"Grandfather, what are you looking at?"
In the Tian Yuan Kingdom, an old man and a young woman left the imperial palace under cover of night.
Everywhere they passed, large numbers of guards looked dazed and absent-minded, forgetting everything as though caught in a dream.
Han Yu Rou was as beautiful as a celestial maiden. Her white dress fluttered, her raven hair cascading down her back, she looked like an elf beneath the moon, walking through the heavily guarded palace as if it were level ground.
Curiosity shone from her exquisite cheeks. She turned and glanced at the old man, who had stopped to gaze at the bright moon on the horizon.
The bright moon flickered and vanished, only to reappear. The faint radiance emitted by the Sun Star illuminated the night.
Old Han watched in silence, his expression utterly still. Just before the moon had disappeared, a strangely familiar fluctuation had spread through the air.
The old man shook his head. That battle back then had been so brutal that the battlefield still retained the aura of despair from Swallowing Moon. He had concluded that Swallowing Moon had been destroyed, or perhaps so severely damaged that it could no longer be used.
He still vaguely remembered Swallowing Moon's master. His cultivation had been unfathomably deep, yet his greatest passion in life had been cooking. Even now, recalling those flavors left him with endless aftertastes.
Just yesterday, while the Ghost Guards were investigating people afflicted with cold ailments, they had accidentally discovered a high-level Spirit Chef and reported the matter to Old Han.
Old Han had come full of hope. Now he was returning in disappointment.
"My lord, only one person remains unconfirmed."
Although she had handled the screening, every patient with a cold ailment who possessed culinary skills still had to be verified by Old Han.
Old Han had always believed that even if he had concealed his identity, he would never have abandoned his greatest passion.
"Tian Yuan Star Observation Manor, outer court Spirit Chef Hall, Huang Tiancheng."
The Ghost Guard spoke without holding out much hope. No matter what that person's cultivation had been back then, he had ultimately been the Big Dipper of Mount Tai of the Spirit Chef World. Could he really have humbled himself to remain in a tiny Star Gazing Manor?
"Oh? Why do I feel that he's the person I'm looking for?" Old Han laughed as if struck by a sudden inspiration.
Han Yu Rou curled her lips. He had said the same thing countless times already, only to return disappointed every single time.
Finding a powerful expert in the Abyss Realm was not difficult. Finding someone who had concealed his identity was far harder, even when the characteristics were so obvious.
Of course, if one traced the matter to its source, Old Han had always been investigating it in secret!
Otherwise, given his identity, he could have mobilized every faction for a large-scale search. The efficiency would have been astonishing, but some matters were better kept hidden.
In Han Yu Rou's view, that person had probably died long ago. He had ultimately been poisoned in a supreme forbidden zone of the Cold Abyss. Even if he had survived, he had likely already left the Abyss Realm. After all, the treasures he had taken back then were truly heartrending to contemplate.
"Let's go take a look. If it doesn't work out, we'll turn back. I truly don't want to keep searching."
Old Han sighed deeply. The Supreme Treasure Land of the Abyss Realm was about to open. Even if they found him in the future, it would no longer mean anything.
"Grandfather, even if I can't obtain that thing, I can still Manifest Divinity throughout the heavens in the future!" Han Yu Rou said with utter seriousness.
"You fool, who gave you the courage to say such a thing? You must keep your feet on the ground." Old Han was furious. Manifest Divinity throughout the heavens? Across the entire Abyss Realm, no one had accomplished such a feat in thousands of years!
"??"
Faint black lines appeared on Han Yu Rou's forehead. A few days ago, he had said she was poor and narrow-minded. Now she had set herself a modest little goal, and this was the result?
"By the way, my lord, there was a Starry Sky Phenomenon over Black River. It was probably caused by a Contemplation Method cultivator," the Ghost Guard said again.
"Oh? Triggering an omen—who would have thought that another supreme prodigy would emerge from the Forbidden Path?"
Old Han stopped in his tracks and fell briefly silent before saying, "Tell me, could it be that when Lao Zheng was about to die from the poison, he abandoned everything, cultivated the Furnace Contemplation Method, and tried to change his fate against the heavens?"
"..."
The Ghost Guards were speechless. They desperately wanted to ask whether Old Han had a fever. Why was he forcing every clue to fit this matter?
At present, the storm stirred up by Tian Yuan Star Observation Manor was becoming increasingly earth-shattering. Especially over the next two days, large numbers of Star Masters had arrived near the Star Palace, triggering an astonishing upheaval.
The guardians of the various noble worlds were tense and uneasy, warning their disciples to behave themselves. According to uncertain reports, a Star Lord had already descended upon this Star Gazing Manor.
That was a Star Lord who stood above all living beings. Within the borders of the Tian Yuan Kingdom, the highest-ranking authority was naturally the inspector bearing the title of the kingdom's ruler.
