Chapter 491: Throwing Out a Brick to Attract Jade and Reclaiming Authority

Star River Battlefield, Southern Barbarian War Zone, Muhu War City.

This is the frontline of the Barbarian War Zone in the Star River Battlefield.

Wu Gu, commander of the Barbarian War Zone, was intently watching the distant Star River passage.

In the distance, a massive star was steadily moving toward the Star River Battlefield.

During its approach, smaller or larger stars nearby were directly engulfed by this massive star.

Wu Gu had come here in person due to this anomaly.

Behind Wu Gu stood the warlords and generals of the various Barbarian armies.

Due to the approaching massive star, the Star River passage before Muhu War City had been abandoned.

As the star drew closer, star-force tides surged repeatedly, destroying not only the Star River passage but also the fortresses guarding it!

What about sending scouts to investigate?

Under the terrifying star-force tides brought by the star, even ordinary reconnaissance troops would be shredded instantly—let alone an eighth-rank cultivator; this was the power of heaven and earth.

All they could do was wait and observe.

"Great Commander, it's accelerating!"

"Fall back!"

The instant Wu Gu noticed the massive star accelerating, he ordered all the powerful cultivators to retreat a hundred li.

Almost the moment the Barbarian experts completed their retreat, an invisible yet tangible force between the massive star and the Star River Battlefield collided with a thunderous crash.

In an instant, terrifying torrents of brilliant starlight erupted outward.

Waves of starlight surged like tides, spreading across the Barbarian War Zone.

Muhu War City, directly in the path, was obliterated.

The starlight tide extended over a thousand li.

Only because the Star River Battlefield was vast and sparsely populated did this wave not claim countless lives.

But this was merely surface-level.

As the star's stellar field collided with the Star River Battlefield's stellar field, the entire Kunling World began to violently tremble.

Like a dragon of the earth turning over.

The tremors spread from the Star River Battlefield directly into the mortal realm.

The closer to the southern war zone, the more intense the shaking.

The mortal realm experienced relatively milder effects, but the entire Star River Battlefield suffered severe oscillations overall.

"Gentlemen, this is the situation."

Inside the Star River Secret Realm's conference hall, Grand Marshal Wei Xu retracted the starlight projection and added, "We have now confirmed that the celestial body now contacting the Star River Battlefield, causing these massive tremors, is none other than the Eight Wilderness Continent, formed a year ago by the alien race using their ancestral ancestral realm."

However, its growth rate has surpassed our estimates.

Previously, based on the Star River Battlefield's historical expansion rate, we predicted the Eight Wilderness Continent would connect with the Star River Battlefield in three years—at the earliest, two years from now.

But now, it has arrived ahead of schedule.

This means the alien race's Eight Wilderness Continent is growing far faster than we anticipated.

Consequently, its power will be far greater.

The stellar force tides from the two star domains' contact are expected to subside within one to two months.

In other words, in one or two months, whether the Eight Wilderness aliens or our mortal race, both may cross the interstellar barrier and begin combat at any moment!

I've explained the situation. How to deploy forces now rests with your decisions."

With that, Grand Marshal Wei Xu leaned back slightly, relinquishing the floor to others.

This meeting was of exceptionally high rank.

Only the heads of various factions and commanders of the Star River Battlefield were present.

Star Lord Lord Tianyang, Star Lord Cangming, Grand Minister of Chen Guo, Master of Mu Ling Palace, Master of Xu Mi Palace, Emperor of Da Hong, Emperor of Da Chu—all regional commanders were here.

Notably, Star Lord Zhen'e, who had long been in seclusion, also appeared at the meeting.

With Wei Xu's explanation, the cause of the global tremors was identified—but the situation was worse than anyone had imagined.

Originally, all factions were preparing for battle, but their timeline assumed three years.

Now, it had been drastically accelerated.

For a moment, no one spoke.

After a long silence, Star Lord Lord Tianyang finally spoke, smiling at Star Lord Zhen'e, "Zhen'e, have you broken through yet?"

