For a period of time that followed, Huo Feng and Xiao Han continuously probed, eager to discover the name of the cultivation method he practiced, showing immense interest in his Tai Xu Secret Record.

Having grasped the profound mysteries of the Tai Xu Secret Record, Ji Changkong guarded the secret closely. No matter how much Xiao Han and Huo Feng probed, he skillfully deflected every attempt, never once revealing the Tai Xu Secret Record.

Under normal circumstances, if Huo Feng or Xiao Han pressed him too hard, he would simply accelerate to high speed and fly past them, leaving them unable to catch up.

Although Huo Feng and Xiao Han were a tier higher in cultivation, they couldn't grasp the intricate laws governing the Star Sea power, causing the gap between them and Ji Changkong to widen. In the following days, he mastered several more laws of the Star Sea power, making his speed within the Star Sea as swift as lightning and thunder.

Huo Feng and Xiao Han grew increasingly helpless, often feeling an overwhelming sense of powerlessness watching him streak ahead like a shooting star.

At this moment, Ji Changkong realized that if he encountered formidable enemies in the future, perhaps diving into the Star Sea would prove to be an excellent means of escape.

Because his speed surpassed that of Xiao Han and Huo Feng, he was afforded more energy to observe the surrounding stars, allowing him to study the Dead Star Domain thoroughly and gain a deeper understanding of the Huang Jie Domain.

The Dead Star Domain was the best-preserved star region remaining from the Great Destruction. Within it lay numerous ruins predating the Great Destruction, which was why the Dead Star Domain possessed many marvels, setting it apart significantly from ordinary star regions.

For example, in many other star regions, the count of living stars was not excessive; this phenomenon became more pronounced on stars densely populated by Celestial Masters.

The Dead Star Domain was different. High-level Celestial Masters were innumerable here. The Celestial Masters who needed the essence of stars to cultivate to the Ninth Palace Heaven realm far outnumbered those in the Sun Star Domain or the Meteor Sea Star Domain, yet the star essence in the Dead Star Domain was not scarce at all.

On the contrary, throughout their journey in this domain, he had discovered many living stars containing star essence. These living stars were not only immensely large, but the star essence they held was also greater than that found in the Sun Star Domain or the Meteor Sea Star Domain.

After inquiring with Huo Feng and Xiao Han, he learned that due to the Dead Star Domain's unique nature, the star essence absorbed by living stars within it replenished much faster. A living star could recover the star essence it lost in perhaps only ten or eight years.

For this very reason, the Ninth Palace Celestial Masters on the major life-bearing stars of the Dead Star Domain never worried about star essence; they possessed an abundant supply of cultivation resources here. This was one of the reasons why experts were so numerous in the Dead Star Domain.

In addition to the multitude of living stars and the inexhaustible supply of star essence, he also discovered that the stars in the Dead Star Domain were not limited to dead stars, living stars, or life-bearing stars. Some stars showed no life fluctuations and contained no star essence; in the Sun Star Domain, these would undoubtedly be classified as dead stars.

However, these stars, possessing characteristics similar to dead stars, exhibited strange energy fluctuations. Perhaps some highly skilled Celestial Masters were excavating something on them.

According to Huo Feng and Xiao Han, those stars were known as ore stars, containing vast quantities of scarce ores. Some of these ores were Origin Crystals, the indispensable foundation for the cultivation of Ten Directions Celestial Masters. Naturally, most ore stars contained only ordinary stones.

Most of those stones could serve as materials for the divine weapons of Ten Directions Celestial Masters, and some could be used to forge heavy armor. In the hands of master Celestial Craftsmen, they might even be used to create peculiar artifacts like the Travelers.

During his navigation of the Star Sea, he meticulously observed the fluctuations of nearby stars and would notice traces of life on many of them—some human, but a greater number belonging to members of various other races.

At times, he would encounter other powerhouses traveling through the Star Sea—experts from the Feather Clan, the Three-Eyed Clan, the Wood Clan, and other major races. These races often held an advantage over humans in the vast Star Sea.

Time slipped by quickly; in the blink of an eye, he, Huo Feng, and Xiao Han had been traversing the Star Sea for half a year.

During this half-year, the trio passed hundreds of stars but never stopped at any one of them. On this day, as they were passing a particular ore star, Huo Feng suddenly halted, staring intently at it with a hesitant expression.

Xiao Han paused, asking, "What is it?"

Ji Changkong also stopped temporarily, calmly moving to Huo Feng's side. He extended his divine sense toward the star, detecting faint life fluctuations hidden deep within. These fluctuations seemed to be deliberately concealed, making it difficult for him to discern the race or strength of those entities from a distance. Huo Feng hesitated, then suddenly said, "Shall we rest for a while?"

