Chapter 89: The Mysterious Divine Statue

Two beams of starlight shot skyward from the shore; in the instant they surged toward Ning Yuchan, Xu Jin’s ears were filled with a sudden howling wind, and in an instant he was soaring through clouds and mist.

The next moment, Xu Jin realized he had been thrown like a cannonball by Ning Yuchan.

Xu Jin could no longer describe how he felt.

All he could say was: truly reckless, truly thrilling!

On the shore, the instant Ning Yuchan hurled Xu Jin away, starlight gushed from her iron cane, instantly transforming into a starlight iron hammer; starlight erupted beneath her feet, and she spun forward like a whirlwind toward the two approaching figures.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Heavy explosions shattered the sky, and starlight burst into a dazzling cloud.

In the next instant, the two starlight figures charging toward Ning Yuchan were blasted backward; Ning Yuchan, however, chased after them like a meteor racing after the moon.

She caught up with one before he hit the ground, swung her hammer in pursuit, and blasted him a hundred meters away.

Thud!

Ning Yuchan landed heavily.

Meanwhile, Xu Jin, still soaring through clouds and mist, had just touched down—right beside Ning Yuchan, not far away.

Xu Jin looked at himself, then at Ning Yuchan standing beside him, utterly stunned.

Is this reckless?

This isn’t reckless!

This is fucking awesome!

Confident and awesome!

“Who dares intrude on our island!” the man who had taken an extra hammer blow hadn’t risen yet, but the other retreating Star-Condensing cultivator now shouted—likely out of fear.

At the same time, Xu Jin had already taken in the surrounding situation.

On the shore, twenty-two people waited for them.

Under Mingji Star Wen ’s sensing, there were two Star-Condensing cultivators, four Star-Refining cultivators, four Star-Casting cultivators, and the rest were all Meal-Cloud Seventh Layer.

“We’ve already broken in—why ask?”

“What are you waiting for? Kill them!”

Ning Yuchan’s first remark was directed at the retreating Star-Condensing cultivator; her second was for Xu Jin.

Before her words had even finished, she charged forward again.

But her target was two of the Star-Refining cultivators.

Instantly, the two Star-Refining cultivators panicked—they had seen Ning Yuchan’s power in that aerial strike.

In a single exchange, two of the Star-God Sect’s Guardian Officers had been repelled, one injured—how formidable this crippled woman must be.

Instantly, they panicked!

“Guardians, save—”

Before the word “life” could be shouted, the late-stage Star-Refining cultivator was struck down by Ning Yuchan’s lightning-fast hammer blow, his body shattered.

Behind them, the Star-Condensing Guardian Officer whom Ning Yuchan had blasted a hundred meters away had just managed to rise; as soon as he stood, he unhesitatingly launched a flare signal—calling for reinforcements.

Their intelligence had stated one Star-Condensing and one Meal-Cloud cultivator.

So they deployed an overpowered formation: two high-grade Star-Condensing, four third-grade Star-Refining, two of whom were late-stage, enough to overwhelm a Star-Condensing intruder.

But who could have imagined this female intruder was both insane and ferocious!

So they called for reinforcements immediately.

Seeing his late-stage Star-Refining subordinate slain, the other Star-Condensing Guardian Officer panicked.

He exploded forward, charging toward Ning Yuchan—but Ning Yuchan moved faster; she swung her starlight hammer, launching two spinning blades that whirled at high speed toward the Guardian Officer.

Simultaneously, Ning Yuchan lunged at the other late-stage Star-Refining cultivator.

The late-stage Star-Refining cultivator was terrified beyond words and turned to flee.

Who wouldn’t fear such a monster?

He was a late-stage Star-Refining cultivator—he could hold his own against a normal Star-Condensing, even if he couldn’t win, he could last half a minute or more.

But just now, his peer with equal cultivation had been shattered.

One hammer—shattered!

Could this woman be any more terrifying?

