Swallowed Star 2: Land of Origin

Diaorong Qi sat there in a daze, tears streaming down her face.

"Little Qi, what's wrong?" Moli Feiyun asked her crying friend, instantly sobered, and quickly inquired, "What happened?"

"My father is dead," Diaorong Qi said blankly.

While her father was alive, she was the privileged daughter of a large clan, mingling only with the descendants of great families in Huyang City. She even looked down on becoming a disciple of ordinary eternal true gods, wanting to be apprenticed to the openly strongest 'Commander Moli Xiao' in Huyang City, or at the very least to 'Lord Luo He', who could suppress the dark forces.

Choosing her alchemy-proficient father, an ordinary eternal true god, was not exactly what Diaorong Qi had been willing to settle for.

But now that her father was gone, and had left her a way out in his final message, she found it somewhat unbearable.

"Father!" Diaorong Qi knew well that her father was the one who loved her the most in this world, willing to give everything for her, a dear relative.

"Uncle Yan is dead?" Moli Feiyun couldn't believe it, "How is that possible? Uncle Yan was an eternal true god, who killed him?"

"He was indeed killed."

A sigh rose. It was 'Moli Meng', the one currently in power of the Moli Clan. As for Moli Xiao, he had no energy to manage family trivialities.

"Father," Moli Feiyun looked at her own father.

"Just now, every creature in the main branch's cave mansion of the Diaorong Family was killed, without a single survivor," Moli Meng said, "Now, only some of the branches of the Diaorong Family remain."

The size of a cave mansion was limited, and some large clans had to be dispersed, especially the peripheral branches, which could only live in ordinary cave mansions. Ironically, the core of the Diaorong Family was the one eradicated this time.

"Father, who is the murderer?" Moli Feiyun asked.

Diaorong Qi also looked toward Moli Meng.

Moli Meng said, "Before Diaorong Yan died, he contacted many of his friends through the Karmic Messenger Order, indicating that the murderer was Association Leader Mu Yang of the Blood Python."

"My father also sent a transmission saying that the murderer was the leader of the Blood Python," Diaorong Qi said hoarsely, "The entire cave mansion, including my father and tens of thousands of creatures, from eternal true gods to the young children of our clan, not a single one was spared. With the definitive evidence of my father's own transmission, the city owner's mansion should act, right?"

Moli Meng shook his head, "The leader of the Blood Python is not an ordinary eternal true god. He controls a force of his own, and killing him is not easy; it requires discussion among the Five Great Families to decide. Plus, your father's pre-death transmission does not count as definitive evidence. The murderer could have completely impersonated the leader of the Blood Python."

"Impersonation?" Diaorong Qi was anxious, "Can't we trust my father's last transmission?"

"Some secret techniques of impersonation are hard even for eternal true gods to see through," Moli Meng said, "In any case, to conclusively determine the identity of the murderer and to get the city owner's mansion to act... is very difficult."

Diaorong Qi fell silent.

"After your father's death, it will be difficult for you, a true god of void space, to control his many properties, the numerous alchemy cave mansions, shops, and so on," Moli Meng said shaking his head, "The Moli Clan can help take them over."

"Father!" Moli Feiyun began anxiously.

"Rest assured, I would not stoop to take such a small advantage. These assets are valued at 20,000 cosmic sand, and will be deposited in your name in the Flame Wind Pavilion," Moli Meng said, "It's not suitable for you to carry so much cosmic sand on you."

"Thank you, Uncle Meng," Diaorong Qi gratefully said, knowing full well the price was definitely not low.

"Within Huyang City, those confident in killing the leader of the Blood Python can be counted on one hand," Moli Meng said, "So to kill him, you need to have enough patience to wait for the right opportunity."

Diaorong Qi asked, "Can Commander Moli act? I can give up the 20,000 cosmic sand."

"It's not as simple as you think," Moli Meng replied as he turned to leave.

"Little Qi, you can stay with me, no one will threaten you," Moli Feiyun said.

"Feiyun, I just want to be alone for a while," Diaorong Qi said softly.

