The Stars Beyond

Chapter 250: First Strike

Gritting his teeth, Zhou Chong summoned a snow-white ruler, swiftly sending it flying out. It released a blinding light, like a sun descending upon the secret vault.

Aware that the area had been activated like a complex formation, including nether runes and other elements, he had no time to waste. He felt a looming threat approaching from afar.

Boom!

He resorted to brute force to break the formation!

This was the Thunder Ruler. As its snow-white light fell, lightning interwove, striking violently. Unfortunately, the ruler had been damaged when sent through the veil, marked with four long cracks. Its thunderous power was significantly less than expected, and it continued to crack further.

Finally, the Thunder Ruler exploded, piercing through the nearly formation-like setup at the secret vault.

Zhou Chong felt a pang of loss. Given enough time, the ruler could have been slowly repaired, but now it was destroyed.

However, if he could acquire the golden bamboo slips, this loss would be insignificant. Moreover, he had already obtained the Soul Locking Bell, an invaluable treasure.

In the distance, a robot flew at high speed, firing a shot that hit Zhou Chong, blasting apart his blood shadow and causing more of the lightning scars on his true bone to flake off.

"Hmm?!" He stared into the distance, his heart pounding at the threat posed to him.

Swoosh!

A bright sword light descended. The robot, wielding a long sword, instantly closed in, its radiant sword light illuminating the sky as it cleaved towards Zhou Chong.

"Technology, transcendent material, it has it all..." Zhou Chong observed the robot, parrying its sword with his own flying sword, sparks flying. He felt the powerful impact of the force.

The robot's cold metallic right arm pointed forward, releasing a ring of light that descended towards Zhou Chong. It declared, "The long years have passed, hunting demons... as if it were only yesterday."

Boom!

Zhou Chong's palm lit up with lightning runes, shattering the ring of light. He appeared intrigued, seemingly recalling tales of such transcendentally-powered mechanical creatures.

Number 5 robot didn't evade, absorbing the lightning's energy to replenish itself.

Zhou Chong sent a mirror to Yuan Hong, instructing, "Use this mirror to protect yourself and avoid the God-Slaying Flag. It can reveal all kinds of anomalies. Leave other treasures, but ensure you retrieve the golden bamboo slips!"

He then faced the robot, engaging in intense combat while clutching the silver bell. He swiftly moved away from the area, fearing the mysterious transcendent robot might target Yuan Hong.

"This bell... I seem to recall hearing about it long ago, its third master was incredibly formidable," the robot observed, pondering over the silver bell in Zhou Chong's hands.

Zhou Chong tried to disrupt the robot's intricate internal components with psychic energy, but his efforts were instantly nullified and absorbed.

Realizing the robot had a special conversion device inside, which was breaking down and utilizing his psychic energy, Zhou Chong's expression hardened. "This mechanical monster is comparable to a rare treasure!" he acknowledged gravely.

Instantly, he unleashed his flying sword, rich with transcendent material, aiming for the robot's head.

The robot's body dimmed, frantically absorbing the transcendent material. Inside, a unique power system operated, with various energy symbols flashing intensely.

Clang!

Number 5 robot parried the flying sword, further scanning and collecting data while breaking down the transcendent material for its use.

Boom!

Zhou Chong's blood-colored hand struck out, creating waves of force, intertwining mysterious patterns, troubling the robot.

Its eyes rapidly flickered, analyzing and disintegrating the transcendent material, combating the invasion of transcendent runes.

The battle between them grew fiercely intense.

Boom!

From the robot's mouth, a beam brighter than lightning, composed of exotic matter, was emitted.

Zhou Chong's blood-colored hand dimmed from the impact, nearly exploding once more.

Number 5 robot shot a concentrated energy cannon from its eye sockets at Zhou Chong, shattering his blood shadow. It then extended an arm made of exotic matter from its chest, rapidly reaching for Zhou Chong's true bone.

Zhou Chong quickly retreated, dodging the attack.

In the brief clash, Zhou Chong initially struggled to adapt to the robot's tactics. The robot was absorbing and decomposing transcendent matter for its own use, with an alarming efficiency.

