Li Xue bit her lip, a flash of resolve crossing her eyes. "We’ll sneak closer. If things go south, we’ll retreat into the Dream Realm." Fortune favors the bold, she reasoned, and they had the Dream Realm as their ultimate safety net.
The two began to navigate through a chaotic field of meteorites, celestial bodies, and spatial rifts. Steering the flying boat placed a heavy burden on Li Lin’s spiritual energy, giving him a sense of déjà vu. It felt remarkably like his training in the Sea of Chaotic Stars, though the stakes here were far higher and the danger more immediate.
"Mother, I think training here is excellent—it’s just like the Chaotic Star Sector!" Li Lin exclaimed, his voice tinged with excitement.
When it was Li Xue’s turn to pilot, she too felt the preciousness of this experience. In such a harsh environment, with crisis looming at every turn, one had to give their absolute all. Draining one’s spiritual energy to the dregs and then recovering it yielded far better results than ordinary meditation. This was the so-called "Adversity Strengthening Method," perfectly suited for their current predicament where they had been unable to break through their cultivation bottlenecks.
Ten days passed, and Li Xue and Li Lin were still circling the outer reaches of the star sector. They were inwardly astonished—just how many people were fighting, and how could they have kept it up for so long? It was truly inconceivable.
Suddenly, Li Xue’s divine sense swept over a mortal planet teeming with life, which was currently being sucked into a massive spatial disturbance.
"Oh no! Lin’er, a mortal planet!" Li Xue immediately manifested her Five Elements Shuttle. She expanded its formation, casting a protective shroud over the planet.
Li Lin summoned his Purple Sun Cauldron. In an instant, it swelled to the size of a planet, shielding another inhabited world within its massive form.
"When gods fight, it’s the mortals who suffer! These Heavenly Lords and Demon Lords are all a bunch of bastards!" Li Xue cursed under her breath.
"Mother, we should move them out of here. The spatial fluctuations are too violent," Li Lin said, his expression solemn.
"Agreed. It’s time we showed what we’re made of. Consider this a live exercise!" Neither Li Xue nor Li Lin had truly tested their strength since their last advancement.
"Understood!" They first used their treasures to stabilize the two planets, then teleported to a region of the void unaffected by the spatial ripples. They scouted the terrain, searching for a location where the gravitational pull matched the planets' original positions.
If the gravitational balance was disrupted, oceans could turn into dry land and continents could sink beneath the waves. For mortals, such a shift would be nothing short of an apocalypse.
With their divine senses fully extended and the power of the late Tribulation Transcendence stage, they quickly identified a suitable location. Then, displaying their respective divine abilities, they physically hauled the two living planets out of the danger zone.
By the time they finished, Li Xue and Li Lin were nearly paralyzed with exhaustion. Heavens, this was no task for mere mortals. While it might have been a flick of the wrist for an Immortal or a God, for cultivators, it was an arduous battle. Gasping for breath, the two retreated into the Dream Realm to recover.
Jin Sang and Lei Yan were in the middle of a game of chess by the lake when they saw the bedraggled pair. Startled, they rushed over to check on them. Seeing the two consume medicinal pills and begin their recovery, the guardians fell into deep thought.
"Perhaps we should move the Mistress and the Young Master into the Creation Array to recover?" Lei Yan suggested.
"A fine idea!" Jin Sang agreed happily. With a swift motion of his hands, he performed a series of mudras, teleporting Li Xue and Li Lin into the Yin-Yang Creation Array.
Two months later, Li Lin was the first to emerge from seclusion. Sensing his new cultivation at the Great Ascension stage, his heart swelled with joy. He was not far from ascension now; soon, he would be able to go to the Immortal Realm to find his father.
Li Xue emerged slightly later, also having reached the Great Ascension stage. She was delighted, though she felt the joy of this breakthrough was slightly diminished because it hadn't come from overcoming a direct trial of combat. However, this was a reward for their good deeds, so it wasn't exactly unearned.
Li Xue and Li Lin exited the Dream Realm, wanting to see if the mortal planets they had worked so hard to save were safe. The moment they stepped out, they felt spatial fluctuations even more violent than before.
"They’re still at it? This is ridiculous!" Li Xue and Li Lin exchanged a look of disbelief.
