254: Chapter 254 Extraterrestrial Assassin!

The morning in Tianluo Continent was completely different from the Burning Heaven Mountain Range.

There was no volcanic ash, no sulfurous smell, only the wind blowing from the eastern plains, carrying the scent of grass and earth, sweeping past the newly replaced black-bottomed, gold-patterned war flag of the Great Luo Territory.

Mu Chen had been here for three months.

In these three months, the thing he did most was not cultivation, but recognizing people.

The various commanders under the Nine Sovereigns, the branches of the descendants of the old Heavenly Palace, the envoys of various vassal forces, and those eyes that came to test the bottom line of the new Domain Master, both openly and secretly.

He got up at 5 AM every morning, sparred with one of the Nine Sovereigns for an hour, then reviewed the pile of documents sent by Mandala, inspected the various halls in the afternoon, walked with Luo Li in the bamboo forest behind the Great Luo Hall in the evening, and meditated to cultivate his Primordial Celestial Body until midnight.

The schedule was packed, but he didn't feel tired.

Because he knew his time in the Great Luo Territory might not be too long—Master had said that once he gained a firm foothold in the Great Luo Territory and had his own Heavenly Supreme foundation, he could attack the gates of the Ancient Floating Pagoda Clan.

He didn't know how long it would take to accumulate enough strength, but he knew one thing: every day in the Great Luo Territory must be spent making progress.

Luo Li integrated into this place faster than him.

She spoke little, but did things meticulously. The several internal affairs rectifications Mandala handed to her were handled cleanly and efficiently.

What surprised the commanders who were originally skeptical of the new Domain Master even more was that this silver-haired woman, who looked as cold as frost, did not hold back when she made a move in the Martial Arena—with the Law of Time entwined around her sword, she defeated a peak Earth Supreme commander within three moves, silencing everyone present.

Sovereign Spirit Eye was the first among the Nine Sovereigns to truly admire Mu Chen.

It wasn't because of the heavenly emperor sword, but because once, when he dragged Mu Chen to the arena for a duel, he discovered that this young man was clearly being suppressed by him, yet refused to admit defeat.

By the end, when his spiritual energy was exhausted, he used the heavenly emperor sword to prop himself up, a smile still hanging on the corner of his mouth.

At that moment, Sovereign Spirit Eye put away all his pride as a genius and, for the first time, seriously cupped his hands to Mu Chen and called him "Domain Master."

Sovereign Tianjiu remained lukewarm.

His attitude represented the oldest faction in the Great Luo Territory—not opposing, not making things difficult, but not taking a stand either.

They were waiting.

Waiting for Mu Chen to prove in some hard-fought battle that he was worthy of their submission.

Mu Chen understood this in his heart and didn't deliberately try to win them over.

Such things could not be rushed.

Mandala watched this young man struggle day by day and nodded inwardly.

She hadn't misjudged him.

Shitian Domain, Imperial City.

Unlike the spring warmth of the Tianluo Continent, the Burning Heaven Mountain Range still erupted with magma regardless of the seasons.

The banner of the Spirit Hall was already known throughout the Great Thousand World, and the number of envoys coming to pay their respects had doubled compared to over a year ago.

The four branch halls had taken root in various domains; the Western Branch Hall had built three sub-halls in the Luoshen Continent, and the mining progress of the spiritual veins in the Cangyun Mountain Range was 30% faster than expected; the Eastern Branch Hall had established seven patrol outposts along the Chaotic Demon Sea, forming a tight monitoring network with the Evil Race stronghold distribution map provided by Xue Wei.

Hun Feng's pace of life actually slowed down after Mu Chen and Luo Li left.

It wasn't that he wasn't busy, but it wasn't as rushed.

The cultivation of the two Laws had entered the "polishing" stage from the "breakthrough" stage.

Daily fixed practice remained unchanged, but the sense of urgency to race against time had diminished slightly.

He spent more time in the study, reviewing documents, receiving envoys, and studying the Evil Race movement map copied from the Great Thousand Palace's Intelligence Hall.

Xue Wei still followed by his side.

