently recovering, and as time went by, more and more opportunities would emerge.

If they fought to the death over territory now, it would obviously not be worth it.

It was also because of this "truce agreement" that the Forbidden City had also become extremely prosperous and flourishing in the past ten years.

Furthermore, these influential sects from the Ancient Wasteland Domain were not all friends and family now. Instead, they were still fighting for territory with all their strength.

The difference was that the way they competed had changed. Now, each power selected a group of young experts to ‘discuss’ and ‘exchange ideas’ with each other.

The winners could win some territory for the sect behind them.

In this way, large-scale bloody conflicts between these major forces were now avoided.

For example, if a new secret pocket realm appeared in the Forbidden City, then in order to compete for the control of this new space, these Ancient Wasteland sects would select a group of young elites to ‘discuss the dao,’ and the final winner could win this secret pocket realm for the sect.

Of note, outsiders could also participate in these ‘discussions,’ but the conditions were extremely harsh. After all, they needed to defeat the opponents that were hand selected by each sect from the Ancient Wasteland Domain!

Such a method was undoubtedly equivalent to killing the hopes of other experts not affiliated with these powerhouses.

Think about it, who in this world could defeat the opponents who were carefully picked by the major forces from the Ancient Wasteland Domain?

Even if they could really win and seize some territory, who can enjoy this blessing with peace of mind while these powerhouses were all eyeing you from the side?

Such disgusting methods.

Lin Xun sneered in his heart.

The revival of aeth qi concentrations was originally a great opportunity for the beings in the lower world to change their fate.

Now, it was being occupied and controlled by the ancient forces of the Ancient Wasteland Domain. Furthermore, they were overbearing and did not allow others to interfere. This behavior clearly showed that they do not take the beings in the lower world into consideration.

"No need to worry about this right now. First I need to go to Mind Cleansing Peak."

Shaking his head, Lin Xun walked straight forward.

He seemed to be strolling leisurely, but in fact, his speed was extremely fast. In just a quarter of an hour, Lin Xun arrived at the area where Mind Cleansing Peak was located in the past.

However, when he saw the appearance of his clan’s territory, his expression suddenly changed, and a cold light burst out of his eyes, as if it could pierce the sky.

"Damn it, how did it become like this?"

Mind Cleansing Peak, which had once attracted worldwide attention and had a dazzling halo, was now collapsed and overgrown with weeds, essentially an abandoned land.

There were ruins everywhere, as if it had been bombarded terribly.

Of note, Lin Xun had set up many forbidden arrays here, making it a strong fortress. Unfortunately, during his years away, Mind Cleansing Peak had been destroyed!

Lin Xun walked closer and inspected things silently.

Compared with other places in the Forbidden City, Mind Cleansing Peak, which was now a ruin, looked particularly desolate, dilapidated, depressed and withered.

Lin Xun stood there with an icy expression, his spiritual consciousness spreading like a tide, carefully exploring.

Unfortunately, nothing was found.

Only some idle cultivators walked around the nearby area, pointing at the ruins.