He guarded the foot of this mountain for three days, seeing no one enter or leave. He knew there was a protective talisman array masking their movements and senses from him.

Possessing the Eye of the Void, and with his mastery over the Big Dipper Divine Sword deepening, his intuition grew sharper. The fact that this talisman array could still deceive him meant it was extraordinarily sophisticated; he dared not underestimate it.

He did not dare force his way in. Shaking his head in frustration, he could only retreat, acknowledging that his current strength was insufficient. He needed to intensify his practice of the Grand Yin Scripture and the Heavenly Mechanism Sword.

He returned to the Bright Mirror Sect and reported his findings to the Sect Master, Huang Ningtian. They agreed to a temporary truce with the Great River Sect to focus all their efforts against the Purple Star Hall.

Huang Ningtian had already dispatched men to ambush the location Li Muzhan had previously discovered, intending to raid the Purple Star Hall's lair. When Li Muzhan reported discovering another lair, Huang Ningtian sighed and shook his head, admitting they had underestimated the Purple Star Hall.

The two sat in the main hall in silence, the atmosphere heavy and oppressive.

After a long pause, Huang Ningtian sighed, "The Purple Star Hall wasn't this rampant originally. Something major must be unfolding. Wuji, go back and cultivate diligently. Going back to the Heavenly Abyss Pavilion is also an option; there will be fierce battles ahead!"

Huang Ningtian knew Li Muzhan was sentimental and held deep affection for the Heavenly Abyss Pavilion, feeling more comfortable and secure there, leading to faster progress in his training.

As a Star Emissary, he represented the strongest lineage within the Bright Mirror Sect’s secret transmissions. If he truly mastered it, he would become the foremost master, holding decisive influence.

Li Muzhan nodded. Suddenly, Huang Ningtian’s expression shifted; he frowned, glanced at a jade tablet, and his face darkened.

Li Muzhan asked, "Sect Master, what happened?"

Huang Ningtian frowned, putting the jade tablet away, and looked at Li Muzhan, shaking his head. "Wuji, you need to make a run. Go assist the Dao Hall contingent!"

"Senior Brother Chen?" Li Muzhan rushed to ask. "Did they go to raid the Purple Star Hall’s main base?"

"Yes," Huang Ningtian frowned, his expression grave. "Twenty of our top experts from the Dao Hall—that should have been enough. We truly underestimated the Purple Star Hall!"

Li Muzhan replied instantly, "I’ll leave immediately!"

Huang Ningtian instructed, "Use a communication talisman to contact the Dao Hall. They are fighting and withdrawing; rendezvous with them!"

"Understood." Li Muzhan rose and headed out.

He didn't need a communication talisman; focusing his senses, he could faintly perceive Chen Daotang’s location. Unleashing his movement technique, he shot forward like a streak of flowing light.

Leaving the Bright Mirror Sect, he traveled at breakneck speed, covering a hundred li in a blink. He paused, frowning, as he arrived at a deep gorge.

The sides of the gorge towered steeply, leaving the sky above a mere thread.

Four elders in purple robes stood before the gorge entrance, smiling faintly as they watched Li Muzhan. Their surging auras had transformed the surrounding two li into a vast, engulfing ocean, threatening to swallow anyone within.

"Li Wuji?" the burly elder leading them asked in a deep voice.

The four scrutinized Li Muzhan, their gazes sharp as lightning, missing no minute detail, trying to peer directly into his very soul.

Li Muzhan said calmly, "Purple Star Hall?"

"It seems so. We waited for the right person," the burly elder smiled. "We have waited a long time!"

Li Muzhan’s heart grew cold. This was the tactic of besieging an outpost to trap reinforcements—a trap set specifically for him. He smiled slightly. "The Purple Star Hall going to such elaborate lengths truly makes me feel overwhelmingly honored!"

Saying this, he lightly clapped his hands. With a woosh, a dragon silhouette materialized behind the four, sweeping across them horizontally. They twisted and pushed out their palms.

Bang! The four elders staggered slightly, while Li Muzhan remained perfectly steady. He swept both hands, sending out ten streams of fingertip force that hissed sharply as they tore through the air.

The four pushed their palms out again, their expressions changing subtly after the exertion. They quickly thrust out their left hands as well, and only when the two streams of palm energy merged did they manage to block Li Muzhan’s fingertip strikes.

Li Muzhan had integrated the mental cultivation method of the Ice Soul Divine Needle into his fingertip force. Since the Star Power was inherently solid and domineering, adding the Divine Needle’s method resulted in terrifying piercing power.

