Chapter 42: The Mystery of the Evening Star

The Gate of Stars was forcefully thrown open with a loud boom, and Jiang Xiaoyu and Xiaoqi were tossed into the room like kites with snapped strings.

If anyone had been present to witness it, a single glance would have told them something catastrophic had occurred—this starlight-filled room had completely transformed.

Suspended in mid-air was an absurdly oversized moon, frantically devouring the starlight within the room.

The starlight, refusing to be consumed so tamely, darted about in a frantic, chaotic frenzy across the entire space like a swarm of disturbed fireflies.

Just then, the moment Jiang Xiaoyu and Xiaoqi stumbled in, the starlight erupted with excitement, swarming as one into Xiaoqi’s body.

In an instant, the entire room shifted from a sea of stars to a uniform, pristine moonlight.

Xiaoqi snapped her eyes open, her gaze entirely devoid of its former chill, flashing instead with a cunning gleam. She stood up leisurely, staring smilingly at that massive moon as she called out:

“Hello, elder sister.”

The next second, a woman with a graceful posture flew out from the moon, her robes fluttering as she landed softly on the ground. She rushed over, threw her arms around Jiang Xiaoyu, and cried anxiously: “Husband! Husband!”

She checked Jiang Xiaoyu’s pulse, her face instantly turning pale: “How is his body hollowed out to this extent?”

Lengyue carefully cradled Jiang Xiaoyu, gently placing him onto the bed, and then spun around, her gaze locking firmly onto Xiaoqi.

“My husband’s body is hollowed out to such a severe degree. Wanxing, don’t you owe me an explanation?”

As she spoke, the moon behind her began to transform—shifting back and forth between three forms: a bright moon, a blazing fire-star, and a blood moon. Following that, space warped, and Lengyue split into three, manifesting as three women with identical faces yet distinct temperaments.

The bright moon was holy and pure.

The fire-star was seductive and alluring.

The blood moon was stern and murderous.

The blood moon was the first to step forward, conjuring a bloody longsword in her hand, pointing its tip straight at Wanxing as she spoke coldly: “Wanxing, you dare harvest my husband’s vitality? Very well, new debts and old grudges, we shall settle them all today!”

Wanxing shook her head like a rattle-drum in sheer terror, hastily blurting out: “Sister, please listen to my explanation! Just now, you absorbed my starlight, causing my primordial Light and Dark to fall out of balance, forcing my consciousness into dormancy to cope. When would I have had the time to harvest Jiang Xiaoyu? Besides—what even is ‘harvesting vitality’? This younger sister truly doesn’t understand; sister must be misunderstanding me.”

The bright moon frowned, raised a hand to hold back the blood moon, and turned to look at the fire-star: “Is what she’s saying true?”

The fire-star thought for a moment and replied: “Xiaoqi is a vessel spirit, not a woman. She shouldn’t be able to harvest vitality.”

The bright moon breathed a sigh of relief, though her brows remained furrowed: “Then what on earth happened to my husband?”

Wanxing hurriedly recounted everything that had transpired on the sports field from start to finish.

The bright moon’s brows grew deeper as she listened: “I lost my memories, knowing only that whoever can activate my Moon Power is my husband. As for anything else, I am completely clueless about him.”

The fire-star didn’t care in the least: “Past or future, guarding my husband is enough.”

The blood moon said nothing, simply nodding in silent agreement.

Seeing the atmosphere soften, Wanxing quickly put on a flattering smile and said: “A dozen years ago, Sister, you tore open the array of the Moon Gate, throwing 1314 out of balance and out of control. This Purple Palace plunged straight into the turbulence of spacetime and landed in this ghost-forsaken place called Huangshan Vocational Institute. This younger sister had no other choice back then but to slip quietly in through a crack in the Moon Gate, laying down the Heaven-Earth Xuanhuang Spirit-Binding Array to temporarily seal Sister away. This younger sister acted out of pure kindness; without this, who knows what kind of massive disaster Sister would have caused!”