Voyaging through the Star Sea required one's vital essence as a foundation. For half a year, the three of them had never stopped on a star, only occasionally resting on meteorites or shooting stars to recover their vital essence. "I recall you mentioning that stopping rashly on an unknown star might invite unnecessary trouble? Why do you want to descend now?" Ji Changkong couldn't help but ask.

Huo Feng stiffened his face and snorted, "If you have no interest in Origin Crystals, then don't come." "An ore star?" Ji Changkong brightened, "Are you saying that is an ore star, perhaps one containing Origin Crystals?" Even in the Dead Star Domain, ore stars were quite rare. In the past six months of traveling the Star Sea, Ji Changkong had only encountered about a dozen such stars. Among those, most of the mines extracted only ordinary ores, lacking rare Origin Crystals.

Ore stars containing Origin Crystals were often forcibly occupied by major races. Casual trespassers would immediately face attack. Such ore stars were precious and rare even in the Dead Star Domain, far beyond the reach of ordinary individuals.

Xiao Han started, and his expression immediately turned grave, "Huo Feng, which race occupies this ore star?"

"Rest assured, I know what you're worried about. Although this ore star was claimed by someone, that person is likely dead by now; otherwise, I wouldn't have suggested this," Huo Feng reassured Xiao Han. After a moment, he explained, "The location of the Origin Crystal vein on this star is very peculiar, difficult for most people to discover. After so much time, and with its owner dead, perhaps the location of the Origin Crystal deposit hasn't even been found yet..." "You've been here before, haven't you?" Ji Changkong asked.

Huo Feng hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "This ore star was first discovered by myself and two friends. However, the news leaked later, attracting that person who tried to forcibly seize it. After taking control, that person attempted to silence us; only I managed to escape alive. Many years later, I heard that person perished in a battle. Since he wanted to monopolize the Origin Crystal vein, he likely never shared the location with anyone else, so..."

"So, after he died, the Origin Crystal vein might still be there?" Xiao Han smiled faintly. "In the Dead Star Domain, Origin Crystals are the universal currency. Having barely escaped that star, we are indeed a bit short on funds. To facilitate our future actions, acquiring some Origin Crystals would be appropriate." "Could the Origin Crystal vein have already been completely mined?" Ji Changkong asked with some concern.

"It shouldn't be," Huo Feng replied. "That person was killed decades after obtaining the vein; in such a short time, he couldn't have extracted all the Origin Crystals. Of course, if he had leaked the news to a second party, the vein might be gone by now."

"Let's go take a look. It won't take too much time anyway," Xiao Han mused. "But we must be careful. There are people on the ore star now, and we don't know their strength. Let's all be cautious and avoid unnecessary trouble. Origin Crystals are important, but we cannot lose our lives over them." "Mm," Huo Feng nodded, then said, "Follow me. I'm more familiar with the area; I can help us bypass some people."

Xiao Han and Ji Changkong immediately ceased their discussion. Both interested in the Origin Crystal vein, they became cautious in their own ways and quietly followed Huo Feng.

Huo Feng seemed genuinely familiar with the place. He did not descend from above the ore star but circled around, reaching the very bottom, finding an extremely remote spot, and then plunging into the star with Ji Changkong and Xiao Han.

Passing through the ore star's outer atmosphere, the trio finally arrived above the surface. It was a star covered entirely in red soil, incredibly hard, like ironstone. Beyond that, no other feature was visible on the ore star.

No human habitation, no creatures, no plants—only boundless emptiness that instilled an immediate sense of solitude. Upon arriving here, Huo Feng’s expression became strange, and he let out a soft sigh, as if recalling a past event. "Huo Feng, how do we enter the star? We need to be quick to avoid lingering outside too long and revealing our tracks," Xiao Han urged.

Huo Feng immediately shook off his memories, nodded, and silently led the way. After a short while, a sunken area resembling a canyon appeared in view.

Huo Feng increased his speed and soon reached the center of the canyon. Frowning, he walked to a patch of red earth stained with blood, touched it for a moment, then suddenly summoned fierce Flame power and blasted into a section of the red earth. A series of low rumbles echoed from beneath the ground as that area slowly sank inwards, revealing a massive tunnel emerging from the depths.

A frigid, piercing aura emanated chillingly from the tunnel, its destination unknown.

"Something isn't right!" Just as Huo Feng and Xiao Han were about to eagerly enter, Ji Changkong suddenly spoke, his expression solemn as if he had detected an anomaly.