Chapter 464: Meeting the Death Assassins and Their Inner Circle

Amid the chaotic stellar currents from the bursting Star Gate, massive spatial disturbances were mixed in.

Even with the might of the Lord Tianyang Star Jun, sweeping his sleeves and channeling stellar power to suppress it, it took full ten breaths before the stellar chaos here subsided.

By the time the Lord Tianyang Star Jun rushed in, nothing remained but a ruined pit of bones.

"Search—every direction, scour three hundred li. If you find anything, raise the alarm."

With a roar, the seven eighth-rank experts who had just arrived surged skyward again, scattering in all directions and unleashing vast stellar power and primordial spiritual senses without restraint.

The Lord Tianyang Star Jun's divine sense, however, rippled like water across all directions, meticulously scanning every inch, leaving no detail unexamined.

Why did Cheng Cheng Yuexiao come here?

And where had the other four of the at least five eighth-rank experts previously detected come from?

Which faction did they belong to?

What were they fighting over here?

What was Cheng Cheng Yuexiao trying to conceal by risking his life just now to hold me back?

Unfortunately, the traces of battle had been utterly erased by the terrifying chaos unleashed when the Star Gate exploded.

But the spatial disturbances from the bursting Star Gate themselves were the greatest clue.

And this clearly man-made bone pit.

Though many bones had been reduced to powder, the degree of weathering on the remaining white bones indicated a minimum age of over twenty years.

After more than a dozen breaths, the Lord Tianyang Star Jun pulled out half a charred corpse from the bone pit.

It was still fresh—the degree of desiccation and decay was no more than two months.

The key point: not a single drop of dried blood remained inside.

The Lord Tianyang Star Jun's gaze suddenly flared with sharp light.

Blood God Cult!

Fixed Star Gate!

Had existed for at least twenty years!

Suddenly, the Lord Tianyang Star Jun turned his gaze to the director of the Meizhou Branch of the Lord Tianyang Star Temple, who had just arrived and was still waiting outside the bunker.

The director, seeing the Lord Tianyang Star Jun's gaze fixed on him, holding a partially decayed bone fragment, suddenly showed a look of despair in his eyes.

In an instant, the light on the Plucking Star Token flickered continuously, and immense stellar power erupted from within the body of this sixth-rank late-stage branch director.

A cloud pavilion abruptly materialized—and the moment it appeared, it exploded into countless starlights.

The Lord Tianyang Star Jun, still deep in thought, widened his eyes, instantly realizing the truth, and understood completely.

But it was a moment too late.

He moved his body instantly, charging through the exploding starlight to retrieve something.

Yet at nearly the same moment the pavilion exploded, a speck of flame light burst forth from nothingness, directly exposing a spatial fluctuation before the Lord Tianyang Star Jun's eyes.

But almost at the same moment the star tower exploded, a streak of flame light burst forth from nothingness, directly exposing a ripple of space before Lord Tianyang Tianyang Xingjun.

As the Lord Tianyang Star Jun roared, his divine sense surged violently, yanking out the newly revealed dimensional fluctuation at maximum speed. The instant his divine sense entered, his face turned utterly black.

Everything inside the dimensional space had been utterly destroyed.

Even the dimensional space itself was now shattered and ruined.

Not to mention the items stored within.

Only ash and spatial chaos remained!

Before his self-destruction, this Meizhou branch director had triggered a fire-rune within his dimensional space, which detonated the star-jade tablet stored inside—this terrifying stellar surge obliterated everything within his dimensional space without a trace.

Not even a scrap of leaf or a larger fragment of ash could be found!

Not even a single leaf fragment, let alone a larger ash, could be found!

The Lord Tianyang Star Jun spat out those two characters through clenched teeth.

In the next instant, a streak of eighth-rank early-stage light flashed back from afar and landed before the Lord Tianyang Star Jun.

In the next instant, a Level 8 early-stage streak of light shot back from afar and landed before Lord Tianyang Tianyang Xingjun.

