Chapter 233: Being Taught a Lesson

In the wilderness, Xu Jin stared at the final message Qi Shanye had sent about the star region's characteristics, his face twisted in a bitter smile.

The star region characteristics Qi had given Xu Jin were those of the alien species that had burst out from this star gate.

The most numerous aliens that had burst out then were the Yi Hu tribe of the Eight Wildernesses, masters of wind-based star arts; another, far less numerous species, called the Unihorn Thunder Leopard, wielded terrifying thunder-based star arts—so much so that the Fourth Elder of Lingji Star Temple had been injured on first encounter.

Xu Jin smiled bitterly.

At least it gave him a direction to search.

Better than having no direction at all.

Once he reached the Star River battlefield, Xu Jin could seek out star regions where Yi Hu and Unihorn Thunder Leopards appeared, try to enter those regions, and see if he had any chance of retrieving his Master and Teacher.

But it was impossible in the short term.

To reach a sixth-rank star region, Xu Jin estimated that even with his combat strength, his cultivation base would need to break through to late-stage Fifth-Rank Gathering Stars—or even Sixth-Rank.

Otherwise, he'd just be walking into slaughter!

After noting these down, Xu Jin steadied himself and let out a long breath.

That night had felt like a dream, leaving Xu Jin with a heavy heart.

Were his Master and Teacher good people?

Xu Jin didn't know.

But they were certainly people with principles.

Such people, even if not good, were definitely not evil.

Yet in this world, they were branded as remnants, wanted fugitives across all nations and star temples, hiding like rats day and night.

Even though Xu Jin had endured society's cruelty in his past life and understood that justice and evil had no clear boundary, his Teacher's fate still left him deeply aggrieved!

And it made him even more curious about the fall of Lingji Star Temple!

What exactly had happened that year, causing Lingji Star Temple to be wiped out overnight?

Reflections aside, life must go on.

Xu Jin oriented himself, set his next route, and prepared to retrace his steps back to Songzhouzhoucheng to assess Songzhou's situation.

If nothing was amiss, he'd take a public star vessel back to Wan Yi.

If something was wrong, he'd travel back to Wan Yi on his own.

He could return to Wan Yi within at most a day and a half.

Including the time already spent, this trip had lasted three days total.

Hopefully, no one would notice.

The next instant, as Xu Jin was about to depart, a flash caught his peripheral vision—he turned his head and saw brilliant light erupting in the south, illuminating the southern horizon.

That was where his Teacher and Master had departed.

Had something else happened?

But according to his Teacher's star message, they had already entered.

Had something occurred there again?

Xu Jin was curious.

He desperately wanted to go see for himself, to confirm with his own eyes whether his Teacher had safely entered the sixth-rank star region to escape.

But after thinking it over, he firmly suppressed the urge.

He couldn't go.

His teacher and master were seventh-rank experts fleeing for their lives—he would only slow them down if he rushed in.

Better to head to Songzhou first, then quietly gather information.

With this thought, Xu Jin prepared to skim low across the ground toward Songzhou.

But in that very instant, the Mingji Star Pattern on his lower palace began to rotate slowly, emitting a faint glow.

Xu Jin frowned?

Was it sensing an abnormal star force fluctuation?

Had a ferocious beast approached?

But the next instant, the star force fluctuation sensed by the Mingji Star Pattern surged rapidly.

In an instant, Xu Jin broke into a cold sweat.

The signature was unmistakable: someone was stealthily approaching, concealing their star force.

Ferocious beasts never concealed their star force fluctuations!

Someone was chasing him!

In Xu Jin's Mingji Star Pattern perception, the pursuer was slowly closing in, and his cultivation aura was now clearly detectable.

Fifth-Rank Gathering Stars peak!

A fifth-rank Gathering Stars peak expert had crept up—his intentions were clearly hostile.

How should he respond?

All the fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-rank talismans he'd used to kill enemies were gone—he'd given them all to his Master, Mo Ji.

The only one left was the Small Star-Turning Talisman, capable of summoning the Grand Master.

But its range was within a thousand li.

The Grand Master was still in Wan Yi, at least four thousand li away.

Useless.

Flee?

Xu Jin believed his chances of escaping alive were still very high.

Simply put, before setting out, he had advanced his Flowing Star Pattern to sixth-rank upper tier, boosting his speed by twenty percent.

Previously, with his sixth-rank-lower Flowing Star Pattern, Lei Yi, and a fourth-rank star artifact, his speed had already matched that of a fifth-rank Gathering Stars mid-stage expert.

Now, with an additional twenty percent boost, he could outpace fifth-rank peak experts who weren't specialized in speed.

At worst, he could match them.

But what if…?

In an instant, Xu Jin pushed fleeing to the very last option.

