Under the boundless starry sky, countless meteorites slowly rotate, and the meteorite sea meanders and stretches across the void.
Faced with such a vast and wondrous phenomenon, the individual appears utterly insignificant!
But for Zhao Sheng, the starry sky, meteorites, and star sea were all irrelevant.
Because at this moment, not far from him in the void, there stood a black-robed Taoist with blue eyes, silver hair, fair skin, and extremely handsome features.
Moreover, this person possesses an ethereal and otherworldly aura, utterly transcendent.
At that moment, the man was looking at him with an extremely strange gaze.
"You are..." Zhao Sheng was taken aback and took a half step back, looking at the other party with extreme vigilance.
"You're also a member of the Spirit Clan? How come you're so ugly!" the black-robed Taoist suddenly asked strangely.
Zhao Sheng was stunned upon hearing this. In all his lifetimes, no one had ever said he was ugly, and in terms of appearance alone, this life was the most handsome.
To say he's ugly, what kind of aesthetic is that?
However, looking at the incomparably handsome face of the black-robed Taoist, he couldn't help but feel inferior.
As Zhao Sheng pondered how to reply, his thoughts raced.
However,
The man in black robes suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Huh? You're not a pure-blooded spirit race member, but a mixed-race one. No wonder, no wonder!"
"Mongrel" is really not a good word.
Zhao Sheng's anger flared, and his face darkened as he coldly said, "Your words are far too harsh!"
Upon hearing this, the black-robed Taoist gave Zhao Sheng a strange look.
"Boy, how dare you speak to me like that? Could it be that I have been gone for too long and the Spirit Race has forgotten me? Or is there another reason?"
After saying that, without waiting for Zhao Sheng's reply, he asked again, "Boy, may I ask you, is the world you are in the Heavenly Pillar Realm? How many years into the Void Spirit Calendar is it now?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Sheng was deeply shaken, and countless thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.
In the end, he decided to tell the truth.
"This realm is indeed the Heavenly Pillar Realm. However, I have never heard of any Void Spirit Calendar. The calendar of this realm has always been the Taiyi Calendar!"
"Since ancient times? The Taiyi Calendar... The Taiyi Spirit Realm! So that's how it is, ultimately they were defeated!"
The black-robed Taoist muttered to himself, looking extremely dejected.
After a long silence, he suddenly let out a long, dejected sigh and asked, "Boy, what's your name? How many members of the Spirit Clan are left in this realm?"
Zhao Sheng activated his danger perception and sensed that the person opposite him posed no danger, so he relaxed and coldly retorted, "Before asking these questions, shouldn't you have identified yourself first? And why did you invade my soul sea without cause?"
The moment these words left his mouth, the black-robed Taoist's expression changed, and he coldly snorted, "Junior, if you want to know my name, you'd better see if you're qualified!"
After he finished speaking, a colossal, azure giant, towering to the heavens and standing on the earth, with an indescribably enormous body, suddenly appeared in the void behind the black-robed Taoist.
An endless chill erupted from the giant's body, freezing the galaxy in an instant. Its immense and unparalleled aura filled the vast starry sky.
Seeing such a magnificent and strange phenomenon, Zhao Sheng should have been terrified, but he still didn't sense any danger.
Not only that, for some unknown reason, the more magnificent the scene opposite him was, the more Zhao Sheng wanted to laugh. Finally, he couldn't help but tease, "You're really amazing, are you perhaps going to smash this starry sky to pieces?"
Huh?
Huh!
Upon seeing this, the black-robed Taoist waved his long sleeves, and the strange phenomenon of the giant behind him instantly vanished, restoring the normal starry sky.
He slowly suppressed his killing intent, then looked at Zhao Sheng with an extremely strange gaze.
"Are you really not afraid?!"
"Don't worry, you can't kill me!" Zhao Sheng said confidently.
Upon hearing this, the man in black robes suddenly trembled, and his attitude changed drastically.
He smiled slightly and suddenly said, "I am one of the thirty-six Spirit Venerables of the Spirit Clan, my true name is Qi Wuyang. What is your name, boy?"
Zhao Sheng clasped his hands in greeting and said, "My name is Zhao Dingtian. What advice do you have for me, senior?"
"I see you are also a member of the Spirit Clan, and your aptitude is quite good. Would you like to become my disciple?"
"…Ah!" Zhao Sheng hadn't expected the other party's attitude to change so drastically, and for a moment he was speechless.
"What do you mean 'ah'? Although I don't know your situation in the Heavenly Pillar Realm, I can guarantee that as long as you become my disciple, you will definitely be able to roam freely in the starry sea and ascend to immortality! Kid, don't miss this opportunity."
What a boastful tone!
Zhao Sheng did not believe a word the man in black said.
However, out of caution, he still asked, "May I ask, senior, what is the Spirit Race? What is the realm of the Spirit Venerable? And how did you end up in such a state?"
Upon hearing this, the black-robed Taoist was extremely angry and said, "Hmph! You possess the bloodline of the Spirit Clan, yet you've never heard of the Spirit Clan's great name. Taiyi Immortal Palace, what ruthless methods! This is truly a disgrace!"
