Little Pink Starfish

Outside the courtyard—or rather, the place that used to be a courtyard but at some point had turned into a pile of ruins—only a single, barely standing room remained, teetering in the wind as if it could collapse at any moment.
At this moment, that lone room was tightly wrapped by a massive black energy sphere. A mist-like aura spread around it, creating an extremely eerie atmosphere.

Qingtong, leading a group of personal guards, stood before the black energy sphere, looking solemn.
Beside her were the three great demon kings and a crowd of demons—their expressions were more wary than anything else.

Three days… no, five days had passed!
Qingtong was filled with grief and indignation: The Star Lord had told them not to approach for a few days, but now the situation looked so strange—she was extremely worried!
The personal guards had tears in their eyes: Very worried!

But Qingtong was the most loyal of the loyal, a VIP among maidservants, so of course, she followed orders to the letter.
Thus, she continued to obediently stand outside the shattered courtyard, stretching her neck in anticipation, eagerly watching for any change around that “sphere.”

At this moment, two dark figures appeared in the distance, running toward them.
Both were dressed in bright red wedding robes—one had an expression that was odd yet inexplicably satisfied, while the other had a flushed face, looking both embarrassed and reluctant but still not pulling away from the first person’s hand.
It was the newlywed couple who had disappeared for more than a week after their wedding—Gu Xing and Shangguan Jue.

Seeing the crowd ahead, Shangguan Jue puffed up in frustration:
“…You damn bastard, let go first!”

Gu Xing: “Oh.”
He let go.

Shangguan Jue glanced at his hand, which had been so casually released, and an inexplicable sense of dissatisfaction arose in his heart: This bastard just lets go when I tell him to? Why isn’t he this obedient any other time?

Gu Xing pointed ahead:
“Dear wife, look, something’s happening over there.”

Shangguan Jue got even more annoyed: Wife your ass! You’re the wife!
But his attention quickly shifted—no choice, really. When they woke up today, they had planned to visit his older brother, only to find that he was nowhere to be seen. When they went to ask Qingtong, she was also missing. Eventually, they realized that all the familiar people were gone!
So naturally, they rushed out to find them.

Now, though they had found the people, the situation… seemed off.
Gu Xing scanned the area and immediately noticed something was wrong—not only was his brother-in-law missing, but even his brother-in-law’s “husband” was nowhere to be seen. Meanwhile, the ever-loyal Qingtong stood there anxiously staring at that ominous, dangerous-looking sphere…
What the hell was going on?

Shangguan Jue, despite being a bit dense, had always been one to tackle things head-on without overthinking.
So, without hesitation, he blurted out:
“Qingtong, where’s my big brother?”

Qingtong barely managed to pull herself back to reality, responding with grief:
“I… don’t know!”

Shangguan Jue: “What?”

Qingtong sniffled: “The Star Lord told us not to disturb him a few days ago, but he hasn’t appeared since, and I, I…”

Shangguan Jue let out an “Oh” and started looking around. Suddenly, as if spotting something, he pointed:
“Isn’t that my big brother lying over there?”

Qingtong’s almond-shaped eyes widened as she abruptly turned her head.
The personal guards all snapped their heads in the same direction!

Indeed!
Right in front of that precariously standing room…
At the edge!
Partially obscured by the black light radiating from the sphere!
A snow-white robe corner—
Wasn’t that their long-missing Star Lord?!

Qingtong instantly felt miserable.
Damn it…
Because they had focused so much on the black sphere and assumed their Star Lord was inside, they had completely missed that he had actually been lying outside all along…
Utterly unforgivable!

But the next moment, Qingtong was filled with horror.
If the Star Lord wasn’t inside the sphere but was lying outside—why hadn’t he moved at all?!
What… what was going on?!

At last, everyone realized that something was seriously wrong.
Gu Xing, as the protagonist of the original story, remained calm. He immediately said,
“We need to get the Star Lord—our elder brother—out of there first.”

Qingtong wiped away her tears:
“The young master is right!”
Then she waved her hand:
“Everyone, follow me! Rescue the Star Lord!”

The personal guards raised their fists:
“Rescue the Star Lord!”

Then, like launching an assault, all the gathered cultivators bent their knees and charged straight toward the dark energy field.
One step! Two steps! Ten steps! A hundred steps!
They reached it smoothly!

To their surprise, the black light didn’t put up much resistance, allowing them to reach the area just outside the room. However, trying to go any further into the room itself was impossible.
Even so, the lifeless, breathtakingly handsome body of Shangguan Yu—draped in a pristine white robe—was easily scooped up by Gu Xing and carried away.

Shangguan Jue: “Put down my big brother!”

Gu Xing: “Dear wife, can you carry him?”

Shangguan Jue: “…”

Qingtong, unwilling to disrespect her Star Lord’s body, observed his unmoving chest. With a trembling hand, she reached out and gently tested for breath under his nose.

Five! Thunder! Strikes! To! The! Head!
The Star Lord wasn’t breathing!
He wasn’t breathing!
Breathing!

Gu Xing also felt the body in his arms was ice-cold, and his heart skipped a beat.
What was going on? In this well-guarded Tian Du Star, who could have infiltrated and silently killed someone as powerful as Shangguan Yu?
Unless it was an inside job… and the culprit was immensely strong…
In that case, there was only one possible suspect.

Gu Xing’s expression grew solemn, his imagination running wild.

Shangguan Jue was deeply worried. He grabbed his brother’s wrist and stammered,
“His pulse… also… also…”

Qingtong and the personal guards were all drowning in grief.
Meanwhile, the demons who had followed along had the same thought as Gu Xing.
Could it be that that ancestor wouldn’t even spare his beloved?
Or… had this all been a scheme from the start?

“Clatter…”
A crisp sound.
Something had fallen?

In the deafening silence, the noise stood out sharply, drawing everyone’s gaze.
The source of the sound—Shangguan Yu’s sleeve.
Something had fallen out of it—a jade slip!

The moment the jade slip hit the ground, a very familiar voice echoed out:

“Qingtong, if you see this, know that I and my beloved Kongshan have perished together. My death is insignificant, and my affairs are entrusted to you all. My possessions shall be distributed as follows…”
“Though Gu Xing is not of the Shangguan clan, as he has married my younger brother, he may inherit Tian Du Star. His character and potential are exceptional. Though he may struggle at first, he will surely uphold my legacy in time…”
“My younger brother Shangguan Jue lacks talent but is simple-hearted. Gu Xing, having received my assets, must take good care of him and ensure he wants for nothing. My public treasury is given to Gu Xing; my private treasury belongs to my brother.”
“Qingtong, as my most trusted person, you shall oversee my personal guards and care for my brother. Any guards unwilling to stay may be released with compensation, honoring our bond as master and servant.”

“Gu Xing, Qingtong, do not disappoint me. Though I have perished, my soul remains with you all.”

The message ended quickly.
It was truly… a last will and testament!

Shangguan Jue burst into tears.
Qingtong and the personal guards also wept uncontrollably.

But at that very moment, behind them, the massive black sphere split open in utter silence.

Only the demons, who had little attachment to Shangguan Yu, noticed it by chance.

In an instant, Luo Hu Demon King’s voice shot up eight octaves:
“Eh?! Eh?! Eh?! EH?!”