Chapter 903: Planting the Flag

“Old rules. We’ll begin by drawing lots.” The expert from Shanyang Academy kept it brief. “Once those at the Golden Immortal Extreme Realm enter, they will directly descend into the crimson region and not interfere in other disputes.

“The remaining four major regions—gray, white, gold, and purple—are roughly divided into hundreds of sectors. Every sector within each region is more or less identical.

“I hope everyone can grasp this rare opportunity.” He paused before adding, “The top immortal sects and first-tier factions will take the gold and purple regions, while the rest will take the gray and white regions. Who wants to go first?”

“Celestial Sword Mountain will go first.”

An old man in azure robes stepped forward. He exuded an immortal aura and appeared incredibly gentle. If one didn’t know his identity, it would be truly hard to associate him with Celestial Sword Mountain.

His Sword Dao had likely reached the pinnacle of perfection.

SWISH!

The azure-robed expert casually tapped a star in the purple region. The next moment, the star shattered. Light enveloped the surrounding area and transformed into a symbol: Purple Region, Sector Six. This represented Sector Six within the purple region.

“Then I’ll be second,” the old man from Shanyang Academy said with a smile.

No one objected. The drawing of lots was entirely random, and there wasn’t much difference between the sectors anyway. Furthermore, they could still compete with each other in the later stages.

The old man from Shanyang Academy shattered a star, claiming Sector Two of the purple region. Subsequently, experts from the top immortal sects and first-tier factions stepped forward one after another to draw their lots.

Xu Yang kept his eyes on Hongtian Prefecture. They drew Sector Nine of the purple region, which was already surrounded by sectors occupied by other teams. This caused him to frown.

Heaven’s Edge Pavilion ranked high among the first-tier factions. There were still quite a few sectors left in the purple region. When it was Heaven’s Edge Pavilion’s turn, Cang Feng looked at Xu Yang instead.

“Are they letting me go?” Xu Yang thought to himself. He hesitated for a moment before stepping forward. Now that he was in the Eastern Continent, there was no need to worry too much.

“Xu Yang is coming out to draw.”

“Everyone else has top experts stepping forward, but Heaven’s Edge Pavilion sends out a junior? Hmph, trying to be special.”

“It would be best if this guy draws a sector right next to the Vajra Sect or Canglan River’s teams. Then there’d be a good show to watch.”

Xu Yang ignored the chatter, his expression solemn as he stared at the stars in the purple region.

Although it was purely based on luck, it wouldn’t be a good thing if he actually drew a sector bordering the Vajra Sect and Canglan River as some had hoped. Even though he possessed the Ten Thousand Poisonous Sacred Silkworm and numerous poison-based methods, it would be difficult to look after the entire team and control the broader situation. Besides, the initial phase of the exploration should prioritize development. Being neighbors with those two factions would likely mean no peace from the very beginning.

Many experts watched him with great interest.

SWISH!

Xu Yang pointed his finger.

SWISH!

A star shattered, and motes of light rapidly squirmed to carve out a sector.

Purple Region, Sector Eleven.

There was no good news. One piece of bad news was that they were separated from Hongtian Prefecture. The other piece of bad news was that they were directly adjacent to the Great Yu Kingdom.

Xu Yang still remembered Chen Yingchuan’s warning. The Great Yu Kingdom was one of the teams targeting Hongtian Prefecture.

The expressions of the Great Yu Kingdom cultivators shifted as they looked on with playful mockery. Jiang Yue Long and Situ Ke were both somewhat disappointed, though it could have been worse.

Xu Yang sighed and slowly stepped back.

The drawing continued. Not long after, it was completely finished. The vast majority of the four major regions—gray, white, gold, and purple—had been carved up. Claiming territory for exploration was just the first step. As for the final outcome, they would naturally have to adapt once inside. When it was time to strike, no one would show any mercy. Opportunities had to be snatched.

Right at that moment, Xu Yang was suddenly taken aback. He saw Hong Yichuan walk over to a first-tier faction’s team and exchange a few words. Then, on the light screen, the sectors assigned to the two factions slowly swapped places.

Hongtian Prefecture, which was originally separated from them, was suddenly adjacent to Heaven’s Edge Pavilion.

Seeing this scene, many people exchanged blank glances. They clearly hadn’t expected Hong Yichuan to pull such a move, making his alliance with Heaven’s Edge Pavilion completely undisguised.

“Doesn’t he know that the more he does this, the more intensely he’ll be targeted?”

