Free Web NovelChapter 249: Playing with Open Cards
Above the nine heavens, a total of six Radiant Sun Golden Core cultivators from the Immortal Alliance and Infinite Star Palace left the arrays they relied on to stabilize their Golden Cores and headed into the starry sky.
This scene naturally did not escape Li Hanqiu. He rose into the air and moved to intercept them. But the moment he appeared, four of the six split off and moved to block him. After only a short traversal, the two sides met in the void.
"Perfected Master Li, please hold on." Lu Xi stepped forward. "You should give our sect an explanation about what happened ten years ago."
"An explanation? What explanation do you want? Wasn't that matter already settled ten years ago? Do you intend to extort the Nine Cauldrons Sect again and again over the same issue? Does the Immortal Alliance have any honor left as a great sect? Any sense of morality? Or do you truly think our sect can be bullied without resistance?" Li Hanqiu’s voice turned cold.
"The Nine Cauldrons Sect chose to reveal Yaoguang’s cultivation at this moment to tell the world that you now have a second top-tier powerhouse, so you deserve greater authority in the Great Cangwu World. But just because he announced it, we are supposed to believe it? We must test his strength ourselves," a Golden Core cultivator from the Infinite Star Palace named Johan said with a smile.
"Test? What kind of test requires two Golden Core cultivators?!" Li Hanqiu’s tone grew solemn. "If it were only Mi Le from the Immortal Alliance, I would not stop him at all. Yaoguang would prove his strength to the world through a battle with a Radiant Sun Golden Core cultivator. But now you are sending both Mi Le and Janko together. Is this not bullying the weak? Do the Infinite Star Palace and Immortal Alliance feel no shame?"
He waved his hand sharply. "Step aside at once! Otherwise, do not blame me for showing no restraint! If the world gets destroyed, you will be the greatest sinners of the Great Cangwu World!"
"The world gets destroyed? Li Hanqiu, you repeat those words every day. You may not be tired of saying them, but we are tired of hearing them." Lu Xi’s expression hardened. "Come then, let me see how exactly you plan to bring about such destruction. But let me tell you this. If anything happens to you, your Nine Cauldrons Sect will not be able to preserve its legacy."
Two streams of light rapidly approached from the distant horizon. The energy released from their Golden Cores illuminated hundreds of thousands of kilometers, dazzling even in the silent void.
"They are Ye Lin and Fu Long from the Thousand-Beast Sect." The Golden Core cultivators from the Immortal Alliance and Infinite Star Palace immediately recognized their auras.
Along with their arrival, a powerful psychic thought from Ye Lisha had already spread ahead of them. "The Immortal Alliance and Infinite Star Palace still act with the same arrogance! You have not even unified the Great Cangwu World, yet you are already bullying other factions. You even expect Radiant Sun Golden Core cultivators to act according to your will? When you do unify the world, will everyone, including us Golden Core cultivators, have to obey your commands like servants?"
Her psychic thought was almost like a public interrogation within the Void Psychic World.
The fact that seven Radiant Sun Golden Core cultivators had left their stabilizing arrays at the same time had already drawn the attention of all major factions.
Not only were the Immortal Alliance, the Infinite Star Palace, the Nine Cauldrons Sect, and the Thousand-Beast Sect watching this region of space, but so were the Lunar Sect, the Dharma Heaven Pavilion, the Golden Temple, the Brahma Divine Kingdom, the Brahma Cult, and the Taiyi Cult.
If they truly appeared unreasonable and tyrannical, they could easily push many neutral factions into opposition.
Realizing this, Johan quickly stepped forward. "Everything the Infinite Star Palace and Immortal Alliance do is to allow the Great Cangwu World to develop peacefully. It is simply that Perfected Master Li threatens world-ending destruction at the slightest disagreement. Using the lives of countless beings as leverage is unacceptable. That is why Lu Xi spoke harshly. If Perfected Master Li can promise not to threaten destruction so casually in the future, we are willing to compromise."
Li Hanqiu immediately saw through his intentions. "The instability in the Great Cangwu World has never come from our sect, but from the Infinite Star Palace and Immortal Alliance! Why was I forced to make such threats last time? Because the Immortal Alliance pressed too hard. And before that, the Infinite Star Palace sent Sky Patrol Warships deep into our territory. In such a situation, shouldn't I be allowed to retaliate?"