"Investigate—I want every detail of this Meizhou branch director's life, from birth to death, every contact, every suspicious trace!" the Lord Tianyang Star Jun roared.

The newly arrived sixth elder Xia Zhong, in charge of intelligence for the Lord Tianyang Star Temple, looked utterly bewildered.

"I just discovered this site is linked to the Blood God Cult—likely an old nest that has existed for over twenty years. This man not only destroyed his Star Pavilion right before my eyes, but also completely obliterated his dimensional space.

Before dying, he sent out several stellar messages.

Investigate!

I want to know who, for twenty years, has been planting spies under my very nose.

Who could turn one of my high-ranking branch directors into a suicide assassin!

What a… pleasant surprise!"

The Lord Tianyang Star Jun's expression was icy and deadly.

This sudden discovery made him suddenly realize a problem: his supposedly ironclad internal structure had, without his knowledge, already developed serious flaws.

When you find one cockroach in your home, unseen places are already swarming with them.

"Investigate—get to the bottom of this!

No matter who is involved, pursue it relentlessly—no leniency whatsoever!" the Lord Tianyang Star Jun added again.

Beside him, the newly arrived sixth elder Xia Zhong was already drenched in cold sweat.

He handled intelligence—he was more sensitive to such things.

A Blood God Cult nest had existed on their territory for over twenty years, and they had remained completely unaware.

How massive were the leaks in between?

It could not possibly be explained by the death of just one branch director.

Suddenly, sixth elder Xia Zhong realized: internal turmoil was about to begin!

Half an hour later, all the eighth-rank experts who had been dispatched returned, bringing no valuable findings.

The Lord Tianyang Star Jun stood amidst the ruins of the bunker, his expression grim.

Though his vision was crystal clear, he felt as if a black cloth had been draped over his eyes.

The situation had grown murky and confusing.

The situation grew chaotic and obscure.

After a long while, the Lord Tianyang Star Jun suddenly exhaled deeply, "Sixth Elder Xia, thoroughly investigate everything here.

Everyone else, immediately head to Meizhou City, then teleport directly to Da Chen Wan Yi. If teleportation is impossible, go to the nearest Plucking Star Tower branch near Wan Yi and rush there at full speed!

Since Cheng Cheng Yuexiao dared to leave Wan Yi,

Let him receive a lesson he'll never forget.

Da Chen's eighth-rank should die a few."

After giving his orders, the Lord Tianyang Star Jun stepped onto starlight and surged ahead toward Meizhou City.

The other six eighth-rank of the Lord Tianyang Star Temple followed closely, but differences in strength and speed quickly stretched them into a single line.

"The eighth-rank star domain has been completely refined into a legacy realm. Seventh Killing True Person, truly a divine being."

This was the first words spoken by State Advisor Cheng Cheng Yuexiao upon entering the Seventh Killing Secret Realm.

Inside the Seventh Killing Secret Realm, the two thousand one hundred teenagers who had just arrived, along with over a thousand fifth- and sixth-rank non-humans, gazed around with a mixture of curiosity and alarm at this world.

Inside the Seven Kill Secret Realm, the two thousand one hundred plus youths who had just entered, along with a thousand or so Level 5 and 6 alien races, regarded this world with glances tinged with novelty and alarm.

Seeing Xu Jin return, Mo Da Niu, who had safely entered, was overjoyed and ran over.

After training for nearly a month in the Luomei Star Domain under Xu Jin's guidance, with the vast accumulation of Three-Storage resources, Mo Da Niu's cultivation had once again reached Star Refinement First Stage.

Now, at Xu Jin's request, he was refining his star techniques.

"You're Da Niu?" State Advisor Cheng Cheng Yuexiao smiled, patting Da Niu's head.

Mo Da Niu looked confusedly at Xu Jin.

"Call him State Advisor."

"State Advisor, greetings."

"Hahaha!"

Cheng Cheng Yuexiao laughed loudly, then pulled out two fourth-rank star artifacts and handed them to Mo Da Niu. "A couple of little trinkets—you'll have more than enough until fifth rank. Afterward, you must listen well to your brother."