Seeing that the other party spoke in a mysterious manner but avoided talking about himself, Zhao Sheng's suspicions grew even stronger. So he tentatively asked, "Senior, is there something you need to do by 'inviting' me here? And what kind of place is this starry river?"
"This place is merely a thought of mine, a divine world specially conjured to allow us to meet. As for why I would appear before you, you little brat, it's all because of your spirit race bloodline. Otherwise, I would have been sleeping soundly, why would I have wasted my divine sense to pull you in?" the black-robed Taoist said irritably.
"Senior, would you like to send me back?" Zhao Sheng asked tentatively.
"Hmph, too late! I thought you were a member of the Spirit Clan, which is why I burned my remnant will to create this illusionary world. Who knew I was so wrong? Could this be the will of Heaven?" The black-robed Taoist stared intently at Zhao Sheng, his expression complex.
Upon seeing this, Zhao Sheng's heart skipped a beat, and he had a very bad premonition.
"I am..."
Zhao Sheng's eyes flickered a few times, and he was about to say something when the vast starry sky suddenly trembled, and a crisp "crack" sound echoed from the boundless void.
Immediately afterwards, countless cracks appeared out of thin air, as if the entire world was about to shatter at any moment.
"Impossible! This world of divine sense is about to collapse!" The black-robed Taoist, who had been calm and composed, exclaimed in disbelief upon seeing this scene.
Zhao Sheng was also shocked to see the world collapse and be destroyed.
He didn't know what had happened, but he could tell from the black-robed Taoist's panicked appearance that something was wrong.
Zhao Sheng, on the contrary, thought this was a good thing.
"How is that possible! With my cultivation level when I was in the Tribulation Transcending Realm, even if I only had a trace of remnant spirit left, I would never be able to shake this world if I was below the Nascent Soul Realm, let alone destroy it."
The black-robed Taoist priest watched as the countless stars in the sky dimmed and vanished in an instant, and as large swathes of the world collapsed and were destroyed. His face turned deathly pale.
Zhao Sheng calmed himself, focused his mind, and sensed something; his expression suddenly became very strange.
"Strange! I didn't sense any danger?"
Just then, the black-robed Taoist looked up at the sky and sighed, "It seems that my fate has run out and I cannot escape this calamity. So be it! I, the dignified Spirit Venerable of my clan, once roamed the three thousand realms with such prestige, but now I am left with only a wisp of remnant spirit clinging to life."
"Forget it, my true form perished countless years ago anyway, now it's just that my fate has run its course." The black-robed Taoist only felt despair for a moment before accepting his final fate with equanimity.
"Young man, since fate has brought you and me together, it means we are destined to meet. I have an unfinished matter to entrust to you." The black-robed Taoist turned his gaze to Zhao Sheng and said solemnly.
Zhao Sheng declined, saying, "I am small and weak, and I am afraid I am not able to shoulder the heavy responsibility of my senior."
"Don't worry! This is not difficult. You just need to do it. And as a reward, I will tell you the location of an immortal's ruins and a complete Void Returning Technique. It's a pity that before I died, I deliberately erased all memories of my clan's techniques. Otherwise, giving you ten or eight sets of divine skill manuals would be a piece of cake."
After the black-robed Taoist finished speaking, he waited confidently for the young man opposite him to agree.
"What unfinished business does that senior have? This junior is all ears!" Zhao Sheng was very suspicious, but he couldn't resist the temptation and agreed.
"Hehe, don't be so nervous! You can do your best, but it's okay if you can't."
What I'm asking you to do is very simple: just pass on a message to any member of the Spirit Clan at the Nascent Soul Realm or higher.
"Please speak, senior!"
"Remember this well: a primordial sea god is being conceived in the Heavenly Pillar Realm. Remember, you must never tell anyone this except the Spirit Race," the black-robed Taoist solemnly instructed.
"I understand!" Zhao Sheng nodded, then looked troubled. "As you know, senior, although I have the blood of the Spirit Clan, I have never seen a single member of the Spirit Clan. In my opinion, the Spirit Clan is either extinct or extremely rare in the Heavenly Pillar Realm. It's almost impossible to encounter a Nascent Soul Ancestor!"
"It doesn't matter! As long as you pass on the message to the next generation before you die, your descendants will encounter it someday."
Zhao Sheng was speechless.
At this moment, the Star River World was nearing complete collapse. The black-robed Taoist sighed, reached out and pulled out a stone slab that resembled both gold and jade, its surface radiating a hazy spiritual light.
Then, with a gentle toss, the stone slab shot forth suddenly.
Zhao Sheng instinctively grabbed the stone slab, but after a blur, it vanished into his palm.
The black-robed Taoist who did this suddenly became blurry and ethereal, as if he had lost the core that supported him.
The next instant, he turned into a wisp of gray smoke and merged into the surrounding void.
Boom!
This world finally shattered like glass, collapsing completely. A torrent of gray water suddenly surged out from the void, instantly engulfing Zhao Sheng.
All these changes happened so fast that Zhao Sheng couldn't react in time.
But in the instant the torrent "swallowed" him, Zhao Sheng suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of danger.
"Oh no, we've been tricked!"
