Chapter 20

""Come, let's make an exchange?""

""An exchange about memories.""

Countless brilliant star rivers, like a delicate blue gauze, gently rotate within the deep Milky Way. Starlight twinkles within, the splendid silver light and the shattered stardust complement each other, dreamy and mysterious.

""I dreamed of a ray of light, a crystal cup." A gentle and alluring female voice provided the narration, "That crystal light spoke to me……""

""Please listen, a fable about the starry sky.""

Could it be another trick of the Memory Star God?

Fu Lilian frowned slightly, and after seeing the image on the light screen clearly, she quickly denied her guess in her heart.

In the light screen appeared a circle of deep blue cards, a hand gently stroking the backs of the cards. She recalled everyone who had appeared on the light screen so far; none of them had ever worn such a such an outfit.

""Lady Fu Lilian, could it be a person of the Memory Star God?" Filien put forward her opinion.

Since the antimatter legion and the doomsday beast belong to Destruction, Filien inwardly came up with a bold guess: perhaps the Star God, like human lords and kings, also has its own forces and territory.

""Not sure, let's first see what she wants to say.""

——

""Nameless, fate-less ones, you come from the edge of the wasteland, clad in the radiance of the stars. Go, simply advance with the solar wind, and you will eventually return to my embrace; you need only head toward that light.""

Destruction!

Before the words fell, the image on the light screen suddenly dimmed; this darkness almost blocked out the sunlight, letting the whole world return to night, but the next second light burst forth, yet what illuminated the mountains and rivers was no longer sunlight, but…… the countless, flowing golden blood on Na Nuke's body!

Xiu Taerk felt his heart stop beating.

""Don't be nervous, Xiu Taerk, you don't have to keep staring at the eyes of the Destruction Star God." Fu Lilian's calm voice sounded in his ear.

Unlike the Star Child's appearance in memory last time, this time Na Nuke's form has become more complete.

Behind his shattered body raged blazing flames; countless rays turned into golden dust flowing from his hands, molten lava covered his dark body, the only thing unchanged was his pair of golden pupils!

It seemed as if, through the light screen, those twin pupils sought to perceive everyone who comprehends all heavens and myriad worlds.

Xiu Taerk was fortunate that there was still a chair supporting his buttocks; otherwise he would surely have gone limp like overcooked noodles, unable to stand.

""Towers topple, people flee, for the sun is about to set, encountering vicious destruction.""

""The image dimmed again, but suddenly a beam of light, like a meteor on the horizon, illuminated all things——"

Hunt!

Again the daylight suddenly darkened, again a meteor shower of arrows. Seeing this strange celestial phenomenon, the Hall of Souls' guardian merely slowed his steps, when he was blocked in his path by a blue-robed man before him.

The guardian had long been terrified out of his wits; only when he looked up at the Star God appearing on the light screen did the corners of his blood-stained mouth twitch into a vicious grin: 'Heh heh heh…… There are always people beyond people, heavens beyond heavens, Xiao Yan, you are domineering today, but someday a stronger one will come to take you!'

The blue-robed man flicked his finger, and a spark of flame ignited from under the guardian's feet out of thin air; in the blink of an eye it burned him to ashes.

""That saves us the trouble.""

Having said that, he raised his head to look at the light screen, flipped his hand and extinguished the spark that had risen from his fingertip.

Since the light screen recently appeared out of nowhere, a rumor has spread on the Dou Qi Continent: that the world within the light screen is a heaven beyond heaven, a marvel that even a Dou Emperor expert cannot touch.

Even since the appearance of the Destruction Star God, many sects in various places have begun to venerate the Destruction Star God as their ancestor, even openly paying homage, causing an uproar for a time.

But these people…… these beasts dare, in the name of Destruction, to burn, kill, and plunder everywhere, letting their sect disciples wreak havoc in a region…… these people all deserve to die.

But the Star God now in the light screen is completely different from Na Nuke.

It is a half‑human, half‑horse monster, wielding a huge bow, the bowstring drawn like a full moon; countless arrows glitter like meteors, streaking across the sky, driving the sudden, nearby sharp whistles from the horizon, dense and sharp.

Even though separated by different planes, Xiao Yan could feel that those arrows were capable of shooting down countless stars.

""There are always people beyond people, heavens beyond heavens……" Xiao Yan found it interesting to repeatedly recall the dying words of the Hall of Souls' guardian.

Could the Star God in charge of the Hunt be that 'heaven' he spoke of?

""You must follow the tracks, pay homage to the direction of the storm——"

Knowledge!

Countless geniuses appearing at the Black Tower Space Station slowly emerged in the dark curtain, but as the figures of the geniuses gradually faded, a dark shadow suddenly appeared behind them; its outline was indistinct, only the red light in its eyes was clear.

""Celestial bodies keep secrets, calculations link the roots of all things. But it falls silent, as if it were the mist at the center of the universe; listen to silence, and you will know where the stars rest.""

""Come on, Wei Ketuo! Wake up quickly!""

The manifestation of the Vast-Knowledge Venerable has appeared!

Jie Si slapped his face with cold water; the icy sensation confirmed he wasn't dreaming, and he began to vigorously shake Wei Ketuo, who had been pulling an all‑night experiment the previous day. Wei Ketuo rubbed his tired eyes, yet in an instant he was completely awakened by the shock of the Vast-Knowledge Venerable's true form.

Mysterious, towering, icy…… these are the words Jie Si could associate with in an instant.

The light in its eyes was like the dark, deep lake bottom that makes one breathless; the depth of knowledge could drown every seeker of truth…… In a flash, Jie Si seemed to have an epiphany, the fervor in his eyes instantly dying down by half.

As for Wei Ketuo, he admiringly gazed upon the icy deity on the light screen, his eyes moreover seeming to take on a certain resolve.

""In an instant the image on the light screen changed again—this time it is——"

Abundance!

""Strike the ground with the traveler's staff, they say, once, twice. Tiny sprouts will grow to the heavens, sweet dew will fall from the branches, to dispel your ailments and poisons.""

Teyvat Continent, the Academy.

Sai Nuo momentarily forgot the back of the ultra‑rare card in his hand from Seven Holy Summons, and was drawn to the wondrous scene in the light screen.

This was the first time he felt this way——his heart pounded like a drum, yet his thoughts were as calm as an early spring lake.

In gazing upon that slender, weak‑looking yet alluring deity that bore a strange aura, a gentle breath seemed to seep in from his limbs and bones, soothing and nourishing the turmoil within him.

But when he came to his senses and tried to feel it carefully, that breath suddenly vanished, as if it had never existed.

Vibrant life force seemed about to burst through the light screen; everything seemed to tell Sai Nuo that this was a benevolent god, yet the extension of its six arms revealed an aberration utterly unlike divinity.

Perfectly harmonized yet contradictory everywhere——this was Sai Nuo's first thought upon seeing Abundance.