Chapter 143

Chapter 143: Letting It All Out

“Go on,” Zhi Xing Xue pressed. “What did he do that made you come here personally?”

Zhi Shu bowed, choosing her words carefully. “He disrupted Lockwalk Space’s cultivation order. If this continues, the quality of the cultivators Lockwalk Space provides will decline, and it will affect the Star-Cloud Battlefield.”

Zhi Xing Xue stared at her.

Then laughed.

Zhi Shu’s face tightened. “Great-Aunt Ancestor… what are you laughing at?”

Zhi Xing Xue’s laughter turned sharp with mockery. “Are you telling me a Ten Seals brat can affect the Star-Cloud Battlefield?”

Zhi Shu opened her mouth, then closed it again.

She didn’t believe for a moment that this old monster didn’t know what was going on. She was simply pretending not to hear.

Otherwise, why would Wang Jie dare to throw her name around so boldly?

And it was all because the Four Alliances were useless. They couldn’t even suppress one Ten Seals cultivator.

“So Great-Aunt Ancestor won’t handle it?” Zhi Shu asked, voice strained.

“How should I handle it?” Zhi Xing Xue shot back. “Tell him not to bully those Full-Star Realm cultivators in Lockwalk Space?”

“Tell him those Full-Star Realm might have higher realms, but they’re nowhere near his Ten Seals strength?”

“Tell him this is what a powerhouse from Black-White Heaven’s refining grounds looks like?”

Zhi Xing Xue’s eyes flashed. “No. The ones who should be told aren’t him.”

She leaned forward. “They’re the Zhi family old ancestors—the two Realm Lords of the Black Realm and White Realm.”

Her voice turned vicious. “Billions of cultivators in Lockwalk Space can’t suppress a single Ten Seals brat from Frostglow Sect.”

“What are you good for? Besides choking resources, what else do you do?”

Zhi Shu’s face went ugly. Without another word, she turned and left.

Zhi Xing Xue watched her go, and satisfaction settled in her bones.

Behind her, an old crone chuckled. “Master finally got to let it all out.”

Zhi Xing Xue laughed again, softer this time. “That little brat did well. He actually forced that girl to come complain to me.”

“Yes,” the old crone said, then frowned. “But this will anger the Zhi Qing behind her. Can Wang Jie endure it?”

Zhi Xing Xue’s expression sobered. “Even Zhi Qing won’t dare openly break the rules. The tricks she can play from the shadows are limited.”

She sighed. “It depends on his fate. I can’t promise him much… but if he survives this, I’ll find a way to lift him up.”

The old crone shook her head. “It’s a pity he’s a lockforce cultivator.”

Zhi Xing Xue didn’t disagree. That was his greatest weakness.

But she truly had no one else she could use.

Back in Lockwalk Space, Wu Yun contacted Zong Cheng Ping directly, skipping all intermediaries.

“Zong Cheng Ping,” Wu Yun said, voice cold with fury. “Kill Wang Jie. I don’t care what method you use or what price you pay. Kill him. You must kill him.”

Zong Cheng Ping’s reply was bitter. “I have fought him. I cannot win.”

“If I could, I would have dealt with him in Yi Sword Heaven long ago.”

“You’re the top Full-Star Realm in Lockwalk Space,” Wu Yun snapped. “And you can’t beat a Ten Seals from Frostglow Sect?”

Her contempt sharpened. “That’s not Black-White Heaven Ten Seals. Do you hear yourself?”

Zong Cheng Ping didn’t argue. “Forgive me, Steward. I am willing to die for you. But I cannot do what I cannot do, even if I die.”

“If I lie and promise, I will only delay your plans.”

“Trash,” Wu Yun spat.

Zong Cheng Ping stayed silent.

He was Xiao Rong’s disciple, yes. But Xiao Rong was only a Roaming-Star Realm lockforce cultivator who had earned some merit on the Star-Cloud Battlefield. Before a sect Steward, that backing meant little.

A moment later, Wu Yun contacted him again.

“I have already instructed Lie Qiu, the Feng brothers, Nie Zhou, and the five from Lone Peak Gorge to cooperate with you.”

