Chapter 435: All Orders Eradicated, Bronze Still Remains |
"This Daoist Lord Lingxiao is actually so easy to talk to?" Chu Lingyuan was filled with Suspicion.
"Otherwise..." Qing Cang shook his head, "Besides not moving the Starfire, he has already taken away our Foundation. The so-called 'always managed by us' is probably only temporary."
"If Master falls, how will the Radiant Moon Spirit be handled?" He thought of this core question.
Su Chen frowned and said: "It seems our Bronze Sect has the priority to try and become The Chosen. If no one can be selected, then the other 'Heavens' will try."
"As expected..." Qing Cang sighed. As the core higher-ups of the Bronze Sect, they naturally knew the "dilution" effect brought by time.
If they couldn't ensure that every generation produced talents capable of becoming the Radiant Moon's The Chosen, sooner or later, the Bronze Heaven would completely disappear, or rather, completely merge into that High Heaven.
Chu Lingyuan pondered: "This kind of Method is gentle, and the resistance it stirs up is smaller. Even though there are no requirements for other members and disciples, the Abyssal Domain is right there, and it will naturally form a siphon effect."
"Although it will take a relatively long time, it will be digested much more thoroughly. It is far better than the Methods of this Immeasurable Buddha."
Qing Cang couldn't help but ask Su Chen: "Then why were the Buddha Land's Methods so cruel? Wouldn't it be better to take it slowly?"
"You really don't know?" Qing Cang's eyes narrowed, staring intently at this kid.
"How could he know about this kind of thing." Chu Lingyuan said as a matter of course.
"Heh..." Qing Cang laughed with unclear meaning.
Su Chen muttered secretly, always feeling like Lao Qing knew something. "He's bluffing me, right? What could he know?"
Chu Lingyuan looked at the two of them, somewhat puzzled. The whole Bronze Sect knew that Qing Cang and Su Chen had the best relationship. Why did Qing Cang seem so weird today?
Soon after, he said excitedly: "Regardless, it's always better than being forced by that Immeasurable Buddha to join some Buddha Land. As long as we get more and more powerful, maybe we can even Usurp the Host and sit in that Dao Sovereign's seat."
Choosing the lesser of two evils, the Immeasurable Buddha coming to their door meant they didn't even have the chance to run away. Rather than having their Starfire devoured with an uncertain future, it was better to join High Heaven. At least they still had something to strive for.
Su Chen glanced at this Venerable. His words weren't without reason.
"Not bad." Qing Cang also nodded, Deeply Convinced. He looked at Su Chen with bright eyes. If they didn't have this kid, then he could only force optimism like Chu Lingyuan, deceiving himself and others.
But with this kid here, at least after Master fell, they could still prop up the Bronze Heaven.
"Oh right, that Dao Sovereign gave us the Method of Constructing a Heavenly Gate. We can directly connect to High Heaven." Su Chen added, turning on his Comm-Bracelet, bringing up a Virtual Screen, and rapidly inputting.
"Heavenly Gate? Directly connecting to High Heaven, how far of a distance would that be, and it can even directly cross the Nether Mist." Chu Lingyuan's heart palpitate slightly, thinking of that Immeasurable Buddha's Method of directly penetrating the Bronze Shield.
His thoughts stirred, and he couldn't help saying: "This Daoist Lord Lingxiao wouldn't be deceiving us, right?"
Su Chen and Qing Cang looked over at the same time. They understood Chu Lingyuan's meaning, afraid that after High Heaven arrived, they would turn hostile and refuse to acknowledge them, doing the exact same thing as the Immeasurable Buddha.
"At any rate, he is a Vast Sun. If he really wanted to make a move, would he need to deceive us?" Qing Cang said hesitantly, "Besides, he already mentioned this matter in front of that Immeasurable Buddha. He wouldn't slap his own face, right."
Su Chen didn't speak. High Heaven's reputation was considered normal in the Abyssal Domain. He also didn't think the other party would turn hostile and refuse to acknowledge them.
