Why did this feeling feel so strange?

He had known her for truly too long. From the moment he had awareness of this heaven and earth, he had awareness of her, as if having such an old friend was the most natural thing in the world. Naturally, he had grown accustomed to interacting without reservation, not knowing what distance meant.

Even less possible was his awareness…

That there would actually be such a day: though he was eternally undying, she was merely a mortal who might depart from his side.

Death.

Separation.

Departure.

All these various emotions that he had never been aware of in the past, or even if aware had never truly experienced, transformed into a fear that even he himself could not understand. When he gazed toward the depths of that rolling, blazing magma, it made his tense body tremble along with it.

The five fingers gripping that half piece of torn sleeve grew tighter and tighter…

In an instant, black energy spread!

Was it a moment, or an eon?

Fu Chaosheng didn’t know how long he had actually stood in this void, but when he came to his senses from that myriad bewilderment in his heart, he unhesitatingly rushed toward the burning earth core at the end of the firmament!

He didn’t know if he had gone mad.

He only knew that Jian Chou could not die, should not die—he didn’t want her to die!

His pouncing form was like dark clouds swept by fierce winds across the sky, carrying a kind of tragic determination and desperate madness!

Everyone was shocked by his choice in this moment.

Even Shaoji, who had taken the opportunity to seize the Desolate Domain Divine Key and was preparing to withdraw, widened his eyes, unable to believe what he saw—

The power in the depths of stars was enough to destroy all things in this realm!

Even though he was originally a deity, in this realm he also couldn’t exert his full power due to the prohibitions left by Pangu.

Once he threw himself into the magma, if not destroyed for failing to resist, he would die from trying to resist!

“Rumble!”

Thunder shook the heavens!

Before everyone could decode the true meaning from Fu Chaosheng’s suddenly mad choice, swift and violent collision sounds suddenly came from the depths of the firmament!

The surface of that endlessly boiling, massive magma earth core unexpectedly overflowed with a layer of rotating golden light without warning, surrounding the earth core like a glass cover.

When Fu Chaosheng arrived, it suddenly blazed!

Just like the earlier encounter in the Rebirth Pool, it not only firmly blocked him outside but also sent down endless divine power to strike at him!

That sky-filling golden light was clearly sky-filling laws!

In the depths of this polar region, at the bottom of this earth, on the surface of the earth core, all his actions seemed constrained, as if the existence that had created this realm and left these rules had natural wariness and fear toward beings like him.

Only the current Fu Chaosheng seemed much stronger than when he had been trapped by the Rebirth Pool earlier. Even the same or even stronger laws falling upon him could no longer make his form completely destroyed, entirely transforming into black energy—only striking and shattering some part of his body, revealing the demonic state so different from human before the world’s eyes…

He couldn’t enter!

Actually couldn’t enter!

Universal dual eyes could not glimpse Jian Chou’s current safety, demonic consciousness and divine thoughts also had no way to investigate her traces.

Yet this prohibition still blocked him from entering!

The rationality in his mind was finally incinerated by cold angry flames at this moment. Fu Chaosheng was heavily knocked back by that prohibition, myriad pains adding to his body, yet only adding several points of heart-trembling hostility to his face. He actually raised his sleeve in reverse and reformed his body, once again crashing toward that prohibition!

“Boom!”

“Boom!”

“Boom…”

Once, once, and once again!

As if not knowing fatigue, not knowing suffering, with no rest!

Outside Bafang City, the Jiushijiu Zhou side had already gained sufficient advantage, continuously pressing the polar region ghost cultivators inward. Without the ghost axe, Lord Qin Guang was already frustrated and angry. Seeing the unfavorable situation, he finally called out loudly, summoning back the ghost cultivators who had been resisting the Jiushijiu Zhou side’s attack, raising his hand to lead everyone in forming a killing formation!

Ten million attacks fell like torrential rain, drowning the ruins of the city!

The battle circle thus contracted inward, suddenly becoming smaller.

This also meant the expansion of slaughter and cruelty…

Human blood bright red, ghost blood forest white, splashing on this silent cursed earth, soaking into these desolate ruins.

White pressing black, red covering white.

Those who fell in the battle formation would never stand again.

When Zheng Yao, Master Yiming, Xie Buchen, Xuanyue Fairy, and others finally reached the side of Bafang City, Jian Chou’s figure was nowhere to be seen. Only outside that earth core prohibition was Fu Chaosheng, once again knocked back yet once again defiantly crashing toward that prohibition!

Fierce evil, hostility growing.

This was the most dangerous posture on the battlefield at this moment!

Master Hengxu blocked Lord Qin Guang, temporarily having no time to investigate Fu Chaosheng’s extraordinary “demonic form”;

Kun Peng spread sky-covering wings, blocking countless falling attacks from the periphery;

Only Fudao Shanren’s eyes reddened as he looked with emotion at that figure continuously crashing against the prohibition. His sword-holding hand trembled several times before slowly turning his gaze toward that long sword diagonally inserted in the wall ruins!

One Line Heaven!

When swords emerge from the armory, if the person dies, the sword must return.

Now that the sword was here, the person was here!

The unpredictable winds and clouds between heaven and earth all gathered in this small city in chaotic battle. Every instant of combat would trigger countless changes. No one could predict what they would encounter next.

But the places outside Bafang City were extraordinarily quiet.

