Lan Xiaobu noticed that just as Ji Yige and Lu Qi stepped into the protective array, three more powerhouses arrived, all of them Ninth-Turn Saints. In Lan Xiaobu’s view, they were very likely from the remaining three star-level sects of Da Mo Void Star.
After the five figures moved away, Lan Xiaobu quickly teleported ahead into Da Pan Dao Sect. He knew full well that victory or defeat hinged on whether he could reach the guest hall first.
According to his original plan, he intended to kill a Da Pan Dao Sect cultivator, take their form, and infiltrate the sect. But Lan Xiaobu felt this approach was too cautious—anything overly safe yielded smaller rewards.
So, he performed a teleportation right in front of the five powerhouses, using the unpredictable teleportation technique of his Longevity Great Dao. If they detected him, he’d strike immediately. If not, he’d gain the upper hand.
Sure enough, after his teleport, neither Lu Qi nor the other three noticed, but Ji Yige paused, frowning as he stared into the void.
“City Lord Ji?” Lu Qi looked at Ji Yige with confusion. This was Da Pan Dao Sect’s turf—Ji Yige stopping and frowning suggested a lack of trust in them.
Ji Yige closed his eyes, sensing for a while. Feeling no spatial fluctuations or rule changes, he figured his wariness stemmed from his hatred for Lan Xiaobu. He chuckled and said, “I suddenly thought about where we should make our move.”
“Naturally, it’s Xuanyuan Dao Sect. That Lan fellow went there to refine the Cosmic Mill. No matter how strong he is, refining it will take days,” Fang Sha, the sect leader of Qian Xu Saint Dao, said with unwavering confidence. He was certain he couldn’t be wrong.
Ji Yige had initially come for revenge, but hearing about the Cosmic Mill stirred his heart. If he could claim it…
…
Lan Xiaobu had rushed into Da Pan Dao Sect’s guest hall at top speed. The hall was lavishly decorated, with eighteen Guest-Welcoming Dao Fruit trees lining the walls. The fruit wasn’t particularly tasty, but it carried deep symbolic meaning. It also emitted a calming dao charm, making it perfect for the guest hall.
Lan Xiaobu immediately pocketed one of the trees, then transformed into another, tossing out his 108 ruleless dao cocoon array flags.
Besides the trees, the hall featured top-tier divine jade seats. Lan Xiaobu chose the Guest-Welcoming Dao Fruit tree because its dao charm fluctuations suited his concealment.
But just as he deployed the 108 ruleless array flags, he realised transforming into a tree might be a mistake. If he were Ji Yige, with the Heavenly Dipper Transformation technique, his first move upon entering a guest hall would be to remove anything unnecessary.
With that in mind, Lan Xiaobu scanned the room. His gaze settled on a calligraphy piece on the wall: “Walk the Dao Fearlessly.”
The eight characters seemed ready to leap off the paper, exuding a dao charm that transcended life itself.
Fine writing indeed. Fortunately, he cultivated his own Great Dao and had the Longevity Dao Tree. As long as they didn’t grab the painting to inspect it closely, he could likely fool them.
Lan Xiaobu returned the tree he’d taken, then whisked away the calligraphy, transforming into it instead.
In an instant, he perfectly mimicked the painting’s aura.
Footsteps approached from outside. Lan Xiaobu was ready—if discovered, he’d use the trap-kill array for a fight. Five Ninth-Turn Saints? He could handle them. The only one he slightly feared was Ji Yige.
He didn’t strike yet, hiding here to take them all out at once. He was certain more than five would eventually come for him, and he needed to pick them off one by one.
As Lu Qi entered the guest hall, he smiled broadly and said, “City Lord Ji, please take the high seat.”
“Nice place…” Ji Yige’s divine sense swept the hall in an instant before he sat down.
Once everyone was seated, Ji Yige suddenly said, “Sect Leader Lu and I are old friends. These Guest-Welcoming Dao Fruit trees aren’t necessary, are they?”
Lu Qi paused, then understood. With a wave, he sent all dozen-plus trees into his own world.
Though Lan Xiaobu wasn’t using divine sense, his 100-plus array flags let him perceive everything clearly. At that moment, he was just relieved he hadn’t stayed as a tree—otherwise, he’d be fighting now.
After Lu Qi removed the trees, Ji Yige’s gaze fell on the calligraphy, and he sighed, “What a dao charm—self-contained, transcending the ordinary. We cultivators should embody these words, never hesitating for any reason.”
“Exactly. That’s why we invited City Lord Ji here,” Lu Qi said solemnly.
