Starlight fell like rain upon that young woman, making her all the more ethereal — as though she might transform and ascend at any moment. Her slender fingers traced through the air, and she shot toward the red-haired man in a flash, unleashing a thunderous strike.

Boom!

A burst of immortal radiance erupted. The moment the Paramount Divine Art was deployed, the surrounding space shattered in an instant. In the Eternal Realm, where cultivation relied on comprehending the laws of heaven and earth and drawing on external tools, this level of combat power was shocking.

Qi Meng carried herself with the poise of one untouched by the world. A moment ago she had been still as an untouched maiden — now she moved like a bolt of lightning. Every strike blazed with resplendent immortal radiance. Her body techniques were extraordinary, and the Paramount Divine Art she employed was genuinely fearsome.

“Ha ha ha…”

The red-haired young man was wildly exuberant. He fought and laughed at the same time, his handsome face carrying a thread of cruelty. “In the Immortal Feather Star Sea, among all our generation, if I were to claim second place in body techniques, very few would dare call themselves first. You want to test yourself against me, Qi Meng? Then I’ll capture you with my own hands — hey!”

The two of them clashed in the freezing void of space — fierce and intense, all manner of secret arts unleashed, the two of them twisting together like two bolts of lightning, neither gaining a decisive advantage.

In the distance, Ye Fan lay concealed within a layer of meteorites, watching everything unfold. A look of astonishment crossed his face. As expected — there is always a higher mountain. The world is never short of the extraordinary. He had encountered some truly remarkable individuals here.

“In the Eternal Realm, the many great factions are all refining the ultimate evolution elixir. Even if few succeed, there must be other elixirs for tempering the body, which has given rise to no shortage of transcendent individuals.” He murmured softly to himself.

Qi Meng and her companions from the silver holy vessel could not break free — they were surrounded by an encirclement of warships, while the violet-gleaming holy vessel had trained its weapons on them from the start, cutting off any chance of escape.

The two combatants fought on furiously, bringing out many secret treasures. The civilization of this star domain was one in which the Dao and technology were fused together, producing all manner of terrifying weapons.

For a moment, light blazed and divine brilliance shot in all directions. Weapons clashed, warping space, severing off a corner of the cosmos.

“Hmm. Truly remarkable. I’ve never heard how Princess Qi Meng fares in battle. Witnessing her fight today reveals just how extraordinary her gifts are. Worthy of the Paramount Immortal Body’s descendant. It seems this time your search for the Destiny Rock to refine the ultimate evolution elixir was meant to awaken the dormant bloodline within your body.” The red-haired young man wore a cold smile, his teeth gleaming white and sharp as he pressed forward with increasing ferocity.

Qi Meng’s voice rang out sharply: “Brahma, don’t push things too far. Paradise seizes the Destiny Rock of our Immortal Feather lineage, and now wants to detain us as well — all of this has already been reported back to the family. Even if your patriarch is an Ancient Saint, he will face boundless fury. Paradise faces extinction!”

Brahma’s manner was wicked and bewitching. “I’m well aware your Immortal Feather family is vast, with deep foundations and an Ancient Saint standing guard. But we have no intention of slaughtering everyone. This time, if I form a marriage alliance with your family, together we can combine the divine minerals both our sides have gathered, which should be nearly enough to refine the ultimate evolution elixir. We share it between us — isn’t that the best outcome for everyone? And our descendants will surely become the most powerful beings in the Eternal Realm!”

His fierce aura was overwhelming. Though he laughed throughout, he inspired awe — many of his men shouted along, cheering him on.

“Brahma — you’re being presumptuous.” Qi Meng had no desire to say more. As a woman facing such a man, anything she said would put her at a disadvantage.

Boom!

Both sides activated their protective battle armor. But during the attack that broke through the silver holy vessel, several pieces of Qi Meng’s divine garment had already shattered, sharply reducing her defenses. She fell back step by step.

