The black thunderclouds had blotted out the sky as they covered a distance of more than 1000 miles around the black palace.

And yet, despite being struck by the purple bolts of lightning over and over again, the half-destroyed black palace still stood tall in the midst of the unending thunderstorm.

It was a bizarre sight that Shun Long and the rest had never seen before.

The lightning didn't seem to let up for even a moment, looking as if it was determined to destroy the palace.

The 'Darkness Eagle' hesitated for a moment, but it still moved forward as it flew towards the black palace soon after.

Of course, that was mostly because the purple lightning seemed to be concentrated towards the depths of the palace, otherwise, the eagle wouldn't dare approach this region even if it was a peak rank 7 magic beast!

The Grand Elder sighed as he looked at the black palace ahead of them, before he said in a low voice

''It looks like it will still take a few more days until the lightning around the entrance of the King's Palace fully weakens. The other powers should have already arrived by now, while we are probably among the last ones to get here.''

The 'Darkness Eagle' seemed to have received an order from the Grand Elder as it suddenly increased its speed, entering the region of the black thunderclouds without any hesitation.

Shun Long and the others could see the terrifying purple lightning bolts that descended from the sky as they landed on the ground around them.

Each lightning bolt was thicker than an adult human's thigh while their destructive power had left the ground charred. And yet, none of those lightning bolts managed to hit the 'Darkness Eagle', as the gigantic eagle agilely avoided them all and kept flying towards the King's Palace!

Less than a minute had passed before the eagle had already crossed the distance, and had arrived just 300 meters away from the black palace's entrance.

However, as soon as it reached this area the 'Darkness Eagle' abruptly stopped, as it didn't dare to move forward any longer. 

Although the distance between the Holy sect's group and the black palace was just 300 meters, these 300 meters couldn't even be passed by peak rank 7 magic beasts, let alone the 'Darkness Eagle'.

The purple lightning bolts that were raining down from the sky had completely sealed off the area around the King's Palace!

''Grand Elder, it looks like the lightning bolts here have yet to weaken. This is probably the deepest part that anyone can reach right now.'' The white-robed old woman, Elder Mao Jing looked at the Grand Elder and said in a solemn voice.

The Grand Elder nodded his head seriously as he stared at the area in front of him for a few moments, but just as he was about to speak, his expression suddenly changed, as he quickly narrowed his eyes and turned his gaze towards the west.

The figure of an old man dressed in black clothes could be seen streaking through the sky, as he headed towards the Holy sect's group at an unbelievable speed.

It was obvious that this old man's speed had far exceeded the speed of the 'Darkness Eagle', and was more than just a single level above it.

Even when the 'Darkness Eagle' had used its innate technique to escape from the Wind wyrm's attacks earlier, its speed was many times lower than this old man's.

In the next moment, everyone from the Holy sect's group could clearly see the figure of the black-robed old man standing in the sky above them, as he stopped just a few meters away from the 'Darkness Eagle'.

It was a bald old man whose height had exceeded 2 meters (6.5ft) and was even taller than the Grand Elder himself.

This black-robed old man who had no hair on his head stood in the sky, and examined the Holy sect's group calmly.

Everyone could sense a terrifying aura coming from this person's body that made even the 'Darkness Eagle' unwilling to fight him.

The old man's eyes scanned the Holy sect's group, and a moment later, his gaze landed on the Grand Elder before a stunned look appeared on his face.

The old man suddenly laughed as he looked at the Grand Elder, before he called out in a voice full of joy

''Hahaha! Kang Wen, it's really you? You old fart, you finally decided to come out from your seclusion?''

The Grand Elder looked at the black-robed old man in front of him and his expression finally relaxed as he nodded his head and said

''Han Xu, I haven't seen you in a while. It seems that you have managed to reach the peak of the Dao Emperor realm as well in these past 20.000 years.''

The black-robed old man named Han Xu smiled and nodded his head proudly as he said

''Indeed, among the Dao Emperors in the northern part of the central region, I can now claim to be among the top 5 in terms of strength!''

