Firmament Sword

”Bullshit! If you die too, who will take care of Mom and Dad in their old age? Who will carry on the family line? Now, get lost!” Li Ye roared, blood spraying from his mouth and his eyes turning bloodshot. ”You’ve never listened to me your whole life, so I’m begging you! For once, just listen and run!”

”I...” Tears streamed down Li Hua’s face. Watching his brother fight for his life in the sky, his heart ached as if pierced by a thousand arrows.

”Go now!” Li Ye let out one last roar before charging toward the figure again.

Li Hua gritted his teeth, turned, and fled. As he ran, he let out a crazed roar, ”Li Kaiyuan... you better remember this! If my brother dies by your hand, I will hunt down every last member of your family, young and old, and spare no one!”

Li Kaiyuan. That was the name of the figure in the sky, Li Hua’s martial uncle.

”Little bastard... You’re not getting away!” Li Kaiyuan, who was contending with the red bib, bellowed. A limitless power erupted from his body as he endured the ceaseless bolts of lightning. His skin was split and his flesh torn in many places, but he acted as if he felt nothing, preparing to charge after the fleeing Li Hua.

Li Ye frantically blocked his path, desperately activating the red bib artifact to stop Li Kaiyuan.

This red bib artifact, bestowed by their Ancestor, indeed possessed heaven-defying power. Even Li Kaiyuan, whose strength had reached the Peak of Divine Power Realm Fifth Layer, still found it difficult to contend with the treasure.

His entire body was struck until it dripped with blood, and even his formidable physique was wounded.

”It really is a treasure! The Old Ancestor truly played favorites, bestowing treasures upon you twice. And now... this one is mine!” Li Kaiyuan gave up on chasing Li Hua. In his eyes, obtaining this treasure was worth it, even if he had to flee the Sect Continent and never return.

He began to unleash his full power, intending to control the bib artifact, refine it, and make it his own.

”In your dreams!” Without bothering to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, Li Ye chanted a Technique, causing the bib artifact to rain down more lightning in an attempt to strike Li Kaiyuan dead.

Unfortunately, the gap between their realms was simply too vast. As someone only at the Second Layer of Divine Power Realm, even with a heaven-defying artifact in hand, it was nearly impossible for Li Ye to kill Li Kaiyuan, who was at the Fifth Layer of Divine Power Realm.

”Don’t waste your energy! Just give up! If it weren’t for this artifact... you would’ve died several times over by now!” Li Kaiyuan taunted, intending to break Li Ye’s spirit. At the same time, he released a powerful aura to suppress the large red curtain the bib had transformed into.

”Li Kaiyuan, even if I have to sacrifice my life today, don’t even think you’ll succeed!” Li Ye coughed up another mouthful of blood and frantically drove the red bib to attack Li Kaiyuan. He then retorted with a cold sneer, ”Your descendants... as long as my brother makes it back today, not a single one of them will live!”

”Hahaha, what do their lives have to do with me?” Li Kaiyuan’s hair was scorched and his face was twisted into a hideous grin as he laughed. ”Did you really think that was my weak spot? Only fools like you place so much importance on family. To me, family means nothing. They’re disposable! As long as I can become powerful, why should I care if anyone else lives or dies?”

”Li Kaiyuan... you’re an inhuman beast!” Li Ye cursed.

Bolt after bolt of lightning struck Li Kaiyuan, tearing his skin and drenching him in blood, but it was incredibly difficult to injure his core.

’If only I were at the Third Layer of Divine Power Realm... this wouldn’t be the outcome!’ Li Ye was filled with bitter regret, hating himself for not working hard enough. ’If I had reached the Third Realm now, even if Li Kaiyuan is a great power at the Fifth Layer of Divine Power Realm, he would surely die here today!’

”Humanity is bullshit!” Li Kaiyuan laughed wildly. ”I don’t give a damn!”

Gradually, the red bib that had become a great curtain in the sky began to falter. The power of the lightning bolts it unleashed weakened by many times.

This was because Li Ye, who was powering it to release the lightning, was utterly exhausted and on the verge of collapse.

...

Xu Luo wandered about, occasionally causing small disturbances and leaving behind a few traces of Star Power’s aura.

Before long, news that Beidou’s Eighth Star was on the Sect Continent spread like wildfire, causing a huge stir.

Even many who originally had no designs on Beidou’s Eighth Star began to have ideas.

”Beidou’s Eighth Star, the Great Panacea of the Mortal World! If you refine him, you can ascend to immortality in broad daylight! A chance like this is one in a million! How can we miss it now that it has appeared in our lifetime?”

”He’s more valuable than the most precious medicinal treasures in the world! Forget about morality or character. Don’t think of him as a human like us! He’s a star! He is the world’s ultimate panacea!”

”It’s just like how top-tier Spirit Beasts can take human form, but they’re ultimately still beasts, so we can still eat their flesh! Beidou’s Eighth Star is a star. There’s no need to have any moral qualms about refining it!”

The Sect Continent was filled with such voices. Although there were some dissenting opinions, they were like small ripples, quickly swallowed by the overwhelming torrent of ”Refine the Eighth Star.”