But he reacted quickly; Ning Yuchan’s speed was faster still. Though one leg was crippled, her other leg unleashed starlight in rapid, precise bursts, closing the distance instantly, and swung her hammer.

Again, shattered!

Two hammers, two late-stage Star-Refining cultivators.

Meanwhile, the Star-Condensing Guardian Officer, momentarily blocked by the spinning blades, shattered them and arrived, charging toward Ning Yuchan; the wounded Star-Condensing Guardian Officer also arrived.

Instantly, the three were locked in fierce combat.

At the same moment, Xu Jin’s ears rang with Ning Yuchan’s telepathic voice.

“Two more Star-Refining cultivators left—yours. Use your Star Wen to blast them!”

Ning Yuchan knew Xu Jin had the two spinning-blade Star Wen she had given him.

Though Ning Yuchan had charged recklessly from the moment combat began, everything was precisely calculated.

Including the opportunity to eliminate the two late-stage Star-Refining cultivators—entirely within her plan.

The remaining two Star-Refining cultivators—one early-stage, one mid-stage—would be no problem if he used the Star Wen properly.

As for the ten Meal-Cloud and six Star-Casting cultivators left—could Xu Jin handle them?

Even if he couldn’t, holding them off for a while should be fine.

After all, this was Xu Jin, who had slain a third-grade lower-star beast, the Green Snake, by his own strength.

As his teacher, Ning Yuchan understood Xu Jin completely.

If he could just hold on for a while, there would be an opening.

These two Star-Condensing cultivators couldn’t hold her long.

Besides, her recklessness had its foundation.

The instant Ning Yuchan’s voice reached his ears, Xu Jin had already begun killing.

Beneath the altar table, the three star cores had been replaced with combat cores: the third-grade upper-tier Stormbear Star Core, the third-grade upper-tier Swiftwind Leopard Star Core, and the fourth-grade lower-tier Thunder Ray Star Core.

Xu Jin activated first the Protection Lightning Star Wen provided by the third-grade upper-tier Swiftwind Leopard Star Core.

The moment he activated it, Xu Jin shot forward like lightning.

A single slash of his blade—and a massive head flew skyward.

First kill.

Another flash—and the second Meal-Cloud Seventh Layer’s head soared into the air.

Instantly, second kill.

Only now did the Meal-Cloud Seventh Layer and Star-Casting cultists react.

Their gazes toward Xu Jin were already filled with terror.

They had been terrified by the crippled woman—but thankfully, they hadn’t been forced to face her. Yet now they realized the Meal-Cloud Fifth Layer boy they had to face was even more terrifying.

They were all ordinary cultivators with no hope of advancement, driven to desperation before joining the Star-Worshiping Sect and gaining cultivation—how could they have ever seen such a prodigy at Meal-Cloud Fifth Layer?

But they didn’t know that today’s Xu Jin, even among Dao Academy geniuses, was extraordinarily prodigious.

A genius who had perfected the Flying Star Step at Meal-Cloud stage was already exceedingly rare.

And he had an additional twenty percent speed boost from the Wind-Chasing Boots.

Just with that, Xu Jin’s speed already surpassed most Star-Casting cultivators—and even outpaced some early-stage Star-Refining cultivators.

But now, Xu Jin was further enhanced by the Lightning Star Wen .

Under the explosive surge of the Lightning Star Wen ’s star force, his speed doubled.

They blinked—and Xu Jin had already slashed past them.

In that brief moment, the third Meal-Cloud cultivator had already been felled by Xu Jin.

This one, now alert, defended with all his strength—and barely avoided being decapitated.

But Xu Jin’s blade still cleaved him to the ground; as he fell, Xu Jin lightly tapped the ground with his toe, and instantly, starlight erupted upward from the earth.

Twin starlight spikes pierced twice—killing instantly.

Third kill.

Three consecutive kills—instantly, many cultists’ morale shattered.

They were not a disciplined army.

Even disciplined armies often broke when casualties exceeded thirty percent.

