Chapter 1296: Advancing into the Game

This vast, boundless starry sky, teeming with endless mysteries, began its breathtaking collapse. Every moment unfolded like a shocking canvas painted with ultimate destruction, visually assaulting every conceivable sense.

If the speed of its collapse were slowed, one would see that at the very beginning, at the distant, seemingly endless edge of this starry sky, a faint, almost imperceptible golden thread quietly emerged.

It was like a subtle tear unintentionally made on a dark canvas.

Seemingly insignificant, it carried an indescribable aura of danger.

It was the concept of the Old God Venerable.

It was also the conduit for Shanghuang's gaze.

In the blink of an eye, these golden threads multiplied, spreading with frantic speed, like a greedy, colossal net, rapidly expanding in every direction.

Wherever they passed, the once-serene starry sky rippled with layers of distortion, as if a massive stone had been cast into a tranquil lake.

The ripples spread outwards in circles, imbued with a bizarre, reality-distorting quality, causing the light of the stars themselves to warp and contort.

Next, the stars, embedded like jewels in the universe's dark tapestry, began their tragic dance of fragmentation.

Each massive sun, usually a fiery furnace in the cosmos, radiating endless light and heat,

was now as if violently struck by an invisible, colossal hammer.

First, its outer shell abruptly burst, scarlet flames, like furious dragons breaking free, surged outward in all directions.

The flames were a dazzling, blinding red, as if poised to consume the entire universe.

Amidst these surging waves of fire, surrounding planets were instantly vaporized, leaving not a single trace of debris, transforming only into wisps of distorted light and shadow, dissolving into the chaotic energy currents.

The sun's core was then violently pulverized by an irresistible force, turning into countless fragments shimmering with an eerie glow.

These fragments shot further into the distance.

Each of these fragments seemed to encapsulate the sun's final defiance, as they streaked through the darkness in long,

twisted trajectories, like sharp swords, slicing the starry sky into shattered pieces.

This was as if tearing deeper wounds into the endless void, or perhaps writing a tragic epic of cosmic collapse.

Simultaneously, the starry sky, once vast like a black silk tapestry studded with billions of diamonds, now seemed to suffer the most violent frenzy.

Whole swathes of stars successively exploded.

The brilliant lights that erupted intertwined into a blinding curtain of light, spreading outwards with overwhelming force, scorching space itself into chaos wherever it reached.

The once clearly visible outlines of stars and shapes of galaxies were now completely submerged in this chaotic interweaving of light and darkness,

a tearing, hellish spectacle.

Every burst of intense light seemed like the universe's desperate cry, attempting to resist the impending void with its final brilliance.

Galaxies were not spared either.

Countless galaxies, and even star regions, once like glorious islands scattered across an boundless sea of darkness, maintaining a mysterious yet harmonious order amongst themselves, now resembled fragile sandcastles, rapidly disintegrating under surging waves.

This endless starry sky, in mere moments, completely devolved into a chaotic ruin.

All stars had shattered into oblivion, their light gradually dimming and extinguishing, leaving only endless darkness to spread unchecked, as if intent on devouring every trace of what once existed.

Although within this darkness, a faint, seemingly unwilling glimmer of light would occasionally flash, it was merely the last echo of the starry sky's collapse.

A fleeting appearance.

It was quickly engulfed by the increasingly dense void, leaving behind only a deathly silence.

Nothing remained.

And all of this transpired within mere breaths; this vast starry sky had completed its lifespan.

Along with the Old God Venerable within it, he turned to nothingness under Shanghuang's gaze.

All universes, all stars, and all living beings within it, just like the erstwhile Peerless City,

turned into nothingness.

Only the Old God Venerable's final thought, echoed indifferently amidst the wailing fate of the Fifth Star Ring:

"Immortal Venerable, I cannot defeat you, but neither shall you truly win."

This thought was branded into the fate of the Fifth Star Ring, becoming an indelible rule and causing the threads of law to tremble.

It would persist through eternity.

The God Venerable had fallen.

At this moment, the supreme existences across the entire Upper Star Ring experienced violent ripples within their divine souls.

The greatest turmoil occurred in the Ninth Star Ring.

To the east of that Star Ring, a slumbering colossal beast opened its golden eyes.

To the north of the Star Ring, the flowing golden Mother River now churned, and on the lotus flowers blooming within it, countless figures trembled.

To the south of the Star Ring, within the astonishing black tower standing there, a candle flame seemed to ignite.

And to the west of the Star Ring, a terrifying paper figure, seated cross-legged, licked its lips and gazed towards Wanggu.

Meanwhile, on the Wanggu Continent, Shanghuang's open eye slowly closed.

A long time later.

Within the Fifth Star Ring, in the starry sky, a figure emerged from the void.

This figure was an old man, wearing straw sandals, tall in stature, with a golden mouse perched on his shoulder.

He was precisely the Immortal Venerable of the Fifth Star Ring.

His figure now quietly approached, finally stopping at the site of the God Venerable's demise, before that astonishing expanse of nothingness.

Standing at the edge, he looked up at the boundless nothingness before him, sensing the dense aura of Shanghuang within it.

The old man was silent.

He knew that from then on, the Fifth Star Ring would forever be missing thirty percent, its ring no longer complete.

Furthermore, with every opening of Shanghuang's true body's eyes, residual light would also emanate from this very spot.

The Fifth Star Ring had been utterly tainted by karma.

"This is the price for borrowing Shanghuang. You clearly could have avoided leading Xu Qing and the other to that place."

Beside the Immortal Venerable, Master Bai's figure emerged, speaking softly.

The Immortal Venerable remained silent.

After a while, his voice, tinged with age, resonated around them.

It seemed to be spoken to himself, and to Master Bai, but even more so to all the other God Venerables in the Upper Star Ring at that moment.

"Do you remember the phrase that spread throughout the Upper Star Ring when Shanghuang's ordinary ascension to godhood failed?"

"Fate can be broken, but destiny must be obeyed."

"So, do you think it's possible that it wasn't a failed ascension as the outside world judged, but rather, everything that followed was merely part of the ascension process?"

After speaking, the Immortal Venerable's figure dissipated.

In the Upper Star Ring, all supreme existences fell silent.

Master Bai was no exception; after a moment, he sighed softly, gazing towards the place where Xu Qing had vanished in the Fourth Star Ring.

Time, thus, slowly flowed by.

In the blink of an eye, five years passed.

Only three years remained until Xu Qing's self-appointed return date.

Yet, he had not returned.

As for the Fourth Star Ring, it had undergone significant changes over these five years.

The divine realm had been confined to a very small area; as for the outside, with the release of immortal spiritual energy from supply stars, and the spread of the Fifth Star Ring's fate, more and more cultivators had migrated to and settled in the Fourth Star Ring.

Immortal Lord Moming had returned to the Fifth Star Ring, taking his turn on duty.

Most other Immortal Lords had also returned.

Only Master Bai, throughout these five years, had continuously remained at the place where Xu Qing vanished, silently waiting.

And for all living beings, the changes over these five years were also considerable.

Most of them, during their cultivation, would occasionally recall the lingering echo of the God Venerable from five years prior:

"Immortal Venerable, I cannot defeat you, but neither shall you truly win."