As they spoke, the asteroid slowly halted its trajectory beyond the Night Moon Star, and within it, Li Hen Tian and Gu Dan, who had been solidifying their internal vital essence (Jing Yuan), awoke simultaneously.
Having successfully refined the vital essence within their bodies, the two had remained sequestered, fully dedicated to stabilizing their cultivation and realm, absorbing the changes brought by the essence. Consequently, they were unaware of the exchange between Ji Chang Kong and Ji Yuan, or anything concerning the Origin Poison.
When the asteroid finally paused, the two slowly roused themselves, gazing upon the Night Moon Star that had appeared before them with looks of intense curiosity.
“Let’s go down first,” Ji Chang Kong said, his expression perfectly composed, offering a smile as he descended toward the Night Moon Star.
Gu Dan and Li Hen Tian followed shortly after, entering the Night Moon Star with him.
His soul shifted, and instantly, Shang Bing Jie’s location materialized in his mind. Changing direction, he flew straight toward it, arriving at the Cold Moon Pool where she resided not long after.
The Cold Moon Pool lay shrouded in moonlight; the flawless rays descended from the heavens, coalescing within the pool like liquid mercury, forming a kind of miraculous nourishment for it.
A chill began to drift out from the pool, rippling through the air, imparting a sensation of profound, soothing coolness that seemed capable of cleansing the very soul. This was particularly beneficial for those cultivating the profound mysteries of cold-element power, where meditating here promised immense progress.
Shang Bing Jie had been cultivating here throughout this entire period.
In one corner of the Cold Moon Pool, Shang Bing Jie’s delicate features were tranquil. Beneath the moonlight, her fair face glowed radiantly, like a goddess bathed in lunar light, utterly captivating.
She seemed to sense Ji Chang Kong’s arrival. Even before he descended from the sky, she abruptly opened her eyes, which filled instantly with joyful smiles.
When Ji Chang Kong landed beside her, she gracefully rose, offering a faint, serene smile. “You’ve arrived.”
Nodding, Ji Chang Kong returned the smile. “Yes. Congratulations.”
Shang Bing Jie had already reached the Ruyi Realm; her progress was truly meteoric. “It is all thanks to your help. One Nirvana Pill brought me to the peak of the Nirvana Realm, and then you found the Cold Moon Pool for me—this place is most suitable for my cultivation. Any swift progress I make is owed entirely to this pool,” Shang Bing Jie chuckled.
“See who else has arrived?” Ji Chang Kong said little, instead tilting his head and pointing toward the two figures slowly materializing from the heavens.
“Ah!” Shang Bing Jie exclaimed, her disbelief palpable. “Grandpa Gu! Uncle Li! What are you doing in the Dead Star Domain?”
“I truly never imagined we would see you here,” Gu Dan replied, nodding with a gentle smile. “We rushed to the Dead Star Domain immediately after breaking through to the Ten Directions Heaven Realm, but we wasted too much time traveling. We only managed to set foot here a century ago, and then Chang Kong found us…” Gu Dan offered a brief explanation.
Shang Bing Jie was overjoyed and deeply curious, bombarding the two with questions about the Shang family on the Hai Lan Continent. Only when she learned that everything there was well did she relax, and with a touch of bashfulness, she recounted to Gu Dan the circumstances of her meeting with Ji Chang Kong.
Gu Dan, a man seasoned by age and wisdom, grasped the truth from the expression and shy gestures on Shang Bing Jie’s face: his grandson and the girl had established a true bond. Gu Dan was naturally delighted and praised them repeatedly, uttering sentiments about lovers finally finding their union.
After chatting for a while, Leo of the Three-Eyed Tribe arrived upon hearing the news, and he too displayed excitement upon seeing Ji Chang Kong.
Since Jero’s conduct had been faultless, Ji Chang Kong did not speak ill of him; instead, he mentioned that Jero had done his utmost. After a round of pleasantries, Ji Chang Kong inquired about the Plague Demons of the Black Prison Star.
Unexpectedly, Leo knew nothing of the Plague Demons. When Ji Chang Kong brought it up, Leo was quite astonished, repeatedly questioning where the information came from. Upon learning the news originated from the Ghost Mother of Tong Tian, Leo grew deeply shocked, muttering under his breath, “It must be true. No wonder so many experts haven’t been able to enter the Black Prison Star recently. I thought the planet had discovered some strange new mine—it turns out the Plague Demons have reemerged.”
Speaking of the Plague Demons, Leo’s face was etched with dread. As a candidate for the future chieftain of the Three-Eyed Tribe, his own cultivation realm was not low, yet even he displayed such terror upon hearing of the demons’ reappearance. This spoke volumes about the fearsome reputation of the Plague Demons throughout the Dead Star Domain.
The great top-tier powerhouses had clearly kept the news of the Plague Demons concealed, likely to prevent widespread panic caused by their existence, which explained why Leo was unaware.
Ji Chang Kong discussed the Plague Demon situation with Leo for a while longer, learning from him that the Three-Eyed Tribe’s ancient secret texts detailed the terrifying nature of these demons, recounting how entire star domains had fallen into silence when the Plague Demons were rampant, nearly destroying the entire Endless Star Domain, which had required millions of years to slowly recover.
The more he learned about the Plague Demons, the more he grasped their terrifying potential. Seeing that Gu Dan and Li Hen Tian had arrived at Leo’s territory, and with Shang Bing Jie’s training at the Cold Moon Pool proceeding smoothly, he hesitated for a moment before deciding he must make haste to the Black Prison Star to meet with Ji Du, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.
