He came as quickly as he went.

"Thank you for saving me, Senior." Qin Xuan cupped his hands, his bearing neither humble nor arrogant.

Zhu Chong leaped down from the void, landing with a THUD that kicked up clouds of dust.

He smacked his lips and grinned. "No need to be so polite, Little Brother. Might I ask your name?"

Qin Xuan replied, "Liu Mobai, from the Holy Sect."

"Little Brother Liu, you’re a straightforward man. How would you like to come to the Ninth Sub-Branch of my Liaoyuan Division for a visit?" Zhu Chong extended an olive branch.

Qin Xuan was confused. "I am a Cultivator from the Holy Sect. Everyone wants me dead. Aren’t you afraid of getting into trouble, Senior?"

"Little Brother Liu, allow me to correct you. It’s the other four divisions of the Divine Race that hunt the Holy Blood Sect. We of the Human Race in the Liaoyuan Division, however, welcome you."

Meanwhile, Wei Qingyi had just escaped the confines of the Red Flame Marketplace.

Suddenly, a bone-chilling cold shot up from the soles of his feet, and he felt as if countless eyes were boring into his back.

He stopped in his tracks and whipped his head around.

But standing behind him was an enormous, thousand-foot-tall Red-Scaled Snake Demon with three heads. Its forked tongues flickered with a HISS, and its mountain-sized heads actually wore a mocking, human-like expression.

The Snake Demon spoke in a human voice, "Little friend, were you looking for me?"

An icy chill spread through Wei Qingyi. His blood seemed to freeze in his veins, and he stood rooted to the spot.

’When did it get behind me?!’

...

With Zhu Chong, a Golden Core True Monarch, by his side, Qin Xuan’s journey became much smoother.

"Besides our Lord Daoist Venerable, Wing Star Yi is composed of five divisions. Each division has a Venerable Divinity Transformation, and my Liaoyuan Sub-Branch is no exception."

"But unlike the other four divisions, our Liaoyuan Sub-Branch’s Venerable Divinity Transformation is a Human Race Cultivator. That’s a rarity, not just in the Vermilion Bird Star Domain, but in the entire Endless Star Sea."

Zhu Chong led Qin Xuan out of the Red Flame Marketplace.

As they walked, he explained the local customs and traditions in detail.

Before long, they arrived at a fiery red mountain range that stretched for thousands of miles.

Flames billowed upward. The tall, red firethorns he had seen earlier were everywhere, growing over ten meters high and giving the impression of a dense jungle.

In the open clearings, primitive tribes had taken root. Everywhere he looked, he saw Human Race Cultivators who looked like Zhu Chong—dressed in short red tunics, wearing Beast Skirts, with bodies of corded muscle.

When they saw the black-robed Qin Xuan arrive, they all stopped what they were doing, knelt on one knee, and looked at him with reverence.

"We greet the Lord Star Envoy of the Holy Blood Sect!"

The sound was like a thundering tsunami, rising and falling in waves.

This reception was a far cry from the hostility Qin Xuan had faced in the Red Flame Marketplace.

"Little Brother Liu, I noticed earlier that this item seems useful to you. Please, take it as a welcoming gift."

With a flip of his hand, Zhu Chong produced the very Dragon-Buttoned Gold Seal that had caused the Ziwei Emperor Star within Qin Xuan to stir.

The gold seal appeared ordinary, and others would not have noticed anything special about it. But Qin Xuan, who possessed the Ziwei Emperor Star, could clearly sense a miraculous current of destiny flowing within.

Qin Xuan didn’t believe for a second that the man was just being kind, so he cut straight to the chase.

"I cannot accept a reward I haven’t earned. Dare I ask, Senior, why exactly did you invite me to the Liaoyuan Sub-Branch?"

"Little Brother Liu, you truly live up to your reputation as a successor of the Holy Blood Sect. To be frank, we invited you here because we want you to represent our division in the Vermilion Bird Grand Competition."

Zhu Chong made no attempt to hide his intentions. "My Liaoyuan Division has been oppressed by the other four divisions for far too long. With your strength, Little Brother, I imagine that even slaying a Golden Core True Monarch would be a simple matter for you."

"The grand competition only permits Purple Mansion Cultivators to participate. You can keep all the spoils; my Liaoyuan Tribe only needs ownership of the star."

Qin Xuan’s dark eyes were placid, his expression as still as an old well, but inside, a monstrous storm was raging.

’This Zhu Chong has a wickedly sharp eye! He actually saw through some of my secrets!’

From Zhu Chong’s description, he began to understand why they had sought him out.

In truth, from the moment they entered Fire Snake Star, they had been right under the nose of a Nascent Soul Daoist Monarch.

It was just that, due to certain constraints, they were not at liberty to act—or perhaps they were forbidden from acting.

Those who possess a Life Star are all Star Envoys of the Star City!