Before fleeing, he'd still give it a try.

Especially now—the opportunity was rare: this fifth-rank pursuer, being skilled in tracking and concealment, likely didn't know Xu Jin had detected him.

Because right now, he was still approaching Xu Jin at an excruciatingly slow pace.

This was the opening!

The next instant, Xu Jin sank his mind into the Can Dou Platform and began preparing his killing technique!

In the wilderness, Cha Wei, Lord of the Leizhou Branch of Cangming Star Temple, channeled star force to calm his overexcited heartbeat, while activating his concealment star art to suppress his aura and form to the extreme, aiming to close the distance and strike a fatal blow!

He'd actually caught up!

He'd chased that lone fleeing aura merely as a gamble, hoping for a lucky catch.

If he succeeded,

it would be a massive windfall, incredible luck.

If he failed, it was just a nighttime stroll—no loss, no harm.

But he hadn't expected that following the third fleeing aura would lead him straight to his target.

He couldn't help but erupt in wild joy.

His luck today was phenomenal!

If the Star-Picking Tower branch was truly on this third party, his monumental achievement was secured.

Even if the Star-Picking Tower branch wasn't on him, capturing a Lingji remnant would still be a major accomplishment!

A sure win, no risk!

But Cha Wei knew that caution was the key to lasting success.

Why fight head-on when stealthy capture was so much sweeter?

So he continued inching closer with extreme care.

Even closer now.

He was within a hundred meters.

At the same time, Cha Wei sensed the true cultivation aura of this Lingji remnant.

Star Refining Ninth Layer!

Once confirmed, Cha Wei felt slight disappointment—this level made it unlikely the Star-Picking Tower branch was on him.

But even at this level, capturing a Lingji remnant and turning him in would still be a major achievement.

Not a bad deal.

The only thing worrying Cha Wei was: why was this Lingji remnant lingering here in the dead of night?

Was he waiting for reinforcements? Or meeting other Lingji remnants?

With this thought, Cha Wei's greed flared again—he needed to get closer!

Then he could capture this Lingji remnant without making a single sound.

Even if other Lingji remnants arrived nearby, they wouldn't be alarmed.

Hidden like this, he might even capture another Lingji remnant!

Capturing one ordinary Lingji remnant was a major achievement—but capturing two? That was an extraordinary feat!

An extraordinary feat—even in the Star River battlefield, such things were rare.

Carefully, Zha Wei slowly approached.

But in the next instant, with shocking suddenness, the Ling Ji remnant fifty meters ahead vanished in a flash—just as Zha Wei realized something was wrong, a massive soul surge erupted.

Soul Star Art: Startling Dream!

Zha Wei was struck dead center.

Blood spurted simultaneously from Zha Wei's eyes, ears, nose, and mouth; his eyes bulged, yet he instantly slipped into confusion—this was the effect of Wen Meng. The next instant, his expression twisted into utter terror, yet he made no movement.

This was the effect of illusion and dread.

He was forcibly controlled by Xu Jin.

Although Zha Wei was a fifth-rank Peak Gathering Star powerhouse, his soul cultivation was barely at Star Refining Seventh Layer.

Almost at the same instant he was controlled, Xu Jin's mind sank into the Can Dou Platform and instantly detonated the sixth-rank mid-grade Wind Star Core. The next moment, furious emerald starlight burst from Xu Jin's palm and slammed straight into Zha Wei!

Direct hit!

Worse still, Zha Wei had suppressed his protective starlight to remain stealthy and conceal his aura; when he finally sensed danger and tried to raise it, Xu Jin's forced control had already shattered the attempt.

Now, with no defense, he was struck full-force by Xu Jin's full-power blast from a sixth-rank mid-grade star core.

The terrifying emerald starlight tore through Zha Wei's protective star armor. A first-rank, fourth-rank star artifact flashed once, spinning out and hovering above Zha Wei's head, instinctively activating to protect its master—but without a cultivator to guide it, its power was greatly diminished.

Xu Jin, lunging forward, unleashed a Flame Explosion that shattered the artifact's spirit-light before it could fully deploy, forcing it back into Zha Wei's body.

At the same instant, the emerald starlight from the sixth-rank mid-grade core blasted a gaping hole through Zha Wei's chest. The grievous wound jolted him awake from the Startling Dream, and he let out a terrified scream.

At this point, using Startling Dream again was impractical and useless.

But a powerful soul surge surged again—Break Evil and Dread slammed into Zha Wei's Upper Star Palace, causing his head to throb violently. As blood spurted once more from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, the protective starlight he'd just raised vanished again.

His expression was now utterly terrified.

His fighting spirit shattered completely in that instant.

He wanted to flee!

He wanted to run—he didn't want to fight anymore!

