The inherent poison of the Demon King had clearly undergone a monumental transformation; exactly what form it had taken, even Ji Changkong could not ascertain.

If he failed to utterly eradicate the residual consciousness of the Demon King, one day it would surely regenerate, and by then, the Demon King would be infinitely more terrifying!

However, every vestige of the Demon King’s aura had now fused with the inherent poison. Even if Ji Changkong wished to kill the Demon King now, he had no means to do so.

Unless he steeled his heart and purged the inherent poison along with it!

He questioned himself deeply, recognizing he still lacked the ruthlessness for such an extreme measure. The inherent poison was undeniably a massive scourge, yet from beginning to end, it had never harbored ill will toward him; in fact, it had saved his life on numerous occasions.

Therefore, he could only allow the inherent poison to manage the situation itself. Fortunately, the poison had promised to remain within the Tianyuan Pearl. If the Demon King’s consciousness were to gain the upper hand while inside, the energy within the Pearl would immediately react.

It seemed that as long as the inherent poison did not leave the Tianyuan Pearl, there would be no major issue.

Emerging from the Tianyuan Pearl, Ji Changkong’s main soul returned to his physical body. He pondered for a moment, then let out another sigh of resignation.

Looking up at the star-strewn sky, he saw that upon the vast dead star, save for the suspended form of the Darkness, there was nothing else—all the divine souls had either fled or perished, long vanished without a trace.

To be frank, this journey through the Boundless Star Domain had been remarkably fruitful: he had secured the Evil Dragon Crystal, acquired a Darkness, and dealt with the Demon King. Yet, he felt no elation.

On one hand, the Demon King was not completely resolved. On the other, he had provoked the experts of the Zark Clan, and he knew that sooner or later, they would return.

Furthermore, he had made an enemy of the Abyss Sea Star Domain. Since the inherent poison had killed so many of their people, his original plan to cooperate with the Abyss Sea Star Domain was, naturally, impossible to implement now.

Fortunately, the three major powers—Tianlu, Death Pact, and Demon Grotto—were utterly ruined here. The Heavenly Serpent Cult and the Joyful Union Valley were also crippled by his actions, with their elites slaughtered.

The so-called Eight Supreme Powers of the Solar Star Domain had undergone a seismic upheaval. The major factions were either destroyed or crippled; the remaining ones—Flying Flower, Vajra Mountain, and the Shang Family—were now entirely subservient to his will.

In the current Solar Star Domain, he could no longer conceive of anyone who posed a genuine threat. Under these circumstances, his grand scheme of cooperation with Dick could no longer be obstructed.

Hesitating slightly, Ji Changkong flew toward the Darkness, piloting it toward a distant dead star.

He carved out a massive cavern in the dead star's fiery crater and piloted the Darkness directly inside. Upon exiting, he used his power of moving mountains and overturning seas to seal the crater shut.

Only when even he could find no trace of intrusion did he nod in satisfaction.

He had done this as a precaution against the Zark Clan. He feared they might track the Darkness back to the Five Elements Continent. Out of caution, he dared not bring the vessel directly to the continent, hoping to use it later.

Having ensured that no wandering divine soul could detect anything, he utilized the Boundless Star Domain Map to tear open a light portal, plunging into the Five Elements Continent, the Xuanyuan Valley.

Everything inside had barely changed; the Xuanyuan Valley was safe and, in fact, had flourished to an extreme degree.

The Xuanyuan Valley had long since become the epicenter of the Five Elements Continent. Any cultivator who had achieved mastery would habitually converge there to exchange cultivation materials and insights, paying homage to the Nine Palaces Celestial Masters from other life-stars, hoping for the rare opportunity to receive guidance.

Under the influence of the Chen, Xiao, and Duan families, rare sources from the Northern Barbarians, Southern Yi, Eastern Sea, and Western Regions flowed ceaselessly into the Xuanyuan Valley. Augmented by the Star Sea Grand Array, the ambient spiritual energy in the valley grew ever denser, even influencing the surrounding regions and suffusing them with vital energy.

Where there is abundant spiritual energy, there will never be a shortage of cultivators. Centered on the Xuanyuan Valley, numerous cultivators gathered nearby; nearly a third of all Celestial Masters in the world were now concentrated near the valley.

Naturally, every cultivator who came to practice in Xuanyuan Valley adhered to its rules, regarding the valley as supreme—this was an unwritten decree.

Upon arriving, Ji Changkong immediately gathered everyone who had returned from beyond the stars with Gu Dan. He concealed the truth about the Demon King, omitting the fact that he had been assimilated by the inherent poison, claiming instead that he had refined the Demon King to death.

He explained clearly the complete annihilation of Tianlu, Death Pact, and Demon Grotto, informing Flying Flower and the experts from other life-stars who were residing in the valley that the Solar Star Domain was now free of danger. He inquired if Lan Fen and the others wished to remain in Xuanyuan Valley.

Upon hearing that the Demon King was truly killed and that Tianlu, Demon Grotto, and Death Pact were finished, the Celestial Masters who had taken refuge in Xuanyuan Valley were overjoyed and declared their intention to return home.