"Mm." Chu Linyuan nodded. He was just asking out of a Sudden Inspiration, and wasn't too worried himself.
He walked straight over and glanced at the various Materials Su Chen had inputted. The densely packed Materials almost blinded his eyes.
"...Metal Materials capable of autonomously opening up at least ten cubic meters of Space in a void storm — ten tons..."
The Dust Star Sea and the Abyssal Domain were too far apart, and there was no communication between them. Many Material names had differences, so what Daoist Lord Lingxiao gave were characteristic descriptions.
Chu Linyuan recognized at a glance that this characteristic belonged to a "Void Core," which was also a crucial Material for constructing Star Gates.
But even the largest Star Gates built in the eight major transit Hubs wouldn't consume more than one kilogram per use. This directly asked for ten tons.
"Dao Sovereign said, after the construction is complete, these Materials will be compensated back." Su Chen explained.
"That's not too bad then." Chu Linyuan breathed a sigh of relief. Although gathering them would take a lot of time, at least it wasn't bleeding for nothing.
"I will first go notify the other Sects and have them evacuate as fast as possible. This Immeasurable Buddha's Methods are astonishing, he might have already headed to the other Sects." Qing Cang said.
"Mm." Chu Linyuan also nodded and pondered: "As for the True Martial Sect..."
"Don't notify them. Let them fend for themselves." Qing Cang was very decisive. With High Heaven's protection, in a certain sense, they had already transcended the Dust Star Sea.
Notifying the other Sects was out of consideration for their past friendship. But towards the True Martial Sect, they had no friendship to speak of.
"I have the same thought." Chu Linyuan nodded, bid farewell to Su Chen, and left this place together with Qing Cang.
The general information had already been obtained. He still had to gradually reveal this information to the other members, and then prepare for the construction of the Heavenly Gate.
Watching the two leave, Su Chen breathed a sigh of relief slightly. "The mentality of these two is quite normal."
The Immeasurable Buddha had come too fast, so he could only join High Heaven on the spot. After weighing the pros and cons, he believed these two core figures shouldn't harbor any stubborn thoughts about joining High Heaven.
But before, it was ultimately just a guess. Only now was it confirmed.
"If that's the case, Master's side shouldn't be too resistant either." Su Chen pondered. "But I still have to inform him in advance."
He turned on his Comm-Bracelet. As a student, he could directly contact the Bronze Ancient King through the Bronze Sect's internal network.
Naturally, there wouldn't be a response now, but after returning, the Bronze Ancient King's specially modified body would immediately connect to the network, receive all the Data from this period of time, and know right away.
"It shouldn't be a big problem." Su Chen considered everything from beginning to end, and there shouldn't be any omissions.
"The only troublesome thing is that the Spirituality of the Crimson Flame Responding Thunder Great Exalted cannot be taken over. But it's just a Morning Star Spirit after all, falsely claiming it was lost should be fine..."
Resolving the crisis of being overturned, Su Chen really put down a large boulder in his heart. He turned and went back to the Training Room: "Next, I just have to wait for the construction of the Heavenly Gate to finish. I wonder what kind of scene that Abyssal Domain, and High Heaven, exactly are."
.........
The Sacred Cauldron Cult. The once magnificent palaces were now entwined with a layer of grayish mist. Figures wearing pitch-black armor stood everywhere, and a large number of Cult members were imprisoned in cages.
Above that Starfire, there was a black cavity, almost merging with the background of the star region. It was constantly wriggling, greedily devouring the energy within the Starfire.
The light of the Starfire was already extremely bleak, seeming like it could completely extinguish at any moment.
"Radiant Moon Spirit..." Huang Pan stood atop the Starfire, but was rubbing a milky white radiance in his hands. He could vaguely see a small dragon whimpering inside.
