About fifteen minutes later, Lin Zheyu reached a scenic waterfall. Using his spiritual sense, he swiftly found the teleportation array. He took out a spirit stone and activated it. A flash of light appeared, accompanied by a familiar sensation. His vision blurred, and after a few breaths, he stood in a plaza.

"Such dense and pure spiritual qi!" Lin Zheyu exclaimed. The energy here was at least ten times more concentrated than outside, and it was completely pure, free from demonic qi.

Two young men approached, and one of them said calmly, "Fellow cultivator, please present your identity token."

Lin Zheyu took out the token and replied calmly, "This is Miss Lei Yunshu's token of the Lei Family. I am here at her invitation."

The two youths inspected the token carefully. After confirming it was valid, they cupped their hands and said, "It is indeed a Lei Family guest token. Please follow this way."

They were stationed to guard the teleportation formation. Lin Zheyu discreetly sensed their strength. Both were early Foundation Establishment realm cultivators.

"Who is he? He looks unfamiliar, so it's probably his first time here. I can't see through his strength at all," the youth on the left said in confusion.

"I've never seen him either. He's probably a cultivator from another grotto heaven," his companion replied.

They were only mildly curious. While unfamiliar cultivators were rare, they were not unheard of. From time to time, powerful outsiders would visit.

After leaving the plaza, Lin Zheyu let out a slight breath of relief.

"So there are powerful experts overseeing this place..." Lin Zheyu murmured softly.

Just as he arrived, he felt a faint sense of dread, as if a terrifying expert had swept past with their spiritual sense. But the feeling vanished instantly. The expert had only been conducting a routine check and had not paid him much attention.

Lin Zheyu took out the Spirit Resonance Sphere and sent a message. "Miss Lei, I've arrived."

As soon as the message was sent, he noticed a woman in yellow walking toward him.

The woman curtsied and said respectfully, "May I ask if you are Lord Xiao Yu? I was instructed by my lady to wait here for you."

She was not very strong, but she still had the strength of the third stage of the Qi Refining realm.

"Mm." Lin Zheyu nodded.

The woman gestured politely and said with respect, "Lord Xiao, please follow me. My lady has been waiting for you at Fatebound Phoenix Pavilion for some time."

Lin Zheyu nodded and said with a smile, "Very well. Please lead the way."

He looked around the grotto heaven with interest. His Perception Domain and spiritual sense spread out, covering only about ten meters around him. Lin Zheyu did not dare extend them too far. This was a grotto heaven, after all, and terrifying experts were hidden here. One careless move could invite unnecessary trouble.

Interesting. It seems no different from the outside world. No, that's not right. The space inside a blessed grotto heaven is far more stable than the outside world.

Lin Zheyu sensed carefully, somewhat surprised.

Outside, he could open a tiny, nearly imperceptible rift in space using just one unit of energy, but Lin Zheyu required ten units for the same feat.

Lost in thought, Lin Zheyu heard the maid call, "Young master, please come aboard."

She then took a flying shuttle artifact from her storage pouch and inserted two low-grade spirit stones into it.

"Is Fatebound Phoenix Pavilion that far from here? You actually need to use a flying shuttle?" Lin Zheyu asked in surprise.

The woman said respectfully, "It is not too far, but this teleportation formation is a full 1.5km from Lei Family City, so there is still some distance. You're an honored guest of the Lei Family. My lady specifically instructed me to receive you properly and not neglect etiquette."

"Seriously? 1.5km? It's actually that large?"

A look of surprise appeared on Lin Zheyu's face. This blessed grotto heaven was far larger than he had imagined.

"Then let's use the flying shuttle." Lin Zheyu nodded and lightly leaped aboard.

"Please sit steady, my lord. I will activate it now," the woman said respectfully.

She rested her right hand on the flying shuttle, and with a thought, it transformed into a streak of green light flashing across the sky. The shuttle was incredibly swift. When fully activated, its speed increased until it reached around five times the speed of sound. Lin Zheyu expanded his Perception Domain to observe the scenery of the grotto heaven. The small market surrounded the plaza he had left, with lush mountains and wide marshes beyond.

Deep from the mountains below, occasional earth-shaking roars echoed. Their momentum qi was remarkable, originating from ferocious beasts in the Martial Innate realm. Several such beasts inhabited this grotto heaven.

"What do you call this grotto heaven?" Lin Zheyu asked curiously as he observed this unfamiliar world.

The maid found Lin Zheyu's question a little strange, but she still answered respectfully, "My lord, this is the Azure Dragon Realm."

"Oh? The Azure Dragon Realm seems quite large. How large is this world exactly?" Lin Zheyu asked curiously.

The maid replied softly, "The Azure Dragon Realm ranks third among Great Wei's four realms. Its total area is fully three-quarters the size of Great Wei's entire territory."