Li Xue performed a hand seal, and Lei Yan appeared before them. He frowned immediately upon arrival. "Are those brats still fighting?"
Li Xue shrugged. Lei Yan’s eyes suddenly flashed with golden light, two pillars of radiance piercing deep into the void. After a moment, he withdrew his gaze and said, "There’s a show to watch. Does Mistress wish to see?"
"Yes, of course!" Li Xue felt a rare spark of combativeness ignite within her. She grabbed Li Lin’s arm, ready to teleport.
"Mistress, don't be in such a hurry. I’ll take you. The range of a battle between a Heavenly Lord and a Demon Lord is quite vast," Lei Yan said. With a wave of his sleeves, he vanished with Li Xue and Li Lin in tow.
Lei Yan chose a prime vantage point. From within his invisibility formation, they could clearly see the brutal battle unfolding below while remaining perfectly safe.
The Third Demon Prince was clad in black demonic armor, with two ferocious demonic beasts carved onto his pauldrons, their claws bared. He brandished a massive black seal, locked in combat with a Heavenly Lord wearing white immortal armor. Both of their armors showed signs of damage.
Meanwhile, the Third Prince’s four demon generals were engaged in a heated, inseparable struggle with another Heavenly Lord clad in earthy-yellow immortal armor.
"Oh, what treasure is that?" Li Xue asked, pointing at a white flood dragon.
"That is an immortal artifact in the form of a chain," Lei Yan explained.
The white flood dragon clashed repeatedly with the black seal. Simultaneously, the Third Demon Prince released countless demonic wraiths to swarm the white-armored Heavenly Lord. However, the Heavenly Lord’s armor emitted ripples of light that kept the wraiths at bay.
"How boring. If you're going to fight, give it your all. What’s with this half-hearted posturing? A bunch of fools," Lei Yan grumbled. Back in the God Realm, with his temper, he would have stepped in to teach these boys a lesson. But here in the cultivation world, he didn't dare be too reckless, and he wanted to maintain a good impression in front of his current Mistress.
"Why have they been fighting for so long?" Li Lin asked with a frown.
"Who knows? Probably just bored," Lei Yan said dismissively.
On the battlefield, the two sides reached a stalemate. One of the Heavenly Lords called out, "Third Prince, this endless bickering is pointless. If you want to return to the Demon Realm, we won't stop you!"
The Third Demon Prince snorted. "I like it this way, so what? You’ve been chasing me for centuries, and we’ve only been fighting for a few months. Are you tired of it already?"
The other Heavenly Lord replied, "We haven't actually done anything to you. In a few hundred years, the Great War of Immortals and Demons will begin again. We’ll have plenty of time to fight then. Why play around in the cultivation world? We both bear responsibility for the collateral damage to mortals!"
"Responsibility my foot! You started it! Let your Immortal Realm take the responsibility! This Prince is done playing!" The Third Demon Prince recalled his demonic artifacts. He had been fighting for months and had finally had his fill. It was time to pack up and head back to the Demon Realm.
The four demon generals also recalled their weapons and returned to the Prince’s side. The Third Prince summoned his demonic carriage and, along with his generals, vanished in a teleportation flash.
The two Heavenly Lords finally breathed a sigh of relief and exchanged a helpless look. They had only humored that "demon star" for months out of fear that the fallout would be too great. Otherwise, the cultivation world would have been the one to suffer.
After tidying up the battlefield, the two Heavenly Lords teleported away, heading straight for the Fangyuan Star Domain.
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 凡人星 | Mortal Planet | A planet inhabited by non-cultivators. |
| 五行飞梭 | Five Elements Shuttle | Li Xue's artifact. |
| 紫阳鼎 | Purple Sun Cauldron | Li Lin's artifact. |
| 阴阳造化阵 | Yin-Yang Creation Array | A powerful recovery/cultivation array within the Dream Realm. |
| 大乘期 | Great Ascension Stage | The final stage of cultivation before ascending to the Immortal Realm. |
| 锁链 | Chain (Artifact) | An immortal-grade weapon used by the Heavenly Lord. |
| 魔印 | Demonic Seal | The black seal artifact used by the Third Demon Prince. |
| 魔将 | Demon General | High-ranking subordinates of the Demon Prince. |
| 魔星 | Demon Star | A metaphorical term for a troublesome or calamitous person (referring to the Prince). |
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