"Two targets? This won't be easy."
Han Jue concentrated his gaze on the airship gliding through the sky above and the intact caravan trailing behind it. Besides Yu Jinchen and Fang Hai, the caravan's guards included numerous Domain Lord-level fighters. If combat erupted, he'd inevitably face a coordinated assault from multiple opponents.
Fortunately, Han Jue's current strength didn't lie primarily in offense, but in his defensive capabilities granted by [No Limit]. Offensively, he could match a peak Domain Lord in combat power. Defensively, however, he could withstand attacks from most Realm Lords without sustaining serious injury.
"Du Lan Changwen, you think you can simply observe from the sidelines and claim the spoils? It won't be that easy."
Han Jue hesitated to directly attack Yu Jinchen. The Star-Eating Grass would likely complete its evolution within the next two days, and once that transformation finished, none of these people would escape his grasp. However, he could still harass them without committing to full combat.
Han Jue's blade cut through the air in a devastating arc!
The strike descended directly onto the cargo transported at the rear of the caravan. Several nearby Domain Lord-level guards were crippled instantly before they could even react to the surprise attack.
Han Jue's sword strike hadn't been intended to kill, instead, it targeted the equipment transporting the goods, crippling the convoy's ability to move the merchandise. In the next moment, Han Jue appeared beside the cargo, which was tightly wrapped in black cloth. He instantly gathered the bundled goods into his spatial ring and fled at maximum speed!
"Boom!"
A pillar of fire a hundred meters in diameter erupted toward the heavens, sending the surrounding temperature soaring to catastrophic levels.
"Who dares?!" Fang Hai roared, his face flushed crimson with fury.
Yu Jinchen's expression changed dramatically as he sensed Fang Hai's power surging. He immediately moved to calm his ally.
"It's probably someone from the Dulan family. They're the only ones in this region who would dare attempt something so brazen!"
"Du Lan Changwen!" Fang Hai's voice shook with barely contained rage.
Originally, he'd hoped that by connecting with the Dulan family and leading his Chamber of Commerce to the Dulan capital, he could avoid conflict with Du Lan Changwen and even potentially befriend the City Lord. Now, any such ambitions had been completely incinerated by this attack. He wanted nothing more than to tear Du Lan Changwen apart with his bare hands!
The caravan being attacked represented the greatest humiliation for someone like Fang Hai. His reputation, his credibility, his very livelihood depended on safely delivering goods.
Yu Jinchen secretly rejoiced, barely concealing his satisfaction. Du Lan Changwen was such a fool! He'd actually initiated an attack on the caravan? That merchandise represented Fang Hai's lifeblood!
Now, Fang Hai was completely committed to their alliance!
"Chairman Fang, please calm yourself..." Yu Jinchen advised with carefully measured concern.
"This location isn't far from Wanqing Prefecture City. The lost goods can be recovered directly from the Dulan family once we eliminate Du Lan Changwen!"
"That Wu dared to attack the Fang Chamber of Commerce?"
Inside the City Lord's Mansion, Du Lan Changwen ground his teeth as he stared at the message that had appeared before him, his expression darkening with anger.
Du Lanque trembled slightly as she stood before her father.
"Doesn't he understand that Fang Hai values his family and his Chamber of Commerce above all else?" Du Lan Changwen said furiously. "This Fang Hai has long possessed the confidence to break through to Realm Lord level, but I never expected Yu Jinchen would actually succeed in recruiting him."
"Father, I, " Du Lanque began, but was immediately cut off.
"Never mind. That Wu dared to attack the Chamber of Commerce, which also demonstrates his considerable strength." Du Lan Changwen's tone shifted to calculation. "Fang Hai and Yu Jinchen are formidable opponents. I must make every effort to win Wu's allegiance, otherwise I'm afraid our family won't survive this confrontation."
"Que'er, go retrieve two million... no, five million Spark Coins. When Wu returns, give them to him as payment for this operation," Du Lan Changwen said through gritted teeth.
Five million Spark Coins represented a substantial fortune for an ordinary Domain Lord. While it might not mean much to a peak Domain Lord, it conveyed significant goodwill and respect.
The annual tax revenue of the entire prefecture city amounted to only around tens of millions of Spark Coins!
"Understood, Father," Du Lanque nodded obediently.
Five million Spark Coins would be well spent if they could secure the loyalty of a powerful individual who could be considered a peak Domain Lord in combat capability.
"By the way, there's one more thing," Du Lan Changwen said after a moment's consideration. "When you give him the Spark Coins, inquire whether he wants to sell the goods he's obtained. The items transported by the Fang Chamber of Commerce should all be specialties from Yaoguang City."
