Chapter 338

Chapter 338: This Slap Is My Mercy!

In the midst of the starry river, a group of people rushed forward at tremendous speed, cutting straight through the galaxy.

　　Ye Tianming had the lowest cultivation level and was completely incapable of traversing star domains on his own, so Dong Qian carried him along.

　　Ye Tianming could sense that the other five held a great deal of dissatisfaction toward him, but out of deference to Dong Qian, none of them dared to say anything.

　　Ye Tianming glanced at Dong Qian beside him and asked curiously, “Miss Dong Qian, could you tell me about the great war among the gods back then?”

　　Dong Qian said, “You’re interested in that period of history?”

　　Ye Tianming nodded, “Mm.”

　　After a brief pause, Dong Qian said, “According to certain divine historical records, after the Shepherd God departed, the gods each held their own beliefs and all wanted to become the second Shepherd God, but none would yield to the others. Combined with their differing ideals, a great war broke out.”

　　Ye Tianming asked, “Is there anything more detailed?”

　　Dong Qian glanced at him, “Any more detail and it would involve the secrets of the gods. I truly don’t know, but after we return, I can help you look into it. Don’t get your hopes up too much though, because most of the recorded history isn’t entirely accurate. After all, the history of this world has always been written by the victors.”

　　Ye Tianming nodded, “Understood.”

　　Dong Qian asked with some curiosity, “Why are you so interested in the gods?”

　　Ye Tianming smiled, “Just pure curiosity.”

　　Dong Qian glanced at him and said nothing.

　　At that moment, Zhou Bai suddenly walked over.

　　Dong Qian fixed her gaze on Zhou Bai without a word.

　　Zhou Bai looked at Ye Tianming, “I heard someone tried to kill you last night.”

　　Ye Tianming nodded, “Mm.”

　　Zhou Bai said, “It wasn’t me.”

　　After saying that, he felt his delivery lacked force, so he added, “Whether you believe it or not.”

　　Ye Tianming smiled, “I know it wasn’t you.”

　　Zhou Bai was slightly surprised, “Why?”

　　Ye Tianming thought for a moment, then said, “First, you’re not that stupid. We only had a conflict the day before, so if something happened to me the very next day, everyone would suspect you. You would never do something so foolish. Second, whatever else you may be, Zhou Bai, you’re someone of standing. Even if you wanted to kill me, you’d do it openly and directly. You’d never stoop to something so underhanded.”

　　Hearing Ye Tianming’s words, Zhou Bai was visibly taken aback. He sized Ye Tianming up and then said, “Even though I can’t stand you, I have to admit — you and I are alike. We’re both smart people.”

　　Everyone: “……”

　　Zhou Bai said no more and turned to walk away.

　　Ye Tianming smiled to himself. In this world, some people aren’t evil — they’re just foolish. Of course, more often than not, it’s not foolishness at all, but pure, unadulterated malice.

　　About two hours later, the group arrived in a desolate stretch of the starry river. In the distance, a great Milky Way stretched across the entire expanse, dazzling and magnificent.

　　The surroundings were utterly silent, not a single sound to be heard.

　　It felt a little eerie.

　　Dong Qian gazed into the depths of that Milky Way, “That’s the place.”

　　At that moment, a young woman stepped up beside Dong Qian and hesitated before speaking, “Senior Sister, this person by your side has no apparent strength whatsoever…I don’t mean anything by it, it’s just — you’ve sensed it too — there’s a starry river storm up ahead…”

　　”Ling Bai!”

　　At that moment, Zhou Bai, standing not far away, suddenly spoke up, “Don’t worry about him. He may look powerless, but he’s actually hiding his strength.”

　　Everyone turned to look at Zhou Bai. He looked at Ye Tianming with an air of someone who had long since seen through everything, “His strength is nothing to scoff at. He’s just playing the pig to eat the tiger.”

　　Ye Tianming: “……”

　　Dong Qian suddenly said, “Move out.”

　　The group quickly entered that stretch of the Milky Way. Deep within it, terrifying starry river storms raged in every direction, like furious dragons roaring through the cosmos and unleashing devastating power. At the eye of each storm, shards of stars scattered and light flickered, radiating a bone-chilling sense of danger.

　　Ye Tianming’s expression shifted — this was the first time he had ever witnessed storms so terrifying.

　　The others beside him wore equally grave expressions.

　　Dong Qian suddenly stepped forward, swept her sleeve, and said, “Open.”

　　Boom!

　　A divine light shot out toward that terrifying storm region. In an instant, it plunged headlong into the storm — and then, before everyone’s astonished eyes, it carved a clear path straight through that ferocious tempest.

　　Ye Tianming turned to look at Dong Qian. He had to admit — this Senior Sister’s strength exceeded his expectations.

　　This was absolutely beyond what any ordinary peak-circle realm cultivator could achieve.

　　Dong Qian said, “Move.”

　　As she spoke, she grabbed Ye Tianming by the shoulder and charged forward.

　　The others rushed to follow.

　　Ye Tianming followed Dong Qian into the core of the storm region. The moment he entered, he felt the turbulent, overwhelming waves of energy surging all around him. The heart of this starry river storm was far more terrifying than he had imagined — every gust carried the power to shatter heaven and earth.

　　Of course, Dong Qian herself was even more terrifying, because the divine light she had released was single-handedly holding back every single starry river storm.

　　Zhou Bai and the others also wore grave expressions. They finally understood why this mission required Senior Sister to lead the team.

　　Without someone of her caliber, they simply would not have been able to get in.

　　Soon, a flash of white light appeared before everyone.