How much more so these men?

Several Meal-Cloud cultivators instinctively tried to flee.

At that moment, the two Star-Refining cultivators Ning Yuchan hadn’t yet killed also rushed over.

“What’s the panic? Just one Meal-Cloud Fifth Layer—surround and kill him!”

“Anyone who retreats half a step will be punished by Sect Law!”

The two Star-Refining cultivators shouted—one after the other—and instantly silenced the fleeing Meal-Cloud cultists.

The terror of Sect Law was deeply felt by them, especially the punishment for deserters.

Instantly, the remaining fifteen men surged toward Xu Jin, surrounding him.

Xu Jin knew clearly—if he was surrounded, he would die without doubt.

Several Meal-Cloud and Star-Casting cultists charged directly behind the Star-Refining cultist.

Each of them was positioned very close to the others.

Xu Jin glanced over and smiled—it was a perfect opportunity.

In the next instant, starlight exploded beneath Xu Jin’s feet.

In a flash, he shot forward and appeared three meters before the Star Refining cultivator.

The Star Refining cultivator was startled, but no matter what, his opponent was merely a Meal-Cloud Fifth Layer.

He was Star Refining Fifth Layer—what did he have to fear?

The moment he saw Xu Jin lunging toward him, the Star Refining cultivator roared and hurled a spherical ball of starlight directly at Xu Jin, while his longsword spat out two meters of starlight, slashing straight at Xu Jin.

Xu Jin ignored it entirely and flicked his wrist, launching a spinning-blade rune.

This thing was precious, sure, but no matter how precious, it couldn’t outweigh his own life.

In an instant, a terrifying blade wheel over four meters wide suddenly appeared, spinning wildly as it slashed forward.

The Star Refining Fifth Layer cultivator’s pupils shrank—he was terrified beyond measure.

In the next instant, he was rolled over by the blade wheel’s light, his star weapon shredded to pieces!

Not just him—the three Star Forging cultivators beside and behind him, and the five Meal-Cloud cultivators—all were swept through by the terrifying blade wheel.

Limbs and shredded flesh flew everywhere.

The terrifying blade wheel surged forward more than twenty meters before finally dissipating.

Behind it lay a ground littered with shredded flesh.

One Star Refining Fifth Layer, three Star Forging cultivators, five Meal-Cloud cultivators—all clustered too closely—were sliced apart by that single blade wheel.

The Star Refining Second Layer cultivator charging toward Xu Jin abruptly stopped, staring at the dissolving blade wheel, then at Xu Jin, swallowing hard.

His breathing seemed slightly difficult.

The other three Star Forging cultivators and two Meal-Cloud cultivators also halted simultaneously.

Each stared in terror at where the blade wheel had vanished, then at Xu Jin, and all stopped dead.

Far away, the two Star Condensing clerics of the Worshiping Stars Cult were also frightened by the terrifying blade wheel.

They could tell it was a life-saving rune the boy had thrown—but this rune was too terrifying.

Even if he’d thrown it at them, it could threaten or even injure them.

Then… did this madwoman have one too?

Under normal circumstances, in such a fierce battle, if they were distracted like this, they’d likely be injured or defeated.

Unfortunately, Ning Yuchan was also distracted.

Ning Yuchan was also startled by the power of the blade wheel rune Xu Jin had thrown.

Is it really this strong?

Ning Yuchan even began to doubt—was this even her own blade wheel rune?

After all, even when she herself activated a blade wheel, it was only slightly stronger than the one Xu Jin had just thrown.

In Jinshan County, she was the only one who made blade wheel runes—she had engraved them herself, and she knew perfectly well: the maximum width was about two meters.

The rune’s power naturally weakened during engraving, and it was limited by the grade of the Star Jade Tablet; using higher-grade materials was too costly.

A blade wheel rune four meters wide?

Had she accidentally used the wrong Star Jade Tablet when crafting it?

In an instant, Ning Yuchan was thrown into self-doubt.