Elsewhere, Han Jue examined the objects before him with growing curiosity.
They were pitch-black stones, each one imbued with an extraordinarily rich aura of the fundamental Laws of Fire. The material composition seemed identical to the Spark Coins he'd already encountered.
"Spark Crystals?"
Han Jue's eyes lit up with recognition, remembering what he'd read in various reference texts. One Spark Crystal could be exchanged for ten thousand Spark Coins!
And spread before Han Jue lay thousands upon thousands of these Spark Crystals.
Tens of millions of Spark Coins!
His first mission at the Seven Flames Palace only required one million Spark Coins, and he'd already exceeded that requirement many times over. Han Jue hadn't expected to essentially rob someone's entire vault. No wonder Fang Hai had reacted with such explosive fury. Perhaps Han Jue had just seized most of the Chamber of Commerce's liquid assets?
Killing Kaihua earlier had only netted him a few hundred thousand Spark Coins. The Fang Chamber of Commerce was truly wealthy indeed.
After securing the Spark Crystals in his spatial storage, Han Jue pondered his next move carefully.
"Should I go to Yaoguang Main City?" Han Jue muttered to himself.
Yaoguang Main City was the only major metropolis within billions of kilometers. It housed trillions of people, where merely qualifying to survive within the city walls required at least Universe-level cultivation. Domain Lords were commonplace, and even Realm Lords could be found in considerable numbers.
Within the main city, there existed the possibility of purchasing a Sacred Flame Sparkle through specialized auctions. Typically, a Sacred Flame Sparkle cost billions of Spark Coins, and only Realm Lords or the Lords of prefecture cities were eligible to participate in such exclusive events.
"Forget it. Realm Lords are everywhere in the main city. Better to remain in the prefecture city and wait for the Star-Eating Grass to complete its advancement." Shaking his head, Han Jue abandoned his plan to venture to the main city.
He quickly set course back toward Wanqing Prefecture City. If nothing unexpected occurred, fighting would soon erupt, and he intended to be present for the confrontation.
Within Wanqing Prefecture City, the streets were filled with fully armed soldiers on patrol. From elevated positions, Domain Lord-level guard captains watched the surroundings with vigilant intensity.
"Father, will this really work?" Du Lanque wondered anxiously.
Even the Wanqing Guards, with their captains all ranked between first and third-level Domain Lord, couldn't possibly stand against the impending assault led by Fang Hai. She herself was the strongest among them at third-level Domain Lord, but that meant little against the overwhelming power their enemies would bring to bear.
Forget about Fang Hai himself, even the guards of the Fang Chamber of Commerce could potentially rival the Wanqing Guards in overall strength. The power disparity between a prefecture city and a main city simply existed on completely different scales.
The most obvious contrast was population. The prefecture city's permanent population typically hovered just above one hundred million inhabitants.
"It's fine. We're simply buying time anyway," Du Lan Changwen said with outward calm. "The Blood Orchid Vine and I should be able to hold off Fang Hai and Yu Jinchen long enough. As for the Yu family forces and the Chamber of Commerce guards, that responsibility falls to you."
"If circumstances become truly dire, we still have an escape route! The main family won't abandon us. We cannot die here."
"Understood!" Du Lanque's eyes filled with determination.
One couldn't place all their hopes on outsiders like Wu. Ultimately, they had to rely on their own strength.
"Bang!"
"Du Lan Changwen, come out and face me!"
Outside Wanqing City's walls, Fang Hai and Yu Jinchen had already arrived. A blazing cloud formation a thousand miles wide loomed over Wanqing City like divine judgment. Fang Hai, wielding a strange halberd-like weapon, towered over the city, his gaze penetrating down toward the City Lord's Mansion with murderous intent.
"Fang Hai, don't push your luck!" Du Lan Changwen clutched his whip as he soared into the air, unleashing his own Domain to confront Fang Hai's overwhelming presence.
Boom!
The two Domains collided with earth-shaking force!
The blazing cloud in the sky intensified dramatically. Du Lan Changwen's Wood Domain found itself naturally countered by Fang Hai's Fire Domain, and he struggled desperately to resist the encroachment of the flames threatening to consume his power entirely.
The clash of Domains caused countless casualties within the city below. As two peak Domain Lords engaged in combat, they paid no attention whatsoever to the "mortals" caught in the crossfire.
"Swish!"
