Cultivating Disciples To Breakthrough

by Stayrr

Within a quiet pavilion on top of a lonely mountain peak, Xuan Hao slowly opened his eyes with a bewildered look on his face, he had transmigrated into a cultivation world as an elder of the Flying Sword Sect. He was even an expert at the Nascent Soul Realm, who had the power to easily destory an entire city with a wave of his hand. Most importantly, he had a system that allowed h

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Cultivating Disciples to Breakthrough #Chapter 1044 Unkown Domain Lord - Read Cultivating Disciples to Breakthrough Chapter 1044 Unkown Domain Lord Online - All Page - Novel Bin

Chapter 1044 Unkown Domain Lord

Hearing the voice coming from behind the throne followed by an unfamiliar person suddenly walking out from behind the king, both Hong Xuan and Sheng Mei tensed up. Even going as far as to grab their weapons after feeling the dense killing intent that now permeated the entire throne room.

Although they were still inside the throne room where such a thing was not permitted under normal circumstances, there was no way any of them cared about this with the sudden turn of events. Especially Hong Xuan who was closest to the throne and felt the most threatened by the sudden appearance of someone he had never seen before behind the king.

Not only that, but the sudden appearance of this person also made both of them understand that whatever had happened to the king that and caused him to enter his current emotionless state where he was barely moving his head around to look at them from his throne should be related to this person.

"You, what do you mean by that and what did you do to his majesty!?" Being the first to start talking as he noticed the unknown man slowly walking towards him, Hong Xuan unconsciously began taking a few steps back to keep the distance between them.

"Hehe, I didn't do much to him, he did this to himself- No… I think it would be better to say that he was encouraged by his ancestors to do this, and I mean what I said earlier, you are truly stupid. Didn't you notice that you entered my formation already?

The reason why I said your friend over there was at least a little smarter than you, is because she at least noticed the formation and didn't mindlessly step inside of it like you did."

"Huh!?"

Hearing what the unknown man said as he was chuckling to himself, Hong Xuan felt a shiver run down his spine before he slowly began to use his divine sense to scan his surroundings… And sure enough, he quickly noticed the formation markings covering the floor and pillars surrounding the throne. All of them stopped just a few meters in front of Sheng Mei who was standing behind him.

This is bad!

Thinking this to himself, Hong Xuan didn't bother trying to fight the unknown man as he directly turned around and tried to escape the throne room. Understanding very well that he had walked directly into a trap and would likely not be able to win against the other party. Not only that, but he would likely not be able to escape if the formation had time to activate and trap him inside.

Whoosh-!

However, it was too late to think about this now, as the formation activated just before he could leave-

Bang!

Causing him to crash headfirst into the transparent barrier that now separated him from the outside world.

"Wha-"

Standing back up with an expression of disbelief plastered all over his face, Hong Xuan realized that he had been too slow and had no way to escape from the throne room without first destroying the formation in front of him.

The only problem with this was that he could clearly sense that it would at least take him half an hour to an hour to forcibly break through the formation in front of him… And considering that the unknown man was approaching him with a very clear killing intent, he didn't have the luxury of breaking out of the formation.

Looks like my only choice is to fight-

Rumble~!

Just as Hong Xuan was coming to terms with his current situation and was about to get ready to fight the unknown man, a terrifying aura belonging to the Domain Lord Realm suddenly erupted from the unknown man. Destroying any hope that Hong Xuan had of fighting back.

"Domain Lord Realm!?"

Feeling the powerful Domain Lord Realm aura that suddenly erupted from the unknown man, Sheng Mei could not help feeling a shiver run down her spine as she tightly gripped the token given to her by Elder Song.

Only now did she understand why the unknown man had said that there wouldn't be any way for her to escape…

"Hehe, seems like both of you understand your situation better now!" Smiling sinisterly as he relished in the terrified expression on Hong Xuan and Sheng Mei's faces, the unknown man deliberately slowed his speed as he watched Hong Xuan start to desperately try and claw his way through the formation to no avail.

Swish-! NvεlB¡n: Unleashing Imagination, One Read at a Time.

Also understanding that staying inside the throne room for any longer was a bad idea, Sheng Mei didn't waste a second after she calmed down enough to regain movement of her body before At the same time that she was escaping, she quickly pulled out a communication talisman that had been given to her by Elder Song in case of an emergency and used it to inform him about her current situation whilst not forgetting to ask for help.

In her eyes, the fate of Hong Xuan had already been sealed and there was no way for her to help him in the current situation. If he was lucky, he would not be killed instantly by the unknown Domain Lord Realm Expert and would instead end up in a similar state to the king-

Crack~!

"Aaaaaah-!"

However, this thought was quickly proven wrong, as the painful scream of Hong Xuan echoed out behind her just after a loud cracking sound that sounded like bones being broken. Even if the king had been kept alive for some unknown reason, it looked like the unknown Domain Lord didn't have the same plans for them.

"I have to at least stay alive until one of the Domain Lords from the Star Shattering Sect shows up." Silently muttering this to herself as she calculated the distance between the capital of the Flame Sky Kingdom and the Star Shattering Sect in her head, Sheng Mei could not help growing a bit dispirited.

The Flame Sky Kingdom could essentially be considered to be located at the edge of the territory that the Star Shattering Sect had planned to expand into. Even with her current strength at the Eighth Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm, it would at least take her half a week to reach the Star Shattering Sect.

Even if someone in the Domain Lord Realm could fly and would be far faster than her, it should at least take a few hours before someone from the Star Shattering Sect appeared… And given that the person chasing after her was someone in the Domain Lord Realm, her chances of evading capture during this period of time were close to none.

If she wanted to survive long enough for help to show up, she had rushing back out of the throne room before the unknown man in the Domain Lord Realm could catch her.

Whoosh~

to find another way to avoid the Domain Lord Realm Expert chasing after her. The only problem was… The senses of a Domain Lord Realm Expert were far sharper than someone in the Nascent Soul Realm. Making it close to impossible for her to hide unless she found a special way to hide her aura.

Hm!? Wait a second, can't this thing be used to hide my aura…

Suddenly thinking about something as she turned her attention to the small token she had been tightly holding in her hand since entering the throne room, Sheng Mei quickly contacted Elder Song and found out that she could indeed use the token to hide her aura from someone in the Domain Lord Realm for a few hours.

Whoosh~!

Not a second later, she injected some of her qi into the token. Instantly activating it before guiding the terrifying power stored inside of it to cover her body and seal it off from the outside world. Hiding her presence completely in the process.

"I hope this will be enough…" Muttering this to herself as she felt the terrifying power covering her entire body, isolating her aura completely, Sheng Mei didn't waste a second as she rushed out of the capital and into a large forest beside the capital to hide herself while waiting for help to show up.

Deciding to not try and escape too far away as it might end up causing flaws to appear in the cover formed by the token if she moved too fast and caused the power to run out faster as it repaired these flaws.

…

"To think a Domain Lord Realm Expert appeared in the Flame Sky Kingdom and got rid of the royal family before we had the chance… Haaa… Maybe it's the mysterious force behind that secret technique finally showing themselves?

Luckily for that Sheng Mei, the token created by Shu Yao should be able to keep her hidden for an hour or two."

Back in the Star Shattering Sect, Elder Song looked down at the communication talisman that Sheng Mei had just contacted him through filled with interest as he said this to himself.

"Now, who should I ask to go, Feng Chen or Shu Yao…?"

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Chapter 1045 Trap

Not too long after finding out about the situation in the Flame Sky Kingdom, Shu Yao was officially chosen to take care of the matter as she headed in the direction of the Flame Sky Kingdom.

Given that she had no idea just how strong this unknown Domain Lord that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere was, she decided to bribe the winged lion demon beast into going with her to the Flame Sky Kingdom.

Just in case, the unknown Domain Lord was far too strong for her to deal with. Not something too unrealistic considering that she was still in the First Stage of the Domain Lord Realm and could at most contend with some weaker Second Stage Domain Lords with her current strength.

If the unknown Domain Lord Realm Expert was someone above that and she ended up going there on her own, it might require Xuan Hao to come and help, something she wanted to avoid if possible. Especially considering that Xuan Hao was currently in secluded cultivation…

Rooar!

Whoosh~!

Unaware of the thoughts going through Shu Yao's head as they made their way in the direction of the Flame Sky Kingdom, the winged lion demon beast let out a somewhat dissatisfied roar before using its overpowering strength to throw a surprised Shu Yao on his back.

"Huh!?"

Not giving her any time to react as it soon flew off in the direction of the Flame Sky Kingdom at a far greater speed compared to before.

"So… You want to deal with this as soon as possible and get your reward…?" Understanding what was going on in the head after calming down for a few seconds on its back, Shu Yao could not help smiling wryly to herself as she felt the wing violently crashing into her.

Roar!

Nodding its large head in acknowledgement, the winged lion did not feel that there was anything wrong with what it had done as it soon increased its speed even more-

"Waaah!?"

Causing Shu Yao to tightly grab hold of it with all her strength. Fearing that she might end up getting thrown off the winged lion demon beast if she did not do this.

Swish-!

Not at all carrying about Shu Yao using her full strength as a First Stage Domain Lord Realm Expert to grab hold of it, the winged lion demon beast just continued flying in the direction of the Flame Sky Kingdom at a speed no worse than someone who had just broken through to the Soul Ascension Realm.

The reason it was so fast being that it had already reached the Ninth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm and was inherently faster than normal Domain Lord Realm demon beasts due to the fact that it was originally a flying demon beast. Even if it didn't really look like a flying demon beast outside of its large pair of wings.

No matter how skilled someone in the Domain Lord Realm or the Soul Ascension Realm might be when it came to flying, they would ultimately almost certainly be inferior when compared to a flying demon beast who was inherently born with the ability to fly.

…

"Hm? Seems like something happened in the Flame Sky Kingdom…"

Having been about to leave his room to teach his disciples like he had been doing once a week since entering secluded cultivation in an attempt to comprehend the Dao of Space to the Small Success Realm, Xuan Hao managed to learn what was happening through his divine sense.

"Wait… Could it be the people from the Heavenly Dragon Temple? No… Those people should have at least reached the Soul Ascension Realm. Not to mention, there is no reason for them to suddenly kill off the higher ups of the Flame Sky kingdom if they wanted to try and weaken the Star Shattering Sect over time with the help of the surrounding major kingdom.

Not to mention, they should have realized that those major kingdoms won't be able to do anything to the Star Shattering Sect… So… Who is it…?" Muttering this to himself as he looked out of his room in the direction that Shu Yao and the winged lion demon beast had disappeared in, he could not help feeling a bit uneasy about the entire thing.

Rustle~

For this reason, he began to gently shake his robe before-

Thump!

A very confused rabbit demon beast landed on the wooden floor in front of him.

Squeak!?

Not understanding why, it had suddenly been shaken awake and thrown out of what it now perceived as its new home, the rabbit demon beast let out a confused squeaking as it looked up at Xuan Hao. Waiting for him to explain the sudden abuse.

"Don't look at me like that, I should have found you a new place to stay after returning to the sect, you can't just live inside my robe forever-"

Bang!

SQUEAK!

Interrupting him before he had a chance to finish what he was saying, Xuan Hao was forced to use his dao domain to block the rabbit demon beast as it suddenly attempted to rush back inside his robe again.

"You… Let me finish speaking, will you? I have a task for you…"

Restraining the rabbit demon beast so it didn't try to enter his robe again, Xuan Hao began explaining the reason why he had thrown it out of his robe.

In simple words, he wanted the rabbit demon beast to secretly follow Shu Yao and the winged lion demon beast and help keep them safe in case the person who had appeared at the Flame Sky Kingdom was not someone in the Domain Lord Realm but instead one of the Soul Ascension Realm Experts from the Heavenly Dragon Temple. The debut release of this chapter happened at Ñøvl-B1n.

Considering that the rabbit demon beast had reached the Third Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm and could even escape from over a dozen Peak Soul Ascension Realm demon beasts, he didn't feel that anything would happen to it even if the person ended up being someone in the Peak of the Soul Ascension Realm.

In the worst-case scenario, it could inform him about the situation before escaping with Shu Yao, Sheng Mei, and the winged lion demon beast.

This way, he would also be able to continue cultivating in peace without worrying about suddenly deciding to spend the next few weeks investigating the unknown Domain Lord Realm Expert.

Also making sure to promise the rabbit demon beast a small mountain of spirit stones if it completed the mission. Not caring too much about the spirit stones he was giving to the rabbit demon beast as it could be considered spirit stones he had collected on his own and was not directly from the sect's treasury like where the winged lion demon beast got most of its spirit stones from.

Squeak!

Swish-!

Hearing about the mountain of spirit stones that was waiting for it after it completed what could essentially be considered a short trip, the rabbit demon beast didn't bother trying to enter his robe again as it rushed out of the room in the direction of the winged lion demon beast the moment Xuan Hao released it from his dao domain.

Although the winged lion demon beast's current speed was comparable to someone who had just broken through to the Soul Ascension Realm, there was no way for it to get anywhere near the speed of the rabbit demon beast who had managed to outrun over a dozen Peak Soul Ascension Realm demon beast.

In the end, it didn't take more than a few seconds before the rabbit demon beast caught up to the two and began to slowly follow them while remaining hidden on the ground below. Looking just like an ordinary rabbit from above, that was, if one didn't consider its terrifying speed.

…

At the same time that Shu Yao, the winged lion demon beast, and the rabbit demon beast were making their way towards the Flame Sky Kingdom, the unknown Domain Lord Realm Expert that Shen Mei had identified before escaping from the royal palace was hovering a dozen or so meters above her with a disdainful smile plastered all over his emaciated face.

"Hehe, she actually thinks that she can hide from me with the help of that little artifact created by a mere First Stage Domain Lord Realm Expert. If not for the fact that I'm waiting for the creator of this little artifact to show up, there is no way she would still be alive…"

Snickering to himself as he watched how Sheng Mei was cautiously scanning her surroundings, the unknown Domain Lord Realm Expert turned his attention towards the border between the territory of the Flame Sky Kingdom and the Star Shattering Sect in the distance.

"I really want to see just how this Grand Elder Xuan is…" Muttering this to himself, the unknown Domain Lord Realm Expert began to withdraw hundreds of small paper talismans from his interspatial ring-

Whoosh~

Not wasting a second after withdrawing these paper talismans, he spread them out across the entire forest before using his qi to draw thousands of small formation symbols that flew out and merged into the ground. Forming small lines on the ground connecting the paper talismans together into a single entity.

All of this without Sheng Mei noticing anything in the process. Making it very clear that the formation back in the throne room was nothing more than an illusion created to make Sheng Mei think she had a chance to escape by getting help from the Star Shattering Sect…

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Chapter 1046 Prey Walks Into the Trap

Arriving at the border between the Flame Sky Kingdom and the Star Shattering Sect where a few skirmishes between the elders stationed at a nearby branch sect and the elders of the Flame Sky Kingdom in charge of guarding the border, Shu Yao jumped off the winged lion with a somewhat bewildered expression on her face.

"To think it only took a little over half an hour to reach the Flame Sky Kingdom…" Muttering this to herself after jumping off, Shu Yao turned around to look up at the winged lion hovering in the air beside her. "Has anyone ever told you how awesome you are?"

Roar~!

Hearing Shu Yao's praise, the winged lion demon beast let out a happy roar as a prideful expression appeared on its face. Even if it was powerful and was often looked up to by all the disciples and elders who came to give it food, it felt something different in the way Shu Yao praised it.

"We should get going, the token I crafted for Sheng Mei won't last forever."

Knowing that they didn't have more than half an hour or little over an hour left before the energy stored in the token ran out and exposed Sheng Mei's location to the unknown Domain Lord Realm Expert, Shu Yao didn't waste too much time after jumping off the winged lion demon beast before starting to make her way in the direction of the Flame Sky Kingdom's capital city.

Although Sheng Mei wasn't hiding inside the capital city, she was not too far away from it according to what Elder Song had told her. Not to mention, as long as she got close enough to the token, she would be able to easily sense it.

After all, the token was crafted by her, and the power contained inside of it was her own. If Sheng Mei could hide from her with her own power, it would be rather embarrassing for her. Not only that, but it would also mean that she would have to wait until the token ran out of power.

"Looks like she is inside the forest beside the capital city of the Flame Sky Kingdom." Luckily for Shu Yao, this did not end up happening as she easily managed to pick up Sheng Mei's location after getting closer to the capital city of the Flame Sky Kingdom.

However, she also realized that the unknown Domain Lord Realm Expert that Sheng Mei told them was chasing after her was nowhere to be seen. Even looking at the winged lion demon beast that was obediently following after her, it did not seem like it had picked up anyone powerful nearby.

Did the Domain Lord Realm Expert perhaps leave the capital already?

Thinking about this as she slowly approached the forest where Sheng Mei was hiding while constantly scanning her surroundings for any signs of the Domain Lord Realm Expert, Shu Yao could only conclude that the Domain Lord Realm Expert should have already left the capital city at this point in time.

Maybe he did leave the city to chase after Sheng Mei in the direction she had gone before using the token or maybe he realized that she was working with the Star Shattering Sect and decided to escape in an attempt to avoid clashing with the Star Shattering Sect.

After all, considering that the Star Shattering Sect had someone in the Soul Ascension Realm now, there was no way an ordinary Domain Lord Realm Expert would dare to offend them unless forced to do so.

Domain Lord Realm or not, everyone valued their lives and wouldn't carelessly throw it away if there was another way out. Even more so for those who had lived for a long time and wanted to do everything in their power to extend their lifespan.

"There she is."

Spotting Sheng Mei only a few seconds after reaching the forest, Shu Yao didn't slow down as she entered the forest and made her way over towards Sheng Mei who was currently in the process of nervously looking around herself for any signs of the Domain Lord Realm Expert, she had seen back in the throne room.

Although she was confident that the token should be able to hide her from the unknown Domain Lord Realm Expert, she still felt uneasy whenever she remembered how the Domain lord Realm Expert had essentially allowed her to leave the throne room without chasing after her. Instead, having chosen to stay and slowly deal with Hong Xuan.

Rustle~!

"Huh!?"

For this reason, she could not stop herself from jumping up in surprise when she suddenly saw the bush not too far away from where she was standing part ways as Shu Yao appeared-

Thump!

To the point where she ended up losing her footing when landing back down again, causing her to land on her back in a rather painful manner.

If not for the fact that she was in the Nascent Soul Realm, the fall would undoubtedly have broken her back in several places…

"Sheng Mei, I'm an elder from the Star Shattering Sect, I'm here to help you." Seeing the comical scene of Sheng Mei sprawled all over the ground after the fall, Shu Yao did her best to hold in her laughter as she introduced herself.

"Ah? Ah! Grand Elder Shu Yao! It's a pleasure to meet you, sorry for the late greeting, I… happened to see something interesting one the ground…" Realizing that it was just the elder from Star Shattering Sect who had come to help her, Sheng Mei awkwardly got up before greeting her. Doing her best to not admit how she had fallen flat on the ground just now.

"It's fine, we should get going before that Domain Lord Realm Expert shows up. So… If you will excuse me for a moment-"

"Hiii!?"

Knowing that it would be best for them to leave before anything troublesome happened, Shu Yao casual walked over to Sheng Mei and lifted her up before carrying her out of the forest before placing her on top of the winged lion demon beast that quickly flew off with both of them in the direction of the Star Shattering Sect.

During the entire process, they didn't encounter the Domain Lord Realm Expert that Sheng Mei had informed them about beforehand. So… Shu Yao concluded that it should just be a Domain Lord Realm Expert who happened to have grudge with the royal family of the Flame Sky Kingdom.

Now that the Flame Sky Kingdom's royal family had been destroyed, he should have seen no reason to chase after Shu Yao and instead decided to leave. Fearing that she might be related to the Star Shattering Sect, a power with a Soul Ascension Realm Expert.

Feeling like this made sense, she also decided to inform Elder Song about this on her way back to the sect… And Elder Song also agreed with her conclusion. Feeling that it made sense.

After all, the Flame Sky Kingdom had been around for a long time and had made countless enemies over the years.

This time, it just so happened that one of those enemies managed to break through to the Domain Lord Realm and came for revenge when they were struggling to deal with the Star Shattering Sect, and they didn't pay too much attention to anything else. Likely giving him a chance to find a flaw in the formation guarding the capital city of the Flame Sky Kingdom and sneak inside without being noticed. NvεlB¡n: Unleashing Imagination, One Read at a Time.

Of course, all of this did make perfect sense to Shu Yao and Elder Song considering that the Domain Lord Realm Expert Sheng Mei had told them about was nowhere to be seen.

…

A few minutes earlier when Shu Yao had just entered the forest, the unknown Domain Lord Realm Expert who had decided to hide himself above where Sheng Mei was hidden and wait for an opportunity to attack the Grand Elder from the Star Shattering Sect was frozen on the spot without being able to move a single muscle as he stared directly into the eyes of a small cute looking rabbit standing on a small cloud a few hundred meters in front of him.

"This… What in the world is that!?" Not able to say anything else as he felt like a small helpless animal being stared down by a powerful predator, he could only nervously stare back at the cute looking rabbit floating in front of him. Not daring to make a single move to attack Shu Yao and Sheng Mei below.

Rustle~

Even when Sheng Mei and Shu Yao made their way out of the forest, he still didn't dare to move a single muscle as he remained fully focused on the small rabbit in front of him.

Although he had no idea how strong the small rabbit was, he felt like he was no longer the hunter waiting patiently for the prey to walk into the trap. Instead, he had become the prey who had walked into the trap…

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Chapter 1047 Display of Power!

Rumble-!

Knowing that the rabbit demon beast should at least have reached the Soul Ascension Realm for it to give him such a terrible feeling of danger, he decided to reveal his true strength. Hoping that the rabbit demon beast would leave him alone after finding out that he was also in the Soul Ascension Realm.

Squeak…?

However, contrary to what the man believed would happen, the rabbit demon beast instead just tilted its head curiously when it felt his aura change from someone in the Domain Lord Realm to someone in the Second Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm. Not an ounce of fear was present in its soft fluffy looking face.

On the other hand, it would be more accurate to say that his sudden increase in strength had intrigued the rabbit demon beast.

Not only that, but he also noticed that the rabbit demon beast was no longer carelessly staring at him from a distance but had instead moved into a combat position. Making it clear that the rabbit demon beast had no intention of running away after seeing his strength.

"This…" Realizing this, he could not stop a shiver from running down his spine. Demon beasts would most of the time choose to escape if their opponent was stronger than them. If they chose to stay around like the rabbit demon beast in front of him did, it could only mean one thing… The rabbit demon beast thought that it was stronger than him.

Where in the world did such a powerful demon beast pop up from!? Shouldn't most of the Soul Ascension Realm demon beasts in the Sky Empire be somewhere inside the core territory of the empire in certain special locations!? S-should I escape and leave the people from the Star Shattering Sect alone for now, but… Doing so would go against master's command…

from the Star Shattering Sect alone for now, but… Doing so would go against master's command…

Feeling a sense of panic setting in as he realized just how bad his situation was, he contemplated going against his master and just escape without killing the people from the Star Shattering Sect-

Swish-!