Though he received a gift, Mo Da Niu dared not accept it, instead glancing again at Xu Jin for approval.

Xu Jin gently patted Da Niu's head with affection. "Take it. The State Advisor gave it to you."

This child, after enduring so much hardship, had grown so thoughtful it broke one's heart.

State Advisor Cheng Cheng Yuexiao's divine eyes blazed like lightning; with a surge of divine sense, he instantly understood the condition of these three thousand newcomers.

"These rescued children cannot leave the Seventh Killing Star Domain for now—especially those who have already cultivated Blood God Cult power. Either shatter their stars and retrain them, or wait until their cultivation reaches fourth rank and they've formed other source-star runes before leaving the Seventh Killing Star Domain.

And these non-humans must be strictly controlled," State Advisor Cheng Cheng Yuexiao instructed.

Hearing this, Xu Jin nodded. Of the two thousand children, over half had already formed star cores—they must reach fourth rank before leaving.

Otherwise, using Blood God stellar power would cause major trouble.

As for shattering stars and retraining?

Unnecessary.

Nearly a thousand children—first, Xu Jin lacked the energy.

Second, Xu Jin had always believed: killers are people, not weapons!

The Blood God Cult's Blood Source Star Rune is not evil, so long as it is not used to condense the Ten Thousand Spirits Blood Pill through Blood God Cult secret methods.

The Blood Source Star Mark of the Blood God Sect is not evil so long as it is not refined into the Ten Thousand Spirits Blood Elixir using the sect's secret methods.

Previously, I gave it to Da Niu.

Mainly because under the Blood God Sect's laissez-faire cultivation method, they only forged Da Niu a mid-grade star core, ruining him.

Of course, the main reason was still Da Niu's special status.

"Grand Master, I was just about to tell you—starting today, these people will live within the Seven Kill Star Domain, but they'll need massive supplies of food and other basic necessities from you."

If possible, could you mobilize some craftsmen and artisans, especially schoolmasters?

It would also help if you could send me some retired soldiers, for easier management." Xu Jin said.

"That's simple. My Chen Guo sends impoverished and disaster-stricken people to voluntarily resettle in controlled star domains every year, but you must find your own person to oversee everything—this is your own base and future strength," Grand Master Cheng Cheng Yuexiao said.

"Thank you, Grand Master."

Hearing this, Grand Master Cheng Cheng Yuexiao burst into laughter.

"Grand Master, while we have this free time, I'd like to try boosting your cultivation base further." Xu Jin said.

"Oh? You still have such a method?" Grand Master Cheng Cheng Yuexiao exclaimed.

"Whether it works or not, Grand Master, you'll know once you try." Xu Jin said.

"I believe in you, and I'm willing to try—but not now," Grand Master Cheng Cheng Yuexiao said seriously.

"Why?" Xu Jin was puzzled.

"You still don't understand the Sun Yang Star Jun! His mind is extremely meticulous, and he hates being cheated.

After being tricked by us this time, and with the Luomei Mountain Villa gaining nothing,

I fear he'll launch a surprise attack on Wan Yi. I must return quickly." Grand Master Cheng Cheng Yuexiao said.

At these words, Xu Jin was startled—there was indeed such a possibility.

"Grand Master, if all eight of the Eighth-Rank cultivators from the Sun Yang Star Palace arrive together, the pressure on Wan Yi would truly be—"

"Then I'll go back with you to fight!" Xu Jin said.

"No need!

The Sun Yang Star Jun now has vast resources and has accumulated for years—he could break through to Ninth Rank at any moment.

If he sees a chance to grab an advantage, he won't hesitate.

But if you ask him to fight me to the death, he won't do it!

So as long as I return to Wan Yi, he'll likely just put on a show." Cheng Cheng Yuexiao said.

Grand Master Cheng Cheng Yuexiao's analysis did align with the Sun Yang Star Jun's character, but Xu Jin asked, "Grand Master, why has the Sun Yang Star Palace suddenly produced so many Eighth-Ranks? How did the Sun Yang Star Jun gather seven Eighth-Ranks so easily?

