Chapter 33: Outer Alien Planet

Zhai Tian Xing is extremely close to the edge of the Tianhua Mars Region, so close that it seems within reach—hence its name.
On Zhai Tian Xing’s Yingxian Island, Qu Yi led 43 team members out of the space teleportation array, rented an inn, and they all settled in together, showing no urgency to head to the Tianhua Mars Region right away.
The 43 team members seemed to think Qu Yi had no intention of completing the Taiyuan Gate’s mission. As soon as they arrived at Zhai Tian Xing, they went to the inn to rest, as if waiting for someone.
Qu Yi didn’t explain anything. After entering the inn room, he immediately set up a spiritual confinement barrier and then entered the Cunjie Ball.
Once inside the Cunjie Ball, Qu Yi lay down on a soft chair by the lake.
The Artifact God, who resembled a corpse lying like a baby, opened its eyes and said with a smile, “Qu Yi, are you waiting for the Meng Zhan and Gui Ning teams to arrive, as well as those experts from the Guangyuan Gate?”
Qu Yi closed his eyes and smiled. “Artifact God, sometimes I’m amazed at my luck. When I went to theMagic Poison Region Star Region, the Guangyuan Gate sent people over and gave me several Yuan Ying, allowing me to reach the mid-stage of Fen Shen. Now that my soul realm has reached the late stage of Fen Shen and I need Yuan Ying, the Guangyuan Gate sends people to attack me. Sigh, the Guangyuan Gate—maybe it should be renamed the ‘Ying Send Gate’.”
The Artifact God giggled and laughed loudly, “That’s true. That’s a great name. The people from the Guangyuan Gate probably don’t know that their five experts at the He Ti stage are following you, thinking you haven’t noticed at all.”
At this point, Qu Yi’s soul realm had reached the late stage of Fen Shen, so the Artifact God’s spiritual perception range had also reached the late stage of Dou Jie. All cultivators below the Dou Jie stage couldn’t hide from the Artifact God’s detection, which meant they couldn’t hide from Qu Yi either.
Qu Yi pursed his lips and then sighed, saying, “It’s a pity. Among the five experts sent by the Guangyuan Gate at the He Ti stage, only two are in the early He Ti stage. One practices a metal-based cultivation method, and the other practices an earth-based one. Only their two Yuan Ying can be used by me for now. The other three Yuan Ying at the mid-stage of He Ti can only be utilized later.”
To advance from the mid-stage to the late stage of Fen Shen, Qu Yi could devour 50 Yuan Ying at the late stage of Fen Shen or 5 Yuan Ying at the early stage of He Ti. However, he still didn’t have the ability to devour those at the mid-stage of He Ti, as it would burst his own Yuan Ying.
The Artifact God turned over and looked at Qu Yi with disdain, laughing scornfully, “Qu Yi, others are personally sending you Yuan Ying, yet you still pick and choose. You’re really picky.”
Qu Yi laughed heartily.
……

Not long after Qu Yi transported 43 of his team members to Zhai Tian Xing, five elders from the Guang Yuan Sect followed and arrived via teleportation as well. These five elders did not stay on Ying Xian Island but immediately flew into the sky and rushed into the starry realm, quickly teleporting to a border planet in the Tian Huo Xing region, which was close to Zhai Tian Xing. The planets in the Tian Huo Xing region were divided into three zones: the core zone, which contained only three planets named Tian Yi Xing, Tian Er Xing, and Tian San Xing; the inner zone, numbered from Nei Yi Xing to Nei Bai Xing; and the outer zone, numbered from Wai Yi Xing to Wai Jiu Bai Xing. The border planet closest to Zhai Tian Xing was Wai Yi Xing. After arriving at Wai Yi Xing, the five elders from the Guang Yuan Sect flew to the other side of the planet, near a lava lake filled with boiling lava, and set up an invisibility formation before waiting patiently for Qu Yi to arrive. On Wai Yi Xing, as it was a border planet in the Tian Huo Xing region, not many bursts of celestial fire descended from the sky. Only occasionally would a hundred-meter-wide burst of celestial fire appear, and as long as cultivators were careful, they would generally not be burned to death. However, due to the accumulation of fire energy from these descending bursts, the planet was extremely hot, resulting in some unique landforms. The lava lake where the five elders hid was one such peculiar landform. Over an area of tens of thousands of miles, the ground was covered in fiery red rocks and soil, with huge lava-filled “lakes” appearing every few hundred meters. There were no fewer than ten thousand such lava lakes in this vast area, a sight truly astonishing. After hiding, the five elders immediately sent messages to Meng Zhan and Gui Ning. Meng Zhan and Gui Ning, along with their own team members, were staying on Ying Xian Island on one of the planets. Upon receiving the messages, they promptly transported 50 team members each to Ying Xian Island on Zhai Tian Xing. It didn’t take long for the team members sent by Meng Zhan and Gui Ning to find out where Qu Yi’s group was staying, and they then arrived outside the inn. “Captain Li Mu, it’s me, Meng Zhan, along with Gui Ning. Can we come out and talk?” Meng Zhan called out loudly from outside the inn. Soon, Qu Yi appeared and landed in front of Meng Zhan and Gui Ning. “Meng Zhan, Gui Ning, since you’re here, please come inside the inn to talk,” Qu Yi said with a friendly smile.

