The two monks moved through the dense forest like gusts of wind. With agile strides, they reached a secluded, deeply shadowed area of the thicket in a short time.

Here, towering trees scraped the clouds, their purple leaves catching the sunlight with an otherworldly sheen. Between the colossal trunks, a heavy, lush curtain of wisteria hung down from several massive trees. This cluster of vines spanned fifty meters across and rose a hundred meters high, adorned with tiny, pale-lilac, grain-sized blossoms blooming across the purple tendrils. Shafts of sunlight pierced the canopy, dappling the wisteria but only serving to enhance the profound darkness beneath.

With a dull thud, the attendant collapsed heavily right before the wisteria curtain. As he fell, the thicket slowly parted to either side, as if someone had drawn back a massive drape, revealing the scene within—a throne fashioned entirely of white bones stood silently amidst the foliage. Upon it sat a desiccated man in a black robe coated in a thick layer of dust.

The man was skeletal, resembling nothing so much as a dry frame, his presence heavy with stagnation. A venomous snake was coiled around his neck, and several poisonous spiders had woven a nest above his head. He had maintained this seated posture for countless years; cobwebs laced between his ear and shoulder, thick with the desiccated husks of countless insects—a truly repellent sight. Seeing the ingress of daylight, the snake and spiders languidly detached themselves from his body, retreating sluggishly into the dark recesses behind him.

Jin watched the man with trepidation, shrinking behind Gu Xichen. A faint, violet glow ignited in her eyes, and from her lips issued a passage that sounded like prophecy.

"The man born under the full starlight possesses eternal life; only when the starlight of the heavens completely dissipates will his life extinguish with it."

"Hmph!" The man’s eyes snapped open, two orbs of eerie, fist-sized green light fixing themselves intently upon Jin. He opened his mouth and expelled a plume of ashen-white vapor, suddenly unleashing a piercing, grating laugh, as if thousands of tiny specters were haphazardly clattering skulls together.

"You are the daughter of Meilin and Mu Sha?"

"How interesting. Can your Divine Eye, your Eye of Fate, truly see through my destiny?"

"Oh, no. That sliver of bloodline ability you possess, that meager trace of lineage—how could it possibly unveil my fate?"

The man snorted several times in a bizarre manner. The eerie green flames in his eyes bypassed Jin, locking instead onto Gu Xichen. A cascade of even more unpleasant laughter erupted from him. Gradually, as his laughter echoed, vast swathes of the surrounding vines and forest withered and died, while new flesh began to bloom upon his gaunt face. The accumulated dust shed from his body in soft showers. Before long, as he rose from the bone throne, he had transformed into a youth of striking handsomeness, impeccably clean, almost untouched by blemish.

"You are the enemy that Meilin, that foolish woman, provoked? Ah, did you kill Goloman?"

Gu Xichen shook his head, speaking calmly, "No, he escaped! Beside him..."

The man shrugged, hunching his shoulders and chuckling strangely, "Ah ha, I know. There was a little woman beside him named Yan Wu Ashura. What a pity. If I had discovered this little woman a few days sooner, she would already be my plaything!" He sighed with deep savor, the man saying maliciously, "About a thousand years ago, I captured several elders from Yan Wu Ashura's lineage. Truly memorable beauties! Their alabaster skin, their sharp screams, and the look of despair in their eyes as I killed them."

Raising a single finger, the man chuckled softly, "It's a shame I found her only after she had fled with Goloman; otherwise, I would have thoroughly enjoyed her. Such a beautiful woman, such a passionate woman—she must be destroyed at the zenith of her life to achieve eternal beauty!"

Gu Xichen smiled, directing his gaze toward the man, "Then I have no objection to making your life eternal as well. Are you certain you are Eternal Starlight?"

"Of course!" The man puffed out his chest with pride and slowly straightened his posture, chuckling dryly, "This body is merely one of my avatars, the number one ranked entity on the Emperor Yin Tong Bao List—'Death'! I am Eternal Starlight, the Emperor of the Polar Star Empire, an immortal being who never truly dies."

Jin gasped, "Death God? That legendary monster? The butcher who appears every three hundred years to slaughter wantonly? The Polar Star Empire’s bounty on him has been ongoing for..."

