Nie Kong felt his old face flush slightly, and he interjected awkwardly, "Master, you overpraise me."

The Seven-Colored Grand seemed not to have heard him, sighing softly, "Merely for this, it is enough to incite jealousy in all the Ninth-Rank Spirit Gods toward you! Even Grands are no exception. Did you truly believe the Pangu Grand was merely commending you just now? At that moment, he had conceived a killing intent toward you."

After a slight pause, the Seven-Colored Grand murmured again, "Perhaps, I was truly too hasty."

Nie Kong was momentarily stunned, then smiled, "Master need not worry. Outside, with you present, he will not openly make a move. By the rules, the Grand cannot enter the 'Taishi Grotto-Heaven'; he himself still cannot act directly and can only instruct those Ninth-Rank Spirit Gods of the Panxing Clan." Speaking of this, Nie Kong’s spirit swelled with boldness, "As long as it’s not a Grand, I refuse none who come. We shall see in the end whether I am the one they kill, or if they become the stepping stones for my cultivation."

"Hm?"

The Seven-Colored Grand started, then turned to look at Nie Kong. Two clusters of seven-colored light began to swirl in his otherwise hollow eye sockets. He threw back his head and laughed heartily, "Well said! Truly worthy, my Seven-Colored disciple. However, the 'Taishi Grotto-Heaven' is fraught with peril; you must not be overly careless."

Nie Kong nodded, "Master, rest assured, I will proceed with caution."

"Good. Let's go; don't keep them waiting too long."

Two figures shot away like lightning, the Seven-Colored Grand and Nie Kong entering the world gate in succession.

The power of the world gate surged ceaselessly from behind, pressing upon the two like towering waves, forcing them to drift along the current. The passage of the world gate, condensed from a pale, misty aura, twisted and turned. Nie Kong had no idea how many turns he had made when the pushing force behind him finally vanished, and the view before him abruptly cleared.

As his body drifted down from the high sky toward the ground, Nie Kong glanced around and was instantly astonished.

As far as his sight could reach, there was nothing but rolling yellow sands, interspersed with gobi desert and withered trees. There was not a hint of green in the world; a profound sense of bleak desolation washed over him.

Nie Kong’s spiritual sense immediately spread outward...

The situation within a hundred-mile radius was all recorded in his mind. Aside from the dozen or so people who had just entered, there was no other life force in this area. The spiritual power elements in the void were pitifully sparse, and the divine power elements were entirely absent—it was almost equivalent to the peripheral regions of the Divine Void Realm continental fragments.

"Is this place really outside the heavens?"

When his feet touched the ground, Nie Kong still found it somewhat unbelievable. After the divine war ten thousand years ago, millions from the Immortal Star and Red Star clans were driven into this place outside the heavens. If the entire realm outside the heavens were like this, their populations would surely have been entirely wiped out over ten millennia.

Chongxu Grand and Pangu Grand surely wouldn't be that ruthless. There should be areas outside the heavens suitable for human habitation?

Nie Kong took a deep breath, that thought flashing through his mind. He could not deny that among the three great star clans of the Grand Spiritual Realm, he held the most favorable impression of the Red Star Clan. After all, back in the Nether Earth, Chi Lian had provided him with a great inheritance, and he was still using the "Red Star Battle Form" and the "War God Star Seal" even now.

A moment later, the group set off again.

The eight from the Spirit God faction, the eight from the Panxing Clan... sixteen individuals, streaked across the surface void like sixteen meteors of different colors, swift and silent.

The surrounding scenery remained almost unchanged.

Nie Kong could not discern direction at all; fortunately, having so many people leading the way prevented him from getting lost.

After about several hours, faint specks of green finally appeared in the yellow sandscape. Nie Kong's spirits lifted. Indeed, the further they traveled, the greener the landscape became. Several tens of minutes later, the endless yellow sands and Gobi were finally replaced by vast stretches of mountain forests.

The auras of low-grade spirit beasts began to appear within these forests. However, the spiritual power elements here were still rather thin, only equivalent to fifty percent of that on the Heavenly Spirit Continent.

Nie Kong traveled while observing, yet he still couldn't find a single human.

"Master, what is that?"

After an unknown amount of time, Nie Kong inadvertently looked up toward the distant void and saw the shadow of a palace, causing him to exclaim in surprise.

The Seven-Colored Grand smiled without looking up, "That is the 'Taishi Palace.' It is still very far from here."

"Taishi Palace?"

It must be closely related to the Taishi Grotto-Heaven. Nie Kong's heart stirred, but he asked no more.

The journey that followed confirmed the Seven-Colored Grand's words; that 'Taishi Palace' was indeed still extremely far away.

As they progressed, the spiritual power elements between heaven and earth gradually grew richer, yet the size of the 'Taishi Palace' never changed, as if distance had no bearing on it whatsoever.

The spirit beasts detected nearby grew increasingly powerful, but still, not a single human was seen.

Another few hours passed, and the richness of the spiritual power elements finally reached the standard of the Heavenly Spirit Continent. It was then that Nie Kong finally detected faint wisps of divine power elements in the void.

What pleased Nie Kong the most was that the Taishi Palace also began to change, constantly expanding.

But Nie Kong soon noticed something strange: the Taishi Palace didn't seem to be a solid structure, but rather an illusionary shadow of a building.

What was going on?

This question quietly arose in Nie Kong's mind...

"We've arrived!"

Suddenly, the cheerful laughter of the Thunder Dragon Grand echoed through the heavens and earth.

The doubt in Nie Kong's heart was finally confirmed. That Taishi Palace was indeed only a phantom image, towering several thousand meters high, dominating an area spanning dozens of miles.

Surrounding this palace were neat and dense clusters of dwellings.

As Nie Kong estimated, at least several million people resided here, presumably all from the Immortal Star and Red Star clans. Among these people, there were many cultivators, but their cultivation levels were not very high. In Nie Kong's perception, only a few dozen individuals possessed strength equivalent to the Ninth-Rank Illusionary Spirit Masters of the Divine Void Realm.

Only a sparse handful possessed Star God strength, the strongest among them merely a Third-Rank Star God.

Nie Kong felt immense emotion. He hadn't expected that after one divine war, the two great star clans of the Grand Spiritual Realm had declined to such an extent—perhaps not even one-thousandth of their former glory. Still, to have produced three Star Gods in such a harsh cultivation environment was indeed commendable.

With this thought, Nie Kong drifted with the crowd over the city and alighted before the Taishi Palace.

Even though it was merely a phantom image, standing at the foot of the palace and looking up, Nie Kong, Ziwei, the twelve Ninth-Rank Spirit Gods and Ninth-Rank Star Gods felt an immense pressure, causing their very minds to tremble. Only the four Grands maintained expressions of composure.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Just then, three elders suddenly materialized from the distance, instantly traversing a thousand meters of void to float before the group. They immediately knelt respectfully on the ground, "Chi Yu (Xian Liang, Chi Feng) pay respects to the esteemed High Gods."

These were the three Star Gods of this region.

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