A colossal Earth hung directly before them. With the next step, they would step right into the shell of the Earth.

Yet, whether it was Yuanluo Tianzun or the Ghost Saint, among the more than ten thousand immortals from the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths beneath Miaoguang and Miaoyuan, not a single one could see the Earth, let alone the other planets in the solar system. They stared around wildly, eyes wide with bewilderment, but in their sight, the surroundings were utterly empty—not a single feather in sight. Where was the Human Origin Star?

Gu Xiechen was horrified. Yuanluo Tianzun was aghast. Green light flashed wildly within the Ghost Saint's eye sockets, accompanied by incessant squeaking noises.

Immortal Lord Miaoguang urgently asked, "Elder Xie Long, is the Human Origin Star really here?"

Gu Xiechen quickly nodded, pointing emphatically. "Isn't that Earth? Ah, Earth is what we call the Human Origin Star. Beside it is the Moon, which is where the legendary Guanghan Palace resides; there is also the Sun, and the planets of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. Can none of you see them?"

Yuanluo Tianzun and the Ghost Saint’s faces flickered rapidly, then broke into expressions of ecstasy as they nodded repeatedly.

The Second Ghost Saint roared with laughter, "If that is so, then this is truly the Human Origin Star."

"The divine abilities of a Saint are no small matter. Besides this, there are the Heaven Origin Star and the Earth Origin Star. Heh heh, which of those can our immortals of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths truly see or touch?" Yuanluo Tianzun said happily, "Let's go, let's go quickly! Take us in! Once we get close to the surface, the effect of this restrictive formation should dissipate, right?"

Gu Xiechen nodded, flying forward several hundred zhang. He had entered Earth's atmosphere.

But to Yuanluo Tianzun and the others, Gu Xiechen seemed to drift slowly into a faint purple mist that suddenly emerged. In the blink of an eye, he vanished without a trace. Even the divine sense they had locked onto Gu Xiechen was swallowed by that mist, making it impossible to discern his location.

"This is it! Form the Grand Array of the Firmament! Be cautious and use magic treasures for protection! We enter!" Yuanluo Tianzun roared in ecstasy. Following his shout, a golden light and purple energy burst forth from above his head. Within it, a square jinpa cloth, about a foot wide, could vaguely be seen rolling. It was patterned with the lines of the Innate Eight Trigrams, and at its center were two fist-sized Zhen and Xie divine characters, clearly reading "Heavenly Evasion."

The silk cloth shook, and golden light radiated from the Eight Trigrams. Countless showers of light descended from the high altitude, tightly enveloping the ten thousand-plus immortals.

The more than ten thousand attendant immortals under the Yuanluo Palace simultaneously flew out their flying swords and magical artifacts, releasing countless streams of colorful light to shield themselves. Their formation rapidly shifted according to the pattern of the Innate Eight Trigrams, quickly forming a three-dimensional array structured like the square earth contained within the Four Symbols and Four Spirits.

The colorful lights in the void merged into one, transforming into a thick, dark-green protective shield that enveloped Yuanluo Palace and its entourage. From a distance, this circular dark-green shield resembled a turtle shell, upon which the distinct lines of the Innate Eight Trigrams flickered, constantly emitting intense silver light.

Under the combined efforts of so many immortals from Yuanluo Palace, the vast Grand Array of the Firmament slowly entered the Earth's atmosphere and smoothly descended nearly a hundred li.

A massive burst of purple mist suddenly surged in the void. A spectral image of Nüwa flickered in the air, sometimes visible, sometimes not. She slightly opened her eyes, gazing coldly at Yuanluo Tianzun and the Second Ghost Saint. Although it was only a phantom image, under the pressure of her gaze, Yuanluo Tianzun and the Ghost Saint involuntarily lowered their heads, not daring to meet her eyes.

The might of a Saint, even a lingering wisp of aura or a residual illusion, was so earth-shattering.

"It is the Human Origin Star, no mistake!" Although Yuanluo Tianzun and the Ghost Saint were terrified into stillness by Nüwa's gaze, their hearts were filled with continuous ecstasy. It was indeed the Human Origin Star, the maternal planet where the legendary Nüwa was born—the source star that nurtured humanity, the lord of heaven and earth.

Countless planets throughout the cosmos birthed countless innate beings. Humanity did not arise because the Human Origin Star existed; rather, this planet became known as the Human Origin Star because Nüwa, born from it, created mankind.