Shun Long and the rest of the outer court disciples and even the inner court disciples had no idea who the person in front of them was, but the inner court Elder of the Holy sect who were sitting on the 'Darkness Eagle's' back all recognized this black-robed old man and stood up to pay their respects.

After all, this old man in front of them was even stronger than their head Elder, Sun Wen, and was now at the same level as the Grand Elder!

Looking at Han Xu, the Grand Elder asked curiously

''Han Xu, what are you doing here?''

Shaking his head, Han Xu looked at the Grand Elder and said calmly

''Haha, I sensed the aura of an early rank 7 magic beast approaching, so I came here to check which sect had arrived.''

Han Xu then pointed towards the direction he had just come from and continued

''Kang Wen, the Northern Sovereign, and the other seniors all waiting over there. It's probably best if you go and greet them as well. After all, we will all enter the King's Palace together and there are many seniors present here this time.''

The Grand Elder thought seriously for a moment, before he nodded his head and said

''Alright. Han Xu, you lead the way.''

Han Xu's lips twitched slightly, but he still nodded his head as he led the way for the Grand Elder's group, while the 'Darkness Eagle' followed behind him.

Although Han Xu believed himself to be one of the top 5 Dao Emperors in the northern part of the central region, he still had a lot of respect for the Grand Elder.

After all, the Grand Elder of the Holy sect had made his name in the central region thousands of years ago, and was considered to be among the top 3 Dao Emperors in the northern part of the central region!

A few moments later, Han Xu had led the Grand Elder's group to an area around 500 meters away from the entrance of the black palace.

After they arrived here, a huge group of people dressed in different clothes appeared in Shun Long's and the rest's eyes, as most of them were either sitting on the ground, cultivating with their eyes closed, or they were talking to each other.

Of course, although this seemed to be one large group of more than 3000 people, in reality, the people in this place were split into many different groups as well.

It was just like how the members of the Holy sect sitting on the 'Darkness Eagle's' back were considered to be one group, but they were also split into outer court disciples, inner court disciples, and the inner court Elders.

Even the outer court and the inner court disciples of the Holy sect were split into their own groups, let alone this group of people that all came from different sects and powers throughout the central region.

''Kang Wen, senior Northern Sovereign, and the others are all here. Come with me.'' Han Xu said as he turned around and looked at the Grand Elder, before he pointed his hand towards a certain group of people far ahead.

It was a large group of more than 10 people that no one dared to approach carelessly.

Nodding his head, the Grand Elder first had the 'Darkness Eagle' land on the ground in a large, empty space on the ground, before he turned around and looked at the outer court and the inner court disciples on the eagle's back and said seriously

''You are free to do whatever you want for the next few days, but remember to avoid offending others for no reason. This isn't our Holy sect's territory any longer.

Although our Holy sect isn't afraid of trouble, there are many people who come to the King's Palace, not just from the northern part of the central region, but from the powerful forces throughout the entire central region as well!''

The outer court and the inner court disciples nodded their heads seriously as they got down from the 'Darkness Eagle's' back, and most of them sat on the ground to cultivate.

The Grand Elder then threw one look at Shun Long and said smilingly

''Brat, don't create too much trouble while I'm gone. I will come find you in a while and tell you a few more things that you need to know about the King's Palace. Wait for me to go and greet senior Northern Sovereign first.''

As he finished speaking, the Grand Elder looked at Han Xu and said

''Han Xu, let's go.''

Han Xu was surprised as he looked at the Grand Elder, before a deep look appeared in his eyes as he stared at Shun Long curiously.

''Is this kid Kang Wen's personal disciple? I should pay more attention to him then.''

As this thought appeared in his mind, Han Xu took one last look at Shun Long, before he nodded his head and turned around, as he led the Grand Elder towards a certain group in the distance.

Shun Long, Liu Mei, and the rest stared at their surroundings curiously as they got down from the 'Darkness Eagle's' back, before Xingyi looked at Shun Long and asked curiously a moment later

''Brother Long, where should we go?''

Shun Long smiled as he looked at Xingyi and the others and said

''Let's enjoy ourselves a bit until the King's Palace opens.''

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