The Stars Beyond

Chapter 247: Impressing The immortals

Chapter 247: Impressing The immortals

The woman in the dark red armor retreated, hovering in mid-air, deeply feeling the chill. She couldn't even break into the residence of a worldly family? She was uncertain, wondering what exactly was in that grand garden-style architectural complex. Were there any surviving monsters, or was she overthinking?

She remained silent for a long time, not daring to act rashly, staring intently at the depths of the Sun family compound, extremely envious. Not even her own master had ever obtained such treasures. A worldly family possessing such heaven-defying artifacts, it made her want to annihilate the Sun family and seize them immediately!

"What's going on, the bell rang by itself!" Inside the Sun family, the high-ranking members were somewhat nervous. They were mortals and couldn't see the silver bell glowing in the night or the magnificent sight of its ripples. However, when the bell rang, they could hear it and were aware of the bell's importance. It was with this bell that they had captured Mr. Ghost in the past.

But now, without the supernatural Sun Rongting to oversee, they felt slightly uneasy. "First, replenish the supernatural materials in the two secret vaults," Sun Rongsheng instructed. Those materials were harvested and cold-pressed from the air in the secret land, normally used to nourish their ancient artifacts.

At that moment, a secret report came from outer space: one of their resource planets was under attack. The expressions of the Sun family's high-ranking members changed. Someone was attacking the Sun family?

"Which planet?" someone asked with a heavy expression.

"Yuanxia Star!" came the grave reply.

"What?!" Sun Rongsheng, Sun Chengkun, and other core members abruptly stood up, their faces looking grim. Yuan Xia Star, only a few light-years from New Star, was a relatively close resource planet with abundant mineral resources, including rare metals for making warships. Although called a resource planet, it actually housed one of their secret military bases, small in scale but directly under the Sun family's control and highly reliable.

"Most likely it's Grant's doing, taking revenge for his granddaughter!" Sun Rongsheng said, sighing. Last time, they had destroyed Yuan Chi Mountain using warships from outside the domain. Grant must have been convinced it was the Sun family's doing, so he destroyed those three warships.

......

"They've gone too far, destroying one of our small bases. Are they looking for a war?" someone grumbled discontentedly. After more than a century of rivalry and competition, they had always been in a position of strength, holding a psychological advantage over the West.

"In these extraordinary times, we should refrain from acting rashly," another voiced, suggesting a cautious approach. "Let's wait for Grant's explanation. I don't think he wants to completely sever ties..."

...

The woman in the dark red armor, Yuan Hong, made another attempt at an assault. She released a deep red beam of light from the divine seal in her hand and swiftly retreated.

She observed from afar, checking to see if anyone was activating the divine artifact.

In the depths of the Sun family compound, the silver bell rippled magnificently. In the eyes of the supernatural beings, it was an exquisite work of art, a masterpiece.

With a loud bang, the bell waves scattered the red beam and counterattacked towards Yuan Hong, who quickly fled.

"No one in sight," Yuan Hong muttered to herself, her eyes burning with intensity as she stared at the bell.

The Soul-Locking Bell, its former owner had been exceptionally powerful, a formidable figure even in the celestial realm behind the veil. However, he died about two hundred years ago.

The bell, now ownerless, wouldn't bring significant karmic consequences even if the Celestials were to return.

Only after the bell's sound had faded did she dare to approach again, frowning. She realized the irony of her situation – she, a mighty supernatural being, couldn't even confront a mortal family? The times had indeed changed.

Was she to remain outside, eliminating anyone who emerged?

In her original plan, she would have easily penetrated their defenses, making the family understand that the Celestials were not to be trifled with.

But now, she felt powerless and speechless, unable to force her way in as she had intended.

The Soul-Locking Bell, an ancient and powerful artifact renowned even among other relics, was her bane in her current spiritual form. She simply couldn't overcome it.

As for the palm-sized golden flag, Yuan Hong was even more reluctant to approach it, hesitant even to probe, due to its infamous reputation as a legendary item lost in ancient times. Named the God-Slaying Flag, its name might sound ordinary, but its ferocity was terrifying, specializing in slaying primordial spirits. In the past, even unparalleled figures had fallen to this small flag.

Frowning, Yuan Hong realized she was running out of time. She needed a result within three days, or she would face blame from the higher powers behind the veil. Nearly two days and nights had already passed.

She considered further probing. In the evening, someone from the Sun family stepped outside. She promptly abducted and killed them, leaving the body in a dense forest in a nearby park.

Quietly waiting, she noticed no anomalies. Was the Sun family lacking a mysterious guardian?

Yuan Hong's hopes revived. The Sun family's secret trove was astonishing. Even those from behind the veil would be tempted to claim it for themselves.

She disappeared, heading to her secluded retreat to retrieve a treasure, planning to plunder the Sun family's divine items.

In the dead of night, she reappeared, bringing a stone basin of dark gray hue, a curious artifact. While it lacked formidable offensive power, it could gather treasures.