However, just as his regret began to arise, he suddenly heard an extremely shrill scream:
"Ah! This is—"
As the scream subsided, the surging gray torrent instantly transformed into a thin gray thread, which was sucked into Zhao Sheng's chest.
The next second, his vision blurred, and his mind returned to his Purple Mansion, where he saw the boundless sea of souls calm and still, its water clear and deep.
At this moment, Zhao Sheng was very surprised to see that the Book of a Hundred Lifetimes was slowly sinking into the Sea of Souls.
"The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes has actually appeared in the world! Just who is that black-robed Taoist?" Zhao Sheng was a little confused.
As soon as this thought arose, a sentence suddenly appeared in his mind: "Earth-level achievement: Collect a wisp of the remnant spirit of a banished immortal."
This sentence contained so much information that Zhao Sheng didn't react for a moment.
In his previous life, he exhausted his energy and painstaking efforts, even at the cost of shortening his lifespan, and died prematurely, barely managing to destroy the Zhou family.
And this is only a Xuan-level achievement.
Now, without lifting a finger, he has gained a prefecture-level achievement for nothing.
This is truly... a blessing in disguise for the remnant soul of a certain unlucky banished immortal!
After finishing his thought, Zhao Sheng asked himself again, "In the Book of a Hundred Lifetimes, what level of existence is the banished immortal?"
But this time, the Book of a Hundred Generations did not send any response.
Seeing this, Zhao Sheng repeated the question twice more, but Bai Shishu still did not respond.
Seeing this, Zhao Sheng, unwilling to give up, had a sudden thought, and the Book of a Hundred Lifetimes finally reacted. Its pages unfurled, and a personal data panel appeared in Zhao Sheng's mind:
Name: Zhao Dingtian (Zhao Sheng)
Lifespan: 20/149
Realm: Qi Refining Level 7
Class: Tier 2 Rune Master
Physique: Rooted in Water, Metal, and Fire; Spirit Clan Bloodline (Evolving)
Talents: Bullet Time, Danger Sense, Absolute Rationality
[Skill]
Cultivation Techniques: Profound Origin Heavy Water Technique (Mastery), Stacking Talisman Technique (Mastery)
Spells: God-Slaying Sword Intent, Water and Thunder Spell, Refraction Technique...
Talisman making: Water Escape Talisman, Invisibility Talisman... Concealing Spirit Talisman, Water Thunder Talisman, Illusion Escape Talisman (Gray)...
A glint flashed in Zhao Sheng's eyes as he suddenly noticed the words "evolving".
He remembered that the character "残" (crippled/disabled) originally followed the character for the Spirit Clan's bloodline, but now...
Zhao Sheng couldn't help but wonder whether the outcome would be beneficial to him once the Spirit Clan's bloodline had evolved.
Based on the information he knew, the Spirit Race and the Human Race had once fought a territorial war in the Heavenly Pillar Realm, and the Spirit Race was defeated and expelled from the Heavenly Pillar Realm.
As a result, from ancient times to the present, hybrids of the Spirit Race like him have always been met with hostility from pure-blooded humans.
If his bloodline concentration were to increase further, he would become like the black-robed Taoist with blue eyes, silver hair, and skin as white as jade.
Then... his fate is probably not going to be any better.
Thinking of this, Zhao Sheng's expression became somewhat uncertain.
...
As soon as Zhao Sheng's mind left his Purple Mansion, he felt his body shake violently, and at the same time he heard Hai Lan'er's anxious voice, "Wake up! Xiao Tian, what's wrong with you?"
Zhao Sheng opened his eyes and found himself lying on the ground, while Hai Lan'er looked at him with a panicked expression.
"I'm fine," he said, immediately getting up from the ground.
At the same time, he quickly scanned his surroundings and was taken aback by what he saw.
At this moment, Li Mu, Gui Xinshu, and the others collapsed to the ground in a chaotic mess, completely lifeless.
Everyone's face was as pale as snow, their eyes vacant like dead fish, but what was terrifying was that their expressions were incredibly intoxicated and satisfied, as if they had seen the ultimate truth.
At this moment, the ground beneath them suddenly became incredibly soft, as if it had turned into a swamp.
These corpses are sinking little by little. As they sink, countless gray "threads" grow out of the ground and quickly cover the corpses, wrapping them into cocoons.
"This...this...Dad!"
After witnessing all this, Hailan was so frightened that her face turned pale and tears streamed down her face, and she became a sobbing mess in the blink of an eye.
Zhao Sheng sighed inwardly. Seeing this scene, he knew perfectly well what would become of Hai Dafu and the others.
No wonder we couldn't see the corpses of the people who came in earlier; they had all become food.
Zhao Sheng became curious: what kind of demonic insects were these "thin threads"? And what was their relationship with the black-robed Taoist?
As he was thinking this, a series of fine cracking sounds suddenly came from the spirit stone jade disc.
Zhao Sheng suddenly turned his head to look, and saw that the surface of the jade disc was now covered with countless cracks.
The next second, the jade wall collapsed with a crash, scattering rubble everywhere, and finally leaving behind a large pile of spirit stones of varying sizes.