Boom!

Zhou Chong slowly swung a palm, leveraging his immortal bone to invoke some transcendent rules. With a crackling sound, sparks flew from the robot's arm, and metal fragments fell in abundance.

This caused trouble for Number 5 robot, almost rendering its arm useless.

Zhou Chong also felt the strain. His realm had drastically fallen, making many of his techniques difficult to execute.

Sword lights and energy cannons between them continually burst forth. The exotic matter boiled over as they fought into the distance, destroying buildings and smashing into the ground, plunging underground.

Wang Xuan watched them leave with deep eyes, murmuring to himself, "After the Immortal entered the mortal world, his realm has been continuously diminished, greatly reducing his strength."

For Wang Xuan, this was a blessing, easing his pressure. If he could cultivate fast enough, surpassing the returning Immortal was not impossible.

He then turned his attention to the Sun family. This day had indeed been astonishing, with all manner of bizarre creatures emerging.

He readied himself to seize his destiny.

At the Sun family estate, near the secret vault, Yuan Hong made her move. Holding the mirror, she drew out the golden bamboo slips, which slowly floated out. She could feel the uniqueness of this place.

The Sun family was built on a relic, with the secret vault connected underground. Sensing something amiss, she dared not venture too deep.

However, with the most dangerous nether runes broken by Zhou Chong, the danger lessened. The twenty-seven pieces of golden bamboo slips, each only eight centimeters long and resembling golden jade, carved from Transcendent Bamboo, floated in the air.

"There are four sets of golden bamboo slips, meaning a total of 108 pieces," she thought excitedly, recalling the legends.

The combination of all four sets was unimaginable.

Even practicing one set could create an extraordinary powerhouse, commanding respect in the immortal realm beyond the veil.

She attempted to pull them out, but the slips fell midway, unable to be brought out in one go, which surprised and made her cautious.

She then noticed other treasures in the vault glowing, locking onto the golden bamboo slips. She struggled to contend for them, not daring to step inside.

From a distance, Wang Xuan observed the scene, deciding it was time to act. Seizing the opportunity was crucial, and he couldn't afford to wait any longer.

Before making his move, he projected his spirit to examine the essence of the area around the God-Slaying Flag.

With Zhou Chong, Mr. Ghost, and the robot gone, the real powerhouses were absent, making him less worried about being detected while lurking nearby.

Using his spiritual third eye, Wang Xuan penetrated the transcendent fog, uncovering something unusual. Someone had cleverly concealed the truth.

Beneath the God-Slaying Flag, white mist rose, bearing traces of a powerful being. Dense transcendent runes were luring the small flag, ready to activate it at any moment.

Wang Xuan believed that anyone daring to directly take the flag would trigger the runes in the underground mist, unleashing the flag's terrifying power. Even a physical body protecting the spirit would be insufficient against the flag's full might, which could kill anyone approaching it.

Zhou Chong, too, had hesitated to touch it, planning to first control the Soul Locking Bell before attempting to take the flag.

Wang Xuan realized that acquiring the God-Slaying Flag would not be easy. However, he couldn't delay any longer. With Zhou Chong and the robot gone, it was his turn to make a move.

He applied an invisibility talisman and stepped out of the hotel, quickly entering the Sun family estate. He glanced at Yuan Hong in her red armor but didn't disturb her.

Fully equipped for the task, Wang Xuan activated an ancient lamp, covering himself with a protective light screen. He then took out a small yellow gourd. Careful not to aim directly at the God-Slaying Flag, he targeted the ground beneath it, silently sucking away the soil and revealing the white mist and dense runes.

The ancient lamp and the small gourd, both powerful treasures, were now mere tools for his quest to acquire the flag.

Swoosh!

He propelled a thick arrow of light from the ancient lamp, like a divine rainbow, into the underground runes, causing disruption.

However, this was risky. While one area of the runes dimmed, the rest brightened, forcefully activating the God-Slaying Flag.

