Chapter 732: A Dream Come True (Requesting Base Monthly Votes)

"What?"

Inside the Bi Chu Xuan Tianyang Zhenjun's mansion, Bi Chu Xuan Crown Prince's expression sharply changed upon receiving the starlight message from Yuxingjun Qu Qu Shanze, his face filled with disbelief.

He immediately sent a starlight message to confirm.

【Yuxingjun, are you certain the junior starlords in the Xiazhu Star Region have been decisively defeated?】

【Your Highness, this is merely my inference. Three reasons: first, the cosmic authority river I controlled in the Xiazhu Star Region was destroyed, and I suffered severe backlash injuries—battle conditions must be unfavorable.】

【Second, Lu Sheng, who previously maintained contact with me, is now completely unreachable—likely in trouble.】

【Third, Princess Zhu Zhu Linxiao's Dao-Embryo artifact flew straight through the heavens without obstruction and retrieved the Xifeng Luankong Flag, which sealed the Xiazhu Star Region's space.】

【Given these three points, I believe the encirclement within the Xiazhu Star Region may have already failed, but the exact situation requires Your Highness's judgment.】

【Considering these three points, I have now suffered severe backlash injuries, so I request immediate return to the Emperor Dongxuan Star Realm to avoid being exploited by others.】

Outside the Xiazhu Star Region, Yuxingjun Qu Qu Shanze was frantic.

Just now, Zhu Zhu Linxiao took the Xifeng Luankong Flag right before his eyes—not merely taking it, but testing him.

He likely already knows he's been severely injured by backlash.

She may act immediately, which is why he reported to the Bi Chu Xuan Tianyang Zhenjun Mansion at once.

But he wasn't that foolish.

After sending the urgent starlight message to Bi Chu Xuan Crown Prince, he didn't wait for approval—he began returning immediately.

Come on, with the battle this bad, does he expect to stay here and wait to die?

Inside the Bi Chu Xuan Tianyang Zhenjun Mansion, Bi Chu Xuan Crown Prince finished reading Qu Qu Shanze's starlight report and felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head—from head to toe, he turned cold.

With his experience, the conclusion Qu Qu Shanze drew from these three facts was almost certainly true.

Yet Bi Chu Xuan Crown Prince Lu Hu Changyan still clung to a sliver of hope—or delusion.

This shouldn't be possible!

It absolutely couldn't happen like this!

Outer space blockade, cosmic authority suppression, positional markers, Zhenxingjun's artifact entering to seal the void and restrict their strongest space-transcending star technique, plus twelve junior starlords—including Song Ju, the top pick from the Ten-Year Vanguard, whose combat power had long reached the peak of Da Tianyang Xingjun.

This was our dream opening, their utter despair.

It absolutely couldn't be like this.

Instantly, Bi Chu Xuan Crown Prince sent a starlight message to Lu Sheng, the commander.

The starlight message failed to send.

Bi Chu Xuan Crown Prince's face turned instantly pale—he immediately sent a starlight message to Song Ju.

The message sent successfully, but received no reply.

He sent again, marking it as urgent.

Still no response.

As Bi Chu Xuan Crown Prince's heart sank, he sent starlight messages to several other junior starlords in sequence.

In the Xiji Star Region, Xiji Tianyang Xingjun Liu Xi was meditating in his quiet chamber, contemplating his primary Wind Dao principle.

The path of principle comprehension, in some sense, has no end.

Thus, even though his cultivation base had long reached the peak of Yuxingjun, he still labored endlessly in studying the Dao.

Each additional insight increased his chance of achieving Tianyang Zhenjun status.

He had reached the peak of Yuxingjun for over sixty years.

For years, he had prepared for Tianyang Zhenjun breakthrough: his cultivation, the evolution of his Dao path, three core sacred artifacts, and one auxiliary supreme-grade artifact—he had prepared to the utmost.

Yet to achieve Tianyang Zhenjun status, this alone was insufficient—he needed the experience and aid of seniors.

This was his primary reason for pledging loyalty to the Bi Chu Xuan Tianyang Zhenjun Mansion.

Now, the condition set by Bi Chu Xuan Tianyang Zhenjun to assist his breakthrough was about to be fulfilled.

The original agreement: Liu Xi would help Bi Chu Xuan Tianyang Zhenjun Mansion swallow half of the Yu Tang Tianyang Zhenjun Mansion and lock the final outcome, after which Bi Chu Xuan Tianyang Zhenjun would fully assist his breakthrough.

