Chapter 116: A Crisis in Cultivation!

Yang Ye remained stationed at the South Heaven Gate. For the first half-month, assassins arrived almost every single day, sometimes alone, sometimes in pairs. Yet, they all met their defeat at Yang Ye's hands, consumed by the black hole within him.

To kill was to cultivate. After these assassins "gifted" their energy to Yang Ye, the cultivation resources they had collected over their long lives also fell into his possession. Various materials were transported to the factory established by Nezha, where they were forged into weapons and armor.

After consuming twenty-one Star Master-level practitioners, the black hole in Yang Ye’s star sea had grown significantly. However, he soon encountered a crisis identical to the previous one: his star sea barrier became unstable, and erratic pulses of energy emanated from his body.

Fortunately, Long Xiaoqing, who had been "missing" for half a month, appeared.

"Husband, what is wrong?" Long Xiaoqing noticed the anomaly in Yang Ye the moment she arrived.

Yang Ye sat cross-legged in the stone hut, his brow furrowed in deep thought. He had assumed that after the previous reinforcement, he would have a long period of grace, but he had not expected the crisis to return so soon.

"Xiaoqing, you cannot help with this. Guard the outside for me; do not let anyone disturb me," Yang Ye said, forcing himself to remain calm and smiling.

Long Xiaoqing nodded, her face filled with concern. After she left, Yang Ye took out a Star God Crystal, crushed it into small pieces, and swallowed them. He no longer dared to use the black hole to absorb energy. Under the guidance of his will, the energy from the Star God Crystal absorbed by his physical body flowed into his star sea to reinforce the barrier.

After several days of effort, Yang Ye grew restless. The black hole had become so powerful that it was stripping away the star sea barrier; the speed of his repair was far outpaced by the speed of destruction. He felt that it would not be long before the black hole shattered his star sea entirely, and at that point, the star sea would cease to exist—and his very body would be consumed by the void.

Yang Ye’s path of cultivation was entirely unique, leaving him with no predecessors' experience to rely upon. When his efforts proved futile, he felt the sting of despair for the first time.

Just then, powerful surges of star energy emanated from outside. Sensing this energy, vast expanses of star-filled skies, like a shimmering galaxy, appeared in Yang Ye’s mind.

"Star God realm..." Yang Ye murmured to himself. A strand of his consciousness left his body and appeared outside the hut.

At this point, his star sea was completely out of control, and the star energy flooding into it no longer obeyed his commands. Before everything ended, he figured he might as well take a few more looks at Long Xiaoqing.

There were nine intruders, all clad in black armor and draped in black robes. All nine were of the Star God realm. The young woman leading them was Lan Xingchensha, whom Yang Ye had met before.

Sensing the chaotic aura radiating from Yang Ye’s body within the stone hut, Lan Xingchensha—clad in black female armor, her head bare—looked at the vigilant Long Xiaoqing and smiled. "I didn't expect us to arrive at such a perfect time!"

Watching the nine of them, Long Xiaoqing secretly felt grateful that her grandfather had helped her condense her dragon pearl. Otherwise, she would truly be no match for the nine of them combined.

At this moment, unable to withstand the pressure released by the nine, Zhou Hun and the others retreated behind the South Heaven Gate. Protected by the Star-Guarding Array, the pressure vanished, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Lan Xingchensha did not spare a glance for Zhou Hun and his men from start to finish. After speaking, she offered no further words and simply waved her hand. One of her subordinates raised a hand, summoned a blue curved blade, and darted forward.

In an instant, a powerful surge of star energy descended upon Long Xiaoqing. The black-robed assailant reached her in a flash, his curved blade sweeping toward her throat. His expression was cold, his eyes filled with killing intent.

But soon, his eyes were clouded with horror. Before the blade could touch her neck, it stopped dead. Long Xiaoqing had caught the tip of the blade between two fingers. The assailant found that not only was the blade immobilized, but his entire body was bound by a powerful force, as if all the star energy released by his companions had turned against him.

"This... this is impossible!" he gasped, unable to believe his situation. He was a practitioner of the Star God realm!

*Thump.*

A dull sound echoed. Although filled with despair, the assailant’s face still held the complex expression of shock replacing coldness. He looked down to see Long Xiaoqing pulling a still-beating heart from his chest. Remembering her grandfather’s words, she squeezed her hand, shattering the heart in a burst of blood. She caught the brightest, reddest drop of blood and swallowed it.

Only then was the assailant released. He staggered back, clutching his chest, before a massive spray of blood erupted from the gaping hole, and he collapsed to the ground, dead.

*Boom!*

Long Xiaoqing’s body shuddered, shaking off the star energy that had bound her. The seven black-robed figures behind Lan Xingchensha all retreated a few steps.

"I didn't expect such an expert to exist within this fifth-level star domain," Lan Xingchensha said with a smile. She did not seem shocked by the combat prowess Long Xiaoqing had displayed.

"Form up!" she commanded calmly.

No sooner had her voice fallen than the seven subordinates vanished from their spots. Long Xiaoqing disappeared as well, though powerful ripples of star energy surged in the surrounding space.

"Boss, what... what is happening?" one of Zhou Hun’s subordinates asked in confusion. Zhou Hun shook his head, unable to speak. The battle before them had completely surpassed their imagination.

Soon, their attention was drawn to Lan Xingchensha. Clad in tight-fitting black armor, she swayed with an elegant grace as she walked toward the stone hut.

"No!" Zhou Hun shouted, rushing forward, but as soon as he stepped outside the South Heaven Gate, he was repelled by an invisible force.

Lan Xingchensha entered the hut and saw Yang Ye sitting cross-legged.

"I could kill you once, and I can kill you a second time," Yang Ye said faintly.

"Impossible," Lan Xingchensha replied, shaking her head. "You are having problems with your own body; you can barely protect yourself."

Yang Ye took one last lingering look outside and smiled. "I will take you with me to the grave."

With that, Yang Ye closed his eyes. Lan Xingchensha raised her blue curved blade and swung it down with all her might.

*Whoosh!*

A gust of wind rose. Halfway through the swing, Yang Ye’s body suddenly contracted, transforming into a black vortex about a meter in diameter. Before Lan Xingchensha could react, she was sucked into the abyss.

In an instant, the vortex flashed and vanished.