C1214 Punishment
In the dim, cluttered cabin, Yu Yuan clutched a piece of spirit jade, absorbing the pure spiritual energy that filled the Yellow Court Little World. His Yin God wandered through the newly opened acupoints, moving between the Dragon Slash Platform and the Demon Blade, Blood Prison. He stilled his mind, attuning to the nuances of the young creature within the Dragon Slash Platform and the clusters of blood souls within the Demon Blade.
He then sensed a deep-seated unease lurking within both the young creature and the blood souls. Instinctively, they were afraid of something. The young creature, drawing power from the remnants of a dragon's corpse, became exceedingly cautious, and, like Chen Qinghuang, it spent most of its time in a state akin to hibernation, seemingly as a means of evasion.
Gradually, Yu Yuan pieced together a theory, growing more convinced of the Yimo's claims about the existence of the Starry Behemoth. This belief weighed heavily on him, especially when he gazed upon the empress. Indeed, keeping company with a ruler was akin to walking alongside a tiger.
Time slipped by unmarked.
Chen Qinghuang emerged from her deep, turtle-like slumber, floating effortlessly into the air. Yu Yuan, the Yimo inhabiting the Celestial Star Beast, and Elena were jolted awake by her sudden movement. Their gazes, fraught with panic and unease, converged upon her.
Unaware of their concern, she drifted toward the Yimo-possessed Celestial Star Beast, her profound gaze locking onto the Yimo. The subdued creature lay at her feet, its head bowed, its body trembling gently like a cat, despite its lion-like stature, displaying its fear.
With an impassive face, Chen Qinghuang extended her pale, jade-like arm, her slender fingers shimmering as she slowly reached toward the raised spine of the Celestial Star Beast. Her arm merged seamlessly, without a ripple or dramatic flourish, directly into the creature's body.
The Celestial Star Beast, its head bowed, saw its eyes, which blazed like a rainbow flame, suddenly extinguished. Vibrant streams of poison coursed through its translucent form, converging anxiously near its hindquarters, as if readying themselves for a swift escape.
The wails and pleas for help of the Yimo echoed from the vibrant streams, resonating with a sense of helplessness and despair. In her panic, Elena, the Asura girl, instinctively gravitated towards Yu Yuan. She discreetly clutched his arm, her alluring figure trembling slightly as she sought answers in his gaze.
Her eyes, brimming with emotion, seemed to question, "What does the empress intend to do? Will we... end up like the Yimo?"
Elena's concern was palpable; she feared an unprovoked death might follow the Yimo's fate.
Yu Yuan shook his head, offering a calming look to reassure her.
Fixated on the Celestial Star Beast, Yu Yuan sensed that something was amiss. He had a hunch and, rather than intervene, he let Chen Qinghuang proceed with her actions. The pitiful screams of the Yimo fell on his deaf ears.
He had noticed that one of the seven deadly rivers that once flowed within the Celestial Star Beast had vanished.
The wait wasn't long.
The remaining six venomous rivers appeared to have been struck anew, becoming exceedingly slender.
Chen Qinghuang's hand, which had penetrated the Celestial Star Beast, now held a fist-sized, glistening eyeball, extracted from within the creature.
"One less," remarked the empress, her voice detached.
Startled, Elena then had a realization. She tightened her grip on Yu Yuan's arm and exclaimed, "That creature must have left an eyeball at its last resting place! The Celestial Star Beast's eye socket contained only its blazing rainbow flame. The eyeball was consumed."
"He must be planning to betray us, which is why he left an eyeball elsewhere!" Elena declared, her voice tinged with anger.
Yu Yuan gave a slight nod. "And one less venomous river marked with a Devil Soul."
Chen Qinghuang's hand, still clutching the eyeball, tightened its grip. A gray-white flame sparked to life within the crystalline orb, swelling with intensity.
A potent sense of death emanated from the Celestial Star Beast's eye, enveloping the entire cabin.
Yu Yuan, Elena, and even the cowering Yimo were suddenly immersed in a vision of mass extinction. Lively microcosms were transformed into still portraits of eternal silence.
Their minds were flooded with death scenes beyond their wildest nightmares.
At the same time, on a swiftly passing meteor, Beru clutched the eyeball of a Celestial Star Beast. He had just invoked a Bloodline Secret Technique, infusing it with celestial energy and vitality. Suddenly, he shuddered violently.
This renowned sage, known throughout the entire galaxy, gasped in shock. His flowing robe, embellished with patterns of stars, began to twinkle one by one.
High above in the Illusion Starfield, a number of stars started to resonate, suddenly brightening.
"Great Sage!" Gheirat's face turned pale. The glass bottle he held contained a venomous stream from the Devil Soul, and the soul within it stirred with intense unease.
"What's wrong?" Leo, blessed by the stars, sensed trouble. Without much hesitation, he summoned the splendid "Life Altar" and presented it before him.
The vibrant "Life Altar" was filled with billions of tiny points of light, resembling an uncountable array of stars.
A mysterious presence, embodying the profound mysteries of the stars, emanated from the peculiar "Life Altar," creating a gravitational pull.
The luminous stars of the Illusion Starfield instantly reacted, showering down infinite starlight.
Leo directed the starlight, defying the confines of space, channeling it straight into Beru's body.
