## AST 278 – Elder Fei, The Bunch Of Old Monsters In The Heavenly Palace

It would take two hours for a normal person to walk a distance of about 10+ Li. But Qing Shui and the others only needed about 10 minutes. The stone steps came into view again when they arrived at the foot of the mountain.

The stone steps shocked Qing Shui with their gigantic size. Every step was about the full height of two persons. Then the second stone step was located about 10 meters away from the first………

Qing Shui held on to a small hand then stood up, facing the endless flight of steps, which extended all the way to the summit like a centipede.

The people they passed by on the road would look at the three of them strangely. Qing Shui speculated that they must be surprised by their attire. Not only that, a lot of men would look at both Canghai Mingyue and Huoyun Liu-Li, who wore a veil, in amazement.

This kind of giant stone steps continued all the way up half of the mountain. They were like a winding route leading upwards in a zigzag pattern.

The stone steps from the upper half of the mountain onwards were ordinary. By the time Qing Shui checked his surroundings, they were already surrounded by mist and cloud. There were also a lot of big evergreen pines and mountain pines surrounding the area on both sides.

Qing Shui was curious about the fact that no one had come to stop them. Although they were being stared at strangely and sized up, no one approached them or questioned them. On top of that, they didn’t even bother to slow down their steps.

Just when Qing Shui and the rest were about to reach the summit and see the roofs of the many great halls , they were stopped by about 10 guards.

“Identify yourselves; why do you intrude on our Heavenly Palace?” said a dark skinned and strong looking man who looked like the leader.

Being tagged with an unfair label right from the start, Qing Shui rubbed his nose and said “We are here to join the Heavenly Palace but we are uncertain of the conditions.”

The strong man gave him a surprised look: “Junior Brother Chong, go inform Elder Fei. Tell him that someone wishes to join the Heavenly Palace.”

A neat looking young man made an acknowledgement then turned to leave.

About ten people were sizing up Qing Shui, Canghai Mingyue and Huoyun Liu-Li. Those hungry gazes directed towards the two women made Qing Shui very uncomfortable.

“Excuse me, are you done looking?” Qing Shui asked coldly because some of their unscrupulous stares were just too outrageous.

“Yo, didn’t expect this brat to be this daring, ha!” one of the slim guys said in disdain; his small eyes were especially despicable.

“Hao Zi, did you forget the punishment from last time?” The strong man reminded him in a deep voice.

“Brothers, don’t mind them. This is how they are. I will teach them manners on your behalf,” the strong man said to Qing Shui and the rest in a serious tone.

To forgive was divine, moreover if they were to create troubles here they wouldn’t be able to bear all the consequences. The words from the strong man instantly relieved all tensions from both sides.

“Oh no I wouldn’t presume to have the honour; thank you brother!” Qing Shui told the strong man. Qing Shui was going to tag them with an unfair label but later decided that it was pointless.

He was going to ask some more questions but he wasn’t in the mood to do it with those others around. Although this strong man seemed like a straightforward person, Qing Shui thought that not all people of this sort would necessarily be a good person.

“Where do you come from, brother? And these two women are...?” the strong man asked with a smile. He silently glanced over at the two girls, but the trace of greed in his expression did not escape Qing Shui.

“Another scumbag. This kind of person is even more wretched than the people with those unscrupulous gazes from just now,” Qing Shui thought gloomily.

“We are from the Southern City,” he said faintly and didn’t bother to mention anything about the two girls.

Actually Qing Shui felt nothing of it; this kind of person was not uncommon. On top of relying on the name of the Heavenly Palace and their Xiantian strength, they wouldn’t feel anything about being this presumptuous. Their didn’t look too old in age either.

On the continent, 16 years old was considered adult, but anyone below 40 years old was young and considered junior. Anyone above the age of 40 was only then considered to be in their prime. Due to the abundance in Spiritual Qi here, the lifespan of the people here was twice as longer compared to his previous world.

The desire for food and sex was natural. Men who were not swayed by the sight of Canghai Mingyue or Huoyun Liu-Li were either eunuchs or homosexuals.

“Can you introduce these two ladies to me?” the dark skinned strong man grinned. His pearly white teeth stood out against his dark skin.

Just right after that, a washed-up middle aged man approached them. His hair was kept loose. The clothes he was wearing were sparkly white and they looked very good on him.

“Elder Fei!”

“Elder Fei!”

…………

Qing Shui took a good look at the mature man of unknown age. The eyes on his washed-up face were even more washed-up, but they lit up the instant he saw the three of them.

“Good seedlings!”

“You wish to join the Heavenly Palace?” Elder Fei gently smiled at the three of them. He didn’t even bother to look at the others.

It seemed like this gang of people were of the lowest ranking in Heavenly Palace. Qing Shui had assessed that the strengths of these people ranged between Xiantian Grade 1 and Grade 3. Only that strong man was at Xiantian Grade 3, while the rest are all Xian tian Grade 1.

If strength determined power, then Xiantian cultivators of the beginner level were only considered as scapegoats in the Heavenly Palace. Especially those that failed to show their potential were reduced to running errands. They persevered in working here just for the sake of the powerful martial arts of the Heavenly Palace.

“Yes, what are the conditions?” Qing Shui had expected that the conditions to join Heavenly Palace could be strict. On top of that, even if he hadn’t set a foot in there he already felt that this super great sect was harder to access than a rich nobleman’s mansion.

