The potent energy within the lacquer, combined with the power of the Tiankang Pearl and his own inherent strength, surged together, unleashing a burst of potential. Ji Changkong’s might now far surpassed that of the effeminate fiend practicing the dark arts.

The thin rope woven from dragon sinew flashed, settling around the neck of the white-haired man in the blink of an eye. As Ji Changkong uttered his command, he suddenly exerted force, unleashing his full power in an instant.

"Crack!"

The fiend’s fingers were the first to snap under the tension, eliciting a piercing shriek. The fine rope continued to tighten its grip around his neck. With a wet thud, his neck broke, and blood sprayed outward.

His head soared into the sky!

This wretch had expended so much effort trying to subdue Ji Changkong, yet in the end, he was killed by having his neck snapped by Ji Changkong—a truly tragic end.

Ji Changkong never showed mercy to such individuals; his method was always to strike at the root, allowing no opportunity for the soul to escape.

As the head flew off, Ji Changkong acted without hesitation. He brought forth the Tianyuan Pearl and beckoned. The soul of the fiend materialized, but before it could discern direction, it was enveloped by a ray of light emanating from the pearl, pulling the soul directly inside.

Once a soul entered the Tianyuan Pearl, it was doomed.

With his soul now trapped, the man was utterly finished; the mark of his soul would vanish forever from the cosmos, leaving him no chance for revenge.

Tossing the corpse aside casually, Ji Changkong flashed a toothy grin at the master of Tianlu. "Is that all there is to it? Tianlu is hailed as the most formidable force in the Solar Star Field, but in my view, it’s just average."

The sudden reversal where he killed the white-haired youth had taken many by surprise.

The master of Tianlu showed a flicker of astonishment, his gaze hardening. "Boy, you’ve only just entered the Nine Palaces Heaven Realm. By what power did you manage to kill him?"

The leader of the Death Alliance, his ghostly fire-like eyes flickering, also observed Ji Changkong with intense curiosity.

"You think I’d tell you?" Ji Changkong smiled, leisurely gathering his power, preparing to activate the Ancient Nine Transformations Ultimate Array. Hearing this, the smile on the Tianlu master’s face mask twisted, and he nodded slightly. "You are hiding many secrets, boy. Very well, once I imprison your soul, I will slowly extract them. Then, we’ll see if you dare remain so arrogant!"

"You’ll need the ability for that first," Ji Changkong roared with laughter.

At this moment, the ninety-nine eighty-one hearts had all settled into their proper positions. He could deploy the Ancient Nine Transformations Ultimate Array whenever he wished, rendering him utterly fearless.

As he spoke, Ji Changkong subtly signaled to Gu Ya and the others, urging them to be aware.

Shang Bingjie had already positioned herself beside her grandmother, exchanging brief words in secret. Unnoticed by the enemy, the masters from the Shang family had quietly moved behind Ji Changkong, establishing a strategic distance from the Tianlu and Death Alliance ranks.

The master of Tianlu and the leader of the Death Alliance paid no attention to these maneuvers; their focus was entirely fixed on Ji Changkong. They suddenly realized that, besides Poke of the Dark Star Race, they had identified a new target of interest. Perhaps they could glean something fascinating from Ji Changkong himself.

"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you something," Ji Changkong said again, a smile playing on his lips. "Your Devouring Heaven Rat was killed under my direction."

"How could you possibly know the Devouring Heaven Rat's weakness?" The Tianlu master’s eyes were filled with terror. "Even I was unaware of that vulnerability. Where did you learn it?"

"From where your Devouring Heaven Rat originated, I learned it there. Isn't that a simple deduction?"

"Boy, you... you have contacts in the Death Star Field?" The Tianlu master hesitated before acting, cautiously probing. "Which faction in the Death Star Field are you affiliated with? You’d best be clear, boy, lest we end up fighting our own allies."

The secret of the Devouring Heaven Rat was known only to a select few—notorious ruthless figures within the Death Star Field. If this boy was connected to them, caution was paramount. The Tianlu master’s eyes darted as he calculated internally.

The Ten Directions Celestial Masters of the Death Star Field possessed immense divine abilities. Some could ascertain conditions here across ten thousand years using specialized methods. If someone had placed their mark upon Ji Changkong, any incident involving him would be known instantly back there.

The Tianlu master stared blankly at Ji Changkong, beginning to suspect Ji Changkong might be the illegitimate son of some powerful figure from the Death Star Field. If that were true, even if they killed him here, the knowledge of his death would instantly reach that powerful entity through the soul imprint in Ji Changkong’s mind.

If that were the case, even if their current operation succeeded, retribution would eventually come, potentially leading to the extermination of their entire faction.

These thoughts made the Tianlu master increasingly cautious, daring not to act rashly.

