The moment the tip of the Ice Soul Sword pierced the ripples of space-time, Lin Xuan saw the Star Mark in the eyes of the Nether Palace Master—it was the exact same Greedy Wolf seal as the one on his own chest. His younger self stood frozen in the center of the forbidden grounds, the Star Mark having just been carved into his skin, his unawakened Fate Disk shimmering against his breast.
"With this strike, I sever your nine cycles of reincarnation!"
The blade of the Nether Palace Master, reeking of the blood and marrow of ten thousand immortals, was blocked by the Reverse Scale just as it touched the boy’s throat. The Star Marks across Lin Xuan’s body surged in reverse; the North Sea Dragon Vein descended from the void in a monstrous wave, the crests carrying the vengeful spirits of the Dragon clan, whose souls had been extracted and refined three hundred years ago.
"Whoosh—"
The river of space-time suddenly began to boil as the phantom of the First Generation Patriarch coalesced from the spray. The Star Chart shot from the Fate Disk in his hand to ensnare the Nether Palace Master, but it snapped the moment it touched the other’s Star Mark. "You dare use my Star Core to nourish the Greedy Wolf!"
The eyes of the young Lin Xuan were suddenly suffused with silver light, and his unawakened Fate Disk flew into his palm of its own accord. The Star Core in the chest of the Nether Palace Master vibrated violently, resonating with the boy’s Fate Disk. "So, I am actually..."
"A counterfeit will always be a counterfeit!"
Lin Xuan swung the Reverse Scale, shattering the shackles of space-time. The ruins of the Star Palace surged forth from the end of the long river, the collapsing halls reorganizing within the waves to form a great astral formation spanning three hundred years. The lingering soul of Su Jiuli suddenly emerged from the eye of the formation, the Tail-Tip Gold Bell mark fitting perfectly with the boy's Fate Disk.
"Ting-ling—"
The clear, resonant sound of the bell echoed across the river, and the Nether Palace Master’s Star Core shattered at the sound. The phantom of the First Generation Patriarch lashed out, his Fate Disk morphing into a gluttonous maw that lunged toward the young Lin Xuan. "If you cannot be tamed, then you shall be refined anew!"
The great astral formation roared into motion. Lin Xuan saw himself in countless tributaries of space-time—in every life, as he fell, his spirit was sucked into the eye of the formation and refined into the Star Sand that sustained the array. The Fate Disk in the boy’s hand suddenly swelled, and for the first time, the full Twenty-Eight Mansions Star Chart appeared. A crimson light shot from the Greedy Wolf Star Position, piercing through the phantom of the First Generation Patriarch.
"So, you fear this..."
The boy’s fingertip brushed a crack on the edge of the Fate Disk, where a faint, almost invisible Qingqiu fox pattern was carved. A searing pain struck Lin Xuan’s heart as memories of his past life—when he had carved out his own heart to seal the Yaoguang Star—rushed back. What he had carved out that night was not evil intent, but the shard of the Destiny Soul that the First Generation Patriarch had been inhabiting!
"No!!"
Amidst the roar of the First Generation Patriarch, the river of space-time began to evaporate. The body of the Nether Palace Master crumbled inch by inch, revealing the bronze core of the Fate Disk pulsing within. Lin Xuan grabbed the boy’s wrist and pressed the Reverse Scale against his heart. "Now, sever the reincarnation!"
The instant the Fate Disk and the Reverse Scale collided, the sound of breaking chains echoed from the depths of the Jiuyou Yellow Springs. In the brilliant light, Lin Xuan saw his vision of the future collapse, replaced by a scene in the forbidden grounds of Qingqiu—countless bronze chains extending from beneath the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox stele, dragging the soul of Su Jiuli into the netherworld!
"Senior Brother... take care..."
As the girl’s final soul-voice dissipated, the river of space-time dried up completely. Lin Xuan knelt on the scorched earth of the Star Palace Ruins, the Reverse Scale in his hand having turned into Star Sand. Fragments of the First Generation Patriarch’s Fate Disk reassembled before him, piecing together half a Star Chart—pointing toward the Eye of the Candle Dragon in the abyss of the North Sea.
The void suddenly split open, and a small boat carrying an old man in a straw rain cape arrived through the rift. A newly hung bronze bell at his waist was covered in shamanic runes, and a severed fox tail was tied to his fishing line. "Does the Star Lord wish to hitch a ride? This ferry business through the netherworld is something I only do once."
Lin Xuan looked up and noticed the jade seal mark of the Star Palace lineage revealed beneath the old man’s cape. Just as he was about to speak, a dragon’s roar erupted from the direction of the North Sea. Seventy-two Calamity Stars rose from the sea, piecing together the full "Greedy Wolf Swallowing the Sun" image in the sky.
Blood rain fell from the Nine Heavens, the droplets coalescing in the air into small seal script:
"The night the stars fall, ten thousand immortals are sacrificed. The Nine-Tailed Fox burns to nothing, the Greedy Wolf dwells forever."
The old man’s fishing rod suddenly shifted, the tip pointing directly at the center of Lin Xuan’s brow. "The time has come. Star Lord, it is time to pay your debt—"
The fox tail residue entangled in the fishing line suddenly lashed out, the tail bone transforming into a blade that stabbed toward his heart. In the final moment, Lin Xuan clearly saw a tiny, secret Star Palace inscription carved into the inner side of the fox tail:
"The master-killer, Lin Xuan."