Chapter 280
Chapter 280: Deadly Ground
Wang Jie always faced opponents who surpassed his own cultivation, making his Starry Finger seem weaker than it truly was. Yet, even so, its power remained far from the terrifying might described as capable of severing star clouds with a single finger.
Xi Liu smiled softly, saying, “Junior brother, the Starry Finger you practice is indeed authentic. Did you learn it from the Martial Projection Hall, the same way you learned the Heaven and Earth Luo Xuan Finger?”
Wang Jie nodded, thinking there was probably no other way he could have learned it.
Xi Liu stared deeply at him, continuing, “Starry Finger is easy to begin but difficult to master. Our Armor One Sect clearly records that an ancient senior once split star clouds with a single finger; there’s no doubt about this truth. That senior cultivated the Starry Finger at the Starry Cliff, a place especially designed to master this technique.”
“If junior brother wishes to strengthen your Starry Finger, the Starry Cliff is your best choice.”
Wang Jie bowed deeply in gratitude, replying, “Thank you for your guidance, senior sister.”
[Only an idiot would go.]
The Starry Finger was Armor One Sect’s hidden art; if he went there, survival itself would be uncertain.
Xi Liu didn’t speak further, instead advising him to use the Fallen Body Pill to absorb more Lock Force, storing extra energy within himself.
This was exactly Wang Jie’s plan as well.
If he left Devour Star without fully replenishing the immense Lock Force stored in his body, his only other choice would be to seek another sect’s planet like Devour Star. Otherwise, replenishing his energy using only Cataclysm Materials would be impossible—no matter how many he collected.
…
If Wandering Star Realm was the process of adapting to the cosmos, then Star Refining Realm meant truly belonging among the stars.
At this moment, beneath the vast starry sky, a scroll flew horizontally at incredible speed. Wang Jie lay flat inside, gazing at the endless darkness sweeping past him in streaks, giving him a strange feeling as if he were flattened into lines.
He was currently inside Gu Xun Yi’s scroll. Others were here as well, but he didn’t know who, nor did they reveal themselves.
Gu Xun Yi was bringing him toward that road.
With the astonishing speed of the Star Refining Realm—and Gu Xun Yi was no ordinary cultivator of this realm—they swiftly reached their destination, even while carefully concealing their aura from detection by the Ancient Sword Pillar Keeper.
Wang Jie sat up within the scroll. To his right stretched an endless asteroid belt, while to his left… his pupils shrank sharply in shock. [What is that?]
To his left sprawled a boundless ocean of darkness, extending forever as if swallowing his very soul. No meteors, no stars, nothing existed there except bottomless blackness occasionally pierced by fleeting streaks of light.
“Senior, what is this place?” Wang Jie asked nervously.
Gu Xun Yi’s voice answered him calmly, “We’re at the boundary of the star cloud. To your right lies the star cloud; to your left…” he paused briefly, then continued quietly, “is beyond the bridge pillar.”
Although Wang Jie had guessed it, hearing the confirmation from Gu Xun Yi still shook him deeply.
[This was the edge of the Big Dipper Bridge Pillar?]
Legend told of four great star clouds winding upwards, encircling the Big Dipper Bridge Pillar. Beyond these star clouds lay the true, unfathomably dangerous depths of the universe. The immense bridge pillars and star clouds appeared vast, yet compared to the deadly abyss beyond, they were merely narrow pillars of stone.
They were like bridges visible yet forever out of reach.
To living beings, the star clouds represented all existence. Yet, to those like Xing Yun Lai, they were merely paths within the boundless darkness of the true universe.
Wang Jie never imagined he’d ever stand at the very edge of this path.
Gu Xun Yi’s voice sounded once more: “You should feel fortunate. Few cultivators of lower realms have ever reached this boundary. You’re seeing the true cosmos.”
Wang Jie stared at the darkness in awe and asked, “If one goes left, is death guaranteed?”
“More or less.”
“And the path we’re supposed to take?”
“Passing over this deadly zone.”