“Possess the strength of a Xiantian cultivator, and take on odd jobs at the Heavenly Palace for three years first. Fulfill those then you will automatically be considered an official disciple of the Heavenly Palace.”

Qing Shui smiled wryly. This way of Heavenly Palace couldn’t be considered as good, but a Xiantian cultivator only had to take on odd jobs here for three years. Three years was neither long nor short. If one was not determined, he would not be able to persevere for three years. The dignity of a cultivator was sacred. It was unfortunate that even if you were at the pinnacle of Xiantian you would still be the lowest ranked here, much less a Xiantian beginner level.

Qing Shui was debating whether or not he should take out the Heavenly Palace’s Token he got from Canghai, but then he heard Elder Fei continued to speak: “However, since the three of you are the only ones who made it up the Heavenly Palace Mountain in the past three years, you will be exempted from three years worth of hard work and directly become disciples of the Heavenly Palace. Come, follow me to process your registration.”

Qing Shui was confused. He didn’t understand this treatment from Elder Fei. Could it be that the palace laws of the Heavenly Palace have changed? Were they not afraid that they were sent by the enemies?

So Qing Shui, Canghai Mingyue and Huoyun Liu-Li followed Elder Fei up the last flight of stone steps. A wide uneven mountain ground, as palace buildings, and countless of pavilions and terraces came into their view.

“So this is the summit……”

Qing Shui kept observing his surroundings, particularly the enormous palace which looked as if it was cast from violet gold not far from where he was. The large golden calligraphy carving onto the building read “Lingxiao Treasure Hall”.

He continued his observation and discovered that there were at least eight different halls scattered around. Qing Shui thought that it was quite similar to the layout of the Skysword Sect, although that was lacking in grandeur compared to the Heavenly Palace.

At the Skysword Sect the other eight mountains surrounded the Skysword Peak as if stars holding up the moon, and they were all separate individual mountain peaks. Whereas they were all scattered around on the enormous Heavenly Palace Mountain. Although the mountain ground was uneven, there were still wide mountain roads between each.

Lingxiao Treasure Hall was already considered to be located at the highest spot on the Heavenly Palace Mountain so it could overlook the many buildings around it. The other faraway buildings which were as tall as the Lingxiao Treasure Hall were particularly eye-catching!

“Elder Fei!”

A crisp voice interrupted Qing Shui. A young female disciple of the Heavenly Palace came into his view. Qing Shui couldn’t tell her age but she looked very young. Her long hair hung over her shoulders and the large pair of eyes on her fair oval face were particularly energetic. She wasn’t very tall but she was curvy and her legs were very long and quite delicate. Her body shape was quite similar to Zhu Qing’s

“Ah, Xi Luo. Good timing. Bring these two new disciples to the Misty Hall. From now on, they will be people of your Misty Hall,” Elder Fei smiled.

It was the first time Qing Shui saw him smile and he was suddenly struck by a weird feeling. The girl led Canghai Mingyue and Huoyun Liu-Li away with a smile.

The two women nodded at Qing Shui before leaving. Huoyun Liu-Li was obviously reluctant but Qing Shui now had a very mixed feelings about it.

“You are very special, lad. Don’t worry about them. The people recommended by I, Fei Wuji, will not be doubted nor be bullied by anyone.” Elder Fei chuckled.

Qing Shui looked carefully at this elder who called himself Fei Wuji again. He sensed that he should be a Martial King of the beginner level and this was using his current strongest spiritual sense.

People were shuttling around endlessly,and every one of them had at least the strength of a Xiantian’s. At this very moment, Qing Shui felt that this place was overrun by Xiantian Cultivators and they were as low as cattles and horses.

“Thank you, Elder Fei. My name is Qing Shui and I am confused……”

“Qing Shui. Good name, hehe. If you’re confused then watch more and listen more. But remember to speak less,” Elder Fei chuckled and interrupted Qing Shui, but it didn’t make anyone feel awkward.

The two men silently walked. Qing Shui saw a lot of old people in some of the relatively low pavilions behind the Mist Cloud Treasure Hall. Qing Shui instantly knew these people were truly old and they were roughly more than 300 years old. The traces of aura being polished over the years were especially obvious.

Actually Qing Shui kept thinking about a question after hearing Elder Fei said that no one would dare to bully anyone recommended by him. That kind of conceit didn’t seem to be a bluff. But why was he only a referral that was tasked to welcome the new disciples? Then that would mean a lot of people are recommended by him…...

They finally reached a humble pavilion after passing by countless other pavilions. Fei Wuji looked at Qing Shui and explained: “This is the residential area of the Elders. Everyone who lives here are all Elders. The people from just now are the Supreme Elders. As long as their seniority was higher compared to the current generation of Elders, they would all be referred to as the Supreme Elders.”

Listening to Fei Wuji’s explanation made Qing Shui feel the difference of the Great Sect. It was hard to stay weak in a sect filled with so many old monsters. These old men had god-like existences on land in terms of mind, sophistication, experience, cultivation and perspective. To stand at this height and live for a few hundred years, it was an understatement to call them monsters after all they had been through.

The treasure of the Great Sect was not some powerful weapon, armor or wealth but these insightful old men.