"Could you perhaps tell me how you managed this?" Eternal Star-Light smiled toward Gu Xichen, gesturing toward the Death Star-ship that was slowly disintegrating.

The enormous hull shed fragments like decaying breadcrumbs; the magma from Star One shot high into the air, whipping up a scorching gale that accelerated the Death Star-ship's collapse. More than a dozen Divine Crystals, completely depleted of energy and now ash-white, tumbled from the warship’s core toward the ground, gradually shattering into countless fine particles in the fierce wind.

The figures of the Ten Heavenly Lords flashed into view behind the rupturing Death Star-ship. Beneath each of their feet, a formation diagram, vast and circular, flickered in and out of existence. Within these diagrams pulsed ten-thousand-foot golden lights, boundless crimson sands, black tempests capable of sweeping the heavens and earth, as well as restrictions manifesting as icebergs and golden blades. The mere aura emitted by these formation diagrams caused the smile on Eternal Star-Light’s face to freeze abruptly.

"It’s very simple! All Death Star-ships are gigantic nested formation structures; they rely entirely on those massive nested formations to maintain their stability," Gu Xichen explained briefly.

Since the Death Star-ships were nested formations, once the formations nested within them were destroyed, their own mass alone would crush their physical structure, not to mention the full-force attack unleashed by draining the Divine Crystal energy in that final burst. It was unknown who built the Death Star-ships, but the creator’s artifact refinement skill was clearly not top-tier. The Death Star-ship was merely a semi-finished product held together by potent Immortal Formations; to Formation Masters like the Ten Heavenly Lords, it was riddled with flaws and holes.

It was just like a wooden boat glued together with adhesive; hit it with wind and rain, and the hull immediately breaks apart.

Eternal Star-Light possessed high comprehension and immediately grasped Gu Xichen's meaning. He frowned and muttered to himself, "Looking at it this way, the Elder Council isn't so terrifying after all!"

A maniacal fervor flushed Eternal Star-Light’s face, and he eagerly looked at Gu Xichen: "Can you destroy all the Death Star-ships like this?"

Gu Xichen glanced at the Ten Heavenly Lords, who nodded dismissively. Dismantling the nested formations within the Death Star-ships held no difficulty for them; they could shatter the formation nests almost effortlessly. If it weren't for coordinating with Xiao Xiao to control the ship's core for the final strike to destroy Eternal Star-Light's avatar, they would have dealt with those Death Star-ships long ago. With this experience, facing any number of Death Star-ships in the future would be mere child's play in the palms of the Ten Heavenly Lords.

"A combination of technology and sorcery, capable of erupting with power near that of a Golden Immortal, but still lacking in front of true powerhouses!" Eternal Star-Light sighed abruptly upon seeing the gesture from the Ten Heavenly Lords. "The Elder Council's greatest trump card has been nullified just like that? Your cultivation levels are only at the standard of the Grand Sovereign Heaven Realm—truly unbelievable."

Pausing briefly, Eternal Star-Light widened his eyes and smiled at the Ten Heavenly Lords: "Join me. I can give you anything you desire. Help me conquer the Elder Council, and we shall be the masters of the entire universe! Wealth, power, beauties, or anything else you crave—it is yours." The Ten Heavenly Lords let out silent laughter, regarding Eternal Star-Light with the look one reserves for an idiot.

Gu Xichen merely clapped lightly, offering Eternal Star-Light a thumbs-up. He praised, "Not bad, actually trying to poach talent, but you have no chance."

In the void, hundreds of White Winged Warships simultaneously locked onto Eternal Star-Light. Black beams shot out from all directions. Wherever the dark light passed, the void tore open with fine marks visible to the naked eye. A large amount of Subspace energy flooded through the fissures, further augmenting the power of the black light.

Eternal Star-Light’s expression shifted in horror. He cried out, his body flashing as he prepared to teleport away. But suddenly, a massive Blood Camellia flower erupted from the side, sending dozens of vines shooting out to tightly bind his body. Accompanied by furious curses, hundreds of extremely fine black beams pierced Eternal Star-Light’s body simultaneously, blasting his physical form into fragments.

