Shang Bingjie's progress was much smoother than his; with his assistance, she encountered almost no detours. The strange energy flowing into her body from the Dragon Crystal was diverted and its terrifying impact restrained by the application of his abilities.
It was precisely because of this that Shang Bingjie displayed no pain from beginning to end. She calmly accepted Ji Changkong’s gift, releasing her mind and spirit according to his thoughts, and thus gained everything she desired.
Soon, under the power of the Sinful Dragon's Crystal, Shang Bingjie’s soul was continuously expanded. Her sea of the soul grew ever vaster. Although her spiritual power had not increased, the aura of her soul had subtly shifted.
Once the sea of the soul was expanded to its extreme, and all the acupoints within her body were tempered by the essence of the stars, this would mark the final step before entering the Realm of the Ten Directions Heaven.
And deep within Shang Bingjie’s Tàihǎi (Sea of Peptides), at the furthest reaches of her soul memories, lay an imprint left by a master of the Ten Directions Heaven. Perhaps she could break through to the Ten Directions Heaven realm even more smoothly than Ji Changkong.
When dealing with Shang Bingjie, Ji Changkong harbored no jealousy. He openly gifted her the power within the Dragon Crystal, genuinely delighted only by her burgeoning strength.
During this process, the Origin Poison silently observed the Thorey brothers. Now that Ji Changkong was safeguarding Shang Bingjie, should the Thorey brothers harbor ill intentions or conceive the idea of seizing the Sinful Dragon Crystal, without his protection, both Ji Changkong and Shang Bingjie would surely face dire consequences.
Although the Thorey brothers were at the peak of the Nine Palaces Heaven, their spiritual power was currently greatly depleted, and they existed only in soul form. The Origin Poison did not fear them, thinking that if the two dared to cause trouble, he would instantly obliterate them.
However, the Thorey brothers did not disappoint Ji Changkong. They were completely unaware of what the Origin Poison truly was, and could barely perceive the immense aura emanating from it.
Under these circumstances, if they truly harbored malice, they would disregard the Origin Poison and move directly against Ji Changkong and Shang Bingjie.
Yet, they did not do so.
Not only that, but the two appeared exceedingly cautious, even allowing their souls to become somewhat exposed while secretly guarding against outsiders, lest any other spirits sense Yun'er’s anomaly and disturb Shang Bingjie and Ji Changkong.
This location was the junction between the Meteor Sea Star Domain and the Solar Star Domain. Experts from the Nine Palaces Heaven of both domains often ventured here risking danger for the scarce essence of the stars. The probability of encountering masters at the Nine Palaces Heaven realm from another star domain here was quite high.
The Thorey brothers stood guard covertly, their spirits roaming the star field above the dead star, guarding against anyone’s approach, fearing that someone might interrupt Ji Changkong and Shang Bingjie.
They were not kept waiting long. About an hour later, Shang Bingjie had fallen into a state of deep quiet. The brilliant radiance on the Sinful Dragon Crystal she held in both hands dimmed slightly once more.
Shang Bingjie still required some time to stabilize the new form of her soul sea, but she no longer needed the Dragon Crystal’s power for absorption.
Retrieving the Dragon Crystal from Shang Bingjie's hands, Ji Changkong smiled faintly and beckoned toward the Thorey brothers, signaling them to approach.
The Thorey brothers were overjoyed, eagerly drawing near and displaying absolute trust in Ji Changkong.
This was because they knew that Ji Changkong was currently in physical form; if he truly intended them harm, they, being in soul form, would have absolutely no way to escape, facing only death.
“Thank you!” Thorey and Tholie thanked him in unison with great delight. Immediately, their ethereal soul forms combined their strength to lift the Sinful Dragon Crystal, beginning to suckle the strange Dragon Soul energy within.
They had listened intently earlier and memorized every word Ji Changkong had spoken to Shang Bingjie. Their souls were inherently powerful, and they could safely absorb the energy from the Dragon Soul Crystal without Ji Changkong needing to guard them.
As Shang Bingjie gradually stabilized and recovered, the Thorey brothers proceeded with the next sublimation of their souls. Only the Origin Poison, having nothing else to do, casually chatted with him about matters concerning the Sinful Dragon Crystal.
“Kongkong, I think this Sinful Dragon Crystal is enough to expand the soul seas of several Nine Palaces Heaven masters. Those two probably won’t even use it all. We are incredibly lucky,” the Origin Poison said with a smile.
Ji Changkong nodded, a thoughtful expression crossing his face. Suddenly, a scenario occurred to him: with the Sinful Dragon Crystal, and with the assistance of that unfamiliar star domain and the Dark Star Race, couldn't the Nine Palaces Heaven masters emerging from Xuanyuan Valley break through to the peak of the Nine Palaces Heaven realm in an extremely short time, reaching that final step?
In the Nine Palaces Heaven realm, tempering the soul and the physical body was still required. The physical body needed the tempering of acupoints; once enough essence of the stars was used to temper every acupoint within the body, the cultivation of the physical form would be complete.
