Swallowed Star 2: Land of Origin

Inside the black Flying Boat.

Luo Feng, with just a thought, erased the Karmic Mark on the surface of the Flying Boat. Emperor Qing, sensing this, asked with some confusion, "Brother Luo Feng, why did you suddenly erase the mark?"

"I left the mark on purpose, to follow the causality and track the follower," Luo Feng smiled. "My avatar has just discovered the tracker and eliminated him."

"Who was tracking us?" Emperor Qing inquired.

"It was Mist Teeth God Emperor from Deceit Workshop," Luo Feng shook his head, "The moment I noticed him, I crushed him. He probably didn't discover my identity. It's a pity that he was a Cultivator from the Source World; I only destroyed one of his avatars."

The Spoils of War Luo Feng obtained were valued at approximately twelve million Primordial Crystals, much less than what Kumo Divine Emperor had!

It can't be helped. Kumo Divine Emperor had no avatars, and all his treasures were with him, naturally making him wealthier.

"Mist Teeth God Emperor is famously difficult to deal with!" Emperor Qing couldn't help saying, "You crushed him immediately upon detection?"

"In one move," Luo Feng said with a slight smile, "for all he knows, he might have thought it was a Low Level Primordial Life ambushing him!"

Emperor Qing's heart trembled.

Crushed in one move?

Mist Teeth God Emperor, a Mid-stage Divine Emperor on a deeper level of accumulation than even himself, Emperor Qing, was crushed just like that.

In this moment, Emperor Qing gained a clearer awareness of the disparity in strength between himself and Luo Feng.

"Eliminating him in one move, I can hide my information as much as possible," Luo Feng said earnestly. "It's better to hide as much as possible before the confrontation with Elder Tian He."

Elder Tian He has reached this level a long time ago, and though Luo Feng was confident about dealing with him, he dared not underestimate him.

"We know quite a lot about Elder Tian He, but he knows very little about you," Emperor Qing nodded. "In terms of intelligence, Brother Luo Feng, you have the advantage."

Luo Feng nodded.

After a brief chat, a blood-colored shadow finally returned to the Flying Boat and merged back into Luo Feng.

Just now, Luo Feng had split off fully half of his Energy Reserve to attack the tracker.

"We can speed up now," Luo Feng urged. "Without the tracker, we can go on a good hunt. As for Elder Tian He... we'll deal with him once we're back."

"Sure," responded Emperor Qing and drove the black Flying Boat. Its speed immediately soared.

...

Yulan City.

A spotless white avian floated in the air. This was a Flying Treasure crafted from the entire corpse of a Low Level Primordial Life, known as the 'Soul Feather White Sparrow', and was Elder Tian He's favorite Flying Treasure.

The Soul Feather White Sparrow was spacious inside, into which Mist Teeth God Emperor flew.

Inside the avian.

Elder Tian He, dressed in a white robe, sat there with a calm gaze on Mist Teeth God Emperor: "Mist Teeth, what exactly happened?"

"Deputy Workshop Master, I was tracking Luo Feng and Emperor Qing. We hadn't gone far from the city, and the surrounding areas should have been relatively safe," Mist Teeth God Emperor was also puzzled, "But suddenly, I was ambushed by a Low Level Primordial Life."

"I could not even withstand one of its moves," Mist Teeth God Emperor found it unbelievable, "It felt like a Divine Emperor Perfection Level Low Level Primordial Life."

"Divine Emperor Perfection Level?" Elder Tian He frowned in doubt, "Such a Primordial Life at this level should be the absolute upper echelon of a certain species. Why would it approach so near to Yulan City?"

Mist Teeth God Emperor said, "I believe, even faced with a Late Stage Divine Emperor of Low Level Primordial Life, I should be able to escape with my life. If we fought directly, I could manage a few moves. But this time, I couldn't withstand a single one! I feel, it was like a Primordial Life with Divine Emperor Perfection."

"Show me the entire battle process," Elder Tian He said with a frown.

"Yes."

Mist Teeth God Emperor waved his hand.

The entire battle sequence from his memory was displayed in the air.

In the memory image, as he piloted his Flying Boat, suddenly a massive furry claw emerged from the depths of the sky, enveloping the entire sky.