Something astonishing happened: every fragment of Eternal Star-Light's body suddenly expanded, transforming into a vaguely human shape. These figures simultaneously twisted their faces and cursed Mei Lin vociferously. The wording they used was identically harsh and unpleasant. Regardless of voice pitch or timbre, the curses were identical, even the intonation rising and falling uniformly. For a moment, tens of thousands of people densely packed in the sky simultaneously cursed Mei Lin, creating a truly shocking spectacle.

"You truly haven't completely passed that chain of heavy calamities," Mei Lin laughed triumphantly. She pointed at the countless figures filling the sky and roared with laughter: "Your true soul was shattered by the Heavenly Tribulation, and you must gather the power of these secondary souls to repair it. No wonder you stood by while I annihilated the royal family of the Polar Star Empire. Those people were all your avatars; killing them actually saved you effort!"

The multitude of figures roared simultaneously: "Bitch, shut up!"

Mei Lin, however, pressed on with her laughter: "It's just a pity that your true soul seems unable to control your avatars anymore? How many years has it been since these avatars separated from you? Truly pathetic. What evil method did you use to split them? They seem a little out of your control? You can coordinate their movements, but can you truly control them?"

The figures in the sky simultaneously clamped their mouths shut. They shot Mei Lin a venomous glare, then simultaneously turned toward Gu Xichen and roared sharply, "I will return!"

Before the words had faded, the figures scattered in all directions. Eternal Star-Light’s tens of thousands of avatars activated their escape lights and fled rapidly. But just as a resonant weng sounded, the Ten Heavenly Lords, who had been fully prepared, simultaneously unfurled the formation diagrams of the Ten Ultimate Formations. A strange light shimmered across the entire sky as the Ten Ultimate Formations—'Heavenly Ultimate Formation,' 'Earthly Ferocity Formation,' 'Wind Howl Formation,' 'Frigid Ice Formation,' 'Golden Light Formation,' 'Blood Transformation Formation,' 'Blazing Flame Formation,' 'Soul Descent Formation,' 'Crimson Water Formation,' and 'Crimson Sand Formation'—reappeared in the world.

Eternal Star-Light, who had been arrogant beyond measure until this moment, finally let out a cry of despair. His avatars were swept into the formations one by one, turning into ashes in the blink of an eye.

A shrill howl carried far across the void. After a long, long while, once all of Eternal Star-Light's avatars were annihilated by the great formations, Gu Xichen smiled at Mei Lin and Daoist Mu. All the White Winged Warships in the void locked onto Mei Lin and Daoist Mu. Gu Xichen stated calmly, "I didn't expect this day to come so quickly? A Six-Star Civilization doesn't seem so fearsome."

Mei Lin and Daoist Mu’s faces were ashen and pale as death. They clung tightly to each other; Mei Lin was so terrified she dared not speak, while Daoist Mu mustered a sliver of courage and stammered out, "Xichen, I am your good friend. Do you truly intend to kill your friend’s biological parents?"

Gu Xichen looked at Daoist Mu in feigned surprise, then sneered, "Of all the words I've heard in my life, what you just said is the most shameless."

Not bothering to waste any more words on these two, Gu Xichen waved his hand downward and sneered, "Xiao Xiao, eliminate them!"

Mei Lin and Daoist Mu let out simultaneous screams of despair. They lacked the strength for even a final struggle; so many White Winged Warships were enough to instantly shatter their bodies and souls. But to their surprise, the White Winged Warships did not fire. Instead, they slowly turned their bows, their fire control radars locking tightly onto Gu Xichen. From the bow of every ship, a multi-faceted crystal spike several hundred meters long extended, and countless extremely fine crystal rays slowly emerged from it.

Gu Xichen froze, shouting in astonishment, "Xiao Xiao, what are you doing?"

The communicator on his wrist suddenly lit up, revealing Xiao Xiao—now inhabiting a mechanical octopus body—with his strange octopus face appearing before Gu Xichen.

