Chapter 358

【If the crisis in the Huashi Star Region is resolved, hope for a swift return; there are other star regions in need of support.】

This was the message sent to Xu Jin by Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao; the content was very brief, and the meaning was clear at a glance.

This counted as asking him for help.

It was likely that although Great Chen had sent elite squads to support various star regions, not all teams could successfully prevent these star regions from connecting to the ancestral land cave heaven.

Xu Jin had stopped it twice, so he knew the difficulty involved.

Before the messengers gathered the Star Region Kings and activated the Star Pivot Array with the heaven and earth star will of the star region, the difficulty was relatively manageable, and there was a lot of room for operation.

But once the Star Pivot Array was activated and the Altar Heavenly Road was raised, the difficulty became very high.

Because within the Altar Heavenly Road, sixth-tier experts could not enter; only fifth-tier experts could.

But fifth-tier experts entering had to face the concentrated fire of five or even more late-stage and peak sixth-tier alien powerhouses.

Even sixth-tier defensive star artifacts could not hold up; no wonder the Grand Master would ask him for help.

"Young Hero Qi, although our Huashi Star Region has a branch of the Star-Plucking Tower, we can only contact the main building through special means, so the Grand Master could not send a message directly to you and had to send it through me."

Seeing Xu Jin pondering, Domain Lord Ji Cheng looked at Xu Jin and said.

"I know."

Xu Jin looked up at Domain Lord Ji Cheng. "Domain Lord Ji, the Grand Master has issued an urgent summons! At present, there shouldn't be any problems in the Huashi Star Region, right? If there are no more problems, I need to leave immediately and return to the Star River Battlefield."

"There are none."

Domain Lord Ji Cheng shook his head. "In the dozen days you spent dissolving the Altar Heavenly Road, I have already led the main army to capture the Fire Scale Wang Cheng and simultaneously subdued two sixth-tier Fire Scale clansmen. The Rock Armor clan's Wang Cheng had long been breached, and their sixth-tier main force has all died in battle.

What remains is to lead the troops to slowly sweep through the Huashi Star Region and then take the opportunity to unify it."

"That's good." Xu Jin nodded, wanting to say something, but he was slightly hesitant.

"If there is anything, Young Hero Qi, feel free to speak."

"It's like this: the Xu Jin who died in battle previously was a good friend of mine. His father and younger sister are currently in the Huashi Star Region, so I ask the Domain Lord to please take care of them."

Actually, Xu Jin was very hesitant about mentioning this.

If he mentioned it, it felt a bit superfluous, and he felt it would make Ji Cheng guess something.

If he didn't mention it, he felt a bit uneasy.

After all, they were his own father and sister.

Having mixed in the world for so long, Xu Jin had a deep understanding of how people's attitudes change when they are no longer useful.

In the end, even though Xu Jin knew it wasn't very appropriate to bring it up and might even invite much speculation, he still mentioned it.

This way, Xu Jin felt much more at ease.

Upon hearing this, Domain Lord Ji Cheng laughed heartily. "Young Hero Qi is overthinking it. Xu Dajiang is my relative by marriage and one of the closest relatives in this world. There is no need for Young Hero Qi to instruct me; I will take good care of them.

Their food, clothing, and expenses will be the same as mine!

If they encounter danger, even if I have to die in battle, I will arrange for my relative by marriage to be moved to a safe area in advance!"

When these words were spoken, Xu Jin was stunned.

Suddenly, he felt a bit awkward.

He felt so awkward he wanted to dig a hole and crawl into it; he felt like his cover had been blown.

Fortunately, Ji Hongli was not here at the moment, otherwise, he really wouldn't have been able to hold it in.

Ji Hongli said the engagement was with Qi Qi Tian Sheng, and now Ji Cheng directly called Xu Dajiang his relative by marriage.

This...

Was his cover blown?

While Xu Jin was stunned, he suddenly thought of something, and his mind sank into the Star-Plucking Token to flip through the chat records with Ji Hongli from these past few days.

After just one glance, he began to feel so awkward that his toes curled into the ground.

It was blown!

His cover was definitely blown!

