Glittering, brilliant stars flashed past as the two walked hand-in-hand, searching for their objective amidst the vast expanse.

The sapphire-blue Life Stars and the deathly dark Dead Stars were the most numerous celestial bodies they encountered. Among them, the Dead Stars took the majority, appearing almost every short distance one traveled.

These Dead Stars were originally living celestial bodies within the Solar Star Domain, only gradually losing the vitality characteristic of living stars over the passage of time after the Star Essence within their cores had been entirely harvested.

The ethereal little hand Shang Bingjie manifested was constantly held by Ji Changkong. Their souls brushed close; though they hadn't fully opened their hearts, there was still the wonderful sensation of souls mingling.

Throughout the journey, Ji Changkong merely followed Shang Bingjie, walking with her as they exchanged insights regarding the Endless Star Domain.

Through Shang Bingjie’s narration, Ji Changkong gained greater knowledge of the Endless Star Domain, learning that in its infinite reaches, many races did not reside in the domain of Dead Stars. He also learned from her some secret histories of the Purgatory Ghost Race.

The Purgatory Ghost Race was a powerful lineage within the Endless Star Domain, possessing formidable strength and a deep understanding of the various truths of cosmic power. Their insights into the realm of the soul surpassed those of many other races.

This was an extremely bloodthirsty and warlike race, once notorious throughout the Endless Star Domain. Only after the Life Star where the Purgatory Ghost Race dwelt suffered a catastrophic disaster did they quiet down somewhat.

Having narrowly escaped extinction, the surviving members of the Purgatory Ghost Race were all exceptionally powerful experts. They were active across the major star domains, gathering a certain mystical power, seemingly plotting something.

Ghost Corpses were miraculous artifacts refined by the Purgatory Ghost Race using the Yin energy gathered from heaven and earth. Once a Ghost Corpse took form, it would be influenced by the power of the Purgatory Ghost Race experts and fly directly to its refiner, causing the refiner's strength to surge dramatically.

Requiem of the Soul was a wondrous soul technique used by the Purgatory Ghost Race to annihilate souls. Throughout the Endless Star Domain, the Requiem of the Soul was known as a notoriously vicious skill. It was rumored that Purgatory Ghost Race powerhouses who mastered the Requiem of the Soul to its extreme could use it to erase the very imprints of life that existed before the Great Destruction.

Some of this knowledge came from the ancient records of the Shang family, while a portion stemmed from the deepest recesses of Shang Bingjie’s memory, imparted to her by her ancestors. Shang Bingjie’s soul held profound memories that were absent from the Shang family’s written texts.

From Shang Bingjie, Ji Changkong understood the might of the Purgatory Ghost Race and realized that the subtleties of the Requiem of the Soul extended beyond what he already knew. Along the way, he constantly searched his memories for aspects of the Requiem of the Soul, hoping to discover how to unlock its mysteries to a greater extent.

Regrettably, after contemplating the various profundities of the Requiem of the Soul, he discovered that what he knew about its essence seemed... incomplete.

Much like the Grand Void Secret Record previously hidden within his soul, the cultivation method for the Requiem of the Soul they possessed appeared to be only a fraction of the whole. It seemed the Requiem of the Soul possessed other secret methods.

When he realized this possibility, he didn't dwell on it excessively. Although the Purgatory Ghost Race's Requiem of the Soul was potent, acquiring the complete cultivation method depended heavily on serendipity; it wasn't something attainable simply through the desire to practice it.

“I don’t understand, why can you cultivate the Requiem of the Soul?” After traversing a region saturated with Dead Stars, Shang Bingjie’s spirit soul paused on a streaking meteor, riding it as they continued forward. After a moment’s hesitation, she asked with a note of curiosity.

“What? Cultivating the Requiem of the Soul? Are there restrictions?” Ji Changkong was taken aback.

“Yes. It is said that only members of the Purgatory Ghost Race can cultivate the Requiem of the Soul. You clearly are not one of them, so why can you?” Shang Bingjie frowned slightly, her pretty face etched with confusion.

“Is that so?” Ji Changkong looked slightly lost, pondering for a moment before replying, “Perhaps it’s related to the various strange powers within my body. Who knows? For us cultivators, the higher our realm, the less human we become. Once a deviation in cultivation occurs, the physical changes become even more significant.”

He possessed the blood and souls of the Four Sacred Beasts. Because he practiced the Nebula Soul Refining Art of the Aurorean Sect, his soul could transform into a nebula-like form. Furthermore, having obtained the Fire of Life within the Heart of the Sun, his soul could assume yet another form.

Sometimes, even he felt he was no longer entirely human.

“You truly are very peculiar,” Shang Bingjie stared at him intently, nodding in agreement after a long pause. “When we were in the Heart of the Sun, everyone feared being touched by those Heavenly Fires, yet you actually entered the ocean of Heavenly Fire. I truly don’t know what’s going on with you.”

Ji Changkong smiled, offering no further explanation.

