65: The Mysterious Emperor emerges from the pass, leaving all heroes in silence; he alone treads the starry sea, aweing all spirits.

Guixu Sea Eye, at the edge of the accretion disk.

Energy like a waterfall, shattered stars like sand. The violent gravity tore at everything, and colorful ribbons of destruction danced wildly in the Void Realm, illuminating this airspace like a purgatory.

Outside this area, where even Mahayana Stage Mighty Ones had to be cautious, dozens of powerful Auras were gathered. They were scattered across different meteorite fragments or inside temporarily erected protective Magic Treasures, but their gazes were unanimously fixed in the same direction—that bronze immortal palace light gate, flickering in the turbulent energy and exuding an ancient, vast Aura.

Behind the light gate, it was suspected to hide the final Legacy of the bronze immortal palace, the core remnants of the Dark Star Project. An Opportunity sufficient to make any Cultivator go mad.

On the east side, on a massive ice meteorite, the group from the Ice Soul Divine Palace stood silently. The woman leading them was dressed in moon-white palace attire, her face covered by a light veil, revealing only a pair of eyes that were clear yet cold, like ten-thousand-year black ice. Her figure was graceful, yet she exuded a biting chill that kept others at a distance, her Aura clearly reaching the Body Integration Late Stage. She was the leading Elder who had come for the Ice Soul Divine Palace, Fairy Han Li.

"Elder, according to the residual Auras and information verified from multiple sources, the fall of Granny Han Yue and Junior Disciple Leng Yue is indeed related to the person who entered the gate earlier," a Disciple reported respectfully in a low voice, their tone carrying suppressed anger and a trace of imperceptible fear.

Fairy Han Li's gaze flickered, landing on the bronze light gate in the distance, her cold voice devoid of any emotion: "Observe quietly." The words were concise, but they caused the surrounding temperature to drop a few more degrees. She was not calm inside; Granny Han Yue's strength was not weak, yet she had perished here. The person inside the gate was definitely not simple.

To the west, three groups stood distinctly, yet they vaguely formed an Alliance; they were the three great star bandits who made this Star Domain fear them.

Carrying a door-sized, blood-stained giant blade, the burly man, as sturdy as an iron tower, was "Blood Slaughter" Balong, at the Body Integration Middle Stage Peak, with a fiery temper and a penchant for slaughter. He stomped his feet impatiently, causing the meteorite debris beneath him to fly: "Damn it! That brat has been inside for almost a day! There hasn't been a single sound! Don't tell me he died inside and ruined all the treasures?"

Beside him, a man whose figure flickered, as if he could merge into the shadows at any moment, let out a hoarse laugh. He was "Ghost Blade" Mo Ying, also at the Body Integration Middle Stage, skilled in assassination and full of tricks: "Balong, keep your cool. Old Man Youquan, Venerable Lieqiong, and that couple from the Liuyun Immortal Sect—none of the four were pushovers, yet their soul lamps were extinguished the moment they went in. This muddy water is very deep."

The third person was a scantily clad, alluring beauty named "Poison Lady" Mei Sanniang. She covered her mouth and giggled, her eyes brimming with charm, yet hiding fatal poisonous barbs: "Hehe, Ghost Blade is right. To swallow those four in one go without even a bubble rising... that little brother inside... is probably not a reason for us to go and deliver ourselves as food." Though she spoke of retreating, her eyes were locked onto the light gate, flickering with greed and calculation.

To the south, a magnificent tower ship, entirely crafted from ten-thousand-year star wood and exuding a soft golden light, hovered quietly. On the sails, the characters "Myriad Realms" flowed with the rhythm of the Dao. This was an exploration ship of the massive commercial organization, the "Myriad Realms Merchant Alliance". On the deck, an elderly man, chubby, with a ruddy face and wearing a brocade robe with money patterns, was leisurely waving a cattail fan. He was the person in charge here, Jin Wanxiang, whose cultivation was also at the Body Integration Late Stage. Beside him stood a figure entirely shrouded in a wide black robe, wearing a faceless mask, whose Aura was as deep as the sea; this was the Alliance's Guest Elder, "Elder Ying".

"Elder Ying, what do you think of this..." Jin Wanxiang said with a smile, his gaze sweeping over the light gate.

Elder Ying's voice was like dry wood rubbing together, devoid of ripples: "The gate's Restriction contains the great power of time and space. Forcing it open would come at a high cost. Inside, there is an unparalleled killing formation; it extinguished four Body Integration Cultivators in an instant. Among them, including Youquan."

