"Why do I feel this sudden sense of dread?"

The Sacred Hall Captain's expression changed abruptly.

Yet in the next moment, the sky darkened instantly with thick clouds.

The Sacred Hall Captain immediately looked up and saw tribulation clouds condensing at a visible pace. A giant eye appeared in the sky, its pupil woven with countless threads of law forming a net, while streaks of pitch-black lightning crackled across its surface.

"Heaven's Eye?" The Sacred Hall Captain's face paled. "This is divine retribution!"

"How is this possible? We just entered this world and haven't done anything outrageous!" someone cried out in shock.

"Something's clearly wrong!"

"Damn it, let's get out of here!"

Panic spread among the group.

However, Heaven's retribution waits for no one.

A thick, black bolt of lightning descended with terrifying speed, striking before anyone could react.

Its velocity was too fast, its power too overwhelming—it chilled them to the bone!

In an instant, three immortal arks were engulfed in the black lightning. Within mere breaths, cracks appeared on their protective barriers.

Though the power of Heaven's retribution was only at the Celestial Immortal level, its sheer volume made up for it—countless black bolts, as if tens of thousands of Celestial Immortals were attacking simultaneously, made the assault unbearably fierce!

This was clearly meant to exterminate them!

"Retreat from the Seven Stars Realm!" The Sacred Hall Captain barely managed to block the lightning strikes.

But the divine retribution continued to rain down.

After half an hour, the barriers of the three immortal arks shattered completely!

The overwhelming retribution energy surged inside, wreaking havoc.

It was as if tens of thousands of Celestial Immortals had stormed the arks, unleashing indiscriminate destruction. The horrifying sight filled everyone with terror and despair.

"Ah! I'm burning!"

A cultivator screamed as he rolled on the ground, his body ablaze—not with ordinary flames, but with karma fire!

The fire of sin!

The more sins a cultivator had committed, the fiercer the flames burned!

This was an additional effect of the black lightning.

Such an attack was nothing short of a dimensional strike. The entire Sacred Hall Realm Pirates were caught completely off guard.

Among the pirates, nine and a half out of ten were deeply sinful, making them utterly defenseless against this kind of attack.

In mere moments, the karma fire consumed most of them. Within fifteen minutes, over eighty to ninety percent of the Sacred Hall Realm Pirates had perished!

This outcome was so shocking that even Su Yuan, the mastermind behind it all, was left dumbfounded.

He had merely wanted to test Heaven's power, expecting it to serve as a prelude rather than the main attack—after all, its strength was only at the Celestial Immortal level.

Yet the pirates had several Xuan Immortals among them.

But Heaven's retribution wasn't just about raw power. Its vast network of laws could pinpoint the most fitting punishment, delivering effects akin to a natural disaster tailored to annihilate its targets!

Thus, under Su Yuan's watch, pirate after pirate fell to divine retribution—including one Xuan Immortal!

Even two of the immortal arks were reduced to ruins under the lightning strikes.

Only the Sacred Hall Captain and three remaining Xuan Immortals survived aboard the last ark.

"Run!"

The Sacred Hall Captain gritted her teeth.

She had no idea why the Seven Stars Realm's Heaven had taken such a disliking to them, but she knew the principle of survival—as long as they lived, they could recover.

After enduring a third lightning strike, she immediately fled toward the void beyond the realm.

By now, she was already injured!

The three Xuan Immortal elders followed closely, also resisting the retribution.

Moving at incredible speeds, they employed intricate movement techniques, narrowly dodging several more lightning bolts.

Just as the Sacred Hall Captain felt a glimmer of relief—

The divine retribution lightning altered its trajectory, locking onto her soul. It pierced through space instantly, striking her directly!

"Ugh—!"

She grunted, summoning her weapon to deflect most of the lightning. But the remaining energy seeped into her soul, grievously wounding her.

Heaven had effectively overpowered a Xuan Immortal by two whole realms!

Without hesitation, she drank Yellow Spring Water, its potent energy mending her soul.

Realizing the direness of the situation, she knew it was time to use her trump card.

She crushed a talisman in her hand.

In the next instant, she and the three Xuan Immortals vanished, reappearing outside the Seven Stars Realm.

"We made it! Thank goodness the Boundary Escape Talisman still worked!" The Sacred Hall Captain exhaled in relief.

But the moment she let her guard down—

A sword materialized out of nowhere, piercing straight through her heart!

Condensed starlight erupted violently inside her body, ravaging her already critically wounded soul and pushing her to the brink of death!

This ambush was beyond unexpected.

Looking down, the Sacred Hall Captain realized the weapon looked eerily familiar—it was a top-grade immortal sword she had once used, stored away in her treasury.

