He skimmed the foam off his tea and sipped it leisurely.

"Father, about how we’re treating that Heart Rot Valley Master... deliberately suppressing the prices of his Spiritual Plants and raising his land tax... If Qin Xuan gets furious, aren’t we..."

At his side, an ordinary-looking young Demon Cultivator asked with a worried expression.

If Qin Xuan were here, he would have immediately recognized this young Demon Cultivator as the guard from the first floor of the Scripture Pavilion all those years ago: Lv Hong!

The guy had even scammed him out of 10 Contribution Points back then.

He couldn’t recall the exact details, but the grudge was noted down crystal clear in his mental ledger.

Now, seventeen years later, Qin Xuan had long since surpassed him. His cultivation had reached the Foundation Establishment Tenth Level, and he was planning to open his Star Mansion, while Lv Hong was barely at the Foundation Establishment Third Level.

He hadn’t even managed to obtain the second Blood Talisman from the Blood Pool Sword Tomb.

"Hong’er, you are still too indecisive and care far too much about what others think. I exhausted our family’s fortune to win you the opportunity to guard the Scripture Pavilion for ten years and forge you into a Heaven Dao Foundation Establishment cultivator. How did you end up with such a weak disposition?"

Lv Hexsong said calmly, "Once he enters the Star Ruins without the protection of a powerful backer, Qin Xuan is a dead man."

Lv Hong’s heart trembled. "Father, why would you say that?"

He’d had a brief interaction with Qin Xuan back in the day. The man had been just a low-level Demon Cultivator then, yet he had later advanced in his cultivation even faster than Lv Hong himself.

Imperceptibly, Qin Xuan had even become Lv Hong’s Heart Demon.

Whenever he thought about cultivating, the image of the Heart Rot Valley Master would surface in his mind—the man who once had to bow and scrape before him, but was now far beyond his reach.

"Under pressure from Daqian, one-third of the three hundred Foundation Establishment Tenth Level cultivators entering the Star Ruins this time are prodigies from Righteous Dao sects like the Cyan Cloud Sect."

"Their strength is comparable to Wei Qingyi’s, and the best among them could even slay Liu Mobai!"

Lv Hexsong patted Lv Hong’s shoulder.

"In his desperation to Guide his Fate Star, Qin Xuan will inevitably end up as another dead soul in Liu Mobai’s banner. That is the nature of a Demon Child. Hong’er, you should be emulating Director Liu!"

Lv Hong bowed, wiping tears from his eyes.

"Your son is useless. I’ve caused you too much trouble, Father."

Lv Hexsong shook his head, his gaze toward Lv Hong filled with affection.

"We’re family, don’t talk like we’re strangers. You’re still a bit short on the Merit Points needed to enter the Blood Pool Sword Tomb. I held a small private auction, greased a few palms, and squeezed some more out of Heart Rot Valley’s land tax. We’ve just barely scraped enough together now."

"Go back and focus on your cultivation."

"Yes, Father." Lv Hong slowly backed away.

However, as he watched Lv Hong’s departing figure, a greedy light glinted deep in Lv Hexsong’s eyes. He gave an eerie smile, as if gazing upon a great, human-shaped medicinal elixir.

’Hong’er, you must cultivate quickly. Only then can your father take the next step!’

...

「Six months later.」

A full two hundred Demon Cultivators gathered at the Divine Sword Pavilion.

A colossal, thousand-foot-tall, sword-shaped peak stood there, resembling a pitch-black Demon Sword, radiating an immense demonic aura.

"Director Liu’s Cave Mansion is so grand. As expected of the Divine Sword Pavilion, said to possess the Holy Sect’s greatest combat strength."

Hou Qi sighed with emotion. ’If only I could enter the Divine Sword Pavilion one day.’

Wei Qingyi, Ji Boying, and the others, however, were unfazed. They all wore expressions of utter despair, clearly reluctant to enter the Star Ruins.

But Qin Xuan had a nagging feeling that something was off.

’Why does the Divine Sword Pavilion’s sword-shaped peak look so much like the Godslaying Demon Sword from the Blood Pool Sword Tomb?’

Just then, a group of Altar Masters and Directors arrived to see them off.

The demonic light of a magnificent array flared to life. Space rippled, and Qin Xuan’s group was teleported away.

Right before he left, he spotted Black Death Zhenren in the crowd.

A cold glint flashed deep in Qin Xuan’s eyes.

’Damn it. Lv Hexsong, wasn’t it? I’ll remember you.’

’The moment I successfully open my Purple Mansion, you’ll be the first one I make an example of when I return.’

’If you want to kick a man while he’s down, I have to actually *be* down first!’

...

BOOM!

After a dizzying spin, the scenery before his eyes changed dramatically.

When Qin Xuan opened his eyes again, he found himself in what looked like a vast, star-filled cosmos, with countless stars glittering brilliantly.

Below his feet was a black void, and every step felt like walking upon the stars themselves.

Incomparably pure and dense starlight filled the air, causing the True Sun Fire within Qin Xuan’s Dantian to stir restlessly.

Remnants of shattered stars were scattered everywhere. Dazzling, multicolored starlight formed waterfalls, and the Spiritual Qi was so dense it condensed into tangible lakes.

Qin Xuan felt refreshed throughout his entire body just from taking a single breath.

"Look! What is that?" a Demon Cultivator suddenly shouted.

"It looks like... the remains of a Demon Beast!"

Hou Qi’s eyes widened as he spoke in terror.

There in the vast cosmos, the colossal skeletal remains of a Demon Beast floated, so immense that neither its head nor its tail could be seen.

