The firmament above the North Sea was lacerated by bronze chains into a web-like ruin. From the three thousand Giant Bronze Gates, the ends of these chains emerged, each tethering a dying sun that roared like a trapped beast in a cage.
Su Jiuli stood atop a mountain of raging waves. Her right eye, a bronze Star Mark, reflected a horrific vision: deep within the core of every dying sun, a corpse of "Su Jiuli," adorned with star patterns, lay curled. Bronze stakes were driven through their chests, and the chains coiled around the stakes were refining the solar essence into Star Sand, pouring it in an endless stream into the abyss behind the gates.
The moment the first trickle of Star Sand touched the sea, nine Xuanwu remains burst through the waves.
Chapter 78