Nie Tian froze.

Dong Li asked him about it, only to find him seemingly caught up in thought. Therefore, she stopped and waited in silence.

“It doesn’t suit me...” Nie Tian thought to himself.

The Heavenly Stellar Stream was an Immortal grade divine tool. When it had flown closer, every Son of the Stars present had felt a stir in the fragmentary star marks in their chests, and the star souls in their seas of awareness.

He was no exception.

He had assumed that if the other Sons of the Stars had stayed out of it and let him establish a connection with it by relying on his fragmentary star marks and star power incantations, it would have been easy to accomplish.

However, it turned out that the Heavenly Stellar Stream had chosen Sikong Cuo instead of him.

“The grand elder has been helping me in secret since I joined the sect. He wouldn’t trick me.” Nie Tian thought to himself. “Since he pointed out that the Heavenly Stellar Stream doesn’t suit me, perhaps it just doesn’t. But the problem is that it’s an Immortal grade divine tool. What does Sikong Cuo have that can possibly match its value?”

After pondering for a long while, Nie Tian finally whispered, “I trust you. Please make arrangements as you see fit.”

“Good.” Mo Heng responded in a soul voice.

Only then did Nie Tian open his eyes. He took a look at Dong Li and said, “Come on. Let’s get out of here. We can come back in a few days for Grand Elder Mo’s duel.”

They went below decks to the teleportation portal, and teleported to the Realm of Remote Heaven.

Upon arriving, Nie Tian found a secluded room in the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace’s private section, where he rested and told Dong Li about Mo Heng’s plan.

Confused, Dong Li asked, “Is the grand elder on your side?”

“Yeah, he’s been taking care of me the whole time,” Nie Tian said. After a moment of hesitation, he added, “Besides, he seems to have a complicated connection with my father, whom I’ve never met.”

“He knows your father?” Dong Li exclaimed in astonishment.

Nie Tian smiled bitterly. “Let’s not talk about that now. I need to recover my strength as soon as possible.”

With these words, he took out a ring of holding that he had just received from Hou Chulan and Huang Jinnan. From within it, he took out several eighth grade Ancientbeast and outsider corpses.

He had consumed a significant amount of power, along with ten drops of Blood Essence, in his battle against Ophelia.

He had to recover them within the shortest time possible.

After all, he planned to be there when the duel between Mo Heng and Grand Monarch Primal Demon took place, so that he could witness how magnificent and breathtaking the clash between outsider and human peak experts would be.

...

In the Dead Star Sea.

Sikong Cuo, the sixth Son of the Stars, flew to the berthed ancient starship to find a secret cabin below decks, where he gathered power in an attempt to separate the Heavenly Stellar Stream from him.

As Fang Yuan had said, no matter how reluctant he was, he had to give the Heavenly Stellar Stream up.

WHOOSH!

Like a ghost, Mo Heng’s blurry soul shadow suddenly appeared in the room.

Sikong Cuo’s expression flickered as he saw it. He hastily rose to his feet and said respectfully, “Greetings, Grand Elder.”

Even though he had always been self-conceited, he felt great pressure facing Mo Heng, who had defeated Grand Monarch Bloodlust immediately after entering the middle God domain, and then challenged Grand Monarch Primal Demon to a duel.

“Don’t separate the Heavenly Stellar Stream from you just yet,” Mo Heng said softly.

Ecstasy appeared in Sikong Cuo’s eyes as he asked, “What do you mean, Grand Elder?”

“I talked to Nie Tian, and he’s agreed to let you have it,” Mo Heng said. “Plus, you’re the one who’s most suited for the Heavenly Stellar Stream."

Sikong Cuo gradually calmed down from his ecstasy. He pondered for a moment, then asked, “What am I supposed to give him in return? The Heavenly Stellar Stream is an Immortal grade divine tool. I’ve already felt its wonders. I really can’t think of anything I have that can match its value.”

Mo Heng nodded. “You’re right. You don’t, but vice sectmaster Luo has a few things, whose combined value can match the Heavenly Stellar Stream’s.”

