Chapter 261: Destruction
Outside Longxiang City, Yaoguang descended onto the plaza where the Star Gate connecting to the vassal worlds stood.
Having received prior notice, the staff of the Nine Cauldrons Sect had already been working at full speed, recalibrating the Star Gate. Even Huang Wei, hall master of the Profound Array Hall of the Nine Heavens Domain branch, had personally arrived to assist in operating the stellar array.
"The array still hasn’t been activated? Didn’t you say the Star Gate connecting to the Yaoguang World had already been improved?" Seeing everyone bustling about, Tang Fenghua could not help but urge them.
"It has been improved. In theory, the calibration and activation should have been completed within a month, but... we can’t lock onto the coordinates of the Yaoguang World," Huang Wei said with visible anxiety.
"Can’t lock onto its coordinates?" Tang Fenghua frowned. "What does that mean?"
"Let me take a look." Yaoguang, who had already arrived, stepped forward.
Huang Wei glanced at him. Star Gate arrays belong to an entirely different system from spirit-gathering, defensive, amplification, or offensive arrays. Although Perfected Master Yaoguang has mastered many types of array arts, anything involving Star Gates...
Yet, after hesitating briefly, she quickly stepped aside.
Over the years, Yaoguang had created countless miracles. Whether in artifact refinement or array arts, there seemed to be nothing he did not understand. If he wanted to inspect the Star Gate, perhaps he really could determine the cause.
Standing before the Star Gate, Yaoguang personally began operating it.
At the same time, knowledge about Star Gates, which he had previously avoided to conserve mental capacity, surged through his mind.
Star Gates involved numerous complex disciplines, even touching upon the study of the void. Even though his array mastery had now risen to level 10, he still did not dare claim full understanding of all the knowledge related to Star Gates.
However, this Star Gate had already been built. Operating it did not require building one from scratch; only inspection and activation were needed.
One doesn't need to be able to drive a car to be able to drive it.
Yaoguang quickly reached a conclusion.
"All parameters of the Star Gate are normal, but it still can’t lock onto the Yaoguang World." As he spoke, confusion surfaced in his expression.
Why did the connection fail when all the parameters were normal? The contradiction made no sense.
Huang Wei nodded. "I’ve already conducted detailed inspections and various operations. This anomaly isn’t caused by our Star Gate... It seems to originate from the Yaoguang World itself."
"Is the Star Gate on the other side destroyed?" Tang Fenghua’s expression changed slightly as he voiced his guess.
More than a month ago, news had already come from the Yaoguang World that someone had been calibrating its coordinates, attempting to enter it.
Now that those from the North Sea Star, affiliated with the Infinite Star Palace, the Immortal Alliance, and the Thousand-Beast Sect had already arrived, it was entirely possible that Heavenly Venerable Jiang, who intended to return home to honor his ancestors, had already linked to the Star Gate and reached the Yaoguang World.
If so, their plan to reach the Yaoguang World and destroy its Star Gate before Heavenly Venerable Jiang discovered the annihilation of the Jiang family was already bound to fail. It might be too late.
"No. Damage to the opposite Star Gate, or even its complete absence, wouldn’t produce this kind of response... Based on the feedback from our Star Gate... It’s as if..." Huang Wei paused, carefully organizing her words before continuing, "As if the Yaoguang World no longer exists."
"No longer exists? What does that mean?" Tang Fenghua asked again.
"It means exactly that. It’s as if there isn’t even a planet on the other side. No world at all." Even Huang Wei found it hard to believe her own words.
After all... How could such a vast world simply vanish? Unless...
Yaoguang suddenly sensed something. He suddenly raised his head and looked toward the boundless starry sky.
***
Meanwhile, high above the nine heavens, Golden Core cultivators from the Infinite Star Palace and the Immortal Alliance had gathered, discussing their stance toward the Nine Cauldrons Sect.
"So... the Nine Cauldrons Sect is the Nine Cauldrons Sect, and the Artifact Sect is the Artifact Sect. Congratulating the Nine Cauldrons Sect doesn’t carry much meaning? In fact, your proposal is to force them to relinquish territory that originally belonged to the Artifact Sect, so that True Disciple Jiang can rebuild it and restore its former glory as a top immortal sect?" Yang Han asked, looking at Lu Xi.
"Yes." Lu Xi nodded. "Over the years, as the Nine Cauldrons Sect grew stronger, some former members of the Artifact Sect returned. But their situation has been poor. Almost all of them were purged. The fortunate ones surrendered their assets and techniques to survive. The less fortunate were judged and executed. We can support these people, recognize them as the rightful descendants of the Artifact Sect, and jointly pressure the Nine Cauldrons Sect to withdraw. They won’t dare oppose the collective will of all of us."
"Do you even realize what you’re doing? You’re trying to use True Disciple Jiang!" Yang Han’s tone sank.
"But rebuilding the Artifact Sect cannot avoid dealing with the Nine Cauldrons Sect," Lu Xi replied. "In the past, we were disorganized and did not dare confront Yaoguang head-on. But now it’s different. With True Disciple Jiang as our backbone, even if someone falls, their death will have meaning and be remembered. Besides, if all Golden Core cultivators act together, Yaoguang and Li Hanqiu may not have the ability to drag one of us down with them."
