Chapter 411

Chapter 411: Auspicious Palace’s Immortal Maiden Liu Yun
Celestial music lingered in the air. Phoenix cries and crane calls echoed.

Petals rode the fragrant wind and floated all over the sky.

A carriage drawn by four flying horses sped through the rain of flowers.

The four flying horses were tall and powerful, stepping on drifting clouds. With each flap of their wings, they stirred up strong air currents.

The carriage was exquisite and luxurious. Dragons were carved on its right side and phoenixes on its left. It was inlaid with countless precious gems that reflected dazzling light in the sun.

Through a veil as thin as a cicada’s wing, one could vaguely see a graceful figure dressed in red wedding robes.

“Where is this…”

Yu Zhao looked around in shock.

If not for the lingering pain in her body from being squeezed by the power of space, she would definitely have suspected she was dreaming.

She still remembered that right after Ye Cong Xin had forced her into the teleportation channel, the passage collapsed. She was swept away by spatial turbulence in an instant and immediately lost consciousness.

When she woke up again, she found she was actually wearing wedding robes and sitting in this luxurious carriage.

“Body-seizing?”

Yu Zhao’s first reaction was that her body had been destroyed in the turbulence, and her soul had accidentally seized a suitable new body.

Startled, she sent her divine sense inward and then let out a long breath of relief.

This was not body-seizing. This was her own body.

Her body still carried internal injuries formed in the spatial turbulence.

What in the world was going on?

The only thing Yu Zhao could be sure of was that this place was definitely not the Cultivation World.

After all, she could not even see through the strength of the flying horses pulling the carriage, not to mention this costly carriage itself.

She tried to get out, and unsurprisingly found an invisible barrier formation around the carriage. Even the festive wedding robes she wore were inscribed with formation arrays.

She could not leave the carriage, and she could not even change out of these eye-catching wedding robes.

Not only that, a jade ruyi as clear as seawater and shimmering with icy blue now hung on her chest.

It felt icy to the touch and was full of spiritual energy.

It clearly was not an ordinary item.

Yu Zhao grew more and more confused.

After thinking for a long time, her tightly furrowed brow slowly relaxed.

[Since I am already here, I might as well stay calm.]

Since she could not leave, she could only go with the flow and see where this carriage would take her.

The four flying horses galloped along with the carriage, but Yu Zhao felt no bumping at all inside.

On the way, she had even tried talking to the four flying horses.

But whether it was because they did not understand her language or for some other reason, the flying horses did not respond to her.

Yu Zhao had no choice but to stay alert to her surroundings while absorbing spiritual energy to heal her internal injuries.

Half a month later.

Yu Zhao opened her eyes.

The carriage was about to reach its destination.

She could already hear festive music from ahead.

Sure enough, not long after, the flying horses dove down from high in the sky, and a residence decorated with lanterns and streamers, overflowing with joy, appeared.

Calling it a residence was not quite right. Its scale was even more grand and dazzling than a city.

Every three steps was a view, every five steps was a painting. Carved railings and jade steps were everywhere, with beautiful scenery all around.

“The Auspicious Palace carriage is here!”

“Immortal Maiden Liu Yun has arrived!”

“Quick, quickly inform the Nan Gong Clan!”

“No need, the Feng Clan people are already here!”

A large crowd of people surrounded an elegant and noble young man as they came forward. He stood tall and straight on a huge flower platform in the center of the residence.

In just a moment, the flying carriage slowly landed on the platform.

Through the curtain, Yu Zhao looked at the crowd outside, and her heart sank again.

She could not see through the cultivation level of a single person there.

Also, the feeling they gave her was very different from what she felt when facing Master Qing Yan.

Just from his appearance, Master Qing Yan gave off an awe-inspiring, unreachable feeling.

But these people’s auras were all restrained. They did not reveal anything with their every move.

Yet the less she could see through them, the more they made her heart tremble.

“On behalf of the Feng Clan, Feng Jiu Si has come to welcome you. May Immortal Maiden Liu Yun please step down from the carriage.”

