Chapter 1977: Lanterns Dim, Night Banquet

The Imperial Clan of the Dao Ancient Lineage holds a Bright Night Banquet on the night before the Grand Empress Conferment Ceremony. This banquet begins at sunset and concludes at dawn, after which the attendees proceed to the grand ceremony.

At this banquet, the Dao Ancient Imperial Venerate appears with the newly conferred Empress. This is considered the first time the newly conferred Empress appears before the public in such a setting.

After receiving blessings from everyone at the banquet, the Empress departs, but the Dao Ancient Imperial Venerate remains with the crowd until the banquet ends and the grand ceremony begins.

The venue for this banquet is the enormous plaza outside the Imperial Palace Main Hall. Under the setting sun, countless palace servants have arranged a vast number of Green Pine Tables across the plaza. From afar, they appear densely packed, numbering in the thousands.

These tables are arranged in a fan shape, resembling a bow towards the Imperial Palace Main Hall.

Above the Imperial Palace, hundreds of small platforms are currently floating. Each platform also holds nearly a hundred tables, used to receive the arriving guests.

As the appointed time arrived, the entire Imperial Palace echoed with the sound of drums. The booming sound reached the heavens. At the center of the Imperial Palace, a Giant Drum, hundreds of zhang in size, stood prominently. Made from the hide of an unknown beast, it exuded a sense of antiquity mixed with ferocious Evil Qi.

Floating above the drum were nine black-clothed men. Each of these nine possessed considerable cultivation, comparable to a Heavenly Venerate! Every resounding drum beat was produced by the nine men striking simultaneously, their combined power condensing into a giant, ethereal palm in the sky that slapped the Giant Drum.

The drum sounds echoed, spreading throughout the Imperial Palace but not dissipating. Instead, they spread out like ripples, eventually enveloping the entire City of the Sky, and the nearly thousand massive platforms outside the city.

This allowed all Ancient Clan members in the area to hear it.

The booming sounds erupted every quarter of an hour, turning into countless echoes that lasted for a long time. Just as they were about to fade, a quarter of an hour would pass, and a new drum beat would resonate throughout the Nine Heavens again.

As the third drum beat echoed, people continuously flocked into the Imperial Palace. They were densely packed, seemingly countless, yet every single one of them was a powerhouse. Although not comparable to Heavenly Venerate-level clan members, they were no weaker than Third Step Cultivators.

Amidst the drumming, the arriving guests chose their respective tables, sat down, and began conversing with smiles. Instantly, the entire plaza buzzed with a lively atmosphere.

In the sky, as the fifth drum beat resonated, long rainbows whistled over. The clan members within these long rainbows belonged to the Dao Ancient Lineage and the Other Two Lineages. Upon arrival, some chose tables in the plaza, while others sat at the tables on the hundreds of platforms floating in the sky.

More and more people arrived. As the seventh drum beat echoed, the entire sky under the setting sun seemed to be segmented by thousands of long rainbows, giving a fragmented feeling. These thousands of long rainbows transformed into thousands of clan members, who took their seats one by one.

Simultaneously, after all the thousands of long rainbows had settled, one hundred and eight dazzling Pillars of Light suddenly flew in from the distant world. They arrived in an instant, transforming into one hundred and eight dao ancient clan members wearing white Armor!

These one hundred and eight clan members bowed uniformly toward the Imperial Palace Main Hall, then descended. They calmly sat cross-legged after choosing their respective tables near the front of the Main Hall.

"The dao ancient One Hundred and Eight Prohibitions!!"

"The Dao Ancient Lineage is divided into Prohibitions, Saints, Sha, Kings, and Undying Generals! Since the One Hundred and Eight Prohibitions have appeared, the latter groups should be arriving soon!"

"It is said that every member of the One Hundred and Eight Prohibitions is a person of monstrous slaughter, covered in Evil Qi, which is why they can be conferred the title of Prohibition!"

The low murmurs were drowned out by the booming, but they could not hide the gazes sweeping over the one hundred and eight individuals—eyes filled with envy, gloom, and scrutiny.

Just after the one hundred and eight individuals appeared, seventy-two whirlwinds immediately whistled up from the ground outside the distant Imperial Palace. Each whirlwind contained one person. They arrived simultaneously, heading straight for the Imperial Palace plaza.

A powerful pressure suddenly descended, enveloping the inside and outside of the Imperial Palace. The seventy-two whirlwinds arrived, containing men and women, old and young. Without exception, they all possessed the aura of Divine, Demonic, and Devil Saints. Moreover, their eyes and foreheads astonishingly bore Twenty-seven Stars!!

"The Seventy-two Saints! The Seventy-two Saint Lineages who established glorious military achievements for the dao ancient Clan!"

"I heard long ago that the Seventy-two Saint Lineages of the dao ancient Clan always consist of exactly seventy-two people across generations. These seventy-two family lineages have been protecting the dao ancient for countless ages!"

Amidst the rising discussions, a violent booming sound propagated—it was the eighth drum beat!

As this drum beat echoed, the earth trembled, as if an Earth Dragon was rolling beneath. Simultaneously, thirty-six streaks of blood-red long rainbows suddenly descended from the sunset sky, instantly dyeing the heavens crimson and causing the setting sun to vanish, obscured by the light.

"The Thirty-six Staves!!"

