Grassroots Travel: The Star Lord of Another World

Chapter 272 Dark Night

The sharp alarm sounded across the night sky of Star City, like a bolt of lightning tearing through the quiet night. People who were originally asleep were awakened, and a sense of uneasiness spread in the air.

Gao Xingchen suddenly sat up from the bed, his eyes flashing coldly. He quickly put on his clothes and pushed open the door, only to see Nan Li standing in the corridor with a serious expression.

"What's going on?" Gao Xingchen asked in a deep voice.

"Someone attacked Star City at night, but was discovered and repelled by the guards." Nan Li replied briefly, with a rare solemnity in his tone.

The two looked at each other and saw the same worry in each other's eyes. The Xingchen Pavilion had just been established and its foundation was not stable. It was no accident that it was attacked at this time.

Gao Xingchen and Nan Li quickly rushed to the scene. Under the city wall of Xingchen City, dozens of men in black were lying on the ground, their lives or deaths unknown. The guards of Xingchen Pavilion were on full alert, watching the surroundings vigilantly.

"What's the situation?" Gao Xingchen glanced at the scene and asked in a deep voice.

The captain in charge of the guard stepped forward and clasped his fists, saying, "Reporting to Pavilion Master, these men in black are quite powerful, but they are few in number. It seems that they just wanted to sneak into the city at night, but we discovered them in time and repelled them."

Gao Xingchen frowned slightly, he squatted down and carefully examined the body of a man in black. These men in black were dressed in the same uniform, but without any identification, and their faces were covered with black cloth, so their identities could not be seen.

"Did you catch anyone alive?" Nan Li asked.

The captain of the guard shook his head. "These men in black were fearless and fought desperately after being discovered. We arrested a few of them, but they all committed suicide by taking poison."

Gao Xingchen and Nan Li looked at each other, feeling even more uneasy. These men in black were well-trained and secretive, and they were obviously from a well-organized organization. Who were they? Why did they attack Xingchen Pavilion?

"Send someone to investigate this matter immediately. Make sure to find out the identity and purpose of these men in black!" Gao Xingchen ordered in a deep voice.

"Yes!" The captain of the guard took the order and left.

Gao Xingchen and Nan Li continued to stay where they were, carefully inspecting the scene, hoping to find some clues. However, apart from a few cold corpses and a mess on the ground, they found nothing.

"It seems that we are being targeted this time." After a long time, Nan Li broke the silence with a hint of solemnity in his tone.

Gao Xingchen nodded, a cold light flashed in his deep eyes, "The rise of Xingchen Pavilion will inevitably affect the interests of some people. This attack may just be the beginning."

As the night deepened, Xingchen City regained its peace, but Gao Xingchen and Nan Li were filled with gloom. They knew that a bigger storm was brewing, and Xingchen Pavilion was already at the center of the storm...

The news of the attack on the Star Pavilion spread quickly throughout the Star City, and also reached Fairy Zhou, who was recruiting new members for the Star Pavilion. She put down the list in her hand, frowned slightly, and felt a little uneasy. In recent days, there has been an endless stream of people signing up to join the Star Pavilion, and there are many young talents with outstanding strength. But Fairy Zhou always felt that something was wrong. Some people seemed to have ulterior motives, and their purpose of joining the Star Pavilion was not simple.

At this time, a young man in a green shirt caught Fairy Zhou's attention. The man was handsome and well-spoken. He claimed to be from a remote small sect and wanted to join the Star Pavilion to seek better development opportunities. However, Fairy Zhou noticed a subtle flicker and evasion in his eyes, which made her more alert.

Fairy Zhou calmly talked to the man, trying to find out his background indirectly. However, the man answered fluently and without any flaws. Just when Fairy Zhou was about to test him further, the man suddenly changed the subject and asked, "Fairy Zhou, I wonder if something has happened in Xingchen Pavilion recently? I heard that the city seems to be uneasy."

