C1209 Are You Kidding Me?

In the grand palace on the Lower Continent of the Epitaxial Realm, Denise held a magic staff, her bright eyes twinkling with starlight that flowed in a mysterious pattern, exuding a profundity that echoed the orbits of the stars.

With arms outstretched as if to embrace the heavens and the earth, a soft and pure starlight gathered at her heart. This heart, marked with the enigmatic bloodlines, was the core of power for all celestial beings and the crystallization of the bloodline's essence. Denise could feel the Bloodline Crystal Chains stirring within her, awakening like serpents from a millennia-long slumber, on the brink of unveiling their true marvels.

After what seemed an eternity, Denise emerged from her reverie. She set aside her staff and gazed at an empty bottle on the crystal table, her face alight with joy and gratitude.

"Hart..." she whispered softly.

"Your Highness, how do you feel? Is anything amiss?" asked Docter, the towering Eighth Level warrior of the Star Race, as he emerged from the shadows behind a column, his gaze filled with concern. "You must understand, there are no pharmacists among the Dark Elfkind capable of enhancing your bloodline! The one who departed with Elena is likely deceiving you. You cannot take his word as the whole truth."

"No, you are mistaken," Denise replied, her smile unwavering. She shook her head with conviction and lifted the empty bottle from the table to inspect it for any remaining drops.

Ensuring not a single drop was wasted, she licked her lips and exclaimed, "The potion Hart brewed for me has been immensely beneficial in activating and elevating my bloodline! Having experienced its effects firsthand, I can truly sense the miraculous magic within! Uncle Docter, get ready to celebrate!"

Docter was taken aback. "It's actually effective?"

"Absolutely!" Denise beamed, her excitement palpable as she danced with joy. Her eyes, shimmering with starlight, glanced at the luminous moon and she declared with pride and confidence, "Perhaps by the time my father, Leo, and Elder Beru arrive in the Epitaxial Realm, I will have achieved a bona fide Eighth Level bloodline!"

The thought of reaching the same bloodline tier as the favored child of the stars only broadened her smile.

Docter was finally astonished, unable to comprehend how the so-called pharmacists of the Dark Elfkind had suddenly become capable of aiding other races in advancing their bloodlines.

"Right, there's something peculiar I need to report to Your Highness."

Docter shook his head, dismissing thoughts of the apothecary. He gestured toward the crouching Celestial Star Beast, his expression growing grave. "Your Highness, for the past seven days, neither my lord nor I have been able to establish contact. As you know, we communicate with our lord through other Domain Boundaries and Celestial Star Beasts."

"However, those Celestial Star Beasts that facilitate our message transfer have remained silent."

The Eighth Level Star Race expert's brow furrowed, a sense of foreboding growing within him.

Denise shared his surprise.

The Epitaxial Realm and the Chaotic Stars Realm, ruled by her father, were separated by vast expanses of space. Even the gaze of an Eighth Level Celestial Star Beast couldn't bridge such a distance to deliver messages with precision.

Communication was possible only with the aid of smaller worlds within the Realms along the way.

If Docter couldn't use the local Celestial Star Beast to communicate with her father, who should be en route, it indicated that at least one of the small worlds along the path had encountered a problem.

A single issue could disrupt the message transmission, leading to a severed connection.

After a moment of contemplation, she reassured him, "Don't be overly concerned. We're in the Illusion Starfield, and with Leo and Beru on patrol, it's unlikely anyone would dare to stir up trouble now."

"Your Highness, as you're aware, there are currently four Yang Gods in the Epitaxial Realm. My fear is that their adversaries might track them here," Docter said cautiously.

"I've considered that possibility," Denise acknowledged, pausing briefly. "I'll speak with them and suggest they remain in the Epitaxial Realm until my father, Leo, and the others have arrived."

Docter breathed a sigh of relief, smiling. "That would be ideal."

His concern was that if Rong Xun, Xie Binn, and their enemies were to visit the Epitaxial Realm after Rong Xun's group had departed, they would be ill-equipped to handle them.

Should Rong Xun's group stay, combined with his own combat prowess and the Galaxy Ancient Starship, he felt confident in facing any trouble.

He certainly hadn't anticipated that Xu Jingyao's true target was Leo. Xu Jingyao had meticulously planned the assassination, going so far as to secretly enlist the help of several Unrestrained Stage cultivators.

The remains of the Star Race had been reduced to heaps of ashes, leaving a charred landscape in their wake. Majestic palaces lay in ruins, and the Celestial Star Beast that had been carrying messages had its skull pierced by a blade, its eyes shattered into crystalline dust.

"There's been a major incident in the Illusion Starfield," Elena said, rolling the powdered remains of the Celestial Star Beast's eye in her palm. She gazed towards the Epitaxial Realm and the moon, now diminished to a fraction of its size. "Yu Yuan, Denise is going to die. Leo, Senior Beru, Pattinson, and everyone I brought with me will perish in the Epitaxial Realm."

Yu Yuan pondered silently, not responding immediately.

"Hehe, as long as you're alive, that's all that matters. Why bother with the rest?" taunted the demon possessing the Celestial Star Beast, its neck adorned with a dark red Mustard Seed Bracelet. "Asura girl, isn't living enough for you? Why seek death?"

The Mustard Seed Bracelet, a trophy from a Primordial Yang Sect cultivator he had poisoned, was now his. After a minor refinement, he wore it proudly around his neck as a war prize.

Chen Qinghuang remained in a deep slumber within the battered warship, showing no signs of awakening. The Luan Bird Queen had recently stopped requesting soul liquid and her periods of sleep had grown longer. Yet, both Yu Yuan and Elena sensed that she was likely processing something through her slumber, and if she truly wished to awaken, she could do so in an instant. Her continued rest indicated that the unfolding events were beneath her concern.

