Amidst the cosmic expanse, Qin Yang gazed at the countless stars surrounding him, feeling a profound sense of mystery and awe.
He had gradually grown accustomed to the initial discomfort.
Isn't this just the universe? he thought. I've seen it all before.
But how to escape this place with his divine sense became the real problem.
No one understood Qin Yang's situation, nor would they believe that after being shaken by a Stellar Realm cultivator's divine sense, he could still remain conscious!
The boundless starry sky represented the overwhelming power of Stellar Realm experts.
Martial Heaven had no intention of giving Qin Yang another chance to strike back. Having fought him this long without seeing any signs of exhaustion, he poured all his strength into this overwhelming assault.
Even Zongshi Realm cultivators would instantly lose themselves in this endless sea of stars, let alone Stellar Realm experts. Recovery would take considerable time.
The disorienting sense of directionlessness and insignificance could drive anyone mad.
Even with spirit medicine assistance, reality showed it only transformed vegetative states into idiocy. Best-case scenarios resulted in half-dazed confusion.
Martial Heaven had always considered Qin Yang's viciousness excessive. He'd even planned to ensure Qin Yang's safety and arrange treatment. But never did he imagine he'd fall victim to Qin Yang's own trap!
On a desolate plain reminiscent of primeval wilderness,
Martial Heaven walked silently through the landscape, his body drenched in sweat.
The overwhelming pressure of heaven and earth merging weighed upon him, forcing him to grit his teeth in constant struggle.
Here, there were no stars!
Here, there was no collapse.
Martial Heaven felt as if he had lost all his power, reduced to an ordinary man—no, to an ant!
The unchanging landscape exuded a despair that pierced the soul, and the sky seemed to press down closer than ever!
"Heaven and earth unite, all returns to chaos..." Martial Heaven murmured, a bitter smile twisting his lips.
If he were merely a Zongshi Realm cultivator, he could have simply fainted and woken from this nightmare. But he was a Stellar Realm cultivator! His instinctive resistance had trapped him here, thanks in part to the Dragon Jade's desperate measures.
The Dragon Jade, aware of Martial Heaven's strength, had thrown everything it had absorbed earlier at him in one desperate strike, hoping to knock him out first. But this had resulted in mutual exhaustion, leaving both parties weakened.
"How do I get back?" Qin Yang muttered, his feet sinking into the void.
"Am I going to die here?" Martial Heaven stopped, his head tilted back to gaze at the sky so close he could almost touch it.
At the Qin Family ancestral hall, Qin Yang lay bound like a zongzi rice dumpling by magical chains. Outside, the panda lay pinned by a dozen beasts, its face contorted with fury.
Inside the ancestral hall, Qin Wuyi glared at Qin Yang as if he wanted to devour him alive.
Nangong Ling watched from the side with a cold smile and said, "I say we just kill him to eliminate future threats..."
"No! Killing him would be too merciful. I want to wait until he wakes up!" Qin Wuyi said through clenched teeth.
"Pah! If Qin Yang wakes up, the first thing he'll do is slaughter you all!" Jin Wanshan roared, his face pale and a horrifying puncture wound visible on his abdomen.
"You think I want to get shot by you again? My next arrow might not spare your life!" Nangong Ling glared at Jin Wanshan.
Jin Wanshan could only shift his gaze to the chair nearby, where the unconscious Martial Heaven lay.
"We might not have time for this. We can't just wait here..." the Qin Family patriarch said.
Nearby, the spatial black hole continued to collapse the surrounding space. The secret realm's own regulatory power poured in frantically, but it couldn't fill the void.
If this continued, the secret realm's regulatory power would grow weaker and weaker. If it reached a critical point, the entire realm might collapse simultaneously.
Since Qin Wuyi insisted on waiting, the Qin Family patriarch had no choice but to order the elders to evacuate everyone and leave the secret realm.
In the boundless starry sky, Qin Yang remained utterly calm. He had found a possible way out, but for him, it was fundamentally impossible.
That was the breakthrough to the Stellar Realm!
Only a Stellar Realm cultivator could find direction in this starry expanse, could see through all illusions. But in this vast cosmos, was he truly the only one to achieve this realm?
Suddenly, a mighty dragon's roar echoed through the void. A white figure streaked across space, hurtling toward him.
"You haven't lost your way, young man?" came a voice.
A divine dragon materialized beside Qin Yang, its body as pristine as polished jade. The creature coiled around him, its massive crimson eyes—blood-red yet strangely familiar—gazing upon him without instilling fear.
"Living beings exist in this starry void?" Qin Yang stared at the dragon, unsure if it was a jade spirit or a true celestial being. Each scale shimmered with life, and its white whiskers drifted like ethereal smoke.
"What living being?" the dragon replied. "This starry void is merely an extension of your divine will."
The voice sounded... familiar. Qin Yang's eyes widened. "Dragon Jade?"
"You've only just recognized me?" Dragon Jade sighed, its jade-like form shimmering. "Is your connection with your own treasure so fragile?"
Qin Yang rubbed his nose. No wonder it felt familiar. Those damn blood-red eyes of Dragon Jade's—he'd painted them himself with his own blood...
"Can you take me away?" Qin Yang asked.
"Of course! Why else would I be here?" Dragon Jade stretched its body, its tone suddenly transforming into one of authority. "Now that you've seen my true form, it's time I reveal something to you."
Qin Yang raised an eyebrow. "Reveal what?"
Dragon Jade deliberately drew out the suspense. After a long pause, it said slowly, "My true name is not Dragon Jade, but..."
"Jade Dragon God!"
Qin Yang's face darkened. What difference did that make?
"How about it? Shocked? Surprised? Thrilled?" Dragon Jade instantly reverted to its original form, eagerly awaiting the reaction it had imagined from Qin Yang.
Unfortunately, Qin Yang only wore an expression that clearly said he thought the creature was an idiot. "Just get me back already!" he snapped.
Meanwhile, Martial Heaven was quietly awaiting death. This torment would have broken any other Stellar Realm cultivator, but he had endured it.
His mind began to wander. What if he had told Qin Yang the truth from the beginning...
"No! That brat needs to be taught a lesson!" Martial Heaven couldn't swallow this humiliation. To be defeated by Qin Yang was an insult he couldn't bear, even in death.
As his thoughts spiraled, an old face suddenly materialized in his mind.
It was an old man from the Heavenly Secrets Sect. In his mind's eye, Martial Heaven seemed to hear the old man's words from when he had suddenly found him:
"You will definitely find a descendant of the Qin family on this journey. But... don't make a move against him."
"Why? Afraid I'll kill him? Impossible. I don't kill people lightly." The Martial Heaven in his memory frowned.
The old man shook his head and said, "Friendly warning: you can't defeat him."
In his memory, Martial Heaven didn't take this seriously at all. "Even in a Zongshi-level secret realm, I fear no one. I am the Combat Star now, and I was once a Combat Zongshi!"
The old man continued talking to himself, "If you really do fight him, consider it your destiny."
Hearing the word "destiny," Martial Heaven froze. He'd last heard that word when he was asked about his promotion to the Godking realm...
In reality, Martial Heaven's eyes snapped open. He'd reached his limit. Looking up at the sky, stars reappeared in his eyes, shining even brighter!
He reached out, clenched his fist, and unleashed his signature martial technique.
At the Qin Ancestral Hall, Martial Heaven opened his eyes. Beside him, space distorted momentarily before settling back into stillness, causing a wave of panic among the onlookers.
He looked at Qin Yang, who was bound like a zongzi, but realized Qin Yang had already woken up!
"This..." Martial Heaven was stunned. He'd underestimated Qin Yang again!