A spatial rift instantaneously appeared behind Du Lan Changwen. In the next moment, the ground shattered, and an enormous vine erupted from beneath the earth, sweeping aside the hidden Yu Jinchen who'd attempted a surprise assassination.
Du Lan Changwen eyed Yu Jinchen with extreme wariness. The Yu family patriarch excelled at stealth and assassination techniques, lacking raw combat power but proving as irritating as a persistent fly. As long as Yu Jinchen remained concealed, Du Lan Changwen would be completely unable to detect him. Only when Yu Jinchen attacked would the Blood Orchid Vine's enhanced senses detect his presence and deflect the strike.
"Chairman Fang, focus on destroying the Blood Orchid Vine. I'll handle Du Lan Changwen personally," Yu Jinchen said with a cold smile.
Without the Blood Orchid Vine's protection, Yu Jinchen felt confident he could eliminate Du Lan Changwen through his superior assassination techniques.
"Agreed," Fang Hai replied without hesitation, raising his halberd and blasting at the Blood Orchid Vine with devastating fire techniques.
The Blood Orchid Vine wasn't a particularly powerful plant life form, it ranked a tier below specialized combat plants like the Moyu Vine. Each of Fang Hai's attacks was accompanied by explosive fire effects, his raging flames bombarding the vines and leaving charred trails across the crimson surface.
Du Lan Changwen's face contorted with fury as he maintained constant vigilance over his surroundings, perpetually anticipating a sudden attack from Yu Jinchen that could appear from any direction.
On the ground below, Du Lanque led the Wanqing Guards in fending off attacks from the Yu family forces and the guards brought by Fang Hai, while simultaneously attempting to rescue civilians caught in the crossfire.
In a battle between Domain Lords, the force released from each strike was sufficient to destroy large portions of the city! Even fighting at high altitude, the aftershock effects were more than these civilians, mostly Planetary and Stellar-level cultivators, could possibly withstand.
"Father..." Du Lanque clenched her fists as she watched the battle raging above.
A figure suddenly appeared before her, blocking her view of the aerial combat.
Du Lanque startled, then recognition flooded through her.
"Lord Wu?"
In that moment, Du Lanque's expression transformed into pure joy!
"Lord Wu, please help save my father!" Du Lanque cried out tearfully, the strain and fear she'd been suppressing finally breaking through.
In the battle above, Du Lan Changwen was clearly at a severe disadvantage, steadily being suppressed by Yu Jinchen's relentless assassination attempts. The Blood Orchid Vine was in even worse condition, nearly being burned to death by Fang Hai's overwhelming fire techniques.
Han Jue frowned slightly. Du Lan Changwen was such a disappointment, unable to even defeat someone one entire level below him in cultivation?
Did Du Lan Changwen possess any hidden trump cards?
As the lord of a prefecture city who'd come from the main Dulan family, Han Jue harbored deep suspicions. Du Lan Changwen possessed a Sacred Flame, and the billions of Spark Coins represented merely the equivalent of several centuries of tax revenue for the prefecture city. Surely he had additional resources at his disposal.
"This is the reward my father promised you!"
Seeing Han Jue's silence, Du Lanque quickly withdrew the Spark Coins her father had prepared and presented them with both hands.
"Very well," Han Jue accepted, storing them away with a slight nod. He then helped Du Lanque eliminate the nearby enemies threatening her position.
He glanced upward. If he didn't intervene soon, the Blood Orchid Vine would perish.
Regardless of whether Du Lan Changwen possessed hidden trump cards, Han Jue needed to obtain the final Void Emperor Token first.
Du Lan Changwen sweated profusely as he desperately evaded Yu Jinchen's unpredictable attacks. The assassination techniques left him unable to anticipate where the next strike would emerge from.
Did he really have to use that?
Du Lan Changwen glanced down at his daughter Du Lanque, reluctance filling his heart. If he used that forbidden technique, he would most likely die, but before his death, he could kill these two enemies and leave a substantial legacy for his daughter to build upon.
Fight!
Du Lan Changwen gritted his teeth and began igniting the Sacred Flame within his body!
"Swish!"
"It's you!"
A sword slash suddenly cut through the air, simultaneously attracting the attention of all three combatants.
Fang Hai, enraged beyond reason, slashed at Han Jue with his halberd, but couldn't even penetrate Han Jue's defenses.
Bang!
Han Jue extended a single finger, using [No Limit] to effortlessly block the attack.
"Didn't you eat breakfast?" Han Jue chuckled softly, his tone mocking.
"How is that possible?" Fang Hai instantly retreated a hundred meters, staring at Han Jue with shock and disbelief.
