Swallowed Star 2: Origin Continent: Volume 7: Chapter 32 (304): [Invitations from All Sides]

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Swallowed Star 2: Origin Continent
Volume 7: [Nine Rivers Holy Realm]
Chapter (304): [Invitations from All Sides]
(32nd of Volume 7)
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In the core area of Yulan City's inner district, within an ordinary cave dwelling-

A slightly chubby man with deep blue skin, soft antennae, and glasses sat with a smile as he watched a battle video in the intelligence report.

"Tianhe, you actually lost to a newly promoted elder," the plump man chuckled, glancing at Elder Tianhe beside him.

"I admit my defeat wholeheartedly!" Elder Tianhe responded with a self-deprecating smile before turning to the slightly chubby man. "Master, are you interested in placing a bet and compete against him?"

The chubby man smiled!

He is the Lord of the Guifang!

"There's no need to compete- his foundation is still shallow, he is just relying only on external forces!"

The Master of Guifang shook his head. "That final claw Luo Feng revealed... I still have the confidence to suppress it!"

The Master of the Guifang shook his head, confident that he could still counter Luo Feng's final claw strike.

Elder Tianhe's decision to align himself with Guifang was largely influenced by the Master of Guifang.

He is walking two paths simultaneously and is even attempting to merge them into one.

"Even in the Dark Holy Realm, there are many who cultivate two or three paths! But merging different paths into one? That is exceedingly rare!

Among top 20 beings in Yulan City, the lord of Guifang ranks among the top twenty, but in terms of potential, the Lord of the Guifang is unmatched!

Elder Tianhe understood his own limitations. Forced to follow the bloodline cultivation path, he knew he had to rely on a powerful figure- his choice was the Master of the Guifang.

"Tianhe," the Lord of Guifang said, after reviewing all the intelligence on Luo Feng, "Prepare one hundred million Hunyuan Crystals and have your subordinates send them to Luo Feng as an apology!"

"Apologize?" Elder Tianhe frowned. "We are both elders. Why should I lower myself before him? Besides, I only left a clone in Yulan City- why should I have to appease him?"

Elders were capable of creating clones, and naturally, they carried their own sense of pride.

Having already admitted defeat outside the East City Gate, Elder Tianhe found it humiliating enough.

Now, he had to apologize as well?

"Just do as I say!" The Master of the Guifang ordered firmly.

Since Tianhe had chosen to follow him, he had to abide by his rules.

If he disobeyed now, he would only distance himself further from his master's favor.

Elder Tianhe hesitated but eventually nodded. "Understood. I'll make the arrangements immediately."

"Master, I still don't fully understand," Elder Tianhe turned to the Master of Guifang.

"Look at the intelligence reports. Luo Feng came to Yulan City about thousand centuries ago." The master gestured toward the floating records. "Initially, he appeared to be in the early God Emperor stage. But in just a thousand epochs, he has reached a level where he can suppress you! Do you understand how absurd this cultivation speed is?"

"Master, the reports also speculate that he may be on the verge of becoming a God Emperor," Elder Tianhe countered. "He has only just arrived in Yulan City, and we can't accurately determine his strength! Even members of the Insect Nest attempted to test him but failed to gauge his true abilities."

His real power remained a mystery!

Later, Luo Feng openly intervened and single-handedly crushed our raiding team. That moment made it clear- his strength far exceeded that of an ordinary mid-stage God Emperor realm practitioner!

"In my opinion, when he first arrived in Yulan City, he was already at the mid-stage God Emperor level. Only after acquiring the city's resources did he break through his bottleneck and ascend to the late-stage God Emperor realm!"

The Lord of the Guifang gently shook his head.

"I don't deal in speculation- I only focus on facts." He pointed at the reports. "The fact is, when Luo Feng first arrived, he shared a rental with Di Qing and purchased the cheapest property in the city.

Even the cultivation materials he used were of low quality!"

The Master of the Guifang continued, "Yet within a little over a thousand epochs, he ascended to the late-stage God Emperor realm. Just think about it- how long did it take for you and me? How many resources did we exhaust?"

Could even the precious Hunyuan Crystals alone nurture a late-stage God Emperor expert?

How much had Elder Tianhe sacrificed to reach this level?

"Even if we advance to the Semi-Hunyuan stage, what then?" Elder Tianhe muttered. "Our foundation still lies in the Dark Holy Realm!"

"Don't ask too much. You'll understand in time," the Master of the Guifang said cryptically.

"...Understood. I'll arrange the apology immediately!" Elder Tianhe stood up without hesitation.

The Master of the Guifang watched as Elder Tianhe departed.

Almost immediately, the air in front of him rippled with an invisible force, revealing a phantom- a figure radiating intense heat.

"Palace Master Wei Yang! The Lord of the Guifang has spoken!"

The Lord of Weiyang Palace had a face like a finely sculpted statue, his deep-set eyes devoid of expression.

Having endured countless years of refinement in the Dark Holy Realm, he had become a formidable being who had attained Semi-Hunyuan-level Enlightenment Realm. His clone is stationed in the Nine Rivers Holy Realm, and after arriving in Yulan City, he quickly outshone even its founder, the "Palace Master Yuan Xiang," rising to become the most powerful figure in the city.

Among the three ruling palace masters, he had acquired the greatest share of Yulan City's resources.