An inspector could be called a feudal overlord of the Heavenly Sun Star Palace!
Yet Star Lords stood supreme, occupying the core of the power structure. They held life and death in their hands and possessed true authority. Once an order was issued, it was carried out with thunderous force. Who would dare resist?
The Star Palace had yet to reveal what had happened to outsiders. In short, large numbers of experts were rushing toward the depths of Black River.
Likewise, news of a Flood Dragon appearing and attacking the Flood Dragon Ship had spread, leading every faction to believe that the Star Lord had come to deal with the Flood Dragon!
"I only warmed up and attacked the Flood Dragon Ship a little. Was there really any need to make such a huge fuss?"
Across the boundless Black River, Ink Flood Dragon had wandered frantically through its depths. When he returned to the central region, the lineup before him truly frightened him.
More than a hundred star treasure ships rampaged without restraint. Vast numbers of enforcers descended from the heavens, gathering an indescribable momentum, like a giant hand belonging to a Star Lord pressing down upon him!
"Those damned curs! If I hadn't endured from the ancient past until now while suppressing my cultivation, what Star Lord? Qiang-ge could poison you to death with a fart!"
Ink Flood Dragon was furious. He had lorded over Black River, but before a colossus like the Heavenly Sun Star Palace, his current cultivation did not make him much of a giant.
He returned to his lair at top speed.
Huh? Where did my bed go?
Ink Flood Dragon was startled. He stared into the palace, white as jade, at the area where his bed had disappeared, and stood there in silence for three breaths.
"My bed was stolen? My Household was robbed? Who did it? Who could be so utterly deranged!"
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"And the essence of that dragon vein's origin was sucked away too! Who? Who did this? That was the earthly treasure essence that extended my lifespan!"
Ink Flood Dragon roared like a madman. He was about to manifest his complete form and unleash his might, but with his face flushed in fury, he charged straight toward the Medicine Garden.
"Huh? The Medicine Garden is perfectly fine."
Ink Flood Dragon wept tears of joy as he burrowed into the Medicine Garden and gazed at the Five-Colored Medicinal Soil and the Golden Iron Block standing above it.
"I'm moving! I'm moving house!"
Ink Flood Dragon was intensely uneasy. He had already foreseen the Star Master army closing in and was terrified that he would be made into a weapon for others to use.
However, Ink Flood Dragon's expression soon darkened. Moving house? Where could he move to?
"Where am I supposed to move?"
Ink Flood Dragon was so angry that he rammed his head against the wall. He simply could not move the Golden Iron Block and the Five-Colored Medicinal Soil. Otherwise, with his cautious and prudent nature, he would have gone to the Abyssal Sea long ago.
Of course, Chen Fusheng could not stop thinking about Ink Flood Dragon's Medicine Garden either. However, the problem he faced now was extremely serious. The threat of death was constantly intensifying.
His injuries had already healed, and he could enter his strongest combat state at any time.
That enforcement team had all been rich. The various storage bags he had collected contained a combined total of eighteen thousand star stones!
That did not even include the various artifacts and pills he had obtained. Their total value, added together, exceeded three hundred thousand, making him a rich man.
During this period, Chen Fusheng had frantically charged the Fire Scale Sword. Of course, star stones could not charge the Fire Scale Sword, because the energy they stored differed from star-force matter.
As for resources like Ling Yao's treasured fan, he extracted the matter within them and used it as star-force matter to replenish the sword.
"The Fire Scale Sword can probably unleash three consecutive attacks."
As for the Vajra Talisman, it had long since been exhausted. Relying on the defensive power of the fourth realm, he had charged forward for over a thousand li, then traveled nearly another thousand li.
Now trouble had arrived. Large fleets of treasure ships had reached Black River, while enormous spiritual storms swept across the waters without pause.
Chen Fusheng burrowed inside the belly of a giant fish and used a tiny amount of force to control it as it slowly crossed the river.
Chen Fusheng knew that the longer he delayed, the greater the danger became!
Perhaps fourth-realm experts were supervising this stretch of river. Even if the Fire Scale Sword could continuously unleash attacks, could it withstand a fourth-realm expert?
"Am I unable to leave?"
Chen Fusheng was currently three hundred li into Black River, but his powerful senses told him that terrifying battle formations were constantly drilling along the riverbank!
Clearly, they had sealed off the riverbanks and every route leading ashore, casting a net and searching methodically. Time was already pressing.
"With such an enormous force hunting me down, Chen Fusheng, you really are blessed across three lifetimes."
Chen Fusheng gave a self-mocking laugh. This was forcing him to grow stronger, but he still had to find a way out of Black River!
He suddenly discovered that the Star Chart, which had been silent for many days, had begun to tremble faintly.
He was astonished. The Star Chart seemed to have mutated.
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