177: Chapter 177 The Truth of Heaven's Secrets, The Traitor Appears

The front line, the core of the Zhou Tian Xing Dou Great Array.

Star Radiance stood on the Star Gazing Platform, holding a palm-sized silver mirror in her hands.

This was the Star Track Pavilion's secret treasure, the "Star Gazing Mirror," which could observe the star orbits and peer into the fluctuations of the Formation.

Her brows were tightly furrowed.

In the mirror's surface, the light points representing the seventy-two Earthly Fiend auxiliary formation eyes should have been flickering as steadily as stars.

But at this moment, three of those light points... were slowly dimming.

"Bing-3, Wu-7, Geng-11..."

Star Radiance whispered the formation eye numbers, her expression becoming increasingly grave.

These three formation eyes were located in the east, south, and west of the defensive line, a hundred miles apart; logically, they shouldn't be failing simultaneously.

Unless... "Someone is secretly sabotaging them."

She put away the Star Gazing Mirror, her body turning into starlight as she sped toward the nearest Bing-3 formation eye.

Half an incense stick later, at the valley where the Bing-3 formation eye was located.

Star Radiance hid behind a giant boulder, starlight swirling in her pupils—the Star Gazing Pupil Technique was being pushed to its full potential.

Then, she saw it.

At the core of the formation eye, an old man wearing the Daoist robes of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion was slowly piercing a dark red Bone Nail into the Formation's foundation stone pillar.

As the Bone Nail entered the stone by three inches, the light of the formation eye dimmed by another degree.

"Heavenly Derivation Master..."

Star Radiance recognized this person.

He was the Vice Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion, with a Nascent Soul Peak cultivation, skilled in deduction and divination, and held extremely high prestige in the Central Region.

Three days ago, it was he who had come to the Luoxia Sect as an envoy to "give warning."

And now, he was here sabotaging the Great Formation's formation eye!

"Why?"

Waves of shock surged in Star Radiance's heart.

But she didn't reveal herself immediately, instead continuing to observe.

Heavenly Derivation Master soon finished sabotaging the Bing-3 formation eye and turned into a streak of light, flying toward the Wu-7 formation eye.

Star Radiance followed closely behind.

One after the other, the two of them passed through the battle lines like ghosts.

The more Star Radiance watched, the more alarmed she became.

Heavenly Derivation Master's methods were extremely subtle, leaving only imperceptible hidden damage in the formation eyes each time; it wouldn't erupt in the short term, but after three to five days, these formation eyes would fail one after another.

At that time, loopholes would appear in the defense of the Zhou Tian Xing Dou Great Array, and the army of monsters could drive straight in!

"I must stop him."

Star Radiance gritted her teeth, about to send a message to the Star Track Pavilion Master.

But just then—

Heavenly Derivation Master suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked toward where she was hiding.

"Little friend Star Radiance, isn't it tiring to follow me for so long?"

His voice was gentle, and he even had a warm smile on his face.

But those eyes... were as cold as a poisonous snake.

Star Radiance felt a chill in her heart, knowing she had been exposed.

She no longer hid and stepped out of the Void Realm, saying coldly, "Senior Heavenly Derivation, why are you sabotaging the Great Formation's formation eyes?"

"Sabotaging?"

Heavenly Derivation Master chuckled: "No, I am... correcting them."

"Correcting?"

"Yes."

Heavenly Derivation Master stood with his hands behind his back, looking toward the Burial Dragon Abyss: "Little friend Star Radiance, do you really think this Great Formation can block the Spirit Devouring Clan?"

"It can't be blocked."

He shook his head, his tone carrying a sense of pity: "The Spirit Devouring Clan is an ancient catastrophe; even figures like the Star Lord could only Seal them, not kill them. Now that the Seal is about to break, the only way for the Human Race to survive... is to comply."

"Comply?"

Star Radiance's pupils shrank: "You mean..."

"Surrender."

Heavenly Derivation Master calmly spat out two words: "Or more accurately—symbiosis."

He raised his right hand, and a dark red rune appeared in his palm.

The rune twisted and squirmed, emitting evil qi of the same origin as the Spirit Devouring Clan.

"Three thousand years ago, the third-generation Pavilion Master of my Heavenly Secret Pavilion, 'Heavenly Fortune Master,' had already signed a 'Symbiotic Contract' with the Spirit Devouring Clan."

"The Spirit Devouring Clan helps the Cultivators of my pavilion extend their Lifespan and break through Bottlenecks; my pavilion, in turn, provides the Spirit Devouring Clan with information on the Human Race and, at critical moments... opens the door of convenience."

"For three thousand years, the successive Pavilion Masters and Elders of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion have all been bound by this contract."

"Now, the contract is about to be completed—the Spirit Devouring Clan will return to this realm, and my Heavenly Secret Pavilion... will become the new rulers of the Human Race."

Star Radiance felt cold all over.

She finally understood why the Heavenly Secret Pavilion was so "knowledgeable" about the Spirit Devouring Clan's intelligence.

Why they would take the initiative to come and "give warning."

It turned out... they were on the same side all along!

"You... have betrayed the entire Human Race!"

Star Radiance's voice trembled with both anger and sorrow.

"Betrayal?"

Heavenly Derivation Master laughed, his smile tinged with mockery: "Little friend, in the world of cultivation, the strong prey on the weak; where does betrayal come into it? My pavilion simply chose... the stronger side."

"Besides..."

He paused, a flash of dark red in his eyes: "Do you think only my Heavenly Secret Pavilion is like this?"

"Among the Seven Great Sects of the Central Region, at least four have already secretly reached agreements with the Spirit Devouring Clan."

"The Human Race... has long been rotten to the core."

