Chapter 384 - 383: Sun Shooting Bow, Shattering the Heavens

She closed her eyes and began channeling her spiritual Qi into the crystalline grip. At the same time, she allowed the boundless fortune of her Yunqi Realm to flow through her body, directing its golden radiance toward the weapon. A thread of divine sense emerged from her Primordial Spirit and entered the bow, searching for the core that governed its operation.

The moment her divine sense connected with the artifact, the Ray Bow responded.

A faint light spread across its surface, and the symbols embedded within the crystal began to move. Bai Qingyue felt a subtle connection forming between her consciousness and the weapon, allowing her to perceive its internal structure and the dormant power sealed within it.

She pushed her divine sense deeper.

The connection stabilized, and the Ray Bow accepted her as its master.

At that exact moment, the system interface in Lin Yuan’s vision violently flared.

[DING! Investee Bai Qingyue has accepted and bound the gifted item: Ray Bow.]

[Investment Registered. Please select Return Type.]

[1. Quantity Return]

[2. Quality Return]

Lin Yuan did not hesitate for even a fraction of a second.

Quality Return.

[Quality Return Selected.]

[Calculating Multiplier...]

[CRITICAL SUCCESS! 250,000X Quality Return Multiplier Applied!]

The universe seemed to hold its breath.

Bai Qingyue had barely finished establishing the connection with the Ray Bow when the weapon suddenly convulsed in her hands. The translucent crystal emitted a piercing hum, and the light within its frame intensified until it became almost impossible to look at directly.

She opened her eyes in surprise.

"Yuan?"

Before Lin Yuan could answer, the bow began to transform.

The crystalline structure shattered, not into ordinary fragments, but into countless streams of blinding light. The pieces dissolved before they could fall, releasing a tremendous wave of energy that swept across the stratosphere. The surrounding atmosphere grew hotter, and the spiritual Qi within several miles began to tremble as an aura of primordial heat erupted from the weapon.

Ku Ming stumbled backward on the Golden Immortal Beast’s back, raising his arm to shield his eyes.

"What is happening?" he exclaimed.

The monk could sense the extraordinary power gathering around Bai Qingyue, but he could not determine its source. The transformation was unlike any weapon refinement process he had witnessed, because the energy was not merely strengthening the original artifact. It was dismantling its existing structure and replacing it with something fundamentally different.

Lin Yuan watched without speaking.

He had expected a substantial return from the system, but even he had not anticipated such an overwhelming reaction. The 250,000X Quality Return multiplier had triggered an evolutionary transformation that seemed to exceed the ordinary limitations of artifact refinement.

The light condensed.

Streams of energy converged around Bai Qingyue’s hands, forming a new weapon whose silhouette gradually emerged from the radiance. The elegant crystal frame disappeared, replaced by a magnificent bow forged from dark, ancient star-iron. Archaic runes covered its surface, each symbol glowing with the searing heat of a captured sun.

The bowstring was no longer a thin strand of crystal.

It had become a vibrating line of pure, concentrated solar plasma.

The weapon’s aura intensified until the corrosive purple miasma leaking into the surrounding sky began to incinerate upon contact with its light. Dark clouds separated around the bow, and the nearby spatial turbulence weakened as though the surrounding laws were struggling to withstand the pressure radiating from the artifact.

It was no longer a mere Divine-grade weapon.

The 250,000X multiplier had forced an evolutionary leap of incomprehensible magnitude, transforming the original artifact into something that belonged to the realm of ancient myths.

The Sun Shooting Bow.

An artifact of supreme antiquity, capable of piercing the firmament and shattering stars.

Bai Qingyue stared at the transformed weapon in disbelief. Its weight had changed, yet it still rested naturally in her hands, as though it had been created specifically for her. The enormous power contained within the bow no longer felt dormant or distant. It responded to her divine sense, moving in accordance with her intentions and recognizing the immense fortune that flowed through her Yunqi Realm.

She could feel the destructive potential sealed within its frame.

The bow did not simply gather solar energy and release it as a projectile. Its archaic runes contained principles that allowed it to concentrate an extraordinary amount of power into a single attack, compressing the energy until it possessed enough density to pierce defenses that ordinary weapons could not penetrate.

Even more astonishingly, the weapon appeared capable of interacting with the laws of the surrounding space. Its solar aura burned away the corrosive miasma of the Hollow Beyond, while the principles embedded within its frame stabilized the spiritual Qi in its immediate vicinity.

Bai Qingyue’s breathing slowed as she examined the weapon.

She had held many powerful artifacts throughout her cultivation journey, but none had ever responded to her in this manner. The Fortune Banner had amplified her innate connection to Heaven and Earth, allowing her to enter the Yunqi Realm, yet the Sun Shooting Bow possessed a different kind of authority.

The banner influenced the circumstances surrounding her.

The bow possessed the power to destroy whatever stood in its path.

Together, they formed a combination that could allow her to influence the battlefield and then exploit the resulting openings with overwhelming force.

She lifted her head and looked at Lin Yuan.

Her eyes reflected the burning solar light of the ultimate weapon, and for a moment, the devastation surrounding them seemed less overwhelming. The Imperial Domain had rejected their plea for help, and the Nine Provinces were descending into chaos, but Lin Yuan had once again produced an opportunity where none should have existed.

"Yuan," she said quietly, tightening her fingers around the bow’s grip. "What exactly have you given me?"

Lin Yuan looked at the Sun Shooting Bow, then at the woman standing beside him. A faint smile appeared on his face as he reached out and gently rested his hand over hers, allowing the warmth of their joined hands to contrast with the cold winds sweeping across the devastated world.

"A weapon that might help us change the situation," he replied. "But remember, Qingyue, its power is only one part of the answer. We still need to understand why the realms are merging, discover how to interrupt the process, and find a way to survive long enough to do something about it."

Bai Qingyue nodded slowly.

She understood that the weapon had not solved every problem, but it had given them another means of fighting back. Her fingers tightened around the Sun Shooting Bow, and the solar runes across its frame responded with a faint pulse of light.

Far below them, another region of the Nine Provinces vanished beneath the advancing shadow of the Hollow Beyond. The earth shook, the sky groaned, and the distant cries of cultivators carried across the corrupted atmosphere.

Lin Yuan turned toward the horizon, his expression once again becoming serious.

The Imperial Domain had made its decision.

The Demon Emperors had begun their invasion.

And the lower world was running out of time.

He looked at the Sun Shooting Bow in Bai Qingyue’s hands, then allowed his divine sense to return to the system interface. The rewards had arrived at a moment when every advantage mattered, and he intended to examine the remaining details as soon as they found a safe place to regroup.

For now, he had only one priority.

He would protect Bai Qingyue, their child, and preserve their companions!

If the Imperial Domain refused to save the lower world, then he would have to create a path that did not depend upon the mercy of them.

And if the Demon Emperors believed that the Nine Provinces were nothing more than an easy conquest, Lin Yuan would make certain that they learned how costly that mistake could become.