Her voice cut like a blade. “Ten Full-Star Realm in total. If you still can’t kill Wang Jie, you don’t need to live.”

The call ended.

Zong Cheng Ping sat frozen.

So that was the truth.

All this time, they’d believed the Four Alliances and Lone Peak Gorge had different backers. That belief had been given to them by those above.

But now he understood: if Wu Yun could command them like this, it meant their “different” backers all led to the same hand—or the same force.

He smiled bitterly.

Top Full-Star Realm. Four Alliances. Masters of Lockwalk Space.

They were nothing more than ants under someone else’s foot.

They didn’t even know who they truly served.

Zong Cheng Ping looked into the starry sky.

Ten Full-Star Realm hunting one Ten Seals—had anything like it ever happened before?

If they still failed, they would truly be finished.

The heavens had been angered.

“Seal off Yi Sword Heaven,” Zong Cheng Ping ordered immediately. “No ship is to approach.”

“Contact Miao Tai at once.”

“Prepare the ship. I’m going to Lone Peak Gorge.”

Orders flew out one after another.

First, he needed to cut off Wang Jie’s ability to flee to Yi Sword Heaven—prevent him from using that place to threaten Lockwalk Space again.

Then he would gather Lie Qiu and the others and forge a plan.

Against Wang Jie, he needed a single strike that killed.

If it failed, there would be no second chance.

“I hope you don’t blame me,” Zong Cheng Ping murmured. “If you must blame someone… blame yourself for going too far.”

Ten Seals were not something you could deepen to heaven-reversal in one or two tries.

Even with enough calamity materials, it took time.

Three full months passed.

Wang Jie managed to deepen only three imprints to heaven-reversal.

Looking at that darkness—so deep it seemed to swallow light—he felt Star-Breaking Realm drifting farther away with every step.

The deeper Ten Seals became, the harder they were to break.

Heaven-reversal was unquestionably the deepest Ten Seals in history.

He still had enough calamity materials to push two more imprints to heaven-reversal.

After resting, Wang Jie checked his personal terminal.

Miao Tai had tried to contact him multiple times.

Wang Jie considered, then called back.

“Lord,” Miao Tai said immediately, relief in his voice, “you finally answered.”

“What is it?”

“Zong Cheng Ping has joined forces with the Four Alliances and Lone Peak Gorge—ten Full-Star Realm in total. They’re forcing me to find your location so they can surround and kill you.”

Wang Jie wasn’t surprised. It meant the hand behind the Four Alliances had finally moved.

He hadn’t expected such complete unity, though.

Ten Full-Star Realm.

A lot.

“How did you answer them?”

Miao Tai kept his voice careful. “I said I’d report your location once I knew it.”

Then he rushed on, anxious. “Lord, ten is the minimum. There are other Full-Star Realm cultivators in Lockwalk Space. They may join as well.”

“You should avoid this. Lie low.”

His voice dropped. “Honestly… if you had killed Lie Qiu and the others back then, you wouldn’t have ended up in this danger.”

Kill them?

Wang Jie didn’t regret sparing them.

He wasn’t a butcher. He wasn’t the kind who killed anyone he had conflict with.

The world shifted. Enemies could become allies—or remain enemies.

This time, it was simply bad luck.

The people behind the Four Alliances and Lone Peak Gorge didn’t fear Zhi Xing Xue, and they were willing to unite.

Wang Jie thought for a moment, then said quietly, “Tell them I’m on Heaven-Condensing Star.”

Heaven-Condensing Star was a gravity planet. Unlike Deepweight Star, its gravity was uniform—one hundred times everywhere. Not too high, not too low. Exactly within what Full-Star Realm could endure.

When Wang Jie chose a place for seclusion, gravity planets were safest.

The higher, the better.

Ideally near two hundred—so even Full-Star Realm couldn’t come in force.

Miao Tai went still. “Lord… if they confirm you’re on Heaven-Condensing Star, they may not fight. They may simply destroy the planet. Then you’ll be trapped.”

Wang Jie’s eyes narrowed. Miao Tai was right.

He could plan to counter-hunt them, but they didn’t have to play his game. Destroying a planet was faster than anything.