Even weaker Realm Lords wouldn't dare confront his attacks head-on like that!
Just how powerful was this mysterious person?
Yu Jinchen prepared to strike from concealment, but Han Jue's punch shattered his hiding space and seized him with one hand before he could react.
"Don't kill me! I'll give you anything you want, "
Yu Jinchen's face filled with terror, and before he could finish his desperate plea, he was instantly killed by Han Jue's crushing grip.
Blood splattered across the battlefield.
Han Jue located the Void Emperor Token within the spatial ring left behind by Yu Jinchen. Now, everything was finally complete. All three tokens were in his possession.
"Friend Wu... no, Master Wu." Du Lan Changwen forced a smile onto his face, not daring to meet Han Jue's gaze directly.
Are you kidding? Killing an eighth-level Domain Lord as easily as crushing a chicken? This person must be a Realm Lord!
How could a Realm Lord-level being venture into a place like the Land of Chaos? How had Que'er managed to lure such a terrifying figure here?
Du Lan Changwen cursed internally. How could a Realm Lord-level being like you compete with mere Domain Lords for the Void Emperor Treasury?
The moment Fang Hai witnessed Yu Jinchen's death, he turned and fled without hesitation, not daring to linger even for a moment.
Han Jue had no intention of pursuing. After all, Fang Hai would only serve as Du Lan Changwen's enemy in the future and had nothing to do with him personally.
Left behind were the dying Blood Orchid Vine and the half-crippled Du Lan Changwen.
"Du Lan City Lord," Han Jue said, smiling as he turned to face the exhausted man.
Du Lan Changwen was intimately familiar with that smile, he'd worn the same expression when speaking with Han Jue just the day before.
"That aura you just exuded, was it the Sacred Flame?" Han Jue asked with continued pleasantness, quietly approaching Du Lan Changwen.
Though it had lasted only a brief moment, Han Jue had still sensed it clearly. An aura of law fusion! However, it appeared to be the Wood-Space Sacred Flame, not the Water-Space Sacred Flame that would match Han Jue's own cultivation path.
Du Lan Changwen sighed internally, feeling profound unease settle into his bones.
"Master Wu, you know about the Sacred Flames. You should also understand their uses beyond simple cultivation enhancement, correct?" Du Lan Changwen asked, attempting to dissuade Han Jue from pursuing this line of inquiry.
His implication was clear: he would rather die than surrender the Sacred Flame.
Han Jue fell silent, contemplating. He wondered if his [No Limit] defensive technique could withstand a desperate strike from a peak Realm Lord.
Probably not. It could likely only withstand attacks from sixth or seventh-level Realm Lords at most. Anything higher would surely break through his defenses.
"Don't worry, Lord Du Lan," Han Jue said with a smile, patting Du Lan Changwen on the shoulder reassuringly. "Let's discuss how to divide the assets of the Fang Chamber of Commerce instead."
Fang Hai hadn't taken the merchandise with him when he fled. All that wealth remained behind, unclaimed.
Hearing this, Du Lan Changwen breathed a sigh of profound relief.
"Master Wu, those goods are your legitimate spoils of war. My Dulan family is willing to purchase them for one hundred million Spark Coins," Du Lan Changwen said with utmost sincerity.
The actual market value of the goods probably didn't reach that amount. Du Lan Changwen was deliberately overpaying to express his gratitude and maintain good relations.
Han Jue nodded in satisfaction. Du Lan Changwen certainly understood how to conduct business.
"Master Wu, the Void Emperor Treasury is located in Luowu Gorge. I'll have someone escort you there immediately," Du Lan Changwen offered, eager to send this dangerous individual on his way as quickly as possible.
"That won't be necessary," Han Jue said calmly. "Just provide me with the map."
Han Jue's true purpose in following Du Lanque to Wanqing City had been intelligence gathering. The Void Emperor Treasury was merely a side objective. Now that he'd collected sufficient information about the Seven Flames Palace, and although he hadn't witnessed the true power of a Sacred Flame firsthand, it was more than adequate for his purposes.
Han Jue planned to explore the main city next and find someone to exchange Spark Coins for a Sacred Flame if he couldn't obtain one in the Void Emperor Treasury.
Killing someone to obtain their Sacred Flame was extraordinarily difficult. Those who possessed them tended to value preservation over risk, and might even kill their attacker in the process of defending themselves.
However, killing someone to obtain Spark Coins was considerably easier to accomplish.
"Master Wu, here is a detailed map of Yaoguang Main City, as well as comprehensive and general maps of the Mirror Lake Divine Kingdom and the entire Land of Order."