Eternal Starlight laughed, holding up several fingers, boasting gleefully, "The Empire’s bounty on this avatar of mine has been active for ninety thousand years! The legendary Death God sustains his eternal life by slaughtering Imperial citizens and absorbing their vitality. However, I must say, that assumption is incorrect! My avatars, like myself, are eternally unyielding. Why would I need to absorb life force? All I require are the raw materials found within the human body."

Flicking his wrist, he gently tapped the side of the throne. A long sword, over a meter in length, assembled from countless bones, stained crimson and constantly entwined with incredibly fine black smoke, appeared in Eternal Starlight’s hand. He chuckled at Jin, "Ninety thousand years, I have slaughtered hundreds of billions of Imperial subjects. This 'Nine-Child White Bone Demon God Sword' has now reached Great Completion. See, this is the advantage of being the emperor of a six-star civilization; I have endless raw materials to waste when forging such wicked artifacts."

Jin bit back a furious curse: "A demented pervert!" Eternal Starlight merely roared with laughter, seemingly quite pleased with the epithet.

Gu Xichen frowned and barked sharply, "Did you summon me here just to exchange pleasantries?"

Eternal Starlight hurriedly shook his head, carelessly tucking the Nine-Child White Bone Demon God Sword into his sash, and hurried to explain, "No, no. It’s not just that." After a moment of contemplation, he suddenly asked with a hint of pride, "Aren't you curious why I could locate you so precisely?"

Gu Xichen remained silent, but a strange light flickered again in Jin's eyes. She sneered, "Isn't it because this avatar of yours has many, many other avatars?"

Pulling Gu Xichen's sleeve, Jin explained the peculiarities she had noticed over the last few days. Ever since leaving the Doldro family demesne, Jin had strangely sensed the frequent appearance of strangers near them—individuals differing in appearance, age, gender, and even species. However, these people shared an identical fate. It was obvious that they were all avatars or puppets controlled by the Death God, thus their life trajectories appeared virtually identical.

Glancing at Jin with surprise, Eternal Starlight sighed, "I underestimated you, little girl, I truly did! Had I known, I should have killed you when you were just born!"

Gu Xichen looked at Eternal Starlight in astonishment and pressed anxiously, "You knew about her existence long ago?"

Eternal Starlight let out a long sigh. "Of course, I knew of her existence! I was watching the whole affair when Mu Sha Doldro deliberately approached Meilin!"

Chuckling oddly, Eternal Starlight said smugly to Jin, "Do you know why certain nobles suddenly started interfering in the search for you? Because I told them of your existence! In order to strike at Meilin, to oust her from that enticing throne, my few imperial consorts—who are ten thousand times more foolish than that simpleton Meilin—mobilized all their resources to track your whereabouts. Ah ha, guiding them slowly and surely toward you—what an amusing game that was?"

Jin opened her mouth but remained silent.

Gu Xichen sneered, "Amusing? You knew Meilin had given birth, yet you allowed her to become your Empress?"

Tilting his neck, Eternal Starlight revealed a strange, utterly twisted smile, grinning hideously, "Why not? Don't you know how marvelous the expression on Mu Sha Doldro's face was every time I held Meilin's hand in front of him? And how much joy I derived from her contorted visage every time I freely possessed her! Especially when she was carrying my child—oh, her heart-wrenching sobs when she thought I wasn't looking were simply intoxicating!"

Inhaling deeply with rapture, Eternal Starlight murmured, "In eternal life, only human suffering offers me a faint flicker of pleasure! I am a god standing above the clouds; I hold the fate of all people in my palm. Before my will, everything in this world is arranged according to my whims."

Pointing forcefully at his own chest, Eternal Starlight growled, "Mu Sha intentionally sent Meilin to the palace. Naturally, I had to fully savor his good intentions!"

Laughing strangely, Eternal Starlight lowered his voice to ask Gu Xichen, "Do you know why I made that foolish woman Empress?"

Gu Xichen shook his head, feeling a surge of nausea looking at Eternal Starlight. This was trash that made one want to vomit, a genuine pervert.