"This huge claw..." Elder Tian He observed carefully.

This gigantic furry claw, with soft fur and five sharp yellow-black talons, had a mottled surface and a faint aura of terror. The moment the claw descended, it already sliced through space, forming a spatial cage that trapped Mist Teeth God Emperor's Flying Boat.

The claw then clenched abruptly!

Mist Teeth God Emperor was completely killed before he could use any life-saving methods.

"Although Low Level Primordial Lives are powerful, their techniques are usually quite unsophisticated," Mist Teeth remarked, "but this furry claw trapped me with one move, too exquisite for me even to resist. Only a 'Divine Emperor Perfection Level' Low Level Primordial Life could manifest their innate talents to such a terrifying extent."

Elder Tian He nodded in agreement.

A Divine Emperor Perfection Level Low Level Primordial Life, with a powerful and terrifying life form and skills so artful that a casual move could be extremely sophisticated. It was indeed possible for such a being to crush Mist Teeth God Emperor with one paw.

"It does seem like a move made by a Divine Emperor Perfection Level Low Level Primordial Life," Elder Tian He said with a frown, "But it's too coincidental!"

"You were tracking Luo Feng and Emperor Qing, and to be attacked just after leaving the city is too convenient."

"And the place where you were attacked is too close to Yulan City! For a Divine Emperor Perfection Level Primordial Life to risk sneaking so close, just to crush a Mid-stage Divine Emperor Cultivator like you?"

Upon hearing this, Mist Teeth God Emperor also believed it to be reasonable.

To take such a risk for a Divine Emperor Perfection Level Low Level Primordial Life being so close to Yulan City is generally part of a significant plot! To kill just one of his avatars?

"I think there's another possibility," Elder Tian He said with narrowed eyes.

Mist Teeth looked at Elder Tian He.

"It could be the action of one of the Elders," Elder Tian He stated.

"One of the Elders?" Mist Teeth was startled.

"Luo Feng and Emperor Qing came from the Source World and have some backgrounds. Luo Feng disrespected me, and now they've left the city so openly," Elder Tian He smiled slightly, "I've suspected all along that he must have something to rely on."

Mist Teeth nodded.

"On the surface, the two of them left the city, but in reality, there must be a protector in secret," Elder Tian He said. "This enormous claw might have been the work of that protector."

The primary material for cultivators' artifact refining comes from countless corpses of low-level Primordial Life forms, so secret treasures in the shape of 'vast claws' are rare but do exist.

"They have an Elder backing them?" Mist Teeth was somewhat surprised.

"Interesting."

A glint of gold flashed in Elder Tian He's eyes, "Rather than bowing down to me and offering up 50 million Primordial Crystals, they prefer to seek help from an Elder? It seems Luo Feng is quite proud."

"Deputy Workshop Master, if the Elder knows your identity and still dares to meddle, I'm afraid they have ill intentions!" Mist Teeth expressed his concern.

Elder Tian He whispered softly, "I want to see which Elder dares to meddle in my affairs."

What about Elders?

He has never been afraid!

In the Dark Sacred Realm, the lowest threshold is being a 'Late-Stage Divine Emperor Enlightened being'. Elder Tian He has been through countless power struggles and killings! Originating from the Source World, he has never feared such strife.

His experience in fighting at the Elder level is vast!

"Even if an Elder dares to intervene, I will still tear apart one of your avatars," Elder Tian He's gaze grew colder.

"Qiu Yike." Elder Tian He suddenly spoke.

"Deputy Workshop Master." The figure in golden armor beside him responded respectfully.

"Dispatch four plundering teams, set up 'Deceitful Shadow Formations' outside the four gates of Yulan City! Make sure to trap and seal Luo Feng and Emperor Qing as soon as they return," Elder Tian He instructed.

"Yes." The figure in golden armor immediately responded, adding, "Deputy Workshop Master, to ensure interception, our Deceitful Shadow Formations must not be too far from the city gates. But if they're too close, it'll be difficult to pursue and kill them once they escape inside."

Entering the city gates would mean being within Yulan City and having to abide by its rules.

"Don't worry."

