A biting north wind howled, tearing through the azure clouds, scattering them like chaff.

After concluding his conversation with Chong Xuan Sheng, Jiang Wang withdrew from the Tai Xu Illusion Realm and pressed eastward without delay. Be it for the sake of their friendship or for Zhu Bi Qiong’s selfless act of delivering the message that had enabled him to counter-kill Hai Zongming – an act of immense kindness – he could not stand by and watch her be sacrificed to the sea. It was precisely because he understood Jiang Wang’s character that Chong Xuan Sheng had hesitated about divulging the matter. He had not received the news only that day, but had learned of it earlier. It was only when he knew Jiang Wang had already set off back to Linzi that the slip of the tongue occurred, a hesitant pause that Jiang Wang had immediately perceived as concealment. He knew Jiang Wang’s choice all too well, but also fully understood the immense difficulty of the situation.

The Diao Hai Lou was the undisputed overlord of the nearby islands. Their influence in those coastal waters surpassed even that of the Qi Kingdom. Terrifying powerhouses of Great Qi, even those of the exalted Da Gu Ren rank, would be forced to retreat with a single word spoken upon setting foot in their domain. Was the Diao Hai Lou’s strength limited to this?

Leaving aside the fact that Zhu Bi Qiong had indeed violated sect rules, leading to the death of a sect elder, even if she were entirely innocent, if the Diao Hai Lou decreed her a deathly criminal, she would have no escape!

Chong Xuan Sheng had considered these factors for Jiang Wang’s sake, and of course, Jiang Wang himself had pondered them. Yet, his choice would not change.

He would uphold his heart and forge straight ahead, his path unswayed by hardship.

The Diao Hai Lou was scheduled to perform the sea sacrifice at Tian Ya Tai on April 4th. It was now only the beginning of February, leaving him two months to find a way to rescue Zhu Bi Qiong from the clutches of the Diao Hai Lou, a colossal entity. It was an exceedingly difficult task, yet he had to attempt it.

Ten days.

Jiang Wang had only taken ten days to traverse the middle domain from He Country and reach Xingyueyuan. In the past, this speed would have been unimaginable. Yet, having mastered the immortal technique of Pingbu Qingyun, it had been achieved with relative ease.

The evening sky above Xingyueyuan was low and the clouds thin. He paused there, recovering his breath and entering a state of cultivation. Guan Yan had said that Xingyueyuan was one of the places in the present world closest to the Star River. It was also, thus far, the only location in the present world where Jiang Wang had found he could accumulate star power for his body totem.

The white bone lotus flower and the fire totem behind him, though subtly connected by Qing Huo Qiming to form the Chi Huo Gu Lian, maintained a clear distinction within. In the Chi Huo section, Jiang Wang stored the totem power obtained from cultivating the Huo Yuan Tu Dian. The Gu Lian section, on the other hand, was used to store star power. Of course, due to the difficulty in obtaining star power currently, the Gu Lian was often empty.

Qing Huo Qiming, through the totem system of Fu Lu, had eliminated the potential influence of “gods,” leaving only the manifestation of the Chi Huo Gu Lian. For some as-yet-ununderstood reason, this change allowed the Chi Huo Gu Lian to absorb and store star power. Jiang Wang’s lack of reverence for “gods” was, to a large extent, due to the influence of the Fu Lu lineage. Apart from the creator god “Empty,” the world of Fu Lu did not believe in the existence of true gods; only origin thieves and faith thieves existed.

That single sentence – “Gods have ‘self,’ and having ‘self’ must breed selfishness!” – had simply shaken him to the core.

Jiang Wang had originally stopped in Xingyueyuan to exchange insights with Master Guan Yan and simultaneously accumulate star power to prepare himself. Yet, he did not know why, in such a place closest to the Star River, he suddenly found himself thinking of Qing Huo Qiming. That young witch priest who had leaped into You Tian from the underground cave in Wuzhi. Had he been dissolved by You Tian? Or had he attained true freedom within You Tian?

To this day, Jiang Wang still remembered the last words Qing Huo Qiming had spoken before leaping into You Tian, words directed at him: “It seems a voice calls to me. Azure sky comer, I no longer fear.”

He might never have had friends, and thus had only confided in Jiang Wang, whom he had not known for long. He truly no longer feared You Tian; he had thrown himself into it. Qing Huo Zhushu, considered the strongest witch priest of his generation, had thoroughly denied the concept of the You totem before his death, after pushing the You totem to its final stage. But Qing Huo Qiming, who bore the You totem, had still leaped into You Tian.

