Yan Jingyun couldn't help but show a trace of surprise in his eyes as Gu Qingfeng swallowed the Gu God Pill without hesitation.
"You seem genuinely intent on saving His Majesty."
Gu Qingfeng glanced at him and replied indifferently, "To be honest, my sincerity might surpass anyone else's here."
Yan Jingyun studied him for a long moment before speaking slowly, "His Majesty may not be a good man, but the Star Extreme Immortal Dynasty cannot exist without him."
"Oh?" Gu Qingfeng’s interest was piqued.
"The Celestial Star Tree was planted by His Majesty, and the Star River exists to nourish it. The entire domain of the Star Extreme Immortal Dynasty is home to countless living beings, all under the protection of the Celestial Star Tree.
In the Abyss of Falling Stars, celestial meteors often crash down. Without the Celestial Star Tree, all those lives would perish."
Gu Qingfeng suddenly recalled the fragments of stars embedded in the Celestial Star Tree—so it had been shielding the realm from falling meteors all along.
"Both the Celestial Star Tree and the Star River are sustained by His Majesty. If His Majesty were to fall, within ten thousand years, the tree would wither, the river would dry up, and the entire Star Extreme Immortal Dynasty would collapse, plunging the land into chaos and suffering."
"So this is why you remain loyal to the Star Extreme Immortal King? No matter how cruel or tyrannical he is?"
"Correct." Yan Jingyun nodded. "Even if His Majesty slaughters indiscriminately, the death toll would barely reach a million. But without him, billions would perish."
At this point, Yan Jingyun seemed lost in thought as he continued, "Isn’t it absurd? The Star Extreme Immortal King is ruthless and bloodthirsty, claiming countless lives every year, yet billions still depend on his protection. The line between good and evil in this world is so blurred. What truly defines righteousness? What defines wickedness?"
His words seemed directed at Gu Qingfeng, but they were more a question to himself.
Hearing this, Gu Qingfeng chuckled. "In my eyes, there are only two kinds of people in this world—family and non-family. That’s all."
Yan Jingyun was slightly taken aback. Though he didn’t fully grasp Gu Qingfeng’s definition of "family," he could sense the purity in his words.
Perhaps, sometimes, people should strive to be that simple.
After a moment, Yan Jingyun shook off his tangled thoughts and regained his usual composure. "Let’s go. It’s time for you to depart."
"You’re the one who should depart! Can’t you say something more auspicious?" Gu Qingfeng snapped.
Ignoring him, Yan Jingyun swung his sword toward the Celestial Star Tree.
Whoosh!
A brilliant silver crescent of sword energy shot into the sky.
A few breaths later, a radiant fragment of a starry leaf drifted down into Gu Qingfeng’s palm.
"Take this leaf and follow any branch of the Celestial Star Tree. Keep walking, and you’ll leave the Star Extreme Immortal Dynasty, entering the outer Star Wastes."
Gu Qingfeng observed the branches stretching into the void—twisting and winding like majestic mountain ranges, countless paths veiled in mysterious, esoteric stellar energy, breathtaking yet perilous.
He stepped onto one of the branches, though "branch" hardly did justice to its vast, serpentine grandeur.
Behind him, Yan Jingyun’s calm voice carried over. "Remember, though you are of the Star Demon race and can navigate the Star Wastes with ease, even the most skilled swimmer will drown in a maelstrom.
So, if you encounter a celestial storm—a force of nature—do not hesitate. Flee immediately.
Only an Immortal King can withstand a celestial storm, and even then, a massive one could prove fatal.
Throughout history, only the Star Extreme Immortal King has ever emerged unscathed from such a tempest."
Gu Qingfeng didn’t look back, striding forward resolutely along the Celestial Star Tree’s branch.
Watching his unwavering figure, Yan Jingyun’s eyes flickered with admiration as he added, "Still, you needn’t worry too much. The Star Extreme Immortal Dynasty lies on the fringes of the Sixth Star Wastes, meaning your exit will also place you in the outer regions.
Most factions establish their territories in the periphery, where celestial storms are rare—odds of encountering one are one in hundreds of millions. The deeper you venture, the greater the risk. At the heart of the Star Wastes, storms are practically omnipresent.
But with the star chart I’ve given you, caution should keep you safe..."
"Enough! Since when did you become such a nagging old woman? I’m leaving—no need to see me off." Gu Qingfeng waved dismissively without turning around.
Outwardly composed, inwardly, he was panicking.
Damn Yan Jingyun! Why won’t you leave already?
How am I supposed to escape with you watching?
After hearing Yan Jingyun’s warnings, Gu Qingfeng had already decided—there was no way he was leaving the Star Extreme Immortal Dynasty. The Star Wastes were far too dangerous!
Better to stay under the shelter of the mighty tree.
But with Yan Jingyun standing guard like a sentinel, there was no chance to slip away.
He walked for what felt like an eternity, nearly reaching the branch’s end, yet Yan Jingyun remained rooted like a stone statue.
Dammit!
Gu Qingfeng cursed silently. His only option now was to exit the Star Extreme Immortal Dynasty first, then find a way to sneak back once in the Star Wastes.
A brief absence shouldn’t be a problem, right?
As long as he avoided a celestial storm, his strength could handle even a meteor shower.
And the odds of a celestial storm in the periphery? One in hundreds of millions—he’d never even won a lottery! What were the chances?
With that thought, Gu Qingfeng marched deeper along the branch, where it extended into the void, vanishing into a haze of gray mist.
Without hesitation, he plunged into the fog.
Instantly, the world spun, stars whirling past his vision.
When his sight cleared, Gu Qingfeng found himself standing in a shattered expanse of space—a graveyard of celestial debris drifting like refuse in the void.
Streaks of star fragments occasionally flashed past like shooting stars.
"So this is the Star Wastes? A ruin of the cosmos?" Gu Qingfeng murmured.
BOOM!
A deafening roar suddenly erupted.
Gu Qingfeng whipped his head around.
Holy—!
A one-in-hundred-million chance, and he hits it?!
Did the damn teleportation just drop him straight into a celestial storm?!
Not far away, a colossal tempest—spanning the horizon—raced toward him.
The storm towered like a pillar of annihilation, stretching across the cosmos. Howling winds, each strand saturated with overwhelming stellar energy, surged forth with a terrifying gravitational pull. Countless fragments of stars were sucked into its maw, shredded into streaks of light as they spiraled violently within the vortex.
iemie, male, Race: Moon. Hobby: Collecting anomalies. At first, he thought he possessed two systems: the Crimson Rainbow Moon and the Clear Cold Frost Moon. One day, he discovered that he himself could also become a system for others, holding the chessboard of fate. The Eighth Epoch, also known as the Eternal Moon Epoch. Humans, witches, elves, bloodline descendants, specters, demons, and spirits together compose a new history. Walking the path on behalf of the moon, before he knew it, Chen Miemie's footsteps were followed by all manner of strange and wondrous anomalies. As time passed, many titles circulated about him—The King in Yellow, Lord of Anomalies, Heart of the Eternal Moon, and more. "Me? I'm just a traveler who enjoys collecting interesting creatures," Chen Miemie said.
tions: attribute allocation, analysis, proficiency, and simulation. Specializing in mechanical alchemy, from crafting sorcerous battle armor to handcrafting mechanical maidens, his mechanical legion conquers endless realms... Relying on his wits, he begins with a student-teacher romance, wins over a female director, enslaves a female assassin and a underworld queen, becoming the husband of a Grand Duchess... He enslaves the Goddess of Magic from the divine realm, developing his power simultaneously in both the Wizard World and the Realm of Gods...
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.
