Before the bell had even finished ringing, a Divine Rainbow shot into the sky from the depths of the sacred land, piercing the heavens and arriving in an instant.
The Divine Rainbow dissipated, revealing an old man dressed in a purple-gold Daoist robe. His hair and beard were all white, his face was gaunt, and his eyes held the illusion of stars fading as they opened and closed. Daoist energy flowed around him, merging with heaven and earth. He was clearly a supreme Mighty One —a powerhouse at the Second Heaven of the Immortal Platform!
"Greetings, Supreme Elder!" The three gatekeeper cultivators hurriedly bowed in respect.
The old man ignored them, his gaze falling on Lin Hao. He scrutinized him for a moment, his pupils contracting slightly.
"Are you ' Tianxuan '?" the old man asked in a deep voice.
Lin Hao nodded.
The old man took a deep breath and stepped aside to make way. "The Holy Lord invites you both to come with me."
This scene left the three gatekeeper cultivators dumbfounded. This Supreme Elder was one of the top three figures in the Yaoguang Holy Land; even the Holy Lords of other holy lands might not command such respect from him. Just who was this young man in black?
Lin Hao remained calm as he led Snow Empress and followed the old man into the Yaoguang Holy Land.
As they traveled, everything the Snow Empress saw astonished him. Inside the Yaoguang Holy Land, the spiritual energy was so dense that it turned into mist. Thousand-year-old medicinal herbs and ten-thousand-year-old ancient trees could be seen everywhere, and many spiritual birds and exotic beasts also lived there. Palaces floated in mid-air, connected by divine chains, with runes flashing, forming an awe-inspiring array.
"This is... the Ancient Star Grand Array?" The Snow Empress recognized the origin of this formation and was shocked. In the Ice Emperor's memory, there was a record of this formation - in ancient times, a sage observed the movement of the stars in the heavens and created this formation. It can draw on the power of the stars, combining offense and defense. In its complete state, it can suppress and kill Saint!
"Young lady, you have a good eye." The old man who had led the way turned back to look at Snow Empress, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. "This formation was indeed left behind by the founder of our Yaoguang School, and it has been passed down for 120,000 years."
Snow Empress nodded slightly and said no more.
The three arrived deep within the sacred land, before a palace suspended at the highest point. The palace was entirely forged from star-stone iron, engraved with countless ancient runes, and exuded a vast and boundless aura.
"The Holy Lord is already waiting inside the hall. Please, you two." The old man stopped and gestured for them to proceed.
Lin Hao stepped inside, with Snow Empress following closely behind.
Inside the main hall, it was not as magnificent as one might imagine, but rather quite simple. The four walls were bare, except for a star pattern in the center, which emitted a soft light. A middle-aged man dressed in a simple gray robe sat cross-legged in the center of the star pattern, meditating with his eyes closed.
He opened his eyes upon hearing footsteps.
In that instant, the Snow Empress seemed to see a starry sky unfold before her eyes, with endless stars flowing and vast. But in just a moment, the strange phenomenon disappeared, and the gray-robed man returned to his ordinary appearance, like an ordinary middle-aged scholar.
"You've come." The gray-robed man looked at Lin Hao, his tone calm, yet carrying an indescribable complex emotion.
"You're here." Lin Hao walked to the opposite side and sat down cross-legged naturally.
Snow Empress stood there, somewhat at a loss. She could sense that the gray-robed man before her was the Yaoguang Holy Lord —a true Saint! Moreover, he wasn't just a novice Saint; he was at least Saint King level being!
"Sit." The Yaoguang Holy Lord glanced at the Snow Empress and pointed to the seat next to Lin Hao.
Snow Empress bowed respectfully before carefully sitting down.
"We parted ways thirty thousand years ago, and I never imagined we'd meet again." The Yaoguang Holy Lord sighed softly. "I thought you had already..."
"Fallen?" Lin Hao picked up the conversation, smiling slightly. "Almost."
