Northern Yan Chapter 45: Aliens!

"Eh, isn't this the old banyan tree we saw when we first arrived in the secret realm?"

The two of them finally reached the location marked on the map as the site of the Five-Colored Divine Light, and before them stood that exact same old banyan tree. Mo Hao shook his head, wondering if he had made a mistake. He raised his hand, intending to touch the ancient tree, but upon seeing the scene beneath it, a chill instantly ran through his entire body.

Mo Hao hurriedly pulled his hand back, picked up a pebble from the ground, and tossed it forward. The moment the pebble touched the old banyan tree, it instantly turned into fine powder. Taking a sharp intake of breath, he realized how lucky he was not to have touched it; otherwise, he would have already lost an arm by now. He noticed that the ground beneath the old banyan tree was littered with the corpses of numerous ferocious beasts, all of which had been cleanly and evenly severed.

Liu Yue emerged from the Dragon-Awe Halberd, looking extremely puzzled. Even she had never witnessed such a sight. Her divine sense reached out toward the tree, yet nothing happened. Suddenly, Liu Yue thrust her hand directly into the trunk as if grasping something within, and she began pulling with all her might. Before long, she hauled out an item that resembled an iron chain.

The other end of the chain remained embedded deep within the banyan tree. The moment Mo Hao grasped the chain, he felt as though someone on the other end was locked in a tug-of-war with him. With a cold snort, Mo Hao circulated the Ocean-Overturning Art, exerting every ounce of his strength while channeling his spiritual power to reinforce his body, and managed to pull out another half-zhang of the chain.

Instantly, the banyan tree emitted a series of cracking sounds. Feeling the immense strain, Mo Hao hurriedly dropped the chain back. Liu Yue floated to the side, observing closely. However, apart from the cracking sounds, the banyan tree underwent no other changes. After searching the surrounding area and finding nothing, Liu Yue spoke up:

"Based on my speculation, the barrier of this old banyan tree has nothing to do with the place of the Five-Colored Divine Light; it feels more as though it was deliberately placed here. When we first entered this realm, we encountered this very banyan tree without suspecting a thing. Now, it seems this tree might be of great significance. However, our priority should still lie with whatever is inside the Five-Colored Divine Light."

Mo Hao nodded. He had only been able to pull out the chain with Liu Yue's assistance, and seeing Liu Yue's panting and breathless state, it was clear she had consumed a massive amount of energy. This matter would have to wait for later. With that, the two of them decided to leave the matter be and prepare to depart.

Just as they were about to leave, a crisp sound echoed from beneath the old banyan tree. Mo Hao turned his head and saw a stone-like object drop out from within the banyan tree. He walked over, picked it up, and discovered it was merely an ordinary stone, though it was engraved with some inscriptions. He casually tossed it to Liu Yue, who examined it repeatedly from all angles, even probing it with her divine sense, yet failed to detect anything unusual.

Mo Hao put it away and pushed it to the back of his mind.

Suddenly, the old banyan tree shot a beam of white light straight up into the sky, the dazzling radiance instantly piercing through and eclipsing the night sky. Mo Hao was startled out of his wits. After waiting for a moment, aside from this beam of light, no other changes occurred. Gradually losing his patience, the two of them finally gave up waiting and walked straight ahead.

When they arrived at a cavern, Mo Hao knew without even checking the map that this must be the location of the Five-Colored Divine Light. The Five-Colored Divine Light within his body was sensing a pull, drawing him toward the cave entrance, and the direction matched the cavern precisely. However, just as they approached the entrance, they heard voices conversing inside.

"It seems there's some movement outside!"

"What movement could there possibly be? You must be hallucinating from being frightened by that white light. Hurry up and take out the Divine Light Lamp."

"Why are you in such a rush? This Five-Colored Divine Light is terrifying. I heard it's a product born from the mutual generation of the Five Elements. Who knows if this Divine Light Lamp will even work?"

"Well, why don't you take it out and try?"

Hearing the two discussing the Five-Colored Divine Light, Mo Hao concealed his presence to the side. He wanted to see what these two were up to!