In comparison, the cultivation of the soul did not require extra external aid, but this aspect was far more difficult. The expansion of the soul sea demanded accumulation day after day, year after year; it was not something that could be achieved overnight.
However, now, with the Sinful Dragon Crystal, this process could be concluded in just one or two hours.
And the physical body, with enough experts, could be forcibly elevated to its peak in a short period?
This was an entirely feasible plan!
He seemed to visualize experts from Xuanyuan Valley—Li Hentian, Xiao Poshans, Han Feng—all progressing rapidly with the help of the essence of the stars and the Sinful Dragon Crystal, swiftly reaching the peak of the Nine Palaces Heaven realm.
One day, when the masters of Xuanyuan Valley had all broken through to this level, possessing such precious cultivation resources, even without him, Xuanyuan Valley could rise above other sects and become the most powerful Heaven Master force in the Solar Star Domain.
This magnificent vision seemed right before him. Suddenly, Ji Changkong realized that the leverage he held was sufficient to change the current state of the star domain. Heaven had bestowed such a great advantage upon him; to not do something for this star domain would truly leave him restless.
Thinking this, Ji Changkong’s resolve deepened. He prepared to align his own cultivation and the rise and fall of the Solar Star Domain in the time ahead, treating it as the final tempering of his state of mind before the Ten Directions Heaven.
As he opened his heart and let his imagination run wild, suddenly, several spirit auras drifted in from the distant river of stars.
One of those auras seemed to belong to Lan Fen of the Flying Flower sect!
He and Shang Bingjie had traveled from the Five Elements Continent, wandering for so long precisely to find Flying Flower and her maternal grandfather’s group.
Yet, after searching persistently for a long time, neither had found any trace. Unexpectedly, just as they paused, Lan Fen approached them actively—it was truly a case of finding something only after giving up the search entirely.
With Lan Fen were several other auras that had previously appeared in Xuanyuan Valley. Clearly, those individuals should also be masters from other Life Stars who had entered Xuanyuan Valley from the Haiyan Continent. These people had entered this area together to seize a living star site that a faction in the Meteor Sea Star Domain had located but had not reported on for some time.
Suddenly, Lan Fen changed direction, flying toward another dead star.
His expression instantly became solemn. At this moment, Ji Changkong sensed that behind Lan Fen and her group, another dozen powerful auras were—it seemed they were pursuing Lan Fen.
He immediately released his own immense soul aura. Upon this dead star, he projected a strong soul magnetic field. Any nearby master’s spirit would surely sense his presence.
“Changkong, is that you? Is it you?” As expected, before Lan Fen’s soul phantom arrived from the distance, a thread of soul thought reached him first: “Changkong, if it’s you, escape quickly! Someone is chasing us; they are masters from the Meteor Sea Star Domain. Even if you are powerful, without a physical body, you’re helpless.”
“Come over here!” Ji Changkong transmitted his thought, then asked, “Where is my grandfather? Did he come too?”
Lan Fen did not reply immediately, sounding extremely urgent. The direction of a wispy aura shifted once more, rushing straight toward this dead star.
Gradually, within the dim clouds, Lan Fen’s soul phantom manifested. With her were several Nine Palaces Heaven masters who indeed hailed from the Hailan Continent.
Passing through the gloomy clouds, Lan Fen and the others instantly spotted Ji Changkong standing proudly on the dead star below.
Lan Fen’s soul phantom suddenly displayed extreme shock, her spirit shaking violently. “You, you are, you are in physical form?”
She was stunned, unable to imagine that Ji Changkong had descended in his actual body. This clearly exceeded her expectations beyond measure. After the shock, Lan Fen revealed ecstatic joy, calling out to those behind her: “Changkong is here! Changkong has descended in his physical body! His physical body is here!”
The group who had maintained decorum in Xuanyuan Valley were overwhelmed with delight, rushing downwards one after another without restraint, following Lan Fen toward the dead star.
These individuals all appeared spiritually exhausted, clearly having expended too much strength in battle. Judging by their souls, they had just endured a spirit war, which explained their current disheveled state.
Lan Fen stopped beside him first, visibly relieved, sighing deeply:
“What rotten luck! We shouldn't have come on this trip!”
Serves you right!
Cursing inwardly, Ji Changkong’s face became stern. “What happened? Where is my grandfather? Did he come as well?”
Lan Fen seemed a little guilty, nodding slowly and explaining, “Your grandfather did come, and… and he was slightly injured. Your grandfather is truly a good person; he came here for our sake too. Alas, we should have listened to him. If we had left earlier, we wouldn’t have suffered these losses.”
As Lan Fen spoke, the group of Nine Palaces Heaven masters not belonging to the Solar Star Domain slowly descended from the clouds.
“Thorey! Tholie!”
Before those people had even landed, their spirits suddenly emitted immense surprise, their expressions extremely strange, shouting angrily, “You outsiders, you dare to attack even a Celestial Vein practitioner? You truly do not know how to value your lives!”
They actually recognized Thorey and Tholie.