As a result, she missed the chance to strike down her enemy.

At the same moment, Qi Shanye, hidden nearby, was also utterly stunned.

What the hell—how is this kid so strong?

He had been lurking close to Xu Jin, ready to intervene the moment Xu Jin was in danger, so as not to reveal himself.

But he never expected that Xu Jin, with just a standard star weapon, would instantly kill three Meal-Cloud Seventh Layer cultivators.

And that speed, that movement—

But he could still accept it—until Xu Jin threw out a rune that looked like a third-grade one, yet its power had reached fourth-grade.

Qi Shanye couldn’t take it anymore.

Fourth-grade runes weren’t cabbage—they took time and effort to make, and the materials were precious, often unobtainable, and most people couldn’t afford them. Usually, only a Master would gift one to a disciple as a last-resort life-saver.

The two fourth-grade Dawn Runes he’d given Xu Jin were meant for exactly that purpose.

But now, he saw Xu Jin casually throwing out a fourth-grade rune, and Old Qi felt tense, afraid—even jealous!

Was someone else interested in Xu Jin?

Had someone come to steal his disciple, his successor?

The problem was, he didn’t even know who.

Worse, other Masters’ successors were easy to find—but his own? Hard to come by.

In an instant, Old Qi was unhappy.

He was even nervous.

Especially when Xu Jin used that Earth Burst rune—normally, even a Star Refining cultivator couldn’t cast it so fluidly.

Yet Xu Jin, a Meal-Cloud Fifth Layer, executed it perfectly.

There’s no way he learned it without a master pouring heart and soul into teaching him!

So who the hell was coming to steal his successor?

No good—after this was over, he’d better have a long talk with them!

The only thing Old Qi was glad about was that he’d arrived in time for this incident.

Everyone present was stunned—only Xu Jin thought it was perfectly normal.

This was normal.

His original blade wheel rune, after being nourished by the Star Lamp, had its power greatly enhanced—and became this.

It was perfectly normal.

So Xu Jin didn’t stop his movements.

The Lightning Star Rune erupted again—he slashed with lightning-fast, continuous cuts, this time targeting the Star Forging cultivators.

Undoubtedly, the gap in cultivation level is very obvious.

Xu Jin’s lightning-fast slash, aided by the Lightning Star Rune, barely pierced the starlight—but didn’t kill the Star Forging cultivator.

But that was easy to fix.

In the instant his blade cut through the starlight, Xu Jin casually fired a star arrow.

He hadn’t expected it to land—but the Star Forging cultivator was so terrified and had such poor combat experience that he was brutally killed by the star arrow to the head.

In fact, not just this Star Forging cultivator—all the cultists Xu Jin had killed, except the Star Refining one, had extremely poor combat experience.

In another flash, another Star Forging cultivator was killed.

He was slain from behind as he turned to flee.

One slash to break defense, then a star arrow to kill.

As for Thunder Serpent—it was too flashy. Xu Jin didn’t want to use it unless absolutely necessary.

In just four or five breaths, the original sixteen cultists surrounding Xu Jin were reduced to only one Star Refining cultivator left.

The remaining two Meal-Cloud cultivators and one Star Forging cultivator had fled.

The ones who were killed had panicked and run.

Xu Jin didn’t chase.

Chasing further in meant storming the Worshiping Stars Cult’s stronghold—he might encounter fourth- or even fifth-grade experts.

Xu Jin didn’t want to end up like the two Star Refining cultivators Ning Yuchan had killed—never even seeing their enemy before being instantly obliterated.

So Xu Jin instantly turned back to deal with the last Star Refining Second Layer cultivator.

As soon as Xu Jin made a flicking motion, the Star Refining Second Layer cultivator rolled sideways like a startled rat.

He was truly terrified.

He truly feared Xu Jin would throw another rune at him—he’d be shredded to pieces.

Unfortunately, that was just his own wishful thinking.

To Xu Jin, a lone Star Refining Second Layer cultivator wasn’t even worth using a blade wheel rune on.