Her intelligence work had upgraded from "handing over intelligence" to "analyzing intelligence"—Hun Feng discovered that this woman, who was once a Demon Emperor, had an almost instinctive sharpness for the internal power structure of the Evil Race, and often had unique insights in judging the authenticity of intelligence and inferring the enemy's intentions.

Although she always wore that half-smiling expression whenever she commented on Hun Feng's decisions, as if she were joking or probing, her judgment was rarely wrong.

The sweat of the six daughters in the Martial Arena was not in vain.

For over a year, the once-every-ten-days actual combat training in the volcanic secret realm had never stopped, and the coordination of the six sisters had gone from initial chaos to current seamless tacit understanding.

Hun Muying's spear could now perform the complete three-in-one move of lifting, shaving, and stabbing; Hun Muqing's offensive was becoming increasingly sharp; the youngest, Hun Mulan, had also reached the peak of the Sixth Grade Supreme.

Although she was still the girl who would run to her father's study when she felt wronged, she could already calmly deal with Earth Supreme-level volcanic beasts in the secret realm.

Zi Yan would stop and watch for a while every time she passed by the Martial Arena, then shake her head and mutter, "How can the cubs in this family be so good at fighting?"

Cai Lin was still the person who spoke the least.

But she would sit in Hun Feng's study for a while every morning and evening—sometimes bringing a pot of tea, sometimes bringing nothing, just sitting quietly by the window flipping through an ancient scroll, occasionally looking up at him.

The two had been married for many years, and many things did not need to be said.

She was just telling him in this way: I am here.

Days passed like this, one day at a time.

Spring passed and autumn came, winter and summer alternated.

The crater of the Burning Heaven Mountain Range had erupted countless times, the black flame war flag on the Imperial City wall had been washed by wind and rain countless times, and replaced by the deacon disciples.

The black iron stone in the Martial Arena had been trampled to pieces twice, and each time Soul Mie Sheng personally brought people to replace it with a thicker one.

Mu Chen would send a letter back from the Great Luo Territory every three months, the handwriting going from neat at first to increasingly scribbled, from a few lines to two pages filled with jade slips—reporting the situation in the Great Luo Territory, the changes in the Nine Sovereigns' attitudes, his own cultivation progress, Luo Li's sword technique breakthrough, and occasionally adding a line, "Master, the bamboo forest behind the Great Luo Territory is very similar to the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy. When you have time, come and see."

Hun Feng replied to every letter.

The replies were very short, usually a few words—telling him to pay attention to regulating his breath, not to just work hard and ignore his body, and to remember to eat with Luo Li more often.

At the end, he always added, "If you can't beat them, call home."

Mu Chen laughed every time he received a reply.

After laughing, he put the jade slip into the deepest part of his storage bracelet and went to the Martial Arena to practice with Sovereign Spirit Eye.

In this year or so, Mu Chen's cultivation had steadily pushed from Lower Earth Supreme to Upper Earth Sovereign.

The prototype of the Primordial Celestial Body had solidified for the most part, and it could now transform into a three-zhang-high golden phantom to protect his whole body during battle; even the full-strength blow of an ordinary Spirit Grade Heavenly Sovereign might not be able to break its defense.

He had also touched the threshold of the first level of One Qi Transforming into Three Purities—the Essence Clone.

Among the Nine Sovereigns, Sovereign Spirit Eye was the first to pledge loyalty, and after Mu Chen blocked a sneak attack for him, the Sleeping Sovereign finally stopped pretending to sleep.

Sovereign Tianjiu still had not made his stance clear, but in a border conflict, after Mu Chen killed two peak Earth Supremes of the opponent alone, the scrutiny in those old eyes finally faded a little.

Everything was moving in a good direction.

The Great Luo Territory was gradually condensing into a real whole in Mu Chen's hands, and the Spirit Hall's power also had a solid foothold in the Tianluo Continent.

Under the protection of the Spirit Hall's Western Branch Hall, the Sea-Suppressing World-Protection Array of the Luoshen Clan was repaired, and Luo Shen Clan Patriarch Luo Tianshen could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

On the Sword Domain side, Xiao Xiao would send a letter back every once in a while, the content of the letter always being three lines—"Master is very strict, sword intent has improved, do not worry"—Hun Feng would laugh and scold every time he finished reading, "This girl writes a letter in the same mold as your mother," and then pass the jade slip to Cai Lin.