He saw one of them produce a Dharma artifact resembling an oil lamp. Channeling his spiritual power into the artifact, the man casually placed the lamp right against the barrier of the Five-Colored Divine Light. The Five-Colored Divine Light suddenly seemed to possess a will of its own, flowing slowly toward the lamp like a stream of water. Mo Hao felt a jolt of shock in his heart—this lamp was actually capable of summoning and drawing in the Five-Colored Divine Light!

To Mo Hao's astonishment, although the Five-Colored Divine Light initially flowed gently toward the lamp, it suddenly turned extremely violent, churning up and down. With a single strike, it shattered the lamp into fine powder. The man holding the lamp let out a miserable scream as his arm began to fester and rot as if infested by worms. Seeing this horrific scene, the second man, with a resolute gaze and a short axe in hand, raised his hand and brought the axe down, severing his companion's arm. Moments later, the severed arm dissolved into a puddle of bloody water.

Mo Hao had not expected the power of the Five-Colored Divine Light to be so formidable. He had previously used it only to test a stone, which instantly disintegrated from the inside out, but he hadn't imagined it could inflict such devastating injuries on a cultivator. In his heart, he could not help but admire Liu Yue; the fact that she had been able to suppress the Five-Colored Divine Light inside Liu Chi back then was truly no small feat.

Even more unexpected, however, was that a brand-new arm began to sprout from the severed-armed man's wound. The man turned ashen-faced and collapsed limply to the side, looking as though he had exhausted every drop of his spiritual power.

"The Celestial Star Clan! They are cultivators of the Celestial Star Clan!"

Liu Yue suddenly blurted out. Naturally, Mo Hao had never heard of any Celestial Star Clan. Judging by their attire, these cultivators looked no different from those of Cold Wind Ridge. With so many Cold Wind Ridge cultivators having entered this place, and their appearances being indistinguishable from human mortals, how could they possibly belong to the Celestial Star Clan?

A whirl of confusion filled Mo Hao's mind, and he heard Liu Yue say:

"To think that Cold Wind Ridge would actually recruit members of the Celestial Star Clan as disciples—they have truly committed an unforgivable offense against the world! This is going to get interesting!"

Mo Hao asked, "Recruited by Cold Wind Ridge? But from what I can see, they look completely like disguised Cold Wind Ridge cultivators!"

"Why is it that whenever a crucial matter arises, you do nothing but question, question, question? Can't you use your brain for once? Cold Wind Ridge's recruitment is extremely strict. If two Foundation Establishment-stage Celestial Star Clan members managed to sneak in, then I'd say those Golden Core cultivators of Cold Wind Ridge might as well go shovel manure! Even if they did sneak in, do you really think this Mist Fog Secret Realm is a place anyone can enter without rigorous screening?"

Mo Hao rolled his eyes. True enough, Mo Hao was still green to the ways of the world, but since he had managed to capture a thousand-year-old great demoness, it would be foolish of him not to ask:

"Who are you calling an old turtle? I suppose you're just a millennium-old monster yourself! Anyway, what on earth is this Celestial Star Clan?"

"Who are you calling a turtle! I think you've been disciplined a little too lightly lately. As for the Celestial Star Clan, there's no benefit in telling you right now; when the time comes, you'll naturally find out. If you make it out alive this time, you only need to report this news to your master, and he will naturally explain it to you!"

Ever since Mo Hao and Liu Yue triggered the radiance of the old banyan tree, the phenomenon was visible not only throughout the entire Mist Fog Secret Realm, but even outside it, where the white light pierced straight through the illusion array and shot up into the nine heavens.

Meng Xin stood beside an immortal-looking elder, both of them gazing at the white beam of light. Meng Xin asked, "Master, what is this white light? Could it be that some unexpected variable has occurred within?"

The elder was none other than Jiang Jianfeng. Jiang Jianfeng's eyes gleamed with sharpness, though a hint of worry laced his expression:

"The Hall of Timely Seasons has opened! Alas! I only hope Mo Hao hasn't happened to wander into this place!"

