The people of Han Family, Yu Wangshan, and Feihua looked upon the five elders who had just emerged with deep suspicion, constantly guarding against a sudden attack from the group.
With Ji Changkong absent, only Shang Bingjie had descended in her physical body. However, both the experts from the Shang Family and some members of Feihua understood that Shang Bingjie’s true body was not overwhelmingly powerful. In the event of a real battle, how much effect she could truly have was highly uncertain.
The five newly arrived elders from the opposing side were all ancient powerhouses at the peak of the Nine Palaces Celestial Number Realm, possessing not only peak mental power but also exceedingly strange soul auras. Each seemed to harbor various extraordinary divine abilities.
Opposite them, in addition to these five elders, were experts from the Vast Sea Sect and the Black Heaven Divine Altar. It was evident that those individuals would readily obey the commands of the five ancient monsters.
If a fight broke out, the combined strength of the opposition would be sufficient to sweep them aside!
Under such circumstances, the Nine Palaces Celestial Lords of the Solar Star Domain all quieted down, daring not to utter another word carelessly.
“Second Elder,” Tuole said with a troubled expression, hesitating for a moment before speaking, “Ji Changkong just saved the people of the Vast Sea Sect and the Black Heaven Divine Altar. If he hadn't intervened, those from the Vast Sea Sect and the Black Heaven Divine Altar would have been annihilated by the alien race in that sea of meteorites.”
“Yes, Second Elder, if Ji Changkong hadn't helped, we too would have died under the Dragon Soul of the Sinful Dragon,” Tuolie also nodded, offering supportive words.
After spending some time with Ji Changkong, the brothers Tuole and Tuolie felt he was forthright and worthy of friendship. Especially after Ji Changkong obtained the Dragon Crystal of the Sinful Dragon, he hadn't selfishly kept it but shared it with them, which made the two brothers believe Ji Changkong was a rare, genuinely sincere hero.
“Insolence!” The Second Elder, whose expression was grim and malicious, snorted. His snake-like eyes swept over the two brothers before he let out a slow breath and asked coolly, “That Dragon Crystal of the Sinful Dragon, is it still down there?”
The eyes of the other four elders lit up simultaneously.
The reason these four had journeyed across the Star Sea Domain was not solely to discuss important matters with Ji Changkong; a vital objective was to seize the Dragon Crystal of the Sinful Dragon!
Some other Nine Palaces Celestial Lords from the Solar Star Domain and the Star Sea Domain initially showed confusion when they heard the Sinful Dragon Crystal mentioned. After listening for a while, their eyes too began to gleam, sweeping their gazes across the dead star. They quietly unleashed their soul consciousness, stealthily searching through the various dormant volcanic craters.
The Dragon Crystal of the Sinful Dragon held considerable temptation for anyone!
“It’s just… that…”
Tuole stammered, his soul wavering unsteadily, glancing worriedly toward Shang Bingjie.
“Tuole!” The Second Elder’s expression sharpened, his voice cold. “The Cloud-Reversal Celestial Vein invested heavily in cultivating you. Do you know the amount of effort the mountain expended to nurture the three of you into Nine Palaces Celestial Lords? You three have achieved what you have today, but don't forget, your parents and siblings are still within the mountain! And your physical bodies remain there too!”
Tuole’s face changed drastically. He immediately dared not look at Shang Bingjie, lowering his head. “The Dragon Crystal of the Sinful Dragon is in Ji Changkong’s hands. We worked together… together, we already retrieved the crystal from below.”
“Oh?” The Great Elder of the Cloud-Reversal Celestial Vein showed a hint of surprise, appearing somewhat perplexed. “Since you all acted together and collectively retrieved the crystal, why is it in his possession rather than yours?”
“This… we contributed less; the main credit belongs to Ji Changkong, so… so…” Tuole explained, feeling panicked and uneasy.
The Great Elder seemed relatively reasonable. He nodded lightly, let out a long, drawn-out “Oh,” indicating he understood. After a pause, the Great Elder seemed to recall something and asked again, “You did contribute, after all. What did you receive?”
“Reporting to the Great Elder, our souls were tempered, and our soul oceans were expanded to their limit,” Tuore answered honestly, bound by constraint.
The Elder nodded again, adopting a thoughtful expression, and did not press the matter further.
The other four elders, however, began to show interest. They seemed to have developed an appetite for the Dragon Crystal of the Sinful Dragon. The four exchanged glances, a plan evidently forming in their minds.
