Zhao Hon narrowed his eyes and spoke slowly: "These nine islands are arranged in a ring, with one at the very center, three in the middle, and five on the outermost circle encircling the others; the Supre Elder is imprisoned on the central island itself; on each of the three middle islands, there is a peerless Shenxiao Lord!"
"And as for the five outer islands, each has no fewer than two, and up to three Shenxiao Lords at high or mid rank!"
"They use special ans to connect the stars to the islands, so now, the Nine Star Archipelago is like a grand array, requiring manual manipulation!"
"We only need to disrupt the balance of one or two islands, and the encirclent of the nine stars will collapse."
"Then, the Supre Elder will have a chance to break free!"
"You should know, the reason Guanglong Island and Three Gods Island are joining forces is because the Supre Elder carries the inheritance treasure from Ten Thousand Swords Island—it cannot be underestimated!"
After listening, Xu Yang’s frown deepened. "How do we accomplish that?"
This is the crux of it!
Trying with just one Shenxiao Middle Realm and one Shenxiao Initial Realm? Far from enough!
Zhao Hon flashed a mysterious smile: "Since I dared to co, I am, of course, prepared!"
Finishing his words, he swept his gaze over the group, then silently darted toward the island.
The others exchanged glances.
The Burial Monarch couldn’t hold back: "This guy is too unreliable."
Jian Chuan also felt dubious, but... "He surely can’t be running off to get himself killed, right?"
"If he’s up to sothing, it couldn’t be just dragging us here for no reason."
Fair point!
The Burial Monarch was left speechless.
Xu Yang took a deep breath and slipped after him.
The Burial Monarch sighed, waving his hand: "Let’s go."
No choice—we’re already here.
He certainly had no idea that Xu Yang had plenty of reasons of his own.
They arrived beneath the outermost island.
Zhao Hon opened his palm, revealing two items.
One was an ancient scroll; the other, a strangely shaped pale yellow lotus lamp.
"Hiss, even I cannot see through them."
The Burial Monarch, upon seeing them, involuntarily sucked in a cold breath, staring in shock at these two objects.
Zhao Hon said nothing, simply tapped the lamp.
Buzz!
A wisp of pale yellow spirit fire ignited in the lamp’s center, casting its glow to the edges.
He lifted his curved palm.
The lamp floated gently up, hovering overhead.
"This lamp can shield us from detection, unless a top-tier Shenxiao Lord cos near and investigates!" As Zhao Hon spoke, strands of pale yellow spiritual light fell from the lamp, thin as silken veils, enveloping them all.
Xu Yang’s group was collectively stunned—their faces could not hide their shock.
Even a top-tier Shenxiao Lord has to be close to detect it; what a treasure this is!
Then Zhao Hon unfurled the ancient scroll.
The group leaned closer for a look.
The opened scroll revealed only emptiness.
Then, one, two, three... dots of light slowly appeared within the void.
Arranged in the sa shape as the islands before their eyes.
A single spot at the center, three circling in the middle; on the outermost edge, clusters of twos and threes, so islands with two figures, others with three.
Like stars surrounding the moon!
"This shows the distribution of experts on each island inside."
"Let’s start from this one!"
Zhao Hon pointed with a bent finger at the nearest outer island.
On it, three dots of light flashed brightly.
Three mighty Shenxiao experts!
Xu Yang inhaled deeply—he was already shocked by Zhao Hon’s "preparation."
Just these two magic treasures—unbelievable.
Who is this man, really?
Even Ten Thousand Swords, Guanglong, and Three Gods Islands might struggle to present such treasures.
The Burial Monarch was already staring in awe.
He’d never dared dream of treasures like these.
The key is, to this mont, even the innermost top-tier Shenxiao Lords remain unaware.
Inconceivable!
"Let’s go!"
Zhao Hon murmured, sweeping his sleeve to gather them into a strand of gold barely visible to the naked eye, approaching the island.
Swish!
The golden strand silently landed on the island.
The island’s defenders noticed nothing.
The mont he set foot on the island, Xu Yang suddenly felt his whole body tense—an indescribable, vast force surged overhead, suffocating in its intensity.
He couldn’t help but look up. The faint thread from outside was sharp and clear now.
It stretched from earth to sky, fusing with the Spiritual Origin Star.
The point where it touched the island was exactly its center.
The golden thread pressed forward.
Soon, they reached the island’s very heart.
Focusing their gaze—
They saw three Martial Artists seated cross-legged outside a banner of glassy hue.
Clearly standing guard over it!
And the thin line was connected directly to the banner!
"That banner must be the key to maintaining the Nine Star Archipelago’s entrapnt!"
"One Shenxiao high rank, two at the mid rank!"
