Chapter 89

Chapter 89: Is He a Spy?

Xia Bei Yi’s eyes contracted.

A cold that felt like death flooded the air.

The hammer slammed down onto a sheet of ice. The ice was so smooth it reflected starlight like a mirror—and it didn’t crack.

“Full-Star Realm?” Xia Bei Yi hissed.

He shot upward, trying to break out of Qing Shan Cheng.

Shadows emerged around him. One of them was unmistakable—the Mad Clan creature Wang Jie had spoken with.

“We thought only Ten Seals slipped in,” it said, voice thick with malice. “Didn’t expect a Full-Star Realm too.”

The darkness split apart as something huge swung through it.

A glint flashed in Xia Bei Yi’s eyes.

An axe.

Massive, sharp, brimming with starforce so heavy that the entire Qing Fang Star Cluster trembled.

Also Full-Star Realm.

Xia Bei Yi couldn’t understand when he’d been targeted. Even if the puppeteer tower noticed him leaving, the Mad Clan shouldn’t have reacted this quickly.

There was no time to think.

He thrust both arms forward.

Starforce surged, stacking like a sky of frozen layers. It formed a colossal iceberg and slammed toward the axe.

Boom!

The axe cleaved into the iceberg and sent a shockwave ripping through space.

Qing Shan Cheng shattered.

Below, Qing Fang Star trembled violently, as if the world itself might split. Nearby stars visibly shifted, dragged by the battle’s pressure.

From within the puppeteer tower, Wang Jie stared in disbelief.

So this was a Full-Star Realm battle.

They didn’t fight—they erased landscapes.

Jiang You Sheng arrived at his side. “Master, are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” Wang Jie didn’t take his eyes off the sky. “Tower Lord—who is that?”

Jiang You Sheng’s expression darkened. “Bei Feng.”

Wang Jie blinked. “Brother Bei Feng? He’s a spy?”

“He’s Frost Splendor Sect,” Jiang You Sheng said. “But he doesn’t carry Frost Splendor Sect’s scent. He was likely raised specifically as a blade for the Mad Clan.”

He narrowed his eyes. “The Mad Clan thought only Ten Seals infiltrated. They didn’t expect a Full-Star Realm.”

Wang Jie frowned. “What was he trying to do? Why act now?”

Jiang You Sheng’s mouth twisted. “Thanks to Master’s reminder, we paid attention. He had to have a purpose. Those two times he asked you to take him out… he was doing something.”

A crack split the sky.

Then a sharp, birdlike cry rang out.

Xia Bei Yi fired arrows.

Each arrow claimed a Mad Clan creature. Only the Full-Star Realm Mad Clan powerhouse could withstand the barrage.

Wang Jie looked at Jiang You Sheng. “Tower Lord won’t help?”

“Not needed,” Jiang You Sheng said.

Wang Jie’s breath caught.

From the starry sky, another figure approached—its features unclear, its presence crushing, as if the void itself bowed around it.

Roaming-Star Realm.

Xia Bei Yi’s expression turned grim. He drew arrow after arrow.

Each shot released starforce that twisted midflight, combining into something monstrous and elegant—a black peacock that screamed as it surged upward.

The Roaming-Star Realm creature roared and spat black liquid.

Two waves of black collided in the sky, slamming into each other, locked in a deadlock.

Jiang You Sheng’s eyes widened. “He can fight across realms? Then he isn’t just any Frost Splendor Sect cultivator. He must be high-ranking.”

Wang Jie stared upward as the black power spread across the sky like ink, both forces eclipsing Qing Fang Star. Even a trace of starforce pressing down made his lungs ache.

The Mad Clan couldn’t suppress Xia Bei Yi.

Not because they lacked will—but because their true experts had been pulled to the front line. If the four giant beasts that once guarded Qing Shan Cheng were still here, Xia Bei Yi wouldn’t be so free.

“Tower Lord Jiang!” a voice thundered through the dark. “Assist!”

Jiang You Sheng exhaled, resigned. “In the end, I still have to act.”

“Will it implicate the seventh star chain?” Wang Jie asked.

“As long as he dies here, no one can trace it.” Jiang You Sheng’s eyes narrowed. “And I’m the tower lord of the ninth star chain puppeteer tower. If I refuse, I won’t be able to stand here tomorrow.”

He stepped into his puppet body and launched toward the battle.

Wang Jie felt no sympathy for Xia Bei Yi.

