By the next day, the news that the Star God Palace's Five-Colored Treasure Pagoda—its most prized treasure—was about to open had indeed spread throughout Maple Forest City.
Countless warriors erupted in jubilant cheers, extolling the generosity of the Star God Palace. Only a handful of Dao Origin Realm powerhouses seethed with resentment. After all, this opening of the Five-Colored Treasure Pagoda had nothing to do with them.
In next to no time, the medicine shops, artifact stores, and various other establishments in Maple Forest City were packed to bursting.
The Five-Colored Treasure Pagoda would open in just two days, and the warriors naturally wanted to prepare thoroughly. They spared no expense on large quantities of spirit pills for recovery and survival. Some even gritted their teeth and splurged on artifacts they had previously been too reluctant to buy.
A craftsman must sharpen his tools before doing his work—every warrior understood this simple principle.
If they hoped to walk away from the Five-Colored Treasure Pagada with any gains and still leave in one piece, they needed to make far more thorough preparations.
Mo Xiaoqi had evidently received the news as well and was quite intrigued. She had even gone out of her way to contact Yang Kai through a Voice Pearl, arranging with him to enter the Five-Colored Treasure Pagoda together in two days' time.
Yang Kai agreed readily, though a small twinge of guilt stirred in his heart.
Mo Xiaoqi had come to inform him the moment she heard the news, yet he had known well in advance and had somehow forgotten to tell her.
She wanted to enter the Five-Colored Treasure Pagoda, and Yang Kai certainly wouldn't stop her.
The girl might be simple enough—even hopelessly naive, one might say—but she was a walking treasury, bristling like a hedgehog. In the Void King Realm, there was probably no one who could lay a finger on her.
Yang Kai continued devoting himself to refining pills.
Meanwhile, at the City Lord's Manor.
In a hidden chamber, a man and a woman sat cross-legged, facing each other from a distance of three zhang.
The man appeared to be around forty. His aura was deep and unfathomable, his features stern and commanding. He wore a black robe, and emblazoned across the chest was a striking emblem of a sky full of stars stitched in silver thread. Though the stars were merely embroidery, they looked utterly real—twinkling with a mysterious, wondrous glow.
A Silver Star Envoy!
The only one who dared wear this attire was a Silver Star Envoy of the Star God Palace. The silver-threaded emblem was their distinguishing mark.
Within the Star God Palace, the Star Envoys were divided into three tiers, ranked from highest to lowest: Gold Star Envoys, Silver Star Envoys, and Bronze Star Envoys. Even the lowest-ranked Bronze Star Envoys had to be at least first-level Emperors.
This middle-aged man who appeared to be around forty was a Silver Star Envoy, which meant his cultivation had already reached the second level of the Emperor Realm.
As for the legendary Gold Star Envoys—they were third-level Emperor Realm powerhouses!
Over the years, the Star God Palace had deployed Gold Star Envoys only a handful of times. Many ordinary Emperors had never even seen one. And in all of the Star God Palace, there were only three Gold Star Envoys. No one knew where they were or what they were doing.
Sitting across from this Silver Star Envoy was a young woman who appeared to be about twenty. Her eyes were bright and her teeth white, her features as beautiful as a painting. Her lustrous black hair fell straight and silky, and her clear gaze was like a pool of pristine water, without the slightest impurity. She wore a blue gown adorned with precious and intricate gems, each one no ordinary stone—every gem radiated its own peculiar wave of power.
She sat cross-legged with her delicate brows faintly furrowed, her aura fluctuating in fits and starts. From time to time, she resonated in subtle harmony with the laws of heaven and earth.
She was on the very verge of a breakthrough!
The woman's cultivation stood at the peak of the third level of the Void King Realm. If she broke through, she would naturally advance to the Dao Origin Realm.
"Your Highness, are you alright?" Though the man in his forties was a second-level Emperor, his tone remained deferential when addressing this Void King Realm woman—a clear indication that her status was far from ordinary.
The woman gave a light nod at his words. "I'm fine for now."
"Oh, Your Highness, you're too... willful!" The Silver Star Envoy's expression was one of pure exasperation. "You actually used a False Appearance Bead to deceive me, and I left the Star God Palace with you. When we get back, there's no escaping a severe reprimand from the Great Emperor."
The woman stuck out her tongue playfully. "Don't worry, Uncle Xiao. When the time comes, Xun'er will plead on your behalf. You're Father's old comrade-in-arms—he certainly won't truly punish you."
"You?" Xiao Yuyang shot Lan Xun a sidelong glance, relishing the moment with a schadenfreude grin. "You're barely managing to save yourself right now. What kind of plea could you possibly make for me? The Great Emperor has already declared—once you return to the Star God Palace, you're to be confined in isolation for ten years!"
"Ten years?!" Lan Xun cried out in alarm, wailing. "You might as well just kill me! It's so unbearably boring staying in the Palace all day—that's exactly why I wanted to come out and have some fun..."
"Then you could have at least picked a better time." Xiao Yuyang shook his head with the air of a man utterly helpless against her antics. "You clearly knew you were on the verge of breaking through. Why couldn't you just stay put in the Palace? Why did you have to take the risk of leaving?"
Lan Xun ducked her head at this, muttering, "I heard a Sacred Spirit had appeared, that's all. I've never seen one before, so I wanted to come and see the spectacle."
"You are the Great Emperor's daughter, a treasure worth ten thousand gold. Will you ever lack the chance to see a Sacred Spirit in the future? If all else fails, just have the Great Emperor take you to Dragon Island as a guest—it's filled with Sacred Spirits there."