Chapter 88: The More One Thinks, the More Terrifying It Becomes

“So this is what you’re relying on?”

Yan Youxing stood tall and unyielding, his robes fluttering in the wind. Behind him, five Pure Sun Spirit Peaks shattered, their dust swirling through the sky, yet his expression remained unchanged. His eyes blazed with a defiance that seemed able to challenge the stars themselves.

“Yes. For years, the Pure Sun Sect has wielded its power with arrogance. It's time for it to fall.”

Old Master Yuye revealed a sinister smile, his five fingers clenching. The yellow-skinned divine shrine trembled, and the sky-darkening dogskin talisman soared back into his grasp.

The man in black silk robes cast his gaze coldly around, lifting the dark shrine in his hand as he spoke icily, “Old thief of Pure Sun, today your lineage faces annihilation. Is this the best you can do, sending out a mere youngster to defend your honor? I heard you failed to break through the Realm of Radiance a few years ago, and now you’re half-buried in the earth, too ashamed to show your face!”

His voice resonated with authority, spreading in all directions, causing the very void to roar and the entire arena to tremble violently.

“How dare they insult our Grandmaster!”

“So arrogant! Our Pure Sun has vanquished countless evildoers across the starfields, all corners now bow before us. Who are they to cause trouble here?”

In the grand hall of Pure Sun, the disciples’ outrage boiled over; their fists clenched with righteous fury.

“Zhao Heilong, Villain Li, Yuye—by rights, you should be hiding in your dark nest among the stars, eking out your existence. Yet today, you dare storm the gates of Pure Sun Mountain. Fine—very well. Today, you’ll finally learn the price of defying the heavens!”

Yan Youxing snorted coldly. As his words fell, a formidable aura radiated from him. A corner of the Celestial Sun Chart emerged from the void, blazing with crimson light, spreading from beneath his feet.

Simultaneously, the entire Pure Sun Sect erupted in radiant glory. Scorching sunlight surged, and the palaces, spirit peaks, and towers faded into the painting as if they belonged to it all along.

It was as though the Pure Sun Sect itself was but a construct of the chart, inseparable from it.

In moments, all structures within a thousand miles melded rapidly into the scroll, leaving only a vast, square arena behind.

“The Pure Sun Chart!”

Old Master Yuye’s eyes narrowed. This treasure was the greatest foundation of Pure Sun Sect. Its presence alone had kept the sect unchallenged across the starfields.

The Pure Sun Chart was a mid-grade Daoist treasure, renowned for its ability to encompass vast mountains and rivers. In battle, it harnessed the entire sect’s power, and in times of peril, ensured a safe retreat—a perfect blend of offense and defense.

Through the years, none dared assault Pure Sun directly, all cowed by the might of this artifact.

---

“Zhao Heilong, it’s been a long time.”

Suddenly, an ancient voice rang out from the center of the Pure Sun Chart. An elder appeared, holding a jade duster. His hair was frosted white, his frame gaunt, his life force waning, and his eyes gazed at the black-robed man with the lifelessness of a corpse.

In the next instant, the Pure Sun Chart flared with dazzling brilliance. Sun patterns illuminated the heavens, and at several points, silhouettes flickered—each emanating the power of a Severing Adversity cultivator.

Six Severing Adversity—Pure Sun’s strongest lineup.

“So these are the Six Severings of Pure Sun. They say the six of them anchor the Sun Chart, commanding the grand formation. Its power is so vast it can refine even the stars,” one Star Fiend murmured.

“Purity Master, you finally show yourself. You look in poor shape! Do you think hiding inside the Sun Chart makes you invincible?”

Zhao Heilong’s tone was cold as he lifted the dark shrine overhead. Instantly, a black sun formed, its light bleak and endless, casting a dim glow that enveloped the ten thousand Star Fiends present.

The gaunt old man with the jade duster shook his head. “I didn’t expect you to be so reckless. Though I am withered, I still have some strength left. You’ve only possessed the shrine for a few months, yet you dare charge Pure Sun? Good. To end you fiends before I die—no regrets.”

Zhao Heilong’s eyes flashed with icy hatred. “I can’t wait any longer. My Zhao clan once ruled Shengyuan Star, glorious and prosperous. All because of some trivial dispute, Pure Sun wiped us out!”

The old man smiled faintly, waving his jade duster. “Wrong. How could that be a trivial matter? Your Zhao clan obtained the Enlightenment Light Scroll—how could Pure Sun not covet it? My senior once gave your clan a chance, but you refused to bow. Who is to blame?”

“Who is to blame, indeed!”

Zhao Heilong gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot. “Today, I’ll tear that sanctimonious mask from your face.”

“Wrong again.” The old man’s smile was mild. “In the spiritual universe, strength reigns supreme. It’s not me you should hate, but the weakness of the Zhao clan. The Enlightenment Light Scroll—a chance to grasp the mysteries of light itself—who could resist? Had our positions been reversed, your clan would have made the same choice. It’s a pity my senior failed. Otherwise, Pure Sun would have stepped beyond the Eightfold Star Realm and made its mark in the Ancient Prime Starfield…”

A look of regret crossed the old man’s face.

---

The other Severing Adversity elders of Pure Sun were astonished. They hadn’t expected the Grandmaster to speak of such old scandals, much less in such a casual, unruffled manner.

After all, the affair was hardly honorable—something best buried by time—yet the Grandmaster laid it bare without a care.

Old Master Yuye sneered. “Old thief of Pure Sun, who would have thought you’d confess to such disgraceful deeds. Truly, age emboldens the tongue. You so-called ‘righteous’ sects are no different than us Star Fiends, murdering and pillaging in secret. The only difference is light and shadow.”

He curled his five fingers into hooked claws, the black ring on his hand glimmering with ghostly light. “Since everything’s out in the open, let’s see whether your Sixfold Slaughter Sun Formation is mightier— or our divine shrines prevail!”

Zhao Heilong and Villain Li glared coldly as well. All three bore deep grudges against Pure Sun, their conflicts endless over the years. Now, with power in their grasp, they had sworn to bring the sect to ruin.

“Your heads are worth a fortune—especially with the divine shrines in play. The Starsea Pivot has offered a handsome reward for this purge. This will be a bountiful harvest indeed.”

The gaunt elder sat at the heart of the Pure Sun Celestial Chart, his white hair like frost, his tone filled with both lament and a chilling menace.

Six immensely powerful figures anchored the cardinal points, the crimson, blazing sunlight streaming into the starry sky, the temperature soaring like molten lava.

“Formation—slaughter.”

With a calm wave of his duster, the Pure Sun Grandmaster sent forth countless intricate sun-patterns. The sun, moon, and stars revolved, illuminating the universe, while the other five Severing Adversity elders formed mudras in unison.

“Old wretch, you and your tricks! So what if you possess a Dao artifact? My divine shrine is far more terrifying than you imagine. This Sixfold Slaughter Sun Formation may be pure and unyielding, but tainted with blood, how much power can it truly muster?”

Villain Li’s face twisted with malice, his temperament violent and impulsive. Massive and imposing, he once wielded a cracked black axe—a flawed Dao artifact he’d abandoned since obtaining the shrine.

Now, a mysterious blood-red lightning-shaped mark glowed on his brow, its hue matching that of the shrine. Within it, a boundless sea of blood seemed to churn, echoing with the wails of the damned.

With a hiss, a pool of dark crimson blood, eerie and unnatural, ignored the constraints of the void and shot toward the radiant, dazzling Pure Sun Celestial Chart, from which six brilliant vortices were emerging.