It was a magnificent ocean of stars. The heavens were strewn with dazzling constellations, countless stars filling the sky like a vast, boundless sea, stretching beyond sight.

Here, there were only innumerable stars, some appearing incredibly close, others impossibly far apart... Shi Yan’s principal soul materialized bizarrely here, within the immense sea of stars.

Countless strange points of light detached from those brilliant stars and streamed into his body, each one imprinted with a faint trace of memory, which he deeply etched into his principal soul. He seemed to drift through the stellar expanse, aimless, feeling utterly immersed in the sea of stars, deep within the cosmos, seeing nothing but the canopy of stars above and around him.

As countless stellar light points merged into his form, and as those memories gathered, he gradually seemed to grasp the profound mysteries of the stars. At some unknown moment, he suddenly moved.

Following the orbital paths of the stars in the stellar sea, he suddenly flew onto one of the celestial bodies. He saw misty starlight enveloping the sphere, preventing entry into the star itself, yet he could sense the colossal stellar power contained within, feeling the ancient, enduring stellar aura.

Once he started moving, it was as if he couldn't stop; he darted from one star to another, like a beam of starlight, seemingly capable of tearing through spatial boundaries, his speed indescribable. Moving swiftly across this sea of stars, countless points of stellar light converged upon him, forming a massive, shimmering stellar shield that enveloped his entire being.

This shield of stars mirrored the light canopy above that strange palace, with the only difference being the absence of the blazing sun and bright moon upon its surface. Continuing his ceaseless movement, as more stellar light points gathered and more memory traces branded themselves onto his principal soul, he seemed to gain a deeper understanding of how to wield stellar power...

In motion, he casually kneaded the light as if it were a lump of clay, condensing the starlight into stellar clusters. The starlight in his hands could be shaped into anything—stretched into long strands like pulled noodles, rolled into a ball, or divided into countless specks...

His command over stellar power grew increasingly adept. With a shift of his divine thought, torrents of stellar power poured down from above.

Under the control of his consciousness, those streams of starlight descended like dense rain, each point containing an energy that astonished him. That energy responded to his will, and under his mental direction, it began to form various ancient stellar formations that he struggled to comprehend...

Moving rapidly through this bizarre stellar sea, he absorbed the profound secrets of the expanse, experiencing the true essence of celestial mechanics, and familiarizing himself with all manner of universal truths through stellar power. He was comprehending some mysterious, ultimate secret...

After an unknowable span of time, he suddenly noticed that no more light points were flowing from the stars overhead toward his body, yet his mastery over stellar power had reached an unparalleled depth. It was then that he perceived, far, far in the distance, a shaft of sunlight seeming to pierce the void.

Instinctively, he flew toward the direction from which the sunlight emanated, following the paths of the stars, traversing the gulf between galaxies to pursue that solar beacon, feeling himself drawing closer to it... However, after this long, protracted pursuit, he still could not discern the scorching, blazing sun of his memory, nor the massive luminous body.

Yet, in the very act of chasing the sunlight, his comprehension of stellar power deepened even further. In this stellar sea, his soul floated weightlessly, as if trapped in a dream, devoid of any sense of time.

After what felt like an eternity, he gradually sensed weariness creeping into his spirit, a genuine fatigue setting in. He recognized the danger, intending to withdraw from this strange star ocean, only to feel his consciousness blur once more, drifting aimlessly, plummeting toward some void-like channel, sinking deeper and deeper...

Shi Yan awoke with a jolt. Looking around, he realized he was still within the Star Pool.

His principal soul had returned to his Sea of Consciousness. The stellar light points in the pool seemed drastically diminished in size, and their glow had significantly faded.

Above him, the luminous canopy still condensed milky white droplets, which fell into the Sun, Moon, and Star Pools below. The water in the Star Pool remained clear, but the intense chill was gone.

Gazing at the pool, then up at the light screen overhead, his eyes were distant, lost in thought. He felt as if something new had settled within his mind, and he quieted himself to truly comprehend it.

After a long while, his eyes gradually regained their clarity. He noticed Tang Yuannan and the assembled disciples of the Three Gods Sect gathered beside the Star Pool, staring at him intently.

"You're awake?" Tang Yuannan smiled faintly and inquired, "How do you feel?" "Remarkably well, as if I plunged into the depths of the Milky Way, bathing for a time amidst a myriad of stars. That feeling...

is beyond description." Shi Yan looked at Tang Yuannan, paused for a moment, then unexpectedly smiled, nodding amiably toward him. "I thought this was some trick of yours; I assumed I wouldn't wake up." At these words, the expressions of many nearby Three Gods Sect disciples shifted, becoming distinctly peculiar.

Tang Yuannan, however, remained unperturbed, smiling as he asked, "What did you gain?" Shi Yan did not answer immediately. He closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment.

Suddenly, his eyes flashed open. He slowly hauled himself out of the Star Pool, then, with a thought, the countless stellar light points within his heart began to scintillate in unison.

The starlight emanating from his body suddenly flared with blinding intensity before vanishing into thin air. The assembled Three Gods Sect disciples, who had been watching him closely, found that he had abruptly disappeared.

They instinctively searched the ruined palace for any sign of him, only to discover he had reappeared in another corner without anyone noticing, only to vanish again amidst a burst of starlight that covered his entire form. Star Glide!