"I heard your Elder Tianhe from Guifang was defeated by a cultivator named Luo Feng." Lord Weiyang's lips curled into a rare smile. There were few individuals in the city who earned his respect, and the Master of Guifang was one of them.

"This Luo Feng has immense potential. Even if he eventually ascends to the Dark Holy Realm, he may choose to leave a clone behind in Yulan City," the Master of Guifang remarked.

"If that happens, he might one day take control of the city!"

"Oh?"

The phantom of Lord Weiyang chuckled. "You hold him in such high regard?"

The Master of the Guifang remained silent.

"Yulan City is ruled by the three of us. If Luo Feng is strong enough, it won't be an issue- he will simply become the fourth master," Lord Weiyang said with a smirk.

"But for now, his strength is still lacking!"

"It seems you've already considered this carefully," the Master of the Guifang nodded.

Lord Weiyang then turned to him. "With your talent and power, you should have already caught up to me! Yet, you've failed to break through the two paths you've been cultivating. The next grand expedition is about to begin- are you still not going to participate?"

"I won't participate!" The Master of the Guifang replied with a faint smile.

Lord Weiyang nodded in understanding.

He and the Master of the Guifang had known each other since their time in the Dark Holy Realm.

The Master of Guifang was focused on expanding his influence, but deep down, he was not a benevolent figure.

His cultivation path, rooted in sinister forces, was shrouded in darkness and brutality.

"Luo Feng... he actually makes my 'Mysterious Realm Heart' feel fear?"

Watching the battle footage, the Master of the Guifang muttered to himself. A powerful aura he had condensed within- the 'Mysterious Realm Heart'- quivered in response, instinctively recoiling in fear of Luo Feng.

Very few practitioners in the Dark Holy Realm could master two paths and push them both to the semi-Hunyuan level!

"But even then, they remain trapped within the cage of limitation," the Master of the Guifang mused.

"There are legends that cultivating two paths alone is not enough. Only by merging them into one can one undergo a true transformation- only then is there a chance to break free from the cage."

"I have cultivated for countless years, yet I have only managed to elevate the 'Path of the Mysterious Realm' to the early God Emperor stage," he sighed.

He had only decided to attempt fusion after pushing both of his dual paths to the late God Emperor stage. The process had been agonizingly difficult, and even after countless years, his fusion had merely elevated him to the early God Emperor stage.

The strain of balancing both paths had even hindered his progress, making him question whether he was heading in the right direction.

"The fusion path holds immense potential. Even at the early God Emperor stage, I am already comparable to a late-stage God Emperor following a conventional path. If fusion reaches the semi-Hunyuan level... perhaps, there truly is a path to breaking free from the cage!"

The Master of the Guifang possessed both ambition and foresight.

As for Luo Feng, the Master of the Guifang was neither willing to antagonize him nor eager to draw too close.

***********

In the core district of Yulan City, Luo Feng's newly rented cave dwelling stood- only marginally larger than Di Qing's.

"This is my new residence," Luo Feng remarked as Di Qing, Di Ming, Di Fu, and the others surveyed the place.

"The energy flow here is incredible!" Di Qing marveled, sensing how the entire cave was thick with mist-like energy.

"Even Semi-Hunyuan realm practitioners would struggle to fully absorb this amount!"

Even Di Fu was visibly excited.

"I never imagined I'd ever live in the core district of Yulan City!" The Emperor Fu couldn't help but exclaim. "The cost of living here is astronomical!"

"How much is the rent?" Di Fu asked curiously.

"5,000 Hunyuan Crystals per epoch," Luo Feng replied, wincing slightly at the expense.

There was no way around it- the cave Luo Feng rented was already one of the smallest in the core area.

"5,000 Hunyuan Crystals per epoch? That means for a short period of 10,000 epochs, the cost of living here alone reaches 50 million Hunyuan Crystals?"

Both Emperor Ming and Emperor Fu were momentarily stunned. Such an exorbitant housing expense would be an ongoing drain on resources. Without a steady supply of wealth, even they couldn't afford to sustain such extravagant living costs.

But Luo Feng had no other choice.

As his strength grew, so did his rate of energy absorption. Naturally, he needed a high-quality cultivation cave that could keep up with his needs.

At the very least, this cave ensured that even after reaching the mid-stage of the God Emperor realm, the Life and Death Dao would still have an adequate energy supply.

**********

Just as Luo Feng was settling in, he suddenly sensed a presence at the entrance- someone was knocking on the door.

"Already? I just moved in," he muttered.

"I'll check it out," Emperor Fu offered, stepping toward the entrance.

Emperor Fu took the initiative to open the door.

Standing outside was an elderly adept. His aura was tightly restrained, yet even the faint fluctuations he emitted made Emperor Fu's heart tremble slightly.

"Young friend Di Fu?" The old man immediately recognized him and spoke in a warm tone. "I have come on behalf of my master to deliver a visiting card to God Emperor Luo Feng. My master will personally visit tomorrow."

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Luo Feng had barely settled in, and yet in addition to the twelve invitations he had already received, he was now given an unexpected gift of apology from Elder Tianhe.

A full 100 million Hunyuan Crystals!

Holding the cloth bag in his hand, Luo Feng frowned slightly.

"This Elder Tianhe..."

He was a formidable figure from the Origin World- far beyond someone Luo Feng could threaten.

So why had he gone out of his way to send an apology?

Luo Feng opened the bag slightly and peered inside.

A vast fortune- 100 million Hunyuan Crystals!

_________________________

END OF CHAPTER

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