The leader of the Death Alliance conferred with the Tianlu master. Their respective backing powers in the Death Star Field were allies. Upon hearing the Tianlu master’s concerns, the Death Alliance leader also began to feel uneasy.

"You are free to attack. The person I know is not in your faction at all," Ji Changkong declared with a carefree laugh, thinking that while that individual was powerful, he was besieged by everyone, clearly a solitary overlord. Ji Changkong had no need to use that person to save his own life, hence his confident statement.

The Tianlu master and the Death Alliance leader exchanged glances, becoming even more hesitant to move.

After a pause, the Tianlu master asked, "Who exactly is the person backing you? Tell us, and perhaps we can grant him face and spare your life."

The relationships in the Death Star Field were intricate, comprising countless factions and solitary, powerful experts whom no one dared slight.

The forces backing Tianlu and the Death Alliance were not the strongest in the Death Star Field. They dared attack the Shang family, Jinwang Mountain, and Feihua because they knew the powers behind those factions were weaker than their own in the Death Star Field, and moreover, they were adversaries.

This was precisely why the masters of Tianlu and the Death Alliance had felt no worry, even actively engaging, when dealing with the Shang family, Jinwang Mountain, and Feihua.

However, anyone capable of knowing the Devouring Heaven Rat's weakness was certainly a major figure in the Death Star Field. Without knowing the identity of this significant expert, the masters of Tianlu and the Death Alliance dared not make a hasty move, fearing they might provoke unnecessary trouble.

Both were destined to break through to the Ten Directions Heaven Realm and eventually enter the Death Star Field. Offending a major figure from the Death Star Field while in the Solar Star Field could mean certain death once they arrived there, beyond the protection of their own supporting factions.

This realization made them extremely cautious upon sensing an implicit powerful backer for Ji Changkong, leaving them terrified to lay a hand on him.

They continued to probe, delaying any action until Ji Changkong revealed the identity of his backer. During this period, Ji Changkong seized the opportunity to have the experts from the Shang family and Jincai Mountain quietly withdraw and position themselves behind him, slipping away from the enemy ranks one by one.

"You dare not move against me? Heh, my apologies, then I shall not hold back!" With everything in place, Ji Changkong abandoned the pretense, laughing loudly.

The sliver of soul remaining in the vast Star Sea Map surely belonged to a powerful figure in the Death Star Field in life. According to Poke, the previous owner of the Tianyuan Pearl was also notorious in the Death Star Field, having made powerful enemies who eventually cornered and eliminated him.

If that lingering soul originated from him, then this person was undoubtedly extraordinary. However, Ji Changkong had no idea who this person was, nor did he wish to leverage that name for his own safety, so he simply dismissed the thought.

With a flicker of intent, the Ancient Nine Transformations Ultimate Array finally began to activate.

Peaks rose from the distant earth, suspended in the void, roaring mightily as they flew in from the horizon toward this location.

The eighty-one hearts were affixed to these mountain peaks of varying sizes. The power of the peaks was unleashed, and they emerged, encircling Misty Isle from all directions.

Suddenly, the heavens darkened as the mountains obscured the sun.

"Go!" Ji Changkong commanded softly.

Behind him, the experts from the Shang family, Jinwang Mountain, Feihua, and the Nine Palaces Celestial Masters from other life-bearing stars flew skyward, taking position among the incoming peaks.

As these individuals entered the space between the peaks, they felt as if they had stepped into an entirely new world. The Azure Sea Continent seemed to recede in an instant. Looking around, they found birdsong and fragrance; they stood on the mountainside of a peak, bathed in the light of the sun and moon, amidst the brilliance of countless stars displayed between the soaring peaks—a magnificent spectacle.

Peaks floated nearby, shrouded in swirling mist below, obscuring the reality beneath. Misty Isle and the Azure Sea Continent seemed nonexistent. Even their souls could not sense any activity below.

They understood they were suspended above the Azure Sea Continent, within the clouds, but now the clouds were filled with towering mountains. Peaks that should have been embedded within the islands of the Azure Sea Continent had been brought into the celestial mist by an immense power.

"Heavens! What are those?"

"A celestial realm! Is that truly a celestial realm?"

"A mirage! It can't be real, it must be an illusion!"

"It's not an illusion! The mountains on our islands just vanished; this is absolutely real!"

On many islands below on the Azure Sea Continent, powerful Celestial Masters looked up in astonishment, crying out in disbelief.

Gazing upward from the ground, one could clearly see peaks suspended within the celestial mist. Amidst the vast clouds, there were even trees and vegetation atop these peaks, and faint shadows of one or two figures could be seen moving.

It was exactly like the celestial realm imagined by mortals—a place where immortals resided in the clouds, where mountains, lakes, and another magical world existed above the earth.

The Celestial Masters of the Azure Sea Continent had always dismissed such stories as fantasy. Whenever their souls traversed the heavens to cultivate soul power in the Solar Star Field, they never detected anything unusual above, thus they never believed it.

