East Sea Star Lord Hides a Secret Pawn, Gongming's New Calamity is Heard

Deep within the Northern Darkness Sea, Demonic Qi and Yao Qi clashed wildly, churning up waves ten thousand feet high. The deafening roar even spread across nearly half of the northern Great Desolation, drawing the startled attention of countless powerful beings.

The instigator, Tongtian, had long since used the cover of that earth-shattering battle, along with the Chaos Bead's ability to distort Heavenly Secrets and conceal his aura, to slip away like a slippery fish through the Northern Darkness Sea Eye's complex network of underwater currents, escaping that place of trouble.

Beyond the Sea Eye, the view opened up dramatically, revealing a normal sea region. With a slight adjustment of direction, he knew he had reached the East Sea.

Tongtian didn't stop at all, not even bothering to check on the Dragon Palace of the East Sea. He swept up Wudang, Sanxiao, and Kui Niu, pushing their speed to the absolute limit as they fled towards the most remote, spirit-energy-thinnest overseas desolate island in his memory.

The island was rugged with strange rocks and sparse vegetation. Its spiritual veins were nearly depleted, and even the lowest-tier sea monsters wouldn't bother to inhabit it. It was the perfect place to hide temporarily.

Tongtian landed his escape light and immediately waved his hand, setting up layers of Chaos restrictions to completely isolate the island's aura. Only then did he slightly relax. The consecutive fierce battles, the escape, and the traversal of the void had left him feeling a trace of fatigue, even though he had advanced to the late Quasi-Saint stage.

"Master, are you alright?" Yun Xiao stepped forward, her voice filled with concern. The lightning-fast calculations and dangers in the Northern Darkness Sea just moments ago had left her with lingering fear.

"I'm fine. That old rascal Kunpeng is probably in a terrible state right now." Tongtian's lips curved into a cold sneer. That One-Eyed Demon God was formidable enough to keep Kunpeng busy; he wouldn't have the time to bother him again anytime soon.

His gaze swept over his four disciples and Kui Niu. Seeing that they were shaken but unharmed, he felt a slight ease in his heart. Although this journey through the void was perilous, the rewards were immense. Not only had his cultivation broken through and Sanxiao been rescued, but he had also obtained clues about the Ancestor Dragon's remains and Pangu's broken axe. Especially the confirmation of the approaching Otherworld tribulation had given him a deeper sense of urgency.

"All of you, recuperate quickly and restore your Method Power. The situation in the Great Desolation is likely to change drastically. We need to clarify our current situation and plan our next move as soon as possible," Tongtian instructed. He then sat down cross-legged, meditating to recover while cautiously extending his divine sense outward, sensing the movements of the East Sea and the entire Great Desolation.

The first thing he sensed was that in the heavens above, amidst the rotation of the stars, there seemed to be many hidden "eyes." The intensity of surveillance was several times stricter than before! Divine senses of varying strengths swept across the mountains, rivers, and seas of the Great Desolation like a fine net, with the East and West Seas being particularly scrutinized areas.

"It seems our 'little actions' have thoroughly alerted the Heavenly Court, and even the Saints behind it," Tongtian sneered inwardly. This kind of net was less of a search and more of a deterrence and a declaration.

Immediately after, he sensed two familiar yet powerful auras in the East Sea region, "diligently" carrying out their search mission.

One was Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, stationed on the shores of the East Sea, chanting scriptures for salvation with increasing "diligence." His Buddhist light covered nearly half of the East Sea, and his swastika Buddhist seals permeated and probed everywhere. Clearly, he had not given up and was even more persistent due to his previous failure.

The other was an "old acquaintance"—an East Sea Star Lord officially appointed by the Heavenly Court! This was the True Spirit, a former subordinate of the Intercepting Sect, who had initially detected the abnormality on Golden Ao Island but was then misled by the illusion array set up by Tongtian and Wudang, and ultimately chose to conceal the matter!

At this moment, this East Sea Star Lord was leading a team of heavenly soldiers, conducting a routine patrol of the sea surface. However, when his divine sense swept over the desolate island where Tongtian and the others were hiding, it paused almost imperceptibly for a moment before moving away as if nothing had happened. He even subtly distorted the Heavenly Secrets in a small area nearby, making it appear even more "barren and desolate."

Tongtian's heart stirred slightly. This fellow... he is thoughtful. It seems that the bit of goodwill from Golden Ao Island back then, and his "shelter" by concealing the truth, had ultimately made him loyal to the Intercepting Sect.

Perhaps this could be a point of leverage to exploit?

