Battle the Evil Emperor Again

Three hundred years pass in the blink of an eye, amounting to only three hundred tides rising and falling on the Floating Island. At high tide, fragments of the Star River, carrying billions of years' worth of stardust, wash over the Star Orbit Patterns etched into the bluestone slabs. This stardust settles and blends in the water, condensing into a warm, jade-like hue within the grooves of the patterns. A fingertip can almost touch the rings of time Star Circulation. At low tide, dewdrops condense on the grass, each drop a natural prism, refracting the trajectory of the Ziwei Emperor Star's three celestial cycles into a rainbow of light, winding around the grass... The leaves are like lines of poetry written by heaven and earth. But for the vast universe, these three hundred years are enough for dormant Star Core to accumulate the power to ignite a wildfire in the folds of Dark Matter —those Star Core that were once thought to be extinguished forever are now quietly fusion under the pull of gravity, and the faint light flickering at the core is more tenacious than Supernova Explosion; it is also enough for the dead Star Sea to give birth to a sky-devouring force in the Rift of spacetime, and for Star Remains and Dark Energy to collide in Primordial Chaos, brewing a storm that can devour millions of light-years of light.

On this day, a tremor suddenly resounded from the depths of the universe. It was neither the violent roar of Supernova Explosion nor the deep rumble of Black Hole devouring matter, but rather a soft sound as some kind of order was redefined—like the first crisp sound of ice breaking on a lake in early spring, carrying the clear, melodious sound of ice shards colliding; like the soft sound of a newborn's eyelashes brushing against their cheek as they open their eyes for the first time, enveloped in the warmth of newly awakened life. The Tai Chi Star Chart on the Floating Island suddenly lit up, the Star Orbit Patterns on the bluestone slabs flowing like living silver snakes, scale-like light wandering between the lines, and wherever it passed, the stone slabs shimmered. With a jade-like luster, the Totems of the Twenty-Eight Mansions emerged in the hazy light, completely different from those of three hundred years ago: the Jiao Mu Jiao's horns now had a sprout-like pattern, with a drop of dew clinging to the tip of the sprout, reflecting the shape of a newborn Star Core; the Xin Yue Hu's tail was entwined with wisps of Ice Crystals, within which a wisp of Ice Crystals was frozen, the Incarnation the Vermilion Bird's lingering warmth; vines sprouted from the claws of the Kui Mu Lang, with tiny white flowers blooming on the vines, the Star Sand imprinted with the claw marks of the White Tiger; Star Sand was embedded in the cracks of the Black Tortoise Tortoise's shell, flowing within the cracks, resonating with the Spirit Spring of the Floating Island's ley lines, emitting a tinkling sound.

On the stone platform where Ren Xiaoyao sat cross-legged, the cinnabar mark between his brows had transformed into a Miniature Star Disk the size of a fingernail. The astrolabe was woven from seventy-two fine Star Orbit, with a rotating Yin-Yang Fish at its center. In the fish's eye was a star the size of a grain of rice, one glowing with the golden light of the Ziwei Emperor Star, and the other condensing the black color of the Black Tortoise shell. As the astrolabe rotated, the Zhou Tian Star Dou deep within his sea of consciousness perfectly overlapped with the Star Orbit of the real universe—the extragalactic galaxy a billion light-years away, being pulled by Dark Energy, appeared to him like a rolling Glazed Ice bead in his palm. Every sway of the galaxy's spiral arms and every twinkle of the stars was clearly discernible; even the Quasar Jet in the far distance transformed into a thin band of light in his sea of consciousness, carrying the burning sensation of Gamma Rays.

He slowly opened his eyes, the scene unfolding layer by layer: first, the morning mist of the Floating Island, the outline of the Star Tree faintly visible within, dewdrops on the leaves reflecting the morning light; then, the mist spread over the nearby Star Tree trees, the Star Patterns on the bark lighting up the instant his gaze fell upon them, revealing the traces of new branches grown over three hundred years; finally, his gaze extended infinitely, filled with the birth and death of billions of stars—stars blooming in their final splendor amidst gravitational collapse, Planets giving birth to new landscapes under meteorite impacts, Nebula condensing into new Star Core under the pull of Dark Matter. After three hundred years of meditation, he was no longer fixated on the sheer Star Power. That kind of power, like a surging torrent, could indeed sweep away obstacles... Yet it can also overflow the field ridges, destroying the budding new shoots. Now he has grasped the true meaning of "evolution": the vitality of the Azure Dragon is not only the Inhale and Exhale of the Eastern Yi Wood, but also the seed buried in the Annihilation of a collapsing star. Such a seed takes root in the darkest place with death as its soil; the killing power of the White Tiger is not only the purification of the Western Geng Metal, but also the orbital space cleared for new stars. After the sharpness, new Star Orbit will surely unfold; the flames of the Vermilion Bird can burn away decay and also condense Ice Crystals to protect the fire. Fire and ice are of the same origin, both being the flow of energy; the rock of the Black Tortoise can suppress the earth's veins and also crack open to allow Spirit Spring to gush forth. Perseverance and adaptability are two sides of the same coin.