Following the principles of stellar arrangement, he activated the power of his Stellar Martial Soul, instantly moving according to stellar patterns, fleeting like starlight, crossing the boundaries of space. This was a movement technique even faster than the Lightning Escape, truly worthy of the name Star Radiance.

Utilizing his Stellar Martial Soul to evoke stellar power, the moment his mind shifted, his body became like starlight, allowing him to vanish as Tang Yuannan did, traversing a thousand meters in an instant. With another mental impulse.

Innumerable points of starlight surged from within him, coalescing into a pulsating, star-speckled shield that enveloped his entire body. This shield, like the canopy above, displayed the vastness of the constellations, lacking only the sun and moon.

Star Aegis! Gathering stellar power, refining it into a stellar light shield.

Once formed, the Stellar Aegis continuously absorbed ambient stellar energy, using it to condense and strengthen the shield, making it impervious to water or fire, capable of resisting any energetic impact. With a flicker of divine sense, the stellar light points in his heart moved rapidly.

Countless points of starlight appeared in his palm. As his mind dictated, these points detached and soared upward, resembling a miniature galaxy manifesting in the void.

The multitude of lights shifted, their stellar trajectories altering, forming intricate formations that perfectly echoed the fundamental laws of stellar motion, releasing a pulse of stellar energy that caused hearts to pound. Star Command!

Wielding stellar power at will, deploying it according to the patterns of celestial movement, thus creating wondrous stellar formations that drew upon the power of the star sea beyond the heavens. Star Glide, Star Aegis, Star Command.

In that marvelous state, the Martial Soul profound insights he had harvested from the memories of countless light points were now manifesting in the real world, matching precisely the conditions of his dreamlike experience! These three peculiar secret techniques for utilizing the Martial Soul, derived from the Stellar Martial Soul, had been mastered with absolute fluency in that strange realm.

Now, executing them in reality, he encountered not the slightest hesitation! It felt as though he had known them inherently, merely having forgotten them, and upon remembering, they flowed back to him seamlessly.

The disciples of the Three Gods Sect watched him, mouths agape, their faces filled with astonishment. Only Tang Yuannan maintained his smile, seemingly having anticipated this exact outcome upon Shi Yan's awakening.

He showed no surprise, nodding silently to himself, certain that everything was progressing along the expected trajectory. "You have awakened your Stellar Martial Soul and inherited the Three Great Profound Truths of the Star God.

I knew this would happen," Tang Yuannan said with a gentle smile. "These—Star Glide, Star Aegis, and Star Command—are the profound principles executed through the Stellar Martial Soul, akin to martial skills.

When you deploy them now, you are purely borrowing stellar power. Wait until you reach the Celestial Rank; you will even be able to fuse stellar power with your vital essence.

At that point, you will discover the feeling is even more marvelous." Shi Yan’s expression shifted, and he carefully took note of the advice, resolving to experiment with the fusion upon breaking through to the Celestial Rank. "You have already entered the second heaven of the Nirvana Realm; the Celestial Rank is actually not far off now," Tang Yuannan observed him deeply, then suddenly exclaimed.

Shi Yan shuddered violently. "What?" "Heh heh, you truly didn't notice that," Tang Yuannan chuckled.

"When your Stellar Martial Soul awakened, your soul plummeted into the vast stellar sea to comprehend the fundamental laws of celestial mechanics. Unbeknownst to you, seven days have passed.

You were initially at the first heaven of the Nirvana Realm; through these seven days of comprehending the stellar truths, your soul has been sublimated, making the subsequent advance a natural progression. I am not surprised in the least." "Nirvana Second Heaven..." Shi Yan looked down at his hands, then his limbs, utterly bewildered.

"I don't feel any particular change?" "The ability for your soul to leave your body—that is the standard for measuring the second heaven of the Nirvana Realm. If your soul, through the Stellar Martial Soul, can penetrate the stellar sea, what else could it be?" Tang Yuannan countered with a smile.

Shi Yan was astonished; this breakthrough in cultivation seemed far too effortless, leaving him feeling inexplicably muddled. "When you were in the Earthly Rank, you had already forged your Sea of Consciousness, and your principal soul was incomparably refined.

The formation of the Sea of Consciousness and the refinement of the principal soul... this is the path of cultivation for Nirvana Realm martial artists.

Since you began cultivating your principal soul and Sea of Consciousness early, even before entering this stage, it is only logical that your breakthroughs are faster now. I genuinely find this unsurprising," Tang Yuannan explained.

Hearing this, Shi Yan suddenly realized that his cultivation of the Sea of Consciousness and principal soul during the Earthly Rank had unknowingly led him deep into the advanced stages of the Nirvana Realm; he simply hadn't been aware of it himself. "Many outsiders are looking for you; numerous factions in the Boundless Sea are searching for your whereabouts.

Many people want you dead," Tang Yuannan's smile vanished, his expression turning grave. "For the time being, it is best if you do not venture out.

Stay here for now, or it will be difficult for you to..." "BOOM!" Tang Yuannan had not finished his sentence when a massive concussion echoed from the light canopy above them. Immediately, the bright moon displayed upon that canopy suddenly vanished!

Tang Yuannan looked up, his face drastically changing color. ...