249: Chapter 249 Eastward Approaching the Star

Late at night, at the hour of the Rat.

Deep within the Desolate Bone Plain, thirty-six formation bases were activated simultaneously.

Ash-gray Evil Qi erupted like a volcano, soaring into the sky and condensing into countless illusory figures of battle souls in mid-air. These phantoms took various forms—some holding halberds, some wielding swords, others drawing bows—letting out silent roars as they charged in all directions.

Evil Qi permeated the air as the battle souls ran rampant.

News quickly reached Yinghuo City.

Star Lord Yinghuo, Huo Qing, personally ascended the city walls and looked south toward the Desolate Bone Plain. The ash-gray Evil Qi was particularly eye-catching in the night sky, and one could vaguely see countless battle soul phantoms clashing within it. Their roars could be faintly heard even from hundreds of miles away.

"A battle soul riot..." Star Lord Yinghuo's expression was grave.

The battle souls of the Desolate Bone Plain had existed for a long time, but they had never erupted on such a large scale in hundreds of years. If left unchecked, the Evil Qi would spread to Yinghuo City, and the hundreds of thousands of Cultivators in the city would be the first to suffer.

"Star Lord, should we request reinforcements from Tianque City?" the lieutenant asked.

"It's too late." Star Lord Yinghuo shook his head. "The Desolate Bone Plain is only three hundred miles from Yinghuo City. By the time reinforcements from Tianque City arrive, the Evil Qi will already be at our gates. I will go personally."

He turned and took the yinghuo war banner from the weapon rack. The flag was as crimson as fire, embroidered with a dark red star surrounded by ripples of eerie patterns. This was his soul-bound treasure, capable of mobilizing the Qi of heaven and earth to suppress all things sinister.

"Star Lord, could this be intentional?" the lieutenant hesitated. "Ling Hao has been applying pressure on the eastern, western, and southern fronts simultaneously. Could this be a feint to lure the tiger from the mountain..."

"Ling Hao's goal is the star lord tokens, not Yinghuo City," Star Lord Yinghuo interrupted him. "If he wanted to lure the tiger from the mountain, he would go for Chenxing Palace or Suixing City; he wouldn't waste energy on a place like the Desolate Bone Plain. Besides, the battle soul riot in the Desolate Bone Plain is real, not an illusion. I'll be back shortly."

Leading his elite troops, he rushed to the Desolate Bone Plain through the night.

Star Lord Yinghuo would never have guessed that on the same night he left Yinghuo City,

Ling Hao would also be arriving at Chenxing Palace.

The void heaven-escaping shuttle sped above the clouds, its silver-white hull slicing the morning light into fine golden threads.

Ling Hao sat alone in a quiet room, three star lord tokens floating before him. Silver, gold, and earthy-yellow light intertwined to form the Three Talents Suppressing Domain, enveloping the entire room. His Body Integration Middle Stage cultivation was fully stabilized. The three energy cores in his body—the source of time, the heart of origin, and the primal dragon source—throbbed at the same frequency, each pulse resonating with the Laws of heaven and earth.

The Chaos Dragon Infant was perched between the three. Its dragon body had grown to fifteen zhang, with fine space-time runes flowing over its scales. Its dragon eyes reflected the complete Reincarnation of stellar evolution and the flow of time and space.

He opened his eyes, a flash of nine-colored light vanishing within them.

"Shadow Seven," Ling Hao spoke.

"Present," Shadow Seven's voice came from outside the cabin door.

"How much longer until we reach Chenxing City?"

"At our current speed, about two hours." Shadow Seven paused. "Hall Master Ling Xiao has sent word; he has arrived at the outskirts of Chenxing City with five hundred Loose Cultivators and is setting up a sealing array. On Xiao Yi's side, the 'battle soul riot' in the Desolate Bone Plain has begun. Star Lord Yinghuo is pinned down and won't be able to get away for the time being."

"What about Tianque City?"

