Swallowed Star 2: Land of Origin

"My second brother is the strongest in our family. I pale in comparison; I'm not even in the top three in our clan," said a woman with a body of icy coldness, as she chuckled softly, naturally emitting a chill that greatly reduced the temperature of the entire hall.

"So you are Xue Yun?" said the burly figure looking at Divine Monarch Xue Yun, "Wearing a mask and disguising your aura, you don't even dare to show your real face?"

Divine Monarch Xue Yun continued to smile at the two, "After all, I need to stay undercover within the Yu Kingdom for a long time, so it's better to be cautious."

"Hmph."

The burly figure indifferently said, "The Marquis should have already told you about our coming to Huyang City."

"Yes, sending you two to assist me is for the purpose of seizing the complete Formation Map of Huyang City," said Divine Monarch Xue Yun.

"The three of us acting together must have a defined leader. The Marquis didn't specify who should take command. In my view, we ought to have a trial to decide," said the burly figure.

Divine Monarch Xue Yun looked at the brother and sister, nodding lightly, "I have long heard of the fame of Yutian Xu and Yutian Yi, and I would also like to test you. You two can join forces."

"Join forces?" Both the burly figure and the woman of icy coldness changed their expressions slightly.

They were both very proud.

Two against one? This was an insult to them.

"I alone am enough to deal with you," said the burly figure.

"If you can defeat my second brother, we siblings will naturally obey you," said the woman with the icy cold body.

"Very well, I have heard that the strongest of the Yutian Clan, 'Yutian Xu,' has awakened a special bloodline and has refined his Body Refinement Secret Technique to an unimaginable extent," Divine Monarch Xue Yun looked at the burly figure, "Today, I shall test that."

As he spoke, Divine Monarch Xue Yun released a large boat Secret Treasure, placing it at the center of the hall.

"Please."

Divine Monarch Xue Yun, Yutian Xu, and Yutian Yi all entered the interior of the large boat Secret Treasure; after all, the commotion from a clash at their level was too great. Fighting inside the Secret Treasure could ensure the battle did not get exposed.

The three strongest forces of Shi Kingdom's Forces in Huyang City, at this moment, began their trial inside the large boat Secret Treasure, the outside world none the wiser.

A moment later, three figures flew out.

"Within Huyang City, everyone regards Lord Luo He's godly body as extraordinary, who alone can pierce through the Mechanical Stream Secret Treasure, 'Purple Jade Gen.' But in my view, Brother Yutian Xu, your godly body is probably even stronger than that of Lord Luo He," praised Divine Monarch Xue Yun, "Even the legendary unlimited godly bodies might find it hard to surpass yours.

With Brother Yutian Xu's help, our chances of capturing the Huyang City Formation Map have greatly increased."

"My second brother's godly body can be said to be the pinnacle of bloodline cultivation path among the eternal true gods," Yutian Yi looked at Divine Monarch Xue Yun in surprise, "I didn't expect that he would still lose to a Divine Monarch."

This exchange had made the siblings aware of just how deeply hidden Divine Monarch Xue Yun was.

Divine Monarch Xue Yun, concealing his true identity all this while, wasn't very famous, but his strength exceeded their expectations.

"To this day in my cultivation, you are the eternal true god I've seen with the deepest accumulation," Yutian Xu also expressed some admiration, "In our fight, you used five moves from the Primal Chaos Realm. Having deduced so many moves from the Primal Chaos Realm, you must be a step into the Primal Chaos Realm, right?"

"I don't know."

Divine Monarch Xue Yun shook his head, "I've always been accumulating, feeling that I'm getting closer and closer to the Primal Chaos Realm, but as the years pass, I still find myself stuck as an eternal true god."

"Divine Monarch Xue Yun, have you also studied the Law Lineage?" asked Yutian Yi.

"Yes."

Divine Monarch Xue Yun admitted, "Being stuck in a bottleneck for a long time, I tried comprehending laws. As my understanding of laws improved, I could more effectively tap into the potential of my bloodline. The two cultivation systems are not contradictory, but rather, they complement each other."