Meng Zhan and Gui Ning were somewhat unaccustomed to Qu Yi’s polite gesture of inviting them to go first. In the past, the three of them had always confronted each other directly, showing no courtesy to one another.
“Alright, let’s go to the inn first,” Meng Zhan said with a smile, then followed Qu Yi into the inn.
The three team leaders sat down with smiles on their faces.
Qu Yi glanced at the two of them and said, “Meng Zhan, Gui Ning, why have you come here together? What do you want to talk to me about?”
At this moment, Qu Yi wanted to find out from them how they planned to deal with him.
Meng Zhan replied with a smile, “Li Mu, although there have been unpleasant incidents between us, this time it’s a matter of great importance for our Taiyuan Gate. I think we should put the bigger picture first and work together to complete this task. But with our three teams combined, who should be the leader among us three team leaders?”
After hearing this, Qu Yi immediately said, “Of course it’s me! Can you two really defeat me?”
Anger flashed in Meng Zhan and Gui Ning’s eyes, but they quickly calmed down and looked at Qu Yi awkwardly.
Gui Ning then took over the conversation and said with a smile, “Li Mu, what Meng Zhan said is just polite talk. As you know, we’re all team leaders, and none of us wants to be controlled by others. Therefore, I think it’s better if we all lead together, with everything decided through discussion among the three of us.”
Upon hearing this, a smile appeared on Qu Yi’s lips. It sounded reasonable, but since Meng Zhan and Gui Ning were in a league, their opinions would surely dominate during discussions.
“Let’s not discuss this proposal for now. Our three teams can work together to complete this task, and the members can live together regularly. But each of our teams should still be under our own control, and no one should interfere with the others. Let’s discuss when to leave Zhai Tianxing and head to the Tianhuo Star Region instead,” Qu Yi said with a smile.
Meng Zhan and Gui Ning looked pleased. It seemed their earlier conversation was just a lead-in; what they had been hoping for was exactly what Qu Yi had just said.
“Li Mu, when do you want to set off?” Meng Zhan asked calmly.
Qu Yi glanced at the two of them and said, “We can set off right now!”
Meng Zhan and Gui Ning nodded slightly and said in unison, “Okay. I’ll go inform my team members right away.”
Qu Yi also immediately called for a gathering, and soon the 43 members in the inn flew out one by one. Qu Yi led his team members out of the inn and joined those from Meng Zhan’s and Gui Ning’s teams.

“Set off!” Qu Yi, Meng Zhan, and Gui Ning exchanged glances before giving the order simultaneously.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Over a hundred figures immediately rose into the air and soon reached the starry expanse, heading toward the outer star together.
All of these people were at the Divination stage, and it didn’t take much time for them to traverse this not-so-distant starfield. In less than fifteen minutes, they arrived on the outer star.
Where they landed was a region of thick rocky mountains—no lava, no hot soil, and no signs of celestial fire. This was also where cultivators from the cultivation world landed when arriving on the outer star.
Qu Yi, Meng Zhan, and Gui Ning gathered again, sent out their spiritual senses to scan the surroundings, and then began discussing.
“Meng Zhan, Gui Ning, according to the task given to us by Chief Commander Liang Kui, we only need to set up spatial teleportation arrays on this planet. So, we should now find a safe place—one free from celestial fire—where we can install our Taiyuan Gate’s spatial teleportation arrays,” Qu Yi said with a smile.
Indeed, these three enforcement teams served as vanguard units to set up spatial teleportation arrays for the elders who would follow. This way, those elders at the Convergence stage could immediately use the spatial teleportation arrays to go straight to Tian Er Star or Tian San Star.
Meng Zhan and Gui Ning smiled, then Meng Zhan replied, “Alright, then the three of us will go deep into the outer star to find a secret location to set up our Taiyuan Gate’s spatial teleportation array.”
Qu Yi nodded smilingly and then ordered the forty-three team members to stay put and not wander elsewhere. Meng Zhan and Gui Ning also gave orders to their own team members to stay with Qu Yi’s team.
Soon, Qu Yi, Meng Zhan, and Gui Ning flew in three different directions, each searching for a location to install the spatial teleportation arrays.
……
After flying tens of thousands of miles, Qu Yi entered the Inch Realm Sphere, which turned into a clump of red soil and landed on the ground.
“Qu Yi, what’s wrong? Aren’t you going to look for a place to install the spatial teleportation array?” The Artifact God asked jokingly from the soft chair.
“No need. Meng Zhan and Gui Ning must be going to contact those five people from Guangyuan Gate now. They’re probably discussing how to ambush me. I’ll wait inside the Inch Realm Sphere for three days and then return,” Qu Yi said casually as he sat down on the soft chair with a smile.
The Artifact God chuckled and fell silent.