Sighing with immense satisfaction, Eternal Starlight said contentedly, "Indeed, you don't know either... Then, let me tell you the answer!"

With a few sharp cackles, Eternal Starlight enunciated every word, "The reason I made that fool Empress is because I discovered that Mu Sha Doldro had truly fallen in love with her! Pay attention—truly fallen in love with her, not just treating her as a tool, as Mu Sha himself claimed!"

Eternal Starlight bounced excitedly among the vines, hopping about erratically. He roared with laughter, "That idiot, believing himself smarter than everyone else in the world, the fool Mu Sha, who thinks he controls everything! He actually fell in love with a mere tool! And to fall in love and then hypnotize himself into believing he doesn't love her! Oh, ho ho! He delivered his beloved to me!"

Pounding his chest forcefully, Eternal Starlight beamed proudly, "Mu Sha Doldro, who claims to be the greatest genius since the founding of the Polar Star Empire! He gifted me his beloved, so naturally, I had to fulfill his wish and make her my Empress! I made him watch his beloved every day, making him dream every night that I was enjoying her!"

Cackling maniacally, Eternal Starlight doubled over, laughing so hard he nearly choked. His laughter was grating, cruel, and savage. It ignited a towering rage in Jin, who shrieked almost hysterically. Two beams of pale-gold light suddenly shot from her eyes, slamming into Eternal Starlight's chest. The cry ripped through the purple leaves overhead and the dry branches of the wisteria. Countless purple shards rained down as Eternal Starlight was hurled back hundreds of meters by the golden light, crashing through vines and branches until he slammed disastrously into a jutting piece of rock in the distance.

Even as his body flew, Eternal Starlight continued to laugh, tears streaming down his face. He pointed wildly at Jin and roared, "You are upset? You feel stifled? You feel like crying? Your loving parents—oh, their lives were a complete tragedy! I only nudged them slightly, and they were locked in mortal combat! Look! Meilin destroyed the Doldro family demesne—good heavens, where did she acquire ten Death Starships? I truly admire her!"

A ball of pale-gold flame began to burn on Eternal Starlight's chest, charring his flesh piece by piece until it turned to ash. At first, Eternal Starlight dismissed the golden flame, paying it no heed. But when a hole nearly a foot wide was burned through his chest, Eternal Starlight shrieked in panic, "What the hell is this thing?" He clawed frantically at his chest, but wherever the golden flame touched, it burned, and in a moment of distraction, his hand was also reduced to ash.

The Nine-Child White Bone Demon God Sword suddenly shot up, transforming into a streak of white light, and hacked viciously several times at the burning area on Eternal Starlight's chest, severing the flaming flesh and tossing it aside.

Eternal Starlight stared at Jin in horror. After a long moment, he burst into loud laughter, repeatedly nodding in appreciation. "This peculiar magic—did Gu Xichen teach this to Jin? Excellent! You are now qualified to cooperate with me! It seems I didn't misjudge you; you are indeed the powerhouse who once single-handedly annihilated the Volsom Star Field!"

Gu Xichen restrained Jin, who was hopping up, eager to strike again. He said coolly, "Why would I cooperate with you, Your Majesty the Emperor of the Polar Star Empire? I once swore an oath to destroy the entire Polar Star Empire. Why should I cooperate with you? Hmm?"

Eternal Starlight chuckled, shaking his head repeatedly. "No, you must cooperate with me! Otherwise, I will immediately surrender to Meilin, swear eternal allegiance to her, and turn against you! Gu Xichen, only through cooperation do you have a chance to kill Goloman and Meilin. Help me quell the internal rebellion, and then we can fight one-on-one. If you win, you can destroy the Polar Star Empire."

Gu Xichen merely sneered; he utterly disbelieved that Eternal Starlight would surrender to Meilin.

Shrugging helplessly, Eternal Starlight offered a bitter laugh. "You might think I’m insane, but I am genuinely prepared to surrender to Meilin. My main body, my prime essence, unfortunately failed its Tribulation. I used six Death Starships to shield me from the heavenly trial, but even so, my physical body was damaged, and my spirit was severely wounded. My current power is even weaker than yours!"

