The moment those words left his lips, Xing Ying and Hao Feng snapped awake, their expressions instantly strange.
Ban Yu let out a low grunt, sneering internally: Keep up the act. Let’s see how much longer you can keep it up!
Ouyang Luoshuang sighed instead, inwardly biting back a wry smile, her bright eyes showing a hint of helplessness. She thought, Do you really believe you can bluff everyone? Xing Shang and Wei Yun already fell for it once; do you think they’ll be fooled twice in a row?
The accompanying warriors from the Shard Palace and the Thousand Illusions Sect suddenly looked bitterly cold, fixing him with chilling gazes, their killing intent blazing.
“In whose hands is the key to the Primal Spirit Lock?” Shi Yan stepped forward, gazing intently at Xing Shang, declaring proudly, “She is deeply connected to me. Hand over the key, and I will discuss this matter with Xi Ze personally.”
Xing Shang’s expression turned utterly wretched. He finally couldn't hold back and roared, “Silence!”
“Don’t start trouble on my merchant vessel,” Ban Yu interjected, his brow deeply furrowed. “If you damage the Chamber of Commerce’s ship, you’ll all be liable for compensation. If you must fight, please choose another location.”
“I was invited by the Thousand Illusions Sect, the Shard Palace, and the Heavenly Water Palace. Is this how you treat your guests?” Shi Yan snorted coldly. “Very well. It seems I’ll have to find the person in charge on Illusory Star for a proper discussion.”
He reached out and tugged the corner of Ouyang Luoshuang’s robe, avoiding direct skin contact for fear of agitating the Primal Spirit Lock. Holding her garment like that, he strode past Ban Yu’s merchant ship, seemingly oblivious to the surrounding warriors from the Thousand Illusions Sect and the Shard Palace who were watching him like hungry tigers, and headed straight toward Illusory Star.
Xing Shang and Wei Yun moved instantly, blocking his path. Simultaneously, the warriors from the Shard Palace and the Thousand Illusions Sect, upon receiving nods of assent from Xing Ying and Hao Feng, boarded their Phantom Butterflies and intercepted his advance.
“Sir?” A warrior aboard the Giant Tide Chamber of Commerce ship couldn't help but ask.
Ban Yu shook his head, signaling them not to interfere, and said, “We are only responsible for transporting the cultivation materials ordered by the Thousand Illusions Sect. It’s best we don't get involved in anything else; let’s just watch from the sidelines.”
Those warriors bowed their heads silently.
It was clear that the Thousand Illusions Sect intended to capture Shi Yan and restrain him before they would transport the materials on the ship. Thus, Ban Yu and his group couldn't leave and had no choice but to await the outcome.
Ban Yu and the Chamber of Commerce warriors all watched as Shi Yan was completely surrounded, focusing their attention on how the situation would develop.
Shi Yan advanced with cold indifference, appearing utterly unafraid of the Shard Palace or Thousand Illusions Sect attacking him—like an impetuous fool courting death.
Xing Shang let out a sinister, cold laugh and spat out a dark blue sphere of lightning, a ball formed from the convergence of billions of arcs of electricity, sizzling with tiny flashes of stray lightning. Imbued with a portion of Xing Shang’s pure soul consciousness, the lightning ball was as large as a massive fist, radiating an aggressive and fierce aura, hurtling toward Shi Yan’s chest.
“I want him alive!” Xing Ying suddenly chuckled, her beautiful eyes sparkling, a trace of inscrutable desire lingering on her lips.
Xing Shang’s face stiffened. Cursing the woman internally, he was forced to change his profound technique mid-flight. The immense lightning sphere instantly transformed into a densely woven net of electric threads, gently enveloping Shi Yan, aiming to bind him.
He knew very well that his niece shared the same streak as his brother, Xing Ming—she was intensely passionate about matters of intimacy between men and women. Having erred first this time, he dared not offend Xing Ying. He had no choice but to comply with her wishes, intending to capture Shi Yan for her to play with.