Even after ten thousand years, it still radiated a terrifying aura. Not a single person dared to go near it.

"When it was alive, this Demon Beast must have been a Venerable Divinity Transformation!"

Besides that, strange Spirit Flowers and Strange Herbs bloomed all over the place.

Qin Xuan was delighted to discover a large patch of Tier Two Low-Grade Soul-devouring Grass right beneath his feet. They were of excellent quality and at least five hundred years old!

Bai Lingwei’s face also flushed with excitement.

"Star Silver Tea, Sunflowers, Void Cyan Fruit... To think this place has so many Treasures of Heaven and Earth needed to concoct [Starlight Jade Liquid], and all of them are at least five hundred years old."

Bai Lingwei said joyfully, "The Star Ruins are truly worthy of their name. This really is a Holy Land for Guiding Fate Stars."

Despite her words, not a single person made a move to harvest them.

The multitudes of stars gathered to form all kinds of bizarre, illusory projections.

There was a Flood Dragon with a majestic head, the essence of its scales as if condensed from Yi Wood. There was an Exotic Beast with the head of a monkey and the beak of a phoenix, its feet treading on fiery clouds as it tumbled and leaped through the cosmos.

There was even a jade-like Zhang Yue Deer, its entire body the color of silvery moonlight, with snow-white lotuses blooming wherever its hooves touched...

Hundreds of these stellar illusions shifted and alternated. Immersed in this place, the Demon Cultivators felt the affinity with their Celestial Vault Fate Stars deepen.

A sharp-eyed Demon Cultivator exclaimed in delight,

"Those phantoms are Purple Mansion Fate Stars! If we can refine one, we’ll be able to successfully Guide our Fate Star and open a Star Mansion!"

The words had barely faded when a Demon Cultivator tried to step forward.

But he had barely taken half a step before he let out a sudden, mournful cry and plunged into the endless darkness.

A small, slowly rotating black hole appeared where he had vanished.

Even the brilliant starlight emitted no glimmer of light as it was sucked in.

Liu Mobai said in a grave voice,

"Fellow disciples, the Fate Stars in the Star Ruins are not something we can touch. You must pass the [Star Ruins Trial]. Do not act rashly."

"Though ten thousand years have passed, the immense power left behind by the Venerable Divinity Transformation has never faded. If you try to forcibly Guide a Fate Star, the slightest misstep will cause you to fall into a rift in the Star Ruins, where you will die without a trace!"

Hearing this, the Demon Cultivators immediately gathered around Liu Mobai.

Just then, another group tore through the void and entered the cosmos, representing Daqian.

Seeing their leader, Qin Xuan’s expression turned peculiar.

’Xiao Ran? His cultivation has also reached the Foundation Establishment Tenth Level!’

The people in that group wore a variety of different attire.

Some wore the standard cyan robes of the Cyan Cloud Sect, some wore yellow clan attire, and others wore silver head ornaments in the exotic style of the Southern Border Gu Race.

The most eye-catching of them all was their leader: a tall, handsome young cultivator wearing a four-clawed Golden Python Robe.

Standing among the crowd, he stood out like a crane among chickens, utterly conspicuous.

"Fellow Daoist Liu, long time no see." The young cultivator greeted him with a cupped-fist salute, his bearing neither servile nor arrogant.

Liu Mobai gently waved the paper fan in his hand and shook his head, his own presence not losing out in the slightest.

"Should I address you as Ye Lan, or should I call you Xiao Dinglan, Prince Xiao?"

The strange thing was, to Qin Xuan’s eyes, the man clearly looked like Xiao Ran. Yet Liu Mobai and the others recognized him as Ye Lan.

"A name is just a label. If Fellow Daoist Liu wishes, you may call me Xiao Dinglan directly," Xiao Dinglan said with a smile.

His voice was gentle, as pleasant as a spring breeze.

A flicker of astonishment crossed Liu Mobai’s eyes. They hadn’t met in over a decade, and not only had the man’s cultivation progressed at a shocking pace, but his personality seemed to have completely changed as well.

If this had been the past, they probably would have come to blows by now.

RUMBLE—

The moment all three hundred people had entered the Star Ruins.

A seemingly endless jade staircase suddenly materialized out of the boundless cosmos.

[The Star Ruins Trial Begins]

[Those who pass may choose any one Star Palace from the Ziwei Circle, the Taiwei Circle, the Celestial Market Circle, the Cyan Dragon Seven Stars, the Black Tortoise Seven Stars, or the White Tiger Seven Stars!]

The magnificent, indifferent voice of the Great Dao vibrated through the void.

It was not composed of any language, yet everyone who heard it understood its meaning.

The face of Xiao Dinglan, who was Xiao Ran in disguise, lit up with joy.

’The Star Inquiry Stage has appeared! The [Ziwei Circle], which hasn’t been seen in a thousand years, has finally emerged. Does this mean I have a chance to contend for the position of Crown Prince?’

Meanwhile, the light in Ji Boying’s eyes flickered.

’The Three Circles have all appeared. The [Ziwei Circle] can only be Guided by a member of the Daqian Royal Family, but perhaps I can seize one of the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers Star Palaces within the [Taiwei Circle]...’

Qin Xuan, however, had little interest in this. Instead, a question arose in his mind.

’Cyan Dragon Seven Stars, White Tiger Seven Stars, Black Tortoise Seven Stars... Where are the Vermilion Bird Seven Stars, the last of the four sets from the Twenty-Eight Star Constellations?’