Chapter Ninety-Seven: The News of Disaster Arrives
“My name is Starry Nine Heavens. Is this Lujiashan Star Domain?”
Suddenly, a deep voice swept through every corner of Lujiashan Star Domain. It carried an irresistible majesty that made every living thing below the Soul Refinement Realm tremble.
Everyone who heard that sudden voice was at a loss.
At that moment, the Divine Doctor of a Hundred Herbs had been seated in meditation. Interrupted all at once by the voice, he too felt bewildered.
He rose and vanished from where he sat. In just a few breaths, he appeared at the edge of the barrier surrounding Lujiashan Star Domain.
“I am Lu Yishan, lord of Lujiashan Star Domain. What brings Your Excellency here?”
The middle-aged man who called himself Starry Nine Heavens replied, “Has Your Excellency heard of the calamity that has befallen the myriad realms?”
The Divine Doctor of a Hundred Herbs had not traveled far in all these years and truly did not understand what the man before him meant. He asked in confusion, “I do not know. I beg Your Excellency to enlighten me.”
Seeing that the old man before him truly knew nothing, the middle-aged man explained, “Then I shall be brief. A peculiar race has appeared in the myriad realms. They have no fixed form, no true appearance, and can take on countless guises. They feed upon seducing hearts and devouring souls. So far, as far as we know, millions of star domains have already been attacked by them. Every star domain they have struck has been destroyed.”
Hearing this, the Divine Doctor of a Hundred Herbs felt as though he had been struck by lightning. Millions of star domains had fallen. What a horrifying piece of news.
He asked, “Since Your Excellency has come, I presume there is something you need me to do?”
The middle-aged man said, “Indeed. In the starry expanse of the universe, there is a place called the Heart Soul Domain. Three thousand years ago, it issued a prophecy: within ten thousand years, tens of thousands of star domains in the cosmic heavens would all be destroyed. At the time, no one believed it and thought they were spreading baseless rumors. Yet today, less than four thousand years have passed. By our reckoning, one third of the star domains in the universe have already been annihilated. Five years ago, we began uniting all the powerful beings in the nearby star domains, solely to resist the disaster and win even the slightest chance of survival for the relatives beside us. Even now, only a pitiful few star domains have joined the alliance.”
By the time he finished speaking, the Divine Doctor of a Hundred Herbs had roughly grasped his intent. He said, “You mean that all the mighty figures of the star domains must unite and fight the foreign race together, is that correct?”
The middle-aged man did not beat around the bush. “No, no. It is not merely we who must resist the foreign race. All living beings must unite. Only by gathering the strongest forces from every star domain can we strive for the faintest hope of survival. We have decided that the powerful beings of every star domain at the Heavenly Realm, together with those above the Return-to-Origin Realm, will be led to meet with us. Only by forming a united army can we have even a ten percent chance of contending with that race.”
Even with his tens of thousands of years of experience, the Divine Doctor of a Hundred Herbs was shaken to the core by these words.
He said, “Might I invite Your Excellency inside for a longer discussion?”
The middle-aged man refused at once. “Thank you for your invitation, Senior, but I must hurry to other star domains. Time is urgent, and we dare not delay even a moment. Since Senior understands my purpose, I believe you know what you should do. These are the coordinates where we will gather. I hope that when the time comes, we will have your full support. Starry Nine Heavens takes his leave.”
As he spoke, he drew upon the laws of heaven and earth and condensed a memory orb the size of a fist. With a gentle wave of his hand, he sent the orb before the Divine Doctor of a Hundred Herbs. Then he cupped his fists in salute and vanished from where he stood.
Carefully, the Divine Doctor of a Hundred Herbs took the memory orb into his sea of consciousness and quickly returned to the Sacred Physician Hall. He hurried to the highest seat in the main hall.
After sitting down, he immediately gathered the laws of heaven and earth. Once enough of them had been assembled, his hands swept apart from his chest.
With his motion, a massive projection array appeared above the palaces of the Twelve Halls in Lujiashan Star Domain. At the same time, the figure of the Divine Doctor of a Hundred Herbs, seated upon the main throne in the Sacred Physician Hall, appeared within every projection array.
When the hall masters of the Twelve Halls saw this, each of them bowed respectfully toward the projection array and said, “Greetings, Domain Lord!”
Everyone knew that if there were no grave emergency, the Divine Doctor of a Hundred Herbs would never lightly activate the Ten-Thousand-Li Projection Array.
Before they could even ask why the projection had suddenly been activated, he spoke first and issued his orders:
“I command the Twelve Halls to gather all cultivators above the Return-to-Origin Realm at once and send them immediately to the Sacred Physician Hall for a meeting.”
“I repeat: gather every cultivator above the Return-to-Origin Realm and bring them to the Sacred Physician Hall without delay. Any who disobey will be permanently expelled from Lujiashan Star Domain and never allowed to return.”
None of them had ever seen their Domain Lord issue such a resolute order. They all sensed that something major was about to happen, and it was very likely connected to the mysterious voice from earlier. Though each had their own thoughts, none dared ask a single question. They could only obey.
The twelve hall masters respectfully replied, “As commanded!”
The twelve gave the order and quickly summoned every expert in their halls above the Return-to-Origin Realm.
