Nine Star Hegemon Body Arts

“Beneath the altar?”

The island had already been destroyed in the battle, leaving only the altar suspended above the black sea and Evilmoon’s eight blades. With no one to disturb it, Evilmoon freely devoured the spider’s energy, its eight blades glowing a sinister crimson.

Long Chen and Mo Nian descended. Just as Mo Nian had predicted, massive chains anchored the altar.

The so-called altar—or rather, the entire island—was being held afloat by these chains. Following one of them downward, they discovered that even the black sea could not touch the chains. Step by step, they ventured into the black sea.

The deeper they went, the more oppressive the darkness became. Their divine senses turned dull, leaving them feeling blind and adrift.

Suddenly, light flared. Mo Nian had produced a lantern that drove the darkness away, allowing them to see again.

“What kind of treasure is that lantern? How can it expel the laws of darkness?” asked Long Chen curiously.

Before this abyssal darkness, he had briefly considered calling out the golden lotus seed again, but doing so here would provoke Evilmoon’s wrath. They were still too close to the altar.

“The lantern itself is nothing special—just something infused with Sovereign qi. The key lies in the oil,” Mo Nian corrected, his tone oddly proud. “It’s the corpse oil I dug out of a masterless tomb.”

“Corpse oil?” Long Chen’s expression twisted in disgust. For an instant, he even imagined a rotten stench clinging to the air.

“Hehe. This is no ordinary corpse oil. It was refined from the flesh of a Divine Sovereign,” Mo Nian said with a smirk. “The Divine Sovereign was once a blood devil that slaughtered an entire great faction during the primal chaos war. Millions of lives were devoured by it. In the end, a genius of that faction ascended into a Divine Sovereign and cut it down, refining its body into this oil—so that the souls it consumed would forever shine as a light to others.”

“...And you know this how?” Long Chen eyed him with open suspicion. Mo Nian was notorious for spouting tall tales.

Mo Nian chuckled, “You wouldn’t understand. Most ancient tombs will have records of the achievements of the major figures entombed within. Of course, some of it is nonsense. Some nameless figures might pretend to be peerless experts and write a glorious record for themselves, carving dogshit into stone. But this oil? Even after so many ages, its energy is terrifying. Ignite it, and even a nine-hundred-flame divine sprout would be burned alive. Unfortunately, it’s an evil object. Against dark lifeforms, it might even empower them instead. That’s why I didn’t dare to try it earlier.”

Long Chen was left speechless. Mo Nian’s collection of bizarre trump cards was endless, each more unconventional than the last. Thankfully, they were brothers. If such a wretched schemer were his enemy, it would be a nightmare.

As they were talking, they reached the end of the chain. Beneath them lay a massive, black landmass.

The instant their feet touched it, both of their souls shuddered violently, every hair standing on end.

For at that moment, an image seared into their minds.

This “land” was no land at all. They were standing upon the head of a colossal spider—so vast it dwarfed even the island they had destroyed. Its size defied comprehension, like an entire world slumbering beneath the sea.

Other than the heaven whale, this was perhaps the largest lifeform Long Chen had ever encountered. What kind of ancient era could have birthed such a colossal existence?

Mo Nian placed a hand on the ground and sensed its aura. Then, he sighed, “It’s just a husk. Dead long ago. Its spiritual fluctuations are also gone. There’s no way for me to control such a giant body.”

If even the faintest trace of its soul remained, Mo Nian would have tried to refine it into a puppet. But this was nothing more than a decaying shell, and thus of little use.

“Why would the altar be bound to it? Judging by its aura, this giant spider doesn’t even seem to be of the same race as that black spider,” Long Chen mused.

“Most likely, the altar was designed to siphon this giant spider’s energy to feed that black spider,” Mo Nian guessed, shaking his head. “But with that Dark race fellow gone, we’ll never get answers. Forget it, let’s find the treasure!”

He then took out a compass.

Seeing that compass, Long CHen found it familiar. Was that not precisely the treasure-hunting compass he had given Mo Nian before?

Mo Nian noticed his look and explained proudly, “I’ve upgraded it since then. It still has a few minor flaws, but it’s much sharper at locating treasure. Once I perfect it, I’ll even make you a brand-new one. Based on the reading... the treasure lies in its abdomen. Let’s go!”

The two of them quickly rushed off. When they arrived on the spider’s back, Mo NIan paused and took out a coffin. Then, he pulled out a bunch of bizarre items from it.

Long Chen was speechless. It seemed that this fellow used coffins as storage tools.

After taking out the materials needed, Mo Nian set up a transportation formation.

He said, “The treasure’s in its belly. Its inner world.”

“A world inside its body?!” Long Chen exclaimed, his eyes widening. “Isn’t that something only Heavenly Sovereigns possess?”

He recalled what he knew of the Sovereign realm. It was split into three levels.

The first was Sovereign Lord—those who had ignited true Sovereign flames. Compared to the so-called geniuses in the heaven region battlefield, who had only kindled wisps of Sovereign qi, Sovereign Lords were blazing fires while the others were mere candles. The difference was absolute.

Above them stood Divine Sovereigns. If Sovereign Lords were blazing fires, then Divine Sovereigns were volcanoes. The gap between them could not be described with words.

And beyond even them were the legendary Heavenly Sovereigns—the peak of the Sovereign path. Their bodies contained entire worlds, true worlds of ten thousand Daos. Unlike the inner spaces of ordinary cultivators, these were self-sustaining realms that could nurture life itself.

What such a world would truly look like, Long Chen had no idea.

He had seen many minor worlds before. Even the vast whale necropolis could be considered one despite its immense size, as it lacked a Grand Dao Source, and thus could never compare to a true sovereign world.

A Heavenly Sovereign’s body was said to contain exactly that. Though Long Chen had never witnessed such a thing, the thought ignited a deep anticipation within him. Perhaps by glimpsing a Heavenly Sovereign’s inner world, he could uncover the very secrets of the world.

At that moment, the transportation formation lit up, its runes weaving together into the shape of a colossal gate before them. Without hesitation, the two stepped forward, vanishing the instant they crossed it.