The fire-star sneered: “Nonsense! Do you think I’d still believe you? You sealed me clearly because you wanted to control Xiaoqi and completely take over 1314, so that you and Dongfang could continue feeding me and her your Light and Dark power to cultivate!”

Wanxing covertly glanced out the door and lowered her voice: “Sister, you’ve got it all wrong. I left the Star Origin behind, using the power of Light along with the Xuanhuang Spirit-Binding Array to seal and suppress Sister, while all the remaining Dark power was tucked away inside Xiaoqi, wandering aimlessly through the territory of aberrations in a daze. Can you even call that control? As for taking over 1314, that’s completely out of the question.”

The bright moon’s tone softened slightly: “Even so, it doesn’t change the fact that you rashly made a move against me. Wanxing, I’ll give you a decent chance to strike—let me see how much your Daoist arts have improved over these past ten-odd years.”

Seeing the bright moon soften, Wanxing hid her hands behind her back to quietly form hand seals while acting coquettishly: “Sister, why are you talking about fighting and killing before letting me finish? Once my consciousness returned, I managed to uncover some secrets about Dongfang, you know.”

The bright moon’s voice remained cold: “Dongfang’s? Let’s hear it.”

Wanxing gritted her teeth, resentment coloring her tone: “In Huangshan Vocational Institute, there is actually a key that allows one to freely enter and exit 1314. In my opinion, it is definitely something Dongfang cooked up!”

The bright moon paused, pondering for a moment before asking: “Why do you say it’s Dongfang? She’s merely a emotionless Guardian of Light; she doesn’t have that many schemes.”

Wanxing let out a scornful scoff: “You believe her when she says she has no emotions? She released the key, allowing external aberrations to enter 1314—don’t you understand yet, Sister? She’s hunting aberrations to boost her own power of Light. While the two of us were fighting each other to the death, this Dongfang has been making a killing.”

Upon hearing this, the blood moon’s killing intent flared: “If this is true, the consequences are far more serious than Wanxing sealing us away. Once Light and Dark fall out of balance, 1314 will completely collapse.”

The bright moon raised a hand to stop the blood moon, fixing her gaze on Wanxing: “Mere words. Where is the proof?”

Wanxing smiled craftily and nudged her chin toward Jiang Xiaoyu: “The key is right on your husband; Sister can just check.”

At those words, the bright moon’s expression finally shifted. She turned to look at the blood moon: “Search it on my husband.”

The blood moon dismissed her bloody sword, walked over to Jiang Xiaoyu, and stared down at his face. Her face flushed a deep crimson, and she had no idea where to put her hands.

Seeing this, the fire-star let out a giggle, strode over openly, and began patting down Jiang Xiaoyu’s clothes. In no time at all, she fished out a silver key. She handed the key over to the bright moon.

The bright moon took it and inspected it, her expression changing drastically. The numbers “711” were clearly engraved on both sides of the key.

The bright moon said in a low voice: “7 presumably represents Xiaoqi, but what about the 11?”

The fire-star rolled her eyes: “Could it not be 11, but a 1 and a 1?”

The blood moon asked doubtfully: “But aside from Xiaoqi, 1314 is home to three women. Logically speaking, shouldn’t it be 7111…”

The bright moon’s heart gave a violent jolt, and she murmured: “Since this key can open 1314, it proves it shares the same origin. The number 711 would never appear without reason. Could it mean… that there ought to be two women in 1314 besides Xiaoqi? Among me, Dongfang, and Wanxing… has an extra one appeared?”

Before she could finish, a spiritual talisman materialized out of thin air in Wanxing’s left hand, while her right hand—which had been forming seals behind her back—shot out to point straight at the bright moon, rapidly chanting: “Heaven and Earth Xuanhuang, Spirit-Binding Array, rise!”

As the words fell, a yellow barrier descended from the sky, slamming down over the bright moon, the fire-star, and the blood moon.

Meanwhile, Wanxing let out a loud “Awooo” as she bolted out the door, dashed across the living room, and dove straight back into the Gate of Stars with a whoosh.