Star Lord Zhen'e's projected aura remained firmly at the peak of eighth-rank—so Lord Tianyang's question was clearly rhetorical.

"Only one divine principle. My chance of breaking through in one go is slim—I'm still preparing," Zhen'e replied.

"Why not try breaking through now?"

"If you break into ninth-rank, lead the charge—we'll follow behind you and wipe out the Eight Wilderness aliens outright," Lord Tianyang chuckled.

"You jest. Even if I break through, I doubt I'd rival your century of accumulated strength," Zhen'e laughed.

"Not necessarily. Our Minister Cheng is currently extraordinarily powerful," Lord Tianyang said.

"No, last time we clashed, I had the advantage of fighting on home ground," Cheng Cheng Yuexiao chuckled.

Then Lord Tianyang turned to Star Lord Cangming, "Cangming, since the Eight Wilderness Continent's contact is imminent, would you lead this effort?"

Cangming smiled faintly and shook his head. "I lack the capability."

Instantly, Lord Tianyang turned his gaze to the two palace masters.

"My Xu Mi Palace will obey any order from the Star Lord—within our capacity, we will spare no effort."

"Concerning the great cause of our mortal race, every member of Mu Ling Palace stands ready."

Lord Tianyang's gaze swept the room, confirming consensus.

Of course, he knew these leaders were merely speaking in platitudes.

They outwardly honored him as supreme—if he issued reckless orders, he'd be the one humiliated.

"Since both palaces will join the battle, I must clarify one thing: besides yourselves, how many eighth-ranks and seventh-ranks can each palace deploy?" Lord Tianyang asked.

"This—"

The two palace masters exchanged glances, puzzled by Lord Tianyang's intent—this touched on concrete matters, and they hesitated to answer.

"Very well—I'll be generous. Each of your two palaces, if you send four eighth-ranks and eight seventh-ranks besides your masters, my Da Hong War Zone will grant you one war city—deal?" Lord Tianyang suddenly said.

At once, both palace masters' faces lit up with delight.

They had returned to the mortal realm nearly a year ago but had secured no substantial territory.

Lord Tianyang's offer instantly filled them with joy.

A war city in the Star River Battlefield was equivalent to a former star domain—vast in land, but extremely low in population.

Yet even with few people, it was still land.

Seeing their delight, Star Lord Cangming, Star Lord Zhen'e, and Grand Minister Cheng Cheng Yuexiao all frowned slightly.

Lord Tianyang's move was brilliant.

He had instantly drawn eight eighth-ranks into Da Hong War Zone.

That was a tremendous force.

At critical moments, it could secure Da Hong War Zone's safety.

At critical moments, it could also yield immense gains.

Instantly, Grand Minister Cheng Cheng Yuexiao smiled, "Since Star Lord Lord Tianyang is willing to offer his own territory, we of Chen Guo cannot be stingy.

We offer one or two war cities to the two masters—on condition that each city must station at least two eighth-ranks and six seventh-ranks.

If you accept, for each war city, we will provide ten thousand refugee quotas.

You may freely recruit among our people."

At this, Master of Mu Ling Palace leapt upright, "Minister Cheng, is this true?"

Their two palaces lacked land—but they lacked people even more.

Land alone was useless.

Acquiring land would only drain their elite.

But people were the most vital.

Ten thousand people was not many.

Yet it was enough to sustain and develop a major city.

Once you had a city, wouldn't people naturally come?

The Star River Battlefield was full of adventurous cultivators.

"No falsehoods!"

"Excellent!" Master Chi Lei laughed. "Let's discuss details after the meeting."

"Our Da Chu also offers one war city, including ten thousand refugee quotas," Emperor of Da Chu declared, following Cangming's cue.

"Our Barbarians will not lag behind—we offer the same as Chen Guo."

Seeing this, Lord Tianyang smiled. "It seems my strategy of throwing out a brick to attract jade worked well. Then, our four factions each offer one war city for the two palaces to develop.

But in return, the two palaces must station at least eight eighth-ranks and over twenty-four seventh-ranks across the four cities!

What do you say?"

"Perfect." "This is excellent indeed."