"You... underwent what kind of Tribulation?" Gu Xichen and the Ten Celestial Lords were all stunned by Eternal Starlight's words. Protecting him with six Death Starships, yet his body and spirit were ruined—what Tribulation could be so fearsome?

After a moment of silence, Eternal Starlight lowered his head dejectedly.

The heavenly tribulation he faced was to ascend from the Realm of Clear Brightness and Clarity (Qingming Hetong Tian) to the Realm of Profound Fetus Integration (Xuantai Pingyutian). For immortals, such a tribulation was usually symbolic. Those who had achieved the Dao Fruit of a True Immortal usually faced three simple heavenly lightning bolts or a few demonic tribulations brought by inner demons. With minor preparation, it was always survivable.

But Eternal Starlight ran into a massive problem—perhaps due to his excessive killing. Merely to forge the Nine-Child White Bone Demon God Sword, his avatar had slain hundreds of billions of living beings, and his other avatars had killed countless others to craft other malevolent artifacts. To gather sufficient malevolent souls, malevolent spirits, and other materials from living bodies for his forgeries, his avatars had instigated over seventeen thousand large and small wars within the Star Alliance over the past three hundred years alone, leading to the deaths of trillions of intelligent beings in the Star Alliance.

This accumulation of sin was beyond description as 'reaching the heavens,' and the resulting Immortal Tribulation was devastatingly potent.

Eternal Starlight took advantage of Meilin’s absence while she was slaughtering the Doldro and Longikilans noble houses, sneaking away with his trusted confidantes to a pre-arranged tribulation site. Six Death Starships and ten thousand White-Winged Warships formed a protective fleet for his ascension. All the warships were remotely controlled by Eternal Starlight’s mind waves; to him, these vessels were no different from ordinary magical artifacts. He saw no risk of triggering a chain reaction of heavenly calamities that would cause greater destruction.

With meticulous preparation, Eternal Starlight believed he would effortlessly reach the Realm of Profound Fetus Integration and become the most powerful being in the Star Alliance. Unexpectedly, his Immortal Tribulation mutated terribly due to his immense karmic sin. He was confronted by the "Eighteen Heavens of the Lust Realm Consecutive Heavy Tribulation," powerful enough to vaporize an ordinary Golden Immortal.

The Eighteen Heavens of the Lust Realm corresponded to the eighteen ranks of the Golden Immortal realm. The tribulations descending from the Lust Realm were naturally calibrated for Golden Immortals. The Consecutive Heavy Tribulation consisted of eighteen multiplied by eighteen, totaling three hundred and twenty-four layers of Violet Heaven Tribulation Lightning, with each layer containing thirty-six bolts of Violet Heaven Lightning, each bolt stronger than the last, each layer more powerful than the preceding one.

Eternal Starlight, who thought he was completely prepared, was tossed about violently by the successive burdens. The ten thousand White-Winged Warships drained all their divine crystal energy just barely to fend off the first half of the tribulation. The far more potent tribulations that followed vaporized even his six prepared Death Starships, leaving not a single shard behind.

Ultimately, Eternal Starlight was forced to secretly summon dozens of his avatars to his side using a secret art, relying on them to withstand the final few bolts of the eighteen-fold continuous tribulation. Several dozen avatars were destroyed, but Eternal Starlight assumed victory. Though he coughed up blood due to the backlash from his avatars, he laughed wildly in triumph.

Especially as the ominous clouds above dissipated, Eternal Starlight arrogantly pointed at the sky and mocked the ineptitude of the Heavenly Dao!

Perhaps that final remark angered some entities in the unseen void. Although the original cloud cover had dispersed, a single bolt of lightning, miles wide, descended from the void, striking the four-rank Heavenly Immortal Eternal Starlight—who had just reached the Realm of Profound Fetus Integration—and gravely wounding him. His physical body was annihilated, his spirit was heavily damaged, and even his cultivation realm was forcibly reverted from the fourth heaven, Profound Fetus Integration, back to the first heaven, Grand Sovereign Zenith Heaven (Taihuang Huangzeng Tian).

