The Ancestral Martial Galaxy and the Nine Souls Galaxy both belonged to the Eastern Region.
Though there was no barrier separating them, there was in fact a territorial boundary between the two galaxies.
It had been drawn by the great powers of the early era, by mutual agreement.
This territorial boundary nearly split the vast starry skies of the Eastern Region in half.
Though the Nine Souls Galaxy had also been extremely powerful in the early era, it was actually not as strong as the Ancestral Martial Galaxy.
The reason it had received this treatment was that in the early era, the Nine Souls Galaxy had fought side by side with the Ancestral Martial Galaxy.
That was why the Ancestral Martial Galaxy had been willing to share its starry territory equally with the Nine Souls Galaxy.
But as time passed, the Nine Souls Galaxy and the Ancestral Martial Galaxy had long since lost the friendship they once shared.
Nowadays, few cultivators within either galaxy could soar through the starry skies.
Naturally, even fewer remembered where the territorial boundary between the two galaxies was.
But the Bull-Nosed Old Taoist knew.
He flew swiftly and soon arrived at the boundary.
Standing here, one could faintly discern the difference—the degree of darkness varied.
If you didn't look carefully, you would never notice.
But if you looked closely, you could see that within the vast starry sky, a line formed by the color difference stretched deep into the cosmos.
It divided the entire Eastern Region into two halves.
The Bull-Nosed Old Taoist did not enter the Nine Souls Galaxy's stellar territory. Instead, he stood before the territorial boundary, gazing ahead.
"Stop pretending. I've already spotted you. Come out."
After he spoke, on the other side of the boundary, the void warped and a figure materialized.
This person carried an axe on his back—it was Song Changsheng.
"I truly didn't expect that you were the Venerable Puppeteer. A bit surprising." Song Changsheng said.
He had been secretly observing from the shadows. At this distance, with his abilities, he already knew exactly how events had unfolded.
"Spare me that."
"Are you really just going to stand by and watch?"
The Bull-Nosed Old Taoist asked.
He had long known that Song Changsheng was secretly observing from here.
But before he had revealed his true identity, Song Changsheng hadn't known that the Venerable Puppeteer was him.
Yet Song Changsheng had absolutely no intention of intervening.
"I told you before—I will never set foot in the Ancestral Martial Galaxy for as long as I live." Song Changsheng said.
"If you save his son and break your agreement, would he really blame you?" the Bull-Nosed Old Taoist asked.
"Is this your first day knowing me?"
"I… don't like to meddle in other people's affairs." Song Changsheng said.
On this, the Bull-Nosed Old Taoist had nothing to say, because he did understand Song Changsheng's character to some extent.
So he said: "Times have changed. Your little disciple is quite fond of mine."
"If she finds out in the future that you stood by and watched her beloved suffer without lifting a finger, she will definitely hate you."
But on this, Song Changsheng not only didn't care at all, but was even unusually sarcastic: "If my disciple is going to hate anyone, it will be you."
"You schemed against your own disciple just for the treasures of the Ancestral Martial Realm Sect."
The Bull-Nosed Old Taoist smiled faintly: "I haven't known you for just one day, and have you known me for just one day either?"
"Fair enough. There is nothing you wouldn't do." Song Changsheng shot the Bull-Nosed Old Taoist a look, quite resentful.
"But I'm curious—if one day your stance and Chu Feng's were to differ, how would you handle it?" Song Changsheng asked.
"What kind of question is that?"
"How could my disciple ever stand against me?" the Bull-Nosed Old Taoist retorted.
"Chu Feng is different from you. He won't stop at nothing in his pursuit of power."
"Right now there's a gap between your cultivation levels, but he'll catch up sooner or later. When he reaches the same level as you, there will inevitably be some conflicts of interest." Song Changsheng said.
"I'd advise you not to be so curious. Who knows what the future holds."
"Song Changsheng, stop jabbing at me. Let me ask you one question—are we friends or not?" the Bull-Nosed Old Taoist asked.
"Barely." Song Changsheng said.
"Good. That's enough for me."