Ye Fengming waited for a long time, but Zhou Yi never returned. He wondered if the fool had gone to his family’s commerce guild to find usable Azure Blood Grass.

But if he had truly gone to the Zhou Clan Commerce Guild, mere Azure Blood Grass shouldn’t have delayed him this long.

While Ye Fengming waited, he heard news of his father and sister’s return.

A passing disciple informed him, “Ya, Saint and the young mistress have returned to Shen Su Peak.”

Ye Fengming thought for a moment, tossed away the wine jar, and hurried to Shen Su Peak. When he reached the mountain gate, he was stopped. The disciple blocking him looked troubled and explained before he could even ask, “The master is discussing matters with people from the commerce guild. Without his order, no one is allowed to enter.”

Having just returned and already busy with commerce guild affairs, Ye Fengming understood the priorities and didn’t force his way in. Just as he was feeling bored and about to leave, he saw Zhong Anqi walking up the stone steps with a gloomy expression.

Zhong Anqi seemed preoccupied, his steps hurried. He didn’t even glance at Ye Fengming, and the disciples at the entrance didn’t stop him. They bowed their heads and addressed him as “Senior Brother” as they let him enter.

Ye Fengming: “…”

“Why can he go in?”

The disciple hurriedly replied, “It’s the master’s instruction.”

Ye Fengming had originally intended to leave, but now, as if out of spite, he remained rooted to the spot.

*

Inside the main hall of Shen Su.

Ye Yuanqing stood at the entrance. There were no commerce guild people inside. The hall contained only portraits and memorial tablets of Tai Yi’s past sect leaders and Pilgrims. The main hall of Shen Su was a place for worship and meditation.

Ye Yiyi stood under the eaves, hesitant to speak, until she saw Zhong Anqi enter. Then she exclaimed happily, “Senior Brother!”

When Zhong Anqi heard her call, his expression froze. He kept his head lowered, composing himself as he approached.

Ye Yuanqing, with his back to both of them, said, “Go down.”

Zhong Anqi didn’t move. Ye Yiyi knew her father was speaking to her. Normally, she would have pouted and acted coquettishly, but now she sensitively detected that something was wrong. Although reluctant, she started walking down, looking back repeatedly as she said, “Father, I don’t know why you’re angry with Senior Brother, but please don’t hit him. Senior Brother works very hard in his cultivation.”

Neither Ye Yuanqing nor Zhong Anqi spoke. As they listened to Ye Yiyi’s muttering fade into the distance, once she had left the main hall, a sword standing at the side suddenly flew toward Zhong Anqi.

The entire hall was filled with the oppressive presence of a Pilgrim’s star power. Under this pressure, Zhong Anqi was struck by the sword hilt and sent flying. The sword unsheathed, and Zhong Anqi’s pupils contracted. He immediately raised his hand to defend with star power.

“Master!”

Zhong Anqi wanted to explain, but as soon as he opened his mouth, the sword force forced him to be silent.

He knew his master was angry. Resistance at this moment would only intensify his fury, so he gave up defending. The sword scabbard knocked him to his knees, and the sword tip pointed directly at his forehead, yet still spared his life.

Zhong Anqi was drenched in sweat. As he knelt, both his shoulders trembled. His hands, hanging at his sides, were clenched into fists. When the sword stopped, he felt relieved and hoarsely spoke, “Master, disciple knows his fault.”

“You know, your fault?” Ye Yuanqing said gravely. “Ming Li is not dead. Do you think she would listen to your apology?”

Zhong Anqi clenched his fists tighter, trembling uncontrollably under the pressure of star power in the hall.

He said, “It wasn’t just me back then…”

Ye Yuanqing interrupted, “What does it matter if there were many or few? Do you think she would listen?”

The pressure of star power in the hall intensified again. Zhong Anqi felt his blood surging and bit his lip hard to suppress the blood that had already reached his throat.

“You should be grateful that she currently has only a single meridian at full realm, not like her peak days. But at her rate of cultivation, returning to eight meridians at full realm is just a matter of time.” Ye Yuanqing turned to look at his disciple kneeling below, cold killing intent flashing in his eyes. “When taking action, one shouldn’t be indecisive. If you dare to do something, you should also have the brains to do it well. Yet you let Bei Dou’s people discover the truth and even kept it from me until now.”

Zhong Anqi anxiously replied, “Master! I didn’t intentionally—”

Ye Yuanqing, with an angry expression, said, “At this point, whether it was intentional or not is completely meaningless! Since you’ve taken the wrong step, don’t let yourself continue making mistakes! But look at what you’ve done!”

Zhong Anqi, chastised, lowered his head again, a trickle of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

Ye Yuanqing demanded, “I ask you, who sent him to Bei Dou to impersonate Chen Zhou?”

