The tearing of the Pin Piao gradually exposed the ethereal souls of the four peak experts of the Four Heavens Apex Realm. However, these four looked rather battered, evading the pursuit of the twelve Heavenly Fires within a very confined space, constantly gathering the spiritual power of their divine souls to resist the invasion of the Heavenly Fires.

When the two Great Heavenly Apertures began to merge, they initially only fused at a single corner. These four, intent on killing Ji Changkong, rushed into this small, restricted area before their two Great Heavenly Apertures were fully merged, jostling to be the first to reach Ji Changkong and seize the Nine Radiance Life Tree in his hands.

However, the space in that small corner was extremely limited. With four people moving at once, it immediately became congested.

At that moment, all twelve Heavenly Fires surged in, trapping the four within that small area. The twelve Heavenly Fires blocked their path into the Heavenly Apertures of Ji Changkong and Shang Bingjie. To enter the Great Heavenly Apertures of Ji Changkong and Shang Bingyi, these four had to break through the twelve Heavenly Fires.

As the killing intent formed in Ji Changkong’s heart, the twelve Heavenly Fires, possessing self-awareness, mercilessly unleashed their fiercest assault upon the four. The twelve Heavenly Fires divided into four groups, three fires per group, surrounding the four men, preventing any one of them from flying out of the narrow passage.

Shang Bingjie peered out and saw that under the pursuit of the twelve Heavenly Fires, these four peak experts from an alien continent were extremely disheveled; not a single one could quickly break free from the onslaught of the Heavenly Fires and enter their Great Heavenly Apertures.

Shang Bingjie was deeply astonished and couldn't help looking at Ji Changkong a few more times. She thought that although he was in the Eight Trigrams Heaven Realm, and in terms of both realm and the depth of spiritual power, he seemed less formidable than those four, yet he could condense such potent Heavenly Fires to hold back four masters who were no weaker than him.

Shang Bingjie could not fathom it. Suddenly, she felt that this man who repeatedly claimed to love her was enveloped in profound mystery.

However, good fortune was short-lived. That narrow fissure finally began to widen slowly; the two Great Heavenly Apertures were ultimately proceeding on the path of fusion. As the space between the two Heavenly Apertures began to close together, the space occupied by the four peak Eight Trigrams Heaven Masters from the alien continent grew larger, and the area blocking their path also broadened.

Three Heavenly Fires against one peak Eight Trigrams Heaven Master from the alien continent seemed somewhat insufficient. Once the four discovered the expanded space to maneuver, they immediately began shifting positions. Their speed was extreme; the three Heavenly Fires found it difficult to entangle any single one of them. The power of three Heavenly Fires was not enough to pin down even one of the four.

Almost instantaneously, all four broke free from the attack of the three flames. At this moment, the two Great Heavenly Apertures had finally merged completely, becoming one vast Heavenly Aperture. Shang Bingjie and Ji Changkong simultaneously appeared within the sight of the four.

The four peak experts of the Eight Trigrams Heaven Pinnacle Realm were clearly not from the same place.

One was extremely thin, like a Confucian scholar, but his eyes were disproportionately large, making him look exceedingly strange.

Another's soul was not even in human form! His soul was merely a wisp of dim ghostly fire. This ghost fire's life form was clearly different from that of a normal human. The greenish ghost fire had no discernible face, appearing like the primordial form of a soul, yet it continuously exuded an aura of maliciousness toward everything in the world.

An extremely ugly woman held a fan conjured from soul spiritual power. The fan was covered in tender, colorful, blooming flowers. A faint smile played on her lips as her gaze continually swept over Ji Changkong.

The last was an old man with a poisonous tumor growing right in the center of his head. The tumor was distended, looking as if thick pus might flow out at any moment. The old man kept chuckling sinisterly, his eyes equally filled with lecherous color. Most of his attention was fixed on Shang Bingjie, glancing only occasionally at the Nine Radiance Life Tree in Ji Changkong’s hand.

In total, the four strong individuals from the alien continent floated through the Great Heavenly Aperture like wandering specters. The three Heavenly Fires trailing behind them could never catch up.

The four gradually dispersed, spreading out to the four corners around Ji Changkong and Shang Bingjie. While evading the Heavenly Fires, they quietly closed in on the pair.

“The thin one comes from the Demon’s Lair; the one in the dead soul form is clearly from the Death Alliance. The ugly woman is from the 'Flying Flower' sect of the Qilan Continent. As for the last disgusting old man, I don't know which sect or continent he belongs to!” Shang Bingjie stated coldly, watching the four approach, her tone flat as she explained to Ji Changkong.

Three of the four alien continent experts were from the eight supreme powers of the Solar Star Domain.

Ji Changkong was not surprised by this. According to Shang Bingjie, these eight supreme powers possessed the most complete secret techniques for cultivating Heaven Masters, lacking nothing from the One Origin Heaven Realm up to the Ten Directions Heaven Realm. Furthermore, only these supremely complete sects could produce individuals who could dominate the Solar Star Domain.

And those who could occupy the cultivation space within the Heart of the Sun Heavenly Aperture were often the most powerful monstrous experts residing on the Sun. In that light, it was quite logical for the masters within the Heavenly Aperture to originate from the eight supreme powers.