The Xiazhu Star Region battle was the key.

Xiazhu Star Region was one of the few critical star regions under Yu Tang Tianyang Zhenjun Mansion.

If they successfully captured Xiazhu Star Region and killed Yu Tang Tianyang Zhenjun Mansion's hope, Xu Jin, the remaining key star regions under Yu Tang's control would be within reach.

At that point, the drum would be shattered, and all would strike.

Yu Tang Tianyang Zhenjun Mansion would surely collapse within a few years.

And his path to Tianyang Zhenjun would begin.

This was also why he lent out the supreme-grade artifact, Xifeng Luankong Flag.

"The victory report should arrive within the next couple of days. When it comes, I'll personally visit Bi Chu Xuan Tianyang Zhenjun—then I can begin the specific preparations for my Tianyang Zhenjun breakthrough."

As he pondered, a faint smile unconsciously appeared in Liu Xi's eyes.

But the moment the smile surfaced, Liu Xi's face abruptly changed—a nameless sense of crisis surged into his soul.

The next instant, searing pain struck.

A tearing agony from the deepest core of his soul, as if his spirit were being slashed by knives.

In that same moment, he clearly sensed—he had lost connection with his supreme-grade artifact, forged with immense effort.

The soul imprint within the Xifeng Luankong Flag had been forcibly erased.

Realizing this, a trickle of blood welled from Liu Xi's lips, but he forcibly suppressed it.

In that instant, Xiji Tianyang Xingjun Liu Xi's face turned ghastly, drained of all color.

This backlash injury meant nothing to him.

What truly pained Liu Xi was the loss of the Xifeng Luankong Flag.

This supreme-grade artifact was forged over ten years using vast quantities of rare materials—its primary purpose was for his Tianyang Zhenjun breakthrough.

With this flag, his success rate for breakthrough would increase by at least ten percent.

But now, it was gone.

Xiji Tianyang Xingjun Liu Xi was truly panicked—he immediately sent a starlight message to Bi Chu Xuan Crown Prince.

【Your Highness, what is the battle situation? Why has my Xifeng Luankong Flag been lost? Give me an explanation!】

Inside the Bi Chu Xuan Tianyang Zhenjun Mansion, Bi Chu Xuan Crown Prince Lu Hu Changyan froze upon receiving Liu Xi's starlight message.

The junior starlords in Xiazhu Star Region—including Zhenxingjun You Le—were either unreachable or ignoring starlight messages.

Everything had fallen into silence.

Now even Xiji Tianyang Xingjun Liu Xi claimed his Xifeng Luankong Flag was lost.

This…

In an instant, cold sweat poured from Bi Chu Xuan Crown Prince's forehead.

This sweat was not for the loss of the Xifeng Luankong Flag.

Let Liu Xi lose his flag—it was his own.

Would he dare come knocking on his door demanding compensation?

But the cold sweat came because the losses were catastrophic.

No one responding meant one thing: total annihilation.

If annihilated, the loss—

Of the fifteen junior starlords dispatched, two were from Xiji Star Region; the rest were Bi Chu Xuan Tianyang Zhenjun Mansion personnel, plus Zhenxingjun You Le!

A single blow lost thirteen junior starlords and one Zhenxingjun.

Even for the Bi Chu Xuan Tianyang Zhenjun Mansion, this was crippling—severe damage to its core.

Losses among tenth-rank starlord forces reached a full quarter.

And usable tenth-rank mobile forces were halved.

This—

How could he possibly explain this to the Ancestor?

In the Xiazhu Star Region, Princess Zhu Zhu Linxiao, upon retrieving the Xifeng Luankong Flag, immediately slammed her potent soul force into it. After several breaths, Liu Xi's soul imprint on the flag vanished completely.

The Xifeng Luankong Flag now floated before Zhu Zhu Linxiao as a tiny silver palm-sized banner.

The next instant, Zhu Zhu Linxiao handed it directly to Xu Jin: "Husband, this is your spoils—take it. Cultivating it will boost your combat power; even if you don't use it, it's an excellent bargaining chip."

Xu Jin did not take it. "I already have enough spoils. Keep it and cultivate it yourself. I specialize in space star techniques; later, I'll forge a space-based core spirit treasure—its utility to me will keep diminishing.

You're the one who can truly wield it."

