Qiu Ming left with his team to intercept the Star Evil, while Zhao Feiyue simply stood quietly beneath the tower, unmoving.

Only when Liou Yuan called out a new location did she immediately lead the remaining two cultivators to the battlefield.

Qiu Ming quickly dealt with the Star Evil and returned, taking Zhao Feiyue’s place, quietly waiting for Liou Yuan to announce the next position.

This was the action plan Liou Yuan had proposed—without a doubt, the most time- and energy-saving method.

They didn’t need to rush around anymore.

The Star Evil never got the chance to charge in front of the yamen; they were intercepted in advance, minimizing casualties.

The entire night passed.

At first, the civilians surrounded before the yamen trembled at the Star Evil’s terrifying roars.

By the latter half of the night, they had already calmed down.

Because they realized that not a single Star Evil reached their side.

The next morning, as the sun rose,

a faint golden light bathed the ruins and broken walls around the yamen.

Another peaceful night had gone by.

Liou Yuan, who’d spent the night exposed to the wind atop the high platform, rubbed his sore, aching eyes.

Having sustained the Evil Eyes’ gaze all night, not only had his spiritual power drained, but it also put a huge burden on his eyes.

After the high-intensity use overnight, his eyeballs were laced with bloodshot veins.

Liou Yuan closed his eyes and rested for a long while, and only then did he alleviate the soreness and ache.

"Another day gone. The Star Evil in the city are getting fewer and fewer. There shouldn’t be any more trouble this month."

Liou Yuan reopened his eyes, gazing at the morning sun shining into Chouhuai City, muttering, "Just have to get through this period, then ten merit points will be in my hand."

Liou Yuan’s self-talk had hardly fallen—

Buzz! A tremendous fluctuation of spiritual power suddenly rippled out from deep within the yamen—a region no one, not even Liou Yuan and the others, had ever set foot in.

Liou Yuan was the first on the high platform to react, immediately turning to look at the source of that spiritual power.

In his line of sight, he saw a crimson array barrier begin to slowly rise from the innermost region of the yamen.

Before a stick of incense burned down, the array barrier had already covered half of Chouhuai City.

That was as far as it went; the array barrier didn’t extend any farther, halting in midair.

Even so, Liou Yuan could sense the power of the barrier’s core still surging and pulsing.

Seeing this, a pensive look flashed in Liou Yuan’s eyes. He thought, "The formation must have been partially repaired."

"If this array wants to cover all of Chouhuai City again, it will still take some time to fully restore."

Once Chouhuai City’s protective array was completely rebuilt, it would be good news for both Miss Lai and the others on the city wall and for those like Liou Yuan clearing out Star Evil within the city.

With the protection of the array, only then could everyone truly be at ease.

On the surface, everything seemed to be heading in a good direction.

But after gazing at the array for some time, Liou Yuan’s brows furrowed again. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

As he sniffed, that strange, drifting fragrance once more appeared in the city air.

Once might have been nothing.

But for this scent to drift out twice, and during the period of Evil Star Shift, Liou Yuan couldn’t ignore it anymore.

Yet when he activated the Evil Eyes to investigate Chouhuai City, he saw not the slightest abnormality.

"What the hell is this thing?!"

Liou Yuan’s low murmur resounded on the high platform.

"I’m only here to guard for ten or twenty days, don’t give me any weird crap, all right?"

Liou Yuan only kept his guard up. As for reporting it to Zhao Zhuoran—naturally, that was impossible.

When he didn’t even know where the scent originated, he couldn’t be certain it was dangerous.

All he could do was stay extra alert.

So the days passed peacefully in this way.

Five days, ten days, half a month.

Sure enough, as Liou Yuan had expected, the Star Evil in the city diminished with each killing.

By the end of the half-month, there weren’t even any Star Evil emerging at night.

Moreover, after half a month,

Chouhuai City’s protective formation was almost seventy or eighty percent repaired.

The whole city was once again sheltered under the crimson array barrier.

Only a gap of some twenty zhang at the city gate remained—once that repair was finished, the defense formation would be complete.

The pressure on Miss Lai and the others atop the city wall dropped sharply as a result.

Miss Lai even came down once midway to inspect the situation inside with Liou Yuan and the rest.

After seeing their results, she left highly satisfied, never needing to come down again.

Before she left, Miss Lai even asked Liou Yuan and the other two some thought-provoking questions—about Lv Jifeng.

He’d been threatened by Liou Yuan: if he dared leave the front line before Chouhuai City was defended, Liou Yuan would chop his head off.

So, this month, Lv Jifeng truly didn’t dare leave the frontline for even a single step.

Miss Lai was astute and naturally saw the clue.

This wasn’t something worth hiding, so Liou Yuan openly admitted he’d nearly split Lv Jifeng in two with his sword.

Miss Lai laughed heartily, offering much praise for his approach.

The twenty-third day standing guard over Chouhuai City.

The last day of this month—tonight would be the day of Star Rotation.

Before dusk, Liou Yuan, Qiu Ming, and Zhao Feiyue were already standing atop the high platform, looking up at the night sky.

Their actions were echoed by the tens of thousands of Chouhuai City’s surviving civilians, as well as Miss Lai and her compatriots atop the city wall.

Everyone looked up nervously at the heavens, waiting for tonight’s result.

"It’s the fifth straight month of Evil Star Shift this year, and each month is more vicious than the last."