"Divine Monarch Xue Yun, your understanding is indeed much stronger than mine," Yutian Xu conceded, "This time, I am convinced by my defeat, and for this operation, both my sister and I will follow your lead."

Yutian Yi also nodded on the side.

Looking at the pair of siblings, Divine Monarch Xue Yun secretly sighed in relief, finally having convinced them.

"Inside Huyang City, the city owner's mansion's greatest advantage is the 'geographical advantage,' which in fact refers to the grand formation of Huyang City," said Divine Monarch Xue Yun, "The Huyang City Formation has been continuously improved by masters through generations. Once its numerous capabilities are unleashed, our strengths will also be significantly suppressed."

Yutian Xu and Yutian Yi both nodded in agreement.

"The Formation Map is the core of Huyang City, guarded most strictly," said Divine Monarch Xue Yun, "Speaking of the most strictly guarded place in Huyang City, it is undoubtedly the city owner's mansion, and I guess... the Formation Map is inside the city owner's mansion."

"Knowing that, what can we do?" both Yutian Xu and Yutian Yi also felt troubled, "Are we supposed to just storm in?"

The city owner's mansion's defenses were too strong, akin to a super-large Mechanical Flow Secret Treasure, full of dangers.

"No hurry. The Marquis gave us a century's time, we have plenty of time," said Divine Monarch Xue Yun, "The first step is to capture all the experts who have repaired the Huyang City Formation—since they have repaired the formation, they must have some understanding of it."

"Collect as much information about the Huyang City Formation from them first; they might know the location of the complete Formation Map," said Xue Yun.

"How many experts who have repaired the formation are there in Huyang City?" Yutian Xu and Yutian Yi were not aware.

"Historically, there have been many who repaired it, but there are nine who are still in Huyang City!" said Xue Yun, "One has already pledged allegiance to us, but the other eight are somewhat troublesome."

"Capture eight eternal true gods?" For the Yutian siblings, this was no pressure.

With a wave of his hand, Divine Monarch Xue Yun conjured the detailed information of seven eternal true gods in midair, "Our targets are these seven eternal true gods."

"Seven? Wasn't it eight?" Yutian Xu and Yutian Yi were puzzled.

"The person responsible for repairing the formation of Huyang City was named Shang Tianyan," Divine Monarch Xue Yun explained. "He is skilled in artifact refining and belongs to the Mechanical School, ranking as one of the top artifact refining masters within Huyang City. However, he is the best friend of Lord Luo He in Huyang City.

If we were to capture Shang Tianyan, it might easily provoke Lord Luo He."

"Lord Luo He?" Yutian Xu sneered. "Before my siblings and I came to Huyang City, we gathered intelligence on all the eternal true gods here, and it's said that Lord Luo He hardly ever makes a move."

"He has killed Association Leader Mu Yang of the Blood Python, pierced through the 'Purple Jade Gen' of the Huyang Guards' Mechanical Stream Secret Treasure with a single hand, and it's likely that Assassin Ying Cang was killed by him too," Divine Monarch Xue Yun nodded. "Indeed, he seldom takes action."

"He fought with Assassin Ying Cang—who has seen it, who can say for sure that it was he who killed him?" Yutian Xu shook his head. "Even if he did kill Ying Cang, Ying Cang was just an assassin, known for sneak attacks, assassinations, and using escape to preserve his life. No one has ever said he had a powerful godly body."

"With an ordinary godly body, once he fails, he could easily die," Yutian Xu said. "In my opinion, his strength might not be that great; it was probably just a good match against Ying Cang."

"None of the forces within Huyang City have seen Lord Luo He and Ying Cang fight, and yet they are this frightened?" Yutian Yi also shook his head. "In my view, since he is an eternal true god, he shouldn't be much stronger than us. My second brother and you, Divine Monarch Xue Yun, are both considered at the pinnacle of the eternal true gods, so how much stronger can this Lord Luo He be?"

"Perhaps you are right."