Heaven, Earth, and Man—the Three Powers. The Human Origin Star birthed humanity, the crucial link to complete the Three Powers of the Heavenly Dao. Thus, the status of the Human Origin Star in the Three Realms was equivalent to that of the Heaven Origin Star, which nurtured Pangu, and the Earth Origin Star, which nurtured the three hundred and sixty million primeval demon gods of the Primordial Chaos. It must be noted that Hongjun Laozu, who governs the Heavenly Dao, was fundamentally just one of those three hundred and sixty million primeval demon gods nurtured by the Earth Origin Star.

Nüwa attained Sainthood through the merit of creating humanity, and her maternal planet was thus termed the Human Origin Star, granting it infinite profundity.

Saints have vanished without a trace in the current Three Realms, and the Heavenly Dao is incomplete, awaiting the rectification of this flaw. If they could find even the slightest trace of Nüwa on her Human Origin Star, if they could sense even a flicker of a Saint's residual aura from it, it might just be the opportunity for Yuanluo Tianzun and the Second Ghost Saint to achieve Sainthood. After countless years, there might be hope for one or two more Saints in the Three Realms.

Yuanluo Tianzun and the Second Ghost Saint trembled with excitement. Once they entered the Earth's atmosphere, they could clearly see Gu Xiechen's figure flying ahead, drawing ever closer to the ground.

Suddenly, the elemental forces of the surrounding heaven and earth fluctuated. Peng Hua and the others within the Grand Array of the Firmament were flung far away by an invisible force, along with Gu Xiechen. Immediately after, a colossal force of heaven and earth pressed in from all directions toward the Grand Array of the Firmament.

Strange lights flashed everywhere, and immense pressure continually struck, as if a mischievous child were operating a hydraulic press against this giant turtle shell. The Grand Array of the Firmament creaked ominously, and the massive dark-green shield suddenly compressed by more than half its volume. The immortals of Yuanluo Palace, caught off guard, felt as if they had been struck by dozens of great mountains simultaneously. They shuddered in pain, bleeding from all seven orifices.

The Grand Array of the Firmament fell into chaos. The weakest Golden Immortals began to bleed from their seven orifices like water flowing from a tap, their spiritual power in complete disarray. Some immortals whose cultivation was impure sounded like ammunition depots exploding within their bodies with booming noises, and fist-sized spheres of energy swelled all over them. The exploding energy spheres caused flesh and blood to fly, eliciting shrieks of agony.

The Grand Array of the Firmament descended into utter confusion. Yuanluo Tianzun cried out in alarm, hastily spitting several mouthfuls of immortal energy onto the silk cloth above his head, releasing a golden, bright haze to protect the immortals beneath him. However, his intervention only made things worse. As soon as he acted, countless thin purple lightning bolts materialized from the rapidly converging elemental forces of heaven and earth. Soon, several bolts struck the Grand Array of the Firmament.

The origin of this lightning was unknown, but its penetrating power was extreme. The protective divine light emitted by the Grand Array of the Firmament offered almost no resistance to these bolts.

Dozens of hair-thin purple lightning bolts pierced through the protective light of the Grand Array of the Firmament and struck dozens of Golden Immortals of Yuanluo Palace. A mournful howl erupted as these Golden Immortals rapidly expanded, lightning and electricity spraying outward from every pore. After dozens of loud blasts, these Golden Immortals simultaneously exploded into sprays of blood plasma, with even more electric light erupting from their disintegrating bodies.

A vicious chain reaction exploded within the Grand Array. Golden Immortals were pierced by the electric light one after another. Immortal bodies swelled and then burst. Even Golden Immortals with profound cultivation seemed as fragile as hatchlings under the assault of this electricity, easily annihilated without the slightest power to resist. In the span of a single cup of tea, approximately three thousand Golden Immortals had burst and died. The tragic loss caused Yuanluo Tianzun's heart to clench painfully.

He abruptly stood up from the cloud chariot. Yuanluo Tianzun pointed a finger at the silk cloth above his head, shooting a stream of golden blood from his fingertip onto the cloth.

Instantly, a golden light shot toward the heavens, a thick, almost substantial golden radiance enveloping the surroundings. Dozens of massive Zhen and Xie divine characters faintly appeared within the golden light. In the blink of an eye, dozens of shining golden mirrors, each several li in diameter, materialized and danced in the air. These golden treasure mirrors, a full zhang thick, actively moved to meet the descending purple lightning, spewing massive amounts of golden holy flames toward the strikes.