At that moment, he raised his hand, his fingertips tracing the void, the movement as gentle as caressing stars. At the edge of Orion Arm, three dark stars, previously hidden in dust clouds, suddenly lit up, slowly rotating along a new trajectory. These were the "Derivation Star Track" he had carved at the edge of the universe using his own divine soul as a guide—not belonging to the traditional Twenty-Eight Mansions, yet interdependent with the Four Symbols: the first dark star revolved around the Azure Dragon's star region, its surface covered by a blue halo, from which tiny specks of light constantly emerged, stardust brimming with life force; the second dark star clung to the White Tiger's... The trajectory wandered, enveloped in a silvery-white aura. Wherever the aura passed, even Dark Matter became pure, proof that it had accumulated enough Purifying Power. The third dark star floated at the boundary between the Vermilion Bird and Black Tortoise, half wrapped in crimson Red Flame and half condensed in dark water vapor. The flames did not extinguish when they encountered water vapor, and the water vapor did not melt when it touched the flames, possessing the characteristics of both incineration and protection. The three Star Orbit intertwined to form a net, like a hidden fence, silently monitoring the movements of the Deadly Star Sea. Any abnormal fluctuation would turn into Star Patterns and appear on Ren Xiaoyao's star chart in his sea of consciousness.

"Three hundred years," he murmured, his voice traveling along the Star Orbit beneath his feet into the depths of space. The voice wasn't loud, yet it carried the unhurried rhythm of the Star Circulation. As it passed through the Asteroid Belt, the Planets ' rotations subtly adjusted to the rhythm of the sound; as it crossed Nebula, the gaseous currents of the Nebula rippled with sound waves. "Your vow should be fulfilled."

Before the words were even finished, the Deadly Star Sea at the edge of the universe suddenly boiled over. That region, once a graveyard for stars, now surged with gray-black waves, tens of thousands of light-years high, crashing against the light field at the edge of the Star Sea with a muffled roar. Countless Star Remains floated in the waves: some were the remnants of cooled White Dwarf Star, their surfaces covered with billions of years of frost, beneath which lay crystalline Star Core, gleaming with a desperate, chilling light; others were fragments of Planets torn apart by Black Hole, their edges still bearing remnants of molten magma. Solid folds, embedded with carbonized traces of life—the last imprints of a civilization on some Planets; some are comet nuclei, long since stripped of their Ice Crystals, leaving only charred black rock, stardust trapped in their crevices, each grain a testament to the agony of being swallowed. Every fragment is permeated with the Annihilation Aura, yet trembles slightly under the pull of some force, as if countless withered bones are trying to be pieced back together, the gray-black aura seeping from between the bones a deepest resentment towards the living.

In the center of the Star Sea, a purplish-black figure slowly materialized. The Tianyan Evil Emperor was no longer the pathetic figure he was three hundred years ago; the Annihilation Aura surrounding him condensed into a set of profound armor. The armor plates were forged from the remnants of Neutron Star, their blackness gleaming with a cold metallic light, their density extremely high—a single plate the size of a fingernail weighed over ten thousand tons. Embedded in the plates were countless dim Star Core, the Star Core he had devoured over the past three hundred years—some were once Blue Supergiant Star, their cores still bearing the high pressure of their pre-explosion period; others were once Yellow Dwarf Star had given birth to life, their cores containing the orbital trajectories of Planets. Now, these Star Core Star Core served as decorations on the armor. As they rotated, they absorbed the surrounding light and heat, causing gray-black ripples to spread across the space within a hundred meters, even distorting light into spirals.

