242: Chapter 242 Star Lord Reiwa

On the golden armor, a deep dent was shockingly visible.

Star Lord Taibai struggled to crawl up, his eyes filled with horror.

One move.

Just one move.

The Jinyao Armor he was so proud of was like paper before Ling Hao.

“I will say this one last time.” Ling Hao walked over slowly, his long spear trailing behind him, the tip carving a deep groove into the ground. “Hand over the token.”

Star Lord Taibai's lips trembled.

He thought of the rules of the Heavenly Dao Palace; those who lost a star lord token would have their cultivation base crippled and be thrown into the Heavenly Prison. That was a fate worse than death.

But at this moment, if he didn't hand over the token, he wouldn't even have the chance to enter the Heavenly Prison.

“I... I will hand it over.”

Trembling, he took out that golden token from his Dantian. The surface of the token was covered in gold-attribute runes, emitting a scorching golden light.

Ling Hao took the token and swept it with his Divine Sense, confirming it was the real deal.

“Smart.”

He put away the token and turned to leave.

From beginning to end, it hadn't even taken the time for a cup of tea.

The three hundred Disciples of Jinyao Palace stood blankly in place; not a single person dared to step forward to stop him.

Ling Xiao led his men into Jinyao Palace and began to seize resources and inventory the spoils of war. Star Lord Taibai slumped in the ruins, his face ashen.

Shadow Seven quickly caught up to Ling Hao and asked in a low voice, “Young Lord, how should we deal with Star Lord Taibai?”

“Cripple his cultivation and send him to Tianhuo City to be imprisoned,” Ling Hao said indifferently. “Spare his life; he might be useful in the future.”

“Yes.”

Ling Hao boarded the void heaven-escaping shuttle and sat down in the control cabin.

He took out the taibai token and placed it side-by-side with the Lunar token. The two tokens, one silver and one gold, shone with reflecting brilliance.

“The second one.” The corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

Next up was Gangfeng Gorge.

He wanted to lure Star Lord Jidu out of the west and take the third token from Lord Zhenxing.

Ling Xiao walked in from outside the cabin and said with emotion, “Brother Hao, your speed is just too fast. My hundred Loose Cultivators haven't even been put to use yet.”

“Let them continue north,” Ling Hao said. “Have them hang around the northern Star Gate. You stay in the north for now as well to draw the Heavenly Dao Palace's attention there. The real battle is still to come.”

“You mean... Gangfeng Gorge?”

“Not just Gangfeng Gorge.” Ling Hao walked into the control cabin and stood before the map. “There is another token at Zhenxing Palace in the west. Star Lord Jidu is stationed there; a direct assault won't work, so he must be lured out.”

Ling Xiao frowned. “Star Lord Jidu didn't fall for it last time. Will he take the bait this time?”

“Last time, he suspected it was a trick to lure the tiger from the mountain, so he held his ground. But this time is different.” Ling Hao's lips curved slightly. “This time, he is missing a bargaining chip.”

Ling Xiao was startled, then realized. “You mean... Star Lord Taibai has been crippled and the taibai token stolen. The pressure from the Heavenly Dao Palace is already on Star Lord Jidu. If the west is lost as well, the Star Lord Taiyang won't forgive him.”

“Exactly,” Ling Hao said. “So this time, he won't easily leave Zhenxing Palace. But as long as he doesn't move, I will attack the Gangfeng Gorge Star Gate. If the Star Gate is destroyed, the Heavenly Dao Palace's century-long plan will go down the drain, and he can't afford that responsibility even more.”

“Then will he move or not?”

“It's hard if he moves, and hard if he doesn't,” Ling Hao said indifferently. “What I want is for him to be caught in a dilemma. As long as he hesitates, I can find a flaw.”

Shadow Seven asked from the side, “Young Lord, where are we going now?”

Ling Hao's gaze fell on the location of Gangfeng Gorge on the map.

“We go to Gangfeng Gorge first.” He paused. “But not to fight—to take a 'look'. Let Star Lord Luohou know I'm nearby, make him nervous, and make him call for reinforcements. Then...”

His fingertip moved back to the west.

“As soon as Star Lord Jidu moves, we'll double back and strike.”

“Yes!”

The void heaven-escaping shuttle changed direction, turning into a silver-white streak of light that disappeared into the southern horizon.

The news of Jinyao Palace's fall quickly spread throughout the Central Region.

The Heavenly Dao Palace was shaken.

The Loose Cultivators were in an uproar.

Meanwhile, Ling Hao had already set his sights on the next target.

The void heaven-escaping shuttle sped above the clouds, its silver-white hull leaving the astral winds far behind.

Ling Hao sat alone in a quiet room, two star lord tokens floating before him. One silver and one gold, their lights intertwined, casting shifting shadows across the entire room.

