Buzz—
As the fragnts of the Crimson Thunder Cauldron rged into it, the crimson-cyan barrier in the sky grew richer in color, its surface faintly exuding a tallic luster.
Gasps of awe and sharp intakes of breath echoed all around. Su Chen could not help but marvel in his heart. It was an unimaginable feat, a mighty power capable of shrouding an entire planet.
'I wonder when I will ever reach such a height,' he mused internally.
Chong Jingtian's mind reeled with excitent. Although they still had to do the manual labor after the mist was cleared, without its interference, they could now survey the entire planet with absolute precision.
The four Yingfeng cities had thrived on the Crimson Thunder Planet for a millennium, yet they had never possessed a complete map of the globe. Everything they had was fragnted, charted through blind exploration in the mist.
In fact, if not for the people from the Royal Court descending from the sky ten years ago, they wouldn't even have known that they lived on a spherical world.
The benefits of precise surveying were extraordinary. They could potentially chart far more convenient, rapid, and safe routes between the cities, drastically cutting down on travel ti.
They could also delve deep into regions previously marked as hazardous to discover new resources.
Even if the mist returned one day, the advantages gained now would be imnse, allowing them to handle the environnt with far greater ease.
"Senior Brother..." Su Chen turned to Qing Cang beside him and asked, "Roughly how long can Master's thod hold it back?"
"Hmm..."
Hearing Su Chen call him Senior Brother still made Qing Cang feel a bit awkward. He pondered for a mont before replying, "If the barrier was ford purely of energy, it would be like duckweed without roots, lasting three months at most. But now, with the fragnts of the Crimson Thunder Cauldron acting as its foundation, its stability has greatly increased."
"I estimate it will hold for at least a year. If we are lucky, maybe even up to three years."
"One to three years..." Su Chen murmured thoughtfully. Qing Cang quickly added, "After all, this is only a fraction of Master's power, ultimately lacking a true source. If Master's true body were here to unleash the power of an Ancient King, it would naturally last much longer."
It was as if he was terrified Su Chen might think the Ancient King's strength was limited to just this.
'This Senior Brother of mine really refuses to allow even a sliver of doubt regarding the Ancient King,' Su Chen mused to himself. He replied, "That tifra far exceeds my expectations. It is more than enough ti to resolve the trouble of the Holy Banquet."
Taking the dian between one and three years, Su Chen estimated they had about two years.
During this period, the four Yingfeng cities would spare no effort in wiping out the Eldritch God cultists. Those hiding out in the wilderness might not be completely exposed, but it would be incredibly difficult for them to remain concealed.
By the ti the Nether Mist rolled back in, it would take far longer for the Eldritch God cultists to grow their ranks to the point of sparking another Holy Banquet disaster.
As long as no accidents occurred in the interim, they had at least a decade, if not more.
'Ten years...' Su Chen pondered. By then, he definitely would not be a naless nobody anymore. All it would take was another thorough cleansing.
As long as they possessed enough strength to periodically cull their numbers, the Eldritch God cultists should not be able to pose a true threat to the Crimson Thunder Planet.
It sounded tedious, but the location of the Crimson Thunder Planet was simply too awkward. Otherwise, given the situation of the Crimson Sun Mother Planet, it could never have been left completely ignored.
Even just a mont ago, Venerable Crimson Sun had not asked the Bronze Ancient King to help solve the issue permanently. Clearly, he too knew this was not a problem that could be easily fixed; their only option was to move the entire planet.
'Moving a planet...' Su Chen's mind wandered. Exactly how much power would that require?
As he mulled over this, a streak of crimson light shot toward them like a teor, suddenly hovering in front of the crowd. A wave of air blasted into their faces, whipping their clothes and hair around.
It was the stone tablet bearing the spirituality of the Crimson Fla Resounding Thunder Exalt. Shrouded in crimson mist, it continued to unconsciously draw everyone's gaze.
Qing Cang tossed out the tallic compression fra again, enveloping the stone slab and shrinking it down to the size of a fist before stowing it away.
Imdiately after, his gaze fell upon Su Chen, looking as though he wanted to say sothing but was hesitating.
Su Chen gave him a weird look for a long ti before finally hearing Qing Cang force out the words, "Junior Brother..."
'Is it really that agonizing to spit out those two words?' Su Chen complained inwardly.
Once the hardest title was out of the way, Qing Cang's subsequent words flowed far more smoothly. "The matters on the Crimson Thunder Planet are mostly concluded. When does Junior Brother plan to leave with ?"
"I actually get to choose the ti?" Su Chen was rather surprised. He had assud Qing Cang would drag him off imdiately.
He could tell the other man did not particularly approve of the Ancient King squandering his power to resolve the Holy Banquet disaster; his only priority was safely escorting this Morning Star spirituality back to the sect.
Given their differing standpoints, he would not criticize Qing Cang for having a disregard for life or anything of the sort.
But now, with the Ancient King's power already spent, it was truly surprising that Qing Cang was still giving him a grace period.