"The Starfire accumulated over tens of thousands of years, truly a rare harvest." Huang Pan couldn't help sighing with emotion, but his expression couldn't help but converge. "A pity, that strongest Royal Court was claimed first by the Immeasurable Buddha."
Thinking of this, he also felt quite astonished. "Kong Ming's protector is the Immeasurable Buddha. He discovered that Solar Flame early on, yet didn't report it to the World-Honored One. From top to bottom, the Buddha Land harbors ulterior motives."
"However, I still have to thank him. Otherwise, we wouldn't have a share this time."
Flipping his palm, he put away this Radiant Moon Spirit. "I have to act faster. There are still four Sects left. Which one to choose..."
As he was pondering, his expression couldn't help moving slightly. He looked up and saw a black egg-shaped object falling out of the cavity above his head.
Dark light patterns flowed on the surface of the eggshell, continuously shrinking and expanding as if it were alive. Vaguely, dark red veins could be seen slowly pulsating inside the shell.
Just as it fell out of the cavity, the egg abruptly condensed, the black light surged violently, and the eggshell cracked inch by inch.
Half a wisp of withered white hair drifted out from the crack and blew towards the void with the wind. Following that, a figure stepped out from the black light, wearing tattered clothes.
The figure was extremely thin, with towering shoulder blades and clearly visible ribs, as if a gust of wind could snap him. But his eyes were astonishingly bright, faintly surfacing from the shadows beneath his deeply sunken brow bones.
"Ku Zhou?" Catching sight of this person, Huang Pan's expression paused, and he said indifferently: "Why are you here?"
The person named Ku Zhou swept a glance at Huang Pan, his voice hoarse, as if stones were rubbing together in his throat: "I didn't come to steal credit from you. An unexpected situation has occurred. We need to Conclude things here as soon as possible."
Huang Pan's eyes narrowed slightly, harboring suspicion: "What situation?"
Ku Zhou said: "Not long ago, High Heaven updated their Data. A new faction has merged into it, called the Bronze Heaven."
Bronze Heaven? Huang Pan paused slightly. "Could it be..."
"That's right, it's exactly the Bronze Sect from the Dust Star Sea." Ku Zhou nodded and said in a deep voice:
"High Heaven hasn't accepted a new faction for a long time. Currently, the Abyssal Domain is full of discussions, all guessing what kind of place this Dust Star Sea is, believing it's a powerful Outer Realm location."
"How did the Bronze Sect hook up with High Heaven..." Huang Pan frowned tightly.
Ku Zhou couldn't answer Huang Pan's doubt, only saying: "Daoist Lord Lingxiao should also already know about the matter of the Sovereign of the Purple Zenith. The benefits here must be taken away as soon as possible. Great Heaven sent me to assist."
"Understood." Huang Pan's expression converged. In order to blockade the news, their Methods had been cruel and irreversible. While High Heaven, as a latecomer, appeared magnanimous.
If they were any slower, the other Sects would probably all throw themselves into High Heaven, Making a Wedding Dress for them in vain. It would be better to act as soon as possible.
............
Several days later, in a desolate place at the edge of the Dust Star Sea, a Stargate Node impressively stood there. It looked quite dilapidated, with the anti-radiation coating on the edges peeling off to reveal spiderweb-like cracks. Many places in the mooring port had fallen into disrepair over the years.
"This is the Fishing Port Stargate Node." Not far from the transit node, the figures of several Ancient Kings stopped, overlooking this node.
The Star Gate on it had already stopped operating. In their perception, there weren't even many people in this transit node.
The Bronze Ancient King frowned. "In my Data, this Stargate Node should still be operating. There is a Star-Roaming Fish gathering place nearby. Every nine months, a tide gathers. They are of great value and attract many people to salvage."
"Maybe some accident happened." The Zhenwu Ancient King didn't care. "As long as the infrastructure is still there, just turn it on again."
"Let's check the situation in the Dust Star Sea first, see if there are any changes." The Xuantian Ancient King had a solemn expression.