At this moment, Wuyuan, the Golden Qilin, and the Illusory Butterfly were engaged in a fierce battle on the lake’s surface. All three monstrous beasts were in the early stages of merging, and within the Dimensional Sphere, their only task was to practice their attack skills, master their spells, and further understand the characteristics of various energies. Sometimes Wuyuan and the Golden Qilin clashed with full force; other times, Wuyuan flew up to the Illusory Butterfly to launch a surprise attack; yet at other times, it had to withstand the combined assault from both the Golden Qilin and the Illusory Butterfly. The entire lake was constantly stirred by massive waves caused by their energy attacks. The Golden Qilin and the Illusory Butterfly had now become companions, and during such battles, they would never attack each other but instead work together to fight Wuyuan. Fortunately, Wuyuan had strong physical defenses and fast speed, so it was rarely hit, and even if hit, it didn’t suffer serious damage. Seeing the three monstrous beasts fighting fiercely, Qu Yi couldn’t help but shout, “Wuyuan, Golden Qilin, Illusory Butterfly, stop for now.” Sure enough, at his command, the three beasts immediately ceased fighting and flew to the shore, standing across from Qu Yi. “Uuuu, Qu Yi, what good news do you have?” Wuyuan shook its dragon head, its dragon eyes shining. “Master, is there a fight coming up?” the Golden Qilin asked eagerly, already holding its staff. The Illusory Butterfly stood gracefully on the ground, smiling at Qu Yi. “You guessed right. If my estimate is correct, there will be a fight in a few days. Oh, and it’s against the Guangyuan Gate. They’re old friends anyway, so don’t hold back when you fight them,” Qu Yi said with a smile. Uuuu! Roar! Meow! Hearing this, Wuyuan, the Golden Qilin, and the Illusory Butterfly were overjoyed, their eyes gleaming as they longed to go fight right away. … Three days later, Qu Yi emerged from the Dimensional Sphere and immediately flew toward the Red Stone Mountains. Meng Zhan and Gui Ning had already returned and were anxiously looking around, as if waiting for Qu Yi’s return. “Captain Meng Zhan, Captain Gui Ning, I’m back. I’m sorry for making you wait,” Qu Yi’s voice reached them from the air. Although his relationship with these two wasn’t good, he still had to be polite in front of the team members and avoid showing any conflict, so he added “Captain” after their names to make it seem more friendly. “Haha, Captain Li Mu, we’re finally glad to see you back,” Meng Zhan and Gui Ning replied in unison. Soon after, Qu Yi landed in front of them.

“Captain Meng Zhan, Captain Gui Ning, I’ve traveled to distant places and found nothing but craters and lava fields everywhere. There are also constant falls of celestial fire, and I haven’t encountered a single safe location for setting up a space transmission array. I wonder if you two have found a good spot?” Qu Yi spoke first with a smile.
Over these three days, Qu Yi had been focusing on strengthening his soul realm and preparing to receive the Three-Element Dao Array that the God of Receivers intended to teach him, so he hadn’t bothered searching for a place to set up a space transmission array. Hearing this, Meng Zhan and Gui Ning didn’t even think to doubt him.
“Is that so? I was quite lucky and found a good spot,” Meng Zhan said with a smile.
Qu Yi immediately replied, “You’ve already found it? Then I need to take a look first before deciding whether to set up a space transmission array there.”
Hearing this, Meng Zhan and Gui Ning were overjoyed. Qu Yi actually wanted to go check it himself, which perfectly matched their ambush plan for the Guangyuan Gate.
“Great, I’ll show you!” Meng Zhan said with a smile right away.