Starforce Warriors-Chapter 965: Priestess Qin (2)

He spotted smooth ground beyond a heap of rubble deeper into the hall. It contained roughly over a thousand burial mounds. A stone tablet had been erected in front of the very first one. Li Xiaofei swiftly moved in closer.

"Tomb of the Pure Sea Dragon Clan." He read the inscription on the tablet aloud, a ripple of emotion stirring within him.

He had seen the dragon-shaped archway at the outer perimeter, inscribed with the words Pure Sea Dragon Palace. It confirmed that this place had once been part of a sea, and that sea had been home to dragons.

The Pure Sea Dragon Clan. Judging by the scale of the palace, the Pure Sea Dragons had undoubtedly once been an immensely powerful race. At the very least, they were a quasi-Emperor-level force. But now, they had become history.

This tomb must have held the entire Pure Sea Dragon Clan. Yet, who built these graves? Who erected the tombstone? Li Xiaofei was filled with curiosity.

He sensed that the answer lay just ahead. He continued to leap over one massive piece of rubble after another. The fallen columns looked like small hills. The collapsed dome resembled a boulder from the heavens. He kept moving deeper and found more signs of battle everywhere.

Again, the aura of high-level Reapers, and not just one... there were several. It seems likely that the Pure Sea Dragon Clan was annihilated by the Reapers.

Normally, after killing their enemies, Reapers would allow the Primal Faction members to devour the corpses, absorbing the evolutionary advantages in their DNA to strengthen themselves.

But this time, the Pure Sea Dragon Clan had a burial ground and tombstones left behind. It suggests that even those high-level Reapers didn’t achieve a complete victory. They must have been forced to retreat.

Li Xiaofei’s mind raced, analyzing the information rapidly.

Dong.

The bell tolled once again. The sound was solemn and sacred. It was as if the chime was offering a blessing to the fallen of the Pure Sea Dragon Clan. Li Xiaofei flew forward just above the ground. The space within the Dragon Palace was enormous. Its depth was even more staggering.

After a short while, Li Xiaofei finally reached the central hall. There, he found a vast plaza several kilometers in diameter. Four towering pillars, each a thousand meters tall, rose into the air like swords piercing the heavens.

Li Xiaofei’s heart quaked violently. Four monstrous, terrifying beasts were hanging from those four pillars. They were Reapers, and not just any Reapers, these were the most advanced high-level Reapers.

Two of them were immediately recognizable to Li Xiaofei. They were Mothers of All Beasts. Even though countless years had passed since their deaths, their corpses still appeared unnervingly lifelike, as though they might rise again at any moment.

The other two Reapers were smaller in size. One had the body of a human and the head of a lizard. The other had a human form with the head of a rat. Both wore armor. They must have belonged to the Wisdom Faction of the Reapers.

Li Xiaofei’s eyelids twitched wildly.

Two high-level Primal Faction Reapers. Two high-level Wisdom Faction Reapers. A lineup like this could have swept through nearly any region of the universe without opposition. Yet they had fallen here.

Who killed them? Was it the Sword Immortal, Lin Beichen?

Li Xiaofei’s gaze passed over the four colossal execution pillars and turned toward the center of the plaza. There, a shrine stood. Yes, a shrine had been constructed within the vast halls of the Dragon Palace.

Since the Pure Sea Dragon Palace was so enormous, this ten-meter-tall shrine appeared incredibly small by comparison, like a toy structure built by a child playing house.

Its walls were white, and the structure was square and symmetrical. It radiated an aura of solemnity and tranquility. Li Xiaofei shifted his form. In the next instant, he blinked and reappeared in front of the shrine.

"This aura..." A strange look crossed his face.

The air surrounding the shrine was suffused with a divine and sacred energy. It was the exact same aura he had sensed earlier on the battlefield. It belonged to that mysterious expert.

Li Xiaofei stood before the entrance of the shrine. He studied it carefully and found many elements related to swords. Sword-shaped motifs. Sword-shaped sculptures. There were even paintings of figures performing sword dances.

Swords. Sword Immortal Lin Beichen. This place has to be a residence constructed by Lin Beichen, Li Xiaofei became even more certain.

He stood at the doorway of the shrine, clasped his fists respectfully, and said, "This junior of the human race, Li Xiaofei, humbly requests an audience with senior."

His voice echoed throughout the interior of the shrine. Silence answered him. Just as Li Xiaofei was about to speak again, a voice drifted out from within.

"Come in."

It was the human language. But contrary to what Li Xiaofei had imagined, the voice belonged to a woman. Her tone was cold and commanding, laced with an innate authority. It instantly conjured the image of a proud and noble goddess.