“Qi Meng, even with a fully intact divine garment you would still be no match for me. I told you — among our generation in the Immortal Feather Star Sea, who dares challenge me in body techniques?” Brahma laughed coldly, his assault growing ever more violent, and he was moments away from capturing Qi Meng alive.

Ye Fan watched all of this from afar within the meteorite field — unable to see it perfectly clearly, but still recognizing that the battle was extraordinary. He had no desire to intervene. Neither side had any conflict of interest with him, and out here in a foreign realm, who could truly say who was righteous and who was wicked?

Rumble!

Suddenly, the holy violet warship fired a beam of light, binding Qi Meng in place. Violet energy billowed out as star-cloud chains wrapped around her tightly, binding her completely so she could not move at all.

“Plunderers of Paradise — do you truly intend to leave no margin at all? Seizing the Destiny Rock was one thing — but now you plan to capture our family’s princess as well?” A group of people from behind shouted in outrage, but they had already long since become prisoners themselves and could change nothing.

From within the violet warship, a powerful middle-aged man stepped out — red hair streaming loose, eyes sharp and predatory as a hawk, emanating a presence as imposing as an unsheathed blade.

Beside him was a red-haired woman — tall, her two long, elegant legs very eye-catching. She stood sideways so that her face could not be fully seen, and she said with a cold sneer: “Brahma, you had a holy-grade spacecraft right there and refused to use it. You had to fight personally — chasing after another pretty face again? The patriarch said — behave yourself and stop acting recklessly.”

“Brahma Xian, cousin — is that any way to talk to your elder brother?” Brahma glanced at her with a languid air, then fixed his eyes on Qi Meng and walked toward her. He reached out to lift her chin. “The jewel of the Eternal Realm has fallen into my hands — ha ha… Before long we’ll be married. From this day on, Immortal Feather and Paradise are one family.”

The people of the Immortal Feather family shouted curses and struggled against their bonds. Qi Meng was wrapped in star-cloud chains, her beautiful face flushed crimson, then covered over by a frost of cold fury — but she could not avoid what was coming.

Tsst!

A streak of red light intercepted Brahma’s hand. The red-haired middle-aged man who had stepped out from the violet vessel spoke: “Brahma, settle down. Don’t do anything rash.”

“All right, Second Uncle.” It was clear that Brahma held this hawk-eyed, wolf-postured middle-aged man in considerable reverence and dared not disobey him — for this was Brahma Zhou, someone who had roamed this star sea for over a thousand years and was one of Paradise’s most celebrated helmsmen, notorious for his fearsome reputation.

“Rest assured. The patriarch also hopes to see the Paramount Immortal Body reborn. He will personally broker this marriage. Until then, no one is to mistreat Miss Qi Meng.” Brahma Zhou said calmly, then swept his gaze over the surrounding area and ordered the battlefield to be cleaned up.

The violet holy warship tore open the void, preparing to make a spatial jump, while the woman named Brahma Xian stepped down and walked toward another warship.

“Cousin — where are you off to? Going to clear your head? Not coming with us?” Brahma asked with a sly smile.

“You think I’m like you — only thinking about chasing women? The moment you saw Qi Meng, you forgot all about the lurker. I’m going to deal with them.” Brahma Xian said.

The great fleet disappeared. The patch of space fell silent. A warship three hundred zhang long, accompanied by four spacecraft each one hundred zhang in length, turned toward the meteorite field.

Ye Fan’s heart lurched — he’d been found. He had cloaked himself with his Heaven-Deceiving Array formations, but when he had first entered this area, he had inevitably emitted a faint trace of fluctuation, and had been detected long ago.

He had no desire for complications. He piloted his spacecraft and turned to leave, for this vessel of his was comparatively tiny — only a mere thirty zhang in length — and was certainly no match for what was bearing down on him.

The ship shot forward like lightning, blazing toward the depths of the cosmos. But try as he might, he simply could not shake the pursuers. They rapidly closed the gap and were on the verge of overtaking him.