"If we still can’t welcome the arrival of an Auspicious Star, the outside world will only get more dangerous. Who knows how many cities in the Jin Dynasty will be overrun by the Star Evil."

Zhao Feiyue’s gaze flicked past the ruined cityscape of Chouhuai City, an anxious look on her delicate face.

Liou Yuan shot a sidelong glance at her tall figure.

After spending this time together, Liou Yuan had more or less figured out her character.

Most of the time she only acted indifferent, but in truth, this girl deeply sympathized with the suffering of the city’s people.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been the first to suggest opening the granary.

"Probably influenced by the Zhao Family’s tradition of cultivating future generations. With her talent, Zhao Feiyue would be expected to hide her true feelings."

"But a person’s nature is hard to conceal."

While thinking this, Liou Yuan didn’t forget to subtly offer comfort: "Five Extremes Mountain is right beside the Jin Dynasty, and now they’ve already begun sending aid."

"If we really have to face a sixth Evil Star, Five Extremes Mountain definitely won’t stand by and do nothing. After all, half their disciples come from Jin territory."

"Anyway, no matter what happens, our mission is complete." said Qiu Ming cheerfully beside them. "The formation’s almost fully repaired; just waiting for Mr. Zhao to take us back to the sect’s Shoushan Tower to claim our merit points."

Qiu Ming’s reason for leaving the sect was always clear: his heart was set on those merit points.

"Heh, that’s right." Liou Yuan chuckled.

Their cultivation was limited; this was all they could do.

The fate of the world wasn’t for them to decide. That they’d managed to safeguard Chouhuai City for this long was already the best they could do.

The rest could only be left to the heavens.

Time trickled away.

From atop the city walls came again the Star Evil’s howls and the waves of spiritual power unleashed by Miss Lai and the others in fierce battle.

As for inside the city, with Liou Yuan as their eyes, nothing major happened.

Finally, the moment of midnight came.

Up in the heavens, the stars finally began to shift. As the sky wheeled, nine brilliant stars lit up in the sky.

They linked together, forming an image that looked like a tail.

At the instant the constellation formed, countless Chouhuai citizens began to sob and scream with joy.

"Star Monarch Weixiu!"

"Auspicious Star shines—this disaster is finally over!"

"Heavens be merciful, Chouhuai City is saved!"

...

This city, still in ruins, began to pulse with renewed life due to the rotation of the stars.

On the high platform, a smile played at Liou Yuan’s lips as he murmured, "Weixiu—supreme fortune."

He glanced at Zhao Feiyue and Qiu Ming standing beside him.

The two of them were smiling as well.

On the city wall, where moments before shuddering booms had echoed from shattered ramparts, everything was now at peace.

This night’s Star Evil attackers retreated one after another thanks to the rising of the Auspicious Star.

Upon the walls, Miss Lai and her seven companions stood tall amidst corpses and blood, gazing up at the starlit sky—each letting out a long sigh of relief.

"It’s finally over."

Good news doubled up—

Almost the moment the last wave of Star Evil retreated,

the crimson array shrouding all of Chouhuai City finished its final repair.

The red barrier sealed the breach atop the city walls.

The whole of Chouhuai City was peaceful once more.

Liou Yuan gazed at the city wall, his eyes reflecting the now-perfect crimson barrier, and smiled at his two companions: "The array’s finished repairing too."

"I think we’ll soon be leaving Chouhuai City with Mr. Zhao."

"This mission: complete."

"Damn it, I can finally get a good night’s sleep!" Qiu Ming howled, waving the Yellow Jade Axe.

"I haven’t had a decent night’s rest these past twenty days."

"Now I can go back and cultivate at Five Extremes Mountain." Zhao Feiyue, nearing a breakthrough, cared most about being able to take advantage of the sect’s formations to cultivate under the Auspicious Star’s fortune.

"Our time in Chouhuai City is just about finished. I should find a way to take my leave too."

"While the Auspicious Star is up, I need to hurry to Qiwen Mountain."

Amid the city’s wild celebration echoing in his ears, Liou Yuan secretly mulled over matters of the Talismanic Skill.

Right as he pondered what excuse he should give Mr. Zhao,

the strange fragrance that had always lingered at his nose abruptly vanished.

That scent had suffused his nostrils ever since he entered Chouhuai City.

Now it suddenly disappeared, and Liou Yuan noticed it right away.

He squinted, thinking, "That scent never let up during Evil Star times, and as soon as the Auspicious Star appeared, it’s gone."

"It must be connected to the Star Evil."

If before, Liou Yuan had only been suspicious and alert toward the scent, now he was certain it had something to do with the Star Evil.

"When that scent spread, the entire Chouhuai City could smell it. For it to affect such a huge city—could it be a Calamity-level Star Evil?"

As Liou Yuan’s mind raced, rather than relaxing, his face grew graver.

He activated his Evil Eyes, the purple pupils sweeping over the ruins of Chouhuai City, thinking erratically, "Could it be that there’s a Calamity-level Star Evil still lurking in this city?"

The more Liou Yuan thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.

For as long as a Star Evil doesn’t reveal itself, ordinary means can barely detect its existence; even a Foundation Establishment great cultivator would have a hard time spotting a Calamity-level Star Evil in hiding ahead of time.

The odds that one has quietly hidden itself here aren’t zero either.