It cost four thousand taels.

With Xu Jin’s current speed, dealing with a Star Refining Second Layer wasn’t hard.

But this Star Refining Second Layer cultivator was clever.

Facing a Meal-Cloud Fifth Layer, he refused to attack—only defended.

Fully, utterly defensive.

Too cowardly.

The cultivation gap was obvious; with the enemy fully focused on defense, Xu Jin’s repeated slashes couldn’t break through.

Eventually, Xu Jin used the Earth Burst Star Rune.

Four consecutive star spikes, combined with continuous sword slashes, finally killed the fully defensive Star Refining Second Layer cultist.

During this, Xu Jin sank his thoughts into the Can Dou Platform, drawing a thread of starlight into his body, instantly replenishing his nearly depleted star energy.

Qi Shanye couldn’t even look at the Star Refining Second Layer cultivator’s performance.

Thank heavens he wasn’t from the Lingji Star Temple—if he were, they’d tie him up and whip him three hundred times.

Too embarrassing.

At the same time, Qi Shanye noticed something unusual about Xu Jin.

The star force is too overwhelming.

Based on the consumption he observed, Xu Jin’s star force had grown as potent as that of a Star Casting beginner.

Normally, this was impossible.

But if the rival who competed for the heir had modified Xu Jin’s Great Star Gathering Pattern, such a thing was entirely possible.

Yet star patterns capable of drastically increasing star force limits were extremely rare.

Thus, Qi Shanye reached another conclusion—the rival competing for the heir not only had strength, but also seemed to have significant background!

At this moment, Ning Yuchan was growing more fierce with each clash, fighting two Star Condensation guardians alone and forcing them into steady retreat—but to kill them outright and secure victory, she still needed a little more time.

Xu Jin briefly searched the corpses, wanting to help, yet dared not approach.

His current Star Arrows, Thunder Serpents, and Earth Fury all had effective combat ranges of just over seven chi, never exceeding eight chi.

Charging that close would be suicide.

But if he truly wanted to help, there were other methods.

After simply searching the corpses, Xu Jin received three more star weapons.

Undoubtedly, the followers of the Bowei Divine Cult are truly poor!

Six Star Casters, yet only one possessed a star weapon.

“Master, let me help you!”

Xu Jin suddenly roared.

The two Star Condensation guardians froze.

Glancing briefly at the battlefield, they instantly cried out, “What the hell?”

No one left.

Two Star Refining, six Star Casters, ten Mist-Feasting—ten of them had surrounded a Mist-Feasting Fifth Layer boy, and now all were gone.

What kind of monstrous battle was this?

Or was there some high-level expert lurking nearby, secretly striking?

This possibility was very high.

Instantly, they grew tense, their focus slightly fractured.

Ning Yuchan sharply seized this moment of distraction.

After rapidly hammering with her Star Iron Hammer, her entire body erupted with hundreds of starlight blades like spikes, then she transformed into a spinning blade wheel and charged forward.

Blood sprayed.

The foremost Star Condensation guardian lost an arm entirely; the other hurried to rescue him.

Suddenly, Xu Jin activated the Lightning Speed Star Pattern, dashing sideways over ten meters, channeling star force to hurl a first-rank star weapon sword like a hidden projectile.

Yet the Star Condensation guardian merely cast a cold glance at Xu Jin, ignoring the incoming star weapon entirely.

The star weapon Xu Jin threw struck half a meter behind the guardian, as if hitting an invisible wall, and fell to the ground.

“Useless?”

“Watch my Spinning Blade Pattern!” Xu Jin flicked his wrist instantly.

Fake!

At ten meters away, the power was weak—wasteful.

Xu Jin would never waste anything.

But the Star Condensation guardian was genuinely distracted.

The reason was simple: Xu Jin’s earlier Spinning Blade Pattern had been terrifyingly powerful—its power could have injured him.