Now, it had appeared in an enemy's hands, delivering her a fatal blow!

What a cruel joke!

With great effort, she turned her head and saw a young man staring at her calmly.

"I—I surrender! I'll serve you, just spare my life!" She put on a pitiful expression, her delicate demeanor stirring a strong protective instinct.

But Su Yuan's gaze turned icy.

The starlight within the sword erupted a second time, utterly obliterating her soul!

[Ding, Rest Time +23.71 million years]

[Ding, Mental State Improved]

A surge of overwhelming joy flashed in Su Yuan's eyes.

"Absolute jackpot!" He inhaled sharply.

Counting the digits—ten thousand, hundred thousand, million...

It was over twenty-three million years of rest time!

This was the mutated effect of [Work-Rest Balance]—he had actually extracted over twenty million years of rest time from a single person!

Just how lazy was she to have accumulated twenty million years without cultivation?!

The sheer magnitude of the reward left Su Yuan momentarily stunned—this was an unimaginable windfall!

"Who are you?!"

"Stop!"

"Bastard!"

Only now did the three Xuan Immortal elders react, their faces twisted in fury as they glared at Su Yuan.

They attacked simultaneously!

Three strikes shot toward him.

"Insolence!"

A thunderous voice boomed.

The attacks froze mid-air.

Hidden Star Immortal Lord, having sensed the intruders, rushed out to prove his loyalty. Seeing three Xuan Immortals daring to attack the Seven Stars Dao Lord, he immediately intervened, halting their assault.

With an apologetic bow, he said, "Forgive me, Dao Lord. As the sect's guardian, I failed to detect them until they nearly reached the Seven Stars Sect. This negligence is inexcusable!"

Su Yuan sighed inwardly in relief—he had been ready to flee, but Hidden Star arrived just in time!

"Suppress these three," Su Yuan ordered.

"At once, Dao Lord!"

Hidden Star snorted, amplifying his pressure. The three Xuan Immortals were crushed to the ground, powerless to resist.

With a swing of his sword, Su Yuan ended all three.

[Ding, Rest Time +560,000 years]

[Ding, Rest Time +230,000 years]

[Ding, Rest Time +150,000 years]

"Strange, their rest time pales in comparison to the captain's. Were these three cultivation maniacs?"

Su Yuan glanced regretfully at the wreckage of the three immortal arks. The pirates who died under Heaven's lightning couldn't trigger [Plunder Rest Time]—what a waste.

Meaning, he could only claim rest time from cultivators he personally killed.

"Over twenty-four million years of rest time... this haul is insane!"

A total of 24.65 million years—an astronomical gain.

And in his arms, he now held dozens of storage rings, loot from the fallen pirates. Their combined value rivaled that of a treasure vault!

Hidden Star Immortal Lord paid no mind to Xuan Immortal-level treasures.

"Dao Lord, these invaders may have lingering connections or backers. Allow me to clean up the aftermath," he said.

"Oh?" Su Yuan raised an eyebrow. "Since you're offering, I'll send you there myself."

Hidden Star blinked—

In a flash, his surroundings shifted. He now stood before a floating void island.

A quick scan revealed it was the invaders' base.

"The Dao Lord's methods are peerless! To deduce their hideout in an instant..."

Hidden Star felt another wave of gratitude for siding with the Seven Stars Dao Lord. Against such power, escape would be impossible.

With a thought, starlight descended upon the island.

In moments, the remaining Sacred Hall pirates evaporated into nothingness—utterly annihilated, with no chance of even reaching the underworld!

Bowing respectfully toward the sky, Hidden Star announced, "Dao Lord, the loose ends have been dealt with!"

Then—

He reappeared outside the Seven Stars Realm.

With him came the void island—the Sacred Hall's former headquarters.

With a wave of his hand, Su Yuan erased all existing structures. New buildings rose swiftly, forming a marketplace akin to Seven Stars Bazaar—but a hundred times larger!

Strands of starlight from the Seven Stars Realm wove into formations, encasing the island in an immense protective array within breaths.

Su Yuan then recalled the Myriad Treasures Heaven-Earth Cauldron. Flipping it, he released Song Cai and the other merchants into the newly expanded Seven Stars Bazaar.

Song Cai looked around in confusion. The treasures within Seven Stars Pagoda had multiplied exponentially, all at Immortal-grade or above!

Spotting Su Yuan and Hidden Star in the sky, he hurried out and bowed. "Greetings, Seven Stars Patriarch! Hidden Star Guardian!"

Su Yuan nodded. "Hidden Star, guard the Bazaar. I'll be in seclusion."

Hidden Star clasped his hands. "Leave it to me, Dao Lord!"

"Good." Su Yuan patted his shoulder before vanishing.