As the thunderclouds of the Nine Heavens coalesced into a crimson vortex, Lin Xuan’s fingertips touched the array eye at the base of the stele. Within the leaping holy fire of Qingqiu, the remnant soul of Su Jiuli suddenly took solid form, her fox tail winding around his wrist as he prepared to press down on the array. "Senior Brother, do you truly wish to see the truth?"
The Star Palace Ruins shuddered violently as the corpse of the First Generation Patriarch crawled fully out of the black hole. Seventy-two Calamity Stars circled his body, each Star Core reflecting the image of Lin Xuan in a past life, blade drawn against his own sect members. Ling Shuang’s Star Sand gathered from the void, condensing in his palm into half a Reverse Scale—the very Heart-Protecting Scale stolen from the North Sea Dragon Lord!
"You cannot escape..."
The Calamity Stars on the First Generation Patriarch’s face suddenly burst, revealing the deep black hole core hidden within. Lin Xuan saw a bronze Fate Disk suspended inside; the positions of the Twenty-Eight Mansions on its surface aligned perfectly with the mark on the Tail-Tip Gold Bell of Su Jiuli. Her fox fire suddenly spiraled out of control, trailing along the star patterns toward his heart, branding the forbidden technique from the final chapter of the *Burning Star Record* into his flesh.
"With my soul as the guide, shatter the illusion!"
Su Jiuli’s remnant soul began to burn, and within the fox fire, the star orbits of the forbidden Qingqiu lands emerged. Amidst the searing pain of his soul being scorched, Lin Xuan realized the truth: the so-called Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox stele was, in reality, a reincarnation anchor point created by the First Generation Patriarch using secret Star Palace arts! What was suppressed beneath the base was no criminal, but a "waymark" used to maintain the stability of space and time!
"So, you knew this all along..."
Lin Xuan gripped the Reverse Scale tightly as the mournful cries of the North Sea Dragon Vein pierced the void. The First Generation Patriarch’s corpse suddenly decomposed and reassembled, transforming into a gargantuan Taotie beast covered in star patterns. The moment the beast’s claws struck the Celestial Fox stele, the phantom of a gold bell flashed on the inscriptions—the protection spell Lin Xuan had carved with his own hands three hundred years ago.
*Clang—*
The sound of metal striking metal shattered three Calamity Stars, and Su Jiuli’s remnant soul solidified in the resulting light explosion. Her tail was wrapped in the Soul-Devouring Gu Insect chains of the Nether Palace Master, yet the head of the chain was tethered to the core of the First Generation Patriarch’s Fate Disk. "Senior Brother, do you know why my fox fire can incinerate the star patterns?"
The Astrolabe suddenly flew from Lin Xuan’s robes, the Greedy Wolf Star Mark resonating with the Fate Disk. Pitch-black, bloody tears streamed from the Taotie eyes of the First Generation Patriarch. As those blood drops hit the ground, they transformed into Soul-Devouring Gu Insects, gnawing at the Star Remains scattered across the ruins. Within the swarm, Lin Xuan saw the horrific truth—every single Gu Insect hid a wisp of a Qingqiu fox soul in its belly!
"Break!"
The Reverse Scale pierced the Dubhe position of the Fate Disk, and the North Sea Dragon Vein cascaded down from the void in a ten-thousand-foot wave. The First Generation Patriarch’s corpse stiffened abruptly, and from the black hole core, the shrill scream of the Star-Fishing Old Man rang out: "Master, you promised me eternal life!"
Su Jiuli’s fox tail snapped, the tailbone transforming into a Star Key that drove into a crack in the stele. The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox stele split open with a roar, revealing the river of space-time flowing within—in the forbidden Star Palace grounds of three hundred years ago, the young Lin Xuan was plunging the Ice Soul Sword into his own chest!
"This is the reason for your nine reincarnations."
The voice of the Nether Palace Master echoed from the end of the river. Lin Xuan watched as each version of himself that had fallen in past lives had his soul sucked into the First Generation Patriarch’s Fate Disk. The Astrolabe suddenly reversed its rotation, the Twenty-Eight Mansions star patterns flowing backward into a crimson hue, condensing in the void to form the complete *Reverse Star Manual*.
"No!"
The Taotie eyes of the First Generation Patriarch erupted, and the remnant soul of the Star-Fishing Old Man crawled out from the core of the Fate Disk. He lunged madly toward the river of time, but the moment he touched the surface, he dissolved into Star Sand—each grain holding the trapped, mournful soul of a Star Palace disciple.
Su Jiuli’s remnant soul began to dissipate. She infused her final wisp of fox fire into the center of Lin Xuan’s brow. "Go... shatter the anchor point..." Before she could finish, the true form of the Nether Palace Master leapt from the river, his hand covering the Reverse Scale as he gripped the hilt of the Ice Soul Sword—
The blade was pointed directly at the young Lin Xuan from three hundred years ago, just as the Greedy Wolf Star Mark had been planted upon him!
The Astrolabe sensed the space-time paradox beginning to unravel. Lin Xuan caught the remnant soul of the Star-Fishing Old Man amidst the turbulence. Fragments of memory flooded his mind: the First Generation Patriarch had, at the very founding of the Star Palace, severed his own Destiny Soul into seventy-two pieces, hiding them within the Star Cores of every generation’s greatest prodigies!
"So, both you and I are merely puppets..."
Lin Xuan crushed the remnant soul, the Star Sand streaming through his fingers into the river of time. As the Taotie beast of the First Generation Patriarch moved to devour his younger self, Lin Xuan dove into the river, the Reverse Scale in his hand colliding violently with the Ice Soul Sword—
*Crack!*
In the instant that time froze, the sound of chains breaking echoed from the depths of the Jiuyou Yellow Springs. In the blinding light, Lin Xuan saw a vision of the future: himself, a Taotie eye on his forehead, seated upon the throne of the Star Palace, his feet treading upon the nine-tailed skeleton of Su Jiuli. And at the very zenith of the firmament, the phantom of the First Generation Patriarch was slowly coalescing into a new sun and moon...