469: Drunk on the Starry Sky

The two soon arrived in front of a small building.

Several white-robed maidservants stood at the door, their auras reaching the Immortal Giant level. Seeing Xu Qing and the other, they immediately bowed in salute.

Inside the building, a Small World had formed. The dome was like a night sky, adorned with brilliant stars, and mist swirled underfoot. Every step taken created ripples, as if walking on a river of stars.

In the center was a white jade platform, on which a jade table was placed. Nine ancient bronze lamps floated above it, their flames formed from Chaos starlight.

At this moment, the jade table was already laden with delectable dishes and delicacies, making one salivate.

"Sit!"

Ji Xinghe gestured with a raised hand, and a crystal-clear Star Marrow Wine pot materialized on the central jade table.

The pot was translucent, and the shimmering silver liquid flowing within was faintly visible, as if an entire galaxy had been refined into it. As starlight circulated, tiny specks of starlight even emanated from the pot, condensing into miniature star phantoms in the air, appearing and disappearing in an instant.

"This brew is called Galaxy Drunk."

Ji Xinghe lightly tapped the pot with his fingertip, and a wisp of silver glow immediately shot out from its mouth.

"It is made by me using an entire galaxy as the main ingredient, supplemented by over a thousand kinds of star-type Immortal medicines, tens of thousands of star-type Supreme medicines, and then sealed in Star Cold Marrow to precipitate for 810,000 years before it is complete."

Ji Xinghe said, a look of pride on his face, clearly very confident in his Galaxy Drunk.

As the wine was poured, a scene of a galactic vortex spontaneously evolved in the cup. The wine's aroma did not dissipate; instead, it condensed into tiny star rings that slowly rotated around the rim of the cup.

Xu Qing gazed at the wine, noticing that it rotated on its own in the cup, forming a miniature galaxy. It seemed as if countless stars were being born and dying within it, and the illusion and destruction of each star subtly coincided with some profound mystery of the Great Dao of Stars.

"Fellow Daoist, take a look."

Ji Xinghe pointed his fingers and swiped, and a drop of wine floated up, suddenly expanding in the Void Realm, transforming into a real miniature star.

"The most marvelous aspect of this wine is that every drop contains a complete Dao rhyme of Stars, allowing any living being who cultivates the Great Dao of Stars to enter the Immortal realm with just one cup."

After speaking, he made a "please" gesture, inviting Xu Qing to taste it.

Xu Qing picked up the wine glass. The moment the glass touched his hand, his entire arm was immediately covered with a layer of silver star patterns.

He did not hesitate and drank it all.

"Boom!"

His Dao Soul felt as if it had been pulled into an endless sea of stars. Before his eyes appeared the scene of stars being born at the beginning of Chaos: nebulae collapsed, flames surged, and countless primordial stars condensed into form amidst explosions.

Even more profound was that the trajectories of these stars corresponded precisely to the Immortal meaning of the Great Dao of Stars!

Three breaths later, Xu Qing slowly opened his eyes, and a phantom of a galaxy flashed in his pupils.

"Good wine!" Xu Qing exclaimed, "I have drunk a lot of wine in my life, but this Galaxy Brew is truly the best!"

Although the Great Dao power contained in Galaxy Drunk was useless to him, the taste and illusions it produced after drinking were extraordinary.

"Hahaha! Wine finds its true companion! Today, this old man shall drink with this young friend until we are both thoroughly drunk!"

Ji Xinghe took the wine pot, poured a cup for Xu Qing, and then raised his cup to drink with Xu Qing.

"Fellow Daoist, this wine pairs best with Fire Prison King Snake Soup. You should try it!"

Ji Xinghe pointed to a fire crystal cauldron. Inside, the snake soup was like congealed emerald, with vermilion flames flickering on its surface.

Xu Qing scooped up a spoonful. The soup melted instantly upon entering his mouth, and extreme cold and extreme heat intertwined on his tongue, creating a sensation of both ice and fire!

"I didn't expect Fellow Daoist Ji to also be a gourmand. Qing is quite envious!" Xu Qing said with a smile.

"Hahaha!" Ji Xinghe laughed heartily, "When this old man heard the report from the pass guard, I knew Fellow Daoist and I were kindred spirits. In the future, we two can interact more often and discuss this Dao together!"

"That is precisely my intention!"