Miraculously preserving a wisp of residual soul, Eternal Starlight fled back to his secluded chamber in the Imperial Palace. Almost immediately, his confidantes reported the news: Meilin had utterly annihilated the Doldro and Longikilans families. This was quickly followed by mass defections from Imperial generals and mid-tier nobles. Within two days, Eternal Starlight lost control of the Empire's authority. Combined with the Imperial Royal Guard legions that had completely defected to Meilin, Eternal Starlight was left with no usable assets except a cadre of staunch personal retainers.

What frustrated Eternal Starlight the most was that this core group of devoted followers was nothing more than a collection of eunuch slaves, possessing no combat capability, only unwavering loyalty.

"If you surrender to Meilin," Gu Xichen frowned, "..."

Eternal Starlight stared at Gu Xichen and grinned menacingly, "If I surrender to her, though I possess little personal strength, I can at least still invoke my privileges and seek assistance from the Elder Council."

Taking a deep breath, Eternal Starlight looked at Gu Xichen and stated, "The Empire still possesses one hundred and twenty thousand and thirty-three points of Bloodline Merit Value—enough to exchange for one hundred and twenty Death Starships, or alternatively, to request direct intervention from the Elder Council in this rebellion!"

Gu Xichen regarded Eternal Starlight coldly, remaining silent for a long time.

Jin, however, jumped forward, pointing mockingly at Eternal Starlight, "What Elder Council? Can they interfere in the internal affairs of a six-star Empire?"

Eternal Starlight fixed his gaze on Gu Xichen. He chuckled mysteriously, "And you? You utilized the secret stellar route of the Flame Dragon Empire to arrive here. Are you telling me you don't know what the Elder Council is?"

Jin instantly clapped a hand over her mouth. Gu Xichen, utterly astonished, turned toward Eternal Starlight, tightening his grip on the handle of the Five Water Dragon Whisker Fan and demanding fiercely, "You even know that?"

Eternal Starlight spoke faintly, “Do you think my intellect matches that foolish woman Meilin’s? My abilities surpass your imagination! Gu Xiechen, you might deceive Meilin, but I still see through you at a glance. Is that not proof enough of my power?”

He let out a cold laugh. Eternal Starlight continued, “That Star Road, haha. I originally intended to use it to catch the Blazing Dragon Empire completely off guard. I’ve had my eye on that Star Road for a long time. Those little fellows still underestimated my strength.”

Gu Xiechen, greatly astonished, composed himself and spoke coldly, “Then why should I help you?”

Eternal Starlight smiled and stated with unusual directness, “If you don’t help me, I will defect to Meilin, and together we will kill you. Do you prefer to join forces with me to eliminate Meilin, and then deal with me later, or would you rather face both Meilin and me joining forces simultaneously? I’ll tell you frankly, if Meilin and I join forces, you will never get your revenge on her!”

Gu Xiechen clenched his fists. He roared, “Since you can request the Elder Council to interfere, then—”

Eternal Starlight shook his head vigorously, “Two thousand Bloodline Merit Points are my bargaining chip for survival. I won't casually use them unless absolutely necessary, even if it means defecting to Meilin.”

Glancing cunningly at Gu Xiechen, Eternal Starlight chuckled sinisterly, “You, do you even have a choice? You have no choice but to help me, right? You might feel a bit stifled helping me deal with Meilin, feeling utilized by me—but to be utilized by me is your honor!”

Jin leaped up again, pointing a finger at Eternal Starlight and was about to curse him loudly, but Gu Xiechen had a thought, and Qin Tianjun struck down with a hand, knocking Jin unconscious.

After a moment of silence, Gu Xiechen looked at Eternal Starlight and sneered, “I dislike being manipulated. However, your proposal isn't bad—teaming up against Meilin, and then I’ll deal with you. That proposal has real merit. But first, how much capital do you have left right now?”

Eternal Starlight was silent for a few seconds before slowly nodding, “I still have the fleet of two hundred standard legions from the Dark Star Legion of the Polar Star Empire. But I don't have a single Death Star vessel left. All six Death Star vessels were destroyed in the Heavenly Tribulation. The others were awarded to the empire’s nobles and the governors of several key star domains, and they have all now become Meilin’s people!”

