Chapter 102: Purple Imperial Palace

Leaving Purple Xuan City, Lu Chen returned to the flying boat where Mu Han Yu was.

"Take me to the Azure Radiance Sect."

Lu Chen didn't know where the Azure Radiance Sect was, but Mu Han Yu certainly did.

Soon, Mu Han Yu piloted the flying boat, leaving the territory of the Great Xuan Dynasty and arriving at the location of the Azure Radiance Sect.

"Wait for me here."

Lu Chen still said those words.

Upon arriving above the Azure Radiance Sect, his expression remained calm.

In the past, he never thought of attacking a righteous sect, but a sect capable of raising that kind of holy son might as well be left alone!

Below, several high-realm elders discovered his presence.

But it was already too late.

Dark qi condensed, and the Black Domain instantly covered the entire sect.

Immediately after, the Chaos Heaven Banner was unleashed, and for a moment two supreme forces acted simultaneously within the Azure Radiance Sect.

Within a quarter hour, the vital energy inside had completely vanished.

"He's becoming more and more like a demonic cultivator."

He muttered a sentence, put away the Chaos Heaven Banner, and returned to the flying boat.

"Let's go, to the Purple Imperial Palace."

After dealing with the affairs of the Great Xuan Dynasty, Lu Chen finally arrived outside the mountain gate of the Purple Imperial Palace.

The entire Purple Imperial Palace resembled a vast city floating in the sea of clouds, with white jade stairways rising from the ground to the heavens, each step carved with lifelike auspicious beasts.

Within the Purple Imperial Palace, the most conspicuous feature was the enormous plaque hanging in the clouds, emitting a faint purple light.

The three gilded characters "Purple Imperial Palace" seemed to carry supreme authority.

Lu Chen gazed at the magnificent mountain gate from afar; although it now appeared supremely splendid, he knew the sect had once been even more glorious.

He and Mu Han Yu had already discussed the plan to infiltrate the Purple Imperial Palace.

The sect currently had no plan to recruit disciples, so posing as a disciple wouldn't work.

Moreover, the Purple Imperial Palace strictly forbade elders from forming private ties with outsiders, so that route was also impossible.

The only viable option was to enter openly under the identity of Star Cliff.

Then, Mu Han Yu would keep Lu Chen alone under the pretext of sparring and the like.

Mu Han Yu came to Lu Chen's side, preparing to reveal herself voluntarily.

Suddenly, a spatial rift appeared above the clouds.

From the rift walked out a graceful figure.

"Welcome."

That graceful figure was the sect master of the Purple Imperial Palace, Huang Jingxuan.

Huang Jingxuan stepped out of the rift into the air; her eyebrows and eyes were slender, with a cinnabar mole at the corner of each eye, standing out strikingly against her snow‑white skin.

She wore a flowing purple cloud‑like fairy robe, and the bronze ring in her hand chimed softly with each step.

She appeared to possess immense vitality, but no one knew she was actually at the end of her lifespan; although only over a thousand years old, her longevity had been exhausted.

"Please enter the sect for a detailed discussion."

Huang Jingxuan smiled, with all the sect's elders standing beside her.

These elders were equally sincere in their attitude toward Lu Chen and Mu Han Yu.

"What is going on?"

Mu Han Yu was somewhat dazed.

But Lu Chen quickly realized what was happening.

"It seems the person the Empress mentioned back then is precisely this sect master of the Purple Imperial Palace."

"I never expected that after all my thinking, everything would actually be within the other party's expectations."

He gave a bitter laugh, then brought Mu Han Yu into the main gate of the Purple Imperial Palace.

Huang Jingxuan actually did not originally intend to treat Lu Chen so formally.

But she realized that doing so was the best choice.

Only by being completely open about her identity and treating him this way would this variable be more inclined toward the righteous side.

Seeing Lu Chen enter the sect, many Purple Imperial Palace elders could not help but whisper among themselves.

"This aura of fortune—indeed he is a great fortune‑bearer!"

"No wonder he is the variable in this Righteous‑Demon War!"

"We must placate him and also win him over!"

"Any terms are acceptable, as long as they enable the righteous side to win this great war."

"The fate of the Purple Imperial Palace is uncertain; if we can survive this calamity, we will surely regain our former glory thereafter!"

As the elders chatted, Lu Chen and Mu Han Yu were already escorted into the Sect Master's hall.

Upon entering the hall, one could see the huge Armillary Sphere placed inside.

Everyone could see that the Armillary Sphere was extraordinary, but few knew it possessed the ability to deduce heavenly numbers.

Lu Chen was not included among those who could know.

With the Empress's earlier reminder, he immediately recognized the Armillary Sphere's capability.

Combined with their attitude toward him, he could also roughly guess that he must be of extreme importance to them.

He just didn't know what that role would be.

A righteous sect would hardly need his body for dual cultivation, and even if it did, it would certainly not be so courteous.

If it weren't for dual cultivation, perhaps he needed some kind of ability, but he seems not to have overly heaven-defying abilities?

The abilities he has are basically all possessed by demonic cultivators.

For a moment he couldn't think of the root of the problem, so Lu Chen could only stop thinking about it.

Perhaps the other party might voluntarily answer for him, but not necessarily.

"Please have a seat."

Huang Jingxuan stood at the main seat, not sitting down first.

She looked at Lu Chen, and after Lu Chen sat down, she then slowly sat down.

"Your attitude is too good, somewhat fake."

Lu Chen looked around, thinking.

"I suppose, little friend, you must have many questions, but I can answer them for you soon."

Huang Jingxuan's expression was calm, but her words carried a hint of habitual dignity.

"Yes, indeed there are many questions."

As Lu Chen's words fell, Huang Jingxuan's voice came again:

"Little friend, you are probably a demonic cultivator, right?"

Huang Jingxuan originally thought that when she said this, Lu Chen would be surprised.

But she didn't expect, Lu Chen's expression was very calm.

"Yes, I am a demonic cultivator, a disciple of the Nine Nether Sect, an affiliate of the Heavenly Demon Sect of the Perfect Continent."

Lu Chen proactively disclosed his background.

He clearly knew that if the other party knew these things, they must have investigated his background.

Concealing these is meaningless.

Originally Huang Jingxuan wanted to say something else, but seeing Lu Chen's attitude, she could only start again from another angle.

"In your view, little friend, is it defying heaven, with demonic flames burning all people, better? Or following the heavenly Dao, to ultimately endure better?"

Lu Chen could tell that the other's meaning was asking whether he leaned more toward the righteous path or the demonic path.

From this, he could roughly infer in reverse why the other party needs him.

"I might be a key factor influencing the righteous-demonic war?"

Thinking of this, Lu Chen himself found it hard to believe.

He is merely a Spirit Transformation cultivator, despite having condensed the supreme Dao foundation and supreme Xuan pill, and also possessing countless trump cards.

But ultimately, he's just a Spirit Transformation cultivator.

How could he possibly become the key to the entire Ink Realm's righteous-demonic war?

If he became the key to the righteous-demonic war, not mentioning who wins or loses, no matter which side occupies the entire Ink Realm, he ultimately seems to lose his usefulness.

Lu Chen didn't know how he suddenly got dragged into the righteous-demonic war.

He originally thought of taking a few wives and hiding far away.

Anyway, after both sides finish fighting, no matter which side, it wouldn't affect him much.

But now he has been drawn into it.

He fell silent for a moment, and soon an idea formed in his mind.

"... It seems that to survive from within, he needs to have trump cards that can restrain both sides."