“Disciple doesn’t know… After parting at the Heavenly Pit that day, I never went to see him again.” Zhong Anqi replied with difficulty. “If Gu Seven hadn’t come to find me today, I wouldn’t have known he was the one impersonating Chen Zhou in Bei Dou… But when he left, the young master of Nan Que, Cui Yuanxi, was with him.”

Nan Que.

Cui Yaocen.

Ye Yuanqing already had some guesses. He turned his back on Zhong Anqi again and said, “Go to the Heavenly Pit and kill him.”

Zhong Anqi looked up in shock.

Without waiting for his response, Ye Yuanqing coldly said, “What? Do you want to wait for Ming Li to come and discover that Chen Zhou is still alive?”

“No,” Zhong Anqi said, placing one hand on his knee as he struggled to stand. “Disciple will go right away, but… what about Zhou Yi?”

Ye Yuanqing replied, “Throw him into the Heavenly Pit.”

Zhong Anqi couldn’t believe it. “But he’s from the Zhou Clan…”

Ye Yuanqing said indifferently, “So what? The Zhou Clan has been in the west for so many years, becoming increasingly arrogant. It’s time to teach them a lesson, to let the Zhou family know whose domain the west truly is.”

Zhong Anqi felt relieved again and sincerely bowed to Ye Yuanqing in gratitude.

In this world, only his master would always stand behind him when he made mistakes, took wrong paths, or made wrong choices.

As Zhong Anqi was leaving, Ye Yuanqing added, “In the coming days, Yiyi will have a martial arts contest for marriage.”

Zhong Anqi’s footsteps halted.

Ye Yuanqing said, “You are not to participate.”

*

Ye Yiyi had intended to eavesdrop outside the hall, but she was swept away by her father’s star power and thrown out. With an “ouch,” she got up from the ground, angrily patting the dust off her skirt as she walked away.

She happened to see Ye Fengming standing outside and called out, “Brother!”

Ye Fengming didn’t care for her; hearing her call, he merely rolled his eyes.

“Why are you blocked outside?” Ye Yiyi walked over with a smile. “How about I take you in?”

Ye Fengming asked, “Isn’t Father discussing matters with commerce guild people in the main hall?”

Ye Yiyi shook her head and laughed, “There are no commerce guild people. Father is talking with Senior Brother!”

Ye Fengming looked at the disciples who had blocked him. They also appeared confused. Before they could react, Ye Yiyi suddenly realized, “Oh, I understand. Father doesn’t want to see you, so he told them to say he was discussing business with the commerce guild, preventing you from entering and annoying him. Ah, I told you early on to apologize to Father, but you insisted on being stubborn with him.”

“What is he discussing with Zhong Anqi?” Ye Fengming asked.

Ye Yiyi pouted, “I don’t know. Father wouldn’t let me listen.”

Ye Fengming fell into deep thought while Ye Yiyi continued chattering beside him. “Do you want to hear about what I encountered in Nan Que? I guarantee you won’t believe it and will regret not seeing it yourself!”

“Don’t want to, won’t listen, not interested,” Ye Fengming replied.

Ye Yiyi pretended not to hear and continued vividly describing her experiences until they both saw Zhong Anqi emerge. Then she turned and ran toward him, “Senior Brother!”

Zhong Anqi looked up and smiled at her.

Ye Yiyi started talking as if she couldn’t stop, “Father didn’t hit you, did he? What made Father so angry? Is it resolved? Do you want me to put in a good word for you?”

Zhong Anqi smiled and said, “It’s nothing. I made a mistake that angered the master, but it’s resolved now. Don’t worry.”

“Is that so? That’s good. It’s the first time I’ve seen Father so angry with you.” Ye Yiyi stuck out her tongue and grabbed his hand. “Have you been facing bottlenecks in your cultivation recently? I’ve planted many good things in my spirit field. They should be ripe by now. Come, I’ll take you to see.”

“Yiyi, I have some matters to attend to. I’ll come back later to see, otherwise I’ll anger the master again,” Zhong Anqi stopped her.

Ye Fengming leaned against the stone pillar at the peak entrance and let out a mocking laugh. “I advise you not to wait. Go and see what state your spirit field is in now.”

“What are you talking about? I have Zhou Yi looking after my spirit field. How could anything go wrong?” Ye Yiyi didn’t believe him, but obediently released Zhong Anqi. “Fine, you go ahead with your business. But take care of yourself, Senior Brother. You’ve gotten thinner.”

Ye Yiyi gazed at Zhong Anqi wistfully.

Zhong Anqi smiled and reached out to pat her head before using shadow-step to head down the mountain, leaving in a hurry.

He must be busy.