"It’s over, Boss! There are very powerful individuals inside those warships. They completely ignored the internal defense systems, simultaneously cutting off the super-brain connection for all the vessels. Now they are taking manual control, replacing me!" Xiao Xiao sighed mournfully, his face full of worry, "Boss, I can't help you anymore."

Extremely powerful cultivators inside the White Winged Warships? Gu Xichen raised an eyebrow in surprise, then slowly nodded. "Alright, thank you for your efforts, Xiao Xiao. You have already helped me immensely. Didn't you eliminate that Eternal Star-Light?"

Hearing Gu Xichen's compliment, Xiao Xiao immediately beamed again.

Mei Lin and Daoist Mu cautiously backed away a few steps, fearing collateral damage. The White Winged Warships pivoted into a stance that would trigger spatial collapse; they certainly didn't want to be sucked into it themselves. But who controlled these ships? Could it be that Eternal Star-Light still had surviving avatars? No, his true soul had been utterly destroyed; how could his avatars possibly remain?

The White Winged Warships encircled the entire Star One Star, trapping Gu Xichen, the Ten Heavenly Lords, and the Ten Ultimate Formations as well. The crystal spikes at the front of the warships shone with a dazzling dark light, clearly indicating they were fully drawing energy from the embedded Divine Crystals. If this many White Winged Warships unleashed their full-energy attack simultaneously, perhaps the entire Star Light Domain would be implicated. The warships rapidly charged, and colossal energy shockwaves churned and vibrated against each other in the void, causing the space to subtly ripple visibly. The void slowly compressed inward, threatening to enter a chain of collapses at any moment.

"You have two choices: become the new Prime Minister of the Polar Star Empire, or... death!"

A dry, unpleasant voice suddenly echoed from the horizon. The voice was harsh and dry, filled with an eerie, sinister malignance. It drifted erratically in the surrounding void, making it impossible to tell where it originated. As the voice sounded, the crystal spikes at the bows of the White Winged Warships dimmed slightly.

"Who are you?" Gu Xichen countered.

A mass of dark clouds suddenly churned overhead, revealing the figure of a black demonic idol several meters tall within the cloud. This ferocious-looking idol was naked; its sturdy body appeared skinless, covered instead by lumps of muscle that visibly twitched and convulsed. Gu Xichen clearly saw faint streams of blood plasma seeping from these muscle knots. At the idol's feet stood a charmingly beautiful woman and a ferocious, clawing, crimson-colored demon head. Flashes of sharp light occasionally darted from the eyes of both the woman and the demon head, possessing a strange, soul-bewitching power.

Behind the demonic idol were eighteen beautiful women performing the Heavenly Demon Dance, each holding various musical instruments. Among them were pipa, xiao, and guzheng familiar to Gu Xichen, as well as older stringed instruments popular in the Star Alliance. These women wore flowing gauze garments, with golden flowers faintly appearing and disappearing around them. They swam like fish through the void behind the idol, their instruments constantly emitting magical sounds that gnawed at the soul.

Behind these eighteen Heavenly Demonesses were four thousand nine hundred brawny men, grinning fiercely. They all wore animal-skin kilts and carried heavy weapons like great spears and halberds. Their bare skin was covered in intricate black markings that converged on their chests into a ferocious image of a demonic god. A dense aura of fiendishness rose from the demon god images on their chests, condensing above their heads into a vast canopy of black cloud that perfectly covered the head of the several-meter-tall demonic idol.

"You ask who I am?" The idol revealed itself in the black cloud, opening its gaping maw to question Gu Xichen. It stomped its foot, and the charming woman and the demon head simultaneously shrieked, their eyes shooting out beams of evil light as they glared viciously at Gu Xichen.

Gu Xichen shook his head, looking at the White Winged Warships surrounding him, and coldly sneered, "Are you the new Emperor of the Polar Star Empire? On what grounds?"

The idol folded its arms across its chest, looking down upon Gu Xichen, and laughed proudly, "On what grounds? Look at these warships surrounding you, and you will know my grounds!"

Mei Lin, who had been dumbfounded, suddenly shrieked, "These warships are mine!"