Inside the carriage.

Yu Zhao hesitated for a moment and slowly reached out a fingertip.

As expected.

This time, her fingertip was not bounced back by the barrier.

She took a deep breath, suddenly lifted the curtain, and stood on the carriage frame.

The surroundings fell silent for a moment.

Then noisy discussions erupted.

“Immortal Maiden Liu Yun truly deserves to be the First Immortal Maiden of Auspicious Palace. She is absolutely stunning!”

“Young Master Feng is elegant and handsome, and Immortal Maiden Liu Yun is unparalleled in beauty. The two of them are a perfect match!”

“I heard Immortal Maiden Liu Yun was at the Divine Transformation cultivation level. Why is she only at Nascent Soul?”

Silently, Yu Zhao filtered the valuable information from their messy chatter and drew two conclusions.

The identity she was now taking was that of Auspicious Palace’s Immortal Maiden Liu Yun, who was famous, but not many people had seen her true face. So although the crowd grumbled that her cultivation level did not match the rumors, they did not doubt her identity.

Second, Immortal Maiden Liu Yun had long been engaged to the Feng Clan’s young heir, Feng Jiu Si. Tomorrow would be their dual cultivation ceremony. Most of the guests here today were followers of the Feng Clan, while the important guests would arrive tomorrow.

“Immortal Maiden Liu Yun has had a long and tiring journey. Xing Yu, Li Yun, take the Immortal Maiden to rest first.”

Feng Jiu Si seemed to have never seen his future dao companion either. His expression did not change at all as he smiled and called over two beautiful maidservants.

Seeing two young women with the same cultivation level as hers respectfully walk up, Yu Zhao’s heart clenched, but she silently followed them away.

Feng Jiu Si watched Yu Zhao’s back until she disappeared, his smile gentle and his gaze soft.

The residence arranged for Yu Zhao by the Feng Clan was a separate pavilion. Outside, flowers bloomed in profusion, with small bridges over flowing water and spiritual mist curling around, like a blessed grotto-heaven.

Yu Zhao kept up her calm facade until the two maidservants left the room and she was finally alone.

She collapsed on the luxurious, ostentatious bed, wanting to cry but unable to shed tears.

From what she currently understood, Auspicious Palace’s Immortal Maiden Liu Yun had run away from her marriage, and unlucky her had become Liu Yun’s substitute, marrying into the Feng Clan in her place.

She just did not know whether this idea had come from Immortal Maiden Liu Yun herself or from Auspicious Palace.

Besides that, there were a few more suspicious points.

For example, since Immortal Maiden Liu Yun was marrying into the Feng Clan, Auspicious Palace should have sent people to attend the ceremony. Yet Yu Zhao had come alone in the carriage.

And right after she got off, the four flying horses immediately pulled the carriage away without staying for even a moment, as if trying to draw a clear line between themselves and Yu Zhao.

[Are they afraid that the substitute-bride scheme will be exposed and the Feng Clan will blame them, or is there some other reason?]

However, Feng Jiu Si and the others seemed used to this and did not feel that Auspicious Palace was being rude.

From the guests’ chatter, Yu Zhao learned that Feng Jiu Si was the most outstanding younger disciple of the Feng Clan. A few years ago, he had earned the position of young heir through his excellent performance.

Immortal Maiden Liu Yun, other than her good reputation, did not seem to have any particularly outstanding traits.

Their strength was not equal.

For such a major event as a marriage alliance, she had seen no other members of the Feng Clan besides Feng Jiu Si and did not know how they felt about this.

In short, everything about the marriage between Immortal Maiden Liu Yun and Feng Jiu Si felt strange.

She also did not know how the Feng Clan would react once they learned that Immortal Maiden Liu Yun had been replaced.

[They should not vent their anger on me, right?]

Yu Zhao worried for a moment, then suddenly flipped over and sat up to begin seated breathing meditation.

Such rich spiritual energy could not be wasted.