Ye Fengming frowned. It was almost dark, and that foolish Zhou Yi still hadn’t returned. He noticed Ye Yiyi leaving and asked, “Where are you going?”

Ye Yiyi replied, “To check on my spirit field.”

Ye Fengming grabbed her and pulled her in the opposite direction. Ye Yiyi struggled, “What are you doing?!”

“Let’s go somewhere else first,” Ye Fengming said. “Tell me about what you saw during your trip to Nan Que.”

*

It was already dark.

Zhong Anqi didn’t want to go to that wretched place again.

If possible, he would never set foot in the Heavenly Pit again for the rest of his life, but he had no choice. He should have known this from the first time he entered.

The mountain path entrance ahead had been opened. The person at the entrance gestured for him to enter. With an expressionless face, Zhong Anqi led a horse-drawn cart through the fiery cave entrance. Inside the cart was the unconscious Zhou Yi, his eyes blindfolded and his hands tied behind his back, completely unaware of where he was being taken.

Today wasn’t the scheduled delivery time, so the cave was very quiet, with only him moving about.

The cave was extremely spacious, wide enough for two rows of carts to pass side by side easily. This was because normally, incoming and outgoing carts operated simultaneously, so it had to be expanded to accommodate and facilitate the transport of larger goods.

Zhong Anqi walked forward with tense nerves. From the moment he entered the cave, he could feel the star power within his body disappearing. He couldn’t sense any power in the world, and thus couldn’t use any spiritual techniques. Even his awareness of his star meridians was fading in and out.

Until he reached the exit and saw the bright light, the cliff below the cave mouth revealed an endless fiery land. Towering buildings surrounded a large circle—a crater formed by a fallen star. The surrounding buildings were magnificent and resplendent, while the crater, burning with golden-orange, dark fire, was filled with billowing black smoke.

Here was a world without star power, a world without cultivators.

To the west of the Heavenly Pit stood three of the tallest and largest pavilions, each seven stories high. Only the top of the middle building had a golden sun illuminating the underground night.

It was called Xian Chi, the dwelling place of all the slave masters in the Heavenly Pit.

Zhong Anqi led the cart toward Xian Chi. Since today wasn’t a delivery or shipping day, there were no guards along the way. After descending the cliff and approaching the Heavenly Pit, he finally encountered guards.

These guards were either expressionless or lazy and indifferent. Each carried a bow on their back, with several spare quivers of arrows beside them.

Some guards chatted and laughed, picking up their bows to shoot at certain slaves working and carrying things in the Heavenly Pit. If they missed, others would burst into laughter. The shooter, annoyed, would lean against the railing and yell at the slaves below, “Don’t fucking stand there slacking off!”

As Zhong Anqi walked toward Xian Chi, from the corner of his eye, he glimpsed dense crowds of people walking on the fiery ground in the distance. They were dressed in tattered clothes, their bodies filthy, their faces indiscernible, mindlessly carrying baskets on their backs or holding jars as they worked.

The smell of burning flesh occasionally wafted up with the wind, causing the guards who smelled it to curse in disgust.

As he approached Xian Chi, a delicate fragrance could be detected—incense specially lit to dispel the stench from the Heavenly Pit. Slaves with iron collars around their necks, missing hands or feet, were changing the incense beneath the Xian Chi tower.

Zhong Anqi avoided looking at these people and walked expressionlessly toward the upper floors.

He needed to go to the sixth floor.

The door to the sixth floor was open. A slave holding a basin for hand-washing stood at the door. Seeing someone approaching, the slave knelt and held up the basin. Before Zhong Anqi could enter, he heard an angry shout from inside, “I told you to bring some beautiful women who can dance, but look at these ugly creatures! How are they related to the word ‘beautiful’? And is this dancing? Is this a funeral dance for your mother?!”

With the angry shout, the tall shadow inside drew a sword and slashed at a standing dancer. Her head fell to the ground, but no one screamed.

Everyone was used to it.

Zhong Anqi, who had just arrived, was splattered with blood. He raised his hand to wipe it off, looking at the man with the sword with some displeasure, “Star Master Wang.”

Wang Geng made a sound, raising his sword to rest on his shoulder. His clothes were open at the collar, and he reeked of alcohol. Squinting at the newcomer, he said, “Isn’t this our Ya Saint’s beloved disciple, Young Master Zhong? What brings you here?”

Zhong Anqi wiped the blood from his face, feeling it was inauspicious. When his vision cleared, he saw that the severed head on the ground had melted into a pool of blood, and the beheaded woman had returned to her original form, kneeling on the ground with the others, her expression numb.

He looked away and tossed the rope over his hand. Zhou Yi, who lay on the ground, was still unconscious.

Zhong Anqi said, “This is from my master for you.”

