The huge gate of the palace opened as they approached, and Zhao Yunxiao was slowly carried into what was probably the front hall.
Interestingly enough, there seemed to be an invisible membrane where the gate was, preventing the water from the Origin Lake from flooding into the palace.
Because of that, the inside was warm and dry, a stark contrast to the cold and dark environment outside.
The casing of water around Zhao Yunxiao seemed to be an exception to the rule though.
When Zhao Yunxiao passed through the gate into the palace, the casing of water remained firmly in place until it slowly placed Zhao Yunxiao onto the polished marble floor.
With that, the casing of water finally came undone, turning into a mere puddle on the floor.
At the same time, Zhao Yunxiao suddenly felt a sense of shame wash over him.
Even though the casing of water was transparent, it still felt as though he was at least being covered in something.
Now that the casing of water was gone, Zhao Yunxiao once again realised just how naked he was. And that feeling was further exacerbated by how brightly lit the inside of the palace was as compared to the night sky.
“Is there anyone else here...?” Zhao Yunxiao asked uncertainly, his hands instinctively moving over to protect his dignity.
“This palace belongs to me alone. No one can enter without my permission,” the sea serpent answered matter-of-factly. “Stop doing that. You look pathetic. Or is it because you are not confident in your own body?”
“W-What are you saying? Of course I am confident!” Zhao Yunxiao retorted, though he did not move his hands away. “Where is this place anyway?”
At the same time, he could not help but feel slightly relieved to hear that there was no one else here.
“Didn’t I already say that this is my home?” the sea serpent answered.
“Your home?” Zhao Yunxiao raised an eyebrow. “Did you actually build a home in the core grounds of the Origin Lake Sect?”
“Impressive, isn’t it?” the sea serpent said smugly. “This is just the entrance though, you haven’t seen anything impressive yet. Come, let me widen your horizons!”
The sea serpent flew deeper into the palace, and Zhao Yunxiao obediently followed.
Now that he was already here, he did not really have any other choice but to play along with what the sea serpent wanted.
Not to mention how impossible it was to escape from a sea serpent that could trap him in mere bathwater. Even if he did manage that, how would he explain himself if he was spotted leaving the core grounds of the Origin Lake Sect?
That he was brought in there by a sea serpent that even He Luoxuan failed to notice?
Would anyone ever believe him?
His only choice now was to satisfy whatever the sea serpent wanted of him, and hopefully that would help him convince the sea serpent to bring him out just like how it had brought him in.
Fortunately, it did not seem like the sea serpent had any malicious intentions... so far.
“The palace is designed by the most famous architects of the time, constructed with divine stones far more precious than you can ever imagine, and strengthened further by arrays at the Heavenly Lord level,” the sea serpent explained. “Look at those support columns, don’t the engravings seem like they are about to come to life at any moment?”
Zhao Yunxiao looked around while following behind the sea serpent, and paid more attention to the support columns that it was talking about.
Indeed, the interior of the palace looked every bit as grand as it said, with impeccable architecture that was awe-inspiring to say the least.
However, Zhao Yunxiao doubted that it was truly constructed with divine stones and strengthened by arrays at the Heavenly Lord level.
He was not very sure about the different levels when it came to the higher cultivation realms, but he had heard that most of the elders at the Black Tortoise Sect were only at the Heavenly Lord realm.
How could cultivators on the same level as the Black Tortoise Sect elders be tasked to create arrays just to strengthen this sea serpent’s home?
No way that was happening.
Cultivators of that level would have far more important things to do!
As for the engravings on the walls and support columns, there were those of dragons, phoenixes, qilins, and other mythical creatures.
Just like what the sea serpent said, these engravings looked extremely lifelike, but he sure hoped that the engravings would not truly come back to life.
With everything that was happening right now, Zhao Yunxiao could no longer be sure if the sea serpent was joking or not.
Nevertheless, Zhao Yunxiao could not deny how impressive the palace looked.
It was not just the interior either. When Zhao Yunxiao thought back to how it looked from the outside, he actually thought that the entire palace was constructed flawlessly both inside and out.
In terms of architecture alone, it was a true masterpiece.
“Looks like you know your stuff,” the sea serpent seemed to have noticed the look of appreciation on Zhao Yunxiao’s face. “But it is still too early to be impressed. Follow me!”
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
Zhao Yunxiao followed along as the sea serpent flew deeper into the palace, eventually arriving before a huge door.
“Get ready to be overwhelmed!” the sea serpent said before flicking one of its long whiskers.
With that, the huge door started to creak open.
The scene that unfolded next caught Zhao Yunxiao completely by surprise.
Behind the huge door was a giant chamber no less impressive looking than He Luoxuan’s personal room in his Crazy Winter Heavenly Palace!
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</a> Wasn’t that the name of the current leader of the Origin Lake Sect?
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“But why do you know all of this?” Zhao Yunxiao asked.
“Hahaha! Looks like after all this time, you still haven’t figured out who I am!” the sea serpent laughed.
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</a> Looking at how he ended up here against his wishes, and completely naked to boot, Zhao Yunxiao truly felt like his fortune had completely run out thanks to it!