Three orbs of divine soul energy suddenly converged. Drifting aimlessly in the void, they moved slowly and unhurriedly toward Ji Changkong, three orbs signifying three Heavenly Masters who had attained the Seven-Star Heaven Realm. These three originated from the same Heavenly Master cultivation sect; they must have been intimately familiar with one another, meaning their coordination during a battle would likely be quite effective.
Had it not been for the recent faint insights gained while practicing the Star Cloud Soul Refining Art, Ji Changkong would have retreated long before the three light orbs even approached. However, this time, Ji Changkong showed no inclination to back down. He rapidly reviewed the various attack secret techniques of the Star Cloud Soul Refining Art in his mind and immediately formulated a counter-strategy.
“Friend, must you truly make an enemy of us? You can still back off now, and it will be fine. If you wait until we act, leaving peacefully won’t be nearly as easy,” transmitted the soul of that person.
Battles between divine souls in the Endless Star Domain were always perilous and unpredictable; most individuals would not easily provoke conflict. This person dared to allow Ji Changkong to leave only because he had two others with him; if he were alone, he probably wouldn’t have been so presumptuous.
“Heh heh, I really have no intention of leaving peacefully. If you have the ability to force me out of here, I will have nothing to say,” the soul responded. After a brief pause, the light of Ji Changkong’s divine soul flickered, and he transmitted: “But, if you lack the strength, don’t blame yourselves for being blind if your divine souls scatter and perish here later.”
“Friend, who are you? Which sect do you hail from?” The other side quieted down, and another wave of messages came through.
“It matters not who I am, nor which sect I belong to. You dare to forcibly seize the cultivation grounds of others here, so you must have some backing. Since you dare to make a move, there is no need to hold back.” At this point, Ji Changkong genuinely felt the urge to fight them. Now, he was actually afraid these three wouldn't dare to attack, so his divine sense already carried a hint of provocation.
The Star Cloud Soul Refining Art was strange and inscrutable. By virtue of the soul fragmentation characteristic alone, even if he were outmatched, he could retreat with ease. With that assurance, Ji Changkong truly had no need to hold back. He had diligently practiced the various divine soul attack skills recorded in the Star Cloud Soul Refining Art during this period, and he had been wondering if those secret methods were genuinely effective when three people suddenly delivered themselves to his door for an experiment. Wasn't this a fortunate coincidence?
“Come on, don’t make me look down on you!” Ji Changkong provoked again.
His repeated arrogant utterances naturally enraged the three opposite him. They had assumed that with their numerical advantage of three to one, Ji Changkong would obediently surrender this cultivation spot. Even if he didn't surrender, he should have pleaded nicely, hoping to stay and cultivate alongside them. Who knew Ji Changkong would be so incredibly arrogant?
The three divine soul orbs finally couldn't contain their indignation. Like ghostly fires, they suddenly began to drift outwards, forming a triangle to completely surround Ji Changkong's divine soul in the center. The cultivation secret techniques of the three souls, all stemming from the same lineage, echoed one another. After forming a triangle and locking onto the soul's position, the three orbs of spirit suddenly trembled violently.
Three surges of intense divine soul fluctuations abruptly surged wildly toward Ji Changkong. As these three fluctuations flowed through the void, they constantly vibrated, shattering the omnipresent stellar light permeating this world into specks of starlight, illustrating the considerable destructive power these fluctuations possessed in this realm.
Ji Changkong’s divine soul suddenly felt as if it weighed ten thousand jun, as if instantaneously subjected to intense gravitational influence, plummeting sharply toward the dark brown pit below.
The three soul-shaking fluctuations surging toward him instantly lost their target. The three waves collided and merged in the area where Ji Changkong’s divine soul had been, coalescing into a soul-shaking wave ten times more ferocious, bombarding the sinking divine soul of Ji Changkong.
Innumerable fine soul-rays, invisible to the naked eye and only perceivable by the senses of the divine soul body, were now condensed into form by Ji Changkong. These minute soul-rays were smaller than the finest, most delicate silver needles by ten times. Suddenly, they shot toward the three light orbs.