The purple lightning bolts, however, acted like tangible yet incorporeal ghosts. They effortlessly passed through the formidable golden holy flames, easily infiltrating the Grand Array of the Firmament and continuing their rampage within. After a quarter of an hour, the Golden Immortals inside the array were almost entirely annihilated. Only several hundred Taiyi Golden Immortals could barely withstand the bombardment of the lightning, but their protective light was already flickering precariously, and blood was seeping from their seven orifices.

Yuanluo Tianzun stared at his decimated followers in panic, roaring in anger toward the sky.

The Second Ghost Saint began to giggle prettily. "Oh dear, Old Yuanluo, why is your Grand Array of the Firmament completely useless?" Before the words faded, dozens of extremely fine purple lightning bolts suddenly converged into a thunderous, fist-thick column of fire and thunder, smashing down directly. It instantly pulverized the roof of the cloud chariot and struck the Second Ghost Saint squarely.

The Second Ghost Saint’s gloating smile instantly stiffened. His body convulsed, and a burst of purple light erupted from within him. His upper torso, nearly half of it, was obliterated by the thunderous fire. With a piercing shriek, the Ghost Saint spat out a black bead the size of a broad bean, releasing a dense black fog spanning a hundred zhang radius to shield his body. More purple lightning bolts seemed to single him out, continuously slamming into him.

The power of the lightning was immense. Every single bolt shattered swathes of the black fog the Ghost Saint released, several zhang in size. Before long, the Ghost Saint’s complexion turned from pale to sickly green, almost translucent, as if all the essence within him was about to be exhausted.

Seeing his imminent demise, the Ghost Saint dared not hoard his power any longer! He let out a strange howl, and his body suddenly split into eight hazy, distorted phantom shadows. These instantly transformed into eight figures—an old man, a youth, a woman, a man, a plump one, a thin one, a tall one, and a short one—which, along with the main body of the Second Ghost Saint, formed the pattern of the Nine Palaces.

Accompanied by screeching cries filling the air, nine streams of green light flew out from the Ghost Saint's body, condensing into nine great banners.

The nine clones gripped the nine great banners, while the bean-sized black bead hovered above the Ghost Saint's head, continuously spitting black essence and ghost fog that poured into the banners. Gritting his teeth, the Second Ghost Saint used every ounce of his strength to grind the long banners. Instantly, the surrounding void collapsed, and two gigantic ghostly claws slowly emerged from the rupture. A Heavenly Ghost, towering over ten li, let out a ferocious roar, about to crawl out from the fractured void.

"Devour..." Gu Xiechen, who was observing from a distance, felt his facial muscles twitch. He smiled at Peng Hua, "The Great Strength Ghost King, famed for his near-immortality. This old ghoul still has some means."

Peng Hua gazed covetously at the black bead above the Second Ghost Saint’s head, instinctively licking his lips in a drooling fashion. "That bead must be a Yellow Springs Bead, right? A treasure condensed from the dark Yin corpse energy inhaled and exhaled by the Nine Nether Demon Clam within the Nine Nether Yellow Springs River? Only a Yellow Springs Bead could possibly tear open the Nine Nether Yellow Springs Path and summon the Great Strength Ghost King, a forbidden life form not belonging to this heaven and earth!"

"Oh?" Gu Xiechen nodded. So this was a Yellow Springs Bead? This object was immensely useful for all ghost cultivators and corpse cultivators, a supreme treasure for tempering the physical body and condensing the divine soul. If Peng Hua were to swallow this Yellow Springs Bead, his fierce nature would likely rise by another layer.

Alas, it’s not so easy to seize, he thought. The Ghost Saint’s own cultivation was that of a high-grade Great Luo Golden Immortal, and his bizarre formation could tear open the barrier between the Yellow Springs and the mortal realm, summoning the King of Heavenly Ghosts—a forbidden being of this world—made him far more difficult to deal with.

The Great Strength Ghost King, claiming an indestructible body, was something even Great Luo Golden Immortals could not destroy with innate magical treasures. Furthermore, they possessed infinite strength, and the vital energy within them was the supremely filthy Yin energy of the Nine Nether. Even a Great Luo Golden Immortal who incurred even a slight contamination could have their primordial spirit and physical form corrupted, potentially leading to death.

