Ancient lore, whispered in the forgotten tongue of the Old Gods, held a proverb to describe the Moongazers, those parasitic entities clinging to the divine forms:

“As the Celestial Way possesses a Spirit, so too does the Ancient God possess a Soul-Devourer!”

The “Spirit” spoke not of mere animation, but of an inherent, unknowable essence that breathed life into the very fabric of existence, a sentience beyond mortal comprehension. The “Soul-Devourer,” it was said, was the Moongazer. How these creatures came to be was lost even to the most ancient memories, their existence stretching back into the unrecorded ages, as mysterious and unfathomable as the spirit of the heavens themselves. Their origins were veiled, their purpose inscrutable.

“The Wrath of the Moongazer is as the Finger of a God.” This second fragment of ancient knowledge, etched in Tu Si’s memory, resonated deepest within Wang Lin’s heart.

From those cryptic words, he gleaned that when a Moongazer, in its third and most terrible form, unleashed its fury, it was akin to a single, devastating gesture from an Old God. The magnitude of this gesture was variable, the whim of a deity. The touch of a Nine-Star God could shatter even the strongest of celestial bodies. But the gesture of a lowly One-Star God was a mere jest.

The colossal Moongazer before Wang Lin was no jest!

Every hair on his body stood on end. Wang Lin, alongside his loyal Immortal Guard, fled with desperate speed, burdened by the severed fragment of Moongazer bone. He attempted to use the Heaven Defying Bead to absorb it, but the process was agonizingly slow, far too long to offer any immediate sanctuary.

The very fabric of the Yunxia Star trembled with a thunderous roar that dwarfed even the most violent storm. The sound, carried on the cosmic winds, echoed through the surrounding star systems, a testament to the Moongazer’s incandescent rage.

Wang Lin’s heart hammered in his chest. He knew that without its bone, the Moongazer would not die. It would, given time, regenerate another.

But this particular bone was the product of untold aeons, a treasure carefully nurtured over countless lifecycles. No wonder the Moongazer was consumed by such fury.

The Moongazer’s gargantuan form unfolded slowly, stretching out from its previous circular shape. The movement was accompanied by the screeching of planets being torn asunder, the landscapes on its surface crumbling further.

Countless tentacles, thick as continents, extended and writhed, a display of terrifying power. An aura of unimaginable strength emanated from its core.

Greed Wolf’s figure materialized from the Giant Cauldron, his emergence tragically timed. He appeared just as the Moongazer unleashed its wrath. Spying a narrow rift nearby, Greed Wolf, his eyes blazing with manic hunger, snarled and surged forward, desperate to escape.

But as he neared, the rift began to close.

“No!” Greed Wolf screamed, his voice choked with despair.

The Moongazer’s jaws snapped shut. Its immense body, a monument to cosmic power, loomed large, though its movements remained clumsy, far from graceful. But with each passing moment, the effects of the Ascendant Fruit’s lingering influence waned, and its strength returned.

Clutching the Moongazer bone, Wang Lin and his Immortal Guard crossed the threshold into the open void. He retrieved the Star Compass from his pouch and, mounting it, transformed into a silver streak, the Moongazer bone trailing behind him like a comet’s tail. He did not dare look back.

The Moongazer’s cold, ancient eyes fixed upon the fleeing figure. With a flick of its countless tentacles, it conjured a tempest of such ferocity that it shattered the sound barrier.

A wave of energy pulsed outward, and the Moongazer pushed itself forward with a force that defied comprehension. In an instant, the distance between them closed.

Simultaneously, the Moongazer opened its gaping maw and uttered a phrase in the primeval language of the Old Gods. A wave of pure terror washed over Wang Lin as he witnessed hundreds of smaller Moongazers, each hundreds of feet long, spewing forth from the chasm of its mouth.

Greed Wolf was among them. He gazed at the star-strewn void, a feverish excitement igniting in his eyes. This feeling, this taste of the stars, it had been too long!

But he knew he was not yet truly free. The moment he appeared, his gaze locked onto Wang Lin on the distant Star Compass. Understanding dawned, followed by a surge of bitter resentment.

However, he dared not act rashly. The smaller, ravenous Moongazers were too numerous, and he feared drawing their attention.

Wang Lin gasped, his mind racing. Without hesitation, he retrieved the remnants of his celestial wine, only a few precious drops remained. With a grimace, he consumed a single gulp, leaving but two drops within.

A potent surge of celestial energy exploded within him, so concentrated, so pure, that it threatened to overwhelm his mortal form. This was, after all, the essence of true Immortals!

Fighting through the searing pain and the encroaching darkness, Wang Lin raised his right hand toward the swarm of approaching Moongazers and, with a desperate cry, invoked an ancient spell: “Freeze!”

His command resonated with power. The celestial energy within him, threatening to tear him apart, surged forth from his fingertips, spreading through the heavens like a tidal wave. The word “Freeze” hung heavy in the air, halting the very flow of cosmic energies.

