After his astonishment, Kong Hongwu sneered again. "No wonder Linghu searched for you for an entire year, even killing quite a few cultivators who had hidden within the star array, yet never found you! So you had gotten mixed up with Buddhist sect disciples again! Ancestor Hongmeng! He truly did not know life from death—his ambitions were far too great!"
"Ancestor Hongmeng?" Xiao Hua was slightly taken aback. He instantly understood that Kong Hongwu had gotten the wrong idea, but he did not explain. With a low roar, his entire body swelled once more. Kong Hongwu paid no heed to Xiao Hua's struggle. Calmly opening his mouth, he sent out a breath of true qi onto his star armor. The radiance from the armor flourished, and the star armor binding Xiao Hua expanded along with Xiao Hua's body.
"I never expected you to possess an Immortal Palace Token and even sneak in here!" Kong Hongwu said cheerfully with a laugh. "What a pity. Others lure the enemy into the trap, but you walked into it without invitation. If Linghu learned of this, his lungs would explode from rage!"
As he spoke, Kong Hongwu flew forward and blocked the star path, preventing Xiao Hua from fleeing.
Buzz... At that moment, dim golden radiance burst from around Xiao Hua's body. Beneath the golden light, five-colored rosy clouds likewise surged forth. Xiao Hua's enormous Dharma Body Golden Body abruptly shrank along with that radiance, transforming before Kong Hongwu's eyes into a slender "bamboo staff"!
Kong Hongwu stood dumbfounded, crying out in astonishment once more, "You... you actually know Five Qi Ascending to the Origin? How is that possible?"
Before his astonishment could fade, countless fine lightning threads coiled around Xiao Hua's slender bamboo-like body. Xiao Hua flashed with speed surpassing lightning itself, forcibly