117: Proton

Star Luo Territory, whether in terms of its size or overall strength, was on par with Cang Yan Territory.

In the past, Star Luo Territory and Cang Yan Territory both tacitly focused on annexing surrounding forces and expanding their own territories.

Now, as many surrounding forces, big and small, were either eliminated or annexed by them, and they could no longer expand, both sides naturally turned their fangs towards each other.

Under the current era where the imperial power of the Great Wu Dynasty had collapsed and powerful individuals across various regions were carving up territories, each lord was constantly focused on strengthening himself.

Among these lords, mutual slaughter and annexation were naturally inevitable!

As the saying goes, one mountain cannot accommodate two tigers.

Star Luo Territory and Cang Yan Territory, these two fierce tigers, could ultimately only have one survivor!

Tian Dou Province, as one of the Seven Provinces of Star Luo Territory, was much larger than Seven Stars Province.

The biggest difference between the Seven Provinces of Star Luo Territory and the Thirteen Provinces of Cang Yan Territory was that the Seven Provinces of Star Luo Territory had no distinction in size, because the territorial scope of these seven provinces was not too different.

Unlike Cang Yan Territory, where the size of its thirteen provinces varied greatly.

When the entire flying boat left Seven Stars Province and passed through the mysterious desert separating Seven Stars Province and Tian Dou Province, it finally entered Tian Dou Province.

The vastness of Tian Dou Province also led to an extremely large and complex number of forces here.

Although Rapid Shadow Palace was a first-tier force in Tian Dou Province, it was not the only one.

At the same time, in Tian Dou Province, the strongest were no longer at the Blood Martial Realm.

There were even higher-level powerhouses above the Blood Martial Realm!

After a period of rapid travel by the flying boat, it quickly arrived above a city in Tian Dou Province.

This was a city far larger than Jin Yun City.

The entire city was extremely prosperous, and its population was even more numerous.

However, such cities were very common in Tian Dou Province, unlike Seven Stars Province where cities were scarce.

When the flying boat descended from the sky into the city, an attractive beautiful woman was already waiting there.

She was the City Lord of Bi Xin City.

Upon seeing the white-haired old man, she immediately bowed respectfully to him, saying, "Greetings, Elder Luo."

The white-haired old man nodded slightly, then looked at Guo Chengdao among the crowd.

"From now on, this Bi Xin City will be handed over to your Red Tiger Sect to govern."

Upon his words, Guo Chengdao and the three elders were stunned.

Before this, they had been guessing how the white-haired old man would arrange for their Red Tiger Sect.

They had thought he would casually find a place for them to rebuild their sect's mountain gate.

They hadn't expected... that he would directly hand over a city for them to govern.

"Feng Yu, you will continue to serve as City Lord here and assist the Red Tiger Sect in managing Bi Xin City together," the white-haired old man instructed.

"Yes!" the beautiful woman named Feng Yu respectfully nodded.

After giving his instructions, the white-haired old man's gaze fell upon the disciples of the Red Tiger Sect, directly focusing on Cen Qingci among the many disciples!

Under the gaze of the white-haired old man, Cen Qingci's pretty face instantly turned pale.

She felt as if she had been targeted by a fierce beast, and a chill ran through her body.

Her heart pounded.

The white-haired old man pointed at Cen Qingci and said indifferently, "This girl is your Red Tiger Sect's core direct disciple, isn't she? Let her be the hostage then."

"Hos... hostage!?" Guo Chengdao and the three elders were all startled.

They could understand why the other party would make their core direct disciple a hostage.

After all, their Red Tiger Sect was formerly a force affiliated with Cang Yan Territory.

Now that they were joining Star Luo Territory, it was natural to leave a hostage.

What worried them, however, was that the chosen hostage was Cen Qingci!

"Sir... actually, our Red Tiger Sect has more than one core direct disciple; a few others might be more suitable..." Guo Chengdao quickly said.

He did not want Cen Qingci to become a hostage.

After all, Cen Qingci was the only bloodline left by their ancestor... she was extremely important to their Red Tiger Sect!

However, the white-haired old man said indifferently, "It's her. You have three minutes to select five Qi Martial Realm attendants to return to Rapid Shadow Palace with the hostage and us."

After speaking, the white-haired old man led his three disciples and City Lord Feng Yu to the side.

Guo Chengdao and the three elders all looked displeased.

Not many people in the sect knew Cen Qingci's identity.

They hadn't expected the other party to directly choose Cen Qingci.

"What should we do?" The three elders all looked at Guo Chengdao.