“Being so open about it isn’t a good thing. Heaven’s Edge Pavilion is obviously much weaker.”

“However, even if he tried to cooperate with other top immortal sects, no one would probably pay him any mind.”

“Don’t underestimate Hongtian Prefecture, either. The Grotto Heaven Guard was likely prepared specifically for the Starfall Immortal Ruins, and they are quite astonishing.”

“This is actually a good thing,” Xu Yang said, his face lighting up with joy.

This way, being right next to Hongtian Prefecture meant they could look out for each other if any accidents occurred. Most importantly, if anyone came looking for trouble, they wouldn’t be divided, making it the perfect setup to catch them all in one fell swoop. Most poison-based methods had extremely wide areas of effect.

Watching the cultivators from the Vajra Sect, Canglan River, and Great Yu Kingdom reveal mocking and smug expressions, Xu Yang sneered inwardly. “Laugh while you can. Let’s see if you can still laugh when the fighting starts.”

At this moment, the expert from Shanyang Academy waved his sleeve.

The light screen shattered, and the stars disintegrated. Command flags condensed into existence and flew to the front of each faction’s team. Every flag emanated an astonishing aura, possessing the might of a high-grade Tier 3 artifact, and bore the branded name of its respective faction.

“Hold this command flag to govern our Heaven-Suppressing Region. And use the flag’s aura to demarcate the borders,” Chen Yingchuan said in a deep voice.

At the same time, Golden Immortal Extreme Realm experts flew out from the teams of the major factions, standing in the void and looking up at the starry vault.

“Act!”

As the old man from Shanyang Academy’s shout fell, nearly a hundred Golden Immortal Extreme Realm experts attacked simultaneously. They displayed their Divine Techniques, sending tides of rainbow light surging like raging rivers to tear through the void and sink into a certain spot in the boundless starry vault.

BOOM!

Xu Yang felt a wave of daze. It was as if he saw a star shatter, immediately followed by an earth-shattering burst of brilliant starlight that expanded at a visible rate, like a star undergoing destruction and subsequent revival.

WHOOSH!!

When the cluster of light swelled to the point of almost covering the entire cloud layer, he could finally make it out clearly. Inside was a twisted vortex, faintly emitting a vast, gloomy, and ancient aura.

Clearly, this was the entrance to the Starfall Immortal Ruins. It was actually hidden among the stars in the firmament.

“Move out!”

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

Team after team soared into the sky and vanished into the vortex. In just a short moment, not a single person remained above the clouds. Only the magnificent cluster of light hung suspended, stagnant as if frozen solid. It remained completely motionless, not emitting even the slightest ripple.

Inside, however, a storm was brewing. The entry of cultivators from various factions brought surging waves to this dead, eerily silent world.

Because of the command flags, there was a correspondence with the interior of the Starfall Immortal Ruins. Once an entire team stepped inside, their command flag would exude vigorous power, enveloping them entirely and teleporting them across space to their assigned sector.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

Hundreds of figures descended from the command flag’s clear, cyan radiance. Heaven’s Edge Pavilion’s Spiritual Qi took on the color of cyan clouds. At this moment, it hung directly above everyone.

“Are these the Starfall Immortal Ruins?”

“What an ancient aura. I feel like it’s existed for at least a hundred thousand years.”

“Hiss, the Source of the starry sky is everywhere here… No, wait, it seems slightly different from the Source in the outside world. It feels even more ancient, but it’s tainted with Evil Qi and death energy.”

Xu Yang swept his gaze around. The sky and the earth were entirely gloomy as if veiled in vast mist. The Source here was vigorous, yet it harbored hidden death energy and Evil Qi. To absorb and refine it, one had to first disperse the tainted energies. Comparatively speaking, although the Source here was astonishing, it would require a much greater expenditure of effort.

Of course, the true opportunities here were not the Source itself, but the treasures nurtured in this environment, as well as the relics left behind by fallen ancient experts.

The land was vast and undulating, dotted with ancient, majestic mountains that resembled desolate beasts. There were also massive, cracking chasms everywhere, likely caused by the battles of mighty figures.

As far as the eye could see, the shadows of many battlefields were visible. However, compared to the ancient battlefields in the Spirit Realm, this place seemed like child’s play. But the battlefields in the Spirit Realm had seemingly had all their Source shattered. Coupled with the passage of too much time, everything there had decayed, unlike here, which held tremendous opportunities.