Invasion Myth: Starting with the Schoolteacher

Chapter 1023 Sending the Star Back to Its Position
The capital city, the official post station.

King Liang feels very tired today.

His daytime lectures and interactions with the princes were merely routine. His elder brother's seemingly casual "reprimand" in the side hall was well-prepared and handled appropriately. The innocuous impeachments from the officials in court were like a gentle breeze, failing to sway him in the slightest.

All of this was expected and shouldn't have taken up too much of my energy.

Yet, even after a whole day, I still felt a deep-seated fatigue, as if something heavy was pressing on my chest, making it hard to breathe, and I felt inexplicably irritable and palpitations, which was extremely uncomfortable.

He put down his teacup and rubbed his temples.

Why is it?

A thought involuntarily popped into my head:

Something happened at home?

He immediately dismissed the idea himself.

No way.

Although Li Gongfeng has been somewhat irritable lately due to presiding over that "important matter," the other party explained that this was a backlash from the malevolent energy of the Great Fire Star. As long as he doesn't leave the Prince's Palace area, he should be fine thanks to the palace's fortune and the suppression of the formation.

He has always been a steady and reliable person when it comes to handling matters.

The princess is exceptionally shrewd and adept at handling affairs. Her maternal family has deep roots in the Liang Kingdom and maintains harmonious relationships with various noble families within the country. She manages the inner quarters and some external affairs in an orderly manner, and has almost never made a mistake.

In addition, there were several thousand elite troops secretly stationed not far from Suiyang City, as well as numerous overt and covert sentries, formations, and traps set up inside and outside the palace... The entire capital of Liang Kingdom was as solid as a rock.

Even his most troublesome son was personally ordered to be locked in a quiet room to reflect on his mistakes and kept under strict supervision; it seems unlikely he can cause any trouble this time.

Could it be... that there's some flaw I haven't noticed?

He thought it over and over, going through all the possibilities in his mind, and still felt that his arrangement was perfect and had no obvious flaws.

But they forgot that the son of the "God of War of the North" possessed an extremely strong sense of initiative that far exceeded what ordinary people could imagine.

Furthermore, he has a "glorious record" of actively "killing" the White Lotus Saint Father, but then "inviting" him back to the core area of ​​the Prince's Mansion.

How could a small quiet room and a few ordinary prohibitions truly restrain them?

That night, King Liang tossed and turned, restless and unable to fall asleep.

I put on my coat and walked into the quiet courtyard, pacing back and forth, trying to figure out the source of my inexplicable irritability.

Just as he reached the third lap, suddenly!

The heavy stone that had been weighing on my heart all day seemed to vanish in an instant!
An indescribable sense of ease flowed through my body, and I felt inexplicably refreshed.

This sudden feeling of "comfort" is hard to describe.

It's like a person sitting on a leaky boat for a long time, constantly anxious about when it will sink; but when the boat actually sinks completely to the bottom, that anxiety miraculously disappears.

Since the worst has already happened, there's no need to be anxious anymore.

However, this strange comfort lasted for less than a breath!
Immediately afterwards, a heart-wrenching pain shot through his chest, as if an invisible hand had gripped his heart and was trying to tear it out of his chest cavity!

"Ouch—! It hurts so much!!!"

King Liang let out a miserable cry, tilted his head back and spat out a mouthful of bright red blood. He swayed a few times and collapsed directly onto the cold courtyard ground.

"Your Majesty!"

"Send it to the doctor quickly!"

"Attention! All personnel on alert!"

The trusted guards stationed outside rushed in instantly, throwing the entire inn into chaos. Some rushed to find a doctor, others nervously guarded the perimeter, and still others, spies, immediately tried to send a message to the palace.

But King Liang couldn't care less about his physical pain at that moment. A deeper sense of foreboding, stemming from his blood ties and power, washed over him like ice water.

Something really happened at home!

Despite the excruciating pain, I struggled to look up at the night sky in the direction of Liang Kingdom. There I saw a crimson star, exuding an ominous aura, trailing a long tail of light, breaking free from some kind of restraint and soaring upwards. Its light even faintly outshone the moonlight!
“It’s over…” King Liang’s face turned ashen, and he instantly understood.

His conspiracy, his "Great Mars Destiny" plan which he had poured countless efforts and high hopes into, has completely failed.

It will inevitably take a huge price to quell the storm, and the ambition to reach the top will have to be put on hold for the time being.

"However... the problem shouldn't be too big."

Forcing himself to calm down, he quickly considered the situation: "The foundation is still there; there's always room for maneuver. It can still be resolved..."

Just as he was trying to comfort himself and find a glimmer of hope, a guard next to him pointed to the sky and screamed in terror:
"Look! What...what is that?!"

"Two! Two red stars!"

That cry of alarm was like a death knell, shattering the last vestiges of hope!

He looked up again, gazing at the sky that had broken his heart. Sure enough! Beside the star he had seen before, another ancient star, even larger and more solid, radiating a dark red light that seemed capable of corroding everything, was slowly revealing its majestic outline!

The ominous, rust-red starlight, like the light of judgment, converged and spilled into the courtyard, clearly illuminating King Liang's utterly desperate, bloodless face.