"Alright, I won't disturb you," Moli Feiyun said as she got up to leave.

Diaorong Qi sat there alone, staring blankly at the night sky, at the countless twinkling stars. Just now, the star belonging to her father must have entirely dimmed as well.

"Father..." At that moment, Diaorong Qi missed her father immensely, and then her eyes turned wild.

Through the transmission token, Diaorong Qi made contact with the Flame Wind Association's Dark Hall from afar.

"Diaorong Qi, after your father Diaorong Yan died, he left you 30,000 cosmic sand in the Dark Hall. And Moli Meng has also deposited 20,000 cosmic sand for you, so now you have 50,000 cosmic sand in your name," the Dark Hall responded to her.

"I want to offer a bounty of 40,000 cosmic sand for the head of Association Leader Mu Yang of the Blood Python," Diaorong Qi transmitted back, believing in her father's judgment of the murderer's identity as he lay dying.

"Understood, the bounty for the leader of the Blood Python has now been raised to 160,000 cosmic sand! You still have 10,000 cosmic sand in your name," the Dark Hall responded.

After upping the bounty, Diaorong Qi could only wait in silence, hoping a powerful individual would take the offer and kill the leader of the Blood Python!

...

At the headquarters of the Blood Python Association.

"Moli Meng, why have you come?" the leader of the Blood Python said with a smile as he looked at Moli Meng.

Moli Meng's face was grim: "Have you lost your mind? Diaorong Yan focused on alchemy, contributing to the entirety of Huyang City and not meddling in your dark force struggles. Why did you attack him? Acting so recklessly will only cause panic among many families in Huyang City! If the Five Great Families deem you a threat to the stability of the entire city, you are finished!"

"It wasn't me who killed him. The murderer impersonated me!" the leader of the Blood Python said urgently, "The leader of the Shi Kingdom's Forces, 'Xue Yun', is very good at impersonating, and I suspect it was him pretending to be me."

"Before his death, Diaorong Yan was certain the murderer was you," Moli Meng sneered, "To leave such clear evidence of your identity in such a criminal act shows just how incapable you really are."

"It really wasn't me," the leader of the Blood Python said.

"Inside Huyang City, everyone must abide by the rules!" Moli Meng gave him a look then turned to leave, "If you don't follow the rules, the consequences might be more than you can handle."

With that, Moli Meng had already disappeared.

Association Leader Mu Yang of the Blood Python watched Moli Meng leave, his expression eventually settling into calm.

"What does it matter if I don't play by the rules? Hmph, in this world, strength is ultimately what is respected most," Blood Python Leader Mu Yang sneered. "If I kill one, what can the many families within Huyang City do? If they dare to move against me, they'd better be prepared to die!"

"It's just a pity that Diaorong Yan was such trash. Killing him and even plundering his entire cave mansion, I only managed to get a total of 220,000 Cosmic Sand," Blood Python Leader shook his head. "An eternal true god ranked in the top three in Huyang City for alchemy, I estimated him to be quite the fat sheep. Unfortunately, it amounted to so little."

"If all else fails, I'll have to use my armor treasure as collateral," Blood Python Leader thought inwardly. "I must buy the lower part of the 'Primordial Iron Blood Sand Technique' as soon as possible. Otherwise, if I delay too long, I will be completely entangled by Shi Kingdom's Forces and won't be able to save my own life."

He was well aware of how dangerous the conflict between the Five Great Families and Shi Kingdom's Forces was. He had been involved because of inheritance and only thought of gaining the inheritance quickly and then fleeing far away.

The longer the delay, the more dangerous it became!

"I must gather one million Cosmic Sand as soon as possible!" the eyes of Blood Python Leader were ice-cold.

******

Time passed slowly in the Land of Origin. The night came, and the day followed.

Various major powers within Huyang City all knew about 'Diaorong Yan's death' and had also heard that the murderer might be Blood Python Leader Mu Yang. The bounty on Mu Yang at the Flame Wind Pavilion's Dark Hall had reached 160,000 Cosmic Sand!