Star Radiance felt as if struck by lightning.

Four?!

Half of the top powers in the Central Region had actually defected to the Spirit Devouring Clan?!

"Impossible... the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, the Qingyang Sect, they..."

"Ten Thousand Swords Sect?"

Heavenly Derivation Master sneered: "They are indeed still resisting, but they're just struggling at death's door. As for the Qingyang Sect... their Grand Elder was already 'replaced' three years ago."

Star Radiance was completely stunned.

The amount of information was too much for her to digest for a moment.

But one thing was certain—

The interior of the Human Race was already riddled with holes!

"Alright, I've said enough."

Heavenly Derivation Master's smile faded, and killing intent surged in his eyes: "Little friend Star Radiance, since you know what you shouldn't... I can only ask you to shut your mouth forever."

He raised his hand, and the dark red rune in his palm shone brightly.

The pressure of a Nascent Soul Peak erupted like Mount Tai pressing down!

Star Radiance was only at the Late Golden Core Stage; under this pressure, even breathing was difficult.

But she didn't shrink back, instead gritting her teeth and sacrificing the Star Gazing Mirror.

The mirror's light was like a sword, stabbing toward Heavenly Derivation Master!

"Like a mantis trying to stop a carriage."

Heavenly Derivation Master waved his sleeve, and the mirror's light shattered.

The Star Gazing Mirror flew back, and Star Radiance spat out a mouthful of blood, staggering backward.

The gap was too large.

Nascent Soul Peak against Late Golden Core Stage was complete suppression.

"It's over."

Heavenly Derivation Master reached out, and a giant dark red hand appeared out of thin air, grabbing for Star Radiance's head.

Star Radiance closed her eyes in despair.

But the expected death did not arrive.

An aged hand blocked her.

That hand just lightly brushed.

The giant dark red hand... vanished like smoke.

"Heavenly Derivation Master, you have disappointed this old man too much."

The figure of the Star Track Pavilion Master appeared in the field at some unknown time.

He stood with his back to Star Radiance, facing Heavenly Derivation Master, his white hair moving without wind, stars swirling in his eyes.

"Pavilion Master..."

Star Radiance's heart eased, then tightened again.

Because she saw the Star Track Pavilion Master's cuff was slightly trembling.

That was... a sign that his injuries hadn't healed!

"Old Ghost Star Track, you really did come."

Heavenly Derivation Master wasn't surprised at all; instead, he smiled: "How, are your injuries healed? In that battle three days ago, you forcibly activated the Star Gazing Technique to deduce the Spirit Transformation Commander's weakness; your Divine Soul must have been quite damaged, right?"

The Star Track Pavilion Master remained silent.

Indeed, his injuries hadn't healed; at this moment, he could only exert seventy percent of his strength at most.

Whereas Heavenly Derivation Master opposite him... was in perfect condition and even had a wisp of a Spirit Devouring Clan commander's split soul hidden within him!

With one side weakened and the other strengthened, the outcome was hard to predict.

"Star Radiance, step back."

The Star Track Pavilion Master said calmly: "Next is a battle at the Soul Transformation level; you cannot intervene."

"But Pavilion Master, you..."

"Step back."

The Star Track Pavilion Master's tone brooked no argument.

Star Radiance gritted her teeth and finally retreated a hundred feet away.

Only the two of them remained facing each other in the field.

"Star Track, for the sake of our thousand-year acquaintance, I'll give you a choice."

Heavenly Derivation Master said slowly: "Submit, and welcome the new era together with my pavilion. With your cultivation, you will surely gain the commander's appreciation and be granted longevity."

"Or... die."

The Star Track Pavilion Master smiled.

It was a faint smile, yet it carried a bone-chilling coldness.

"Heavenly Derivation Master, do you know what the foundation of my Star Track Pavilion is?"

"What is it?"

"Gazing at stars, measuring fortune, and peering into the heavenly secret."

The Star Track Pavilion Master looked up at the night sky: "But the most important thing is... guarding the heart."

"If the heart is not upright, the star orbit will deviate; if the star orbit deviates, the heavenly secret will be in chaos."

"And you..."

He looked at Heavenly Derivation Master, a hint of sorrow in his eyes:

"Your heart has long been eaten clean by the Spirit Devouring Clan."

As his voice fell.

The Star Track Pavilion Master formed a hand Seal.

"Stars of the Zhou Tian—heed my command!"

Boom—!!!

A hundred-mile star chart suddenly descended!

It wasn't a projection of the Great Formation.

But... a real star chart triggered by his own cultivation!

In the star chart, three hundred and sixty primary stars lit up simultaneously, starlight like swords slashing toward Heavenly Derivation Master!

"Good timing!"

Heavenly Derivation Master laughed wildly, dark red evil qi erupting around him.

"Spirit Devouring Secret Technique—Ten Thousand Souls Devouring the Heavens!"

Countless phantom wraiths poured out of his body, roaring as they pounced toward the starlight.

Starlight collided with the wraiths, erupting with world-shattering energy fluctuations.

The earth cracked, and the mountains collapsed.

A hundred feet away, Star Radiance was pushed back repeatedly by the aftershocks, blood overflowing from the corners of her mouth.

But she stared intently at the battlefield.

The starlight and wraiths were in a stalemate, but the Star Track Pavilion Master's face... was becoming paler and paler.

"The Pavilion Master won't be able to hold on for long..."

Star Radiance was anxious.

And just then—

"Found you."

A calm voice rang out from the edge of the battlefield.

Lin Yue walked through the air, his white clothes as white as snow, untainted by a speck of dust.

He looked at Heavenly Derivation Master, stars swirling in his eyes:

"Dog of the Spirit Devouring Clan..."

"It's time for the reckoning."