However, before he even had time to come to a decision on what to do, the rabbit demon beast made a move. Appearing directly in front of him before swinging down its small, cute feet without giving him any time to react.

"Wha-!?"

BANG!

Caught off guard by the sudden attack, he could only put up a last second defense against the deadly rabbit foot attack before being sent flying into a nearby hillside.

"Third Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm…" Showing a terrified expression on his face as he realized just how strong the rabbit demon beast was, the man didn't waste a second before escaping in the opposite direction of the rabbit demon beast.

Although there was only a difference of a single minor realm, it was like the difference between heaven and earth. Not to mention, he had already been hit once without being able to put up a proper defense. Resulting in his current state being less than favorable when it came to fighting an opponent stronger than himself.

I have to get out of here as fast as possible and inform the rest about this demon beast in case it ends up disrupting more of master's plans for dealing with that Star Shattering Sect…

Thinking this to himself as he escaped, the man directly used all of his strength to increase his speed. Soon leaving the Flame Sky Kingdom far behind.

Squeak…

Seeing the man running away at the first sign of danger, the rabbit demon beast let out a dissatisfied squeak while its curious expression changed to one filled with disdain.

Although it had just followed Shu Yao and the winged lion demon beast to ensure their safety, it had been somewhat excited when it noticed someone in the Soul Ascension Realm setting up a trap to attack them.

In the end, it had even ended up revealing itself before the other party had a chance to do anything because of the excitement of a possible fight that would allow it to display its mighty strength to Shu Yao, Sheng Mei, the winged lion demon beast, and the rest of the people in the Flame Sky Kingdom.

However, all of this had been ruined because its opponent had decided to run away without even fighting after a simple tap with one of its feet…

Squeak!

Not intending to just let things end like that, the rabbit demon beast jumped back down on the ground before putting all of its strength into its feet-

CRAAAAACK-!

Soon enough, massive cracks spread around the tiny rabbit and in the next second-

BANG!

It pushed off the ground, sending it flying in the direction of the escaping Soul Ascension Realm Expert at a speed that was in no way inferior to a demon beast in the Peak of the Soul Ascension Realm!

Leaving behind a massive crater in the place of the forest beside the capital city of the Flame Sky Kingdom, while at the same time destroying the part of the capital city that was next to the forest together with the formation that had protected it for the past thousands of years.

WHOOSH-!

Not even a second later, before the people in the capital of the Flame Sky Kingdom had the time to react to what was happening, the rabbit demon beast appeared directly behind the escaping Soul Ascension Realm Expert.

"Huh?"

BANG!

Only barely managing to pick up the rabbit demon beast with his divine sense, the Soul Ascension Realm Expert had no time to react as he felt a terrifying force smashing directly into him. Once again sending him into the ground.

The only difference this time around being that he had no time to set up any proper defense. Resulting in countless internal injuries that made it impossible for him to utilize his full strength to escape like he had done before.

Whoosh~!

However, the rabbit demon beast had no intention of letting him escape again in the first place, as it used its qi to form a giant rabbit phantom around its body before attacking the Soul Ascension Realm Expert with all of its strength.

BOOM-!

Soon enough, the terrifying power of two Soul Ascension Realm Experts spread through the surrounding mountains and rivers.

"Aaaaah-!"

Of course, this did not last for long, as the man on the ground soon let out a painful scream. Only having been able to resist the rabbit demon beast for a few seconds before being crushed by one of the giant rabbit phantom's feet.

Even if the difference between both of them was only a single minor realm, it was obvious that the rabbit demon beast's strength was above that of ordinary demon beasts in the Third Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm. Resulting in the one-sided fight.

"DAMNABLE RABBIT! IF MY MASTER WAS HERE, HE WOULD MAKE RABBIT STEW OUT OF YOU! AAAAAHHH-!" NvεlB¡n: Unleashing Imagination, One Read at a Time.

RUMBLE-!

Letting out one last painful scream filled with unwillingness, the Soul Ascension Realm Expert used up all of his remaining strength to forcibly pierce through the phantom rabbit and use a final attack.

SQUEAK!?

Showing a surprised expression on its face as it saw the man piercing through its phantom and rushed towards it filled with killing intent, the rabbit demon beast's expression soon became one filled with excitement as it realized that its opponent had decided to not run away… And not wasting a single second, it also used its most powerful attack.

BOOOOM-!

As the two terrifying attacks collided with each other, the man in the Soul Ascension Realm didn't even have the chance to make a single sound as he was almost instantaneously erased by the terrifying power generated by the two attacks. Having not put any power into trying to protect himself.

The rabbit demon beast on the other hand did its best to protect itself from the terrifying power that was trying to forcibly enter its body and destroy it from the inside and outside at the same time.

WHOOOOOSH-!

As a result of this, the rabbit demon beast found itself flying through the air in an unknown direction. Having been knocked flying at a speed far above what could normally be archived by someone in the Soul Ascension Realm.

Squeak--!

Not able to do anything to stop itself as it was busy trying to prevent itself from being killed by the power left behind by the man in the Soul Ascension Realm, the rabbit demon beast could only continue flying in an unknown direction at a speed that had should only have been archivable by someone in the Earth Immortal Realm.

In the end, the rabbit demon beast could only silently hope that it didn't end up landing somewhere dangerous before it had dealt with the power trying to kill it. Even if it would not take more than a few seconds, the speed of someone in the Earth Immortal Realm was nothing to underestimate, these few seconds might be enough for it to end up on the other side of the Sky Empire…

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Chapter 1048 Trouble Approaching the Iron Sky Kingdom

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Ending up crashing directly through close to a dozen mountain peaks as it flew through the Sky Empire, the rabbit demon beast finally managed to fight off the power trying to invade its body and destroy it from the inside just before smashing into a mountain peak located close to the capital city of the Sky Empire.

Although it had no idea where it was, it still sensed several different humans at the Soul Ascension Realm rushing out from the capital city and heading directly towards its current location.

Squeak!?

Swish-!

For this reason, the rabbit demon beast didn't hesitate for a second before turning around and escaping in the direction it had come from. Even if these humans were far weaker than itself, it had no idea if there were any stronger humans around… And given that there were so many Soul Ascension Realm Experts present, it concluded that a stronger one should show up at any moment.

At least it had managed to somewhat remember the path it had been knocked flying by the earlier clash and felt confident in its ability to escape the pursuit of anyone in the Soul Ascension Realm.

Of course, there was no way for the rabbit demon beast to know that the strong human that it was anticipating had been injured just a few weeks earlier and was no longer in the capital of the Sky Empire.

…

"I'm sure I felt something powerful over here just a few seconds earlier… Could it be that one of the Soul Ascension Realm Experts from the Onyx Empire came to spy on the capital to make sure that earlier… Could it be that one of the Soul Ascension Realm Experts from the Onyx Empire came to spy on the capital to make sure that the old ancestor of the imperial family is gone?"

Arriving at the place where the rabbit demon beast had just barely managed to stop itself before smashing into one of the mountains bordering the large fields producing food for the capital city, one of the old Soul Ascension Realm Experts from one of the noble families could not help muttering this to himself before narrowing both of his eyes while gazing in the direction that the rabbit demon beast had escaped in.

Although he had not managed to see the other party with his divine sense before the other party had escaped, he was certain that the other party was someone in the Soul Ascension Realm… And given the current state of the Sky Empire, it was only obvious that he thought of the rabbit demon beast as one of the Soul Ascension Realm Experts from the Onyx Empire who had come to spy on them.

Considering that something like this had indeed happened not too long ago, as the Onyx Empire and the other surrounding empires were trying their best to confirm the fact that the old ancestor of the imperial family had indeed disappeared like they had been told by their spies, it was not odd for the old noble ancestor to think something like this upon feeling the Soul Ascension Realm aura lingering in the air around the mountain peak.

"Old man, you are worrying too much, I don't think it was someone from the Onyx Empire this time around. Instead, I think it should just have been some demon beast that was attracted by the lingering presence of the giant snake demon beast from a few weeks ago. After it sensed us rushing over, it should have been scared away."

Flying over beside the old noble ancestor who was carefully scanning his surroundings while keeping his attention focused on the direction that the rabbit demon beast had left in, the cardinal from one of the three religions calmly stated this while using part of his power to capture some of the lingering aura left behind by the rabbit demon beast before showing it off to the old noble ancestor. "See, this is definitely not something left by a human."

"This…" Hearing what the cardinal said and using his divine sense to analyze the remnant aura left behind by the rabbit demon beast, the old noble ancestor froze on the spot before a somewhat embarrassed expression made its way onto his old, wrinkled face. "Maybe I was too nervous due to the recent developments that took place over the past few days…"

"Indeed, you have to relax a bit more. Even if the Onyx Empire or any of the other empires decided to attack us, they won't do so by sending a single Soul Ascension Realm Expert to the capital city. NvεlB¡n: Unleashing Imagination, One Read at a Time.

After all, none of the empires wanting to end up in a life and death struggle with all of us. Even if the old ancestor of the imperial family isn't around, we are also in the Soul Ascension Realm and dealing with all of us isn't that easy… Instead of something that troublesome, they will choose to slowly take away our territory bit by bit while doing their best to avoid fighting with us..."

Nodding his head as he walked over from behind the two, the old master of the Hollow Thunder Family could not help lamenting to himself as he said this.

""…""

It was not that they didn't understand the idea behind the different empires doing something like this, it was just that they were too weak to do anything about it, as the moment they decided to split up would be the time that the powerful Soul Ascension Realm Expert of one of these empires moved.

Meaning they were forced to stay together in a single group in the capital of the Sky Empire where their most important people and things were located.

In the end, this meant that they could only watch as the surrounding empires slowly took away the territory of the Sky Empire bit by bit.

The only positive thing was that they could now monopolize the resources that had been taken up by the imperial family before. Meaning that they could at least afford to lose some of the territory and still be in a positive position overall.

"Haaa… Let's not think about this for now, the most important thing should be for us to get as many resources as possible from the spirit stone and spiritual metal mines located along the borders of the empire before they get taken over by those empires."

Seeing how everyone suddenly went quiet following what he said, the old master of the Hollow Thunder Family reminded all of them about what they should be focusing their attention on.

"Doing this might end up damaging these mines in the process and drive down their value in the long term-"

"And do you think we can keep control of those mines in the long term? Even if it destroys parts of those mines, it's at least better than just handing them over."

"This… Indeed, its better that we at least get something out of those mines before we lose them…"

Understanding that they had a limited time to make use of those mines considering that the empires were about to move and start their attempts to take control of outer parts of the Sky Empire that were the least protected, the other Soul Ascension Realm Experts quickly agreed with what the old master of the Hollow Thunder Family said.

Even if it would damage some of the more important places for spirit stone sand spiritual metal extraction in the Sky Empire, they would at least be able to get something out of it in the short term.

"So… Now that we have decided on our next course of action, we should start out with the more important mines located close to the border region. Among which, I think the spirit stone mines in the Crystal Sky Kingdom and the spiritual metal mines in the Iron Sky Kingdom should be the most important for us to deal with."

"The spirit stone mines of the Crystal Sky Kingdom shouldn't be too hard to deal with, as the strongest person in that kingdom is only in the Third Stage of the Domain Lord Realm, but dealing with the Iron Sky Kingdom will not be easy."

"Indeed, Yi Min is already in the Peak of the Domain Lord Realm and together with her formation, she is more than capable of fighting someone in the Soul Ascension Realm. If we want to take control of her spiritual metal mine, we will have to go personally… And more than one person if we want to ensure our success…"

"This… Maybe we can make use of the time while the different empires are still hesitating on whether or not to attack us to deal with Yi Min."

"No, it's far too risky-"

"Hmph! Should we just give up such a precious spiritual metal mine? You should know full well that there is no way she will cooperate with us considering her ties to the imperial family!"

"But what if-"

As the group of Soul Ascension Realm Experts began discussing their situation and how to deal with Yi Min who was more than strong enough to resist someone in the Soul Ascension Realm by herself, the group ultimately ended up deciding that three of them would leave to take care of her and take control of the spiritual metal mine while the rest remained back in the capital.

With three people in the Soul Ascension Realm present, they expected to be more than strong enough to deal with Yi Min, while also having the strength to escape together in case one of the powerful Soul Ascension Realm Experts from one of the surrounding empires appeared to attack them.

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Chapter 1049 Yi Min's Decision

Returning back to the Star Shattering Sect after a little over half a day had passed, the rabbit demon beast didn't waste a second before rushing back into Xuan Hao's robe.

Did something happen…?

Feeling that it was a bit weird for the rabbit demon beast to just rush inside his robe without even asking for a reward for the task it had just completed, Xuan Hao could not help poking the spot on his robe where the rabbit demon beast was nesting. Curious about what had caused it to react in such a frantic manner that it didn't even ask him for a reward.

Squeak!

Feeling Xuan Hao poking it from the outside, the rabbit demon beast let out a squeak in protest before informing him about what had happened through their blood contract. Even though the blood contract didn't allow him to fully understand what the rabbit demon beast said, it at least helped him get a general understanding of what it was saying.

Allowing him to at least understand that the rabbit demon beast had killed someone in the Soul Ascension Realm, who had been waiting at the Flame Sky Kingdom. In the end, this had resulted in it being knocked far away. Ending up in a place where it had been chased away by a group of Soul Ascension Realm Experts.

Although he had no idea about who the group of Soul Ascension Realm Experts that the rabbit demon beast encountered were, he was fairly certain that the soul Ascension Realm Expert at the Flame Sky Kingdom should be the unknown Domain Lord Realm Expert that Sheng Mei had informed Elder Song about earlier.

Even without having to guess too much, it was fairly obvious that this Soul Ascension Realm Expert should be one of the people from the Heavenly Dragon Temple that the core disciple from the Heavenly Dragon Temple had mentioned encountering before sneaking inside the sect.

"But… What are those people from the Heavenly Dragon Temple planning? Do they want to draw me out of the sect and deal with me in a place where I don't have the support of a formation before dealing with the rest of the Star Shattering Sect?" Muttering this to himself as he tried to think about why the Heavenly Dragon Temple might have decided to do something like that, Xuan Hao could only shake his head helplessly.

No matter what, they should understand that a single person in the Soul Ascension Realm would not be enough to deal with him…

So why did they still go forward with the ambush? Did they perhaps think that he had not reached the Soul Ascension Realm like the rumors spread around by Elder Song suggested, or did they just plan to fail at killing him so they could use it as an excuse to ask for more help from their master?

Lost in his own thoughts as he momentarily stopped his cultivation, Xuan Hao could not help feeling a bit worried about the Heavenly Dragon Temple. Especially considering that he was still rather far away from reaching the Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm.

"Haaa… No mater what they have planned, I will only be able to do something about it after reaching the Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm…" Shaking his head as he said this, Xuan Hao closed both of his eyes again as he ignored his surroundings and focused his attention back on trying to comprehend the Dao of Space.

At the moment, the Heavenly Dragon Temple was simply not something he could deal with before he broke through.

…

At the same time that Xuan Hao returned back to comprehending the Dao of Space and the group of three Soul Ascension Realm Experts began making their way towards the Iron Sky Kingdom, Yi Min was sitting on top of a small comfortable couch as she looked out a large window overlooking the entire capital of her kingdom with a worried expression plastered all over her face.

"What to do… Those people are definitely going to try and attack me now that the imperial family is gone. At least they shouldn't be able to send too many people over due to the threat of the surrounding empires making a move to destroy the capital city while they are gone…" Muttering this as she turned her attention towards the large walls that served as the core part of the formation guarding her capital city, Yi Min could not help worrying about the future.

Although her strength had improved a lot over the past few years, she had still not managed to reach the Soul Ascension Realm and was still stuck at the Peak of the Domain Lord Realm. The debut release of this chapter happened at Ñøvl-B1n.

Even though she had a clear path towards the Soul Ascension Realm and felt like she would be able to reach it in another year, she didn't think the people who had been suppressed by the imperial family back in the capital could wait that long.

Not to mention, even if they didn't make a move to try and take over her kingdom and the massive spiritual metal mine located beneath the capital city, the surrounding empires would definitely do so in another month or two.

Only by reaching the Soul Ascension Realm and using her formation at the same time did she stand a chance at keeping her kingdom from any outsiders who might want to seize it for themselves.

Is my only choice to forcefully try and break through to the Soul Ascension Realm?

Continuing to gaze out the window as she thought about this, Yi Min slowly laid down on the small couch as she stared up at the ceiling with a helpless look in her eyes.

Although she was only a single step away from being able to take on the first tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm, she didn't dare to try and take this step before she was absolutely certain about being able to overcome the tribulation because of the danger involved.

Failing the tribulation didn't just mean death but rumors also said that it would destroy the true soul if one failed to overcome it. Destroying any hopes of reincarnating.

Even if the concept of reincarnation wasn't anything that had been directly proven to exist in the first place, most cultivators on the Ewaria Continent believed that one's true soul would reincarnate after death. Even powerful experts who had long since reached the Nascent Soul Realm or above believed in this, the only difference being that they thought of the true soul as another part of their soul that remained hidden inside of their nascent soul after they broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm.

Like most people on the continent, Yi Min also believed in reincarnation. In the end, this was also one the main reasons why she hesitated so much when it came to taking on the tribulation before being fully prepared.

After all, even if she ended up dying, she believed that she would have another chance at life after going through the cycle of reincarnation.

Of course, all of this was something taking place in the subconscious part of her head, and she didn't really think about any of this as the reason why she didn't want to take on the tribulation. Instead, just thinking to herself that her nervousness and fear of the tribulation was due to her not being fully prepared.

Bang!

Just as she was lost in her own thoughts contemplating whether or not she needed to take on the tribulation and try to reach the Soul Ascension Realm ahead of time, the double doors to the room swung open violently as a young woman dressed in a formal maid attire rushed inside the room.

"Your Highness!"

Thump!

"What is it? Why are you barging in like that? Did something happen?" Hearing the desperate cry from the maid before she half collapsed on to the ground to catch her breath, Yi Min didn't waste a second as she jumped off the couch before starting to question the exhausted maid. Understanding very well that there had to be a good reason for her to barge into her personal quarters like that.

"The… The noble families and three cardinals just issued… Hah… A request for us to give up the spiritual metal mines… O-Or they would personally come to take them!" Saying this with all of her power as she fought the exhaustion from running across the entire palace with her meager Foundation Establishment Realm cultivation base to deliver this news-

Thump~

The maid promptly collapsed on the ground from exhaustion.

"This… They are acting faster than I expected…" Hearing what the maid said before she collapsed, Yi Min could not help frowning visibly as she signaled for the two guards standing at the door to take the maid to the infirmary.

Only when the door was shut again did the reality of the situation set in for Yi Min, as she realized that her only way out of her current situation was to break through to the Soul Ascension Realm.

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Chapter 1050 Did Master Starve to Death!?

"I have no time to waste, those people should already be on their way… And if they show up before I breakthrough and destroy the formation, I won't stand a chance even after reaching the Soul Ascension Realm…" Muttering this to herself as she fully decided on breaking through to the Soul Ascension Realm, Yi Min didn't waste a second as she made her way out of the room before heading in the direction of the room she had prepared for her break through to the Soul Ascension Realm.

Outside of feeling like she could still improve herself a bit more before trying to break through to the Soul Ascension Realm, she had already taken care of everything else that was needed for her breakthrough.

Among all of these, the most important was the large storage of spirit stones that would supply the formation during her breakthrough to the Soul Ascension Realm in case anyone decided to attack her during this time.

Although… Given that her enemies were in the Soul Ascension Realm, she doubted that the small mountain of spirit stones that she had gathered for this would be able to hold on for more than half a day. Maybe even shorter depending on how many people came to try and get rid of her.

"Haaa… No use worrying about this. For now, I should focus all my attention on breaking through to the Soul Ascension Realm." Shaking her head as she muttered this to herself while making her way through the long corridors of the palace, Yi Min soon reached the room she had prepared and stepped inside without a second thought.

Inside the room there were several different healing potions and pills that would be helpful during her tribulation. Other than this, the ceiling of the room was also opened up so as to allow the tribulation to descend, while also giving her a chance to fly out of the room to face the tribulation head on in case it started damaging the palace.

"It's finally time…" Quietly whispering this to herself as her eyes wandered across the room for a short moment, Yi Min put on a determined expression as she walked into the middle of the room before sitting down and closing her eyes. Focusing her full attention on trying to break through to the Soul Ascension Realm.

During the entire process, she didn't inform any of her servants or subjects about her plans to break through to the Soul Ascension Realm. Fearing that there might be a spy among them that would inform her enemies in the capital about her attempt to break through the Soul Ascension and in turn make them rush over before she had a chance to break through.

Rumble~!

Soon enough, a few hours passed as the first tribulation of the Immortal Soul Tribulation, the tribulation of fire-

FWOOOOSH-!

Descended!

…

At the same time that Yi Min had begun the process of breaking through to the Soul Ascension Realm, Xuan Hao's two youngest disciples had gathered together not too far away from the room he was cultivating inside of. Unravel the Unknown, Unleash the Unimaginable: NvεlB¡n.

Although he had been gone for more than a few weeks at a time, this was the first time Bai Ning and Mui had seen him enter secluded cultivation.

Not to mention, it was also the first time they had seen anyone enter secluded cultivation, only having heard about it from other disciples, whose masters entered secluded cultivation. Making them curious as to when their master would come out again and what he was doing all alone inside the relatively small room for such a long period of time.

Given that Bai Ning focused most of his attention on blacksmithing and Mui was still only in the Foundation Establishment Realm, neither of them knew a lot about the process of entering secluded cultivation, as only the elders would do something like this when they encountered a bottleneck that they couldn't break through no matter what they did.

"I wonder when master will come out again, it's already been a few weeks now."

"Indeed, master has never been in secluded cultivation for that long before. Not to mention, he hasn't even come out to eat anything and I haven't seen Zhi Ruo bring him anything either-"

"Wha-!? Master hasn't eaten anything for weeks!?" Hearing what Bai Ning said, Mui didn't even allow him to finish as she asked this in a panicked voice before turning her attention towards the door to her master's meditation room.

"Don't tell me… D-Did master starve to death!?" Quietly muttering this to herself as she stared directly towards the door with an even more panicked expression on her face as she looked like she was about to rush over and open the door at any moment-

"Hm? Bai Ning, Mui? What are you two doing here?"

Chu Yang suddenly appeared around a corner not too far away as he called out to the two. Wondering what they were doing in front of their master's cultivation room.

"Ah!"

Swish~!

Seeing her senior brother appear, Mui decided against her plan of rushing inside her master's cultivation room as she instead rushed over to her senior brother to ask him about the situation. "S-Senior brother! Do you know when master will come out again? Is he going to be okay without eating anything for so many weeks?!"

