Firmament Sword

Pang Xiaogou said resentfully, "Once Li Kai'an captured Beidou's Eighth Star, he stopped caring about anything. He forced his way through the restrictive seal, and I suffered some backlash from it..."

"Damn it!" Pangtian Star cursed, then asked, "Where are they? Old Baldy Ridge?"

Pang Xiaogou nodded. "When I escaped, they were still there!"

Pangtian Star glanced at Pang Xiaogou and suddenly asked, "Li Ye... didn't he leave in a hurry after receiving the ancestor's treasure? How did he end up colluding with Li Kai'an?"

As he spoke, his expression turned cold as he stared at Pang Xiaogou. "Tell me the truth!"

As he spoke, a terrifying aura suddenly erupted from his body, enveloping Pang Xiaogou.

He looked coldly at the kneeling Pang Xiaogou and said, "You were scheming against Li Kaiyuan when you were just seven years old. I don't believe this matter is as simple as you claim! So... you had better not lie to me!"

The immense pressure made Pang Xiaogou feel as if he couldn't breathe. His face was filled with terror. After a long hesitation, he realized that no matter what, 'Beidou's Eighth Star... is definitely not for me anymore.'

He had originally planned to pin the blame on the Li Family. For one, it would vent his hatred. For another, it would help him save some face. After all... telling the truth about this would be a huge blow to his reputation.

To scheme against others only to fail and end up doing all the work for their benefit... To Pang Xiaogou, this was a massive stain on his life.

The same Pang Xiaogou who could plot against a Divine Power Realm Elder at seven years old had now, as an adult, suffered such a humiliating defeat. He couldn't accept it.

But he never expected his ancestor to be so perceptive, seeing right through his lies.

Left with no other choice, Pang Xiaogou finally told the truth.

He recounted everything, from ordering his men to steal Li Ye's treasure, to capturing Li Hua and using him as bait. This not only lured out Li Ye, but also Beidou's Eighth Star.

He hadn't expected Beidou's Eighth Star's combat prowess to be so absurdly powerful during the fight that it forced Li Kai'an to break the restrictive seal in a desperate attempt to advance to the Seventh Layer of the Divine Power Realm.

The moment the seal broke, the person Li Kai'an hated most was surely Pang Xiaogou. Then, after sensing the Star Power, Li Kai'an finally decided to throw all caution to the wind.

Because as long as he refined Beidou's Eighth Star, he could get back everything he had lost!

Moreover, from that day forward, he could even become one of the most powerful experts in the entire world!

After listening to Pang Xiaogou's account, Grand Elder Pangtian Star shot his great-grandson a cold glance and snorted. "Playing these boring little tricks in front of me... you've become a habitual liar!"

Pang Xiaogou lowered his head, not daring to offer any defense.

"Forget it. Seeing as you only lied to save face, I... won't hold it against you this time. However, you are to stay here obediently and recover from your injuries. No more running around. And more importantly, you are not to speak of this to another soul. Understand?" Pangtian Star said coldly, his eyes glinting.

"Yes, I understand," Pang Xiaogou replied meekly.

With a flick of his sleeve, Pangtian Star's figure vanished from the cave.

Pang Xiaogou slowly stood up, letting out a long sigh of relief. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. 'Thank goodness,' he thought. 'The ancestor didn't hold it against me. The lie... it was just a subconscious impulse to save a little face. I didn't think it through.'

'If I had actually harbored any thoughts of scheming against the ancestor, I... would be in real danger right now!'

'Even though I'm of his bloodline, I'm sure the ancestor would never tolerate being deceived.'

"Li Kai'an... you're on the ancestor's radar now. You won't meet a good end!" Pang Xiaogou muttered, a chilling light flashing in his eyes. He let out a sinister chuckle. "I may have been utterly humiliated, but at least I didn't lose my life. Li Ye... you're a dead man this time! In the future, who will be left to compete with me? What a pity... that Beidou's Eighth Star... won't be mine!"

Pushing his Body Technique to its absolute limit, Pangtian Star moved at an inconceivable speed. His mind was consumed by a single thought: 'Beidou's Eighth Star!'

'As long as I can obtain Beidou's Eighth Star, then... this world... will belong to me, Pangtian Star!'

'Li Kai'an? A good-for-nothing who couldn't even outsmart a seven-year-old child. What right does he have to refine Beidou's Eighth Star?'

'My name is Tianxing—Heavenly Star... This was fated from the very beginning! Beidou's Eighth Star is destined to be mine!'

The Grand Elder of the Honglou Sect, Pangtian Star, raced onward, his heart pounding with an indescribable joy. He secretly decided that after refining Beidou's Eighth Star, he would return and bestow a heaven-sent opportunity upon his favored great-grandson.

'I've decided. When the time comes, I'll make him the Sect Leader of the Honglou Sect! Then, I will help him annihilate every other sect on the entire Sect Continent! The Honglou Sect will become the one and only great sect!'

'Only then, after I step onto the Immortal Path, will I be able to obtain sufficient faith power!'

