422 - Rebirth of a Star: Another Day, Another Drama

Chapter 422: Rescue! Yé Lín Lóng's sword was poised, its tip aimed directly at her opponent. "You invited my master and Master Hai here as guests, yet you dare ask who I am?" Her voice dripped with disdain. At this moment, the leading member of the Huo Family finally got a good look at Yé Lín Lóng's face. In the dim light earlier, he had been preoccupied with thoughts of reprimanding the audacious intruder causing trouble at their household, and had not bothered to see who had come. Upon recognizing her, he was taken aback. How did she know they were here? Quickly regaining his composure, he reminded himself that their old mansion was equipped with a low-tier defensive array. Though normally maintained at its most basic level, it activated automatically if the mansion came under attack. The array had already been triggered by Yé Lín Lóng's assault. Even if she managed to defeat the likes of Huo Ming and Huo Lin, breaching this defense would not be easy. "Humph! Yé Lín Lóng, don't think that by taking down those two wastes, Huo Lin and Huo Ming, you can run wild in our Huo Family. You're still too green," he scoffed. As soon as he finished speaking, a formidable aura of a late-stage Immortal Monarch emanated, accompanied by three mid-stage Immortal Monarch presences behind him. Although Huo Ming and Huo Lin were only at the peak of early-stage Immortal Monarchs and had been relatively simple for Yé Lín Lóng to handle, often without resorting to her full range of abilities, she remained undeterred by the prospect of facing these four opponents. "Let's see what you've got," she retorted. "First, try breaking through our family’s defensive array," he challenged smugly. "I’ve heard about your genius with arrays, but the level between fundamental and advanced is a clear divide." Confident she couldn't breach the array, he watched as Yé Lín Lóng focused on the defensive structure. Soon, the intricacies of its operation unfolded before her like an open book. With a faint smile, she realized, "So that's where it is~." With a sweeping gesture, she summoned a swarm of Tǔn Tiān Fēng, all at the Immortal King stage. Leading the swarm was an Immortal Monarch-level one. "Is that... the Tǔn Tiān Fēng?!" Her opponent stammered, eyes wide with recognition. Taming so many to the Immortal King stage, with the leader at Immortal Monarch level, was no small feat. Known both for their rarity and insatiable consumption of celestial stones, their growth is restricted only by available power. This Huo Family member now regarded Yé Lín Lóng with a mix of caution and awe. Could the rumors be true that she hailed from a prestigious family in the Upper Immortal Domain? "Go," Yé Lín Lóng whispered, pointing to the weak spot in the array. Instantly, the swarm surged forward, devouring the array’s energy at that critical point. True to their name, the Tǔn Tiān Fēng quickly gnawed an opening through the array. As it wavered, Yé Lín Lóng unleashed a decisive slash. With a resounding crack, the array shattered into countless pieces. In a blur of blue, she darted inside, casting a massive phoenix of blue flames toward the Huo Family's mansion. The combined power of the Hearth of the Ice Phoenix and her Ice Soul body plunged their residence into a state of ice and flame. "You courted death!!" Enraged, the four defenders lunged at Yé Lín Lóng in unison. "Bring it on!!" Far from retreating, she elegantly twirled her sword, launching into an attack with the Dance of the Fire Feathers. Scarlet feathers floated gracefully down, seemingly harmless until they seared flesh upon contact. These were no mere feathers—they were imbued with the true fire of a phoenix. Renowned though the Huo Family was for their fire affinity, they were outmatched by the Phoenix's true fire and its variant forms. Amidst the fierce combat, everyone failed to notice a shadow slipping through the night sky, swiftly infiltrating the mansion's inner quarters. Amid battling her four foes, Yé Lín Lóng's gaze briefly flickered to where the shadow had vanished. Assured that the figure made entry, she focused solely on her adversaries. Explosions thundered as both sides clashed fiercely. Yé Lín Lóng pushed her domain to its limits, weaving space laws with surprise attacks from concealed formations. The four found themselves not gaining ground but instead being overwhelmed. In her study of array scripts, Yé Lín Lóng had learned a technique to craft explosive formation disks, which compress and unleash stored energy at a critical moment—a devastating attack. Though the materials required were costly, Yé Lín Lóng wasn't lacking in celestial resources. Seizing her chance, she hurled three disks, which detonated upon nearness, vaporizing the nearest mid-stage Immortal Monarch into fragments. The remaining trio reeled from the blast, wounded and staring at her in terror. Just how many tricks did this madwoman still have? Meanwhile, in the mansion’s rear courtyard, Fèng Lí, holding a map of the Huo Family estate, approached the indicated red-marked location: the dungeon. The map, courtesy of the Tongtian Commerce Guild, guided them there. Fèng Lí's role was to draw everyone's attention initially, allowing Yé Lín Lóng to engage while she sought out the captives. Arriving at a rockery in the rear garden, she quickly surveyed the area before delivering a resounding blow, revealing a tunnel entrance. "This dungeon was well hidden," she muttered, swiftly slipping inside. The dungeon had some Huo guards, but none were particularly formidable. Having advanced to the Immortal King stage, Fèng Lí, a divine beast, was naturally more potent than the average Immortal King, dispatching them swiftly. At long last, she uncovered Zōu Guànqīng and Master Hai in the final cell. Their condition, however, was poor. "Master Zōu, Master Hai, are you alright?" she called, using her phoenix fire to melt the chains and unlock the gate. "Fèng Lí?" Zōu Guànqīng asked weakly, squinting to recognize her. He and Master Hai had known her from past visits to the Array Institute with Yé Lín Lóng. Nodding, Fèng Lí advanced quickly. "Lín Lóng is outside, she sent me to save you." As she prepared to lead them out, a sudden voice echoed from behind, "Oh? Is that so? I'm afraid you won't be taking them anywhere today."