Chapter 272: Chapter 144: Like a Demon Lord Descending from the Heavens, a True Tai Sui God on Earth

"Is that the gateway to the Star Sea Secret Vault?"

On the top floor of the lavishly decorated Drunken Immortal Tower at Crescent Lake Shore, a devil-may-care figure was gazing flippantly into the distance. He watched as the boundless starlight poured down, casting shimmering reflections upon the lake’s surface.

Aligning with some profound mystery of the heavens and earth, the silver light slowly converged at the heart of the lake. It gradually formed the faint outline of a gate of light, its doors flowing with ancient star patterns that seemed to hold the secrets of the eternal Star River.

After him, a slightly more serious voice spoke up.

"That’s right. The Star Sea Secret Vault here is located in a special plane of existence. It can only open at a specific time, when starlight and moonlight reflect upon the water’s surface. The reason it wasn’t discovered for tens of thousands of years is because Crescent Lake had dried up completely. Later, Prince Qinghe had a new lake dug here, which is how this Treasure Vault was found."

At this, the figure who looked like a youth but carried himself with the maturity of an elder chuckled and shook his head. "Prince Qinghe’s luck is truly something else... Also, the gateway won’t open today. It still needs another day or two to fully stabilize."

"It needs a specific time and a reflection on the water... The All Heaven Stars Sect was truly worthy of being an ancient super-sect. Their methods are incredible." At this, the flippant and devil-may-care youth suddenly changed the subject. "However, compared to the All Heaven Stars Sect and this blasted Secret Vault, I’m far more interested in Zhong Ming."

"Even though those so-called True Disciples of the sect are easily defeated by my hand, a whole group of them together can still cause me some trouble." Tapping his fingers on the railing, a glint of excitement flashed in Qin Zhou’s eyes.

"But Zhong Ming... he actually suppressed the sects by himself to the point where they had to ask us for help. HAHAHA, interesting. Truly interesting!"

This youth, named Qin Zhou, was the very Daoist the six Major Sects had specially summoned from their own sect to deal with Zhong Ming.

Now, after mentioning how Zhong Ming had single-handedly overpowered six Major Sects, he didn’t show the slightest hint of annoyance. Instead, a smile of excitement and anticipation spread across his face.

After his laughter died down, he turned to look at the group of True Disciples seated below him. For the first time, a serious expression appeared on his face as he asked, "Zhong Ming... is he really as strong as you all say?"

His casual attitude when mentioning Zhong Ming, and the way he was being fawned over by the group of True Disciples, had already made his identity clear.

However, even with him standing right there, the group of True Disciples who had arrived earlier still showed looks of lingering fear as they faced his question.

"Very strong!" The one who spoke was Lin Kong of the Void Moon Sect. With a sharp temperament and being from the same sect as Qin Zhou, his words were the most direct. "I’ve lost to you before, but the pressure you gave me was nowhere near as great as Zhong Ming’s."

This statement was practically saying outright that Qin Zhou was inferior to Zhong Ming. And yet, it didn’t anger Qin Zhou in the slightest. Instead, it made his smile grow even wider.

"HAHAHA, that just makes things more interesting... However, Lin Kong, our last fight was a month and a half ago. You don’t really think I’ve made zero progress this past month, do you?"

Sweeping his gaze over everyone in the room, Qin Zhou’s voice still carried its usual flippancy, yet it was laced with an undeniable pressure. "This month, with the sect’s assistance, I completed a secret ritual and comprehended a powerful Magic Technique. As I am now, I can outright kill a Foundation Establishment cultivator who hasn’t even begun the Refinement of Sha Qi!"

As he uttered the two words "outright kill," an invisible Sha Qi suddenly filled the air. Everyone in the room felt their hearts tighten as a strange sense of dread washed over them.

This peculiar feeling made everyone aware of how dangerous he was, and they became more convinced that he could indeed fight Zhong Ming.

And Qin Zhou, evidently, thought so too.

Lifting his gaze to the distance, he spoke with confident arrogance, "If we encounter Zhong Ming in the Star Sea Secret Vault, none of you need to make a move. He is my opponent, and I alone am more than enough!"

His confident words left everyone staring at each other, at a loss for what to say. Just then, the mature-faced youth frowned and spoke again. "Qin Zhou, it’s fine if you want to face Zhong Ming alone. But the outcome of this battle concerns the plans of our several Major Sects. We cannot afford to lose."

This earned a "Tch!" from Qin Zhou. "Wei Zhong Mountain, you really are the most boring person I know."

After saying this, Qin Zhou shrugged again. "Besides, I never said it had to be that way the whole time. I’ll just handle the first fight. After I have a fair duel with Zhong Ming, you all can do whatever you want."

"Although, I doubt you’ll get the chance. There’s no way I’ll lose to Zhong Ming!"

Since Qin Zhou wasn’t planning to obstruct their subsequent plans, Wei Zhong Mountain didn’t object too strongly to his idea of a fair fight with Zhong Ming.

However, he didn’t make the decision just yet. Instead, he turned his gaze to a woman sitting quietly to the side.

The young woman had a cold expression, as if her mind was wandering among the stars, utterly indifferent to everything around her.

But Wei Zhong Mountain didn’t dare to be careless with her.

"Fairy Ruan Shi, I wonder what your thoughts are?"

This question pulled the young woman named Ruan Shi from her ’daze.’ But her next words made Qin Zhou, Wei Zhong Mountain, and all the True Disciples in the room raise their eyebrows.

"Do as you please. You can all do whatever you want. In the end, I will make my move and resolve everything."

"..."

This single sentence left everyone in the room speechless. The True Disciples, in particular, felt their scalps tingle with shock.