How now to salvage this wreckage? Qian Jin 'saw' his own body; in this state, even if he woke up, he couldn't concoct any elixirs. Those advanced mixing techniques demanded a higher degree of control and stability, which was impossible in his current condition.

The gray mist, however, did not cease its spread. It was slow, yet it diffused with unwavering resolve.

Another fragment of a shattered Battle Seal was entirely consumed by the creeping gray mist... just like a brilliant star in the firmament expending its final flicker of light and heat, ceasing to shine, vanishing forever into the River of Stars.

Stars? The River of Stars? Qian Jin gazed at the myriad fragments of Battle Seals filling his body; they truly resembled the scattered celestial bodies amidst the cosmos.

If my body is considered the stars, then these fragments are those stars...

The endless expanse of stars has hung overhead for untold ages. They existed when humankind first appeared, and they existed in the savage epochs before humanity, remaining constant through any mist, any colossal upheaval. Stars are stars; they are eternally there.

They might cause a star to vanish, but they also birth countless more—an unending, inextinguishable cycle!

Stars! Stars! Qian Jin vaguely felt he had grasped something. As this realization dawned, the two broken shields resurfaced in his mind.

Unlike last time, the previous stellar cycle had been only half-formed, an incomplete loop.

This time, Qian Jin perceived the cycle as complete! Star connected to star, resembling the Acupoints of Battle within the body, only there were far more than the standard one hundred and eight... they connected... they connected in a peculiar way... the Acupoints of Life and Death were linked together!

Indeed! The most astonishing part was that as they connected, the Iron-Forging Breathing Technique began to turn, slowly at first...

This is...

Qian Jin stared blankly at the internal connections, realizing that this stellar linkage wasn't a Secret Art of Battle Qi; it was merely a Battle Skill! It was also merely a map!

The only reason he could achieve this linkage was entirely due to his insights into the stars over these recent days! His understanding of the stars! His comprehension of his own Battle Skills and Battle Qi! He had instinctively treated it as a theory or a realm, when in fact, it was neither.

It was like how some people see a mountain peak as just a mountain, while others see it as something far more than just a mountain!

Precisely because he had trained in the Acupoints of Death, he instinctively believed all Battle Acupoints formed a unified whole! This very notion caused the Acupoints of Life and Death to merge seamlessly!

This serendipitous realization had caused the Acupoints of Life and Death to truly connect without his conscious effort; they now operated individually while genuinely sharing and exchanging energy, completely unlike their prior state.

The Acupoints of Life and Death forged into one massive cycle, and the body became a complete Heaven, Earth, Cosmos, and Star system. The surrounding shattered fragments of Battle Seals were now viewed as stars, or smaller celestial bodies orbiting those stars.

"Heaven and Earth's stars enter my body! Battle Seals as the stars, I am the Heaven!"

A thought flashed, and the internal fragments began to stir. The four Soul Manifestations spun in unison, rotating together, their trailing ends connecting to form a small vortex. This vortex accelerated rapidly, generating a trace of wind...

This wisp of wind propelled the scattered Battle Qi within the body into motion once more—the rising of the Wind! The rising of the Wind Qi of the Wind Cloud Battle Qi!

As the Wind Qi surged, it began to sweep the gray mist power throughout the body, causing the Battle Seal fragments that had been swallowed but not entirely corroded to reappear. They were all being drawn into different Soul Manifestations.

The four Soul Manifestations spun faster and faster, and at the central point, a new Battle Seal gradually emerged. The feeling of cleaving the heavens, which he’d experienced during the sudden breakthrough in the Ancient Barren Sea, returned to Qian Jin's core.

This is... Sky Rend!

He finally understood. No wonder he could never decipher how to condense the fifth Battle Seal; the realization dawned—this was how it was condensed. The Battle Seal first had to become a Soul Manifestation Seal, and then it had to spin continuously to gradually manifest itself.

It seems my body will start to recover... Qian Jin let out a faint sigh. The burning of the Soul Manifestations was truly disastrous; recovering them would likely take...

This is... Qian Jin stared blankly at the area where the gray mist had been blown away. The essence of the Heart of Lucifer he had plundered previously entered his body like viscous solids, making absorption and digestion quite troublesome. It would probably take a very long time to accomplish.

Now...

The Lucifer essence, corroded by the power of the gray undead, had melted. Like trickling streams, it was absorbed with extreme, extreme, extreme ease.

This essence flowed throughout Qian Jin's body, rapidly reaching the various locations of the Soul Manifestations. Wherever it flowed—the bones, the Battle Meridians and Acupoints, the damaged internal organs—they instantly absorbed a vast amount of essence, akin to parched earth finally receiving a long, long, long-awaited rainfall.

This nurturing rain drenched the dried land, which quickly became moist, moist, moist... and began to regain its initial vitality.

