Swallowed Star 2: Land of Origin

This was within their expectations; not intervening in the conflicts of various nations was a rule set by the headquarters of the Flame Wind Pavilion, and branch leaders would not dare to breach it lightly.

If the Flame Wind Pavilion were to intervene, there must be a sufficient reason, and it must be confirmed by the headquarters.

"How did it go when Elder Hearteye visited Lord Luo He?" an elder asked, which was their most pressing concern. "Did he agree not to intervene?"

"He did not agree," Elder Blind said.

"He did not agree?"

The other elders were somewhat annoyed.

"We have already shown him enough respect, and he's still ready to take action against us at any moment?"

"This Luo He is a variable. I think we should join forces to deal with Luo He before the army of the Marquis of Jiu Jiang arrives," another elder suggested.

"It's easy for our entire sect to defeat him, but an eternal true god of his realm is unfathomable and has extremely strong survival skills. He might slip away quietly. Once he escapes... he really becomes a deadly enemy! Instead, we would be pushing him to the side of the Marquis of Jiu Jiang!"

The elders discussed animatedly.

Elder Blind nodded and added, "The power of our Heartshadow Sect is enough to defeat any eternal true god, but we're not sure we can kill him."

"Then what do we do?"

"Just watch? If a war really breaks out in the future, his involvement will be a big problem."

The elders were also worried; a stab in the back from him at a critical moment would be a major issue.

"This Lord Luo He said he's a freelance cultivator, and he will help whoever hires him," Elder Blind stated. "But he's very greedy; he has quoted a mercenary price of a full 200 million Cosmic Sand."

"Two hundred million Cosmic Sand?"

"He's crazy."

"Who does he think he is?"

The elders could not accept such a price.

Elder Blind continued, "Since he's asking for such a high price from us, he must have also quoted the Marquis of Jiu Jiang a high price. That's probably why the Marquis has not agreed to it yet. If he had, he would have likely entered the city owner's mansion already."

The Sect Leader of Heartshadow smiled,"Rest assured, everyone, such a greedy person will not make a move easily without a sufficient price. Even if he does make a move in the future, Elder Hearteye leading our disciples to control the Heart Devil Kite is enough to deal with him."

"Controlling the Heart Devil Kite is enough to handle him," Elder Blind agreed.

He admitted that Luo He's realm was slightly higher than his, but he practiced the Godly King level Dharma "Six Extremes of Destruction," and coupled with the Mechanical Flow Secret Treasure the 'Heart Devil Kite,' he could easily handle Lord Luo He after a full-powered boost.

"That's good to hear."

"As long as Elder Hearteye controls the Heart Devil Kite and entangles Luo He, there will no longer be any powerful individuals under the Marquis of Jiu Jiang for us to be wary of," the elders were quite confident.

After all, in the Yu Kingdom, there were only a handful of eternal true gods on par with Lord Luo He.

"Knowing that Lord Luo He hasn't sided with the Marquis of Jiu Jiang for now is good news," said the Sect Leader of Heartshadow. "Now let's move on to the next step of the plan."

...

In Huyang City, above the Primal Chaos Armor Sector, several huge Flying Boats and numerous super-large Mechanical Stream Secret Treasures suddenly headed towards the cave mansions of the Five Great Families.

"What's happening?"

"The Heartshadow Sect has arrived."

The members of the Five Great Families had already been uneasy, but the core members of the families had already moved to the city owner's mansion as the first action, only leaving behind a large number of ordinary family members of lower status. These ordinary family members accounted for over ninety-nine percent of the family population, making it troublesome to relocate.

Even when the family leaders gave orders, the execution would be sluggish.

"The cave mansion of the Qumeng Clan now belongs to our Heartshadow Sect," boomed a powerful voice from ten super-large Mechanical Secrets Treasures hovering in the air, sweeping over the entire cave mansion. "All creatures inside the cave mansion must leave; after one hundred breaths, any creature still inside will not be spared!"