They continued flying toward their destination. After an indeterminate amount of time, the two halted in the dense area of Dead Stars. Upon arriving, Shang Bingjie immediately became cautious, her demeanor solemn. “Experts from the Meteor Sea Domain often frequent this vicinity. Be careful. If we run into any of them, we’ll be in trouble.”

Ji Changkong nodded. After traveling this far in spirit form, he felt a sense of spiritual exhaustion. Clearly, they were not far from the Five Elements Grand Gate. He knew the experts of the Meteor Sea Domain were even fiercer and more unhinged than those from the Solar Star Domain.

Living stars in the Meteor Sea Domain were nearly extinct. Over the years, all the Nine Palaces Heavenly Scholars of the Meteor Sea Domain had come to the border where the Meteor Sea Domain met the Solar Star Domain, searching for Star Essence.

At this junction between the two great domains, it was still occasionally possible to discover a few living stars containing Star Essence. Whenever an expert from the Meteor Sea Domain discovered such a precious location, they would immediately occupy it, and soon more experts would arrive to jointly guard the area.

The conflict between the Meteor Sea Domain and the Solar Star Domain had grown increasingly frequent in the last century. In the scramble for these dwindling cultivation resources, countless Nine Palaces Heavenly Scholars from both sides had perished here.

Repeated confrontations and devastating battles had turned the experts of the two domains into mortal enemies. Once they encountered experts from the opposing domain at the border, often they wouldn't even bother to exchange a word before immediately engaging in battle.

Hatred had intensified over the last century. If the experts of the two domains could not physically traverse the distance directly, the brutal war between the two domains might have already escalated beyond merely spiritual combat.

Hearing Shang Bingjie’s warning, Ji Changkong immediately grew cautious, nodding. He released his spirit awareness, quietly probing the surroundings, wary of a sneak attack from a Meteor Sea Domain expert.

“I haven’t been to this precise location before, and I’m not entirely clear on which corner it is. I only know the general vicinity,” Shang Bingjie’s spirit soul drifted slowly beneath the Dead Stars, sending out wisps of sensation, perceptible only to souls, to drift across the other corners.

Ji Changkong had never been here either, only having heard tales of the turmoil in this area, so he had no good advice. He simply mimicked Shang Bingjie, opening his spiritual awareness to sense the environment, ready to react at any moment.

As his awareness spread, the fluctuations of energy from the densely packed Dead Stars rapidly fed back to him. These fluctuations were analyzed in his mind, revealing the conditions on those Dead Stars, allowing him to clearly perceive whether any hidden dangers lay in ambush nearby.

The danger did not arrive as quickly as anticipated. The two moved through this dense field of Dead Stars for a long time without sensing any trace of life.

Yet, this sector of Dead Stars seemed endless. Their spirit souls wandered for a considerable duration without ever exiting this cluster of dead celestial bodies.

Gradually, Shang Bingjie’s spiritual energy began to wane.

After all, she had only just entered the Nine Palaces Heaven realm and didn't possess a soul as monstrously resilient as Ji Changkong's. After the long stellar journey, Shang Bingjie’s spiritual energy depletion was immense, and her sensory range started to diminish.

“We cannot go any further,” Ji Changkong suddenly stopped, assessing the situation internally. “Your spiritual energy is already halved. If we continue, you might not have enough power left to return to your physical body. We stop here; we return for now.”

“It should be just ahead. Why don't we press on a little further? I can still manage,” Shang Bingjie clearly was reluctant to abandon their goal halfway.

“No!” Ji Changkong shook his head. “I will return with you. I have memorized this location now. Next time, I will come alone. Rest assured, I will certainly find your grandmother.”

“I really can keep going,” Shang Bingjie insisted stubbornly.

“Absolutely not!” Ji Changkong shook his head again.

Whoosh! Whoosh-whoosh!

Just then, Ji Changkong’s soul detected an unusual fluctuation. This fluctuation originated from a Dead Star ahead, deep within one of its dead volcanoes.

Startled, Ji Changkong extended his spiritual consciousness toward it, focusing his attention intently to investigate the area, trying to discern the source of the anomaly.

Boom! Boom! Crash! Bang! As his spiritual focus sharpened, Ji Changkong suddenly perceived the sounds of souls clashing and colliding deep within that dead volcano.

When various soul techniques were unleashed, they would send out ripples in space. Although these ripples weren't intensely strong, those with powerful sensory perception could still detect them.

“Someone is fighting inside the dead volcano ahead. I’ll go take a look. You stay here for now, don't enter,” Ji Changkong’s heart stirred, and he released Shang Bingjie, quietly creeping toward the source.

“I’m coming with you,” Shang Bingjie insisted. “Don’t underestimate me; my soul techniques aren't inferior to yours.”

“No! If a battle occurs and your spiritual energy is depleted, it will be very difficult to return to your body. Stay here, be good, alright?” Ji Changkong’s soul gently commanded.

“Fine, alright,” Shang Bingjie finally agreed reluctantly. For subsequent events, please log in to Xin Si, where more chapters are available to support the author and legitimate reading! D