Two days had passed, and the final array of the evil faction had expired. The Master of Taiyuan stepped steadily toward the array, while the surrounding evil half-deities, gazing upward at the ethereal half-deities in the void, exchanged sharp, watchful glances—like guards of the stars, ever on alert for any bold intruder to disrupt his procession. The offense and defense had reversed! After two days of adjustment and adaptation, the evil half-deities had fully accepted the reality that the Lord of the Stars had become a powerful ally within their own ranks, transforming from initial indignation and humiliation into genuine delight and enthusiasm. After all, personal embarrassment paled in comparison to the triumph of the faction as a whole. The Lord of the Stars truly was a steadfast comrade. Stepping through the barren sand, the Lord of the Stars entered the luminous column of the array, lifting his bright, star-strewn gaze to the still-unchanging ethereal half-deity, and spoke calmly: "In truth, the evil faction has always been far more tolerant and gentle than the lawful ones. The invaders merely sought to uphold the cosmic order, extinguishing threats before they could even take root." "The planet's lifespan has now come to an end. When I become the Sovereign of the Spiritual Realm, it will no longer exist, and the Wayfarers of the Spiritual Realm will be completely extinguished. "But you, the Half-Gods, are extraordinary beings capable of traveling to other habitable planets, experiencing different forms of life and civilizations. "The Invaders will not pursue you, for in all things, there must be yin and yang—balance ensures longevity. As long as you do not disrupt their destruction of life or planets, you may thrive and survive until the end of your own lifespans." The Sovereign of the Stars sighed, "By contrast, the Orderly are far more extreme: they cherish life and reject destruction. Once Order prevails, they will drive the Evil faction to extinction. "I uphold the principles of the Evil faction—the idea that all things have an end, including the universe." The Void Half-God furrowed her brow, "I don't understand what you're saying." The Star Sovereign expressed disappointment, as if a summer insect could not speak of ice, saying, "All you need to know is that, once I attain the essence of the Sun and harmonize the movements of the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars, I will not drive you to extinction." The Void Half-Deity coldly retorted, "You, a mere second-rate player, once again want to employ your 'leave some room' strategy! You may not drive us to extinction, but the Evil Faction will. Cruelty and relentless slaughter are innate to the Evil Faction—part of their very nature. Even Half-Deities embody this, let alone the invaders. To crush us is as simple as crushing ants. Then, what is remarkable about merely crushing a few ants according to your own principles?" A touch of mockery appeared on the Star Sovereign's composed face: "Then, why have you hesitated so long? From the very moment the array was activated, you have already lost. Compromise and mere survival are the choices you've made over the past two days. How can your stubbornness now deceive your own heart?" The Void Half-Deity remained silent. A moment later, the central light column of the array suddenly brightened, shining dozens to even hundreds of times more intensely. At the same time, four light columns hundreds of kilometers away also erupted with powerful radiance, activating all five great arrays simultaneously. In the center of the five light columns, across a continuous stretch of barren land spanning hundreds of kilometers, the terrain began to collapse, forming a vast chasm. A brilliant streak of golden light radiated out from within the chasm. At the same time, the five light columns resonated and linked together, forming a massive pentagonal light wall that excluded the half-divine beings outside the Star Sovereign. This was the reward granted to the Order of Law when it gathered its five great array techniques. Non-Order, non-Dawn Deities could not enter the barrier. The Star Sovereign removed his robe woven from starlight, then sharply waved his hand, causing the robe to unfold with a rustle. It swiftly rotated and expanded in the air—ten zhang, fifty zhang, a hundred zhang, two hundred zhang— In an instant, it transformed into a celestial canopy that completely covered the sky. The Lord of the Stars pressed down with one hand, and the robe slowly descended, enveloping the abyss and shielding the pure golden light. Soon, the golden light on the surface of the starlit robe grew brighter and brighter, intensifying as if a flashlight wrapped in cloth. The starlit robe swelled, taking on a spherical shape. The resolute, powerful golden light burned through the stars, purifying and refining them. The starlit robe dimmed and evaporated repeatedly, yet each time it rose again with even more brilliant starlight, always enclosing the sun's essence and striving to balance its fierce nature. The sun's essence rose steadily, supported by the starlit robe like a curtain, radiating a thin stream of divine solar power into the realm. The Lord of the Stars' face bore vast areas of carbonization, his palm gradually turning black, with golden flames constantly igniting upon him—but being extinguished by the starlight. For a while, the two fundamental forces held firm, and finally, the sun's essence, once unclaimed, was fully neutralized by the starlight, achieving stability and no longer subjecting the starlit robe to intense combustion. The sun's essence was subdued. The Lord of the Stars exhaled a breath of turbid air, and the carbonized, blackened layers on his body gradually restored. Then, with a sweeping motion of his arms, he emitted a resonant, layered sound: "Receive!" The robe of starlight, infused with the essence of the sun, surged forward with mighty force and crashed into his chest, merging within