Star Trace Gate

Chapter 927 The Miraculous Leap, Merging with the Illusion

Although Ren didn't recognize Wu Zhengfeng, he recognized the more than one hundred Li family members standing behind him. Furthermore, after this group of cultivators crossed the Divine Tomb Sky Bridge, they stood across the southwestern sky, locked in a stalemate with the Sun and Zhao families, exuding a palpable killing intent…

All these details indicate that the void tremors caused by the trio in the Divine Tomb had been clearly transmitted to the Li family. Therefore, the Li family outside began to exert their strength. Not only did they come themselves, but they also recruited many allies from the Enlightenment Academy to assist them.

Oh my, Uncle Li's strategy is truly unparalleled throughout history. The four-character adjective "as steady as an old dog" is absolutely fitting for him... After Ren Ye briefly analyzed the current situation, he was overjoyed and wanted to quickly fly to Wu Zhengfeng's side and hug this righteous leg tightly.

However, the Southwest Heaven where Wu Zhengfeng and his group were located was quite a distance from the Divine Tomb Mountain, separated by the Desolate Land. The Sun and Zhao families, on the other hand, were positioned on the outer perimeter of the Little Golden Man's Tomb. In terms of location, they were closer to Ren Ye and could intervene and attack at any time.

Besides that, there was another thing that briefly distracted Ren Ye's thoughts, leaving him astonished and full of doubts.

That is, Zhao Mi's father-in-law, Yang Huanzhen, had just entered the tomb. In his hand, he held up a soul banner magic weapon that seemed impossible to be taken into the consciousness space. Moreover, this magic weapon faintly emitted an aura that was very familiar to Ren, and even made him feel uneasy.

The two were extremely far apart, separated by the chaotic aura of the desolate land, yet Ren Ye could clearly sense the outline and size of the Soul Banner magic weapon. Even with Yang Huanzhen's deliberate concealment, he could still detect the Yin and Netherworld aura emanating from the Soul Banner...

This is really strange. I've never seen this soul banner before, but why does it feel so familiar?

Ren stood before the gates of the Divine Tomb Immortal Palace, his expression becoming extremely dazed. He meticulously analyzed the familiar feeling in his mind, ultimately arriving at a rather absurd conclusion. That was... when he saw the Soul Banner, it was as if he had seen his long-lost illegitimate son. Although they had never met before, there was a sense of closeness stemming from blood ties.

My God! I've always been chaste, I haven't even tasted my beloved concubine's lips yet, so why am I suddenly having this feeling of seeing an illegitimate child?! Could it be... that I had a dream in the dead of night, and somehow created a soul banner?

This is absolutely ridiculous! Even a teenage pervert like Little Fatty wouldn't do something like this...

Why do we feel a sense of closeness?

Ren Ye's forehead was covered in sweat as he pondered deeply while also carefully sensing the soul banner in Yang Huanzhen's hand. Then, as he focused his mind, he felt a faint vibration and resonance within his stellar core.

Oh, I see... Although I didn't craft this soul banner, the fundamental element used to create it seems to have flowed from my body—perhaps blood and qi, a wisp of my soul, or some kind of Daoist secret technique...

This spirit banner inherently contains characteristics that belong to me, which is why I feel familiar with it and feel close to it.

But how could the "fundamental thing" taken from my body be found in this Zhao family's soul banner?

As soon as Ren thought of this, he immediately felt a chill run down his spine and his whole body tremble.

Why would a soul banner that I can sense appear at this time?

What did that loud bang before the coffin was taken out, and those whispered murmurs, really mean?

Why do some people keep saying they were wrong, feel guilty, and go mad for half their lives?

The war between the four races has begun, but why hasn't the one who should have appeared yet...?

The Little Scoundrel stood before the gates of the Celestial Palace, his face ashen, his mind churning with thoughts. In the blink of an eye, he seemed to have figured out all the doubts that had been lingering in his mind, and had come up with a very bold guess.

However, this speculation is merely his personal conjecture in a very short period of time, and it still needs to be confirmed by some events.

