Chapter 634 The stars are the material, the artifact is the furnace, and the stars are the fire

A crimson blade of light shot out like lightning, carving a long trail through the universe. A more terrifying sight followed—just as the crimson blade was released, it rapidly devoured the surrounding cosmic energy, causing the blade to grow larger and larger.

Very soon, the width of the blade exceeded a kilometer as it slashed toward a patch of utterly dark starry sky ahead.

"Mother of Crimson, you've got guts. You escaped with your life last time and still didn't learn your lesson? You dare attack my Shadow Celestial Realm? Let's see how you escape this time!"An enraged roar echoed from the dark starry sky, and a massive claw emerged—boundless in its terror. Just one hand alone was a kilometer in size as it reached to seize the crimson blade.

"Shadow Heavenly King, I merely passed through this galaxy back then, and you hunted me down for a full hundred thousand years, across who knows how many galaxies. Now it's time to settle the score!"The crimson blade descended, directly slicing that giant claw in half from the center of the palm.

"Above a God King? Impossible! You weren't even a God King back then—how could you have surpassed that level in just a few hundred thousand years?"A colossal, pitch-black face emerged from the darkness, staring at the Phoenix God as if he'd seen a ghost.

"Save your breath, Shadow Heavenly King. You chased me for one hundred thousand years. Tell me—how should we settle that grudge?" the Phoenix God asked coldly.

"What do you want?"Seeing that the Phoenix God had no intention of going on a killing spree, the Shadow Heavenly King sighed in relief. Counting himself, the Shadow Celestial Realm only had two God Kings. Facing someone above the God King level, they had no chance.

In fact, one of their God Kings had only broken through during the previous hunt for the Mother of Crimson.

The Crimson Domain was essentially a massive abyssal plane—an enemy of the universe.Any God Realm that encountered it would try to wipe it out, not just to stop it from causing more havoc, but also out of envy for its life force energy.

The Shadow Celestial Realm itself was actually a God Realm, guarded by the Shadow Heavenly King, a God King.

Normally, the Mother of Crimson would avoid God Realms with God Kings—she would never provoke one lightly.But the Shadow Celestial Realm hid in darkness, and she hadn't known a God Realm was concealed there when she ventured in, curious to explore.

As soon as she entered the dark zone, she was ambushed by the Shadow Heavenly King. Though severely wounded, she escaped to the Crimson Domain, but the Shadow Heavenly King pursued her relentlessly.

Wounded, she could only flee with the Crimson Domain, but even then, a portion of the Crimson Domain was shattered by the Shadow Heavenly King.

That broken portion of power was what helped one of the Shadow Celestial Realm's half-step God Kings break through to full God King.

"That ultra-divine artifact you used to ambush me last time—give it to me, and we'll call it even," the Phoenix God said coldly.

"Really? As long as I hand over the Shadow Celestial Stele, we're even?"Though extremely reluctant, the Shadow Heavenly King thought that if it could end this grudge with the "Mother of Crimson," then the stele—hell, even ten of them—would be worth it.

"I could destroy the Shadow Celestial Realm with a wave of my hand. Why would I need to lie to you?" the Mother of Crimson asked disdainfully.

"Fine! Take the Shadow Celestial Stele."Without further hesitation, the Shadow Heavenly King summoned a massive black stele with a thought, and it appeared before the Phoenix God.

With a simple wave, she took the stele into her possession without another glance at the Shadow Heavenly King, then turned and left that region of space.

The Shadow Heavenly King was left stunned.Since when had the "Mother of Crimson" been so easy to deal with?

After all, whether it was the Crimson Domain or other abyssal planes, if they encountered a world they could defeat, they would always completely devour it.

The Phoenix God didn't care what the Shadow Heavenly King thought. As she toyed with the stele in her hand, a mischievous look appeared on her face."There are still over a dozen God Realms that hunted me down—should I go blackmail them too?"

The Crimson Domain had roamed the universe for hundreds of thousands of years, wandering far and wide. If nothing else, it had no shortage of enemies.

