Chapter 2830: Qing Palace

Looking at the bitter expression on Yin Luo’s face, Fei Mu comforted her, “Master Aunt, you’ve done your best. There’s no need to blame yourself.”

Yin Luo shook her head, “I have let Qing Jun down!”

As she spoke, she looked up at the golden dragon phantom coiling above the Azure Palace.

This was a blessing left within the Azure Palace by that Lord before his departure years ago. Without this dragon phantom, their defensive line here would have long since collapsed, as there was a fundamental disparity in both strength and numbers between them and the enemy.

Yin Luo had lived in the Azure Palace for many years, but she had never discovered the existence of this dragon phantom’s blessing until her return this time.

This was likely related to her cultivation level; the blessing left by Qing Jun when he departed could only be activated once she ascended to the Hegemony realm.

However, by all accounts, she hadn’t been in the Hegemony realm for many years, and she alone could not possibly activate the power of this dragon phantom.

The might of this dragon phantom was collectively activated by all the Hegemony cultivators within the Azure Palace.

Yin Luo’s gaze swept across the surroundings, taking in familiar faces: Ma Bin, Feng Rumor, Hun Que, Chen Wulei, Chang Yu, Ma Shangsi, Xiangyin Xuanyu, Ding Beifeng, Lady Qingyu and her subordinates Chen Wuyinghu, as well as the four great human clan patriarchs from Pan Lan, and the three Hegemony cultivators of the Giant Race, among others.

It must be said that the One-Yuan Starry Sky, giving birth to so many Hegemony cultivators in such a short time, was truly a place of exceptional talent, and this wasn’t even everyone.

Yet, even with the Azure Palace, such a force was insufficient to fully protect the Star Abyss Gate here.

Yin Luo’s gaze finally settled on one person: “Hua Ci…”

The gentle-faced woman immediately understood her intention, smiled faintly, and shook her head, “I’m not leaving!”

Yin Luo’s expression grew serious, “You must leave. We can’t hold out here.”

Recently, the enemies outside had been relentlessly eroding the dragon phantom’s power. One or two more rounds of such ceaseless assaults would inevitably break the dragon phantom, making the Azure Palace indefensible. At that point, everyone standing here would perish without a burial place.

As for the others, it was one thing, but Yin Luo, having been here for many days, naturally knew Hua Ci’s identity and absolutely dared not allow any harm to befall her.

Hua Ci softly said, “Yin Luo, I am also a cultivator of the Starry Sky, and I have a responsibility to protect it. Besides, if this place falls, where would I go? The Starry Sky is not peaceful right now either.”

“Hide as long as you can!” Yin Luo urged. Seeing that Hua Ci was still insistent, she tilted her head and gave Fei Mu a look, “Take your Aunt Hua Ci away!”

Fei Mu stepped forward.

Hua Ci looked up. In her slender, fair hand, an ancient coin rolled, emanating a strange halo.

Fei Mu paused, giving a wry smile, “Aunt Hua Ci, please don’t make things difficult for me.”

Hua Ci remained silent, simply smiling as she gazed at Fei Mu. The halo around the ancient coin grew even brighter. Beside her, a golden, enormous creature resembling a toad, with two bulging eyes, let out gurgling sounds from its throat.

Fei Mu sighed. Just as he was about to say something more, he suddenly turned his head to look in a certain direction, letting out a soft exclamation of surprise, as if he had discovered something, a puzzled look on his face.

At that moment, he vaguely felt something strange, a sudden sensation that appeared out of nowhere.

This sensation… made him feel inexplicably familiar and close.

“They’re starting again!” Ma Bin exclaimed from the side, “Let’s just hold out through this round first!”

At his words, the expressions of many cultivators in the Azure Palace immediately turned grim.

Outside the Azure Palace, from the numerous Hegemony cities, figures flew out. Before they even arrived, multicolored lights began to envelop the Azure Palace.

The dragon phantom coiling around the Azure Palace immediately let out a roaring dragon cry. Its already slightly dim form suddenly became resplendent with golden light, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws to meet the incoming enemies.

They had clashed many times before, so there was no need for probing; the battle instantly became extremely fierce.

However, for those in the Azure Palace, there was no hope in such a battle, because they were always on the defensive, able only to channel their power from within the palace, collectively controlling the dragon phantom to resist the enemy’s assaults. They had no way to actively kill the enemy.

Their only hope was to persist against the enemy’s ferocious onslaught, to hold out and exhaust their attackers’ strength.

However, the enemy this time was clearly determined to breach the Azure Palace, as the intensity of their assault was far more violent than any previous attempt.

Barely ten breaths into the battle, everyone in the Azure Palace felt an unprecedented immense pressure, their faces grim and somber.

Somewhere in Pan Lan, when Lu Ye appeared, he immediately felt a sense of a wanderer returning home.

Ultimately, he was the master of Pan Lan. Many years ago, he had already refined this Dao weapon. The reason he left it here was primarily because it was not easy to carry around, and Pan Lan could also be used to conceal the existence of the Star Abyss Gate.

Furthermore, the two races of Insects and Blood inside Pan Lan could serve as training subjects for Starry Sky cultivators. By utilizing these two races, Starry Sky cultivators, upon reaching a certain level, could enter Pan Lan to slay enemies and hunt bones, both honing their combat experience and growing more rapidly.

