Chapter 299: The Ten Thousand Spirits

Inside the second floor of the main tower of the Star-Plucking Tower, Grand Dao Academy of Chen Guo.

"Lord Palace Master," Peng Lao reported, "a scout from the Spring Rain Bureau has spotted two unidentified seventh-rank cultivators flying into our territory from the Da Hong border. Their target is most likely Danzhou."

Cheng Yuexiao snapped his head up at once. "When?"

"Half an hour ago. Based on their point of entry, they'll reach Danzhou in at most an hour and a half, at least one hour," Peng Lao replied.

Hearing this, Cheng Yuexiao glanced at the Starlight Message—just half a quarter-hour ago, Xu Jin had sent him word that he was returning and would be back at the Grand Dao Academy within a quarter-hour.

By timing, he's almost there.

These two seventh-rank masters from the Sun Yang Star Palace, during the Nine Stars Tide, didn't kill alien races—instead, they flew straight into Chen Guo's Danzhou.

Xu Jin is in Danzhou.

Their target is almost certainly Xu Jin.

But they'll miss him.

Yet Cheng Yuexiao was considering another matter: should he seize this chance to strike hard?

According to the Four-Sided Accord, any high-rank cultivator above seventh-rank entering another's territory must notify in advance.

Entering without notification is considered an intrusion—killing them incurs no liability.

Then.

"What about the internal investigation?" Cheng Yuexiao asked.

"Including you and me, eleven people knew Xu Jin was heading to Yangjiang County in Danzhou.

The Yangjiang County Warden is now dead; the County Magistrate's suspicion has been cleared; the Star-Plucking Tower disciples on duty in Yangjiang have also been cleared.

Currently, only two remain suspect.

One is Chen Degun, the duty recording disciple of our Grand Dao Academy's main tower; the other are the two night guards of tonight's main tower—both from the Danxia Guard. Their suspicion has been largely ruled out, but they're still under review.

The prime suspect is the duty recording disciple, Chen Degun," Peng Lao said.

"Chen Degun?"

State Master Cheng Yuexiao frowned. "I recall he's been in the Grand Dao Academy for over a decade, yet his cultivation has always been stuck at the peak of fourth-rank ninth layer, correct?"

"Yes. We've uncovered he lives extravagantly—he has seventeen concubines and over fifty servants. The problem likely lies there," Peng Lao said.

"Dig deeper into his past for over a decade! Use Wen Meng interrogation in multiple ways—see if you can uncover anything else," Cheng Yuexiao ordered.

What others can think of, Cheng Yuexiao can also think of.

The key is the scale of results from each side.

Right now, Cheng Yuexiao was wondering: should he personally intervene and eliminate one or two of the Sun Yang Star Palace's seventh-rankers?

That requires careful consideration.

At the Yangjiang County branch of the Star-Plucking Tower.

Hearing Xu Jin's question, the fifth-rank disciple's expression changed abruptly. He barked, "Military lockdown during wartime! Curfew! Who gave you the right to ask?"

Xu Jin, rebuked, frowned slightly. Curfew… that might make sense.

But it felt deeply odd!

Extremely odd!

He glanced again at Yangjiang County town, preparing to enter the Star-Plucking Tower and leave—before he could step forward, the fifth-rank guard barked again, "During wartime, get on with your mission! Why are you loitering? Don't you fear military discipline?"

Being rebuked twice in a row, Xu Jin grew irritated.

He'd never seen such an arrogant disciple of the Grand Dao Academy.

But he still thought it safer to return—after all, the safety deadline set by the State Master was nearly up.

In the next instant, he sank his mind into the Star-Plucking Talisman and sent a Starlight Message to State Master Cheng Yuexiao. As per the State Master's orders, he was to report his location in real time—and Xu Jin also had his own quiet intentions.

He'd casually file a complaint against the head of this Yangjiang Dao Academy—sending a fifth-rank expert to guard the gate was a gross waste.

But as he sent the Starlight Message, Xu Jin froze.

The message failed to send.

It didn't go through.

Xu Jin stared at the Star-Plucking Tower branch before him, struck by a strange illusion.

Was this Star-Plucking Tower fake?

His Star-Plucking Talisman had reached second-rank; logically, within Chen Guo's borders—except deep mountains and wild forests—he should be able to send Starlight Messages anywhere.

But for now, Xu Jin didn't overthink—he instinctively asked the fifth-rank guard, "Why can't my Star-Plucking Talisman send Starlight Messages? Is this normal for you?"

"I told you—military lockdown! Why are you talking so much?!" the fifth-rank guard snarled.

Almost at the same instant, Xu Jin realized something was wrong.

He finally understood where his unease had come from.

A fifth-rank expert guarding the gate? That wasn't waste—it was absurd.

The head of Jinshan Dao Academy, Dong Zhao, was only at peak fifth-rank ninth layer.

Jinshan Dao Academy's Star-Patrol Commander Tian Zhang and Supervising Director Cao Chun had both been at peak fourth-rank ninth layer.