He waved his hand again. "If the Immortal Alliance and Infinite Star Palace can promise never to invade any faction’s territory again, I, Li Hanqiu, will remain in seclusion and focus solely on stabilizing my Golden Core. Can you do that?"
"The Infinite Star Palace is merely bringing freedom to those sects, preventing ordinary people from being oppressed. Would the Nine Cauldrons Sect simply watch while the commoners are oppressed and slaughtered? Does that not show a lack of responsibility?"
"Oppression and slaughter? Which sect’s actions compare to yours? Do not forget, the Quicksand Sect still lies in ruins, and the Black Feather Sect suffered countless tragedies due to your actions. You have no right to speak of such things," Li Hanqiu retorted without mercy.
Ye Lin and Fu Long had arrived.
"Perfected Master Li is right. The Infinite Star Palace and Immortal Alliance are the greatest sources of instability in the Great Cangwu World," Fu Long said loudly. "Perfected Master, are you planning to fight them? The two of us can hold back two of them. The remaining two should not be able to stop you. You would still have time to support Perfected Master Yaoguang."
Li Hanqiu glanced at him. He understood clearly that the Thousand-Beast Sect supported the Nine Cauldrons Sect out of necessity. They needed allies against the Immortal Alliance and the Infinite Star Palace.
In truth, they likely hoped for the fight between Li Hanqiu and their enemies to end in mutual destruction.
He looked toward Planet No. 6713 in the distance. Two Radiant Sun Golden Core cultivators... This is already the best balance all sides can reach. And according to Yaoguang’s earlier words, he should be able to handle two opponents.
Even if he cannot win, as long as he can hold his ground against them in a one-versus-two situation, the Nine Cauldrons Sect will regain its status as one of the Ten Great Immortal Sects and be formally recognized as the seventh top-tier sect!
With that thought, Li Hanqiu snorted. "Enough talk. In the end, you only want to see Yaoguang’s true strength. Then watch."
Ye Lin and Fu Long were slightly disappointed but said nothing further.
The Golden Core cultivators of the Immortal Alliance and Infinite Star Palace exchanged smiles and turned their gaze toward Planet No. 6713. What followed would depend entirely on the three Golden Core cultivators themselves.
***
On Planet No. 6713, Yaoguang calmly refined the energy of the stellar core he had just absorbed.
When he sensed the approach of the two Golden Core cultivators, he raised his head slightly. His powerful psychic thought reached them first. "They're here."
This astonishing range made Mi Le’s heart sink slightly, although his expression remained stern. "Yaoguang, ten years ago at the Immortal-Proving Tower..."
"Enough. There’s no need for useless words. I know what you want, and you know why I’m here. So what are you waiting for?" Yaoguang said as his massive star god body gradually shrank into a combat-ready form.
Hearing his blunt words, Mi Le and Janko exchanged a glance. "Since you insist, we will grant your wish."
The next moment, their Golden Cores started releasing terrifying energy.
Because they could not precisely control all that energy, most of it spilled outward, causing them to transform into blazing spheres thousands of meters in diameter.
Blinding white light began to spread from them, raising the temperature to hundreds of millions of degrees, in an overwhelming display of radiance and heat. In the Great Cangwu World, merely revealing such a form would incinerate everything below the Golden Core Realm.
Yet this was only the excess energy from their Golden Cores.
As their Golden Cores reached their operational limits, Mi Le, who was bathed in intense flames and light, raised his hand. Six rings of light appeared before him. The nearest was ten kilometers in diameter, while the farthest reached a hundred kilometers.
"Divine Six Yang Sword. Strike!" he roared.
A beam of sword light shot forth from his Golden Core, passing through the rings, with each amplifying its power.
By the time it passed through all six, the beam had expanded to thirty kilometers in diameter, carrying enough energy to pierce and shatter a planet instantly.
A brilliant streak tore through space, shooting toward Yaoguang, who stood five hundred thousand kilometers away.
At such speeds, the distance would be crossed in less than two seconds. Yet within that brief moment, Yaoguang had already prepared.
The radiance from his outer core shone just as brightly, and a nearly identical beam of energy shot forward to meet it head-on.
He could meet it head-on. There was no need for evasion, maneuvering, or retreat. The power of his Crimson Golden Core was enough to withstand the attack.