His divine sense stirred slightly.

Lu Ye immediately perceived Zong Shenliang’s movements and narrowed his eyes slightly.

As he had expected, Zong Shenliang’s clone had come to seize Pan Lan. At this moment, this top ten city lord was leading several Hegemony cultivators under his command towards the entrance of a certain ruin.

When Lu Ye left Pan Lan back then, he had set up restrictions at all ruin entrances, making them difficult for ordinary cultivators to break, let alone enter.

But now, under his perception, the restriction at the entrance of one of the ruins had already been forcefully breached.

While these restrictions were indeed difficult for cultivators within Pan Lan to break, Hegemony cultivators possessed extraordinary means. It seemed the situation inside the ruins had already been thoroughly investigated.

He was about to go and intercept them when his heart suddenly stirred, and he looked towards another direction.

The next instant, the situation at the Azure Palace imprinted itself upon his mind.

After a quick check, Lu Ye raged, “How dare they!”

With a raised hand, his Talent Tree clone solidified beside him, while his main body took a step and vanished from the spot.

When he reappeared, he had already arrived before the Azure Palace.

His previous location was more than a dozen star systems away from here, but as the master of Pan Lan, distance held no meaning for him while within Pan Lan. As long as he wished, he could appear anywhere in Pan Lan at any time.

What he saw was numerous figures seated within the Azure Palace, their Dao power surging. Outside the Azure Palace, the dragon phantom soared, while Hegemony cultivators darted and weaved, each employing their methods, striking the dragon phantom until it roared continuously, golden light splashing from its form.

Lu Ye had also spent some time in the Azure Palace, but he had never known that such a formation existed within it. Moreover, the aura of this dragon phantom subtly gave him a familiar feeling.

It was Yang Qing’s aura!

The Azure Palace was left to Yin Luo by Yang Qing. It seemed that when he left back then, he had indeed set up some hidden measures within the palace to guard against situations like the one unfolding now.

Truly worthy of being the Dragon Race’s second ancestor; even a hidden measure left many years ago could still display such power today.

While sighing with emotion, his gaze immediately locked onto a certain Hegemony cultivator within the crowd.

Among all the invading enemies, this individual had the most violent fluctuations of Dao power. If he was not mistaken, this should be the city lord of that Flood-grade city!

Just then, this Hegemony cultivator also turned his head and looked towards Lu Ye.

When Lu Ye appeared, he made no attempt to conceal himself. Even amidst the fierce battle, the invading enemies clearly sensed him. In such a large-scale conflict, the sudden intrusion of another life force naturally drew attention.

The Flood-grade city lord had initially thought it was one of his own, but upon seeing Lu Ye’s completely unfamiliar face, he couldn’t help but be startled.

Before he could react, Lu Ye had already raised his hand and drawn his Pan Shan Saber, his gaze icy, as he fiercely slashed down at him!

Liao was still in a deep sleep, so he could not provide Lu Ye with any boost or enhancement in strength. However, with Lu Ye’s current inherent power, the blessing of over two hundred Dao powers from a single artifact wouldn’t make much difference.

Moreover, the Pan Shan Saber itself retained its formidable sharpness.

“Huh?” The Flood-grade city lord, taken aback, felt a saber light like a bolt of silk assault his vision. He hastily channeled his power to protect himself and raised the Dao weapon in his hand to block.

The saber light slashed through, shattering the Dao weapon. Along with it, the Flood-grade city lord’s body was split in two. From the wound, blood and internal organs gushed out, and the golden light of his broken Dao bones was obscured by the crimson flow.

His life force was extinguished.

The fierce and noisy battlefield suddenly fell silent for an instant.

All gazes converged on Lu Ye.

After a brief moment of shock, the Hegemony cultivators besieging the Azure Palace all showed expressions of unspeakable terror and unease.

It was important to know that the one who had just died was a Flood-grade city lord, the strongest among them all. His Flood-grade city was nearby, and with his own innate strength combined with the enhancement from the Hegemony Orb within his city, there were few strong individuals in the entire Star Abyss who could so cleanly and decisively kill him with a single blow.

Even if there were, they wouldn’t be able to shatter a Dao weapon with one strike.

Who was this newcomer…?

Inside the Azure Palace, those who were collectively channeling their power to control the dragon phantom were also startled by the sudden turn of events. However, when they clearly saw the newcomer’s appearance, their eyes widened, and expressions of joyous surprise appeared on their faces.

“Lu Ye!” Yin Luo shouted, “It’s Lu Ye! He’s back!”

“Master Uncle!” Fei Mu gazed respectfully at the figure standing in the void, finally understanding the source of that familiar and intimate feeling he had experienced earlier.

Back then, when he was still cultivating in Kyushu and had not yet met Lu Ye, he had already felt a strange connection with this Master Uncle from afar. Many years later, that sensation still persisted.

Beside him, Hua Ci stared blankly at Lu Ye, her clear, water-like eyes inexplicably veiled with mist. She gently bit her red lip.

Just moments before, she had been prepared to die in battle here without fear, yet now, for some reason, she felt a strange sense of grievance.

She quietly sniffed, then raised a hand to caress the Pixiu beside her.

The appearance of that familiar figure outside seemed to instantly sweep away all gloom. Indeed, it was just like before: when this man appeared, all difficulties would be resolved.