Hearing this, Zhu Zhu Linxiao gently shook her head, then firmly placed the Xifeng Luankong Flag into Xu Jin's hands. "Husband, my cultivation has reached its limit. It's far more useful in your hands."

Seeing her firm resolve, Xu Jin said nothing further and accepted it.

He had wanted to ask about her cultivation status.

But the words died on his lips.

If Yu Tang Tianyang Zhenjun Mansion couldn't solve it, Xu Jin had almost no chance of solving it either.

The cruelest thing in this world is to give someone hope, then snatch it away again.

So Xu Jin didn't ask.

Of course, he wasn't ignoring it.

He simply wouldn't ask Zhu Zhu Linxiao directly.

Once back, he'd find time to ask Yu Tang Wang Zhu Zhu Shizhen—learn his sister's condition from him, then think of solutions—perhaps consult his Master, Master Fenghua Emperor Jun, to see if anything could be done.

Though he couldn't ask Master Fenghua Emperor Jun for direct help, gaining theoretical support from his Master was still possible.

If a solution existed, Xu Jin would find a way to achieve it.

If not, then slip past quietly and act as if nothing happened.

Afterwards, Xu Jin repeatedly teleported within the Xiazhu Star Region, collecting several spiritual materials and seven- and eight-grade celestial herbs, before directly teleporting to a fixed star gate and stepping through.

Now that the great enemy is gone, Xu Jin has no reason to remain in the Xiazhu Star Region.

Next, the mess in the Xiazhu Star Region will be taken over and gradually handled by the Yutang True Person's Mansion, then reasserted under control.

Inside the Yutang True Person's Mansion, Prince Zhu Zhu Shizhen sat motionless in the Yutang Grand Hall.

Before him on the table lay over forty orders stamped with Prince Yutang's seal.

These were arrangements he and Zhu Zhu Linxiao had planned long ago, to be enacted when the final hour of the Yutang True Person's Mansion arrived.

At all costs, the bloodline of the Yutang True Person's Zhu family must not be extinguished.

Now, he waited only for the final devastating news to arrive, so he could immediately dispatch all these signed orders.

Those collateral branches, along with the sole remaining direct lineage, would secretly depart with vast quantities of cultivation resources, then hide their identities across various star regions, hoping one day to restore their ancestors' glory.

As for him?

He would perish alongside the Yutang True Person's Mansion!

Of course, mainly because there was no hope of escape.

Moreover, as long as the Yutang True Person's Mansion here held out one more day, the scattered direct and collateral bloodlines would be one more day safer.

The longer they remained hidden in mundane star regions, the safer they would be.

Though waiting for the bad news, a sliver of hope still lingered in his heart.

Yet he understood—this sliver of hope was a fantasy.

"Sigh, I was too careless! Brother-in-law's strength is formidable, but mainly it's the Bi Chu Xuan True Person's Mansion that's so shameless—sending fifteen Minor Star Juniors and one Garrison Star Junior, plus one Imperial Star Junior, to deal with a genius with Minor Star Junior combat power!"

Prince Zhu Zhu Shizhen sighed helplessly.

As he sighed, starlight fell before his eyes; Prince Zhu Zhu Shizhen's gaze sharply sharpened.

All his worry instantly transformed into wild joy!

It was his brother-in-law Xu Jin and his sister returning!

They now stood at the hall's entrance, smiling at him.

In the next instant, Prince Zhu Zhu Shizhen shot forward like a bolt, rushing to Xu Jin's side, circling him three times, then burst into laughter.

"Wonderful! Brother-in-law, you've finally come back alive!"

"As long as you're back alive, there's still hope!"

"We still have hope in everything!"

As he spoke, Zhu Zhu Shizhen glanced at Zhu Zhu Linxiao, his eyes filled with gratitude.

He understood—nine times out of ten, his sister Zhu Zhu Linxiao had risked her life to rescue his brother-in-law.

In the next instant, Zhu Zhu Shizhen darted back to the hall's table, swept his sleeve, and destroyed all the pre-signed special command jade slips, ready to be dispatched, then casually explained, "Brother-in-law, since you're back alive, we still have hope—my Zhu bloodline continuation plan is no longer needed."

Watching Zhu Zhu Shizhen's ecstatic expression, Xu Jin and Zhu Zhu Linxiao exchanged glances, then Xu Jin smiled, "Prince, do you think we merely came back alive?"

At this, Zhu Zhu Shizhen froze. "Brother-in-law, what do you mean?"