Just as Tongtian was pondering, a very faint but distinctly anxious and worried divine sense fluctuation, like a precisely delivered beacon, quietly penetrated the layers of restrictions he had set up and entered his Primordial Spirit.

This divine sense fluctuation... it came from that East Sea Star Lord! How could he pinpoint his location so accurately? It seemed that his position as a Heavenly Court official had given him control over the laws of the East Sea star domain far beyond imagination.

The divine sense contained no specific words, only a strong sense of warning and a blurry fragment of an image. The image seemed to show the True Spirit of Zhao Gongming, who was imprisoned by the Investiture of the Gods, enduring some immense pain. His aura was even weaker than when they had communicated before, and it even carried a hint of ominous, withered decay!

Tongtian's eyes snapped open, a sharp cold light flashing within them!

Gongming is in trouble! Was it because he had forcibly communicated with the Investiture of the Gods before, alerting Haotian? Or were Venerable Lord of Primordial Beginning or the Western Teachings taking out their anger on the Intercepting Sect disciples on the list due to the matters at Kirin Cliff and Putuo Mountain?

Regardless of the reason, it was intolerable!

"Master?" Sensing Tongtian's suddenly icy aura, Wudang and Sanxiao looked over.

"Gongming is in danger," Tongtian said, his voice chilling. "We need to immediately ascertain the current situation on the Investiture of the Gods!" Directly communicating with the list was too risky; it had already alerted Haotian last time. Now, the only way was to find a breakthrough through this East Sea Star Lord who seemed to be loyal to the Intercepting Sect.

How could he contact him without being discovered by the heavenly soldiers around him or the omnipresent Heavenly Court surveillance?

Tongtian's gaze swept across the System Mall list, rapidly browsing through the expensive exchange items. Suddenly, his eyes locked onto one item: [Mirroring Talisman of Mind Reading (One-time Use)]: Can establish a one-way mental connection with a designated target for a very short period, projecting a small mental illusion for communication, difficult to detect by external forces. Exchange price: 200 Contribution Points.

This was it! Although expensive, it was worth it!

Tongtian exchanged for the talisman without hesitation, locked onto the East Sea Star Lord who was "diligently" patrolling, and quietly activated it!

The next moment, a wisp of Tongtian's mental consciousness, like an invisible ripple, crossed space and precisely entered the sea of consciousness of the East Sea Star Lord, instantly constructing an illusionary image of an island reef.

The East Sea Star Lord (whose True Spirit form was an Intercepting Sect immortal with a leopard's tail and tiger's teeth) was patrolling on his cloud when his body suddenly stiffened. A fleeting look of confusion flashed in his eyes before he returned to normal, but his mind had already been drawn into the illusion.

In the illusion, Tongtian's blurry figure stood with his hands behind his back.

"Are you an old friend from the Intercepting Sect?" Tongtian spoke directly, his voice calm but carrying an undeniable authority.

Seeing Tongtian's figure in the illusion, though blurry, the familiar aura and voice sent a tremor through the Star Lord's Primordial Spirit, almost causing him to lose composure on the spot! He forcefully suppressed his excitement and respectfully replied in his mind, "Disciple... Qiushou Xian... pays respects to the Sect Master! Sect Master, you, you really..."

It was indeed Qiushou Xian, one of the Seven Immortals who had served him! Tongtian sighed inwardly. After the Investiture of the Gods, he had actually been conferred the title of East Sea Star Lord.

"No need for formalities," Tongtian interrupted him. "Long story short, why did Gongming send a warning? What happened on the Investiture of the Gods?"

Qiushou Xian dared not delay and quickly replied anxiously, "Reporting to the Sect Master! This is terrible! Just a few days ago, His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor suddenly issued an order to transfer some... some 'disobedient' True Spirits of the ranked gods on the list to reinforce the Heavenly River embankment and resist the erosion of Demonic Qi! Senior Brother Zhao Gongming, Luo Xuan, Lü Yue, and dozens of other disciples of our sect are all among them!"

"Reinforce the Heavenly River? Resist Demonic Qi?" Tongtian's brows furrowed. "Where did this matter come from?" He had just returned from the outer chaos; where was there Demonic Qi that the Heavenly Court needed to mobilize such a force to resist? Unless...

Qiushou Xian's voice was filled with anger and helplessness. "Disciple does not know the specifics! I only heard that Taishang Laojun (a clone of Laozi) deduced that there seemed to be unusual activity outside the heavens. To be safe, they are taking precautions. But deep within the Heavenly River, chaotic currents rage, and it is a crack in the heavens, extremely dangerous! To reinforce it with True Spirits is no different from using one's own soul power to fill it. The consumption is immense, and the pain is unbearable! A slight mistake could lead to the erosion of the True Spirit, or even its complete dissipation!"

