Starlight, vast and mysterious, the power of stars, is also a force that countless cultivators struggle to comprehend.
The Heavenly Star Chessboard is called a divine artifact not only because it can deduce all things in the world, but also because within the chessboard lies a universe. The myriad things of the universe give rise to an infinite starry sky, gathering the eternal power of stars.
The Lord of Huyu Mountain used himself as a conduit, pouring all his power to guide the might of the stars to attack the Lord of Hualing Mountain!
"Crack, crack..."
As the Lord of Huyu Mountain acted, the Heavenly Star Chessboard began to crackle with the sound of shattering. After a few breaths, the sound suddenly ceased, and the Heavenly Star Chessboard silently shattered into tiny fragments as fine as dust.
A spiritual light flashed, and Qin Si and Yue Bufan suddenly appeared within the barrier.
Yue Bufan was severely injured but could still stand, while Qin Si was covered in blood. As soon as he appeared, he collapsed onto the ground, his life or death unknown.
"You brat, don't scare me!" Yue Bufan rushed forward to check on Qin Si's condition.
Just moments ago, inside the chessboard, at the instant the star river fell, despite the protection of the Lord of Huyu Mountain's spiritual power, they were still inevitably subjected to the immense power of the stars. Qin Si had used his Wuji Canghan Sword to form a sword array and shield Yue Bufan, while he himself bore the brunt of the stellar energy.
On the other side, the suffering Chan Master sat cross-legged on the ground, sighed deeply, and began chanting scriptures for rebirth.
Upon hearing this, Yue Bufan opened his mouth and said, "Chan Master, Qin Si isn't dead yet. Don't randomly chant..."
His gaze fell upon a spot not far away, and his voice trailed off.
The Lord of Huyu Mountain, who always dressed herself with exquisite elegance, like jade and pearls, saw her black hair turn gray strand by strand. Her face aged at a speed visible to the naked eye, and gradually, her form faded, transforming into scattered spiritual light.
On the peak of the distant Qunyu Mountain, the colossal chessboard collapsed with a roar!
The Lord of Huyu Mountain, her path extinguished, her body perished!
...
"The Heavenly Star Chessboard actually shattered!" In the pitch-black void, a towering Void Beast snorted with dissatisfaction.
Beside the Void Beast was "Bai Qingjiang," who had just left, none other than Xiao Ye.
He said, "It shattered, so be it. The Heavenly Star Chessboard was a defective piece of junk to begin with."
"But we still don't know the whereabouts of the Spiritual Bone and the Heavenly Mandate Sword," the Void Beast paced impatiently. "Xiao Ye, our time is running out."
Xiao Ye replied, "The Spiritual Bone is on Bai Shengyi. If Bai Shengyi won't do, you can see if Yue Shuxin has it. They are mother and daughter anyway."
"As for the Heavenly Mandate Sword, I sensed it was in the Universal Minor Realm before. I'll go in and look again. If all else fails, we can always drag out that old man from the Xuan Tian Sect to settle accounts. I just don't know if he's managed to fool Qing Lan by then."
His tone was incredibly casual, as if the "old man" he spoke of was not the Sect Master of Xuan Tian Sect.
The Void Beast sighed, "It can only be this way. However, Xiao Ye, do you truly believe our clan needs to cooperate with Liu Tianyun?"
"Let's see how things turn out in the Extreme West."
In the darkness, Xiao Ye's voice drifted, indistinct.
"Patriarch, the Void Beast clan has been absent from the world for too long. On the other hand, Liu Tianyun has been traveling outside and knows a lot."
...
"Qin Si!"
Bai Shengyi woke up from a nightmare, only to find herself drenched in sweat. Yet, she couldn't recall what she had dreamt.
"Master, what's wrong?" the Qiongmeng Vine asked solicitously. "Did you have a nightmare?"
The sense of loss and fear from the nightmare lingered, making Bai Shengyi feel uneasy. She did not answer the Qiongmeng Vine.
Outside the spirit beast carriage, a scoffing sound could be heard.
"Divine Envoy Cui, is this the divine maiden you selected this time? A woman who cries out a man's name in her dreams, impure and unchaste, how can she be worthy of being a divine maiden?"
Divine Envoy Cui ignored her.
Donglin Huang, the eldest daughter of Donglin City, had been following their group all along. She loved to make sarcastic remarks whenever she had the chance. Initially, Divine Envoy Cui would warn her. After repeated instances, he saw that Divine Maiden Bai paid her no mind and decided to do the same.
After all, as soon as he found evidence that Donglin Huang was the female slave who had escaped from the Eastern Divine Temple, he would make her pay.
This time, Divine Envoy Cui also thought Divine Maiden Bai wouldn't pay attention. However, he suddenly heard a clear, cold voice from the spirit beast carriage.
"Stop."
Before the divine attendant driving the carriage could stop, the spirit beast pulling the carriage halted on its own. Moreover, Divine Envoy Cui noticed that the Holy Son's spirit beast carriage also stopped.
The carriage curtain was lifted, revealing a slender, fair hand.
On her wrist, as smooth as jade, a green vine-like bracelet exuded potent spiritual energy.
Donglin Huang, upon seeing it, immediately became covetous. "Hey! How much is that bracelet of yours? This young lady wants to buy it!"
Bai Shengyi jumped down from the carriage and glanced indifferently at Donglin Huang. "Who is she?"
"Divine Maiden Bai," Divine Envoy Cui quickly stepped forward to explain. "She is the eldest daughter of Donglin City, Donglin Huang."
Donglin Huang hadn't expected that after following them all this way, this woman still didn't know her identity!
Her expression darkened, and she blurted out, "Divine Envoy Cui, how does your Divine Temple select people? Not only is this woman not virtuous or obedient, but she also has no sense of propriety!"
"Shut up!" Divine Envoy Cui wished he could roll his eyes at Donglin Huang.
Did she not know that the woman before her was not someone they could afford to offend?
Divine Envoy Cui could even sense that Divine Maiden Bai was in a terrible mood, her aura radiating extreme pressure.
He hurriedly said, "Divine Maiden Bai, please wait. I'll have someone escort her away immediately."
He absolutely could not let Donglin Huang implicate himself.
"Why go to so much trouble?" Bai Shengyi shook her head.
Just as Divine Envoy Cui was about to praise her kind nature, he heard Donglin Huang scream.
"Ah!"
Donglin Huang was directly suspended from a tall tree in front of them!
"Let's go, we're continuing our journey," Bai Shengyi said to Divine Envoy Cui.
Divine Envoy Cui was silent for a moment. "Divine Maiden Bai, we are almost at our destination."
"I know," Bai Shengyi replied listlessly, her heart heavy and her energy low.
In the spirit beast carriage ahead, Han Bei twirled the jade ring on his finger, his eyes filled with deeper vigilance and suspicion. "Divine Envoy Cui showed her implicit respect, and Donglin Huang's guards didn't notice her making a move... Who exactly is she?"
Donglin Huang, suddenly hanging upside down from the tree, felt a surge of blood rush to her head, paralyzing her with shock.
After screaming for half a day, she finally realized she should call her guards and maids for help.
"What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and get me down from this tree!" What a bunch of idiots!
However, the guards and maids on the ground seemed to have their sounds blocked, and not a single one moved.
"Ru Mei! Zhang Hu! Are you deaf? Hurry up and get me down!" Donglin Huang repeated.
The people below remained standing still.
Donglin Huang immediately panicked, "Ru Mei? Ru Mei? Zhang Hu?"