Despite this, a sense of decay and deathly stillness continued to shroud Beru. He resembled an elder on the brink of death, waging his final battle against time and destiny.
With a resounding boom, the Celestial Star Beast's eyeball he was gripping burst apart.
The fragments sent Gheirat and Leo into a frenzy, as they scattered them, using the formidable celestial energy to grind them to dust.
The escaping deathly aura defied the bottle's containment, seeping into the venomous river that had been refined by the Devil Soul.
The anguished wails of the Devil Soul echoed across two different star systems, lingering for an extended period.
"Great, Great Sage?" Leo, tapping into his bloodline talent, retracted the "Life Altar" back into himself.
Upon speaking, he noticed his voice had turned raspy and bizarre, prompting him to fall silent immediately.
He licked the corner of his lips and steadied his emotions before asking again, "Is it the Secular Bird?"
He had never encountered a true Starry Behemoth before. These apex predators of the food chain were exceedingly rare in the modern age. His closest brush with one had been in the Plover Realm not too long ago.
While he was within the Plover Realm, the Chaos Roc remained outside.
Thus, despite knowing about the terrifying nature of the Starry Behemoth, he had never had the opportunity to witness it firsthand.
This was indeed his first time.
The force exerted by the Secular Bird through the eye of a Celestial Star Beast from millions of miles away had left the Great Sage in such disarray. It even instilled a sense of despair in him and Gheirat, who were in close proximity to the eye, fearing they too could be sucked into a vortex of death.
Leo finally grasped why, from ancient times to the present, the Starry Behemoth was considered a species that truly transcended all other life forms.
"She's punishing that one and sending us a warning."
Great Sage Beru managed a wry smile as he pulled out a pellet he had acquired in the Plover Realm and swallowed it with a pained expression. He then turned his attention to the much-diminished Devil Soul, "This troublemaker thinks its cunning plans will go unnoticed. How laughable."
Shaking his head, Beru advised, "Let's not rush to approach them. Give them ample time to safely depart the Illusion Starfield before we consider our next move."
Their damaged Galaxy Ancient Starship wasn't fast. With the combined strength and resources of the three of them, it wouldn't take long to catch up if they went all out.
But what would they do if they actually came face to face with the Secular Bird?
Beru pondered this difficult question.
"I understand."
Leo nodded earnestly, his previous resistance gone.
"Let's hope some unfortunate soul from the Primordial Yang Sect runs into them first," Beru said with a hint of schadenfreude.
Having imprisoned a portion of the Devil Soul, they relentlessly extracted information through torture, unconcerned about the possibility of its demise. They learned a great deal.
They uncovered the state of affairs in the Epitaxial Realm, Yu Yuan's interactions with Denise, the arrivals of Rong Xun and Xie Binn, the emergence of Elena, and more...
The three Star Race powerhouses had learned everything they sought to know, including that Xu Jingyao had enlisted the help of an Unrestrained Stage cultivator.
Beru was curious to see what spectacular fireworks would erupt if an Unrestrained Stage cultivator, oblivious to the truth, stumbled upon that wrecked warship.
...
The eyeball burned to cinders.
The Luan Bird Queen didn't spare a glance at the trembling devil cowering behind the Celestial Star Beast's rear, as she returned to her accustomed resting place.
Yu Yuan and Elena stood side by side, wordlessly.
"I'm weary," the empress murmured, closing her eyes and easing herself into a reclined position. Once comfortable, she continued, "Upon entering the Winged Race Starfield, we'll go our separate ways. You're free to head wherever you wish."
Yu Yuan was taken aback.
He couldn't shake the feeling that this timeless empress might be upset.
But upset with whom? The devil? Or me?
Touching his nose, Yu Yuan felt a bit embarrassed, wondering, "Is it because I let the devil's influence make me suspicious and guarded against her, and she picked up on that? Is she upset with me for not trusting her?"
The Luan Bird Queen drifted back to sleep, and Yu Yuan, familiar with her habits, recognized her even breathing.
With a mind full of unanswered questions, Yu Yuan dared not awaken her or inquire further.
He was somewhat intimidated by Chen Qinghuang, whose current mood and thoughts were a mystery to him.
"We're still a long way from the Starfield inhabited by the Winged Race," Elena said, glancing down at the Yimo that had taken over the Celestial Star Beast. "This creature is full of malice and not at all friendly towards us. Shouldn't we find a way to deal with it? I fail to see any benefit in keeping it around."
The Asura girl was no stranger to violence, her past as a marauder marked by bloodshed.
The Yimo had repeatedly revealed its malevolence, much to her displeasure.
"There are some things you just don't understand."
Yu Yuan sighed inwardly. If not for his connection to Yu Zhu, he would have already dissolved the Yimo's toxic core with Non-Phase Antidote Water back in the Epitaxial Realm, and finished it off with a mixture of Broken Soul Slash and Yin Sunflower Essence.
"I'll figure out how to handle his issue once we're out of the Illusion Starfield."
Yu Yuan huffed, casting a malevolent glance at the feigning Yimo.
The cabin then lapsed back into silence.
Time passed...
Elena jolted awake, leaping to her feet with the alertness of a cheetah. "There are formidable warriors from the Asura Clan!"