Pausing, Eternal Starlight continued, “I have nineteen other clones, but the strongest among them is only at the level of a Fifth Tribulation Loose Immortal.”

Gu Xiechen cursed in anger, then pressed Eternal Starlight, “Then how are we supposed to deal with Meilin?”

Eternal Starlight gave a sinister grin, speaking in a low voice, “We can’t deal with the massive army she commands. But—”

Seeing Eternal Starlight hesitate to speak further, Gu Xiechen nodded thoughtfully and sneered, “Secondly, no matter what method you used to discover me, if it was a divine ability or spell, I want the cultivation manual for it; if it was a magic treasure, I want that treasure!”

Eternal Starlight nodded decisively. He summoned his right hand toward the void, abruptly spat out a mouthful of blood, and a crystalline mirror, three zhang high, six chi wide, and four cun nine fen thick, silently appeared beside him. This mirror shimmered faintly with black and yellow cloud patterns throughout its body. The mirror surface was a clear, azure color, like water. Looking closely inside, the mirror seemed to contain countless strange mountains, exotic waters, palaces, and pavilions, as well as flashing images of myriad birds, beasts, gods, and mortals.

This was clearly a top-tier spiritual object, yet looking at the crystal mirror one couldn't help but feel profound regret. Such a miraculous treasure was covered in dense, cobweb-like cracks on its body, and the mirror surface was punctured by seven fist-sized holes, the marks indicating the mirror surface had indeed been smashed through by bare fists.

Struggling to lift the crystal mirror, Eternal Starlight, panting heavily, presented it to Gu Xiechen.

“I obtained this treasure from a certain mysterious cave. When I found it, there were hundreds of thousands of corpses nearby.”

Stroking the mirror surface forcefully, Eternal Starlight described the origin and function of this crystal mirror. This mirror possessed no offensive or defensive capabilities, but as long as magical power was infused into it, with sufficient power, whatever the mind focused on would be clearly and immediately reflected on the mirror surface, and the image appearing in the mirror would absolutely be the true image of that thing. All illusions and array restrictions would revert to their original state within the mirror; no illusion could deceive this crystal mirror.

With Eternal Starlight’s former peak strength, he could use this crystal mirror to spy on all movements within one light-year inside and outside the Starlight Domain. The Blazing Dragon Empire’s top-secret Star Road was exposed because of this.

After being severely wounded crossing the Heavenly Tribulation, Eternal Starlight could only use this crystal mirror to monitor the movements on Star Light Stars One through Six. Gu Xiechen, who had long been targeted by his clone, was naturally seen clearly by Eternal Starlight the moment he arrived on Star Light Star Two. Although Gu Xiechen had altered his appearance, his illusionary techniques were useless before this crystal mirror, which Eternal Starlight called the "Heaven-Observing Mirror."

So that was it. Gu Xiechen happily placed his hand on the "Heaven-Observing Mirror." To Eternal Starlight’s shocked gaze, the massive mirror body transformed into a stream of black and yellow light that shot straight up into the mid-air, circled a few times, and drilled into Gu Xiechen’s Tianling (celestial spirit aperture). Gu Xiechen’s body trembled slightly, and he looked back at Eternal Starlight with equal astonishment.

“No one has ever refined it!” Eternal Starlight roared, staring intensely at Gu Xiechen, word by word.

“What is this thing? How did it just drill inside?” Gu Xiechen glared back at Eternal Starlight, refusing to be outdone, and pressed towards the other man step by step.

The two stared at each other for a long time before Eternal Starlight grumbled resentfully, “Having accepted my payment, you must wholeheartedly assist me in eliminating Meilin.”

Gu Xiechen, who had just looked furious, immediately broke into an easy smile, nodding repeatedly, “No problem. I’ll even help you eliminate Mu Daoist!”

Seeing Gu Xiechen’s relaxed smile, Eternal Starlight asked suspiciously, “Do you know what it is?”

Gu Xiechen hurriedly shook his head, sternly ordering Eternal Starlight, “This is the first time in my life I’ve seen it; how could I possibly recognize it?”

