Outside the Illusory Domain’s outer layer, Xiaoyao sat upon the Moon Essence Stone, his eyes grim and piercingly cold.

He released his spiritual consciousness to wander, and in a mere instant, his awareness drifted across the vast sea of stars within the Myriad Illusions Star Domain, searching through every single life-bearing planet.

He found nothing.

Xiaoyao immediately reached a conclusion: Shi Yan had escaped by tearing through the void—a deduction that calmed him.

He knew that within the sealed space he controlled, Shi Yan lacked the power to even crack a single corner; therefore, he was instantly certain someone had intervened secretly, pulling Shi Yan away.

To move someone out of his sealed domain, the other party’s cultivation level had to be no less than his own, and they must also be a powerhouse profoundly versed in the mysteries of space…

One figure immediately sprang to mind.

His face hardened, and he glared toward the Star River of nothingness, his voice a chilling whisper: “Dicarro, you dare sabotage my affairs!”

An ominous shriek erupted, and millions of strange lights shot out, weaving through the space, shredding the very void into fragments.

Within a narrow, elongated spatial rift, an old man with a deeply wrinkled face, clad in a flowing white robe, sat atop a massive phantom crystal. He suddenly manifested at the mouth of the rift, his expression helpless. “Xiaoyao, long time no see. I truly didn’t wish to see you.”

“You disrupt my grand scheme the moment you appear, so naturally, you avoid me,” Xiaoyao’s eyes were deep and cold. “Dicarro, my Divine Race has not actively troubled you for ten millennia. Now you leap up to thwart my actions—are you preparing to oppose my kind?”

“Far from it, far from it,” the old man managed a wry smile, his face etched with sorrow, as if burdened by countless unfulfilled obligations. “I had no choice. Debts must be repaid. I’ve shown myself only to tell you that your disciple is safe; rest assured, I will watch over him. Also, you’d best notify the Bradley family. I sent the boy into the Leixiao Star Domain, an affiliated region under their control. The warriors stationed there by the Bradley family might be in for trouble.”

“Was this the charge of the Chamber of Commerce President, or a plea from Ming Hao?” Xiaoyao demanded fiercely.

“Just stop asking. In any case, I was cornered. Ah, the less I wish to interfere, the more people chase after me. After a thousand years of peace, I’m still being targeted—truly unfortunate fate,” Dicarro shook his head.

The space he occupied slowly knitted itself closed. The firmament, which Xiaoyao had thrown into chaos, was smoothed over and restored to its original state by Dicarro’s mere presence.

Dicarro was revered throughout the Star Sea as the foremost master of Spatial Profundity, a figure who gave the Four Great Races endless headaches. This elder, who traversed space unimpeded and whom no one could bind or detain, had always been a primary target for major factions.

Yet, to this day, he had never declared allegiance to any power, not even acknowledging membership within the Great Tide Chamber of Commerce.

Nonetheless, the warriors of the Great Tide Chamber held him in extreme reverence, believing him to be second only to the Chamber President in stature.

Outside the Illusory Star, Ban Yu had already surmised that Shi Yan was a descendant of Dicarro, which was why his attitude suddenly shifted, making Xing Shang, Hao Feng, and the others cautious about striking against him.

It was all due to Dicarro’s fearsome reputation.

Now, the very being that Ban Yu and the others associated with Shi Yan had genuinely appeared, and under Xiaoyao’s blockade, sent Shi Yan into the Leixiao Star Domain—what fate indeed.

“The Leixiao Star Domain…”

Xiaoyao frowned, and with a shift of his divine sense, he instantly located the nearest teleportation array and shot towards it with blinding speed.

The Leixiao Star Domain.

This was an affiliated star domain of the Divine Race’s Bradley family. Formerly, this domain belonged to a power named the Leixiao Alliance (www.shushu5.com for fastest updates). After the Bradley family invaded, this power was utterly annihilated. The existing forces within the original Leixiao Star Domain were left with only two choices: either submit to the Divine Race and become a vassal state, or face destruction.

The majority of the native forces in the Leixiao Star Domain chose the former, pledging fealty to the Bradley family, mining resources for them, and gathering rare cultivation materials.

Those unwilling to submit either vanished, like the Leixiao Alliance, or fled their homeland early on, escaping the Leixiao Star Domain entirely.

Currently, the Leixiao Star Domain was garrisoned by Bradley family powerhouses, administered by local factions, and its Domain Lord was Hegge’s uncle from the Bradley family, a cultivator at the Second Heaven of the Initial God Realm named Leiteka.

Leiteka was the undisputed hegemon of the Leixiao Star Domain, commanding the major forces of the local sectors. He held court in the richest area, the Leixiao Heavenly Pool, where he kept numerous beautiful women from various races, forcing them to crawl on the ground with silver rings around their necks like hounds, serving as his exclusive ‘beauty dogs.’ Leiteka often flaunted this practice to his Divine Race acquaintances.

The Leixiao Heavenly Pool was formed by the convergence of several Star River Tributaries. The pool water was crystal clear and pure. Several meteorites floated within the pool, radiating potent spiritual energy, covered in exotic flowers and rare herbs, and piled high with countless resources.

Many Divine Race battleships traversed to and from the Leixiao Heavenly Pool, either transporting materials collected from the local forces or gathering goods to be taken to the Ancient God Star Domain and funneled into the Bradley family holdings.

On this day, Leiteka was indulging in pleasure within his Heavenly Pool palace when he noticed fluctuations emanating from the Divine Mirror in his secret chamber. His expression changed instantly. He kicked several beauty dogs aside and rushed into the secret chamber with alarm.