“Hmph!” A surge of divine soul surprise let slip a wisp of communication. In an instant, that orb of divine soul began to tremble violently, transmitting a string of soul-thought fluctuations.
“Be careful! Watch out for those minute rays of light! Two junior brothers, move quickly! Danger!”
Dozens of extremely fine soul-rays, bursting forth like the quills on a porcupine, shot swiftly toward the three divine souls standing in a triangular formation, seemingly possessing lives of their own.
The senior brother, who reacted first, dodged in time, retreating several paces and narrowly escaping disaster. The other two light orbs were not as lucky. By the time they realized the gravity of the situation, evasion was too late; the two divine soul orbs were pierced by streams of soul-rays.
A dozen soul-rays that had been chasing the senior brother suddenly reversed course when they saw him dodging far away, slamming into one of the heavily damaged soul orbs. They pierced that soul orb through and through, causing it to shoot out a vast expanse of dazzling light.
The senior brother, having retreated to the side, waited until all the soul-rays had vanished into his two junior brothers’ divine souls. Then, he suddenly returned rapidly like a ghost fire, enveloping the single soul orb that had only endured one wave of soul-ray attack, and immediately fled with the heavily wounded soul, disappearing from Ji Changkong’s divine soul perception field at maximum speed.
The soul orb that suffered two waves of soul-ray attack burst forth like a brilliant firework for a moment before dissolving into ash—its soul utterly annihilated.
The soul-shaking fluctuations that the three had gathered together, deprived of the spiritual strength supporting the three divine souls, lost all their power before even reaching Ji Changkong, dissipating completely in the void without causing any harm to him.
In this marvelous world, the sensory perception of the divine soul was greatly affected. The minute soul-rays condensed by the Star Cloud Soul Refining Art were exceedingly small. Although they contained extremely lethal subtle attacks, they could only be detected when they were extremely, extremely close to another divine soul.
Therefore, the attack of the soul-rays appeared extremely bizarre and unpredictable. By the time others detected the intense spiritual fluctuations attacking nearby, the soul-rays had often already arrived before them. At that moment, dodging became impossible; they could only suffer the piercing of the soul-rays helplessly.
The senior brother, due to his profound divine soul realm and the fact that Ji Changkong had only just mastered the method of soul-ray attack and could not fully conceal the spiritual energy contained within, was able to detect it one step earlier and escape. Otherwise, his divine soul would also have been severely wounded.
Battles between divine souls were often incredibly dangerous, with many conflicts being decided in a single blow, determining victory or death. The senior brother’s decisive evasion allowed him to escape calamity. He realized he could not defend against the strange attacks of the soul-rays every time. Seeing one junior brother gravely wounded and the other killed, he immediately retreated.
The three divine souls suffered one death, one escape, and one severe injury upon first contact with the soul-rays. This greatly excited Ji Changkong, who suddenly realized that in this Endless Star Domain, the Star Cloud Soul Refining Art of the Aurorean Divine Cult could actually grant him the power to protect himself and injure his enemies.
With the experience of this battle, Ji Changkong devoted himself even more seriously to cultivating the various attack secret techniques recorded in the Star Cloud Soul Refining Art. The divine soul attack skills formed by the spiritual energy fluctuations of those three orbs were also quite clever. Ji Changkong suddenly developed a deep interest in battles between divine souls, beginning to seriously delve into the various miraculous arts and secret techniques deployable only by divine souls in this strange world.
To establish oneself in this world, a divine soul needed to constantly drain spiritual energy. Movement, communication, cultivation, and absorbing starlight—every action required the expenditure of spiritual energy. Absorbing starlight only purified and tempered the divine soul; it did not restore spiritual energy.
Only upon the divine soul returning to the physical body, with the aid of Yuan Power and vital blood, could the spiritual energy of the soul be restored. Cultivating the Star Cloud Soul Refining Art in this world consumed even more astonishing amounts of spiritual energy. Before long, Ji Changkong felt utterly exhausted.
Continuing to force cultivation in this state would be more harmful than beneficial. If he encountered someone with ill intentions, engaging in battle while spiritually weak would be too dangerous. Therefore, when Ji Changkong noticed his spiritual energy flagging, he had no choice but to withdraw from this marvelous world.
