Firmament Sword

”Who in the world was that? How could anyone have such power?” The Huo Family Master was stunned. As he looked at the ten men who had departed so quickly and returned just as fast, his eyes filled with shock.

Even the venerable elder’s time-worn face revealed a trace of astonishment. After a long while, he finally said, ”The last divination for Beidou’s Eighth Star consumed a great deal of my mental energy. I won’t be able to perform another one for several years. If I were to force it... I’m afraid it would cost me my life. So, for this matter... let’s set it aside for now.”

”But what about the Eighth Star...” The Huo Family Master frowned slightly.

The venerable elder waved his hand, his expression weary. ”It’s fine. He can’t escape!”

”Very well, then...” The Huo Family Master looked crestfallen as he arranged for the ten who had narrowly escaped death—those even more unlucky Divine Power Realm experts—to go and recuperate.

They were unlucky indeed. These ten could probably be considered the most unfortunate Divine Power Realm experts in existence.

They hadn’t even seen their opponent’s face. A single word—”scram”—had been enough to grievously injure them and send them scurrying back in disgrace.

The Huo Family Master muttered to himself, ’Who could it be? Is it possible... that a place like the Central Plains Star Continent actually has a Saint?’

’But... how could a Saint appear on the Central Plains Star Continent? Didn’t the Ancestor say there are no Saints there?’

The Huo Family Master was completely baffled. Deep within his heart, a sliver of worry arose. ’If a Saint really does exist on the Central Plains Star Continent, then capturing Beidou’s Eighth Star... will be incredibly difficult!’

With a sigh, the Huo Family Master forced himself to pull it together and went to appease the family’s experts.

After all, with such a serious incident occurring so suddenly, the entire family was surely in a state of panic and fury. If he couldn’t soothe their emotions, something even worse might happen.

...

”Our Central Plains Star Continent might actually have a Saint!”

”Yeah, I heard about that too. Apparently, some experts from the Ancient Race Continent came to the Central Plains Star Continent looking for Xu Luo, but they were driven back with a single word.”

”This is exhilarating! From now on, who will dare call our Central Plains Star Continent a barren and backward land?”

”I just wonder... what’s the relationship between that powerful being and Xu Luo? Why would they help him?”

”They might not have been helping Xu Luo, though...”

”Right. Maybe they were just displeased with the invasion from the outer realms and decided to give them a warning. If they were really helping Xu Luo, why not just kill that group of outsiders from the Ancient Race?”

All sorts of discussions arose in the Sect Realm of the Central Plains Star Continent. Almost everyone was talking about it.

「Meanwhile, in the Xu Mansion in the Imperial Capital of the Cangqiong Empire.」

People there were also discussing the matter.

Huangfu Shishi said excitedly, ”This means Brother Xu Luo is completely fine! All those rumors from a while ago must have been fake! Otherwise, why would people still be coming to look for him?”

”Those rumors... might not be fake,” Lianyi said softly. ”According to the news my mother sent back... they’re probably true. Xu Luo was indeed being hunted, but he must also be fine.”

”That’s right.” A smile bloomed on Phoenix’s delicate face. ”The thought of those sects... staring at that depleted Spirit Stone Vein, on the verge of tears... it just makes me laugh! I just don’t know how Xu Luo managed to drain an entire Spirit Stone Vein of all its Spirit Stones... The whole thing is just too sensational to believe!”

”Even without Xu Luo, those sects wouldn’t have been able to keep that Spirit Stone Vein. Once the Ancient Race got involved, they were completely outmatched!” Huangfu Shishi sneered.

The Kaiyang Sect hadn’t profited either, which put Huangfu Shishi in a very good mood. Although the sect had nurtured her, after the series of events that had transpired, her ties to the Kaiyang Sect had reached their end.

Although the Kaiyang Sect hadn’t officially announced her expulsion, the outcome was pretty much the same.

Ever since those sects discovered the Spirit Stone Vein was depleted, they had all been left dumbfounded. This was especially true for the Dubhe Sect... the most powerful sect on the Central Plains Star Continent. They had put in so much effort and suffered considerable losses, only to end up with nothing.

The entire sect, from top to bottom, was absolutely furious, but what could they do?

In the end, the sects could only go their separate ways.

Although the Celestial Cauldron Sect and the Jade Balance Sect hadn’t gained anything either, they weren’t too disappointed. They each quietly departed with their disciples, returning to their respective territories and acting as if nothing had ever happened.

They could afford to do so, but the Dubhe and Kaiyang Sects could not.

The Dubhe Sect ended up going to the Da Han Empire in the north, while the Kaiyang Sect... went to the Great Yan Empire in the south. It seemed they wouldn’t rest until they found a Spirit Stone Vein.

The movements of these two sects also caught the attention of Xu Ji and the others.

Both the Great Yan and Da Han Empires were generational enemies of the Cangqiong Empire. If these two powerful sects were to throw their support behind those two empires, Cangqiong, caught in the middle, would face a tremendous crisis.

Fortunately, before leaving, both the Celestial Cauldron Sect and the Jade Balance Sect had left word with Xu Ji that if the other sects interfered in worldly affairs, they would not stand idly by.