"This…" Seeing the panicked look on his little junior sister's face, Chu Yang paused for a moment before a look of understanding appeared in his eyes. "He is going to be fine, Mui, after someone reaches the Nascent Soul Realm, they only need to absorb the qi between heaven and earth to stay alive. Your master isn't going to starve to death unless the qi disappears."

"Don't need to eat…? Survive on qi between heaven and earth- Ah! So, master can eat the qi instead of normal food!"

"Well… I guess you could say that…" Listening to Mui's conclusion of the process of using the qi between heaven and earth to sustain the body instead of normal food, Chu Yang could not help chuckling a bit as he gently patted her head.

Even if the description given by Mui was a bit off, it was not that wrong as it could be considered eating in some odd way.

"I see… So, after reaching the Nascent Soul Realm, I can begin to eat qi instead of normal food. Hm… I wonder what qi tastes like, does the taste change depending on the element of the qi…?" Showing a look similar to an enlightened scholar, Mui curiously began whispering some rather interesting things that Chu Yang had never thought about before.

And not long after that, Mui rushed back to her room to continue cultivating. Intend on reaching the Nascent Soul Realm as fast as possible so she could find out what qi tasted like… And more importantly, how delicious it was compared to normal food.

Leaving behind a somewhat confused Chu Yang and Bai Ning, who were left rather baffled by their junior sister's reason for reaching the Nascent Soul Realm. Not for strength or to increase her lifespan, but instead because she wanted to find out what qi tasted like.

…

Having woken up from his state of comprehension due to the ruckus caused by Mui just outside his room, Xuan Hao could not help showing a somewhat wry smile on his face as he glanced in the direction that Mui had left in.

Looks like she managed to motivate herself to work hard on improving her strength even without me doing anything. Although… Her reason for wanting to reach the Nascent Soul Realm is rather… Special…

Shaking his head as he thought about this while using his divine sense to spy on Mui who was now sitting down in her room focusing all of her attention on gathering the qi around her to build the third foundational pillar in her dantian, Xuan Hao felt that it shouldn't be that much of a problem as long as she had a goal to work towards. Even if the goal was not something ordinary, at least it motivated her to improve.

Hm? Now that I think about it, I wonder how that grand elder from the Half Spirit Race is doing, he should be able to reach the Domain Lord Realm soon. Especially now that he also has a guide similar to the Codex of the First Four Mortal Realms for the Domain Lord Realm…

Remembering how he had handed over the information on the Domain Lord Realm that he had gained from the inheritance of the elder from the Mirage Sect inside of the mystic realm to Elder Song a few days after entering secluded cultivation, Xuan Hao could not help looking forward to more Domain Lord Realm Experts appearing inside the Star Shattering Sect.

Not only that, but the information would also be helpful to those that had already reached the Domain Lord Realm, like Feng Chen, Shu Yao, and Zu Fei. Helping them improve even faster.

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Chapter 1051 Yi Min's Fire Tribulation

Seeing Chu Yang and Bai Ning leaving a short time after Mui had left, Xuan Hao retracted his divine sense and focused his attention back on comprehending the Dao of Space again.

Although he had not yet managed to break through to the Small Success Realm, he could feel that he was getting closer with each passing day. At his current rate of improvement, he expected to reach the Small Success Realm in around two months.

Normally, two months could be considered extremely short considering the sheer difficulty that was associated with increasing one's comprehension of a certain dao. However, due to the fact that he had already reached the Peak of the Elementary Realm of Comprehension and also had a far deeper connection with the Dao of Space due to his special physique, it could be considered a bit more normal that he only needed to spend two months to reach the Small Success Realm.

Of course, the Dao of space was never one of Xuan Hao's concerns when it came to reaching the Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm. Instead, it was the fact that he had to comprehend a new dao all the way up to the Small Success Realm.

More difficult than this, he also had to somehow reach the comprehension realm above the Small Success Realm, the Large Success Realm, a realm that he hadn't even gotten close to touching with any of his Daos...

Whoosh~

Not thinking about any of these future problems, Xuan Hao quietly used the partial collapse of space ability that he had gained from his special physique to tear small holes into the space around him. Allowing him to use the small tears in space to get a better look at the structure of space and deepen his understanding of the Dao of space at a speed far faster than just sitting down and mindlessly trying to comprehend it.

Having learnt from his time in the mystic realm that doing this would increase the speed at which he could understand the Dao of Space.

Although the power required to use the partial spatial collapse was still rather significant, it was not too much if he kept the affected area limited and only used it to observe the structure of space instead of trying to use it in combat.

In turn, it allowed him to indefinitely keep the tear in space created by the partial spatial collapse open without the world repairing it. Only when he stopped using the partial spatial collapse ability would the fabric of space repair itself and return to normal again.

…

BOOOM-!

"Aaaah-!"

Back in the iron Sky Kingdom, Yi Min let out a loud pain filled cry as part of the fire that had descended during the tribulation suddenly exploded violently in her face-

Boom-boom-boom!

As if to trigger the next phase of the tribulation of fire, the fire that had only been trying to reduce her to dust so far, began violently gathering together into small fireballs before exploding. Forcing Yi Min to fly out of her cultivation room and into the sky to avoid accidentally destroying her palace during her breakthrough.

Soon enough, everyone in the capital city of the Iron Sky Kingdom became aware of the tribulation that was taking place. However, this no longer concerned Yi Min, as she understood that there was nothing, she could do to hide the fact that she was going through her tribulation in her current state.

Even if she had the strength to suppress the power of the tribulation earlier on, she was far too weak to do that now. Especially when considering that she had to use all of her power just to ensure that she could stay alive under the constant bombardment of the fireballs condensed from the fire that had descended to kill her.

"When is this going to end… The fire tribulation shouldn't last for more than a few minutes…"

However, as time passed, and the fire tribulation showed no signs of stopping and instead began ramping up in strength, Yi Min could not stop herself from growing nervous. No matter how much stronger she was when compared to other Peak Domain Lord Realm Expert, her strength was limited, and she could not continue resisting the fire forever.

If the fire tribulation really continued for much longer, she would likely end up as a pile of dust on the ground below, her body and soul being consumed by the terrifying fire as what would be left of her qi would scatter and return to the world.

Not only that, but the fire left behind by the tribulation would most likely end up destroying the capital below her.

After all, even if she died, the fire created by the tribulation would not just disperse after her death. Instead, it would burn the ground below until all the power of the tribulation was used up completely. This was also one of the main reasons why the first tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm was so dangerous.

Even if you weren't the one taking on the tribulation, you might end up suffering from it all the same if the person taking on the tribulation failed, and you happened to be close enough.

Not to mention, it would be even worse if the person affected by the failed fire tribulation was someone at the Peak of the Domain Lord Realm, as it would end up triggering their own fire tribulation the moment, they ended up coming into contact with the remnant fire from the failed fire tribulation. NvεlB¡n: Unleashing Imagination, One Read at a Time.

In the end, if something like this happened, it would almost certainly be a death sentence for the unlucky Peak Domain Lord Realm Expert affected, as they were likely nowhere near strong enough to take on the fire tribulation and have a real chance at reaching the Soul Ascension Realm.

Although… There was always exceptions to this and there were a few lucky people who just barely managed to pass through the fire tribulation that had been accidentally triggered by a failed fire tribulation. Unintentionally resulting in them breaking through to the Soul Ascension Realm on the spot.

"Hmph!"

Not intending to have her fire tribulation turn into a failed fire tribulation that would end up causing death and destruction to all of the people below, Yi Min frowned visibly as she used all of her strength to fight back the fire while at the same time swallowing close to a dozen different healing potions.

All of them being worth far more than the total wealth of an ordinary Peak Domain Lord Realm Expert. Showing off just how wealthy she was with the support of her blacksmithing and the support of a massive spiritual metal mine.

Boom-!

As a result of this, her appearance began drastically improving. Allowing her to regain some energy in the fight against the fire tribulation, while at the same time momentarily forcing the flames back a few meters. Giving her a chance to recover the parts of her body that had been burnt by the flames or been blown off when the flames were compressed into small explosive fireballs.

RUMBLE-!

Over the next five minutes, Yi Min went through all of the healing potion, pills and special spiritual herbs she had gathered for her attempt to overcome the fire tribulation, causing everyone watching the struggling taking place in the sky above the capital city to feel a sense of awe at the sheer power displayed by their leader.

Even if they had no idea how strong she was, they could clearly sense how terrifying the flames were…

BOOOOOOOOOOM-!

It was just at this moment, when everyone had their attention focused on her, that Yi Min used all of her strength to forcefully disperse the last bit of the fire tribulation before rapidly rushing back into the palace before activating all of the defensive formations in the palace.

Although the people watching the scene had no idea what had happened and just saw that Yi Min had dealt with the fire that had suddenly appeared in the sky above them, the spies controlled by the different major powers in the Sky Empire were not the same. All of them understood that Yi Min had successfully managed to break through to the Soul Ascension Realm!

Not only this, but they also understood from the countless formations now covering the palace, that Yi Min already knew about their existence to some extent and had decided to hide inside the palace while stabilizing her cultivation base. Not wanting to risk getting attacked during this process.

After all, even if the spies were far too weak to kill her, they were more than strong enough to jump in and force her to use her unstable cultivation base to deal with them.

In the end, doing this would further destabilize her cultivation base and make it take far longer for her to stabilize her cultivation base at the Soul Ascension Realm.

Rather than dealing with any of this, Yi Min concluded that it would be far better for her to just seal herself away inside the palace while stabilizing her cultivation base so she could face off against the Soul Ascension Realm Expert that would undoubtedly show up to try and take away her spiritual metal mine.

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Chapter 1052 Siege of the Iron Sky Kingdom (Part 1)

"What do we do now…? There is no way she would do something like this without knowing about us!"

"Indeed, if we stay here until she stabilizes her cultivation base, she will undoubtedly find us. The only way for us to stay alive is by escaping from the Iron Sky Kingdom before this happens. Don't forget, her formation doesn't just cover the capital, but the entire kingdom!"

"But… How do we do that when she closed off the capital and the kingdom with her formations before entering seclusion to stabilize her cultivation base?"

"I… I don't know… Maybe we can try and contact our superior and hope they can break through the formation before she finishes stabilizing her cultivation base…"

As the spies gathered together to discuss their next course of action, they all ended up concluding that the only way for them to escape from the Iron Sky Kingdom safely was if their superiors saved them. Outside of that, there was no other way for them to leave the Iron Sky Kingdom after the formations had been activated by Yi Min.

Although most of them were in the Domain Lord Realm and they could try to sabotage the formation from the inside, they also understood that doing this would expose them to Yi Min and in turn make them a target for the formation.

Before their superiors appeared and forced the formation to use most of its power to defend itself, there was no way for them to do anything other than wait around and pray that the formation didn't discover them before this.

At the very least, they didn't have to worry too much about being discovered by the formation that wasn't being personally controlled by Yi Min. The only real way that the formation would discover and attack them at this point in time was if they decided to willingly reveal themselves, something that none of the spies dared to do without their superiors present.

In the end, all they could do was desperately contact their superiors before finding a decent hiding spot to wait for them to show up.

…

Opening her eyes inside a small room located in the depths of the palace, Yi Min frowned slightly before turning to look in the direction of the Iron Sky Kingdom's border with the core region of the Sky Empire.

Even though there was a large wall blocking her way, it didn't stop her divine sense from piercing through it as the scene at the border soon became visible to her… And not too far away from the border of her kingdom, three lonely figures could be seen floating in the air as they examined the formation in front of them.

"Looks like they are here…" Spotting three people floating in the air just in front of the borders to her kingdom while also examining the formation in detail, it did not take more than a few seconds for her to realize that they were the Soul Ascension Realm Experts that had come over from the capital of the Sky Empire to deal with her.

Although she didn't recognize any of them other than the cardinal from one of the three religions standing in the middle of the three people, she didn't dare to underestimate them-

Whoosh-!

Wasting no time, she directly took out her personal supply of spirit stones and pushed them into the space below the palace where the true core of the formation was located. Hoping that it would be enough to hold them off for another few hours.

After all, even if it had already been a little over a day since she had broken through to the Soul Ascension Realm and she had used all sorts of precious spiritual herbs, potions, and pills to speed up the process, she had still not fully managed to stabilize her cultivation base and still needed a few hours to do so.

If she didn't manage to do this and just decided to take control of the formation to fight off against the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts, her unstable cultivation base might cause some problems for the formation during an extended fight, something she wanted to avoid if possible.

Even if she had to burn through the wealth she had accumulated during her time as a skilled blacksmith and owner of one of the largest spiritual metal mines in the Sky Empire!

Not even a second later, the three outside had finished examining her formation, as the first attack landed-

BOOOOM-!

Sending large shockwaves through area outside the formation, while a loud banging sound echoed out for everyone inside the formation to hear-

Boom-boom-boom!

However, this was only the beginning, as the other two Soul Ascension Realm Experts soon joined in and attacked the formation as well. Momentarily causing everyone inside the Iron Sky Kingdom to feel like the heavens above were about to shatter, as the terrifying sounds and small earthquakes caused by the attacks made it feel like a prelude to the sky shattering.

…

"This formation is stronger than the last time I was here. Looks like Yi Min already predicted that she would be in trouble after breaking through to the Soul Ascension Realm."

"Indeed, even if all of us work together to attack it, it will take at least a few hours for us to break through the formation. Maybe even longer depending on how many spirit stones she managed to gather over the years."

Having thrown a few probing attacks towards the formation now covering the entire Iron Sky Kingdom, the two Soul Ascension Realm Experts not from one of the three religions could not help exclaiming in admiration as they firsthand experienced just how strong the formation was.

Even if it should only be able to hold on for a few hours on its own, this alone was more than enough to demonstrate just how powerful it was. After all, even the guardian formation that had protected the capital city of the Sky Empire would be having a difficult time holding back three Soul Ascension Realm Experts without the assistance of the old ancestor from the imperial family.

Of course, the formation in the capital of the Sky Empire would not just passively defend like Yi Min's formation was forced to do and would instead use powerful killing formations to attack the moment it was attacked.

Unfortunately, the formation that had once made everyone around the Sky Empire think twice about attacking the capital city was now gone together with the old ancestor. Making the Sky Empire a far easier target to attack compared to before.

"Both of you, stop talking and continue attacking the formation. The faster we destroy the formation, the faster we can deal with Yi Min and leave this place. Even if everything seems fine and safe on the surface, it won't stay like that for long." Calling out to the two soul Ascension Realm Experts in the process of admiring the formation protecting the Iron Sky Kingdom, the cardinal didn't wait before continuing to launch a flurry of attacks towards the large formation-

Rumble~

Causing the entire formation to shake violently as dozens of small cracks appeared all over it before rapidly being repaired again before they had a chance to develop into large cracks that could potentially create a way for the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts to enter the formation.

""…""

Hearing what the cardinal said, the other two Soul Ascension Realm Experts remained silent for a short moment before joining him in attacking the formation. Both of them understood what he meant.

Even if everything seemed fine and they hadn't been attacked by anyone during their journey to the Iron Sky Kingdom, it didn't mean that things would continue like that.

If they stayed outside the capital of the Sky Empire for long enough, one of the powerful experts from one of the empires eyeing the Sky Empire would make a move to test the waters and see if the old ancestors of the imperial family had indeed disappeared and wasn't just trying to set up a trap to turn around and attack them when they least expected it.

After all, from their point of view, the imperial family of the Sky Empire had just disappeared after a group of powerful experts had fought close to their capital city. Even more suspiciously, the other powers inside the capital city were fine without any casualties.

It was also because of this that the three religions and other powers left in the capital city were able to continue going about their day in peace for the last few weeks. The debut release of this chapter happened at Ñøvl-B1n.

However, this would not last forever…

Boom-boom-boom!

For this reason, all three Soul Ascension Realm Experts used all of their strength to attack the formation covering the Iron Sky Kingdom. Wanting to take it down as fast as possible and not give Yi Min a chance to stabilize her cultivation base and fight back against them.

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Chapter 1053 Siege of the Iron Sky Kingdom (Part 2)

Having focused all of their power on trying to break through the formation as fast as possible, it did not take more than three hours before the formation started to show signs of breaking.

Crack~

Countless small cracks that had automatically been repaired before now covering the entire formation showing no signs of disappearing. Instead, these cracks slowly began to grow bigger under the constant attacks from the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts.

Even if the formation still had an ample supply of spirit stones available, it could not keep up with the pace of the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts and had thus started to break far faster than Yi Min had originally expected. Giving her far less time to stabilize her cultivation and take control of the formation before it broke.

After all, if the formation ended up breaking, she would no longer have any way left to defend herself.

If she was lucky, she might be able to escape with her life, but this would also mean that she would have to give up on the Iron Sky Kingdom and allow the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts from the capital city of the Sky Empire to destroy it.

Considering that she had spent her entire life creating and strengthening the Iron Sky Kingdom, this was the last thing she wanted to see happen!

Even if she deep down understood that she would have a chance to rebuilt it again in the future now that she had broken through to the Soul Ascension Realm, she still didn't want to just watch her life work get destroyed if she had the strength to prevent it from happening.

Not to mention, she had no way to take any of her people with her when escaping… And she doubted that the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts would allow any of them to leave alive.

Whoosh~

Feeling that the formation would at most hold for a few minutes in its current state, Yi Min got up before flying into the air above the palace.

"Looks like I have no choice but to try and fight them like this…" Looking over in the direction of where the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts were attacking the formation as she said this, Yi Min closed both of her eyes as she used her still unstable power to merge together with the formation and take control of it before it was destroyed.

RUMBLE-!

Following Yi Min taking control of the formation, a terrifying aura began to spread out from the Iron Sky Kingdom before engulfing all three of the Soul Ascension Realm Experts violently attacking the formation with all of their strength.

"Wha-!?"

"This is-?!" The debut release of this chapter happened at Ñøvl-B1n.

"Hmph!"

And before any of the three had any time to react, the killing formations that had been inactive to ensure the formation being able to defend against the three Soul Ascension Realm Expert without Yi Min around, activated.

Even if these formations had only reached a strength comparable to someone in the Peak of the Domain Lord Realm, when stacked together, they became more than strong enough to fight back against the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts who were only around the First Stage of the Soul Ascension Realm.

Boom-boom-boom!

In an instant, the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts were forced to stop their relentless attacks as they had to defend against the attacks from the dozen or so powerful killing formations that had been merged together with the massive formation covering the Iron Sky Kingdom.

Only the cardinal whose strength had surpassed the First Stage of the Soul Ascension Realm had the power to continue attacking the formation under the attack of the dozen or so killing formations.

"Both of you, focus all your strength on defending, she shouldn't have fully stabilized her cultivation base yet. No matter how strong she seems now that she has taken control of the formation, she won't be able to continue this for too long.

For now, we just have to wait until her unstable cultivation base grows more chaotic and inevitably ends up either killing her or messing up the formation. At most it should take two to three days…"

Seeing that his two companions were left in a difficult situation as they struggled to reach the formation again under the constant stream of attacks bombarding them, the cardinal emotionlessly said this before focusing his attention on both defending and attacking at the same time.

""Yes!""

Hearing what the cardinal said, the two Soul Ascension Realm Experts who had been struggling to try and get close enough to attack the formation again quickly let go of this as they focused all of their power on defending themselves against the attacks from the killing formations.

Considering the fact that these attacks were only comparable to someone in the Peak of the Domain Lord Realm attacking them, they didn't suffer any real damage after doing this.

Now, all that was left for them to do was patiently wait for Yi Min's cultivation base to grow chaotic enough that she either ended up destroying the formation or killing herself.

Although they highly doubted that she would go so far that she ended up killing herself in the process of trying to keep the formation intact.

Even if the formation was destroyed, she should still be able to escape from them as long as her state wasn't too bad.

After all, they had no plans of chasing after her considering that the people from the other empires might appear at any time to attack them. All they wanted to do was ensure their control over the spiritual metal mine so they could use the next few weeks to force out anything of value in it before the surrounding empires decided to attack the Sky Empire.

As for Yi Min showing up to get revenge in the future… None of them thought much about this when they already had to deal with the Soul Ascension Realm Experts of the surrounding empires in the future.

Not to mention, what could Yi Min possibly do? She had only just reached the Soul Ascension Realm and they had no plans of leaving the capital city where most of their important people were located.

Only when the situation in the Sky Empire finally stabilized would they have to deal with her, something that would likely take hundreds of years without the old ancestor of the imperial family returning or someone equally powerful appearing to fill the gap. Even worse, there was also the chance that one of the surrounding empires decided to risk it all and fully destroy the Sky Empire…

As the Iron Sky Kingdom was besieged by the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts, Yi Min did not take long to realize what they were planning, causing her to curse at all three of them.

Deep down, she had hoped that she would have been able to scare them away by using all of her killing formations at once, but from the looks of it, her plan didn't work and the three had decided to remain.

Not only that, but from the fact that two of them had given up on attacking and focused all of their energy on defending, it was obvious that they understood that she hadn't managed to fully stabilize her cultivation base.

If she had managed to stabilize her cultivation base in time, she would have been able to keep the stalemate going indefinitely, but… Now that her cultivation base was still not fully stable after her breakthrough to the Soul Ascension Realm, it was only a matter of time before it went out of control and ended up causing her control over her qi to dwindle before ultimately making it turn into a chaotic mess that would damage her whenever she tried using it.

In the worst-case scenario, she might even enter qi deviation and lose her cultivation base…

"Am I really forced to give up on the Iron Sky Kingdom…?" Muttering this to herself as she felt her qi slowly heading in this direction, Yi Min could not help frowning visibly as she stared towards the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts outside her formation filled with killing intent.

"M-Master, why don't you try asking that person from the Star Shattering Sect for help?"

Just at this moment, one of her trusted people and the second strongest person in the Iron Sky Kingdom, a large muscular man covered from head to toe in a beautiful set of armor appeared in the air a few meters away from her. Showing off the fact that he was in the Domain Lord Realm.

"The Star Shattering Sect…? Why am I supposed to ask them for help? What can someone in the Domain Lord Realm do against three people in the Soul Ascension Realm?" Hearing what the man said, Yi Min could not help frowning as she asked this. Not understanding why, he had mentioned the Star Shattering Sect all of a sudden.

"Ah! That's right, you might not have heard because of your focus on reaching the Soul Ascension Realm over the past few weeks, but Grand Elder Xuan managed to reach the Soul Ascension Realm not too long ago-"

"He- WHAT!?"

Chapter 1054 Asking For Help

" Is what you say true!? Did that person really manage to reach the Soul Ascension Realm!?" Overwhelmed by the sudden news that Xuan Hao had actually managed to reach the Soul Ascension Realm before her, Yi Min could not help grabbing the muscular man and shaking him to try and get an answer out of him.

"Y-Your majesty, please, please put me down first or you will end up killing me!" As a result, the muscular man had to call out for her to stop. After all, with her strength now having reached the Soul Ascension Realm, it was far from something that he could endure with his Domain Lord Realm strength. Especially given that Yi Min had yet to fully control her strength…

"Ah.. Sorry, my bad…"

Realizing this as well after hearing what he said, Yi Min awkwardly let go of him before waiting for him to regain his breath and explain what he had just said. After all, if Xuan Hao had really reached the Soul Ascension Realm, she might have another way out of her current situation. One that didn't involve her being forced to leave her kingdom and escape by herself.

