Splitting the Heavens

Chapter 1152: Discussions

The space outside the Star Observatory was torn open as Second Camp Commander He Yingrui stepped out. Tens of Star Origin Guards arrived along with her.

Without a need for her to give a command, the squads who followed behind quickly split off into their squads and went to hunt down those prisoners who escaped.

Beside He Yingrui stood at least 6 captains whose cultivation was in the Martial Dipper Realm.

As a third tier True Immortal and the Temporary Guards Commander, if she deployed the Star Origin Guards’ battle formation with those around her, she would be able to contend against high-level True Immortals!

The Second Camp was made up of 7 full squads, but only 6 of them came with her. The other squad that didn’t come was led by Tian Moran, and he was stationed in the city along with Fourth Camp Commander Feng Ziyuan to prevent anyone from causing trouble there.

He Yingrui glanced at the chaos around the Star Observatory and quickly turned to ignore it. She took several steps and arrived before the Star Observatory, and the captains from the other squads also approached.

“What’s going on?! How did this happen?” He Yingrui asked in a solemn tone, but her gaze didn’t land on Captain Fang. Instead, she stared straight at the Star Observatory. She could tell that there was another existence there with cultivation no weaker than her.

How can there be another foreign True Immortal here?!

He Yingrui might have received a report from Captain Fang about the situation beforehand and already gained a basic understanding of the situation, but she couldn’t help but feel her heart thumping when she discovered a foreign True Immortal in the Star Observatory.

The real question was... Was the foreign True Immortal hiding in the Land of Star Origin the entire time? Or did they arrive after?

If it was the former, that would mean that their method of concealment was extremely powerful, but she didn’t know why they would reveal themselves at that moment. After all, the current situation in the city wasn’t exactly clear yet.

If it was the latter... He Yingrui didn’t even dare to think of how serious the problem would be!

“A foreign True Immortal concealed their cultivation realm to be trapped in the prison under the Star Observatory, and took the chance when we failed to react in time to rush to the Star Observatory to take Grandmaster Xiao and the others hostage...” Captain Fang reported the situation to He Yingrui once again, and despite the burning anxiety in his heart, he forced himself to maintain his composure in front of He Yingrui.

Heaving a sigh of relief, He Yingrui thought about the many considerations. Since the foreign True Immortal rushed out from the prison, it was extremely likely they had been hiding in the Land of Star Origin since the beginning. The problem shouldn’t be as serious... However, she maintained a grim look on her face and she growled, “Do we know their identity?”

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Captain Fang lowered his head and muttered, “We don’t. The prison has been destroyed and many people have escaped...”

“Enough.” He Yingrui interrupted him unceremoniously and turned her gaze to the bottom of the Star Observatory. “Brother Liu, did you discover anything?”

Captain Fang turned to look and saw Liu Jiuzhen leading the 3 squads of Star Origin Guards of the First Camp over.

Hearing her question, Liu Jiuzhen didn’t immediately rush over to meet her. Instead, he plopped his butt down on a shattered rock beside him without much care of his appearance. “The seal on the third floor of the prison never weakened at all. That would mean that the person was hiding in the upper floors. It would be more difficult to suppress their cultivation to lower levels and I guess that the person disguised himself as a Martial Dipper Realm cultivator and was locked on the second floor.”

He Yingrui glared at Captain Fang and growled, “You should have released the suppression of the third floor the moment this happened. You could have asked True Immortal Liu and the other squads of the First Camp to assist you so that the situation wouldn’t devolve to this!”

Liu Jiuzhen was starting to circulate his inner qi, and so were the other Star Origin Guards. They hadn’t fully recovered when they rushed out of the prison earlier, but they quickly moved to capture the escaping fugitives.

Hearing He Yingrui scold Captain Fang, Liu Jiuzhen mumbled casually, “I'm afraid you can’t blame him. After all, the person who ordered him to keep an eye on me was Xing Xingtian. He might have suspected that I worked with those outside to break out of prison with the goal of destroying the Star Observatory. He didn’t make any mistake to not release the suppression of the third floor. Also... The battle formation of us Star Origin Guards might be strong, but his cultivation hasn’t reached the Martial Void Realm...”