The two palace masters readily agreed, while Cheng Cheng Yuexiao, Cangming, and Zhen'e all bowed respectfully to Lord Tianyang.

Some words needed no speaking.

The Star Lord of Lord Tianyang smiled with evident satisfaction at the sight.

With this move, he eliminated the possibility of the Two Palaces merely going through the motions.

By granting them territory, he could pin their forces there.

"Gentlemen, since we have now come into direct contact with the Eight Wilderness Continent, the final battle is not far off.

Over the next two months, we must move as many elites as possible to the Star River Battlefield.

When the time comes, how much territory and how many benefits each house secures will depend entirely on your own abilities.

But first, once the border between the two continents stabilizes, we must redraw our defense zones—though, of course, the Barbarian War Zone alone cannot hold it." The Star Lord of Lord Tianyang proposed.

"Naturally." The Star Lord of Zhen'e was the first to agree.

Though contact means benefits, it also means great risk.

Hence, the Star Lord of Zhen'e was the first to support it.

While the high-ranking figures of the mortal realm convened within the Star River Secret Realm, the massive fluctuations triggered by the contact between the Eight Wilderness Continent and the Star River Battlefield stirred the attention of several Emperor Lords in the Star River who had long been observing Kunling World.

In the Star River, Emperor Lord Emperor Chu Xuan Cheng and Emperor Lord Huaqing first converged.

"Kunling World has fully restored!" said Emperor Lord Emperor Chu Xuan Cheng.

"Indeed, it has!"

Emperor Lord Huaqing added, "But the deer has appeared—and now all lords will vie for it."

"This deer must not fall into the hands of the Eight Wilderness Ancestors," said Emperor Lord Emperor Chu Xuan Cheng.

"Naturally."

"Yet none of our disciples have reached the ninth rank."

Though Kunling World has fully restored and no longer requires Divine Dao Intent to produce ninth-rank cultivators,

the process is far too slow.

We must lend a hand to our disciples below." Emperor Lord Emperor Chu Xuan Cheng said.

Emperor Lord Huaqing nodded. "Naturally. But last time, when we descended Divine Dao Intent, not a single one of our disciples obtained it—yet Ji Dao also claimed his disciples obtained only one, and even he said none fell into the hands of the barbarians."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Lord Emperor Chu Xuan Cheng frowned.

"What are you implying?"

"Neither of our disciples obtained a single Divine Dao Intent, nor did any of them break through to the ninth rank.

Yet Ji Dao claims his disciples obtained only one—and it was not taken by the barbarians.

Then who took the other four?" Emperor Lord Huaqing said.

"My disciples would not and could not deceive me."

"Mine as well," Emperor Lord Emperor Chu Xuan Cheng began, then turned to look at Emperor Lord Huaqing. "You mean—?"

"Previously, we could not directly descend Divine Dao Intent and had to rely on Ji Dao to do it for us.

Now, we have acquired a small portion of authority over Kunling World.

With this authority as a conduit, we can descend Divine Dao Intent ourselves." Emperor Lord Huaqing said.

"But if we do this, Ji Dao can reclaim the authority he granted us at any moment."

"Yet once we descend Divine Dao Intent, he cannot take it back," Emperor Lord Huaqing said.

He added, "Only by doing this can our disciples have any chance of obtaining such a supreme treasure!

Our own Dao paths may advance further.

Otherwise, we're almost certainly just sewing clothes for Ji Dao."

Emperor Lord Emperor Chu Xuan Cheng's gaze sharpened instantly.

He too had been puzzled by the last descent of Divine Dao Intent.

The Divine Dao Intent had been sent down—but no one seemed to have received it.

And their information on Kunling World was extremely limited; many matters relied entirely on Ji Dao Emperor.

Much of it had been suspicious.

If Ji Dao had truly schemed against them, it was entirely plausible.

"But if we do this—"

Before Emperor Lord Emperor Chu Xuan Cheng could finish, Emperor Lord Huaqing sneered, "Then let us fight. Are we afraid of him?"