"Forget it. No fun."She shook her head. After completely erasing the Shadow Heavenly King's divine imprint from the stele and turning it into a masterless ultra-artifact, she tossed it into the Genesis Origin.

"You dead Gu Yue, aren't you going to fight for the Genesis Origin? Aren't you afraid I'll target the soul beasts instead?"The Phoenix God ground her silver teeth. Originally, she had seized the Genesis Origin just to spite Gu Yue.

But neither Gu Yue nor the Demon Emperor seemed to care at all.

It felt like punching cotton—no force, no satisfaction.

Meanwhile, in the Heavenly Fox Hall of Sky City:

Xia Hong pressed a ceremonial bell and said,"Congratulations, Gu Yue. You are the first to reach Genesis Mountain and complete the mission of 'Opening the Heavens, Splitting the Earth.'"

"Yay!"Gu Yue jumped up excitedly, immediately snatching the prize from Xia Yi and the Demon Emperor."Haha! I win! Xia Yi, you're cooking today, and Sister Hai Jun, you're doing the dishes. No using divine power—we agreed, everything must be done by hand."

"Alright, I'll roast some rabbits. No need to wash dishes," Xia Yi grinned.

"No way!"Gu Yue and the Demon Emperor stood up instantly."Trying to get away with roast rabbits again? Too much!"

"Fine, fine. What do you want to eat? I'll make it!"Even Xia Yi realized he'd overused the rabbit trick.

"We want a Starlight Feast!" Gu Yue and the Demon Emperor said in unison.

"What the... You two totally planned this! A Starlight Feast and no divine power? That's too much!"Xia Yi looked completely defeated.

"Alright, fine, you can use divine power. But! If you do, you can't just cook for us—you have to make it for all the sisters. We'll have them all over tonight to try their 'husband's' cooking." Gu Yue teased, grinning.

"Alright! Tonight, your husband will show you what it means to be the Starry Sky's Culinary King!"With a dramatic flick of his hair, Xia Yi declared.

In the next instant, he appeared in a lifeless corner of space, summoned a massive cauldron, gathered countless starlight streams into it, then pulled in nine suns to heat it.

In the Genesis Origin, the Phoenix God sensed a divine fluctuation in the starry sky and frowned.

"What's Xia Yi doing? Is he refining an artifact above the God King level?"

Her beautiful eyes burned with excitement.She wanted to upgrade her World Pearl to match the power of someone above the God King tier, and observing Xia Yi refine such a divine artifact could be a huge help.

"Forget it, I'll wait until he returns to ask what's going on."She suppressed her excitement with effort.

If Xia Yi really was refining an artifact above the God King tier, she couldn't afford to disturb him. If he failed because of her, the consequences would be too great.

She could always ask him for help upgrading her World Pearl later.

If he helped her successfully, then she'd even consider following the advice of the Goddess of Life.

After two full hours, Xia Yi put away the cauldron, returned the stars to their original places, and came back to Sky City.

"So fast! As expected of Xia Yi."Sensing his return, the Phoenix God didn't hesitate and followed him to Sky City.

As she entered the Heavenly Fox Hall, she heard Gu Yue's furious voice:"This is your Starlight Feast?"

In front of Gu Yue, a massive cauldron hovered, filled with radiant starlight.

Within that starlight, rabbits floated, wrapped in shimmering light, shining brilliantly.

"Stars for ingredients, artifacts for the stove, suns for the fire—just to roast a few rabbits," Cold Yaozhu covered her face, unsure what to say.

Thankfully no outsiders were present—otherwise, she'd be too embarrassed to admit she knew Xia Yi.

"I should've gone grocery shopping and let the Buddha-boy cook," the Demon Emperor muttered.

At least then there'd be variety—meat and veggies.

"C'mon, admit it—it's a Starlight Feast, right?" Xia Yi scratched his head awkwardly.What could he do? He only knew how to roast rabbit. This was already the most luxurious rabbit roast he could come up with.

"Come on, who wants a taste?"He pulled out a Stellar Roast Rabbit and offered it to the ladies.