"Ahm… As I was trying to say earlier, you can ask the Grand Elder from the Star Shattering Sect and yes, he has broken through to the Soul Ascension Realm. Not only from what the people of the Star Shattering Sect, but also from what the surrounding kingdoms against them said.

From what I know, the stalemate that happened between the Star Shattering Sect and the kingdoms around them after they officially became a sect with Domain Lord Realm Experts was broken because of this. Only a few of the strongest kingdoms who once had Domain Lord Realm Experts backing them still remain at this point in time. Although, I doubt they will last for more than a week or two…"

Finishing his explanation of the Star Shattering Sect's current situation and where he had gotten the information from, the muscular man nervously took a few steps back to avoid getting grabbed again.

"Hm… I see… You can leave for now." Luckily for the man, Yi Min didn't do anything this time around and just nodded her head deep in thought before waving him away while focusing her attention back on dealing with the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts outside.

"…"

Seeing that Yi Min had returned to concentrating on the formation and didn't intend to say anything more, the muscular man decided to remain silent as he flew back down into the capital below.

Although he didn't say anything, he felt extremely scared about the current situation. Understanding very well that there was no way that Yi Min had the ability to fight against three Soul Ascension Realm Experts after just having broken through to the Soul Ascension Realm herself. Even with the help of the formation, he understood that it would only be a matter of time. Unravel the Unknown, Unleash the Unimaginable: NvεlB¡n.

This was also the reason why he had decided to bring up the matter of Xuan Hao having reached the Soul Ascension Realm.

Even if there was a chance that he didn't reach the Soul Ascension Realm, it would at least be better to try and ask for help than just helplessly wait for death.

As for whether or not Xuan Hao would even lend a hand to begin with? That was something he couldn't answer… For now, he could only hope that Yi Min had managed to establish a good enough relationship with Xuan Hao that he was willing to come to her help in a time of need.

…

"Hm?"

Back in the Star Shattering Sect, Xuan Hao opened both of his eyes with a somewhat annoyed expression on his face as he looked over towards the communication talisman he had placed on a small table in the corner of the room.

It had only been a short time since he had returned to comprehending the Dao of Space after his disciples decided to play around outside his room…

"Oh? Isn't this Yi Min? What could she want all of a sudden?"

However, upon noticing who it was that was contacting him, Xuan Hao's annoyed expression changed into one filled with curiosity.

Outside of the times he had contacted her about information regarding the Sky Empire, he had not talked to her in quite some time. Not to mention, this was the first time she had contacted him instead of it being him contacting her.

Whoosh~

"Yi Min, I wonder why you contacted me like this all of sudden? Did something happen?" Using his qi to guide the communication talisman over, Xuan Hao didn't miss a beat as he asked this before Yi Min even had a chance to say anything.

"Ah- This… I- Something did indeed happen… But first! Did you really break through to the Soul Ascension Realm!? Or is it just another rumor spread by that Elder Song to dampen the fighting spirit of the kingdoms resisting your sect's expansion?" Hearing Xuan Hao's question, Yi Min fumbled over her words for a short moment before directly asking about whether or not he had broken through to the Soul Ascension Realm.

Compared to the muscular man who didn't fully understand the situation between the Star Shattering Sect and the surrounding kingdoms, she at the very least had some idea as to what was happening before the most recent development and understood the fact that Elder Song would often use different tactics to try and demoralize the opponent into surrendering without the Star Shattering Sect even having to do anything.

"Oh? You heard about it already? Yes, I did break through to the Soul Ascension Realm some time ago now, it's just that it was only recently spread by Elder Song. Didn't want to end up being attack by someone before I had the time to properly stabilize my cultivation base and familiarize myself with my new strength."

Hearing that she just wanted to ask about him reaching the Soul Ascension Realm, Xuan Hao decided to just go with the narrative that Elder Song had created for him. In any case, it wasn't wrong considering that his strength was already close to the Peak of the Soul Ascension Realm.

Even if someone came to try and test him in the future, he would still be more than capable of dealing with them. Maybe it might even allow the influence of the Star Shattering Sect to grow more after he personally took action to deal with someone in the Soul Ascension Realm.

After all, when all things were said and done, the only things that Elder Song had attributed to him were a few random attacks on the surrounding kingdoms.

The strongest person in these kingdoms was still far away from the Domain Lord Realm in terms of strength, let alone the Soul Ascension Realm.

Even if Elder Song had managed to convince these kingdoms about him being in the Soul Ascension Realm, the same could not be said for the rest of the kingdoms in the border region. Not to mention the even stronger kingdoms and sects in the core region of the Sky Empire…

"You… You really reached the Soul Ascension Realm… This- This is great! Xuan Hao, I just recently broke through to the Soul Ascension Realm myself and was almost immediately attacked by three other Soul Ascension Realm Experts from the capital of the Sky Empire before I had time to stabilize my cultivation base.

Although I'm capable of holding them back for now with the help of my formation, I doubt I can continue to do so for much longer…"

Listening to the person in question confirm to her that he had indeed broken through to the Soul Ascension Realm, Yi Min froze for a short moment before telling him about her current desperate situation.

"I understand, you want me to come and help you out?" Knowing what Yi Min wanted to ask the moment he heard about her current situation, Xuan Hao decided to directly ask her instead of beating around the bush. Considering that her situation was already bad from what she said, it was best not to waste too much time.

"Yes…" Having been seen through, Yi Min could only quietly agree.

Given the fact that her formation could only hold on for so long before her qi grew too chaotic to control it and Xuan Hao also needed some time to reach her kingdom, she wanted him to get to her as fast as possible.

Even if he reached her kingdom in time, they still had to find a way to deal with the three Soul Ascension Realm Expert…

"Okay, I will be there shortly."

Whoosh~

Not having any reason to refuse Yi Min's request for help, Xuan Hao didn't waste any time as he put away his communication talisman before using the short distance teleportation of the Drifting Cloud Steps to silently leave the Star Shattering Sect.

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Chapter 1055 Assassin?

"Haaa... I hope he shows up soon..."

Back in the Iron Sky Kingdom, Yi Min quietly whispered this to herself as she stared down at her communication talisman before putting it away and focusing her attention back on the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts outside.

Even if she had managed to gain the help of another Soul Ascension Realm Expert, it would still be some time before he showed up. Not to mention, even when he did show up, they still had to figure out a way to deal with the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts outside.

After all, Xuan Hao did not have any experience with her formation and would not know how to control it properly. Although it was tempting to try and teach him, it might also end up with Xuan Hao accidentally doing something wrong when trying to take over control of the formation from her. Resulting in the formation breaking in the process…

The main problem was not so much the two people who had reached the First Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm. Instead, it was the cardinal who had surpassed the First Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm and should be comparable to someone in the Second Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm.

Even with Xuan Hao's help, she didn't know how they would be able to deal with someone that powerful. For now, all she could do was try her best to hold back the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts while waiting for Xuan Hao to show up…

Unknown to Yi Min, Xuan Hao had arrived only a few seconds after he had finished his conversation with her and was currently observing the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts who were trying their best to break through the massive formation covering the Iron Sky Kingdom.

Although he had yet to comprehend the long distance teleportation, with the use of the Drifting Cloud Steps short distance teleportation, his speed was already close to the Earth Immortal Realm. Maybe even surpassing some slower Earth Immortal Realm Experts.

…

So, those three are the Soul Ascension Realm Experts Yi Min mentioned? But… Who is that person?

Glancing over the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts for a few seconds, Xuan Hao soon turned to look towards a small forest located a few dozen kilometers away from the place where the three were trying to break through Yi Min's formation.

At the edge of the small forest, a thin figure covered in a robe with a small dark colored lotus embroidered into it that obscured any identifiable features was quietly observing the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts.

If not for the fact that the other party had at least reached the Fourth Stage of the Soul Ascension Realm and might be even stronger than that, he would have already dealt with the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts.

Although doing this would undoubtedly put the Star Shattering Sect against the religion that the cardinal belonging to, Xuan Hao didn't really care too much about this considering how bad the relationship between sects and religions already was in the first place.

Not to mention, he doubted that they would be able to just send over someone in the Earth Immortal Realm. Even if they did, he should have been able to break through to the Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm by the time they showed up…

Whoosh~

Hm? Is that person planning to do something?

Feeling a divine sense originating from the thin figure sweeping over towards him all of a sudden, Xuan Hao wasted no time in hiding himself before observing the divine sense as it silently enveloped the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts.

Of course, it was impossible for the thin figure to hide the divine sense from the three. All of them had reached the Soul Ascension Realm and the cardinal had even reached a realm comparable to the Second Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm-

Whoosh-!

Whoosh-!

Whoosh-!

Because of this, the three wasted no time in stopping their attack and retreating from Yi Min's formation while cautiously looking in the direction that the divine sense had originated from.

"Might I ask who this senior is…?" Spotting the thin figure hidden at the edge of the small forest only a few seconds later, the cardinal cautiously asked this while ready to defend against any attack that the other party might throw at him.

Given that they had only just noticed the person after the other party blatantly used their divine sense to examine them, it was obvious that the person was stronger than them… And not just a bit stronger…

"…"

Unfortunately for the cardinal and the other two Soul Ascension Realm Experts, the thin figure remained silent without saying a single word.

Swish~

"Aaaaah!"

Instead, the sound of something piercing through the air was all they heard followed by one of the Soul Ascension Realm Experts letting out an ear-piercing scream, causing the other two to look over and discover that his arm had been cut off from the base.

Not only that, but they discovered that a purple liquid had covered the place where the arm had been cut and was rapidly spreading to the rest of the body at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Poison… Y-You are an assassin!? And the mark on your robe… Someone from the Shadow Lotus Sect!? Why is someone from the Shadow Lotus Sect here- Unless… The main church did something to offend you and you are taking revenge on the less protected branches…" Having recognized the identity of the thin figure and figured out the reason why someone like that would appear, the cardinal could not help showing a panicked expression on his face as he said this out loud.

Swish-!

Giving the cardinal no time to react, the assassin from the Shadow Lotus Sect leaped forward before appearing directly in front of the panicked cardinal.

Crack~

However, before the assassin had the chance to kill the cardinal, the cardinal managed to shatter a small crystal that had been caried in a necklace around his neck-

RUMBLE-!

Following this, a terrifying aura erupted from the cardinal as his panicked expression disappeared, being replaced by one filled with one of indifference.

Whoosh-!

Seeing this scene, the assassin who had been just about to pierce through the head of cardinal abruptly turned around and escaped in the opposite direction of the cardinal.

"A mere mortal dares attack one of my servants? And now you even try to run away? How bold!"

As the indifferent cardinal saw this scene, a voice that didn't sound like him at all came out from his mouth-

"Die."

Boom!

And following only a single word, the assassin who had already run over a hundred kilometers during the short period of time, turned into a ball of fire that violently exploded.

Bang!

This… Just the remnant power is this strong!?

Feeling the remnant power contained in the shockwave as it hit him, Xuan Hao could not help frowning as he turned to look at the cardinal who had already returned to his former panicked expression.

The power in the shockwave alone was more than enough to make things difficult for someone in the Soul Ascension Realm, let alone the strength of the explosion itself. Even with his current strength, he doubted that he would have been able to survive it.

But… What on earth was that? Did the cardinal get possessed by someone just now?

Filled with question while at the same time also feeling far more cautious about attacking the cardinal after what he had just witnessed, Xuan Hao decided to continue observing the three until he figured out what had just happened and if the cardinal could do it again. This essence is securely nested within the heart of Nøvlß¡n

…

"Wha-what was that just now?! How did you get so strong all of a sudden!? I thought for sure we were dead…" As things calmed down and the dust settled, the Soul Ascension Realm Expert who didn't have his arm cut off could not help asking this as he turned towards the cardinal.

"I used a special tool that allows my god to descend for a short moment. Although the duration and power that can be used depends on the quality… And the one I have is the worst quality. Only capable of using a single weakened attack…" Shaking his head as he said this, the cardinal showed a painful expression on his face as he looked down at the shattered necklace in his hand.

The small crystal that allowed his god to descend was his final trump card and also the reason why he had dared to leave the safety of the capital city during the current dangerous time. Now that he no longer had it, he wanted nothing more than to return to the capital as fast as possible.

"Ahm! Don't think too much about it, let's get rid of this formation first so we can leave!"

Whoosh~!

Boom-boom-boom!

Having not used any of his strength to deal with the assassin. The cardinal did not waste any time before continuing his attack on the formation again.

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Chapter 1056 Surprise Attack...

"A tool that allows a god to momentarily descend…?" Muttering this to himself as he heard what the cardinal told his two companions, Xuan Hao could not help feeling a shiver run down his spine upon imagining what would have happened to him if he had attacked the cardinal before the assassin from the Shadow Lotus Sect.

Although he had no clue what kind of power the Shadow Lotus Sect was, he could at least be certain that it was a power from the central region of the continent. Not only that, but it shouldn't be any weaker than the religion that the cardinal belonged to considering that they had dared to try and assassinate their people.

Hm? But if the Shadow Lotus Sect is so powerful, wouldn't they already know about the tool that allows the god of this cardinal to descend? Shouldn't they have sent someone more powerful if this was the case? Unless… They didn't expect the cardinal here to have that kind of tool on him as it's normally not given to someone of his status!

Feeling like he figured out what had gone wrong for the assassin from the Shadow Lotus Sect, Xuan Hao felt a sense of relief. From his prediction, the tool that the cardinal used shouldn't be that easy to procure and the one he had should have just been obtained through luck or from a senior who had been pleased with him. Meaning that he shouldn't have any more of those tools on him!

Even if the cardinal had implied that he didn't have any of those tools left when talking to his companions, he could always be lying to them to keep a trump card ready in case something ended up happening. For example, he had no idea if there were any more assassins from the Shadow Lotus Sect present.

Although they might have been scared away by the earlier display, they might also be lurking somewhere nearby waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

The current calm display by the cardinal as he continued to attack the formation was not true to the current fearful emotions he felt deep inside. Not able to stop himself from constantly scanning his surroundings with his divine sense for any signs of another assassin from the Shadow Lotus Sect.

Whoosh~

Feeling this divine sense sweeping over him every few seconds, Xuan Hao became even more certain that he didn't have any more of those special tools left as he continued to observe the cardinal.

I should be able to make a move without any problems emerging. Even if the cardinal still has another of those tools left, I might be able to kill him before he has a chance to use it. In the worst-case scenario, I can try to escape before he gets a chance to attack.

Narrowing both of his eyes as he thought about this, Xuan Hao began to slowly approach the cardinal. Intending to kill him before he had a chance to do anything.

The only problem with this plan was the fact that the cardinal was currently on edge and was fully focused on his surroundings. Making it impossible for him to get anywhere near the area covered by his domain without being discovered.

On a positive note, the distance he would have to cover could be covered in a single step with the help of the Drifting Cloud Steps. Only giving the cardinal the time between him using the Drifting Cloud Steps to him appearing in front of him to defend himself.

As for the other two Soul Ascension Realm Experts… Xuan Hao didn't care too much about these two, as they had only reached the First Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm and wouldn't be able to do anything to help out the cardinal. Dealing with them could wait for after the cardinal was dead.

Craaaack~!

"Huh? The formation is breaking faster than expected!" Suddenly seeing the formation in front of him starting to break at a speed visible to the naked eye, the cardinal momentarily focused most of his attention on the formation. "I think Yi Min might have been affected by the earlier attack from my god!"

Filled with pride upon mentioning his god, the cardinal was unaware of the danger approaching as he began preparing for one last final hit to break through the formation.

Wanting nothing more than to finish the Iron Sky Kingdom so he could return back to the safety of the capital and contact his superiors to find out what had happened for the Shadow Lotus Sect to suddenly sent someone to kill him.

Seeing this as an opportunity, Xuan Hao leaped out from the shadows-

Swish!

And before the cardinal had any time to react, he had already appeared directly in front of him, his sword covered in his sword intent as it pierced through the air towards the surprised cardinal.

"Wha-!?"

The cardinal sensed the impending danger and attempted to create a protective barrier to block the sword, but it was too late-

Ptsh!

The blade cut through the protective barrier and found its mark, striking down the cardinal with deadly accuracy. Giving him no time to recover from the injury as a terrifying surge of sword intent flowed through the blade and into the body of the cardinal. Killing him in both body and soul as what remained of him soon collapsed to the ground.

Fwoosh~!

However, even after this, Xuan Hao used his Dao of Fire to burn off what little remained. Not planning to take any chances in case the cardinal somehow had a way to revive himself through the help of his god.

Although all of this felt impossible to him, he had no idea how strong a god was and what was possible, so he could only do his best to ensure that nothing ended up happening.

"Huh…?"

Witnessing the scene of the cardinal who had just been happily informing them about how powerful his god was and the fact that they would soon be able to break through the formation being killed and erased from the world before they even had the chance to do anything, the two Soul Ascension Realm Experts froze on the spot in fear. Both of them feeling terrified at what they had just witnessed.

All things considered; the cardinal was still someone in the Soul Ascension Realm. Even if he ended up getting killed, it shouldn't happen that fast!

"Now for the last two…"

Only when they heard Xuan Hao say this as he turned around to face them did the two realize their current dangerous situation-

Swoosh-!

Swoosh-!

And knowing that they stood no chance fighting against Xuan Hao after seeing how easily he had killed the cardinal, both of them directly took out everything they had before escaping in opposite directions.

"Hm?"

Seeing the two escaping, Xuan Hao was just about to chase after them when he noticed the formation covering the Iron Sky Kingdom start crumbling at a speed visible to the naked eye. Even without the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts attacking it.

BANG!

Not even a second later, the formation fully broke apart and revealed the Iron Sky Kingdom on the other side.

Did something happen to Yi Min?

Feeling worried that something was wrong with Yi Min and not wanting to risk losing someone that he had already intended to recruit for the Star Shattering Sect, Xuan Hao didn't bother chasing after the two Soul Ascension Realm Experts and instead made his way in the direction of the Iron Sky Kingdoms capital city where he could feel Yi Min's presence.

Swish-! The debut release of this chapter happened at Ñøvl-B1n.

Swish-!

Of course, this didn't mean he planned to let the two Soul Ascension Realm Experts escape, as he created two small swords that he sent flying after the two escaping Soul Ascension Realm Experts. Considering the difference in strength, he believed that the two swords containing a sizeable portion of his power should be more than enough to deal with them.

…

"This… He didn't chase after us…?"

At the same time, one of the two Soul Ascension Realm Experts noticed that Xuan Hao didn't chase after them and instead went into the Iron Sky Kingdom, causing him to slow down as he realized that his life wasn't in danger any longer-

Swish-!

At least that was what he thought, as a small sword suddenly appeared directly behind him the moment his speed slowed down-

"Wh-"

Ptsh-!

And before he could react, the sword lodged itself deep in his chest as it began emitting a terrifying flame that reduced him to ashes in less than five seconds!

"This…"

Seeing his friend being killed from afar, the last remaining Soul Ascension Realm Expert didn't dare slow down as he continued escaping-

Swish-!

However, no matter how fast he was, the small sword chasing after him soon caught up to him and pierced through his heart. The only difference compared to what happened to the other Soul Ascension Realm Expert, the second sword emitted a freezing qi that turned the second Soul Ascension Realm into a human ice cube that soon fell from the sky-

Crack!

Causing him to shatter into thousands of small pieces. Officially ending the life of the final of the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts.

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Chapter 1057 How is he that strong!?

A short time before the death of the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts, Yi Min frowned visibly as she wiped away the stream of blood that came out from her mouth while keeping her attention focused on the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts outside her formation.

Even though she had thought she would be able to hold on for at least a few days, her current situation had started rapidly deteriorating as the situation inside her dantian grew more and more chaotic with each passing second. Making her painfully aware of the fact that she most likely wouldn't even be able to hold on for a single day before her qi went out of control and made it impossible for her to control the formation.

The main reason for this sudden turn of events was not that she had been wrong in her earlier calculations, it was just that she had forgotten to account for the fact that the qi being replaced whenever she used some to sustain the formation was more chaotic and harder to control compared to before.

In the end, this had caused the time she had before losing control over her qi decreasing from an estimated two or three days to a single day… And that was only if things went well, a more realistic estimate might be half a day. Meaning that even if Xuan Hao did show up, she would be far too weak to do anything other than maintain the formation for a short period of time. Far from enough to drive away the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts outside…

"I wonder how long it will take for him to show up. Given the distance between the Iron Sky Kingdom and the Star Shattering Sect, it might take him half a day and that is only if he wasn't somewhere else…" Muttering this to herself as she realized how bad her current situation was, Yi Min could not help silently praying for a powerful demon beast to pass through and get rid of the three.

Even if this would also put her in danger, at least the demon beast shouldn't be willing to wait around after realizing that her formation wouldn't break easily.

"Aaaaah!"

"Huh?"

Suddenly being caught off guard by a loud scream from one of the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts, Yi Min couldn't help showing a somewhat surprised expression on her face.

Did a demon beast really show up and attack the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts?

Thinking about this, Yi Min wasted no time in using her divine sense to check out the situation outside.

"Assassin? Shadow Lotus Sect? Sent to kill the cardinal!?"

As a result of this, she managed to hear what the cardinal said and was more than overjoyed upon learning that it was not a demon beast, but instead an enemy of the cardinal. Far better than a powerful demon beast showing up, as the demon beast might also end up attacking her.

Although there was still a chance that the assassin also attacked her after killing the cardinal, the chance of this happening was far lower than a demon beast.

Swish-!

Not even a second later, the assassin finally made a move-

RUMBLE-!

However, different from the deadly battle she imagined, a terrifying aura suddenly emerged from the cardinal followed by the cardinal easily killing off the assassin with a single move.

Whoosh~!

Only a short time after the death of the assassin, the shockwave arrived at the edge of the formation, causing an enormous pressure on the already unstable formation.

Not only that, but different from the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts outside, who only had to defend themselves, the formation covered a far larger area and had to deal with a lot more of the remnant power contained inside of the shockwave.

Craaaaack~

As a result, the formation began breaking at a speed visible to the naked eye. Even when she went over her limit to tried to stop it from breaking, she could only delay it for a short time-

Boom-boom-boom!

Even worse, the cardinal had already resumed attacking the formation again like nothing had happened. Making it even harder for her to keep the formation from breaking.

At this point in time, Yi Min had already far exceeded her limit and no longer had any chance of escaping from the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts. All she could do was hope that the assassin didn't come alone and one of his companions would show up to finish off the cardinal and the other two Soul Ascension Realm Experts before they had a chance to break through the formation.

"Wha-!?"

It was at this moment that the surprised voice of the cardinal sounded out once again-

Ptsh-!