"We are part of the Royal Family."

"How dare you seize the cave mansion of our Qumeng Clan." Some of the family members were used to arrogance and dared to berate even the Heartshadow Sect.

But the vast majority of family members quickly packed up some belongings and frantically rushed out of the cave mansion.

In a conflict between two nations, who would care about the insignificant members of the royal family's fringe branches?

"The Moli Clan, move out quickly."

"The cave mansion of the Jiang Family now belongs to our Heartshadow Sect."

"The Wu Family..."

"The Meiwu Clan..."

The Heartshadow Sect did not care about the backgrounds of the others; they seized the cave mansions directly. The fact that they didn't proceed to slaughter was already showing restraint.

Under the threat of death, the Five Great Families almost completely evacuated their cave mansions within one hundred breaths, save for a very few foolish and stubborn individuals who still remained inside.

"I am a member of the Royal Family; how dare you, Heartshadow Sect, kill me?" Those few foolish and arrogant individuals silently turned to dust under an invisible force, and none was spared!

The descendants of the Royal Family had proliferated for countless years and had become too numerous to count. Many branches were settled in remote cities, and their status was not as elevated as they believed.

In the Land of Origin, only the core and elite members of some big clans held a higher status.

"The members of the Five Great Families have all come to the city owner's mansion," the Lord of Huyang City said, looking at the other four clan leaders. "The city owner's mansion needs to reserve a large space for war, and cannot accommodate so many family members."

"For the time being, let them stay temporarily in the cave mansions and secret treasures," Moli Xiao suggested.

"We have no other choice," agreed the leaders of the other three great families.

A comfortable residence for the core members of the family is enough, while common clansmen may first take shelter in the cave mansions' secret treasures.

Thus, the common clansmen of the five great families, having just entered the city owner's mansion, were ordered to enter the cave mansions' secret treasures according to their ranks to temporarily reside there. They had no choice but to obey the orders from the family's higher-ups.

"Now, in the entire Primal Chaos Armor Sector, only Lord Luo He's cave mansion remains unoccupied," said the Lord of Huyang City, "and not long ago, we detected powerful energy fluctuations coming from Lord Luo He's cave mansion."

"Did the Heartshadow Sect recruit Luo He?" the leaders of several families worriedly inquired.

"Hiring Luo He is very expensive," the Lord of Huyang City immediately reached out to contact Luo Feng.

...

Luo Feng sat atop a mountain within the cave mansion, leisurely drinking wine, observing the ever-changing situation in the Primal Chaos Armor Sector.

The once high and mighty Five Great Families had now been forcibly evicted from their cave mansions, and the few clansmen who dared to stay had been reduced to dust.

"When your background matters, your background is of use. When it doesn't, what can you do?" Luo Feng pondered.

The so-called background, the so-called dignity, ultimately needed to be supported by strength.

Like the Flame Wind Pavilion, even a minor branch would cause two warring nations to make way.

"Brother Luo He," the Lord of Huyang City suddenly reached out.

"City Lord, what brings you to contact me all of a sudden?" Luo Feng replied.

"Recently, powerful energy fluctuations were detected from Brother Luo He's cave mansion. Did the Heartshadow Sect visit you?" asked the Lord of Huyang City.

Lord Luo He's strength.

The difference between being recruited by the Heartshadow Sect or the city owner's mansion was significant. It could mean the equivalent of having two Lord Luo He's.

"It was Elder Hearteye from the Heartshadow Sect who came to visit, and we briefly sparred," Luo Feng communicated.

"Oh, and how did the spar go?" The Lord of Huyang City was very interested, as he was well aware of Elder Hearteye's strength.

"He is indeed quite strong," Luo Feng communicated, "stronger than Xue Yun."

The Lord of Huyang City's interest piqued, sensing Luo Feng's implication, and responded, "Brother Luo He can kill Xue Yun, so if it's one-on-one, could you also kill this Elder Hearteye?"