While they were speaking, experts from both the Star Sea Domain and the Solar Star Domain stealthily released their divine soul senses. Only when they heard that the Dragon Crystal of the Sinful Dragon was now in Ji Changkong’s hands did they show expressions of disappointment, ceasing to waste their mental energy outwardly and retracting their soul consciousnesses.
“About this matter…” At this moment, the grim-faced Second Elder leaned toward the Great Elder. He first uttered a soft sound, then restrained his soul thoughts, employing a secret art of the Cloud-Reversal Celestial Vein to communicate with the Great Elder.
The other three elders also furrowed their brows. Threads of dark, strange gray lines flickered through their souls, converging with the soul thoughts of the Great Elder and the Second Elder.
As these five elders from the Cloud-Reversal Celestial Vein exchanged soul communications, they occasionally glanced toward the group from the Solar Star Domain, among them the Second Elder, whose demeanor was clearly hostile.
The experts from the Solar Star Domain felt their hearts sink, realizing something was amiss.
These were all cunning, seasoned individuals who had lived for centuries. Merely observing the five elders deliberately concealing their soul thoughts while communicating, they knew the conversation must be aimed at them—especially the Second Elder!
His sinister aura betrayed a palpable killing intent; how could they not realize the opponent harbored ill intentions?
“Bingjie, you must be extremely careful in a moment. If things turn sour, retreat early… forget about your grandmother,” the old matriarch of the Shang Family, her aged face materialized by soul projection, showed a trace of sorrow. She secretly issued instructions according to the Shang Family's secret method: “You are here in person. As long as you don't rashly attack, you should be safe. In the future… Grandmother won’t be able to look after you. You must live well; the Shang Family still relies on you!”
“Grandmother!” Shang Bingjie also sensed the danger, yet found it hard to accept momentarily. She shot a resentful glance at the five Cloud-Reversal Celestial Vein elders opposite them, thinking: Even if death awaits, she could not abandon her family!
“Little fellow, something isn’t right. If you can escape, then flee and relay the situation to Changkong,” Gu Fu said calmly, his head slightly lowered, seemingly unconcerned by the changes unfolding opposite them.
“Old Grandfather, I will protect you. Kongkong sent me here specifically to assist you; I won't leave,” the Primordial Source Poison curled its lips into a sinister arc, glaring coldly at the experts from the Star Sea Domain opposite.
The experts of the Solar Star Domain all perceived the danger. While secretly communicating, they cautiously began to disperse, attempting to seek an exit.
Just then, the five great elders of the Cloud-Reversal Celestial Vein finally ceased their communication. The tangled dark lines of their souls completely vanished.
“We have considered it. To be safe, we have decided to detain you temporarily. As long as that brat manages to find the Dark Star tribesmen and hands over the Dragon Crystal, you will all be safe,”
The Second Elder of the Cloud-Reversal Celestial Vein glared grimly at the group of Solar Star Domain experts, then snorted again, “But if that brat plays tricks, don’t blame us for being impolite!”
As the words fell, the five elders of the Cloud-Reversal Celestial Vein suddenly rose into the air together. Each elder exuded a thick, viscous blue light that instantaneously covered the desolate gray space above the Solar Star Domain group. The viscous blue light converged, forming a screen of blue light, like an inverted sea bowl, which suddenly descended from the sky to envelop them.
“Bingjie! Go!” The old matriarch of the Shang Family cried out loudly.
“I’m not leaving!” Shang Bingjie’s face was icy. She stared coldly at the five elders above, spitting out a curse, “Five ignorant old dogs!”
“Insolent little brat, you court death!” The Second Elder’s expression changed. With a casual flick of his hand, an extremely fierce soul shockwave, like a meteor from beyond the heavens, violently charged toward Shang Bingjie.
“Second Elder, no!” Tuole and Tuolie’s expressions altered drastically, both screaming out together.
They knew the terror of Ji Changkong and understood his relationship with Shang Bingjie. If Shang Bingjie were harmed, Ji Changkong would surely initiate a massacre.
Shang Bingjie opened her mouth and spat out an ice crystal short sword. A chilling aura emanated from the sword. As soon as the cold energy emerged, it immediately formed a dense, white mist. The mist curled upward, softly enveloping the soul shockwave like cotton wool. Then, the ice crystal short sword suddenly shot skyward, piercing directly into the soul shockwave created by the Second Elder.
Hiss, hiss!
The soul shockwave fractured under the freezing cold. The rigid shockwave split apart, exploding into hundreds of fragments.
The Second Elder’s body trembled, his face exceedingly ugly. He snarled hideously, “That venomous little slut, she cannot be allowed to live!”