Under normal circumstances, Wang Lin could never have achieved such a feat. Even now, he could only succeed by harnessing the power of the celestial wine. Without it, he could never hope to cast such a potent binding spell.

Seizing the fleeting moment of stillness, Wang Lin fled without looking back, his speed enhanced by the secret escape techniques of an elder from the land of demon spirits.

But Wang Lin had only managed to halt the smaller Moongazers. The massive Moongazer that formed the Yunxia Star remained unaffected. It surged forward, its momentum breaking the binding spell and freeing the smaller Moongazers from their momentary paralysis.

Greed Wolf was less fortunate. He, too, had been frozen, but his recovery was delayed. The colossal Moongazer, looming over him, engulfed him once more within its cavernous maw.

In Greed Wolf’s perception, darkness descended, and he found himself once again trapped within the Moongazer’s grotesque prison.
Desperate, Greed Wolf’s eyes blazed with madness. He bit his tongue, spewing forth a torrent of blood that splashed upon the colossal cauldron. Instantly, the cauldron pulsed with an aura of ancient times, unleashing a shockwave of power. In a blink, Greed Wolf used the cauldron’s magic to swap places with a smaller Moongazer beast charging towards him.

Pale and weakened, he spat another mouthful of blood, pointing a trembling finger at the fleeing Wang Lin. “Wang Lin, you will not escape!” he roared, his face contorted in fury.

Wang Lin had long been aware of Greed Wolf’s presence. Without pause, he lashed out with his right hand, channeling his remaining celestial power.

“Bind!” he commanded.

Greed Wolf, poised to invoke the cauldron’s power and exchange his position with Wang Lin once more, froze as the binding spell took hold.

The Moongazer’s gaze suddenly locked onto the cauldron before Greed Wolf, its eyes glowing with strange interest. It sensed a soothing power emanating from the ancient artifact.

Centuries past, when this Moongazer slumbered, it had spared Greed Wolf solely because of this cauldron. In its unconscious state, it had instinctively cast the cauldron and Greed Wolf into its place of excretion.

Though a place of waste, it was also a place of absorption. The Moongazer, in its slumber, unconsciously wished to devour the cauldron, leading to Greed Wolf’s century of torment.

In the instant Greed Wolf was immobilized, the Moongazer lunged.

Wang Lin’s eyes gleamed with a strange light. Using the opportunity, he pushed his speed to its limits, widening the distance.

Greed Wolf felt darkness engulf him. When he regained his senses, he was swallowed whole, caught within the beast’s gaping maw. This rollercoaster of fate filled him with bitter resentment, but fueled his hatred for Wang Lin into an inferno.

“All because of you!”

Greed Wolf grit his teeth, hands forming a complex seal upon the cauldron. A milky light erupted from his brow, imprinting itself onto the cauldron.

“I will escape, even if it costs me my life!” he bellowed. The cauldron before him began to absorb Greed Wolf’s lifespan, growing exponentially.

In the span of a breath, the cauldron became immensely large, radiating an infinite, timeless aura.

The Moongazer roared, its sonic boom shaking Wang Lin to the core. He coughed up blood, his internal organs bearing grievous wounds.

Even the celestial guardian shuddered. Its golden aura shattered, and the light in its eyes dimmed, though its injuries were less severe than Wang Lin’s.

Seizing the moment as the cauldron swelled, Greed Wolf burst forth, desperately seeking escape. The Moongazer’s jaws were forced open by the growing cauldron.

“This cauldron is no longer mine!” Greed Wolf exclaimed, regretting his loss as he turned to flee.

But in that instant, the colossal Moongazer expelled the cauldron with tremendous force. Its eyes burned with purpose, and its tendrils snaked out, ensnaring the cauldron, while others lashed out towards Greed Wolf.

Greed Wolf’s face darkened. He reached into his storage pouch, producing a magnificent screen. He stood it upright and pressed his hands upon it, summoning a force of mountains and rivers into the starfield.

Wang Lin, fleeing for his life, felt his senses reel. The starfield seemed to vanish, replaced by a majestic landscape of mountains and rivers.

“The River and Mountain Screen!” Wang Lin’s Star Compass faltered, and his eyes glinted with desire. He had seen this artifact before. Greed Wolf had claimed it was not the true River and Mountain Map, but a screen that contained its projection.

The Moongazer remained impassive, its eyes flashing with an ancient rune. Wang Lin recognized it: the language of the Ancient Gods!

As the rune blazed, a hundred-foot-long finger materialized before the Moongazer. Its skin was rough and coarse, yet it emanated an alluring aura.

Though ethereal, the finger felt undeniably real to Wang Lin. “The Wrath of the Moongazer is the finger of an Ancient God!” Wang Lin gasped, sweat beading on his brow as terror gripped his heart. At last, he understood the true meaning of the legend.