Half an hour later, more than ten thousand people had all gathered at the Sacred Physician Hall. Every one of them waited solemnly for the Divine Doctor of a Hundred Herbs to speak.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, he repeated, word for word, what Starry Nine Heavens had said earlier.
The tens of thousands of listeners were drenched in cold sweat, their blood turning to ice, their whole bodies chilled through.
While the Divine Doctor of a Hundred Herbs arranged the aftermath for Lujiashan Star Domain, the young people participating in this year’s selection tournament had already spent two days inside the Inner World.
Within that world, the morning of the third day had arrived.
After Li Hao finished speaking with Xiao Jiu and You Xue, he withdrew from his sea of consciousness and let his soul return to his body.
For the six of them in cultivation, two hours passed swiftly.
After Li Hao awoke, he spread out his divine sense to inspect the situation outside the cave. This also confirmed their earlier speculation. Feeling that all was calm, he called out:
“Xueyou sister, wake up!”
“Yao’er sister, wake up!”
“Zhenba brother, wake up!”
...
Li Hao woke the few who had been cultivating.
When Lu Yao woke, she lifted a jade-white hand to rub her sleepy peach-blossom eyes and stretched lazily, as if savoring the comfort. That lovely sight left Li Hao dazed for a long moment.
Lin Xueyou stood up and stretched her limbs. The movement drew every gaze from Kui Hu and the others onto her alluring figure.
Lin Xueyou knew what those wicked looks meant, but she did not expose them. In a flash, she straightened her collar, hiding her embarrassment.
Such things, surely, no girl would point out.
Kui Hu and the others also knew they had overdone it. To avoid making things even more awkward, they quickly looked away. Each of them rose and turned toward the cave entrance.
Seeing Li Hao staring blankly at her, Lu Yao thought she had done something wrong and asked, “Brother Li Hao, what is wrong with me?”
Only then did Li Hao come back to himself. He scratched his head in embarrassment and said, “Nothing. It’s just that Yao’er sister is so beautiful I got a little distracted.”
Hearing such a direct confession, Lu Yao silently cursed him in her heart: What a big fool. Why can’t you say things a little more tactfully? How can you speak to a girl so bluntly? You’re far too foolish.
Seeing that Lu Yao’s exquisite little face had turned rosy and that she was no longer paying him any attention, Li Hao wondered inwardly if he had said something wrong.
Lin Xueyou found Li Hao rather endearing. At times, he was truly as stiff as a block of wood in front of girls. Seeing Lu Yao’s shy expression, she quickly stepped in to rescue her. She said to Li Hao, “Brother Li Hao, why don’t you go out and see whether the wind outside has stopped?”
Li Hao blurted out, “I just used my divine sense to check, and it felt like it had already stopped.”
His answer made even Lin Xueyou feel like exploding. She thought, So you really are a block of wood. No, not just a block of wood, a completely hopeless one.
Zhenba and the others understood as well, and merely chuckled in silence from the side.
Lin Xueyou noticed the ugly grins on the faces of those fellows and shot them a glare.
Seeing that her look was unfriendly, the others hurriedly found excuses to escape.
Qin Zhen said, “Young Master, don’t forget what you promised us!”
Li Hao immediately understood that Qin Zhen was deliberately reminding him, worried that he might forget the matter from two hours ago, when he had agreed to let them meet Xiao Jiu and You Xue.
“I haven’t forgotten. I never go back on my word. Rest assured, brothers. Once we are outside, I will keep my promise.”
Even if they had not reminded him, Li Hao would never have forgotten what he had promised.
Kui Hu and the others smiled and walked out of the cave. Seeing that Li Hao still had not understood at all, Lin Xueyou had no choice but to turn her attention to Lu Yao.
“Yao’er sister, let’s go.”
Only then did Lu Yao gradually come out of her thoughts at Lin Xueyou’s call, slowly calming the little deer in her heart that had been pounding wildly.
Seeing that the friends around him were all ignoring him, Li Hao had no choice but to trot along behind Lin Xueyou and Lu Yao.
After a night of lightning, thunder, and gale-force winds in the Inner World, some rejoiced while others fretted.
On this morning in the Inner World, wherever people gathered, voices rose like surging rivers:
“Sigh, I told them to be careful and find a place to hide quickly. They just wouldn’t listen. Now look at them. They only entered the Inner World on the second day and were blown away by the night wind until not even a shadow remained. To be eliminated like this is both unjust and humiliating.”
“Yes, yes. Last night’s storm was truly bizarre. Mixed with bursts of thunder, it was terrifying.”
“By the way, didn’t we see auspicious light appearing in many places last night? There must be a lot of treasures that have come into being. We just don’t know whether those treasures have concealed themselves. If they haven’t awakened spiritual intelligence, then we’ll strike it rich.”
...
Some were angered by the recklessness of their companions. Some were frightened by the strange wind and thunder. Others thought only of getting rich.
While many were discussing this and that, at the entrance to a cave somewhere, five men and two women emerged. The men were all elegant and handsome, with a refined bearing. The women possessed a kind of transcendent beauty, as though untouched by the mortal world, with faces so stunning they could outshine heaven itself.
Stepping out of the cave, they stood at the entrance and inhaled the fresh air outside. They all looked refreshed and invigorated.
These seven were Lin Xueyou, Lu Yao, Li Hao, Zhenba, Kui Hu, Li Zhan, and Qin Zhen.