The silvery-white gleam had just emerged from the crack.
Several nearby presences moved at the same time.
But only two were the fastest.
Gu Chenzhou.
Lin Yi.
One figure from the left, the other from the right, both darted toward the grayish-white star body that was splitting apart.
Several Grotto-Heaven Realm cultivators farther away had only taken one step before slowing visibly upon recognizing Gu Chenzhou.
Resources were valuable.
So were lives.
The star body trembled again.
The crack was forced fully open.
Large patches of silvery-white crystals lay embedded between shattered rock layers, dense energy spilling outward.
Lin Yi had already arrived.
He reached for the nearest piece of Star Marrow.
Sword light cut across before him.
It did not slash at his hand.
It severed the path he would have taken forward.
Exactly like last time.
It was so fast that it barely left anyone time to react.
Yet Lin Yi did not retreat.
The Cangjin Saber left its sheath.
Clang—!
Saber and sword collided head-on for the first time.
A piercing metallic ring burst outward.
Lin Yi's wrist sank slightly.
The rock beneath his feet cracked backward.
But he was not sent flying.
Gu Chenzhou paused as well.
For the first time, his gaze truly settled on Lin Yi.
"Immortal Realm Third Layer."
Lin Yi's saber blade still pressed against the sword.
"You can tell."
Gu Chenzhou said nothing.
His sword suddenly tilted.
The force from their frontal clash was instantly drawn to the side.
Then—
His second sword strike was already stabbing toward Lin Yi's chest.
What was more troublesome was its precision.
Lin Yi drew the Cangjin Saber back in a cutting sweep.
The Water-Fire Sixth Layer shifted at once.
Flame surged up, fierce and overbearing.
But in the instant before impact, it turned into