Firmament Sword

Xu Luo smiled faintly, put away his Seven Star Sword, then looked at the dazed purple-haired youth. ”You lost. Hand over my treasure!”

”What you... just used, was that the law of time?” The purple-haired youth raised his head and asked Xu Luo, his eyes still filled with shock.

Xu Luo nodded. ”You’re more knowledgeable than I thought.”

”Fine, I lost!” The purple-haired youth decisively took out the small, blood-red seal and tossed it to Xu Luo. Then he said, ”A bet is a bet. But there’s something I feel I should warn you about...”

Xu Luo caught the small red seal and clearly felt a slight tremor from the Merak Star Soul in his Dantian. He toyed with it expressionlessly, then raised his head to look at the purple-haired youth.

The purple-haired youth said, ”The ring you took from Li Ye contains a priceless treasure that allows one to traverse space. That’s the treasure we used to cross over to this continent. Now that you’ve taken it, we do have other ways to return, but I think it would be best if you gave it back. We’re willing to trade a treasure of equal value for it.”

As he spoke, the purple-haired youth looked at Xu Luo with a sincere expression. ”I’m not threatening you. This item might not be of much use in your hands, but it will bring you endless trouble.”

Li Ye also walked over slowly, his face a little pale. He looked at Xu Luo and said, ”Everything else in the ring is yours. I promise I won’t hold a grudge. But that item... you’d best return it to me. I’m really not threatening you. That thing has special significance to my family. If they find out it’s been lost, they won’t let you off.”

”Heh, logically speaking, after everything you’ve said, I really should return it. However... it’s a pity, but a treasure that can cross continents... is also of great use to me!” Xu Luo said.

”You’re not from the Southern Celestial Divine Continent?” The purple-haired youth’s eyes flickered. He stared at Xu Luo and said in a low voice, ”No wonder... I was just thinking, how could a young expert as astonishingly talented as you appear in the Southern Celestial Divine Continent? You’re from the Ancient Race Continent, aren’t you?”

Xu Luo just smiled and didn’t answer. ”So, I’ll be taking this for now. The Sect Continent... if I get the chance, I’ll probably pay a visit. When that time comes, you can prepare a suitable treasure to trade for it. As for being hunted down... well, if they want to come, let them. I’ll be waiting!”

For Xu Luo, this continent-crossing treasure was indeed only of great use right now. In the future, its usefulness would likely diminish.

After all, once his strength increased again and he cultivated his Time Reversal Skill to its highest realm, he would be able to control time. And once he mastered his world-beating Shaking Light Step to its peak, he would be able to manipulate space. At that point, where in the world could he not go?

”It truly is a shame... However, I trust you’ll be true to your word!” The purple-haired youth looked at Xu Luo, the fighting spirit in his eyes reigniting. ”I will train hard. The next time we meet, I will defeat you!”

With that, the purple-haired youth pulled along Li Ye, who looked like he still wanted to say something, and turned to leave.

The sturdy youth, Er Gou, shot Xu Luo a vicious glare, clearly brooding over his master’s defeat. In his heart, his master was a god-like existence. Even this loss didn’t change his master’s standing in his eyes.

The young girl, Xuan’Er, wore a bitter expression. With the continent-crossing treasure stolen, the only way home was to rely on her. But for her, that would be an incredibly exhausting chore.

However, it wasn’t without its benefits. Each time she performed that technique, her cultivation would improve significantly. For Xuan’Er, who disliked training, this was the only consolation she could find in using it.

’Most importantly, whether I’m willing or not, I have to go home!’

”It’s all his fault! He’s so mean!” Xuan’Er’s big, watery eyes held a trace of annoyance. She walked away indignantly, muttering under her breath, ”Honestly, stealing our things and acting so smug about it. But it’s also Li Ye and Brother Hui’s fault for not being able to beat him... So stupid, so stupid!”

Beside her, the golden-haired young man Li Ye and the purple-haired youth remained expressionless, pretending they hadn’t heard a thing.

The seductive, red-haired woman in the white dress, Erin, however, watched Xu Luo with great interest. Before leaving, she gave him a smile that could topple nations and said, ”Remember, my name is Erin!”

With a few charming laughs, she turned and left.

Watching their figures quickly disappear from sight, Xu Luo couldn’t help but smile faintly. His impression of the group had changed quite a bit.

At first, Xu Luo’s impression of them hadn’t been good. After all, who would have a good impression of people who suddenly appeared to steal their prize?

But after the fight, Xu Luo discovered that, setting aside their personalities, they were at least the type of people who kept their word.

Their word was worth a thousand pieces of gold.

Few people could truly honor such a principle.

Especially the purple-haired youth, the one called Young Master Hui. He never once used his Dharma Heaven and Earth, even at the very end.

That pride, radiating from his very bones, was truly moving.

Although the golden-haired young man was arrogant, his behavior after his defeat was decent enough. He didn’t do anything contemptible.

Most importantly, they didn’t try to use their backgrounds to intimidate Xu Luo. Even when they tried to get the continent-crossing treasure back at the end, their attitude was rather sincere.