But Xu Jin would give him no chance to escape.

This guy didn't know when he'd caught up—maybe he'd seen something. Could not leave a witness alive.

Almost the instant the soul attack struck, Xu Jin detonated another fifth-rank high-grade Earth Star Core, driving it straight into Zha Wei's massive chest wound at point-blank range.

Instantly, Zha Wei's upper body was obliterated, blood and organs spraying wildly.

Even so, the terrified Zha Wei still tried to flee.

He turned instinctively to run.

He never imagined he'd provoked such a monstrous killer!

A Ling Ji remnant disguised as a Star Refining Ninth Layer cultivator!

What the hell kind of nightmare is this?!

But the moment Zha Wei turned to flee, his body tumbled headfirst from low altitude.

Such grievous wounds would have killed any other cultivator instantly—only because he was a fifth-rank peak could he still be alive.

But Xu Jin dared not relax.

He shot forward like lightning, unleashing continuous Thunderbolts that reduced Zha Wei's head to charred ash. Only then did Xu Jin exhale in relief.

Eliminated.

Fortunately, he'd previously acquired a sixth-rank mid-grade star core, allowing him to detonate it via the Can Dou Platform and unleash a full-power strike.

Technically, it was equivalent to a sixth-rank mid-grade attack rune, though its actual lethality might be slightly less than a true rune—but still, it was a sixth-rank attack!

Otherwise, Xu Jin would have had immense difficulty killing Zha Wei.

Xu Jin swiftly looted the corpse, but immediately frowned.

His entire assault had targeted the man's chest and abdomen—the full-power blast from the sixth-rank mid-grade star core had even destroyed that fourth-rank star artifact!

What bad luck.

Found nothing.

Suddenly, Xu Jin spotted a cloth pouch hanging from the corpse's waist—his heart leapt with sudden hope.

There must be something here.

He opened it—and froze.

Stink!

A pungent, nauseating odor.

Urine stench!

Why would a fifth-rank powerhouse carry three bags of urine-soaked soil?

Xu Jin instinctively wanted to throw it away.

But just as he moved to discard it, he froze—suddenly understanding.

He now grasped how he'd been exposed, how this man had quietly tracked him.

Instantly, he switched to a third-rank high-grade Snake Spirit and activated the Spirit Smell Star Pattern.

With just a faint sniff, Xu Jin confirmed it.

It really was!

One bag of soil carried a strong trace of Xu Jin's personal aura.

And certain scents within it, when examined closely with Spirit Smell, could also be found on Xu Jin's own body.

This gave Xu Jin another lesson.

From now on, he must be more careful about this when traveling.

Otherwise, if he encountered a tracking expert, he'd be followed without knowing.

Today, only because Xu Jin had the Ming Ji Star Pattern could he detect this tracker. Otherwise, a Star Refining Ninth Layer cultivator—even with many survival artifacts—would have been crippled or killed by a single surprise strike from a fifth-rank peak.

He'd have lost half his life at best!

The Ming Ji Star Pattern truly had boundless utility.

He must strengthen it further when he gets the chance.

The next instant, Xu Jin gave the corpse one final check. He found no identification, but discovered a Star-Picking Token soaked in blood.

At this moment, the token was flashing urgently—clearly, something dire was happening.

On the back of the token were the characters "Cang Ming"—and it was a second-rank Star-Picking Token.

Only the Cang Ming Star Hall could issue second-rank Star-Picking Tokens.

From this, the tracker's status was clearly high.

Could there be others?

The thought sent a chill through Xu Jin. He unleashed a Flame Explosion, obliterating the corpse, then swept out Thunder Star Force to erase his own aura, and burned the three bags of urine-soaked soil with starfire before preparing to flee swiftly.

But as Xu Jin was about to leave, distant light from Shilong County flared again, illuminating half the night sky.

In mere moments, the night sky above Shilong County flashed repeatedly, flickering like daylight.

This deepened Xu Jin's confusion and dread.

What had happened in Shilong County?

Suddenly, Xu Jin saw streaks of light shooting skyward from multiple directions, all converging toward Shilong County.

The starlight varied in size and strength—over a hundred in total.

Especially from Songzhou's Peach County, the number of streaks was far greater.

The first wave consisted of only a dozen.

But the second wave rising toward Shilong County numbered over a hundred!

"So many are going there?"

This stirred Xu Jin's thoughts.

Many people.

That meant chaos.

With so many auras mingling and the scene in turmoil, if he rushed in, the danger wouldn't be too great.

The next instant, Xu Jin reversed direction and headed toward Songzhou's Peach County and Shilong County.

With such commotion, he couldn't rest until he saw it with his own eyes.

And it wasn't far from his current position.

(End of Chapter)