Wang Jie glanced downward, confusion on his face.
“Don’t look at me like that; the angle is wrong,” said Gu Xun Yi mildly. The scroll floated upwards, hovering above Wang Jie. “Now, this angle is correct.”
Wang Jie raised his head to look up at the scroll, asking hesitantly, “Senior, are you saying we need to cross over the deadly zone?”
“Correct.”
“Then won’t I certainly die?”
“If you were sure to die, what would be the point in bringing you here?”
“Then why don’t you go yourselves?”
“I already explained—our cultivation is too high.”
“But cultivation level shouldn’t matter beyond the bridge pillar, right?”
“It doesn’t matter much, but there’s still some difference,” Gu Xun Yi replied calmly. “Just as some Star Guardian positions require Wandering Star Realm while others require Hundred Star Realm, the logic is similar. If you still can’t understand, let me rephrase it simply.”
“We’re afraid of dying.”
Wang Jie froze, speechless for a moment.
“Does this explanation satisfy you?” Gu Xun Yi asked in a casual tone, as if discussing everyday matters.
Wang Jie smiled bitterly, “Junior is also afraid of dying.”
“Your life was already forfeit when you set foot on Devour Star,” Gu Xun Yi said flatly.
Wang Jie’s expression darkened.
Gu Xun Yi continued, “Defeating the Ancient Sword Pillar Keeper is critical. If we didn’t have sufficient certainty, we wouldn’t risk your life like this, because once you go, there’s no coming back. We’ll only attack after you’ve successfully joined those on the other side of the Twin Wind Line and confirmed the timing of the counterattack.”
“So even if you fail, we’ll still act at the designated time. Without your assistance, our chances of survival are slim. The only difference is timing.”
Wang Jie understood this clearly.
Their goal was to counterattack the Ancient Sword Pillar Keeper, not to kill him.
But the thought of venturing beyond the bridge pillar still terrified him, as if an ordinary man were asked to leap into molten lava.
It felt like jumping willingly toward certain death.
He touched his storage ring, wondering if the jade stone from the Star Dome Visage might save him at the critical moment. Or perhaps… he glanced cautiously at Gu Xun Yi. Should he reveal his cards and refuse? Should he say directly, [Do what you want—I quit!]?
But the problem was that Gu Xun Yi wasn’t an ordinary expert; he was powerful enough to fight three strong enemies simultaneously on the battlefield. Wang Jie had no confidence the jade could protect him from a single, fatal strike before allowing him to escape.
After all, the opponent was Gu Xun Yi.
If he couldn’t send himself away, even if the jade stone blocked the fatal blow, he’d still have to cross this deadly land, and by then, even the jade stone wouldn’t be able to save his life.
Wang Jie struggled inwardly.
Gu Xun Yi’s written words circled around him, saying: “Why are you hesitating? You’re clever enough to be a spy within Edge Sect, forced away a Six Dao Wanderer, and survived till now—not an easy feat. If you’re hesitating now, does that mean you have some trick to escape from under my eyes?”
“I advise you not to do that. Save your little tricks for later—I am Gu Xun Yi.”
Wang Jie exhaled, accepting his fate, and said obediently, “I’ll follow Senior’s orders.”
Gu Xun Yi hummed approvingly, “Very good. If you succeed, you’ll earn goodwill from us. You’d become the only one in history under Wandering Star Realm to bear the title of a Six Dao Wanderer in Black White Heaven and keep your dignity intact. Especially since you’d be among the rare few who’ve walked beyond the bridge pillar and lived to tell the tale.”
Wang Jie didn’t let himself think too far ahead.
All benefits depended on surviving first.
Being noticed by these Star Refining Realm elders was just his misfortune.
Gu Xun Yi continued to lead Wang Jie onward for a short distance. Only then did Wang Jie realize Gu Xun Yi had deliberately let him learn the path earlier, giving him the chance to make his final choice. That previous location wasn’t even the real destination.
Before long, they finally reached the true destination.
“Step onto it.”
Wang Jie stared blankly at the thing in front of him. What on earth was this?