Divine Monarch Xue Yun nodded, "But our mortal enemy is the city owner's mansion! The city owner's mansion's mortal enemy is us! At this time, neither of us wants to provoke unnecessary trouble or gain an uncontrollable opponent. Since Lord Luo He, not vying for power or benefits, there's really no need to provoke him."

"For the mission, let's ignore him for now."

Yutian Xu and Yutian Yi were also aware of what was more important."

"Our first step in the plan is to capture these seven eternal true gods; we must plan meticulously," Divine Monarch Xue Yun said.

"Mhm," replied Yutian Xu and Yutian Yi. They had some doubts about Lord Luo He's strength, but they were very wary of the city owner's mansion because behind it stood the ancient Marquis of Jiu Jiang and many Godly Kings of Yu Kingdom.

To deal with Lord Luo He, the city owner's mansion could not transfer some strong forces from higher up.

But when dealing with forces from Shi Kingdom, the city owner's mansion could legitimately request support.

******

Under the night sky enveloping Huyang City, Luo Feng sat at the peak of a high mountain in his own cave mansion, drinking while contacting Moli Meng and Zhu You.

"Ten days have passed, you must have thought it over," Luo Feng messaged them separately. "The Mechanical Stream Secret Treasure 'Sword of the World's Core,' you have also experienced its power in my cave mansion."

"Make your offers. There will be competition from many parties, and the highest bidder will win."

Luo Feng had actually only contacted these two parties.

But Moli Meng and Zhu You did not know how many forces Luo Feng had really contacted.

"1.5 million Cosmic Sand," Moli Meng offered.

"1.3 million Cosmic Sand," Zhu You also stated his price.

Luo Feng responded, "The current price is 1.5 million Cosmic Sand."

In fact, these past few days, Luo Feng had also visited the Flame Wind Pavilion to inquire, and the Flame Wind Pavilion was willing to buy it for 1.4 million Cosmic Sand. However, Luo Feng did not want to sell to them because for the Flame Wind Pavilion, whose commercial network nearly spans the Land of Origin, what treasures have they not seen?

They were only willing to offer a relatively low price.

"1.55 million Cosmic Sand," Zhu You messaged. At that moment, a gentle woman was sitting beside him.

"Lord Wei, the bidding is very competitive. Lord Luo He has raised the price to 1.65 million Cosmic Sand," Zhu You said to the gentle woman beside him.

This gentle woman, a formidable figure hidden within Huyang City.

Even the Zhu Clan was wary of her.

"Increase by 50,000 Cosmic Sand each time," the gentle woman instructed.

"It's now 1.75 million Cosmic Sand."

"1.9 million Cosmic Sand," Zhu You noted each price while watching the woman's reactions.

"Tell that Lord Luo, 2 million Cosmic Sand is my final offer. Any higher, forget it," the gentle woman said.

Zhu You nodded.

Once the final price was stated.

Zhu You waited a moment before showing joy, "2 million Cosmic Sand, the Sword of the World's Core, belongs to Lord Wei."

"2 million Cosmic Sand is a reasonable price to pay, especially since we don't know when we might encounter another Mechanical Stream Secret Treasure capable of condensing Primal Chaos Divine Power," the gentle woman smiled.

"Lord Luo He will come to the Zhu Clan soon to personally deliver the Sword of the World's Core. Would you like to meet Lord Luo He?" Zhu You asked.

"I am not suited to show face," Lord Wei shook her head.

Zhu You understood.

…

Meanwhile, several Divine Power Incarnations gathered at the city owner's mansion.

"2 million Cosmic Sand? Did Luo He intentionally inflate the price? How can a single Sword of the World's Core be priced so high?" a white-haired elder frowned. "The price is too high, we're not buying."

"If the price was inflated, this Lord Luo He will lower it and come back to us," a companion commented.

Moli Meng was responsible for communicating with Luo Feng.

"The final price for the Sword of the World's Core is 2 million Cosmic Sand. It has been sold," Moli Meng looked around at his companions.

"It sold?" the white-haired elder was startled.