The Great Strength Ghost King, slowly struggling out of the collapsing space, stood ten li tall, entirely black, his skin covered in thick scales. His single head somewhat resembled that of a shark. When his mouth opened, it spanned nearly a li, filled with rows of glistening white teeth.

Though his movements appeared slow, the Great Strength Ghost King covered the distance from the collapsing space in just a few strides. He raised his long, black arms and roared toward the sky, spewing a vast quantity of thick, inky, foul-smelling black energy that surged upward, meeting the descending torrent of lightning.

The purple lightning bolts, falling like rain, suddenly stalled, hovering in the air in a manner that completely violated the comprehension of normal cultivators. Thousands upon tens of thousands of purple lightning bolts rapidly condensed inward, and in the blink of an eye, they formed a single massive bolt, about a zhang thick, like a berserk flood dragon striking down.

Gu Xiechen had sharp eyes. He instantly spotted two wisps of chaotic energy—one black and one white—entwined at the core of this gigantic lightning bolt. These two wisps of Chaos Qi were extremely fine, thinner than a hair by more than ten times. The ordinary Purple Demon-Slaying Heavenly Thunder, infused with these two wisps of Chaos Qi, had its power transformed magically, taking on a flavor reminiscent of the Primordial Heaven-Opening Thunder from the Primordial Chaos.

The black energy spewed by the Great Strength Ghost King was instantly pulverized by the lightning strike. The monstrous purple thunder crashed down. The Great Strength Ghost King, famed for his undying body, whom even a Great Luo Golden Immortal could not damage with an innate treasure, dissolved like a snow doll under the purple thunder’s impact, vanishing into a puff of blue smoke in an instant. Even the last trace of his primordial spirit imprint was erased, leaving absolutely no residue.

The force of the lightning remained undiminished and struck directly onto the head of the dumbfounded Second Ghost Saint. His nine great banners shattered violently, his eight clones melted away like dew under a scorching sun, and even his main body was split by more than half. The bean-sized Yellow Springs Bead exploded amidst Peng Hua’s mournful cries as if he had lost his parents. It transformed into a cloud of ghost energy that surged into the Second Ghost Saint’s body, managing only to repair his main form to about seventy to eighty percent.

"My Worldly Facade, my Yama Banners, my Yellow Springs Bead!"

The Second Ghost Saint barely managed to escape with his life by relying on the vast ghost energy within the Yellow Springs Bead, rolling about on Yuanluo Tianzun's cloud chariot, howling his grief to the heavens. He flailed and writhed like a child whose lollipop had been stolen, screaming almost madly.

Yuanluo Tianzun glanced coldly at the Second Ghost Saint, then suddenly burst into loud laughter. "This formation here is so marvelous. I cannot even sense the aura of a single magical artifact I left on the Myriad Immortal Star. Tell me, Old Ghost..."

Amidst his laughter, Immortal Lords Miaoguang and Miaoyuan simultaneously activated a hammer and a saber, two magical artifacts, launching them toward the severely weakened Second Ghost Saint.

The green treasure hammer activated by Immortal Lord Miaoguang was only the size of a fist, resembling a small cantaloupe, covered in soybean-sized knots. Each knot was inscribed with a seal, containing the flash and surge of countless bolts of lightning, wind, and cloud.

The flying knife activated by Immortal Lord Miaoyuan was leaf-shaped, yet thick and heavy. The blade of the crimson body possessed a slight bluish-green tint, and waves of foul wind emanated from the blade. This was no immortal artifact, but a fierce, venomous demonic path weapon saturated with potent poison.

Just as the Second Ghost Saint was about to be struck by the two artifacts, a strange laugh was heard. The Ghost Saint actually spat out a large volume of viscous water mist even earlier than Miaoguang and Miaoyuan. The mist transformed into dozens of extremely fine black water threads, shooting toward Yuanluo Tianzun, Immortal Lord Miaoyuan, and Immortal Lord Miaoguang.

Yuanluo Tianzun was currently circulating his profound techniques to sustain the silk cloth protecting his disciples. He allowed Miaoguang and Miaoyuan to attack the Second Ghost Saint. The Ghost Saint had been severely wounded by the heavenly lightning, his clones and magical treasures destroyed. His ultimate weapon, the Great Strength Ghost King, had proven so fragile and was so easily routed; clearly, the Ghost Saint no longer had the strength to fight. Miaoguang and Miaoyuan, even if weaker, were Initial-Grade Great Luo Golden Immortals. Dealing with the Second Ghost Saint, whose vitality was so heavily depleted, should still be easy for them.