Only this time around, he didn't manage to react in time and was killed before he had a chance to react. Everything happened far too fast for even Yi Min to realize what was happening before the cardinal was already dead.

"This… Xuan Hao!?"

Seeing the person who killed the cardinal, Yi Min could not stop herself from exclaiming in shock. Never in her wildest dreams having expected that Xuan Hao could show up in such a short period of time, let alone have the strength to easily kill the cardinal. Especially after she had witnessed how the cardinal had just killed off the powerful assassin from the Shadow Lotus Sect.

Although she had no idea how strong the assassin was, she was still certain that it should be above the Second Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm.

This… This is definitely not the strength of someone who just recently broke through to the Soul Ascension Realm!

Thinking this to herself as she watched Xuan Hao turn his attention towards the two remaining Soul Ascension Realm Experts, Yi Min felt a sense of relief washing over her.

Even if she had no idea why Xuan Hao was so strong all of a sudden, it was clear that he wouldn't have any problem dealing with the two remaining Soul Ascension Realm Experts.

Ptsh-!

As she realized that she was no longer in danger, Yi Min suddenly threw out a large amount of blood before her consciousness started to fade. No longer able to suppress the damage that had been done to her internal organs and dantian by the chaotic qi.

Even the fact that she had been able to keep herself conscious and in control of the formation after it had been hit by the shockwave just now could be considered a testament to her strong willpower.

CRAAAAAACK-!

Following Yi Min slipping into a state of unconsciousness, she also let go of her control over the formation. Resulting in the massive formation covering the entirety of the Iron Sky Kingdom crumbling.

"Dad! What is that? Is the sky falling down?" Unravel the Unknown, Unleash the Unimaginable: NvεlB¡n.

"What do you- Huh!? T-t-the sky is falling down!?"

"The end is coming! The heavens are coming down!"

"Is this the end…?"

"Great Lord, please save us…"

However, the speed at which the formation fell apart was slow enough for the people of the Iron Sky Kingdom to notice, causing widespread panic as none of them had any idea what was happening.

Although Yi Min had used the formation on several occasions to deal with different opponents, there was also a special function in the formation that made it appear like nothing was happening to the people inside. Only when the formation shattered would it briefly become visible to the ordinary people of the Iron Sky Kingdom.

Unfortunately for these ordinary people, and the weaker cultivators unaware of the formation's existence, it really did look like the sky was about to fall on top of them.

At least the fragments of the formation that looked like fragments of the sky falling towards the ground soon disappeared-

"Huh? Nothing happened? Where did the fragments of the sky go?"

"It's really gone… Did someone push up the sky and repair it?!"

"Aaaah! We are blessed by the Great Lord!"

Leaving behind a rather confused crowd of people who had been fearfully staring up at the sky only a few seconds earlier.

In the end, these people began coming up with all sorts of stories to explain the unforgettable thing they had just witnessed.

…

At the same time that the people of the Iron Sky Kingdom were creating different story about the collapsing sky, Xuan Hao arrived at the capital of the Iron Sky Kingdom just in time to catch the unconscious Yi Min who was about to smash headfirst into the palace below her.

"Looks like she exhausted herself quite a bit. Not only that, but with the current state of her dantian, it will take a few days before she can wake up again." Muttering this to himself as he examined Yi Min's current condition, Xuan Hao descend into the palace below and gently placed Yi Min in what he assumed to be her bed before finding a place to sit down and wait for the Domain Lord Realm Expert he sensed rushing over in his direction.

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Chapter 1058 Muscular Domain Lord and Waking up to a strange scene...

Bang!

"Master! What happened?! Who is-" Violently breaking through the door to the room, the muscular Domain Lord Realm Expert that Yi Min had been talking with just a short time earlier froze on the spot as he spotted Yi Min lying unconscious on her bed with Xuan Hao sitting not too far away.

Although he couldn't sense Xuan Hao's strength, he was certain that he was far stronger than him and had likely also reached the Soul Ascension Realm like his master.

Wait… The formation already broke and none of the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts trying to break through the formation just a short time earlier has shown up…

Thinking about how the Soul Ascension Realm Experts working on breaking the formation had still not appeared even after the formation had collapsed, the muscular Domain Lord Realm Expert froze on the spot as he looked towards Xuan Hao filled with fear.

Even though he had not seen it personally, it was obvious that the person sitting next to his master had something to do with the sudden disappearance of the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts!

At least it did not look like he was an enemy. On the contrary, he had taken care of his master.

Is it perhaps a friend of my master…?

"Is there something you want to ask?"

Feeling the burning gaze of the Domain Lord Realm Expert who had just burst through the door, Xuan Hao did his best to start a conversation and end the awkward silence that had been created. Not wanting to spend the next few days until Yi Min woke up with a large muscular guy staring directly at him with a burning gaze that could easily be misunderstood by anyone passing by.

"Huh? Ah! Yes! First of all, might I ask who senior is? Other than that, I'm also quite curious as to what happened to the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts outside of the formation? From what I know, those three should not just have left for no reason and they seemed quite intend on killing my master…" Hearing what Xuan Hao said, the muscular Domain Lord froze for a short moment before almost jumping forward while asking this. NvεlB¡n: Unleashing Imagination, One Read at a Time.

During the entire process, he showed no fear whatsoever. Showing that he had already seen Xuan Hao as someone on his side.

Not that it was that hard to comprehend given the fact that he would most likely have killed him and his master if he was not on their side. After all, his master's current condition didn't really allow her to fight back.

"I'm a Grand Elder from the Star Shattering Sect, Xuan Hao, you might have heard about me before given one of my disciples participated in the alchemy competition here in the past. As for what happened to the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts outside, I have taken care of them, and they won't pose any problem in the future." Not bothering to hide anything as there was no need for it, Xuan Hao decided to just tell him that he had dealt with the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts after introducing himself.

"Dealt with the three- Ah!" Realizing what Xuan Hao said, the muscular Domain Lord Realm Expert froze on the spot for a short moment as he looked towards him with an expression of disbelief plastered all over his face.

Although he had expected Xuan Hao to be someone strong in the Soul Ascension Realm and he might have been able to chase away the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts outside, he never in his wildest dreams imagined that he had killed the three.

No matter what realm, there was a huge difference between killing someone and making them run away. The first being far harder to accomplish and considering how fast he had killed the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts; it was obvious that he was far stronger than them.

As a result of this, the muscular Domain Lords evaluation of Xuan Hao's strength increased from someone who was around the earlier stages of the realm to someone who might be comparable to the old ancestor of the imperial family!

"Huh? Wait a second… Grand Elder of the Star Shattering Sect?" Suddenly realizing something important from what Xuan Hao said, the muscular Domain Lord Realm Expert froze once again as he stared towards Xuan Hao filled with even more disbelief than before. "You are the elder from the Star Shattering Sect who came to the Iron Sky Kingdom during the alchemy competition!? But weren't you in the Domain Lord Realm back then!?"

Although he had not been present during the alchemy competition, he had heard about an elder from the Star Shattering Sect who had shown up during the competition together with one of his disciples.

However, this person had obviously been in the Domain Lord Realm. Nowhere near the Soul Ascension Realm, let alone the later stages of the Soul Ascension Realm that the person in front of him should have reached.

Unless… He hid his cultivation back then!

Feeling like this was the only thing that made sense, the muscular Domain Lord didn't continue asking any more questions and instead decided to take his leave after confirming that his master was fine. Leaving her in the care of Xuan Hao during her recovery, as he felt that someone in the Soul Ascension Realm would be far more knowledgeable on what could help his master recover compared to someone like himself who was still in the Domain Lord Realm.

Instead, the muscular Domain Lord turned his attention towards stabilizing the rather chaotic situation that had begun spreading in the Iron Sky Kingdom after the formation was destroyed, while also beginning the preparations for repairing the formation in the future.

Even if all of these things were relatively simple to accomplish with his strength and the large quantity of resources that was still available in the Iron Sky Kingdom, it was not something that could be done in the short term and would likely take months to accomplish. Maybe even years depending on the damage that had been done to the foundation of the formation.

"Looks like I will be staying here for a few days until she wakes up again…" Watching how the muscular Domain Lord left without any worry for his master, Xuan Hao could not help shaking his head in disbelief. Even if he had dealt with the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts, he should at least show some degree of suspicion towards someone who was essentially a complete stranger to him.

And yet… Now he was left to watch over Yi Min by himself…

Might as well take this chance to continue comprehending the Dao of Space. After all, there is not much I can do to help improve her condition other than provide a safe environment for her to recover by herself.

Closing his eyes as he thought this to himself, Xuan Hao began comprehending the Dao of Space. Although he had made progress towards the Small Success Realm over the past few weeks, he was still a few months away from reaching it. Not to mention, after reaching the Small Success Realm, he still had to comprehend a brand-new Dao and elevate one of his other Daos to the Large Success Realm.

…

Hmmmh~ Where am I?

Opening her eyes after what felt like a long and relaxing nap, Yi Min drowsily looked around herself while still laying down on the bed with a somewhat confused expression on her face. Not yet comprehending where she was due to her current state still being rather complicated because of the chaotic qi still present inside of her dantian.

Although she had managed to suppress it to some extent at this point and stabilized her condition enough to wake up, she was still quite a bit away from being able to be considered fully recovered.

Huh? This is my bed. Did someone carry me here after I passed out- Ah! That's right! Xuan Hao!

Suddenly remembering what happened before she had passed out, Yi Min quickly sat up on her bed as she scanned her room. Soon spotting Xuan Hao who was sitting only a few meters away from her bed-

"Wh-what is that…?"

However, when she saw Xuan Hao sitting beside her bed, she was instantly drawn to what could only be described as small holes in space around him, some remaining stable without any change, while others popped in and out of existence. Seemingly being forcibly repaired by the laws of the world before being torn open again by some powerful force and then repeating the process endlessly in a loop.

Even if she had seen her fair share of strange things over the years, this was by far one of the weirdest and more terrifying things she had seen so far. After all, tearing open the fabric of space itself was not something easy to accomplish. Even for someone in the Soul Ascension Realm… And that was not mentioning that it looked like the small holes in space was nothing more than a side effect of Xuan Hao's cultivation to her…

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Chapter 1059 Teto... What?

"Wh-what is that…?"

Hearing the surprised voice of Yi Min while he was still fully focused on comprehending the Dao of Space, Xuan Hao closed the small holes in space that he had created with the partial spatial collapse before opening both of his eyes.

Coming face to face with the curious eyes of Yi Min who was leaning over the side of her bed in an attempt to get a better look at what she perceived to be strange holes in space that had been created by him as a result of his cultivation.

"Ah!?"

Thump~

Not expecting Xuan Hao to suddenly open his eyes, Yi Min momentarily lost her balance as she fell over the side of the bed and landed on the floor. Putting her in a rather awkward position.

"Are you okay…?" Seeing Yi Min land on the floor in front of him, Xuan Hao could not help asking this. Feeling quite worried about her given the fact that she had not managed to react in time to prevent the fall with her Soul Ascension Realm cultivation base.

Even if her cultivation was currently in a bad state due to the chaotic qi still present inside of her dantian, it shouldn't have been to the degree that she didn't even have the energy to prevent herself from falling over the side of her bed. This thought was also what stopped him from using his domain to prevent her fall.

"… I'm fine… My mind was just somewhere else, and I didn't pay any attention..." Almost whispering this to herself with an embarrassed expression on her face, Yi Min slowly got up from the floor before sitting back on her bed. "But more importantly than that, the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts! How did you suddenly get so strong. The last time I saw you, you were clearly still in the Domain Lord Realm, and I doubt you were hiding your cultivation base considering how oblivious you were about the Sky Empire."

"This…" Not knowing what to say when faced with the curious and questioning look from Yi Min, Xuan Hao froze for a short moment. "I guess you can say I had a lucky encounter in a mystic realm that helped speed up my cultivation…" In the end, he decided to just put his rapid improvement on the mystic realm of the Mirage Sect.

Even if it was not true, it was far more believable compared to him saying he had broken through on his own.

"A mystic realm… No wonder…" showing a look of understanding after hearing this, Yi Min's expression changed into one of admiration.

Although she had never had the chance to explore a mystic realm herself, she had long since heard rumors about the countless treasures and dangers that could be found inside of them. Not to mention someone in the Domain Lord Realm, even someone in the Soul Ascension Realm could easily lose their life inside a mystic realm if they were not careful enough.

Of course, because of this danger, the opportunities that could be found inside a mystic realm could be considered far beyond her current understanding. For Xuan Hao to be able to reach the Soul Ascension Realm and even grow strong enough to easily kill the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts, it was obvious how much danger he would have to go through to grow to this degree in such a short period of time!

"Ehm!" Feeling the burning gaze filled with admiration staring directly at him, Xuan Hao did a rather awkward fake cough to bring her back from her trance like state. "Now that I answered your question, I think it's about time for you to answer one of mine." "Huh? Ah! Sure." Hearing Xuan Hao wanted to ask her something, Yi Min instantly came of her somewhat dazed state.

"Great! Do you have any idea why those three suddenly decided to attack you? Given the current state of the Sky Empire, I doubt they would have dared to leave the safety of the capital city if it wasn't something important." Remembering some of the information about all the powerful forces in the Sky Empire gathering together in the capital to create safety in number, Xuan Hao could not help asking this.

Feeling rather curious as to what had caused these three to take the risk of being attacked by a powerful expert from one of the surrounding empires.

Even if the spiritual metal mine in Yi Min's possession was precious and could give them a lot of useful spiritual metal in the short term, it shouldn't be enough for them to risk their lives, but then again… The terrifying divine tool of the cardinal should have given some level of confidence. Maybe the other two also had their own trump cards and just didn't have the time to use them before dying.

"This…" Hearing Xuan Hao's question, Yi Min froze for a short moment as she began fidgeting with her hands while suspiciously looking around the room for no apparent reason. "Actually, there isn't just a spiritual metal mine below this land, but also a large deposit of Tetonite ore below the capital. To be more specific, directly below the palace…"

"T-Tetonite Ore…?" Becoming on large question mark upon hearing what Yi Min said, Xuan Hao displayed why his blacksmithing skills were about to be overtaken by one of his disciples…

"…"

Not having expected this reaction from Xuan Hao, Yi Min also froze on the spot with a look of disbelief plastered all over her face. Even without her saying anything, it was still rather obvious what she was thinking from the way she was staring at him…

"This… You don't have to look at me like that, what is this… Tetonite ore you mentioned? Is it important enough for three Soul Ascension Realm Experts to risk their lives?"

"I never thought you wouldn't know what Tetonite is… Do you remember the silver sword I gave you?"

"Yes?" "Its core is made out of Tetonite. Although it's a rather small amount and of the lowest quality, you should at least be aware of just how strong it is. Now, the Tetonite that is down below the palace is above that in terms of quality.

The only reason why I haven't begun mining it yet is because the minimum required strength to mine out Tetonite of the lowest quality is the Soul Ascension Realm. The deposit was only recently discovered, and I just recently informed the imperial family about its presence. Because of this not a single bit of it has been mined for now. The piece of Tetonite used in the silver sword was something I got as a gift from an old friend. Even at the core of the continent, Tetonite is one of the strongest and most sought-after metals!"

Whoosh~

Hearing what Yi Min said, Xuan Hao could not help showing a shocked expression on his face as he took out the small silver sword Yi Min had given him in the past before starting to examine it.

"This…"

Spotting the small core that only made up a single gram of the entire sword's mass after using his domain and divine sense to investigate the sword in depth, Xuan Hao was shocked to discover that outside of the core that was made up from Tetonite, the rest of the sword was actually made up of relatively normal spiritual metal.

The only thing that gave the silver sword its strength and allowed it to handle its current strength was the small bit of Tetonite that had been mixed into it. Not only that, but the Tetonite in the sword was apparently of the lowest quality according to Yi Min.

If a sword was made up entirely from Tetonite of a higher quality, it would allow his strength to increase many times over!

"I see that you realized how precious the Tetonite ore deposit is. Even if they had to risk their lives, they might have wanted to get their hands on the Tetonite to invite a powerful expert from outside to help them stabilize the situation in the Sky Empire.

The only problem is… I have no idea where they found out about this from. The only person I managed to inform about the existence of the Tetonite mine was the current emperor of the Sky Empire but given how the imperial family disappeared following the old ancestor's injuries I doubt they would have found out about it from the imperial family." Saying this, Yi Min could not help frowning. Not understanding how the different powerful powers in the capital had managed to find out about the Tetonite ore deposit.

"Don't worry too much about it for now, it might have only been the cardinal and the other two who knew about the Tetonite. If others knew, I doubt the other two religions would willingly allow one of them to go over by himself." Feeling that she might be overreacting a bit given that they had no way to be sure that they had come for the Tetonite in the first place, Xuan Hao did his best to try and calm her down.NvεlB¡n: Unleashing Imagination, One Read at a Time.

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Chapter 1060 Leaving for the Star Shattering Sect

"Indeed... They might not even have known about the Tetonite…" Calming down after a few minutes of Xuan Hao reassuring her that the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts most likely had no idea about the Tetonite located beneath the palace, Yi Min flopped on to the bed exhausted.

Although she had managed to suppress the chaotic qi enough for her to have a conversation and move around, it was still exhausting to do so. Laying down on her bed was a far easier thing to accomplish compared to sitting up.

"How long do you think it will take for you to recover?" Asking this as he noticed just how exhausting it was for her to move around, Xuan Hao could not help secretly wondering if her earlier fall from the bed had made her situation worse.

On second thought, it was rather unrealistic for someone in the Soul Ascension Realm to end up in such a state due to a small fall from a bed…

"I don't know but given the fact that the chaotic qi managed to spread throughout my entire body and makes up most of the qi present inside my dantian, it wouldn't surprise me if it took me a month or longer to fully recover…" Lifting her head just enough to make eye contact, Yi Min thought about something for a short moment before continuing. "But I doubt I could ask you to stay around for that long, you still have to look after your sect. Especially now that the surrounding empires are looking to invade the Sky Empire." "Not only that, but there is also the threat of the Frozen Wastelands. Although things have calmed down over the past few months, the situation across other empires bordering the Frozen Wastelands have only grown worse, I even heard about an empire far stronger than the Sky Empire falling to a terrifying demonic cultivator…" Showing an expression filled with fear as she said this, Yi Min rolled around in her bed to shake off the fear she felt after mentioning the situation with the Frozen Wastelands.

In a sense, one of the reasons why the surrounding empires had not yet decided to attack the Sky Empire was also because of the current situation in the Frozen Wastelands.

Even though the situation of the Frozen Wasteland had yet to truly affect the Sky Empire, it could only be considered a matter of time when looking at the seemingly endless number of demonic cultivators coming out of the Frozen Wastelands.

"Indeed, it is rather unfortunate that the Star Shattering Sect is located right next to the Frozen Wastelands. If something does end up happening, the Star Shattering Sect will likely be the first to suffer in the Sky Empire…" Remembering his past experience with the demonic cultivators trying to enter the Azure Sky Kingdom, Xuan Hao could not help smiling wryly as he said this.

The barrier he had created back then might be able to scare off the demonic cultivators below the True Demon Realm, but the moment a demonic cultivator in the True Demon Realm appeared, a large number of demonic cultivators would likely attempt to enter the Sky Empire again.

As for the other kingdoms of the Sky Empire bordering the Frozen Wastelands… Most of these kingdoms had already been reinforced by several Domain Lord Realm Experts and a large number of Nascent Soul Realm Experts before the imperial family went into hiding.

Even after the imperial family had disappeared these Domain Lord Realm Experts remained at the border to the Frozen Wasteland to prevent any demonic cultivators from entering the Sky Empire.

It was also because of this that the surrounding empires had not targeted these Domain Lord Realm Experts. After all, if they killed them, they would have to dispatch dozens of their own Domain Lords to deal with the constant influx of demonic cultivators trying to enter the Sky Empire and the surrounding empires.

In an odd twist of fate, this had caused the small kingdoms located around the border of the Frozen Wasteland to become one of the safest locations during the current tumultuous period that the Sky Empire was going through. Making it one of the most desired locations for people wanting to avoid the upcoming war to stay or keep their families during the chaos, some even choosing to join these kingdoms in an attempt to avoid fighting in the upcoming war.

As a result of this, the small kingdoms ended up growing at a speed that even made Elder Song back in the Star Shattering Sect amazed. At this point in time, one of the small kingdoms had even managed to produce a Domain Lord Realm Expert from the large quantity of resources flooding into them due to the presence of so many powerful cultivators. This essence is securely nested within the heart of Nøvlß¡n

The only reason why the Azure sky Kingdom had been left alone from this large influx of powerful cultivators was due to the presence of the Star Shattering Sect. Even if the Sky Empire had no idea about the Star Shattering Sect having someone in the Soul Ascension Realm yet, they had long since become fully aware of the fact that the sect was home to someone who had at least reached the Later Stages of the Domain Lord Realm…

Thinking about this, Xuan Hao could not help wondering if the Star Shattering Sect should begin trying to attract more experts to settle down in the territory of the Star Shattering Sect. Despite the fact that this would destabilize the territory of the Star Shattering Sect for some time, it should be helpful when it came to increasing the overall strength of the Star Shattering Sect as the different powers entering the territory of the Star Shattering Sect would inevitably end up becoming subordinate powers of the sect in the future. Whether or not they wanted to…

Whoosh~

Feeling like this should be a viable plan for increasing the strength of the Star Shattering Sect, Xuan Hao took out his communication talisman and informed Elder Song about right away. Hoping that the old man could finetune the idea and implement it in the best possible way.

Well, it should be time for me to get back to the sect. Even if the situation with the Frozen Wastelands have not affected the Star Shattering Sect, what Yi Min said make sense and it never hurt anyone to be-

"Ah! Now that I think about it, Yi Min, how are you going to protect yourself during your recovery with your formation gone?" About to turn around and leave Yi Min to recover by herself, Xuan Hao suddenly remembered the fact that the formation Yi Min used to protect her kingdom had been destroyed.

"Huh? Ah… I didn't think about that…" Caught off guard by the question, Yi Min suddenly realized that she didn't have any form of protection left after her formation was destroyed. Even if she did have a thousand different artifacts, she had no way to use any of them in her current state…

Although the muscular Domain Lord Realm Expert should be more than strong enough to keep the Iron Sky Kingdom stable without her present, there was no way for him to protect her if another Soul Ascension Realm Expert ended up appearing… And given the current state of the Sky Empire with the Soul Ascension Realm Experts from the surrounding empires roaming around the place, it was not too unlikely for another Soul Ascension Realm Expert to show up.

"Hm… For now, do you want to come with me to the Star Shattering Sect?" Thinking about the problem for a moment, Xuan Hao decided to suggest this. Feeling like it would be a good opportunity for Yi Min to recover faster in the rich environment of the Shattered Star Peaks while at the same time getting to know the Star Shattering Sect.

"Huh? Go to your sect?"

"Yes, even if you leave your kingdom for a month or two, I doubt anything will happen unless one of the surrounding empires decides to invade the Sky Empire and ends up targeting your kingdom for the spiritual metal mine, but… If that really does happen, you won't be able to do anything about it in your current state."

