Tian Shu Wu Wang Lu

At this moment, at the entrance to the Star Abyss Secret Realm, the rosy light finally dissipated completely, and the spatial fluctuations slowly subsided.

Lin Ye, Shen Qingyuan, Jiang Xubai, and Ayan, exhausted yet full of unexpected opportunities, finally emerged from the secret realm.

Lin Ye walked at the forefront, his brows radiating the sharpness that came with experience. His aura was several times stronger than before entering the secret realm. He was at the peak of the Star Mansion Foundation Opening stage, just one step away from the early stage of the Star Network Heaven-Reaching stage.

He clutched tightly in his arms a technique he had snatched from the secret realm to give to Lu Chenyuan, solely to help his brother break free from the shackles of inferior cultivation methods and overcome his cultivation bottleneck.

The moment Lin Ye stepped out of the secret realm, he still had an expectant smile on his face, thinking only of finding Lu Chenyuan immediately, handing over the cultivation technique to him, and fulfilling his promise.

But the next second, when he looked up and saw the towering flames in the direction of the sect, and felt the suffocating demonic energy and bloody smell, the smile on his face instantly froze, his face turned ashen, and the blood in his body seemed to freeze at that moment.

"That's... a sect!"

Shen Qingyuan, a core female disciple who was usually aloof and detached, cried out in shock as she looked at the calamity in the direction of the sect. She couldn't help but tremble as she watched the disaster unfold.

Jiang Xubai frowned deeply as he entered the mid-stage of the Star Bridge, his star power instantly circulating throughout his body, his face grave; Ayan was even more frightened, his face turning pale, and he was at a loss for what to do.

Lin Ye's heart felt like it was being gripped tightly by an invisible hand, the pain almost making it hard for him to breathe. The first thing that flashed through his mind was Lu Chenyuan, who was left alone at the outer gate.

"The Abyss!"

He let out a heart-wrenching roar, no longer caring about anything else. His star power surged, and he turned to rush towards the outer gate, wanting to find Lu Chenyuan immediately and take him away from this hell on earth.

Before he could take more than a few steps, a large number of Netherworld Branch cultivators sensed their presence. A dark mass of demonic cultivators instantly surrounded and attacked. The leading few early-stage Star Bridge demonic cultivators had sinister eyes and were surrounded by overwhelming demonic energy. They were clearly experts from the Netherworld Branch, who were here to intercept and kill Lingxiao Pavilion disciples who came out of the secret realm.

"Hahaha, those brats from Lingxiao Pavilion, kill them one by one! Today, Lingxiao Pavilion will be destroyed!"

The leading demonic cultivator laughed wildly, wielding a demonic blade, and slashed fiercely at Lin Ye and his group. The blade's energy was pitch black, carrying endless killing intent, instantly blocking all their escape routes.

Shen Qingyuan and Jiang Xubai immediately stepped forward and engaged in a fierce battle with the demonic cultivators who had surrounded them. The light from their magical artifacts clashed with the demonic energy, producing a series of booming sounds.

However, the enemy outnumbered them and their cultivation was far superior. In no time, the group was at a disadvantage and began to suffer wounds.

Within the sect, several elders perished one after another in their attempt to stop the top demonic cultivators; their bodies exploded and their souls were destroyed, leaving no one able to come to their aid.

At this critical juncture of life and death, a clear yet resolute Daoist voice suddenly came from the void.

"You demons of the underworld, cease your arrogance!"

Master Xuanzhen was dressed in a plain-colored Taoist robe, his beard and hair were flowing, and his body was filled with Taoist aura, which clearly showed that he was a top cultivator at the mid-stage of the Star Core realm.

He was originally the sect's strongest remaining force, secretly resisting the attacks of the Netherworld Branch Master. Now, seeing Lin Ye and other younger members of the sect surrounded, he knew that Lingxiao Pavilion was powerless to turn the tide. If even these young juniors perished here, Lingxiao Pavilion would truly be completely destroyed, with no chance of recovery.

He flashed and instantly appeared in front of Lin Ye and the others, raising his hand to unleash a golden Dao seal, forcefully blocking the fatal blow from the leading branch leader.

