Brian Sutton clicked his tongue and said, “The star power contained within this green fruit is even more abundant than what is recorded in the ancient texts. How strange. Had I known, I would have kept it—perhaps it could be of great use in the future.”

  “Eric may be able to forget this place, but the people here may not forget him. That’s fine as well; there’s no need to go to such lengths to conceal it.” Brian Sutton turned his head to look at William Harper and asked, “Do you feel it’s a pity that the academy and those within have vanished from the world?”

  William Harper replied in a calm tone, “My lord must have his reasons for doing so. William is only concerned for your safety.”

  A cold glint flashed in Brian Sutton’s eyes as he said, “The Kuí Wolf Star’s radiance may bring some liveliness to the Yanyun Wasteland.”

Chapter Six: The Star Temple

  Yanyun Mountain stretches across the far west of the Qinglan Empire, its ridges extending southeast all the way to the borders of the Canaan Kingdom.

  The ancient kingdom of Yanyun has long since vanished into smoke and dust; beneath Yanyun Mountain lies a desolate plain stretching five thousand li.

  At the northwestern summit of Yanyun Mountain, above the thousand-zhang snowline, the Thunder Plains are hidden among the overlapping peaks, shining with dazzling silver light.

  The Temple of Star Radiance, sacred ground of the Xiren, the divine-blooded race.

  The temple, built from massive black boulders, features enormous stone bases and pillars supporting the portico, all carved with the miraculous deeds of Xihe, the god of star radiance and light. The bas-reliefs are vivid and lifelike. Every time Barton passed through the temple’s portico, he felt as if this six-armed god—wielding an ancient inscribed halberd, a thunder hammer, a thunderbow, and blazing sun arrows—had descended to the mortal world, with thunder faintly flickering in his eyes.

  Under the gaze of those blazing eyes, Barton felt his arms surge with overwhelming power, his heart in his chest nearly bursting into flames.

  From within the temple came wanton, unrestrained moans—naked, licentious cries that made black flames ignite in Barton’s cold eyes. The temperature around him plummeted, ice crystals quietly forming and accumulating on Barton’s broad shoulders.

  A faint rumble of thunder sounded. Barton sensed energy in the world flowing rapidly; to the left of the sun, a white spot of light appeared.

  Star radiance! Star radiance in broad daylight! A man-made star radiance in the day.

  Sensing the direction of the energy flow in the air, Barton turned his head southeast. Has war broken out between Qinglan and Canaan?

  A rustling sound came as Nash raised his massive head and slithered out of the temple.

  Nash, chieftain of the Xiren, whom Barton had always considered himself the accidental offspring of, born from his father’s lustful couplings.

  The Kuí Wolf Star’s radiance had disturbed Nash in the midst of intercourse; he hadn’t even had time to transform into human form before gliding out of the temple.

  Seeing Barton standing in the portico, he asked, “Why are you here?” Before he could notice the strange color in Barton’s eyes, the rumbling thunder from the southeast drew his attention again. “That’s the heart of the Yanyun Wasteland—who would dare to directly channel the sacred power of the Kuí Wolf Star there?”

  Still untransformed, Nash’s massive serpent body dragged across the temple’s basalt floor. Atop the serpent body was a half-human torso, over three meters tall, naked, marked with bluish bruises and traces of lust, four thick arms entwined—one hand propping up his chin in thought, another crossed over his chest, the other two arms folded behind his back.

  Sticky, silken fluid continued to ooze from the scales of his lower body, evidence that the extreme lust within the temple had been abruptly interrupted by the anomaly in the southeast.

  Barton’s face burned red, so much so that he no longer felt the overwhelming pressure his father Nash usually exerted on him.

  Lost in thought, Nash left with a worried look, failing to notice the strange color on Barton’s face before departing.

  The massive black stone bases towered above even the transformed Barton’s head. Hundreds of black stone pillars supported the temple, which soared to a height of twenty zhang. In the center stood a statue of Xihe, the god of star radiance and light, carved from black adamantine, its fierce head raised high, gazing down at the insignificant mortals entering the temple.

  Compared to the eighteen-zhang-tall statue of the god of star radiance and light, Barton, of ordinary human height, seemed utterly insignificant.

  Behind the statue, between two black stone pillars, stood a dark purple jade bed. Hugh Evans was coiled atop the bed, still lost in the throes of recent lust. Her exquisitely beautiful face was flushed with a drunken blush, her dreamy eyes half-closed, her round, upturned hips still trembling slightly, the plump, resilient tail of her serpent body curled in a pool of glistening moisture.

  In the dim light, Barton felt waves of guilty shuddering in his heart, his hand pressing tightly against the full, supple skin high on Hugh Evans’s waist and arm, while his lower body quietly swelled and hardened.

  He slid onto the jade bed, his own massive serpent tail entwining with Hugh Evans’s.

  Hugh Evans seemed not yet awakened from her earlier lust. When Barton’s large hand touched her waist, she couldn’t help but writhe all over, her serpent tail squirming like a live fish in a hot pan. With her dreamy eyes closed, her hand reached under Barton, parting the scales there.

  Their writhing serpent bodies pressed ever closer together, the tips of their tails arching high, gently touching above the jade bed. Each touch sent a shudder through them, like a jolt of lightning.

  Suddenly, Hugh Evans’s serpent body arched backward, her eyes snapping open—not in shock at the scene before her, but as if, in that instant, some inner fear made her halt her lust.

  “Your power still cannot surpass your father’s. You cannot possess his woman.”

  “I…”