Joe Di extended his divine sense, attempting to penetrate the jade coffin and check if the breathtakingly beautiful woman inside still had any trace of life. At that moment, Zachary Zhai sensed Joe Di's presence. He suddenly looked up, his own divine sense sweeping abruptly toward the entrance of the great hall.
Knowing that Zachary Zhai had discovered him, Joe Di no longer bothered to hide.
"Who are you?" Zachary Zhai demanded harshly, his voice filled with suspicion. He was astonished—how had this young man managed to arrive here?
Although he had lured away the guardian fiend beasts, ordinary people still could not reach the entrance of this cave mansion.
Joe Di ignored Zachary Zhai. He stepped into the great hall, heading straight toward the jade coffin at its center.
Seeing Joe Di approach the jade coffin, Zachary Zhai stretched out his hand, and his flying sword transformed into a sword light that swept directly toward Joe Di. At the same time, he reached for the jade coffin—his actions made it clear to Joe Di that Zachary Zhai feared his strength, so he wanted to secure the coffin first.
There was only this one jade coffin in the great hall. No matter who the woman inside was, Zachary Zhai thought it best to take it first.
With a casual swing of his kitchen knife, Joe Di drew a blade mark that sent Zachary Zhai's flying sword hurtling away. The sword did not even return to Zachary Zhai's hand, instead falling to the floor of the great hall.
With just a single test, Joe Di realized that Zachary Zhai was leagues beneath him. This guy could only wield a flying sword, lacking any true techniques or sword arts. To think he could kill Joe Di with just that—what a joke.
His flying sword was so easily knocked away by Joe Di that Zachary Zhai was momentarily stunned. Before he could react, the entire great hall began to tremble violently.
Boom! Both Joe Di and Zachary Zhai stared in shock at the entrance of the grand hall where they had just come in—the entrance had vanished without a trace.
With a cry, Zachary Zhai was sent flying, crashing into one of the stone pillars inside the hall.
Joe Di saw that one of Zachary Zhai's hands had disappeared—the very hand he had just placed on the jade coffin.
Zachary Zhai stared in horror at his severed arm. He had intended to put the jade coffin into his storage bag, but the moment his hand touched the coffin, the entrance suddenly sealed shut. Then a stabbing pain shot through his arm, a powerful force flung him away, and when he regained his senses, his hand and wrist were completely gone.
Joe Di paid Zachary Zhai little mind—Zachary's strength was far inferior to his own. He looked up at the massive night pearl at the top of the hall; after the entrance was sealed, all the light came from this luminous orb.
"Who are you?" Zachary Zhai asked again, his tone now tinged with fear, having realized Joe Di's strength far surpassed his own.
Joe Di stepped in front of Zachary Zhai and said coolly, "Zachary Zhai, you're truly ruthless. You actually lured all the fiend beasts here to Celestia Grand Plaza. Do you realize how many innocent people will die because of this?"
Zachary Zhai quietly reached for his storage bag, but Joe Di kicked him hard.
Zachary Zhai flew like a sandbag, smashed against the newly sealed entrance of the grand hall.
Boom! As Zachary Zhai hit the entrance, streaks of killing light erupted. In the next instant, he was shredded to pieces like a rag by the murderous rays.
Joe Di sucked in a cold breath. This was a killing formation so advanced he couldn't even discern its level. If he attacked, a savage wave of killing intent would rebound instantly. With his current cultivation, facing such murderous force would mean certain death.
Earlier, when the grand hall was sealed, he hadn't cared much. He thought it would just take a few more swings of his cleaver. Now, he realized how naive he'd been.
Joe Di's gaze once again fell on the jade coffin in the center of the hall, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart. Maybe he really was trapped here.
He had just escaped from a tree hollow, and now, in the blink of an eye, he was trapped in a mysterious grand hall.
...
Celestia Grand Plaza's defensive walls were ten zhang wide, but now they were riddled with craters from the fiend beasts' onslaught. The deepest pits were two or three zhang across. If not for the walls being forged from top-grade steel sinew, they'd have been smashed open long ago.
On top of the walls, fiend beasts were slain one after another, yet people inside Celestia Grand Plaza were still devoured or fell to their deaths.
The entire stretch of defensive wall was stained with blood, a grisly tableau of carnage.
Covered in blood, Zeng Dongling shouted hoarsely, "Did anyone pick up what Zachary Zhai threw in here earlier? What was it?"
A martial academy instructor with disheveled hair rushed over, clutching a bundle. "Dean, it's the corpse of a small monkey."
The instructor's bundle was indeed a small monkey's corpse, but it was so tiny, its fur a pale yellow.
"I understand now." Zeng Dongling cleaved a wolf fiend off the wall with a single stroke, then grabbed the monkey corpse and shouted, "I'll lure these fiend beasts away! Everyone, do not let a single beast break into the plaza!"