Activating the stone basin, it emitted light, and soon swathes of flowing radiance seeped into the Sun family compound, attempting to steal treasures from their secret trove.

Crack! The stone basin shattered, its radiance vanishing instantly. Yuan Hong's expression turned ugly. She began to suspect again: was the Sun family housing some monster?

"Is there a senior residing here?" she inquired, her mental fluctuations perceptible only to supernatural beings.

Wang Xuan, in his hotel room, quietly observed everything. Hearing her words, he naturally had many speculations. In fact, he had already harbored various thoughts earlier.

Yuan Hong suspected that some surviving creature had taken residence in the Sun family, not necessarily to protect the family, but rather coveting the divine items there.

Furthermore, a terrifying thought crossed her mind: could it be that the Celestials had returned early? Was someone considering this place as their domain, destined to become a sacred site?

The possibility made her scalp tingle.

However, Yuan Hong shook her head, feeling it was unlikely. The supreme beings from behind the veil were still unable to cross over, waiting for the right opportunity. Even if someone with extraordinary power sent an envoy, their strength would be severely weakened, and they wouldn't dare approach items like the Soul-Locking Bell or the God-Slaying Flag. After all, those who descended initially were in spirit form, and it was rare for anyone to retain their physical body. To regenerate flesh and blood in the mortal world, they would need to find their original bones and slowly cultivate them – not an easy task.

No one responded to her. The Sun family's secret vault was eerily quiet, with no sign of any spiritual fluctuations.

"Could it be that it's not a person, but a divine treasure that has evolved further?" She stared at the Soul-Locking Bell and then at the God-Slaying Flag, her heart pounding.

"Is that all you've got? Why don't you take action against the Sun family? If it's really difficult, then quickly request the Celestials to descend!" Wang Xuan watched for a long time, disappointed in her performance.

In fact, Yuan Hong, clad in the dark red armor, believed that retaliating against the Sun family was far less important than obtaining legendary items like the Soul-Locking Bell and the God-Slaying Flag.

During the night, no significant figures from the Sun family came out, so she didn't make a move. She quietly observed, scrutinizing every detail of the Sun family's compound.

She waited until the early morning when some direct members of the Sun family emerged. She immediately killed two of them. Then, she chased down a spacecraft leaving the area and eliminated a high-ranking member of the Sun family.

"What?!" Inside the Sun family, there was shock. They immediately ordered that important members should not leave, feeling a sense of dread.

A supernatural being was targeting the direct lineage of the Sun family. The method was very peculiar; it wasn't a normal way to die.

"What's happening? Are there still supernatural beings we haven't eliminated? Or is it possible that Wang Xuan survived and is attacking us again?"

The Sun family was in a state of tension, facing a calculated assassination with clear targeting.

"Even Clarisse and Hans Solo died. Logically, Wang Xuan, who was also present, shouldn't have survived either. Who is seeking revenge against us?"

"It's not Chen Yongjie; he's far away from us at the moment. Is it Wang Xuan, whose spirit is still lingering? Or has a new supernatural being appeared?"

Wang Xuan, without projecting his spirit into the Sun family compound, captured their thought waves when non-essential members left the house. He was speechless for a moment, finding himself in a situation of almost being blamed for the situation.

"The Celestials are so useless. Can't they intervene more effectively in the mortal realm?" Wang Xuan criticized internally, truly feeling anxious for them.

After Yuan Hong's repeated attempts and further probing, waiting for a long time without any supernatural force eroding her, she confirmed that there were no guardians in the Sun family's secret vault. What was so peculiar about it? She turned to leave, unable to break in with her spiritual form, ready to report back that there were treasures here that even the Celestials behind the veil would covet.

Back at the site of the former Mount Yuanqi, where the lava had already solidified, leaving a deep canyon in place of the mountain. There, in a cavern carved out of the ground, was the vague figure of the man who had appeared in the headless idol two days ago. He had actually made it to the mortal world!

His form was even more indistinct now, without a real body. On that stormy night, amidst the blood-red lightning, he was sent here by a supreme being. He paid a heavy price for this - his strength drastically reduced, his soul damaged - but it was a stroke of luck that he survived at all. Normally, attempting to return from the Celestial realm to the mortal world meant a 90% chance of turning to ash.

The woman bowed to him, her expression serious, "The Soul-Locking Bell is in the Sun family's possession!"

"This... The bell has appeared?" The man was startled, realizing that the bell must be secured and not left in the hands of mortals.

"And the lost God-Slaying Flag from ancient times is also there, in the Sun family's secret vault!" she informed him solemnly.

"What?!" The man was shocked. Such legendary items reappearing in an era when the supernatural was in decline was indeed strange.

"I didn't want to use my true bone, but now it seems I have no choice. Otherwise, as a soul form, I can't even get close to those items."

He had planned to visit the Sun family that night in his spiritual form, intending to destroy their base. Now, it seemed that without using his true bone, even he would suffer a great loss.

"It's quite exciting, really. In an era when myths have decayed, to see treasures that have been lost for so long."

The man decided to take immediate action.