Li Xiaofei took a deep breath, then slowly stepped inside. The shrine was quiet and austere. Soft white light radiated from the temple walls. Unlike the extravagant splendor of the Dragon Palace, everything here reflected simplicity and purity, inside and out.

The hall wasn’t very deep. There were no statues or offerings. It was completely empty. A solitary figure sat cross-legged at the very center of the shrine.

She was clad in a moon-white gown that gave off a sacred aura. Her head was slightly bowed. Long, glossy black hair cascaded from her temples and shoulders like a waterfall, each strand shimmering faintly with light.

Although he couldn’t see her face clearly, Li Xiaofei immediately knew that this was a holy, flawless, and breathtakingly beautiful goddess. Peerless in grace. Unrivaled beneath the heavens. Even someone as self-admiring as Li Xiaofei couldn’t help but feel unworthy in her presence, despite not having fully seen her face.

"Senior?" he asked respectfully, bowing reverently.

A vast and irresistible divine force enveloped him completely. It carried no hostility or oppressive killing intent. It simply surrounded him, as if examining or testing something deep within.

A moment later, the goddess slowly lifted her head, showing a face that was breathtaking beyond imagination. Li Xiaofei had encountered many beautiful women on his journey. He had met pure-hearted ones like Tan Qingying, charming and flirtatious ones like Principal Hu, and cold and elegant ones like Si Kongxue, each one a rare beauty in her own right. But they all paled compared to the goddess before him.

Her face was stunning, her features perfectly balanced, and her skin crystal-clear like polished jade. She was flawless in every possible way. On top of that, she carried an aura of nobility and divinity, as if she didn’t belong to the mortal world at all, but rather to a celestial realm of spirits and immortals.

She sat there in utter stillness. It felt as though even a speck of dust landing on her would be a sin against the world. Yet Li Xiaofei found himself incapable of even the faintest impure thought. All he felt was deep, instinctive reverence.

"Young one of the human race, where have you come from?" asked the goddess. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Her voice had softened to become as gentle as an older sister’s. Sacred energy rippled throughout the shrine with her words.

"This junior has come in search of the Sword Immortal Lin Beichen." Li Xiaofei explained his origins and purpose, then added, "I have a few companions waiting outside the Burial Sea. May I ask who you are, Senior? Why are you here?"

He was still a little cautious in his heart. After all, this impossibly perfect goddess could still be a high-level Reaper in disguise.

"You’re looking for Brother Chen?" A faint smile appeared on the goddess’s lips as she replied gently, "He was indeed here once, but he has already left... As for me? My surname is Qin. I am the high priestess of this shrine."

Qin? Li Xiaofei was momentarily stunned.

All at once, a flash of insight flitted through his mind. He suddenly recalled something Liu Shaji had once mentioned while gossiping about the romantic escapades of the Sword Immortal Lin Beichen. It was said that this human Immortal Emperor had many close companions, including a peerless powerhouse known as Priestess Qin. She had been born a priestess, carried a heart of sacred purity, and possessed unmatched strength.

This Priestess Qin had long been regarded as the human cultivator closest to reaching the Immortal Emperor realm, aside from the Five Immortal Emperors themselves.

Could she truly be the one standing before him now?

"It seems you’ve heard of me before?" Priestess Qin’s tone had grown noticeably gentler.

Li Xiaofei replied, "This junior has indeed had the honor of hearing your name."

Her gaze was pure, like a sacred spring. She studied him closely, then said, "You carry Brother Chen’s aura... and I sense traces of four other techniques on you. It seems you are the chosen sixth."

The sixth of the human race. Li Xiaofei didn’t quite know how to respond. That title didn’t suit the image he had of himself, especially after his transformation into a fearless, powerfully built battle maniac.

"I’ve been waiting here for you for a long time," Priestess Qin said softly.

"You’ve been waiting for me, Senior?" Li Xiaofei asked, "Is there something this junior needs to do?"

Priestess Qin replied, "I need you to deliver a message to Brother Chen."

"What message?" Li Xiaofei asked.

***

Liu Shaji and the others waited anxiously outside the Burial Sea. It had already been two hours since Li Xiaofei had entered the Burial Sea but he had yet to return. No one knew whether he had encountered danger.

Both Xiong Gang and Master Jin were naturally hot-tempered. They could hardly bear the wait any longer and were ready to risk entering the sea to look for him. But Liu Shaji blocked them.

"Liu Shaji, just waiting here won’t do us any good," Xiong Gang said, trying to reason with him. "Why don’t you let me carry this black pot in with me? Maybe I can help Senior Li. This pot has been tainted with Emperor aura, so it should be able to resist the burial miasma."