“I have a bottle of Starfall Toxin cure here…” Pan Hongji flipped his wrist, pulling a purple jade phial from his Dou Realm: “As long as the person isn't dead, drinking this should save them. It would be difficult even for the Stars themselves to pull him back into their embrace…”

“Thanks.” Duan Feng Buer snatched the medicine bottle, used his teeth to yank out the stopper, spat it onto the ground, and immediately forced the potion down Qian Jin’s throat.

The liquid slid down his throat and into Qian Jin’s body. Within seconds, he vomited another mouthful of blood. This time, mixed with the previous impurities, there was a trace of Starfall Toxin.

Pan Hongji had no time to blush; astonishment filled his eyes. What was happening? The Starfall Toxin seemed to have very little effect!

“Is the potency not enough? I have another bottle of Starfall Toxin here.” Isabella retrieved another bottle from her Dou Realm and administered it to Qian Jin. Seconds later, the same reaction occurred.

Everyone’s gaze focused on Ba Huang Wusheng. Although this bandit king from beyond the frontier rarely struck personally, every bandit group was required to pay tribute to him annually, and some of the treasures he possessed were unavailable even in the royal palaces of various nations.

Ba Huang Wusheng shrugged: “Starfall Toxin. It is already the top-tier potion available; I trust you are all well aware of that.”

Isabella’s expression darkened slightly, and she nodded in tacit agreement. Starfall Toxin! Whether in the Zhence Dynasty or the Xishoufa Dynasty, it was an elite-grade potion that was notoriously difficult to mass-produce!

Such potions were usually distributed only to those who had awakened as Heavenly Extreme experts, or to the most crucial subjects being nurtured by bloodline families.

It was incredibly effective for healing internal bodily trauma! It was absolutely a potion that money could not buy.

Yet, this potion seemed to have little effect on Qian Jin! The expressions of the great experts were filled with confusion. What kind of injury had Qian Jin sustained? Had Qian Zhan Xuan developed some new killing Dou Technique?

“Why are you still standing around?..” Duan Feng Buer, clutching Qian Jin, hurried away: “Let’s return to the bandit stronghold first. Perhaps the apothecaries there can discern the problem?”

“Sensible,” Ba Huang Wusheng remained standing, unmoving.

“If it’s sensible, then let’s go?.” Duan Feng Buer, showing anxiety, stared at everyone who hadn't moved: “What are you all waiting for!”

Ba Huang Wusheng pointed toward another, oblique direction: “You, you’re going the wrong way. The base camp is over there.”

Duan Feng Buer pouted and quickly sprinted in the direction Ba Huang Wusheng indicated. Suddenly, his back was gripped, and he was lifted into the air. Turning around, he saw Pan Hongji floating effortlessly, hands clasped behind his back, a faint smile on his face, having lifted them without truly exerting himself.

The formidable Dou Qi enveloped Duan Feng Buer and the others like a massive cocoon. Without needing to physically touch them, the aerial currents swept them all skyward.

Chek Fuleite watched the Qian Jin in Duan Feng Buer’s arms without a word. Yunala instinctively clutched Chek Fuleite’s arm tighter.

Among the people and demons present, none understood the fallen angel bloodline of this half-breed Demon Martial Master better than Yunala. His silence was not self-reproach; it was the harbinger of genuine killing intent.

If Qian Zhan Xuan could not be killed, could the others in the Qian family not be killed? Chek Fuleite’s eyes were icy and devoid of emotion, save for a deep-seated murderous impulse hidden in the depths of his pupils. A lust to kill the Qian family!

Regardless of whether Qian Jin survived this ordeal, the Fabredis family demanded that more from the Qian family pay the price! Chek Fuleite silently clenched his fists. In this world, no one should cause Qian Jin sorrow, and anyone who brought him grief—be they human, demon, or barbarian—must pay with their life to soothe his wound!

Fen Tu Kuangge turned back to look at the only two people still on the ground. Isabella stood quietly beside Mu Gui Wuxin.

“Don’t worry about me. Go take care of Qian Jin…”

Mu Gui Wuxin’s mournful expression had lost all its former vivacity. He stared down at the earth beneath his feet, lost in thought.

“Guild Master Mu Gui, I truly understand your current heart…”

“You don’t understand!” Mu Gui Wuxin suddenly looked up and roared, interrupting Isabella’s comfort. His sorrowful gaze transformed into countless arcs of furious lightning: “You don’t understand! You could never understand! My brother is dead! My brother is dead…”

Tears instantly flooded the lightning in his eyes, which then melted back into immeasurable grief. His thick hands clamped over his head, his knees slowly buckled, and he sank to the ground. His head struck the earth, never rising again, his body convulsing with uncontrollable sobs, his mouth murmuring incessantly, “My brother is dead… My brother is dead…”

“My brother is dead… and damn it, I’m useless, I can’t avenge him…”

“My brother is dead… and damn it, I’m still alive… Damn it, I watched the killer leave…”

“We agreed to die together… We agreed to die together…”

“It’s useless! Useless! I’m truly useless…”

Stripped of his protective Dou Qi, a warrior is merely flesh and blood. Mu Gui Wuxin’s forehead struck the ground again and again, blood mingling with the soil to coat his cheeks.

