Li Fei was confused, his mind full of question marks.
Although this gorilla looked a bit strange, its cultivation seemed to be only at the early stage of the Void Glimpse realm.
Why was Junior Brother Gao Ming so scared?
The black gorilla blew out a smoke ring and casually tossed a banana in front of him.
Unlike Gao Ming, Li Fei did not pick it up this time.
Instead, he watched the black gorilla warily.
If this guy could scare Junior Brother Gao Ming like this, he was definitely peculiar!
Seeing that Li Fei didn't pick up the banana, the black gorilla's eyes narrowed.
Its gaze seemed to convey a single message.
Young man, you're walking a tightrope!
Then, the black gorilla snapped its fingers.
"Snap!"
Soon.
A swarm of dark figures, like a rushing tide, darted towards them.
It was a group of demonic beasts, each more bizarre than the last.
They wore all sorts of strange clothes and carried an assortment of random items.
The black gorilla didn't speak, but pointed its finger downwards at Li Fei.
"Handle him!"
The horde of mutated demonic beasts immediately looked at Li Fei with shining eyes.
For some reason.
Li Fei felt an inexplicable chill creep into his heart...
...
Mid-air above the Imperial City.
Elder Zhang flew back towards the main group.
It turned out that after waiting for a long time and seeing no one return, they finally realized the seriousness of the situation!
This Imperial Palace was extremely peculiar!
So, the Great Elder, who was skilled in formations, flew around the Imperial Palace for a full circle, carefully examining it.
"Reporting to the Sect Master," the Great Elder said, cupping his fist. "No signs of any formations were found in the Imperial Palace, and the people inside appear to be very ordinary, with nothing special about them."
When he had flown around the palace earlier, he had also tentatively moved within it.
At first, he had been very cautious.
After all, two consecutive disciples had run into trouble, so there might be great danger lurking within.
But after wandering around for a while, he realized that it didn't seem to be the case...
The people inside hadn't sensed his presence at all, and no terrifying entity had suddenly appeared to attack him!
However, to be on the safe side, he dared not act rashly.
The Sect Master narrowed his eyes, seemingly making a difficult decision.
If there had been a battle inside the palace earlier, such close proximity would have been impossible to conceal from him.
But from start to finish, he hadn't detected any fluctuations of true energy.
It seemed this Imperial Palace was indeed problematic.
It might even pose a certain danger to him.
But the problem was, after finally finding their way here, wouldn't it be too regrettable to give up now?
Weren't the search for the first key also fraught with danger?
He had even almost perished that time.
Let's do it!
If he was afraid of everything, what kind of cultivator would he be?
He might as well go home and farm!
"There is danger here, everyone remain vigilant," the Sect Master commanded. "Move out!"
Thus, a large group of people, in a mighty procession, flew towards the Imperial Palace.
The Imperial Palace of the Great Liang Dynasty.
When they arrived, the palace was already bustling with activity!
The cooks in the imperial kitchen were chopping vegetables so fast their hands were cramping, forcing them to pull in many guards to help.
The young eunuchs and palace maids carried plates of finished dishes out.
The feasting location was on the plaza outside the Hall of the Morning Assembly.
Liang Dekuai and a group of ministers sat around a large circle, each with an incredibly happy expression.
The court musicians sat on small stools nearby, their suonas blaring out in high-pitched tunes!
"Wuli wa—!"
"Wuli wa—!"
"Wuli wa—!"
...
At first glance, it had the feel of a village wedding or funeral.
It was extremely down-to-earth!
At this moment, the Sect Master and his group floated in the sky above the plaza, staring intently at the scene.
"Great Elder, do you sense anything unusual?" the Sect Master asked with a frown.
"Aside from their rather eccentric behavior, there seems to be no other abnormality..." the Great Elder replied truthfully.
In his opinion, although this was a small place, the people below were, after all, the core of a nation's power.
Yet, they were all acting without any regard for their image, behaving like uncouth villagers...
Apart from that, there was truly nothing abnormal.
Whether it was their attire or their speech and actions, they all perfectly matched their identities.
Especially the Emperor below.
Although he came from humble beginnings, his imperial aura was by no means weak.
The Sect Master remained silent, continuing to stare intently below.
It still felt very wrong!
They were so close now, and he had even released just a tiny bit of his pressure earlier...
It was as if he had almost shouted at the top of his lungs, 'Master, look here!'...
Yet, the people below remained completely oblivious?!
It was as if they hadn't detected their presence at all!
Were they truly unaware?
Or were they deliberately pretending?
The more he looked, the more the Sect Master felt something was amiss!
In the end, desire triumphed over reason.
After observing for a while and confirming that the cultivation of these people was indeed negligible, the Sect Master decided to test the waters!
"Whoosh—!"
A spell flew towards a minister below.
This time, he did not use his full strength.
And immediately after casting the spell, he switched to a defensive stance, ready to counter any potential retaliation.
As it turned out, he had thought too much...
"Plop!"
The minister, along with his table, fell to the ground, and soon showed no signs of life.
A minister next to him went to take a look, then shouted, "Your Majesty, we can have an extra dish!"
"Clap, clap, clap, clap!"
Everyone clapped happily, then continued to lower their heads and eat.
The clinking of cups and plates, the joyous laughter.
The sound of the suonas grew even more boisterous than before.
"Wuli wa—!"
"Wuli wa—!"
"Wuli wa—!"
...
The Sect Master and his group in the sky were stunned...
What in the world was going on?
Their people were gone, and they were still eating?
"Sect Master..." the Great Elder said with a strange expression, pointing to his temple. "There seems to be something wrong with these people..."
"I can see that..." the Sect Master replied with a dark expression.
At this moment, he felt like cursing!
He had imagined all sorts of dangerous possibilities, even preparing for the worst-case scenario...
But what was happening now?
Was he and his group wasting half the day engaging in a battle of wits with a bunch of fools???
If this incident were to get out, he would have to consider moving his sect.
So, the Sect Master took the lead, bringing everyone down!
The sudden appearance of dozens of people finally drew the attention of the Great Liang Dynasty.
The ministers immediately began to whisper amongst themselves.
"These fellows look unfamiliar, don't they?"
"What are they here for, suddenly?"
"Did they hear that we were having a feast?"
...
As they spoke, a minister stealthily pulled the food on the table closer to himself...