Wang Xuan's hair stood on end, feeling an immense danger. His physical body was not enough to protect his spirit from the threat. As the small golden flag trembled, golden patterns interwove, spreading outward.

Whoosh!

He quickly fled, covering himself with the red radiance of the ancient lamp and using the small yellow gourd to shield himself, emitting auspicious light.

Wang Xuan escaped the Sun family estate, but the golden patterns from the God-Slaying Flag pursued him for a considerable distance. He narrowly avoided them, barely escaping danger.

On the other side, Yuan Hong was also affected. She didn't understand what had happened, puzzled by the sudden revival of the golden flag. She had almost succeeded in freeing the golden bamboo slips from the suppression of other treasures in the first secret vault, but now her efforts were in vain as the slips fell back down. She quickly fled the area in confusion and fear, unaware of Wang Xuan, who was hidden nearby with an invisibility talisman.

Moments later, both secret vaults of the Sun family quieted down.

Yuan Hong headed back to the first vault to retrieve the golden bamboo slips. Meanwhile, Wang Xuan approached the vault where the God-Slaying Flag was located. He observed that a section of the underground runes had been breached, which seemed effective.

This time, he kept a safe distance outside the Sun family estate and used the ancient lamp to attack the breached area. Several red arrows, like rainbows piercing the sky, shot rapidly into the ground.

He then decisively fled the scene.

Yuan Hong roared in anger, as she was close to success with the golden bamboo slips, but they fell back into the vault. The God-Slaying Flag unleashed an even more ferocious power than before, terrifying her into a hasty retreat.

However, the intertwining golden patterns were not far off. Desperate, she activated the red talisman in her hand, releasing a soul body. A purple-haired elder, losing one soul and two spirits, appeared only to be instantly disintegrated into ash by the golden patterns.

But the golden patterns continued to spread, unrelenting.

In a mix of fear and anger, Yuan Hong activated the red talisman again, releasing two more soul bodies - Cristine and Hansolo. Their joy at seeing the light of day again was short-lived, as they were enveloped in the golden light and reduced to ash.

Yuan Hong narrowly escaped, her eyes cold and furious. Using the mirror given by Zhou Chong, she illuminated the surroundings and finally detected Wang Xuan, revealing him despite his invisibility talisman.

"Is it you who tried to steal the God-Slaying Flag just now?" Yuan Hong asked with a frosty expression, not immediately attacking because Wang Xuan's physical form made him suitable for the theft. Moreover, he was strong, possessing two treasures. Her own condition was not at its best, having been bombed at Yuan Chi Mountain, her vitality far from recovered.

"You and I are both transcendent beings. Let's cooperate to seize the treasure," she proposed, restraining her urge to attack but harboring a killing intent. She planned to let Wang Xuan continue trying to steal the flag, using him as a tool until Zhou Chong returned.

"Alright, I'll study how to take the God-Slaying Flag. You go for the golden bamboo slips," Wang Xuan agreed.

In reality, he was well aware that Yuan Hong was no saint. She had earlier tried to mark him with her red talisman, aiming to control him. He also viewed her as a tool, hoping to save time by having both of them retrieve treasures simultaneously. Of course, this time he needed to be more careful not to interfere with her.

Wang Xuan realized that one more strike would almost destroy the runes beneath the God-Slaying Flag, making it possible to remove it. However, Yuan Hong did not attempt to retrieve the golden bamboo slips again. Instead, she watched him, ready with the mirror and red talisman.

Was she supervising him to ensure he retrieved the treasure?

Sensing something, Wang Xuan suddenly realized that a female Taoist, another soul body released by Yuan Hong's red talisman, was lurking far behind him.

Since Yuan Hong was not willing to be a tool and might attack him at any moment, he saw no reason to keep her around.

To quickly resolve the situation, Wang Xuan used a thunder talisman, believing it to be most effective against a soul body. Not wanting to take any chances and eager to seize the God-Slaying Flag, he was prepared to use it wastefully.

Boom!

He struck first, unleashing a massive bolt of lightning that hit Yuan Hong, causing her to scream as half of her body was obliterated.

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