CHAPTER 417: CHAPTER 417 WHO CAN STOP ME

"Come with me," Old Mr. Lv decided abruptly. Now that he knew he couldn’t keep it a secret, he might as well lay things out clearly. Wang Lan and the others were confident and bold; with Qiu Bo by their side, who possessed the strength of a Titled Strongman, they were undaunted in battle.

Moreover, this was not a Different Dimensional Space; this was the East Sea, the vast and sovereign territory of Jade Country. Did they really have to fear the Lv Family causing an uproar?

Following Old Mr. Lv to a section of the construction site, they saw it was concealed by color steel plates. As they entered, Wang Lan felt as though he had arrived at an ancient tomb excavation. Neat, square pits lay open, revealing chaotic ruins below. A group of people, resembling archaeologists, were meticulously brushing away dirt and gingerly digging.

In some pits that had already been excavated, a corner of an ancient wall was exposed. It had been sealed away from the light of day for thousands of years, its surface now severely weathered and melded with the earth.

"What are you searching for? Was this a city in the past?" Yu Ruoyun asked, puzzled.

"No, this was once an ancient cultivation Sect Gate, the Sunlight Sword Pavilion," Lv said, his hands clasped behind his back, his voice tinged with the vicissitudes of time.

"My Lv Family is descended from an ancient cultivation Sect Gate, but there are always those who think we’re just trying to aggrandize our name. The Lv Family has weathered storms for three thousand years. Is there any family in Jade Country today with a longer history than ours?

"No!

"Do we, the Lv Family, still need to embellish our reputation? Heh heh heh...

"Three thousand years ago was known as the End of Dharma Period. At that time, the powerful State of Qin, which would later unify the warring states, had not yet risen. The cultivation Sect Gates were already fragmented. As the worldly miasma rose, the cultivation Sect Gates chose to retreat and practice in seclusion. This was to avoid entanglement in the karma of the mortal world and to prepare for the imminent invasion of the Demon Clan’s armies.

"Perhaps because the cultivation Sect Gates retreated from the world, many ordinary people became obsessed with the pursuit of immortality. Countless opportunists also claimed to be Qi Cultivators, boasting of techniques granted by immortals and deceiving the world.

"That year, the Central Plains were engulfed in war. The young ancestors of the Lv Family, seeking to escape the chaos, traveled from place to place with their fellow villagers. Fortunately, our ancestor was lucky. Unlike many of his companions who perished in the war-torn lands, he accidentally fell into water and stumbled upon an Immortal Realm.

"Although lost in the Immortal Realm, our ancestor’s Star Martial Art talents were awakened by a stroke of luck after eating an Immortal Fruit. Yet, even with this talent, he remained an ordinary person. During a moment of dire peril, his life was saved. A disciple of Sunlight Sword Pavilion, who had come to the Immortal Realm to gather herbs, took pity on him and brought him into the Pavilion.

"Our ancestor was accepted as an outer disciple and practiced there for ten years. Then one day, the Pavilion received a warning from the Heavenly Court: the Demon Clan had opened a space-time passage and would soon be arriving.

"On that day, the disciples of the Sword Pavilion emerged to defend humanity, swords in hand. My ancestor was among them. After three years of war, the Central Plains were filled with lamentation, and many disciples of the Sword Pavilion were gravely wounded or killed.

"One day, my ancestor received an order from the sect to return immediately to protect its sanctum. Due to delays on the road, he arrived a few days late. When he tried to return to the sect, the Sect Gate was shattered. It had vanished into the void, never to be found again.

"Left with no choice, our ancestor continued to join the great cause of fighting the Demon Clan. Later in life, he started a family in the mortal world, and thus the Lv Family was established.

"But our ancestor’s dying wish was something the Lv Family must never forget. For three thousand years, our family has been tirelessly searching for Sunlight Sword Pavilion. Finally, five years ago, we found it. The Sect Gate of Sunlight Sword Pavilion is hidden in the expanse of void above our heads."

"Is that why you’re excavating here? If Sunlight Sword Pavilion is in the void above us, what are these ruins?"