He had no goodwill toward Frost Splendor Sect.

But he couldn’t deny the spectacle.

Especially when a single candle-flame appeared in the night—so small, yet so sharp it seemed to cut the sky.

Chen art.

Wang Jie’s heart jolted.

He had underestimated Bei Feng’s standing.

Even chen art.

The Mad Clan and Jiang You Sheng were equally shocked. Once chen art entered the field, they wouldn’t catch Xia Bei Yi—not cleanly.

But Xia Bei Yi also couldn’t simply flee.

He wasn’t Roaming-Star Realm. If he ran into open space, he would die.

So he had to disappear—hide, survive, wait.

When Jiang You Sheng returned, his expression was grim. “Bei Feng knows chen art. The Mad Clan will never let him go.”

He looked at Wang Jie. “Master, we need to leave. Immediately.”

Wang Jie nodded.

That night, the Mad Clan reported the incident upward. Wang Jie didn’t know the outcome, but he did see the Qing Fang Star Cluster begin evacuating in force.

Those who could flee did.

Those who couldn’t were abandoned.

Supplies were stripped and moved.

The next day, Mad Clan creatures came to Wang Jie.

They thanked him for the warning.

“If not for Master,” Jiang You Sheng said smoothly, “how would Jiang Cai have noticed Bei Feng? Master’s merit is the greatest.”

Wang Jie kept his tone modest. “Bei Feng repeatedly insisting on going out was suspicious. And he was willing to pay chen artifacts for it. I only mentioned it.”

Jiang You Sheng’s eyes sharpened. “But if not for Master, the puppeteer tower would have unsealed long ago. It wouldn’t have dragged until today. Bei Feng would have succeeded and returned to Frost Splendor Sect.”

He smiled faintly. “Master’s merit is immeasurable.”

The Mad Clan creature produced a reward: a million starstones.

Jiang You Sheng’s expression cooled. “I thought those starstones were for Jiang Cai. Turns out they’re for Master.”

He tilted his head. “The Mad Clan is generous.”

It wasn’t praise.

The Mad Clan creature’s face darkened. It forced out a few stiff words of thanks and left.

Jiang You Sheng snorted, then looked back to Wang Jie with warmth. “Master can rest assured. This matter will be answered for.”

Wang Jie shrugged, unbothered.

Of course, he still took the starstones.

“Tower Lord,” he said, “I want to ask a favor.”

“Master, speak.”

“Can you find a good craft refiner to forge swords for me?”

Jiang You Sheng blinked. “Master needs swords? I have some.”

“I need many.”

“How many?”

“The more the better.”

Jiang You Sheng’s brows knit. “War changes everything. The ninth star chain’s best craft refiners have been taken by the Mad Clan to forge weapons. Those two hundred weapons they demanded from you weren’t all stock—many were made on the spot.”

He spread his hands. “Right now, finding a good craft refiner is nearly impossible. Even if we find one, there’s no way we’ll get priority.”

Wang Jie’s shoulders tightened with frustration. The combat technique he’d gained demanded swords—hundreds, perhaps more.

Jiang You Sheng saw the look and added quickly, “When we reach the seventh star chain, I’ll find you the best craft refiner. That’s the heartland of weapon arts.”

Wang Jie nodded, but his mind was already turning.

—

Outside the fourth defense line, the war grew more brutal by the hour.

Starry sky behemoths fell in heaps, corpses drifting through the void.

Among the dead were the four beasts that once guarded outside Qing Shan Cheng.

Deputy Domain Lord Yan and the Mad Clan’s fourth defense line commander—Kuang Lei—clashed again and again.

Kuang Lei opened five hells, its battle strength monstrous.

Yet Yan was no weakling either.

Each collision shook the defense line harder, pushing it closer to collapse.

—

Back at Qing Shan Cheng, the Mad Clan returned the next day and handed Wang Jie a third-tribulation chen artifact.

It was… an earring.

Beautiful. Useless.

No wonder the Mad Clan had been willing to part with it.

Jiang You Sheng’s earlier irritation finally faded. Even a useless third-tribulation chen artifact could sell for four million starstones at minimum.

Meanwhile, the Mad Clan continued sealing off the Qing Fang Star Cluster, hunting for Xia Bei Yi, waiting for heavier hitters to arrive.

Wang Jie spent those days buying swords.

Ordinary swords were fine. He needed them to practice first.

Two days of searching netted only seventy-some.