[System Notification]

[Mission Progress: 2/9]

[Currently Held: Lunar Star Lord Token, Star Lord Taibai Token]

[Detected weak resonance between two tokens. You can attempt to activate 'Lords Token Array']

[Lords Token Array: When two or more tokens are activated simultaneously, they can temporarily open a suppression effect in the corresponding rule Domain. Currently activatable effects: Lunar Rule Suppression (weakens combat power of Lunar Rule Cultivators by 30%), Taibai Rule Suppression (weakens combat power of Taibai Rule Cultivators by 30%)]

Ling Hao scanned the light screen and pondered for a moment.

The resonance between the two tokens was minuscule, and the suppression effect only targeted Cultivators of specific rules, so its practical value was limited. However, if he collected three, four, or even all nine, he looked forward to seeing what kind of qualitative change would occur.

He put away the tokens and stood up to walk toward the porthole.

Outside the window, the clouds were thinning, and the outline of a vast mountain range was faintly visible below. Gangfeng Gorge was just ahead.

“Young Lord.” Shadow Seven's voice came from outside the cabin door. “Heavenly Dao Palace scouts have been discovered on the outskirts of Gangfeng Gorge. There are twelve locations in total, all marked. Additionally, there are seven detection Formations with a coverage extending fifty miles outside the gorge.”

“Is Star Lord Luohou there?” Ling Hao asked.

“He is,” Shadow Seven said. “Han Lie sent word that Star Lord Luohou, Jin Duo, arrived days ago to take command at Gangfeng Gorge. The defensive forces have increased fourfold compared to before, with six Void Refinement Deacons, over a thousand elites, and a temporarily deployed 'Heavenly Astral Demon-Subduing Great Array'.”

“Heavenly Stellar Demon-Subduing?” Ling Hao's lips curved slightly. “The one they used at Tianhuo City last time?”

“Yes. But this time it's on a larger scale, with the Formation eyes jointly hosted by six Void Refinement Deacons. Its power cannot be compared to the previous one.”

Ling Hao nodded and didn't ask for further details, simply standing by the porthole with his hands behind his back, silent for a long time.

Shadow Seven didn't dare disturb him and quietly withdrew.

Half an hour later, the void heaven-escaping shuttle hovered a hundred miles south of Gangfeng Gorge.

Ling Hao was in no hurry to approach, instead first using his Divine Sense to investigate.

His Integration Stage Divine Sense was like an invisible net, silently extending toward Gangfeng Gorge. He intentionally avoided the coverage of the scouts and detection Formations, only sweeping over the periphery to capture the distribution of the Heavenly Dao Palace Cultivators' auras.

Six Void Refinement Deacons, over a thousand elites, and an enhanced version of the Heavenly Astral Demon-Subduing Great Array.

Star Lord Luohou himself was stationed by the Star Gate Formation base. His cultivation was at the Early Integration Stage, the same level as Ling Hao, but his Foundation was deeper and his Cultivation Technique more refined.

As for the interior of Gangfeng Gorge, there was also a secret room that his Divine Sense could not penetrate. The outside of the room was equipped with a Restriction that blocked investigation. The Restriction patterns were complex and based on stellar rules—clearly the handiwork of Star Lord Luohou.

What was hidden in that secret room?

Core Materials for repairing the Star Gate? Or a secret weapon the Heavenly Dao Palace had transferred from elsewhere?

Ling Hao withdrew his Divine Sense, not rashly going deeper.

Against an Early Integration Stage Star Lord Luohou plus six Void Refinement Deacons, over a thousand elites, the Heavenly Astral Demon-Subduing Great Array, and that unknown secret room, a frontal assault had no chance of victory. What he needed to do was not destroy Gangfeng Gorge, but maneuver.

“Send orders to Ling Xiao.” Ling Hao turned around. “Have him make a scene at the ruins of the Northern Plains Star Gate, the bigger the better. Also, have Xiao Yi lead those thousand Loose Cultivators out of Tianhuo City and create a commotion along the way, as if they are going to attack some important stronghold.”

“Young Lord, you intend to...?” Shadow Seven was startled.

“Make the Heavenly Dao Palace think I'm laying out a dual-front strategy,” Ling Hao said indifferently. “On this side at Gangfeng Gorge, Star Lord Luohou won't dare leave easily. In the north, they must send reinforcements. At Zhenxing Palace in the west, Star Lord Jidu is stationed, but he needs to guard against my sneak attack. When they run out of manpower, they'll have to pull from elsewhere.”

“Pull from where?”

“From the most undefended place.” Ling Hao pointed to the southeast of the Central Region on the map. “Tianji City.”

Shadow Seven realized. “Wanbao Pavilion's territory.”

“Nangong Feng promised to support the Ling Family, but Wanbao Pavilion is a business after all, not an army,” Ling Hao said. “If the Heavenly Dao Palace draws people from Tianji City, Wanbao Pavilion won't stop them, nor can they. But the news will reach Nangong Feng's ears. He will tell me about the changes in the Heavenly Dao Palace's troop deployment, and we will be able to calculate their weak points.”

Shadow Seven nodded. “Then what about the Young Lord now?”

“Back to Tianhuo City.” Ling Hao turned and walked toward the control cabin. “We wait.”