“Heh heh, I am from the Joyous Union Valley. Little girl, our Joyous Union Valley was once one of the eight supreme powers of the Solar Star Domain, but we were replaced by Gold Net Mountain because we haven't produced a Ten Directions Heaven Master in a thousand years. However, now that the Joyous Union Valley has me, perhaps we can rejoin the ranks of the eight supreme powers!” The old man chuckled creepily, his gaze lingering over Shang Bingjie’s entire body. The conjured large mouth secreted viscous saliva, and yellow fluid slowly dripped from the tumor on his forehead—the picture of utter disgust.

Shang Bingjie’s face filled with revulsion. She shot the old man a cold, proud glance before immediately turning her head away, looking at Ji Changkong and saying, “The Joyous Union Valley was once strong for a period, but it declined rapidly afterward. I heard it was because the peak Nine Palaces Heaven Master of the Joyous Union Valley during that time was killed. The killer was supposedly from your Five Elements Continent, something like the leader of the Ouroboros Divine Cult.”

“For a time, the leader of the Ouroboros Divine Cult was quite famous in the Solar Star Domain. He was rumored to possess an immortal soul. The masters from the eight supreme powers’ Nine Palaces Heaven Realm hunted him across the Solar Star Domain, but he escaped using arcane soul secret arts. The masters of the eight supreme powers in the Solar Star Domain were even subjected to his repeated revenge. The Joyous Union Valley was a major force hunting that man back then; their strongest Nine Palaces Heaven Master was killed in the retaliation of that Ouroboros Divine Cult leader. That fellow did not leave behind the supreme soul technique of the Joyous Union Valley, which caused many Nine Palaces Heaven Masters in the Valley to be unable to break through to the Ten Directions Heaven Realm for hundreds of years, leading to the Valley’s stagnation for millennia.”

“The leader of the Ouroboros Divine Cult,” Ji Changkong muttered in surprise. This was the first time he had heard anyone in the Solar Star Domain mention the leader of the Ouroboros Divine Cult. After thinking for a moment, Ji Changkong asked, “Is that leader of the Ouroboros Divine Cult very famous in the Solar Star Domain?”

“Extremely famous! He was likely the most famous Heaven Master from your Five Elements Continent. In that era, he was almost invincible in one-on-one combat across the Solar Star Domain,” Shang Bingjie stated.

“So that’s how it is,” Ji Changkong nodded, feeling astonished. He hadn't expected that among the many master Heaven Masters from the Five Elements Continent, the most renowned in the Solar Star Domain would be that expert from the Ouroboros Divine Cult. It seemed the Ouroboros Divine Cult’s secret techniques were quite potent.

“Currently, the most famous person from your Five Elements Continent is Cao Xuanqi! It is said that when he was in the Eight Trigrams Heaven Realm, he greatly enjoyed challenging masters from other continents. Whether on the Moon or the Sun, as long as his soul arrived, he would challenge any strong opponent he encountered. After he cultivated to the Nine Palaces Heaven Realm, he sought out soul battles everywhere in the Solar Star Domain, engaging in battles large and small—no less than a hundred times—and never suffered a single defeat,” the thin scholar from the Demon’s Lair said without realizing he had drifted to within fifty zhang of Ji Changkong.

The scholar stared grimly at Ji Changkong. “Ten years ago, Cao Xuanqi killed my father on a star, seizing a Great Star that should have belonged to my father for cultivation. To deal with him, my Demon’s Lair dispatched three peak Nine Palaces Heaven Masters, but all were slain. If anyone from your Five Elements Continent is to break through to the Ten Directions Heaven Realm, it must be this Cao Xuanqi! Boy, if you hand over the Nine Radiance Life Tree to me, and convey a message from our Demon’s Lair to Cao Xuanqi, I can let you go.”

“What message?” Ji Changkong’s heart sank, and he asked coldly.

“My Demon’s Lair will tell him the secret to breaking through to the Ten Directions Heaven Realm, provided he forges an alliance with my Demon’s Lair when we reach the Endless Star Domain or the Dead Star Domain. We can treat our past small grievances as if they never happened,” the scholar said chillingly.

“He even killed your father, yet you don’t seek revenge, and can even accept this arrangement from the Demon’s Lair?” Ji Changkong scoffed.

“In the Demon’s Lair, we only respect true powerhouses. Cao Xuanqi is a true powerhouse! The dead are merely weaklings; the weak are not worth dwelling on, even if he was my father. After death, he is just a pile of dust. For the great plans of the Demon’s Lair, a mere revenge for a murdered father means nothing!” the scholar sneered disdainfully.

Hearing the scholar’s words, Ji Changkong suddenly understood that Cao Xuanqi was indeed immensely powerful. After he killed three Nine Palaces Heaven Masters of the Demon’s Lair, they were still willing to ally with him. This showed how much weight Cao Xuanqi carried in the eyes of the Demon’s Lair!

For his sake, the Demon’s Lair not only overlooked past grudges but was also willing to bestow the secret of breaking through to the Ten Directions Heaven Realm. Was this Cao Xuanqi too much of a monster?

“Ji Changkong, die!” Suddenly, the scholar roared, shockingly calling out Ji Changkong’s true name.

In the next instant, he moved with uncanny speed to stand before Ji Changkong. Giant spheres of demonic energy frantically surged out of his body, directly engulfing Ji Changkong’s soul.