The Return of Stars to the Jianghu

"Yes, I am the Demon Queen." The woman nodded, her gaze sweeping over the four people as if assessing their strength.

"We meant no offense, we just wandered into this place by mistake," Luo Yifei said, cupping his hands in greeting.

"Wandered in by mistake?" A hint of doubt flashed in the Empress's eyes. "This isn't a place you can just barge into anywhere."

“We really didn’t do it on purpose. The Abyss Guardian attacked us and ate our friends. We had no choice but to kill it. We just wanted to leave this Hundred Thousand Mountains through the Abyss,” Shen Lixi explained.

The Demon Queen laughed loudly, "You killed my guardian beast and you think you can leave alive?"

“We have no ill intentions, we just want to leave here,” Luo Yifei said sincerely.

The Demon Queen remained silent for a moment, seemingly considering their explanation. Finally, she spoke, "Since you have already killed my guardian beast, I cannot allow you to return. However, if you can complete one of my tasks, I will let you go."

The four exchanged a glance, secretly relieved. They knew this was their only chance to leave.

"What mission?" Shen Lixi asked, his four years of experience in the martial world telling him that things were far from simple.

The Queen pointed to the gem in the center of the pool, "This gem is the source of my life, but it has recently become polluted, and I need your help to purify it."

Upon hearing this, the four immediately gathered around the pool. They discovered that the water around the gemstone had become extremely murky, clearly indicating some kind of contamination.

"How should we purify it?" Luo Yifei asked.

The Demon Queen explained, "You need to infuse your own life force into the gem and merge with the life force within it in order to purify it."

Luo Yifei nodded, and Han Yue and Shi Hao also nodded hesitantly. Shen Lixi sensed that something was wrong, but seeing the behavior of the other three, she could only nod in agreement.

So they each poured their life force into the gem. As their life force merged with the life force within the gem, the water around the gem gradually became clear.

Finally, after the life force of the four people was completely integrated into the gem, the gem emitted a dazzling light. After the light dissipated, the Demon Queen nodded in satisfaction, "You have done very well. Now I can let you leave."

The four were overjoyed upon hearing this. They knew they had finally completed their mission and could leave this dangerous place.

However, their joy quickly turned to despair as their bodies aged at a visible rate.

It turned out that during the purification of the gemstone, they had consumed too much of their life force, causing their life energy to rapidly dissipate. Seeing this, the Demon Queen frowned slightly, "This is the path you chose yourself; I cannot help you."

"This is your conspiracy!" Shi Hao shouted.

"So what if it is? You killed my guardian beast first," the Demon Queen replied.

"Your guardian beast even ate one of our friends," Shi Hao continued to shout.

"So what? The law of the jungle is the rule of this continent." The Demon Queen's tone was cold and cruel.

The four looked at each other, their hearts filled with despair. They had exhausted all their life force to complete the mission, but they never expected to end up like this.

"Are we really going to die here?" Luo Yifei asked bitterly.

Shen Lixi clenched her fists, her eyes flashing with unwillingness. "No, we can't give up like this. We must have other ways."

Just as the four were in dire straits, suddenly, a dazzling light emanated from the depths of the cave. When the light faded, a mysterious figure appeared before them.

"You are warriors who have come to complete a mission, and I cannot let you die like this." The mysterious man's voice was deep and authoritative.

The four people stared in surprise at the mysterious man before them, wondering who he was.

"I am the guardian of this continent, and I can sense the steadfastness and courage in your hearts. I am willing to grant you new life force, so that you may regain your vitality." The mysterious man stretched out his palm, and a powerful life force surged from his palm, flowing into the bodies of the four.

As the life force was infused, the four felt their bodies gradually regain their vitality. They looked at the mysterious man in astonishment, their hearts filled with gratitude.

"Thank you, Guardian." they said in unison.

"Are you Wen Bin? The manager of the time tunnel?" Luo Yifei suddenly asked, sensing the same aura he had when communicating with Wen Bin at the deserted island café in this guardian.

The mysterious man nodded, his imposing manner vanishing instantly, and laughed, "That's right, I am Wen Bin. You guys are too slow, so I had to step in and help you."

"So what should we do next?" Shen Lixi asked. It wasn't the first time he had received Wen Bin's secret help, but he had never brought it up.

Wen Bin smiled and said, "You have completed the task of purifying the gem. Now you just need to enter the time tunnel to leave this place."

"Where to? Earth or the Floating Life Continent? Or perhaps just leaving the Forbidden Land of Death and going to the human world of the Xuan Tian Continent?" Shen Lixi asked.

Upon hearing this, Wen Bin's smile gradually faded, and his eyes became deep. "Leave the Xuan Tian Continent, but as for which world you will be teleported to, that's uncertain. It will be one of the three closest inhabited terrestrial planets to the Xuan Tian Continent, including Earth and the Floating Life Continent. Leave here first, and you can figure out the rest yourselves. I can't interfere too much. You don't want to die here like this, do you?"

The four exchanged glances, understanding what Wen Bin's words meant.

"Hey, hey, hey, do you think I don't exist?" the Demon Queen suddenly roared, and another red light rushed towards the four of them.

Fortunately, Wen Bin didn't just talk; he kept using his magical artifacts to defend against the Demon Queen's attacks.

The four of them then belatedly realized that the Demon Queen was still there, and it seemed that her anger was at its peak. This was certainly not the time for them to discuss "where the time tunnel leads."

"What? You want to leave?" the Demon Queen sneered. "Don't think you can ignore me just because you have new life. Don't forget, it was I who gave you this mission, it was I who gave you the opportunity to be reborn. If you want to leave, you'll have to ask me for permission first."

Upon hearing this, Wen Bin frowned slightly. "Empress Dowager, they have already completed their mission. You have no right to interfere with their fate."

"No power? I am the Demon Queen of this continent, everything here belongs to me. If I want them to stay, they must stay." The Demon Queen's tone was full of domineering and forceful power.

"The tunnel is open! Hurry up! I'm just a clone; I can't stop her," Wen Bin shouted.

A cloud of light appeared behind Wen Bin; that was the time tunnel that Wen Bin had opened.