"That… Indeed, I won't be able to do anything even if I remain here. On the other hand, my presence might even attract the attention of any Soul Ascension Realm Experts passing through the area." Muttering this to herself, Yi Min soon came to an agreement with Xuan Hao that she would leave with him to stay in the Star Shattering Sect for the next few months while she recovered.

The only thing she had to do before leaving was inform the muscular Domain Lord Realm Expert about her leaving and instruct him on what to do during her absence, while also making sure that he would just tell the rest of the people in the kingdom that she was in secluded cultivation to recover from the fight during her absence.

The fewer people knew about her absence, the better, as her disappearance would inevitably cause some people to become greedy for the spiritual metal below.

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Chapter 1061 Journey Back

"Wh-what am I supposed to do now!?" Following Yi Min leaving together with Xuan Hao to recover the Shattered Star Peaks, the muscular Domain Lord Realm Expert could not help loudly exclaiming to himself as he looked down at all the different materials, he had prepared for repairing the formation.

Now that his master had left, these materials would just end up gathering dust on their own, as he had no way to repair the formation without the guidance of his master. Not only that, but without his master around, he understood that some people might start to grow suspicious and start thinking about ways to take advantage of the situation to benefit themselves.

"I… I won't get a moment of rest before master returns…" Muttering this to himself as he looked out in the direction where the different important families and clans that had helped Yi Min manage the Iron Sky Kingdom in the past, the muscular Domain Lord realized that he would be visiting them a lot of the next few months.

Even if these families and clans had supported the Iron Sky Kingdom without showing any hint of greed or disloyalty, he knew that they were just lacking an opportunity. Especially the younger generations, who had been punished by him and Yi Min's guards whenever they caused trouble.

…

At the same time that the muscular Domain Lord was lamenting over being left to deal with the management of the Iron Sky Kingdom for the next few months, Yi Min was curiously observing the ground below her while being caried by Xuan Hao.

During their journey to the Star Shattering Sect, Yi Min decided to make full use of her time to observe the different kingdoms that they passed through. Observing their strength and how stable these kingdoms were.

As a result of this, she noticed that most of these kingdoms were in a state of instability or had directly collapsed into a gathering of smaller powers vying for power over the territory.

The reason for this was not too hard to find, as she noticed several people from different empires creating discord between the powers of these different kingdoms. Doing their best to create instability that would destroy these kingdoms from the inside.

Although this would not influence the Sky Empire in the short term, the chaos starting in the border regions of the empire would inevitably end up spreading towards the core region where the more powerful kingdoms were located. Giving these empires a chance to swoop in and take over a large chunk of territory without much resistance.

At least for now, it looked like kingdoms with Domain Lord Realm Experts, or a lot of Peak Nascent Soul Realm Experts had managed to escape this chaos for now, but… It would only be a matter of time before they would also be targeted.

"Hm? Are we inside the territory of the Star Shattering Sect?" Because of this, Yi Min immediately noticed when the chaotic atmosphere below her changed into a far more peaceful one with close to no people running around causing problems.

"Yes, this can be considered the current borders of the Star Shattering Sect. Although, with Elder Song around, I doubt it will remain the border for long…" Nodding his head in response, Xuan Hao could not help giving Yi Min a curious look. Silently wondering how she knew they had entered the territory of the Star Shattering Sect. After all, it was not like there was any border patrol or branch sect nearby for her to identify.

Not paying any attention to the curious look from Xuan Hao, Yi Min was instead busy observing the land below. The obvious change after entering the territory of the Star Shattering Sect made her curious about how the Star Shattering Sect managed its territory. Especially given that the current place they were flying over should not have been part of the Star Shattering Sect's territory for more than a few months.

"How did you manage to stabilize the territory so quickly? Shouldn't it have been a kingdom at war with you only a few months earlier?" Not able to contain her curiosity, Yi Min turned away from the ground below and stared directly up at Xuan Hao.

"The kingdom below is…" Hearing what Yi Min said, Xuan Hao turned his attention towards the kingdom below. Not taking long to identify the kingdom as the Cloud Sky Kingdom. The kingdom where Ji Yichuan, the former demonic cultivator had ended up settling down after joining the Flowing Cloud Sect.

"It should be the Cloud Sky Kingdom; it has been under the Star Shattering Sect for a few years already. Not to mention, it willingly came under the Star Shattering Sect. If the Star Shattering Sect couldn't even manage a place that willingly came to our side, it would be quite an embarrassing ordeal…" Saying this, Xuan Hao could not help chuckling a bit at the surprised expression on Yi Min's face. Clearly, she did not expect that the kingdom below them was a kingdom that had willingly joined the Star Shattering Sect years ago. After all, she had only recently learnt about the Star Shattering Sect expanding into the surrounding kingdom. Not having learnt that the Star shattering Sect had already expanded years ago. Unravel the Unknown, Unleash the Unimaginable: NvεlB¡n.

At the same time, Yi Min also came to the realization that she had no idea how large the territory under the Star Shattering Sect was, nor did she have any idea just how strong it was. The only thing she had really learnt of the Star Shattering Sect was the fact that it was the sect that Xuan Hao was from and that was it…

In an instance, Yi Min's curiosity reached the peak as she could not wait to see the Star Shattering Sect.

…

Not flying too fast so as to let Yi Min take examine her surroundings with what little divine sense she could muster in her current state, the towering mountains of the Shattered Star Peaks soon became visible in the distance.

"Huh?"

Lifting her head to see the towering mountains of the Shattered Star Peaks appearing in the distance, Yi Min could not help asking this as she looked towards the nine mountains towering above the surrounding grass plains.

Although she had seen her fair share of large mountains when she wandered around during her earlier years, the Shattered Star Peaks were by far the tallest mountains she had ever seen. Especially the Main Star Peak that looked like it was piercing through the sky and reaching into the heavens above.

"Is that the Star Shattering Sect…?" Not knowing whether or not a sect could be built on top of mountains like that, Yi Min could not help hesitantly asking this as she kept her gaze focused on the towering mountains slowly growing larger in the distance.

"Yes, the mountains are known as the Shattered Star Peaks and the Star Shattering Sect is located at the peak of the Seventh Star Peak." Feeling an unknown sense of pride when he saw the amazed look on Yi Min's face, Xuan Hao smiled happily as he confirmed her doubts.

"To think a sect can be built in such a place… I never really understood why sects always chose to build on top of mountains instead of just staying on the ground. Even if there is less qi between heaven and earth, it can be made up for with the help of a qi gathering formation. Not to mention, its far easier to expand if one is located on the ground…"

"…"

Hearing what Yi Min said, Xuan Hao's earlier happiness disappeared as he was left speechless. Having no idea how to respond to what Yi Min said. In a sense, she was correct, the Star Shattering Sect would be able to expand faster on flat ground where there was no need to worry about running out of mountains to build on…

But thinking about it for more than two seconds, Xuan Hao realized that this would be impossible considering that the chaotic qi formation required the chaotic qi that was especially dense in the Shattered Star Peaks to function properly.

Then again, it still made him wonder why other sects decided to establish themselves on top of mountains instead of on the ground. Maybe it was just a cultural thing that sects had to be located somewhere with mountains or directly on top of a mountain…

"Oh!? You do have a city! I didn't even notice it before." Not aware of the fact that she had made Xuan Hao question the choice of sects to establish themselves on top of mountains instead of on the ground like most other powers did, Yi Min excitedly called out as she spotted the city located at the base of the Ninth Star Peak.

The city in question had been first established by the Flying Sword Sect long ago but following the Flying Sword Sect and the Spring Flower Sect merging together and moving their main sect to the Shattered Star Peaks, it had undergone a process of rapid development. In the end, it had now become a massive city housing over a million people. Most of which were related to the Star Shattering Sect in one way or another.

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Chapter 1062 Past Incident in the Blue Sea Empire...

Landing on the ground just a short distance away from the city, Xuan Hao didn't carry Yi Min all the way back to the Star Shattering Sect as she wanted to explore the city before she entered the Star Shattering Sect and began her process of recovery.

Although… Because Yi Min was still too weak to walk on her own, he still had to carry her while they made their way around the city. Exploring the different important locations inside the city.

At least he could still use his domain to make them invisible to the people wandering the busy streets of the city. Even if not everyone in the Star Shattering Sect knew about his appearance, a lot of people had still seen him before. Especially after the large sect meeting with the different subordinate powers that had taken place not too long ago.

During the meeting, Elder Song had wanted him to appear as a way to both intimidate and inspire these different subordinate powers and as result of this, most of the elders in the sect knew what he looked like. Not to mention, quite a few disciples had learnt from him in the past.

With this in mind, he would end up in a rather embarrassing situation if any of the disciples or elders happened to pass by and see him carry Yi Min around while she was acting like an excited child exploring the city.

"I didn't expect for there to be a branch from the Explorer Union in here, are you not worried about them being so close to your sect?" Just at this moment, Yi Min suddenly said this as she looked towards the branch of the Explorer Union located in the core of the city close to the path leading up the Ninth Star Peak and into the Star Shattering Sect.

"What do you mean? Is there a reason why I should worry about them? The strongest person present in this branch is only at the Peak of the Nascent Soul Realm, what can someone like that possibly do?" Hearing what Yi Min said, Xuan Hao could not help asking this.

Even if the strength of the person in charge of the Explorer Union had been replaced by someone stronger after the Star Shattering Sect had settled down and decided to develop the city, this person had only reached the Peak of the Nascent Soul Realm and had absolutely no way to threaten the Star Shattering Sect with his strength.

Not only that, but he had never heard about the Explorer Union fighting anyone other than the times that someone had been stupid enough to try and destroy one of their branches. On the other hand, the presence of a branch from the Explorer Union helped increase the number of cultivators visiting the city it was placed in and helped the overall development of the area with a flow of new goods and resources coming from both the Explorer Union and the cultivators.

"I guess you aren't that familiar with the Explorer Union… Although they are neutral most of the time and don't involve themselves in any conflicts unless necessary, the same cannot be said if a ruin or an unexplored region is involved.

Given how special the Shattered Star Peaks are from what little I can see from down here, it will only be a matter of time before one of the higher ups from the Explorer Union shows up and asks to explore the place.

Considering that its essentially your sects main base, I doubt you would want people from the Explorer Union starting to explore the Shattered Star Peaks…"

"This… Would they really do something like that…?" Hearing what Yi Min said, Xuan Hao could not help showing a somewhat shocked expression on his face as he asked in a doubtful voice.

No matter what, he could not imagine that the Explorer Union would show up and ask to explore what was essentially the main sect of the Star Shattering Sect.

"Yeah… Unfortunately, it is something they might do. For example, do you know about the Blue Sea Empire?"

"Yes, I have visited one of their cities not too long ago."

"I see, did you notice any branch of the Explorer Union inside that city?"

"Yes, I saw one and it specialized in selling alchemy related things. If I'm not wrong there should be a larger one located at the core of the city, but I didn't take the time to visit it." Not understanding what Yi Min was trying to get at, Xuan Hao could only answer with a somewhat confused expression on his face.

"Hehe~ Outside of that, I believe that you shouldn't have seen any of the all-too-common explorers from the Explorer Union during your time inside the city... Right?"

"Yes?" Remembering how he had indeed not seen any people from the Explorer Union outside of the people working inside the alchemy related branch and the powerful expert he had sensed in the main branch of the city; Xuan Hao could not help feeling that it was indeed odd that he hadn't spotted any of the usual explorers that should have been present inside such a large city.

Even when looking at the city below the Ninth Star Peak that they were currently inside of, it was easy to spot someone from the Explorer Union walking past them every now and then.

"Hehe~ You noticed! Indeed, the Explorer Union does not have any real operations inside the Blue Sea Empire outside of a few treasure halls and other shops. Not only that, but any member of the Explorer Union entering the Blue Sea Empire will be noted down and watched closely when they get anywhere near the capital city of the Blue Sea Empire! Are you curious? Do you want to know why?"

"…"

Ignoring the somewhat excited expression on Yi Min's face as she said this, Xuan Hao could not help feeling his expression darken. Remembering how he had introduced himself as someone from the Explorer Union when confronted by the border guard. Even allowing her to record his aura while thinking that it shouldn't be a problem given the Explorer Union being a neutral force that existed all across the continent.

However, from the way Yi Min was talking about it, it was obvious that something had happened between the Explorer Union and the Blue Sea Empire in the past. Meaning that the identity he had given to the border guard might end up causing him problems if he visited the Blue Sea Empire in the future…

"Hm? Are you not curious…?" Seeing Xuan Hao remaining silent with a rather depressed look on his face, Yi Min curiously poked his face in an attempt to get a reaction.

"Huh? Ah… I was just thinking about how I might have used the identity of someone from the Explorer Union to enter the Blue Sea Empire back then…"

"Ah… That is… Troublesome…"

"Indeed, it is… So, what is the reason for there to be no explorers from the Explorer Union present inside the Blue Sea Empire?" Feeling a bit depressed over learning that he might have accidentally ended up creating a problem for himself in the future, Xuan Hao pulled away the curious finger that was still actively poking him without showing any signs of stopping what it was doing. At this point, he wanted to know just what had ended up happening between the Explorer Union and the Blue Sea Empire.

"S-sorry about that…" Feeling that the chaotic qi might also be affecting her state of mind, Yi Min blushed in embarrassment at being caught red-handed doing such a thing before quickly apologizing. "Ehm… The reason why the Blue Sea Empire and the Explorer Union are not getting along is actually rather simple.

As you should know, the Blue Sea Empire got its name from the massive inland sea that the capital city is located in the middle of… And the Explorer Union really wanted to explore this inland sea. Not just the sea but everything inside of it. Including the location where the capital city is located…"

"They…"

"Yes… They decided to send a force to explore the entire capital city of the Blue Sea Empire. Not only that, but the experts they send over happened to break into the main palace in the center of the capital when the emperor at the time was having an intimate… Meeting… With one of his concubines…

From what I hear, a massive battle broke out following this. Resulting in almost every single one of the Explorer Union's branches in the Explorer Union being thrown out. In the end, they have only recently been allowed to return in some capacity to do trade after a new emperor ascended the throne and the old one retreated to cultivate in seclusion…"

"…" This essence is securely nested within the heart of Nøvlß¡n

Listening to what had happened between the Explorer Union and the Blue Sea Empire in the past, Xuan Hao understood why Yi Min thought it would not be a good idea to have the Explorer Union anywhere near the Shattered Star Peaks.

Not only because it would be best to avoid what had happened to the former emperor of the Blue Sea Empire, but also because there were some things, he didn't want others to find out about on the Shattered Star Peak, like the divine stones on the Second Star Peak or the things hidden on the Main Star Peak.

Although he could stop them with the chaotic qi formation, it would be better if he could avoid any form of confrontation with the Explorer Union. After all, it was a terrifying force that covered the entire continent.

Only a powerful empire like the Blue Sea Empire, with several experts in the Earth Immortal Realm and possibly experts beyond that, had the chance to fight back against such a terrifying force.

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Chapter 1063 Reaction From the Forces of the Sky Empire

"I never expected the history between the Explorer Union and the Blue Sea Empire to be this complicated. If I had known about this earlier, I would not have introduced myself as someone from the Explorer Union…" Muttering this to himself as Yi Min had finished her explanation of what had happened between the Blue Sea Empire and the Explorer Union in the past, Xuan Hao could only shake his head in regret over not having known about this sooner.

"I think you should be fine, I never heard about the Blue Sea Empire attacking any of the individual explorers from the Explorer Union who visits the Blue Sea Empire from time to time. Although… I would recommend not going anywhere near the capital city." Understanding what Xuan Hao was thinking about, Yi Min decided to jump in and reassure him that he shouldn't worry too much about it.

Even if the two major powers had fallen out with each other, the fight was mostly between the different higher ups and wouldn't involve the weaker members of the two powers unless they went to war with each other again.

"I see, that's great…" Feeling an unknown sense of relief was over him as he heard what Yi Min said, Xuan Hao glanced towards the branch of the Explorer Union located almost right next to the path leading up the Ninth Star Peak.

In the future, he would have to discuss this matter with Elder Song and make plans for moving this branch as far away from the Shattered Star Peaks as possible. Maybe even adapting the same methods of the Blue Sea Empire and only allowing the business part of the Explorer Union to enter the territory of the Star Shattering Sect. The debut release of this chapter happened at Ñøvl-B1n.

But then again, doing something like that would undoubtedly end up angering the Explorer Union. Resulting in some kind of retaliation… And considering that he already had to worry about the Heavenly Dragon Temple, he didn't want to end up also having to deal with the Explorer Union.

At the very least, it would have to wait until the matter with the Heavenly Dragon Temple was dealt with and the Star Shattering Sect grew stronger. For now, the most he could do was pray that the Explorer Union wasn't interested in the Shattered Star Peaks.

At least for the past thousand years that the Flying Sword Sect had been in charge of the Shattered Star Peak, the Explorer Union had never taken an interest in the Shattered Star peaks…

"Hm~? Already thinking about a way to get rid of that branch? Hehe, I did the same back when I learnt about this. The only problem is, once a branch of the Explorer Union is established, it's close to impossible to force them to leave. In my humble opinion, your best choice would be to use an excuse like building a new and more grand entrance for your sect to move them to the edge of the city." Seeing the thoughtful expression on Xuan Hao's face as he looked in the direction of the Explorer Union branch, Yi Min could not help chuckling to herself as she said this.

Remembering the struggle, she had gone through to push the Explorer Union inside her capital far away from her palace as possible. Not wanting to have someone suddenly sneaking around to palace under the guise of wanting to investigate the core of the spiritual metal mine located directly below the palace.

"I will have to consult some of the other elders about this first and have them decide on a solution. If you want to, I think they would be happy to have your assistance in the matter when the time comes. After all, you are far more experienced in dealing with the Explorer Union from what you said."

"Hm… That's fine with me. Especially considering that I will be staying at your sect for the foreseeable future." Nodding her head in response to this, Yi Min didn't see anything wrong in helping the Star Shattering Sect deal with the Explorer Union. On the other hand, she saw this as a good opportunity to repay the Star Shattering Sect for letting her stay in their main sect to recover.

"Great!" Smiling happily upon hearing this, Xuan Hao understood that this would not only be a great help to the Star Shattering Sect when it came to dealing with the matter regarding the Explorer Union, but it would also be a good chance for Elder Song to work his magic and show off his skills.

In the end, Xuan Hao also had his own plans for taking Yi Min back to the Star Shattering Sect… And that was to recruit her to join the Star Shattering Sect together with her Iron Sky Kingdom.

Even when the spiritual metal mine in the Azure Sky Kingdom still under development was fully developed, the overall output of spiritual metal in the mine below the Iron Sky Kingdom would still be higher. Not to mention the Tetonite Ore Deposit that was also located beneath the Iron Sky Kingdom.

Outside of this, there was also the fact that she was someone in the Soul Ascension Realm.

No matter what, by the time Yi Min fully recovered and dealt with the chaotic qi in her dantian, he planned for her to become a member of the Star Shattering Sect!

…

"WHAT!? Are you telling me that those two died together with the cardinal?! Not only that, but you are even telling me that Yi Min broke through to the Soul Ascension Realm?!"

At the same time Xuan Hao began making their way up the Ninth Star Peak in the direction of the Seventh Star Peak, a loud roar filled with anger, killing intent and more importantly, fear, echoed out from one of large noble families. The person in question who had just screamed out was none other than the current family head of the noble family that one of the two Soul Ascension Realm Experts following behind the cardinal belonged to.

Given that this was the only Soul Ascension Realm Expert in this noble family, his death also symbolized the death of this noble family in the eyes of the other noble families and strong powers who still had Soul Ascension Realm Experts backing them.

Even if they could survive the current chaotic situation that the Sky Empire was going through, they would undoubtedly end up being suppressed by the others. Only if they could give birth to a new Soul Ascension Realm Expert would they have a chance to regain the lost status and have the ability to discuss with the other powerful forces of the Sky Empire.

The power that the other Soul Ascension Realm Expert who had followed the cardinal was also in a similar state of panic and despair, also having realized that they would no longer have the ability to be considered a peak power inside the Sky Empire any longer.

However, different from the noble family, this power at least had someone in the Peak of the Domain Lord Realm to back them up and keep their situation from deteriorating too much…

"The… Cardinal died…" Similar to the two who had lost their Soul Ascension Realm ancestors, the current Archbishop present inside the Cult of the Scarlet Moon could not help showing a panicked expression on his face as he muttered this to himself.

Although the Cult of the Scarlet Moon still had a way to promote a new cardinal now that the current one had died, it would take time… And the Archbishop now in charge of this branch of the Cult of the Scarlet Moon understood full well that they didn't have time.

Not only was there the impending invasion of the surrounding empires, but there was also the Church of the Plague God…

By far, the most dangerous among these two for the continued existence of the Cult of the Scarlet Moon inside the Sky Empire was the Church of the Plague God, as they would undoubtedly take advantage of this situation to try and take over everything that was under the Cult of the Scarlet Moon inside the Sky Empire.

Even if the archbishop tried to contact his superiors for support, he understood that it might take years for them to show up… And that was only if they decided to send someone over. In the worst-case scenario, they might think it would be too much of a waste of time and effort to continue trying to reestablish a branch in the chaotic Sky Empire.

If that ended up happening…

"Haaa… I hope it doesn't come to that…"

Remembering how the Cult of the Scarlet Moon dealt with failures that directly harmed the faith gathering process, the archbishop could not help feeling a shiver run down his spine as he took out a communication talisman to order the members of the Cult of the Scarlet Moon to abandon anything that wasn't a core part of their faith collection in the Sky Empire. Meaning that they would focus all their power on trying to keep the three strongest and largest faith kingdoms intact, as it would barely qualify them to still be a functioning branch in the eyes of the larger Cult of the Scarlet Moon…

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Chapter 1064 Shocked Yi Min

"Hm!? Did we pass through a formation just now… And this qi…"

Passing through the chaotic qi formation, Yi Min could not help letting out a surprised voice as she felt the presence of qi between heaven and earth growing far denser compared to before- No, it could not simple be described as the amount of qi present growing denser. Instead, it would be more accurate to say that the quality of the qi present had also increased compared to outside the Shattered Star Peaks.

Even with her experience, she had never experienced such a good cultivation environment before. The only time she had gone anywhere near this good for cultivation was when she was younger and had just broken through to the Domain Lord Realm.

Back then, she had happened to chance upon a secret realm with a similar environment. However, it had only lasted for a few years before the secret realm ended up collapsing as a result of stimulating the qi between heaven and earth. This essence is securely nested within the heart of Nøvlß¡n

The experience of cultivating in such an environment for a few years had ended up allowing her strength to rapidly improve. Having helped her break through to the Second Stage of the Domain Lord Realm while also taking significant steps towards the Third Stage of the Domain Lord Realm.

If not for that chance encounter back then, she might not have been able to smoothly establish the Iron Sky Kingdom and later grow into one of the pinnacle existences of the Sky Empire.

