East Prince Gong was both shocked and furious. His divine sense swept the area around the Lunar Star, yet he couldn't detect anything.
Who was it?!
Could the Heavenly Dao have intervened? Or had Tai Yi returned early?!
Impossible!
Hongjun had yet to achieve Dao Integration.
Tai Yi was confronting Chen Tian. There was no way he could have broken free so quickly!
At the instant East Prince Gong's thoughts were thrown into turmoil,
a blurred streak of light, almost indistinguishable from the Lunar Star's clear radiance,
pierced through the array barrier at an inconceivable speed and angle, slipping through a gap created by the disturbance.
It appeared soundlessly behind East Prince Gong.
After all, East Prince Gong was a Great Power at the mid-stage of the Quasi-Saint realm, and his reflexes were extremely quick.
He sensed it the moment the streak of light drew near. His protective Immortal Light activated automatically, while the Dragon Head Crutch transformed into a dragon-shaped shadow and swept backward!
But the streak of light twisted strangely, as if it had foreseen the Dragon Head Crutch's trajectory.
It skimmed past the dragon shadow in an arc that defied reason.
A long, strong hand reached out from within the streak of light.
At its fingertips coiled a tiny wisp of dark-golden Solar True Fire, condensed to the utmost and concealed to the utmost.
The flame gave off neither heat nor light, yet held the terrifying essence of something capable of incinerating all things.
It gently touched the elbow joint of the arm with which East Prince Gong was gripping Chang Xi by the throat.
There was a soft sound.
Like a hot knife slicing through butter.
East Prince Gong's protective Immortal Light, powerful enough to withstand the ancestral witches' true forms, along with his formidable mid-stage Quasi-Saint body, was as fragile as paper before that tiny dark-golden flame.
His forearm was severed at the elbow!
The cut was smooth as a mirror. Not even blood sprayed out, for all the flesh and blood had been reduced to nothingness by the dark-golden flame in an instant!
"ARGH—!!!"
The belated pain and fury made East Prince Gong let out a piercing scream.
He whipped around—
Only to see a blurred figure, seemingly shrouded in mist, catch Chang Xi as she fell.
Then,
the figure charged without hesitation toward Xi He, who had also temporarily broken free because the array had loosened!
"Stop him!!" East Prince Gong roared, his eyes nearly bursting with rage. Ignoring the pain of his severed arm, he frantically urged the Dragon Head Crutch and the remaining power of the array.
At the same time, he was horrified.
That flame... was Solar True Fire! And it was so pure and terrifying that it beggared belief!
Who was this person?!
Tai Yi?
No. Tai Yi was at Buzhou Mountain, and his aura was domineering and conspicuous. He was nothing like this mysterious figure!
Qin Yuan was only an Early Quasi-Saint. That was even less possible.
The person who wielded this Solar True Fire had to have reached the late stage of the Quasi-Saint realm!
Who in the Prehistoric World could have cultivated Solar True Fire to such a level?!
Could it be...
A name that had almost been forgotten flashed through East Prince Gong's mind. His pupils contracted.
The figure was far too fast!
In the instant the Immortal Trapping Array fell into disarray, East Prince Gong was wounded, and the immortals had yet to react,
he had already wrapped one arm around the weakened Chang Xi and seized Xi He's wrist with his other hand.
"Let's go!"
Di Jun's steady voice rang in the two women's ears.
In the next instant,
the phantom images of the River Diagram and Luo Book flickered around the three of them.
Space rippled like water.
The three figures, along with the mysterious newcomer who had lost an arm while rescuing them, vanished from the Lunar Star just like that.
All that remained was a furious East Prince Gong and the utter chaos at the scene.
"Who was it?! Who the hell was it?!"
East Prince Gong's roar echoed across the Lunar Star, but no one answered.
He stared at the faint trace of Solar True Fire left behind, almost too subtle to detect.
East Prince Gong's expression shifted repeatedly, finally settling into boundless resentment and suspicion.
