Looking towards the guards who were in the same Soul Splitting Realm as himself, Jian Shen couldn't help but think back to those days in the Mortal Realm where he just began cultivating and was similar in strength to the lower grade cultivators.
But, since he had whizzed past them like lightning and ascended to the Divine Realm by himself despite starting so much later than the others, what was there to stop him from doing the same again?
Smiling a little and making the two guards look at him as if he was a weirdo, Jian Shen said, "I'm here on an invitation from Cui Yan. Tell her that Jian Shen is here to meet her."
"Humph... You think we're... "
Just as one of the two guards was about to say something insulting, the one beside him immediately stepped forward and covered his mouth following which he himself bowed while forcing the other to bow as well.
"We'll do as you've told us to, young master. Please wait here while we come back with a reply."
Turning around and flying back to where they came from, the two guards after travelling a little distance disappeared while causing the air they travelled through to vibrate a little.
Almost as if they passed through a layer of water causing Jian Shen to raise an eye in surprise and understand why the mountain seemed to be completely uninhabited.
No wonder he didn't find even a single human or building despite passing above so many mountains, all of them were hidden by some barrier.
...
Once the two guards had gone back inside the barrier, the one who was forcibly stopped and dragged back slapped the hand of the other one away and glared at him.
"What are you doing? I was just about to teach that brat a lesson! Daring to try and meet the princess by using such a fake lie, doesn't he know how many people use the same stupids trick everyday? At least the others who come here have a high enough cultivation to try and make us believe. He's just a puny Soul Splitting Cultivator!"
"Shut up idiot! He's obviously different from those fakes who come here every day to meet the princess."
"Huh? Have you gone blind? What's so special about him?"
"You are the blind one idiot! Your whole family is blind! Didn't you see that fox around his neck? It was clearly a Divine Beast. A very high-level one as well. Only those who have a strong backing can afford to possess such strong Divine Beasts."
"Really?"
Still a bit sceptical because that white fox looked like a random animal picked up because it looked cute and not a strong Divine Beast, the other guard looked above to see Jian Shen still in his own place looking at the mountains.
What he focused on however was the fox that looked like it was sleeping.
The next instant, Lifen who felt like someone was looking at her opened her eyes and glared through the barred towards the guard who felt his soul tremble violently from pure fear.
Freezing on the spot with cold sweat covering his back, the guard only managed to move after Lifen closed her eyes and went back to peacefully sleeping.
Seeing that the other guard's words were true, the man no longer said anything and flew towards the princess' courtyard to relay the exact words which the handsome boy had told them.
...
"What? A handsome boy with a fox type divine beast is here to visit me?"
Nodding her head, the maid continued to relay the exact same words which the guards had told her to Cui Yan.
As far as she could remember, out of everyone that was trying to court here, there wasn't even a single animal lover.
While they might have a Divine Beast as their pet to guard them, they would only possess the 'cool' types like Dragons or other species related to Dragon's and nothing else.
Especially not something like a fox which was mainly possessed by female cultivators due to them complementing their appearances.
"Yes, princess. And according to what I've heard, the fox is white in colour and a very high-level Divine Beast as well."
A high-level Divine Beast.
Similar to the Spirit Beasts in the Mortal Realm, Divine Beasts were those species of animals which cultivated and grew strong.
The only difference was that after cultivating their physical bodies, the Divine Beasts would, later on, continue by cultivating their souls so that they could ascend to the Dao Realm and evolve past their genetic limit.
This was how the Flood Dragons ascended and turned into real Dragons by using the blessing given by the Heaven and Earth.
"It seems like the boy's name is Jian Shen and that you were the one who invited him. What should I..."
Even before the maid could finish her question, the woman who distinctively remembered the name flew outside her courtyard and in the direction above the mountain where she could sense an unknown but similar presence.
…
"Hmmmm..."
Narrowing his eyes and looking down, Jian Shen saw someone once again appearing out of nowhere while the barrier trembled like before.
However it wasn't the guards like he had expected to come back and escort him inside, rather it was the person whom he came here to meet itself that was flying towards him.
"Hey! Long time no see?!"
Suprised not due to seeing the woman, but because she didn't stop flying at such a quick speed despite coming so close to him, Jian Shen was about to try and stop her when she suddenly hugged him out of nowhere.