Fairy Zhou's heart was moved, and she replied calmly: "They are just some scoundrels, nothing to worry about."

"Oh? Really?" The man sneered, "I heard that those men in black are all very powerful. They don't seem to be ordinary people."

Fairy Zhou was startled. This man actually knew about the man in black? It seemed that there was something wrong with him! Thinking of this, Fairy Zhou decided not to test him anymore and just confront him directly.

"Who are you? Why do you want to know the news of Xingchen Pavilion?" Fairy Zhou asked with a sharp gaze and a cold tone.

The man's face changed slightly, but he quickly regained his composure and said in a surprised tone, "Fairy Zhou, what are you talking about? I'm just concerned about the situation at the Xingchen Pavilion. I have no ill intentions."

"At this point, are you still going to play dumb?" Fairy Zhou snorted coldly. A strong pressure emanated from her, instantly covering the entire room. "Tell me, who sent you? What is your purpose?"

Seeing his identity exposed, the man stopped pretending, sneered, and tried to break out of the window. However, Fairy Zhou was prepared. She waved her jade hand and an invisible barrier instantly appeared around the room, trapping the man in place.

"Want to leave? That's not that easy!" Fairy Zhou said coldly, "Just surrender, and maybe I can spare your life."

The man had a gloomy expression on his face, knowing that today would not end peacefully, so he no longer hid his strength, and the true energy in his body surged, trying to forcefully break through Fairy Zhou's blockade.

“You don’t know your own limitations!” Fairy Zhou snorted coldly upon seeing this, and then she attacked and engaged the man in a fight…

At the same time, Elder Wu also used his connections to investigate the black-clad men who attacked the Xingchen Pavilion. After a series of investigations, he finally found out that these black-clad men were related to a small sect called "Black Wind Village" near the Xingchen Pavilion. This Black Wind Village usually acts arrogantly and oppresses the people, which has long caused dissatisfaction among the surrounding residents. However, due to their strength, they dare not speak out.

Elder Wu told Gao Xingchen the results of his investigation. After Gao Xingchen heard it, a cold light flashed in his eyes and he said in a deep voice: "It seems that this Black Wind Village has been used by someone. There must be other forces behind them controlling it."

Nan Li also nodded and said, "Yes, with the strength of Black Wind Village, they would never dare to provoke our Xingchen Pavilion easily. They must have someone backing them up."

"In that case, let's strike first!" Gao Xingchen's eyes flashed with determination, "Let's go meet the Black Wind Village and see who is behind them!"

So, Gao Xingchen took Nanli and Elder Wu, as well as several elite disciples of Xingchen Pavilion, and headed straight for Black Wind Village... Gao Xingchen and his party arrived at Black Wind Village, but found that the atmosphere here was extremely strange. The village gate was wide open, and it was quiet inside, without any sound. Gao Xingchen's heart was alarmed, and he led everyone to advance into the village carefully.

When they arrived at the meeting room, they saw the leader of the Black Wind Village sitting in the main seat with lifeless eyes, like a puppet, lifeless. Behind the leader stood a mysterious man in a black robe and a bamboo hat.

"Who are you? How dare you control the leader of the Black Wind Village? Why don't you surrender immediately!" Gao Xingchen shouted sternly.

The mysterious man sneered, "The Star Pavilion Master is indeed worthy of his reputation. He came to me so quickly. But, you think you can compete with me? You are really overestimating your own abilities!"

After saying that, the mysterious man waved his hand fiercely, and the leader of the Black Wind Village attacked Gao Xingchen and others like a puppet. Gao Xingchen and others were prepared and used their weapons to resist. However, the controlled leader's strength increased greatly, and his moves were fierce, so Gao Xingchen and others could not win for a while.

"Xingchen, he is using the master's body, don't hurt him!" Nanli saw the clue and reminded loudly.

Upon hearing this, Gao Xingchen had an idea and changed his strategy. He no longer confronted the leader head-on, but used his flexible body movements to dodge attacks while looking for opportunities to attack the mysterious man.