When Leo heard that Ji Chang Kong requested him to look after the two elders, he readily agreed, slapping his chest and guaranteeing that the elders would be safe in his custody.
After thanking him, and explaining the horror of the Plague Demons to Gu Dan, Li Hen Tian, and Shang Bing Jie, Ji Chang Kong lingered no longer. He departed hastily from the Night Moon Star, plunging once more into the vast river of stars.
…… Black Prison Star.
Half a year later, Ji Chang Kong manifested outside the Black Prison Star as a streak of electric light.
He dared not approach too closely, for near the planet, he sensed waves of aura that caused his very soul to tremble. In the briefest instant, he realized that experts of the Chaos Realm were present in the vicinity of the Black Prison Star.
Only the wonder of the Tai Xu Secret Record allowed him, a mere cultivator of the Divine Communication Realm, to vaguely perceive the existence of these Chaos Realm powerhouses.
Gazing at the Black Prison Star from afar, he noticed it was enveloped by layers of halos of varying colors—some dark purple, some deep crimson, and others azure blue. These concentric rings surrounded the planet, enclosing it in layers. The energy contained within these halos was exceedingly strange; the power of each ring enveloped the entire Black Prison Star.
After only a short observation, he was certain that these peculiar halos originated from the Chaos Realm experts hidden in the shadows. Their presence served to quarantine the Black Prison Star entirely, ensuring that no one could escape from it.
Because of these halos, even though he was extremely close to the Black Prison Star, he could not discern its internal situation or gauge its power fluctuations.
“There’s Origin Fire! Three kinds! No, two. One of them is like mine—a lifeform fused from two Origin Fires!” Ji Yuan suddenly cried out, his voice tinged with alarm. “They’re coming over!”
This time, Ji Yuan was not excited, but rather laced with genuine fear.
As Ji Yuan shrieked, Ji Chang Kong also sensed two strange fluctuations quietly drawing near. Without waiting for him to react, two figures abruptly manifested before him, staring at him coldly.
These were an elder from the Wood Tribe and an old woman from the Feather Tribe. Both wore expressions of icy severity. After briefly scanning him, they sneered in unison, “Kid, you carry Origin Fire!”
These were two experts of the Primal Chaos Realm.
Ji Chang Kong now understood why Ji Yuan was no longer excited; the opponents’ realms were too high, and the ancient aura surrounding them was too immense. This gap in cultivation left him feeling deeply stifled, watching the two without even the thought of fighting arising.
The Wood Tribe elder and the Feather Tribe old woman watched him coldly, yet made no move.
Before long, several others seemed to sense the disturbance here and emerged from the direction of the Black Prison Star. One of them was unmistakably Nie Tian from the Fire Prison Star. Upon arrival, the sinisterly charming human male immediately smiled. “Kid, so it’s you who came. Where is the Ghost Mother?”
“That venomous woman came?” A seductive young woman, her phoenix eyes flashing with hostility, snorted. “She killed the Dragon Python I was raising; don’t think I’ll let that go easily!”
This was Nine-Tails, a Chaos Realm expert of the Demon Race, and the master of the Dragon Python King.
“Nine-Tails, this kid possesses Origin Fire; he is key to eliminating the Plague Demons. Don’t cause trouble,” Nie Tian remarked casually.
The seductive young woman frowned, her phoenix eyes sweeping over Ji Chang Kong coolly. “Origin Fire is key to eliminating the Plague Demons, but a mere kid in the Divine Communication Realm probably isn't qualified to wield it. Better let me use it.”
“Nine-Tails!” the two Chaos Realm experts from the Wood and Feather Tribes called out together.
Nine-Tails’ face grew frigid, and she turned to them stiffly. “What? You already possess Origin Fire, what more do you want?”
“Nine-Tails, how about we strike a deal?” the Feather Tribe old woman said with an awkward smile. “You know the legend—if the nine types of Origin Fire are gathered, perhaps one can ascend to Ultimate Chaos. I already have two types of Origin Fire. If I could obtain the four he possesses…”
“Yu Lian, stop dreaming!” Nine-Tails pulled back the corner of her mouth and retorted unceremoniously. “I know that legend, which is precisely why I won’t let you get his Origin Fire. If you reach Ultimate Chaos, won’t our races have to submit to the dictates of the Feather Tribe?”
Nine-Tails sneered dismissively, then turned her attention to the Wood Tribe elder, mocking him. “Mu Shen, I know you and Yu Lian have a good relationship, but are you willing to give your Origin Fire to Yu Lian so she can reach the ultimate realm?”
The Wood Tribe Chaos Realm expert, addressed as “Mu Shen,” frowned but remained silent.
“Mu Shen, we had an agreement!” Yu Lian suddenly raised her voice when she saw Mu Shen’s reaction.
“Yu Lian, stop this nonsense. Do you truly believe you can collect the entire Chaos Fragment Map?” Another voice suddenly interjected—a middle-aged man from the Three-Eyed Tribe, whose voice boomed like a great bell. “Gathering the Chaos Map also leads to the ultimate state. You want to use the Chaos Map to trade for Mu Shen’s Origin Fire, but can you actually complete the Chaos Fragment Map?”
Chaos Realm experts from the Wood, Feather, Demon, Human, and Three-Eyed Tribes suddenly revealed themselves, shocking Ji Chang Kong greatly.
Except for the sinister Nie Tian and the man from the Three-Eyed Tribe, who did not immediately express ill will, the three Chaos Realm powerhouses from the Wood, Feather, and Demon Tribes all displayed hostile intentions. This made Ji Chang Kong inwardly realize that this trip to the Black Prison Star was likely not going to be smooth.