“Good. Sect Leader Lu, set up the restrictions. Let’s discuss the big plan together,” Ji Yige nodded.
Lu Qi casually activated the hall’s soundproofing restrictions and triggered the defensive array.
Ji Yige was pleased with the soundproofing and took the lead, “Sect Leader Lu, do you have a plan?”
Lu Qi didn’t answer, instead turning to his vice sect leader, Guang Ning.
Guang Ning clasped his fist to Ji Yige, “City Lord Ji, here’s our thinking: the four of us Ninth-Turn Saints, plus you, make five. If we can invite powerhouses from Bei Yin Star, Qi Nian Star, and a few other star regions, we could gather twelve. With twelve powerhouses and you leading, I don’t believe Lan Xiaobu, no matter how cunning, could escape. This is Da Mo Void Star—I refuse to believe he can break our planetary array on short notice.”
“He definitely can’t. Da Mo Void Star’s planetary array looks like a ninth-grade divine array on the surface, but it’s beyond that. The main array flags are controlled by Sect Leader Lu and me. Without us revealing them, no one can break it quickly,” Fang Sha of Qian Xu Saint Dao said with absolute certainty.
Ji Yige nodded, “Da Mo Void Star has four star-level sects. Why haven’t I seen anyone from Purple Cloud Valley or Hundred Dao River? With their Ninth-Turn powerhouses, we’d have fourteen, wouldn’t we?”
Lu Qi scoffed, “Bai Shengxun of Purple Cloud Valley and Pi Zuling of Hundred Dao River are spineless cowards, terrified of that Lan fellow. I invited them, but they didn’t dare show. After this, Da Mo Void Star won’t have those two sects anymore.”
Ji Yige said, “Good. Let’s refine our approach. My thought is, Sect Leader Lu should personally meet Lan Xiaobu and express some regret for the neglect…”
When Ji Yige hadn’t mentioned it, no one paid it much mind—killing Lan Xiaobu was the goal, so currying favour didn’t matter. But now that he brought it up, they all realised the oversight. Lan Xiaobu had arrived openly on Da Mo Void Star, yet they’d retreated and even left the planetary array wide open. For the sect leaders not to pay him a visit under these circumstances was clearly odd.
Lu Qi volunteered, “That’s my mistake. City Lord Ji, arrange it. I’ll go see that Lan fellow.”
Ji Yige smiled faintly, “It’s not about meeting him alone. When you visit, he’ll surely be refining the Cosmic Mill. Given his strength and arrogance, he likely won’t pay you much heed. This just puts him at ease. After you visit and he brushes you off, I’ll make the first move, triggering the array…”
“The array? Lan Xiaobu’s at Xuanyuan Dao Sect, and we don’t have an array there to activate,” Lu Qi said, puzzled.
Ji Yige replied confidently, “We didn’t before, but now that I’m here, we do. Take a look at this.”
He produced an array disc, its dao charm flowing with a potent killing aura.
“A Saint-Grade Strangling Array Disc?” Fang Sha of Qian Xu Saint Dao blurted out.
Ji Yige nodded, “Exactly. I returned to Jiu Suo Void City and asked about Lan’s array skills. His array mastery is indeed high, but within our limits. His arrays have a trait—hard to pinpoint where the killing force comes from, making them tough to defend against. Shame I got back too late to experience his arrays myself. Regardless, my strangling array disc’s power exceeds anything he could set up. Even if it’s not stronger, it won’t be weaker.”
“Right, use this strangling disc against his trap-kill array. Without his array’s support, he’s no match for a dozen of us,” Lu Qi said, delighted.
Ji Yige shook his head, “No, my disc isn’t for his trap-kill array—I have a way to handle that. As I said, I’ll strike first to tear apart his trap-kill array. Once it’s gone, he won’t face our dozen-strong assault—he’ll flee. My strangling disc will be set up in his escape path, like a net trapping fish. I refuse to believe he can escape my disc and a dozen of us attacking together.”
Fang Sha exclaimed, “City Lord Ji, are you planning to use an innate treasure’s self-detonation to rip apart his trap-kill array?”
“Exactly. Innate treasures are precious, but I want this Lan dead more than anything—otherwise, my dao will falter. Time’s short. I’ll gather the others now—I can bring eight. We’ll meet outside Xuanyuan Dao Sect,” Ji Yige said, standing up. Time was clearly of the essence to him.
Seeing Ji Yige about to leave, Lan Xiaobu immediately wondered whether he should strike now.