The Bronze Ancient King raised his hand, and a substantial stream of data light surged from his fingertips, plunging straight into this Stargate Node. His eyes flickered, and various virtual scenes surfaced.
"The infrastructure is still there. The Star Gate just shut down on its own. The channel module is a bit weak and unstable. Let me reinforce it..." A pillar of light shot out from the Bronze Ancient King's chest, falling straight into the Stargate Node.
This Stargate Node was very remote, and its connection to the main network of the Dust Star Sea was weak. But under his reinforcement, the various parameters improved by more than a hundred times.
Immediately after, his expression changed in horror. "The Royal Court's Starfire has disappeared?"
"What?" The Vast Sea Emperor, who was already frowning tightly, instantly looked over. It was as if thunder had exploded in his heart. His expression was filled with shock and rage. He subconsciously clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white, green veins popping out inch by inch.
The Aura of his whole body boiled like boiling water, exploding with a whoosh. Energy light-flames suddenly burst out in all directions. His voice was cold and harsh: "Who was it, the Immeasurable Buddha or Great Heaven?"
The other Ancient Kings also cast solemn and even uneasy gazes.
"Unknown for now. Also... the Sacred Cauldron Cult has been breached, and its Starfire has extinguished." The Bronze Ancient King's face didn't look good, searching through various information. They were indeed late coming back; the Dust Star Sea had already descended into great chaos.
The wrinkled old face of the Sacred Cauldron Ancient King trembled, and a wave of sorrow surged into his heart, instantly aging a lot.
"The True Martial Sect has also been breached, and its Starfire has extinguished."
"Damn it!" The Zhenwu Ancient King's gaze was piercingly cold, his killing intent chilling.
"The Profound Heaven Sect..." Bronze paused slightly before saying: "The people are gone, and the Starfire has extinguished."
"A stroke of great luck." The Xuantian Ancient King sighed, vaguely feeling fortunate. "Great Heaven or the Buddha Land must have attacked the Royal Court, Sacred Cauldron, and True Martial Sects first, allowing the Profound Heaven Sect to react."
His expectation was that the Sect would be breached and the Starfire extinguished. As a result, it seemed the people had kept their lives, and maybe the Radiant Moon Spirit had also been taken away. This was already considered good news.
"The Celestial Vault Order's people are gone, and the Starfire has extinguished."
The Star-Firmament Ancient King smiled bitterly, but also breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.
The Zhenwu Ancient King's expression was unfriendly. Good or bad was all comparative. He didn't know the casualties among his members and disciples, but the disciples of these two had managed to escape. It was inevitably displeasing.
"The Bronze Sect..." The Bronze Ancient King's heart sank to the bottom of the valley. If they reacted in time, the disciples of the Order might still be able to save their lives.
The Starfire was extinguished, years of effort washed down the drain. The loss was already immense. But being able to keep their lives was also highly fortunate. He only hoped...
A moment later, he froze, a Sharp Gleam flashing in his pupils. The Starfire still existed, safe and sound?
How is it possible! The Bronze Ancient King subconsciously didn't believe it and searched for more information, but found it increasingly hard to believe.
"It's actually really safe and sound! Moreover, three days have already passed since the last Starfire of the Celestial Vault Order extinguished. The interval between the destruction of the other Sects was almost never more than a day. It's not that they haven't had the time to act yet..."
"Could it be bait? No, the Bronze Sect isn't the strongest, why use it as bait."
"Or did they submit? Also not right, the other Sects aren't all people of unyielding character either."
His thoughts intertwined. He made several deductions, but couldn't find a reasonable answer for any of them.
"How is the Bronze Sect?" The Xuantian Ancient King asked with concern.
The Bronze Ancient King swept his gaze over the crowd, his mentality subtle. For everyone present, either their Sects had been breached and the life or death of their members and disciples was uncertain, or their Starfires had extinguished, like stray dogs.
If they knew the Bronze Sect was safe and sound...