Qing Shan Cheng was huge. He kept going.

On the third day, he finally struck luck—one hundred and thirty swords in a single sweep.

Two hundred swords.

Enough.

He returned to the tower in a rare good mood—and was immediately met with an ambush.

Several Ten Seals creatures tried to surround him. He cut them down without trouble.

The puppeteer tower did not appreciate chaos at its doorstep. It warned Qing Shan Cheng sharply and killed a batch of troublemakers until order returned.

After that, Jiang You Sheng urged Wang Jie yet again. “Everyone who can run is running. The fourth defense line won’t hold. If we stay, even if we survive, life will become miserable.”

He glanced toward the evacuation movements. “The puppeteer tower’s business here is done. Even fleeing to the third defense line would be better than staying.”

Wang Jie didn’t object.

He couldn’t return to the eighth star chain now. That would have to wait for another chance.

And if he delayed further, Jiang You Sheng might begin to see through him.

They were preparing to leave when Mad Clan creatures arrived.

The leader was unfamiliar to Wang Jie, but every Mad Clan creature around him treated him with deep respect.

Jiang You Sheng stiffened. “Kuang Lei? Why are you here?”

Wang Jie’s eyes narrowed.

Kuang Lei—the fourth defense line commander.

If he wasn’t on the battlefield, why had he come here?

Kuang Lei greeted Jiang You Sheng, then looked at Wang Jie. Trying, awkwardly, to shape his savage features into something resembling a smile, he spoke in a tone that didn’t match his face. “So this is the chen refiner?”

Jiang You Sheng answered coldly, “Yes.”

Then he pressed, “Kuang Lei—how is the fourth defense line?”

Kuang Lei didn’t answer directly. Instead, he bowed to Wang Jie. “I am Kuang Lei, commander of the Mad Clan’s fourth defense line. Master, have you ever considered going to the eight prisons realm?”

Before Wang Jie could speak, Jiang You Sheng stepped in front of him. “Kuang Lei. What are you doing?”

“I’m inviting Master to the eight prisons realm,” Kuang Lei repeated.

“Master is from the seventh star chain.”

“Origin doesn’t decide destination,” Kuang Lei said. “Master, you agree, don’t you?”

Wang Jie stared at him, mildly stunned. Hearing words like that from a creature shaped like a nightmare felt absurd.

Jiang You Sheng’s tone turned sharp. “I understand now. You’re abandoning the fourth defense line. You know it can’t be held, and you don’t want to die.”

Kuang Lei’s smile didn’t change.

“But you also can’t return to the eight prisons realm empty-handed,” Jiang You Sheng continued. “Not after losing the line. You’ll die there, too. So you want to bring Master back under the excuse of ‘protecting him’—a chen refiner as a shield to offset your punishment.”

Kuang Lei’s eyes glittered. “You can think whatever you like. Our invitation to Master is sincere.”

He looked at Wang Jie. “Master. What do you say?”

“I don’t want to go,” Wang Jie said simply.

If he went with Jiang You Sheng to the seventh star chain, he might still find a path back to Blue Star.

If he went to the eight prisons realm—regardless of how the war ended—he would be a human living among monsters.

He had no interest in that.

Kuang Lei didn’t seem offended. “Master simply doesn’t understand the eight prisons realm. We have resources beyond imagining. Everything Master needs to cultivate.”

His gaze slid to Jiang You Sheng. “Tower Lord Jiang. Step aside.”

Jiang You Sheng’s voice rose like a blade. “Little round lake already knows Master’s name. They’re waiting for me to bring him back. If you take him, you’re not afraid of angering little round lake?”

Kuang Lei hesitated.

Only for a heartbeat.

Then the fear in his eyes sharpened into resolve.

Without a chen refiner, returning was death.

With one, he might live.

If both paths led to death, he would gamble.

“Tower Lord Jiang,” Kuang Lei said, voice low, “we’ve known each other for many years. We’ve been friends. Don’t force me.”

“You’re the one forcing me,” Jiang You Sheng shot back.

Kuang Lei’s smile vanished. “Eight Hells Mad Clan—invite Master back.”

He turned toward the tower. “Puppeteer tower—protect Master.”

Qing Shan Cheng cracked further, the city’s ruins shuddering as power gathered.

Kuang Lei and Jiang You Sheng clashed.

And the Eight Hells Mad Clan—along with nearly ten thousand starry sky behemoths—swarmed toward the puppeteer tower like a tide.