"That’s enough. We should wait for True Disciple Jiang to return before deciding." Susan waved her hand. "He values loyalty deeply. That’s one reason the Supreme Jade Emperor accepted him as a direct disciple. If he recognizes the Nine Cauldrons Sect’s legacy and intends to incorporate it into the Taiyi Immortal Sect, acting on our own could provoke his dissatisfaction."
"Indeed. We did not expect the situation in the Cangwu World to be so complex," Hera said. "We assumed the Artifact Sect had already declined like the Yang Psyche Sect and the Pill Sect. Had we returned earlier and rebuilt it, True Disciple Jiang would surely have taken note. But now, the Nine Cauldrons Sect has emerged... Until we understand his stance, we should remain patient."
Yang Han and the others nodded.
Lu Xi, Johan, and Janko held off on their own schemes. "Then... When will True Disciple Jiang return?"
"The movements of someone like him are beyond our ability to track. We can only wait," Susan said calmly.
Then, since Johan had asked, she added, "Given his personality and his need to keep up appearances, it shouldn’t take long."
The group could only continue waiting patiently.
Feng Ao, who had been responsible for intelligence gathering all along, suddenly said, "I don’t know what attitude True Disciple Jiang holds toward the Nine Cauldrons Sect, but toward Yaoguang, he would definitely feel extreme disgust, perhaps even wishing to kill him immediately."
The moment these words were spoken, everyone turned their gaze toward him, waiting for an explanation.
Feng Ao did not conceal anything and continued directly, "Ever since Yaoguang rose to prominence, I used every method at my disposal to investigate him. Aside from discovering that he came from a vassal world, I even uncovered details about his experiences there..."
"That isn’t exactly a secret," Lin Deng said, puzzled. "What’s the point of bringing it up now? Are you suggesting he colluded with the Lunar Fiend Empire? That excuse might not be very useful."
Feng Ao shook his head. "That’s not what I mean. Before Yaoguang became the world lord of that vassal world, it had originally been an Artifact-Nurturing World under the Artifact Sect. In theory, it was governed by a Foundation Building family surnamed Xie. However, I discovered that while the Xie family managed it, members of the Jiang family had never left. It seemed they intended to occupy that world."
He explained further, "The Jiang family originally rose from that world. To them, it holds deep significance. Compared to the Artifact Sect, that world should be considered their true ancestral land."
As soon as these words fell, everyone’s expressions changed.
Susan was the first to react, her voice tinged with alarm. "The Jiang family never left and tried to occupy that world? But that world is now the Yaoguang World! Then the Jiang family members..."
"If the Artifact Sect still existed, a transition between old and new rulers might have been peaceful," Feng Ao said quickly. "But the Artifact Sect is gone, and Yaoguang became the master of that world. The fate of the former ruling Jiang family... I don’t need to spell it out. At the very least, none of the first group of people who came from the Yaoguang World included anyone from the Jiang family."
As soon as he finished speaking, Janko, Mi Le, Johan, and Lu Xi were both shocked and delighted.
They had not expected that, just as Susan and the others refused to act against the Nine Cauldrons Sect, the situation would suddenly turn.
Yaoguang had effectively doomed himself and completely offended True Disciple Jiang.
Meanwhile, Susan, Yang Han, and Hera were filled with shock and anger.
"Is what you’re saying true?!"
"How dare he?! That Yaoguang... How could he commit such a heinous act?!"
"This is equivalent to wiping out one branch of True Disciple Jiang’s Jiang family! Even if it wasn’t an important branch, slaughtering his bloodline like this... That Yaoguang is courting death!"
True Disciple Jiang was an extraordinary figure.
Ever since being accepted as a direct disciple by the Supreme Jade Emperor, he had become the hope of their Cangwu World lineage.
Whether their lineage could gain greater benefits and influence within the Taiyi Immortal Sect in the future depended entirely on him.
And now, when so few members of the Jiang family remained alive, Yaoguang had actually wiped out the branch left behind by Heavenly Venerable Jiang in his ancestral land.
Such an act could never be redeemed, even with ten thousand deaths.
Luo Fu, another Dharma Form cultivator from the Infinite Star Palace who had remained mostly silent, suddenly exclaimed, "Look! Deep in the starry sky, I’ve marked the coordinates!"
Although they did not understand why he had suddenly directed their attention outward at that moment, everyone still activated their secret arts and looked toward the coordinates he indicated.
And when they did, they quickly saw something.
"A world... has been shattered?"
"Another one of the countless worlds outside the Great Cangwu World has disappeared?"
"That’s enough. There’s nothing to see. A star turning into cosmic dust is something you can witness every day on the North Sea battlefield. Let’s focus on discussing how to handle True Disciple Jiang and deal with that wretched Yaoguang."
After looking, the Golden Core cultivators showed little interest.
In the past, such an event might have been worth watching, but now, they simply had no mood for it.
Only Feng Ao continued staring at that location. After a moment, realization suddenly struck him. "Wait... That position... That world... Could it be..."
"It is the Yaoguang World." Luo Fu met his gaze, nodded heavily, and gave a definitive answer. "The Yaoguang World has been destroyed."
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