"Ohh?"

Li Feng glanced back toward the bloody bodies on the ground, a hint of interest flashing through his eyes.

Among the three, there was actually a survivor.

And it was No. 1, the vixen woman.

"She actually survived?"

Ignoring the bloody scent, Li Feng walked forward until he stood over her lying body.

He can see a small star-shaped mark glowed faintly beneath her breast until it dimmed down.

"Is that some sort of sigil to prove she's now a Star Apostle? …Interesting."

He placed a hand on his chin, as if pondering and glance toward the dead No.0.

" It seems being stronger doesn't necessarily increase the chance of success…"

This woman was clearly weaker than the man, so something about her must be better.

"Ah… maybe it's the quality of their soul ?... Then does that mean if I strengthen someone's soul, I can increase the chance of success?" he murmured while a grin slowly spreading across his face.

The moment he obtained this skill, he already had a plan for it.

Li Feng could already imagine creating his own secret force... Ahem, of course only beautiful women would qualify, and only after a rigorous round of testing....personally overseen by him.

But he soon shook his head at his own daydream.

As soul-nourishing items were extremely precious and he couldn't afford them right now.

He also didn't know how many people would even qualify without going through this life-and-death adaptation.

And even if someone did qualify, they might not want to accept the bestowment.

After all, accepting it meant giving up a part of their freedom for power.

"I guess it's similar to a soul contract," Li Feng thought as he looked down at his first Star Apostle.

Suddenly, another notification popped up.

[Ding!]

[Congratulation Host for successfully bestow a star and acquiring your first Star Apostle!]

[Star Apostle Status:]

[Name: Bai Lingyu]

[Vessel: 1 Star]

[Level: 9th Realm of Qi Refinement]

[Special Physique: None]

[Remarks: Once a favored concubine of the previous Fen Dynasty Emperor. Due to some unfortunate situation, she was banished and had her title removed. Even after growing old and many years had passed, she still holds a deep hatred toward the Fen Dynasty, which is why she willingly sold her soul for power and longevity.]

Li Feng blinked in surprise when he saw the status, then looked weirdly at his first apostle.

"It seems there are a lot of things going on huh… and isn't she like Senior Sister's grandma…?"

He joked and shook his head.

To think her hatred ran this deep and lasted this long...something must have happened in the past.

But to be frank, Li Feng didn't care nor do he want to know.

The only thing that mattered now was how he could use this woman to find out the mastermind behind her.

So he tried to check if there was anything else related to the Star Apostle skill.

"Oh?"

Li Feng let out an interested smile after sensing that he could even share vision through this woman's eyes , even though it was pitch-black right now.

Not only that , he could even switch to a third-person view, though he couldn't move too far away.

It seemed the third-person view only worked within the distance that the person herself could see.

Li Feng, who was currently viewing from her third-person perspective, smiled weirdly as he saw himself standing in front of him… smiling back.

"It feels kinda weird seeing myself like this..." , he murmured.

Then he returned to his own body and checked more with his senses.

"Eh… I can even manipulate their memories and feelings too? Wow..."

Li Feng was speechless after sensing that.

By using the star embedded deep within her soul, he could make a little tweak here and there.

With just a thought, he could create fake memories or erase real ones.

Even more terrifying....he could make her feel completely different toward him, from love and adoration to intensifying her deepest hatred…

Li Feng chuckle wryly and couldn't help but feel like he was becoming some sort of evil villain with this skill.

Then he smiled.

"Well, nothing is evil...only the wielder is. I'll make sure to turn this into a righteous skill!"

He clenched his fist and declared righteously,

"Hmph! Those evil and ... beautiful cultivators better watch themselves, cuz this righteous one won't tolerate any wrongdoing!"

Li Feng's shameless voice echoed through the empty space, brimming with "righteous" indignation as if he had already declared war on every evil cultivator in existence.

"Haha! Truly, what a righteous disciple I am!"

He laughed heartily, drunk on the glory of his newfound skill.

Li Feng, still basking in his happiness and imagining a heroic future for himself, didn't know that… in the future—

Because of this skill…

He would become the mysterious cult leader of one of the most dangerous and powerful cult in this world…

A cult full of those lunatic and fanatic Star Worshipers.

....The Star of Salvation Cult.

_

_

_

Outside.

The sky is still dark, as moonlight shower the dark forest below.

Bai Lingyu, who was lying on the ground, opened her eyes.

And she looked around in confusion.

"...Where am I? What happened…?"

She murmured and frowned, trying to remember the situation.

"...Ahh, the mission to capture Fen Ziyan has failed."