Master Xuanzhen turned around, looking at Lin Ye, Shen Qingyuan, and the others. His aged face was filled with determination and reluctance. He shouted sternly, "Lingxiao Pavilion's fate is sealed. I will hold them off. You must break through quickly and leave through the secret passage behind the sect. Survive! You must survive! Preserve the last embers of Lingxiao Pavilion, and avenge the sect in the future!"

"Master!" Lin Ye's eyes widened in horror, tears streaming down his face. He looked at Master Xuanzhen's slender yet upright figure and shook his head desperately. "I won't leave! I want to find Chen Yuan! I want to fight alongside everyone!"

"Nonsense!" Master Xuanzhen shouted sternly, his eyes resolute. "This is not the time to act rashly. As long as we're alive, we can always fight another day! If we don't leave now, none of us will survive!"

Before Lin Ye and the others could object, Master Xuanzhen suddenly burst forth with dazzling golden light.

His eyes were solemn, his hands quickly formed hand seals, and he resolutely made the most decisive decision—to detonate his own star power and burn away his life's cultivation!

"Master, you mustn't!"

Shen Qingyuan and Jiang Xubai exclaimed in unison, their eyes filled with grief and despair.

Master Xuanzhen seemed not to hear, and the golden light became even more dazzling. He used his own star power as a guide and his life's cultivation as fuel to transform into a dazzling light shield that stretched across the sky, forcefully blocking Lin Ye and his group from the many Netherworld experts. He also tightly entangled the Netherworld branch leader who wanted to chase after them.

"Lingxiao Sect juniors, leave immediately!"

The violent star power clashed violently with the demonic energy of the Netherworld Branch Master, creating towering waves of air, billowing smoke and dust, and blinding light that made it impossible for anyone to open their eyes.

A terrifying energy surge swept in all directions, forcefully repelling the demonic cultivators who had come to attack, and even the leader of the Netherworld Branch was seriously injured.

This was the only chance of survival that Master Xuanzhen gave his life for them!

"Go! Let's go!"

Jiang Xubai's eyes were filled with tears as he grabbed Lin Ye, who was about to rush forward. Shen Qingyuan also held onto his arm tightly, while Ayan gritted his teeth and followed beside him.

Taking advantage of the life-saving barrier, the four dared not linger any longer. They turned around and, with all their might, desperately tried to break through towards the secret passage behind the sect.

Lin Ye was forcibly dragged along by the two men, turning back every few steps. Tears blurred his vision, and his knuckles turned white. He roared and struggled, his mind filled with thoughts of Lu Chenyuan, who was left behind in the outer sect. He wanted to turn back, but he was powerless to do so.

Along the way, the group fought valiantly, slaying countless demonic cultivators who blocked their path. Their bodies were covered in blood and dust, and their wounds kept bleeding, causing them excruciating pain. However, they dared not stop for a moment and only cared about fleeing desperately.

In the chaos, the route was already in disarray, and the original plan to go around to the outer gate to find Lu Chenyuan was completely ruined. The group was only concerned with breaking through the encirclement and completely lost Lu Chenyuan.

Meanwhile, Lu Chenyuan, a member of the outer sect, was in a life-or-death situation.

When the sect's catastrophe broke out, he was cultivating in his hut. Hearing the strange noises and screams in the world, he suddenly opened his eyes, rushed out of the hut, and saw the tragic scene of the sect's destruction. He saw the sky filled with demonic energy and corpses everywhere. He was stunned and his mind went blank.

Before he could react, several Netherworld cultivators sensed his presence and surrounded him with sinister eyes. These demonic cultivators were the same group who had planted the seed of inner demons in Lu Chenyuan's heart; they had clearly been secretly watching him, waiting for an opportunity to exploit him.

Lu Chenyuan was only at the fifth level of the Star Guiding Realm and didn't even have a decent magic weapon. He could only rely on the rudimentary fist techniques he had practiced to barely keep going.

He used all his star power with every punch he threw, but he was completely powerless against the demonic cultivator whose cultivation was far superior to his.

In a short while, several deep, bone-revealing wounds appeared on his body. Blood gushed out from the wounds, staining his faded outer disciple robes red. Every movement aggravated the wounds, causing excruciating pain.

He staggered backward, leaning against the dilapidated wall, panting heavily, his face ashen and his eyes filled with despair.

Even so, he did not give up. He was still waiting for Lin Ye, believing that Lin Ye would come to find him and take him away.

He mustered his last bit of strength and looked up toward the entrance to the secret realm, toward the main peak of the sect, hoping to see that familiar figure.

