The palace arranged by the Thousand Illusions Sect was vast and magnificent, boasting unique cultivation chambers and training grounds perfect for executing profound martial mysteries. The structure spanned seven levels, each a hundred meters high, containing nearly a hundred rooms.
This palace was large enough to house hundreds of people.
Yet, at this moment, it was entirely occupied by Shi Yan and Ouyang Luoshuang. The palace featured numerous balconies and windows. At night, three illusory moons hung suspended in the sky, arranged in a trine formation.
Those illusory moons were mere reflections cast by three celestial bodies in an unimaginably distant region; they were not real, yet they bestowed light upon the phantom stars. That night,
Shi Yan and Ouyang Luoshuang stood together on a stone platform, gazing out at the hazy, boundless sea of stars, both feeling an overwhelming sense of the marvelous nature of their encounter.
They were both martial artists from the Divine Grace Continent, yet separated by billions of miles, they met here on this phantom star, watching the firmament together and recalling past moments that flickered like dream sequences.
“When I emerged from that meteorite, I faintly detected your presence, but my mind was preoccupied with the affairs of the Three God Cult, so I didn't investigate closely,” Ouyang Luoshuang said calmly, her eyes clear. “I truly never imagined that the junior martial artist from back then could reach this level today. The ways of the world are truly unpredictable.”
Shi Yan gave a lighthearted laugh. “I never expected that you, whom I once viewed as a deity, would now be standing beside me discussing the past, nor did I ever dream I could have the honor of your favor.”
“Can we not speak of that matter?” Ouyang Luoshuang’s face chilled instantly.
Shi Yan chuckled strangely.
“Are you truly that Bloodthirsty New Sovereign?” Ouyang Luoshuang suddenly inquired.
“You’ve heard of the Bloodthirsty moniker?” Shi Yan expressed surprise.
“Of course, I have. I have wandered the Star Sea for many years and experienced many things; naturally, I know many secrets.” Ouyang Luoshuang appeared entirely self-assured, asking with curiosity, “I heard that the Bloodthirsty lineage was a cancerous tumor in the Star River ten thousand years ago, loathed by all. The Eight Grandmasters were particularly savage and cruel, shattering the Star Sea until everyone cried out for their demise—they were truly the source of all sin…”
When she spoke of the Bloodthirsty lineage, not a single positive word escaped her lips; all were venomous condemnations.
Shi Yan smiled faintly, surprised. “Who told you all this?”
“Everyone says so,” she replied naturally.
“In the past… I didn't know what this lineage truly was, but going forward, I will change it,” Shi Yan mused. “Even after the God Clan seized control of heaven and earth, they didn't bring much change to this Star Sea. Many of their methods are even more extreme. Since the rise of the God Clan, some of the former races within the Star Sea have vanished. They are hardly noble.”
Ouyang Luoshuang nodded slightly. “My Master said the same thing.”
“Eh?” Shi Yan froze, confusion stirring in his heart.
“He said that when the Divine Lord fell into a deep slumber due to severe injuries, he handed supreme authority to the Elder Council, and the Council subsequently threw the God Clan into chaos. There were indeed many problems,” she explained.
Shi Yan’s confusion deepened. He frowned but remained silent, harboring secret doubts.
“Hmm?” His spirit suddenly shifted, and he looked sharply in one direction, squinting. “What is she doing here?”
“Who?” Ouyang Luoshuang asked.
“Xing Ming’s daughter,” Shi Yan said, stroking his chin, his gaze strange.
Ouyang Luoshuang snorted coldly. “When I was captured, I overheard Xing Shang and Wei Yun mentioning this woman. This woman has kept countless male companions; those jade arms of hers have truly been rested upon by a thousand men…” Her tone dripped with disgust.
Shi Yan looked surprised and nodded. “That is truly filthy.”
“So filthy I don’t even wish to look at her,” she said, rising. Her slightly slender figure swayed, and she vanished suddenly.
A short while later, that Xing Ying approached gracefully from a distance, swaying her hips and moving with captivating grace. Her delicate face was flushed like a blooming peach, clearly having taken pains with her makeup. She smiled sweetly, her eyes shimmering, and spoke in a delicate voice, “I have come on behalf of the Shattered Hall to offer a personal apology. My cousin’s actions and those of my father are deeply regretted, and I have brought gifts specifically to offer some compensation…”
“I don’t want anything from her,” Ouyang Luoshuang’s voice whispered close to Shi Yan’s ear. “And I don’t wish to see this woman.”
Shi Yan smiled faintly, looking down at Xing Ying from the high platform. “Even if this is an apology, you are not the one who should deliver it. If Xing Ming himself came, his status would still barely suffice. As for you? You are not qualified!”
His gaze sharpened. Instantly, countless starlights transformed into brilliant flood dragons that burst forth from the void, enveloping Xing Ying’s voluptuous figure and flinging her far away, utterly dismissing her.
A beam of moonlight flashed, and Ouyang Luoshuang reappeared. She looked in the direction Xing Ying had vanished, her delicate brows moving slightly. “She came because of you. This woman is burning with desire; she came to offer herself to you.”
Shi Yan smiled without speaking.
“I thought you would welcome her. Although she is extremely soiled, her appearance is quite outstanding. Why would someone like you turn her away?” Ouyang Luoshuang’s clear eyes glittered.
“I already have you here. One more would spoil the beauty. And you said she is too dirty. I have always kept myself pure,” Shi Yan stated suavely.
“Kept yourself pure?” Ouyang Luoshuang’s lips curled into a strange arc, as if barely suppressing a sneer. “Please don't insult that word, alright?”