At that time, Jiang Wang had followed the words of the Qing Huo tribe chief, Qing Huo Gao Chi, saying that he hoped the change brought about by Qing Huo Qiming’s leap into You Tian would lead to a good outcome. But after the Battle of Life and Death, he had immediately left the world of Fu Lu.

Had the good outcome occurred? Perhaps. After all, the victory in the Battle of Life and Death had allowed the Qing Huo Tribe to obtain the Wang Quan totem, enabling them to hold dominion over Fu Lu for a hundred years. Perhaps…

Jiang Wang watched the sky gradually darken, suddenly feeling that the night sky, stripped of its stars and moon, bore a striking resemblance to You Tian. What exactly was You Tian?

Perhaps it was the predicament of his friend, Zhu Bi Qiong, that, in this moment of pause, had caused the young man to think of his friend far away in the world of Fu Lu!

The sky became completely dark. Jiang Wang tidied his thoughts and began to absorb star power. Heaven and earth, sun, moon, and stars – they were eternally fair. Starlight sprinkled evenly across every inch of land, bathing every person.

Relying on his perception of star power, Jiang Wang attempted to distinguish among the complex stars and focus on absorbing the power of the Yu Heng Star. He did not know how to contact Guan Yan, but hoped that this method might attract the attention of Guan Yan, who was in the Sen Hai Yuan Realm. Since leaving Xingyueyuan last year, although not much time had passed, he had experienced a great deal and accumulated many cultivation questions… and he truly had no one to ask. Relatively strong individuals, like Chong Xuan Chuliang and Ye Lingxiao, were not particularly close. Ku Jue might not be stingy with guidance, but he was unwilling to be a disciple yet still sought instruction, which was naturally problematic.

Instead, Guan Yan, though they had not interacted much, felt very close to his heart.

This waiting lasted for three nights.

Guan Yan remained silent, but the star power within the Gu Lian was almost full. On the fourth night, Jiang Wang decided to leave at dawn.

It was still in the first half of the night when the star power within the Gu Lian reached full capacity. He silently noted this time: in Xingyueyuan, three and a half nights were sufficient to absorb enough star power to fill the Gu Lian. This meant that in three and a half nights, he could store a fearsome killing blow. Of course, it wouldn’t be as powerful as the one sword imbued with billions of starlight during the Battle of Life and Death.

Previously, in the underground cave of Wuzhi in the world of Fu Lu, the pure star power he had obtained from killing the star beast had filled the entire Chi Huo Gu Lian. That had allowed him, at the Tenglong Realm, to defeat Lei Zhanqian of the Shentong Neifu with a single sword.

Because of his cultivation of the Huo Yuan Tu Dian, the totem power also had wonderful uses, so Jiang Wang had only “freed up” half of the space in the Chi Huo Gu Lian. The accumulated star power was naturally only half of what it had been before. And this kind of star power was not as pure as the star power obtained from killing that star beast, and thus not as powerful.

But even so, the star power filling the Gu Lian, if unleashed all at once, could at least increase the killing force of a cultivator at the Shentong Neifu level. Or, to put it more intuitively – it should be able to match the killing force of Lei Zhanqian, who had opened two Fús.

As for Jiang Wang himself, at that time, when he crossed one Fú to defeat Lei Zhanqian, many people still said he had been lucky. The Hua Ying Palace Master, Jiang Wuyou, also thought his true strength was similar to Lei Zhanqian’s, and that Lei Zhanqian’s strength hadn’t lost, but rather his preparation had.

But by now, Jiang Wang was confident that his true strength was already sufficient to crush Lei Zhanqian, rendering any preparation on Lei Zhanqian’s part useless. Of course, Lei Zhanqian was no longer his target in the present day. If he wanted to find an opponent of the same realm within Linzi city, the one he most wanted to challenge was actually the eleventh prince, Jiang Wuqi, the Master of Chang Sheng Palace, who had effortlessly endured his Samadhi True Fire and was most favored by the Qi Emperor.

Of course, that was if Chong Xuan Zun was still unable to achieve the Outer Building Realm after a year.

He also very much wanted to see what it meant to “seize all the splendor of the same generation.”

Linzi city, three hundred li wide, was a place where fish and dragons mingled. The more heavenly talents there were, the more envy the winds and clouds stirred up.

Thinking of these magnificent waves, Jiang Wang suddenly did not want to wait any longer. He had lingered in Xingyueyuan for three days, but had not received a message. Perhaps Guan Yan simply did not want to see him again. In that case, he would not impose further.

Jiang Wang stood up.

But that gentle voice, at this moment, was suddenly perceived by him—

“Little friend, are you waiting for me?”