"Why not?" Qing Cang glanced at him. For so reason, the previous worry between his brows had dissipated, replaced by a much calr deanor. His tone was flat yet gentle. "This is, after all, the mother planet where Junior Brother has lived for many years. Will you not say your goodbyes?"
Saying Junior Brother a second ti, he did not stutter at all.
Wan Chen cast frequent glances at Qing Cang, a trace of resentnt bubbling in his heart. This Master Qing was fine in every other regard, save for his absolute, borderline obsessive reverence for the Ancient King.
Was not the most critical thing right now to leave as quickly as possible?
The longer they delayed, the more ti other factions had to react. Was he indulging Su Chen this much just because he was considered half a disciple of the Ancient Lord?
"We should return as soon as possible," Lan Hao finally blurted out, unable to hold back any longer. He had gained absolutely nothing from this trip, and had even been inexplicably tortured by Eldritch God cultists to boot.
On the way back, if soone truly made a move for the spirituality, no one would care about his status. If he was caught in the crossfire, he would just die for nothing.
"It is no matter. We will not be delayed by more than a few days either way," Qing Cang said, shaking his head. "With the Nether Mist cleared, given the performance of the Bronze Star, even returning to Yingfeng will only take a single day."
'Right... I almost forgot about that.' Realization dawned on Su Chen. He had heard Qing Cang ntion before that their cruising speed in and out of the Nether Mist was vastly different.
He had habitually calculated the travel ti based on the mist's presence, which would have taken ten days to return to Yingfeng.
Wan Chen shut his open mouth. He had forgotten about that detail as well. A delay of ten days or half a month would be problematic, but a couple of days was perfectly fine.
"Then let us wait a little longer," Su Chen agreed, seeing that Qing Cang was genuinely considering his feelings, and no longer declined the offer.
After all, there were still two portions of Eldritch God power on their way, especially the one from Yuandu, which likely had an accumulation no less than that of Yingfeng.
The crowd slowly dispersed. Su Chen first headed to the ship from Tianqing that transported the Eldritch God power, clearing out all the Eldritch Artifacts.
After their arrival, the Crimson Thunder Cauldron had been dug out, leaving them with no ti to process the artifacts.
"Hmm... There are at most twenty artifacts of various kinds. No statues... let alone any quintessence." Su Chen temporarily stored the Eldritch Artifacts in his spatial storage. With so many people around, his ability to absorb Eldritch God power still could not be exposed.
Just as he had expected, Tianqing's inventory was far inferior to Yingfeng's, amounting to only a third of its size. After all, their sphere of influence and scale were significantly weaker.
'The bulk of it is still with Yuandu...' Su Chen thought, turning and stepping off the ship.
Chong Jingtian planned to take Zhou Yanwu and leave along the way, leaving Jiang Shumo behind to discuss the upcoming purge of the Eldritch God cultists with the representatives of the other three cities.
'I never thought I would live to see the day Old Xia went for a younger woman...' Su Chen watched Xia Hanshi and Ji Rou board the ship. His young Master's wife kept tilting her head to ask Xia Hanshi questions. Su Chen had never seen Old Xia speak so softly and tenderly before.
When Ji Rou heard that Chong Jingtian had beco the Chief Inquisitor of Yingfeng, she could not help but look amazed.
But upon learning that Xia Hanshi had also beco an Inquisitor, she could not hide her heartache, making Chong Jingtian's mouth twitch openly at the display.
"Directly returning to Yingfeng?" Qing Cang walked over and asked once everyone leaving had boarded the ship.
Wan Chen watched with complicated eyes, sighing inwardly. Qing Cang's attitude toward Su Chen was night and day compared to before. When had this man ever asked for their opinions?
Su Chen considered it before saying, "Let us take a detour. The Eldritch God power being transported from the other cities is on its way. Let us pick it up first."
He spoke bluntly. Either way, Eldritch God power held considerable value in the Dust Star Sea, so claiming it was perfectly normal.
"Alright." Qing Cang nodded. After asking for the specific route, the ship launched. The engine exhaust abruptly blasted out streams of deep blue particles. The gravitational field generated during acceleration caused the rubble on the ground to float up as if weightless.
The entire ship transford into a streak of black lightning tearing through the sky. The bow continuously broke the sound barrier, blasting apart cone-shaped vapor clouds, moving over ten tis faster than before.
A little earlier, Ni Chuan dragged a crestfallen Ni Bin back to the ship encampnt, hauling him into the largest vessel and tossing his son to the floor.
His brows knitted tightly together. Glancing at the still-dazed Ni Bin, he said coldly, "How much longer are you going to obsess over this?"
Hearing this, Ni Bin's expression shifted multiple tis. His fists clenched and unclenched, before he muttered, "I was defeated without even getting to fight."
The stifling frustration in his chest was unbearable; he had not even been able to exchange a single blow.
"No one is blaming you." Ni Chuan shook his head. His son's ntal fortitude was indeed subpar. Under the corruption of that Eldritch God power, he had barely scraped by with a passing grade, performing even worse than that girl nad Lin Yue.
If it had been soone with Su Chen's mindset, he would probably have completely adjusted by now.
No... if it were Su Chen, he would not have revealed a single trace of emotion while on that peak.
