57: I am the Lord of the Palace of All Stars

The dead end was eerily silent. Only A Zi, after counting to three, blinked her pure, amethyst-like eyes, curiously watching Zhao Yuanhao, who was slumped on the ground, his pants soaked and his body shaking like a sieve. Then she looked at the thick pile of new gray dust at the alley’s entrance, her little mind completely unable to comprehend what had happened.

“The bad guy is really gone?” A Zi whispered, thinking the big brother in black robes was incredibly powerful.

Lin Xuan no longer looked at Zhao Yuanhao, who was like a puddle of mud on the ground, as if he were just an annoying rock by the roadside. He squatted down, nimbly picked up the few low-grade immortal crystals scattered on the ground, and put them back into A Zi’s tattered cloth bag. Then he gently patted the little girl’s head, his voice as gentle as if he were a different person from moments ago: “Be good, A Zi. The bad guy was beaten away, and the crystals are back. Will you take Big Brother to see your mother, okay?”

A Zi nodded vigorously, her small hand tightly clutching the cloth bag, while her other hand instinctively grabbed Lin Xuan’s robe, as if she had found her greatest reliance.

Lin Xuan held A Zi’s small hand and walked out of the alley without even glancing at Zhao Yuanhao, who was sprawled on the ground, scared out of his wits. As he passed the two patrol guards, who were still in a petrified state, he tossed out a remark: “Clean up this trash. Don’t let it block the way.” His voice was as flat as if he were instructing someone to take out the garbage.

The two guards awoke as if from a dream, watching Lin Xuan’s retreating figure as he led the little girl away. Then they looked at Zhao Yuanhao, who had wet his pants in fear, and the pile of human-shaped ashes in the corner. A chill shot straight to their heads! They exchanged glances, seeing utter terror in each other’s eyes!

How was this some novice True Immortal? This was clearly a primordial beast in sheep’s clothing!

Lin Xuan didn’t care what they thought. He led A Zi through a maze of turns and soon arrived at the outermost edge of Qingyan City, a district of low, dilapidated stone houses. The houses here were haphazardly constructed from the lowest quality stone, with dry grass and mud stuffed into the cracks. The air was filled with the smell of cheap medicinal herbs and a foul odor.

A Zi’s home was the innermost one, its door crooked and letting in the wind. Pushing it open, a strong smell of medicine and a faint stench of decay assailed them. The room was dimly lit, with only a single, tattered stone bed. On the bed lay a gaunt, sallow-faced woman, covered by a thin, patched quilt, her breath weak, clearly seriously ill.

“Mom! I’m back!” A Zi let go of Lin Xuan’s hand and rushed to the bedside, presenting the crystals from the cloth bag to the woman as if offering a treasure. “The crystals are back! And I met a kind big brother! He said he can help Mom get well!”

The woman struggled to open her eyes, her cloudy gaze first falling on her daughter, revealing a hint of maternal love, then cautiously turning to Lin Xuan, who stood by the door. When she saw Lin Xuan’s black robe, which, though old, was made of fine material, a flicker of despair crossed her eyes. She tried to sit up but was interrupted by a violent cough.

“A Zi, cough cough, quickly, quickly thank this Immortal Master. The crystals, you keep them. Mom, Mom doesn’t need them…” The woman’s voice was hoarse and weak, clearly not wanting to burden her daughter, and even more afraid of attracting trouble.

Lin Xuan said nothing, merely sweeping his gaze over the woman. Under his Law-Breaking Chaos Eyes, the woman’s condition was clear at a glance. It wasn’t a terminal illness, but rather long-term malnutrition combined with chronic overwork, exacerbated by a certain sinister, cold baleful energy that had invaded her lungs, turning into a persistent ailment. In a place like the Immortal World, even a decent healing pill could solve it, but for this mother and daughter, it was a deadly, incurable disease.

He walked to the bedside, and amidst the woman’s fright and A Zi’s anticipation, he extended a finger and gently touched the woman’s glabella.

A wisp of incredibly pure, vibrant chaotic energy, like the gentlest spring water, silently surged into the woman’s body!

The woman’s eyes snapped open! She felt a warm current instantly flow through her limbs and bones! The icy, agonizing pain that had tormented her for countless days and nights, like a maggot clinging to bone, melted away before this warm current like ice and snow! Her congested lungs instantly cleared! Her depleted vitality, like a parched land receiving sweet rain, grew wildly!

Her sallow cheeks visibly regained their rosy color! Her emaciated body filled out as if inflated! Even her graying hair regained its lustrous black sheen!

In just a few breaths, a dying invalid became radiant, her breathing steady and strong, even appearing several years younger and healthier than before she fell ill!

“Mom!” A Zi cried out in surprise and delight, throwing herself into the woman’s arms, her little face filled with unbelievable joy.

The woman felt as if she were dreaming, experiencing an unprecedented lightness and strength in her body, and seeing her skin regain its luster, tears instantly streamed down her face. She got out of bed, knelt before Lin Xuan with a thud, and kowtowed repeatedly: “Immortal Master’s great kindness! Immortal Master’s immense benevolence! This old woman, this old woman has no way to repay you!”

Lin Xuan casually waved his hand, and a gentle force lifted the woman: “It was a small matter, no need for this. Just take good care of A Zi from now on.” He looked at the little girl beside him, whose eyes were sparkling and full of adoration as she gazed at him. “A Zi, do you remember what Big Brother asked you just now? Are you willing to take me as your master?”

“I am! A Zi is willing!” A Zi didn’t hesitate, nodding her little head like a pecking chick. Though she was small, she knew that this big brother had chased away the bad guys and saved her mother’s life! He was the best, best person in the world!

