The battle outside Thunder City shook the Divine Continent. There were simply too many things about it for the world to talk about: a clash between Holy Sons, a contest over king weapons, and the deaths of the Holy Son and more than ten disciples of the Star Sect, one of the dominant powers in the Northern Divine Continent.
There were far too many topics that could easily stir people into a frenzy.
"Xu Sheng returned against all odds after years of silence and easily defeated the Holy Son of the Azure Heaven Gate. I can't wait for his rematch with Daoist Sanque."
"Li Shenzhou killed Mo Tianxing of the Star Sect with a mere raise of his hand, despite being three cultivation stages below him. To accomplish that in the Four Extremes Realm-does he really have the talent to reach the eight prohibitions?"
"It's hard to say. Some elders from great sects who watched the battle thought he was terrifying, with almost no weaknesses. His physique, primordial spirit, secret arts and scriptures, and understanding of the Great Dao were all astonishing. They said outright that he might one day be invincible under heaven, and that the eight prohibitions probably wouldn't stop him."
"And have you noticed? His fortune is extraordinary, too. He barely had to do anything after arriving in Thunder City to obtain two terrifying king weapons."
"Now we'll see whether he can get past the Star Sect."
The entire cultivation world of the Divine Continent boiled over. Everywhere, people discussed the battle outside the Thunder Domain. The names Xu Sheng and Li Shenzhou spread across the Divine Continent at the speed of light, and even began reaching other continents, such as Reed Continent and He Continent.
Of course, Li Shenzhou gained the greatest fame. Anyone who knew even a little about the battle understood that his talent was truly dazzling. Barring any unforeseen mishaps, no one could say how far he might go.
Xu Sheng came next. After years of silence, he had tempered an astonishing physique and lightning divine abilities in the Thunder Domain, making up for the shortcoming of never having undergone a heavenly tribulation, and returned against all odds.
People eagerly anticipated his rematch with Daoist Sanque. They believed that once he entered Dragon Transformation, it would most likely be a battle of dragon against tiger.
Finally, the Star Sect became even more famous as well. Naturally, this fame left them seething with anger and humiliation. Their Holy Son, painstakingly chosen from countless candidates, had been killed with a single hand. That hardly invited favorable comment, and the enraged Star Sect issued three kill orders against Li Shenzhou in succession.
At the same time, they posted generous bounties for all to see. Anyone with information about Li Shenzhou could receive a substantial sum of Source, while anyone who captured him would receive an astonishing reward.
Vast quantities of Source, mighty treasures of astonishing power, and supreme-grade dragon marrow that would make even Dragon Transformation cultivators drool-the rewards were so generous they were hard to believe.
Even a few people within the Star Sect were puzzled. However furious the Saint Lord might be, and however many extra resources he committed, wasn't the price this time far too high?
A faction within the Star Sect that opposed the Saint Lord was delighted. Your son losing a king weapon was already a grave offense, but since he was dead, it would be improper to heap too much blame on him. Now, though, you were using public resources for private ends. How could you possibly remain in office?
One delighted fellow went to a supreme elder and cheerfully proposed using the incident to impeach and remove the Saint Lord. The supreme elder's face darkened on the spot. He called the man a fool and walked away.
The man was baffled. But when he later heard that all the supreme elders had jointly approved the bounty, his face instantly turned white. Only then did he realize that he might truly have done something monumentally stupid.
When word of this spread, everyone outside the sect laughed. This fellow really was a "genius"!
"Clearly, every faction in the Star Sect understands that Li Shenzhou possesses peerless talent. Since they've already made an enemy of him, they have to strike decisively and beat him to death with one blow, rather than drag their feet and let him grow into a thorn in their hearts."
Many cultivators outside the sect had spotted the clues and offered their conjectures.
"I'm afraid that besides these public arrangements, the Star Sect has already spread who knows how many nets in secret."
"Indeed. If a super sect deploys every means at its disposal, the result will surely be astonishing. This humble Daoist even suspects that someone will directly attempt to divine heaven's secrets!"
"That... is quite possible."
The affair caused an uproar for a time. When Li Wangxian finally returned to an inhabited city a month later, he heard about it as soon as he arrived.
After using a Profound Jade Platform to cross eight thousand li through the void, he had kept flying north until Uncle Jiang caught up. Only then had they alternated between flying and engraving Dao Patterns among mountains and rivers rich in vital essence, gathering the Heavenly Configuration to cross the void. Over the past month, they had traveled countless millions of li before finally arriving at this city.
Heavenly Abyss City.
This, too, was an ancient city. No one knew how long it had stood; even the immortal lineages might not have been able to say for certain. There was no need to dwell on its towering grandeur or majestic presence. As chance would have it, the city currently fell within the Star Sect's sphere of influence.
But with the Yin and Yang Immortal Seed scrambling his aura, Li Wangxian had nothing to fear. He changed his appearance and swaggered into the city.
Then, in a restaurant, he heard all sorts of news about what had happened outside the Thunder Domain after his departure. Naturally, he also learned of the bounty and kill orders against him.
"This is a probe!" Hearing that the rewards included mighty treasures, vast quantities of Source, and dragon marrow, Li Wangxian understood. These people genuinely wanted to deal with him, but they were also testing whether he had a power behind him, and how formidable his background was.
If a superpower such as the Ziwei Divine Dynasty stood behind him, then with matters having reached this point, someone would naturally come forward to contact them and negotiate a reconciliation. Even a lesser power would show some reaction, allowing them to devise an appropriate response.
If there was no such backing, however, they would naturally spare no effort in killing someone who might pose an enormous threat to their Star Sect in the future.
"They really are seasoned and ruthless! Should I say that's only to be expected of a major power?"
Li Wangxian sneered. He understood that, beyond this, some of the cultivators' speculations were certainly coming true as well. The Star Sect must already have been asking people to divine his origins and whereabouts, but he had thought all of that through before making his move.
"They want to divine my whereabouts? Never mind the grave taboo involved in how I transmigrated-with the Yin and Yang Immortal Seed upon me, scrambling heaven's secrets, who could possibly divine anything about me?"
Brimming with confidence, Li Wangxian ate and drank his fill at the restaurant. Once he had satisfied his appetite, he headed straight for Heavenly Abyss City's teleportation formation.
As expected, members of the Star Sect were stationed there, carefully inspecting everyone who entered the Domain Gate to prevent Li Wangxian from slipping away right under their noses.
This was no isolated case. The same thing was happening throughout the Star Sect's territory, and even across the entire north. Some powers had no fear of the Star Sect, but there was no need to offend them either, so they all opened the door for the sect's efforts.
Unfortunately, it was useless. Li Wangxian's disguise technique was not particularly sophisticated, but with the Immortal Seed's support, it was beyond the ability of ordinary people to see through. At the very least, even the members of the Sun God Sect could not do it, much less these people.
After passing through without trouble, Li Wangxian did not delay. He soon embarked on another journey through the void. With a good supply of Source this time, his travels went much more smoothly, and he dared to choose faster routes covering greater distances.
Even so, it still took them two months to reach Reed Continent. They were now nearing one of the Taiyin Human Emperor's regular secluded cultivation grounds in Tianyuan City.
A reader pointed out that the alias in the previous chapter overlapped with the name of Holy Son Dao Yi, so I changed the alias he gave to Li Shenzhou. Also, gaming today left me dizzy and muddleheaded, so I don't have the energy to write a second chapter.
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