Sikong Cuo smiled bitterly. “Don’t joke with me, Grand Elder. Even though vice sectmaster Luo has been supportive of me, do you really think he’ll give up his valuable collections just so that I can keep the Heavenly Stellar Stream?”

“You haven’t asked him yet,” Mo Heng said. “How do you know he won’t agree to it?”

Sikong Cuo fell silent, frowning.

“Go ask him,” Mo Heng add. “He’s well-aware which of his valuables can be used to trade for the Heavenly Stellar Stream. If he refuses to help you out, you may go ahead and separate the Heavenly Stellar Stream from you. But if he says ‘yes’, then that Immortal grade divine tool will be yours, won’t it?”

“Alright, I’ll give it a shot, but I really don’t think there’s a chance,” Sikong Cuo said, harboring no hope at all.

He then walked out of the secret cabin to the teleportation portal room, where he teleported to the Realm of Remote Heaven. From there, he teleported to the secluded place where Luo Wanxiang was recovering.

...

Nie Tian’s victory in his duel against Ophelia astonished almost every race.

All of a sudden, his name spread throughout the myriad realms in this starry river.

Thanks to the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace’s efforts, the news of Nie Tian’s victory rapidly spread throughout the human heaven and earth.

The major sects and clans in the Domain of Heaven’s Boundaries, the Domain of Heaven Python, and the Domain of the Falling Stars also soon received word of it.

While they were thrilled by the news, they discovered that those who had given them a hard time or refused to trade with them earlier had suddenly changed their attitude, and become warm and friendly.

Apparently, important figures of the Heaven Span Pavilion and the Void Spirit Society had ordered them to correct their behavior and restore fair trade with Nie Tian’s subordinate forces.

“This is all because of Nie Tian’s triumph!” Yue Yanxi and many others were greatly spirited by the news, and became increasingly convinced that following Nie Tian had been a wise decision.

As time passed, even more powerful figures from the Five Elements Sect, the Heaven Span Pavilion, and the Void Spirit Society arrived in the Dead Star Sea or presented their soul shadows in special magical devices in order to keep a close watch on the upcoming duel.

More dragons, titans, Floragrims, and Ancientbeasts poured into the Dead Star Sea as well.

Soon, the Dead Star Sea became a busy place, where peak experts of different races gathered.

All of this was because Nie Tian had won and earned Mo Heng a chance to fight his duel against Grand Monarch Primal Demon.

As the chief of the entire Demon race, Grand Monarch Primal Demon was at the late tenth grade.

Even among all the outsider races, he was one of the strongest. His name was known throughout the countless realms in this starry river.

It was only natural that his duel against Mo Heng attracted the attention of important figures of all races.

In the Void Spirit Society.

Pei Qiqi suddenly flew out of a slender spatial rift, with countless spatial blades moving restlessly in acupoints all over her.

Her unique bloodline vested her with a space-twisting aura, which seemed to allow her to travel through all realms in this starry river.

“Finally, the eighth grade and Void domain...” Sparks flew off her fingertips as she shook her arms, adjusting to her newly-achieved bloodline grade and cultivation base.

One of the Void Spirit Society elders sensed the movement and flew over. Upon arriving, he said, “Greetings, Miss Pei. Nie Tian’s duel against Ophelia has ended in Nie Tian’s victory. Our sectmaster has already entered the Dead Star Sea to observe the upcoming duel between Mo Heng and Grand Monarch Primal Demon.”

Astonishment and confusion filled her face as she asked, “What are you talking about?”

She had spent a long time in secluded cultivation, and had thus been completely unaware of recent events.

The man went blank for a moment before saying, “So the sectmaster didn’t tell you about it... I guess that’s because he didn’t want you to be distracted during your breakthrough.”

Then, he went on and explained what had happened to her.

Surprise and overjoyed, she asked, “I can’t believe that guy actually defeated an eighth grade champion of the Demon race.”

“There’s another message for you, which is from the Domain of the Falling Stars,” He added. “A man named Zhao Shanling said he has found a trace of some Void Palace Sect.”

Pei Qiqi’s expression flickered drastically.