"Ong!"

Just as he was immersed in the soul banner, carefully sensing it, the star core inside his abdomen became even more dazzling, vibrated more violently, and even faintly emitted "three thousand rays of light".

Sure enough, my guess was right...

The fundamental material used to refine that Soul Banner actually originated from the Three Thousand Secret Treasures within my Star Core. Zhao Mi had to dissect my abdomen every day and personally examine my Star Core, which is how he comprehended the secret method of refining the Soul Banner, and even forcibly took a wisp of Dao essence from my Three Thousand Secret Treasures.

But what exactly is this wisp of Daoist charm?

While sensing the Soul Banner, Ren Ye also peered into his own star core, carefully discerning the "three thousand rays of light".

At this moment, he had truly understood. The so-called three thousand secret treasures were not a literal number, nor did they mean that he possessed only three thousand Daoist techniques; rather, they were a figurative number. Three thousand represented infinite possibilities, the infinite paths of the Great Dao. Just as the Daoists say, "The Dao begets one, one begets two, two begets three, three begets all things..."

He carefully sensed the aura of the Soul Banner, then diligently peered into its three thousand rays of light, comparing them one by one, trying to find the ray of light identical to that of the Soul Banner, and thus discern the divine power contained within it. This process was akin to a novice traditional Chinese medicine practitioner holding an unfamiliar, rare herb, and searching through medical texts…

"Ong!"

He searched for a long time and finally sensed that among the three thousand beams of light, one beam had an aura that was extremely similar to the Soul Banner.

At that moment, Ren suddenly felt an intense urge to "scratch the lottery ticket." He wanted to actively activate his only supernatural ability in this Heavenly Grace-level secret realm, which was the Three Thousand Secret Treasures Technique, which could only be used once every six hours.

However, in the past, he had always been blindly scraping, only needing to unite his thoughts, unleash his spiritual power, and chant incantations, and then completely resign himself to fate, waiting for the heavens to bestow upon him a divine technique whose strength was unknown.

This time, however, he took the initiative to trigger it. While sensing the aura of the Soul Banner, he corresponded with that familiar Dao light. Then, with a clear mind, he recited in a clear voice: "Inquire about the three thousand secret treasures, and let my boundless divine methods shine."

"Ong!"

An eerie aura spread, and three thousand rays of light shone as brightly as a galaxy.

[Congratulations! You have successfully activated the Three Thousand Secret Treasures. The Dao light within your abdomen is rising, and you have obtained a wisp of "Dao Demise Qi".]

[The Qi of Dao's Demise: When a Daoist attains enlightenment, their vital energy, blood, spirit, and soul all return to heaven and earth. Among these is a type of Qi called "Dao's Demise," which is the resentment of a Daoist who, having no hope of immortality, is unwilling to perish. This is the most Yin and Dark Qi in the human realm, capable of connecting to the netherworld and the Asura Hell.]

The aura of Dao's Demise can persist for six hours. The extremely yin and dark energy it contains can cause most demons and monsters in the human world to regard you as one of their own, and can also lead you to some yin and evil places to avoid being afflicted by misfortune...

"Um?!"

As Ren listened to the proclamation of Heaven, he also felt that familiar ray of light rising from within his abdomen. Then he noticed a black aura emerging from between his eyebrows, extremely sinister, as if possessed by an evil ghost.

"This aura of death... is quite interesting."

After a moment's thought, Ren Ye instinctively looked down at the Nine Netherworlds below the Divine Tomb Mountain. He then sensed that within that endless abyss, there seemed to be two unfathomable, invincible, and strange auras that could crush him with a flick of the finger.

Those two eerie auras were truly too powerful. To be more precise, they were the two most terrifying auras that Little Bad King had ever seen since he became a cultivator and traveled through countless secret realms...

Even the Emperor's Tomb back then never gave him this feeling.

What lies beneath the Nine Netherworlds? And the storyteller, Zhong Deng, has been there too. Did he sense those two eerie auras? And how was he able to escape from those terrifying auras...?