The Yaoguang Holy Lord was silent for a moment, then said, "Although I didn't participate in that battle back then, I Dao Yi the inside story. It's a miracle that you survived."
"Just lucky." Lin Hao said calmly, as if he were talking about a trivial matter.
But the Snow Empress was horrified. Thirty thousand years ago? That battle? Could Your Majesty be a figure from thirty thousand years ago? How could that be! Even Great Emperor's lifespan is no more than ten thousand years, unless...
She suddenly thought of the Forbidden Zone Supreme —those ancient emperors who severed their Life Forbidden Zone, awaiting the opening of the Road to Immortality. Could His Majesty also be a Supreme?
No, that's not right. Snow Empress immediately rejected this guess. The aura of the Forbidden Zone Supreme was decaying and filled with death energy, while Lin Hao was full of vitality, like the sun at its zenith, and was definitely not Supreme who had severed himself.
"You came here this time for that thing?" asked the Yaoguang Holy Lord.
Lin Hao nodded. "It's time to retrieve them."
The Yaoguang Holy Lord gave him a deep look and said, "Do you know that thing has been nurtured in my Yaoguang Holy Land for eighty thousand years, and is already connected with the destiny of Yaoguang? If you take it away, it is equivalent to draining three-tenths of Yaoguang's foundation."
"So?" Lin Hao asked, his expression unchanged.
"Therefore, you need to give me a reason," the Yaoguang Holy Lord said slowly, "A reason sufficient to convince me, and to convince the 100,000 disciples of Yaoguang."
Lin Hao smiled.
"The reason? When I entrusted it to Yaoguang, I said—when I return, if Yaoguang does not betray me, I will certainly not betray Yaoguang. In these 80,000 years, has Yaoguang ever betrayed me?"
The Yaoguang Holy Lord remained silent.
"The successive Holy Masters of Yaoguang have all nurtured that thing with their own blood and sweat, ensuring its spirituality remains undying. I remember this kindness," Lin Hao continued. "But have the complete copies of the ' Star Invocation ' and the ' Zhoutian Star Dou Grand Array ' that I left behind been neglected by Yaoguang?"
The Yaoguang Holy Lord took a deep breath. "Never."
"If that's the case, what reason is there?" Lin Hao looked at him calmly. "Today, I'm retrieving my old belongings to settle the matter. If Yaoguang faces any difficulties in the future, I may lend a hand."
A glint flashed in the eyes of the Yaoguang Holy Lord: "Is this true?"
"I, Tianxuan, never speak falsehoods."
The Yaoguang Holy Lord stared at Lin Hao for a long time before finally nodding slowly. "Alright, I believe you."
He stood up, formed hand seals, and cast a series of profound spells. The star pattern in the center of the hall began to rotate, faster and faster, until it finally transformed into a vortex. From the depths of the vortex, a point of starlight slowly rose.
It was a palm-sized jade plate, pure white, with naturally formed star patterns on its surface, exuding an ancient and mysterious aura. In the center of the jade plate was a bead the size of a grain of rice, and inside the bead, it seemed as if countless stars were being born, dying, and rotating.
" The Zhoutian Star Disc..." Snow Empress's pupils contracted as she recognized this legendary sacred object.
In the Ice Emperor's memory, there is a record of the Zhoutian Star Disc —this is an innate spiritual treasure embryo made by Ancient Saint from the Nine Heavens Star Jade after observing the movement of the Star Dou in the heavens. It can deduce heavenly secrets, locate stars, and is also a supreme treasure of array formation. If it can be completely refined, the star array set up will be powerful enough to trap and kill Great Sage!
"After 80,000 years of nurturing, its spirituality has recovered to 70%." The Yaoguang Holy Lord held the Zhoutian Star Disc in his palm, a hint of reluctance flashing in his eyes, but he still handed it to Lin Hao.
Lin Hao took the astrolabe and ran his fingertips along its surface patterns. The astrolabe trembled slightly and emitted a cheerful hum, as if a wanderer were returning home.