Guo Chengdao's expression was solemn.

Their main concern was Cen Qingci's safety, and how she would be treated after becoming a hostage.

Now, the fate of their Red Tiger Sect was entirely in the hands of Rapid Shadow Palace. Although the other party brought them out of Seven Stars Province, their arrangements were unquestionable and could not be refused.

The only thing they could do was to try their best to arrange five suitable attendants for Cen Qingci.

These were not just attendants, but also Cen Qingci's protectors.

According to the original intention of Guo Chengdao and the three elders, they wanted to directly assign the five strongest Qi Warrior Realm Great Perfection experts as Cen Qingci's attendants.

But Cen Qingci had a different idea.

"I want to choose my own attendants," Cen Qingci said seriously.

She felt that the team they had in Seven Stars Holy Land back then would be the best choice for her attendants.

Instead of choosing some unfamiliar people as attendants, it would be better to bring her familiar team.

After all, in a place like Rapid Shadow Palace, which was full of hidden masters, even a Qi Warrior Realm Great Perfection might not be able to play much of a role there.

"This..." The three elders frowned.

"Nonsense!" Guo Chengdao directly rebuked.

Given Cen Qingci's identity, how could she be so frivolous?

As the ancestor's only bloodline, if Cen Qingci's cultivation wasn't too weak, she would undoubtedly be the current Red Tiger Sect Master!

And even if Cen Qingci was not sufficient to be the Sect Master now, she was still a figure like a Young Ancestor in the Red Tiger Sect.

Even if a Qi Warrior Realm Great Perfection couldn't do much in Rapid Shadow Palace, it was still better than the disciples Cen Qingci chose herself.

However, just as Guo Chengdao insisted on having Qi Warrior Realm Great Perfection experts as Cen Qingci's attendants, a voice suddenly echoed in his mind through a spiritual message.

"Just do as she says."

Guo Chengdao was stunned, and hurriedly transmitted a message, "Senior, you don't know, Cen Qingci is the only bloodline left by our ancestor, concerning the entire Red Tiger Sect..."

Xiao Shi was not surprised by this.

When the Crimson Tiger Totem parasitized, he had already detected a very special aura on Cen Qingci... coupled with his continuous contact with Cen Qingci, her innocence and inexperience clearly showed that she had been well protected since childhood to possess such qualities in this chaotic world.

Her identity... was not difficult to deduce.

And for Cen Qingci to be chosen as a hostage, it was also within Xiao Shi's expectations.

He knew that Rapid Shadow Palace's special trip to take them away must have some purpose.

They would definitely choose the most crucial person in their Red Tiger Sect to become a hostage.

Even if it wasn't Cen Qingci, it would be Sect Master Guo Chengdao.

This was one of their ways to control the Red Tiger Sect.

This included allowing the Red Tiger Sect to govern Bi Xin City, but leaving the City Lord there to manage it together with them.

Clearly, they also wanted to use this City Lord to monitor all actions of the Red Tiger Sect.

It could be said that all the arrangements made by the other party had only one goal... to keep the Red Tiger Sect completely under control!

And given the current situation of the Red Tiger Sect, even if they realized this, they could do nothing about it.

Although Xiao Shi could not yet discern Rapid Shadow Palace's scheme... he knew that to break free from Rapid Shadow Palace's control, the key lay with himself!

Or rather, it lay with the Crimson Tiger Totem on his body!

The Crimson Tiger Totem was the key to the Red Tiger Sect's rise.

As long as the Crimson Tiger Totem could be restored, there would be hope of breaking free from Rapid Shadow Palace's control.

And to accelerate the recovery of the Crimson Tiger Totem, Xiao Shi needed to continuously improve his cultivation.

The higher his cultivation, the faster the Crimson Tiger Totem would be nourished.

If he stayed and developed in Bi Xin City, on one hand, he would be controlled by Rapid Shadow Palace, and his own development would be somewhat restricted; on the other hand, he would not be able to protect Cen Qingci.

If he went to Rapid Shadow Palace with Cen Qingci, although he would still be under Rapid Shadow Palace's control, Rapid Shadow Palace would not pay too much attention to an attendant.

They would only focus on Cen Qingci, who was the hostage.

This way, Xiao Shi could use Cen Qingci to cover for himself, and at the same time, protect Cen Qingci.

Regarding this, Xiao Shi directly transmitted a message to Guo Chengdao, saying, "Don't worry, among Cen Qingci's attendants, there is someone I arranged. With this person present, Cen Qingci's safety can be assured."

Guo Chengdao was startled, never expecting that there was someone from this senior within the sect!