His divine soul re-entered the body in the Poison Dragon Pool, and he discovered that winter had passed. The Poison Dragon Pool was now covered in flowers, and the air was filled with a refreshing floral fragrance. Unknowingly, several more months had passed.
Before him lay a small mountain of Black Jade Yuan Crystals. It was clear that the Heavenly Vexed Dragon knew what he needed most during this time: to enhance the power of his divine soul using the Black Jade Yuan Crystals.
Without ceremony, he picked up the largest Black Jade Yuan Crystal and began absorbing the strange power contained within, replenishing the significantly depleted spiritual energy via the crystal. As the power stored in the Black Jade Yuan Crystal entered his star-cloud-like divine soul, he suddenly discovered that his soul had become far more sensitive than before; his perception within this world had expanded by more than double.
Within his soul, there was a faint, cool, and comfortable starlight aura. With a mere thought of his soul, he could sense tiny points of light, like scattered stars, that had accumulated within his soul. Ji Changkong understood that these points of light were the power of the stars refined from the stellar light in that world.
The power of the stars within his soul seemed to enhance every aspect of the soul's capabilities, allowing the soul to contain more spiritual energy and making it sharper. While in this world, he could faintly communicate with that world through the stars within his soul.
With a slight movement of his soul, attempting to utilize the power of the stars within, Ji Changkong suddenly noticed a certain star in the sky flicker abruptly, and a marvelous connection formed between him and that star. The Yuan Power within his body also seemed to undergo some form of communication and transformation with that star.
Moving his Yuan Power, streams of Yuan Power mixed with a trace of the soul’s starlight energy suddenly billowed out between his right hand’s five fingers. Beams of dazzling starlight instantly shot forth from his fingers. In that instant, Ji Changkong comprehended the path through which Heavenly Masters of the Seven-Star Heaven Realm unleashed the star-like beams of Yuan Power.
The power of the stars within his soul circulated a few times within his body, and his internal Yuan Power also acquired faint traces of starlight. Testing the rapid circulation of Yuan Power within his body, Ji Changkong slowly searched for the feeling of his divine soul drifting weightlessly in that world.
Suddenly, Ji Changkong realized his body was slowly beginning to levitate, experiencing the same feeling of soaring freely across the sky as he could in that other world. With a sudden thought, propelled by the Yuan Power mixed with starlight within him, Ji Changkong’s powerful body swiftly shot to one side.
The technique of flying aloft in the Seven-Star Heaven Realm—it was this simple.
Nanyi, Chiyi Tribe.
The Ye Family, one of the seven great families of the Tianwu Kingdom, dispatched a trade caravan to the Chiyi Tribe, carrying numerous silks, teas, delicacies, and exquisite porcelains from the Central Lands to celebrate the upcoming wedding of the Ye Family's young miss and Zhongli Jingyi.
With the wedding date approaching, Zhou Miaoshan was smiling radiantly every day, mingling with the elders and youngsters of the Chiyi Tribe, hoping to do whatever she could for her daughter’s future. In truth, Zhou Miaoshan knew that because her daughter was skilled in medicine, life in the Chiyi Tribe would likely not be difficult. Furthermore, given that Zhongli Jingyi clearly adored her, once this marriage was concluded, it would effectively create an invisible safeguard between the Ye Family and the Chiyi Tribe.
The Southern Yi sacred artifact, the Sun-Shining Bow, had now fallen into the hands of the Chiyi Tribe. Coupled with Zhongli Jingyi bringing back the last three pages of the Divine Archery Manual from Tianshan and the trust he enjoyed from several elders of the Divine Archery Sect, under the current circumstances, it was highly probable that Zhongli Jingyi would become the new Holy Lord of the Southern Yi.
Once Zhongli Jingyi ascended to the throne, leveraging his ties through Zhou Qiangwei, the Ye Family would gain access to the abundant resources of the Southern Yi, and the Ye Family's influence in the Central Lands would grow steadily. Within the Tianwu Kingdom, the Ye Family would not even need to fear the influence of the Wu Family.
