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.
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