Then she finally remembered.

She had been tasked by her master to capture Fen Ziyan after Fen Ziyan left the sect.

But before they could do anything, their group encountered a mysterious expert and was almost completely wiped out.

Now she was the only survivor, still alive after trying to escape the pursuit for so many days.

"... Dammit, how unlucky."

Bai Lingyu stood up and sighed at her misfortune.

Looking down at her cloak, she became confused again.

"...Why am I naked beneath the cloak? Whatever… I need to go back and inform Master about this failed mission…"

She sighed with irritation, as she could already imagine the punishment for this failure, where she would have to be humiliated by those old, disgusting folks again.

Without caring about her nakedness any further, she rushed off into the woods.

Meanwhile—

High in the sky,

Among the clouds, Li Feng stood with his arms behind his back, his clothes fluttering gracefully.

Right now he truly looking like a true immortal…

If it weren't for the fact that he was standing on a floating brick.

Li Feng who currently has his gaze on Bai Lingyu's disappearing figure.

"Go… my first apostle," Li Feng murmured with a cold smile.

He truly wanted to see the face of the one who dared try to steal his woman.

He had already erased Bai Lingyu's memories of him and the events surrounding their failed attempt, replacing them with a fake scenario.

That way, when questioned by her master, nothing would seem strange, and he himself would not be exposed.

Once her figure finally vanished from sight, Li Feng smiled and disappeared back into the brick.

_

_

_

Inside the Divine Brick,

After cleaning the body with another command

Li Feng finally looked out at the vast, empty wasteland.

He then took out a small crystallized bead which seemed to be the seed of the Divine Soul Tree that he obtain earlier.

Curious, he checked its status again.

[Rank 5 Treasure??? Seed of Divine Soul Tree]

Seeing the question marks, he couldn't help but ask the system.

"System… what's with the question marks? Is it dangerous or anything?"

[Ding!]

[No need to worry, Host! This is legitimate and completely safe to use!]

[Regarding the question marks, this seed seems to be connected to something out of this world. As the Host is still weak, the system cannot trace its source properly!]

Li Feng blinked slowly as he stared at the small seed in his hands.

He couldn't help but feel a bit surprised as he had never expected such an answer.

Then he grinned and clenched the seed as if it were a priceless treasure.

"Hehe… if even the system can't trace it properly, then it must be something amazing…"

He smiled and asked the system again:

"How do I plant this? Do I just treat it like a normal seed?"

[Ding!]

[Affirmative, Host! You can bury it and plant it like a normal seed!]

Li Feng nodded and went to find a spot that felt just right.

After finding the perfect location, he slowly knelt down, dug into the ground with his hands, and buried the seed beneath the soil.

"…What now?"

With his hands now dirty, he murmured to himself.

Then he seemed to remember something and took out a small watering can he had bought earlier.

Noticing there was still some water left inside, he began watering the seed.

"Ah… this is my first time planting a tree… should I water it every three days?"

Li Feng murmured, staring at the wet ground and silently hoping that this treasure wouldn't die under his amateur care...

Crack…

Suddenly, a small crack appeared in the wet soil where the seed had been buried.

Li Feng noticed immediately and hurriedly knelt down, trying to see what was happening.

"Eh? So fast? It's sprouting already?"

He murmured in disbelief as he watched the soil move, as if something was about to break through.

_

_

Meanwhile,

Outside the Divine Brick…

…Unknown to Li Feng,

CRACK!

In the night sky, a small rift began to form.

Had Li Feng saw it, he would have recognized its eerie similarity to the rift from the Divine Soul Tree memory , the very one from which the seed had fallen from onto that desolate land.

CRACK!

CRACK!

The rift began to widening, soon it become large enough to reveal a glimpse of what lay beyond,

... Which seem to be a void of pitch-black emptiness, stretching endlessly, as if it devoured both light and life.

It seemed to contain nothing but chaos… a blank, devouring void.

This was the space between "Realms".

Even a nascent-soul cultivator would die instantly if they stay there for even a second.

...Only unimaginable, unspeakable entities could survive in this dead zone.

Rumble… Rumble…

Amid the chaotic void, something enormous seem to slowly moving within the darkness.

Its movements were slow but deliberate, as if the void itself trembled under its weight.

Then, abruptly, "it" stopped.

Even the world seemed to hold its breath as the surrounding spiritual energy went stilled and silent.

And then… its gaze or whatever could be called a gaze pierced through the rift, fixing on the tiny floating Divine Brick below.

…As if it could see everything happening inside.

"...."

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