The County Warden of Jinshan City, father of Lu Xianbing, was only fourth-rank Condensing Star seventh layer.

In short, any fifth-rank expert in a county-level region was a top-tier authority.

Guarding the gate? Utterly unreasonable!

Simultaneously, the Mingji Star Pattern in Xu Jin's Lower Star Palace began spinning rapidly.

From within the Star-Plucking Tower, one figure after another stepped out.

The strongest was a sixth-rank beginner.

Four more fifth-ranks.

Including the guard, five fifth-ranks and one sixth-rank beginner.

"Ah!"

The sixth-rank expert stepped forward, his voice like a crow's croak. "You brought this on yourself—why so foolish?"

As he spoke, the sixth-rank expert waved his hand—two of the five fifth-ranks instantly lunged at Xu Jin like lightning!

Xu Jin's face changed.

What the hell kind of twist was this?

One of their own trying to kill him.

But no matter how sudden, Xu Jin, seasoned through countless trials, showed not a flicker of panic—he instantly raised the Fish-Screen Golden Bell, and violet flame erupted.

Brilliant Violet Heaven Fire combined with Spiral Flame Explosion—blasted in rapid succession!

BOOM!

The two fifth-ranks were instantly reduced to ash!

In an instant, the remaining four changed expression.

The next moment, Xu Jin stepped forward and activated Earth Magnetic Field.

The remaining four tried to move—but suddenly felt as if a mountain crushed them, immobilized by unbearable weight.

The crow-voiced sixth-rank screamed, barely leaping up—then, in the next instant, blood gushed from all seven orifices, and he froze in stunned paralysis.

Dream Shock!

With Earth Magnetic Field's aid, Brilliant Violet Heaven Fire rained down—Xu Jin showed no mercy, eliminating two more fifth-ranks.

They were trying to kill him. No matter who they claimed to be, eliminate the threat first.

He swiftly disabled the last fifth-rank, then unleashed Break-Spirit Barrage—directly blasting the crow-voiced sixth-rank beginner's seven orifices spewing blood, knocking him unconscious on the spot.

The next instant, Wen Meng activated.

Interrogation.

THUD!

As soon as he asked for identity, the crow-voiced sixth-rank's head exploded.

Soul-Sealing Technique!

Xu Jin's face darkened.

He tried interrogating the last fifth-rank again.

No surprise.

THUD!

The fifth-rank's head exploded again.

Xu Jin gained nothing.

He began searching their bodies for identity tokens.

Found nothing.

Aside from elixirs and a few Star-Healing Talismans, nothing at all!

But he did find something.

The crow-voiced sixth-rank, slain by Xu Jin's surprise attack, was a eunuch.

Eunuchs were typically found only in the imperial palace.

Xu Jin sensed the situation was far more complex. He tried sending another Starlight Message—still failed.

He glanced at the silent, lifeless Yangjiang County town. He was certain: something had happened in Yangjiang County.

Something serious.

But after brief thought, Xu Jin decided to report this to the Grand State Master and let him handle it.

After all, returning now would take no more than a hundred breaths to reach the main tower of the Chen Guo Star-Plucking Tower and meet the State Master.

Then Xu Jin stepped into the second floor of this branch tower's Star-Picking Tower, ready to enter the Star Gate leading to the main tower of the Great Chen Star-Picking Tower.

Boom!

Xu Jin felt as if he had struck a stone wall and was thrown back.

Transmission failed!

The transmission channel to the main tower of the Great Chen Star-Picking Tower had also been sealed off.

Calling upon the Star Spirit yielded no result!

Xu Jin's expression turned grim.

Xu Jin now had ample understanding of the Star-Picking Tower.

Only the holder of the Star-Picking Tower's authority could seal its functions.

And Xu Jin himself did not qualify.

Only the authority holder of a main tower possessed such power.

Even those who controlled only one or two percent of a main tower's authority could not achieve this.

In all of Great Chen, only the Imperial Tutor and the Imperial Palace held such control authority.

Imperial Tutor Cheng Yuexiao certainly would not do such a thing now.

That left only the Emperor in the Imperial Palace.

The sixth-rank eunuchs were proof enough.

What did he intend to do?

What should Xu Jin do now?

Xu Jin felt a faint numbness.

It felt like being cut off from the world after his phone lost signal in his past life.

Fly to the main tower of the Star-Picking Tower in Danzhou City?

Or fly directly to Wan Yi?

After a few breaths, Xu Jin instantly vanished into invisibility.

The vanished Xu Jin first headed toward Yangjiang Commandery City.

He did this for the following reasons.

First, while in Guan County, he had already contacted the Imperial Tutor and informed him he was returning.

If he remained absent for too long, the Imperial Tutor would come looking for him.

The Imperial Tutor's first destination would surely be Yangjiang Commandery!

Xu Jin estimated the Imperial Tutor would arrive within half an hour, perhaps even within fifteen minutes.

If Xu Jin wandered aimlessly and lost contact with the Imperial Tutor, he would only invite countless dangers.

Better to stay near Yangjiang Commandery—the Imperial Tutor would arrive within half an hour—then investigate first.