Eternal Starlight frowned, watching Gu Xiechen. After a very long time, he gave up pursuing the matter. He sighed powerlessly, turned around, and led Gu Xiechen out of the dense woods.

His loyal servants had already prepared the spacecraft, and they were to take that vessel to Star Light Star One.

Gu Xiechen signaled the Ten Heavenly Sovereigns with a look. With a slight movement of his mind, he transmitted an order to them and casually handed over a storage ring. The Ten Heavenly Sovereigns were momentarily stunned, glanced at Gu Xiechen, and then each turned to leave, taking the still unconscious Jin with them. When Eternal Starlight looked back, the Ten Heavenly Sovereigns had vanished into the thicket. He looked at Gu Xiechen in confusion.

“They have matters to prepare,” Gu Xiechen offered Eternal Starlight a simple explanation that he could either believe or not. The Ten Heavenly Sovereigns did indeed have preparations to make; they were going to reforge the Ten Absolute Formation. In recent days, the array-laying artifacts they were refining were almost ready; they only needed the final step to restore the true form of Gu Qi’s array, the Ten Absolute Formation.

...

As long as the Ten Absolute Formation reached Great Perfection, Gu Xiechen dared to confront the Death Star vessels head-on. At that time, he planned to use the Ten Absolute Formation to turn the entire Starlight Domain into a death trap. To enhance the power of the Ten Absolute Formation, Gu Xiechen also handed over the thirty-six crystalline spheres he had collected, manufactured by Mu Daoist, which possessed terrifying Divine Sense power, to the Ten Heavenly Sovereigns.

The only pity was that the crystal mirror, which had just willingly submitted to him, was too severely damaged. Otherwise, Gu Xiechen alone would have dared to challenge Meilin’s ten Death Star vessels head-on.

The moment he touched the crystal mirror, the familiar energy fluctuation transmitted from within, and the near-death spiritual fluctuation feedback from the mirror spirit, allowed Gu Xiechen to instantly understand what it was: it was the Haotian Mirror, one of the two natal artifacts carried by the ancient Supreme Emperor Haotian!

With the Haotian Pagoda guarding the body, all methods were unassailable and all methods could be shattered. With the Haotian Pagoda present, all calamities in the heavens and earth could not touch the body—this was the supreme treasure of defense.

The Haotian Mirror attacked enemies by replicating all methods and transforming all methods. Unless one was an expert from beyond the Three Realms, all attacks below the Daluo Golden Immortal would be easily reflected back by the Haotian Mirror. Furthermore, the Haotian Mirror could imitate all offensive spell attacks in the heavens; once attacked by a spell, it could store it within the mirror and release countless identical attacks in the future. Moreover, the mirror contained a strand of innate Primordial Creation Qi, which, combined with the Primordial Chaos Yellow Qi, possessed infinitely marvelous effects. A flash of green light from the mirror surface could diminish an immortal’s cultivation; a rotation of the mirror surface could cause an entire yuanhui of cultivation and power to vanish into thin air; a spin of the mirror surface could cause tens of thousands of years of magical power to flow away. Even a Daluo Golden Immortal, if covered by the Haotian Mirror, would be reduced to a mortal within a short period.

Furthermore, the Haotian Mirror could observe all three realms; everything in the Three Realms was clearly visible within the Haotian Mirror. This was the best aid for the Supreme Emperor Haotian in controlling the Three Realms!

How could Gu Xiechen not be delighted to obtain this treasure?

Especially since the Haotian Pagoda, whose first layer of its body had just been repaired, suddenly encountered its old companion, it trembled excitedly. As soon as the Haotian Mirror rushed into Gu Xiechen’s sea of consciousness, it immediately spewed out a massive amount of Primordial Chaos Yellow Qi onto the Haotian Mirror, helping it repair its body. Gu Xiechen’s Primordial Spirit also sprayed out a large stream of five-colored Qi, continuously nourishing the mirror surface. Gu Xiechen clearly sensed the spiritual fluctuations fed back by the Haotian Mirror spirit: Aiyo, I’m finally saved, I won’t have to have my soul scattered now!

Gu Xiechen was so happy he almost burst out laughing. As long as the Haotian Pagoda and the Haotian Mirror could be fully restored, who would he have to fear?

