Within the royal city, hidden among the intricate streets are indeed many Imperial Guards whose souls have left their bodies. In life, they were responsible for protecting the royal city, and in death, they must remain here.
The only saving grace was that these Imperial Guards were not numerous, with only about ten people in each squad, and they were all only at the Spirit Integration stage, posing little threat to Bai Hao and the others.
Bai Hao, in particular, took the lead, holding Qian Jing and Qian Ye in his hands and charging ahead. He killed anyone who stood in his way, and with his sharp weapon in hand, an entire squad of Imperial Guards was no match for him. No one could stop him.
Almost all the corpses that fell along the way were victims of his sword.
Duan Qiyun and the others were quite worried seeing Bai Hao's unusually fierce demeanor. Ouyang Yan, in particular, understood that his rushing forward was because he wanted to shoulder everything alone and prevent anyone else from getting hurt. This was the only thing Bai Hao could do right now.
He couldn't protect everyone every time, so he would charge ahead alone. As long as he eliminated all the enemies, the others would be safe.
This is the only thing he can do!
...
"boom!"
Several sharp sword shadows cut through the imperial guards in front of the palace, along with their sturdy armor and royal swords. Bai Hao and the others finally arrived at the steps in front of the palace.
Looking up, you can see a long staircase with thousands of steps, paved with dark blue boulders, that stretches all the way to the palace.
"Keep going up, and you'll reach the palace." Gazing at the massive palace gate faintly visible at the end of the stairs, Bai Hao breathed a sigh of relief as he finally reached this point and slowly sheathed his weapon.
“There should be a much stronger garrison up there,” Sun Rong, who rarely spoke, suddenly said.
Having clashed with Ouyang Yan in the alchemy competition at the Pill Sect, she knew that Duan Qiyun and Bai Hao were on Ouyang Yan's side. Therefore, Suanrong didn't say much. Instead, she followed the group silently like an ordinary Pill Sect disciple, speaking little and doing her job.
But she couldn't help but speak up.
But Sun Rong's words were not simply meant to remind others; she had another purpose—to let Bai Hao go up and test the waters first.
Now that Bai Hao has charged ahead so far and has dealt with the Imperial Guards along the way, he can't afford to capsize in the ditch when there's only one more stretch left, can he?
"I'll go up and check on the situation first. You guys wait here," Bai Hao said in a deep voice.
He understood the implication in Sun Rong's words and was willing to do it.
This is the final stretch of the journey; we absolutely cannot afford to capsize in a ditch.
But Ouyang Yan couldn't help but say with concern, "You've already used up too much of your true energy. Let's all go up together this time. It doesn't seem dangerous up there now. Going up together will give us some support."
She simply couldn't bear to see Bai Hao always walking ahead alone, personally exploring for them.
She just wanted to face it together with Bai Hao and share the burden with him.
"No, you all stay here, I'll go up by myself." Bai Hao shook his head and refused Ouyang Yan.
He then prepared to step onto the stairs.
Just then, a golden bolt of lightning struck down and landed at the end of the steps, revealing a person completely covered in golden armor whose face was obscured!
As the person fell, fog suddenly rose around the steps and behind everyone.
A fog that seemed strangely familiar!
Only the steps in front of me are still clearly visible, and time seems to flow by in the blink of an eye.
Bai Hao's raised foot froze in mid-air, and the thick fog surging around him made him feel a sudden pang of panic.
This fog reminded him of the fog that had buried Zheng Long that day!
That time, it was Long Shi and the Demon Suppression Sect members who were corrupted by the curse who appeared. But this time, is it the guardian of the Divine Source Dynasty who appears?
On the steps, the man in golden armor could not be seen by his face. Judging from his figure, he was probably a city-guarding general who, after being corrupted by the curse, insisted on guarding this place to prevent anyone from trying to enter the palace.
"You all stay here. I'll go up and take care of him first, then you can come up." As Bai Hao was about to draw his sword, the golden-armored man on the steps suddenly spoke, his deep voice booming.
“I am here by the command of the Sun God to guard this place and prevent outsiders from entering the palace at will. But you are different. You possess the power of the Sun God, but only one of you may enter to pay homage to the Sun God!”
"It can talk, it's a living person?!"
Hearing that the person actually speak, everyone was startled and immediately began to ponder the person's words.
"The power of the sun god he mentioned must be referring to the solar lightning. Bai Hao, you can go in now," Duan Qiyun said first.
"We are with you, which is why he thinks we also possess the power of the Sun God. But if any one of us goes in, the Sun God will recognize us. So only you, who possesses the Sun's Thunder, can go in."
Bai Hao looked up at the person on the steps and said resolutely, "I want all of us to go in together."
"You have no right to negotiate." The man's voice carried an undeniable command as he slowly drew the spear from behind him.
If Bai Hao makes any overstepping moves, he will take action immediately!
"I'm not discussing this with you." With a cold glint in his eyes, Bai Hao slowly drew the Chiba sword from behind him and held it in his hand.
The two are separated by a thousand steps, but the tense atmosphere makes it seem like a battle is about to break out.
Just as the two sides were about to fight, Ouyang Yan gently tugged at Bai Hao's foot and whispered, "We shouldn't get into a conflict with him. It's not easy to find someone who hasn't been corrupted, and this is the imperial palace of the Divine Source Dynasty. We should respect him."
"I can't leave you where I can't see you." Bai Hao gripped his sword even tighter.
"Don't worry, we're already here, and that person isn't a soul separated from the body. He was able to stay here, so a soul separated from the body definitely couldn't come to this place. So you don't need to worry so much," Ouyang Yan comforted her.
It's good that Bai Hao is thinking of them, but she doesn't want him to become so obsessed with it, even to the point of going against the most powerful Divine Source Dynasty in the world.
Duan Qiyun, who was standing to the side, also said, "That's right, Junior Brother Bai, what you need to do is not for our safety, but to find the way back. Now that we finally have the opportunity to meet the Sun God, we can't miss this chance."
"you……"
Looking at them, Bai Hao was somewhat moved.
This is indeed a rare opportunity. They have traveled thousands of miles, losing so many fellow disciples along the way, all to come to the Divine Origin Dynasty and find their way back.
The opportunity is right in front of him; it's up to Bai Hao to make the right choice.
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