Seeing that Gao Xingchen and the others had seen through his tricks, the mysterious man no longer wanted to fight. He snorted coldly, controlled the leader to launch a fierce attack, and then took the opportunity to withdraw.

"Want to leave? Not that easy!" Gao Xingchen would never let him escape easily, he immediately used his skills to chase him relentlessly.

The two of them, one chasing the other, soon arrived at the back mountain of Black Wind Village. The mysterious man saw that he couldn't get rid of Gao Xingchen, so he simply stopped and turned to confront him.

"Who are you? Why do you want to be an enemy of Xingchen Pavilion?" Gao Xingchen asked coldly.

"You don't deserve to know!" The mysterious man snorted coldly and once again controlled the leader to attack Gao Xingchen.

Seeing that the mysterious man was stubborn, Gao Xingchen stopped talking nonsense and immediately went all out to fight the mysterious man. In the end, Gao Xingchen was more skilled and defeated the mysterious man, successfully rescuing the leader of the Black Wind Village.

After returning to the Xingchen Pavilion, Gao Xingchen and others interrogated the captured man in black overnight and learned that the mysterious man came from an evil force called "Netherworld Cult". Their action this time was just to test the strength of the Xingchen Pavilion, and a bigger conspiracy was yet to come.

However, before one wave of troubles was over, another wave of troubles arose. A new disciple who had joined the Xingchen Pavilion suddenly left without saying goodbye, which caused quite a stir within the Xingchen Pavilion.

After Gao Xingchen learned about this, he immediately called all the members together and said in a deep voice: "I know everyone has doubts in their hearts, but this incident is just an accident. I believe in everyone in our Xingchen Pavilion. The reason we come together is because we have common goals and beliefs. I hope that everyone will not be defeated by the difficulties in front of them, but unite and face the challenges of the future together!"

Gao Xingchen's words were like a magic needle that calmed people's hearts. However, Nan Li smelled something unusual from this incident. She secretly used her intelligence network to investigate, but the result surprised her...

Late at night, Gao Xingchen was patrolling the Xingchen Pavilion as usual. Suddenly, he found a note in a corner with an address and a sentence on it: "If you want to know the truth, come here to find me." Nan Li has always been meticulous. She keenly realized that these successive events were not accidental, and there seemed to be an invisible hand behind everything. She secretly used her intelligence network and finally got an astonishing news: a mysterious organization called "Netherworld Cult" was gathering strength and targeting Xingchen Pavilion!

"The Netherworld Cult..." Nan Li whispered the name, and a chill rose from the soles of her feet. According to the information she had, the Netherworld Cult was an extremely ancient and evil organization. They believed in the power of darkness and acted in a secretive way. They had once caused a bloody storm, and then disappeared for many years. Unexpectedly, they have revived now, and have set their sights on the Xingchen Pavilion.

Nan Li did not dare to be negligent and immediately told Gao Xingchen the news. Gao Xingchen's face was also solemn after hearing it. He knew that a war was inevitable. He immediately summoned all members of Xingchen Pavilion and announced that they were on full alert, while strengthening the defense of Xingchen Pavilion.

However, Gao Xingchen still had a mystery in his mind: Why did the mysterious man leave that note for him? What was his purpose?

With this question in mind, Gao Xingchen decided to take a risk and find out. In the dead of night, he came alone to the address written on the note. It was a deserted forest in the mountains, with gusts of cold wind and swaying shadows of trees, exuding a strange atmosphere.

Gao Xingchen walked forward cautiously, passing through a dense forest, and suddenly a clearing appeared in front of him. On the clearing stood an ancient altar, surrounded by black flags embroidered with some strange patterns, emitting bursts of cold air.

Gao Xingchen's heart trembled, he knew he had found the place. He clenched the sword in his hand and walked forward slowly. At this moment, a cold voice suddenly sounded in his ears: "You are finally here..."