"I found you!" Liu Yinlan's elation was palpable, her voice rife with thinly veiled emotions of happiness, longing, and a tinge of fear. Hu Meifang's eyes flickered with a wisp of disdain from the side while Zhangjie Wushu observed the surroundings silently. The latter's eyes glinted with a misty scholarly radiance, exhibiting a light of profound, enlightened calculation and deduction.
"Huh?" Zhangjie Wushu suddenly softly exclaimed with confusion and surprise. Both Hu Meifang and Liu Yinlan turned to look, the latter stifling her emotions with a strong will. Liu Yinlan reinforced the concealment instinctively. She couldn't fail at this crucial moment.
"My grandmother's sealing spell," Zhangjie Wushu began as her brows lifted, continuing with a solemn, gloomy voice: "It's been destroyed."
"What?!" Hu Meifang was visibly reeled, thoroughly taken aback. Zhangjie Wushu's grandmother had established a spell imbued with a Spell of Authority, a Spiritual Spell imbued with the Authority of a Law! Only Original Magistrates, those at the Heavenly Saint Phase, the Sixth Phase of the Mystic Ascendant Realm, could properly unleash that type of spell.
How could that type of spell be destroyed in the Ancient Sealed Region? It wasn't undone, eroded, or partially unraveled but DESTROYED!
"..." Liu Yinlan's eyes flickered intensely as if expecting this absurd type of development. There was a reason why she placed such a tremendous degree of caution when acting, prioritizing other objectives over directly dealing with Tian Taizong. If that man was easy to deal with, he would've long since been killed.
Su Nianzu was equally as mindful. While he had his own schemes, mostly directed at pursuing further paths of cultivation, he was well-versed in war, and fully understood the consequences of ignoring the caution of others, acting recklessly against a skillful enemy, and suffering great consequences. This was why his approach was deliberate and they had multi-sided objectives, avoiding launching an all-out attack on the Aeternal Sky Starfield.
Absolute power obliterating all obstacles only works if that power IS absolute.
Hu Meifang recalled her previous mockery of their caution, and her spine tingled. If there existed a power that could destroy a Spell of Authority, then their thoughts and planning were all necessary! Who was this Tian Taizong?!
They were all intelligent women with the skills, origins, and talents to become Worldly Saints and thrive. "He's baiting us?" Hu Meifang concluded with an incredibly dark expression. Her voluptuous body trembled slightly, and the urge to retreat swelled within her heart.
"..." Zhangjie Wushu kept effusing scholarly, misty radiance from her gaze, focused intently on Imperial Sky. Her eyes trailed from Imperial Sky to the Aeternal Sky Starfield after a short while. "There's a grand array linked to the Star Core of that Solar Star. It's linked to Tian Taizong."
"Its effects?" Liu Yinlan asked. She didn't doubt a single word from Zhangjie Wushu. The assistant to Su Nianzu, relative to the Myriad Transformations Alchemic Saint, and member of the Zhangjie Clan was unordinary on every standard, especially her profound knowledge of the auxiliary cultivation field as an Architect, especially relating to Formations and Arrays.
"From what I can gather, it's a type of artificial Domain of Mysticism. However..." Her words halted her. Countless formations or arrays emulate the powers of a Domain of Mysticism as a foundation, the evolved Mystic Dao form of a Worldly Domain and Astral Idol. It evoked a type of lord-like power of a Worldly Domain and an Astral Idol onto the Mystic Dao, but achieving it was millions of times harder than either. In the Azure-Prime Galactic Region, this power segregated talents from demonic monsters, and demonic monsters from heaven-defying, destined-for-greatness heroes and fairies of the cultivation world.
A Domain of Mysticism could only be achieved by a 'flawless' foundation of the Mortal Dao that perfectly flows into the Mystic Dao in every manner possible. There were a million and one ways to emulate its power, but a true Domain of Mysticism was an ungodly power that could exert a type of absolute advantage. It was one of the things that defined 'Chosen' in the Azure-Prime Galactic Region.
"However?" Hu Meifang was already tense to the point of slightly trembling and being left in suspense only exacerbated her desire to flee. Liu Yinlan gritted her teeth.
"I think he has given birth to a Domain of Mysticism. A genuine one. Moreover, the Solar Star above can help increase its range. However, it's likely limited to a certain point as the Solar Star's aura seemed interlinked with an immobile Secret Realm housed in the core of this planet and palace." Zhangjie Wushu didn't elaborate on her process, simply voiced her conclusion. Both women who were listening immediately stiffened. If someone had a keen sense of hearing, they could hear their roaring heartbeat. Zhangjie Wushu was no different.
"We should-" Hu Meifang was already half decided in her heart, about to suggest leaving immediately.
"If he's only at the Earthly Saint Phase, the situation is still salvageable." Liu Yinlan interrupted, her fists tightly clenched as unwillingness swelled within her heart.
"If the seal is broken and the restraints on Worldly Saints have been lifted, then all chances are...he's already reached that stage. Unless you think...he couldn't?" Zhangjie Wuhsu's tone was calm yet uncertain. While it's only been a few hours since the Endless Voyage Realm descended, the Worldly Saints' Fifth Ascension was notorious for being disgustingly swift to complete. If anything, it was exceedingly dangerous and exceedingly fast.
The highest recorded number of cultivation-attributed deaths of Ascended beings in the Azure-Prime Galactic Region was none other than the Mystic Ascendant Realm's Fifth Ascension Trial! That's mostly because things like Origin Liquid were ineffective, and it was too fast to offer any real assistance.