"Di Jun... It was you! It had to be you!!"
"So you'd been hiding on the Solar Star all along... And you were this powerful! So calculating!"
"Fine! Very well! I'll remember this, Your Majesty!"
At that very moment,
countless light-years away from the Lunar Star,
in a secluded valley on the outskirts of West Kunlun,
space twisted slightly.
Di Jun appeared unsteadily with Xi He and Chang Xi.
Only after confirming that East Prince Gong hadn't followed them did he let out a long breath and wipe away nonexistent sweat.
"Whew... That was close. I almost got killed by East Prince Gong one-on-one..."
He muttered to himself, then finally had time to look at the sisters he had rescued.
Xi He's spiritual power was nearly spent, and her clothes were slightly disheveled, but she was mostly unharmed.
At that moment, she was looking at him with an utterly complicated, disbelieving expression.
As for Chang Xi...
Half-held in his arms, Chang Xi's little face was still pale, and clear bruises in the shape of fingers marked her neck.
But her lovely, wide eyes were now round as saucers, fixed on Di Jun's face.
Chang Xi's lips trembled slightly, as if she wanted to say something.
In the end, she only managed to force out a few words through clenched teeth.
Her voice was weak with relief at having survived, and thick with incomprehension and shock:
"Di... Di Jun?!"
"You're actually at the late stage of the Quasi-Saint realm?!"
"Y-you weren't always hiding away on the Solar Star?!"
Di Jun stiffened, thinking, This is bad.
He had used Solar True Fire to rescue them. His cover was blown!
He cleared his throat, doing his best to maintain the composure of an aloof master.
Then he gently set Chang Xi down and released Xi He's wrist.
Taking two steps back, he straightened his Daoist robe, which wasn't actually rumpled, and spoke as calmly as he could.
"Ahem... Fellow Daoists, everything happened so suddenly. In the heat of the moment, I acted without proper decorum."
"This place isn't safe. East Prince Gong may come after us soon. West Kunlun is just ahead. Fellow Daoist Queen Mother of the West may be able to shelter you both..."
He hadn't finished speaking
when Chang Xi had already staggered to her feet.
Her little face was full of suspicion, shock, and a hint of bewilderment.
Chang Xi took two steps forward, nearly pressing her face against Di Jun's, and stared hard into his eyes.
"Don't change the subject, Di Jun!"
"Tell me! Why have you been hiding your strength all this time?! What are you really after?!"
"You couldn't possibly be..." A dangerous gleam suddenly flashed through Chang Xi's eyes as she lowered her voice. "A Transmigrator too?!"
Di Jun: Σ(ﾟДﾟ|||)
A cold sweat instantly broke out across his back.
How was this girl so perceptive?!
No, wait! How did she know the word "Transmigrator"?!
Could it be...
Di Jun abruptly looked at Chang Xi, his own expression turning uncertain and suspicious.
Their eyes met.
The atmosphere suddenly grew strange.
Xi He looked from Di Jun to her younger sister, deep confusion appearing in her cool eyes.
She couldn't understand.
What had her younger sister said to Di Jun to leave him so shocked?
For a while, silence reigned in the valley.
Only a trace of immortal mist drifting over from distant West Kunlun flowed gently through the air.
After a long pause,
Di Jun took a deep breath and dispelled his disguise.
A handsome face, touched with a hint of lazy exasperation, appeared before Xi He and Chang Xi.
Di Jun rubbed his brow and sighed.
"This... is a long story."
"But, Fellow Daoist Chang Xi, before we discuss that..."
He pointed at the bruises on Chang Xi's neck, which had yet to fade.
Then he glanced at Xi He's slightly disheveled clothes.
Finally, he gave them as friendly a smile as he could manage.
"Shouldn't we find somewhere safe first and talk this through?"
"After all..."
He raised his head and looked in the direction of the Lunar Star.
He could still faintly sense the chaotic fluctuations of spiritual power and East Prince Gong's fury.
"That old bastard East Prince Gong is probably about to lose his mind."