Northern Abyss Immortal Pool

Three days later.

Gu Changyuan stood in the corridor of the back courtyard of the Celestial Palace, stretching his neck. His gaze fell upon the sea of clouds illuminated by the morning light, his expression calm, revealing no particular emotion.

After calming Jun'an down, although the other party had said, "I forgive you, Master," the smug satisfaction in his eyes was something Gu Changyuan could not fail to notice.

He shrugged, dismissing the thought, and withdrew his focus.

With a flicker of his form, Gu Changyuan used a teleportation formation to cross tens of thousands of leagues in an instant, traveling from the Ten Thousand Luo Immortal Realm directly to the North Ming Immortal Abyss in the Demon Immortal Realm.

The North Ming Immortal Turtle clan had already set up the teleportation formation there. Back when Gu Changyuan ascended to the Ten Thousand Luo Immortal Realm, the North Ming Mystic Turtle clan, like the other factions, had used their family teleportation formation to return to the North Ming Immortal Abyss and set up the array.

The North Ming Immortal Turtles were Gu Changyuan's most direct means of connecting the Celestial Palace with the Demon Immortal Realm. Having them return to set up the formation saved him the trouble of traveling there by himself.

After all, the Ten Thousand Luo Immortal Realm was far vaster than the Nine Firmament Realm, and rushing to the Demon Immortal Realm via travel would consume considerable time.

Now, ten years had passed, and the connection with the North Ming Immortal Turtles remained his fastest route to the Demon Immortal Realm.

When Gu Changyuan first made contact with the North Ming Immortal Turtles, he had also invited them to join the Heavenly Court.

The elders of the North Ming Immortal Turtle clan had hardly hesitated; they understood all too well what that particular cultivation method meant for their race.

What followed was much like when other forces joined the Celestial Palace.

Established halls were built, with several clan elders of the Immortal Turtles stationed there to oversee matters.

Younger members of the Immortal Turtle clan were dispatched in batches to cultivate at the Celestial Palace.

It wasn't just the North Ming Immortal Turtles; the Purple Dawn Immortal Court and the Cloud Wasteland Immortal Court had done the same.

Ever since the Immortal Path opened ten years ago, the Imperial Court's stronghold had come under a surprise attack.

Immortal Emperor Zhenyue and Immortal Emperor Duanqiong, the two pillars of the Imperial Court originally assigned to the Southern Immortal Continent, had received news from the Central Continent and urgently returned there to assess the situation.

Over the past decade, the pressure on the two great Immortal Courts had eased considerably. They finally had room to breathe and an opportunity to accelerate their development.

...

The entire North Ming Immortal Abyss was a boundless expanse of frigid waters, its lake stretched so far that no shore was visible, resembling a frozen inland sea.

The temperature here was extremely low, so much so that ordinary low-level cultivators could not remain in such an environment for long.

But for cultivators with a cold-affinity constitution, this place was a paradise for cultivation.

The purity of spiritual energy, the speed of its circulation, and the compatibility of techniques all saw significant improvements under these extreme conditions.

Above the cold lake, several islands were scattered across its surface.

The islands varied in size, with the largest located at the center of the lake.

The islands were connected by bridges built from mystic ice. The bridges' surfaces were smooth yet not slippery; walking on them felt like treading on a translucent blue glass, through which the unfathomably deep waters of the cold lake could be faintly seen below.

As soon as Gu Changyuan reached the edge of the North Ming Immortal Abyss, several figures flew over from the direction of the central island, stepping through the air.

They were several clan elders of the North Ming Immortal Turtle clan.

Behind or beside each elder floated a snake-shaped phantom formed from ethereal blue spiritual energy.

These phantoms were about a zhang in length, semi-transparent, and emitted a faint blue glow.

Though not solid, they had clear contours and a flowing quality—their snake heads slightly raised, bodies winding and twisting, tails gently swaying, as though alive.

Ever since Gu Changyuan had handed the complete cultivation method to the North Ming Immortal Turtle clan, the entire race had devoted themselves to training.

Now, throughout the North Ming Immortal Abyss, those floating blue snake silhouettes were everywhere, weaving through the air around clan members. They had become a new emblem of the North Ming Mystic Turtle clan.

The elders stopped several zhang away from Gu Changyuan and bowed in unison.

Their movements were perfectly synchronized, clearly drilled many times before.

Gu Changyuan waved his hand casually, as if dismissing formality.

Having visited a few times, he was familiar with the area. After exchanging greetings, he made his way toward the central island.

It had been a while, so he had come now to check on things, to see how matters stood.

Seeing this, the elders immediately followed behind him.