Wang Geng didn’t move. A one-eyed man standing nearby came forward to check, then shook his head at Wang Geng. Only then did Wang Geng ask, “A new slave from Ya Saint? Does he have any special characteristics?”

Zhong Anqi replied, “He’s a cultivator.”

Wang Geng laughed upon hearing this and walked to Zhou Yi’s side, carrying the bloodied sword, “A cultivator, that’s a good thing. It’s been a long time since I received a cultivator. All I get are boring things. Even Earth Ghosts aren’t fresh anymore. Cultivators are the best.”

Then he ordered the one-eyed man, “Shi Dang, what are you standing there for? Hurry and pour a cup of wine for our Young Master Zhong. We once mistakenly treated our Ya Saint’s beloved disciple as a slave. Don’t you remember his face now? Hurry up!”

Shi Dang repeatedly acknowledged the order and turned to get a wine cup.

Zhong Anqi’s expression changed slightly at these words. Under Wang Geng’s meaningful gaze, he suppressed his emotions, forcing himself to remain calm. He spoke again, “There’s one more thing. My master instructed me to kill the cultivator who came with me previously.”

Wang Geng didn’t even look up, “That person died long ago.”

“…When?” Zhong Anqi was momentarily confused.

“How would I remember when a slave died?” Wang Geng replied impatiently.

Zhong Anqi took a deep breath and asked, “Where did he die?”

Wang Geng raised an eyebrow, stepped forward, his towering figure a head taller than Zhong Anqi. In this world without star power, where cultivators had no advantage, the pressure he brought made Zhong Anqi feel suffocated.

“Where did he die? What kind of question is that… Young Master Zhong, look at me. Do you think I would know when and where an insignificant slave died?” Wang Geng laughed loudly. “People die here constantly. Some survive, some don’t. Death is death. They’re all just workers who can’t leave this place. Either way, they all die eventually. Tell Ya Saint not to worry. Once inside this place, it’s just a matter of time.”

Zhong Anqi’s hand, hidden in his sleeve, trembled. His mind spun uncontrollably. Memories of unbearable humiliation came flooding back—memories of Wang Geng’s laughter and the blood that sprayed when his sword fell. He kept telling himself to stay calm, to emerge from the dizziness and regain clarity about the person before him.

He said, “As long as he’s dead, that’s fine.”

Wang Geng watched Zhong Anqi leave, then glanced at the dancers kneeling on the ground. Unable to contain his irritation, he shouted, “Get out! It’s unlucky just looking at you!”

The dancers hurriedly left.

Wang Geng looked at Zhou Yi on the ground, then at the slave kneeling at the door holding the washing basin. His mood improved again, and he reached out to slap the slave’s face several times, “See that? The guy who came with you back then didn’t even recognize you just now. He’s Ya Saint’s disciple, so he can leave this place. But what are you?”

He had been drinking, and the alcohol was getting to him. He hit harder and harder, finally slapping the person to the ground. “Every one of you thinks you’re special because you’re cultivators? Think you’re great because you can sense star power? Here, I’m in charge! What are you worth? Still trying to snatch people from my hands? Come on, tell me, among these thousands of slaves, which one are you trying to save this time?”

“You can’t even save yourself, yet you’re thinking of saving others!”

The slave who had been knocked to the ground remained silent. His disheveled hair concealed his features. His raised hands bore countless scars, old and new, and with his movements, the iron chains binding his body rattled.

Standing behind, Shi Dang hesitantly said, “Star Master, after all, it’s Ya Saint’s request…”

“Let a Pilgrim come here and try?” Wang Geng turned his head with a grin, gripping the sword on his shoulder. “I tell you, in this place, even Pilgrims are all the same. Otherwise, why would Ye Yuanqing send his disciple with a message instead of coming himself? Isn’t it because he’s afraid of having no star power here, just like us? What if something unexpected happens… heh, he’s afraid, unwilling to take the risk.”

He hiccupped from the alcohol, pointing his sword at Shi Dang, who backed away repeatedly in fear. “You’d better be careful! Get it straight, should you fear Ye Yuanqing or me?”

Shi Dang immediately knelt, “I was wrong, I was wrong!”

Wang Geng returned to his seat, placed his feet on the table, and drank with his head tilted back. He pointed at the slave kneeling by the door, “Now that another cultivator has arrived, you go and wake him up.”

Only then did the slave put down the now-empty washing basin. He stood up unsteadily and walked to Zhou Yi’s side, appearing numb.

Wang Geng ordered, “Use some force! If he doesn’t bleed, you’ll be the one bleeding tonight, understand?”

The slave grabbed Zhou Yi’s collar. Through his disheveled hair, his eyes reflected the unfortunate man’s face. He vaguely felt that Zhou Yi resembled one of his junior brothers.