Zhao Hon peered through the golden thread, his voice echoing in its space.
"How do you propose to act?" asked the Burial Monarch, burning with curiosity.
Zhao Hon smiled faintly: "Very simple!"
Simple?
The Burial Monarch’s face spasd uncontrollably.
They saw the golden thread suddenly swell. Even now, the three defenders noticed nothing.
In the next mont—
Zhao Hon raised his palm and unfurled the ancient scroll.
Swish!
The scroll shot forth, expanding in the wind, ballooning instantly to a hundred yards wide—descending like lightning.
The three n snapped their eyes open, mouths agape, but found themselves uttering not a sound.
The scroll enveloped them, locking everything in place!
Crash!
The three vanished from the island—the scroll swiftly retracted.
At the sa instant, the three corresponding dots of light on the scroll dimd, standing in stark contrast to the rest.
"..."
Xu Yang and the others looked at each other, slack jawed, in utter disbelief!
"Was it really that damn easy?"
The Burial Monarch couldn’t help but blurt out.
They were stunned!
He’d expected Zhao Hon to produce another terrifying treasure.
Who would have thought this ancient scroll, assud to be for reconnaissance only, wielded so terrifying a power!
"Told you it was simple."
Zhao Hon grinned wide.
Xu Yang was speechless for a long mont.
As for Zhao Hon’s identity, his head spun to no avail.
Treasures like these—any War King family would consider them top-grade!
"The three are trapped, but not dead. The others won’t notice!"
"This banner is essential; when the ti cos, destroy it to break the formation!"
"You all remain here. I’ll handle the next one!"
Zhao Hon pointed to the fine line connected to the banner above: "Once the formation shatters, spirit energy from the star above will spill forth in abundance!"
"If you can absorb it, your cultivation will benefit greatly!"
"This island alone will have enough spirit origin for you to digest."
At those words, the Burial Monarch couldn’t help but gulp.
Gulp!
His throat bobbed as fiery longing blazed in his eyes.
"Many thanks!"
The Burial Monarch gratefully clasped his fists in salute.
Zhao Hon waved briefly, then, trailing the golden thread, silently swept off to the next island.
The Burial Monarch, Xu Yang, and the other four dropped out of the air.
"That lamp’s concealnt effect actually remains."
Xu Yang’s heart trembled; only now did he realize: Zhao Hon had left with the lotus lamp, but the spiritual veil it cast still hung over them.
"This man’s origins are probably unimaginable!"
"Just those two treasures, even within my own knowledge, are enough to astonish the heart; among Star Do Sea’s three islands, there are very few objects of this caliber!"
The Burial Monarch murmured in awe: "For him to produce two at once, I even suspect he carries a supre treasure apt to face a top-tier Shenxiao Lord!"
"If I’m honest, I can only imagine the seven topmost powers might own such things."
"Does Ten Thousand Swords Island have such allies?"
Xu Yang considered: "Perhaps not necessarily. What if he’s a disciple of so extrely powerful Shenxiao Lord?"
"In such a vast Spirit Realm, surely so like him exist?"
The Burial Monarch paused, then nodded slightly: "Of course such beings exist!"
"Enough. No point worrying over this."
"If we can rescue the Supre Elder, and gain such fortuitous encounters, it’s our great luck!"
"Anyway, he has no ill intent; who cares who he is!"
Jian Chuan licked his lips, excitent in his voice.
"Hahaha, well said!" The Burial Monarch burst out laughing.
By now, he felt incredibly lucky to have followed along.
"Kid, toss an eighth-tier pill when this is over."
The Burial Monarch suddenly grinned at Xu Yang: "I’m not doing much to help—but just the spirit energy dispersing here will massively power up; add an eighth-tier pill, and a breakthrough to Shenxiao Middle Realm is all but assured!"
This Do Sea Secret Realm—what a heaven-sent opportunity!
Xu Yang nodded without hesitation.
After that, the four silently watched the banner, not daring to investigate further.
As ti ticked by—
Night drew near.
The darkness spread, and stars lit the sky.
The entire island was bathed in splendid starlight; the central fine thread, stretching from earth to sky, glimred extraordinary and beautiful.
Then, suddenly—
A violent commotion erupted from the deepest reaches.
Boom!
Thunder rolled, shaking the heavens, unleashing waves like the collapse of mountains and seas, a tempest as if the heavens themselves were shattering.
For ten thousand yards around, the ocean surged with towering waves, its surface churned, as if an ancient beast had awakened, unleashing a bone-chilling roar.
"It’s begun."
Xu Yang’s whole body shuddered, his heart frozen, staring at the archipelago’s depths in grim terror.
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