Startled by Xu Jin, he lost focus for an instant, slowing his movement slightly.

That slight delay in his rescue move sealed the fate of the other Star Condensation guardian.

Under Ning Yuchan’s relentless spinning blade assault, he was instantly sliced into pieces.

The last remaining Star Condensation guardian froze.

Just moments ago, the two of them had barely held their ground.

Now, alone, he could not possibly withstand her.

He would be killed soon.

Yet the distress signal had been sent—why hadn’t the Star Official’s reinforcements arrived?

But if he fled, he would die even faster.

At this moment, he hated Xu Jin intensely—if not for this brat’s distraction, the situation would not have become so dire.

On the eastern slope of Qianye Island stood a five-meter-tall statue, its features blurred, atop the hill. Below it sat a man wearing a ritual crown and Daoist robes. Two thousand women in gray-white robes knelt in all directions around the statue, holding small idols in their hands, murmuring incantations.

They repeated the prayer over and over, lips cracked, legs numb from kneeling, bitten by mosquitoes—yet never ceased, never dared to interrupt.

Several hundred meters behind them stood a hundred tall poles; over sixty of them bore the hanging corpses of women, where carrion vultures circled, pecking at rotting flesh, each dive startling vast clouds of black mosquitoes.

As the two thousand women knelt and chanted, invisible strands of starlight gathered above, flowing into the massive statue, causing it to radiate intense starlight.

But strangely, this starlight was entirely contained within a one-chi radius around the statue.

Not entirely.

One single beam of starlight now poured like a waterfall into the body of the man beneath the statue, wearing the ritual crown and Daoist robes.

Around the statue, over twenty others sat scattered.

Each had a thin strand of starlight descending into their heads; their qi levels mostly ranged from Mist-Feasting to Star Casting.

Only four others had starlight streams as thick as a child’s arm descending onto their heads.

One emitted the aura of Star Condensation; the other three all radiated Star Refining qi.

One of them, his beard and eyebrows completely white, clearly past sixty, still cultivated, his Star Refining aura steadily rising.

If Xu Jin were here, he would surely notice.

For the old man, past sixty, bore a striking resemblance to Zhao Weiqing, the elder of the Zhao household whom Xu Jin had slain.

The man meditating beneath the statue was none other than Zhao Bo, the wealthiest and most benevolent man of Jinshan County.

At this very moment, the man in ritual crown and Daoist robes nearest the statue—the Star Official of the Worship of Stars Sect, Gu Jianfei—suddenly opened his eyes, starlight blazing from his gaze, fury erupting.

“Useless fools!”

He had seen the distress signal earlier but ignored it—he had sent far more than enough force to handle it. Yet they still failed to eliminate these two intruders, forcing him to interrupt his cultivation to deal with the problem.

Gu Jianfei, mid-cultivation at a crucial moment, wanted to kill them all.

For the Worship of Stars Sect’s cultivation method, interrupting once required considerable time to restart.

But now, there was no choice.

“Stop!”

As Gu Jianfei uttered the word “stop,” the two thousand kneeling women collapsed like they’d been granted mercy, rubbing their legs, drinking water.

Simultaneously, as the women ceased their prayers, the massive statue’s starlight receded, all outward-flowing starlight halted.

Everyone meditating beneath the statue also ceased their cultivation.

Yet the Star Official of the Worship of Stars Sect, Gu Jianfei, suddenly barked, “Long Tao, come with me to kill the enemy!”

“Zhao Bo, you three, guard the Sacred Idol and watch over the Star Slaves—do not fail!”

“We obey the Star Official’s decree!” Zhao Bo and the other two replied in unison.

Instantly, Gu Jianfei shot skyward, starlight coalescing beneath his feet into the shape of a sword—he stepped upon it like a celestial swordsman, hurtling toward Ning Yuchan.

At the same instant, the Star Condensation guardian Long Tao, who had just ended his cultivation, erupted with starlight beneath his feet and soared upward, following closely behind.

(End of chapter)