In front was a thin membrane, stretched flat across the starry sky, not very large, just like a trampoline. It didn’t look like a road at all.
He had imagined the path would extend visibly beyond the bridge pillar—but this?
Why did it look like a diving board?
“Senior, you’re joking, right? What could this thing possibly do?” Wang Jie asked nervously.
Gu Xun Yi replied seriously, “We wouldn’t gamble our own lives on a joke. Go up. This was made by Void Mountain Range, modeled after a mysterious cosmic phenomenon once witnessed by the No-Walk Sect. Using the void as elastic force, it can launch you very far, precisely landing you on the other side of the Double Wind Line.”
Wang Jie glanced uncertainly between Gu Xun Yi and the strange membrane, feeling ever closer to death.
“Hurry. We’re close to the Double Wind Line here. A Star Refining Realm cultivator could sense us at any moment,” urged Gu Xun Yi.
Wang Jie took a deep breath and stepped onto the thin membrane. Strangely, it felt as soft as stepping onto empty space.
In the next moment, Wang Jie didn’t see what Gu Xun Yi did, but the membrane beneath him compressed sharply. Around it, the void itself rippled and folded, pulled and twisted. An invisible force gathered beneath his feet, making Wang Jie’s heart leap into his throat. He desperately tried to grab onto something, but there was nothing at all nearby.
Just in case, he quickly took out the small boat and lay down inside it. Though he had the Void Skate given by the Black Realm Lord, he inexplicably trusted the boat more. At least, the boat could sail through Yunxi, a feat even Star Refining Realm cultivators couldn’t achieve.
Gu Xun Yi didn’t stop him.
Whatever Wang Jie did was fine as long as he stayed on that membrane.
“Remember this moment, and remember clearly the sensation of traveling through deadly ground,” Gu Xun Yi instructed. Then, suddenly, the membrane surged with force, hurling Wang Jie outward. He shot directly through the void, gripping the boat with all his might, unable to see anything clearly.
In an instant, his breath froze, feeling as if he had suddenly plunged from land into water, making it difficult to breathe. Inside him, his internal organs felt crushed. A strange, ear-piercing whistling sound filled his ears, mixed with harsh friction, causing him unbearable discomfort. Instinctively, he covered his ears.
Right now, he was outside the bridge pillar.
He had left the zone where living creatures could survive.
Neither heaven nor earth could support his existence anymore. If the trampoline’s power was insufficient to fling him back within the bridge pillar, he was done for.
The Star Cloud twisted and curled—he had been thrown from one side to the other, a seemingly short distance. But even such a brief moment felt endlessly long to him.
That crushing pressure upon his internal organs grew stronger, the shrieking sound became louder. His mind became increasingly blurred, each pounding force on his consciousness harder than the last. Soon, his thoughts faded into chaos.
[Why does this keep happening to me lately?]
[I’m still too weak.]
These thoughts surfaced faintly amidst his fading awareness.
Memories appeared in his mind: the orphanage, Dean standing at the door waving at him with fried chicken. Ah, it tasted so good, crispy on the outside. But why didn’t Dean make it spicy?
As he pondered this, suddenly a sword beam pierced through the orphanage, pausing directly in front of him.
He stared at this sword beam. He had never seen it before, yet he knew its name somehow.
“Immortal… Sword Light.”
With a loud bang, the boat struck something, jolting Wang Jie awake.
What did he hit?
Wait—wasn’t he in a deadly zone? There shouldn’t be anything here. Could it be—? He grabbed the sides of the boat, sitting up abruptly. Everything around him was still rushing past at speed, but slowing down. Another loud crash sounded. He’d collided with a meteor.
The boat smashed meteor after meteor.
He had returned within the bridge pillar.
Joy surged through Wang Jie. He’d made it back alive. Those old men had turned out reliable enough.
He hadn’t died outside the bridge pillar, after all.
The boat kept crashing into meteorites, so he quickly controlled its speed, fearful of shattering it.
It took quite a while before the boat finally came to rest.