The teleportation array from Da Mo Void Star to Jiu Shuo Void City, like the one to Ji Sheng Star, was also set up on a void plaza outside Da Mo Void Star.
Before stepping out, Zhuo Xuantian cautioned, “Senior Lan, this plaza is guarded by the four major star-level sects. If they see me return with a stranger, they’ll act immediately.”
Lan Xiaobu smiled faintly, “I reckon they won’t jump right in.”
“How do you know?” Zhuo Xuantian asked instinctively.
Lan Xiaobu replied, “I saw it with my eyes.”
As he exited the array, he noticed the void plaza wasn’t crowded, the strongest present being a mere Divine King, most others Divine Lords or even Heavenly Gods. If this lineup dared challenge him and Zhuo Xuantian, he’d be skeptical.
“How’s this possible?” Zhuo Xuantian, seeing the plaza’s guards—mostly Divine Lords and Heavenly Gods—muttered in disbelief.
“Seems Da Mo Void Star’s pretty lax about this plaza, too confident in their strength, thinking no one dares mess with Da Mo Xuan Star?” Lan Xiaobu remarked.
“No,” Zhuo Xuantian hurriedly explained, “From what I know, this plaza always has at least two Fifth Turn or higher powerhouses, plus plenty of quasi-Sages below Fifth Turn. How could it just be Heavenly Gods and Divine Lords?”
Lan Xiaobu pondered, soon grasping it, news of him slaying nine Ninth Turn Sages in Jiu Shuo Void City must’ve reached here.
Whether his guess held, entering Da Mo Void Star would tell.
Sure enough, at the protective array’s entrance, two Divine Lord guards were unusually respectful, proactively opening the array for them. Zhuo Xuantian’s fear of capture? Nonexistent, not even a harsh word.
“Let’s go to your sect,” Lan Xiaobu said, patting the still-dazed Zhuo Xuantian.
“Okay,” Zhuo Xuantian mumbled, boarding Lan Xiaobu’s flight treasure toward Xuan Yuan Dao Sect.
The sect sat in a vast basin, rich with heaven-and-earth vitality, ringed by over a hundred peaks forming a natural defensive array.
On approach, the Samsara Pot spotted over a dozen ships speeding out of the sect and vanishing.
“Those aren’t our sect’s ships,” Zhuo Xuantian noted, sensing something off, why were non-sect ships fleeing?
“I know,” Lan Xiaobu said. If they were sect ships, they’d greet their returning sect master, even if unaware of Zhuo Xuantian’s identity. The Pot heading straight for the sect with no inquiries, and so many leaving, was odd.
“There’s a spatial rule interception array at the outer sect, blocking all communication beads and void message swords,” Lan Xiaobu said, halting the Pot outside the sect.
“They’re likely trying to trap my messages, but I never sent any back, so they couldn’t track me,” Zhuo Xuantian said, anger tinging his voice as he spotted the array.
Moments later, he rushed out of the Pot toward the sect.
Lan Xiaobu didn’t follow, his divine sense already scanning the sect, things looked grim. Some people remained, but most seemed drained, as if freed from long confinement.
Sensing the Cosmic Mill nearby, he pulled out Zhuo Xuantian’s small stele inscribed with “Cosmic Mill,” instantly detecting its presence.
Elated, Lan Xiaobu didn’t rush to refine it, instead savoring the spatial mystery.
The Cosmic Mill was right there, yet without the stele, he couldn’t sense it, a spatial concealment rule pushed to the extreme.
Like overlapping planes yet distinct, he could find it in this plane, unlike a separate one where it’d be lost.
He deployed forty-nine ruleless cocoon flags, setting a defensive array around his spot. Refining the Cosmic Mill here, he didn’t want interruptions.
Still uneasy, he added all remaining flags to form an entrapment array far outside. The Cosmic Mill’s emergence would tempt many, Da Mo Void Star’s sects seemed docile now, but who knew what lurked behind? With both arrays, he should be safe to refine it.
…
“Elder Qun, what’s going on?” Zhuo Xuantian burst through the sect’s array, first spotting the dazed Supreme Elder Jing Qun, a Second Turn Sage.
Jing Qun snapped to, shocked, “Sect Master, you’re back? They didn’t catch you?”
Zhuo Xuantian calmed, slipping a pill into Jing Qun’s mouth, “No worries, I returned with a senior, not even the four star-level sects or Jiu Shuo Void City dare touch me, explain the situation.”
“Ah…” Jing Qun gaped, still lost.
By now, sect disciples, deacons, and hall masters broke free, gathering at the plaza, sensing something afoot.
…
At Da Pan Dao Sect, Da Mo Void Star’s top star-level sect, four figures sat in the guest hall, each radiating charm, their rules nearly tangible, all Ninth Turn powerhouses.
At the head was a short-haired, rough-faced man, looking more butcher than sect master, yet he was Da Pan’s leader, Lu Qi.
Beside him sat a fair-skinned man, Deputy Sect Master Guang Ning, Lu Qi’s right hand.
The other two, one dashing and youthful, the other a hunched, frail-looking old man, were Fang Sha, Lord of Qian Xu Sheng Dao, and Sect Master Ding Wushu, both titans who could shake Da Mo Void Star with a stomp.
Fang Sha sneered coldly, “Looks like Zi Yun Valley and Bai Dao Valley got spooked by that Lan guy, too scared to show.”
Lu Qi frowned, “That Lan killed nine Ninth Turn Sages in Jiu Shuo Void City at once, and we’re just four…”
His lack of confidence was palpable, as Da Pan’s leader, he’d shrug off typical Ninth Turn Sages, but Lan Xiaobu’s feat—killing nine and walking away unscathed—unnerved him.
Guang Ning smiled, “Sect Master, no need to fret, Lan’s strong, sure, but it’s his array skills, he took Jiu Shuo Void City’s array the moment he arrived, caught a few off guard, then picked off the rest easily. Their people there are just after resources, holding back in a fight, letting him break them one by one.
“We’re different, this is our root, we’ll go all out. Plus, we can call in seven or eight more Ninth Turn Sages, even rope in Jiu Shuo Void City’s Ji Yige, victory’s assured. As for Zi Yun and Bai Dao Valleys, star-level or not, they’ve only two Ninth Turns between them, we’ll wipe them out after Lan, four sects in one star region’s too many.”
Lu Qi nodded, still wary, “If Lan just visits Xuan Yuan Dao Sect and doesn’t bother us, no need to provoke him.”
Fang Sha chuckled, “Sect Master Lu, I’d bet Lan’s here for the Cosmic Mill. If we act before he gets it, we’re fine, but if he secures it and comes for us over Xuan Yuan, it’ll be too late.”