"Dare to imagine bigger," Xu Jin smiled.

Zhu Zhu Shizhen blinked, then grinned, "Battle results? So you've gained something? You killed Bi Chu Xuan True Person's Mansion's Minor Star Juniors and weakened them?"

"One isn't worth mentioning, right?"

"Did you kill three or four Minor Star Juniors and still come back alive?"

"Dare even bigger," Xu Jin smiled.

"You can be even bolder," Xu Jin chuckled.

Prince Zhu Zhu Shizhen's expression froze. "Even bigger results? So you killed over half the Minor Star Juniors? Six or seven?"

"Prince, your courage is too timid!"

"Bring out the boldness you use in your dreams!" Xu Jin laughed.

"Dreams? I once fantasized you could annihilate all those Bi Chu Xuan True Person's Mansion Minor Star Juniors—ideally even kill the Garrison Star Junior You Le, who entered the Dao Embryo stage! That way, the Bi Chu Xuan True Person's Mansion's strength would be shattered, and our pressure would drop drastically! But I thought such a scenario was impossible—even in dreams!" Prince Zhu Zhu Shizhen chuckled bitterly.

"Hmm, Prince, I congratulate you—your dream has come true!" Xu Jin smiled.

At these words, Prince Zhu Zhu Shizhen froze as if struck by lightning.

His eyes stared blankly at Xu Jin, then turned to his sister Zhu Zhu Linxiao for confirmation.

After she nodded, Prince Zhu Zhu Shizhen rushed to Xu Jin's side, bowing low to look up at him in astonishment: "Brother-in-law, are you our Zhu family's ancestral spirit reincarnated?"

Before Xu Jin could speak, Zhu Zhu Linxiao kicked out, sending Prince Zhu Zhu Shizhen flying. "What nonsense—you're talking about your brother-in-law!"

Prince Zhu Zhu Shizhen blinked, then rushed forward again, about to speak, when Xu Jin already pulled out nine-tenths of the Xiazhu Star Region's celestial authority, erased its divine imprint, and tossed it directly to Zhu Zhu Shizhen, saying:

"All invading Minor Star Juniors annihilated—including Garrison Star Junior You Le. Domain Lord Fang Fang Ziqing and Military Lord Wei Song are dead. This is the Xiazhu Star Region's celestial authority. The rest is yours to handle!"

With that, in Zhu Zhu Shizhen's stunned gaze, Xu Jin stretched luxuriously. "Fought for half a month straight—I'm exhausted. I'm going to bathe first."

Saying this, Xu Jin stepped into the stars and headed straight for his Guest Mansion, behind him Zhu Zhu Linxiao chasing after: "Husband, let me serve you in your bath."

Inside the Yutang Grand Hall, Prince Zhu Zhu Shizhen remained stunned for a long while.

This battle result was terrifying!

With that, Xu Jin stepped directly into the stars and returned to his Patron Residence; behind him, Zhu Zhu Linxiao had already chased after him, "My lord, your wife has come to attend to your bath."

Unconsciously, his spiritual sense sank into the Xiazhu Star Region's celestial authority—and upon contact, he froze.

Nine-tenths!

The celestial authority Xu Jin returned had become nine-tenths!

His eyes blazed with renewed wonder.

The Yutang True Person's Mansion had spent a century to raise its control of the Xiazhu Star Region's celestial authority from seven-tenths to eight-tenths.

Yet this ninth tenth—Xu Jin achieved it in a single trip.

This ability…

Zhu Zhu Shizhen's eyes grew ever brighter with joy.

The value of the brother-in-law he'd once picked up kept rising!

In the Guest Mansion, Xu Jin reclined in a massive tub, Princess Zhu Zhu Linxiao draped in a sheer veil, diligently serving him. Soon, the veil soaked through, revealing her exquisite form.

Faced with this sight, Xu Jin could no longer hold back—he lifted Zhu Zhu Linxiao into the tub.

Water surged instantly through the room, swirling violently.

In the Patron Residence, Xu Jin reclined halfway in a massive bathtub, while Princess Zhu Zhu Linxiao, draped in a sheer veil, diligently attended to his bath; soon, the veil was soaked through, revealing her exquisite figure.

Before this beautiful scene, Xu Jin could no longer hold back; he lifted Zhu Zhu Linxiao bodily into the bathtub.

Water instantly flooded the room, surging in turbulent currents.

(End of Chapter)