Chapter 974: The Secret Realm of Zi Yuan Divine Fluid (Requesting Monthly Votes)

Changxing Star Island, Guard Old Hei, weary, saw off the envoy from the Commander’s Mansion, his gaze hollow.

He never imagined the Tongxuan War Zone, once thriving, would descend into such chaos.

Other True Persons or Star Juniors had not yet sensed it, but as Guard, he had felt the hidden currents firsthand.

More than half a month ago, rumors first spread that Grand Commander Kongyuan Emperor had betrayed them.

Then came word that the Alien Ancestors had launched a surprise attack, killing the Grand Commander, and the Emperor himself had come to the Star Wastes to avenge him.

Yet the alien captives captured during the recent Star Surge claimed their Ancestors had not died.

But the Emperor had indeed arrived in the Tongxuan War Zone.

Conflicting reports flew everywhere, truth and falsehood indistinguishable.

Some even claimed the Emperor had personally slain Ghost Cang Emperor and intended to exterminate his three clans.

Under such conditions, the entire Tongxuan War Zone had grown chaotic—and just days ago,

a new Grand Commander had taken office.

He was the veteran Da Jin Emperor, Fu Tu Emperor.

But to Old Hei’s surprise, the Deputy Commander was Tian Guan Zi Ji, from the Da Luo Ancestral Court.

This gave Old Hei a strange feeling.

In the past few days, a new envoy from the Commander’s Mansion—sent by Fu Tu Emperor—arrived roughly every two days.

Their words hinted at demands for Old Hei’s allegiance, yet never stated them outright.

Old Hei was no fool; he deflected them all with assurances that he would obey orders.

He sensed an impending upheaval within the Tongxuan War Zone.

It worried him.

Those who rushed to take sides—and those who refused to take any—both met bad ends!

As for how to choose now, he had no idea.

The Grand Commander’s death had been too sudden, too suspicious.

And the Da Luo Ancestral Court had never contacted him.

In the end, Old Hei did one thing: he submitted an application for Xu Jin to enter seclusion for breakthrough.

The procedure had been for his subordinate Xu Jin to apply to him, then for him to approve and report it to the Commander’s Mansion.

Now, he submitted it directly.

As for the reason, it was already ready-made.

Intensive seclusion to seek breakthrough to True Person.

For a Star Lord at the peak of his cultivation, this was perfectly normal.

Moreover, in the Star Wastes frontline, such applications must be approved.

To deny one would be to obstruct a disciple’s Dao path.

Old Hei’s reason for doing this was simple: to give the Great Saint a chance to return.

Because of these recent events, he had quietly considered a possibility.

The Great Saint Xu Jin might have been closely tied to Grand Commander Kongyuan Emperor.

Both specialized in space.

Previously, the Great Saint had shown connections that seemed to reach the heavens—he had never guessed where his background lay.

But if the Great Saint’s patron was the Grand Commander, many things suddenly made sense.

As for Zhu Linxiao, under no one’s attention, it was even simpler.

“Who is it?”

In the Star Wastes, faint thunder rumbled—causing Xu Jin to pause mid-space teleportation.

He had intended to teleport away immediately, but then remembered he was in the Thousand Stars War Zone; whoever he encountered now was likely a patrol True Person from that zone.

During wartime, he must not bring trouble upon his Master—after all, he would need to operate in the Thousand Stars War Zone for a while.

With a thought, he sent a mental message directly to his Mistress in the Abyssal Domain; only one reply came from Empress Du Yue, and Xu Jin instantly understood.

Moments later, as the two patrol True Persons arrived, Xu Jin immediately revealed his Thousand Stars Jade Token.

The moment the token appeared, the two True Persons, after careful inspection, bowed to Xu Jin at once: “Greetings, my lord.”

This surprised Xu Jin.

Back then, his Senior Uncle Youyu and his Master had both said the Thousand Stars Jade Token holder held exalted status within the Thousand Stars Alliance, second only to the Alliance Master.

Xu Jin had assumed the Alliance Master was an Emperor, meaning the token holder ranked just below Emperor.

But now he saw: not all Emperors in the Thousand Stars Alliance were Alliance Masters; there were only thirteen Masters.

Below the Masters were Emperors.

Meaning, the status of the Thousand Stars Jade Token holder equaled that of an ordinary Emperor.

Of course, merely equal—not comparable.

The token holder had potential, but lacked an Emperor’s combat power.

Yet his status surpassed most True Persons.

This status was truly high.

Now it seemed the Thousand Stars Jade Token could grant Xu Jin many advantages.

Soon after, the two mid-rank patrol True Persons departed.

Xu Jin continued teleporting toward his Master’s Tianluo Star Island.

Having entered the Thousand Stars War Zone and with his Mistress in the Abyssal Domain, Xu Jin was no longer in such a hurry.

He ceased using time acceleration and all space-boosting techniques.

He moved at a normal pace of three or four thousand li per teleport.

Yet even this was astonishing.

Many high-rank True Persons specializing in space did not possess such speed.

Fifteen minutes later, Xu Jin suddenly appeared above Tianluo Star Island.

The moment he appeared, his Master Fenghua Emperor’s voice echoed in his mind: “Come directly.”

In the next instant, Xu Jin pinpointed his Master’s aura and instantly materialized above the Emperor’s palace.

Upon seeing Fenghua Emperor’s figure, he immediately performed the full kowtow.

Fenghua Emperor smiled, asked no questions, and led Xu Jin straight into the Imperial Palace’s Meditation Hall; as starlight rose to seal the chamber, Xu Jin released his Mistress Du Yue and Zhu Linxiao.

More formal greetings and pleasantries followed.