The fat on Jin Wanxiang's face twitched imperceptibly, a sharp glint flashed in his small eyes, and then he returned to that harmless, smiling face: "Tsk tsk, extraordinary, truly extraordinary! It seems this 'little friend' of ours has given us a big 'surprise'!"

The northern area was more chaotic, consisting of scattered powerhouses or small, temporarily assembled Alliances. Among them was the green-robed Sword Cultivator Lin Feng. He gripped the sword in his hand tightly, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force, and he looked at the light gate with complex eyes. There was gratitude, because the person inside had once saved his life; there was awe, because he had seen his thunderous methods with his own eyes; and there was a trace of worry—with so many powerful figures surrounding him, could he walk out safely? The gazes of others around him were mostly filled with naked greed, wariness, and gloating. The air was filled with an atmosphere interwoven with tension, anxiety, and desire.

Just in this eerie balance and waiting—

"Buzz!!!"

The bronze light gate erupted with dazzling radiance without warning! The ripples of the portal, which had been rotating slowly, instantly became extremely violent, like boiling water! A vast pressure, indescribable, mixed with the Aura of ancient vicissitudes and a thread of faint yet bloodthirsty Evil Qi that made everyone's Primordial Spirit tremble, surged out from within the gate like a burst flood!

"He's out!"

"Be on guard!"

"Prepare to strike!"

In an instant, everyone's nerves were stretched to the limit! Powerful Auras shot into the sky, Magic Treasures flashed with light, Divine Abilities were secretly stored, and countless gazes were nailed to the light gate like sharp arrows! The atmosphere was tense, on the verge of breaking out!

The radiance gradually faded.

A figure stepped out from the light gate, unhurriedly.

Green robes as before, unstained by a speck of dust.

His face was calm, like an ancient well without ripples.

It was Lu Qingxuan.

He stood quietly in the Void Realm, scanning the entire scene with a calm gaze.

It was just this calm sweep.

Yet it caused the originally restless, tense, and murderous scene to suddenly fall into a death-like stagnation!

Everyone who came into contact with that gaze, whether Soul Transformation or Body Integration, felt their hearts gripped by an invisible giant hand!

It was different!

Clearly, his cultivation Realm still seemed to remain at the Soul Transformation Late Stage, but the feeling he gave was a world of difference from before he entered!

Before, he was like an unsheathed peerless divine weapon, sharp and brilliant, cold enough to chill the stars.

Now, he was like an infinite, chaotic deep sea; calm on the surface, but harboring terror that could swallow everything in the depths! That harmonious Dao rhythm, as if blended with the surrounding heaven and earth and the Origin of the Dao, made several Body Integration Late Stage Mighty Ones feel an inexplicable palpitation and suppression!

He had come out.

Safe and sound, his Aura at Perfection.

Then, what about Old Man Youquan, Venerable Lieqiong, Immortal Master Yunlan, and Immortal Master Xiahui who had broken in earlier?

The answer was already written behind that light gate, which was gradually returning to calm, and written in the faint yet real Evil Qi on this person!

Four renowned Body Integration Mighty Ones had joined forces to break in, only to end up wiped out, without a sound!

"Hiss..."

Someone, unable to suppress it, gasped, which sounded exceptionally clear in this dead-silent environment.

Fairy Han Li of the Ice Soul Divine Palace saw the pretty face under her veil change suddenly. As a Body Integration Late Stage Cultivator, her perception was even sharper and clearer. She could feel that this young man had gained an indescribable "Origin" Aura, as if standing there, he was the embodiment of the Dao itself! "This child... has been reborn inside the gate! His strength is unfathomable! Cannot be fought, absolutely cannot be fought!" A voice screamed frantically in her heart, making her instantly extinguish all thoughts of contention, leaving only deep wariness.

On the side of the three great bandits, the atmosphere was even more eerie.

The flesh on Blood Slaughter Balong's face twitched; the Aura of shouting to rob and kill before had completely vanished. His hand gripping the giant blade had veins bulging from excessive force—a sign of extreme tension. Though reckless, he was not stupid. An existence that could easily crush Youquan and Lieqiong would not take much effort to crush him.

Ghost Blade Mo Ying's figure became even blurrier, almost merging completely into the shadows; this was his instinctive reaction when encountering a fatal threat.

The charming smile on Poison Lady Mei Sanniang's face had long disappeared, replaced by paleness and fear. She subconsciously took half a step back, as if being further away from that door and that person would make her safer.

