The Star God Clan lacked any God-level Bloodline, so no one could inherit the Star God Authority. Consequently, no one could wield it either. It had been stored away in the clan’s slumbering grounds—the Shattered Grotto-Heaven deep within the Ancestral Temple.
Two Half-Saint elders guarded the Ancestral Temple. When they spotted Yan Zhen and Chen Xi, they immediately moved to intercept them, only to be sent flying by a single slap from Chen Xi.
“A Mystic Saint?”
“When did our Star God Clan gain another female Mystic Saint?”
Chen Xi didn’t waste words on them. With a flick of her finger, she temporarily sealed their cultivation bases and paid them no further mind. She took Yan Zhen’s hand again and ventured deeper into the Ancestral Temple.
To enter the Shattered Grotto-Heaven required the clan leader’s token as a key to activate the space portal.
Chen Xi was well aware of this but saw no need to hunt down the token. Relying on her transcendent cultivation, she blasted through the restraint seal with sheer force, ripping open a fissure.
The master and disciple stepped through, arriving in a realm of absolute void. They followed the stone path underfoot until it led them to a majestic altar. Endless starlight flickered around the altar, evoking the illusion of a dreamscape.
At the altar’s center lay an Array Diagram etched with countless stellar positions—the true body of the Star God Artifact known as the Great Circumpolar Star Chart. Hovering above the star chart was a gleaming runic star: the very Star God Authority they sought.
Control over the Star God Authority granted command of all stars encircling the Mystic Heaven Continent, crowning its bearer as lord of the myriad stars.
In general, inheriting it demanded a matching God-level Bloodline, while wielding it required at least several Saint-level Bloodlines.
Yan Zhen possessed only faint traces of Star God Bloodline, and Chen Xi’s Bloodline Concentration hovered around fifty percent—nowhere near enough.
Yet the pair hadn’t come here to claim the Star God Authority for themselves. Their aim was simply to secure it, ensuring it didn’t fall into the Demon Domain’s hands.
“Master, how do we retrieve the Authority?”
“Leave it to your master.”
Chen Xi formed a hand seal, drawing out a wisp of lingering Heavenly Mandate Power from Yan Zhen’s body. Using it as a lure and blending it with her own Star Mystic Power, she mimicked the aura of a Star God.
The so-called Divine Authorities were little more than fragments of the Heavenly Mandate itself, their divine power merely another manifestation of that same force.
Yan Zhen hadn’t anticipated that his Beautiful Master could pull off such a feat. Her reputation as the Flame Saint was richly earned; this disciple hadn’t mastered even a tenth of her prowess.
Sensing the Star God aura, the Star God Authority lifted into the air of its own accord and was drawn into Chen Xi’s Cave Heaven World.
“That’s it?”
“What else were you expecting?”
Yan Zhen scratched his head.
“It felt a bit too easy.”
Chen Xi smiled faintly.
“Your master is a Reincarnator, after all. Foreknowledge of certain events allows for timely preparations… Don’t underestimate this simple aura simulation—your master pondered it for ages.”
Ah, so that was it.
Yan Zhen understood now. While secluded in the Fire Refining Starry Sky, his Beautiful Master hadn’t just cultivated. She’d spent her time making exhaustive preparations for the crises to come.
His Beautiful Master had always toiled in silence.
“Now that we’ve got the Star God Authority, should we head back?”
“No need to rush, Zhen’er.”
Chen Xi clasped her precious disciple’s hand.
“Keep your master company for a bit. Let me show you some spots from the Star God Clan.”
Yan Zhen’s heart stirred, and he nodded. He followed his Beautiful Master out of the Shattered Grotto-Heaven and the Ancestral Temple, arriving at the clan’s Technique Refining Square.
Pill Refiners of Third-Tier and below trained here under the guidance of Fourth-Tier Pill Refiners—a sort of boot camp for newcomers.
Only those of Fourth-Tier and above merited their own Technique Refining Rooms.
“Your master trained here for a full year, graduating at the top of her class. That earned her a personal Technique Refining Room… It was nothing but a narrow cubby, a far cry from the lavish setups her noble-born classmates enjoyed. Still, your master was overjoyed. She practiced her Technique Refining Art here most days, hardly ever going home.”
Going home wouldn’t have changed much anyway—just more solitude.
The Technique Refining Square abutted a row of Technique Refining Rooms. Chen Xi led Yan Zhen to the one that had once been hers. A sealing strip was plastered across the door, no doubt because of her supposed “betrayal” of the clan.
Pushing the door open revealed a plain workshop, thick with dust and eerily abandoned.
The furniture and fixtures sat untouched, but nothing personal remained—Chen Xi had taken all her belongings when she left.
Yan Zhen took in every detail. This had been his Beautiful Master’s home for years.
“Come along, Zhen’er. Your master will show you the next place.”
“Mm.”
Moments later, master and disciple stood before two overgrown tombstones inscribed with names unfamiliar to Yan Zhen. He dimly guessed they belonged to his Beautiful Master’s parents.
With a flick of her sleeve, Chen Xi swept the weeds away, leaving the stones pristine. She knelt, placed a jug of wine before them, and stared at the inscriptions in silence for a long while.
Yan Zhen stood quietly at her side.
At last, Chen Xi spoke.
“There’s one more place your master wants you to see, Zhen’er. Let’s go.”
Yan Zhen blinked in confusion.
“Doesn’t Master want to say a few words to them?”
Chen Xi shook her head gently.
“There’s nothing to say. They were gone by the time your master was five… It was fate. No more needs saying.”
Yan Zhen pondered this.
Guided by his Beautiful Master, they reached a low cave nestled in the mountainside. Within lay a small pool, its surface aglow with soft rainbow hues, the water limpid to the bottom.
Chen Xi’s face lit up with a smile, her beautiful eyes sparkling faintly.
“This was your master’s secret hideout. Whenever life dealt me a hard knock, I’d come here, sit a whole day, and soak my feet to let my spirits lift.”
Master and disciple settled side by side at the pool’s edge. At Chen Xi’s gesture, Yan Zhen slipped off his shoes and dipped his feet in. A Mystic sense of timeless tranquility washed over him.
“It’s so cool… Nothing like regular spring water.”
Chen Xi elegantly removed her shoes and stockings, baring a pair of exquisite jade feet bordering on perfection, their toes gleaming like star-cut diamonds.
She eased her feet into the water and lightly brushed them against her precious disciple’s, sending a delightful tingle through her.
“This is Star Spring Water. It calms the mind and settles the spirit.”
“No wonder.”
“Zhen’er…”
“Hm?”
Yan Zhen turned to the Beautiful Master at his side. Her flawless, peerless immortal beauty was mirrored in his pupils, her sapphire eyes brimming with tender affection as they gazed at him.
“What’s the matter, Master?”
The corners of Chen Xi’s mouth curved up. She reached out with both hands, cradling her precious disciple’s face.
“Thank you for always being by your master’s side, Zhen’er. With you, your master has it all—not a whit less than anyone else.”
A soft blush tinged Yan Zhen’s cheeks, his joy laced with shyness.
“The feeling’s mutual. With Master, I have everything too… We’ll be together forever, Master.”
Their gazes locked, the world fading until only they remained. Slowly, their lips met.
Two hearts brushed together, sending ripples of love outward.