Soon, from the Divine Mirror in his secret chamber, he learned that the new Lord of the Bloodthirsty Sect had been sent into his domain.

Leiteka immediately issued orders across all sectors, mobilizing the entire Star Sea to search for traces of the new Bloodthirsty Lord.

At the boundary of the Star Domain Barrier.

Shi Yan and Ouyang Luoshuang materialized. This was the outer edge of the Leixiao Star Domain, where layers of lightning constantly surged, many of which appeared almost alive. He looked closely and realized the lightning was strikingly familiar, closely resembling the Primordial Thunder Dragon of the Celestial Demon Race he knew of.

The Primordial Thunder Dragon was one of the Demon Ancestors of the Celestial Demon Race, having perished long ago. However, it was rumored that after the Primordial Thunder Dragon’s demise, its soul scattered, transforming into wisps wandering between heaven and earth. The Celestial Demon Race had searched for these fragments in the past, hoping to gather them one by one to attempt to resurrect the Dragon.

Alas, the Celestial Demon Race searched for many years without finding a single fragmented soul of the Primordial Thunder Dragon, causing the effort to revive the creature to be indefinitely shelved.

Having merged with the origin of the Divine Grace Continent, he possessed intimate knowledge of many secrets concerning the Celestial Demon Race on that continent, which is why he knew of the Primordial Thunder Dragon.

Now, at the barrier of the Leixiao Star Domain, observing the lightning generating along the domain’s edge, he focused his gaze, his expression deeply moved.

He vaguely sensed that these streaks of lightning forming along the boundary of the Leixiao Star Domain must be the scattered souls of that Primordial Thunder Dragon. The one who brought him here must also be aware of this matter, certainly with profound intent…

He naturally knew that the one who enveloped him and sent him to the Leixiao Star Domain was an expert in Spatial Profundity of the highest caliber, knowing their cultivation level was likely on par with Xiaoyao’s, otherwise achieving this feat would have been impossible.

Returning to the Divine Grace Continent now was achievable with a single thought.

But he felt no urgency. He understood that the person who brought him here deliberately led him to the edge of the Leixiao Star Domain, allowing him, who knew the secret of the Primordial Thunder Dragon, to witness this lightning—there must be a specific purpose.

Is he trying to make me reassemble the Primordial Thunder Dragon?

Shi Yan pondered, furrowing his brow, gradually finding direction.

But in the very next moment, his spirit suddenly trembled, as if abruptly recovering from some mystical state.

He paused, concentrating to sense keenly, and a profoundly complex expression crossed his face. He clearly discovered that the experiential blockages that had hindered his breakthrough to the Second Heaven of the Initial God Realm seemed to have vanished!

The previously obscure points concerning life, death, stars, and the mysteries of space had suddenly become clear. He had a feeling that given sufficient Divine Power, he could break through immediately!

He quickly realized this might be connected to the inexplicable spiritual anomaly he experienced within the Illusory Domain, but he remained uncertain. He knew something miraculous must have occurred to him, as he felt subtle shifts in his soul and life magnetic field—changes he couldn't fully grasp or articulate, yet knew had definitively happened.

He suddenly looked at Ouyang Luoshuang, and then his expression shifted, revealing a bitter smile.

Ouyang Luoshuang stared back at him, her typically cool eyes now filled with icy coldness.

He finally realized that Ouyang Luoshuang was still restrained by him, unable to speak or move, almost as if bound by a Primordial Spirit Lock.

He quickly removed her restraints. Before Ouyang Luoshuang could react or lash out, he secretly channeled his Life Profundity, refining a strand of vital life essence and channeling it into her body, restoring her lower abdomen as if it had never been pierced by him, even making it more resilient than before.

Losing a strand of vital essence left his face slightly pale. He spread his hands in bitter resignation. “Alright, I was wrong. You deal with it.”

Upon being freed, Ouyang Luoshuang did not immediately strike or curse. She merely watched him coldly.

However, under that gaze, Shi Yan felt profoundly guilty and embarrassed, daring not meet her eyes, hanging his head slightly in an attitude of meek apology.

Ouyang Luoshuang simply watched him, for a long, long time. Only when he felt his own spirit on the verge of collapse did she finally ask in a cold voice, “I only have one question. If my Master truly moved against you, would you have killed me?”

This was the question that had occupied her mind throughout their journey.

It was the matter she cared about most deeply.

“This…” Shi Yan looked up, a flicker of confusion in his eyes. He fell silent, and after a long moment, finally murmured, “I truly do not know.”

“Shi Yan, what kind of person are you, exactly?” Ouyang Luoshuang sighed softly, her gaze intricate and conflicted.

“You are free to leave now. In the future, it is best we do not meet again. You are Xiaoyao Heavenly King’s disciple, and I am the Bloodthirsty Sovereign. It will be difficult for us to coexist as we have been,” Shi Yan said, a sigh echoing within his own heart.

“I am Xiaoyao’s disciple, yet why would you let me go? Aren’t you afraid I might oppose you later?” Ouyang Luoshuang started, a tremor stirring in her heart.

“You are you, and he is him. They are not the same in my eyes,” Shi Yan stated.

“I am myself, and he is himself. Exactly, so what are you afraid of? Even if we meet again in the future, I will still be Ouyang Luoshuang, not someone from the Divine Race, and you will just be Shi Yan, not some Bloodthirsty Sovereign. What worry do you have?” Ouyang Luoshuang exclaimed, surprised.

Shi Yan paused, then realized the meaning behind her words, nodding in agreement. “That would be best.”