Stars for ingredients, artifacts for the stove, suns for the fire.

Luxurious, indeed—but luxury didn't mean it tasted good.

The starlight sealed all flavor. Even Xia Yi didn't know how it would taste.

"I'll try!"Ye Xinglan eagerly tore off a piece and took a bite.

Her Star God Sword was forged from stellar power—surely it wouldn't taste bad to her.

As the rabbit meat entered her mouth, the rich starlight exploded, spreading through her entire body.

Starlight energy seeped from her glowing skin, flooding every pore.

Her spirit power and cultivation surged, instantly breaking through the abyss barrier. Her body reached divine power tier.

Hiss!

Her Star God Sword appeared, and its aura reached the divine artifact level.

If she hadn't been suppressing her power to prepare for one day forming her own God King divinity, she might have directly become a god on the spot.

"See? That's the Starry Sky Culinary King!" Xia Yi laughed, taking a bite himself. The starlight exploded on his palate—fragrant and rich. It was indeed top-tier.

Though not as dramatic for him, it was refreshing and satisfying.

The others didn't complain either. After all, it was Xia Yi personally cooking, and it was technically a Starlight Feast.

They each grabbed a Stellar Roast Rabbit from the cauldron.

"Not bad," Gu Yue offered an honest review after tasting it.

"Haha! I told you—I can't go wrong!" Xia Yi laughed proudly.

"Stars for ingredients, artifacts for the stove, suns for the fire—and the best you get is 'not bad'? What are you so proud of?"The Phoenix God's disdainful voice rang out. At their level, anything they did should be divine-grade quality.

All that showmanship just for a "not bad"? She didn't get why Xia Yi was so smug.

"Uh... You don't get it. I'm just easily pleased. Want a taste?" Xia Yi grinned sheepishly.

"This... this is your life?"The Phoenix God ground her teeth.

She'd been busy for days dealing with the Genesis Origin mess, practically overwhelmed.

Meanwhile, Xia Yi and his crew were living in peace and luxury.

Comparison truly brings misery.

No wonder she was furious.

"How could it not be? The Genesis Origin's central authority was stolen. What else can we do but laze around and eat?"Gu Yue taunted, seizing the chance to mock the Phoenix God, whom she clearly had no fondness for.

"Stubborn pride, huh? Must be painful," Gu Yue sneered internally.

She knew the Phoenix God had gone to the universe to find a dark-attribute ultra-artifact—really to give to Di Tian.She just didn't have the courage to hand it over directly.

Watching her struggle with Genesis Origin management day and night, while she lounged around Sky City with Xia Yi every day—Gu Yue was absolutely loving it.

Now she understood why Xia Yi liked being the lazy boss.

No burdens, do whatever you like—it really was a great life.

Travel, dress up, shop, indulge in pleasure—just enjoy.

Still, she was secretly satisfied with the Phoenix God.

She just never said it aloud.

Behind every lazy boss, someone's doing the hard work.

If the Phoenix God wasn't capable, Gu Yue wouldn't have trusted her with Genesis Origin.

"Fine! If that's how you want to play it."The Phoenix God turned to Xia Yi and said sweetly,"Xia Yi, you're now one of the Genesis Origin's core administrators. I need to discuss some classified matters with you. Please dismiss these... irrelevant people."

"Irrelevant people?"Gu Yue's eyes widened—she was the irrelevant one?!

"What, you want to get involved? After all, you were once one of the Three Kings of the Origin of Fate. How about this: later I'll discuss with Xia Yi and set you some tests. If you pass, I'll agree to let you take over the Genesis Origin again." The Phoenix God's red lips curled up, proud as could be.

"Managing the Genesis Origin? Only those old witches nobody wants have the time for that. I have a family—husband and children—to take care of, so I won't participate." Gu Yue looked up and met the Phoenix God's gaze, her eyes not yielding an inch.

The Phoenix God ground her teeth and said coldly, "Unrelated bystanders, step aside!"

