The moment they got a clear look at the newcomer.

Qin Xuan and Hou Qi, hidden far in the shadows, exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with shock.

’How did Shi Nanxing become a Tributor here...’

’Didn’t we all arrive in the same group?!’

Shi Nanxing’s current state was also strange. He was still at the Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment Twelfth Level, yet the few Purple Mansion Realm Stewards were utterly submissive, trembling with fear and ready to obey his every command.

They looked as though they would follow his orders to the letter.

"Stone Guard, save me!"

The moment Ye Danggui saw Shi Nanxing, she felt as if she’d been thrown a lifeline.

However, Shi Nanxing’s next action drove her to the brink of despair.

"Ye Danggui... you’re not dead?"

Shi Nanxing’s eyes were fathomless as True Essence surged in his palm.

A spray of brilliant cyan flames erupted, smashing straight into Ye Danggui.

BANG!

The searing cyan flames blazed intensely.

In a flash, Ye Danggui’s body was reduced to a pile of black ash.

The Purple Mansion Stewards exchanged glances, their voices trembling. "My lord, that was a Star Envoy, and she just died here. We..."

"A Vermilion Bird Star Envoy’s might is immeasurable. How could one be so easily humiliated? The real disaster would be if the Star Lord were to find out about this."

With a wave of his sleeve, Shi Nanxing laid down the official story.

"This woman was a spy, bait sent by the remnants of the Holy Blood Sect. I have eliminated her. You will all resume your patrols. Report anything unusual immediately."

"Yes, yes, a spy!"

The Purple Mansion Stewards came to a sudden understanding, their faces breaking into relieved smiles.

To Qin Xuan and Hou Qi, who were watching, the scene became even more bizarre.

Just then, Qin Xuan noticed a cloud of eerie green poison mist emanating from Shi Nanxing’s palm.

"That’s Wei Qingyi, Senior Brother Wei..." A look of delight crossed Hou Qi’s face.

Qin Xuan realized it too.

...

That night, the entire Red Flame Marketplace was shrouded in silence.

A figure in cyan followed the unique markers of the Blood Demon Sword Sect to a hidden cave.

"Senior Brother Wei!" Hou Qi immediately bowed upon seeing Wei Qingyi. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"I guessed right. Ye Danggui’s appearance today was indeed the work of our Holy Sect... I was wondering who was behind it. Junior Brother Hou, Junior Brother Qin, so it was you two!"

Wei Qingyi said with a hearty laugh.

Qin Xuan got straight to the point. "Greetings, Senior Brother Wei. Do you know where we are?"

Wei Qingyi said in a deep voice, "The Endless Star Sea. We’re on one of the Seven Major Stars of the Southern Vermilion Bird Star Domain—the Wing Constellation Fire Snake Armor Nine Stars!"

Upon hearing this, looks of utter shock appeared on the faces of Qin Xuan and Hou Qi.

"We’re actually outside the Circulation Realm?"

After a lengthy explanation from Wei Qingyi, Qin Xuan finally understood.

He finally understood just what a massive catastrophe he had caused when he established the Ziwei Emperor Palace. He had somehow transported over a hundred Star Mansion Cultivators all the way to the Vermilion Bird Star Domain.

"The Endless Star Sea is infinite. Our Circulation Realm is just a small corner of it. In comparison, the Vermilion Bird Star Domain is a truly vast world."

"In the Vermilion Bird Star Domain, there are the Seven Stars and thousands of other celestial bodies. Take the Fire Snake Star, where we are now, in Wing Star Yi. It alone has over a hundred vassal stars orbiting it."

"The greatest power here is called the Wing Fire Palace, overseen by a Returning Void Dao Venerable. It rules over five divisions—Wing Fire, Viper, Zhuyin, Prairie Fire, and Blazing Sun—and each division has a Divinity Transformation Venerable..."

At the mention of a Returning Void Dao Venerable, Hou Qi’s eyes went wide as saucers. He looked horrified, nearly breaking out in a cold sweat.

’If a single one, Wing Star Yi, has a Returning Void Dao Venerable, doesn’t that mean the Vermilion Bird Star Domain has seven of them among its Seven Stars? Back in the Circulation Realm, there isn’t a single Returning Void master!’

Qin Xuan also came to a sudden realization.

’No wonder I felt like someone was watching me the moment I arrived. It must be the omnipresent Divine Thought of a Returning Void Dao Venerable! The implications were terrifying.’

Wei Qingyi’s information was far more precise than the Yellow-clothed Girl’s.

According to him, Wei Qingyi’s group had arrived over a month before Qin Xuan. Shen Xiyue and Xiao Dinglan had already left for Wing Star Yi’s primary star, Jia-1.

"No wonder the Cultivation Realms of the cultivators here are so much higher than in Daqian," Hou Qi lamented. "It’s because of the Returning Void Dao Venerable."

’Good thing I didn’t blindly trust that Yellow-clothed Girl. Otherwise, I’d probably be dead in a ditch by now!’

’The difference between the strongest expert being a Golden Core True Monarch and the strongest being a Returning Void Dao Venerable is like the difference between heaven and earth.’

"Not necessarily."

Wei Qingyi explained, "Don’t be fooled by their high Realms. Strangely enough, their combat strength is extremely low. Take the Purple Mansion Cultivators hawking their wares in the Red Flame Marketplace, for example. They’re weaker than even the Void Mansion Demon Cultivators from our Holy Sect."

"They don’t know any Positional Divine Techniques, Taoist Skills, or Star Techniques. Their actual combat strength is equivalent to a Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment Ninth Level cultivator at best. It’s as if some strange force is suppressing them, allowing their Realm to increase but not their combat strength."

"I suppressed my own Cultivation to the Foundation Establishment Twelfth Level, and I was completely unmatched in the Red Flame Marketplace."

Hou Qi nodded emphatically.

"That’s right, suppression. I sensed that strange power too."

"Under its suppression, I couldn’t use a single one of my Blood Talismans. My Positional Divine Techniques and Star Techniques weren’t obstructed, though."

Qin Xuan’s voice was low. "It must be the work of the Returning Void Dao Venerable."

The moment the Returning Void Dao Venerable was mentioned, thunder suddenly boomed across the sky, and the weather took a violent turn.

The three of them instantly fell silent.

After a long silence, Hou Qi finally whispered cautiously, "It... could It be on this very star?"

Wei Qingyi shook his head. "Impossible. The Vermilion Bird Star Domain has thousands of stars. At most, that was a mere wisp of Divine Sense. Even the Divinity Transformation Venerable of Wing Star Yi is currently on the main star, Jia-1. On our Star Jia Jiu, the only one in charge is a Nascent Soul Daoist Monarch."

"This Red Flame Marketplace of ours belongs to a Golden Core Influence called Red Flame Dock. I’ve met its master, the Red Flame Dock Master. He only knows a single Star Technique, yet he’s able to rule this place... If it came to a one-on-one fight, with our skills, taking him out on the sly wouldn’t even be difficult..."