'ntal fortitude really is quite important after all,' he thought to himself.
"This is only a temporary setback. There is an old saying in the Dust Star Sea: as long as the Morning Star Fla has not been ignited, everyone still has a chance," Ni Chuan said in a deep voice. "If you keep obsessing over today, even if another opportunity presents itself right in front of you, it will only slip through your fingers for nothing."
Ni Bin pursed his lips. He understood the logic, but he simply could not swallow his indignation!
This sort of thing could only be resolved internally. Knowing that speaking further was useless, Ni Chuan's face darkened as he left Ni Bin in the cabin and headed for the upper decks.
Entering his own quarters, he casually tossed out a few black tal cubes. A grayish fog seeped in from all directions, gradually forming a small room constructed of grayish-brown stone.
He casually slapped a button on the desk.
He waited for a long ti, growing impatient and then deeply agitated, before another blurred, humanoid figure was gradually sketched out in the room.
He had hollowed cheeks and sharp eyes, and was clad in thick bronze combat armor, radiating sharp efficiency.
"Lan Hai, what took you so long?" Ni Chuan's tone dripped with impatience.
"I am still carrying out my duties for the sect; I could not just drop everything to co imdiately." Lan Hai shook his head, having already noticed Ni Chuan's poor expression and formulating a guess.
He calculated the ti and frowned. "It has only been ten or so days since you last contacted . Support from the Royal Court could not have arrived yet. Did you fail?"
"Did the Ancient King intervene after all?" Lan Hai looked sowhat puzzled.
"Yes." Ni Chuan nodded, his face grim. "That Qing Cang suddenly pleaded for the Ancient King's help."
Lan Hai looked bewildered. "That should not be. The Ancient King's attention is almost entirely focused on the Eternal Silence Star."
"And Qing Cang is soone who has always revered the Ancient King above all else. Unless it was absolutely necessary, he would never bother the Ancient King. How could such a sudden variable appear?"
Hearing this, Ni Chuan could not help but snort coldly. "I suspect Qing Cang discovered tailing him from the shadows, which is why he sought the Ancient King's assistance."
"You were discovered?" Lan Hai paused, unable to suppress a flare of anger as his voice rose an octave. "How could you be discovered? That planet is cloaked in the Nether Mist, and you are a commander of the Sect Garrison. With your vast combat experience, how could you be spotted by Qing Cang, a man who barely ever sets foot outside the sect's gates?"
Despite being interrogated, Ni Chuan showed little anger. Instead, he seed sowhat surprised. "It was not you?"
"You thought it was ?" Lan Hai was dumbfounded. "How could you even entertain that idea? I am the one who told you about the Crimson Thunder Planet in the first place."
"Exactly. The fact that I ca here in secret was known only to you and your son," Ni Chuan said coldly. "Qing Cang is not a military commander; there is absolutely no way he was the one who spotted ."
"Why don't you go ask your son if he slipped up sowhere and got discovered."
On his way back, he had pondered over the matter carefully. The only ones who could have compromised the operation were the father-son duo, Lan Hai and Lan Hao.
He even suspected Lan Hai was playing both sides—first selling the information to him to reap so benefits.
And then leaking the news of his trailing to the Bronze Sect, earning another rit for himself.
"Absolutely impossible," Lan Hai said decisively. "Even if Lan Hao's actions were not watertight, his status is plain to see. If he refused to confess, a soft-spined man like Qing Cang could not do a thing to him."
The two n fell silent. Deep down, neither trusted the other, but right now, neither could definitively pin the bla on the other.
A mont later, Lan Hai cald himself down. The plan had failed, but he still needed a grasp on the situation. He asked, "So, the spirituality of the Crimson Fla Resounding Thunder Exalt has already fallen into Qing Cang's hands. He will be bringing it back shortly, which ans another Grand Selection is about to take place."
His eyes flickered. Lan Hao had lost his head start. He was trying to figure out who else in the Lan family might have a chance in the upcoming Grand Selection.
"There is no need for that," Ni Chuan said indifferently.
Hearing this, Lan Hai's expression shifted slightly as realization struck him. He asked urgently, "A Chosen One has already been born? Who is it? Was it Wan Chen?"
His face turned livid. The entire reason he had risked leaking information to Ni Chuan was precisely because he did not want to see Wan Chen beco the Chosen One.
If Wan Chen still succeeded...
"No..." Ni Chuan shook his head slowly, adopting the attitude of soone watching a good show unfold.
"It wasn't?" Lan Hai was caught between shock and doubt. "If it was not Wan Chen, could it be Lin Yue?"
His expression shifted rapidly. "A dual Crimson talent... it isn't completely without precedent, but to think Lin Langtian actually scored such a bargain."
.
If it was Lin Yue, it was at least a silver lining in this disaster.
However, Ni Chuan denied it again, an indescribable glint in his eyes. "It isn't Lin Yue either."
"Not Lin Yue?" Lan Hai froze. A bizarre thought suddenly surfaced in his mind, a speculation that made his deanor instantly cautious. "Could it be... did Lan Hao actually succeed?"
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