Firmament Sword

No one could have possibly imagined that when the Old Ancestor had them wait here... this was what they were waiting for!

In this world... who else could possibly injure a Saint of unfathomable power?

There was only one answer: another Saint!

But for this Saint to actually come from the Central Plains Star Continent... this was something everyone found difficult to comprehend, even impossible to believe.

Xu Luo stood there in a daze. The image from moments ago still echoed in his mind, along with a sentence that had been transmitted into the depths of his spirit as that massive hand was severed.

”Child, come back. I want to see you one last time!”

The voice was completely unfamiliar, yet it gave Xu Luo an incredible sense of familiarity and warmth!

It was as if, deep in his soul, this voice belonged to the person closest to him in all the world. A benevolence... that could only be born from protecting him through countless reincarnations.

’Who... who is this person?’ Xu Luo was utterly stunned. He was currently disguised as Huo Feng, yet this person had seen right through him!

Even Huo Tongtian, a fellow Saint who was incredibly skilled in the Inference Skill, hadn’t been able to see through his disguise!

The Huo Family’s ancestral land was in an uproar over the Old Ancestor’s sudden, injured return. Everyone was dumbfounded. Many panicked, thinking an even greater power was attacking, and they wanted to flee...

Huo Tongtian coughed up a mouthful of blood and let out a cold snort. It felt as if a colossal mountain was pressing down on the entire Huo Family ancestral land. Instantly, everyone froze, and a dead silence fell.

The hearts of the restless crowd felt as if they were being crushed by a great mountain. Even breathing became difficult.

”A bunch of... worthless fools!”

”What’s the big deal? Is this all it takes to throw you into a panic?”

”What are you afraid of? If I die... will the world stop turning? Can’t you live on without me?”

Huo Tongtian spoke a few more sentences, but it seemed to aggravate his wounds, and he coughed up more blood.

”Old Ancestor, you are eternal. How could you die?” Xu Luo stepped forward, a look of anguish on his face. ”Please don’t say another word. Your health is what’s important!”

At that moment, countless direct descendants of the Huo Family cursed him in their hearts: ’Hypocrite!’

Huo Tongtian, however, gave Xu Luo a strange look, his gaze holding a hint of confusion. To this day, he still couldn’t understand why Feng’Er’s destiny was intertwined with Beidou’s Eighth Star. The heavenly secrets were too chaotic for him to see clearly.

”Let me finish... My time... is short!” Huo Tongtian’s words struck the Huo Family’s ancestral land like a thunderclap, nearly frightening every Huo Family disciple to death—everyone except Xu Luo.

Many of them felt their legs go weak and immediately dropped to their knees.

The death of a Saint... what kind of blow would that be to the Huo Family?

”The Central Plains Star Continent... has a Great Saint. His power is astronomical! But... he’s an old relic from the Ancient Times. His own... vitality is already depleted. Although... he gravely wounded me... his days... are also numbered! Within ten years... he will surely die! It’s just a pity... Beidou’s Eighth Star... is not... my destiny!”

It took a long time for the Old Ancestor, Huo Tongtian, to say all this. His injuries were so severe that it was a miracle he’d even made it back alive.

If his opponent’s vitality hadn’t been depleted to the point of near exhaustion, he could have been crushed to death with a single slap! He never would have had the chance to return alive.

”Old Ancestor! Nothing can happen to you!” The Huo Family Master fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face. At this moment, his emotions were genuine. His voice, filled with grief and indignation, thundered across the skies of the ancestral land.

”Ten years! In ten years, we will bathe the Central Plains Star Continent in blood! We will use the blood of every living creature on the Central Plains Star Continent to avenge the Old Ancestor!”

Huo Tongtian’s importance to the entire Huo Family was self-evident. The difference between having a Saint Realm Old Ancestor watching over them and not was simply immense.

With Huo Tongtian, the Huo Family was a top-tier family on the Ancient Race Continent.

Even though they had done many things to earn the wrath of both heaven and man, few dared to challenge them.

But without Huo Tongtian... it probably wouldn’t be long before too many ambitious families joined forces to suppress the Huo Family.

Xu Luo stood to the side, repeating one phrase in his mind: ’Ten years...’

Huo Tongtian waved his hand and smiled weakly. ”No matter what, this life of mine... was not lived in vain. COUGH, COUGH... To have fought a Great Saint from the Ancient Times is truly... the greatest fortune of my life!”

”Achieving immortality, cultivating the Dao... in the end... it’s all... for nothing! Reincarnation is endless, the Immortal Path is too ethereal. Only family... is eternal...”

As Huo Tongtian spoke, his gaze shifted to Xu Luo. He said with great difficulty, ”Feng’Er...”

At this, everyone grew tense, including the Huo Family Master. What he feared most... was that the Old Ancestor’s last words would be to appoint Huo Feng as the next Patriarch!

If that happened, even he, the current Patriarch, would have to accept it!

Even if the Old Ancestor died the moment the words left his lips!

He could not deny it!

Because it concerned the family’s most fundamental reputation!

If they wouldn’t even honor the Old Ancestor’s last wish, who would ever trust the family again?

This was, in fact, exactly what Huo Tongtian was thinking! He truly wanted to entrust the family to Huo Feng, even if his destiny was entangled with that of Beidou’s Eighth Star.

Something even he couldn’t see through wasn’t necessarily a bad thing!

Perhaps the Huo Family could even experience a resurgence because of it!

But with that one look at Xu Luo... an expression of utter terror and shock appeared on Huo Tongtian’s face, as if he had just witnessed the most unbelievable sight in the world!

In the moments before his death, his Inference Skill had reached an unprecedented Peak Realm, even reaching a divine level!