Inside the secret realm, the two Celestial Star Clan members stood hesitating and frustrated after their Divine Light Lamp was destroyed by the Five-Colored Divine Light. They had borrowed the divine lamp solely to acquire the treasures hidden within the Five-Colored Divine Light, yet now they had lost both their asset and gained nothing. Exchanging glances, they realized that with the divine lamp destroyed, there was truly no way for them to enter the Five-Colored Divine Light to claim the treasures. After a brief discussion, they prepared to walk out of the cavern.

Watching the two leave empty-handed, Mo Hao's eyes were filled with mockery. What did these two take the Five-Colored Divine Light for? Even Liu Yue, who possessed the cultivation of the Nascent Soul realm, had no way of dealing with it and could only suppress the divine light inside Liu Chi—nothing more.

Seeing that the two were about to exit the cavern, Mo Hao hurriedly employed the Tortoise Breathing Technique to conceal himself, leaving not the slightest trace. After the two men had walked out and departed some distance, and only after Liu Yue used her divine sense to confirm they were far away, did Mo Hao snap out of his suspended state. He let out a long sigh of relief. He really had been worried about being discovered by these two alien cultivators. Regardless of whether they were truly members of the Celestial Star Clan or mere Cold Wind Ridge cultivators, Mo Hao had no desire to fight them. That seductive-looking male cultivator had only been defeated because of a sneak attack; had they engaged in a head-on clash, who knew how many rounds it would take to decide the victor.

Liu Yue emerged from the side, looking at the Five-Colored Divine Light with eager anticipation. Just because those two Celestial Star Clan members couldn't get in didn't mean that she and Mo Hao couldn't. Formidable though the Five-Colored Divine Light was, in the hands of Mo Hao—who practiced the Heaven-Defying Divine Art—it flowed as gently as water.

Mo Hao retrieved a small bundle of array flags from his cosmos sack and set up several killing arrays in a cave corner not far behind the Five-Colored Divine Light. Though their destructive power was limited, they were more than enough to serve as an early warning system. Seeing Mo Hao act with such caution, Liu Yue could not help mocking him from behind:

"I say, why must you go to such lengths? Do you not trust my divine sense? Everything within a radius of hundreds of miles is completely under my control. Why are you such a coward?"

"Hmph! Caution is the parent of safety!"

With that, Mo Hao paid her no more heed. Turning around, he walked straight up to the curtain of the Five-Colored Divine Light, sat down cross-legged, and began circulating the Heaven-Defying Divine Art. Though the amount of the Five-Colored Divine Light here was not massive, if he could absorb it, it would provide an enormous boost to his cultivation of the Heaven-Defying Divine Art.

Half a day later, Mo Hao collapsed in front of the light curtain, drenched in sweat. He gritted his teeth and complained, "After half a day of effort, I've only refined a palm-sized portion of the Five-Colored Divine Light. At this rate, when am I ever going to finish practicing this?"

Just as Mo Hao finished speaking, he abruptly sensed that the killing array he had set up behind him had been triggered. However, the array he had laid down was broken through almost instantly. Greatly alarmed, Mo Hao hurriedly used the Qingyuan Art to restore his spiritual power so as to cope with whatever situation was unfolding behind him.

Mo Hao hastily asked Liu Yue what she had discovered. Liu Yue answered in a puzzled tone, "I didn't detect anything at all!"

"Could those two Celestial Star Clan members have returned?"

"Impossible. Those two are dozens of miles away. I just scanned the area with my divine sense a moment ago, and they are still dozens of miles away!"

Before the two could ponder further, two figures stepped through the killing array Mo Hao had set up. Mo Hao's pupils constricted as he looked at them—sure enough, it was the two Celestial Star Clan members, who had returned without making a sound.

The two Celestial Star Clan members sneered, fixing Mo Hao with mocking gazes.

"Weren't the two of you dozens of miles away?"

"Hmph, as expected. You actually knew the distance we had traveled away. To be honest with you, the moment you entered this cave, the two of us knew you were here. Moreover, any cultivator who walks straight in like you did must naturally have a method to breach this Five-Colored Divine Light barrier. There should be a senior in a divine soul state residing within you, right? Senior, please come out and show yourself!"

Realizing that her existence had been uncovered, Liu Yue drifted out into the open.