Jin Wanxiang of the Myriad Realms Merchant Alliance still had a smile on his face, but if one looked closely, they would find that the smile was slightly stiff, and a trace of fine sweat even oozed from his forehead. He quickly sent a voice transmission to Elder Ying beside him, his tone carrying unprecedented solemnity: "Elder Ying, re-evaluate! Immediately! This child... how should our Alliance treat him?"

Elder Ying was silent for longer than any time before, and that faceless mask seemed to become a bit heavier. Finally, a dry voice sounded: "The hidden dragon has left the abyss; it cannot be measured, it cannot be bound. He has the bearing of... an Emperor. Only good relations can be formed, he must not be made an enemy. All previous recruitment plans are void."

And those scattered Cultivators and small Alliances were even more silent as cicadas in winter. Many lowered their heads, not daring to meet that calm gaze again, their greed completely drowned by boundless fear. Lin Feng let out a long sigh of relief, his eyes bursting with incomparably bright radiance; that was absolute worship and yearning for a powerhouse.

Lu Qingxuan took in everyone's shock, fear, wariness, and retreat, his heart without sorrow or joy.

Surrounded by the multitude of heroes? Nothing but chickens and dogs.

He had gained huge rewards from this trip, his strength had transformed, and his vision was already different.

These so-called powerhouses could no longer enter his Dharma Eye.

He did not speak.

No warning.

He didn't even look at these factions again.

It was as if those dozens of Cultivators, who were at least at the Soul Transformation Peak, and those nearly ten Body Integration Mighty Ones who shook one side, were just irrelevant background.

He moved.

He took a step.

Lotus flowers naturally bloomed under his feet in the Void Realm; that was an anomaly condensed by the Dao rhythm.

His steps seemed slow, but in reality, he was shrinking the earth into an inch.

In a few flashes of his figure, he had already crossed a thousand miles.

The direction was aimed straight at the deepest, darkest, and most terrifying gravitational core area of the Guixu Sea Eye!

That was an absolute forbidden zone that even Body Integration Peak Cultivators dared not easily set foot in!

Just like that, under the gaze of dozens of people, he left calmly, as if strolling in his own courtyard.

Ignoring all potential threats.

Ignoring all complex gazes.

Leaving that area, which had become silent because of him, far behind.

From beginning to end, no one dared to speak up to stop him.

No one dared to make a move to test him.

Not even a trace of hostile Divine Sense dared to be released again.

Until his back completely disappeared into the depths of the gorgeous and deadly energy turbulence, the invisible pressure covering the whole scene retreated like a tide.

"Hoo..."

"He left..."

"He... he just left like that?"

After a brief silence, there were various suppressed exclamations and sighs.

Fairy Han Li of the Ice Soul Divine Palace did not hesitate, waved her sleeves, and her voice was cold and decisive: "Let's go, return to the Divine Palace immediately!" The people of the Ice Soul Divine Palace turned into several streams of light, moving away from this place of right and wrong without looking back.

The three great bandits looked at each other.

"Fuck!" Blood Slaughter Balong punched the meteorite beside him in a vent, smashing it into powder, but it could not hide the lingering fear on his face.

"Forget it, such a figure is not someone we can provoke." Ghost Blade Mo Ying's voice was low.

Poison Lady Mei Sanniang patted her towering chest, still shaken: "Good thing I wasn't impulsive just now... From now on, whenever you hear the name 'Xuan Emperor', everyone detour!" She subconsciously replaced the previously frivolous "little brother" with a more dignified title.

Jin Wanxiang of the Myriad Realms Merchant Alliance looked at the direction Lu Qingxuan disappeared, then looked at the bronze light gate, light flickering in his small eyes, and quickly issued a series of orders: "Message the headquarters! Lu Qingxuan, codenamed 'Xuan Emperor', danger Rank raised to 'Forbidden' level, authority and treatment referenced to Undergoing Tribulation Mighty Ones! Use all resources to collect all information related to him, especially his preferences and needs! Also, suspend all forced exploration plans for the bronze immortal palace ruins, change to observation and intelligence gathering."

After this incident, all parties understood.

This Star Sea, the landscape would change.

A young man named Lu Qingxuan was no longer a Prodigy needing tempering.

With an invincible posture, stepping on the bones of Body Integration Mighty Ones, he announced the arrival of his era.

The name of Xuan Emperor, just appearing, had already shocked the heroes of the Star Sea!