"This... is truly the end."

The King of Liang made a strange hoarse sound in his throat, his eyes rolled back, and with a snap, he completely lost consciousness.

Meanwhile, at Ebogutai.

As Li Gongfeng turned to ashes under the heavenly lightning, everything seemed to have settled down and returned to normal.

As for that Taoist priest's desperate charge... there is no more tragic end for a villain than this.

Even at the cost of their lives, they didn't even have the chance to stir up a ripple in their opponents' hearts; they were merely mentioned in a few words and then completely forgotten.

Xu Xuan's attention was completely drawn to the Star Destiny Fireball in Bai Suzhen's hand, which was slowly rotating and radiating a warm and intense red light.

'Dahuo', also known as 'Shangxing', belongs to the Heart Mansion of the Eastern Azure Dragon's Seven Mansions and is the brightest main star among them.

The famous line "In the seventh month, the fire star moves westward" from the Book of Songs (specifically, the section on the Odes of Bin) refers to the time when Antares (the constellation Antares) sets in the western sky at the end of summer, indicating that the summer heat is gradually fading and the cool autumn is approaching.

This shows how highly regarded this star was during the ancient "Fire Calendar" era!

It is not only the core coordinate for our ancestors to observe celestial phenomena and determine the time to guide agricultural production, but also, due to its close connection with the Yin-Shang people, it carries the totem and glory of the ancient Shang Dynasty.

With a slight probe of the spiritual sense, one can feel a fervent and vibrant power of civilization that transcends time and space emanating from this ball of star-destiny fire.

That was in the era of slash-and-burn agriculture, when humanity looked up at the stars, trying to understand and follow the laws of nature with the earliest wisdom and awe.

Although the original "fire calendar" was not implemented for very long due to the advancement of astronomical knowledge and the evolution of calendars, this "program" that only ran for a period of time in the long river of human civilization has been sublimated into a special existence in the laws of the stars because of its profound cultural imprint and close connection with the lives of our ancestors.

Xu Xuan, too, couldn't help but marvel at the wonders of the Dao.

Theoretically, this star is located about 550 light-years away from Earth and is one of the closest red supergiants to our solar system.

However, under the unique law system of the Xianxia world, its "concepts," "authorities," and "powers" can transcend unimaginable physical distances and project, manifest, and even directly interfere with the Nine Provinces world in a way that transcends common sense.

This mysterious transformation of time, space, and dimensions, and the concrete presentation of rules and concepts, is so magical that it is hard to imagine.

Perhaps... such profound mysteries involving the origin of the universe and the intertwining of laws can only be truly understood by those Buddhas and Bodhisattvas who have already attained enlightenment and transcended the constraints of time and space, or by those ancient beings who have merged with the Tao and become the embodiment of heaven and earth.

"But the Star Destiny is just too beautiful."

Xu Xuan had an inexplicable longing for this magnificent and mysterious color, perhaps also attracted by the humanitarian radiance within it.

Unable to resist exclaiming in admiration, he subconsciously reached out, wanting to touch it.

Snapped!
A crisp sound.

Bai Suzhen reacted swiftly, delivering a precise chop to Xu Xuan's eager "claws."

"hiss--!"

Xu Xuan gasped.

I must say, those little hands... they look delicate, but they're surprisingly strong!
The powerful body that had just withstood Li Gongfeng's curse and only felt "a little uncomfortable" suddenly felt a sharp pain that went deep into his bones from the back of his hand, instantly shooting from the back of his hand to his heart, making him grimace.

In terms of pure physical strength and power control, Xu Xuan was ultimately several levels below Bai Suzhen, a powerful demon who had lived for many years.

"One must not be disrespectful to the Star Lord."

Bai Suzhen withdrew her hand, her tone gentle but carrying an undeniable air.

As a disciple of the orthodox Xuanmen sect, Lishan, she was, in a sense, "half a fellow disciple" with these star destinies who were born in accordance with the laws of heaven and earth. Naturally, she could not sit idly by and watch Xu's casual desecration.

Ignoring the man, she composed herself and prepared to proceed with the final step of the ritual.

Recite the divine incantation to respectfully send the star back to the heavens.

There was even a hint of barely perceptible urgency in his heart.

Just because Xu Xuan is right beside us, if the process of sending him back is slow, who knows what strange ideas he might come up with when he sees that beautiful star chart and cause some trouble again.

When it comes to the handover of destiny and celestial bodies, one can never be too cautious.

So, he straightened his cloud-patterned crown, relit a censer of high-quality sandalwood incense, held the peach wood sword upside down behind his back, and then performed the special steps for sending stars. And so it was seen:
The toes point in the direction of the seven stars, the steps are mysterious, as if measuring the distance between the stars.

The Dharma wheel of the sun, moon, and stars swirls beneath the sleeve, drawing in the surrounding spiritual energy.

The wooden sword, held upside down, traced a path through the void, guiding the way back to the capital.

The rising smoke from the agarwood incense ascends straight to the Purple Palace, like a staircase leading to the gods.

She recited the incantation to send off the gods aloud, her clear voice echoing across the ancient Ebo Terrace:

(End of this chapter)