Shang Bingjie was descending with her true body, giving her a congenital advantage. Furthermore, having just expanded her soul ocean to its absolute limit, she was currently at her peak moment. Her single strike displayed extraordinary strength.
The Second Elder’s soul shockwave contained a strand of his soul consciousness. By shattering the shockwave, Shang Bingjie also destroyed that strand of his soul consciousness, directly wounding him and thoroughly enraging him.
“Bingjie, run!” The old matriarch of the Shang Family became frantic. Suddenly, she charged toward the Second Elder in a reckless manner, determined to tie him down.
The Second Elder let out a sinister, cold laugh, a laugh of extreme ruthlessness. “Old Third, you and I will join forces and kill this old woman first!”
“Mm,” the Third Elder of the Cloud-Reversal Celestial Vein responded. He suddenly pulled on the viscous blue light screen, and the negative power of the soul surged toward the old matriarch like roaring waves.
Simultaneously, the Second Elder chuckled wickedly. The power of his soul condensed, transforming into three jet-black skull heads that spun menacingly toward the old matriarch.
“Grandmother!” Shang Bingjie had not anticipated her grandmother would rush forward so desperately. She cried out mournfully and shot upward toward the sky as well.
Suddenly!
The old matriarch’s body froze rigidly in the void. She displayed a fleeting moment of confusion, as if her soul projection had been forcibly obstructed by an unseen force.
The three black skull heads, along with the negative soul power surging like tidal waves, plunged into the old matriarch’s soul projection.
Sizzle, sizzle!
Under the violent negative power, the soul projection of the Shang Family Matriarch was shattered into pieces. Subsequently, it was absorbed by the three skulls, extinguishing her life imprint.
At this very moment, the Great Elder of the Cloud-Reversal Celestial Vein, who appeared benevolent, subtly withdrew his hand and frowned as he looked at Shang Bingjie. “Second Brother, capture the girl; don't kill her yet. She’s useful for now.”
“Understood,” the Second Elder nodded. With a wave of his large hand, the three skulls that had just absorbed Shang Bingjie’s grandmother’s soul wobbled slightly and immediately surrounded Shang Bingjie.
The life imprint of Shang Bingjie’s grandmother vanished, but the residual power of her soul resentment violently emanated from the three skulls, forming a massive soul storm that instantly enveloped Shang Bingjie.
Within that soul storm, her mother’s soul aura could be detected. Shang Bingjie held the ice crystal short sword but dared not strike, her face filled with sorrow as she wailed hoarsely, “Grandmother, Grandmother, where are you?”
As if bewildered by some strange force, Shang Bingjie called out for a while until her soul gradually grew vague, becoming utterly still within the encirclement of the three skulls.
The Second Elder sneered coldly, leaving only one skull near Shang Bingjie while recalling the other two. He called out to the brothers Tuole and Tuolie, “You two little curs, I have some of this old woman’s residual mental power here. Come and take it!”
“Second Elder, we… we don’t need it right now,” Tuole mumbled evasively, shaking his head firmly.
Tuolie kept his head down, saying nothing, as if he hadn't heard what the Second Elder said.
“Traitorous whelps, we will settle accounts with you back at the mountain!” The Second Elder snorted coldly, grasping the two skulls and tossing them toward the group from the Vast Sea Sect. “Consider it a gift to you.”
The Nine Palaces Celestial Lords of the Vast Sea Sect, upon hearing this, were overwhelmingly delighted. They rushed forward and swept up the residual mental power within the two skulls.
By this time, the blue light screen had completely descended, covering the experts of both the Solar Star Domain and the Star Sea Domain like an inverted bowl.
Even the bald man from Golden Net Mountain and Lan Fen from Feihua were blocked by an invisible defensive force when attempting to flee and were forcefully bounced back. Gu Fu remained motionless, seemingly aware that an external invisible defense had been established.
The small Primordial Source Poison glanced up at Shang Bingjie, saw that she was momentarily safe, and did not act immediately, instead lowering his head in quiet contemplation.
“Everyone, we are not unreasonable people. As long as you remain here obediently, we will not make things difficult for you. As long as that brat Ji Changkong returns and cooperates with us to find the Dark Star tribesmen, none of you will be harmed,” the Great Elder said in a kind and unhurried manner.
Tuole looked up at the Great Elder and sighed inwardly. He suddenly understood why they had come to this point.
It seemed they intended to bypass Ji Changkong and cooperate directly with the Dark Star tribesmen. Perhaps they even wished for the Dark Star people to ignore the Solar Star Domain and proceed directly to the Star Sea Domain.