One. Within the dazzling sea of flowers in the Palace of Fey-Su, Gu Xiechen and Fuya Ming stood together, deeply entwined.

Fuya Ming stared blankly at the streak of violet-gold light shining from Gu Xiechen’s crimson eyes. Tears rolled down her fair, jade-like cheeks, dripping one by one onto the petals before her, causing the few flowers to tremble—much like her own heart.

“Jin, she was my only true friend.”

“On the headquarters planet of the Star Alliance, Davirmus Star, a princess of a Four-Star civilization rarely makes friends. While I was studying there, she was my only companion.”

The rate at which the tears fell grew faster. Fuya Ming gazed at Gu Xiechen and asked softly, “Is there really no way to bring her back to life?”

Under the moonlight, Fuya Ming’s face was as delicate as the surrounding blossoms. Gu Xiechen narrowed his eyes and slowly shook his head. “It cannot be done. The departed are gone. We must not pursue them further.”

Their lips met, pressed tightly together. Fuya Ming leaned weakly, almost frail, against Gu Xiechen’s embrace.

Not far away, atop a small hill, Penghua squatted furtively behind several magnificent flowering trees, a thick cigar clamped between his teeth. He squinted, watching the embracing pair with a chuckle. He puffed out a few plumes of thick smoke and muttered under his breath, “Aha. That fake man is dead too? Good riddance. Always flitting around Great Master’s sight; it was like seeing that dead faggot again! That dead faggot really wasn't worth a damn. Didn't they say he’d wreak havoc for ten thousand years? How did he kick the bucket so soon?”

As he spoke, two beads of blood seeped from the corner of Penghua’s eye. The bloody tears traced paths down his cheeks, and as they reached the corner of his mouth, he swiftly stuck out his tongue and licked the drops back in. He cursed quietly, “Being a zombie is just the worst. When you’re sad, you just bleed. You can’t even have a few nice, quiet tears; it’s all vital blood essence, and you can’t waste it. Crying like this is exhausting!” One drop after another of blood-tears slid down Penghua’s face, and he scrambled to use his tongue to clean his face.

After busying himself for a good while, Penghua’s mood finally calmed. He remained crouched behind the flower tree, quietly watching the kissing couple, and suddenly sighed, “I truly wish I could go back to the time when I first met Junior Brother—simple and flat, like plain boiled water, but it didn’t take so much effort. Not like now, facing such immense pressure every day.”

Taking a deep breath, Penghua looked up at the round moon in the sky and sighed mournfully, “Heaven and Earth are a vast furnace, and we can only be the charcoal being tempered? Or perhaps the molten copper?”

A deep roar emanated from within Penghua’s body. It sprang from his core, and wisps of extremely fine scarlet flame jetted from his pores. A pair of massive, fleshy wings burst from his back, accompanied by a dull sound of wind and fire. Penghua’s ten fingers elongated, revealing sharp claws several feet long, and four long, golden fangs jutted from his mouth.

“No! I don't want to see anyone near Penghua Great Master die again! Death… I’ve experienced it once, and it wasn't pleasant. I don’t want to see anyone I care about perish again!”

“Is the Heavenly Dao heartless? Are all beings mere straw dogs? Heh heh. If that’s the case, Penghua Great Master will become the Heavenly Dao himself! Ha!”

An aura of arrogance, chaos, brutality, and sheer wickedness rushed out from Penghua’s body like a bloody gale. Penghua’s frame twisted and convulsed violently. He slowly stood up and unleashed a roar toward the full moon that pierced straight into the heavens. He pointed both arms rigidly toward the sky, forcefully stabbing upward with his two thick middle fingers, long claws extended. He shrieked at the top of his lungs, “Old Man in Heaven, your Penghua Great Master is going all-in against you! If you’re unhappy, come and bite me!”

Gu Xiechen whipped his head around sharply. A purple light flashed in his eyes. He clearly saw a shackle, entwined like a giant black python, shatter within Penghua’s body. A surge of bloody energy erupted from his core, rising above his head to coalesce into a cloud of bloody mist, floating and bobbing. With a soft whistle, a golden sarira, the size of a thumb, ascended from the blood-colored mist, which was shaped like a Lingzhi mushroom. Below it hovered a small, fist-sized Penghua figure, radiating brilliant, bloody light all over. This miniature Penghua was baring its teeth, sporting two fleshy wings on its back—its appearance fiercely menacing.