That one glance plunged him into an abyss of no return.

He clearly saw that in the distance, in the direction of the main peak, Master Xuanzhen detonated a dazzling golden light of star power. He saw that within that golden light, Lin Ye, Shen Qingyuan, Jiang Xubai, and Ayan were taking advantage of the cover of the golden light to frantically break through towards the back mountain of the sect.

The distance was too great, and the sounds of fighting and explosions were too loud. He couldn't hear Lin Ye's heart-wrenching cries, Lin Ye's struggle to turn back and find him, and he couldn't see the tears and worry in Lin Ye's eyes.

All he saw was Lin Ye closely following the others, fleeing towards the back mountain of the sect without looking back, completely disappearing into the demonic energy and firelight.

At that moment, all the strength in Lu Chenyuan's body seemed to be drained away instantly, his legs went weak, and he knelt on the ground.

Deep within his brow, the seed of inner demon that had been dormant for half a month stirred wildly the moment he witnessed this scene. Boundless, dark evil energy surged through his meridians straight into his mind, instantly devouring his last shred of reason and his last bit of resolve.

"Lin Ye..."

He coughed up a mouthful of blood, which splattered onto the ground, mingling with the blood everywhere. The last trace of struggle and hope in his eyes was extinguished, replaced by an overwhelming hatred and despair that could destroy the world.

He didn't believe it, he didn't want to believe it, but the scene before him was so glaring, so real.

He thought that Lin Ye had finally abandoned him.

All those so-called brotherhoods, patient guidance, resource sharing, and solemn promises of the past have now become the sharpest irony, piercing his heart again and again.

It turns out that he had been deluding himself all along.

It turns out that in Lin Ye's heart, he was just an insignificant good-for-nothing brother. When disaster struck, Lin Ye would only care about his own survival and wouldn't care about his life or death at all.

It turns out that from beginning to end, everyone looked down on him, treated him as a burden, and could abandon him at will!

The long-suppressed inferiority, resentment, humiliation, and the despair and resentment of being abandoned by his brothers erupted completely in his heart, like a volcanic eruption, sweeping over his entire mind.

"You abandoned me..."

"You all look down on me, you all see me as a burden!"

"I'm not reconciled! I hate it so much!"

Lu Chenyuan roared to the sky, his voice hoarse and shrill, piercing through the sounds of battle, filled with endless despair and resentment.

The inner demon between his brows erupted completely, and pitch-black evil energy surged out of his body, echoing the surrounding netherworld demonic energy and instantly enveloping his entire body.

His hair turned jet black at a visible speed, and his eyes were completely covered in crimson. His past loyalty to his brothers and his adherence to the righteous path were all devoured by his inner demons and hatred.

Just then, the "Netherworld Star Devouring Technique" under the bed seemed to sense the hatred in his heart, and flew out automatically, hovering in front of him, surrounded by dark evil energy, exuding an extremely seductive power fluctuation.

This time, Lu Chenyuan did not hesitate or struggle at all.

He slowly raised his blood-stained hand and tightly gripped the evil magic.

"I need power..."

"I want immense power!"

"I will make all those who abandoned me, despised me, and trampled on me pay a terrible price!"

The Netherworld cultivator's cold laughter slowly echoed in my ears, carrying the smugness of a successful conspiracy.

Lu Chenyuan, however, no longer cared about anything else.

He completely fell into the demonic path and was utterly consumed by his inner demons.

Meanwhile, Lin Ye and his group fought desperately to break through the encirclement and finally escaped through the secret passage behind the sect, temporarily escaping danger.

Lin Ye collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down his face, his heart filled with worry and guilt for Lu Chenyuan. He struggled to get up and return to Lingxiao Pavilion to find Lu Chenyuan. Even if he had to die, he wanted to die with his brother, but his senior brother stopped him.

"Master died to save us, he can't have died in vain," Jiang Xubai said angrily, his eyes red.

Little did he know that the brother he cherished as his closest relative and desperately sought had already fallen into the dark path amidst this sudden catastrophe and enormous misunderstanding, never to return.

A life-or-death feud, stemming from a misunderstanding between brothers, driven by inner demons, and plotted against by the Netherworld faction, is about to unfold. The two, who were once deeply in love, will eventually meet as enemies on opposite paths of good and evil.