A vertical crack appeared between his brows, three inches long and as wide as a fingertip. Within the crack lay no pupil, only pure darkness. That darkness was so profound it could devour thought, even distorting the arrow of time itself—stardust thrown into the darkness would fly out from the other side moments later, as if time had reversed. It was proof that he had merged his soul with the Deadly Star Sea —at this moment, he was the Star Sea, and the Star Sea was him. When he raised his hand, billions of Star Remains, as if summoned, formed ferocious beastly shadows in the waves; when he lowered his hand, even the river of light traversing galaxies could be severed, light particles turning into grayish-black powder in his palm.

"Ren Xiaoyao, you are still here after all." The Evil Emperor's voice was like Star Remains scraping against the edge of Black Hole, cold and hard like metal, mixed with the feel of stardust being crushed. Every word was like a dull knife scraping against rock. "Look at this Star Sea! I used 36,000 Star Core as my foundation, each one etched with the howls of being devoured—listen, the core of that Blue Supergiant Star is still trembling, the core of that Yellow Dwarf Star is still weeping; I used the despair of billions of stars as my guide, each wisp is imbued with hatred for light, their Curse after being stripped of their radiance! I forged the ' Wheel of Annihilation '!"

He raised his hand, and the deathly still waves behind him suddenly contracted, transforming into a colossal gray-black wheel with a diameter of ten thousand fathoms. The wheel was etched with distorted Star Orbit, which should have moved in Star Orbit but were now twisted into knots, emanating a gray-black aura—fragments of distorted time. The spokes were formed of Dark Matter, invisible and intangible, yet capable of Sky-Rending Strike; as the spokes rotated, the surrounding starry sky rippled like water. The rim was embedded with countless tiny Black Hole, Black Hole gravitational fields overlapping to form a vast, all-consuming net. With each rotation, a Nebula disintegrated under its gravity, turning to dust and merging into the wheel, making its aura even more oppressive. "This wheel can crush your Derivation Star Track, devour your Ziwei Emperor Star, and even return the Zhou Tian Star Dou to Primordial Chaos! The order you protected three hundred years ago, I will bury it with my own hands today!"

Ren Xiaoyao stood on the edge of the Floating Island, the Star Formation beneath his feet automatically unfolding. This time, the array's core was no longer the Tai Chi Star Chart, but himself—his heartbeat became the drumbeat of the core, each beat causing the Star Formation's light to flicker, perfectly synchronized with the pulse of the Zhou Tian Star Dou; his breath became the flow of Star Orbit, inhaling as the light within the Star Orbit Patterns contracted inward, like the collapse of the universe; exhaling as the light expanded outward, like the explosion of stars. The phantoms of the Four Symbols rose from behind him, more condensed than three hundred years ago, almost solidifying: emerald green buds sprouted on the scales of the Azure Dragon, their roots spreading along the patterns of the scales, each scale opening and closing... Newborn stardust falls everywhere, transforming into tiny blades of grass upon landing; the Vermilion Bird's flames are encased in translucent Ice Crystals, burning gently without scorching, instead carrying the warmth of melting spring snow, the Ice Crystals slowly melting in the flames, turning into dew that nourishes the Star Core; the White Tiger's sharp blade is entwined with green vines, the vines' suckers clinging tightly to the blade, its edge sharp yet restrained by the vines, the blade's light purifying decay without harming life; the Black Tortoise's shell is cracked with fine Star Patterns, within which flows the earth's Spirit Spring, the water tinkling and gathering into small streams on the shell, the Star Patterns shimmering with a soft luster wherever the streams flow.

The Four Symbols are no longer isolated forces, but have evolved into a cycle of Mutual Generation and Restraint: the Azure Dragon's vitality flows along the vines, nourishing the White Tiger's sharp edge, giving the cold metal the resilience of vegetation, and making its strikes more flexible and controlled; the White Tiger's Purifying Power merges into the Spirit Spring, filtering out impurities from the water, making the Black Tortoise's rock even purer, and its tortoise shell even more lustrous; the Black Tortoise's water vapor evaporates into clouds and mist, which envelop the Vermilion Bird's flames, preventing the blazing flames from spreading, and instead transforming them into a warm halo, nourishing the surrounding stardust; the Vermilion Bird's residual warmth spreads along the water vapor, gently melting the thin frost on the Azure Dragon's scales, making the Azure Dragon's Inhale and Exhale more gentle, and bringing the vitality of winter turning to spring with each breath.