And my Chen Guo—"

Xu Jin's meaning was obvious.

"It's normal! My Chen Guo has been weak for a long time, and over the past twenty years, we've been constantly stripped of our best talents.

You know this.

Below Seventh Rank, cultivation can be boosted by resources—but Seventh and Eighth Ranks are true tests of talent and comprehension.

The Selection Process took away our most elite few.

Naturally, fewer of our people have broken through to Seventh and Eighth Ranks these years.

The Sun Yang Star Palace has vast resources, the largest population, and it's normal they've accumulated seven Eighth-Ranks in the mortal realm.

But my Chen Guo isn't completely empty.

Our former elites were mostly sent to the Star River Battlefield.

In the past six months, our Chen Guo has added two new Eighth-Ranks on the Star River Battlefield—though few in the mortal realm know of it.

Moreover, the Selection Process will end next year.

Combined with my Chen Guo's rapid surge in national strength, within a few years, our top combat power will grow swiftly." Cheng Cheng Yuexiao said.

Hearing this, Xu Jin nodded.

It truly was so.

Although this year he had secured many star domains, resources, and star runes for Chen Guo,

Seventh and Eighth Ranks couldn't be caught up in just one year.

"Alright, send me back! Take care of everything here, then come find me in the mortal realm." Grand Master Cheng Cheng Yuexiao said.

"Understood!"

In the next instant, Xu Jin sank his mind into the Seven Kill Palace he had subjugated, linked to the mortal realm, and intended to directly project the Star Gate into Wan Yi City.

But he tried.

It didn't work.

Even outside Wan Yi City, it still didn't work.

After several attempts, only when he was five hundred li away from Wan Yi could he successfully open the Star Gate.

In the next instant, Grand Master Cheng Cheng Yuexiao stepped forward and vanished.

Xu Jin then began exploring the conditions for opening the Star Gate in the mortal realm.

After some trials, he found many places couldn't open it—but without exception, all were related to the Star-Plucking Tower.

In the end, he concluded: the Star Gate of the Seven Kill Star Domain could only be opened beyond five hundred li from the main tower of the Star-Plucking Tower.

Beyond two hundred li from any branch tower of the Star-Plucking Tower, the Star Gate could be opened.

In addition, no other restrictions have been discovered so far.

In the next instant, Xu Jin looked at the three thousand-plus youths and non-humans, feeling a headache.

This was truly a start from absolute scratch.

Actually doing it would be a nightmare.

"Da Niu, can you manage these youths?" Xu Jin suddenly turned to Mo Da Niu.

"I… I don't know," Mo Da Niu looked nervous, "but I can try!"

"Good, then try! Mistakes are fine—just correct them. But one rule: absolutely no delaying cultivation."

"Brother, I understand."

While assigning Da Niu to manage them, Xu Jin summoned the leaders of the non-humans.

"Qing Mu, protect Da Niu. If anything happens, follow Da Niu's orders."

"Understood!" The Sixth-Rank Ninth Layer non-human Qing Mu nodded eagerly.

"Good. Here's your reward. Do well, and there'll be more." Xu Jin casually tossed out a Three-Variant Dragon Turtle Soul-Forging Pill.

Upon receiving the pill, Qing Mu was overjoyed and immediately fell in behind Da Niu as his bodyguard.

Of course, Xu Jin would never truly let a child manage thousands of people.

He had already instructed Hou Hou Yunzhang.

From the moment he decided to execute this plan, he had already chosen the candidate.

Someone trustworthy and steady was needed to manage and cultivate these youths within the Seven Kill Star Domain.

Hou Hou Yunzhang was the best choice.

Where was he now?

He should be arriving soon!

In the next instant, as Xu Jin watched Da Niu begin organizing the children in the same way he himself had done, he turned to tally his gains.

Inside the Luomei Mountain Villa's bunker, Xu Jin had seized two Eighth-Ranks and four Seventh-Ranks' Nirmāṇakāya spaces—now was the time to claim the spoils.

(End of Chapter)