Chapter Ninety-Two: The Gate of the Starry Sky

The soaring roc bird circled once before transforming into a coldly beautiful woman, standing beside the elder. Her red lips parted slightly as she spoke softly, "Ao Shan, why haven’t Hong Yu and the others arrived? Did you not notify them?"

"Hong Yu has arrived…" A clear voice announced, and Ao Shan and the others saw an exceptionally handsome man slowly descending from the void, pausing only when he was level with them.

"It’s been months, Rain Xuan. You’ve grown even more enchanting. I truly regret not pursuing you back then, leaving me now with nothing but empty sighs."

"Hmph…" Rain Xuan snorted coldly, frost in her gaze. "Give up that thought! Even if we went back to the past, I still wouldn’t choose you!"

"Cough, cough…" Hong Yu smiled awkwardly, feeling embarrassed at being so decisively rejected in front of so many juniors. He had hoped Ao Shan would smooth things over, but the old man merely stood nearby, eyes closed, unmoved and silent.

With no assistance forthcoming, Hong Yu forced a smile. “Qing Qing, why aren’t you here yet? Don’t tell me you’re still sleeping in!”

"Always talking behind others’ backs. How come you weren’t struck down by lightning during your tribulation?" A clear female voice rang from above. Suddenly, a delicate young girl in a green phoenix-tail dress appeared before the three, her almond-shaped eyes icy as she fixed her gaze on Hong Yu.

"Cough, cough…" Hong Yu thought he was having a particularly unlucky day. This young lady was also a formidable figure—he couldn’t afford to offend any of them. So, he offered a conciliatory smile. "Qing Qing, big brother was just joking, don’t take it seriously, don’t take it seriously..."

"Hmph…" Qing Qing snorted once more, linking arms with Rain Xuan as they drifted aside to converse in whispers.

Hong Yu had been rebuffed twice in a row and was thoroughly displeased. He approached Ao Shan with dissatisfaction. "Are you enjoying watching me make a fool of myself?"

Ao Shan finally opened his tightly shut eyes, stepped away from Hong Yu, and with a stern face said, "Can’t you tell whether I’m enjoying it or not?"

"You…" Hong Yu was so flustered he couldn’t muster a retort.

Below, tens of thousands of demon beasts watched the four demon lords bickering among themselves, their hearts heavy with sorrow. When would the demon race truly rise?

“Time is nearly upon us. The altar will open soon. This is important—everyone, be serious and don’t let the juniors mock us!” Ao Shan, highest in seniority and the one who had personally elevated the other three, spoke with authority.

The three others’ expressions tightened, all turning their attention to Ao Shan, awaiting his next words.

Waving his hand, Ao Shan unleashed a radiant glow that swept across the smooth stone wall halfway up the mountain. The glow brushed away a layer of dust, revealing the wall’s true form.

It was a silver-white energy barrier, exuding faint spatial law power. Rippling waves caused the surrounding space to respond in kind, sending concentric ripples outward.

Seeing this, Ao Shan formed intricate hand seals with both hands. As the seals solidified, the silver-white spatial energy wall began to part, gradually revealing a gap. In the end, a ten-meter-wide passageway appeared at the mountainside.

Upon seeing the space passage open, Hong Yu and the two others quickly positioned themselves at three points, their spiritual energy surging as they poured it into the passage.

A deep rumbling emerged from within the mountain. As the trio continued to feed energy, wide five-meter silver-white suspended stairs slowly extended from the passage, reaching toward the ground.

Once the stairs were anchored, the three finally exhaled and ceased transmitting energy. "This is really exhausting work. We should open it less often in the future!" Hong Yu wiped his brow, feigning weakness.

"Keep pretending!" Qing Qing rolled her eyes at Hong Yu, then linked arms with Rain Xuan as they floated into the mountain interior.

“Truly embarrassing for the fellows…” Ao Shan muttered before shouting to the tens of thousands of demon beasts below, “Everyone, enter the altar! Prepare for the summoning of the Divine Mansion’s return!”

A thunderous roar erupted as the demon beasts charged in orderly fashion up the suspended stairs and into the mountain. Watching them surge forward, Hong Yu sighed inwardly. “Old Ao, don’t you think our realm has long been ignored by our kin in the Great World? If we recklessly summon the Divine Mansion, might it backfire?”

“Shut your crow mouth! Regardless, we’re part of the demon race. With the Great Sea Sage’s hint, I doubt the Divine Mansions will blame us.”

Ao Shan’s tone remained steady, though a subtle worry flickered behind his eyes, hidden from view.

“Let’s hope so…” Hong Yu’s face was etched with concern. He had once been an ordinary demon, barely breaking through the mortal realm after centuries of cultivation. He never expected to be valued by Ao Shan and entrusted with the cultivation secrets of an ancient great demon, becoming the demon lord he was today.

“Big brother, are you really so persistent? Our kin have disappeared without a trace. If we act rashly, we may end up without backup!”

Ao Shan’s expression softened, and he sighed deeply. “I’ve thought of all that. But without recognition from our kin, our branch here is abandoned. Even the Great Sea Sage is likely a castaway of our race. Why else, since arriving here, would he hide away in the Great Sea’s Jade Sky, ignoring us except when giving orders? Even this altar must have a deeper purpose—he built it for us, after all.”