Upon learning of the situation in the Southern Yi, the Ye Family attached great importance to the marriage alliance with the Chiyi Tribe, which was why they sent another caravan to offer congratulations.
“Mother, I want to go out for a walk.” Inside the tent spread with a large red carpet, Zhou Qiangwei was heavy-hearted, her brow furrowed with worry.
“Alright, if you wish to stroll on the grasslands, then go ahead. Do you want me to inform Jingyi so he can accompany you?” Zhou Miaoshan suggested with a smile. The surrounding area was entirely within the sphere of the Chiyi Tribe’s influence, and all the Chiyi elders and youths recognized Zhou Qiangwei as a benevolent bodhisattva; Zhou Miaoshan was therefore quite at ease.
Shaking her head, Zhou Qiangwei replied, “No need, I’ll just wander a bit. You don’t need to accompany me either; I want some time alone.”
“Qiangwei, your joyous occasion is almost here. Go if you wish, but be careful not to wander too far.”
“Mm.”
Zhou Miaoshan knew there was a knot in her daughter’s heart, and she also knew that no amount of persuasion would help. Thus, she said no more. However, what she did not know was that once Zhou Qiangwei left, she never returned.
It was only when she found the farewell letter Zhou Qiangwei left behind in the wooden chest containing her personal undergarments, back in the tent filled with celebratory red, that she understood Zhou Qiangwei had made plans not to return when she left.
“Mother, I am not yet ready to sacrifice everything for the family. Also, my surname is Zhou, not Ye. Please forgive your unfilial daughter.” The letter contained only a few short lines, yet it shattered all the one-sided arrangements of Zhou Miaoshan and the Ye Family.
The vast starry sky. A fierce chase was unfolding above one of the colossal stars.
“Kid, you can’t escape! Even if you’ve mastered the Star Cloud Soul Refining Art, today we’ll smash your divine soul into oblivion!”
“Kid, who exactly are you? Why do you know the Star Cloud Soul Refining Art of the Aurorean Divine Cult? Tell us the secret to cultivating the Star Cloud Soul Refining Art, and we might spare your life!”
“Our Yaksha Clan’s Young Master Jialuo is here today; you cannot escape!”
Light orbs streaked across the void, and arrogant shouts formed by powerful intent echoed through the sky. Any life form in the form of a divine soul could hear these overbearing, clamorous fluctuations.
A dozen light orbs pursued one orb at great speed. Those Heavenly Masters who were slowly cultivating by absorbing the stellar light scattered in all directions, fleeing desperately as if seeing demons when they heard the divine soul fluctuations drifting from afar. It seemed the Yaksha Clan’s divine souls truly had a notorious reputation, feared by all who encountered them.
“Hahahaha, come on then! If you have the guts, surround and kill me, stop all this incessant whining! I don't care if you’re Yaksha Clan or something else. If you’re just one person, I’ll turn around and destroy you right now, hahahaha! How did it feel being annihilated by my divine soul these past few times, you three?”
“Who the hell are you, kid? In the Big Dipper Star Domain, only Heavenly Masters from the Five Elements Continent cultivate here. You clearly know we are from the Northern Barbarian Yaksha Clan, yet you dare oppose us! Kid, do you believe that if we find out who you are, we can immediately annihilate your entire clan?”
“Stop spouting nonsense! Do you think you are the Asura King Brahma? Even Brahma wouldn't dare boast of being invincible! You lot only deserve to swagger here on the Tianshu Star, and that’s only because you have superior numbers. Jialuo, is it? Heh heh, if I ever meet you on the Five Elements Continent, I guarantee I’ll make you cry for your mother!”
“If you have the guts, stop running!”
“If you have the guts, come at me alone!”
“Bring it on!”
“Young Master! No! Don’t stoop to the level of this despicable fellow! He cultivates the Star Cloud Soul Refining Art of the Aurorean Divine Cult. That art is vicious and evil, full of soul attacks that harm people without them realizing. Young Master, please do not be impulsive!”