"To assist them, we're left with only two options," Yu Yuan finally said after a moment of contemplation. "We can either get in touch with Beru and Leo to share the information we've gathered, or we must head back to the Epitaxial Realm immediately—and we need to move quickly."

"The Illusion Starfield is vast. Without the unique eyes of the Celestial Star Beast, locating Beru and the others would be like searching for a needle in a haystack," Elena lamented, her expression troubled. "We've already scoured three Realms, and all the Celestial Star Beasts we found have been destroyed. Moreover, there are limits to the range of the Celestial Star Beast's vision."

She unraveled the enigma within.

"We have no choice but to return to the Epitaxial Realm," Yu Yuan said with a hint of resignation. As he spoke, his gaze drifted to the motionless, dilapidated warship.

His concern was for Chen Qinghuang. What would happen to her if they returned now?

"Wait!"

The demon-possessed Celestial Star Beast cut off their conversation, eyeing Yu Yuan sideways. "Whatever you decide, leave me out of it. Xu Jingyao wields the Fire God Spear, making him difficult enough to deal with, not to mention the Unrestrained Stage cultivator who's infiltrated our ranks..."

"Look, if you're keen on dying, go ahead, but I plan to live many more years!"

The Devil Soul, having grown significantly stronger after several meals, was eager to break free from Yu Yuan and go its separate way.

Upon realizing that Yu Yuan actually intended to return to the very Epitaxial Realm that had once imprisoned him, it was understandably a hundred times reluctant.

"You don't have a say in this," Yu Yuan retorted with a cold laugh.

"Is that so?"

"It is."

Their back-and-forth escalated, and the tension between them thickened.

Whoosh!

The Celestial Star Beast, now under his control, lunged forward with the swiftness of lightning.

Yu Yuan, ready for the betrayal, flashed a mischievous grin. "I've been expecting your treachery!"

The sword sheath landed in his palm in an instant. With a mere thought, his soul power, blood essence, and spiritual energy merged and surged through his limbs and veins, triggering the "Optimus Nine Slashes."

"Fallen Moon Slash!"

A succession of crimson sword lights, each carrying a sword intent mighty enough to rend the heavens, thrust towards the targeted Celestial Star Beast.

The relentless sword light rained down, and the beast's iron-hard body suddenly exhibited a web of fine cracks, followed by a low roar from the Demon Soul.

Seven vividly colored, toxic streams burst forth from the Celestial Star Beast, transforming into seven ghostly streaks of lightning.

This was the Demon's ultimate killing artifact!

"I always knew this day would come."

Yu Yuan, more thrilled than alarmed, casually called forth the Flowing Flames from his Universe Ring. The prepared colorless liquid, released from the inverted pill furnace, swirled gently, casting a fine mist.

A fine, colorless rain began to fall, enveloping the area where Yu Yuan and Elena stood, drizzling over the seven deadly streams below.

The seven serpentine streams, tainted with potent venom, were suddenly showered by the rain, emitting wisps of smoke as if the poison within was being neutralized, dissolving in mere moments.

The once vibrant streams, reaching out towards Yu Yuan, rapidly diminished as they steamed away.

Yu Yuan remained motionless, a cold smile playing at the corners of his mouth. Above him, the Flowing Flames pill furnace hung suspended as he spoke with detached amusement, "The venom you've used to regain your strength? Much of it was refined by me before being funneled into the caverns below. After you emerged, the Epitaxial Realm's poisonous flora you harvested and the venomous insects you consumed—do you think anyone understands their nature better than I do?"

"You attempt to corrode me with what you call your 'refined poison.' Don't you find that laughable?"

His chuckle grew into a crescendo of mirth.

"Three hundred years ago, you were fortunate not to be in the Iridescent Cloud Miasma Sea, or else you would have understood my power, just like Peach Madam and the soul-corroding Poison of Plague. Do you truly believe yourself to be invincible, simply because you were spawned from the Iridescent Cloud Miasma Sea?"

"The poison pills I crafted during the Late Period of my past life are beyond your wildest dreams."

"You think your venom can kill me? Are you trying to make me laugh?"

Unwavering as a mountain, Yu Yuan stood firm.

The seven poisonous streams, thin as a child's arm, continued to billow smoke from the body of the Celestial Star Beast.

The anguished cries of the beast echoed from each stream as they desperately receded.

"The colorless fluid in the pill furnace, I call it Non-Phase Detoxification Water. Should it form a pellet in the Boundless Land, it would be known as the Non-Phase Detoxification Pill. Should you ever return to the Boundless Land and the Iridescent Cloud Miasma Sea, perhaps you should inquire what the Non-Phase Detoxification Pill signifies."

With those words, the diminished streams of poison retreated back into the Celestial Star Beast. The creature's vitality was severely compromised, leaving it languid once more. It hung its head in silence, uttering not a sound.

Yu Yuan shook his head and sighed with frustration, "He's really quite foolish."

"Did you use poison on him?" Elena asked, astonished.

Yu Yuan nodded.

Elena's expression turned peculiar. "Then why would he dare to do such a thing? Isn't he an Earth Demon? Aren't Earth Demons from the Boundless Land, like the Outland Devaputra, skilled in soul-based attacks?"

At her words, the gaze of the Celestial Star Beast grew even more somber.

Back in the underground cavern, when the Outland Devaputra unleashed its soul attack, it infiltrated Yu Yuan's Consciousness Little World only to be decimated by the Ghosting Arts, suffering a significant setback.

How could he then dare to meddle with his malevolent soul techniques in Yu Yuan's mind again?

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