However, he truly didn't know how many years of arduous effort it would take to repair these two treasures. The ones who destroyed them were Innate Sages from another world. Gu Xiechen had to rely on slow, grinding effort, using the Primordial Chaos Yellow Qi and the Innate Five Elements Spiritual Qi of this world to gradually wear away the foreign energies left in the two treasures by the Innate Sages before the two treasures could possibly be restored to their original condition.

But no matter how much effort it took, it was all worth it!

The Haotian Mirror, hailed as the top supreme treasure in the Three Realms for attack, second only to Saints!

Gu Xiechen’s disguised hideous face maintained its dull and rigid appearance, but his heart and lungs were trembling from holding back his laughter.

Waiting for Gu Xiechen and Eternal Starlight in the depths of the dense woods were two middle-aged eunuchs with pale, beardless faces. Seeing the two approach from a distance, the eunuchs immediately knelt respectfully on the ground, welcoming them with ingratiating smiles into the small spacecraft, which was barely twenty zhang long.

After a flurry of activity, the spacecraft secretly departed Star Light Star Two. Under the cover of a large fleet transporting certain luxury supplies to Star One, the small vessel approached Star One's atmosphere. Just as a dozen white-winged warships rushed over, ordering the fleet to stop for inspection, the rear engine nozzles of that fleet, composed of three hundred super-large transport ships, suddenly exploded, propelling the hulls to rapidly plunge into the atmosphere.

The transport ships exploded violently while plummeting, and whatever cargo Eternal Starlight had loaded inside, the explosions never ceased. Occasionally, the power of an explosion was nearly comparable to the full-strength attack of a Fifth Tribulation Loose Immortal. The immense explosive force caused the atmosphere of Star One to churn violently, even kicking up terrifying tornadoes on the surface.

Numerous powerful Divine Senses swept towards the area, but the force and frequency of the explosions were too intense for the senses to penetrate the strong shockwaves.

Using the explosions as cover, Eternal Starlight led Gu Xiechen to sneak into Star One. Under the cover of tornadoes that blotted out the sky and swept everywhere, the two hastily fled.

After they left, a dozen figures shimmering with faint golden light rapidly approached the small spacecraft. This was a patrol team consisting of twelve Fifth Tribulation Loose Immortals, led by four first-rank Heavenly Immortals at the Taihuang Emperor Heaven Realm, possessing considerable combat power.

The small spacecraft suddenly burst, and a black halo rushed out for more than ten li before rapidly shrinking inward. Both the ship and the dozen Immortals and Loose Immortals vanished without a trace, not even a shred of evidence remaining.

“What was that?” Gu Xiechen cried out in alarm.

Eternal Starlight glanced faintly at Gu Xiechen and said with immense smugness, “As the Emperor of the Polar Star Empire, one always collects a few good things. That was merely an ‘Immortal-Slaying Thunder’ left over from ancient times. If I knew where that foolish woman Meilin was hiding, a few blasts of Immortal-Slaying Thunder would have solved everything. Would I need your help then?”

Gu Xiechen recoiled in shock and quickly flew a short distance away. This was only a clone of Eternal Starlight; it was not impossible that he might launch an Immortal-Slaying Thunder at him.

Eternal Starlight chuckled, laughing softly, “Don’t rush, don’t be afraid. We are allies for now; I won’t use such a thing against an ally.”

Allies for now? Gu Xiechen nodded secretly. The moment Meilin and Mu Daoist were eliminated would be the time for him and Eternal Starlight to turn against each other.

The two flew forward rapidly. By a large lake spanning thousands of li on Star Light Star One, in a large grass nest resembling a bird’s nest in a towering tree, Gu Xiechen met the true body of the Emperor of the Polar Star Empire, Eternal Starlight—an infant, barely over a year old!

The infant, who had been sitting cross-legged cultivating and regulating his breath, suddenly opened his eyes, smiled strangely at Gu Xiechen, and nodded.

“Just usurped this baby’s physical body. How is it? An exquisite cultivation physique!”

The cold glint flashing in the infant’s eyes reminded Gu Xiechen of an old, venomous fox.