Chapter 1019: Gathering of the Stars

Gathering of the Stars

Ancient Vault of the Courtesan Path.

A pair of slender feet, white as jade, lightly stepped on the water's surface, rippling waves outward.

The black dress swayed gently in the breeze, like a swaying rose in a dim world. Liu Qingyan walked slowly forward in the sparkling lake, the surroundings so quiet that only the ding-dong sounds of water flowing under her footsteps could be heard.

Faint mist lingered above the lake's surface. Liu Qingyan walked to the very center of the lake and finally slowly came to a halt.

She lifted her skirt and respectfully bowed to the nothingness before her.

"Master, I have come to pick you up."

Drip, drop——

A drop of water fell onto the lake's surface.

At the same time, a headless corpse slowly surfaced from beneath the lake.

That was a woman's corpse. Her neck looked as if it had been cut off by someone, the cut incredibly smooth. At this moment, it seemed to be congealed by the frost-like moonlight. She was draped in simple gray clothing, quiet and peaceful.

Between her hands, which were folded over her body, a Playing Card could be clearly seen.

It depicted a figure entirely shrouded in shadow. With his arms crossed over his chest and his head lowered, he looked as if he were repenting, and also as if he were mourning...

That was a gray [JOKER].

Liu Qingyan raised her hand and pointed at the lake water. A gray Coffin rose from the bottom of the lake. The water slipped past the surface of the Coffin without leaving a single trace...

Liu Qingyan bowed deeply to the corpse, then picked it up and placed it neatly into the Coffin.

After finishing all this, Liu Qingyan closed the coffin lid and carried it on her back.

Step by step, she walked toward the shore of the lake.

Compared to the Coffin, the young girl's figure was still somewhat petite, but Liu Qingyan did not seem to struggle. Her long black dress danced lightly with her steps, and faint mist surrounded her, seemingly shrouding her in a veil of mystery.

She gently raised her hand, and a red silk thread extended from her body, pointing straight toward a certain direction in the nothingness...

"Master..."

"I will take you to find him."

Carrying the Coffin on her back, the young girl in the black dress gradually faded into the mist.

...

Tianshu Domain.

The massive conference room was dead silent.

Sitting in the main seat, the Master of the Babel Tower slowly swept his gaze over the people in the room and spoke slowly:

"... Everyone, do you have nothing you wish to say?"

Those sitting in this conference room now were all personnel holding important positions within the Tianshu Domain. In the past, all important decisions related to the Tianshu Domain were made in this room...

And serious meetings like this one were also taking place simultaneously in several other Realms.

"The Silver King, is he trying to wash himself clean and come ashore?" One person spoke in a deep voice. "He wants to flaunt himself and become humanity's hero, using this to disrupt the morale of our several major Realms?"

"If that's the case, his methods are too clumsy."

"Besides this, perhaps he has a deeper purpose..."

Everyone fell into deep thought.

"Regardless, we cannot sit back and do nothing, otherwise we will fall into a passive position." Another person mused. "Right now, the most critical issue is that we must figure out what the Silver King is trying to do..."

"We also need to prepare for the worst."

"There are still a massive number of citizens in the Wuji Domain. Once the Silver King truly wants to stir up a war, those citizens will inevitably suffer persecution... Moreover, as long as those citizens are there, we cannot launch a large-scale strike against the Wuji Domain."

"Didn't the Judgment Proxy Group bring a 'Bridge' into the Wuji Domain before? Can we think of a way from this aspect?"

"Assembling the 'Bridge' isn't that easy. After the situation in the Wuji Domain changed, the original members of the Judgment Proxy Group were either killed or hid their identities among the citizens... Wanting to build the 'Bridge' again isn't that simple."

"Unfortunately, we don't have enough manpower in the Wuji Domain, otherwise..."

Just as everyone was discussing, a figure suddenly stood up at the edge of the conference room.

"I'll go."

Everyone looked over. The person who spoke was none other than one of the Heaven-Reaching Star Position possessors who had just been selected not long ago, the former Young Sect Leader of the Esoteric Sect, Huai Meng.

The Young Sect Leader's youthful face was full of determination. He repeated once again,

"I am willing to go to the Wuji Domain. While gathering intelligence, I will organize the scattered manpower among the people to rebuild the 'Bridge' as soon as possible."

Once he stood up, the other Heaven-Reaching Star Position possessors sitting nearby couldn't sit still either. After looking at each other, they hesitated for a moment and also stood up from their seats one after another...

"Let's all go together."

The Heaven-Reaching Star Positions contained Human Luck. No matter what they did, their situation wouldn't be too bad... Right now, they were indeed the best choice to head to the Wuji Domain.

The Master of the Babel Tower swept his gaze over the crowd. After consulting the opinions of the others, he nodded slightly:

"Alright. Then you will act as the vanguard and head secretly to the Wuji Domain..."

The meeting ended quickly. As they walked out the doors of the conference room, everyone was clearly fraught with worries. The Silver King's move left everyone puzzled... But for some unknown reason, they always had an ominous premonition in their hearts.

Just as the Young Sect Leader was about to leave, following behind the others, a voice came from behind:

"Huai Meng."

The Young Sect Leader stopped his steps. The person calling out to him was none other than the Master of the Babel Tower, who was also the de facto controller of the Tianshu Domain.

"I know why you want to go to the Wuji Domain." The Master of the Babel Tower looked into his eyes and spoke seriously. "But you must be clear, your brother who is currently in the Wuji Domain... might very well no longer be himself. Don't do anything foolish."

The Young Sect Leader's heart jolted slightly. After a long silence, he nodded slightly:

"En, I know."

After warning the Young Sect Leader, the Master of the Babel Tower did not stay any longer. He crossed the long corridor alone and walked toward the depths of the Tower to Heaven.

At this time, there weren't many people in the Tower to Heaven. The Master of the Babel Tower walked to the depths, the surroundings dead silent. But at this moment, his mind was completely focused on pondering the Silver King's plan, and he didn't realize that the environment around him was already undergoing subtle changes...

The lights inside the Tower to Heaven gradually dimmed. The bright long corridor seemed to have no end, and faint Opera Vocals drifted out from the nothingness, seemingly obscuring the Tower Master's perception. Even though he was at Rank 8, he didn't realize anything was wrong.

Perhaps it was because this path was truly too long. When the Tower Master abruptly regained his senses, the lights of the entire long corridor exploded instantly, plunging the surroundings into pitch-black darkness!

All the hairs on his body stood on end, and he activated his Divine Path almost instantly. But the next moment, a warm palm silently pressed against the back of his head...

Bzz—— Bzz——

A faint sound of electric current rang out from behind him. A beam of light from overhead lit up in the darkness like a spotlight, projecting behind him.

There, a youth draped in a Theatrical Robe had a faint smile curving up at the corner of his mouth...