Elder Tian He spoke indifferently, "If they really have an Elder backing them, such beings would disdain fleeing into the city. They would definitely have a showdown with me."

All Elders have a certain pride embedded deep within their bones.

Retreat without a fight? Too shameful!

"Yes." The figure in golden armor complied.

"I will stay by the East City Gate. If they are confident, they should return through the same gate they left from." Elder Tian He immediately took up residence in a cave mansion near the East City Gate, patiently waiting.

"Which Elder dares to disrespect me? I'm really looking forward to this!" Elder Tian He was quite excited. Killing a junior was trivial, but having a fierce battle, utterly tearing another Elder apart - that's what would be satisfying!

******

Luo Feng, however, had temporarily put the matter out of his mind; he needed to have a proper hunt. After all, he was quite poor at the moment and needed to hunt enough game to exchange for resources required for cultivation.

"Right in the depths of the lake."

Luo Feng was currently within the black Flying Boat, using the Biomimetic Eye of Destruction on his brow to peer at a distant lake; he had already spotted a low-level Primordial Life form merged with the lake, its methods of hiding expertly executed. Unfortunately for it, it couldn't escape from his sight.

"Whoosh."

A blood-colored shadow burst forth from Luo Feng's body, instantly merging with heaven and earth.

Afterwards, a vast blood-colored shadow enveloped the entire lake; the mere presence of the shadow, like a wide net, completely trapped the low-level Primordial Life form.

"What's going on?" An eight-armed creature, its skin dark and burning with faint, cold flames, squirmed viciously. With its triangular head ferociously contorted, it struggled mightily to break free from the blood-colored shadow ensnaring it.

However, as the blood-shadow penetrated, in just a moment, it was silent.

The corpse remained intact, but the Life Core inside had begun to fracture.

"Eight-Armed Nether Luo, they're just the weakest tier in their race, with the strength of an Early-Stage Divine Emperor," Luo Feng shook his head slightly.

Such low-level prey was too weak for Luo Feng; he didn't even bother using any secret treasure, relying solely on his 'Undying Blood Sea Body'. With just a slight spread of the Blood Sea, enveloping that vast area was enough to trap and eliminate the enemy.

This Undying Blood Sea Body was, after all, developed with reference to the 'Star Tower Blood-colored Scale', fashioned from of Luo Feng's own realm of understanding as his mightiest Secret Technique, taking the most time to develop.

This body alone was comparable to a 'Low-Level Primordial Life at the Late Stage of Divine Emperor'. Coupled with Luo Feng's realm and some treasures, its power was naturally formidable.

"We've been hunting for five days now and have only hunted three 'Early-Stage Divine Emperor' low-level Primordial Life forms," Luo Feng frowned, "Brother Emperor Qing, we need to find some stronger game."

The combined value of these three wasn't much, only close to 3 million Primordial Crystals.

"Brother Luo Feng, we've always hunted this way," Emperor Qing said. "The main prey has been low-level Primordial Life at the 'Early Stage of Divine Emperor'. Occasionally, we might encounter something more formidable."

"What I mean is, can we go deeper?" Luo Feng inquired, "According to the information I bought, our current hunting area is a Mid-stage Divine Emperor's hunting ground."

Hunting grounds were demarcated by successive generations of cultivators in Yulan City, proven with their lives.

The stronger the cultivator, the deeper they can hunt.

"These are the Elders' hunting areas." Luo Feng gestured, and a map appeared before him, which recorded some ranges where Elders occasionally went hunting, "We can try venturing further into some areas first, just to see."

The Elders of Yulan City usually hunted alone.

Mainly because at their level, they seldom left the city, making it difficult to assemble a team. Also, with the existence of the Clone Technique, their rare excursions outside the city were solitary hunts.

Compared to the terror of the Dark Sacred Realm, the danger level of the Nine Rivers Sacred Realm was indeed much lower.

"The Elders' hunting areas?" Emperor Qing sounded nervous, "I haven't tried it before, I have no experience."

"Hunting experience is accumulated bit by bit," Luo Feng said with a slight smile.

"Alright! If you're not scared, Brother Luo Feng, why should I be?" Emperor Qing's heart flared with enthusiasm, eager for the rare experience of venturing into an Elder's hunting area.