Lu Zaiye's estimation was not wrong.
Before the trial ended, Peony and Pomegranate passed the test one after another.
As soon as the two demonic beasts appeared, they collapsed onto the ground, and Xu Yi took the opportunity to pet them fiercely.
The two demonic beasts could not resist and could only be subjected to her pampering.
Meanwhile, the others in the plaza regarded Xu Yi and her companions as their primary enemies.
"Senior Brother Xiong! It's great that you're alright!"
Xiong Zhuangzhuang heard the familiar voice and said with surprise, "Junior Brother Zhou! You've come down too!"
Zhou Cheng, while distracting himself by observing his surroundings, approached Xiong Zhuangzhuang with excitement, saying, "Yes, we hadn't heard from you for a long time, so we decided to come down and find you. Fortunately, we found you."
Xiong Zhuangzhuang was injured?
That was great.
Zhou Cheng suddenly felt that coming here was not without its rewards.
Now that it was just the two of them, if he could create an accident and make Xiong Zhuangzhuang stay here forever, he would be one step closer to the position of sect leader.
This was an opportunity bestowed upon him by heaven.
He had to seize it well.
"It's my fault for dragging you all down," Xiong Zhuangzhuang said guiltily.
If it weren't for him, Senior Sister Chang and the others wouldn't have come here. He didn't know how they were doing.
Zhou Cheng disagreed and retorted, "Senior Brother Xiong, what are you saying? As disciples of the Imperial Beast Sect, we are united and should support each other."
Xiong Zhuangzhuang was moved by Zhou Cheng's words.
He slapped Zhou Cheng on the shoulder and praised him, "Junior Brother Zhou, in the past, I always felt that you were insincere and cared too much about appearances. It was my misunderstanding, Senior Brother apologizes to you."
Zhou Cheng was almost spat out blood by Xiong Zhuangzhuang's slap. He endured the urge to kill and said generously, "Let's not mention the past anymore."
"Good, good, hahahaha."
Xu Yi squinted, watching Zhou Cheng and Xiong Zhuangzhuang chat amicably, and felt an inexplicable awkwardness in her heart.
"Lu Zaiye, don't you think there's something strange about the two of them?"
When Xu Yi was distracted, her movements were not light or heavy, causing Pomegranate to grit her teeth.
"It's just an act," Lu Zaiye had not missed the fleeting emotion on Zhou Cheng's face.
Xu Yi suddenly realized, "No wonder I felt it was strange. Tsk tsk tsk, it seems that the Imperial Beast Sect is not as harmonious as our Xuanji Sect."
Xu Yi was not boasting; she genuinely believed it.
After she came out of the secret realm, she had stayed in the Xuanji Sect for ten years. Both the elders and the disciples had given her a good impression, and the sect's atmosphere was very positive.
It was precisely because she had seen how fellow disciples interacted in the Xuanji Sect that she found Zhou Cheng and Xiong Zhuangzhuang's interaction full of incongruity.
After Xu Yi figured out the key to the matter, she looked at the two of them with interest.
Lu Zaiye caught a glimpse of her expression and suddenly said, "I thought you would warn Xiong Zhuangzhuang."
Xu Yi seemed to care quite a bit about Xiong Zhuangzhuang.
"Warn him about what?" Xu Yi looked at Lu Zaiye in confusion. "They are fellow disciples. I'm just an outsider. Even if I said something, Xiong Zhuangzhuang might not believe me, and it might even make him resent me. Why should I court trouble?"
Xu Yi was willing to save Xiong Zhuangzhuang before because it was a casual act, and saving someone would only benefit her without any negative impact.
However, warning Xiong Zhuangzhuang to be careful of Zhou Cheng would bring her more harm than good.
Therefore, she was naturally unwilling to take that risk.
Lu Zaiye's expression froze after hearing Xu Yi's words. He suddenly felt as if he had never truly understood Xu Yi.
He thought Xu Yi was a person whose compassion outweighed her rationality.
Both her previous rescue of Xiong Zhuangzhuang and her attitude towards the two demonic beasts had shown Xu Yi's soft side.
But it was only just now that he realized that the kindness Xu Yi displayed was shown when it did not endanger her.
Once it could cause her harm, she would only choose to protect herself.
In her heart, she valued herself above all else.
This was the true Xu Yi.
Lu Zaiye became even more silent as his perception was overturned.
Xu Yi paid no attention and continued to indulge in the joy of petting demonic beasts.
Six hours passed.
There were now ten cultivators and nine demonic beasts in the plaza.
Among them, Xu Yi, Lu Zaiye, Zhou Cheng, Xiong Zhuangzhuang, and the two demonic beasts stood together, forming a single faction.
Zhou Cheng noticed Xu Yi and Lu Zaiye and, dragging the reluctant Xiong Zhuangzhuang, shamelessly joined them.
Zhou Cheng's plan was that if the subsequent actions were to be team-based, he needed to find a patron. Otherwise, after dealing with Xiong Zhuangzhuang, he would find it difficult to contend with other demonic beasts alone.
Xu Yi and her group were the best choice.
Both Xu Yi and Xiong Zhuangzhuang tacitly did not mention that they had known each other for a long time.
Because of their alliance, the remaining demonic beasts and cultivators also spontaneously formed two factions.
However, although those demonic beasts and humans stood together, their expressions remained tense, clearly not trusting the other teammates in their faction.
At that moment, the ground beneath them suddenly began to shake. Four beams of light rose from the four corners of the plaza, then rapidly spread outwards, finally connecting to form a giant light screen.
Concurrently, a deep voice suddenly rang out.
"The Demon Servant inheritance is now open. Those who pass will be able to enter the Demon King City and serve the Demon King."
As the voice faded, the light screen around them shot out several spiritual lights towards everyone.
Xu Yi tried to dodge, but the spiritual lights were like leeches. In the end, she could only watch helplessly as the spiritual lights merged into her forehead.
Boom!
A vast power surged into Xu Yi's body, violently pulling her soul outwards.
Xu Yi struggled to resist, but her strength was like a firefly against the bright moon in comparison.
She felt a chill all over her body. When she regained consciousness, she found herself in a galaxy, and she had become an insignificant speck of dust.
"Where is this..."
Xu Yi looked at everything in front of her in shock.
Wasn't she just... um, what was she doing just now?
The images in her memory gradually faded.
In the end, she forgot who she was and drifted in the galaxy according to instinct.
She saw the movement of stars, the annihilation of stars, and stars burning out, leaving brilliant streaks of light.
She gradually gained some insight.
But it was still not enough, not enough...
She continued to wander in the galaxy, oblivious to the passage of time.
Until one day, she personally witnessed a star being born from the void and falling into the galaxy. She felt an invisible force emanating from the star.
She instinctively used her tiny body to absorb the power that was scattered in the void.
Her body gradually grew stronger.
At some point, a core, smaller than dust, condensed within her.
She could feel that this core contained the purest essence extracted from the power she had collected.
She called it Starlight.
Starlight was extremely difficult to collect. By the time she transformed into the largest star in the galaxy, the stellar core was still barely visible to the naked eye.
Later, she, like other stars, vanished in the galaxy, as if she had never existed.