Between this golden sarira and the bloody little zombie was a patch of golden light, about a foot square, enveloping a golden primordial spirit that exuded an aura of immortal grace and Taoist wisdom.

“The Three Corpses Splitting Spirit Technique… Senior Brother, he…” Gu Xiechen was startled, then burst into uproarious laughter.

Back when they watched the Corpse Emperor undergo tribulation on the Moon and ascend to the Void Realm, the fact that the Corpse Emperor cultivated Corpse Dao, Immortal Dao, and Buddhist Dao simultaneously had already stunned countless observers. They had assumed the Three Corpses Splitting Spirit Technique was practiced only by the Corpse Emperor. Never did they expect that Penghua, who never behaved seriously, had actually obtained the technique! And today, he had mastered it, immediately stepping into the Great Sovereign Heaven Realm!

What shocked Gu Xiechen even more was that Penghua’s sarira, zombie primordial fetus, and immortal primordial spirit all possessed the cultivation of the Great Sovereign Heaven Realm. Alone, he was equivalent to three Peak Heavenly Immortals combined!

The airborne, wildly laughing Penghua skipped and made rude gestures toward the sky, constantly spinning around to forcefully slap his own backside in a gesture of challenge. On his face, the solemnity of the Buddhist school, the ethereal detachment of the Immortal school, and the decisive ruthlessness of the Demonic school cycled rapidly. Especially when his face turned blood-red, his provocative actions toward the sky became increasingly outrageous, until finally, he nearly stripped his own pants off.

The heavenly tribulations faced by demonic practitioners upon ascending to the Heavenly Immortal realm were the most terrifying: all manner of lightning tribulations, wind tribulations, fire tribulations, and even Heart-Demon and Heavenly-Demon tribulations came endlessly—one after another.

Penghua also sensed his emotions shifting erratically. He hastily took out several top-grade immortal artifacts obtained from the Heavenly Workshop of the Great Blundering Sage and prepared to refine them into his own natal dharma tools.

Gu Xiechen roared, snatched the Xuan Yuan Water Control Banner—which Fire Crow had taken from Asura Viking—and tossed it to Penghua. Immediately after, he selected a Ninth-Rank Lotus Platform entwined with Buddhist light and a silver flying sword shimmering with starlight from the treasures Jiang Ranyuan had given him, and threw those over as well.

Penghua was startled, then laughed wildly with delight. “I knew you always had the good stuff!”

The zombie primordial fetus suspended in the blood mist chirped happily, grasping the Xuan Yuan Water Control Banner. Silks of profound yellow energy jetted from the banner's surface, instantly integrating the zombie primordial fetus and the banner. A hazy, bald figure emerged from the golden sarira and snatched up the radiant Ninth-Rank Lotus Platform, spewing forth sarira essence to fuse with the platform. The immortal primordial spirit within the golden light chuckled and pointed at the silver flying sword, releasing a stream of immortal energy to tightly grip the weapon.

These three supreme treasures had all been cleansed by the profound yellow energy within Gu Xiechen’s Haotian Tower, completely washing away any residual aura of their original owners. Furthermore, Gu Xiechen had used the Haotian Mirror’s prohibition-breaking technique to clear the various restrictions within the artifacts. It was like a house where most doors were already unlocked; Penghua’s spiritual sense easily permeated the three treasures, allowing him to refine over sixty percent of their power within mere breaths.

Sixty percent of their power was enough.

The Xuan Yuan Water Control Banner immediately whipped up countless black waves and white lotuses to envelop Penghua’s body. Innumerable illusory figures of Heavenly Demons materialized from the air, shrieking and screaming as if they had encountered a plague, desperately trying to evade the entanglement of the black waves and white lotuses. Before these demons could flee, a Ninth-Rank Golden Lotus Platform rose from beneath Penghua’s feet, unleashing boundless Buddhist flames that soared into the sky. Each Heavenly Demon was stamped by a tongue of Buddhist flame, instantly transforming their ferocious countenances into expressions of solemn majesty. They promptly sat cross-legged around Penghua, chanting golden sutras.

Finally, a dazzling beam of silver starlight shot toward the heavens. As this starlight appeared, the full moon and the surrounding stars seemed to lose their color, as if the light of all stars in the Three Realms had been sucked into this silver beam, which was less than three feet long. A celestial cry echoed from all the surrounding stars, and the silver starlight pierced directly into the sky, shattering a newly formed Heavenly Tribulation lightning cloud above. A few weak sparks of lightning fire splashed listlessly from the ruptured cloud, not even singeing a single blade of grass on the ground.

