Chapter 40: A Web of Deceit and a Fateful Encounter

Qingfeng Immortal’s words struck Zhang Xiuxin like a bolt from the blue, exploding in his ears. On one hand, he found it impossible to believe that his son had died so suddenly. On the other, he questioned why the silver-haired girl would kill his son, especially after she had protected humanity so many times before.

Struggling to control his rapidly destabilizing emotions, Zhang Xiuxin inquired,

“Please, what exactly happened? Why would that silver-haired girl kill Little Wu?”

Qingfeng Immortal sighed deeply.

“Alas, it’s a long story. In short, my visit with Little Wu led us to stumble upon the fact that the girl was colluding with giant beasts. To silence us, she launched an attack. Your son, being an ordinary person, was simply kicked to death by her. Then, she dispatched two more giant beasts, intending to eliminate me as well.”

Though Qingfeng Immortal’s narration was vivid, it remained difficult to believe. Zhang Xiuxin couldn’t help but retort,

“Collusion? How is that possible? She’s helped us eliminate so many giant beasts before.”

“But have you seen any giant beast corpses?”

Qingfeng Immortal’s voice turned sharp.

“This, this…” The question left Zhang Xiuxin momentarily speechless. Indeed, at every site where giant beasts had appeared, only fragments of their bodies were found; no complete corpses. While eyewitnesses claimed intense laser attacks had directly annihilated them, the absence of full remains was striking.

“Then why would she cooperate with the giant beasts?”

“It was merely an act, designed to win humanity’s trust.”

Seeing Zhang Xiuxin still grappling with the concept, Qingfeng Immortal shamelessly continued.

“Every time giant beasts appeared in Huaguo, that silver-haired girl always showed up just in time. Don’t you find that strange? And what about this time? Why hasn’t she emerged yet? It’s precisely because she wants the giant beasts to deal with me! She can’t openly confront an immortal like me in broad daylight, after all!”

‘This person’s brain must be broken,’ Xi Yue thought.

Hearing these words, Zhang Xiuxin fell into a prolonged silence. The grief of losing his son, coupled with this sudden revelation, made it difficult for him to accept. Meanwhile, Quan Dezhi, standing nearby, frowned at Qingfeng Immortal’s claims, sensing that something was amiss.

‘Where did this self-proclaimed immortal even come from?’ he wondered.

Seeing that Zhang Xiuxin seemed to believe him, Qingfeng Immortal secretly rejoiced. Since he had already moved to seize the Star Origin, he was now an enemy of the silver-haired girl. If the government chose to support him, dealing with her would undoubtedly be easier. After all, many high-ranking officials harbored reservations about the silver-haired girl’s origins and power.

Moreover, he could pin the blame for Little Wu’s foolish death on her. Even better, after all this was resolved, he might be hailed as a hero, achieving both fame and fortune. What could be more splendid?

Just then, an officer investigating the scene approached and asked, “Who is this girl? And how did she end up here?”

Everyone’s attention shifted to the fallen girl lying nearby.

“She’s also an accomplice of that silver-haired girl. She attacked me along with those two giant beasts, but I’ve already subdued her.”

As the crowd prepared to speak further, Xi Yue, who had been lying on the ground, finally spoke. From Qingfeng Immortal’s conversation with the arriving soldiers, Xi Yue had largely discerned the green-haired man’s true intentions. She had initially thought that this Star Origin was given to him by the Origin, but now, it seemed quite different.

‘Ignorance is truly terrifying,’ she mused.

She fixed her gaze on Qingfeng Immortal’s eyes and spoke in a flat, yet subtly mocking tone.

“Do you know who you are making an enemy of?”

Qingfeng Immortal was unperturbed by Xi Yue’s taunt. In his estimation, the silver-haired girl might be strong, but at most, she was only seventh-tier. This was, of course, a misleading impression left by Lin Ling’s clone.

Thinking this, he stepped before Xi Yue, his voice laced with disdain.

“Hmph, she might be strong, true. But I have now reached the peak of the seventh-tier. I was only caught off guard earlier because I hadn’t fully mastered the Earth Star Origin’s power, allowing you to exploit a weakness. Not to mention, now I have this!”

As if showing off, Qingfeng Immortal manipulated a vine to reveal a small white cat before Xi Yue.

He continued, “As long as I absorb the Life Star Origin hidden within this cat, I will undoubtedly reach the eighth-tier. Defeating that silver-haired girl will be far too easy then.”

Upon hearing Qingfeng Immortal’s blindly arrogant words, Xi Yue fell silent.

‘A frog in a well, ignorant of the vastness of the sky!’

