“Big Brother Lan, this token can also teleport out of Li Zhou Star without going through the protective array,” Yiyai added quickly, seeing him examine it.
Teleporting out without the array? That piqued Lan Xiaobu’s interest. Before, he’d had zero desire to enter Li Zhou Star—not with four star sects in play and no safety net. He could bide his time here, picking off Beast Soul Dao’s remnants. But now, he pocketed the token and said, “Alright, I’ll check out Li Zhou Star. If I can help, I will. If not, sorry.”
“I’ll go with you!” Yiyai blurted, thrilled.
Lan Xiaobu waved her off, “No need, I’ll go alone.”
“Wait, I’ve got a teleport talisman—it’ll take you straight to Li Zhou Star’s outskirts.” She pulled one out, but before she could react, he snatched it.
Grabbing the talisman, he left Beast Soul Dao’s star, leaving Yiyai behind. She seemed nice—he could escape with the token if things went south, but he wouldn’t drag her to her death.
Outside Li Zhou Palace’s plaza stood four figures. Lan Xiaobu pegged one as Beast Soul Dao; the other three matched Yiyai’s description of the rival sects. The palace was indeed cornered. He didn’t rush in, instead starting to set up arrays. He didn’t care about the other sects—his beef was with Beast Soul Dao.
If possible, he’d save Zhi Yi and wipe out Beast Soul Dao today, regardless of Li Zhou Palace’s fate. After half a day of prep, he triggered the token and slipped into Li Zhou Star. Time Mountain loomed, piercing the clouds, a massive verdant tree crowning its peak.
Even from afar, he felt a vast aura of ages. Racing to the plaza’s edge, he sensed violent spatial fluctuations without extending his divine sense—the Li Zhou Cauldron still held, per Yiyai’s intel.
Five star sects, including Li Zhou, were in play here. His divine sense, no matter how strong, had a ninety percent chance of detection if it touched the plaza. So he reined in both it and his dao aura.
Thanks to his Ruleless Dao, once cloaked, his presence vanished like he’d never been there.
Even without scanning, he knew Li Zhou Palace teetered on the edge—the cauldron could crack any moment. Still, he methodically laid out trapping and defensive arrays outside.
The defensive array was his lifeline; the trapping array targeted the four sects.
If they left him alone, he’d focus on Beast Soul Dao. Facing such odds, he spared no effort—108 Ruleless Dao Cocoon flags, fully deployed, with Beast Soul Dao’s Saint Dao Platform as the trapping array’s core. Refined by him now, it was perfect for this scale.
His life on the line, he added a幻阵 (illusion array) and a teleport array for escape. The token was a gamble—better to control his own fate.
Not done, he began etching void array runes.
“This Li Zhou Cauldron’s got an hour left, tops,” Zhen Changtian crowed, hefting his retrieved Void-Breaking Hammer.
“Something’s off,” Da Xuanqiong frowned, stowing his Prime Desolation Spear.
Huang Quan’s ancestor growled, “I feel it too… wait, someone’s setting a trapping array outside.” Instantly, every Ninth-Turn Saint sensed it. No one bothered with the cauldron now—their divine senses lashed out, Yi Xie and others lunging for the plaza’s edge. Da Xuanqiong, the strongest, stayed put, carving defensive runes.
A master weaving an array under their noses, unnoticed until complete? Terrifying. Arrays meant rule fluctuations—they should’ve caught it.
Da Xuanqiong couldn’t fathom Lan Xiaobu’s outer Ruleless Array, invisible until his void runes sparked spatial ripples.
*Boom, boom!* Figures slammed into Lan Xiaobu’s void trap, rebounding. Powerful divine senses followed, trying to shred it. He triggered the void array, its backlash tearing into the attackers’ consciousnesses.
“A Li Zhou Palace friend?” Huang Quan’s ancestor rumbled.
Before Lan Xiaobu replied, Zhen Changtian cut in, “Not likely. Their best array master, Chen Jiutian, is trapped in the cauldron.”
Inside, Li Zhou cultivators paused their spells, stunned—the assault had stopped.
“What’s happening?” an elder muttered.
Everyone knew halting mid-attack wasted effort—defensive rules would reset. After a day of pounding, the cauldron’s wards were crumbling, yet the enemy paused at the brink.
“Did Yiyai bring that Lan friend?” Zhi Ji’s voice quavered. No answer—divine senses crept beyond the cauldron, probing.
When his void runes were hit, Lan Xiaobu abandoned further setup. Discovered, he’d go bold—his real ace was the outer Ruleless Trapping Array.
Stepping into the plaza, his eyes narrowed at the crowd.
The strongest lineup he’d ever faced.
Some surpassed Ninth-Turn, joined by heaps of Ninth-, Eighth-, and Seventh-Turn Saints. His 108-flag array was top-tier, but against this? He knew he couldn’t wipe them out.
Not unless his dao leapt forward.
“Who are you?” Zhen Changtian eyed him—young, with a First-Turn Saint’s single dao rhyme. Off.
A First-Turn daring to taunt four star sects? Did he not see the weakest here were Fifth-Turns?
Lan Xiaobu scanned them. His array couldn’t kill them all, but they couldn’t trap him either.
“I’m Lan Xiaobu, here for Beast Soul Dao’s blood. If you’re not tangled in that feud, step aside. Otherwise, don’t blame me for treating you like I did them,” he said calmly, Eternal Halberd in hand.
“A puny First-Turn ant dares…” a Seventh-Turn Saint from Saint Desolation roared, but mid-sentence, a crushing domain locked him, a deathly pressure silencing him.
“Sect Leader…” he gasped, horrified—his own leader had restrained him.
“Idiot, we’ll settle you later,” Da Xuanqiong’s voice hissed in his ear, chilling him.
Not just Da Xuanqiong—everyone saw the fool. Lan Xiaobu’s words, tied to Yi Xie’s earlier rant, spelled it out.
He’d razed Beast Soul Dao’s base and chased them here to finish the job.
His warning? Cross him, fail to kill him, and he’d hunt you like Beast Soul Dao—total annihilation. Their star might already be gone.
Beast Soul Dao stayed mute, yet this Saint Desolation elder jumped out? For what?
A First-Turn crushing Beast Soul Dao?
His brain must’ve fried in seclusion. Yi Xie knew no one would back him until Lan Xiaobu’s depths were clear.
This wasn’t the Time Tree—a shared prize. Lan Xiaobu was just Beast Soul Dao’s foe.
For others, killing him risked an unknown powerhouse behind him.
