The Star-Patterned Jade Pendant at Xu Fangyuan's waist erupted with a blinding light, like a miniature star on the verge of exploding.
His pale face flushed the color of pig's liver, and the veins in his neck bulged like writhing earthworms, pulsing with his ragged breaths.
With a furious roar, the entire palace began to quake violently. Blue crystals flashed wildly within the spiral totem patterns on the jade floor tiles, as though answering their master's rage. "You dare!!!!!"
The roar carried the crushing pressure of the star domain laws. The tiles beneath Qian Fan's feet instantly fractured into spiderweb patterns, and the spreading cracks even crawled up the walls.
Xu Yuan'er, however, fluttered lightly into Qian Fan's arms like an agile butterfly.
Her skirt, embroidered with silver-thread starlight, billowed with the movement, and her soft pink hands clutched the hem of Qian Fan's clothes. She tilted her little face upward, a galaxy's radiance shimmering in her clear eyes, with tears of hurt still clinging to her long lashes. "Grandpa, I'm all grown up now. I'm not afraid of monsters at all."
There was stubbornness in her soft, sweet voice, and it touched a tender corner of Qian Fan's heart.
As it turned out, Xu Yuan'er had begged Qian Fan to take her to Star Treasure City to play, but Xu Fangyuan would never dare entrust his precious granddaughter to Qian Fan for an outing.
So he had ordered Qian Fan not to let Xu Yuan'er take even half a step outside the Star God Palace.
And that had led to the scene at the beginning.
Qian Fan drew a deep breath, and the Fallen Angel Martial Soul behind him unfurled with a thunderous rush.
The gust raised by its six dark-purple wings instantly overturned the gilded incense burner in the corner. Incense spilled across the floor, tracing an eerie totem.
Seven Soul Rings slowly rose like a blood-red river of stars. Black and red light intertwined, casting uncanny patterns of light and shadow throughout the hall.
Just as Xu Fangyuan scrutinized the young man with a gaze like a blazing torch, Xu Yuan'er suddenly hopped lightly out of Qian Fan's arms.
"Hmph! This princess is a Soul Ancestor too!" Amid the girl's silvery laughter, two celestial bodies, one black and one white, slowly revolved in her palm.
The Star of Night emitted a deep, spectral glow. Wherever it passed, ice crystals condensed in the air, tracing a mysterious star map on the floor;
The Star of Day shone with sacred golden radiance, dispelling every surrounding shadow and illuminating the entire palace. Even more astonishing were the Soul Rings encircling her feet-two Ten-Thousand-Year Black Rings stood prominently among them. Their appearance on a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor was nothing short of heaven-defying.
Qian Fan stumbled half a step backward, knocking over the jade table behind him in his panic.
The Star Map Jade Slips arranged on it scattered across the floor with a clatter, striking the tiles with crisp cracks.
"This... how is this possible..." Xu Fangyuan's robes billowed violently, as though a storm were raging beneath them.
His thoughts instantly returned to five years earlier-when Xu Yuan'er first used the Star of Night's support skill, Xu Weiran had immediately gone berserk, tearing apart half the palace. The energy he released had nearly ripped open the star domain barrier.
Now, watching his granddaughter affectionately take Qian Fan's hand, the old man dug his nails deep into his palms, silently drawing blood inside his sleeves.
"Big brother, let's go!" Xu Yuan'er tugged Qian Fan along with her warm little hand, passing through the slowly opening golden doors. Amid the dazzling golden light, Qian Fan hazily glimpsed countless floating islands drifting through the starry sky. Every island was studded with brilliant gems, which gleamed with strange light in the dark universe.
Enormous mechanical warships floated between the islands. The runes engraved on their hulls were ten thousand times more complex than those on the Douluo Continent's Soul Tools, and they faintly radiated a pressure that made his heart tremble.
When night fell, Qian Fan carried the sleeping Xu Yuan'er toward the main hall. The girl's breath brushed softly against his neck, carrying a sweet scent.
The delicate body in his arms was unbelievably light, yet it reminded him of those two terrifying Martial Souls from earlier that day. The instant he pushed open the hall doors, an icy Star Chain suddenly coiled around his ankle, and a powerful tug dragged him before Xu Fangyuan.
"After you carry Yuan'er into the hall, come see me." Xu Fangyuan's voice seemed to come from the depths of the star domain, carrying a chill that made the heart tremble.
The enormous star map before him was performing its calculations in real time. Countless points of light flickered across it, as though foretelling an unknown fate.
As Qian Fan fought off his drowsiness and approached the old man one laborious step at a time, the old man suddenly shot out a hand like lightning and seized his collar. Caught completely off guard, Qian Fan was abruptly kicked off the ground.
To his horror, he discovered a mighty force surging beneath the old man's star-patterned robes. Like raging waves, it lifted his entire body into the air. Qian Fan kicked his legs desperately, trying to break free of the old man's grip, but every struggle was futile.
Just as despair gripped Qian Fan, the Super Divine Artifact at his waist, Fate's Name-Destroying Blade, suddenly gave a low hum. A layer of ghostly blue light spread over the blade, as though responding to his plight. Yet before Qian Fan could bring out the divine artifact, the old man's other hand moved like a phantom, pressing against the space between his brows with the speed of thunder striking before one could cover one's ears.
In an instant, an utterly frigid energy flowed along the old man's fingers like an icy current, invading Qian Fan's sea of consciousness like a venomous snake. It was so cold that it seemed intent on freezing his very soul. Under its assault, Qian Fan felt his consciousness blur, as though it might dissipate at any moment.
The old man's laughter rang out, mingled with the thunder of the star domain laws, making Qian Fan's eardrums ache. His voice echoed beside Qian Fan's ears. "Welcome to the Yasentaya Chasm."
Fear welled up in Qian Fan's heart. He had no idea what sort of place the Yasentaya Chasm was, but from the old man's words, he could tell it was certainly nowhere good.
The old man kept laughing, seemingly quite pleased with Qian Fan's fear. Then he added, "A super-god-level prisoner is held there. May you still emerge alive five years from now!"
Before his words had faded, the space beneath Qian Fan's feet suddenly erupted with an enormous crash, as though the entire world had collapsed in that instant. Qian Fan felt his body lose all weight as he plunged straight into an endless, pitch-black abyss.
As he fell, he heard the wind howling around him. It sounded like the roars of evil spirits, making his hair stand on end. At the same time, he felt the surrounding space constantly twisting and warping, as though it would tear his body to shreds.
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