“It’s nothing but a mineral survey vessel. Not sure which major faction it belongs to. My lady, let me take care of it.” A hulking man covered from head to toe in body hair made the request from one of the hundred-zhang spacecraft, licking his lips as he spoke, seemingly very excited.

“Furry always did love a game of cat and mouse, hey!” A bald man in another ship said, his face full of menace.

Brahma Xian, on the main vessel, nodded. “All right. Take him alive. I want to see this person. If I hadn’t spotted him entering that meteorite field earlier, he would have been nearly impossible to detect afterward. He somehow managed to conceal himself in there and evade all our scans.”

“Heh heh — understood! Here I come, little punk. Let me show you what the firepower of Furry looks like. First I’ll give you a taste of fire and ice — enjoy yourself!” The hulking man roared with excitement, drove his warship forward, and fired two beams — one pure technological firepower, the other a burst of magical force woven with Dao markings — sending both streaking toward the target simultaneously.

Ye Fan’s expression remained cold. With practiced ease he maneuvered the ship, weaving through wave after wave of attacks.

“This little punk’s technique isn’t bad. I like it — ha ha!” Furry laughed and resumed his frenzied barrage.

Ye Fan seethed. Through the screen he could hear the other man’s shouts. Being mocked like this — he honestly couldn’t remember the last time it had happened.

Boom!

He began to fight back, unleashing every available weapon. But the mineral survey ship was far inferior to the warships pursuing him. The moment they raised a curtain of light, nothing he fired could break through.

“My lady, let me join in too. This little punk’s piloting is seriously impressive — he’s dodged such a vicious barrage for this long. I love a moving target like this.” The bald man said, his eyes glinting with killing intent.

“Fine — just leave him breathing.” Brahma Xian nodded. Something like curiosity crossed her exquisitely beautiful face. She had not expected Ye Fan to hold out this long.

“Little punk — I’m coming too! Time to teach you a lesson you won’t forget. Get ready to enjoy yourself!” The bald man roared savagely. All manner of divine light streaked outward — great chains of Dao order, as well as devastating technological weapons — puncturing the void.

“Damn it — two bastards!” Ye Fan’s expression changed. He found himself overtaken. Now caught in a pincer from the front and the rear, with weapons firing from all sides, his survey ship had been hit. Even the energy shield was useless — it had been pierced through, and the hull was on the verge of exploding.

His piloting technique was close to supernatural, but the ship was simply too inadequate. His only choice now was to abandon it. He tore free of the spacecraft and flew out into open space.

“Where do you think you’re running to now, little punk?” Several ships moved in close, surrounding him on all sides. Furry howled and shrieked.

“Call for help, little punk — though you can shout your throat raw and it won’t do any good!” The bald man’s eyes blazed with savagery as he burst out laughing.

These were plunderers who drifted between life and death every day, their heads effectively tied to their waistbands, liable to be cut down at any moment. As a result, they coped in all manner of ways — mocking prisoners was one of them.

“Bald bastard!” Ice-cold light flared from Ye Fan’s eyes. The golden Dao sword between his brows flashed, slicing through the man’s warship with a hiss and sending him tumbling out into space as well.

“Didn’t expect him to have some real skill. He carries a powerful Dao treasure — everyone be careful!” The bald man called out, though he didn’t seem particularly worried.

Of course, communication in the void of space was done through divine sense transmission. Ye Fan could roughly understand it, having picked up a working knowledge of the language.

“Little punk — how about we exchange some body technique moves? The look of you suggests you’re fairly capable.” The bald man said with aggressive confidence.

“Why not.” Ye Fan replied, surging forward. He extended one palm with minimal force — and yet the bald man was still sent staggering, barely keeping his grip from bursting open.

Ye Fan shot past him, grabbed hold of the sliced-open warship, and hurled it with a thunderous crash into Furry’s vessel, instantly warping its hull. A pained howl emerged from within.

