Chapter 323: You

"Attack! There's an assassin!"

"Quick, someone save the helmsman!"

"Over by the pavilion…"

……

The terrifying commotion caused by Chen Mu's thunderous strike was like a boulder cast into a calm lake, instantly alarming the entire Weizhou branch of the Canal Guild.

Piercing screams and frantic shouts rose from all directions.

Immediately, dozens of whistling rushes of air sounded as the Canal Guild's experts arrived on the scene, leaping from rooftops or bursting through courtyard gates, their weapons glinting coldly as they targeted Chen Mu before the ruined courtyard.

Chen Mu suppressed his fleeting doubt; facing the surging enemies, his eyes held only ice.

He stood firm, not moving an inch, merely brushing his sleeves lightly.

"Shiiii! Shiiii! Shiiii! Shiiii—!"

In an instant, countless dense, solidified pale-gold qi blasts shot forth, moving so fast they left afterimages in the air—like sudden blossoms of death under the night sky, or celestial maidens scattering flowers, engulfing the dozens of figures lunging toward him.

These qi blasts appeared slender, yet they contained the unparalleled condensed true qi of the Great Luo Turning Heaven Hand, razor-sharp beyond compare!

"Aaah—!"

"It's the Innate Realm…"

"No…"

Screams erupted abruptly and ceased just as suddenly.

Puch! Puch! Puch!

Blood blossomed tragically in the night air.

The Canal Guild experts who had rushed forward—whether Postnatal or Innate Realm—were like colliding with an invisible wall of blades; their protective qi shields shattered as easily as paper.

Throats, hearts, foreheads—vital points exploded into bloody holes; their bodies tumbled from midair like dumplings dropped into boiling water, falling silent in an instant.

Dozens of elite fighters, obliterated in a single glance!

Inside and outside the courtyard, deathly silence fell, broken only by the night wind stirring the thick stench of blood.

Chen Mu ignored the slaughter before him; his gaze locked onto the ruined building where Cao Liangxing had crashed, and he reached out with his right hand.

"Hu—"

A vast, invisible suction force surged forth; from the rubble, Cao Liangxing—drenched in blood, his aura withered, half-unconscious—was yanked into the air and flung before Chen Mu.

Chen Mu casually cast a sealing spell, completely suppressing the residual true qi within him, then seized Cao Liangxing by the nape of his collar like dragging a torn sack.

Qi surged beneath his feet, and his form darted forward at high speed.

【Corpse detected. Collect?】

"Yes!"

……

Dozens of cards acquired, Chen Mu soared skyward with Cao Liangxing, becoming a blurred streak of starlight that shattered through the Canal Guild's chaotic defenses and vanished into the endless night, leaving behind only chaos, corpses, and terrified, weak survivors still reeling in shock.

……

A remote, desolate ravine far from Weizhoucheng.

Ploosh!

Cao Liangxing was thrown violently onto the cold, rocky ground; the agony of his severed arm and his internal injuries forced a muffled groan from him, jolting him awake from semi-unconsciousness.

With swollen eyes barely open, his blurred vision showed only a figure clad in an odd starry robe, face masked, slowly drawing a long blade with a dark, dull blade surface yet radiating chilling, heart-stopping cold.

The tip of the blade pointed directly at his forehead!

Intense fear of death seized Cao Liangxing's heart; forgetting his status and dignity, he gasped and rasped out a plea.

"Spare… spare my life! Great hero, spare me!"

"What… what do you want? Gold? Treasures? Cultivation techniques? Women? I—I'll give you all of it! Just spare my life!"

"Is that so?" Chen Mu deliberately altered his voice, making it hoarse and low, with a metallic scraping quality, "Then tell me—where did you get the 'Beast God Pill' you gave to Liang Zhongshi?"

Upon hearing the words "Beast God Pill," Cao Liangxing's pupils shrank to needle points; his breath hitched!

He snapped his head up, staring fixedly at Chen Mu, his eyes flashing through shock, venomous hatred, sudden realization, and final resolve in rapid succession.

Finally, he let out a hoarse, eerie laugh, "Ha… Hahaha! So you're the 'Star God'? You're from the 'Star God' organization! Want to know my secret? Dream on! I—"

"Shii!"

Before he could finish, Chen Mu's eyes flashed with icy light, and the blade slashed out.

Four razor-sharp blade qi strikes erupted simultaneously, precisely severing Cao Liangxing's limb joints.

"Slish!"

Blood sprayed.

Cao Liangxing's arms were cleanly severed at the shoulders, his legs at the hips; qi covered the wounds, halting the bleeding.

The excruciating pain drove Cao Liangxing to a inhuman scream—but more than pain, the mad gleam of triumph in his eyes froze instantly.

Shhh~

Chen Mu's left hand shot out like lightning, gripping Cao Liangxing's jaw as he screamed in agony, twisting with force.

"Crack!"

A sickening crunch of bone echoed; Cao Liangxing's lower jaw was completely dislocated, his tongue root crushed, blood filling his mouth, unable to bite down again.

"Trying to crush a poison capsule or trigger an internal seal to kill yourself?" Chen Mu withdrew his hand, his voice glacial, "Before me, you're not even worthy!"

Cao Liangxing's eyes held only despair and venom, glaring at Chen Mu like a dying venomous snake.

Chen Mu wasted no more time; his left hand flipped, and a token of neither gold nor jade, its surface swirling with starlight, appeared in his palm.

It was the Star Token!

One hand holding the token, the other gripping Cao Liangxing's mangled body, he mentally connected with the token.

Hum!

The Star Order blazed with light, and a mysterious spatial ripple spread outward; the surrounding space rippled and warped like water.

The next instant, the figures of Chen Mu and Cao Liangxing vanished into thin air from the desolate mountain ravine, as if erased by a rubber.

…

Void transit, time and space shifted.

When his feet touched solid ground again, it was no longer a scene of the mortal world.

White clouds drifted slowly beneath his feet, and floating islands of varying sizes and shapes dotted the boundless void like stars scattered across a chessboard.

At the center, massive, resplendent pillars of light connected the highest floating island with the deep, distant heavens.

This place was none other than the unfathomably mysterious "Star Palace," as ever grand, silent, and transcendent.

Chen Mu, carrying Cao Liangxing—who had only a single breath left—did not pause for a moment; his form became a streak of starlight and shot straight toward one of the most magnificent floating islands, where the outlines of halls faintly emerged through the starlit clouds and mist.

The Hall of Myriad Stars.

At the great hall's entrance, a doorway condensed from starlight emanated a soft halo.

The moment Chen Mu stepped through the hall's entrance carrying Cao Liangxing, he saw a figure coming toward him from inside the hall—also clad in a star-sky robe, with a mask covering the face—apparently preparing to leave.

The two met at the wide, silent entrance of the hall.

The departing "Star God," seeing Chen Mu and the wretched Cao Liangxing in his grasp—limbs all broken, pitiful beyond compare, his aura faint—paused his steps for a beat.

Through the subtle resonance between their Star Orders, he recognized the Star Lord rank that Chen Mu represented, and at once cupped his hands, performing a concise Star Palace internal courtesy.

"Greetings, Star Lord Wu Quxing."