This Ji Cheng must know that he is Xu Jin.

It was just that Xu Jin had overlooked it previously.

A dozen days ago, a starlight message Ji Hongli sent to Xu Jin addressed Xu Jin as "Senior Brother."

Afterward, she addressed Xu Jin as "Senior Brother" consistently.

But before this, Ji Hongli had always addressed Xu Jin as "Senior Brother Qi."

"Senior Brother" had always been Xu Jin's exclusive title.

This meant that Ji Hongli already knew that Qi Qi Tian Sheng was Xu Jin.

And she hadn't exposed him!

This little girl was too bad!

When there's a chance, I'll have to spank her!

Must spank!

So Ji Cheng naturally knew he was Xu Jin by now.

Just as Xu Jin was hesitating whether to admit it or not, Ji Cheng suddenly said again, "Young Hero Qi, this time capturing the Rock Armor Wang Cheng and the Fire Scale Wang Cheng, including the previous defense battle of Hongli City, the spoils are quite plentiful.

According to the rules, the lion's share belongs to you. I have a catalog here; you can choose a portion and take it away directly.

After all, only after you take yours can others take theirs."

Ji Cheng was well-versed in worldly affairs and had somewhat seen through Xu Jin's thoughts, so he took the initiative to bring up other matters and skipped over that point.

After the initial awkwardness, Xu Jin also settled his mind.

What was there to fear about a father-in-law!

They already had an engagement.

What was there to fear!

It should be the father-in-law who is afraid.

The father-in-law should be thinking of ways to treat him well so that he can treat his daughter well!

According to the thinking of his previous life, a father-in-law should be treated like a brother!

Drink a big bottle of wine together another day?

With this thought, Xu Jin generously took the catalog of spoils provided by Ji Cheng, which was divided into two parts.

One part was mainly wealth, primarily Star Jade Tablets, various large quantities of heaven and earth treasures, and so on.

One part was mainly various rare treasures.

Perhaps because there were many people searching thoroughly, Xu Jin's gaze froze after just one glance at the page of rare treasures.

Earth Dragon Ganoderma!

There was actually the Earth Dragon Ganoderma he needed.

The Changsheng Auction House had Vermilion Sparrow Feathers, but they wouldn't sell them; they needed to be traded for Earth Dragon Ganoderma.

The news he had received previously was that Earth Dragon Ganoderma would appear in star regions dominated by earth-type power.

The Huashi Star Region had the Earth Spirit clan and even the Rock Armor clan. Xu Jin had originally wanted to ask Domain Lord Ji Cheng about the situation of Earth Dragon Ganoderma before leaving to see if he could find any.

He hadn't expected it to be among the spoils of war.

Not only was there Earth Dragon Ganoderma, but there was also Blazing Sun Jade Marrow and even Blue Gold Stone.

Blazing Sun Jade Marrow and Blue Gold Stone were also materials of the same rank as Vermilion Sparrow Feathers and Earth Dragon Ganoderma, and could also be used to strengthen star patterns.

Blazing Sun Jade Marrow was even slightly stronger than Vermilion Sparrow Feathers.

These materials were all top-tier heaven and earth treasures.

Placed in the Star River Battlefield, they were all the type of items traded by barter, extremely precious.

A few breaths later, Xu Jin took all the Earth Dragon Ganoderma and Blazing Sun Jade Marrow—there were eleven portions of Earth Dragon Ganoderma and nine portions of Blazing Sun Jade Marrow. Besides these, he took seven or eight other rare treasures, and in addition, Xu Jin took one hundred sixth-tier Star Jade Tablets.

That was all.

Although Xu Jin's contribution was large enough, taking more would be too greedy.

After all, the items Xu Jin took were all priceless treasures.

As for the Blue Gold Stone, Xu Jin let Ning Yuchan take it.

Ning Yuchan took seven portions of Blue Gold Stone and one thousand fifth-tier Star Jade Tablets, and then Ji Hongli chose a few items, and only then did Hou Yunzhang, Li Zhen, and the others distribute the rest.

