Shura supports the Lord of the Stars?!! Hearing this, the evil half-god felt another wave of tumult within his heart, as though his intelligence had been ground down and rubbed raw. Though it was indeed a source of great joy—nay, excitement—that a key orderly member of the evil half-gods, unexpectedly becoming an insider, had turned the tide of a seemingly doomed situation, it still left a deep sense of indignation. After all, they were half-gods, manipulated from beginning to end, constantly outmaneuvered by the Lord of the Stars and Shura. The sense of humiliation was genuine. Am I, then, the clown?! With the chairman, wearing a silver mask, now appearing in the heavens, a radiant tree of wonders rising above his head, he hung his porous heart and his dark-gold mask from the branches. The air around him twisted and surged, boiling with fury. "Lord of the Stars!" he roared, "I will peel you alive, draw out your very essence, and reduce you to nothing—body and spirit alike!" The Lord of the Stars lifted his gaze, his eyes shimmering with brilliant starlight, and spoke calmly: "Do you know why there has been a tournament? The invaders have arrived twice with their power. You've exchanged once for divine strength, and three times for extraordinary power—now the defensive mechanisms of the Spiritual Realm have been activated. Try again—see if you can summon divine strength once more." After speaking, he ignored the semi-divine presence in the void and walked steadily toward Ling Tuo. Ling Tuo's face tightened, trembling fiercely. "From the very beginning, you and the Stars have been playing me!" The War Lord remained expressionless, offering no reply. The Lord of the Stars spoke with a measured, almost emotionless tone, like a voice from a digital system: "You are the fallen Sovereign of the Moon. As long as you contain the Sun, you will inevitably be purified—possibly rendering the purification process ineffective. Even in the best case, your support will only result in temporary control of the Sun, with its unclaimed essence sealed away." "I am different. I have grasped the essence of the stars and can harmonize yin and yang. As long as I gain the Lady of the Moon and the Sun, I can merge swiftly and become the sovereign of the Spiritual Realm." The spiritual cultivator, seven orifices bleeding, fixed his gaze on him, asking, "Are you not a fallen one?" The Lord of the Stars, his eyes filled with starlight, gazed steadily at this heir, and smiled gently. "I mentioned before that the Sun embodies a powerful, masculine force—so rigid and ordered that it cannot tolerate dust, favoring strict structure. The Lady of the Moon represents the aspects of evil and the feminine—thus, she is most prone to falling. I never spoke of the nature of the Stars. Now, I tell you: the Stars embody reason, wisdom, and righteousness. I do not need to fall. I can be either evil or orderly. We both understand the essence of the invaders. I embrace their ideals and believe they are truly the ones who uphold order. You share this conviction as well. The difference is, you only came to see it after your soul has been tainted and your spirit has fallen." "A fallen being incapable of containing the Sun's essence, yet one who can swiftly unify the sun, moon, and stars—and embrace their ideals—whom would they choose?" Ling Tu murmured, "Then, why revive me at all?" The Star Sovereign sighed, "When I first asked you for the core fragments of the Compass of Light, you refused. That is how we arrived at the current state of the Sovereign of the Moon." Ling Tu seemed to have anticipated this, a gentle curve forming at the corner of her mouth as blood steadily flowed, "Since then, you've been plotting. You've quietly nurtured my rise to the Sovereign of the Moon, haven't you?" The Star Sovereign nodded gently, "Only the Stars and the Sovereign of the Moon can challenge the Sovereign of the Sun. I have secured the Stars' authority; by elevating you to the Sovereign of the Moon, I have left the Order of the Balanced firmly aligned with me. And once I secure you, I shall emerge as the ultimate victor." "Lin Tu choked out a bitter laugh. "Such a well-thought-out strategy, such masterful planning. I always considered myself a player, but in the end, I realized I was merely a pawn. Starlight, speak now—let me go with peace in my mind." The Lord of Starlight glanced at Lin Tu's chest. "Your time is running short." He then turned to the faces of his descendants. "I originally intended to secure the fragments of the Disc of Radiance, uncover the Yin within the Spirit Realm, and house it there. Then, with the combined status of Lord of Stars and Lord of Yin, I would embrace the Sun and become the sovereign of the Spirit Realm. After failing to secure the fragments of the Disc of Radiance, I changed course, quietly guiding you all to grasp the secrets of the Disc. The Disc of Radiance is the very essence of the Radiant God, and the Radiant God serves the Sun. By mastering the Disc of Radiance, one holds a torch—its radiance guides the holder to several core instances within the Spirit Realm, such as the one housing the Yin, or the one containing the Record of Merit. However, the one who holds it must be the Sun-Wander "Earlier, I mentioned that Tai Yin symbolizes evil and the feminine—the nature of the invader should be clear to you. As soon as the Four Free Spirits locate Tai Yin, they will inevitably be contaminated by the invader. 