"How did the two of you evade my divine sense? Your acting skills are truly not bad at all!"

"Senior flatters us. We merely used a pair of substitute puppets; we never expected it would actually fool Senior!"

"I'm afraid the two of you must be carrying a soul-anchoring item of some sort; otherwise, how could you possibly have escaped my detection?"

The two men merely smiled and offered no reply.

Mo Hao felt himself at an impasse. At this moment, only two choices lay before him: either fight to the death with the two opponents with all his might, or step directly into the Five-Colored Divine Light, gambling that the two of them could do nothing to him. Yet the most awkward part was that Mo Hao had to choose one of these two paths, and he had no confidence in succeeding in either. Still, Mo Hao felt fortunate that he had set up the killing array; otherwise, he wouldn't even have known that the two had snuck up behind him.

Seeing Mo Hao hesitating and unable to make a decision, the two alien cultivators spoke up:

"Kid, I won't make things difficult for you. First, break open this Five-Colored Divine Light. As for the treasures behind the light curtain, we will only take one; the rest will all be yours. That way, we'll go our separate ways afterwards. How about it?"

Mo Hao cursed inwardly, *Do they really take me for a fool? If they held the upper hand, would they offer me such generous terms? They must think I'm an idiot!*

Just as Mo Hao was preparing to choose the first option and fight them to the death, Liu Yue suddenly sent him a voice transmission: "Listen to them. I have my own way!"

Mo Hao nodded inwardly. Outwardly, however, he began pretending to follow the two aliens' demands and started dismantling the Five-Colored Divine Light, while mentally tuning in to Liu Yue's strategy.

Liu Yue instructed Mo Hao to first channel the Five-Colored Divine Light within his body to surround his entire frame, then summon his defensive spiritual barrier, and finally condense the surrounding five-colored light onto that barrier, using it to absorb the five-colored light present in the light curtain to flood his own body.

Mo Hao followed her instructions. Seeing him cooperate so willingly, the two alien cultivators were, on one hand, amazed by his compliance, and on the other, astounded that he actually possessed the ability to absorb the Five-Colored Divine Light. The more they watched, the more incredible they found it, clucking their tongues in wonder.

Three days flashed by in the blink of an eye. The two alien cultivators furrowed their brows in deep annoyance. Seeing that Mo Hao had only managed to refine a fist-sized portion of the Five-Colored Divine Light, they began to grow anxious; after all, they could not afford to waste the majority of their time in the Mist Fog Secret Realm at this single spot.

Mo Hao was anxious as well, but upon hearing Liu Yue say "that's enough," his heart finally settled. According to Liu Yue, since these two possessed a soul-anchoring item, her divine soul attacks would be considerably weakened, especially since her physical body was destroyed and she could not use her divine soul power arbitrarily at the moment.

Following Liu Yue's instructions, Mo Hao wrapped the Five-Colored Divine Light around his body and propped up his protective spiritual barrier.

"Senior Liu, when do we make our move?"

"I told you not to call me Senior. Wait a moment. Based on my observations over the past few days, this Five-Colored Divine Light is at its weakest during the alternation between day and night. There is still a quarter of an hour left—stall those two alien cultivators first so they don't grow suspicious!"

On the other side, seeing Mo Hao erect his protective spiritual barrier, the two alien cultivators exchanged glances and retreated backwards. Believing that Mo Hao was about to unleash some grand technique, out of caution they exercised extreme care. However, noticing that Mo Hao merely raised his barrier and made no further major moves, they could not help but question him:

"Kid, what are you up to?"

"The two fellow cultivators, please remain calm and patient. I am now using this method to fully assimilate the Five-Colored Divine Light, after which I will use it to open a gateway of light for the two of you. That way, the three of us can naturally enter and seize the treasures."

Hearing that there was hope, the two alien cultivators perked up. The three days of waiting had truly been somewhat tedious for them, though they secretly sneered to themselves, thinking it sheer wishful thinking for this brat to imagine he could enter together with them.

Just as Mo Hao was still chattering away, Liu Yue suddenly let out a fierce roar:

"Stop wasting breath! The time has come—go in!"