In the old alleys and humble houses of Wangsi City, the withered old man playing chess, under Zhang Tang’s gaze, lightly turned the stone chess piece carved from stubborn rock at his fingertips, only asking: “Do you know who is a person’s greatest enemy in this life?”

A finger pressed down, the stone chess piece fell.

“Snap.”

Like crashing into a huge, swimming bubble.

Dazzling brilliance, gorgeous to the extreme.

Falling into human eyes, it wasn’t pure fiery red or blazing white, but rather deep and shallow, curved and interwoven five colors—some places soft, some places hard…

Actually extremely magnificent.

If one ignored the soul-burning pain they inflicted upon people, it was almost not like entering purgatory, but falling into a fantastic dream.

Magma enveloped her body. The moment her collapsed flesh and blood soaked in, they were like dry wood thrown into fire, quickly burning and turning to ash.

At this time, even hard bones were fragile as paper.

The terrifying high temperature far exceeded any fierce flames or strange fires in the world. Even her Nascent Soul could only resist its invasion for an instant—the next instant it was already riddled with holes!

Her soul in this burning magma was like a slug rolling on red-hot branding iron!

Jian Chou was that slug.

Desperately wanting to struggle, yet ultimately powerless. In all directions were endless torments!

At the moment she was ambushed by deity Shaoji, she was still thinking about Lord Qin Guang’s purpose in stirring up this conflict, what secrets the ghost axe itself harbored.

At the instant she was struck down into this magma, lightning still flashed through her mind, thinking about Shaoji’s purpose in interfering with this realm’s affairs, thinking about what that wisp of purple light’s origins were.

She even remembered Immortal Wuzhong’s stone.

That stone that wanted to become a star…

But when she was truly swallowed by magma, completely placed in the depths of this star, all considerations and thoughts fell silent.

When pain reached its extreme, human experience transcended pain itself.

The scorching heat destroyed her soul.

In the blink of an eye, only a broken divine thought remained!

The ghost axe was beside her, rushing into the magma. The surging magma once again swallowed her divine thought, rolling her into the depths of this star, even deeper!

The dream-like magnificence gradually dispersed.

The earth core’s magma continued burning, yet had no brightness.

The deepest part of this bright star was actually an inexplicable darkness, as if remaining from ancient times, from that long night before dawn!

When the ghost axe passed through this darkness, it was like a ray of light, using its powerful force and violent impact to push into the depths of darkness, sparking a distant weak fire!

It was Pangu opening heaven, beginning to have light.

So this single weak fire ignited the cold silence, letting rolling hot brilliance break through this thick oppressive darkness, break through the heavy earth, break through the dust of the firmament, rushing into the boundless universe!

An overwhelming explosion!

Starting from this star, the entire silent long night was thunderously illuminated, spreading from near to far toward the deeper parts of the universe…

Yet one couldn’t distinguish whether this had actually happened, or was merely various illusions produced by her broken divine thought in this line between life and death.

What Jian Chou could perceive was only fear.

The most real, inescapable fear.

Because of death, because of annihilation.

When Xie Buchen’s sword had scattered her soul on that lonely island in the human world, though it had certainly caused her soul to scatter completely, at that time and moment, love still existed. In that sudden moment, there was more incomprehension, sorrow, and anger. But now love no longer existed, and having cultivated hard all along with a clear dao heart, all false and shallow thoughts in her heart were burned clean by the fierce flames in the star’s depths. The only thing that could remain was this moment’s strongest!

Longing for life, fearing death.

Nakedly exposed, unavoidably faced directly!

Without experiencing life and death, one cannot break through the original heart.

In this chaos, Jian Chou seemed to hear a voice tinged with familiar mockery: “Dao heart not firm! Already obtained the ghost axe, yet defeated by Qin Guang…”

She thought about it—this seemed to be her own voice.

So she answered: “Not defeated by His hand.”

That voice became contemptuous: “Then who did you lose to?”

Then you—

Who did you lose to?

Of course, “I was defeated by myself.”

In this instant, all illusions and sounds in the star’s depths disappeared. There was neither any illusion of Pangu opening heaven, nor another self’s voice.

Only her broken divine thought that longed for life while fearing death, yet faced death to live!

And a lotus lamp that quietly rotated forth.

Burning lamp.

Within the lamp, a bean-sized flame like ice and snow scattered warm light, gently covering this divine thought in mortal danger.

It was the tear-fire that had fallen when Saint Jiye perished!

Like compassion, like mutual understanding.

So past events came one after another.

Stepping onto the cultivation path was death and rebirth, entering the Way with a broken soul. At that time, she knew nothing of so-called Heavenly Way or Human Way;

Breaking through to Nascent Soul was gaining fortune, her heart sensing stubborn stone’s obsession, vowing to equal heaven, to be higher than heaven, forcibly wanting to become the most dazzling star among billions upon billions;

Crossing tribulation and questioning the heart was severing the past, preserving the present, finally glimpsing “my Way” in worldly tempering—the present me is the best me;

Discussing the Way in Star Sea was demonstrating heaven and earth’s transformations, deducing the six paths’ changes, seeing through the distinction between Heavenly Way and my Way, clarifying the original heart—raise your head three feet and there are no gods, between heaven and earth there is originally no ultimate principle!

Then what about this moment?

Beyond survival instincts, what was “I” still fearing…