Every gift of fate comes with a price already secretly marked on it.

The moment Zhou Xiao accepted this nameless power, the gears of fate began to turn...

cost!

The greater the power he gains, the higher the price he pays...

Obviously.

Now is the time for him to pay the price...

he.

Zhou Xiao... became the Star God's substitute!

...

"What...what exactly happened?!"

In reality, the scarlet energy that enveloped Zhou Xiao formed a cocoon that continuously emitted energy ripples, each wave stronger than the last. Even the Jianmu tree in the center of these ripples was affected, showing signs of cracking and decay.

The train crew and Jing Yuan steadied themselves and looked at Zhou Xiao, whose eyes were slightly closed, in the center of the ripples, wondering what had happened.

“It must be Huanlong’s doing…” Jingyuan frowned and said.

"Huanlong..." Xingmei suddenly thought of a word, her expression changed, and she hurriedly said to everyone, "Huanlong, could it be that you want to possess my master's body?"

"ah?"

Possession?

Upon hearing those two words, everyone present recalled the scene from just moments ago.

Don't say it.

That's quite possible...

Could Zhou Xiao have been replaced by Huanlong using a different identity?

"What do we do now?"

"Let's retreat first!" Jing Yuan said, indicating that it was not advisable to stay here for long. If the ripples continued for a few more rounds, the entire Lin Yuan Realm might collapse.

"What about Zhou Xiao?" March 7th asked.

"Let's leave him alone for now."

“No…” March 7 shook her head: “What if I really get possessed by Huanlong?”

"So what do you want to do?"

Upon hearing the sound, March 7th glanced at Zhou Xiao's curled-up body inside the cocoon, then said with a determined look, "Tear the cocoon open and get him out..."

As she spoke, she conjured her longbow and shot several arrows at the cocoon where Zhou Xiao was. The cocoon remained unharmed.

"...Come on, everyone, give it a try!" Jing Yuan also chose to help. After all, although Zhou Xiao had done a lot of great things on the Immortal Ship, if it weren't for Zhou Xiao in the later battle with Huanlong, they might all have become Huanlong's pawns.

Both morally and logically, their immortal ship had to rescue Zhou Xiao...

As they spoke, everyone began to exert their strength.

Dan Heng, in his Moon-Drinking Lord form, harnessed the power of ancient water to transform into a dragon and attack Zhou Xiao's cocoon...

Jing Yuan commanded the Divine Lord to launch an attack on Zhou Xiao as well.

Xingmei, wielding her flaming spear, charged forward without a word...

March...

Walter...

They all used their own methods to try and rescue Zhou Xiao.

But unfortunately...

No matter how powerful their attacks were, they could not break through the scarlet cocoon surrounding Zhou Xiao. In the end, they watched helplessly as the cocoon burst open on its own.

A powerful energy storm swept through the entire Lin Yuan Realm from the cave where Jianmu was located, and was still affecting the immortal ships...

Outside of Lin Yuan.

Having just emerged from the pillar, Fu Xuan, swaying unsteadily, saw the strange phenomenon in the grotto-heaven where the Jianmu tree was located and immediately sensed something was wrong...

The three Star Core Hunters in the distance raised an eyebrow upon seeing this.

“This energy feels like Ah Xiao’s,” Kafka said.

"It seems... Ah Xiao has made his move."

"Tsk... In the end, it was him who made the move," Silver Wolf said while playing the game.

Blade, standing to the side, remained silent, simply closing his eyes to rest.

...

Inside the cave.

Under the shocked gazes of everyone, Zhou Xiao opened his scarlet eyes as if he had just been born, and a powerful force surged and roared like a tsunami.

This power...

It is countless times more powerful than when Zhou Xiao tore Huan Long apart.

Walter and Jing Yuan's expressions changed the instant they sensed this energy.

Something's not right...

Something is very, very wrong!

The person in front of me...

It could never be Zhou Xiao!

It couldn't be Huanlong either!

This level of power far surpasses that of the Envoy...it is definitely not the power possessed by Zhou Xiao or the Great Lord of Annihilation...

Walter, with the same steady composure as an old dog, pushed up his glasses. Suddenly, he remembered what Zhou Xiao had said at the Temple.

Danger exists...

Is this bomb about to explode?

Walter looked at Zhou Xiao in the distance, who seemed extremely unfamiliar to him, and thought to himself.

...

"Master! Are you alright!" Xingmei called out to Zhou Xiao first, but Zhou Xiao glanced at her, his gaze as if he were looking at an ant, which made her tremble and feel a chill down her spine.

this...

Not her master...

This feeling...

Xingmei instinctively recalled the glance Nanook, the God of Destruction, had given her after the events of Yalilo VI...

Very similar...

They really look alike!

"Zhou...Xiao?" March 7, who was a little closer to Zhou Xiao, saw the unfamiliar Zhou Xiao in front of her. At this moment, her legs trembled, and she suppressed the words of the name on her lips.

strangeness...

Even more unfamiliar.

If the Star Core Hunter Zhou Xiao seen at Taibusi still retained some traces of his former self, then the Zhou Xiao before us is completely devoid of any resemblance to his past self...

It's like... a complete stranger.

"Tsk...comfortable." Zhou Xiao, suspended in mid-air, ignored the people present. In his eyes, these were no different from the insects on the ground, just tools for amusement.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!