Cai Lin would not speak after reading it, just put the jade slip into the wooden box at the head of her bed, where more than a dozen were already collected.

Everything was so smooth that it made people feel at ease.

However, the sea area at this moment! Was not peaceful!

Above the southern sea area of the Chaotic Demon Sea, the setting sun dyed the sea surface a deep orange-red, sea birds glided along the wave tips, occasionally letting out a few crisp cries.

In the distance, several spiritual boats of loose cultivators were sailing slowly, and the cultivators on the boats were cleaning up fishing nets—this sea area produced a type of silver-scaled fish rich in spiritual energy, which was an important source of income for nearby loose cultivators.

Suddenly, the sea birds flew up in alarm all at once.

Not one or two, but tens of thousands of sea birds on the entire sea surface soared into the sky at the same time, emitting sharp screams, as if they had been forcibly ejected from the sea surface by something extremely terrifying.

The sea surface began to surge violently, and the waves turned from the original calm as a mirror into raging waves several zhang high.

The seawater was stirred by an invisible force, becoming extremely turbid, and countless silver-scaled fish floated to the surface with their white bellies up.

The sky darkened.

The originally brilliant sunset was obscured by a layer of thick black clouds, which spread out from the depths of the void, rolling and expanding like a living thing, enveloping the sea area within a thousand miles in shadow.

The seawater was boiling, and a large number of black bubbles gushed out from the churning waves.

After the bubbles burst, they released a pungent, fishy odor—this was an anomaly caused by the violent reaction between Evil energy and the spiritual energy in the seawater.

The creatures on the seabed died in large numbers, and even the reefs were corroded into a layer of black film.

Space began to twist, and two cracks were torn open from the void almost simultaneously.

The edges of the cracks glowed with a ghostly green light, which was completely different from normal spatial cracks; that was the trace of being forcibly torn open by Evil power—not the way Hun Feng opened channels with the Law of Space, but a pure act of violence, crushing the spatial barrier with brute force.

The edges of the torn space did not heal on their own, but continued to spread outward under the erosion of the Evil energy, making a sizzling corrosive sound.

Two figures walked slowly out of the cracks.

Space twisted and deformed under their feet, and even the light was pulled and collapsed toward them.

On the left was a middle-aged man wearing dark green battle armor, with a tall and straight figure, facial features like a knife-cut, high brow bones, sunken eye sockets, and a pair of ghostly green pupils emitting cold light in the twilight.

His armor was engraved with dense dark green magic patterns, which were not dead things, but were slowly squirming on the armor surface like living things.

The demonic energy of a late-stage Saint-Rank Heavenly Sovereign was released from his body without any restraint, and the churning sea surface under his feet was forcibly pressed into a flat mirror by the pressure he emitted—it wasn't that the waves were calm, but the seawater was so suppressed that it dared not rise.

Wherever that demonic energy passed, even the air made a faint wailing sound, and the spiritual energy within a hundred miles was corroded away, dissipating into wisps of black smoke.

On the right was a woman in a dark purple long dress, the skirt trailing on the ground and floating in the void, her long hair hanging to her waist like an ink waterfall.

Her face was extremely enchanting, and her dark purple pupils were somewhat similar to Xue Wei's, but there was no such slyness and ridicule in those eyes, only pure, unmasked bloodthirst and sinister poison.

Her cultivation was a mid-stage Saint-Rank Heavenly Sovereign, and five black rings were worn on the fingers of her left hand, with ghostly green demonic energy entwined on the rings, like five dormant poisonous snakes.

The void under her feet was eroded by demonic energy into countless fine cracks, spreading around like a spider web.

The two stood above the Chaotic Demon Sea, overlooking the sea area under their feet from above.

The woman raised her hand and pinched a magic trick, slightly restraining the aura around the two.