Xi Yue no longer wished to bother with him. She had more important matters to prepare for now. Silently, she began to gather her remaining Spirit Energy and all of the body’s life force.

She could distinctly feel a terrifying oppressive sensation rapidly approaching their location. This power was precisely what she most abhorred: the Sacred Spirit Power belonging to a Creator.

This meant that the new Origin was currently rushing towards this very spot.

‘Cannot let her discover my existence.’

This was the sole thought in Xi Yue’s mind at that moment.

To the beings of the Origin Star Universe, she was an undeniable monster, an antithesis to the Origin Battle Sovereign. If that silver-haired girl discovered her existence and guessed her true identity, she would certainly eliminate her.

This didn’t concern Xi Yue herself, as the ‘Xi Yue’ currently on Blue Star was merely a clone of her true body. Being eliminated would be insignificant.

However,

Xi Yue worried that exposing her identity would bring utter disaster upon Lin Ling. Most Origins harbored a ‘better to kill by mistake than to let go’ mentality. If the other party suspected Lin Ling was connected to her, it would likely harm that foolish boy.

‘In that case,’

‘Then I can only change the plan.’

****

‘Hurry, get rid of this cat.’

The Black and White Ball’s voice once again echoed in Qingfeng Immortal’s mind.

‘Yes, yes, I understand,’ he replied impatiently.

Without further delay, to prevent any unforeseen complications, Qingfeng Immortal extended his right hand, covered in dark green Spirit Energy, preparing to extract the Life Star Origin from Little White’s body.

Seeing the filthy hand reaching towards it, Little White was on the verge of tears.

Just as Little White thought its life was truly over, a burst of silver-white light radiated outwards from its body, startling Qingfeng Immortal and forcing him to retract his hand.

Feeling the familiar aura within the light, Little White couldn’t help but shed tears.

‘Is this? Master’s power?!!’

Aside from Little White, Qingfeng Immortal was the most shocked. He had believed the Life Star Origin was within his grasp, only for another complication to arise at the final moment.

He could distinctly feel the terrifying Spirit Energy contained within the silver light. Though Qingfeng Immortal didn’t know what was happening or whose Spirit Energy it was, how could he give up halfway after coming so far?

Suppressing the unease in his heart, Qingfeng Immortal ignored the silver Spirit Energy and thrust his hand, still encased in dark green Spirit Energy, directly towards Little White’s body. However, Little White’s expression was now entirely different from before, filled with reassurance and confidence. Naturally, it now had nothing to fear.

The moment Qingfeng Immortal’s hand made contact with the silver-white Spirit Energy, his own dark green body-protecting Spirit Energy was assimilated by the silver-white without any resistance. Before Qingfeng Immortal could even register his surprise, the silver Spirit Energy surged back up his arm.

He didn’t even have time to feel the pain in his hand before his entire arm rapidly turned to ash before his very eyes. To save his life, Qingfeng Immortal had no choice but to sever his own arm.

After studying with Bisika for a period, Lin Ling had long since injected Spirit Energy into her family and friends, designed to protect their safety. This protection would only activate when the protected individual was about to suffer a certain degree of harm or when they sensed immense danger. Minor everyday scrapes and bruises would not trigger it.

****

‘What kind of divine being is this cat?’

‘How could it possess such powerful Spirit Energy!’

‘Shocked, but also furious!’

‘How then am I to extract the Life Star Origin from this cat? This truly makes Qingfeng Immortal’s scalp tingle.’

‘If worse comes to worst, I’ll just try a few more times! I refuse to believe this power is endless. Once this Spirit Energy is exhausted, it won’t be too late to try again!’

“Unfortunately, you won’t have the chance.”

Seemingly sensing Qingfeng Immortal’s internal thoughts, Xi Yue directly mocked him.

Seeing this woman repeatedly insult him, Qingfeng Immortal finally lost his patience. He immediately transformed his Spirit Energy into a hammer, preparing to deliver a crushing blow.

However, under his very gaze, Xi Yue’s body shattered bit by bit, turning into dust and dissipating into the atmosphere.

??

“Hmm? What’s going on?!”

“Where is she?”

“Though I don’t understand what happened, it seems she’s already dead. Saves me the trouble of doing it myself.”

Qingfeng Immortal muttered dismissively.

But what he failed to notice was an unknown purple energy cluster, imperceptible to the naked eye, soaring straight into the sky from Xi Yue’s body.

After breaking through Blue Star’s atmosphere, the unknown energy scattered, transforming into tiny purple energy particles that embedded themselves around Blue Star.

Blue Star’s location,

has been locked.