"The Sunlight Sword Pavilion fell from the void and was destroyed. Our ancestor said that when he arrived, the side halls had fallen from the void; the Sect Gate was destroyed, and the void passage closed, leaving no way to enter Sunlight Sword Pavilion again," Lv explained.

"Mr. Lv!" Wang Lan stepped forward and bowed respectfully. "You just mentioned that Sunlight Sword Pavilion received a warning from the Heavenly Court. What is this Heavenly Court...?"

"The Heavenly Court is just that, the Heavenly Court," Lv replied gravely. "Because it’s been thousands of years, the exact words of our ancestor have been altered with the passage of time. I do not know what the original words were, but our family possesses a stele left by our ancestor, with a history of three thousand years.

"On the stele, the Heavenly Court is clearly recorded. From this, we can conjecture that Sunlight Sword Pavilion and the Heavenly Court are connected. Furthermore, it’s likely that another dimension exists above the cultivation Sect Gates. It’s just that our ancestor was an ordinary disciple back then and was unaware of such secrets."

"Really? To open the Sunlight Sword Pavilion in the void, you’ve been using a large amount of Space Stones to forcibly open a passage to a Different Dimensional Space? All the Space Stones you’ve smuggled from the five major Pioneer Spaces over the years were used here?"

"Smuggled Space Stones?" Lv’s face slowly turned sideways, his eyes gradually growing cold. "Young man, earning the rank of colonel at such a young age—you are indeed formidable. However, one must be careful with words. Unlike food, which can be consumed carelessly, words cannot be spoken so lightly.

"You say the Lv Family smuggled Space Stones? Do you have evidence? Or, are you questioning me on behalf of the Tianjian Bureau? Are you qualified to speak for the Tianjian Bureau?"

Any ordinary person would have shut up after being hit with such harsh words. Unfortunately, Wang Lan was no ordinary person.

"I am representing the Tianjian Bureau. As for evidence, Ruoyun, bring out what you’ve gathered," Wang Lan said.

"Sir Lv, we would not have come to Three Immortal Island without solid evidence. It would be best if you didn’t make our relationship too strained," Yu Ruoyun interjected.

Lv Yi looked at Yu Ruoyun in surprise, then at Wang Lan. After a long moment, he shook his head lightly. "Forgive my poor eyesight, but who might this young man be?"

"Grandfather, this is Wang Lan," Lv Lai interjected from the side.

"Oh... The son of the Flame Emperor, that explains it. But even so, we are not like those Star Martial Art families who recklessly use Space Stones. We are simply trying to recover our ancestor’s Sect Gate, to find what belongs to the Lv Family. Is that against the law?

"Gunpowder is likewise prohibited, but mining for minerals is allowed, right? We haven’t endangered national or societal safety. Isn’t the Tianjian Bureau overstepping its bounds?"

"The Lv Family’s misuse of Space Stones to open a fixed space resulted in more than fifty giant Exotic Beasts entering the East Sea Pioneer Space. This has caused over twenty Beast Tides in the last two years, leading to heavy casualties among the Pioneer Teams.

"This time, to eliminate the hidden dangers accumulated over these past two years, thirteen Star Sea realm experts were sacrificed. And you stand here telling me there hasn’t been a loss to the nation? No threat posed to society?"

"Nonsense! If you’re determined to accuse someone, you’ll always find a pretext."

"You forcibly opened a fixed space, causing a spatial rift. Since this location is so close to the East Sea Pioneer Space, the rift bridged the two, allowing fierce Exotic Beasts from that fixed space to enter the Pioneer Space. The causes and evidence for this have all been thoroughly investigated and are crystal clear. If you still want to argue, then you are simply refusing to admit your guilt," Wang Lan stepped forward fiercely, his words aggressive and pressing.

"What do you want?" Lv Yi stared unyieldingly into Wang Lan’s eyes, uttering each word deliberately.

"Cease all operations on Three Immortal Island. All related personnel are to return to Modu City for investigation."

