Chapter 482: This Is Biyue Continent

Lu Chao’s eyes snapped open at the sound. Standing at the entrance of the tree hollow was a middle-aged man with disheveled hair, his entire appearance a mess. He was dressed in the uniform of a Yan Soul Guard.

And on his shoulder, he carried a piece of wood.

He froze on the spot. It was the first Yan Soul Guard who had gone mad. He had actually made it out of the Illusion Array alive, too.

"Answer me! Why are there two Lu Chaos?"

The mad Yan Soul Guard pointed wildly at Lu Chao, his expression promising a fight to the death if he didn’t get an answer.

’He’s completely lost his mind...’

Taking a shallow breath, Lu Chao rose and stepped out of the tree hollow. He then said softly, "Although we are mortal enemies, you were just following orders. I’ll send you on your way. I’ll make it quick."

As he spoke, Lu Chao killed the mad Yan Soul Guard before him with a single slash of his Sword.

The man was just a walking corpse, and he wouldn’t have lived much longer anyway.

After the Yan Soul Guard’s death, Lu Chao was reminded of his earlier dream. But he had calmed down and forced himself not to touch those deep-seated memories again. It would only cause him to pass out from the pain.

At his current realm, he was still unable to break the restriction placed upon his mind.

But he could clearly remember the contents of the dream.

He slowly walked out of the tree hollow, muttering to himself, "This Yan Soul Guard must have been sent out directly by the master of the Blood Bone. That means Lu Dingtian was likely sent out too."

"Lu Dingtian..."

"I only just found out that the Violent Bone originally belonged to my brother. The Fire Roaring and the Water Chant Bone... he gave them all to me. So, even if you weren’t thrown out, even if I have to enter that Illusion Array again, I will take it back."

His words were resolute.

His desire to retrieve the Violent Bone was stronger than ever.

Even though he couldn’t remember his brother’s name, whenever Lu Chao recalled the slender figure from his dream, his heart ached unbearably, and he felt an overwhelming urge to cry out.

That was his brother—the brother who had protected him and kept him from dying.

That was the feeling of true family, not the pretense, deception, and heartless cruelty of Lu Dingtian’s family.

His fists clenched tightly. Lu Chao surveyed his surroundings once more, steeled his emotions, and prepared to find the way back to the Great Wu Empire.

But just then... SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

Suddenly, a flurry of movement echoed from deep within the old forest, the sounds growing closer and closer.

Before Lu Chao could react, figures flashed into view in front of the tree hollow, their powerful auras instantly causing his expression to harden as he went on high alert.

The next moment, he saw dozens of figures land.

These dozens of figures were all dressed in dark blue Martial Arts Uniforms. To Lu Chao’s astonishment, every single one of them was at the Creation Realm.

Lu Chao’s eyes widened in an instant. ’So many Creation Realm experts... Has the Azure Flame Domain fallen?’

What else could the sudden appearance of so many Creation Realm experts in the Nether Spring Mountain Range mean, if not the fall of the Azure Flame Domain?

Before Lu Chao could react... THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

Heavy footsteps rang out as a middle-aged man with a formidable aura stepped out from the crowd.

He glanced at Lu Chao, then at the corpse of the Yan Soul Guard at his feet, and spoke in a cold voice...

"Kid, what sect are you from? How dare you casually kill someone who made it out of the Nether Spring Illusion Array alive."

"Don’t you know how valuable people who survive the Nether Spring Illusion Array are?"

As this powerful middle-aged man appeared, Lu Chao’s gaze grew vacant. This was definitely an expert Above the Creation Realm.

And his aura seemed no weaker than Mo Jing’s.

’What’s going on? Has the general leading the attack on the Azure Flame Domain been replaced? Is it not Yan Mu anymore?’

"And who are you?" Lu Chao didn’t answer, unable to stop himself from asking a question of his own.

Pfft...

A young woman behind the middle-aged man let out a small, derisive laugh and replied arrogantly, "Can’t you tell from our uniforms? We are, of course, from the Qianjian Sect of Rising Moon City."

As her words fell, Lu Chao was completely dumbfounded. Rising Moon City? Qianjian Sect? He had never heard of either.

"Wait a minute..."

’Don’t tell me I’ve crossed the entire Nether Spring Mountain Range... Was I thrown by that Blood Bone all the way to the Biyue Continent recorded in the Azure Flame Treasure Manual?’

At that moment, Lu Chao recalled the records in the Azure Flame Treasure Manual...

Past the Nether Spring Mountain Range lay the Biyue Continent, and from there, one could travel directly to the Green Bone Palace. However, not even the Green Bone Palace had been able to crack the Nether Spring Illusion Array, which was why, two hundred years ago, the Azure Flame Sect had to take a long detour to reach it.

The being inside the Blood Bone hadn’t thrown them back toward the Azure Flame Domain, but toward the Biyue Continent instead.

Mouth agape, Lu Chao thought, speechless, ’I’m afraid I really will have to go through the Nether Spring Illusion Array one more time.’

To return to the Azure Flame Domain, he either had to take a long detour from Biyue Continent through the Cyan Sword Great Empire, or cross back through the Nether Spring Mountain Range.

"What? Scared by the name of our Qianjian Sect?"

"Hmph, gaping like that won’t do you any good. You recklessly killed someone who came out of the Illusion Array. Our Qianjian Sect finally managed to find one, and now all that’s left is a corpse."

"If you cause us to lose the competition in Rising Moon City, you will be held responsible."

The young woman behind the expert Above the Creation Realm spoke, her face grim.

All the surrounding members of the Qianjian Sect glared fiercely at Lu Chao.

The middle-aged man Above the Creation Realm asked again, "Who are you, and what sect are you from? State your name now."

Looking at the members of the Qianjian Sect and their cold gazes, Lu Chao composed himself slightly and replied softly, "If I said I came from the other side of the Nether Spring Mountain Range, and that I also just came out of the Illusion Array, would you believe me?"

As soon as he said this, the members of the Qianjian Sect looked at one another, clear disbelief in their eyes.

"Master Tian, this person is very suspicious," the young woman from before said. "He doesn’t even dare to name his sect. He was probably sent by one of the other sects."

"He’s just here to cause trouble for us. I say we capture him and interrogate him."

The young woman pointed at Lu Chao, shouting sharply.

The others nodded, and Master Tian, the middle-aged man Above the Creation Realm, agreed. "Capture and bind him for now. After we regroup with your Eldest Martial Sister, we’ll let her decide his fate."

With that, he gave Lu Chao no more chances to speak, simply waving his people forward.

Lu Chao could only smile wryly.

’So I really am on the Biyue Continent. And of course, no one believes that I came from the other side of the Nether Spring Mountain Range.’

Watching the members of the Qianjian Sect rush toward him...

Lu Chao held up a hand. "Don’t bother. I’m only at the Peak Realm. Do you really think I could escape from all of you?"

The members of the Qianjian Sect stopped at his words. After briefly assessing Lu Chao’s realm, they halted their advance and looked to Master Tian. The older man said coolly, "Tying him up would be a hassle. A few of you just watch him."

As far as the Qianjian Sect was concerned, a mere Peak Realm cultivator like Lu Chao had no chance of escaping, so they didn’t bother to bind him.

「Next...」

Lu Chao had no choice but to follow them. As they left, he saw them drag away the corpse of the mad Yan Soul Guard. It seemed some kind of competition was underway in Rising Moon City, for which even the bodies of those who emerged from the Illusion Array were of some use.