She had completed her trial in eight hours. And that wasn't even the fastest. Some monsters had completed theirs in less than twenty minutes.
After thinking about that, Zhangjie Wushu felt the urge to observe Tian Taizong directly to determine if he was a Worldly Saint or not. However, doing so was risky and likely to alert him of their presence, even through the concealment infused with the power of the Endless Void Mirror. She didn't dare to do so.
"Fighting him in a Domain of Mysticism empowered by whatever he's prepared for thousands of years is far too dangerous," Hu Meifang firmly stated. There were too many unknown variables here. She wasn't suicidal. She hadn't grasped a Domain of Mysticism, yet she was deeply aware of its terror. It encapsulated the might of an Astral Idol or Soul Idol's amplification effects with the absolute control of a Worldly Domain.
After staying silent for a long moment, Liu Yinlan asked: "What do you think the range of it could be?" Liu Yinlan was unwilling. How could she not?
Knowing her thoughts, Zhangjie Wushu sighed softly. "Domains of Mysticisms have a range that is typically extremely short. But with the array set, perhaps it can extend for a few tens of thousands of meters? In every direction."
Liu Yinlan had deeply studied Tian Taizong. "What a madman. He's waiting for us to eliminate or suppress his forces, take everything, walk into his palace with victory in our grasp, and then kill us all."
"Kill us? That's not possible. But he could fight at an advantage," Zhangjie Wushu shook her head. They had Jia Yang, Su Nianzu, and her. Even if they entered his domain willingly, she was certain they could escape with their means. Especially Jia Yang.
"Even so, he's planning to clean us up in one fell swoop while our guards are down. Fortunately, even if he had the greatest spies in the Endless Voyage Realm, he wouldn't know about you, the Myriad Variation Scholarly Empress." Liu Yinlan faintly smiled to diffuse her growing frustration.
Zhangjie Wushu didn't find anything wrong with that statement. Besides Su Nianzu, who hired her under an alias, Li Pei, as an assistant. Only Xu You and Jia Yang of the Endless Voyage Realm and that young mortal, Wei Wuyin, whom she told personally out of respect and intention to turn him into a disciple, were aware of her existence and origins. Even Liu Yinlan had only learned recently, causing her to change her plans from a direct, forthright assault to this reconnaissance mission overplayed with distractions both assaulting the front door and observing from a distance.
In Tian Taizong's eyes, Liu Yinlan should be within the concealment forged by multiple Worldly Saints beyond the border of his starfield infused with her aura, observing the developments and awaiting his inevitably desperate retaliation before dealing with him.
If Liu Yinlan, she wouldn't have been so cautious.
"Then what can we do? Regroup? We can launch long-range attacks until he's dead. There's no need to enter his trap willingly. Despite his preparations, we can still crush him like that." Hu Meifang was already half-checked out. She simply didn't want to be here. If Tian Taizong activated his Domain of Mysticism, they'd be firmly within range of his powers. It'll be too late then. Using long-range tactics and blasting the Aeternal Sky Starfield off the map was the best option.
"..." Zhangjie Wushu observed the steel-gazed Liu Yinlan, her expression faintly paling at the thought of slaughtering everyone from afar. "If we change our goal, placing this from a simple reconnaissance mission to a rescue mission. We should be able to pull it off quietly, and then leave without being detected. We can then launch a bombardment after seizing what we can."
"!" Liu Yinlan's eyes brightened. "You think so?"
Zhangjie Wushu thought for a moment and nodded heavily. She wouldn't risk her life if she wasn't 99.9% certain. "However, I think our shifted objective should come with compensation. We'll lose a lot after wiping this starfield's environment out. Don't you think so?"
"Of course!" She was the Void Voyage Sect's Sect Master and had accumulated a significant amount of wealth in the Ancient Sealed Region over the last thousands of years. "You can also take my share of the Aeternal Sky Star. I don't need it." She needed Zhangjie Wushu's skill in formations and arrays for this rescue mission. She was over the moon.
Hu Meifang bit her lips tensely, experiencing an internal debate. "How certain are you of dismantling his array? If you do that, we'll be able to salvage the starfield's environment. We can return then and deal with him without losing anything."
Zhangjie Wushu looked contemplatively at the Aeternal Sky Star, "I'd need a few months to two years at most. However, there's no telling what he'll do if we retreat now. He could change his baiting tactics of feigning weakness to a hostage situation. Or worse, a suicidal act of mutual destruction. I'll be accompanying City Lord Liu for this if only to prevent that."
Liu Yinlan was grateful, but she knew it was going to cost her a lot. "Then, if you wish to go back, Silver Moon Hu, then please do."
"..." Hu Meifang gritted her teeth and her bountifully full chest that could make babies mouth-water hungrily and exhibited a trace of her Heart of Cultivation refined over her years. For wealth, risk was necessary. "I'll go. Let's complete this quickly, City Lord Liu."
Liu Yinlan didn't like Hu Meifang, but she would be a fool not to feel a little relieved to have a powerful ally by her side for this in case anything went wrong. After a little planning, the trio of women used the Endless Void Mirror's power to meld with the surrounding space.
Liu Yinlan muttered softly, "Sister, I'm coming. Just a little longer."
On a pristinely white ship, sailing at the edge of the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region's Void-Blank Space, two figures observed the ensuing chaos.
"Young Master Shang, there seems to be a war taking place."
[Author's Note: Ruthless. (1/2). The next chapter will be delayed somewhat.]

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