Chapter 1753: No Long Road to the Ancient Hall

When Yan Qingchen had distributed the deposits yesterday, the others weren’t blind to Liu Siyu’s behavior. Combined with her usual submissiveness to him, her feelings were obvious to everyone.

But what did that have to do with them? In the cultivation world, there wasn’t much room for gratitude. Since it was a transaction from the start, it was a matter of mutual consent. Did Yan Qingchen really think they would risk their lives for him just by showing them the treasures without paying a deposit? If he refused to pay after the job was done, they would have to go to great trouble to get what they were owed. Naturally, it was better to get some benefits upfront.

As for Yan Qingchen, hearing Liu Siyu’s words improved his mood significantly. She hadn’t accepted any upfront payment yesterday, saying she would take it once the matter was finished. He had offered a few polite refusals but didn’t press the issue; after all, it wasn’t that he wasn’t giving it, but that she didn’t want it. He had spent a great deal of effort to gather information on this place and was determined to achieve his goal.

Just as the people there were harboring their own various thoughts, someone suddenly cried out.

“It’s here!”

As the voice fell, everyone looked toward the lake. On the previously empty water, a boat surged out from the central island. It was quite large but felt incredibly delicate, resembling a painted pleasure boat used for leisure.

However, this boat didn’t have the leisurely pace of a pleasure craft. From the moment it appeared, it crossed the hundred li in a few breaths and reached the shore. Standing at the bow was a young woman, appearing to be in her early twenties, dressed in the white sect uniform.

As the boat docked, her refined face showed no emotion. She tilted her head slightly, casting a cold glance over the cultivators on the shore. Her voice was tinged with a chilling distance.

“Board.”

Her appearance and voice were a perfect match, like a goddess descended from a snowy peak. At her command, the hundred-plus cultivators didn’t hesitate and flew toward the boat.

Li Yan waited a moment, and once the streaks of light had all landed on the deck, he flashed forward and reached the air above the vessel. After a quick scan, he found a clear space at the back of the boat and descended.

Although the boat looked like a pleasure craft from the outside, only its ornate railings gave that impression. The interior had no rooms; from bow to stern, it was a flat, empty deck without even a bench. Aside from the woman in white at the bow, the boat was completely empty before the crowd boarded.

Now, except for the area immediately surrounding the white-robed woman, which no one dared to occupy, the boat was packed with cultivators from five fathoms behind the bow. That area was the most crowded, while the rear was relatively sparse.

The moment Li Yan landed, he felt a ripple beneath his feet. His identity token, which he had been ordered to display on his waist during registration, drifted slightly upward. But as he looked down, the token quickly settled back against him.

‘This is an identity check!’

Li Yan immediately understood. No wonder the deacon had insisted he wear the token today. If anything went wrong, the consequences would be his alone. This boat possessed an array that could distinguish identities. If someone without a token or someone who didn’t meet the requirements boarded, the array would likely attack them instantly—or the woman at the bow would personally throw them off.

Li Yan couldn’t perceive the woman’s cultivation level, which meant she was at least beyond the Void Refining stage. Such a powerful person was needed because some of the older disciples here were already at the Void Refining stage themselves.

Core elite disciples were usually required to leave that status and become deacons or elders once they reached the rank of an Earth-rank Alchemy Grandmaster. If they reached the Void Refining stage but failed to become a Yellow-rank Alchemy Grandmaster within a hundred years, they would be forced to become ordinary deacons. Thus, many core disciples intentionally suppressed their cultivation even when they could break through, focusing instead on their alchemical skills. The presence of the woman in white was clearly intended to suppress those Void Refining disciples.

Soon, everyone on the shore had boarded. The woman in white didn’t look back; her Divine Sense swept through the boat, confirming everyone was present. In the past, some disciples had indeed tried to sneak into the hall, but that was long ago. After several harsh punishments, no one dared to take the risk anymore.

The fate of those earlier disciples was to be punished until they wished for death. Moreover, the sect would ruthlessly publish their names and clear portraits throughout the valley. With a cultivator’s memory, people wouldn’t even need to know your name to recognize you and what you had done. These “vicious” ideas came from the Law-Enforcement Hall, making them both hated and feared.

The woman in white said nothing more. She tapped her foot lightly, and the boat’s array activated. The bow turned sharply and sped toward the center of the lake. As they moved, no one spoke; only the sound of water rushing past the hull filled the air.

The central island, a hundred li away, looked distant even to a cultivator’s eyes. But in a few breaths, as the boat accelerated and the water sizzled against the hull, they reached the dense ring of trees surrounding the island.

The boat didn’t slow down; it charged directly toward the thick woods. The cultivators weren’t panicked; such things were common in their world. Sure enough, as the bow was about to hit the trees, the massive woods suddenly parted. The boat shot inside like an arrow.

The moment it entered the island, the trees snapped shut behind it. To those watching from the shore, it was as if the boat had been swallowed by the island.

‘Are we at the Inheritance Ancient Hall already?’

The thought flashed through Li Yan’s mind. He had waited years for this moment. But in the next instant, he realized he was wrong. He saw many of the others look just as stunned. Clearly, like him, most were here for the first time, while those who had been before remained composed.

In Li Yan’s imagination, entering the island would mean passing through the woods and seeing the true face of the island—perhaps a grand, ancient palace or a specific entrance. But reality was different. Ahead of them were still endless layers of dense trees.