The Ji Clan didn’t just have one ancestral mansion, but many. The one located within the fortress was just one of those.
It was enormous and sprawling, taking up roughly thirty percent of the entire fortress. On the outside it looked relatively ordinary, but once you stepped foot inside, you would catch sight of indescribably beautiful carved balustrades and marble steps.
An ancient, aged will emanated out in all directions, making every block of wood and stone seem sentient. It was something completely extraordinary that even the Eastern Lands’ Fang Clan couldn’t equal.
Meng Hao navigated his way through the fortress using the map, and eventually found the Ji Clan’s main gate. He walked up the gate and cleared his throat. As he looked around, he didn’t see anyone around standing guard.
He knocked, and, seeing that there was no reaction from within, flew up into the air and prepared to simply fly into the mansion. However, a massive pressure bore down on him as soon as he rose up into the air. Clearly, the airspace here was restricted.
Meng Hao suddenly heard someone chuckling behind him.
“Fellow Daoist, don’t waste your time! People like you come here every day hoping to pay respects to the Ji Clan.”
There were two cultivators there who had caught sight of Meng Hao as they were passing by.
“The Ji Clan is the number one clan in the lands of South Heaven,” said the first one, “and this is one of their ancestral mansions. You think you can just waltz right in? The only way to get inside is if you’re invited by the Ji Clan.”
“Why even try?” chuckled the second one. “You might end up irritating one of the Ji Clan members, and then you’d be in grave danger.”
Actually, Meng Hao’s handsome appearance and down-to-earth disposition left these two cultivators with a good impression, so they really were trying to help him out.
“I’m not here to pay respects,” said Meng Hao, coughing lightly. “I’m here to collect some debts.” His eyes suddenly glittered brightly as he caught sight of the two iron hoop handles that adorned the main gate.
The two iron hoops seemed ordinary, but by using his Celestial Vision technique, he could instantly sense the aura of ancient magical symbols pulsing off of them.
“These things are magical treasures!” Meng Hao thought. Taking a step forward, he grabbed one of the iron hoops and then yanked hard on it. Unfortunately, the gate didn’t budge an inch. The two startled cultivators looked on in shock.
“Fellow Daoist, what… what are you doing?”
Meng Hao took a deep breath, and strange gleam appeared in his eyes. As he prepared to yank on the iron hoop a second time, the wide-eyed cultivators behind him began to back up. They came to the citadel frequently to go shopping, and often saw cultivators pacing back and forth in front of the Ji Clan’s main gate, hoping to gain entrance to offer respects.
However, they had never, ever seen someone covet the iron hoops on the main gate. The mere sight of it made their scalps numb. As they backed up, Meng Hao wrenched at the iron hoop with full force.