“Hahahaha! Heavenly Immortal Realm—is this the Heavenly Immortal Realm? Penghua Great Master is truly a genius blessed by heaven, possessing outstanding aptitude and unique talent! Cultivating casually for several centuries yields Heavenly Immortal cultivation! Among the Three Realms, beyond the Five Elements, in the thirty-three heavenly palaces, and the myriad abodes of gods and demons in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths—which one possesses the brilliance and wisdom of Penghua Great Master?”

A plume of bloody corpse energy, a stream of golden Buddhist light, and a cloud of ethereal, pale-green immortal energy surged from Penghua’s body. These three distinctly different currents of energy intertwined, causing drastic changes in the surrounding celestial phenomena. Clouds rushed in like a revolving lantern from all directions, yet fled toward the distant sky like startled rats. The clouds scraped and collided, generating lightning and thunder in the void—bolts as thick as water vats crisscrossed the sky, like a Demon King descending, churning heaven and earth into chaos.

This fellow is too conspicuous, Gu Xiechen snorted coldly. The aura of the Grand Clarity Jade Perfection Heaven lightly escaped from his body and met Penghua’s aura for a mere brush before retracting.

With that slight touch, Penghua’s face, which had been roaring arrogantly at the sky, contorted as if seized by a spasm. His jaw clicked, “Ka-cha,” and nearly dropped off. He stared at Gu Xiechen in astonishment and exclaimed, “This… Second-Grade Heavenly Immortal? Junior Brother, how many years have you been cultivating?”

Gu Xiechen rolled his eyes and ignored Penghua. Fire Crow, perched on Gu Xiechen’s shoulder, cawed with laughter several times, slamming the aura of a Fourth-Grade Heavenly Immortal from the Profound Fetus Nurturing Heaven fiercely toward Penghua. The difference in cultivation was too vast; the mere collision of auras sent Penghua stumbling back, nearly knocking him flying.

Penghua sheepishly twisted his waist and walked to Gu Xiechen’s side, staring at Fire Crow with awe.

Gu Xiechen smiled slightly, flicked Fire Crow’s head, and said casually, “He’s sort of a clone of mine. Refined from the cores of the Thirty-Six Guardian Puppets of the Great Blundering Sage and part of the body of the True Sun God, infused with a fragment of my own soul origin. He is just like me.”

Penghua scowled at Fire Crow, clearly contemplating how he might drop this thing into a cauldron for soup.

Gu Xiechen then seriously cautioned Penghua. Although he now possessed Heavenly Immortal cultivation and realm, the Star Alliance was a peculiar place. Due to the influence of foreign energy, the laws of the Heavenly Dao here were subtly warped. One needed to reach the Golden Immortal level to ascend smoothly. Therefore, no one knew what was truly hidden within the Star Alliance. He must be low-key, low-key, and even more low-key, otherwise, he might suffer a great loss!

Penghua took Gu Xiechen’s advice to heart. They were brothers; there was no need for pleasantries. Gu Xiechen had experienced far more than Penghua, so this experience was essential to absorb.

As they were chatting and laughing, the Ten Heavenly Lords and the Mo Brothers, their faces grim, marched over, dragging the captured brothers Ling, Xu, and Yan, along with Tarta. The Xin Jia brothers were hauling a long chain from which high-ranking generals of the Allied Fleet were strung together like potatoes, being roughly herded along.

They still had a considerable distance to cover. Mo Liqing roared impatiently in a low voice, “Honored Superior, your subordinates were incompetent. These three strange fellows—they are immune to Soul-Searching techniques!”

“Oh?” The interest of both Gu Xiechen and Penghua was instantly piqued.

Mo Liqing threw the three brothers Ling, Xu, and Yan onto the ground. After bowing to Gu Xiechen and the others, he reported solemnly, “These three rascals—it seems they have souls, yet perhaps they don't. Their intelligence is interwoven with their muscle and bone. The Soul-Searching method is completely ineffective. We have only witnessed such a state in ancient Witch Clans and certain innate beings who excel in physical prowess. Your subordinates truly cannot extract any information.”

Holding Fuya Ming’s hand, Gu Xiechen coldly eyed Tarta, who was shivering on the ground, and sneered, “And him?”