The idol turned back to glance at Mei Lin and stated plainly, "I ordered them to temporarily obey your command. In reality, they have belonged to me for a very long time! Therefore, these warships are now my private property. This includes the Governors of the Polar Star Empire's most vital star regions, just like the late Goloman—they are all my people. Thus, I now control eighty percent of the Polar Star Empire’s territory and one hundred percent of its military. Of course, I can be the Emperor here!"

Gu Xichen shuddered. This demonic idol controlled the most crucial star regions of the Polar Star Empire? Just like the deceased Goloman? Does that mean Yan Wu Asura is his subordinate?

After hesitating for a moment, Gu Xichen scrutinized the idol up and down, then asked, "Are you Asura Viking? But your appearance..."

Asura Viking nodded readily, "Very perceptive. That’s why I’d prefer you to be my Prime Minister. My appearance isn't strange; those little girls like Yan Wu couldn't possibly have seen my true form."

Nodding firmly, Gu Xichen finally understood why the image of Asura Viking in Yan Wu Asura’s memories didn't match this current demonic idol. However, when faced with Asura Viking’s recruitment offer, Gu Xichen shook his head firmly: "My goal is to destroy the Polar Star Empire. I cannot become its Prime Minister!"

Asura Viking’s face instantly turned ice-cold. He let out a low growl and swung a palm strike down toward Gu Xichen.

Gu Xichen left several afterimages to evade Asura Viking’s attack, coincidentally breaking the lock from the White Winged Warships. He flickered beside the Ten Heavenly Lords, pointed at Asura Viking, and roared sharply, "Don't rely on your Third-Grade Celestial Immortal cultivation to bully us. If you want to be the Emperor of the Polar Star Empire, break my Ten Ultimate Formations first!"

The Ten Heavenly Lords shouted in unison, light and shadow flickering around them as the Ten Ultimate Formation diagrams unfurled, engulfing Gu Xichen within. A small cloud platform emerged within the Ten Ultimate Formations, and Gu Xichen stood upon this platform. This was the central eye of the Ten Ultimate Formations; standing high above, every change within the formation was visible to him.

From the outside, the Ten Ultimate Formations covered only a hundred square miles of space, faintly glittering with various strange lights; nothing else could be seen within. But from Gu Xichen’s perspective, the Ten Ultimate Formations spanned an area of at least a million li. If one carelessly fell into the formation, simply finding north, south, east, or west would be difficult.

As for the subtle, mystical transformations within the formation, Gu Xichen couldn't clearly discern them. Even though the Ten Heavenly Lords had communicated the mysteries of the Ten Ultimate Formations to Gu Xichen through their consciousness, his mind was still clouded, struggling to grasp the overall flow and changes of the great formation. The formation lacked the usual spears, halberds, and bizarre manifestations common in other formations; instead, it was filled only with auspicious light and auspicious clouds—truly the appearance of an immortal realm.

Asura Viking scornfully shook his head. He glanced at the Ten Ultimate Formations, then turned back to Daoist Mu and Mei Lin: "Prime Minister and Minister of Military Affairs. If you are willing, serve me. If not, perish together with this junior named Gu Xichen!"

Daoist Mu and Mei Lin exchanged a look, and thick, viscous blood plasma once again flowed from their seven orifices. Severely injured in their primordial spirits by the Seven Yin Seven Fiend Soul Slaughtering Curse, they simply lacked the courage to oppose the suddenly appearing Asura Viking. With wry smiles, they both knelt in the void, paying homage to Asura Viking: "We, your subjects, pay our respects to Your Majesty."

Asura Viking nodded with satisfaction and waved his hand nonchalantly, "Then, let's destroy this so-called Ten Ultimate Formation!"

In the void, the crystal spikes at the sterns of the tens of thousands of White Winged Warships belonging to the former Polar Star Imperial Royal Guard Legion flashed with dazzling dark light. They had fully drawn the energy contained within the Divine Crystals carried by the warships and were about to launch a fatal attack against Gu Xichen and his group. It happened in less time than it takes to speak: in the instant the White Winged Warships were ready to strike, all of them exploded simultaneously. The Divine Crystal energy they had painstakingly gathered dissipated into streams of black light, scattering away.