Du Lan Changwen soon handed Han Jue the requested cartography.
It was time to depart.
The Land of Order was slightly smaller than the Land of Chaos, though not by a significant margin. The seven divine kingdoms divided the territory relatively equally, with each governing approximately dozens of main cities.
Han Jue's current location belonged to Yaoguang Main City, controlled by the Yaoguang Clan.
Luowu Gorge was a renowned dangerous location within Yaoguang Main City's sphere of influence. According to legend, it represented the remnants of an ancient battle between the Mirror Lake Saint and the Qiming Saint. The area experienced constant torrential rain and hurricanes, making it completely inaccessible to even ordinary Universe-level beings.
Some Domain Lords who cultivated the Origin Laws of Water and Wind proactively journeyed to Luowu Gorge for intensive training in those harsh conditions.
The Void Emperor had been a top-tier figure who emerged from Luowu Gorge's brutal environment. In cosmic terms, he'd been at minimum a Realm Lord recognized by the Origin Laws and a recipient of the Origin Spark bestowed by the Holy Spirits themselves. He'd once served as Lord of a Main City before his eventual demise.
Unfortunately, he'd ultimately perished in some conflict or disaster. Before his death, he'd placed all his accumulated wealth deep within Luowu Gorge, in a location known as the Void Emperor's Treasury.
"Want my treasures? If so, I'll give them all to you. Go find them! I've hidden everything in that place!"
The legendary declaration attributed to the Void Emperor before his death.
"But first, you must gather three Void Emperor Tokens."
Saying "three" wasn't entirely accurate. Before his death, the Void Emperor had created a total of one hundred and eight Void Emperor Tokens, distributing them to the thirty-six prefecture cities in Yaoguang Main City's southwest region.
Only by gathering all three Void Emperor Tokens from a single prefecture city could one be considered to have passed the Void Emperor's first test. In other words, Han Jue's collection of three Void Emperor Tokens merely granted him entry to the Void Emperor's Treasury.
He would then have to compete with others who'd also gathered complete sets of tokens for the treasures contained within.
"From Wanqing Prefecture City, it takes seven days to reach Luowu Gorge?" Han Jue muttered, gazing at the map.
Seven days in Seven Flames Palace time equaled roughly seventy days in Earth time.
"Hopefully there's a Sacred Flame source fire there, so my journey isn't wasted," Han Jue sighed.
If not, he'd have to resort to robbery to obtain one.
The sky above the Land of Order was protected by a special layer of rainbow light. Passing through the rainbow light tunnels led to the outer reaches of the Seven Flames Palace, the Land of Chaos.
This layer of rainbow light could be considered the zenith of the Land of Order, located approximately ten thousand kilometers above the ground surface.
At this moment, Han Jue was aboard an airship sponsored by Du Lan Changwen, flying at approximately eight thousand kilometers altitude, rapidly approaching Luowu Gorge.
This airship represented flying technology developed by the indigenous humans of the Seven Flames Palace. While only as fast as the lowest-class A-grade spacecraft from the wider universe, it represented a highly sophisticated technological achievement for these people.
From this elevated vantage point, Luowu Gorge appeared nestled among mountain ranges, a canyon stretching tens of millions of kilometers, tearing through layers of mountains and leaving a vast wound carved into the earth itself.
Shrouded in a veil of inky black mist, the canyon was only accessible from ground level. Anyone daring to enter from above would be torn apart by fierce winds hidden within the clouds and torrential rain.
Unless, unless one possessed the defensive capabilities of a Realm Lord.
Han Jue obviously possessed such capabilities, so he had no intention of slowly walking along the ground. Instead, he planned to descend directly to the canyon's depths where the Void Emperor Treasury was located.
Now, the region beneath his airship represented the center of Luowu Canyon.
"Another challenger? Universe level? Domain Lord level?"
Han Jue stored away his airship and passed through the layer of fog, descending into the canyon. There, he discovered several people already confronting one another in tense standoff.
One individual had a fierce expression on his face, dark red skin, and stared at Han Jue with distinctly unfriendly intent. It was obvious that the words just spoken had come from him.
"Rimuru," Han Jue called out silently through their mental connection.
"Master, the person who spoke is a first-level Realm Lord. The other four individuals consist of one ninth-level Domain Lord, two first-level Realm Lords, and the last person wearing a black mask is a second-level Realm Lord," Rimuru answered promptly.
The detector from Virtual Universe Company could accurately assess these people's strength levels.
"Very good," Han Jue nodded slightly.
This level of strength was insufficient to pose a genuine threat!