"What kind of qi gathering formation is this powerful…" Muttering this to herself as she thought about this, she could not help looking back towards the place where she had felt them passing through some kind of formation just a short time earlier.

Although she couldn't see the formation in question, she knew it was there. Not only that, but she felt certain that the formation should have other uses than just gathering qi. The most obvious being protecting the Shattered Star Peaks from any outside force that might have an interest in attacking the Star Shattering Sect.

But if that was the case, the formation should be far beyond the strength of her formation back in the Iron Sky Kingdom…

Thinking up to this point, Yi Min could not help looking back up towards Xuan Hao with a somewhat suspicious look on her face.

No matter how powerful Xuan Hao was, he should still be someone in the Soul Ascension Realm, there should be no way for him to create such a powerful formation. Meaning… The Star Shattering Sect might be backed by a powerful power from the central part of the continent- At least that was what Yi Min wanted to believe…

Given her interactions with Xuan Hao so far, she was certain that he was not someone from the central part of the continent as his knowledge of the world was far too shallow for that. Even if he pretended to be someone from the Sky Empire that didn't have any knowledge about the central part of the continent, there was no reason for him to not know anything about the Sky Empire and need her help to learn about it…

Then… Did he just happen to find this powerful formation?

Only able to come up with this after close to five minutes of thinking about all sorts of ways that Xuan Hao might have managed to get his hands on such a powerful formation, Yi Min didn't notice the slightly awkward smile that had appeared on Xuan Hao's face.

"Yi Min… Is there perhaps something you want to say to me?"

"Huh?"

somewhat surprised voice as she stared blankly at him for a few seconds before a look of realization appeared on her face.

"This- I- No- There isn't anything, I-I was just thinking about something…" Trying her best to keep calm as she said this, Yi Min quickly stopped staring up at him and instead turned to look down at the ground with a somewhat flustered expression.

For the first time in her life, Yi Min had a feeling of wanting to dig a hole and hide away.

Unfortunately for her, she couldn't even walk properly in her current state and had to be carried. No matter how much she wanted to run away, there was no way for her to do so and she could only try her best to try and calm herself down.

"…"

Not understanding what was happening with Yi Min as she turned to look down at the path below them with a rather intense look in her eyes, Xuan Hao could not help wondering if she had noticed something special about the path. After all, it had survived for thousands of years. Maybe even longer than that.

Perhaps she found something special about the path and wanted to investigate it. Guess I should slow down a bit and give her a chance to properly examine it…

In the end, as Yi Min showed no intention of taking her eyes off the path and looked towards it with an almost spellbound look on her face, Xuan Hao decided to slow down his speed and give her a chance to properly examine whatever it was she had noticed about the path. …

WHY ON EARTH IS HE GOING SO SLOW!? IS HE DOING THIS ON PURPOSE TO TORTURE ME!?

Unaware of the reason behind Xuan Hao slowing down, Yi Min could not help screaming inside her head as they had still not reached the Seventh Star Peak after two hours of walking along the path.

Not only that, but she still felt a sense of unknown shame whenever she was about to turn around and ask Xuan Hao about his reason for slowing down. Resulting in her current predicament of continuing to stare at the path below while being slowly carried towards the Seventh Star Peak.

…

"We arrived, do you want to continue investigating the ancient path or do you want to enter the sect now?"

Arriving at the base of the Seventh Star Peak after a little over three hours of walking along the expanded ancient path going through the Shattered Star Peaks, Xuan Hao came to a stop just in front of the newer path leading up the Seventh Star Peak before asking this.

Given Yi Min was so focused on examining the ancient path without showing any signs of looking away, he felt like it was best to ask her in case she wanted to continue investigating the ancient path.

Considering that he was planning on having Yi Min join the Star Shattering Sect, he wouldn't mind staying with her for a few days as she investigated the ancient path.

Of course, there was also the fact that she might have discovered the reason why the ancient path had managed to remain even after thousands of years!

"Huh…?" Letting out a somewhat confused sound as she heard what Xuan Hao said, Yi Min could not help looking more closely at the path beneath her.

Did he really think the reason why she kept staring down at the path was because she wanted to investigate it? Not only that, but from what he said, the reason he slowed down should have been because he thought I was investigating the path… But… This can be considered better than him realizing what really happened…

"Yes! I want to enter the sect!" Deciding not to think too much about it, Yi Min decided to just pretend like she had really been investigating the path. Feeling that it would be better than Xuan Hao finding out she had been too embarrassed to turn around and face him after being caught staring directly at him for a rather long period of time.

"Great, I will take you to my palace for now, it's located close to the core of the sect and is by far one of the best locations to stay inside the sect. After that I will inform some of the elders about your presence and arrange for you to meet them when you recovered enough to walk around on your own again." Not feeling anything odd about the way Yi Min was acting, Xuan Hao just nodded his head before making his way up the Seventh Star Peak.

Whoosh~

Considering that it was already late and the number of disciples and elders around them had almost been reduced to none, he decided to undo the invisibility created by the domain before jumping into the air and making his way back to his palace. Not thinking that any of the disciples around would be able to see him.

"Ah? Is that Grand Elder Xuan!? But who is he carrying?"

Unknown to Xuan Hao, an older female disciple walking alongside a younger disciple happened to spot him on their way back to the sect from a trip to the spiritual herb fields at the Ninth Star Peak.

"Huh? You are right… And I don't know… Maybe someone got injured and he's carrying them back to the sect?"

"Hehe~ I don't think that's the case!"

"Senior sister? What do you mean?"

"Hehe~ Little junior brother, I think it would be best if we don't say these kinds of things out in public, why don't you come with this senior sister, and I will tell you in private…"

"Huh? Sure!"

Chapter 1065 Lover?

Following Xuan Hao carrying Yi Min back to his palace, he decided to give her one of the many empty rooms before returning to his room to cultivate. Intending to wait until the night passed before informing Elder Song and the rest of the elders about Yi Min presence. After all, even if most cultivators wouldn't sleep and instead spent their time cultivating during the night, it was still rather rude to show up when it was all dark outside.

Not to mention, it was also considered a rare period of rest for most cultivators who would spend their time during the day training their cultivation techniques or completing different missions for contribution points.

Whoosh~

With this in mind, Xuan Hao fully immersed himself in comprehending the Dao of Space as he waited for night to turn into day.

…

Early the next morning, Elder Song was curiously looking up at Yi Min after a simple introduction from Xuan Hao. Not having expected for him to appear at his doorstep with an unknown Soul Ascension Realm Expert when he was supposed to be cultivating in seclusion.

"So, Senior Yi here will be staying at the sect while recovering?"

"Yes, she will be staying here for a few months… And considering her experience, I think it would be a good idea for both of you to get to know each other. Especially concerning the matter with the Explorer Union that I mentioned to you earlier."

"Huh? Ah! Of course, I understand, I will make sure to seek Senior Yi's guidance when the time comes."

Hearing Xuan Hao's response to his simple question, Elder Song almost instantly realized the real reason behind what he was saying as he nodded his head in agreement.

I never thought Xuan Hao would actually be trying to recruit a Soul Ascension Realm Expert… Hehe, if this is successful, not only will the strength of the Star Shattering Sect increase, but we will also have the Iron Sky Kingdom under our control!

Silently thinking this to himself as he looked up at Yi Min with an increasingly kind expression on his face, Elder Song prepared himself to do anything in his power to draw Yi Min into the Star Shattering Sect and make sure she joined them.

After all, even though the Iron Sky Kingdom was located rather far away from the Star Shattering Sect at the moment, it was only a matter of time before the Star Shattering Sect expanded enough to border the Iron Sky Kingdom. Not to mention, the large amount of spiritual metal and weapons produced by the Iron Sky Kingdom was sure to increase the speed at which the Star Shattering Sect could expand.

Even by moderate estimates, it would decrease the time that the Star Shattering Sect needed to expand to the borders of the Sky Empire's core territory by at least a dozen years. Maybe even more when considering they would also be gaining the assistance of the different experts of the Iron Sky Kingdom.

"Thank you, I will be looking forward to our future cooperation, Elder Song."

Not at all aware of the secret conspiracy brewing behind the scenes to try and make her and her kingdom part of the Star Shattering Sect, Yi Min happily smiled at Elder Song as she said this. Part of her looking forward to exploring the Star Shattering Sect when she recovered enough to start walking around on her own again.

With that in mind, she was at least thankful that they could have their current conversation while she sat down on a small chair that had been located next to the entrance of Elder Song's courtyard…

"Hehe, I'm also looking forward to our future cooperation. By the way, I'm rather curious about your kingdom and…"

As the conversation slowly turned into Elder Song asking Yi Min about different things concerning the management of the Iron Sky Kingdom.

Considering that both Yi Min was the ruler of a kingdom and Elder Song was the main person in charge of the management of the Star Shattering Sect, both of them got along quite well as they found a common ground on their interest in the management of their respective kingdom and sect.

Like this, a few hours quickly flew past with Xuan Hao using most of the time quietly listening in on the two from the side. Making sure that nothing disturbed the two, as it was beneficial to his overall goal if Yi Min could befriend more people in the sect outside of himself.

"… And that is how I prefer to punish people going against the sect laws. Although your method of throwing them into the mines for hard labor for a few months also seems like a good punishment. Hm… Maybe I might also suggest that as a punishment in the future…" "Haha, I think that would be a great idea. After all, your sect doesn't lack any mines from what I know. Having quite a few spirit stone mines scattered all over the place." "Hehe, indeed. Hm? Looks like it's already quite late and the management elders will start to worry if I don't show up soon… Senior Yi, it was a pleasure talking to you, but it looks like I will have to get going if I want the sect to continue operating normally."

"No problem, we can always chat again in the future when you have time."

As the conversation between the two came to an end with Elder Song realizing how late in the morning it had become, Elder Song quickly sped off in the direction of a small gathering hall located not too far away where the elders in charge of the sect's management had gathered together for an early morning meeting. Unravel the Unknown, Unleash the Unimaginable: NvεlB¡n.

Although, because of Elder Song, it looked like it was going to be a late morning meeting instead of an early morning meeting…

"Should we get going?"

Seeing Elder Song disappearing, Xuan Hao turned to ask Yi Min who was looking in the direction of Elder Song with a rare sense of admiration present in her eyes.

"Yes, the faster I can recover, the better." Nodding her head as she said this, Xuan Hao gently scooped her up and took her back to his palace where she settled down inside of her room and began her process of recovery.

…

"Who is the new person staying in the palace? A new disciple?"

"I don't think so. From what I could see, it seemed like her strength is far stronger than ours. Not only that, but even the Sect Master and Grand Elder Shu Yao is nowhere near the pressure I feel when looking at her!"

"Hm… It might be a friend of master who is visiting the sect."

"That's unlikely, have you ever seen master bring any friends before? Does master even have any friends outside of the elders?"

"Ah… Indeed, master has never brought any friends over before…"

As Yi Min stayed inside the palace and focused on recovering her strength over the next few days, it did not take long before Xuan Hao's disciples discovered her and began trying to figure out who she was and where she had come from.

"Maybe its master's lover!"

In the end, it was the simple guess from Mui that ended up making the other three momentarily freeze on the spot.

"Indeed… She might be master's dao companion…"

"This… Maybe we should try and ask Elder Song to be sure first, he might know more about this…"

As Chu Yang and Qing Yi began wondering out loud if what Mui had said was really the case, they both looked at each other for a short moment before dashing out of the palace in the direction of Elder Song's courtyard.

"Ah! Wait for me!"

Not wanting to miss out on something that important, Bai Ning didn't waste a second as he chased after Chu Yang and Qing Yi. Leaving behind a confused looking Mui, who had yet to understand what was happening and why everyone had run off all of a sudden.

"Why did everyone run away… Hm… I should go and ask the big sister if she really is master's lover!" Muttering this to herself as she looked in the direction that the three had run in, Mui didn't stand around for long as she soon made her way in the direction of Yi Min's room. Intending to find out if she was really her master's lover!

…

"Hey, have you heard? Apparently Grand Elder Xuan…"

"Wha-!? Really!?"

"Yes! I heard it from one of the Grand Elder's personal disciples just earlier. Apparently, they even went to Elder Song to confirm it!"

"Now that I think about it, I think I heard some disciples talk about something like this earlier…"

Following Xuan Hao's three oldest disciples making their way over to Elder Song to get a clarification on their master's relationship with Yi Min, they happened to accidentally spread the news to some of the curious disciples who had come up to ask them what they were up to after seeing their somewhat flustered appearances.

As a result, a wave of rather interesting rumors pertaining to Xuan Hao and Yi Min began spreading throughout the Star Shattering Sect…

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Chapter 1066 Unrest, Start of War...

As Yi Min settled down in the Star Shattering Sect and managed to recover the ability to walk around without any help, it did not take long before she began getting acquainted with the different elders of the sect.

At the same time, she also used some of her time to explore the Star Shattering Sect by herself. Ending up rather surprised after finding out about the existence of the winged lion demon beast that was lazing around not too far away from the Seventh Star Peak.

Even if she had expected to find other Domain Lord Realm Experts inside of the Star Shattering Sect, she had never expected to find a demon beast. Not only that, but the demon beast had actually reached the Peak of the Domain Lord Realm!

If not for the fact that she had already broken through to the Soul Ascension Realm, she doubted that she would have been able to win against such a powerful demon beast without the assistance of her formation back in the Iron Sky Kingdom.

Even more surprising than that, she found out that the demon beast had not recently been accepted into the Star Shattering Sect but had instead been around for several years already. Meaning that it was likely that Xuan Hao had managed to subdue the demon beast before he had broken through to the Soul Ascension Realm.

Considering that a demon beast would normally be a bit stronger than a human at the same realm due to their powerful physical bodies, she could easily guess just how strong Xuan Hao was for him to be capable of subduing such a powerful demon beast in the Domain Lord Relam.

"Hm…? Why is it just laying around?"

However, after observing the majestic demon beast for a few hours, she was shocked to discover that the winged lion demon beast spent most of its time just sleeping in the sun on a large warm rock while having the disciples of the sect come over with spirit stones and other foods for it. Even if demon beasts would normally spend most of their time laying around, they would at least be cultivating in their own way to increase their strength during this time.

Looking at the winged lion demon beast, it didn't even seem to be doing this and was indeed just sleeping or eating all the time.

Maybe all he needed to do to subdue it was offering a place to sleep and food to eat…

Thinking this to herself as she looked towards the winged lion demon beast, Yi Min felt that she understood how Xuan Hao had managed to subdue such a powerful demon beast and have it become part of the Star Shattering Sect. Not wasting too much time observing the winged lion demon beast after she came to this realization, Yi Min went around and saw the different important locations of the Star Shattering Sect. From the Qi Spring Lake located at the center of the sect that made the density of qi to the Grand Mission Pavilion that had a constant flow of disciples entering and leaving at all times, Yi Min only felt more impressed the more she found out about the Star Shattering Sect. Especially the Combat Hall.

Although the place didn't seem that impressive on the surface as it was just a place for the disciples and elders to practice their combat techniques, the same could not be said after she personally entered one of the rooms of the Combat Hall.

Almost instantly, she was taken aback by the fact that the space inside of one of the rooms was far larger than it seemed on the outside. Showing off the Star Shattering Sect's mastery over space.

But this was not what caused Yi Min to admire the Combat Hall. After all, there was a fair number of powerful experts in the Sky Empire that could create their own secret realm with enough resources, let alone expand space inside a room with the help of a formation.

Instead, the thing that caused Yi Min to admire the Combat Hall was the fact that the environment inside of these rooms could change according to the needs of the disciple or elder using them. From a volcanic area filled with fire qi to a blank empty ocean filled to the brim with water qi. Allowing them to fully use some more specialized techniques that could only show off their full power in these kinds of environments.

Of course, outside of that, there was also the fact that the rooms of the Combat Hall were durable, to the point that it gave her a feeling that she wouldn't even be able to destroy one of them after she recovered her strength.

This fact alone was more than enough to make admire the Combat Hall while at the same time also wonder who in the Star Shattering Sect had managed to make such a building filled with countless different formations that even a First Tribulation Soul Ascension Realm Expert like herself couldn't break.

Given that she had already witnessed Xuan Hao's skill when it came to alchemy and the fact that the likelihood of him being even more skilled in the art of formations was incredibly low, Yi Min ended up concluding that there should be an incredibly skilled formation master in the Star Shattering Sect. Not only that, but maybe that formation master had also reached the Soul Ascension Realm!

"If that is really the case, I will have to reevaluate the strength of the Star Shattering Sect again…" Muttering this to herself as she left the Combat Hall, Yi Min soon left the place. Finding herself wandering back towards the center of the sect where Xuan Hao's palace was located.

…

As Yi Min returned to the palace and focused her attention back on getting rid of the chaotic qi present inside her dantian after looking around the sect and meeting a few of the sect elders, Elder Song began to move forward with his plans for stabilizing the new territory that had come under the Star Shattering Sect following the surrender of the last remaining kingdom standing against them.

Although it wouldn't be a difficult thing to accomplish with the Star Shattering Sect's current strength and the fact that they now also had someone in the Soul Ascension Realm to crush any ambition that some of the remaining powers inside these kingdoms might have, it would still take years before these kingdoms could be considered to officially have been integrated into the Star Shattering Sect.

Outside of that, there was also the increasing unrest that had begun spreading through the Sky Empire. Even though it had yet to affect the Star Shattering Sect due to the strength of the Star Shattering Sect serving as a deterrent for anyone wanting to start up trouble inside their territory, it would only be a matter of time before the surrounding empires set their sights on the Star Shattering Sect.

After all, even if they heard about the presence of a Soul Ascension Realm Expert in the Star Shattering Sect, it would be far from enough to stop them. In a sense, the only reason why the Star Shattering Sect had been ignored by these empires was because it was located at the border of the Sky Empire, while also bordering the Frozen Wastelands.

In case something ended up happening with the Sky Empire's border with the Frozen Wastelands, one of the first places affected would be the Star Shattering Sect. If there was a Soul Ascension Realm Expert there, it would be beneficial for them, as he would draw the attention of the demonic cultivators away from the rest of the Sky Empire. Potentially giving them enough time to destroy and divide the Sky Empire before the demonic cultivators managed to reach the core region of the Sky Empire.

Because of this, a month slowly passed with Elder Song sending out countless elders to stabilize the new territory of the Star Shattering Sect, while the situation in the Sky Empire continued to grow more chaotic with each passing day.

However, this did not last for long, as the Onyx Empire who had been enemies with the Sky Empire for a long time, officially crossed the border and entered the Sky Empire.

…

"Huh!? The Onyx Empire crossed the border!?"

"Yes, I heard that they mobilized three Soul Ascension Realm Experts for this. Apparently intending to take over the Earth Hill Spiritual Metal Mines…" "This… Isn't most of our spiritual metal coming from that place following the Iron Sky Kingdom cutting off their supply of spiritual metal?"

Back in the capital city of the Sky Empire, this news spread like wildfire as everyone began panicking. Understanding that the surrounding empires had concluded that the imperial family and the old ancestor were indeed gone.

Not only that, but the Onyx Empire had decided to go after one of the most important mines in the Sky Empire from the start. Intending to take control of it before any of the other empires had the chance to…NvεlB¡n: Unleashing Imagination, One Read at a Time.

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Chapter 1067 Gathering of the Independent Sects

Following the invasion by the Onyx Empire and their seizure of the Earth Hill Spiritual Metal Mines that had only been protected by a few Domain Lord Realm Experts, the rest of the surrounding empires wasted no time in following in their footsteps. Each of them invading the Sky Empire from different directions as they seized different important resources close to their borders that they had been eyeing for a long time.

Still, none of them dared to move further inside the Sky Empire. Not wanting to be the first who ended up having to fight with the Soul Ascension Realm Experts hiding away inside the capital city of the Sky Empire.

After all, even if the strongest among these Soul Ascension Realm Experts had reached the Second Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm and had no way to compare to the peak experts of these empires who had at least reached the Fourth Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm, they still had more than enough numbers to make up for this.

Even if the attacking empire might still be able to win in the long run due to the presence of the peak expert, they would undoubtedly end up suffering a lot of losses. Giving the other empires an opportunity to sweep in and finish both of them.

However, this didn't mean that these empires had given up on trying to invade the core region of the Sky Empire and finish them off once and for all. Instead, it just meant to digest the territory they had conquered before deciding on their next plan of action.

Although this would take a bit longer than just directly rushing to the capital city to fight it out, it was far safer.

…

At the same time that news of the Onyx Empire invading the Sky Empire reached the core region of the Sky Empire, the people from the different independent sects had gathered together to discuss the matter in a remote place hidden away from any potential spies that might still be present inside their sects.

"So… What are we going to do? Are we going to try and support the Sky Empire or are we going to try and stay neutral during this conflict and not involve ourselves?" Seeing that no one said anything for a good five minutes after they had gathered together, Xu Bao was the first to speak up among the different sect representatives present. Breaking the eerie silence that had fallen upon the meeting before it even had a chance to start.

"This… According to the Sect Alliance that was set up by the imperial family before their disappearance, we are supposed to help out, but… Although we are supposed to help out the Sky Empire, we really have no reason to do so considering that the imperial family is gone.

Even if the other sects have all relocated to the capital city, the only reason they did so was because their masters commanded them to do so…" Hesitating for a moment before stepping forward to say this, one of the representatives didn't even bother hiding his intention to not join the war.

"""…"""

Hearing what he said, the other representatives from the independent sects didn't say anything as they all silently agreed with the statement.

Not to mention that the Sky Empire was outclassed by the large number of empires trying to invade them, but the imperial family had also disappeared and was nowhere to be seen.

Although they had been supported to some extend with different resources from the Sky Empire following the establishment of the Sect Alliance, it had only been in place for a few years and was far from enough to make them join a seemingly hopeless fight together with the people whom they considered to be their enemies.

Instead of this, everyone present felt that it would be far better for them to remain on the sidelines during the upcoming war and just go under whichever empire ended up in control of the territory that their sect was located on. At least this way, they would have a better chance at survival compared to if they joined the fight.

"By the way, now that we have all agreed that we won't be joining in on the upcoming war, does anyone know what the Star Shattering Sect is going to do? Senior Xuan did not seem to be present inside the capital city as far as I am aware, so his sect might also have decided to not join the war as well…"

As the conversation about what to do seemed to have silently concluded with everyone in silent agreement on not joining the war, one of the people present suddenly stood up and asked.

Considering that Xuan Hao and his sect was by far the strongest independent sect among the independent sects in the Sky Empire, it made sense to be curious about what their stance on the matter was.

"Hm… Indeed, I haven't heard anything about Senior Xuan recently. Maybe it would be a good idea for us to find out. After all, it seems like his sect should be far more powerful than any of us."