Xiao Xiao’s voice came through the communicator on Gu Xichen’s wrist, and he roared triumphantly, "These fools! They manually seized control of the ships, but I still control the self-destruct systems! Hahahaha, how cruel am I, to suddenly halt their impulse just as they were about to fire—I'm so wicked!"

Gu Xichen paused, then burst into loud laughter.

Asura Viking’s face contorted fiercely. He watched the tens of thousands of White Winged Warships self-destruct, his heart bleeding. These were White Winged Warships, the peak standard vessels of a Six-Star Civilization, not the so-called Star Alliance primary warships used to fool lower-level civilizations. The self-destruction of tens of thousands of White Winged Warships made him so hateful his eyeballs turned red!

"Deploy the Asura Heaven-Defying Formation and wipe them out!"

Asura Viking shrieked hysterically.

Behind him, the eighteen Heavenly Demonesses and the four thousand nine hundred stout men roared in unison. Tens of thousands of black banners and great flags sprayed out from a dense black mist. In the blink of an eye, they rapidly diffused outwards. Soon, this expanse of black mist and light permeated an area tens of thousands of li wide. A bizarre formation array took shape within the black mist. Accompanied by strange incantations, the four thousand nine hundred stout men behind Asura Viking simultaneously raised their hands high, surging toward a wave of viscous black mist pouring out of the void with ecstatic fervor.

These men merged with that wave of mist, and their auras suddenly soared rapidly. In the blink of an eye, the aura of every single one of them had risen to the level of the Grand Sovereign Heaven Realm.

Gu Xichen clearly sensed that these were projections of four thousand nine hundred powerful existences from a certain void high above, possessing the bodies of these men. This projection-possessing act could last for at most three shichen (six hours), but during those three hours, all these men temporarily possessed the strength of Celestial Immortals due to the projection's power.

The Asura Heaven-Defying Formation composed of four thousand nine hundred Celestial Immortals!

Gu Xichen cried out in shock, "Can the Ten Ultimate Formations handle them?"

The Ten Heavenly Lords gritted their teeth, about to affirm that it was no problem, when suddenly a flag—pitch black, with countless black water waves churning around its edges—rolled out from the Asura Heaven-Defying Formation.

Upon seeing this flag, Gu Xichen didn't hesitate, immediately turning to flee with the Ten Heavenly Lords. Four thousand nine hundred Celestial Immortals were manageable; the Ten Ultimate Formations could perhaps forcefully deal with them. But coupled with the Black Water Control Flag, which possessed infinite defensive power, what choice did the Ten Heavenly Lords, having only recovered Celestial Immortal cultivation, have but to flee?

While urging his escape light forward, Gu Xichen turned back and roared sharply, "Asura Viking, I will return for you! I will bring you a gift that will surprise you beyond measure! You just wait!"

Gu Xichen and the Ten Heavenly Sovereigns fled with incredible speed; their streams of light vanished from sight in the blink of an eye. Though the strength of those forty-nine hundred strong men possessed by projections had certainly risen, their minds seemed greatly affected; they were muddled and disoriented, unable to advance or retreat effectively. Despite clearly watching several figures escape, not a single one of these imposing figures moved to pursue them.

Ashura Viking stomped his feet repeatedly in exasperation. He let loose a torrent of curses toward the direction where Gu Wuchen had vanished before pointing at the Xuanyuan Water Control Banner hovering in the void, reclaiming the great banner into his body.

His eyeballs rolled around once, and Ashura Viking slowly approached Daoist Mu and Meilin, nodding slightly at the two with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"The internal and external affairs of the Polaris Empire will depend on the two of you."

After a brief pause, Ashura Viking grinned menacingly, "Prepare for war within one month. Concentrate all resources and march against the Viking Empire!"

Daoist Mu and Meilin exchanged looks of profound shock, but compelled by the terrifying authority of Ashura Viking, they could only bow deeply and accept the order.