'I know you will be contaminated, because you are more radical than Zhang Tian Shi. That is precisely why the Free Covenant introduced the Compass of Light—they wished for the Day-Wandering Deity to obtain it, so that the Day-Wandering Deity might be contaminated by it,' said Ling Tu, murmuring. 'It's impossible,' Ling Tu insisted, 'since the method of using the Compass of Light was discovered by us through our study of ancient ruins, and this occurred several years before the competition for the Compass of Light.' The Lord of the Stars spoke with a touch of compassion, 'I have foreseen the emergence of the Compass of Light, and I have also predicted which major powers might claim it. I have thus strategically positioned my forces—among them, the Four Free Spirits are only one.' Ling Tu paused, then gritted her teeth, 'The Compass of Light was introduced by the Free Covenant. Then why haven't they simply and decisively handed over the fragments to you?' "The Master of the Stars sighed, saying, "Since the magical lineage emerged and extinguished the Church, the Spiritual Realm activated its self-diagnostic mechanism. It has simultaneously strengthened its defensive systems to resist the encroachment of the invaders and searched for the hidden magical seeds among mortals, compelling them to establish small worlds for concealment. "Under such circumstances, I was unable to fully predict the existence of a higher-tier magical lineage, nor could I establish communication with the invaders within the Realm. "It wasn't until the conclusion of the Light Compass Contest that I finally met the magical lineage and formally allied with them. "From then on, our strategy has been to guide you toward your downfall and to make you the Master of the Moon. "When your four noble heirs entered the Moon Realm and learned the truth about the Spiritual Realm, understanding the true nature of the invaders, they experienced profound disagreements. You believed that destruction was the true form of order—yet at that very moment, you had already been corrupted." "During that time, when you all parted without resolution, your contamination deepened as you returned to reality, gradually distorting you, deceiving Zhang Tian Shi and the others into once again relying on the core fragments of the Luminary Compass for a second exploration. In that endeavor, you actively merged with the Yin, hoping to become its sovereign. "Zhang Tian Shi and the others could not summon you back—forced to withdraw from the realm, they summoned the Wind and Thunder Deities, which ultimately led to your demise." Ling Tu chuckled bitterly, "And subsequently, my own resurrection was also orchestrated by you!" The Star Sovereign nodded slightly. "You arranged for Shanhé Yongcún to seek aid from the Commander of the Army, aiming to utilize Chu Family's rule-based artifacts for your revival—this was precisely as I anticipated. Since the early battle when the Warlord first arrived in the capital, the Warlord has already allied with me. "My support for your revival and my backing of your ambition to claim the Sun's essence were all staged for the benefit of the Lawful faction. "In truth, during the calamities caused by the Wind and Thunder Deities' frenzied actions, when he pressured the Five Elements Alliance and "At that time, the Moon and the stars had already settled into their places. As long as I entered the Sun's realm, I could become the sovereign of the Sun. Unfortunately, the Magus's determination disrupted the plan. "I can only remain patient, waiting for the right moment. After all, as the sovereign of the Moon, you will help pressure the Lawful faction for me." Ling Tu paused for a few seconds, then said: "So, this time, the Sun's realm is a scheme jointly orchestrated by you and the Magi." The Sovereign of the Stars replied: "Exactly. With your mastery over the Moon's essence, even the gods themselves cannot defeat you in the real world. But once you enter the Sun's realm, you'll be trapped—like a fish in a bowl. The day you face the Sun's challenge will be the day your role reaches its culmination. That is precisely the ending I have planned for you." He glanced toward