A moment later.
The Green-skirted Girl asked, "Oh, by the way, you must be from the First Star Ring, right?"
Qingqiu nodded. "Star River Alliance, Sword Wielder, Qingqiu."
The Green-skirted Girl was slightly surprised. "Sounds pretty impressive."
Crunch, crunch.
This Star Core was also a Mid-tier Star Core. After devouring it, she could continue to upgrade, but not significantly. After all, for a substantial upgrade, she needed an Upper-tier Star Core! That meant a Star Core refined from a star in the First Star Ring! Just thinking about it, it felt incredibly difficult to get her hands on one! Only Lu Xuan could help her with that.
"Thank you," the Green-skirted Girl said with a smile.
Qingqiu nodded, her exquisite figure turning abruptly. "I'm leaving."
The Green-skirted Girl asked, "Where are you going?"
Qingqiu pointed towards the Dark Void.
"Ah!" The Green-skirted Girl's delicate lips parted, forming a perfect 'O' that could almost fit an egg. "The Dark Void? That place is incredibly dangerous!" she warned. As her strength continuously increased, she could sense the power of the Dark Void more and more acutely. It was a terrifying force, the Fallen Power, erupting like a tide with a dreadful suction, constantly pulling at the Tai Chu Realm, trying to drag it into the Dark Void! Fortunately, with Lu Xuan around, she felt somewhat at ease. Otherwise, she would probably be very anxious.
Qingqiu offered a faint smile, said nothing more, and drifted away like a divine maiden.
The Green-skirted Girl stamped her foot lightly. "Oh, bother!"
Suddenly, seeing Qingqiu's retreating figure, a fragmented image flashed through her mind. The Green-skirted Girl pressed a hand to her forehead, a shiver running through her body. She had an impression that, countless eons ago, she had encountered Qingqiu's aura. In the vision, several Ancient Ancestors stepped into the Tai Chu Realm! One Ancient Ancestor was holding a young Qingqiu! Qingqiu was very small then! It was definitely her! She never expected that now, Qingqiu was on the verge of stepping into the Ancient Ancestor Realm!
The Green-skirted Girl rubbed her brow, a small canine tooth peeking out as she chuckled, "Oh my, I didn't realize my past self was so powerful! Ancient Ancestors and whatnot, they were all so respectful on my turf!" With that, her figure also vanished from the spot.
Meanwhile, Qingqiu, in her plain skirt, her jade-like feet treading on dazzling divine radiance, traversed the starry sky like a bolt of lightning, heading towards the Dark Void. This time, she intended to explore the outer reaches of the Dark Void.
At this moment, inside the Dark Void, endless darkness enveloped everything, and strange Fallen Power drifted ceaselessly, existing in an ineffable manner. There was no light here. All Dao principles could not manifest here. Only Fallen Power! Fallen Power? What kind of power was this? Indescribable, ineffable. But clearly, this power was the polar opposite of Starry Sky Power, one positive and one negative, yet different from Eerie Power. Within the Dark Void, time seemed to cease its flow; here, there was no day or night.
In the darkness, a colossal Void Kun swam about unrestrained. It was the only Void Kun in the Dark Void! This was completely its home, where it felt perfectly at ease! And its master didn't bother it; it just devoured Fallen Power here every day, feeling utterly content. However, every so often, the Void Kun would miss Lu Xuan. After all, in this world, it could only sense a close connection with Lu Xuan. That was their bond! Unfortunately, Lu Xuan hadn't answered its call and come to the Dark Void. This made it quite dejected. Despite its incredibly massive body, like a grand domain or a star, it had been furiously devouring Fallen Power during this time, advancing from the initial One-star Myriad Phase Realm to the Five-star Myriad Phase Realm!
At this moment, the Void Kun frolicked like a fish in a pond; in its eyes, this place was a blessed land, a veritable paradise. Why hadn't its master come yet? Despite its colossal body and Five-star Myriad Phase Realm strength, its intelligence was only comparable to a three-year-old child. It regarded Lu Xuan as family.
Just then, it stared at a dark, Fallen Power lake, which reflected its enormous face, complete with the hairstyle Lu Xuan had designed for its forehead. "Giggle! Giggle!" The Void Kun let out a laugh. It was incredibly proud of this hairstyle. This was one of the few times its master had shown it such special care!
A moment later, the Void Kun left the Fallen Power lake, continuing to devour Fallen Power, utterly joyful and without a single worry.
Simultaneously, Qingqiu, in her plain skirt, her jade-like feet treading on divine radiance, stepped directly into the Dark Void. The spatial gales seemed to freeze in an instant! The Dark Void, formless and traceless, where time was almost stagnant. The moment she stepped into the Dark Void, Qingqiu froze, as if she had entered another world entirely. Fallen Power flowed everywhere here, completely unlike the outside world. Strange 'Dao' and 'momentum' constantly pulled at her, like countless giant hands dragging her down. This was an absolute crushing force! Even more terrifying than the power of an Ancient Ancestor! After all, she had fought Ancient Ancestors before, and their 'Dao' and 'momentum' were inferior to the power of the Dark Void!
Dazzling divine radiance emanated from her, but this light was instantly extinguished, a clash between different 'Daos'. With a thought, Qingqiu immediately manifested the power of the Sword Dao! Piercingly cold sword qi surged from her body, attempting to resist the power of the Dark Void! But it was useless! They were absolutely not on the same level! Qingqiu's expression shifted slightly. She realized, with a sinking feeling, that entering the Dark Void had been an incredibly wrong decision. This was only the periphery! And it was already this terrifying! The reason was, ten thousand years ago, she had also ventured into the outer reaches of the Dark Void. But back then, the Dark Void's power wasn't this formidable! That was why she had dared to enter it this time. She hadn't expected to miscalculate so badly! She had underestimated the power of the Dark Void! The shattering of the Fourth Star Ring had caused the Fallen Star Sea's powers to surge, making the Dark Void even more potent.
The next instant, Qingqiu's plain skirt fluttered, her jade-like feet trying to tear through the Dark Void and escape. But she couldn't! Her consciousness was rapidly blurring. Her Dao Foundation Fire was steadily extinguishing. Even her Sword Dao, renowned as "One Sword Shatters Myriad Laws," was useless. Qingqiu's delicate lips parted slightly. "I'm still not strong enough." In her daze, she thought not of her father, the Star River Alliance Lord, but of that figure. "Sir!" Qingqiu murmured, her consciousness slowly fading. Her raven hair instantly turned white. Fallen Power was stealing her life force! Time flowed rapidly here. What seemed like an instant was, in reality, a full day in the outside world! Black hair at dawn, white as snow by dusk!
Just then, the Void Kun, which had been frolicking in the Dark Void, suddenly tilted its head slightly. "Huh?" It had suddenly sensed an unfamiliar aura. It was an unfamiliar human woman! No, wait. The Void Kun suddenly became excited. The reason was, on this human woman, there was a trace of its master's aura! "Whoosh!" The Void Kun excitedly rushed over in an instant. This human woman must have met its master!
Soon, the Void Kun arrived beside Qingqiu. It froze. Was this human woman a little bit... dead? Wait. It suddenly had an idea. If it saved this woman, wouldn't it be able to summon its master over and finally see him? Thinking of this, the Void Kun carried Qingqiu on its back and shot out of the Dark Void. At the same time, it sent a summons to Lu Xuan. "Master! Master! Praise me quickly!"