'Unifying the Sect Continent... is just the beginning. My true goal is to unify the entire world! All four continents... will fall under the rule of the Honglou Sect!'

As Pangtian Star plotted his future, his thoughts soared.

He wasn't worried about Li Kai'an escaping without a trace. He was Pangtian Star, a truly peerless master of the Ninth Layer of the Divine Power Realm!

With a wave of his hand, he could cause mountains to crumble and the earth to crack, wielding unimaginable Great Divine Techniques!

Besides, refining Beidou's Eighth Star couldn't be done in a day or two. The process required a secret, secluded location.

Therefore, Pangtian Star wasn't worried about any surprises. He decided to head to Old Baldy Ridge first and take a look.

...

The two brothers, Li Ye and Li Hua, sat atop the barren peak of Old Baldy Ridge. They gazed at the distant scenery, having a heart-to-heart talk.

"Bro, how did you and Beidou's Eighth Star... actually meet?" Li Hua was filled with nothing but admiration for Xu Luo, Beidou's Eighth Star.

Even though Xu Luo wasn't much older than him, Li Hua considered him the... most powerful person he had ever seen!

In that regard, not even his own brother could compare.

"Uh... how about we change the subject..." At the mention of it, Li Ye's face flushed beet-red. He felt it was just too embarrassing to bring up in front of his younger brother.

"Why? I really want to know more about him! If he weren't so young, I'd want to ask him to be my master!" Li Hua said earnestly. He looked at Li Ye and pleaded, "Come on, bro, just tell me!"

"Well... it's a long story..." Swallowing his pride, Li Ye recounted the story of how he met Xu Luo to his brother.

Li Hua was left dumbfounded. He had imagined that his heroic older brother and Xu Luo had met and instantly hit it off, performing a ceremony to become sworn brothers...

He never imagined the reality would be so harsh. His brother's first meeting with Xu Luo was an attempt to rob the man. And the most humiliating part... he didn't just fail, he ended up getting robbed instead!

As a result, Li Ye, Young Master Hui, Erin, Xuan'Er, and the others had to cross the Endless Ocean the hard way, suffering countless hardships just to make it back to the Sect Continent.

The corner of Li Hua's mouth twitched violently. 'Reality really is stranger than fiction,' he thought.

"I never expected to run into him here, and I definitely never expected the person who stole my Heaven-Piercing Shuttle would turn out to be the famous Beidou's Eighth Star..." Li Ye smiled. "That's how life is sometimes. The encounters you have can be pretty incredible."

Li Hua nodded, at a loss for words. "Hearing it like that, he really does sound like a good person! If it were me, I'm not sure I would have returned the treasure, even if it wasn't that useful to me!"

Li Ye nodded. "Yeah, he could have just given it to one of his friends. I really didn't expect him to be so honorable."

"He's someone worth befriending!" Li Hua's eyes were bright. He envied Xu Luo's experiences and admired his incredible combat prowess even more. He hoped that one day, he could also become such a powerful expert.

"Of course! And we have to do everything in our power to help him!" Li Ye said. "His situation isn't great right now. It feels like the whole world is out looking for him."

"So many people are acting like idiots. Even if they find him, do they really think they're a match for Beidou's Eighth Star?" Li Hua said contemptuously.

Li Ye smiled, shook his head, and sighed. "When such great benefits are at stake, how many people can still think clearly? To be honest, if I didn't owe him my life—no, counting you, *two* lives—even I would be tempted!"

"Is the path to immortality... really that important?" Li Hua's youthful eyes were filled with confusion.

"You're still young, so you wouldn't think about these things. For many people, this is their lifelong pursuit! For a chance at that path, even the slimmest one, they would give anything... even their lives!" Li Ye said with a smile. "To be honest, I don't fully understand it myself. All I know is that he saved me, and I can't let him down!"

"Of course! We always repay our debts!" Li Hua said earnestly.

Just then, a figure shot across the sky. The instant the two brothers, Li Ye and Li Hua, spotted it, it was already standing before them.

When Li Ye and Li Hua saw who it was, their expressions changed instantly, their eyes filling with horror.

Pangtian Star looked at the two young men before him, no less surprised than they were. His gaze swept over them as he released the oppressive aura of a peak Divine Power Realm master. The pressure was so immense they could barely stand; their legs trembled, and they were on the verge of collapsing to their knees.

Li Ye and Li Hua gritted their teeth, struggling to stay upright. A shocked expression crossed Li Ye's face. "Grand Elder... what are you doing here? What... is the meaning of this?"

"The meaning? I was about to ask you the same thing. Why are you two here?" Pangtian Star snorted and retracted his aura. Otherwise, the two brothers probably wouldn't have been able to speak at all.

"We're here... admiring the view." Li Ye let out a long breath. The oppressive feeling from moments ago had nearly suffocated him.

"That's right, Grand Elder... We're just admiring the view. Heh heh," Li Hua added from the side.

"Admiring the view?" Pangtian Star sneered. "Enough nonsense. Where is Li Kai'an?"

Both Li Ye and Li Hua's hearts skipped a beat. Li Ye looked up at Pangtian Star. "Grand Elder... you... you know?"

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