But unexpectedly, he had calculated Yuanluo Tianzun, and the Ghost Saint had calculated him, acting even earlier than Miaoguang and Miaoyuan.

The water threads moved with extreme speed. They struck Yuanluo Tianzun’s group almost the instant they were spat out. It was unclear what substance formed these water threads, but they corroded a fist-sized hole in the protective treasure robe worn by Yuanluo Tianzun, causing the surrounding colorful light to instantly dim.

Yuanluo Tianzun suddenly cried out in agony. Where the water thread touched his body, it dissolved one of his lower legs into a pool of pus.

Miaoguang and Miaoyuan fared even worse. Their protective light was pierced by the water threads, which struck directly onto their faces, instantly melting their upper bodies into pools of yellow liquid. Their primordial spirits shrieked in alarm, escaping their bodies, tightly shielding themselves with their natal magical artifacts, and hurriedly fleeing toward Yuanluo Tianzun.

Miaoguang and Miaoyuan were nearly in tears. They were already Initial-Grade Great Luo Golden Immortals, yet they had suffered physical injury and were forced to have their souls flee their bodies.

The two complained tearfully toward Yuanluo Tianzun, "Master!"

Yuanluo Tianzun was drenched in cold sweat from the pain. How long had it been since he had suffered such physical agony? Especially today, having one of his legs destroyed by this vicious Yellow Springs Water, the most corrupt substance from the Nine Nether Yellow Springs.

Furious and flustered, Yuanluo Tianzun roared. Ignoring the silk cloth above his head, he swung a massive bronze mace shaped entirely like a golden dragon, with the hilt forming the dragon’s tail, putting all his strength into one blow aimed at the Second Ghost Saint.

The Second Ghost Saint let out a strange laugh. "Old Second Yuanluo, the formation here is indeed marvelous. My clones cannot sense my situation here. But since you destroyed my body, I won’t let you get off easy either! Hahaha! The Yellow Springs Water is incredibly venomous; just wait for your cultivation to regress and your realm to collapse!"

Amidst the strange laughter, the Ghost Saint’s body suddenly compressed rapidly inward. It looked as if he was about to self-detonate his physical form!

Yuanluo Tianzun’s face turned deathly pale with fright. The self-detonation of a High-Grade Great Luo Golden Immortal—even he dared not face that power, let alone with so many disciples around him! The deceased Golden Immortals were a loss, but the remaining several hundred Taiyi Golden Immortals were the essence of Yuanluo Palace, not to mention his two main disciples!

Just as he was about to sacrifice several powerful magical treasures to deal with the Second Ghost Saint, a streak of water light rapidly rushed in from the distance.

Gu Xiechen, who had been observing for a long time, seized the opportunity. He excitedly rushed to the Second Ghost Saint's side and swept him away with his sleeve as the Ghost Saint’s body was rapidly compressing. Once the Ghost Saint flew out of the cloud chariot, countless purple lightning bolts slammed down upon him, instantly blasting his body into pieces. He no longer had the strength to self-detonate!

Peng Hua joyfully pounced over, greedily opening his huge mouth and sucking up all the remaining essence of the Second Ghost Saint. He patted his belly contentedly and let out a loud burp!

Yuanluo Tianzun’s face flushed crimson! His reaction speed was actually slower than Gu Xiechen’s. Outside the cloud chariot were so many powerful purple divine thunders; kicking the Second Ghost Saint out meant the purple thunder would deal with him—why would Yuanluo Tianzun need to exert himself?

After a few dry laughs, Yuanluo Tianzun was about to utter some words to save face when a terrifying, despair-inducing pressure descended from above.

A spectral image of Nüwa, towering a thousand li high, materialized out of thin air. Billions of starlight points rapidly condensed toward the hands raised high by Nüwa, and a massive amount of purple lightning was gathering in her palms.

As the purple lightning was about to pour down, Yuanluo Tianzun shrieked in terror, "Flee! We cannot withstand this!"

Just as he was about to fly away, Yuanluo Tianzun discovered with despair that the surrounding void had been sealed. Even with his peak Great Luo Golden Immortal strength, he could not escape.