Yet today, a scene resembling the celestial realm had manifested in the sky's mist. When they released their soul power to explore, they were blocked by layers of impenetrable barriers.

One by one, the masters of the Shang family, Jinwang Mountain, and Feihua rushed into the sky-bound mist, stopping upon the peaks suspended there.

Ji Changkong watched the master of Tianlu and the leader of the Death Alliance with a gentle smile, unhurriedly. Only after everyone from the allied factions had entered the Ancient Nine Transformations Ultimate Array did he nod slightly. "Your plan, up to this point, has been completely thwarted."

With that, Ji Changkong stopped talking, laughing loudly as he ascended into the sky himself, landing upon one of the mist-shrouded peaks. He stood beside Shang Bingjie, appearing like a golden boy and jade maiden from the immortal realm.

"Has the formation activated?" Shang Bingjie asked, her expression cool but her eyes shining with excitement, clearly thrilled.

"It’s activated, but the deadly phase hasn't officially begun. We just wait for those people to arrive," Ji Changkong replied calmly.

Within the Ancient Nine Transformations Ultimate Array, those inside could not see out, but those outside could see in. The mist beneath the peaks acted as a natural barrier, completely isolating the two groups.

The people on the islands of the Azure Sea Continent could see the silhouettes above the mist, but Shang Bingjie, Gu Ya, and the others could not see past the mist to the landscape below.

Once inside the Ancient Nine Transformations Ultimate Array, they were severed from the outside world, unable to perceive anything external through sight or soul.

The only one unaffected was the array's master—Ji Changkong!

The master of Tianlu and the leader of the Death Alliance looked up. From below, they could clearly see Ji Changkong and his group—they saw Gu Ya and the Shang family matriarch looking around on a peak, and they witnessed the celestial spectacle, discerning every change within.

"This... what is this?" The Tianlu master’s eyes showed confusion. After a moment, he murmured, "This must be... must be some kind of formation. There was nothing in the sky when we arrived."

"I think we should kill that boy. He seems to possess many secrets. If you are worried, we can imprison his soul—not destroy it. That way, even if he is truly connected to a powerful figure in the Death Star Field, it shouldn't cause too much trouble," the Death Alliance leader proposed after some deliberation.

The Tianlu master pondered this and nodded slowly. "Very well. Imprison his soul, and first, we acquire his soul memories. Then we’ll know who is backing him. As long as his soul isn't destroyed, the person behind him should have difficulty detecting any change, and even if they do, as long as the soul remains, we can still negotiate."

The Tianlu master and the Death Alliance leader conferred and finally decided to proceed with their original plan, albeit with greater caution. Before making their move, they severely warned their subordinates never to let Ji Changkong's soul be utterly annihilated.

With arrangements made, they finally felt at ease. Leading their forces, they ascended one by one into the mountain peaks enveloped by the mist.

The moment the entire contingent entered the misty peaks above, they suddenly found themselves cut off from the world below. Even the masters of Tianlu and the Death Alliance struggled to sense anything from the Azure Sea Continent; within a range of mere tens of meters, they could not perceive the aura of those beside them.

Eerie!

The faces of the Tianlu master and the Death Alliance leader changed instantly. "Everyone gather together! Do not scatter! This formation is strange!"

The experts of Tianlu and the Death Alliance, along with the Nine Palaces Celestial Masters from other life-bearing stars, stopped their aimless movements and clustered tightly around their leaders, cautiously exploring their surroundings.

When they were on Misty Isle below, the two leaders could clearly see the sights above—the figures of Gu Ya and the Shang family matriarch. But upon entering this space, Gu Ya and the Shang family matriarch seemed to have vanished without a trace.

Not only were they invisible to the naked eye, but their souls could not detect the life essence of those nearby. In this place, the group seemed to have suddenly become blind, unable to sense anything at all.

"Everyone be careful, something is wrong here. No one moves randomly; we must stand united!" The voice of the Death Alliance leader echoed faintly, commanding everyone to stay together to face the situation seriously.

Suddenly, they watched as the peaks beside them disappeared one after another. They were trapped in the mist, suspended between heaven and earth, wandering endlessly through the haze without finding an end.

On one peak, Ji Changkong, Shang Bingjie, and Gu Ya’s group gathered, watching the bewildered ranks of the Tianlu master’s party not far away with cold eyes.

"What do we do?" the Shang family matriarch asked Gu Ya softly beside her.

"Leave it to him; he can handle it," Gu Ya replied coolly.

Whether the situation in the Solar Star Field could be altered depended on this moment! Ji Changkong took a deep breath and suddenly sat down cross-legged on the peak.

He closed his eyes in concentration, and the mountain peak seemed to come alive, as if... To know what happened next, please log on to [Website Address], where more chapters are available to support the author and genuine reading! D