Xu Luo believed they were telling the truth, but he truly needed that item right now.

’As for being hunted by people from the Sect Continent... I can’t worry about that for now!’

”Finally... I can go home!” Xu Luo let out a long breath. In a flash, more than a year had passed since he left. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t homesick.

”I wonder how everyone is doing. Has Little Fatty gotten even fatter? How many more weapons has Second Brother forged? And Fifth Brother’s Grand Array... is it finally complete?”

The moment he thought of his friends and family back home, Xu Luo was filled with an impatient desire to see them.

Then, while using his Treasure Hunting Skill, he searched through the golden-haired young man Li Ye’s ring and found the continent-crossing treasure.

It was a shuttle-shaped object, pointed at both ends, and not very large—it fit perfectly in one hand. It was an unusual shade of gray and extremely light.

Then, Xu Luo discovered three minuscule characters from the Ancient Texts on it—Heaven-Piercing Shuttle!

”Now that’s a domineering name!” Xu Luo commented in admiration, then infused a trace of energy into the Heaven-Piercing Shuttle...

BUZZ!

The Heaven-Piercing Shuttle suddenly let out a soft hum, and the aura of the surrounding world instantly changed.

In Xu Luo’s perception, the space in a radius of several dozen meters around him seemed to become unstable and distorted.

”This thing really is a treasure!” Xu Luo couldn’t help but exclaim. He had only infused a tiny bit of energy into the Heaven-Piercing Shuttle, yet it was enough to affect the surrounding space.

One could only imagine that if a large amount of energy were infused into the Heaven-Piercing Shuttle, it would surely affect a vast area of space, perhaps even opening a direct passage through the void!

The item was fascinating, but since Xu Luo didn’t know how to use it, he could only study it slowly. After all, no matter how much Li Ye’s group honored their bet, they would never tell Xu Luo how to use the Heaven-Piercing Shuttle.

So, Xu Luo could only rely on himself.

Fortunately, Xu Luo had a heaven-defying existence like the Tianquan Star Soul within him. After numerous failed attempts, when Xu Luo was at a loss, the Tianquan Star Soul offered a few faint words of explanation, instantly giving Xu Luo a moment of epiphany.

”Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Xu Luo complained to the Tianquan Star Soul, as he had already been studying it for several days.

”Only achievements born from the insights of failure will leave a deep impression.” The Tianquan Star Soul was not angered at all, and it transmitted a very calm Divine Thought.

Having mastered the use of the Heaven-Piercing Shuttle, Xu Luo could no longer suppress his homesickness. He prepared to leave the Southern Celestial Divine Continent. Before he left, however, he hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should visit the Starlight Sect.

’After some thought, I’ve decided against it. To the Starlight Sect, I’m just a passerby. I may have left a small mark there, but sooner or later, that mark will be erased. Going back would only cause sadness for some people, because I never truly belonged there.’

”Southern Domain... farewell! Perhaps one day, I will return...” Xu Luo said, then circulated his Shadow Shaking Heart Method and poured a massive amount of energy into the Heaven-Piercing Shuttle. Instantly, a somewhat blurry passage appeared right before his eyes.

Xu Luo took a step forward, directly into the passage, and his figure vanished abruptly.

Immediately after, a ball of light flashed in the sky. The void seemed to twist for a moment, and then... it returned to calm.

BUZZ!

A hum resonated through the sky as a figure suddenly emerged from the void.

Xu Luo’s face was a little pale. He looked at the Heaven-Piercing Shuttle in his hand and muttered, ”This thing is really going to get me hunted by people from the Sect Continent? It’s practically a defective product!”

Traveling through the passage in the void had been a very unpleasant journey for Xu Luo. On several occasions, the passage had fluctuated violently, as if it could collapse at any moment.

Even someone like Xu Luo had broken out in a cold sweat from fear.

If the void passage had collapsed, he likely wouldn’t have been able to escape, even if he were twice as strong.

One must understand that the domain of space has always been called the domain of the gods.

Thankfully, although the passage wasn’t particularly stable, Xu Luo had made it out successfully. But in the next moment, he was suddenly dumbfounded. Staring at the scene before him, he wondered, ’The Central Plains Star Continent... has a place like this?’

Spread out before Xu Luo was a landscape of magnificent mountains and rivers.

It was dusk. The clouds in the sky were a riot of color, hanging motionless on the horizon. Enormous birds flew among the colorful evening clouds. A great river, winding like a dragon, flowed silently through a vast wetland, reflecting the twilight sky.

The scene evoked a feeling of profound loneliness. Standing there, one couldn’t help but feel minuscule in the face of the vastness of heaven and earth.

”But I clearly... followed Tianquan’s guidance and set the coordinates for the Central Plains Star Continent. How did I end up in a place like this?” Xu Luo muttered to himself. ”Or is it... that fellow Tianquan was tricking me all along? I didn’t return to the Central Plains Star Continent at all, but arrived somewhere completely unfamiliar?”

As he was muttering, Xu Luo suddenly felt something and looked toward the distant horizon.

From the far-off horizon, faint and intermittent waves of energy suddenly pulsed. It seemed... someone was fighting over there.