Li Muzhan stretched both hands out levelly, flicking his ten fingers as if playing a zither—effortless and elegant. The four elders struggled clumsily to fend off the continuous, dense barrage of fingertip energy.

The finger strikes formed a net before Li Muzhan, enveloping the four elders. They could only fight desperately, unable to evade the onslaught.

Li Muzhan shook his head. These four old men possessed remarkable resilience; even such strong finger force couldn't crush them. It explained why they dared to ambush him; they truly had skill.

The Star Power in the sky poured into his Dantian like a waterfall, instantly transforming into fingertip force—vast and seemingly endless. The hissing sounds grew louder, and the force became increasingly tyrannical and potent.

The four elders slowly retreated, drawing into the gorge. Li Muzhan narrowed his eyes, his expression tightening. Instead of following, he backed away.

Four more elders flashed out from the gorge, shooting towards Li Muzhan like lightning. Li Muzhan lightly plucked his ten fingers, and the hissing sounds suddenly intensified.

The four elders pushed out a palm strike simultaneously. Where their palm energy met the fingertip force, there were sharp bang sounds, as if striking a solid wall. Li Muzhan frowned for a moment, and before he could react, the four elders were right upon him.

Li Muzhan grunted, secretly annoyed. With their cultivation level, they still resorted to tricks, ambushing him from the gorge.

It was fortunate his intuition was sharp enough to sense their presence. Before receiving the Star Emissary inheritance, he would not have detected them. All four had reached the state of Returning to Simplicity, possessing extremely potent abilities to conceal their auras.

He retracted his ten fingers, forming them into fists, and struck out two fists each, creating four tangible dragon silhouettes. The four elders hurriedly met them with their palms. Bang! The dragon silhouettes sent the four men flying.

Li Muzhan was employing the Soul Transformation Palm, doubled in power. The four elders were no match and were flung away. The other four elders, after a moment of shock, charged forward as well.

Li Muzhan hammered out his fists, instantly launching eight dragon silhouettes. These eight silhouettes possessed a spirit of their own, each wrapping around an elder. The bang bang sounds erupted incessantly.

Li Muzhan continued punching, and more dragon silhouettes formed, merging with the previous ones, becoming even more lifelike and vivid.

The aura of the dragon silhouettes grew increasingly imposing. The eight elders found the strain astonishing; sending eight of them was intended for certainty, though four should have sufficed, yet unexpectedly, all eight found themselves at a disadvantage.

Li Muzhan had infused the mental technique of the Soul Transformation Palm into his punches, and thanks to inheriting the Star Emissary’s knowledge, he could manage eight tasks simultaneously; each dragon silhouette was imbued with his spirit, doubling its power.

The more he fought, the bolder he became. The eight elders were forced into a steady retreat, attempting to group together slowly, but Li Muzhan noticed the maneuver and pressed them, leaving them flustered and unable to attend to anything else.

Whoosh... Li Muzhan suddenly struck out with both fists. Two dragon silhouettes condensed in mid-air, then shot towards a single silhouette, before one elder was sent flying, spitting a gout of blood in the air.

This move shattered the balance. Two more elders were soon airborne. The remaining six saw the danger and instantly turned to flee. Li Muzhan did not pursue. He lifted the two incapacitated elders and gracefully ascended to the top of the gorge.

On the summit, he found a large boulder, set the two men down, and then sat cross-legged, his expression solemn, placing one hand on each man’s forehead.

Moments later, his face pale, he withdrew his hands. The two elders slumped down like discarded mud.

Li Muzhan looked up at the sky, absorbing the information gleaned from the Soul Searching technique. His face was as dark as water. After a long silence, he let out a soft sigh.

The foundations of the Purple Star Hall were unexpectedly deep; he had truly underestimated them!

The more he understood about the Purple Star Hall, the deeper his despair grew. Returning to his original world by going through them seemed almost impossible; at the very least, he needed to defeat the masters of the Purple Star Hall.

Beyond that, he needed to cultivate the secret arts of the Purple Star Hall.

This was the most difficult part. Opening the passage required becoming a Purple Star Envoy, which was hereditary. Li Muzhan gave a bitter smile; given his relationship with the Purple Star Hall, obtaining the inheritance and becoming an Envoy was completely out of the question.

But this lifeline before him was the only one he had—there was still a sliver of hope. Regardless of the cost, he had to become a Purple Star Envoy!