Before Chu Xuan Cheng Emperor Lord could finish speaking, Hua Qing Emperor Lord sneered, "So be it—a fight, then. Who's afraid of him?"

Emperor Lord Emperor Chu Xuan Cheng suddenly understood.

The Dao is only won through struggle.

Worst case, our relationship with Ji Dao turns sour.

But even if it improved—what good would that do?

"Very well. How many Divine Dao Intent will you descend?" Emperor Lord Emperor Chu Xuan Cheng asked.

"At least three or four. This is our only chance.

Afterward, it will be up to our disciples' destiny." Emperor Lord Huaqing said.

"What follows now depends on the disciples' destiny," said Hua Qing Emperor Lord.

In the next instant, the starlight that had just gathered in the Star River abruptly scattered.

Because of the presence of the Zhaixing Tower's main tower, the changes in Kunling World had awakened Ji Dao Emperor from his cultivation.

In the grand hall, Ji Dao Emperor, startled from meditation, suddenly frowned.

"Contact established?"

"That means Kunling World's Heavenly Dao will soon be complete—and such a treasure may appear."

In the next instant, Ji Dao Emperor attempted to communicate with the Star Spirit. Soon, his expression darkened.

"Not one of them is worthy!

Last time, five Divine Dao Intent were descended. In my perception, none fell into the hands of the barbarians—but these unworthy disciples of mine didn't break through at all.

Three Divine Dao Intent remain unaccounted for?

How could this happen?"

Ji Dao Emperor frowned, deeply troubled.

The core of this Eight Wilderness Continent was, in fact, part of Kunling World.

Now that contact has been made, it is complete.

Kunling World can now shift from fragmented to whole.

The benefit: cultivators of Kunling World can now break through to the ninth rank even without Divine Dao Intent.

But there is a downside.

With Kunling World restored, the Eight Wilderness barbarians can also draw greater power from the Eight Wilderness Sacred Ancestors.

"Why can't our disciples of this generation grow at all?

How far has that one progressed?"

As he pondered, a faint shadow of a star tower suddenly appeared behind Ji Dao Emperor.

The star tower instantly connected to the Star River, and from the two great worlds within, brilliant beams of starlight began to fall one after another.

The starlight was dense and immense, yet profoundly mysterious.

Each beam faintly shimmered with traces of the Dao.

Like falling meteors, they descended one after another, guided by some mechanism of the Zhaixing Tower, toward Kunling World.

Ji Dao Emperor's face turned pale.

He sent out his spiritual sense, instantly tracing its origin—and his expression turned furious.

"Divine Dao Intent!"

"Emperor Chu Xuan Cheng, Huaqing—you two have ruined my plans! You deserve to die!"

In the next instant, Ji Dao Emperor unleashed all his power to activate the shadow of the Zhaixing Tower's main tower behind his head.

He began reclaiming the two-tenths of authority he had granted.

Granting authority was easy; reclaiming it was hard.

It took over a dozen breaths before the two-tenths of authority returned like two meteors, flowing back into the shadow of the Zhaixing Tower's main tower.

But in those dozen breaths, at least seven or eight Divine Dao Intent had already descended.

In the next instant, Ji Dao Emperor ascended into the Star River and gazed toward Kunling World.

There, in a region of the Star River, one star—once hidden among countless others, utterly unremarkable—was now growing brighter.

In the starry region toward Kunling Realm, a certain star, previously hidden among countless others, appeared ordinary and unremarkable.

Brighter still.

In an instant, it became dazzlingly conspicuous!

A shadowy figure with golden horns suddenly surged into the Star River, gazing from afar at the brightening Kunling World. As it laughed at Ji Dao Emperor, golden light poured from its horns, like meteors, streaking toward the brilliantly shining Kunling World.

"Ji Dao, after all these years, you finally dared to remove your veil!"

In the Star River, Ji Dao Emperor let out a cold, helpless snort and stormed toward Emperor Chu Xuan Cheng Emperor's residence.

In the Star River, the Ultimate Emperor Lord let out a frustrated snort and stormed angrily toward Chu Xuan Cheng Emperor Lord's residence.

(End of chapter)