After giving a few instructions, Xu Jin did not leave immediately but first went to his father's courtyard in the Domain Lord's Mansion.

Before leaving, he still had to give a few instructions.

He also had to see Jiang Er. Especially Jiang Er, who was Xu Jin's key cultivation target now!

The key person for continuously obtaining Gold Stars and Radiant Stars in the future.

"You have something to do and need to leave? Then go ahead. We are doing very well here, so don't worry." Xu Dajiang was quite open-minded when he heard Xu Jin was leaving.

Afterward, Xu Jin began to test Jiang Er's cultivation results.

The first thing to check was naturally the Clarity Soul Star Pattern.

The result was an unexpected surprise for Xu Jin: she had learned it!

Jiang Er had actually successfully imprinted the Clarity Soul Star Pattern.

And Xu Jin had only taught Jiang Er once, but he had taught her dozens, nearly a hundred times in the dream realm.

Only, by comparison, the time consumed in the dream realm was even less.

Compared to when Qi Shanye taught Xu Jin the Clarity Soul Star Pattern, it was dozens of times simpler.

Qi Shanye had held Xu Jin's hand and used his own power to guide Xu Jin in engraving the Clarity Soul Star Pattern for over ten days before Xu Jin had barely learned it.

And Qi Shanye had already exclaimed that Xu Jin was a genius.

Because in the Spirit Discipline Shang Xinggong, even a genius would need a master to teach them daily for a month to learn the Clarity Soul Star Pattern.

Also because of this difficulty, even within the Spirit Discipline Shang Xinggong, not everyone could learn the Clarity Soul Star Pattern.

It wasn't just that the Spirit Discipline Shang Xinggong wouldn't teach it.

It was that the teaching difficulty was too great.

It required the teacher to hold the disciple's hand and use divine soul power to engrave it onto the disciple's fragile divine soul in the Upper Shang Xinggong; one careless move would severely damage the disciple's divine soul, and those with poor talent simply couldn't learn it.

But now, Xu Jin had solved this difficult problem.

The Warm Dream Star Pattern was truly too overpowered.

This star pattern created by Mao Yan, the teacher of Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao, was too formidable.

If the Spirit Discipline Shang Xinggong had been destroyed a few decades later, and the Spirit Discipline Shang Xinggong had learned this Warm Dream Star Pattern and deduced it to a certain extent, then it wouldn't take long for the Spirit Discipline Shang Xinggong's strength to explode!

The most difficult Clarity Soul Star Pattern had been learned.

The rest would be easy to handle.

To accelerate Jiang Er's learning progress, Xu Jin used Warm Dream again to teach her the Bright Discipline Star Pattern in the dream.

"Jiang Er, this Clarity Soul Star Pattern and Bright Discipline Star Pattern must not be spoken of to anyone, except for me, not even to Father! If you speak of them, it will bring death, the kind where the whole family dies, understand?" Xu Jin instructed.

"Brother, I understand!"

Jiang Er nodded heavily.

The previous incident where Jiang Er was abducted had caused her to grow up rapidly.

Now she was very sensible and knew the gravity of the situation.

Just one word was enough for her to keep it firmly in her heart!

"The second thing: this Break Evil Star Pattern, Hidden Treasure Star Pattern, Conceal Image Star Pattern, Small Gather Star Pattern, and Thunder Source Star Pattern—after you forge your star, cultivate them well. You must engrave the star patterns well before raising your cultivation base.

Remember, when your Upper and Lower Shang Xinggong cultivation bases both break through to the peak of the third-tier Refine Star First Layer, you must not cultivate further; remember to come find me.

At that time, you can find Domain Lord Ji Cheng and say you have an urgent matter; he can contact me." Xu Jin said.

"Mm, I remember, Brother, don't worry!"

"Take these elixirs; I have already explained the method of taking them in the jade tablet. Again, you must not mention them to anyone." Xu Jin instructed.

Among the elixirs Xu Jin left behind were one Three-Essence Mind-Stabilizing Golden Pill, two Three-Essence Spirit-Refining Golden Pills, and ten Three-Essence Dragon Turtle Soul-Forging Pills.