"The Thirty-six Staves are extremely famous within the dao ancient Clan. They are the personal guards of the dao ancient Imperial Clan, created by gathering the resources and strength of the entire dao ancient Clan to forge thirty-six powerhouses for successive Imperial Venerates!!"

"I heard they are like Death Warriors; they can self-detonate with just one command from the Dao Ancient Imperial Venerate!"

"What Thirty-six Staves? These are clearly the Thirty-six Sha!"

Thirty-six burly men walked out from the crimson light. Their bodies were enveloped in red mist, obscuring their appearance. After appearing, they bowed toward the Main Hall, landed on the plaza, and sat down in front of the Seventy-two Saints.

The drumming continued to echo. After the thirty-six people sat down, a violent roar suddenly erupted in the sky, overpowering the drum sound and the discussions of nearly ten thousand people gathered there. After attracting everyone's attention, eighteen enormous Rifts suddenly appeared in the sky curtain, forcibly torn open by eighteen pairs of black and red claws that manifested out of thin air!

Heaven-shaking roars sounded. The moment everyone looked up at the sky curtain, eighteen black-and-red Dragons emerged from the eighteen Rifts!

These eighteen Dragons possessed astonishing Demonic Qi; they were Demonic Dragons! Dragons imbued with the Ancient Demon aura!

Their eighteen pairs of silver pupils revealed boundless Demonic Qi, making the eighteen Dragons look incredibly ferocious. Upon appearing, they immediately wheeled around in the sky, forming a massive Vortex.

"The dao ancient Eighteen Kings!!"

"That's right, those are the Demonic Dragons that serve as the mounts of our dao ancient Eighteen Kings. The appearance of these eighteen Demonic Dragons clearly signifies the arrival of the Eighteen Kings!"

"Below the Dao Ancient Imperial Venerate are the eighteen dao ancient Kings, who are also members of the Imperial Clan. It is said that each of them possesses immense power. Twelve of them are usually forbidden from returning to the capital, instead guarding the Twelve Commanderies outside!"

Waves of uproar immediately broke out when the eighteen Demonic Dragons appeared. In the distant sky, some distance from the Imperial Palace, Wang Lin stood, gazing into the distance.

The eighteen Demonic Dragons stirred up the Heaven and Earth Qi upon their appearance, especially when they formed a spinning Vortex, seemingly transforming into a storm that prevented the focusing of Divine Sense.

"The dao ancient Eighteen Kings… I wonder if Ye Mo was one of these Eighteen Kings back then… Perhaps I will see him at this banquet." Wang Lin rubbed his chin. After arriving at the Dao Ancient Lineage, he did not stay long, and after returning, he entered seclusion for three months, so he had not yet found time to search for the Ye Mo descendant.

However, he kept this matter firmly in mind.

After a brief contemplation, with the lingering echo of the eighth drum beat in his ears, Wang Lin walked unhurriedly towards the distant Imperial Palace. Yet, the closer he got, the stronger the sudden feeling of palpitation became.

This state was not caused by immediate danger, but an indescribable feeling. Given Wang Lin's cultivation, he was already capable of sensing major events concerning himself slightly in advance.

However, no matter how he pondered, he could not figure out what exactly would happen at this Imperial Palace Night Banquet.

As Wang Lin walked forward, frowning, the eighteen Demonic Dragons circling in the sky above the plaza in front of the dao ancient Imperial Palace descended simultaneously. Upon closer inspection, one could clearly see a person standing prominently atop each of their heads!

There were eighteen people in total. Their appearances varied, yet there were subtle similarities. They wore Python Robes and looked quite imposing. The eighteen men simultaneously dismounted the Demonic Dragons, landing on the plaza at the tables closest to the Main Hall, and sat down one by one.

The moment they sat down, the eighteen Demonic Dragons let out a roar, burrowed into the Rifts in the sky curtain, and vanished. Subsequently, the Rifts also dissipated in the sky, allowing the setting sun to return to normal, as if nothing had happened.

At this moment, the ninth drum beat echoed between heaven and earth, merging with the lingering echoes of the previous eight beats, transforming into a rarely heard, thunderous roar. That sound was powerful enough to shake Cultivators to death, and even the bodies of the Ancient Clan would struggle to remain unharmed by it. Yet, strangely, everyone present only heard the sound, but their bodies were completely unaffected.

Wang Lin walked forward, arriving above the Imperial Palace amidst the ninth drum beat. As his gaze swept over the area, he suddenly looked up at the sky, his pupils slightly contracting.

Nine streaks of black light suddenly descended from the sky. At a glance, the black lights resembled enormous pillars, seemingly supporting the heavens to prevent collapse. As they descended, layers of black ripples spread out. In an instant, the nine black lights landed, transforming into nine massive men wearing black Armor!

These nine men exuded dense Evil Qi, and countless Vengeful Spirits could faintly be seen swirling around their bodies. They did not bow to the Main Hall but exchanged glances before walking toward the nine tables in front of the Eighteen Kings.

In front of them, there were still four more tables!

"Undying Generals!!"

"They must be the dao ancient Clan's Nine Great Undying Generals!!"

"Nine Transcendent Heavenly Venerates comparable to those of the Immortal Clan who have passed the Thirteenth Layer of Heavenly Venerate Nirvana! Especially one of them, whose fluctuations suggest he might have passed the fourteenth layer!" Wang Lin withdrew his gaze, stepped forward, and walked toward the very front, treading upon the booming sound of the ninth drum beat.

His appearance immediately drew the gazes of many people, both above and below!