Quinn Shepherd charged into the gorge with the bone chest and Myles Jiang, when suddenly the massive rune marks carved into the cliffs on both sides began to glow. In the next instant, yellow sand surged up throughout the gorge, erupting into a raging sandstorm!
"Don't breathe!"
Quinn shouted, "Seal every pore on your body!"
Myles instantly understood and quickly held his breath, sealing off every pore throughout his body.
The yellow sand in this gorge wasn’t ordinary sand at all—it was made up of countless spirit weapons, each grain capable of expanding at any moment into a boulder dozens of acres wide!
If you inhaled even a few grains of sand into your nose, throat, or lungs, and they suddenly expanded to the size of boulders, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Or if even a few grains slipped into your skin through your pores and expanded, the result would be disastrous as well.
The instant the sandstorm hit, Quinn surged his yuanqi into the Sword Pill. The Sword Pill instantly buzzed and expanded, sending thousands of flying swords streaming out like water, forming a perfectly spherical metal shell that enclosed him inside.
Even the most exquisite sword techniques couldn’t block every grain of sand in the storm, so Quinn simply let the Sword Pill take on the most flawless spherical form to protect himself.
Back in Departure City, he had already refined his flying swords so that they flowed like water—just like the Mute Smith’s Sword Pill, able to take on any shape he wished.
To refine weapons to this degree was already close to godlike craftsmanship.
Quinn had just hidden inside the Sword Pill when the sandstorm struck. In a split second, the spherical shell was pelted with countless grains of sand, each impact leaving tiny pits densely packed across the surface!
The materials Serena Yunxiang gave him for sword refining were the finest of the fine. Quinn had once complained the swords were too heavy and hard to wield, but now he was grateful for her generosity—otherwise, the shell would have shattered in the very first collision.
Even so, the Sword Pill was smashed and sent flying, ricocheting through the gorge at terrifying speed!
Inside the Sword Pill, Quinn and Myles were jolted so violently they nearly coughed up blood. Though the shell shielded them from the sand’s direct attack, the force of the impacts threatened to shatter them from within!
Quinn pushed himself to the limit, driving the Sword Pill and maximizing its water-like flexibility.
Whenever the Sword Pill was dented, it would instantly flow and repair itself. But Quinn’s yuanqi was constantly shattered by the sand’s barrage, making it harder and harder to sustain the Sword Pill—its surface grew more battered and pitted with each passing moment.
"This killing array is even more terrifying than I imagined!" Quinn despaired.
Just as they entered the gorge, Aiden Starr followed close behind, reaching out to grab the Sword Pill. The sandstorm suddenly swept in; Starr’s face changed slightly, his fingers trembled, and he unleashed his divine arts to repel the flying sand.
"This sand isn’t normal—it’s spirit weapons, not ordinary sand! My flesh is that of a true god; mere sand holds no fear for me!"
He immediately saw through the trick. Confident in his ascension to godhood, he charged into the gorge, pursuing the Sword Pill where Quinn was hiding.
His strength was far greater than before, but even so, traversing this gorge was an arduous struggle—each step was a battle.
Yellow sand billowed, swirling through the air and attacking from all directions. Starr’s hands danced, unleashing divine arts to block the sandstorm. Even when some grains landed on his body, they only made his flesh ache faintly, unable to truly harm him.
Suddenly, he felt his feet growing heavier—some sand had gotten into his shoes. Starr stopped, lifted his foot to shake out the sand, but the grains kept multiplying, flowing up his body as if alive.
Cold sweat broke out on his forehead as he desperately tried to shake off the yellow sand.
Meanwhile, thunderous crashes echoed through the gorge as Quinn’s Sword Pill was battered like a meteor, ricocheting wildly. The shell grew more and more battered, on the verge of shattering at any moment.
Soon, Starr’s legs were trapped in the yellow sand, struggling to break free, while Quinn’s Sword Pill was crushed nearly flat—both were reaching their limits.
"That kid’s about to die. No way I’m dying with him—better get out first! Creation Human-King Art!"
Starr growled, and his body shrank rapidly, becoming as tiny as a speck of dust—only then did he escape being swallowed by the sand.
His Creation Art was inherited from Ben Coates, who also cultivated the Grand Fostering Heavenly Demon Sutra. But in mastery of the Creation Art, Starr far surpassed Ben—and even outclassed Quinn, the current Cult Master.
Just as he shrank his body, the grains of Star Sand suddenly swelled to immense size. Aiden Starr froze in shock as countless spherical boulders, each as massive as a planet, whirled through the air, hurtling straight for him!
Size is all relative—he had shrunk himself a thousandfold, but the Star Sand had expanded just as much. Now, each grain had become a gigantic planet.
It was as if he had plunged into a boundless star river—only this star river was pure chaos and terror!
“This is a god-slaying formation—meant to kill true gods! This is the Star-Sand Constellation Shift, an array that adapts to my every change!”
Aiden Starr grunted, caught squarely between two planet-sized Star Sand boulders—he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. The two boulders slammed into him, then split apart, only for two more to crash in, pinning him and smashing together with brutal force!
Boom! Boom! Boom—
The repeated impacts echoed through the gorge. Starr’s face turned pale—he couldn’t hold back anymore and vomited divine blood. These weren’t real stars, but spirit weapons each tens of acres across. Their force wasn’t as terrifying as a true planet, but their speed was monstrous. A barrage of collisions left Starr grievously wounded!
Gritting his teeth, Starr unleashed his divine arts, blasting away the massive Star Sand boulders. Suddenly, with a furious roar, he summoned a surge of water behind him—it transformed into a long river, lifting his body clear.
The serpent-like river danced, weaving at breakneck speed between the planet-sized Star Sand boulders, dodging each impact by a hair’s breadth.
Starr finally breathed a sigh of relief—when suddenly, the Star Sand boulders flared with dazzling light, erupting with starlight!
As for the bone chest and the little dragon, he must have stored them in his Glutton Dragon Pouch.
Now, nearly all the star sand had turned into Evil Eyes, floating throughout the gorge, surrounding the two with starlight sword-qi.
Starr dodged the starlight sword-qi as best he could, thinking, "At least I'm not dying alone with this kid... Wait, I just became a true god—dying with this kid is a huge loss!"
On the other side, Quinn suddenly froze, staring blankly at a Star Sand Evil Eye, seemingly resigned to his fate.
Starr, with his powerful cultivation and tough body, could still hold out, and if he could decipher the Star Sand Killing Array's numerology, he might still escape.
At that moment, he saw Quinn's body suddenly return to normal; with a raised hand, he formed a seal, and behind him unfolded a vast Da Luo Heaven star array, colliding with the starlight sword-qi.
A strange phenomenon occurred—the Da Luo Heaven stars were instantly lit up by the starlight sword-qi, becoming brilliantly bright, and with a hum, a massive beam shot out, shattering a Star Sand Evil Eye!
Starr was stunned. He recognized Quinn's move—the same Grand Firmament Star-Palm Art that Tyson Li had once used, called Da Luo Heaven Star Palm!
In the Heavenly Saint Academy battle, Tyson Li used this technique against Starr, but was still killed by him.
It’s undeniable this is an extremely powerful divine art, but Tyson’s cultivation was lacking and far inferior to Starr.