"I hear he can control one of the Heartshadow Sect's thirteen Mechanical Treasures, the 'Heart Devil Kite'. If he operates it, I can only suppress him at most, and will not be able to kill him," replied Luo Feng.

The Lord of Huyang City was inwardly shocked.

Elder Hearteye controlling the Heart Devil Kite, yet Luo He claimed he could suppress it? Didn't it mean that he could restrain even more of the Heartshadow Sect's forces?

"The Heartshadow Sect visited me because they too wish to hire me," Luo Feng communicated, "you know, a free cultivator like me cares most about resources. But I also have a deep bond with Yu Kingdom, so I quoted a hiring price of two billion Cosmic Sand."

"Brother Luo He is truly forthcoming, the price you've given us is far lower than what the Heartshadow Sect offered," lauded the Lord of Huyang City.

Even if he thought the price of one billion Cosmic Sand was high, he still flattered Luo Feng.

At this time, whichever side Lord Luo He supports would greatly influence the battle situation.

"I will report this to the Marquis, and I believe there will be a result from his end very soon," the Lord of Huyang City also soothed Luo Feng.

After the communication ended.

Luo Feng held his wine jug.

"It seems my quote was a bit high, both sides haven't agreed," Luo Feng thought, "this spar should have proven my worth."

Whether Marquis of Jiu Jiang or Marquis Liu Yin rules the Primal Chaos Prefecture, they must ensure the safety of the city's citizens. Thus, the citizens would continually pay the 'Residence Fee'.

Who wins, who loses? Luo Feng couldn't care less. Unless the offer was abundant.

"If I could get one billion Cosmic Sand, that should help me reach the Primal Chaos Realm faster," Luo Feng thought. The children of big families would naturally have resources poured into them if they were sufficiently talented.

He had no choice; he had to earn every resource himself.

...

Inside a hall in Jiu Jiang City,

Marquis of Jiu Jiang sat alone on his throne, his silver hair cascading over his shoulders, each strand causing disturbances in the Void.

"Marquis Liu Yin actually sent assassins from the Heartshadow Sect. Even if he manages to take away my Jiu Jiang Primal Chaos Prefecture... he'll have to share a portion with the Heartshadow Sect," the Marquis of Jiu Jiang's gaze grew even colder, "It seems he's determined to take Jiu Jiang Primal Chaos Prefecture this time."

"This is my fiefdom!"

"My cultivation resources!" The space around Marquis of Jiu Jiang twisted as he continued, "You, Marquis Liu Yin, are hell-bent on seizing my fiefdom? Judging from all sides, your strength is indeed greater than mine."

"But the real fight is not determined by superficial information."

The Marquis of Jiu Jiang had been very patient. The two neighboring Primal Chaos Prefectures were constantly provoked by Marquis Liu Yin's side, and he had been enduring.

But now the enemies had sent the Heartshadow Sect to invade the large city, 'Huyang City', and if he continued to endure, aside from Jiu Jiang City, he feared that the rest would be occupied.

"I have summoned all the elite forces of Jiu Jiang Primal Chaos Prefecture to Huyang City, but my elites alone are no match for the Heartshadow Sect," Marquis of Jiu Jiang was well aware of this.

At the level of eternal true god, his forces indeed could not compare with the Heartshadow Sect.

In terms of numbers, they were close; but in quality, they were significantly weaker.

After all, the majority of eternal true gods in Jiu Jiang Primal Chaos Prefecture cultivated much inferior Dharma compared to those of the Heartshadow Sect. Plus, various sect-defending treasures left by the Godly King of the Heartshadow Sect also significantly enhanced the disciples' strength.

"That Luo He wants one billion Cosmic Sand? He sure dares to ask," Marquis of Jiu Jiang was also troubled, "Let's first try to get a few eternal true gods from the Royal Capital. As for Luo He, let's wait and see how the situation unfolds."

He had already prepared one billion Cosmic Sand, actively inviting the strongest eternal true gods from the Royal Capital, but it was uncertain how many would come.