"Come! Drink..."

Thus, for half a month, Ji Xinghe did nothing else but take Xu Qing around the ancient kingdom to sample delicious food and fine wines.

After half a month, the fleet finally arrived.

Xu Qing immediately underwent Fusion with his Dao body.

"Grand Elder Xu, you have emerged from seclusion?"

Upon learning this, Venerable Qingzhu immediately sought out Xu Qing.

"Senior, there is no need for such formality between us. You can just call me Xu Qing!"

Xu Qing still held Venerable Qingzhu in great respect.

"Martial Dao has always valued the accomplished first. Moreover, you are already a Grand Elder of the Sacred Hall. The proper respect must be maintained!"

Clearly, Venerable Qingzhu was a very traditional person.

After three days of rest, the fleet departed using the Vermilion Bird Ancient Kingdom's great teleportation array.

This teleportation directly transported them from the central region to a city south of the Southern Abyss. This city was named Phantom Capital Divine City, and the controlling race of Phantom Capital Divine City was called the Void Mirage Clan, a race most skilled in controlling illusions.

When the fleet arrived outside Phantom Capital Divine City, the entire world was shrouded in a layer of hazy mist.

The mist was not ordinary water vapor, but rather mirage light refracted from countless tiny spatial folds. From a distance, the entire ancient city seemed to float at the boundary between reality and illusion, sometimes clear as a painting, other times blurred like a phantom.

The ancient city was entirely constructed from a peculiar stone material called "Phantom Crystal Jade." Water-like patterns flowed across the city walls, and each brick and stone reflected different scenes—either fragments of ancient battlefields, projections of unknown worlds, or even occasionally a few frames of possible future events.

There were no guards at the city gate, only a huge bronze mirror suspended in mid-air. The mirror's surface flowed like water, and all who entered the city had to pass through the mirror to verify their true identity.

The Void Mirage Clan belonged to a neutral race and had a vested interest in the Human Race. This time, they also paid a fee to be able to use the teleportation.

Because the area south of the Southern Abyss was barren, there were very few Dao Ancestors, and the few races that controlled great teleportation arrays were also at odds with the Human Race. Therefore, the fleet's subsequent journey could only rely on warships.

Thus, after three years, the fleet arrived at a place called the Chaos Return to Ruin.

The Chaos Return to Ruin was once a vast and boundless Chaos Continent, torn apart in a cataclysmic war during the ancient Mythological Era. Now, this expansive ruin floats in the Chaos Sea, like the torn corpse of a giant. Broken continental plates collide with each other, forming countless twisted Void Realm fissures.

As the fleet traveled through it, all around were shattered mountain ranges and dried-up star-corpse seas.

Xu Qing stood on the deck, his gaze sweeping over the floating land fragments.

Some fragments still retained the complete outlines of ancient cities, but they were long devoid of life; others had been melted into a glassy crystallization by some terrifying force, glowing with an eerie luster in the Chaos mist.

Occasionally, a Chaos storm would sweep through, stirring up the dust that had lain dormant for countless eras, forming twisted ghostly faces in the Void Realm.

Within the Chaos Return to Ruin, there were also habitable places, where many races lived. The most powerful among these races were at most Half-Ancestor.

And the Chaos Return to Ruin was one of the key routes to the south, so passing beings or merchant fleets would resupply here, making it quite prosperous.

Three more days to the south was the next supply point, Fallen Star Ancient City, where the fleet would rest for five days!

Three days passed in a flash, and the fleet finally arrived at Fallen Star Ancient City.

But everyone was stunned by the sight before them.

This once prosperous giant city, stretching for hundreds of millions of miles, had now become a dead zone.

City walls tens of thousands of feet high looked as if they had been gnawed by some giant beast, covered in jagged gaps; buildings within the city had collapsed in swathes, and the pavilions crafted from star essence gold were now twisted like scrap metal kneaded by immense force.

Dismembered limbs paved every street, and blood gathered into rivers, winding through the ruins.

Just then, a world-shaking roar suddenly came from the center of the ancient city.

Five terrifying auras shot into the sky, even dispersing the Chaos mist above.

"Half-Ancestor realm Chaos exotic beasts! Go support them quickly!"

Ji Qianling's expression changed slightly, and he rushed out.

The Fallen Star Clan was a race friendly with the Human Race, and this stronghold could not be lost.