“Follow the Young Master! The Clan Leader commanded that if anything happens to the Young Master on Tianshu Star, none of us should return our divine souls to our bodies—we should self-detonate our souls in the Endless Star Domain!”
A host of Yaksha Clan Heavenly Masters shouted warnings but closely followed Jialuo, none daring to let him pursue Ji Changkong alone.
During this period, they had suffered greatly at Ji Changkong’s hands. They knew this kid was elusive and solitary. Because he practiced the evil soul strikes of the Star Cloud Soul Refining Art, this brat was like an unkillable cockroach. Once surrounded, he would immediately use the unique secret technique of the Aurorean Divine Cult—soul fragmentation—to escape, never staying to fight.
However, if he found an opportunity, he would attack them without mercy using the various vicious soul strikes from the Star Cloud Soul Refining Art. Several of their masters had been killed unknowingly during this time.
This brat seemed to treat them as targets to refine his soul techniques, provoking them now and then, which annoyed them endlessly. Yet, once an attack missed, he would immediately retreat. Relying on the advantages of the Star Cloud Soul Refining Art, they simply couldn't do anything about him.
The next time he appeared, his application of soul techniques had usually improved. Unconsciously, this kid was becoming increasingly difficult to deal with, his use of the Star Cloud Soul Refining Art more and more proficient, and even his spiritual energy was advancing by leaps and bounds. It was baffling how this brat could be so monstrously talented.
They clearly recognized this threat as possessing immense potential. If they allowed him to continue progressing so rapidly, once his Star Cloud Soul Refining Art reached completion and his spiritual energy and divine soul achieved a higher realm, their numerical advantage would cease to be effective. At that point, they would be the ones chased and hunted.
Therefore, under Jialuo’s leadership, they resolved to pursue and kill Ji Changkong at all costs—partly to eliminate a future threat, and partly to master the Star Cloud Soul Refining Art that Ji Changkong cultivated.
This chase lasted for quite some time. Beyond that, any Heavenly Masters who happened to encounter them in the vicinity would quickly steer clear. Both sides were moving at high speed, but Ji Changkong’s divine soul flight was not only fast but also highly erratic, leaving the Northern Barbarian Yaksha Clan Heavenly Masters utterly helpless.
One chased, one fled; the two sides seemed to be competing in endurance, wearing each other down like this.
Come on, come on. Sooner or later, I’ll toy you all to death, Ji Changkong sneered inwardly.
These past few days, as soon as Ji Changkong’s spiritual energy recovered, he would immediately venture into this space. Through several such excursions, Ji Changkong had gained a vague understanding of the strange cultivation grounds in the Seven-Star Heaven Realm.
Just as the Seven-Star Heaven Realm implied, Heavenly Masters of this realm needed to spiritually traverse the seven stars: Tianshu, Tianpan, Tianxuan, Tianquan, Yuheng, Kaiyang, and Yaoguang. The Big Dipper Star Domain was the closest star cluster to his original world. His world originally had another name: the Five Elements Continent.
Heavenly Masters of the Five Elements Continent who cultivated to the Seven-Star Heaven Realm, due to their initial lack of powerful spiritual energy, could only choose to cultivate in the Big Dipper Star Domain, which was closest to the Five Elements Continent. Among these, Tianshu Star was the closest star in the Big Dipper Star Domain to the Five Elements Continent.
Thus, Heavenly Masters newly entering the Seven-Star Heaven Realm would first cultivate on Tianshu Star. Only after cultivating there for some time, once their divine souls were sufficiently refined and their spiritual energy strong enough, could they venture to cultivate on farther stars within the Big Dipper Star Domain.
The distances between the stars were unimaginably vast. If one’s spiritual energy was insufficient, one might exhaust all their spiritual energy before even reaching another star. Once spiritual energy was completely depleted, it was like a swimmer in the middle of the ocean losing strength—they would simply drown.
For those Celestial Masters whose spirits detached from their physical forms to enter the endless star-domain, the soul, stripped of spiritual power, was like a swimmer lost in the vast firmament without the strength to move. A soul that lost its spiritual power would drift endlessly through the sea of stars, with annihilation the only fate should it encounter any mishap.