He suddenly recalled the Night Watch who had appeared before and refused to reveal his name, pondering that this person might be the senior's subordinate.

And now, since this senior was their Red Tiger Sect's decision-maker, and he had said so, Guo Chengdao believed he must be confident.

"Then let's follow Senior's words," Guo Chengdao nodded, agreeing to Cen Qingci's arrangement.

Thus, the attendants who went to Rapid Shadow Palace with Cen Qingci became Slit-Eyes, Fan Li, Yang Zhen, Wang Luo, and Xiao Shi.

Before leaving, Guo Chengdao specifically gathered the five of them and decided to tell them Cen Qingci's identity, so that they would understand Cen Qingci's importance to the entire sect.

"Remember! You must do your utmost to ensure the Young Ancestor's safety, even if it means sacrificing yourselves, you must not let the Young Ancestor suffer any danger!" Guo Chengdao said to the five with extreme solemnity.

At the same time, he subtly observed the five of them, trying to figure out which of them was the person arranged by that senior.

However, after observing for a while, he didn't notice any clues.

Xiao Shi and the other four all showed a certain degree of shock.

Except for Fan Li, none of them knew Cen Qingci's identity.

They hadn't expected Cen Qingci to be the Young Ancestor of the Red Tiger Sect!

After an incense stick's worth of time, the white-haired old man reappeared before everyone.

"Let's go," he said, gesturing towards the group.

Cen Qingci and her five attendants, including Xiao Shi, instantly appeared on the flying boat out of thin air.

Then, the flying boat slowly ascended.

With a flash in the sky, it vanished directly from above Bi Xin City.

On the flying boat, besides the six of them, there were only the white-haired old man and his three disciples.

The white-haired old man looked at Cen Qingci, who was a little nervous and uneasy, and said indifferently, "Don't be nervous. Although you are a hostage, once you arrive at Rapid Shadow Palace, you will still be a disciple of my Rapid Shadow Palace. The same goes for your five attendants."

"To be able to become a disciple of my Rapid Shadow Palace, for you, it is a kind of fortune."

The white-haired old man's words carried arrogance.

After all, their Rapid Shadow Palace was a first-tier force in the entire Tian Dou Province.

It was far beyond comparison to a small sect like the Red Tiger Sect.

Countless people in the entire Tian Dou Province wished to join Rapid Shadow Palace.

It was a dream for many.

And Rapid Shadow Palace was extremely strict in recruiting disciples.

In the white-haired old man's opinion, under normal circumstances, these five attendants around Cen Qingci would not even be qualified to join Rapid Shadow Palace.

Now that they could join Rapid Shadow Palace because of this, it was naturally a great fortune.

As the flying boat continued its journey, Xiao Shi and the others once again felt the vastness of Tian Dou Province.

After all, at this speed, if they were in Seven Stars Province, they would have probably traversed it several times by now.

Yet, even now, they had not reached the location of Rapid Shadow Palace's sect.

Finally, after the flying boat traveled for another while, they at last saw the location of Rapid Shadow Palace's sect.

The Rapid Shadow Palace's sect was different from what they had imagined!

The entire Rapid Shadow Palace was located on a wide plain.

It was formed by five huge cities pieced and combined together, thus forming a majestic and enormous grand city!

This place... was the Rapid Shadow Palace's sect, Five Shadow City!

Xiao Shi and the others looked at the astonishing grand city below, their eyes filled with shock.

The vastness of this grand city far exceeded any city they had ever seen before.

Any one of the five cities that made up this astonishing grand city was capable of accommodating tens of millions of people, its astonishing scale was enough to shake one's mind upon seeing it.

The flying boat directly entered Tree Shadow City, one of the five cities, and hovered above Tree Shadow City.

The white-haired old man said to Cen Qingci and the others, "This is Tree Shadow City. These are your identity tokens. From now on, you are disciples of my Rapid Shadow Palace."

As the white-haired old man spoke, several identity tokens appeared before him.

These identity tokens flew towards everyone and landed in their hands.

Immediately, Xiao Shi and the others vanished from the flying boat, appearing out of thin air within Tree Shadow City.

The flying boat above, with a flicker, disappeared from above Tree Shadow City.

The six of them, including Xiao Shi, looked down at the tokens in their hands.

When these tokens appeared in their hands, they quickly flashed and then directly merged into their palms.

This caused a seed to appear within their bodies!

This seed seemed to have some miraculous effect within this city.

It made all of them feel a special aura filling the city!

"This is..."

"Spirit Tree Qi!"