the distant, sleeping lawful half-deities, saying, "Of course, they are also involved. To completely capture all the lawful half-deities is no easy task— the best strategy is to awaken the Night Emperor, draw them into his slumber. I've been waiting for the right moment, until they helped me secure the four array techniques." "I must thank you—had it not been for your disruption of the Spirit Realm, allowing the invaders to deepen their infiltration, the Night Emperor's representative from the永夜 profession would never have been able to establish a connection with the Night Emperor, and thus never awakened." "Alas, he failed. Thus, his fate would have only two outcomes: either he continuously absorbed the essences of others, merging with one soul fragment after another until he ceased to resemble himself, or he dispersed his spirit and abandoned immortality. The Unworthy General was the second person to gather the Five Elements sets and seek the method of immortality from me. Perhaps he had lost most of his soul, forgetting that he was the First Emperor. Perhaps the First Emperor himself held pride and dignity, unwilling to undertake the steps necessary for immortality, and thus chose to dissolve his spirit and return to chaos. Is that so... Zhang Yuanqing carefully recalled his brief interactions with the Unworthy General. If this half-divine figure were not deceiving him, then indeed, he was not the First Emperor. No matter how much he changed, he would still retain fragments of memory, thereby recognizing his true identity. The absence of such memories indicates he was not the First Emperor. If the Unworthy General were deceiving him... Zhang Yuanqing could not fathom why the Unworthy General would have any reason to deceive him. Laozi was the First Emperor in a previous life—something truly worthy of bragging about for a lifetime. …… "Trapping me and the orderly half-deity here, while the Wind and Thunder deities engage in battle in the present realm—three birds with one stone. Truly impressive." Ling Tu sneered continuously. "Are there any further questions?" The Lord of the Stars gazed at his offspring with pity. At this moment, Ling Tu's face had turned pale and dim, and the radiance in his eyes was rapidly fading. His spiritual energy and vital essence were being slowly consumed by Chi You's blade. With every word he spoke, he had to exert his utmost strength: "When exactly did you become aware of the invaders' presence and decide to align yourself with the Free faction?" The Lord of the Stars replied, "You needn't know." "Very well," Ling Tu struggled, "I'll now ask you once again—why did you have to kill his mother?" The Lord of the Stars smiled. "Whenever the opportunity arises, I will personally tell him." Then, he raised his hand and placed it gently upon Ling Tu's head. Lingtuo's body collapsed like a black hole. Though blood streamed from every orifice, he remained calm, as though already accepting his fate, gazing steadily at the Lord of the Stars. Suddenly, a faint smile touched his lips. "Father, do you truly feel you've won?" As the last echoes of his voice faded, his face shattered and dissolved, collapsing into a small, dark, circular moon that the Master of Taiyuan gently held in his hands—then seamlessly absorbed into his own being. Xushuo said solemnly, "What did Lingtuo mean by his final words?" The Lord of the Stars replied, "Taiyin governs the hidden and excels in the realm of the spirit. Though Lingtuo has perished, his spirit and will remain undiminished. To fully integrate Taiyin, I must refine and absorb his will. If I am compelled by the pressure of the half-divine beings of the void and force the integration, then he will still have the opportunity to make his final stand against me." Currently, he has only claimed Taiyin—not yet fully refined or incorporated. Hearing this, Xushuo held his sword, turned his gaze toward the "The Master of the Stars gently shook his head: 'Holding two semi-divine items, the Void can either sacrifice everything at once or, by leveraging its inherent resilience, endure humiliation and survive. We'll simply watch and see.' He looked up at the Void semi-divine, smiled, and said, 'Void, you can exchange at most twice, gaining a total of six minutes of 12-tier strength. Can you manage to kill either me or the Warlord? Now, guess which one—my or the Warlord's—holds the Mother Goddess's womb? The Spirit-Trajectory wishes to use you as leverage, forcing me to absorb both the Yin and you, an idea he never truly believed in when he was dying. 'However, once I obtain the Sun's essence and refine his spirit and will, the Order will have no hope. So, why not give it a try?' The Void semi-divine's face turned pale. The Master of the Stars chuckled lightly, 'You have two more days. Take your time to think.'