These elixirs were enough for Jiang Er to break through her divine soul cultivation base to the fourth tier.

One of the Three-Essence Spirit-Refining Golden Pills was for Jiang Er to use when breaking through to the fourth-tier divine soul cultivation base.

By this point, the Dragon Turtle Soul-Forging Pills in Xu Jin's hands had been completely consumed.

After he was done, he would have to procure a portion to nourish them early.

Just as Xu Jin was giving instructions to Jiang Er.

Ji Hongli was also bidding a reluctant farewell to her father, Ji Cheng.

"Father, I feel like Senior Brother and Senior Sister Ning seem to..."

Inside the study, Ji Hongli was somewhat unhappy.

As a woman, her intuition was astonishing.

Especially over the past dozen days, Xu Jin, Ji Hongli, and Ning Yuchan had all been in the relatively narrow space of the Altar Heavenly Road.

Ji Hongli had already noticed something.

"Why, do you want to compete?

Or monopolize him?"

Ji Cheng looked at his own daughter and sighed inwardly. If she were marrying someone of mediocre talent, he could guarantee that this person would only be able to marry Ji Hongli for the rest of his life.

If he dared to marry more, he would break his legs.

If he did it again, break them again!

Unfortunately, Ji Hongli had set her sights on someone like Xu Jin, a dragon among men.

Not only a dragon among men, but also a peerless genius rarely seen in a century.

Such a peerless genius was not something the Ji family could manipulate.

And it was certainly not something Ji Hongli could manipulate.

"Father, I don't want to compete, I just feel uncomfortable, I feel..."

"Normal. Everyone has a desire for exclusivity, but you will understand in the future. There is only one thing you need to do now."

"What thing?" Ji Hongli was surprised.

"Follow closely in his footsteps, don't let him throw you too far behind. Only then can you stand by his side and become his most intimate companion!

Otherwise, you can only be a vase, only able to stay at home and raise children!

Just like... your mother!"

Ji Cheng's words gave Ji Hongli a sudden shock.

Nineteen years ago, when Ji Cheng came to the Huashi Star Region, Ji Hongli's mother only had a third-tier cultivation base and could not follow him; the ones who followed Ji Cheng were his other two wives, both with fifth-tier cultivation bases.

One of them died in battle when Ji Cheng was developing the Huashi Star Region.

To this day, in the Domain Lord's Mansion of the Huashi Star Region, this fallen wife has remained the nominal First Lady from beginning to end.

Although Ji Hongli's mother came to accompany Ji Cheng later after the Huashi Star Region had stabilized.

But the affection was ultimately far inferior to that of the Third Lady who had fought side-by-side with Ji Cheng in bloody battles.

This situation also extended to all aspects!

"Do you understand?"

After a long while, Ji Cheng looked at the pensive Ji Hongli and asked softly.

"I know what I should do. From now on, I should cultivate doubly hard and can no longer be as comfortable as before." Ji Hongli said.

"It's not just you cultivating hard! From today on, the family's support for you will increase exponentially once again!

The family will use all kinds of connections to collect all sorts of heaven and earth treasures, sparing no cost to raise your cultivation base, so you can follow closely behind him.

Your talent is already very high, and with the family's massive support, plus your hard cultivation, you won't be bad, and you won't be thrown far behind by him, understand?" Ji Cheng said.

A few breaths later, Ji Hongli nodded heavily.

"Alright, go prepare, see your mother, and have a private talk! Stay a little longer, and then you will have to leave with him."

Watching Ji Hongli's departing back, Ji Cheng then activated his authority as the branch building master of the Star-Plucking Tower and sent a starlight message directly across the Star River Battlefield to his father, Ji Bang.

【Father, I agree to your outrageous investment plan. Dump 70% of the family's current assets and 70% of future earnings into Hongli, in the hope that Hongli can keep up with Xu Jin's footsteps.】

A few breaths later, a starlight message was returned.

【Hmph, so you've seen Xu Jin's potential with your own eyes, have you? You didn't believe your father's judgment before, you brat!】

【Mm, Father, you are amazing!】

(End of chapter)