Captain Fang shot Liu Jiuzhen a grateful gaze, but Liu Jiuzhen couldn’t be bothered with him at the moment.

It was then that Liu Jiuzhen got to his feet and the aura around him started to transform. He walked over to the Star Observatory and mumbled, “At least I managed to recover a little. Let’s go take a look. After all, he took so many Stargazers hostage. As long as he’s not crazy, we should be able to negotiate.”

He Yingrui seemed to be waiting for Liu Jiuzhen to recover, and she nodded in agreement, “The expert in the Star Observatory has cultivation no weaker than myself. Even though we have the battle formation, I would be a lot more assured with Brother Liu’s assistance.”

After she spoke, she indicated for Captain Fang and the rest to join the hunt for the escaping fugitives before heading to the top of the Star Observatory with Liu Jiuzhen.

...

In the city...

The Star Observatory was pretty far from the city, but with such a massive commotion over there, how could the mid to high-level experts of the city not discover what was happening?

However, due to the strict rules set by the Star Origin Guards, even though they could tell that something wrong was going on, no one dared to head over to take a look.

In one of the ordinary courtyards... Kou Chongxue might be half-lying on the bed, but his attention was fully focused on the chaos out there. His fingers were drumming on the tabletop, and he seemed to be getting more and more impatient with each passing minute.

Creak...

The entrance of his courtyard was flung open, and Kou Chongxue immediately sat up straight. He looked at Feng Ziying who was rushing over and he asked, “What’s going on?! What happened to the Star Observatory?”

Feng Ziying grabbed a cup of tea on the table and drank it in a single gulp and he wiped his mouth in an unsightly manner. “Something big happened! Someone destroyed the prison under the Star Observatory and those cultivators who were captured started to escape. Everything there is chaotic and He Yingrui has already led 6 squads of the Second Camp over to provide reinforcements. The other Star Origin Guards are on high alert in the city and they are watching every foreign expert. You... No, all of you better not head out. I need to go right now. The Star Origin Guards in my squad are waiting outside.”

“No. I have to take a look at what happened. I think the little brat got impatient because he couldn’t contact us and decided to take action alone.” Kou Chongxue growled.

Feng Ziying reached out his hand to stop Kou Chongxue. “No! You can’t go! I suspect this is a trap! The Star Origin Guards should have already set up an inescapable net to capture any hidden expert in the city.”

“The kid is alone right now, and he’s probably using this signal to ask for our help!” Kou Chongxue frowned.

Feng Ziying’s low voice quickly came next, “The situation isn’t as bad as you think. Since He Yingrui personally led the Second Camp over, that would mean that the little brat actually has a way of holding the others off. I think we should wait for more information before taking action. You can relax. I’ll be more worried about the kid than you!”

Seeing as Feng Ziying was about to leave, Kou Chongxue quickly handed him a Spatial Pouch and a rank six talisman. “This pouch belongs to the kid, and there’s another Six Harmony Teleportation Talisman here. If you get the chance, give it to him. If we were able to enter the Land of Star Origin using the talisman, he should be able to leave with it.”

...

Within the Star Observatory...

Actually, even without Xiao Shengyi saying anything else, Shang Xia already knew how precious those bronze fragments were. Especially since they were made from a unique material.

Xiao Shengyi’s disappointment also confirmed another guess Shang Xia had. The Grand Stargazer was also someone the Star Origin Guards had been guarding against.

Shang Xia didn’t stand on ceremony and kept those fragments before strolling out of the secret room. He looked at Xiao Shengyi and asked, “Grandmaster Xiao, do you wish to take a look at the Secret Bronze Book from the Heaven Observation Sect?”

Xiao Shengyi revealed a look of longing, but it quickly faded. He asked in a strange voice, “Are you trying to poach me over to your side?”