“If you know there’s a problem, why persist in summoning the Divine Mansion? What happened in that distant ancient past?”

Hong Yu’s worries deepened. He feared that if another Great Sea Sage appeared, this realm would no longer be a paradise but a holding pen for the Divine Mansion.

“Let’s go…” In that moment, Ao Shan seemed to age many years. His frame stooped slightly, his footsteps faltering as he vanished in a flash, teleporting into the mountain’s depths.

Hong Yu stood rooted for a long moment, then furrowed his brow before teleporting after him.

Tens of thousands of demon beasts streamed through the spatial passage into the mountain’s interior, where a silver-white world stretched out. A hundred-meter-wide blue stone pathway extended into the white space. At its end lay a vast plaza, suspended in the void.

At the center of the blue stone plaza stood a white jade altar several meters high, crowned with statues of deities. Above the altar floated a star chart in the void, stars twinkling amid occasional shooting stars.

Below the altar, a dozen Divine Mansion statues formed a strange array. At its center was a square pool carved from a single white jade block, filled with silver-white spatial divine power liquefied and gently flowing.

Ao Shan and the three demon lords stood atop the altar, tens of thousands of demon beasts below standing silently, awaiting orders.

“Shall we begin?” Rain Xuan gazed at the thick spatial divine power in the pool, asking Ao Shan.

“The Divine Mansions are immensely powerful, able to store such vast spatial power. If this energy were unleashed, even the four of us together might not suffice to contain it!” Hong Yu looked on at the viscous silver-white divine power, sighing deeply.

“Order the others to prepare. Success or failure hinges on this moment!” Ao Shan’s words carried resolute finality.

Qing Qing and Rain Xuan flew above the tens of thousands of demon beasts, using spiritual command to notify key great demons to lead their clans in coordinating the formation of a Grand Energy Gathering Array.

Meanwhile, Ao Shan inspected each Divine Mansion statue meticulously, ensuring the vast spatial transmission would be flawless. Moments later, the Grand Energy Gathering Array was complete. Qing Qing and Rain Xuan returned to the altar together.

“Big brother has arranged everything. Can we start?” Rain Xuan asked softly.

“Begin…” Ao Shan’s expression turned grave as he faced the passage’s entrance. “Shitian, you go first…”

Having just arrived, Shitian was appointed by Ao Shan as the first to transmit. “At your command,” the great demon Shitian immediately appeared on the altar, bowing respectfully to the four demon lords.

With Shitian in place, Ao Shan and the other three each approached a Divine Mansion statue, placing both palms upon them.

“Shitian, take your position…” Ao Shan ordered in a deep voice.

Shitian promptly moved to hover above the white jade pool and sat cross-legged.

“We begin…” Ao Shan unleashed a torrent of spiritual energy from his palms, relentlessly pouring it into the Divine Mansion statue. The others followed suit, pouring their life force into their respective statues without reservation.

Flooded with this energy, the statues slowly emitted multicolored radiance. From the top of each of the four energized statues, a purple beam shot forth, linking the dozen statues together.

As the statues were connected by the purple light, they glowed with faint multicolored brilliance. “Everyone, activate the formation…”

Ao Shan shouted, signaling the tens of thousands of demon beasts below to initiate the Grand Energy Gathering Array.

“Roar!”

The demon beasts roared in unison, their demon energy surging wildly toward the four demon lords, engulfing them in a flood of power.

With the beasts’ energy supplementing them, the four’s output increased manifold. The Divine Mansion statues blazed brilliantly, emitting twelve beams of multicolored light from their heads. These beams converged into a single thick pillar of light, which shot toward the star-studded void.

The four increased their energy input, condensing and compressing the demon energy flowing in from the beasts, channeling it along with their spiritual energy into the statues.

In the void, the multicolored light pillar penetrated the stars, triggering strange phenomena. Six shooting stars streaked across the void, hurtling toward the altar.

“Shitian, prepare yourself. The Stargate will soon open…” Ao Shan shouted as the six brilliant stars neared.

Shitian’s closed eyes suddenly snapped open, fixed intently on the descending stars. The six fierce, radiant stars halted abruptly a hundred meters above the altar.

They stopped precisely atop a six-pointed star formation. As the formation slowly rotated, the viscous spatial divine power in the pool transformed into six streams, flowing into the six stars.

The six-pointed star spun ever faster. Nearly half the pool’s spatial power was absorbed in the blink of an eye.

At the formation’s center, a Stargate began to unfold.

“Shitian, hurry inside! The Stargate will only remain open for a moment. Everything depends on your fortune…” Ao Shan’s face paled as he shouted.

At the gate’s opening, Shitian rose and stood, awaiting Ao Shan’s command. “Elders, take care. I entrust myself to your watchfulness. Shitian departs now…” Without looking back, he plunged into the Stargate and vanished.

Moments later, beneath the altar, the great demons Chiyan and Wotuo watched the Stargate’s gradual closing.

“He’s truly gone…” they murmured softly.

The chapter titled "Chapter 92: The Stargate" has now been updated in full.