He didn't realize it at first, but one look and his blood ran cold.

No one was there!

One empty room after another.

The more he searched, the more panicked Xu Jin became.

Every civilian home he checked was empty.

Many homes had their doors wide open, showing signs of disorder, but no traces of battle.

The next instant, Xu Jin stopped entering homes and instead activated his Mingji Star Pattern to sense life signs.

After circling once, he panicked.

Not a single living person!

The entire Yangjiang Commandery City was devoid of life!

Xu Jin's heart beat uncontrollably.

He knew a commandery city typically held anywhere from one hundred thousand to three hundred thousand people.

Yangjiang Commandery City was a major commandery!

Hundreds of thousands of people.

Where had they gone?

Suddenly, Xu Jin remembered that two hours earlier, when arriving in Yangjiang Commandery, he had seen a large group moving eastward—numerous figures, faint but unmistakable.

East?

The next instant, after becoming invisible, Xu Jin headed east toward Yangjiang Commandery City and immediately spotted countless footprints and deep wagon ruts.

The weight carried was immense—the ruts were deeply gouged!

Half a quarter-hour later, Xu Jin followed the wagon tracks deep into the Yangjiang Gorge in eastern Yangjiang Commandery.

As soon as he entered the gorge, he smelled thick, cloying blood.

Six fifth-rank guards stood watch outside.

All of them were pale-faced and beardless!

From the palace!

Xu Jin's heart grew colder. When he stealthily infiltrated the gorge's center, he froze.

A chill shot straight to his skull, his scalp prickled, and it felt like his head would explode!

In the gorge's center, corpses piled like mountains.

Along the gorge's edges, bodies were stacked high!

No—they were still alive!

Unconscious, living people.

Men, women, old and young—all present.

Hundreds of executioners dragged these unconscious civilians like livestock to the edge of the altar, severing their necks with blades; blood gushed from the neck cavities into the starlit array on the altar.

The altar's starlight seemed to suck blood—within mere breaths, the corpses were drained into dry husks.

The blood, under the altar's influence, transformed into layers of crimson light, flowing steadily toward the altar's rear.

At the altar's rear sat two figures: one entirely shrouded in crimson light, his aura slowly rising as the bloodlight pushed him upward; the other presided over the altar, continuously refining the bloodlight, his own immense aura also steadily climbing under the bloodlight's surge.

Like waves—one crest higher than the last.

The aura radiating from them grew even more terrifying!

Seventh-rank, ninth-layer peak!

Xu Jin recognized the array.

The Ten Thousand Spirits Blood Refining Array.

Even within the Blood God Sect, this array was taboo.

The Blood God Sect typically used corpses—cultivator corpses—to refine the Ten Thousand Blood Spirit Pills.

But the Ten Thousand Spirits Blood Refining Array required the blood and spiritual essence of living people—or freshly killed, still-vibrant corpses—to forge the so-called Ten Thousand Spirits Blood, said to enhance cultivation base and break through realms.

Xu Jin had read about it in the research notes of Blood God Disciple Fu Ying.

He had only seen records—he never imagined he'd witness it so soon.

And the ones doing this? The Great Chen Imperial Family.

The one whose cultivation had reached seventh-rank ninth-layer, steadily rising, Xu Jin knew well—Grand Eunuch Chu Zheng of the Great Chen Inner Court.

The one directly using the Ten Thousand Spirits Blood to boost his cultivation—Xu Jin knew him even better: the Fourth Prince of Great Chen, Prince Xin.

Previously, he had been only fourth-rank—but now, his cultivation had soared to fifth-rank!

And it continued to climb.

Xu Jin felt his entire worldview shattered into pieces in that instant.

The imperial family revered by Great Chen's people was refining Ten Thousand Spirits Blood from the essence and spiritual cores of hundreds of thousands of Great Chen citizens!

Subjects!

How bitterly ironic!

At the altar's edge, Xu Jin spotted another familiar face—Wang Jiugao!

His junior brother, Wang Jiugao!

But Wang Jiugao had become a corpse.

Xu Jin suddenly remembered: Wang Jiugao had said he would return home to patrol during the Nine Stars Tide—never expecting…

Dozens of corpses wore the robes of the Yangjiang Dao Academy.

Nearby, the hundred executioners who had just slain their batch of civilians dragged forward another group of unconscious civilians, preparing to kill and sacrifice them again.

These civilians, beheaded while unconscious, died instantly—but their bodies convulsed violently; some even opened their eyes wide in their final moments.

Terror. Helplessness.

Xu Jin felt his entire body would explode!

Blood surged through his veins.

Something choked his throat, preventing him from roaring in fury.

At that moment, Xu Jin saw the executioners, having just slain a hundred, drag forward yet another group of unconscious civilians—ready to kill and sacrifice them again.

In that instant, Xu Jin trembled violently, his blood boiling, finally shattering the invisible block in his throat—and let out a distorted, hoarse roar.

"Beasts!"

Boom!

In the instant he roared, a chain of violet lightning bolts blasted forth!

(End of chapter)