Chapter 432

431. Chapter 426: Infiltrating the Immortal Court

Ding Huan's divine sense landed on the distant entrance to the Immortal Court, shrouded in layers of hazy mist, yet the dense Immortal Qi was truly enviable.

The scenery outside the mist was vastly superior to that of the Gu Gu Xian Realm.

Those teleported here mostly entered the Immortal Court by passing through those layers of mist.

"This is another entrance to the Immortal Court. To join a caravan and enter the Immortal Court, we must take the Southern Heaven Grand Road."

Ku Lu explained while leading Ding Huan away in the opposite direction—they were heading to the Southern Heaven Grand Road to wait for the caravan.

"Brother Zhang San, have you decided how you'll settle down once you reach the Immortal Court?" Ku Lu asked softly along the way.

Ding Huan frowned: "The Immortal Court's territory is vast, even larger than the Gu Gu Xian Realm, with abundant Immortal Qi. Why not just find a quiet spot to cultivate?"

Ku Lu immediately objected:

"No. The Immortal Court also forbids setting up Spirit Gathering Immortal Arrays unless you have the qualification to do so.

Though the Immortal Qi here is denser than in the Gu Gu Xian Realm, without a Spirit Gathering Immortal Array, cultivation becomes twice as hard for half the result—pointless."

Hearing this, Ding Huan frowned.

He had assumed the Gu Gu Xian Realm banned Spirit Gathering Immortal Arrays due to Immortal Court restrictions.

He hadn't expected the Immortal Court to ban them too—this was troublesome.

"Actually, I have an idea. We both know how to alter our appearances, even match our aura to our form. Why not stay in the Gu Gu Xian Realm, join some small Immortal Sect, and hide there to cultivate?"

Ku Lu felt the difference between entering the Immortal Court and staying in the Gu Gu Xian Realm was negligible.

Most importantly, they currently had no way to sneak into the Immortal Court.

They said they'd follow a caravan in, but it wasn't simple. Those caravan folk weren't easy to deal with—all of them were shrewd and heartless. Without a pile of Immortal Crystals, they wouldn't take you.

Ding Huan said without hesitation: "No. That Du Yue Star Lord clearly isn't an easy man—he probably desperately needs the soil from Fen Bao Cliff.

If he's determined to search the Gu Gu Xian Realm, no matter how deep we hide, we'll be found.

He can ask every Immortal Sect one by one; he doesn't even need to show his face. A single word from him will have others hunting us, while we can do nothing.

Think about it—if we're found, not only do we die, but the Immortal Sect we join will suffer too. Why take that risk?"

Ku Lu said: "Then only joining an Immortal Sect within the Immortal Court, or becoming a minor official there, is viable. Even a small Immortal Sect in the Immortal Court is beyond a Star Lord's reach to investigate one by one."

"We can become officials in the Immortal Court?" Ding Huan's eyes lit up—serving as an official in the Immortal Court was the last thing Du Yue Star Lord would suspect, and they'd gain cultivation resources too.

Ku Lu gave Ding Huan a scornful look: "What are you thinking? I only mentioned this as a possibility, but joining is extremely difficult.

Most Immortal Court officials get in through connections. We can only say there's a chance—it's vanishingly small.

For us, the best opportunity is joining a certain Immortal Sect as an outer disciple or a menial disciple."

As they spoke, they reached the edge of the Southern Heaven Grand Road.

Ding Huan looked at the Southern Heaven Grand Road and couldn't help but marvel at the Immortal Court's grandeur.

Regardless of whether the Immortal Court's strength surpassed the other Great Courts, just the aura of the Southern Heaven Grand Road was unmatched by any ordinary Heavenly Court.

The road was entirely paved with Bai Yu, a hundred zhang wide.

It sloped upward, appearing at first glance to lead straight to the heavens.

On both sides of the road stood welcoming Immortal Trees.

These lush, towering welcoming Immortal Trees, paired with deliberately planted seven-colored Immortal Flowers, elevated the road's prestige.

They didn't wait long on the edge of the Southern Heaven Grand Road before a caravan arrived.

Ding Huan perked up, but Ku Lu doused him with cold water: "This is an extremely rare Divine Clan caravan. Their pride is so great their eyes are on their foreheads—don't even approach; it's a waste of time.

And Divine Clan caravans never hire outsiders, not even for Immortal Crystals. It's strange—Divine Clan caravans come once every hundred years, yet I just happened to run into one."

Hearing "Divine Clan," Ding Huan thought of Qi Qi Xinyue, and his mood instantly soured.

"Brother Zhang San, see the caravan coming from behind? That's a Demon Clan caravan. Demon Clan caravans are easiest to join—they don't stick to formalities; they only care about benefits." Ku Lu slapped Ding Huan's shoulder.

Ding Huan saw the caravan too—but it didn't look much like a caravan at all.

"Old Ku, are you sure this is a caravan?" Ding Huan asked, puzzled.

A caravan never has random people along the way—only top-tier experts, and even if goods are stored in rings, the escort must be substantial.

But this group, though numerous, had wildly uneven cultivation levels, even including the old and young.

"I misread it. This must be a wedding procession." Ku Lu sighed helplessly.

"That's them. Let's go. By the way, alter your appearance into a middle-aged man." As he spoke, Ding Huan transformed himself into an old man.