Shi Yan’s face darkened.
“Pfft!”
Ouyang Luoshuang finally couldn't help but let out a light laugh, like a frost flower blooming, breathtakingly beautiful.
Shi Yan stared, lost in admiration.
“Your smile is truly beautiful,” he praised sincerely. “You should smile more often. It makes you appear more approachable. I like your laugh.”
Ouyang Luoshuang immediately suppressed her smile and huffed, “You are not my man.”
“To my knowledge, you were sealed within a meteorite for a thousand years, so you must not have experienced romance, right? When I kissed you earlier, you were flustered. Heh, that was likely your first time being violated by a man?” Shi Yan grinned, looking smug.
Ouyang Luoshuang’s pretty face turned icy.
“Consider it payment for saving you,” Shi Yan shrugged, pondering for a moment. “Reveal your Initial Realm to me and let me observe its mysteries—I keep feeling a sense of familiarity with the profound mysteries you cultivate.”
“Why should I show you?” Ouyang Luoshuang huffed, but she truly manifested her Initial Realm.
Her Initial Realm was peculiar: layer upon layer of bright moons hung suspended above a vast, deep cold pond. The water was crystal clear and profoundly dark, reflecting the moons perfectly. The moonlight within her realm was intensely cold, seemingly influenced by the frigidity rising from the pool below.
She had merged the profound essence of the Moon with the power of Ice Coldness, creating this unique Initial Realm. As soon as it emerged, Shi Yan felt enveloped by a scene of ice and snow, chilling him to his core.
“It is indeed somewhat familiar,” Shi Yan gazed deeply into her Initial Realm. With a stirring of his spirit, his own Initial Realm manifested—as if the firmament were being veiled by a magnificent landscape painting…
The sun, moon, and stars appeared one by one, each Life Star revolving slowly. The boundless void, the expansive heavens—his Initial Realm seemed to encompass the entire Star Sea, vast and infinite.
Those moon stars, which had once merged with the ancestors of the God Clan, flowed with an aura of sacred, untainted purity. Their fluctuations bore a striking resemblance to the moons in Ouyang Luoshuang’s realm, yet they appeared even more mysterious.
“Your Initial Realm, how is it like the vast Star Sea? I have never seen anything so strange!” Ouyang Luoshuang exclaimed in utter astonishment. She stared intently, her expression trembling slightly. “Those moon stars make me feel incredibly close to them. You…”
“Withdraw your own Initial Realm and enter mine. Go to one of those moon stars and feel its essence,” Shi Yan urged.
Ouyang Luoshuang paused, her gaze hesitant.
Entering another person's Initial Realm meant surrendering one's life and death entirely to that person. Generally, martial artists whose cultivation levels were not vastly different dared not do this lightly, unless they shared a relationship of the closest kinship.
Within their own Initial Realm, each person was the sole deity, capable of displaying the true marvels of heaven and earth. In another’s realm, they were at their most vulnerable, essentially placing their lives in the other’s hands.
“Stop dawdling. If I intended to harm you, could you be this free? For you, my Initial Realm is an opportunity. Whether you seize it or not depends on yourself,” Shi Yan frowned.
Ouyang Luoshuang gritted her teeth, considered for a moment, and indeed retracted her Initial Realm. With a graceful movement, she darted into his.
Both of them felt a strange, profound connection simultaneously.
She felt as if she had entered an entirely new space, drifting through the Star Sea. Within this space, Shi Yan's aura was everywhere. She felt as though she had arrived deep within Shi Yan’s divine body and soul, like entering the very core of his being.
Shi Yan’s sensation was equally extraordinary. The moment Ouyang Luoshuang entered, his soul subtly vibrated, generating a feeling that he could instantly perceive every secret held within her heart. He had experienced this sensation before: his secondary soul could perceive the joys and sorrows of countless beings on the Divine Grace Continent, entering their dreamscapes and inner worlds with godlike ease.
Right now, he felt exactly that—within his Initial Realm, he was a deity, and Ouyang Luoshuang was his subject, capable of reigning over the life and death of beings.
Concentrating, a thread of his consciousness surged from all directions, permeating Ouyang Luoshuang’s heart, Sea of Consciousness, Altar, and even her Initial Realm. Ouyang Luoshuang’s realm seemed like a small pocket space within his own. Through his spiritual sense, he felt capable of breaking through the mysteries of her realm using his own…
It was a sensation of wondrous complexity that defied description.
He felt a sudden certainty: if he were to deploy the Devouring Mystery at this instant, he could swallow Ouyang Luoshuang’s Initial Realm, assimilating it as part of his own!
Unconsciously, he closed his eyes, using his spirit to fully appreciate this marvelous feeling, to internalize the sensation of another entering his realm.
Similarly, Ouyang Luoshuang settled upon one of the moon stars within his realm. The moment her foot touched that moon star, she experienced a sensation: that moon star represented an ultimate form of her own cultivated mysteries. Within each moon, the truest essence of profound power was contained.
Her soul trembled with immense shock, and she devoted herself completely to comprehending the marvels held within the moons.
Those moons were evolved from the Initial Realms of the God Clan ancestors, embodying the ultimate truths of the Light Mystery. For her, who cultivated the Moon Mystery, they were priceless treasures.
The two maintained this peculiar state, both immersed in contemplation, seeking the beautiful scenery beneficial to themselves.
Their souls seemed to undergo a gradual sublimation through this process, and their understanding of the profound mysteries of their respective realms steadily increased.
They temporarily forgot the passage of time, drowning in an incomparable marvel, engaging in a collision of spirits to achieve enlightenment.
They intensely pursued the deepest truths of profound mystery.