Xing Shang was filled with deep, bitter resentment. First, he had to capture Ouyang Luoshuang for Xing Ming, and now he had to serve Xing Ying by capturing Shi Yan. This, for someone at the Second Heaven of the Origin God realm—a figure of some standing even in the Shard Palace—made him want to vomit blood.
Yet, he had no choice but to comply.
“You in the Shard Palace made the first aggressive move. When Xi Ze arrives later, don’t blame me if my response is ruthless,” Shi Yan suddenly sneered.
Ban Yu watched from afar, his face grim as he shook his head. He’s facing imminent death and still talking such nonsense. Does he really think a few casual words and mentioning Xi Ze will scare Xing Shang of the Shard Palace? Hopelessly ignorant!
Ouyang Luoshuang shared the same assessment. She had clearly seen that Shi Yan was only at the First Heaven of the Origin God realm, weaker than Xing Shang. She also knew Xing Shang was no pushover; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been captured by him after advancing to the Origin God realm. Seeing Shi Yan still maintaining his pretense, she felt even less hope.
Just as everyone was watching with cold detachment, expecting Shi Yan to make a fool of himself, Shi Yan finally moved.
He extended his free hand, reaching across the distance to grasp Xing Shang’s neck, completely ignoring the lightning net closing in on him.
An extremely bizarre scene unfolded instantly!
His hand was still a considerable distance from Xing Shang, yet the moment he reached out, the space between them seemed to shrink and contract violently. Before anyone could even blink, Xing Shang appeared as if stunned, actively presenting his neck for Shi Yan to seize!
Utterly uncanny!
Layers of spatial ripples materialized before his fingers as his arm extended. His hand seemed to tear through space, directly locking onto Xing Shang’s neck in an incredibly strange manner, before the lightning net even reached him!
“Ugh… ugh…”
Xing Shang’s face instantly flushed purple, his eyes bulging in extreme terror and agony.
The lightning net, moments away from engulfing Shi Yan, was abruptly retracted by Xing Shang the instant Shi Yan fixed his gaze upon him.
In that fleeting moment, the menacing Xing Shang, a powerhouse of the Second Heaven of the Origin God realm, was held captive by Shi Yan, forced to dissolve his own attack out of sheer constraint.
Ban Yu, Xing Ying, Hao Feng, Ouyang Luoshuang—everyone was dumbfounded, experiencing a surreal sense of witnessing a ghost in broad daylight.
Many of the Giant Tide Chamber of Commerce warriors instinctively rubbed their eyes, thinking they must have seen things incorrectly. But when they looked again, the scene remained unchanged.
Xing Shang was still being held by Shi Yan, his eyes filled with panic and unease. Xing Shang’s two hands thrashed repeatedly, trying to pry free the hand locked around his throat, but they seemed utterly incapable of success.
His legs dangled uselessly, suspended like a pig awaiting slaughter—the picture of humiliation, his dignity completely shattered.
But Xing Shang had no time to worry about his reputation. At this moment, his heart was flooded with terror.
Because the instant Shi Yan gripped his neck, the power within him—his flesh, his vital essence, his very soul essence—was beginning to leak away, bit by bit, being stripped from his body!
It was an irreversible drain!
He knew clearly, his mind consumed by fear. This sensation of gradually having his strength siphoned off, of being slowly weakened, was driving him to the brink of collapse!
He understood too well the suffering he endured to reach his current level of power. To gain the help of precious cultivation materials from Xing Ming, he willingly debased himself, capturing beautiful women for Xing Ming, and acting meekly before his niece, Xing Ying. For the sake of immense power, he had sacrificed far too much.
He dreaded the prospect of living without strength. He knew that once his realm regressed, he would have no standing in the Shard Palace; even Xing Ming’s patronage wouldn't help. He was terrified, deeply afraid this would happen.
Because he had ascended to his current position step by step relying on strength, he knew better than anyone that without the formidable power that sustained his existence, he would be nothing.
“The key to the Primal Spirit Lock is in your hands?” Shi Yan stared at Xing Shang, asking casually, seemingly oblivious to Xing Shang’s terror or the shocked expressions of those around them.