“Damn it — this little punk is seriously strong. He needs a beating!”

In the vacuum of space, tossing a mountain-sized warship was admittedly no great feat. But if they had known that even on a star with crushing gravity, Ye Fan could hurl dozens to hundreds of great mountains with ease, they would never have dared challenge him to a body technique contest.

“Little punk — we won’t gang up on you. Come at us in pure body technique.” Furry bellowed.

Ye Fan’s expression remained unchanged. He still did not use his full strength — he was worried about startling the snake before he could flush it out. He didn’t want the red-haired woman making an escape.

Bang! Bang!

He traded blows with the ferocious bald man and with Furry one after another, sending them skidding back each time. Even when they employed secret arts and arcane weapons, he kept them suppressed, landing well-placed kicks on their sore spots from time to time — though never going so far as to decisively crush them.

At last, the hatch on the main vessel opened, and a red-haired woman stepped out. She was dressed in a short purple skirt that flickered with radiant light — clearly a divine treasure — revealing two long, snow-white, creamy legs, lustrous and gleaming in the starlight. Beautiful in a way that dazzled the eye. One could say that pair of long, jade-like legs had few rivals anywhere in the world.

“I’ll face you.” Brahma Xian spoke, her appearance not yet fully visible — but one long, fair, alabaster leg had already stepped out from the hatchway, impossibly alluring.

“You?” Ye Fan laughed coldly, glancing into the cabin, trying to get a look at what sort of woman this was.

“That’s right — me. You don’t seem to be from this star domain. If you lose, become my retainer. How about it?” Brahma Xian’s voice carried a musical quality.

“And if you lose?” Ye Fan said.

“Whatever you wish.” Brahma Xian replied with composure.

Ye Fan burst out laughing. She actually wanted to clash with him directly. He could count on one hand the number of people he’d met who could match him.

“Little punk — you dare laugh? You want to challenge Brahma Lady to a body technique contest? You’re about ten thousand miles short!”

“Hey — Brahma Lady is descended from the bloodline of the Brahma Heavenly War Body. Her physical power is unmatched in the world. Who could compete with her in body techniques? This little punk thinks he’s getting a bargain — if he’s not beaten half to death, I’ll eat my own head.”

“Over the years, countless people have challenged the Lady. Every one of them came back in disgrace. Competing with her in body techniques — isn’t that asking to die?”

The bald man and Furry burst out laughing together, their expressions mocking and gloating, dangerous light flashing in their eyes.

People had come out of the other two warships and the main vessel as well, encircling the area and watching like spectators, every face glinting with amusement.

“Little punk, just surrender now. Tell us your secrets, or you’re definitely going to spend the next six months flat on your back before you recover.”

“The way you are now, you’re nowhere near her level. Even earlier, when you were holding back and only showing a tenth of your real strength — against Brahma Lady, that still wouldn’t be enough.”

Ye Fan was rendered speechless. This group was utterly convinced they had him figured out — but their confidence did make him drop any complacency, for this woman was apparently a descendant of the Brahma Heavenly War Body.

Before he had ever come to this star domain, he had already heard of it. The Primordial Demonic Body, the Brahma Heavenly War Body, the Paramount Immortal Body — each one had shaken the ages, regarded as the most powerful constitutions this star domain had ever produced.

Brahma Xian’s legs were incomparably beautiful — long and stunning in a way that defied description. She stepped out through the hatchway with a graceful, swaying stride. Her figure was tall and slender, a sliver of luminously white, soft midriff visible above her clothing — delicate and lithe. Her upper body was also draped in violet divine garments, revealing a pair of fair, lotus-like arms that gleamed with crystalline light, her chest full and straining. A head of brilliant red hair cascaded naturally over her shoulders. Her skin was pure white and radiant, complementing one another beautifully. On her oval face, large, clear, bright eyes shone, extraordinarily beautiful, and together with those vivid red lips, made this woman appear breathtakingly alluring — sensual and mysterious.