“Good!” A smile appeared on Lin Xuan’s face. Just as he was about to formally accept his disciple.

Boom!

A violent Golden Immortal pressure, like an erupting volcano, instantly enveloped the entire dilapidated stone house district! From the direction of Qingyan City’s center, a dark golden stream of light, carrying monstrous rage and killing intent, tore through the sky, fiercely striking towards Lin Xuan’s location!

“You little bastard! How dare you harm my son! I will tear you to shreds!”

Zhao Wuji’s furious roar exploded like thunder! He had finally received the news and rushed over! Seeing his son’s terrified, pathetic state, and then seeing the pile of ashes that his guards had turned into at the alley’s entrance, this Golden Immortal Elder completely lost his mind! All evidence, all scruples, were thrown to the winds! He now only wanted to grind Lin Xuan’s bones to dust!

That dark golden stream of light contained the terrifying power of a Golden Immortal’s enraged full-force attack! Wherever it passed, space slightly twisted! The dilapidated stone houses below collapsed like paper! Countless commoners screamed in terror, scattering and fleeing!

“Ah!” A Zi’s little face turned pale with fright, and she tightly hugged her mother. The recently recovered woman also looked ashen.

The smile on Lin Xuan’s face vanished instantly, replaced by an icy coldness. He took a step forward, blocking in front of A Zi and her mother, shielding them behind him. Looking at the dark golden light pillar that tore through space, carrying a destructive aura as it blasted towards him, there was no fear in his eyes, only a hint of annoyance at being disturbed.

“Courting death!”

Lin Xuan didn’t even bother to raise his hand! With a slight thought!

Buzz!

A hazy, almost transparent barrier, composed of the purest chaotic energy, silently appeared before him!

Boom!

The dark golden light pillar slammed heavily into the chaotic barrier!

There was no earth-shattering explosion! No energy-diffusing shockwave!

That Golden Immortal strike, powerful enough to destroy half of Qingyan City, hit the chaotic barrier like a clay ox entering the sea! The violent energy was silently swallowed, decomposed, and annihilated by the barrier! Not even a ripple was stirred!

“What?!” Zhao Wuji, flying rapidly, his pupils constricted! The furious expression on his face was instantly replaced by an incredulous horror! His full-force strike, just like that, gone?

Just as his mind was violently shaken!

Lin Xuan moved!

He still stood in place, but with an extremely casual flick of his finger, he aimed at the frozen dark golden figure in the sky!

Whoosh!

A hazy gray Sword Intent, thinner than a strand of hair and almost transparent, shot out silently! Its speed was so fast that it surpassed the capture of divine sense!

Pfft!

A soft sound, as if a sharp blade had pierced thin paper.

In the sky, Zhao Wuji’s Golden Immortal-level protective immortal light was pierced through like paper! At his glabella, a pinprick-sized red dot quietly appeared!

The horror on Zhao Wuji’s face completely froze! He opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something, but no sound came out. The light in his eyes receded like a tide, leaving only boundless emptiness and deathly stillness. Immediately, he plummeted from the sky like a broken puppet, falling straight down!

Bang!

With a dull thud, Zhao Wuji’s corpse slammed onto the ground not far from Lin Xuan, the tiny red dot on his glabella being the only wound. A Golden Immortal late-stage Elder, thus fell! Dying silently!

The entire Qingyan City seemed to have had its mute button pressed!

Everyone who witnessed this scene, whether the terrified fleeing commoners, the patrol guards and City Lord’s Mansion guards who had rushed over upon hearing the news, or even City Lord Tie Zhan, who had just flown nearby and personally witnessed Zhao Wuji being instantly killed, all froze in place as if struck by a body-fixing spell!

Absolute silence!

A Golden Immortal late-stage expert, instantly killed by a True Immortal early-stage with a flick of a finger? This could no longer be explained by dreams!

City Lord Tie Zhan hovered in mid-air, looking at Zhao Wuji’s corpse on the ground with the red dot on his glabella, then looking down at the black-robed young man who was holding the purple-haired little girl and had a calm expression. A chill shot straight to his head! He felt as if all the blood in his body had frozen! That Sword Intent just now… that feeling was identical to the terrifying Sword Intent that had briefly flashed through the city earlier, causing even him to feel a tremor of fear!

It was him! It was him all along!

What newly ascended True Immortal novice! It was all a disguise! This was clearly a profound, at least Immortal Monarch-level terrifying existence! Perhaps even stronger!

Liu Ruyan also arrived with her squad. She looked at Zhao Wuji’s corpse on the ground, then at the familiar yet strange Lin Xuan, her mind a blank. The evil wind in the sand sea, instantly killing a Golden Immortal with a casual move… so she had been accompanying such a supreme being all this time? She felt her worldview shattered into pieces.

Lin Xuan paid no attention to the deathly silence in the city and the countless gazes of fear and awe. He bent down, effortlessly picked up A Zi, who was still a bit stunned, and settled her in the crook of his arm. Then, he raised his head, his gaze sweeping over Tie Zhan in the sky, over the stunned Liu Ruyan below, and over the countless horrified Qingyan City cultivators. His voice was not loud, yet it resonated like a grand bell, clearly echoing in everyone’s ears:

“This Seat is Lin Xuan.”

“Not some newly ascended novice.”

“But the Palace Lord of the All Heavens Star Palace from the lower realms! The Supreme of the Ancient Devil World!”

“Having shattered the void to arrive, today, here, I accept this girl, A Zi, as my disciple!”

“From this day forward—”

Lin Xuan’s voice suddenly rose, carrying an overbearing and majestic power, as if splitting heaven and earth!

“The All Heavens Star Palace shall be established in the Immortal World!” “This Qingyan City, I call the shots!”

“Who agrees? Who opposes?”