Tongtian instantly understood! What a precaution! What a reinforcement of the Heavenly River! This was clearly a scheme to kill with a borrowed knife! Either Haotian was using this opportunity to torment and suppress disobedient Intercepting Sect disciples, or... those Saints, because of his previous actions, were beginning to retaliate and were taking their anger out on these disciples on the list!

Perhaps this was even a trap set for him! To force him to appear and rescue them!

"Before Senior Brother Gongming was transferred, he exhausted all his strength to send out a wisp of divine sense to warn us, saying that this transfer was extremely dangerous and that the Sect Master must be extremely careful and not..." Qiushou Xian's voice choked with sobs.

"Not what?" Tongtian's voice was icy.

"Not to easily get involved with the Heavenly Court," Qiushou Xian said with difficulty.

Tongtian fell silent, but the aura around him trembled like an erupting volcano, suppressing the illusionary realm.

Using the True Spirits of his disciples as consumables? As bait?

Good! Very good!

Haotian! Laozi! Yuanshi! Two Saints of the West!

You really can do this!

"Qiushou Xian." Tongtian's voice returned to calm, yet it was colder than ice that had been frozen for ten thousand years. "You can rest assured being a Star Lord. Keep today's events buried in your heart. I will deal with Gongming and the others myself."

"Sect Master! The Heavenly Court's defenses are heavily guarded, and the Saints are watching!" Qiushou Xian said urgently.

"I have my own plans." Tongtian interrupted him. "Keep an eye on the movements on the Investiture of the Gods. If anything unusual occurs, find a way to inform me. Protect yourself."

With that, without waiting for Qiushou Xian's reply, he actively severed their mental connection.

In the cave dwelling on the desolate island, Tongtian slowly opened his eyes, which were now filled with a terrifying killing intent, like mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

"Master..." Wudang and Sanxiao felt the almost tangible rage and chill, and they were uneasy.

"Gongming, Luo Xuan, Lü Yue, and dozens of other disciples had their True Spirits extracted by Haotian to fill the Heavenly River," Tongtian's voice was frighteningly calm.

"What?!" Wudang and Sanxiao's faces instantly turned pale, and endless anger and grief erupted in their eyes! To fill the Heavenly River? Wasn't that no different from utter annihilation?!

"Master! We're going to save them!" Bixiao, with red eyes, was about to rush out.

"Stop!" Tongtian shouted coldly. "Going to the Heavenly Court now would play right into their hands!"

He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the surging killing intent, his mind racing.

Forcefully breaking into the Heavenly Court to save Gongming? Impossible! The Heavenly Court would undoubtedly be a dragon's den and a tiger's lair right now, waiting for him to walk into a trap.

But to stand by and watch his disciples' True Spirits erode and dissipate? Even more impossible!

He had to find a way to alleviate their suffering, or even... find a way to strengthen their True Spirits, allowing them to hold on longer until he possessed enough power to rescue them!

How could he remotely help the True Spirits on the Investiture of the Gods through the list itself?

Tongtian's gaze turned to the System Mall again, his divine sense frantically sifting through it. Suddenly, a special exchange caught his attention.

[Myriad Spirits Nourishing God Incense (Recipe and Manufacturing Process)]: Refined using materials such as Chaos Green Lotus leaves (fragments), Soul Nurturing Wood Essence, Taiyin Moon Essence Dew, Threads of Sentient Beings' Wishes, etc. After burning, the smoke is formless and intangible, capable of following karma, nourishing True Spirits, and slightly enhancing soul power. It may have miraculous effects on the True Spirits on the Investiture of the Gods. Note: Effects depend on the quality of materials and the degree of damage to the True Spirit. Exchange Price: 300 Contribution Points.

This was it!

A sharp glint flashed in Tongtian's eyes. Although this incense couldn't cure the root cause, it might temporarily stabilize Gongming and the others' condition! And the materials needed to refine it, though precious, he happened to have a fragment of the Chaos Green Lotus leaf (leftover from saving Sanxiao), and the Dragon Palace resources contained Soul Nurturing Wood and Taiyin Moon Essence. Only the Threads of Sentient Beings' Wishes...

His gaze fell upon the vast human world.

Collect the power of wishes, refine the spiritual incense! Before ascending to the Heavenly Court, he needed to extend his disciples' lives first! And all of this had to be done stealthily, under the watchful eyes of the Saints and the Heavenly Court.

A new game had begun.