"Some of my father's friends would want to offer a reward, but now that my father is dead, none of them would help," Diaorong Qi, within the Moli Family, had been checking the bounty. The bounty hadn't changed, and nobody completed the mission.

"Fourth in the bounty list is a dark force leader known as 'Chun Yuyi', with a bounty of 180,000 Cosmic Sand. For eons, he has lived well. Now Blood Python Leader's bounty is 160,000 Cosmic Sand, ranking fifth. Who would kill him?" Diaorong Qi repeatedly looked at the bounty missions, hoping for some changes in the list.

But the previous long night had brought no such changes.

Diaorong Qi only felt powerless; after her father's death, there was nothing much she could do.

"Miss, Supreme Lord Luo He has arrived at the Fire Realm Restaurant," Suo Yun, who had been waiting at the Fire Realm Restaurant, transmitted.

"Luo He?" Diaorong Qi's heart stirred. "As soon as Supreme Lord Luo He arrived in Huyang, he didn't take the Blood Python Association seriously; he definitely wouldn't be afraid of Blood Python Leader."

Blood Python Leader's notorious reputation made many forces wary. But clearly, Lord Luo He didn't care about that, which was also why Diaorong Qi had immediately wanted to seek him as a mentor.

Sigh.

Diaorong Qi immediately got up.

"Little Qi," Moli Feiyun had always been worried about her good friend.

"I must go out immediately," Diaorong Qi said.

"It's not safe for you to go out now," Moli Feiyun said worriedly.

"It's daytime now, with true gods everywhere. It's quite safe. Besides, I must go out!" Diaorong Qi insisted.

After thinking for a moment, Moli Feiyun said, "I will arrange a guard unit to escort you, and you will take our Moli Family's Flying Boat."

"Thanks," Diaorong Qi expressed her gratitude and immediately rushed outside without further ado.

...

Fire Realm Restaurant.

"Supreme, my young mistress has ordered that all of your expenses at the Fire Realm Restaurant will be borne by her," Suo Yun said with utmost respect.

Luo Feng arrived accompanied by Morosa and Moyu Qingyan.

"Have you been here guarding since I left the Fire Realm Restaurant last time?" Luo Feng looked at Suo Yun.

"Yes, it was the young mistress's order," the guard Suo Yun replied.

"Thank her for me," Luo Feng said as he headed inside. The owner of Fire Realm Restaurant, 'Black Butcher', also came forward enthusiastically to welcome them.

Inside the small building.

Luo Feng and Morosa enjoyed food and wine together, while the servant 'Moyu Qingyan' could only wait outside the building, guarding it diligently.

"That young miss from the Diaorong Family seems quite eager to find a master," Morosa commented.

"Her father died last night," Luo Feng replied.

"Died?" Morosa was surprised.

"I heard it from a friend," Luo Feng explained, as he had received visits from many powers and made some friends. Several eternal true gods, including Shang Tianyan, had informed him of this news.

Luo Feng suddenly mentioned, "Among Shi Kingdom's covert forces within Huyang City, their leader is called Xue Yun, with a bounty of one million Cosmic Sand."

"Let's take him down!" Morosa's eyes lit up.

"But we can't find him," Luo Feng thought. "Do you have any way to find him?" With Morosa's innate mastery of the Great Dao of Destruction Origin, even without relying on the "Secret Technique of Willpower" such as the Lie Yuan Technique, Luo Feng didn't think he could necessarily defeat Morosa.

If he couldn't find Xue Yun, perhaps Morosa might have a chance.

"I've never met him," Morosa frowned. "If I had seen him once, I might have some methods to locate him."

"What a pity," Luo Feng shook his head.

If they could kill Xue Yun and take the spoils and the hefty bounty, just one would be worth a band of dark force leaders. It would probably be enough for his three attempts at body refinement.

Too bad they couldn't find him!

"Master," a voice came from outside, it was Moyu Qingyan's, "Diaorong Qi is here to visit."

"She's here?" Luo Feng looked at the spread before him at Fire Realm Feast, "Let her in."

Outside, Moyu Qingyan who had been guarding seriously, stepped aside and said, "The master has allowed you to enter."