Chapter 117: A Fleeting Cycle of Stars

“Sister Qing’er, Great-Grandpa Jiu said your eyes haven’t fully healed yet; you shouldn’t overuse them,” Ying’er said with a worried expression.

“It’s nothing, just resting for a while will be fine.”

Qing’er shook her head. Her pale, sweating cheeks revealed a certain frailty, and her thin lips bore a delicate, almost sickly beauty.

Feng Shang steadied her with a faint, indifferent tone: “Your wings aren’t fully grown, yet you’re showing off blindly.”

“Brother Feng Shang, don’t say that. Let’s leave here quickly. They’ve brought out a sinister skeleton inscribed with forbidden curses—extremely dangerous,” Qing’er urged anxiously, her face gradually regaining some color.

“I also sense a malevolent aura—deeply ominous,” Qing Tian Eshen said gravely, staring toward the far end of the void, feeling the overwhelming darkness spreading.

“What kind of cursed skeleton?” Feng Shang asked.

“Terrifying, beyond the ordinary,” Qing’er replied.

Feng Shang frowned, waving his hand as dozens of beams of light shot forth—various divine talismans radiating purifying energy, all pristine and imbued with spirit, each bearing at least thirteen sacred patterns.

“These are the Divine Healing Purification Talismans, the Six Roots Purity Talismans… any one of them can dispel worldly curses. With this many, we should be safe.”

“No, that skeleton is filthy beyond reckoning. These talismans probably won’t work,” Qing’er shook her head, urging with all her might, “Brother Feng Shang, open the temporal portal. Let’s go. Use the One Ren Dou Transfer Talisman that Great-Grandpa Jiu gave you.”

“That’s out of the question,” Feng Shang said firmly, glaring.

The One Ren Dou Transfer Talisman Qing’er mentioned was a supreme treasure for escaping the mortal universe, reputed to open time-space even under the blockade of the Celestial Sovereign.

When Great-Grandpa Jiu handed it to him, he had emphasized that the forging method for this secret talisman was lost to time, nearly extinct. He couldn’t bear to waste it.

“Brother Feng Shang, the skeleton they brought out is truly extraordinary. I feel even Uncle Silver Flame’s contamination is hard to shake off—let alone us. Don’t take the risk,” Qing’er insisted.

“You’re just a timid girl with no experience,” Feng Shang said dismissively.

“The Temporal Xuanming Star combined with the Ninth Killing Formation can blast even peak Divine Lords to bits. I refuse to believe these few people can stir up trouble,” Feng Shang said boldly.

Upon hearing this, Qing’er pressed her lips tightly, deeply offended.

Had he forgotten who first conceived the Temporal Xuanming Star and cleverly arranged the killing formation? Now that had become his reason to belittle her?

…

Far away, beneath the starry sky.

“This sacred skeleton is covered with unsurpassed sinister curses. I discovered it during an expedition. Once touched, even cultivators will instantly age and have their souls collapse. Only Xuan Light can safely make contact,” Xia explained.

“Such a shock. How did it become tainted? Could it be that the Celestial Sovereign died because of this curse?” Huang Ha looked at the black skeleton, his chubby face trembling with dread. He had never heard of a curse that could corrode the principles of the darkened cosmic path—it was terrifying.

“That remains unknown.”

“During the ancient era, many battles to destroy the universe occurred. Numerous glorious star histories were buried by darkness over time. This sacred bone might be a fragment of that truth,” Xia said calmly.

“What a pity. Such a complete sacred bone is rarer than the Divine God Talismans. If it weren’t corrupted, it could help one directly grasp the Great Dao,” Huo Zhuo sighed in regret.

Between a Divine Lord and the Celestial Sovereign lay an impassable chasm. Even after countless years of cultivation, it was difficult to reach that mysterious realm.

But with a sacred skeleton, the situation would be entirely different; a Divine Lord could continuously awaken their path through it.

“What should we do?”

The Ancient Domain Lord asked.

“The curse on this bone is earth-shattering. No physical contact is allowed. I’ll ask three to exert their full power using Xuan Light to send it to the Temporal Xuanming Star. Then I will employ the Binding God Ultimate Technique to seal those people and finally ignite the black skeleton,” Xia revealed the plan, carefully explaining some details.

“Are you really going to eliminate the Young Master of Nine Star City? He has nine powerful figures behind him,” Huang Ha said, glancing between the black skeleton, the Ancient Domain Lord, and Xia, wavering in uncertainty.

Previously, Huang Ha thought slaying the Nine Star City Young Master was nearly impossible. The arrival of Silver Flame and the success of the Ninth Killing Formation all confirmed this.

Now that it seemed possible, his hesitation grew.

“The Young Master of Nine Star City is immensely valuable, carrying countless treasures. Even just that pinnacle royal treasure energy he wields is worth risking everything,”

“At worst, he’ll stay within the Assassination Alliance later. No matter how powerful the nine figures are, they can never surpass the Ten Directions Elders who protect the Alliance,” Huo Zhuo smiled faintly.

Fortune favors the bold. The Young Master of Nine Star City likely hides numerous treasures. Given the extent to which the nine figures dote on him, his possessions might rival several Divine Lords.

“Huang Ha, hesitating now isn’t like you.”

“All right, then we’ll take the gamble.”

Huang Ha thought for a moment and gritted his teeth.

They agreed to risk offending Nine Star City to slaughter that child.

Moments later, a rumble exploded!

The divine Xuan aura surged, the blazing Xuan Light shattered the starry cosmos, dazzling like pillars of light. They formed a giant hand that reached into the impenetrable black mist, grasping the eerie sacred skeleton.

“Go!”

Xia’s beautiful eyes flashed with a commanding light. Several forces, led by her, seized the dark, ominous, evil sacred skeleton and flew toward the Temporal Xuanming Star.

Woooo…

A cold cosmic wind, mixed with a strange scent, rushed forward.

“Not good, they’re coming! Uncle Silver Flame, come over and help resist!” Qing’er called out.

Silver Flame’s boundary line had vanished. Since the Ancient Domain Lord revealed his true form, it had never been restored. Now, as he looked toward the four terrifying Xuan forces enveloping the object, his heart pounded violently.

That waning aura, the ominous curse power, seemed to herald the Five Declines of Heaven and Man.

Silver Flame quickly retreated to the Xuanming Star, preparing defenses.

“Knock them away!”

Feng Shang took it lightly. Nine cosmic crystal stars exploded, their energy poured into the 460 million Prison Sword mouths.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Massive spiritual energy overflowed, auspicious colorful clouds boiled, light rain steamed, magnificent and dazzling. The blackness of the Temporal Xuanming Star was replaced by brilliant radiance at this moment.

All the Prison Swords hummed and trembled. Their killing path divine patterns reawakened, converging unimaginable killing intent. At that moment, an unprecedented mighty aura surged out from the Temporal Xuanming Star.

“Roar!”

The Divine Seal Prison Dragon no longer coiled in place.

Supported by sufficient divine power, the dragon howled, shattering clouds and stones. Its nine claws tore open the sky, its billions-of-miles-long body breaking free from the Xuanming Star’s gravity, launching into the cosmic expanse.