One Heaven-Condensing Star, ten, a hundred—those people could ruin them all without blinking.

“Then tell me,” Wang Jie said, “what place absolutely cannot be destroyed?”

Miao Tai blurted it out. “Lone Peak Gorge. It’s the entrance to Yi Sword Heaven.”

“The star regions connect there. It’s forbidden to target the region itself with an attack. If the entrance collapses, Yi Sword Heaven is affected.”

“And Lone Peak Gorge is huge. Even a Full-Star Realm would struggle to destroy it.”

Wang Jie’s voice was calm. “Then tell them I’m at Lone Peak Gorge.”

Miao Tai hesitated. “Lord… are you sure you want to fight them?”

Wang Jie didn’t answer. He ended the call.

And set out.

The Four Alliances and Lone Peak Gorge uniting meant all of Lockwalk Space had become a hunting ground. If he tried to hide, he’d be pinned and suffocated. He couldn’t accept that.

And he couldn’t disgrace Elder Zhi Xing Xue by cowering like a turtle.

This had to end.

His conflict with Zong Cheng Ping in Yi Sword Heaven had been one thing.

This was different.

As for Miao Tai, the man spoke half-truths. He didn’t want to offend the Four Alliances, and he didn’t want to offend Wang Jie.

Both sides were using him to set the battlefield.

Wang Jie didn’t fear a complete betrayal. Miao Tai knew who Wang Jie’s backing was. A man like that always left himself an escape route.

Elsewhere, Miao Tai contacted Zong Cheng Ping.

“Senior,” he said, “I reached Wang Jie.”

“Where?”

“Lone Peak Gorge.”

Zong Cheng Ping paused. “He’s at Lone Peak Gorge?”

“Yes. He knows Lone Peak Gorge can’t be destroyed, and he fears having nowhere to stand.”

Zong Cheng Ping fell silent, then asked, “Exact position.”

Miao Tai sighed. “He didn’t say. He wouldn’t tell me.”

“After arriving at Lone Peak Gorge, he separated from me.”

Zong Cheng Ping’s voice turned icy. “Miao Tai, you understand fence-sitters don’t end well, yes?”

“I understand,” Miao Tai said quickly. “Senior, rest assured. If I confirm his exact location, I will report it immediately.”

The call ended.

Miao Tai lowered his arm and stared into the starry sky.

He didn’t want to be a fence-sitter.

But what choice did he have?

Fate wasn’t in his hands.

Truthfully, he hoped Wang Jie would win. If Wang Jie won, Lockwalk Space would be reshuffled, and Miao Tai might gain more.

And compared to the Four Alliances and Lone Peak Gorge, Wang Jie was… strangely easier to deal with.

Lone Peak Gorge was vast, tied to the entrance of Yi Sword Heaven. Stars connected there; regions stretched together into a massive expanse.

Wang Jie landed his ship at the bottom of a lake, then stepped out. In the distance lay the planetary city where Fu An lived.

The hunt began.

With his appearance altered, Wang Jie walked through lively streets where voices and footsteps overlapped into a roar.

He swept his gaze over the crowd, reading aura after aura.

The truly strong could conceal themselves—but here, they couldn’t. They didn’t know how.

Before long, he found one.

Less than a kilometer from Fu An’s residence, a man sat on a bridge, fishing leisurely.

A Full-Star Realm.

Wang Jie’s eyes shifted, searching again.

Two more—playing chess.

One Full-Star Realm after another appeared to his Qi Sight.

But they were strangers.

So the number wasn’t only ten.

He knew almost everyone among the Four Alliances and Lone Peak Gorge.

These people, he did not.

They were gathered here to hunt him.

For now, they hadn’t confirmed his position, which was why they clustered around the area.

If Miao Tai hadn’t fully betrayed him, they likely didn’t know that Wang Jie had come to hunt them instead.

Especially not here.

Lie Qiu and the rest still hadn’t been located.

Qi Sight wasn’t true sight through walls. If they hid indoors or behind cover, he couldn’t see them.

Since he was being hunted, he would kill the most dangerous first.

Zong Cheng Ping couldn’t be killed in one strike.

Then it would be Nie Zhou… or Lie Qiu.