Xing Shang whimpered painfully, his face so red it looked like blood would drip, struggling and shaking his head repeatedly.
He was already attempting to launch his Soul Altar away. However, the moment his soul stirred, his consciousness became hazy, invaded by countless ferocious and despairing soul thoughts—[Book Net www.shushuw.cn - First Release]—his soul violently jolted, and the fear of annihilation compelled him to stop immediately.
“It’s on you?” Shi Yan looked surprised, turning to look at Wei Yun.
Wei Yun quickly shook his head too, his face etched with extreme fear and unease. “It’s not on me, it’s truly not on me.”
“Friend, you dare to cause trouble in my Thousand Illusions Sect territory. You clearly show no respect for us; then don’t blame the Thousand Illusions Sect for being impolite!” Hao Feng spoke while subtly retreating, signaling urgently to a nearby Origin God warrior from the Thousand Illusions Sect.
That man’s expression was grave. “An exceedingly peculiar Spatial Profundity. Young friend must be a hidden expert from the Giant Tide Chamber of Commerce. Only an organization as immensely powerful as the Chamber of Commerce could nurture a Spatial Profundity master with such refined skill. Please grant the Thousand Illusions Sect some face and release Xing Shang. We will address this matter seriously.”
“Sir, is he one of ours?” Upon hearing this, the Giant Tide Chamber of Commerce warriors looked toward Ban Yu.
Ban Yu frowned, looking bewildered, unable to make a firm judgment.
In the vast, starry void, the majority of experts proficient in Spatial Profundity were already recruited by the major merchant guilds. Although Shi Yan hadn't admitted to being a member of the Chamber, Ban Yu suddenly considered that the City Lord of Cold Iron City had personally ordered him to escort Shi Yan to Illusory Star, and Shi Yan, despite his youth, possessed superb Spatial Profundity. Various signs suggested Shi Yan might indeed be associated with the Chamber.
Ban Yu thought hard, trying to decipher Shi Yan’s identity. After a moment, he started, his expression shifting slightly.
“You are the child of Lord Dicarro, aren’t you?” Ban Yu suddenly bellowed, then quickly nodded in affirmation himself. “I see now! Lord Dicarro is the Grand Honored Elder of the Chamber. He set up countless arcane spatial formations for the Chamber and spent years saying he needed to groom his descendants before leaving. It must be because he wanted to focus entirely on cultivating you, right?”
When he mentioned Dicarro, his demeanor became utterly respectful, further cementing his belief in the truth of his assertion.
Dicarro held an extraordinary status within the Giant Tide Chamber of Commerce; even the Guild Master treated him with extreme courtesy. He was immensely famous throughout the Star Sea and was revered as the foremost authority on Spatial Profundity. Many complex spatial teleportation arrays across Giant Tide Star were designed by Dicarro.
In Ban Yu’s estimation, if Shi Yan was Dicarro’s descendant, then he truly had no need to fear the Thousand Illusions Sect, Shard Palace, or Heavenly Water Palace. This was because Dicarro was rumored to have connections with the mysterious ‘Bloodthirster,’ and many spatial formations for the Netherworld Race and Heavenly Demon Race originated from Dicarro’s hands—a sage with colossal influence in the Star Sea, possessing transcendent status.
When Ban Yu made this proclamation, Hao Feng of the Thousand Illusions Sect and the Origin God warrior, as well as Xing Ying and the others from the Shard Palace, all had changes in expression.
When they looked at Shi Yan again, their attitudes were visibly different. They seemed acutely wary of Dicarro, and suddenly, their actions became somewhat constrained.
“Lord Dicarro is our Chamber’s Grand Honored Elder. Although he doesn't officially claim full membership, within our Chamber, we consider him one of our own! His family, naturally, is part of the Chamber too. Everyone knows what to do now, right!” Ban Yu suddenly commanded lightly.
The Chamber’s warriors responded with a unified shout and moved their war chariots forward, preparing to join the fray.
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