"Hai Jun, let's go. Let's make ourselves pretty—we're women with husbands, unlike some unwanted old women who dress up but no one looks." Gu Yue grabbed the Demon Emperor and walked away with flair.

Leng Yaozhu and the others saw this and helplessly followed.

It can only be said that when gods fight, mortals suffer.

Though Gu Yue acted casually, inside her heart was already pounding with anger. "Damn Phoenix, just a bird after all, and yet she calls me an unrelated bystander. Hmph, and she calls it a secret—I didn't even bother to eavesdrop. Just like you told Xia Yi, Xia Yi won't tell me anyway."

At the Tianhu Palace, watching Gu Yue leave, the Phoenix God's lips curved into a smile. From the star-lit great cauldron, she fished out a stellar roasted rabbit and leisurely started eating it.

"I'm guessing you came to me just to argue with Gu Yue and then loaf around?" Xia Yi looked at the Phoenix God helplessly. She was stunningly beautiful, flawless, with pale skin that shimmered with a translucent luster.

The Phoenix God glanced up at Xia Yi and curled her red lips: "I didn't expect Gu Yue's taste to be so low?"

"Are you trying to insult me? Never mind before, I'm at least above a God King now—not that bad, right?" Xia Yi couldn't help but protest.

"I'm talking about the rabbit. So much energy gathered together, and it tastes like this—what a waste of ingredients. And she actually gave it a 'not bad' rating." The Phoenix God said lightly.

"Uh, okay, no argument." Xia Yi lowered his head. He only knew how to roast rabbits, and even that was just his random attempts.

"Alright, let's get down to business." The Phoenix God looked at Xia Yi seriously. "Although the Genesis Origin is powerful now, strong fortresses often begin to collapse from within. I think there are some issues we must prepare for in advance."

"You say!" Seeing the Phoenix God so serious, Xia Yi straightened up. Though he was usually a hands-off manager, he never took important matters lightly.

"You've probably heard about my story with the Dragon God?" The Phoenix God asked with a sly smile.

"I know some." Xia Yi nodded.

"The divine beast once fell into decline because of our internal strife—me and the Dragon God. So, do you think the Genesis Origin might repeat the same mistake?" The Phoenix God asked seriously.

"You mean you and Gu Yue? No, Gu Yue is not the Dragon God." Xia Yi shook his head firmly. Gu Yue and the Phoenix God did not get along and would inevitably have open or covert conflicts, but it wouldn't affect the Origin of Fate.

"We won't go that far. We've both learned from past mistakes, so history won't repeat itself. I'm talking about our descendants. Think about it: the Origin of Fate is ruled by the two of us now. I know you don't like power struggles, so you won't compete with me. Naturally, there's no fighting between us. But the key is our descendants. If they don't respect each other in the future, they might repeat what happened between me and the Dragon God." The Phoenix God smiled and said softly, "So, for the sake of the Origin of Fate, we should unite, and we should each only have one child. That way, this won't happen."

"Are you trying to make me upset Gu Yue, or are you serious?" Xia Yi's eyelid twitched wildly. Gu Yue would definitely ask what he and the Phoenix God were scheming.

If Xia Yi told Gu Yue that the Phoenix God wanted to have a child with him, and that he could only have one child with her and no other women, Gu Yue would probably go fight the Phoenix God to the death immediately.

"Well, your situation is a bit special. Asking you to only have one child with me isn't quite suitable!" The Phoenix God nodded, saying this.

"That's better." Xia Yi breathed a sigh of relief.

"You can have children with other women, but not Gu Yue. Though she's not the ruler of the Origin of Fate, her status is unusually high. If you have children with her, your children will definitely fight for power with mine. There'll be a war for sure." The Phoenix God added seriously.

"I'm dizzy." Xia Yi was now sure the Phoenix God was trying to anticipate Gu Yue's reaction and was just trying to annoy her again.

Seeing Xia Yi like this, the Phoenix God seemed even more interested. She propped her delicate chin in her hands and laughed coquettishly: "What do you think of my proposal? If you're not too bothered and want to try the human way—building feelings first—I can waste some time and mess around with you."