"From what I heard, it seems like the Star Shattering Sect is located somewhere at the border between the Frozen Wastelands and the Sky Empire, I haven't really heard much about the sect other than the fact that it should have only been created a little over a dozen years ago…"

"A dozen years ago!? Looks like the Star Shattering Sect is far more mysterious than I first thought…"

"Indeed, for it to have only been around for a few dozen years and be so strong, it's obvious that it should be a branch of an even more powerful sect or a sect who has only recently emerged from hiding. No matter what it is, the Star Shattering Sect might be far stronger than we first thought…"

As everyone present began sharing what little information they had about the Star Shattering Sect, they slowly became more and more shocked. Realizing that the Star Shattering Sect was far from a simple independent sect that just happened to produce a single powerful expert.

"…"

Hearing all of this, Xu Bao just silently smiled to himself as he thought about how he had long since realized that the Star Shattering Sect should be an ancient hidden sect from the ancient era. Although he was not certain at first. After looking into the Star Shattering Sect and finding out how they had seemingly just appeared out of nowhere on an ancient mountain range that had been uninhabitable before ended up fully convincing him that the Star Shattering Sect should be one of those legendary hidden sects. This essence is securely nested within the heart of Nøvlß¡n

As for the information floating around about the Star Shattering Sect being the combination of two smaller sects from a now gone kingdom, he didn't think too much about this, as it should just be a rouse created by this ancient hidden sect to conceal their emergence back into the world.

After all, how could two random sects from a border kingdom possibly produce a powerful expert like Xuan Hao?

Even if he had no idea just how strong Xuan Hao was, he estimated that he should at least have reached the Soul Ascension Realm. Possibly even having surpassed that and stepped into a higher realm!

"Ah! Everyone, I seem to have recently heard from one of my friends who visited the border of the Frozen Wasteland for some business, that the Star Shattering Sect had begun aggressively expanding in all directions around themselves.

Even more surprising than this, there were also rumors floating around that the Star Shattering Sect had someone in the Soul Ascension Realm presiding over them. Although I have no idea if this news is real…"

Just at this moment, one of the people present seemed to remember something as he loudly interrupted everyone present to say this.

"Soul Ascension Realm!? Are you sure about that!?"

"Yeah! If that is really the case, they might be strong enough to keep those empires away during the upcoming turmoil!"

Filled with doubt, everyone could not help turning towards the person who had just said that the Star Shattering Sect might have a Soul Ascension Realm Expert. Understandable considering that the independent sects in the Sky Empire had never produced any Peak Domain Lord Realm Experts, let alone someone in the Soul Ascension Realm.

"Yes! I'm certain. Although I didn't have time to confirm this news myself…" Nodding his head as he confirmed his earlier words, it did not take long for everyone present to start exclaiming loudly in surprise-

"Wow! This is amazing, maybe we-"

"Hahaha, a Soul Ascension Realm Expert among us independent sects! That is-"

"Maybe we can-"

"SILENCE!"

However, before things got out of hand, Xu Bao stepped in and silenced everyone before things had a chance to become too chaotic.

"I understand everyone's enthusiasm, but we still have to decided on how we are going to stay neutral during the upcoming turmoil. Even if we want to stay neutral and not involve ourselves, we have no way to guarantee that those empires will leave us alone."

"""…"""

Knowing what Xu Bao said was right, everyone's happy smiles soon turned into frowns as they understood that this was indeed the case.

Although they might want to stay neutral, there was no guarantee that those empires would just leave them alone and allow them to continue existing after getting rid of the Sky Empire, they needed something that could help ensure their safety during the upcoming conflict outside of just staying out of it…

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Chapter 1068 Decision of the Independent Sects

" Maybe we could band together with the Star Shattering Sect during the upcoming turmoil and increase our safety that way. Given that there might be someone in the Soul Ascension Realm in the Star Shattering Sect, those empires should not want to meaninglessly offend them if they decide to stay out of the conflict…"

Seeing that everyone was lost in their own thoughts trying to think up ways to ensure the safety of their sects, one of the younger sect masters present nervously stepped forward and suggested this.

"Band together with the Star Shattering Sect for safety…? Can we really do something like that? Not to mention the distance between our sects, but also the fact that the Star Shattering Sect might not want such a large influx of people in their territory…"

"Indeed, if it was me, I wouldn't allow so many people to enter the territory of my sect all of a sudden. Not to mention the fact that there might not be enough resources present to sustain all of our sects at the borders of the Sky Empire. After all, there is a reason why it's called the border region and only a few Domain Lord Realm Experts can be found there under normal circumstances…"

"Not only that, but it might result in a hostile relationship development as our sects take control of what is essentially their territory. No matter how good our current relationship is, none of us have any real relationship with the Star Shattering Sect outside of the brief interactions during the establishment of the Sect Alliance."

Hearing what the young sect master said, the older and more experienced seniors present didn't waste a second before voicing their doubts to the suggestion.

Even though the independent sects did stick together and had worked together for hundreds of years to fight off the different puppet sects established by the different powerful kingdoms of the Sky Empire, the same could not be said for the Star Shattering Sect that had appeared out of nowhere and had no significant contact with them outside of the establishment of the Sect Alliance. NvεlB¡n: Unleashing Imagination, One Read at a Time.

Compared to them, although the Star Shattering Sect was also an independent sect, it was strong enough to not care about the different kingdoms that had caused them to grow close and work together over the years.

For them to suddenly show up in the territory of the Star Shattering Sect and try to settle down in an attempt to avoid the chaos that would inevitably sweep through the Sky Empire… In the best-case scenario, the Star shattering Sect would ignore them and in the worst case, they might end up becoming hostile. Resulting in them not only having to worry about the invading empires, but also the Star Shattering Sect coming after them!

"Everyone, calm down. Even if those empires have started invading the Sky Empire, it will at least take a few years before they begin trying to invade the core region of the Sky Empire… And when that happens, I doubt they will have enough time to care about us if we don't join the Sky Empire in fighting them.

For now, I think the best course of action would be for one of us to head to the Star Shattering Sect and see if we can figure out a solution before, we start thinking about moving our sects into their territory without saying anything."

Having to step in once again as the people from the independent sects began growing unruly once again, Xu Bao reminded all of them about the fact that they still had a few years before they would have to face off against the invading empires.

Although moving their sects also took time, with every independent sect having at least one person at the Peak of the Nascent Soul Realm and the strongest one having Domain Lord Realm Experts leading them, it would not take more than a year for them to pack up and leave.

Of course, when the stronger sects finished moving, they could always have their Domain Lord Realm Experts come back and help the weaker sects.

In the end, it shouldn't take them more than a three or so years to relocate to the Star Shattering Sect. Even if the Sky Empire would undoubtedly be chaotic at that point in time, they were moving away from the core region of the Sky Empire and had several Domain Lord Realm Experts.

More than enough to stay safe against the large number of rogue cultivators and bandits that would inevitably appear to fish in troubled waters…

As everyone was thinking about what Xu Bao said, Elder Scarlet Flame, who had remained silent during the meeting so far, stepped forward. "Senior Xu, I think you should be the one to go to the Star Shattering Sect."

"Hm? Why do you say so? I'm by far the strongest among all of us, if I go, it might give those people now huddled up in the capital city a chance to strike. Even if they obediently followed their masters command, there is no saying whether or not they will stay in the capital after learning about my absence…" Frowning visibly as he heard what Elder Scarlet Flame said, Xu Bao didn't agree and instead questioned him.

"I agree with what you say, but… You are the person who has the best relationship with the elder from the Star Shattering Sect. If you go, there is a higher chance of succeeding."

"This…"

"Not to mention, if they really decide to leave the capital and try to destroy us during this chaotic time, I doubt the surrounding empires would stand still at a chance to kill so many enemy Domain Lords. Especially after they finished confirming the absence of the imperial family and the old ancestor..."

"Haah… Fine, I understand…"

Seeing Elder Scarlet Flame's unwavering expression and how the rest of the people present seemed to be silently agreeing with him, Xu Bao could only let out a sigh as he gave up. Understanding that everyone had silently decided that it was best to send him to the Star Shattering Sect for negotiations.

Considering that he was indeed the one who had the most interaction with Xuan Hao and was also a member of branch member of an ancient sect, he couldn't deny that he did indeed have the best chance in negotiating with the Star Shattering Sect.

After all, from what he knew through the ancient records and what his master had told him before passing away, the different ancient sects that had survived through the ancient era stood together and protected each other in times of need. If things really did end up getting troublesome, he could always try and leverage this to his advantage in trying to obtain a relatively safe place for him and the rest of the independent sects to stay during the upcoming chaos.

"Haha, I knew I could count on you. Don't worry about your sect, I will make sure to watch over it during your absence. If any of those cowardly old fossils appear, I will make to send them crying back to their master!" Laughing happily after Xu Bao agreed to go, Elder Scarlet Flame confidently assured him about the safety of his sect during his absence.

Considering that the Sunfire Sect he was from had two Domain Lord Realm Experts, he could afford to say this, as he could leave the protection of the Sunfire Sect to his wife, the sect master of the Sunfire Sect, who had also reached the Domain Lord Realm.

"If you say so, I feel more at ease. Now… Given that we don't have much time to waste, I will take my leave immediately." Shaking his head as he said this with a slight smile on his lips, Xu Bao didn't bother saying anything more as he directly turned around to leave-

Whoosh-!

Giving some of the weaker people at the Peak of the Nascent Soul Realm no time to react as he disappeared before they even had the time to comprehend how he had left.

"Hehe… Now that the old man left, why don't the rest of us come up with some plans on evacuating the core region? After all, we still need a proper plan to move so many people and things!" As Xu Bao left, Elder Scarlet Flame's happy expression almost instantly changed into a stern and authoritative one.

"""Yes!"""

Understanding that this matter was not something they could take lightly as it involved the survival of their sects, everyone solemnly nodded their heads in agreement.

Soon enough, they officially began discussing how they would move all of their disciples, elders, resources, and other important things to the Star Shattering Sect's territory.

No matter how they might think something like this was doable in three years with their current strength, they also understood that it would be far harder to accomplish than they might first think. Having no idea what kind of unexpected things might occur during their three year long journey…

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Chapter 1069 Stuck in the Capital City...

Following the independent sects deciding to start preparing to move their sects to the Star Shattering Sect, it did not take long before the rest of the sects in the Sky Empire took notice and began getting ready to scout out the situation for any opportunity to launch an attack during this process.

Unfortunately for them, even if they wanted to take advantage of this to launch an attack on them, the major powers in the capital city didn't want to see a large number of their Domain Lord Realm Experts leaving the capital city to deal with these few independent sects.

After all, even if these independent sects might seem strong in the eyes of the rest of the sects under the different kingdoms of the Sky Empire. In the eyes of the different Soul Ascension Realm Experts, they were not worth mentioning, let alone a big enough problem for them to risk the safety of their own Domain Lord Realm Experts. This essence is securely nested within the heart of Nøvlß¡n

If it had been before the invasion of the different empires, the situation might have been different, but now there could be Soul Ascension Realm Experts lurking around just outside the capital city. Waiting for anyone dumb enough to walk out of the area covered by the capital city during this period of time.

Luckily for the different independent sects, none of them were anywhere close to the capital city.

In a sense, this was due to the influence of the different sects under the major kingdoms preventing them from building their sects anywhere close to the capital city… And now, this fact allowed them to escape a possible attack from these different sects.

Not only that, but because these sects were forced to stay inside of the capital city, the relationship between them and the kingdoms above them began deteriorating. Soon resulting in a clear split between the Domain Lord Relam Experts belonging to the different kingdoms and the Domain Lord Realm Experts belonging to the sects.

In normal circumstances, these kingdoms would give them a lot of different resources to make sure they would be obedient and do what they said… But, with the situation in the capital growing worse as the resources available became less and less with each passing day, the sects no longer saw a reason to continue serving under these kingdoms.

Not only that, but with the invading empires taking over more and more territory, the resources available would continue to shrink in the foreseeable future. Giving these sects even less of a reason to continue staying inside the capital city.

If not for the fact that the kingdoms had the backing of the Soul Ascension Realm Experts in the capital, it would long since have caused the situation to reach a level where the Domain Lord Realm Experts from the different sects might start having thoughts about leaving the capital and cutting themselves off from these major kingdoms.

After all, when all things were considered, these sects were not truly a part of the Sky Empire and could at most be considered a faction associated with the Sky Empire through the Sect Alliance. Given that they didn't participate in the battles, these sects felt they would have a better time staying neutral like the independent sects had decided to do.

Unfortunately, it was already too late for them, as the Soul Ascension Realm Experts in the capital city didn't want to willingly allow so many Domain Lord Realm Experts to just leave and potentially join their enemies.

…

As the situation inside the capital city continued getting worse for the different sects who had been instructed to move their people into the capital city of the Sky Empire for protection, the Domain Lord Realm Experts of the sects gathered together in a small corner away from the rest of the people in the capital city.

"Haa… What are we supposed to do. If we just refused the invitation to come to the capital back then, we might have had a chance to avoid the upcoming battle…"

"Indeed, even if we are in the Domain Lord Realm, we will be reduced to nothing more than cannon fodder in a battle between Soul Ascension Realm Experts."

"You two are forgetting the fact that most of our resources were sized in a bid to ensure there would be enough if a possible siege of the capital ended up happening. Hmph! From what I saw, they just took them and used them on their own people without even thinking about the so-called siege of the capital that they talked about. If a siege really does end up happening, those people will be the first to run away…"

"But what are we supposed to do? Even if we want to do something about it, there is nothing we can do with our current strength. At most we will be able to complain away from them like we are doing now."

"""…"""

Not knowing what to say, everyone froze on the spot as before silently looking at each other helplessly.

Indeed, no matter how much they complained, there was nothing they could do with their current strength. At most they could complain in secret. Hoping that the people above them wouldn't learn about what they were saying and decide to punish them.

Leaving the capital city of the Sky Empire was far from something they could do even if they wanted to, the Soul Ascension Realm Experts would undoubtedly notice them the moment they tried to and would punish.

Not to mention, they still had a large number of disciples and elders inside the capital city. Although not all of them could be moved there in such a short period of time, the most important and strongest ones were all in the capital city.

If they did leave and managed to somehow succeed in escaping from the capital city, the people from the different kingdoms would undoubtedly take out their anger on their disciples and elders still left inside the capital city.

Even if some of them still wanted to run away, they also understood that the rest of the people present might report this meeting to those kingdoms in hopes of not being punished when someone decided to try and escape.

"Looks like we can only keep quiet for now and hope those empires decide not to attack the capital city and stops expanding after taking control of a few mines and spiritual herb fields…" Noticing the fear and nervousness present in everyone, one of the older elders present decided to end their little meeting with this as he turned around and left.

No matter how on edge everyone present was when thinking about the possibility of having to fight against someone in the Soul Ascension Realm to protect the capital city of the Sky Empire, he also understood that there was a chance those empires wouldn't go so far.

After all, dealing with the large number of Domain Lord Realm Experts and Soul Ascension Realm Experts currently inside the capital city of the Sky Empire was no simple matter. Even for someone who might have reached the Fourth Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm!

Whoosh-!

Whoosh-!

Whoosh-!

Following the words of the old elder, the rest of the people from the different sects also took their leave. Each of them understood that they might be forced to leave behind their people if they wanted to leave the capital city.

As for the possibility of the different empires leaving the capital city alone… None of them thought that this was a likely scenario. After all, the Soul Ascension Realm Experts staying alive might result in their current expansion into the Sky Empire being wiped out in the future when a powerful expert emerged.

…

"Ah! Someone left the capital city last night without being noticed before already having left the area under the protection of the capital city!"

"Huh!? Who was it!?"

"From what I heard; it was the Grand Elder of the Violet Mist Sect!"

"That is old news, I heard that it wasn't only the Grand Elder of the Violet Mist Sect, but also the sect master and several of their elders and most talented core disciples."

"Wow… Are they really planning to ditch everyone else and try to reestablish their sect outside the Sky Empire?"

"Who knows…"

Indeed, the next morning after the meeting between the different elders of the sects serving under the kingdoms. News of someone leaving the capital city spread through the city the next day.

"This isn't looking good for the Violet Mist Sect… I doubt those people will let them go after learning about this…" At the same time, the people from the other sects in the capita city began looking in the direction of the Violet Mist Sect. Understanding that it would only be a matter of time before someone showed up to punish them… And considering that this was the first time someone had fled from the capital city, they would undoubtedly make a spectacle out of it to warn anyone else having thoughts about running away.

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Chapter 1070 Unlucky Xu Bao

Following the first people belonging to the sects locked up in the capital city of the Sky Empire running away, it did not take long before more people began trying to run away without caring about the disciples and elders who had to remain in the capital city and would be punished.

In the end, close to half of the Domain Lord Realm Experts from these sects ended up escaping over the next few weeks, causing the Soul Ascension Realm Experts to jump in and ensure that the rest of them had no chance to run away. Killing one of the escaping Domain Lord Realm Experts as an example to the rest.

The main reason why they didn't do this sooner being that it would inevitably cause the morale of the rest of the Domain Lord Realm Experts to drop if they knew that they were not allowed to leave the capital city and might end up dead if they tried.

Although they had already been told that they could not leave the capital city, it was different when they saw a Domain Lord Realm Expert being executed for attempting to leave.

Be it the remaining Domain Lord Realm Experts of the sects or the Domain Lord Realm Experts from the different kingdoms. None of them dared to have any thoughts about trying to leave the capital city!

…

"This should be the start of the Star Shattering Sect's territory…"

At the same time that the situation in the capital of the Sky Empire became increasingly unstable following the death of the Domain Lord Realm Expert trying to leave the capital city, Xu Bao arrived at the edge of the Star Shattering Sect's territory with an exhausted look plastered all over his face.

Over the past few weeks, Xu Bao had been through several life and death situations during what he had thought to be a peaceful journey that should at most take a week.

From encountering a random demon beast at the Peak of the Domain Lord Realm that happened to have just woken up and was out looking for a light snack, to a small strike force of Domain Lord Realm Experts belonging to one of the invading empires who just happened to be about to cause chaos in the kingdom he was flying through.

No matter what it was, he seemed to have become a magnet for trouble over the past few weeks as he couldn't catch a single break. Even with his strength being comparable to the Late Stage of the Domain Lord Realm, he was still in half-dead state when he finally reached the borders of the Star Shattering Sect.

"Haaa… I hope I can reach the Star Shattering Sect without encountering any problems inside their territory…" Muttering this to himself as he stared down towards the small outpost bearing the symbol of the Star Shattering Sect located close to the border, Xu Bao didn't waste any time as he flew into the territory of the Star Shattering Sect.

Even if his current state was not optional, he also understood that any time wasted would increase the chances of the different independent sects being destroyed by anything from the sects under the major kingdoms to the people from the invading empires.

Screeeech-!

However, just at this moment, a terrifying high-pitched screech suddenly echoed out behind him as a bird the size of a small castle appeared behind him filled with killing intent as it stared directly towards him.

"This- How come this bird is still after me!? It's already been five days!" Recognizing the large bird as none other than the Peak Domain Lord Realm demon beast that he had encountered over five days earlier; Xu Bao could not help panicking as he wasted no time in increasing his speed and escaping in the direction of the Star Shattering Sect.

Although he really didn't want to show up with a demon beast chasing after him, he also understood that he was nowhere near strong enough to deal with such a powerful demon beast by himself.

For now, he could only hope that the Star Shattering Sect wouldn't hold it against him that he showed up with such a large demon beast when coming to visit-

Of course, that was only if he could reach the Star Shattering Sect before the bird demon beast had a chance to catch up to him-

Swish-!

And looking back towards the bird demon beast that was now getting closer and closer to him with each passing second, Xu Bao could not help feeling that might end up becoming bird food before he had a chance to reach the Star Shattering Sect and get help from them…

Do I have to contact Senior Xuan and ask for him to come over and help…?

Feeling a bit embarrassed as he thought about this, Xu Bao could not help looking down at the communication talisman that had somehow managed to make its way out of his interspatial ring and into his hand.

Screeech-! Unravel the Unknown, Unleash the Unimaginable: NvεlB¡n.

Looks like I don't have a choice if I want to continue staying alive…

Hearing the now happy screech of the bird demon beast as it was almost close enough to grab hold of him with its claws, Xu Bao could only push down his embarrassment as he activated the communication talisman.

…

"Hm? Who is it?"

Back in the Star Shattering Sect, Xuan Hao could not help frowning as he noticed someone trying to contact him through his communication talisman just as he was about to break through to the Small Success Realm with his Dao of Space.

"Oh? It's Xu Bao… What could he want?"

However, after noticing the person contacting him was Xu Bao, his annoyance changed to curiosity as he wondered what the strongest person among the independent sects wanted.

Not long after that, he became aware of Xu Bao's current dangerous situation and the fact that he was actually at the borders of his sect's territory. Even though he was curious about why Xu Bao had suddenly come to his sect's territory, he decided to suppress his curiosity for now. For now, the most important thing was to ensure that Xu Bao didn't end up being eaten by the bird that had managed to somehow find itself inside the territory of his sect.

Considering that the bird demon beast was at the Peak of the Domain Lord Realm, it was not something that Feng Chen, Shu Yao or Zu Fei had the strength to deal with. Meaning that only the winged lion demon beast and the rabbit demon beast were strong enough to deal with this… But… Given that Xu Bao was not too close to the sect, and it would take time to reach him, they weren't fast enough…

"Looks like I will have to make a move… Oh well, I guess I can use the opportunity to stretch my muscles after spending the last few weeks locked up comprehending the Dao of space…" Shaking his head as he muttered this to himself, Xuan Hao took a step forward-

Rumble~

Causing the space inside his cultivation room to twist and turn as he soon appeared outside the Star Shattering Sect in the sky above the city at the base of the Ninth Star Peak.

"Hm~ Ah! There he is!" Locking on to the location of Xu Bao with his divine sense in the next second, Xuan Hao took another step forward and disappeared before anyone had a chance to notice his appearance in the sky above the city.

…

SCREEECH-!

At the same time, the bird demon beast had finally managed to catch up to Xu Bao, as its large claws descended towards him with terrifying speed-

BAAAANG!

Only barely giving him enough time to block the claws before they had a chance to bury into his exposed back.

Whoosh-!

Bang!

Flinging him thousands of meters away before ultimately crashing into the ground.

"Haaa… Damnit, my strength is already exhausted to the point where even a single attack is enough to defeat me…" Standing up with great difficultly as he muttered this to himself, Xu Bao helplessly looked up at the castle sized bird demon beast that was now descending towards him at an even greater speed than before.

Even though he had blocked the attack just now, he understood that it had taken all of his strength. If he tried to do it again, he would undoubtedly end up dying…

"Oh, looks like I arrived just in time."

However, just at this moment, a familiar voice sounded out beside him as the bird demon beast rapidly descending towards him suddenly froze mid-air.

"S-Senior!"

Not paying any attention to the bird demon beast, Xu Bao turned around and happily called out to Xuan Hao who had just appeared beside him.

As for the bird demon beast-

Ptsh-!

It didn't even have the time to realize what was happening as its body was cut up by Xuan Hao's domain the moment he appeared. Instantly killing it.

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