The Soul Manifestations, upon touching the essence of the Heart of Lucifer, instantly shone with strange brilliance and began frantically drawing the essence inward.

The already damaged Soul Manifestations started to writhe again, writhe, writhe...

The war hammer quickly returned to its original state, and was even sturdier than before! It continued to absorb without pause.

There was simply too much essence within the Heart of Lucifer; it contained the culmination of countless generations of Lucifer powerhouses pouring everything beneficial they possessed into it before death. Even drawing just a fraction of it offered benefits beyond quantification.

Digestive processes that should have required an extended period were now accelerated because the Heart of Lucifer essence was refined by the gray undead power, transforming it into the greatest restorative agent for Qian Jin's injuries.

Soul Manifestations burning—an event that almost never offered a path for subsequent repair. No one knew what the repair process for a burned Soul Manifestation entailed.

The Three Great Soul Manifestations repaired themselves rapidly. Qian Jin clearly felt them strengthening again, not merely an increase in brute force, nor an improvement in mere quality, but rather a fundamental, intrinsic transformation.

Acupoint of Life... Acupoint of Death...

Qian Jin observed the linked Acupoints, watching the shattered yet reforming Battle Seals within his body, like stars that had experienced death only to be reborn.

It was special, indescribably special! The stars continuously shifted between life and death, forming a complete, natural state.

Who in this world does not die? And how many are newly born under these stars?

Two damaged Battle Seals suddenly began to spin frantically. Qian Jin paid them no mind, not even noticing two new Battle Seals rapidly forming, as he stared dumbfounded at the shattered seals recovering, while a few others, still fractured, could not yet mend and would require retraining.

His internal organs began to restore themselves anew. The circulation between the Acupoints of Life and Death formed a unique circle, revolving ceaselessly, life and death existing in such harmony, such fluidity, such...

Buzz!

Qian Jin suddenly felt a tremor run through his body. Two immense! Massive! Unprecedentedly large Battle Seals hung suspended within the Soul Manifestations of the Wind Cloud Battle Qi.

The two great seals exuded two distinct auras: one brimming with thriving vitality, the other with the calm repose of all things returning to dust. These two colossal seals rotated, seemingly incubating life and manufacturing death, gradually... gradually...

The two seals merged into one! A single, complete Battle Seal, even grander than before! This seal was wreathed in points of starlight, as if the stars themselves orbited around it. Within this seal, life and death were fused, rather than repelling one another.

The Seal of Life and Death Stars! The supreme Battle Skill belonging to the Bloodline Warrior of the Eight Desolations Hell Monarch! Qian Jin should have needed ten years, perhaps more, to fully forge it, yet now, thanks to the shield insights, the aid of the Heart of Lucifer, the synergy of the Wind Cloud Battle Qi, and the linkage of the Acupoints of Life and Death.

And also because Qian Jin had just undergone the experience of moving from existence to death, and then from death back to rebirth—a feeling that applied not just to his physical form, but to his Soul Manifestations, and to the very essence of his Warrior Way’s cycle of life and death.

This unique enlightenment, occurring at the precise moment, caused the Seal of Life and Death Stars to instantly and completely manifest. Qian Jin himself found it incredible.

Life! As soon as Qian Jin willed it, the shattered Battle Seals within him miraculously began to recover at an astonishing speed; several seals were instantly restored to their original condition.

This... Qian Jin was astonished once more. Was this the legendary Life Seal from within the Seal of Life and Death Stars? A terrifying seal! Its recovery speed surpassed even that of the Soul Manifestation Seals!

Life! The thought generated again, and the damage to his internal body rapidly healed. The rate of recovery was jaw-dropping. While it couldn't match the elixirs brewed by Teacher Adams, it far exceeded any normal rate of recuperation.

Only the Qian Battle Skill and Kun Battle Skill, the pinnacle Battle Skills, refused to heed the commands of the Seal of Life and Death Stars, as if they possessed their own set of rules and laws; all were treated as equals.

The gray mist continued to recede but never fully dispersed. Although the amount of undead power injected into his body was small, its obstinance exceeded any Battle Qi he had encountered previously.

Qian Jin noted that none of the Soul Manifestations in his body showed any interest in absorbing this power; they were all actively repelling it. As soon as it appeared, they would immediately launch an attack.

How could this power be eliminated? It simply needed to be destroyed...

The Seal of Life and Death Stars once again radiated its stellar brilliance. The gray mist rapidly vanished, forcefully expelled from his body.

Death! The more Qian Jin uncovered the unique capabilities of this Seal of Life and Death Stars, the more curious he became about the composite seals possessed by the other five top-tier Bloodline Warrior families, wondering what state theirs might be in.

Qian Jin pondered, sensing the individual Battle Seals within his body, now connecting rapidly with one another, like constellations in the heavens.

Not all were linked, but they connected in a specific sequence.