Although she found it strange that Lord Xiao did not even know such basic information, the maid did not dare conceal anything. He was her lady's honored guest, after all. As long as his questions did not involve the Lei Family's secrets, she could only answer them properly.

"Then, which realm ranks first? The White Tiger Realm?" Lin Zheyu asked casually.

He had no idea what the other realms were called. Hearing about the Azure Dragon Realm and learning there were three others, he could not help but think of the Four Divine Beasts.

"No. The top-ranked realm is the Black Tortoise Realm. That is where the imperial family of Great Wei resides," the maid replied.

Hearing this, Lin Zheyu showed a look of expected confirmation. He did not ask further and simply stood on the flying shuttle, quietly observing this unfamiliar world. Aside from the plaza where the teleportation formation was and the small market outside it, he had not seen any other signs of habitation along the way.

The flying shuttle was fast and steady. Standing on it, Lin Zheyu felt no turbulence, as if he were on solid ground. Suddenly, he glanced behind him with curiosity. A powerful aura was rapidly approaching from that direction.

Lin Zheyu did not rashly use his spiritual sense or Perception Domain to probe, as that would be extremely impolite. In the Azure Dragon Realm, a careless move could invite trouble. However, aside from those methods, his eyesight far surpassed that of ordinary people. With his eyes alone, he could see the figure behind him.

From a distance, he saw a slender young woman dressed in white. She stood atop a long sword, her entire presence like a blade drawn from its sheath, her phoenix eyes sharp and resolute.

A sword cultivator? What a powerful sword intent. It's even sharper and stronger than the sword intent I sensed within those two Golden Cores.

Lin Zheyu was inwardly astonished.

Those two Golden Cores, though lifeless, still belonged to Golden Core realm cultivators and contained formidable sword intent. Yet compared to that white-clad girl, they were utterly inferior. The difference between them was like heaven and earth.

"Do you recognize the cultivator behind us?" Lin Zheyu asked.

The maid looked confused and asked, "A cultivator? Where is there a cultivator behind us?"

After all, she was only in the third stage of the Qi Refining realm, so it was normal that she could not detect the white-clad girl. But the girl was fast. In no time, she caught up, and the maid saw her standing on the sword.

The white-clad girl rode her sword and shot past the flying shuttle, not even sparing Lin Zheyu and the others a glance.

The maid said with a hint of admiration, "That senior is a disciple of the Soaring Sword Sect, named Mu Jianli[1]. She is said to be a Sword Dao genius rarely seen in ten thousand years."

"The Soaring Sword Sect, eh. No wonder her sword intent is so powerful. What level of strength does Fellow Daoist Mu possess?" Lin Zheyu asked curiously.

Although Mu Jianli seemed like a drawn sword, her sword intent sharp and imposing, Lin Zheyu still could not directly gauge her strength without using his Perception Domain or spiritual sense. Hearing his question, the maid looked at him with a strange expression.

"Senior Mu reached the perfection of the Golden Core realm three years ago. It is said that within two years, she will advance to the Nascent Soul realm. A Nascent Soul cultivator at sixty years old is truly enviable," the maid said with both reverence and admiration.

"The perfection of the Golden Core realm?" Lin Zheyu froze for a moment, suddenly understanding the meaning behind the maid's earlier look.

He was only on par with the peak Foundation Establishment realm. Addressing someone at the perfection of the Golden Core realm, like Mu Jianli, as a peer was extremely disrespectful in the cultivation world.

"Senior Mu is not even sixty. Such talent is truly terrifying."

Lin Zheyu looked in the direction she had departed, deeply shocked. Her natural talent was simply astonishing.

"Yes. Not only is Senior Mu incredibly talented, but she is also very beautiful," the maid said with envy.

She is indeed beautiful, just a bit too cold in temperament, Lin Zheyu thought, but did not say it aloud.

Saying something like that about a senior at the perfection of the Golden Core realm would be courting death.

***

Before long, a human settlement finally appeared in view. Lin Zheyu looked at the vast city in the distance and could faintly sense the astonishing density of spiritual qi within it.

The maid said respectfully, "Lord Xiao, that is Lei Family City ahead. Within the city, only Golden Core realm seniors are allowed to fly. We must stop the flying shuttle outside and enter on foot."

"Mm." Lin Zheyu gave a soft response.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at the massive plaque above the city gate. The words Lei Family City were written in bold, sweeping strokes, wild and domineering. They carried an indescribable intent. With a single glance, it felt as though he could see a sea of thunder, where a colossal lightning dragon roared and surged into the heavens.

1. The raw actually writes Mu Jianwu here, but I found out that the name became Mu Jianli in the next few chapters and it continues to be that way. I think the author made a mistake here, so I’ve made this Mu Jianli. ☜