"Sun Michen, the fact that I, Wu Zhengfeng, could lead so many academy disciples and descendants of the Li and Qian families into the tomb is enough to demonstrate the situation outside." Wu Zhengfeng's body hovered above the southwestern sky, his voice like thunder: "If you have even the slightest bit of remorse, then stop fighting like a cornered beast, dragging your entire clan down a path of no return...!"

The shouts, like thunderclaps, snapped Ren out of his reverie.

He looked up at Wu Zhengfeng, secretly pleased, and thought to himself, "He looks so powerful... so the situation outside must be much better!"

Outside the desolate land, Sun Michen floated in the air above a green forest, his face extremely gloomy.

He might be a lecherous sycophant, but he was definitely not a complete idiot. The moment Wu Zhengfeng appeared with over a thousand cultivators, he knew that something earth-shattering had happened outside, and it was highly likely that the Enlightenment Academy had intervened in the conflict between the four races. Otherwise, given Wu Zhengfeng's personality and reputation, he would never have jumped out at this time.

Furthermore, Wu Zhengfeng's appearance was enough to suggest that the outside world was likely already ravaged by bloodshed, and his own stronghold might have been ransacked. Otherwise, the clan elders and members remaining in the family would certainly have fought desperately to prevent them from entering easily...

The changing situation outside, and the fact that over a thousand cultivators had entered the tomb, filled Sun Michen with a strong sense of unease. He also realized that the moment of life and death for himself and his family had inevitably arrived.

What should we do?!

Should we give up? Should we endure and retreat?

No, absolutely not. Things have already come to this point, and the Sun family has already broken ties with the Qian and Li families. To choose to endure and back down at this point would be tantamount to kneeling on the ground and letting the enemy slaughter them.

Qian Zhongge and Li Taishan were certainly not fools; they would never give Sun Michen another chance to imprison them in the clan hall, place them under house arrest, and threaten the Qian and Li families with their lives.

Now that we've drawn our swords, we must go all the way down this path!

After considering this, Sun Michen immediately turned to Zhao Haochen and the dozen or so old monsters of the Zhao family: "Everyone, things have come to this point, we have no choice. Tonight, either the Qian and Li families will die, or our Sun and Zhao families will decline. Whoever backs down will surely be crushed to pieces."

The Zhao family members, led by Zhao Haochen, did not refute Sun Michen's words, but simply nodded with cold expressions.

“Although Wu Zhengfeng led his men into the tomb, Li Taishan and Qian Zhongge did not appear. This means… although there have been changes outside, the Zhao family is still there to back us up. I estimate that Brother Zhao personally intervened to hold back the Qian and Li families.” Sun Michen said clearly, “In this case, we only need to wipe out Wu Zhengfeng and his men in the tomb, and then capture the little blind man alive, and we can completely turn the situation around!”

"Gentlemen, let's not let Brother Zhao's painstaking efforts go to waste! The time for a desperate battle has come. Tonight, only two of the four clans will be able to leave the Divine Tomb alive!"

His eyes held a chilling killing intent, and his words were extremely impassioned, showing not a trace of fear.

On the left, Zhao Haochen, dressed in white, stood at the front of the Zhao family members, his handsome face showing a resolute and sinister expression.

Although both he and Sun Michen were hypocrites, he genuinely despised the Sun clan chief because of the latter's many underhanded tactics. In terms of both cultivation and strategy, compared to his father, the difference was like that between a firefly and the bright moon…

But at this moment, he wholeheartedly agreed with Sun Michen's suggestion. As the old saying goes, once the arrow is released, there's no turning back. Since things have already come to this point, they must stand with the Sun family and fight to the death…

He also firmly believed that if his father were here, he would have made the same choice.

Zhao Haochen squinted, staring intently at the blind man and wild dogs in the Divine Tomb Mountain, and said sharply, "Uncle Sun, there's no need to cheer for my Zhao family. Since we've decided to act together, no matter what happens, my Zhao family will never back down...!"