"Your Annihilation was ultimately taken from 'life'." Ren Xiaoyao's voice traveled through the Star Orbit Star Realms, like sunlight piercing through clouds, carrying the power to dispel gloom. "You forged Star Core into wheels, yet you didn't know that each Star Core contained a memory of light—the core of that Yellow Dwarf Star still remembers that on the third Planets it conceived, a butterfly once flapped its wings, the patterns of which perfectly matched its Star Orbit; you used wailing as a catalyst, yet you didn't know that wailing contained a yearning for order—the Blue Giant Star you tore apart, its final tremors weren't desperate roars, but rather a transmission of the final Star Map coordinates to its companions, hoping that one day it could be pieced back together."

With a flick of his finger, three dark stars on the Derivation Star Track suddenly burst forth with seven-colored light. The light surged forth like a tide, erecting a vast luminous curtain before the Deadly Star Sea. The edge of the curtain connected with the Zhou Tian Star Dou, drawing in Star Power. Countless fragmented images appeared on the curtain, each Memories of the Universe: the first layer of rock that solidified on the surface of a newly formed Star Core breaking through the dust, the rocks still bearing the marks of stardust collisions; a dying star sending its last ray of light to Planets, the light transforming into a flow of energy that allowed the flowers on the Planets to bloom for another spring, the petals imprinted with the star's Light Spots; a swallowed star still pulsating slightly in its deathly silence, its core counting the days to return, each pulsation resonating with a certain Star Orbit... These were the "Mark of Life" he had collected over three hundred years traversing the universe, now transformed into the most resilient defense, unyielding even to the slightest distortion of the Black Hole's gravity. The images on the curtain were slightly distorted by the gravitational pull, yet remained intact.

The Tianyan Evil Emperor sneered, his laughter like the colliding of Star Remains, causing cracks to appear on the surrounding Star Remains. He drove the Wheel of Annihilation into the light barrier. As the giant wheel spun, countless fragments of Star Remains fragments shot towards the light barrier like poisoned arrows—these fragments were all wrapped in Annihilation Aura, which would devour any life that touched them. But at the moment of contact with the light barrier, they were deflected by the Star Orbit behind the barrier, and the trajectories of the fragments faintly formed the pattern of the Twenty-Eight Mansions: the horns of the Jiao Mu Jiao blocked the sharpness of the fragments, guiding the Annihilation Aura into the Star Orbit; the tail of the Xin Yue Hu coiled around the fragments' attack, softening their trajectory; the fangs of the Kui Mu Lang shattered the ferocity of the fragments, revealing the original rocky texture of the Star Remains; the tortoise shell of the Black Tortoise blocked the final impact, converting the Kinetic Energy of the fragments into Star Power, which then pierced the Deadly Star Sea, stirring up countless ripples on the waves, from which new Star Sprouts emerged.

"Is this your progress in three hundred years?" the Evil Emperor roared, the darkness between his brows suddenly expanding like an inky crack, threatening to suck in the entire universe. The Annihilation Aura surging from the crack drained the surrounding starry sky of its color, turning even starlight into black and white silhouettes. "Behold true deathly stillness! It is Void that can erase even memories!"

A Black Hole split open at the center of the Wheel of Annihilation. The event horizon of the Black Hole glowed with a grayish-black light, a stark contrast to the surrounding starry sky. From the Black Hole surged Annihilation Aura ten thousand times denser than three hundred years ago. The aura was as viscous as solidified ink, and wherever it passed, even time seemed to freeze. A supernova in the midst of its explosion had its light frozen in the Annihilation Aura, like an oil painting stained by an overturned ink bottle, the edges of its brilliant light bands stained grayish-black. A Nebula that was giving birth to a star suddenly stopped flowing, becoming a grayish-black sculpture, the nascent Star Core within it losing its luster. Even light was distorted and extinguished within it, leaving behind streaks of darkness, like wounds that had been gouged out from the universe.

The light curtain trembled violently, and spiderweb-like cracks appeared on its surface, from which a grayish-black aura seeped out. The light of the Derivation Star Track began to dim, and the halos of the three dark stars shrank to the size of grains of rice. The patterns on the Star Orbit also became blurred, as if they would collapse at any moment.

