Firmament Sword

Xu Luo had another very, very long dream. In it, he once again found himself before that gate.

It was towering and majestic, exuding a magnificent aura!

An ancient and mysterious presence permeated the gate!

Xu Luo raised his head and looked up at the gate. It was impossibly high, tens of thousands of miles tall, standing there like a Celestial Gate!

’How did I end up here again?’ The thought had just formed in Xu Luo’s mind when an intention was transmitted deep into his spirit.

”You were injured. Very badly. It’s natural that you would return to the source of your consciousness.”

”I’m not dead?” Xu Luo was a little surprised. After all, the old man formed from the motes of light had been far too powerful—so powerful that even his Shaking Light Burst was like child’s play to him.

”Of course not. You are the Inheritor. How could you possibly die? However... Shaking Light Burst is not omnipotent. And... that is not how you are meant to use it.”

The desolate and ancient intention seemed to carry a hint of emotion. ”Shaking Light Burst is meant to be used when you are extremely powerful. You instantly condense all the power in your body and then instantly unleash it to deliver a fatal blow to your enemy. It is not a technique for mutual destruction.”

”I understand, but I don’t have the ability to protect myself right now.” Xu Luo lowered his head, dejected. ’It’s not that I don’t know Shaking Light Burst isn’t a cure-all. But at my current level of strength, what better option do I have?’

”In your Dantian, the Kaiyang Star Soul has been unlocked. When you awaken, you will discover the difference in yourself.”

”What? The Kaiyang Star Soul has awakened? That’s amazing!” Xu Luo was overjoyed. He had no idea what conditions were needed to awaken the other Star Souls and had tried many times without any response.

He never expected this disaster to be a blessing in disguise—his Kaiyang Star Soul had awakened!

”You shouldn’t celebrate too soon. Awakening the next Star Soul after Kaiyang will require ten times more energy than it took after Shaking Light. And the one after that, the Jade Balance Star Soul... will require a hundred times more than Kaiyang... And the next...”

”Gods, alright, alright! Can you not crush my spirits so early?” Xu Luo hurriedly cut off the desolate, ancient intention. ”Leave me something to hope for... otherwise I’ll feel like my life is nothing but darkness from now on!”

”This is your destiny. As the Inheritor, you cannot escape it.”

”Then what about you?” Xu Luo suddenly raised his head, staring at the colossal gate that touched the heavens. He asked, ”And who are you?”

”I am Shaking Light.” The voice was desolate and ancient, calm and devoid of joy or sorrow.

”What? You’re Shaking Light? You mean... you’re the Shaking Light Star?” Xu Luo was truly stunned now. He couldn’t believe any of this was real.

”Yes.”

”But... why are you inside my body? And why are you willing to communicate with me now? What about before? The last time I came here, you barely paid me any attention!” Xu Luo asked.

”Back then, I had not yet fully awakened. But this time, after absorbing the energy from that expert’s body, I have awakened completely.”

”So that’s how it is. But I still don’t quite get it. If you’re Shaking Light, then what’s that shining in the sky right now?”

”That is my celestial body.”

”Then why are you inside my body?” Xu Luo asked again.

”You will know in the future.” Shaking Light’s intention ended there.

After that, no matter how much Xu Luo asked, Shaking Light didn’t answer another word.

”Hmph, how stingy! Trying to string me along without giving me any benefits. Since when is life that easy?” Xu Luo muttered angrily, pacing back and forth.

”You just show up in my body out of nowhere, desperately absorbing my blood. You guys are going to bankrupt me! And you won’t even tell me why. It’s outrageous!”

”Having one bottomless pit was bad enough, but now there’s another one named Kaiyang, and it needs ten times more! Where am I supposed to get that much pure energy? That random old bastard today almost killed me...”

BOOM!

Apparently unable to stand his endless muttering, an incomparably powerful force suddenly slammed into Xu Luo, blasting him out of that place.

After being blasted out by this force, Xu Luo didn’t wake up immediately. Instead, he found himself in another void-like space.

Then, a flood of information suddenly poured into his mind!

’Breaking Army Seven Kills?’

’Shaking Light Step?’

’Shaking Light Burst?’

’Aren’t these techniques I already know?’ Xu Luo muttered in a daze. But then, a series of images was transmitted deep into his spirit, leaving him speechless.

The person in the images, who looked identical to Xu Luo, was continuously executing the three Cultivation Techniques.

When the person in the mental images executed the seven killing moves of Breaking Army Seven Kills, their power was far, far greater than when Xu Luo performed them!

The same was true for Shaking Light Step. The speed the other figure achieved with the technique made Xu Luo feel ashamed.

And Shaking Light Burst... was even more exaggerated!

In the images deep within his spirit, the person who looked just like Xu Luo was using Shaking Light Burst like a god!

A casual slap could trigger a Shaking Light Burst!

A flying kick could trigger a Shaking Light Burst!

A sword thrust could trigger a Shaking Light Burst!

A slash with a saber could trigger a Shaking Light Burst!

”Holy shit!” Xu Luo was stunned, then became completely enthralled.