Ji Changkong naturally did not stop them. He then explained that he would find a location to serve as a testing ground for Dick, instructing them not to disturb that area, to which they unanimously agreed.

At this juncture, his power within the Solar Star Domain far surpassed anyone else’s; in this situation, who dared cross him?

Not only did they readily agree, but they also pledged that upon returning to their respective domains, they would certainly restrain their own disciples and notify all the experts they knew to act strictly according to his wishes.

Thus, Ji Changkong nodded with satisfaction. At their earnest requests, he opened light portals for them and sent them back to their respective life-stars one by one.

Shang Bingjie was among this group. Clutching the skeletal remains of the Old Madam Shang, her expression sorrowful, she entered a light portal with two Nine Palaces Celestial Masters from the Shang Family, returning to the Hai’an Continent.

Ji Changkong felt a pang of sadness in his heart but did not say much.

Finally, under his guidance using the Boundless Star Sea Map, the Nine Palaces Celestial Masters who had come to Xuanyuan Valley for refuge from the Hai’an Continent all chose to return home.

When only his own family—Gu Dan, Mo Yunyi, and the others—remained on the back mountain, Ji Changkong let out a quiet sigh, revealing a trace of reluctance.

“Changkong, don’t worry. She will return,” Gu Dan persuaded gently. “Once she fully refines the Star Essence within her, and if she cannot find other Star Essence, she will certainly come back to find you.”

Nodding lightly, Ji Changkong forced a smile. “I understand. It seems we won’t be seeing each other for quite some time.”

In front of his own family, he did not hide his emotions, especially since Gu Dan had already seen through everything; concealment was entirely unnecessary.

“Changkong, what are your plans now?” Gu Dan asked.

“I will coordinate the handover with Dick, settle the matters concerning the Dark Star Clan, and then focus entirely on cultivation. Who knows when the Zark Clan will return,” Ji Changkong replied.

“Indeed. Only by increasing our strength can we face the Zark Clan’s invasion without fear,” Gu Dan agreed.

“Changkong, someone in the valley has broken through to the Nine Palaces Celestial realm again—it’s Mu Jie and the patriarch of the Luo family, Chen Qisen,” Mo Yunyi offered with a slight smile, finally bringing him some good news.

“Ha! That’s wonderful. Only as the Nine Palaces Celestial Masters of our Xuanyuan Valley increase can we truly remain unshaken in the Solar Star Domain!” Ji Changkong said happily.

“This is all thanks to the immense primordial energy of Xuanyuan Valley, the open exchange among our people, and the abundance of cultivation materials available to the Celestial Masters,” Mo Yunyi elaborated.

“That is excellent. Once they stabilize their realms, tell them to come find me at the Poison Dragon Pool,” Ji Changkong said with a smile.

Afterward, Ji Changkong took out the Evil Dragon Crystal and asked Gu Dan to use it to expand his Soul Sea.

Gu Dan naturally would not be polite to his only grandson. He happily took the Evil Dragon Crystal. Gu Dan was already at the peak of the Nine Palaces Celestial realm, his Soul Sea nearing perfection. He absorbed only a fraction of the crystal’s power before expanding his Soul Sea to its limit, which slightly surprised Ji Changkong.

“Changkong, take this to Hen Tian and the others. With this artifact, and that Star Domain on the strange continent, it won’t be long before Xuanyuan Valley produces even more experts at the peak of the Nine Palaces Celestial realm,” Gu Dan said cheerfully.

“I will,” Ji Changkong replied, taking back the Evil Dragon Crystal, intending to return to Xuanyuan Valley.

“Changkong, aren’t you going to see those girls?” Mo Yunyi suddenly mentioned. After some deliberation, she sighed, “Those girls are quite pitiful. They have been in Xuanyuan Valley all these years. They require very little; perhaps just seeing you occasionally has been enough for them.”

Ji Changkong froze, stunned for a long moment before shaking his head lightly. “Granny Mo, I think I will soon break through to the peak of the Nine Palaces Celestial realm. Should I advance further one day, I might… I might not remain in the Continent anymore. Their realms are too low; they will inevitably struggle to follow my path. I think…”

He left the rest unsaid, but his meaning was clear enough.

Whether it was He Lixuan or Baili Ke, their realms were worlds apart from his, and Zhou Qiangwei’s realm was even lower. Under the current circumstances, it might take them a hundred years just to reach the Nine Palaces Celestial realm.

Whether they could even break through to the Ten Directions Celestial realm in this lifetime was unknown.

He wished to travel to the dead star domains where Ten Directions Celestial experts gathered, to witness the oldest life forms in this boundless Star Domain, and to explore everything there.

Not only the Ten Directions Celestial realm, but those few women clearly could not accompany him. In that situation, would continuing to stay with them not harm them?

It was only at this moment that he truly grasped Bai Qingya’s words and understood why she had chosen to leave quietly.

“Alas…” Mo Yunyi sighed helplessly. She waved her hand. “Go then.”

“Changkong, spend more time with Bingjie. It seems she might be the only one who can truly accompany you,” Gu Dan murmured softly.

Ji Changkong’s expression tightened, but he said nothing more, departing from Xuanyuan Valley just like that. (To be continued)