"Stop, stop. Are you teasing me or trying to annoy Gu Yue?" Xia Yi looked at the Phoenix God speechlessly.

"You don't want the Genesis Origin to have internal strife one day, do you?" The Phoenix God said.

"Phoenix God, watch your words." Xia Yi was embarrassed. At first, Gu Yue had climbed into his bed directly. Then the Demon Emperor was half-forced to be with him. And Lan Fozi—no need to say, he was even more direct.

Now the Phoenix God showed up too.

What, are all the beast tribes this straightforward?

He didn't even know if the Phoenix God was trying to annoy Gu Yue or was serious.

"Forget it, I won't tease you anymore." Seeing Xia Yi's expression, the Phoenix God clenched her delicate fists inside her red sleeves, her face wearing a teasing smile, then stood and left the Tianhu Palace.

...

"Damn bitch, come out! I'll kill you!" As soon as she returned to the Genesis Origin, the Phoenix God grabbed the trunk of the Tree of Life and shook it violently, looking full of deep hatred.

"Oh, it's Little Red. You're back so soon? How's it going? Is your lover no good? That's right, Little Red, you're above God King level; how could an ordinary lover stand your pressure?" The Goddess of Life teased mockingly.

"Damn bitch, how dare you say that! If it weren't for you, why would I suffer such humiliation?" The Phoenix God gritted her teeth, looking like she wanted to carve the Goddess of Life into pieces.

"What, did Xia Yi reject you?" The Goddess of Life laughed at the Phoenix God's expression.

"Seeing me make a fool of myself makes you happy, huh?" The Phoenix God clenched her fists so hard they creaked.

Seeing the Phoenix God's face, the Goddess of Life smiled sweetly. "How about you tell me what happened first, and I'll help you figure it out."

"Hmph!" The Phoenix God snorted and briefly explained what happened. Then she said, "I wanted to annoy Gu Yue and test her attitude, but she didn't react at all."

"You're bold!" The Goddess of Life's eyelids twitched. "If you want to confess, just confess! Why all these flashy tricks? Xia Yi probably thinks you're sulking at Gu Yue, so how can he respond?"

"If I didn't do it this way, what else? Should I really do what humans do—bring a bouquet and propose directly? What if he rejects me? Gu Yue would laugh me to death." The Phoenix God was quite unhappy. "Too bad I'm no match for him; otherwise, I'd just knock him out and take him away to annoy Gu Yue to death."

"Seriously, are you doing this to annoy Gu Yue or for yourself?" The Goddess of Life asked, half exasperated.

"That doesn't conflict, why separate them?" The Phoenix God said carelessly.

"Fine, fine. From today on, do whatever you want with Xia Yi, but listen to me: start by cooking for him." The Goddess of Life thought it over and figured it was best not to differentiate. That way, under the banner of annoying Gu Yue, the Phoenix God could stay motivated.

"Cook for him?" The Phoenix God was stunned.

"Exactly. Cook well and bring it to him." The Goddess of Life smiled.

"I'm not good at it, and I don't have much time." The Phoenix God frowned.

"No need to be good, just better than his stellar roasted rabbit. As for time, I know you have many things to handle in the Origin of Fate, but you can delegate some to Xia Yi. That way, you'll have more time." The Goddess of Life said proudly.

"Is this really possible? At our level, we don't need to eat anymore. Are you sure cooking will work?" The Phoenix God asked uncertainly.

"Trust me, I won't lie. Also, try to connect with other women around Xia Yi, like Leng Yaozhu and Leng Yulai. They even have part of your power. It should be easy for you to interact." The Goddess of Life gave advice like a female strategist.

"They have nothing to do with me. Their phoenix bloodline comes from that second-level Phoenix God you created." The Phoenix God said indifferently.

"Is this the time to argue about that?" The Goddess of Life said speechlessly.

"Alright, go on." The Phoenix God still looked unwilling but said no more.

(End of chapter)