When Wang Lan spoke these words, the world fell utterly silent. All the Lv Family members stared blankly at Wang Lan, genuinely baffled. Where did this young upstart get such audacity? It was unbelievable! Had the world changed so rapidly that the young had all become this arrogant? Or had the Lv Family been low-key for too long, leading people to think they were past their prime and couldn’t fight back anymore? This was the Lv Family of Lu Province, a top-tier Star Martial Art family in Jade Country—the terrifying kind!

Heavy breathing could be heard distinctly in the dead silence. Suddenly, Lv Yi laughed, a laugh tinged with madness.

"So that’s how it is. It seems you all have your eyes set on Sunlight Sword Pavilion. The treasure the Lv Family has been searching for three thousand years—just as we’re about to lay our hands on it, you come to steal the fruits of our labor.

"HAHAHA... Interesting, very interesting! Ruthless, very ruthless indeed." Lv Yi slowly turned and, with his hands behind his back, walked towards the depths of the site.

"’Stop right there!’" The shout came from Yu Ruoyun. The moment she cried out, Qiu Bo made his move, his form blurring into a streak of light.

But suddenly, a golden arm seemed to stretch out from the void itself, blocking Qiu Bo’s path.

A stout, middle-aged man radiating golden light appeared before Qiu Bo, confronting him.

"Lv Yifeng? Aren’t you in the Northeast Pioneer Space?" Qiu Bo asked gravely.

"It looks like the Lv Family came prepared," Yu Ruoyun said, her eyes ice-cold as she watched Lv Yi’s retreating figure. "To secretly recall a Titled Strongman of the Lv Family. Since Lv Yifeng is back, Lv Xiangyang must have returned as well, right?"

As Yu Ruoyun’s words fell, another figure eerily appeared, standing beside Qiu Bo. "Chao Zheng’en, you alone are no match for the two of us. It wouldn’t be good if Princess Yu Ruoyun got hurt in a struggle. Better go back."

"Qiu Bo, attack!" Yu Ruoyun wasted no further words; she activated her Star Power, and it instantly surged. Seeing Yu Ruoyun initiate her Dragon Emperor Form, Wang Lan also wasted no time and triggered his Phoenix Form.

A resonant phoenix cry ascended to the sky, while a deep dragon’s roar circled around. The moment Wang Lan’s and Yu Ruoyun’s Star Power linked, a burgeoning aura surged skywards, twisting space itself.

Lv Xiangyang’s face turned pale, his expression one of shock as he looked at Wang Lan and Yu Ruoyun. He had long heard that Yu Ruoyun was a peerless genius, a once-in-a-millennium prodigy, and knew she was the first to break into the Star Sea realm before the age of twenty.

But... hadn’t Yu Ruoyun just recently entered the Star Sea realm? What was this aura she displayed? Titled Strongman level? It wasn’t just the strength of a Titled Strongman; it even faintly exceeded his own!

While it was partly due to the activation of the Dragon Emperor Form, what kind of monsters were these two in front of him?

If reaching the realm of the Five Emperors was a distant and unattainable dream for them, for these two individuals, it seemed no harder than eating or drinking.

Lv Xiangyang’s composure shattered.

Lv Xiangyang was astounded, but Wang Lan and Yu Ruoyun were not. In an instant, they moved like fluttering butterflies. When they reappeared, they were on either side of Lv Xiangyang. Two beams of Extreme Heat Light shot out instantly.

BOOM—

A tremendous explosion erupted as if a battle cry rang clear. The experts of the Lv Family and the Yu Family also sprang into action, fierce combat erupting within a second.

Lv Yi’s figure flickered continuously, reaching the depths of Three Immortal Island in the blink of an eye. There, a steel fortress slowly opened. Within, an impressive-looking, though incomprehensible, device slowly moved into position, guided by precise instruments.

"How much longer until the coordinates are set?"

"They will be completed within three minutes."

"Start it immediately upon completion!"

Just as Lv Yi’s voice fell, a distant explosion roared, sounding like the rumble of advancing chariots rolling closer.