“What’s the matter? Can’t I? A rank five Grand Stargazer... Is there anyone who would refuse to treat them with respect? Moreover, I won’t hide the core inheritance from you like the Star Origin Guards.” Shang Xia chuckled.

A bitter laugh escaped from Xiao Shengyi’s lips, but he remained expressionless as he replied, “Looks like you’re really sincere in trying to rope me over, but I can’t leave this place unless you drag my corpse away!”

Shang Xia’s pupils trembled slightly and he seemed to have understood something. “Looks like the city probably holds some restrictions on you. Alright, I won’t force you.”

A light flashed in Xiao Shengyi’s eyes, but he chose not to say anything else.

Shang Xia’s voice came from behind him the next moment. “I’m going to leave soon. Grandmaster Xiao, aren’t you planning to send me off?”

Xiao Shengyi discovered that the restrictions on his body disappeared, and even his cultivation base was no longer sealed. Not only could he move, but he was slowly starting to recover.

“You can’t escape... The Star Observatory has already been surrounded. With how important the Star Observatory is to our Dao Field, He Yingrui is most definitely outside. If she unleashes the battle formation she will be able to fight a high-level True Immortal.”

Xiao Shengyi followed behind Shang Xia but didn’t try anything funny. That was because he understood that Shang Xia could decide whether he lived or died with a single thought.

“She doesn’t dare to force her way into the Star Observatory because of how important it is, right?” Shang Xia chuckled and spun to look at Xiao Shengyi. Even so, he didn’t stop walking. When he turned back around, he muttered, “Actually, I have been thinking about it. Did the Star Origin Dao Field enter the void first, or did Xing Xingtian leave first? If the Star Origin Dao Field hid itself in the void and erected the spatial barrier first, how did Xing Xingtian leave? If Xing Xingtian left... It wouldn’t have been easy for you to create the spatial barrier around the Dao Field and hide it in the void alone, right? Is there something else in play? However... If Xing Xingtian had already left, who would be given control of the Star Observatory in his absence?”

After he spoke, he turned to look at Xiao Shengyi with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile. “From how surprised you looked when you saw those fragments, I believe they wouldn’t have left such an important task to you.”

A snort left Xiao Shengyi’s lips. “Those aren’t fragments. That’s the Secret Bronze Book that contains the inheritance of the Heaven Observation Sect.”

“Ah, yes, Secret Bronze Book...” Shang Xia naturally wouldn’t bicker with Xiao Shengyi because of something like that. Instead, he continued, “Since everything points to the fact that Xing Xingtian left after the Star Origin Dao Field entered the void, that would mean that there’s a secret passage leading to the outside world! If I’m not mistaken... It should be located within the Star Observatory, right?”

Shang Xia, who was leading the way, stopped. Only then did Xiao Shengyi realize that they had already arrived at where Shang Xia first appeared. The other Stargazers were still unconscious and lying on the ground.

Carefully glancing at those on the ground, Xiao Shengyi mumbled, “It’s exactly as you guessed... Since Xing Xingtian never trusted me, do you think he would have revealed the location of the hidden passage?”

Xiao Shengyi didn’t bother denying the existence of the hidden passage. Instead, he mentioned how he didn’t know where it was.

With that, Shang Xia was even more sure of its existence.

Just as he was about to say more, he seemed to have detected something with his divine soul. He turned to look outside the Star Observatory.

It was then that a feminine voice rang in his mind. “Fellow cultivator within the Star Observatory, why don’t you come out to meet us?”

Shang Xia glanced at Xiao Shengyi beside him and chuckled in response, “Apologies. Since all of you are prepared to deal with me, I feel like I should play it safer. We’ll chat from here.”

Even though Shang Xia had already concealed his appearance, aura, and even his voice, who knows what type of secret art they might have that would allow them to reveal his identity the moment he appeared?

No matter what, the Tongyou Institution didn’t have the ability to fight against the Star Origin City at the moment.

“Fine.” He Yingrui’s voice came again, and she didn’t seem too dissatisfied with his response. Instead, she asked calmly, “Are the Stargazers in there doing alright?”