Isabella looked at Mu Gui Wuxin weeping hysterically on the ground. At this moment! There was no longer Mu Gui Wuxin, the domineering leader controlling vast power in Yongliu City.

In this moment, there was only a middle-aged man crying because his brother had died… His weeping sounded like that of a child.

Isabella turned her gaze to the unyielding Fabredis standing beyond the frontier. A warrior’s glorious destiny was to die in battle; the most honored destiny of a warrior was to fall while protecting what they deemed worthy.

Fabredis had achieved it! Even in death, his body remained standing, refusing to yield to the mighty Qian Zhan Xuan.

The cries lingered long in the desolate frontier lands. Wandering wolves silently gathered around the area, their eerie green eyes fixed on the fallen corpse and the grieving Mu Gui Wuxin, showing no sign of aggression.

Isabella even noticed faint traces of sorrow shining in the wolves’ eyes, as if they were infected by Mu Gui Wuxin’s grief.

Together, they lifted their muzzles toward the bright moon in the sky and howled. Hundreds of overlapping calls sounded, as if bidding farewell to Fabredis.

After the howling ceased, the pack of wolves turned and silently departed, launching no attack on any of the people present.

After an unknown amount of time, Mu Gui Wuxin stopped crying. He slowly raised his blood-soaked forehead and looked at Isabella: “Go take care of Qian Jin. I want a moment alone with my brother, to speak with him properly.”

Isabella sighed softly as she watched Mu Gui Wuxin, then turned, flew into the air, and vanished among the stars.

Mu Gui Wuxin sat quietly by Fabredis’s feet, his eyes fixed blankly on the starlight: “Damn it, you just left, leaving me alone.”

“I know you haven’t been truly happy these years. Ever since Yu Ying returned to the embrace of the Stars, you never found real joy. Even after achieving Sainthood, your happiness was merely the power to seek revenge and hunt down enemies among the demons.”

“Are you happy now? Did you see Yu Ying in the Stars? Give her my regards, and tell her! In a little while, her Elder Brother Mu Gui will come to see her, bringing her favorite preserved fruits…”

“I suppose there is no distinction between people and demons in the arms of the Stars anymore? This damned human-demon division! When will it ever end?”

“Humans kill demons, demons kill humans. When will this endless cycle finally cease?”

“In the end, who can end this endless cycle?”

Pain!

It seemed to have become an indispensable seasoning on Qian Jin’s path through life.

Some people grew accustomed to being cared for, some to caring for others, some to sweets, and some to salt. Qian Jin felt as though he had grown accustomed to pain.

Qian Zhan Xuan’s Kun Dou Technique was far more potent than any technique used by previous members of the Qian family. It wasn't just about shattering bone structure; many strands had actually infiltrated his body, exerting gravitational impacts wherever they went. However, the force of these gravitational impacts had been weakened by the shield and his physical body, reducing their initial ferocity.

Otherwise, a mere finger’s impact would have been enough to crush him to death. Now, its power was greatly diminished, ironically transforming into… sustenance!

That’s right! While Qian Jin was unconscious and unable to open his eyes, the three Dou Souls within him remained active. His understanding of the Kun Dou Technique deepened as the Dou Soul generated by the Heart of Earth Fire began to refine the technique’s sequences, absorbing and assimilating them into the Dou Soul composed of Wind and Cloud Dou Qi.

The fragments of a Kun Dou Technique being swallowed? Such an event had never occurred in history. Qian Zhan Xuan never imagined that his strike would not only fail to kill Qian Jin but would instead deliver him the ranking sequences of a portion of the Kun Dou Technique as a gift, accelerating the process of condensing a complete Kun Dou Technique for Qian Jin.

The Kun Dou Technique wasn't what truly made Qian Jin pass out from pain; what truly caused his unconsciousness was the shield! The shattered shield disintegrated into countless metallic powders. These particles did not dissipate into the ether but were driven deep into Qian Jin’s body by the immense pressure of the Kun Dou Technique’s impact.

These dust-like particles, invisible even to the naked eye, began to course through Qian Jin’s body, and even the flames of the Heart of Earth Fire’s Dou Soul could not fully melt them away.

How could he expel these things? Though unconscious, Qian Jin possessed an innate ability to ‘become accustomed’ to unconsciousness. His brain operated at high speed beneath the surface, observing everything internally as if conducting an internal survey.

These metal powders seemed intent on coalescing, but because the initial bombardment had scattered them throughout his system, re-gathering proved exceptionally difficult.

Qian Jin dared not let these particles cluster together. Who knew if these substances would reassemble within his body and reform into half a shield.

If half a shield were to truly solidify in his abdomen, Qian Jin immediately felt a throbbing headache. This absolutely could not be allowed to happen, or he would truly have to cut open his belly to pull the thing out from the inside.

The powder of the half-variant shield floated restlessly within his body. Qian Jin desperately searched for any viable method to resolve this situation caused by the peculiar shield that had so severely wounded him.