Aside from attacks by Cultivators of the same tier, there was an incident where a High-Tier Cultivator secretly killed a Star Envoy. A Venerable Divinity Transformation immediately descended with divine punishment, utterly obliterating him, body and soul.

In other words, every Star Envoy represented a Venerable Divinity Transformation!

’This place is too bizarre... It feels like some kind of pasture, and all the Cultivators are just livestock...’

The more Qin Xuan thought about it, the more unsettling it felt.

Especially when he had slain the Snake Demon from the Wing Fire Division. The excited tremor that came from his Lifebound Longsword was something he had never felt since he began to cultivate!

"I appreciate the generous offer, Senior. Allow me to consider it."

"Very well!" Surprisingly, Zhu Chong didn’t press the matter and actually allowed him to leave.

This came as quite a surprise to Qin Xuan.

...

After finding a secluded Cave Mansion and laying down more than a dozen Restriction Arrays, Qin Xuan began to take stock of his gains from the Star Ruins.

Star Techniques, Spirit Medicines, Positional Divine Techniques...

He closed his eyes and looked inward, laying out all his spoils in his mind’s eye.

’On this trip to the Star Ruins, I obtained over a hundred Tier Two Top-Grade Spirit Medicines, five Star Techniques, and two Positional Divine Techniques!’

Qin Xuan gulped.

This place was far too strange, with Returning Void Dao Venerables and Venerable Divinity Transformations seemingly everywhere. He didn’t dare rashly expose his Positional Divine Techniques here.

He could only admire them in his mind’s eye.

Just then, Qin Xuan smacked his forehead as he remembered something.

’The Purple Extreme Thunder Eagle... and Old Zhao!’

He hurriedly opened the Black Flood Dragon’s Reverse Scale.

Inside was a complete mess. The ground was littered with bones gnawed clean by the Longevity Spirit Turtle and Spirit Stones that had been ground to dust.

The Longevity Spirit Turtle was still the size of a washbasin.

However, the array patterns on its cyan-black carapace had grown much clearer. In just a few years, its Cultivation had reached a level that an ordinary Longevity Spirit Turtle of the Demon Race would need decades to achieve!

Zhao Youliang had a woeful look on his face.

He wiped away his tears and began to wail, his face a mess. "Master Qin, you’ve finally remembered us!"

Qin Xuan gave a sheepish smile.

’Seems I’ve had them locked up for about a decade.’

It was a good thing the Black Flood Dragon’s Reverse Scale contained its own pocket dimension, which held over a hundred thousand low-grade spirit stones.

Otherwise, Zhao Youliang and the others would have perished long ago.

Besides Zhao Youliang in his Cyan-arm Stone Ape form and the Longevity Spirit Turtle that had reached the Foundation Establishment Stage...

...there was a new addition inside the Black Flood Dragon’s Reverse Scale: a small and delicate, half-meter-tall Purple-Feathered Falcon.

The Tier Four Demon Beast, the Purple Extreme Thunder Eagle!

"When did this little one hatch?"

Qin Xuan sat on the turtle’s shell, stroking the Longevity Spirit Turtle’s shiny black head. He pointed to the Purple Extreme Thunder Eagle and asked curiously.

Zhao Youliang replied, "About eight years ago... Master Qin, don’t let its docile appearance fool you. When it gets angry, it’s vicious!"

The words had barely left his mouth when the juvenile Purple Extreme Thunder Eagle flapped its wings and flew over, stumbling through the air.

A purple Thunder Arc descended, frying Zhao Youliang to a crisp.

KABOOM!

Zhao Youliang’s cyan fur was scorched black, and his hair stood on end.

He coughed out a puff of black smoke, his head lolled to the side, and he fainted, his lower body still twitching.

’It’s only at the Qi Cultivation level, but its Innate Divine Technique can knock out someone at the Heaven Dao Foundation Establishment Stage?’

Qin Xuan was quite surprised.

Although Zhao Youliang had been completely defenseless, that kind of power was still something to be proud of!

"Excellent. In this Star Domain, the Demon Race reigns supreme. You three will be quite useful to me!"

Qin Xuan’s eyes lit up.

It was just... their appearances weren’t exactly inspiring.

A dopey-looking Longevity Spirit Turtle, a scorched-black Cyan-arm Stone Ape, and a hair-trigger Purple Extreme Thunder Eagle...

Qin Xuan couldn’t help but press a hand to his forehead, shaking his head with a wry smile.

"From now on, I’ll call you Little Zi."

Qin Xuan stroked the Purple Extreme Thunder Eagle’s downy back.

A flash of cyan light from a Talisman in his palm shot toward the horizon, carrying a message to Zhu Chong.

「Li Huo Mountain Range, Liaoyuan Tribe」

When he learned that Qin Xuan had agreed to represent the Liaoyuan Tribe in the Vermilion Bird Grand Competition, Zhu Chong was ecstatic.

"Little Brother Liu, you’ve done me a huge favor! With you on our side, our Liaoyuan Sub-Branch on Star Jia Jiu will finally be able to let out some steam!"