Ku Lu, who had been about to demonstrate his illusion technique, immediately changed his appearance without hesitation.

Though his body remained unchanged, his face and hairstyle were now completely different.

"Follow behind me. Let's go." Ding Huan said, already rushing forward.

As soon as Ding Huan and Ku Lu appeared, the procession halted.

A man stepped forward, sensing a faint aura of Demon Qi on both Ding Huan and Ku Lu.

"Are you here to welcome the bride?" the man asked, frowning.

He was already angry.

Sending only two people to welcome the bride—how little regard did they have for the True Demon Palace?

The True Demon Palace was not to be trifled with.

Ding Huan quickly said: "How could we send only two people to welcome the bride? We're just scouts. Our Dao Lord feared minor scoundrels might disturb the True Demon Palace's wedding procession, so our full welcoming party is coming right behind.

We were sent ahead because our cultivation method has some ties to Demon Dao."

After saying this, Ding Huan stepped to the left side of the road and extended his hand forward.

Ku Lu, quick on the uptake, immediately took position on the right side, and together they led the procession forward.

Yet inside, he was stunned—how did Zhang San know this wedding procession was heading to a Dao Lord's mansion?

Not only did he know it was a wedding for a certain Dao Lord, but he even knew the bride came from the True Demon Palace—how did Zhang San figure that out?

Ku Lu, of course, did not know that Ding Huan's spiritual sense had long since shattered the prohibitions on the immortal palanquin carrying the bride, revealing the marriage contract and gift list inside.

He not only knew this was the daughter-in-law of the Dao Jun Mansion, but also knew this marriage was with a descendant of the Northern Dao Jun.

The long list of gifts on the gift list made Ding Huan realize the True Demon Palace was truly wealthy.

And this bride, Xue Lin'er, must hold high status within the True Demon Palace, or she would not have been given such a lavish dowry.

Seeing Ding Huan and Ku Lu humbly leading the way ahead, the middle-aged man from the True Demon Palace lost all his anger.

It seemed the Northern Dao Jun placed great importance on the True Demon Palace, sending people ahead to clear the path—a practice never before seen or mentioned in prior rituals.

Normally, all the Northern Dao Jun needed to send was a wedding escort party to meet protocol.

Now, sending people ahead of the wedding escort, though a small matter, was heartwarming.

Sometimes, it is precisely such details that people remember.

The group traveled along the Southern Heaven Avenue for about half an hour, when a long wedding escort party came toward them.

Seeing the True Demon Palace's dowry party meet and exchange pleasantries with the Northern Dao Jun's wedding escort, Ding Huan and Ku Lu wisely drew closer to the True Demon Palace side.

The pleasantries were brief; the procession continued forward.

At the front was the wedding escort party; in the middle were Ding Huan and Ku Lu, effectively drawing near the dowry party.

At the very back was the True Demon Palace's dowry party.

Both Ding Huan and Ku Lu carried the aura of demonic Dao, so the Northern Dao Jun's wedding escort naturally paid them no mind.

In their eyes, Ding Huan and Ku Lu were merely demonic cultivators from the dowry party.

The True Demon Palace people paid them no mind either—they had said nothing the whole way, only coming to clear the path.

The long procession soon reached the entrance to the Heavenly Court.

The Heavenly Court's protective array opened; the two cultivators guarding the gate merely offered respectful congratulations, uttering not a single word.

Today was a day of joy for the Northern Dao Jun's mansion—blocking the path at the entrance to the Immortal Court would be asking for death.

Ding Huan and Ku Lu entered the Immortal Court without incident.

Upon entering the Immortal Court, a colossal wedding airship appeared before everyone's eyes.

Both the wedding escort and dowry parties boarded the ship; Ding Huan whispered to Ku Lu, and the two swiftly moved to the rear, then quietly slipped away from the procession.

Ding Huan and Ku Lu departed from behind the True Demon Palace's dowry party; the True Demon Palace cultivators saw them, but none paid attention.

After all, they were only sent to clear the path—now that they had reached the Immortal Court and the wedding ship was imminent, their task was complete; what was wrong with leaving voluntarily?

As for the wedding airship, all attention was fixed on the bride and key figures; Ding Huan and Ku Lu, insignificant peripheral figures, were entirely ignored.

Once separated from the dowry party, Ding Huan and Ku Lu swiftly fled.

Half a stick of incense later, Ding Huan stopped, gazing at the magnificent landscape of the Immortal Court, and could not help but sigh—this was truly where one cultivated.

Since entering the Immortal Court, every sight was beauty. The immortal qi filled the air, refreshing the spirit and brimming with vitality.

His spiritual sense swept outward—everywhere was mist-wreathed immortal clouds, and immortal cranes flew freely, unharmed by hunters.

Farther off, faint outlines of immortal sects could be seen; each one radiated the true aura of the Immortal World.

If one were allowed to set up a Spirit Gathering Immortal Array here, one could meditate in seclusion anywhere.

Ku Lu, long accustomed to the Immortal Court's scenery, paid it no mind: "Brother Zhang San, I thought you were going to board the wedding ship and head to the Northern Dao Jun's mansion?"

"It's easy to get on," Ding Huan replied dryly. "But how do we get off later?"

Boarding the wedding airship was certainly easy—but once the ship entered the Northern Dao Jun's territory, we'd be truly trapped.