　　They quickly passed through it, and on the other side, they entered another stretch of the starry river.

　　This stretch of the starry river was deeply unsettling.

　　Silent, dark, and boundless.

　　Starlight surrounded them, but it was extremely faint — as if it might go out at any moment.

　　”Look!”

　　Someone suddenly pointed into the distance.

　　Ye Tianming looked up. Tens of thousands of zhang away, floating in the starry river, was a towering mountain of magnificent grandeur. It stood tall and imposing, as if it had existed alongside the starry river since time immemorial, exuding an ancient and mysterious aura.

　　Across its surface, shimmering light flowed and the power of the stars coursed through it, like brilliant rivers of stars coiling around its form.

　　At the sight of this mountain, the eyes of Zhou Bai and the others instantly burned with intense eagerness. Zhou Bai said excitedly, “There’s the aura of a divine being.”

　　The aura of a divine being?

　　Ye Tianming looked toward the mountain and sensed nothing at all.

　　Zhou Bai suddenly turned to Ye Tianming, “You sensed it too?”

　　Ye Tianming nodded, “Mm.”

　　Zhou Bai said, “I knew you were playing the pig to eat the tiger!”

　　Ye Tianming: “…….”

　　Dong Qian, at the front, let a faint smile cross her face when she saw that towering mountain — but it vanished in an instant. “Move!”

　　With that, she grabbed Ye Tianming and flashed forward, disappearing into the distance.

　　The others hurried after them.

　　Soon, the group arrived before the great mountain. Up close, Ye Tianming and the others were struck even more by its grandeur and magnificence, and a profound sense of insignificance welled up within them.

　　Beside him, the young woman named Ling Bai said excitedly, “Look over there.”

　　Everyone followed her pointing finger and saw, halfway up the mountain, a magnificent palace standing tall and resplendent — gleaming gold and jade, shimmering with flowing light, radiating a sacred and solemn aura.

　　The young woman named Ling Bai was clearly beside herself with excitement and moved to rush forward, but Dong Qian beside her grabbed her back.

　　Ling Bai, clearly carried away by excitement, said with a note of irritation, “What are you doing?”

　　Dong Qian raised her hand and slapped her across the face.

　　Smack!

　　The slap sent Ling Bai flying several thousand zhang away, and she crashed straight through a rift in spacetime.

　　Everyone was stunned.

　　Ye Tianming was also taken aback — he hadn’t expected Senior Sister to strike so suddenly.

　　Ling Bai came to her senses, and seeing Dong Qian’s icy gaze, she quickly said, “Senior Sister, I’m sorry, I — I — I got too carried away just now.”

　　Dong Qian stared at her, “That slap was me being merciful. Remember it.”

　　Ling Bai lowered her head and dared not speak.

　　Dong Qian paid her no further attention and slowly raised her head to look at the palace. She opened her palm and sent a divine light flying out — but the moment it drew near the mountain, it was shattered by a ray of starlight.

　　At the sight of this, Ling Bai’s face instantly went pale.

　　Dong Qian said, “There’s a formation.”

　　A man said in a low voice, “This may be a formation left behind by that True God. How do we break through it?”

　　Dong Qian considered for a moment, then said, “I’ll try.”

　　As she spoke, she glanced toward Zhou Bai nearby. Zhou Bai understood her meaning and immediately looked at Ye Tianming, then said, “Don’t worry. I can’t stand him, but I won’t lay a hand on him.”

　　Dong Qian said, “You have some brains, but not many.”

　　Everyone: “…….”

　　Dong Qian glanced over at Ling Bai nearby. The latter dared not meet her eyes and immediately lowered her head.

　　Dong Qian transformed into a streak of divine light and shot skyward. The moment she reached the midpoint of the mountain, countless rays of starlight suddenly surged toward her like a vast net.

　　Dong Qian narrowed her eyes, swept her sleeve, and in an instant, countless streams of divine light burst forth from within it.

　　Boom, boom, boom!

　　In that single moment, the stretch of the starry river above everyone’s heads began to churn and boil!

　　At the sight of this, several people were visibly shaken — they realized that Senior Sister was attempting to break through the formation by sheer force.

　　The instant Dong Qian struck back, a massive star formation suddenly appeared above her head, enveloping her within it. In the next moment, the light of a billion stars rained down upon her like a violent storm, dense and relentless, swallowing her whole in an instant.

　　The divine light radiating from Dong Qian’s body began to visibly dim before their eyes.

　　Seeing this, the group all grew tense.

　　Ling Bai’s eyes darkened, her thoughts unreadable.

　　Ye Tianming stared at the terrifying light of a billion stars, his brow furrowed deeply — he had sensed something unusual.

　　The star formation above Dong Qian’s head grew ever more brilliant, and the starlight grew ever more dense. By now, Dong Qian had been completely swallowed up within that boundless stellar radiance.

　　Yet through that curtain of starlight, a faint thread of divine light could still be glimpsed — clearly, Dong Qian was still alive. But that thread of light was growing weaker and weaker.

　　At the sight of this, Ye Tianming’s expression darkened.

　　Ling Bai stared at Dong Qian in that sea of stars, her thoughts impossible to read.

　　Suddenly, as if something had occurred to her, she turned to look at Ye Tianming beside her, her eyes flickering.

　　Ye Tianming glanced at her, “Miss, I’d advise you to think twice. From the looks of it, that mind of yours isn’t cut out for villainy.”

　　Zhou Bai looked at Ye Tianming and smiled, “And what about me?”

　　Ye Tianming looked at him, “You’re cut out to be a comedian.”

　　Zhou Bai: “…….”