As they made preparation to go down the mountain they prepared everything healing pills , spirit stones and protective treasures when it was time all three of them left after leaving the Blood Heaven Sect, Zhou Yu and his senior brother and sister stepped onto their flying swords. The mountains that had protected them for years slowly disappeared behind them as they crossed rivers, ancient forests, and endless plains toward the legendary Imperial City of Ten Thousand Heavens.
The Imperial City of Ten Thousand Heavens was not a city in the normal sense it was a floating domain of layered heavens suspended above the central plains palaces stacked like celestial steps, bridges made of jade light, and rivers of spiritual energy flowing through the sky itself.
Even before entering all three of them could feel it authority,order and an overwhelming wealth of spirit energy they said
" So this is the empire , no wonder senior brother Feng hasn't come back yet "
Zhou yu was curious about his senior brother so he asked why he had not seen the senior brother Feng and they told him it was because he reached the late earth realm before Zhou yu entered the blood heaven sect
And he asked he hasn't for more than twenty years they said since the sect master wasn't worried he was probably alright they reached the outer gates and entered The imperial markets were crowded with cultivators, flying artifacts passed overhead, and guards in golden armor patrolled the streets with measured precision.
His senior sister was distracted by everything.
"Zhou Yu, look! That pill pavilion has a seventh-grade furnace!"
His senior brother scoffed
"Hmph, overpriced."
When something went wrong , he dropped to the ground on his knee like as if something was tugging at his soul his senior brother and sister checked up on him they said
" Are you okay "
He asked
" You all don't feel that "
His senior sister asked
" Feel what "
He said
" If you don't feel it it's probably nothing "
He stood up and they continued their sight seeing They entered the lower tier district near an old stone bridge that connected two floating streets that was when Zhou Yu stopped walking
It came again this time stronger a faint tremor passed through the ground gone instantly like a breath held too long zhou Yu stepped forward slowly and placed his hand on the stone railing of the bridge.
Nothing happened but the calling intensified now it wasn't just beneath his feet it was inside his sea of consciousness a whisper without words a pull without direction his divine sense expanded instinctively
and was instantly blocked.
Something in the city rejected probing zhou Yu withdrew his hand he said
" There's something underground,"
His senior sister blinked.
"A spirit vein?"
He hesitated.
"I don't know yet."
Night fell over the Imperial City of Ten Thousand Heavens lights floated like stars between the floating streets, and the city's formations shimmered like a living sky.
They found lodging near the outer tier but Zhou Yu did not sleep the calling had become stronger now it was rhythmic like a heartbeat trying to synchronize with his own.
Thump
Pause.
Thump.
Pause.
He sat alone in meditation, trying to stabilize his mind, but the more he resisted, the clearer it became something deep beneath the city was not just calling him it was recognizing him as if he were not a stranger but a missing piece finally returned.
At midnight, Zhou Yu opened his eyes he stood without waking his senior brother or sister and stepped outside the streets were empty only the floating lanterns drifted silently above him he walked not because he knew where to go but because the calling pulled him forward.
Step by step, deeper into the Imperial City lower tiers old districts forgotten foundations where even imperial guards rarely passed and the deeper he went the louder it became until finally, he reached an abandoned stone well sealed with ancient imperial chains.
The moment he stood before it the calling stopped.
Dead silence zhou Yu stared at it for the first time it felt like the thing beneath was no longer calling.
The abandoned stone well stood silently beneath the Imperial City of Ten Thousand Heavens the ancient chains wrapped around it were covered in countless symbols, each one carrying a pressure that even Zhou Yu could feel.
This was no ordinary seal it was something created by an existence far beyond ordinary cultivators zhou yu reached out slowly.
The moment his fingers touched the ancient chain
boom !!!
A pulse of spiritual energy erupted from beneath the ground the entire lower district trembled far above, in the heart of the Imperial City, countless formations awakened.
"Something happened in the lower city."
Inside an imperial palace, several guards immediately reported the disturbance.
The Emperor's daughter, who had been resting, opened her eyes she felt it too the same ancient energy that had been silent for thousands of years had moved her expression became serious.
"Take me there."
Back at the sealed well, Zhou Yu stepped back the chains were no longer attacking him instead they were reacting to him.
The faint calling he had felt for days became clear not a voice a memory a scene appeared inside his mind an ancient battlefield.
Countless cultivators standing against an unknown enemy a man covered in blood, holding a broken sword, standing before a vast spirit vein and beside him a young woman from the imperial bloodline the two of them had sealed something beneath the earth.
Then the scene disappeared zhou Yu opened his eyes.
"What was that…"
Before he could understand, a voice came from the opposite side of the stone well.
"You saw it too."
Zhou yu looked up the Emperor's Daughter stood there with her guards her expression was arrogant but cautious she said
"You saw the memory of the first Imperial Ancestor,"
Zhou Yu looked at her
"You know what this is?"
She stared at the ancient well.
"The spirit vein beneath this city is not just a spirit vein."
Her voice became quieter.
"It is the foundation of the Imperial City of Ten Thousand Heavens."