The Demon King Song Chengfeng and his wife were still on a killing spree, but they had also run into trouble. While hunting those who wanted to refine Beidou’s Eighth Star, they were besieged by powerful experts and their current whereabouts were unknown.

The Su Family Celestial Maiden was still rushing about, trying to stop the people’s frenzied actions, but to no avail. Even some senior members of the Su Family had come forward to implicitly criticize the Su Celestial Maiden for being willful and reckless, daring to resist the prevailing tide.

Xu Luo walked, listened, and watched, and deep inside, he gained completely new insights.

He cast all external affairs to the back of his mind, focusing wholeheartedly on comprehending what he saw and heard to improve his own cultivation.

Although he was in the secular world, surrounded on all sides by voices clamoring to refine him, it was as if he neither saw nor heard them, paying them no mind.

Throughout this incident, Xu Luo’s state of mind became frighteningly steady.

’I hear that Honglou Ancient City... is the Holy Land of the Honglou Sect, the largest power on the Sect Continent. I should go take a look. Any place that can be called a Holy Land must have something extraordinary about it,’ Xu Luo mused to himself.

Then, he sensed ripples of fluctuations coming from a great distance. It seemed... someone was fighting over there.

After a moment’s thought, Xu Luo decided to go check it out. The fluctuations were extremely powerful, indicating a battle between experts.

For Xu Luo, observing a battle between experts was also a form of comprehension.

Using the Shaking Light Step, a light flashed under Xu Luo’s feet. His Shaking Light Step had once again been upgraded. Now, with just a few casual steps, he could cross a vast distance, giving the impression of teleportation.

As he drew closer, the first thing Xu Luo heard was Li Kaiyuan’s crazed laughter: ”Humanity is bullshit! I don’t give a damn!”

Xu Luo’s brow twitched. He strongly disagreed with that statement.

’Beasts have their nature, and humans have humanity. If a person doesn’t even care about his own humanity, is he still human?’

Immediately after, Xu Luo spotted an acquaintance. ’What a coincidence to run into him here,’ he thought. ’And... it looks like he’s facing a life-and-death crisis!’

Li Ye forced out a drop of his own essence blood and shot it directly into the large red curtain. The lightning on the curtain immediately became fierce again!

It struck Li Kaiyuan, making him scream and howl in pain, but it was still difficult to damage his true core.

”Little bastard, your struggles are futile!” Li Kaiyuan was furious now. As a Law Enforcement Elder of the Honglou Sect, a great power at the Peak of Divine Power Realm Fifth Layer, being forced into such a pitiful and wretched state by someone at the Second Layer of Divine Power Realm was enough to enrage him, even if no one else saw it.

”You old bastard! Scum like you will never come to a good end, even if you get lucky today!” Li Ye forced out another drop of essence blood and sent it into the red curtain, roaring hoarsely.

A person has very little essence blood. Even for a great power in the Divine Power Realm, wasting a single drop would cost many years of their lifespan. Li Ye was truly gambling with his life!

His entire aura had already begun to wane.

Xu Luo watched from a distance, somewhat surprised. ’It looks like... this is internal strife within a sect?’ he thought. ’From their words, I can sense Li Ye’s endless fury, and that old man... doesn’t seem like a good person.’

But Xu Luo didn’t act immediately. He stood still in the void, observing quietly. He wanted to understand more of the situation.

Sure enough, the subsequent conversation between the two made everything clear to Xu Luo. The old man was truly no good. Not only had he sown discord between the brothers, but he was also so insidious as to have started laying his plans more than a decade ago.

And now that he saw the other had once again received a treasure from the Ancestor, he had shamelessly stepped in to seize it himself...

’A person like that... deserves to die!’ Xu Luo said to himself.

Seeing Li Ye grow steadily weaker, Li Kaiyuan burst out laughing. ”Give up! You’ve lost your chance! And don’t think that I’ll have to flee after taking your treasure. To tell you the truth, the future of the Honglou Sect belongs to our faction! Once we’re in power... your entire branch will be purged! Your parents, your family—not a single one will live!”

”You’re from the Li Family branch too!” Li Ye was rendered completely speechless by this Law Enforcement Elder who had completely abandoned all integrity.

”Heh, the Young Master has already bestowed upon me the surname Pang! So, my name is now Pang Kaiyuan! You should feel honored. Besides the Young Master, you’re the first person to know my real name!” Li Kaiyuan looked smug. His face, though covered in blood, was split by a joyous and hideous grin. ”After I get this treasure from you, I’ll refine it well. Then the Young Master will surely value me even more!”

”Someone who would even betray his own ancestors... Li Kaiyuan, you’re a beast!” Li Ye finally understood who was backing Li Kaiyuan. He gritted his teeth and said, ”So you’re one of Pang Xiaogou’s men!”

”You dare insult my Young Master? Die!” At that moment, a heaven-shattering aura finally erupted from Li Kaiyuan’s body. He tore open a corner of the red Celestial Curtain above him, burst out, and slashed a beam of Sword Qi toward Li Ye!