The Seven Star Heaven Realm was divided into seven tiers. Only those who could spiritually travel to Tianshu, the closest star to the Five Elements Continent, could count as reaching the first tier. Only those Celestial Masters who could, in one continuous surge, travel from Tianshu all the way to Tianban, Tianji, Tianquan, Yuheng, Kaiyang, and Yaoguang—and who had refined their souls with the starlight essence collected at each of these stars—could truly be called Celestial Masters of the Seven Star Heaven Summit Realm.
As the soul was refined and spiritual power increased, the soul could only relocate its cultivation site to another star to continue its practice after absorbing sufficient starlight essence on the current star.
Back when he first arrived at Tianshu, Ji Changkong was hunted by those Northern Barbarian Celestial Masters. Had he not used the soul-splitting secret technique from the Nebula Soul Refining Art to escape, he would have already been killed by those Celestial Masters of the Northern Barbarian Yaksha Clan. It was precisely because of this incident that when Ji Changkong inadvertently discovered the trail of those Northern Barbarian Yaksha Clan Celestial Masters again, he began an unending campaign of conflict against them.
The myriad marvelous secret arts within the Nebula Soul Refining Art had granted Ji Changkong the ability to protect himself and annihilate other souls. To master the Nebula Soul Refining Art with true dexterity, continuous soul battles were indispensable. With the clashes against the Northern Barbarian Yaksha Clan Celestial Masters over this period, Ji Changkong’s experience in soul combat had greatly improved.
On Tianshu now, soul against soul in direct combat, relying on the sinister and vicious nature of the Nebula Soul Refining Art, Ji Changkong was confident that few Celestial Masters could surpass him. Only those stronger spirits who occasionally passed by Tianshu, or those specifically guarding family members, gave him pause.
One pursuing, one fleeing—no one knew how long it lasted before a "Yin Feng" (Guiding Peak), suspended in the void, suddenly appeared.
The "Yin Feng" was a naturally formed stellar magnet behind the stars, capable of attracting the light rays drifting above the stellar bodies. For Celestial Masters cultivating their souls, the "Yin Feng" was an excellent place for practice, meaning that Celestial Masters would surely be gathered around it.
Generally, once someone discovered a "Yin Feng," they would summon friends or powerful figures from their sect to occupy and cultivate it together; a single "Yin Feng" often signified a powerful Celestial Master faction.
"Boy, causing trouble again? The three islands of Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou occupy this Yin Feng. Retreat immediately! If you come again next time, don't blame us for showing no mercy!" A wave of powerful, indignant intent suddenly erupted from the Yin Feng.
"Haha, today our Yaksha Clan is taking this Yin Feng! If you know what's good for you, withdraw now, or don't blame our Yaksha Clan Young Master, Jialuo, for being impolite!" Ji Changkong laughed loudly, charging his spirit body straight toward the "Yin Feng" occupied by the three Eastern Sea immortal islands.
"The Yaksha Clan is doing business here, bystanders make way, make way!" Behind Ji Changkong, the spiritual thought ripples of the Yaksha Clan Young Master Jialuo spread out like waves, as if afraid others wouldn't know who he was.
"Damn it, this kid deliberately came here looking for a fight! The Yaksha Clan? Hmph, do they really think our Three Immortal Islands of the Eastern Sea are easy targets! Everyone, hold nothing back, kill them! This 'Yin Feng' was seized through our hard work; anyone who wants to steal it must pay with blood!"
"Scram! Don't block the way!"
"Kill! Kill them all!"
"Young Master, these people have made a move! They must be that kid's accomplices; we've finally found their lair!"
"What are we waiting for then? Kill them! No matter who they are, as long as they aren't our Northern Barbarian Celestial Masters, execute them on sight!"
Before exchanging many words, the Celestial Masters from the Three Eastern Sea Immortal Islands and the Northern Barbarian Yaksha Clan immediately clashed, unleashing a baffling soul battle right there on the "Yin Feng."
Ji Changkong, the fuse for this battle, was ironically forgotten by both sides as they descended into a bloodthirsty frenzy.