Ren Xiaoyao took a deep breath, and the Zhou Tian Star Dou in his sea of consciousness synchronized perfectly with the actual Star Orbit. His soul seemed to transform into the nerve center of the universe, and every pulse could trigger a response from the stars—distant extragalactic galaxies supplied him with Dark Energy, nearby stars provided him with light and heat, and even the cores of Planets resonated with his heartbeat. He leaped up, transforming into a stream of light and merging into the Ziwei Emperor Star. The Emperor Star's light instantly surged ten thousand times, like a newborn sun, injecting its light into the illusory Four Symbols, revitalizing the originally slightly dim Four Symbols.

The Azure Dragon soared, its claws slicing through the Annihilation Aura, instantly sprouting azure vines from the claw marks. Tiny Flower Buds grew on the vines, stubbornly blooming amidst the gray-black waves, their Flower Buds imprinted with Star Orbit trails, carving a band of life in the desolation; the Vermilion Bird swooped down, its flames landing not to incinerate the Star Remains, but instead transforming into golden seeds. These seeds burrowed into the cracks of the Star Remains, nourished by the Annihilation Aura, taking root and sprouting branches radiating starlight, their leaves all growing towards the light; the White Tiger roared, its sharp blades... What was severed was not the Annihilation Aura, but the shackles binding the remnants of star souls. These remnants transformed into fireflies, hovering in the starry sky and emitting cries of liberation. The cries converged into Star Map, guiding the remnants of souls back to their origin. The Black Tortoise sank, its shell connecting with the Derivation Star Track, drawing the spiritual spring of the Floating Island's Spirit Spring lines towards the Star Sea. Where the spring water flowed, pale purple flowers bloomed on the Star Remains, their petals adorned with Star Sand, swaying gracefully against the deathly backdrop. Tiny Star Core condensed at the flower's core, emitting a faint fusion light.

"The Star Formation is not a prison, but a home." Ren Xiaoyao's voice came from the Ziwei Emperor Star, carrying the warmth of Star Core, piercing through the Annihilation Aura and reaching the depths of every stellar remnant soul. "Three hundred years ago, I upheld order, like guarding an unalterable blueprint; today, I will show you how life returns home from the dead—not through forced reversal, but by allowing every star to find its own trajectory, and every remnant soul to return to its rightful place."

The Tianyan Evil Emperor gazed at the flowers blooming amidst the deathly silence, feeling the faint light pulsating anew within the Star Remains, and for the first time, terror appeared in his eyes. That light was not the destruction and devouring he was familiar with, but a gentle yet resilient power, like a mother's hand softly caressing his twisted soul, reminding him of the warmth he felt as Planets orbiting a star before he fell into the deathly silence. He abruptly detonated the Wheel of Annihilation, attempting to destroy this Star Realms through mutual destruction—if he could not obtain the light, then he would let all the stars fall into darkness with him! The energy erupting from the giant wheel caused the surrounding starry sky to tremble violently; the Star Remains turned to dust under the Energy Impact, and even spacetime experienced a brief rupture.

"No need." Ren Xiaoyao's voice was calm as still water. The Four Symbols illusory images suddenly merged into one, transforming into a Tai Chi Symbol that covered the entire Star Realms. The Yin-Yang Fish Eyes in the diagram flickered with the light of birth and death. The left eye was the incandescent white of a star's birth, its light carrying the roar of hydrogen-helium fusion, capable of condensing even the thinnest Nebula into Star Core. The right eye was the dark purple of a star's Annihilation, its color concealing the cooling trajectory of White Dwarf Star, where even the pulses of Neutron Star transformed into gentle fluctuations. The two colors of light transformed into each other as the Yin-Yang Fish swirled. When the incandescent white gradually turned into dark purple, it was the composure of a star burning out its last bit of hydrogen; when the dark purple faded back to incandescent white, it was the joyous rebirth of Nebula after Supernova Explosion, endlessly regenerating, like the breath of the universe itself.

"Three hundred years ago you said you would grind them into stardust; three hundred years later, I'll show you how stardust can return to the stars."

The Tai Chi Symbol slowly rotated, its speed changing with the expansion of the universe, drawing in the detonating Annihilation Aura and fragments of Star Remains. Within the diagram, the gray-black Annihilation Aura gradually receded like snow meeting the spring sun, revealing the Star Core Fragments encased within—fragments still teeming with deathly energy, gnawing at the light within. He watched as the light of the Yellow Dwarf Star spread across his rocky surface, dyeing the red sand golden-red, and suddenly remembered his original self—when his core was still burning, and volcanoes spewed steam from the surface.