After a soft chuckle, the skeletal man fell silent for a long moment before finally speaking. “My true name is Quinn Windflower, and my Dao companion is Vivian Ho. We were deeply in love, traversing the starfields together, always side by side. Sadly, such days did not last. One day, I discovered that Vivian had another man. Consumed by rage, I demanded an explanation. But Vivian ignored me, only fleeing in haste. Of course, I would not let it go so easily, so I chased her all the way to a lower realm...”
“A lower realm? Senior, you came from a higher realm?” Joe Di interjected in astonishment.
Quinn Windflower sighed. “Vivian and I were fortunate in our encounters. During one of our journeys through the stars, we discovered an ancient predecessor’s relic on a deserted planet. That predecessor was a master of array talismans. Within the relic, we obtained several realm-breaking talismans—ones that could traverse from a higher realm to a lower realm. When Vivian fled, she used a realm-breaking talisman, and naturally, I did the same. Once we arrived in the lower realm, our cultivation was severely suppressed, yet we remained powerful.”
Joe Di wanted to ask what Quinn Windflower’s true cultivation was, but seeing Quinn lost in his memories, he refrained from interrupting.
“After Vivian ran for some distance, she suddenly summoned her artifact and attacked me. My mind was clouded by fury—I didn’t hesitate to unleash my own artifact and strike with full force. Unexpectedly, Vivian did not resist my killing move with all her strength; it was as if she intended to let me kill her. In my panic, I shifted my attack. I hadn’t paid attention to our location at all, and it turned out our battle took place just outside the starfield of Nightfall Starland. It was my strike that split Nightfall Starland in two...”
Joe Di was shaken to his core. To split Nightfall Starland in a single move—just how powerful was this Quinn Windflower?
“When we realized Nightfall Starland had been cleaved apart, Vivian wept and said, ‘I was wrong. I shouldn’t have stopped here.’ I was stunned as well—we both hailed from Nightfall Starland, and now we had split our home in two. This was more than betrayal. I forgot to question Vivian further; all I could think about was repairing Nightfall Starland. Vivian comforted me, saying, ‘We must atone for our own mistakes. As for the rest, once Nightfall Starland is restored, I’ll give you an answer. The reason behind all this isn’t what you think.’”
Could things really be so coincidental? Joe Di suddenly found it odd. If the starfield were so small, would it be easy for him to find Hengyu Star? In reality, finding Hengyu Star was extremely difficult—at least for now. The starfield was simply too vast.
“I was overcome with guilt and devoted myself to repairing Nightfall Starland. I willingly entered the Nightfall Ruins, which I had created with my own strike. Even though Nightfall Star is a lower-level planet, repairing it with my strength was no simple matter—perhaps even impossible. Vivian was wracked with remorse as well; she swore to find Foundation Soil to restore Nightfall Star. I asked Vivian to seal me inside the Nightfall Ruins, and I vowed not to leave until Nightfall Star was restored.”
“All these years, I’ve been refining array flags to prevent Nightfall Star’s laws from dissipating, while Vivian searches for Foundation Soil. Someday, she will find it and bring it here...”
Joe Di hadn't finished speaking when Quinn Windflower understood his meaning. He waved his hand and said, "I understand what you mean. At first, I tried using those higher-grade spirit stones you mentioned to repair it, but they were still snatched away. By the way, I have a few lower-grade ones left. Take them all."
With that, Quinn Windflower tossed out four spirit stones, each radiating a denser aura than usual. As soon as Joe Di grasped the stones, he knew they were several grades above high-grade spirit stones. He had never seen supreme-grade spirit stones before, but he was certain the aura and laws within these stones surpassed even those. Just holding them before cultivating, he could feel his cultivation rising.
...
"Sprout, come with us," Sherry Jing said, looking at Sprout. After waiting a month with no news of Joe Di, everyone knew there was no point in staying here any longer.
This abandoned mining pit had long been torn apart by spatial wind blades and warped by spatial distortions. Not even a Golden Core cultivator, let alone a Sea-Splitting realm cultivator, could survive here—their bones would be ground to dust.
Sprout grumbled, "You go your way, I'll go mine."
With that, Sprout turned and walked off, unwilling to stay with the others. They were all planning to leave and rescue Zeng Beizi at some frozen river—none of that mattered to him. Why wasn't anyone thinking of saving Big Brother?
Deep down, Sprout knew that saving Joe Di was impossible. The area had been shredded by spatial wind blades, leaving behind spatial fissures and lingering blades everywhere. No one could dig through and rescue anyone here, but that didn't stop Sprout from feeling frustrated.
Everyone else thought Joe Di was dead, but Sprout was certain Big Brother was still alive. If Big Brother died, he wouldn't survive either. In fact, he was still alive now.
Strangely, he couldn't sense where Big Brother was at all—the connection was faint, almost nonexistent. All Sprout could do now was seek out opportunities to advance his cultivation to the fourth rank, then find the Shadow Scarab and return together to save Big Brother.
As for telling the others that Big Brother was still alive, Sprout had never considered it. He didn't trust anyone, not even Melody Qin.
Big Brother had plenty of treasures: the World Tome, the Blue Spirit Vein, the Soul Essence Fruit...
If word got out about these things, Melody Qin—whose character was questionable—would surely covet them. And then there was Sherry Jing, who, upon hearing of Big Brother's accident, immediately claimed to be his wife. Who knew if she was just after his inheritance? Such a woman couldn't be trusted either.
Only Tyler He seemed genuinely loyal. Still, you could never truly know someone's heart—he might be after Big Brother's treasures too. Yes, only Sprout—and the Shadow Scarab—were truly devoted to Big Brother, loyal and steadfast, unwavering as the sun itself...
...
Outside the Sky Veil, Blake Azure had not left since he arrived.
Blake Azure slapped a Soul Ancestor Fourth Level cultivator of the Qi Clan to death. Even after the Qi Clan's elites returned, none dared seek revenge here.
After waiting several months, Blake Azure grew calm. He guessed the Sky Veil was about to close. Sky Veil Plaza was already surrounded by trap arrays he'd set up—anyone emerging from the Sky Veil would find themselves caught in his formation.
No matter what, he was determined to obtain the Soul Tempering Memory Stone.
"Fellow Daoist, surrounding my Sky Veil Plaza with trap arrays seems rather improper," said a voice. Blake Azure was surprised—after waiting here over a year, no one had dared confront him. Now, with the Sky Veil about to close, someone finally came to speak up?
Blake Azure turned to see a seemingly honest man—dark-skinned, short, eyes squinting with a cheerful smile. As Blake Azure looked at him, the man's hand suddenly darted out, and with a few casual gestures, he collected the array banners from Blake Azure's trap array.
Blake Azure's gaze narrowed—this man was definitely a formidable cultivator. Although Blake Azure's trap array here was only seventh-level, on the Aurora Continent it was more than enough.
To collect the array banners with such ease meant his array mastery was at least equal to Blake Azure's. As for his cultivation, Blake Azure couldn't discern it at all.
"Your Excellency, who are you? Why meddle in my affairs?" Blake Azure asked calmly.
"Just a nameless junior from Aurora Continent. Every time the Sky Veil opens, a few of our continent's geniuses emerge. To ensure nothing happens to them, I came to offer some advice, Fellow Daoist." The short man continued to smile harmlessly.