"And You?" The elder turned to the Prince who straightened up perceptibly. "Is this the demeanor of a Prince?"
Prince Shao's lips twitched lightly.
The elder's piercing gaze swept across them "If you don't want to be punished according to the clan's rule, then behave. Hmph."
With a flick of his sleeve,he entered the guardless Qingyu Palace, now with the young foxes following closely behind– Though not without glaring at each other.
The group were astonished when they stepped into the Qingyu Palace. There was a remarkable difference in the primal qi– Denser and purer.
The young foxes felt their meridians shiver in excitement.
Bai Shuo could feel her internal injury healing a bit faster.
Tushan Xin whispered excitedly. "The Matriarch was right. If I cultivate here for a while, I can surely break through to the Nascent Soul realm."
Although it was called a palace,The Qingyu Palace was far more than that.
There were multiple palaces–Each belonging to a different clan with each clan's unique sigil proudly mounted on the entrance.
The foxes were led by the elder as they walk towards their designated palace.
Bai Shuo noticed that the palaces they passed belonged to lower-tier clans and could feel the increase in the density of qi as they moved deeper.
Hmm..I guess a major clan like the Fox Clan will occupy one of the palace with highest density of qi.
" Elder Su, I heard that you were among the candidates during the last competition ?" An eager voice asked from the group.
The elder nodded nonchalantly but the pride in his eyes was impossible to hide.
"Since we have arrived a month earlier for the Qingyu Competition." Another asked."Are we here for some special training?"
"Special training?" The elder sneered
"Do you think we're the only clan early for the competition?"
"We're not?" The White Fox member asked looking around in doubt "I can't see any other clan though."
"Shortsighted!" Elder Su harrumphed coldly. "What special training? The competition is never the same. It changes during every Qingyu Competition."
Bai Shuo raised an eyebrow.
Not a straightforward competition,I see.
"The Qingyu Palace is not just a venue for the Qingyu Competition,it's also the Sacred Ground of our Ancestral Clan."
The foxes's mind went blank.
Sacred Ground?
Just like their Tushan's sacred ground?
"Then.. then is it the same as our Clan's sacred ground?" Another fox clan member asked.
"How's that possible? There's no comparison at all?" Elder Su refuted immediately.
"Our Clan's Sacred Ground are the inheritances left by our ancestors. However,the sacred ground of our Ancestral Clan contains inheritances from all the Ancestral Princes since the Great War."
The Tushan Clan members gasped.
"The Great War between our Ancestral Clan and the Human realm was like one hundred thousand years ago?
Tushan Jiao whispered dazedly "How many inheritances would that be?"
The young foxes's eyes lit up and they felt their blood boiling.
Elder Su's was satisfied when he saw their reaction. He was as shocked as them too when he learnt of it
Bai Shuo however was not impressed, the Human realms also had their fair share of inheritances after the Great War.
Each sect in the Human realm had their own sacred ground. Her sect also had one–Where she comprehended most of her moves from the Great War's murals.
Tushan Xin saw her slightly disdainful expression and explained in a low voice. "Shuo'er, our Ancestral Clan is ruled by five Ancestral Court."
" Ancestral Court?" Bai Shuo echoed softly.
Tushan Xin nodded. "The Ancestral Court is ruled by the Ancestral Princes. They are usually the strongest from the five major clan but sometimes some genius emerges from other clans and they can become the next Ancestral Prince if they can defeat any of the Prince. "
"Just like your Tushan Clan." Bai Shuo thought inwardly.
Bai Shuo, naturally knew about the Ancestral Princes, she even knew that one of the Ancestral Prince had been replaced by a genius from the Fox Clan afterall it happened in her past life.
"However" Tushan Xin continued shivering subconsciously.
"Challenging the Ancestral Princes comes with a price. Failure means death and dispersing of one's Primordial Spirit, their clan would become a slave to the challenged Ancestral Prince."
Bai Shuo sucked in cold breath.
So ruthless. Tsk… As expected of the Ancestral Clan.
Elder Su's voice cut through their conversation. "The Qingyu Palace only opens during the Qingyu Competition and that's the only opportunity to enter the Sacred Ground."
"So that's why we haven't seen any clan since we came. They must be at the sacred ground."
Elder Su nodded looking at Tushan Jiao approvingly.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's enter the Sacred Ground immediately." Brother Guo said with bloodshot eyes. "We still have a month to the Qingyu competition, I bet we can achieve a lot."
"Hmph …. " Elder Su snorted as his overbearing aura exploded. "Preposterous! Eager for success, not calm enough and greedy for wealth, your Dao heart is so weak,."
The pressure knocked Brother Guo back to his senses and he lowered his head, clearly ashamed.
He clenched his fists tight and muttered in a low voice. "I.. I apologize, Elder Su."
Elder Su turned to the young foxes,the future of his clan and said in a stern voice. "No matter what,the Qingyu Competition is our prority and the only opportunity for our clan to rise again."
Rise again? Bai Shuo frowned inwardly.
The Fox Clan is already a major clan,which rise is he talking about?
The elder continued oblivious to her internal thoughts. "Even though you are allowed to enter the Sacred Ground, The sacred ground is dangerous too."
The young foxes were stunned.
"Dangerous?"
"Yes." Elder Su nodded solemnly. "It tempts the Dao heart. The Sacred Ground inheritance is so alluring that people with weak Dao heart would get enamored and can't extricate themselves from it."
"Some would miss the Qingyu Competition and worse still,some would die."
The Tushan clan members swallowed hard.
Tushan Hui's voice rang out politely,a sharp contrast to her usual snarky voice. "Does the Sacred Ground has a killing formation?"
The elder shook his head,his voice grave. " It's not a direct death. The Sacred Ground is special. No one can absorb can absorb primal qi –irresprective of their cultivation realm."
"Some people that couldn't extricate themselves from the inheritances could stay there for years and their primordial spirit will crumble and perish."
Bai Shuo noticed the cold sweat from Tushan Xin's palm and swerved her head up to look at the frightened girl.
She was not the only one though, half of the young candidates had cold sweats rolling down their forehead.
She sighed inwardly. "Guess our Human Realm's Sacred Ground is different."
"Hence,all of you are only staying in there for only two days because the more days you stay,the more likely to forget oneself."
"Two days? Isn't it too short?"
Bai Shuo expected Tushan Hui to ask the question but it was surprisingly the cold beauty from the White Fox faction, Tushan Fei that did.
The elder led them through the palaces while answering."It's not short. A day in the Sacred Ground is equal to seven days in the Primordial Abyss."
The young Fox Clan members dropped their jaws in astonishment.
Bai Shuo was stunned as well.
She exhaled lightly. Fortunately, primal qi couldn't be absorbed there, otherwise….
"We've arrived."
They stopped before an elegant palace. A plaque shimmering with moon essence bore the words:
TUSHAN CLAN
Two crimson crescent moons faced each other upon it.
Bai Shuo's heart sank.
She scanned the surroundings carefully.
This is wrong.
The qi here was dense—but not the densest. This palace stood among middle-tier clans.
How is that possible?
The Fox Clan was a major clan but their palace was placed in the area for middle-tier clans.
What's going on?