The demonic energy of a Saint-Rank Heavenly Sovereign was too conspicuous; if not covered, half of the forces in the Chaotic Demon Sea would sense it.

"Is this the sea area?" The woman spoke, her voice carrying a cold mockery amidst the charm.

"Chaotic Demon Sea. The location where Xue Wei sent her last contact signal is near this sea area."

The man's gaze swept across the sea surface, ghostly green demonic energy jumping on his fingertips, turning into countless extremely fine green threads spreading in all directions, as if detecting something, "According to her last intelligence, there are patrol outposts of the Burning Heaven Mountain Range nearby, and people from the Spirit Hall are often active in this area. Let's restrain our aura, mission first."

"Spirit Hall, that newly rising super force? The Hall Master is named Hun Feng, the Sixth Elder of the Great Thousand Palace—the intelligence says he defeated the Patriarch of the Mohe Ancient Clan head-on."

The woman raised her eyebrows, her tone carrying a trace of disapproval, "Thinking he is invincible in the world just by defeating a late-stage Saint-Rank Heavenly Sovereign? He is just an Immortal Grade Heavenly Supreme. If I really meet him, I would like to meet him."

"Do not underestimate the enemy. Seventeen Spirit Grade Heavenly Sovereigns in the South Sea joined forces and were killed by him alone. Also, I have seen Maha Tian's strength with my own eyes; the person who can defeat him is definitely not an ordinary person. This time the target is Xue Wei, try not to disturb him."

The man frowned slightly, and one of the demonic energy threads in his hand suddenly straightened, pointing towards the direction of the Burning Heaven Mountain Range, "The intelligence says he is decisive in killing and extremely protective of his own. If your hands are itchy and you want to fight, I will fight with you after the mission is completed."

The woman curled her lips with contempt: "A traitor, it needs you and me to take action personally. The higher-ups also think too highly of her. That bitch, daring to betray the race, should have thought there would be such a day. Falling into my hands, she should be glad that I am only responsible for catching people—if the Phantom Star Heavenly Demon Emperor of the Heart Demon Race came, she wouldn't even be able to die."

"Xue Wei is a peak Spirit Grade Heavenly Sovereign. She has served as an intelligence liaison officer in the Evil Race for these years. She knows too much intelligence. Especially the distribution of the thirty-two major races in the Great Thousand World; the specific locations and rotation rules of many strongholds are only mastered by her alone."

"She defected to the Spirit Hall, and that intelligence is likely already in Hun Feng's hands. The higher-ups want her alive, at least to dig out what she hasn't confessed in her mind."

The man withdrew the demonic energy threads in his hand, and his ghostly green pupils turned to the direction of the Burning Heaven Mountain Range.

His gaze penetrated the heavy clouds and mist, landing on the vaguely visible volcanic group, a trace of coldness flashing in his eyes, "As for Hun Feng—if he is sensible, we can not disturb him. If he dares to stop us, then deal with him together."

"You are cautious." The woman chuckled.

"Not cautious." The man turned around and stepped towards the direction of the Burning Heaven Mountain Range, "It is that man, who is indeed not easy to provoke."

The two figures flickered and disappeared into the twilight as two extremely faint black shadows.

The demonic energy above the sea surface slowly converged, but the polluted seawater was still churning, and the dead fish floated with the waves, covering the sea surface for dozens of miles.

The spatial crack torn by the Evil power still hung in the air, the edges making a sizzling corrosive sound, and did not heal for a long time.

The volcanic group of the Burning Heaven Mountain Range was still erupting magma in the twilight, and the war flag of the Spirit Hall was hunting and rolling on the city tower.

The lights of the Imperial City lit up one after another, and everything was as usual.

No one noticed that two Saint-Rank Heavenly Sovereign-level demonic energies were quietly approaching this mountain range.

No one noticed that at the more distant junction of the sea and sky, in the crevices of the reefs corroded by Evil energy, some dark green thin vines grew out at some unknown time.

The vines moved without wind, stretching like tentacles towards the Burning Heaven Mountain Range, only showing their heads and then quickly shrinking back into the depths of the rock crevices.

The sea birds had long since dispersed, and only endless silence remained on the sea surface.