him. He intended to fully subdue the sun in one decisive effort. Floating in the air, the brilliant starlight and the pure golden radiance flowed like two serpents weaving through and chasing each other within his body. The starlight repeatedly pursued the sun, striving to merge into it, while the golden light constantly repelled the starlight—yet inevitably, the two converged and intertwined. Watching this scene, the elder of the She family sighed, "It is beyond recovery!" The fusion of the Lord of the Stars with the sun was now an inevitable reality. The goddess of beauty and the half-deity of void remained silent, their eyes fixed intently on the golden light pulsing within the Lord of the Stars. The evil half-deities, in unison, exhaled long, steady breaths—some with expressions of delight, others The Master of the Stars controls both the Moon and the Sun; once he fully assimilates the Sun, he will further consume the Moon's essence and become the true sovereign of the Spiritual Realm. The struggle between the Lawful and Free factions has lasted for a century, and now, it has finally concluded. Next comes the return to the real world, where the Lawful faction will be purged and the world completely transformed. Suddenly, a figure appears without any prior warning, near the Evil半-deities within the realm. ... Pingsheng Subdistrict. The Master of Pure Yang enters the dreams of a middle-aged woman. In the dream, a tall young man sits at a table, one foot resting on a chair, holding a bowl and eating heartily, using a large spoon to serve himself. He murmurs, "Mom, your dishes are still as delicious as ever. I haven't eaten like this in a long time—I feel so blessed." The middle-aged woman sits beside him, her gaze tender, a gentle smile on her lips. Even in her dreams, she keeps thinking of her missing son. The Master of Pure Yang chuckles, raises his hand, and with a gesture, the dream shatters, transforming into a field of white. Zhou Ai stood motionless in the blank dream, her gaze scattered, as if wandering. "Four years ago, the city of Hangzhou reported the disappearance of a person to the Kangyang District Public Security Office..." A gray-white glow appeared at the edge of Pure Yang's Master's eyes, spreading out as he spoke. Thus, within the white dream, the Kangyang District Public Security Office came into view, and the figure of a woman in a state of urgency emerged. She rushed into the office and reported to the female officer at the information desk that her son had gone missing. This scene had appeared previously when the Master had guided the woman through her dream, but the subsequent developments were blocked by the power of hypnosis, and forcing a breakthrough might inflict irreversible trauma on the woman's soul. At that time, the Master had come only by chance, without a clear intention or purpose. To avoid sacrificing the woman's spiritual well-being, he had decided to halt the dream intrusion. Now, however, it was possible to proceed. The Master of the Pure Yang Palm guides the evolution of the dream... After filling out the forms, Zhou aunt was led into an office, where the female police officer said, "Later, a colleague will come to ask you to make a written statement..." At this point, the dream experiences a glitch—flickering, stuttering, as if the signal is unstable. Zhou aunt said, "Officer, I..." But her words were swallowed by the flickering display, and the Master of the Pure Yang Palm did not hear them. At the same time, Zhou aunt's dream begins to tremble and sway, teetering on the brink of collapse. She screams in agony, yet remains unable to awaken from the dream. The gray ripples within the Master's eyes suddenly surge violently, spreading outward in concentric waves, radiating throughout the dream space. Two forces clash and contend on Zhou aunt's dream as the battlefield. Although the Master of the Pure Yang Palm helps stabilize her dream and soothes her soul, the human soul is unable to withstand the conflict between the spiritual travelers, and remains perpetually on the verge of collapse. At that moment, as Zhou Aun's spirit was about to collapse, the force opposing the Pure Yang Master suddenly vanished—just like the function of a fuse. Her spirit instantly stabilized. How could the practitioner have been so concerned about a mere mortal's life? The Pure Yang Master raised an eyebrow, speculating that the woman's musician might have known her. Perhaps she wished to make her forget certain memories, without endangering her life. The dream stabilized, and the Pure Yang Master stood in the inquiry room of the Public Security Bureau, watching the woman anxiously awaiting further developments. Soon, the door of the room opened. "The colleagues from the Xizi Lake Public Security Office have retrieved surveillance footage from nearby streets and still haven't found his trail—thus ruling out the possibility that he climbed over the temple wall. "Yet, strangely, the case file hasn't been closed or withdrawn. As you mentioned, Lei Yibing was later located; logically, once a person is found, the case should be closed." Ah, so why hasn't it been closed? Lei Yibing remains listed as a missing person at the Xizi Lake Public Security Office... Chen Yuanjun furrowed his brows, pondering, as Xiao Gao's voice resumed: "By the way, Chen Team, I've another observation—among the missing persons in the file, there's another individual besides Lei Yibing." "Another person?" Chen Yuanjun asked, expressing his bewilderment. "Yes," said Xiao Gao, "the one who disappeared at the same time as Lei Yibing—his name is Zhang Yuanqing! I was just about to report this to you—it's a noteworthy lead..." Chen Yuanjun was struck dumb; his phone clattered to the ground. He pressed his hands to his head, sinking to his knees in pain, as if something within him had awakened. ... The door of the interview room opened, and a man with a weathered appearance, bearing deep furrows between his brows, stepped in.