Therefore, the instant he looked at Xu Luo, Huo Tongtian saw with perfect clarity... another person standing before him... and the vast, brilliant, dazzling starlight emanating from that person’s body!

”You... you...” Huo Tongtian felt his heart was about to shatter. Rage, surprise, horror, disbelief... all these complex emotions swirled together with his critical injuries, rendering him speechless.

He could only gather the last dregs of his Saint Power into a single finger and point it at Xu Luo!

In that instant, Xu Luo felt as if his scalp was about to split open!

He truly tasted the proximity of death!

It was cold. Terrifying.

It completely extinguished any thought of resistance!

This had nothing to do with confidence...

The Saint’s Finger!

Heaven and earth withered before it!

This was the ultimate killing blow from a Saint Realm expert, one that concentrated all the power he had accumulated in his entire life!

It was silent and traceless, yet it contained the supreme principles of the Dao between heaven and earth.

CRACK!

Something on Xu Luo’s body shattered in response.

It was the reverse scale.

Drenched in a cold sweat, the words of the White Flood Dragon Saint Beast suddenly echoed in Xu Luo’s mind: ’This scale... can block a single strike from a Saint!’

At the time, Xu Luo hadn’t even known what the Saint Realm was, subconsciously assuming it meant a Sword Saint expert from the Divine Power Realm.

But he had kept the reverse scale on him all this time. He never expected that today... in a situation of certain death, it would save his life.

After unleashing the finger strike, Huo Tongtian was completely spent. His mouth twitched as he tried to speak.

Xu Luo shot forward, grabbing Huo Tongtian and shaking him desperately while wailing, ”Old Ancestor, speak! Say something! Were you about to name Feng’Er as the next Huo Family Patriarch? You promised, just say it!”

The entire Huo Family ancestral land fell into a dead silence as everyone stared nervously at Xu Luo...

”Enough!” the Huo Family Master roared, his face ashen. He furiously pulled Xu Luo aside and announced in a grief-stricken, tearful voice, ”The Old Ancestor... has already... ascended!”

The Huo Family’s Old Ancestor, a peak expert of the Saint Realm, had breathed his last.

A wave of mournful cries suddenly erupted throughout the ancestral land. Everyone fell to their knees, and many even cried until they fainted.

The Old Ancestor was dead. The pillar of the Huo Family... had collapsed.

From this day forward, the once powerful and invincible Huo Family would likely become a thing of the past.

At this point, Xu Luo couldn’t even be bothered to keep up the act. Huo Tongtian’s finger strike had nearly killed him. If it weren’t for the reverse scale, he would be a corpse right now.

’That old monster... he actually saw the heavenly secrets clearly in his final moments!’ Xu Luo thought, feeling a wave of relief. ’Thank goodness I had the White Flood Dragon Saint Beast’s reverse scale, and thank goodness... he’s dead!’

That was far too close for comfort.

So, the thing Xu Luo wanted to do most right now was to immediately rush back to the Central Plains Star Continent.

He needed to find the owner of that benevolent voice that was imprinted on his very soul. He had to know everything. Even though he had awakened the memories of the Eighth Star, there was still too much he didn’t understand.

”I don’t believe it! The Old Ancestor isn’t dead! He still had things to say!” Xu Luo suddenly rushed forward, trying to snatch Huo Tongtian from the Huo Family Master’s arms. In truth, he just wanted to make sure. If Huo Tongtian had even a single breath left, Xu Luo was prepared to expose his own identity to finish the job.

Xu Luo was truly terrified of this old monster. He was just too frightening!

”Get lost!” the Huo Family Master roared, pointing at Xu Luo and cursing, ”You unfilial little bastard! You clearly angered the Old Ancestor to death!”

The Huo Family Master’s words were filled with righteous indignation, but inwardly he was sighing in relief. ’Thank goodness... the Old Ancestor didn’t get to name Huo Feng as the next Patriarch. Even I... wouldn’t have been able to change it!’

For the Huo Family Master, the most urgent task was to brand Huo Feng as disloyal and unfilial, and then... preferably, drive him out!

Xu Luo gave a bitter laugh. ”Heh... Haha... Heheheh. So you want to force me out? Patriarch... you’re good. You’re really good! I, Huo Feng... have become a disloyal, unfilial bastard. HAHAHAHA! To twist right and wrong to such an extent... why should I even remain in a family like this?”

Xu Luo’s face was a mask of desolation. ”The Old Ancestor has ascended, and with no one left to look after me, you can’t wait... to drive me out! You... you will regret this sooner or later! After you’ve driven me away today, I’d love to see just how long this Huo Family... can last! HAHAHAHA! Oh, Old Ancestor! If your spirit is watching from the heavens, then take a good look... at this pack of dogs you call descendants! Ptooey! This rotten family... I’m done with it!”

With that, Xu Luo soared into the air and departed.

Over on the side, Huo Fengyan clapped his hands in approval. ”Well said, my son! Fame and fortune are bullshit! You can’t take them with you when you die! Your father supports you!”

Although the Huo Family Master’s face was livid from the verbal abuse, deep down he felt a pleasant surprise, like being handed a pillow just when you’re getting sleepy.

Seizing the opportunity, he bellowed, ”Huo Feng has voluntarily left the Huo Family! From this day forward, his life and death... have no connection whatsoever with the Huo Family of the Ancient Race!”

One has to wonder if the Old Ancestor, Huo Tongtian, were aware of this in the underworld, he might just be angered enough to come back to life only to die again...

Flying through the sky, Xu Luo felt like going back to give the Huo Family Master a big hug. He laughed inwardly, ’Huo Feng... from now on, you can just go wander the world!’

’And as for me, Xu Luo, the day I return to the Ancient Race will be the day I turn their entire world upside down!’