The version of himself in those mental images possessed an unknown level of power; almost every single strike he made could produce the effect of a Shaking Light Burst.

And while it looked like he was unleashing a high-cost killing move, he didn’t become utterly weakened after using Shaking Light Burst, unlike Xu Luo.

’This seems to be... the power these three Cultivation Techniques can display when they are cultivated to absolute perfection,’ Xu Luo muttered. He then began to stare intently at the figure in the images—at himself—as it performed Breaking Army Seven Kills.

After a while, Xu Luo began to imitate it.

Although the way the power flowed looked mostly the same, there were still surprising differences in the fine details!

It was like a single essay having a hundred different interpretations from a hundred different people!

Although these Cultivation Techniques had appeared directly in Xu Luo’s mind as if he had practiced them for many years,

that wasn’t truly the case. The Shaking Light Star Soul had forcibly imprinted them onto his Sea of Spiritual Consciousness.

Therefore, his understanding of these techniques was bound to be different.

Only today had the Shaking Light Star Soul revealed the truly perfect martial techniques to Xu Luo.

Xu Luo no longer complained. If he had been given these perfect techniques from the start, he might not have been able to truly comprehend them all.

After all, there had to be a process of familiarization.

Over and over, Xu Luo tirelessly practiced and refined Breaking Army Seven Kills, Shaking Light Step, and Shaking Light Burst in this strange space.

He had no idea how much time had passed, but he had already practiced and refined these three Cultivation Techniques, supported by the Shadow Shaking Heart Method, several thousand times!

Suddenly, he felt a faint chill on his body. Immediately, Xu Luo opened his eyes.

What greeted him was a simple room with a stone table and stone stools nearby. The cold sensation came from beneath him. Xu Luo reached out and touched it; it was very icy. After sitting up, he took a look and was stunned for a long moment.

”Is this... a bed carved from a single block of cold jade?” Xu Luo was so shocked his jaw nearly dropped. He murmured, ”This thing... is practically a priceless treasure!”

With that, he stood up and walked over to a bookshelf in the stone room.

There weren’t many books on the shelf, and almost all of them were written in ancient Divine Text. Xu Luo had once studied Divine Text with Huangfu Shishi, so he had some familiarity with these incredibly ancient characters.

He casually opened one book. It seemed to be the biography of some person, and Xu Luo slowly began to read.

’Star Ancestor? Tsk... this guy is so narcissistic. What gives him the right to call himself the Star Ancestor?’ Xu Luo couldn’t help but grumble after reading just a few lines.

Then he paused, suddenly recalling the Star Map inlaid with priceless Luminous Pearls on the ceiling of the stone chamber above!

’Could it be... that the old man who tried to take over my body today was this Star Ancestor?’ Xu Luo suppressed his shock and continued reading.

”In my life, I have painstakingly sought the path to longevity. I revere the stars and have delved into the art of their movements. At last, I discovered a monumental secret hidden within the stars. If I can master it, I will surely dominate the world and may even attain eternal life!”

”In my youth, I was foolish and unenlightened. I sought to join the Merak Sect on Divine Maiden Peak but was rejected. I harbor a deep hatred for them in my heart and have sworn that one day, I will ruin this sect’s fortunes!”

”Members of Merak came to provoke me again today. I was no match for them and could only swallow my pride. My hatred for them has deepened!”

”Today, I killed a young woman from Merak. Such an arrogant woman. Killing her was the only way to quell the hatred in my heart. Yet, the look in her eyes before she died has stirred a trace of regret in me. She was just an ignorant little girl, corrupted by her sect!”

”Today, I finally broke through a passage into the interior of Divine Maiden Peak. I shall establish my own place for secluded cultivation here!”

”A cultivator must have great perseverance. I have decided to tunnel through Divine Maiden Peak and carve out a path to the heavens!”

”I have cultivated here for over eight hundred years. Even my hatred for Merak has nearly been eroded by time. Now, my lifespan is at its end, yet I have only uncovered a fraction of the secret hidden in the stars. I cannot accept this!”

”Today, I slaughtered several hundred Merak Disciples. Arrogant and tyrannical, just as they were back then! Hundreds of years have passed, yet they haven’t improved in the slightest! In the end, I even drew out the Merak Sect Leader, but before this old ancestor, what is a Sect Leader? Utterly worthless!”

”This old ancestor’s fate is nearly sealed, but my heart is filled with unwillingness. Fortunately, using a Star Skill, I have deduced that in three thousand years, an Inheritor of Beidou will arrive here. That person will also possess the Star Constitution—perfect for this old ancestor’s rebirth!”

”This old ancestor cannot deduce the true origin of the Beidou Inheritor. It is too vast, too grand; my Sea of Spiritual Consciousness is on the verge of collapse! This old ancestor does not know if this is a blessing or a curse...”

Xu Luo read to the end, where a single sentence was written: ”If you can see this page, it means you are the Beidou Inheritor, and this old ancestor was fated to fail in defying the heavens. I have already passed on!”

And at the very end were four words that made Xu Luo’s face darken: ”What fucking bad luck!”