The unexpected news disrupted Shen Yuan's original plans. After casually buying some vegetables, he hurried back home and immediately began to search for related information on the Internet.
Just as the old man in the market had said, there was no information about the seal off on the Cloud Mist Mountain Range online. However, the ticket purchasing corridor on the official website of the Cloud Mist Mountain Range tourist area had already been shut down, and even some tourist software had been removed in advance.
Nevertheless, under some previous videos about the Cloud Mist Mountain Range, Shen Yuan found quite a few comments about the dismissal of tourists from the scenic area, and the comment time happened to be a few hours ago.
This phenomenon confirmed the credibility of the old man's words - something unusual indeed had happened in the Cloud Mist Mountain Range.
"It is indeed possible that the Great Xia's Imperial Court's blockade on the Cloud Mist Mountain Range is related to the Falling Clouds Grotto Heavens."
Shen Yuan's heart began to race.
You should know that the Great Xia is not like the Cathay of Shen Yuan's previous life. This is an ancient empire that has been handed down for three thousand years, separated from the cycle of the dynasty.
Although the court of Great Xia cannot be called feudal and its ability to maintain for three thousand years must have its uniqueness, Shen Yuan still finds it hard to trust this unfamiliar empire.
If the Falling Clouds Grotto Heavens are detected by the Great Xia's Imperial Court, which leads to his secret being revealed, it may bring some unnecessary trouble to Shen Yuan.
Forcefully suppressing the various thoughts that flashed in his mind, Shen Yuan began to seriously consider whether there were any loopholes in his visit to the Cloud Mist Mountain Range.
"The Cloud Mist Mountain Range is a very famous sight in Great Xia. These few days happen to be holidays and the daily visitor flow is at least hundreds of thousands. It's challenging to be noticed in the crowd.
On my way to Falling Clouds Grotto Heavens, I was very careful. Whether it was camping traces or bonfires, I cleaned them up. I even threw the garbage into the space hand grenade before leaving, leaving no trace."
"Moreover, when I left the scenic area, I didn't notice any reaction from the court. The first time the grotto heavens were activated was yesterday afternoon, even if the court was sluggish, the night would be enough to deploy troops.
However, the court did not blockade the Cloud Mist Mountain Range immediately but only after I left. This is enough to prove that the court's understanding of Falling Clouds Grotto Heavens wasn't much, so the feedback wasn't timely."
"And due to the influence of the disaster, the Falling Clouds Grotto Heavens will collapse in less than half a day, and once the grotto heavens collapse, all related information will be annihilated in the broken space. Even the court won't have the ability to investigate then."
After a bit of contemplation, Shen Yuan brainstormed the cause and effect of some events, and some concerns in his heart slightly eased.
According to the comprehensive information available, the matter of Falling Clouds Grotto Heavens should not have any loopholes.
Unless the court dares to lock the position of the Grotto Heavens in the last few hours before the collapse, but this is almost impossible.
"How can such a coincidence happen?"
Shen Yuan was full of confidence.
...
At the same time, far within the Imperial City, an angry voice rang above the Golden Throne Hall.
"What did you say?"
The elderly emperor sitting on the throne finally lost his usual composure.
A sharp spark of light flashed in his dim eyes, and the dragon's breath from the revival of the Imperial Dragon Pulse turned into infinite pressure, pressing towards the superintendent in the hall. The dragons in the wall paintings seemed to be given an unusual vitality at this moment, and their golden eyes stared straight at the position of the superintendent.
The superintendent trembled, then bowed to Emperor Xia and said:
"Reporting to your Majesty, this news was personally narrated by the Star Plucking Taoist, the chief of Marquis Zhennan's Residence, and stealth guards investigated Fifty-three soldiers in attendance at the time confirmed the situation.
Furthermore, the Star Viewing Platform has indeed lost trace of the grotto heavens of the Cloud Mist Mountain Range. This result has only two possibilities - one is that the grotto heavens collapsed and are difficult to trace, and the other is that someone blocked the observation of the Star Viewing Platform.
The former is extremely unlikely, with the arrival of the Spirit Energy Tidal Surge, no one has the ability to destroy the grotto heavens in their own small worlds.
So, the only thing left is the latter possibility - the grotto heavens of the Cloud Mist Mountain Range has an owner!"
As the superintendent's words fell, the momentum emerging from Emperor Xia suddenly dissipated, and the hall was restored to its usual calm.
But under this calm atmosphere, it seemed to hide some immense pressure that made it hard to breathe.
"The master of the Grotto Heavens!"
Emperor Xia sighed in his old voice, seeming to lament, but more fear.
As the emperor of Great Xia, Emperor Xia would not act this way due to the gain or loss of a grotto heaven. He cared more about the overall situation, and a mere gain or loss of a grotto heaven would not affect the real overall situation.
But...if this grotto heaven has a master, everything will be completely different.
The grotto heavens are gifts of heaven and earth, almost equivalent to a small world, and the existing grotto heavens of Great Xia are almost all held in the hands of the Hidden Sects.
However, even if these sects hold the grotto heavens, they are not eligible to consider themselves the masters of the grotto heavens. They are just parasites living on the grotto heavens.
Only those immortals who integrate their bodies into the grotto heavens can be truly called the "masters" of the grotto heavens.
But such a great figure can dominate one side even after ascending to the Upper World, and is rare even during the prosperous era of cultivation millions of years ago.
Especially before the Human Emperor's Absolute Heaven and Earth Passage, most Earth Immortals chose to ascend, and very few stayed in the Primal Chaos Realm. Even fewer could survive the flow of time for thousands of years.
Under such circumstances, a grotto heaven's Earth Immortal returning during the recovery era of the Spirit Energy Tide could disrupt the current situation of Great Xia.
"As Spirit Energy gradually recovers, the strength of the Earth Immortals who have integrated with the grotto heavens will recover at a much faster pace than other cultivators. Possessing the advantage of grotto heavens makes it extremely difficult to assassinate these Earth Immortals."
The threats posed by the not yet awakened old monsters in the Hidden Sects added together are not comparable to a revived Earth Immortal."
The superintendent said solemnly to Emperor Xia:
"Before the Hidden Sects perceive it, we must pull this Earth Immortal to our side. At least, we must not push this mighty Earth Immortal to the sect's side."
Emperor Xia's eyes were deep, and he slowly shook his head to deny:
"The will of an Earth Immortal, how can it be manipulated by others? Before figuring out the identity of this Earth Immortal, we must not make any moves or actively look for this Earth Immortal."
"Next, superintendent, please make a trip to The Blessed Lands. Seek some information about this Earth Immortal from the Book Immortals.
This Earth Immortal's grotto heavens appeared in the Cloud Mist Mountain Range. Its identity may be related to the Cloud Mist Mountain Range."