”I just don’t know... where Brother Xu Luo is right now. I miss him so much!” Huangfu Shishi murmured, cupping her cheek in her hand.

”Yes, the last news we received was that he did appear at the Spirit Stone Vein, and then he was hunted by several powerful individuals...” Lianyi sighed softly, her expression full of worry.

”I believe he’ll be fine! We need to become stronger, too. At the very least... we can’t make him worry about us!” Phoenix said softly, her eyes flashing. ”He left behind so many Heavenly and Earthly Treasures before he departed. If we can’t even use those to get stronger, then we’ll truly be letting him down!”

”That’s right,” Lianyi said. ”Sui Yan’s defensive works should be nearing completion. Once the entire defense is established, it will be able to shield the entire Cangqiong Imperial Capital! Then, no matter what happens, we’ll be able to put up a fight!”

On the surface, the Cangqiong Imperial Capital remained as prosperous and peaceful as ever, but unknown to its inhabitants, a completely different scene was unfolding underground!

Sui Yan, who hadn’t groomed himself in who knows how many days, looked extremely haggard. His face was covered in stubble, but his eyes were incredibly bright as he directed a large number of burly men in constructing the underground fortifications.

This... was a true Grand Array!

Its core was located in the Xu Mansion. With the mansion as its center, it spread out in all directions, linking the entire Imperial Capital together. Once the Grand Array was activated, the entire capital would be shrouded within it.

One couldn’t say if this Grand Array would ever be surpassed, but at the very least... it was most likely unprecedented in history!

Huangfu Chongzhi’s daily task was alchemy. Following the Pill Formulas in the Pill Scripture, he continuously refined vast quantities of Elixirs, which were immediately sent to the Xu Mansion through a network of underground tunnels.

He had also finally gotten a new Pill Furnace.

Xu Luo had previously obtained a small Bronze Cauldron from the Star Ancestor, though he hadn’t known its purpose at the time. It was only when Huangfu Chongzhi saw it later that he realized it was a Top-Grade Pill Furnace!

The Elixirs refined in that small Bronze Cauldron were more than double the quality of those produced by an ordinary pill furnace!

With a Top-Grade Pill Furnace and Top-Grade Medicinal Materials, Huangfu Chongzhi was already extremely satisfied, even though he had yet to obtain a top-grade fire seed.

Xu Jie’s daily task was forging weapons!

Xu Luo had left behind a vast amount of Top-Grade Refining Materials, and Xu Jie was like a starving beggar who had just laid eyes on a fresh bun; he dove right in...

From the day Xu Luo left the Imperial Capital, Xu Jie had practically never left his workshop!

Although his mother still refused to acknowledge Mo Yun as her daughter-in-law, she doted on her grandson... and soon took the child to live with her, ignoring all of Mo Yun’s protests.

Helpless, Mo Yun could only accept the situation. She then took out her frustrations on her trusted subordinates, drilling them mercilessly every day.

Though her training made the men wail like ghosts and howl like wolves, the results were remarkable. The strongest among them had already reached the Sword Venerable Realm!

They had practically become an army of steel.

Little Fatty began to cultivate with unprecedented seriousness. He and Lan Xin were in closed-door cultivation almost all day, rarely appearing in public.

The Little Lord Fatty of the past, who used to harass women on the street, was long gone.

Xu Ji and his wife, Xu Su, Guo Ying, and Xia Muyao and her husband—they were all busy with their own affairs.

None of them would take the initiative to mention Xu Luo, as they were all afraid of losing control of their emotions.

They were afraid that mentioning his name would bring them to tears, and even more afraid of upsetting Xu Luo’s three fiancées. Therefore, they all did their best to keep themselves occupied.

Therefore, they deliberately avoided mentioning even the news that was spreading like wildfire.

Still, their spirits had lifted considerably. The fact that people were looking for Xu Luo meant he was safe. The fact that someone had resolved the crisis with a single word proved that there was someone backing Xu Luo and helping him!

All was well at home, but did the wanderer know of it?

Of course, Xu Luo, far away on the Southern Celestial Divine Continent, had no way of knowing what was happening back home. He was currently at the Starlight Sect, cultivating in peace.

Following the sudden advancement of the siblings Yang Dan and Yang Ming, Xu Luo’s status within the Starlight Sect rose unexpectedly. Although most Starlight Sect Disciples were unaware of the reason for the siblings’ improvement, they saw how respectfully the sect’s upper echelons treated Xu Luo and naturally formed their own suspicions.

Disciples capable of entering a sect might have their flaws, like pride or arrogance, but they were rarely ever fools.

Thus, Xu Luo’s stay at the Starlight Sect was quite comfortable. The poison in his body had been cleansed, his five Star Souls had awakened, and his strength had recovered to the Peak of Transformation Realm. He was only half a step away from breaking back through to the Divine Power Realm.

As for Xu Luo, all he had to do now was wait for the Blazing Fire Sect to come to their doorstep, help the Starlight Sect deal with the immediate trouble, and then he could be on his way.

As expected, a few days later, the Blazing Fire Sect really did arrive.