With those words, Zeng Dongling swung his blade several more times, then leaped straight down from the wall.
The city wall was nearly a hundred meters high; anyone else would have fallen to their death. Zeng Dongling, however, tapped his toes against the edge several times and landed safely on the ground.
Almost the moment Zeng Dongling touched down, countless fiend beasts charged at him in a frenzy.
Zeng Dongling didn't pause; he immediately chose a direction and sprinted away at full speed.
Among the beast horde, a towering golden demon monkey pounded its chest repeatedly when it saw Zeng Dongling flee, then roared and chased after him.
As the golden demon monkey gave chase, nearly all the fiend beasts followed suit.
The once-perilous defensive walls of Celestia Grand Plaza suddenly fell silent. Only the lingering stench of blood and countless corpses remained, grim reminders of the recent, terrifying battle between man and beast.
Fan Wenxing, missing an arm, spoke with lingering dread, "I understand now. Zachary Zhai must have killed the golden demon monkey's offspring, luring all these fiend beasts to attack our plaza. If not for Dean Zeng Dongling, we would have been overrun and all of us..."
Though the atmosphere in Celestia Grand Plaza had been tense and contentious, not a single council elder stood up to oppose Fan Wenxing at this time.
"But why would Zachary Zhai do such a thing?" someone asked.
No one could answer that question, though everyone desperately wanted to know.
Yu Jie gazed in the direction where Zeng Dongling had vanished, her heart devoid of any joy from stepping into the Innate Realm. Only now did she truly understand: to these rampaging fiend beasts, even Innate—or Heaven-tier—cultivators were as insignificant as ants.
Zeng Dongling was a good dean, but he could only save Celestia Grand Plaza this once. These fiend beasts would come again, and it wouldn't be long before a second or even a third wave arrived...
The first attack might require a reason; the second and third would need none at all.
Fan Wenxing looked at the somber crowd, his gaze sweeping over the countless corpses before he finally spoke, "In the name of the Earth Federation's Secretary-General, I hereby issue a special order: from this moment on, any martial academy student from any university on Earth may enter Celestia. Even those who are not martial academy students, as long as their strength meets a certain standard, may enter Celestia as well."
For the Celestia trials, anyone may freely enter or leave—there will be no further restrictions. Dean Zeng Dongling of Celestia Martial Academy lured the fiend beasts away to protect our plaza. The academy cannot be without a dean; until Dean Zeng Dongling returns, Vice Dean Wu Cheng will act as dean in his stead."
Fan Wenxing also knew that this rampage from the fiend beasts would not be the last; the second and third waves would come soon enough. Wu Cheng's previous worries had now become reality. For the moment, the fiend beasts had only attacked Celestia Grand Plaza, but it was only a matter of time before they targeted Earth itself...
As Secretary-General of the Earth Federation, Fan Wenxing held the authority to issue one special order each year. However, if more than seventy percent of the council elders opposed it, the order would be revoked.
Though the atmosphere in Celestia Grand Plaza had been tense and contentious, not a single council elder stood up to oppose Fan Wenxing at this time.
...
Joe Di had circled the grand hall more than twenty times, inspecting nearly every corner. In the end, he could only conclude—there was no way out.
Aside from thirty-four towering stone pillars, the hall contained only a single jade coffin. Though there was still spiritual energy here, he had nothing to eat; if he remained trapped for long, he would starve to death.
Joe Di felt a pang of regret. He should have taken Zachary Zhai's storage bag before kicking him away. Who could have known the killing formation in this grand hall was so terrifying—not only did it pulverize Zachary Zhai's bones, but the storage bag was nowhere to be found, likely destroyed as well.
"Tree Brother, I'm trapped here. Do you have any ideas?" Joe Di called out, though he doubted the little tree spirit would have any solutions. Still, he had no choice but to ask.
"Is this Skystar Palace?" Tree Brother blurted out, almost unconsciously, not bothering to correct Joe Di for not using his name.
"What is Skystar Palace?" Joe Di asked.
Tree Brother replied hurriedly, "I inherited some memories from that closed-off fallen cultivator. Skystar Palace seems extremely mysterious; many have searched for it. I don't know exactly what makes it so special, but I do know Skystar Palace has thirty-six enormous Skystar Pillars..."
Joe Di realized there was little else to ask. If Tree Brother could identify Skystar Palace, that was impressive enough. "You're right—there are thirty-six Skystar Pillars here, with two outside. We're trapped inside and can't get out. If we're stuck for too long, we may starve to death."
Tree Brother answered weakly, "Big Brother, I won't starve. I can absorb spiritual energy to survive."
Joe Di spoke with a hint of bitterness, "So you're saying I'll be the one to starve to death?"