Tarta glared fiercely at Gu Xiechen and roared, “I will say nothing—”

Mo Lihong struck Tarta’s throat with a palm-blade strike, causing him intense pain and rendering him unable to speak. He sneered, “In the presence of the Honored Superior, one does not roar!”

Mo Liqing meticulously recounted the intelligence extracted from Tarta’s soul—nothing more than the promises the Elder Council had made to Tarta, and the Council's plan for Tarta to cooperate with the three brothers Ling, Yan, and Xu to secretly subdue the Yafik Empire, conquer the entire Spiral Star Field, and then use the Spiral Star Field as a base to explore the Savage Star Sea.

Gu Xiechen frowned. He stared coldly at Tarta for a long time before shaking his head and waving a casual hand. Tarta was now useless; give him to Hailis to deal with. Immediately, several Yellow Turban Strongmen rushed over, hoisted Tarta up, and carried him toward the palace under Hailis’s command.

Fuya Ming’s expression grew serious. It was the first time she had ever heard of the organization called the Elder Council. But upon learning that the Exorcist Knights were merely a branch under the Council, she could immediately gauge the Council’s immense power. The Exorcist Knights were just a subordinate branch; the former Yafik Kingdom was merely a minuscule component of their organization, and the Yafik royal family was just one lineage within their bloodline. Moreover, the Council could casually dictate the appearance of a Six-Star civilization—this was terrifying.

Amidst her shock, Fuya Ming squeezed Gu Xiechen’s hand tightly and turned to look at him.

Gu Xiechen smiled at Fuya Ming and squeezed her hand back firmly. Fuya Ming instantly relaxed. With Gu Xiechen and this group of people assisting her, what was there left to worry about or fear? The combined fleet of dozens of Five-Star civilizations had been taken down with ease. Hadn't the Six-Star civilization, the Jixing Empire, been destroyed by Gu Xiechen alone in just over two years? Gu Xiechen had even overthrown two emperors of Six-Star civilizations! The Elder Council didn't seem so terrifying after all!

Glancing coldly at the three brothers Ling, Xu, and Yan, who still stood there maintaining an air of haughtiness, Gu Xiechen smiled. Then he turned his attention to the string of Allied Fleet high-ranking generals being dragged by the Xin Jia brothers. This joint fleet, composed of dozens of Five-Star civilizations, included at least four thousand marshals, generals, and nobles of various ranks, all hauled along with a death-knot tied around their necks by the five Xin Jia brothers.

Shaking his head, Gu Xiechen glanced with some heartache at the sea of flowers trampled by this group, and asked coldly, “What do these people know?”

Xin Jia replied in a muffled voice, “Honored Superior, they know nothing. They were simply obeying orders to form the Allied Fleet and attack the Yafik Empire, merely to—”

Know nothing? Gu Xiechen shot an annoyed glance at the group, then shook his head. “Break every bone in their bodies, cripple all their strength, and send them back to the Hiss Empire on a transport ship set to an automatic course. Send a message to their emperor: if they dare mobilize their forces again, I will go and speak with them personally.”

The Xin Jia brothers burst into laughter. With a surge of brute force, they nearly pulled all four thousand captives to the ground. The brothers excitedly dragged the large contingent behind a distant hill. A crowd of idle mercenaries, mixed with some malevolent Heavenly Soldiers and Generals, eagerly surged forward, using various implements to carefully shatter the bones of these people. They were then stacked like bricks onto a transport ship. Little Xiao set the automatic course, and the vessel slowly ascended into space, heading straight for the Hiss Empire.

Accompanied by the shrill screams echoing from behind the small hill, Gu Xiechen turned to face the three brothers Ling, Xu, and Yan, who stood before him appearing completely unconcerned.

Taking a deep breath, Gu Xiechen smiled and greeted the three brothers. “The three sons of Li Sheng? Hmm? Descendants of the Three-Headed Dragon?”

Ling shot Gu Xiechen a proud look and sneered, “Base creature! We grant you one opportunity—the last chance!”

Xu tilted his head and sneered, “Hurry up and kneel down to beg our forgiveness, and then have the Yafik Empire obediently follow our command and unify the entire Spiral Star Field.”

Yan squinted sideways at Gu Xiechen, his arrogance increasing as he stated, “Then, kneel before our eldest brother and beg him to accept the woman beside you…” If you want to know what happens next, please log on to Jizhou, where there are more chapters, support the author, and support genuine reading! Read the latest chapters on Jiujian Book City!