The Azure Cloud Mountains rose like jagged teeth against the morning sky. Peaks vanished into perpetual mist; ancient qi lingered so thick it made the air shimmer. Forbidden zones dotted the range—places where even Core Formation experts tread carefully, if at all.
Xiao Lin and Yue Ning appeared on a narrow mountain path halfway up the central ridge. Space folded behind them with a soft pop, sealing their arrival.
The boy—no longer quite a child in appearance after successive breakthroughs—looked around with calm violet-black eyes. His body had matured further overnight; he now appeared twelve or thirteen, tall and lean, features sharpening into something coldly handsome. The rags from Qingfeng Village had long since been replaced by simple black robes conjured from devoured spatial fragments—sleek, unadorned, absorbing light.
Yue Ning stood beside him, her silver hair tied back with a thin violet ribbon formed from her own spatial qi. She too had grown slightly—looking closer to fourteen now—her torn dress replaced by flowing white-and-black robes that shifted like liquid shadow when she moved.
Both bore the matching void rune over their hearts, faintly glowing beneath the fabric whenever their qi circulated.
Xiao Lin tilted his head toward a narrow crack in the cliff face ahead.
"There," he said.
Yue Ning followed his gaze.
A faint spatial distortion rippled from the crack—like heat haze, but colder.
"Another spatial pocket," she murmured. "Old. Very old."
Xiao Lin stepped forward.
The crack widened at his approach—not by force, but recognition. The void in his dantian hummed in resonance.
They passed through.
Beyond the crack lay an enormous cavern lit by floating star-like orbs of pale blue light. Massive stone pillars rose to a domed ceiling lost in shadow. Carvings covered every surface—constellations, falling stars, void rifts swallowing entire worlds.
At the center stood a shattered altar.
On the altar rested a single object: a fist-sized crystal orb, black at its core, ringed with countless tiny violet stars that slowly revolved.
The moment they saw it, the ancient voice spoke inside both their minds—clearer, more commanding than ever.
«Starfall Void Shard. Key fragment to the Second Layer. Destined Wife Number Two sleeps within. Awaken her, complete the union, unlock Star Devouring.»
Xiao Lin walked to the altar without hesitation.
Yue Ning followed close behind, spatial senses extended, watching for traps.
He reached out.
The instant his fingers touched the orb, the cavern trembled.
The floating star orbs flared violently.
From the orb erupted a wave of starlight qi—pure, burning, ancient.
It slammed into them both.
Xiao Lin didn't flinch.
He absorbed it.
The void drank the starlight greedily, violet-black essence surging through his meridians.
Yue Ning raised both hands; spatial barriers snapped into place around them, folding the excess energy away into pocket dimensions before it could harm.
The orb cracked.
A slender figure emerged from within—like a star being born in reverse.
She floated upward, eyes closed, long hair the color of midnight streaked with silver starlight. Skin pale as moonlight on snow. She wore fragmented celestial robes that seemed woven from actual night sky—stars twinkling faintly across the fabric.
Her cultivation was sealed—dormant at an unimaginable level. Even asleep, her presence pressed against the cavern like gravity from a dying star.
She opened her eyes.
Twin galaxies spun within them—deep indigo, flecked with endless silver points.
She looked first at Xiao Lin.
Then at Yue Ning.
Her voice echoed—not from her mouth, but from everywhere.
«Void Sovereign… Spatial Bride… you have come for me.»
Xiao Lin met her gaze without blinking.
"You are the second."
«I am Xingyue. Last remnant of the Fallen Star Sovereign Lineage. Sealed here for seven thousand years after my clan was devoured by the Heavenly Court's Star Execution Division.»
She drifted closer—weightless.
«The void chose me as your second key. To awaken fully, I require union with you… and acceptance by the first wife.»
Yue Ning stepped forward without hesitation.
She placed her palm over Xingyue's heart.
Spatial qi flowed gently—probing, not invading.
Xingyue's galaxy eyes flickered.
«You do not fear sharing him.»
"I do not fear anything that makes us stronger," Yue Ning replied. "And the void does not choose lightly."
Xingyue turned to Xiao Lin.
«Do you accept me, Sovereign?»
Xiao Lin raised his hand.
A black-violet thread extended from his wrist—thicker than the one that bound him to Yue Ning.
It wrapped around Xingyue's left wrist.
She did not resist.
The thread glowed.
Her sealed cultivation cracked open—starlight qi pouring into the void like a river of falling stars.
Xiao Lin absorbed it.
His Foundation Establishment realm shattered through layers in seconds—mid Foundation Establishment, then late, then peak.
Yue Ning rose alongside him—late Foundation Establishment.
Xingyue completed her awakening.
Her cultivation stabilized at early Core Formation—suppressed by the void's rules until the union was complete.
She descended until her feet touched the altar.
She looked smaller now—appearing fifteen or sixteen in human years—beautiful in a distant, cosmic way.
She knelt on one knee before Xiao Lin.
«I pledge my stars to your void. My life, my power, my soul. Take me, complete the second layer, and let me stand as your second wife.»
Xiao Lin placed his hand on her bowed head.
The void accepted.
A second black thread tattoo appeared on her wrist—matching Yue Ning's.
Yue Ning stepped up beside them.
She took Xingyue's other hand.
Spatial and starlight qi intertwined—violet and indigo weaving together.
Xiao Lin pulled both girls closer.
The cavern's star orbs dimmed as if bowing.
The union would not happen here—not yet.
First, they had to leave this place.
Because outside, the mountain trembled.
Dozens of powerful auras converged—Core Formation, Nascent Soul whispers in the distance.
The Shadow Pavilion had tracked them.
And they had brought friends.
Xiao Lin looked toward the exit crack.
His voice was calm.
"They followed."
Xingyue rose.
Starlight gathered around her palms—sharp, lethal.
«Then let the first blood of our triad be spilled.»
Yue Ning smiled—small, dangerous.
«Together.»
Xiao Lin nodded.
«Together.»
They stepped toward the exit.
The Ruthless Void Sovereign now had two wives.
And the continent would soon learn what that meant.
**End of Chapter 9**