"Han Lie reported that the Star Lord Taiyang has received the message and ordered troops to be diverted from the northeast to reinforce Chenxing Palace, but the reinforcements will take at least two days to arrive. Star Lord Luohou is still stationed at Gangfeng Gorge, and Star Lord Jidu has remained inactive since returning to Zhenxing Palace, seemingly waiting for something."

The corners of Ling Hao's mouth curled up slightly.

What was Star Lord Jidu waiting for? Waiting for him to make a mistake, or waiting for the Star Lord Taiyang to act. But no matter what he was waiting for, it wouldn't change the fate of Chenxing Palace.

"Order Ling Xiao to wait until I arrive before making a move."

"Understood."

Ling Hao closed his eyes and continued refining the rule imprints of the three tokens.

After refining the dragon source, his control over the power of rules had reached a new level. The speed at which he carved Chaos imprints into the tokens was three times faster than before, and the light emitted by the tokens gradually shifted from single colors to the color of Chaos.

His Divine Sense passed through the tokens. Suddenly, the Chaos Dragon Infant opened its eyes and spat out a breath of dark-gold dragon breath. The dragon breath merged into the three tokens, and fine dragon scale patterns immediately surfaced on their faces.

Ling Hao's heart stirred. He felt a Bloodline-like connection between himself and the tokens, as if these three tokens were no longer external objects but a part of his body.

Once the fourth token was in hand, the Four Symbols Sealing Heaven could be activated. At that time, the four tokens would link up, and the suppression effect would cover a radius of three hundred zhang, weakening the combat power of Early Integration Stage Cultivators by more than thirty percent.

---

Chenxing City, the eastern coastal region.

This city was built by the sea. Its walls were made of azure Spirit Stones, their surfaces covered in water-attribute formation runes. Every hundred zhang along the wall stood a lighthouse, atop which floated a fist-sized water-avoidance bead, emitting a soft glow that kept the ocean tides outside the city.

In the center of the city, Chenxing Palace stood majestically.

The palace was cast entirely from Deep Sea Cold Iron, its surface inlaid with countless star crystals that reflected a dreamlike glow in the sunlight. In the square before the palace stood a ten-zhang-tall statue of a star—the likeness of Lord Chenxing, holding a trident and treading on sea waves, looking awe-inspiring.

At this moment, Lord Chenxing was standing on the star-gazing platform atop the palace, looking toward the southern horizon.

He appeared to be about forty years old, with a thin face and a three-strand beard fluttering in the wind, his water-blue Daoist robe rustling. Having Cultivated the Chenxing True Scripture for hundreds of years, his understanding of the rules of water and stars had reached a Transcendent level. Although he was only at the Peak of Void Refining, with the geographical advantage of the sea, he could fight an Early Integration Stage expert.

But now, he felt a faint sense of unease.

"Star Lord." A black-robed deacon quickly ascended the star-gazing platform and knelt on one knee. "News has come from Tianque City. Ling Hao has left Tianhuo City, and his whereabouts are unknown. Star Lord Yinghuo is pinned down by the battle soul riot in the Desolate Bone Plain and cannot pull away. The Star Lord Taiyang has instructed us to hold out for two days; reinforcements will arrive in two days."

"Two days..." Lord Chenxing murmured. "If Ling Hao really intends to attack Chenxing Palace, two days is more than enough."

He turned, his gaze falling on the southern horizon.

There, a silver-white streak of light could be vaguely seen weaving through the clouds.

"Pass down the order: activate the Chenxing Grand Array! All Disciples are to mount the walls and prepare for battle!" Lord Chenxing said in a deep voice. "Also, request reinforcements from Tianque City again. Tell them Ling Hao may have already arrived and request that they speed up the reinforcements!"

"Yes!"

The black-robed deacon took the order and left.

Lord Chenxing gripped his trident tightly, a flicker of determination flashing in his eyes.

"Ling Hao, if you want to come, I will wait for you at Chenxing Palace. The sea is my home field; you won't gain any advantage here!"

After Lord Chenxing finished speaking, he slammed his trident heavily onto the ground. A blue ripple spread from the star-gazing platform in all directions. The water-system formation runes of the entire Chenxing Palace lit up, and an azure light soared into the sky, echoing the tides of the distant sea.