Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 720: Chapter 715: Star Palace Cultivation Method

Between Heaven and Earth, ethereal clouds and mist drifted among countless Immortal Palaces. A single speck of light rippled through the clouds, suddenly blossoming as it drew near a pavilion.

Inside the pavilion was a dim hall.

Mahogany tables and chairs, dragon-carved beams and pillars, a shrine placed directly ahead, and the three wisps of green smoke rising from it—all gave the place an air of Incense.

The next second, the blossoming light pushed open the pavilion’s doors with a CREAK, then fell inside and transformed into a staggering figure. It was the young man who had just bid farewell to the Star Monarch of Qinghe, though he seemed yet to recover from the dizziness of teleportation.

”Where is this...”

The young man looked around. It wasn’t until he saw the shrine before him and recalled the secret Scripture he had previously read that he quickly composed his expression.

The young man’s name was Zhu Xuanhao.

However, his surname was not Zhu. He hailed from a great clan of the Star Palace’s Cyan Dragon Star, the Zhu Xuan Clan. One could say his status was immeasurably noble.

If that weren’t the case, he would never have been able to cultivate the Cyan Dragon Star, let alone reach the level of Foundation Establishment Perfection. After all, this was the Star Palace’s most important Supreme Star Map. There were only four in the entire Ten Thousand Lands Realm, each held by a great clan—not something a commoner could ever hope to practice.

”Human World... I’m here!”

Zhu Xuanhao took a deep breath, his face filled with intense fighting spirit, and immediately placed the Jade Token given to him by the Star Monarch of Qinghe into the shrine.

The next second, the shrine reacted.

Above the shrine, Incense billowed, rising in a cloud of smoke that completely enveloped Zhu Xuanhao. Seeing this, he immediately sat down and began to regulate his breathing, entering Meditation.

He inhaled all the smoke through his mouth and nose.

Immediately after, his eyes flew wide open, a Divine Light blooming from their depths. As if he had received some kind of blessing, he opened the Sea of Suffering in the blink of an eye!

In that instant, the world shattered.

When he looked again, Zhu Xuanhao found himself atop the Cloud Peak recorded in his clan’s texts. He understood that this was the interior of the Human World.

’Soon, I’ll face the heroes of all ages right here.’

’There will undoubtedly be bitter battles. Perhaps I’ll even meet respectable opponents, kindred spirits I’ll regret not meeting sooner, and maybe even a beautiful soulmate born at the wrong time...’

’It’s actually a little exciting to think about!’

As Zhu Xuanhao’s imagination ran wild, endless phenomena had already constructed his first opponent before him. Seeing this, Zhu Xuanhao bravely charged forward for the kill.

It was undeniable that he was truly skilled.

He formed a Daoist Hand Seal, and surging Mana gathered at his fingertips, igniting a Spiritual Fire. It transformed into a torrent of gold and red light, gushing forth like a bursting dam!

Fire is the star within the Cyan Dragon; when it rises to the center, the seven stars are revealed.

Billowing flames poured from his palm, enveloping his entire body and spreading in all directions, burning Heaven and Earth to a crimson gold.

”With the long day’s star-fire, I decree it midsummer!”

As the Curse Sound echoed, the raging flames surged and swallowed the first opponent created by the Human World, incinerating it to a pile of flying ash in the blink of an eye.

Several more opponents appeared one after another, and he dispatched them all in the same manner.

During this process, he could clearly sense his Dao Heart constantly devouring some unknown substance, climbing toward Perfection bit by bit.

”I really did the right thing by coming here!”

Zhu Xuanhao’s face was full of pleasant surprise. The Star Palace’s cultivation was completely different from the Immortal Core Demon Dao. It still revered the Ancient Technique, cultivating Mana, and possessed its own profound and wondrous mysteries.

First, the Realms for both were the same.

Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul.

The difference was that Star Palace Cultivators didn’t practice Abilities, build Blessed Lands, or condense the Gold Attribute in the Foundation Establishment Realm. Those were all dregs of the Pocket World Technique.

Of course, due to the collapse of the Dharma Body, the lifespans of all Cultivators in the world were drastically reduced, with a few rare exceptions. This made progress with the Ancient Technique difficult. Fortunately, a Supreme Great Power, the Supreme Daoist Venerable, had opened the Twenty-Eight Star Constellations Map, established the Ten Thousand Lands Realm, and created a new Heaven and Earth.

The Ancient Technique of old was also revised and compiled by that Supreme Great Power.

Previously, the Ancient Technique for cultivating Mana required eons to slowly polish and transform one’s Mana. It was impossible to reach Perfection without a hundred thousand years or so.

However, things were different now.

Now, in the Star Palace, Cultivators no longer needed to polish their Mana themselves. Instead, they could sense the Star Maps in the heavens and use them to accumulate Mana.

They used the Minor Circulation of their own Mana to match the Grand Circulation of the Star Map, allowing their Mana to grow continuously. Once it reached the Extreme, it would transform. After repeating this cycle five times, they could attempt to merge their Mana with the Star Map. By replacing Heaven’s heart with their own, they would become the lord of the Star Map.

This was called a Star Monarch.

Supported by the Star Maps, the new Ancient Technique of cultivation also experienced a qualitative leap. Its cultivation speed was in no way inferior to the Immortal Core Demon Dao’s Pocket World Technique.

There were twenty-eight Star Maps in total.

Seven Star Maps combined could form a Supreme Star Map. Zhu Xuanhao’s Cyan Dragon Star was one of these.

’The Supreme Star Map has no changes of Yin and Yang or the Five Elements.’

’For example, my Cyan Dragon Star leans toward the Wood Element, but its phenomena actually touch upon all Five Elements—Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth—as well as the sun, moon, Yin, and Yang!’

At that moment, Zhu Xuanhao felt a flash of inspiration.

In Ancient Technique cultivation, the Dao Heart was of utmost importance. This was especially true for cultivating Mana in the Star Palace, where the strength of one’s Dao Heart directly determined how much Mana one could control.

The stronger the Mana, the higher the Cultivation.

And to attain the Position of a Star Monarch, one had to replace the heart of the Star Map with one’s own. The requirement this placed on the Dao Heart was incredibly demanding.

Therefore, as his Dao Heart grew, Zhu Xuanhao’s Mana flowed with ever greater mastery. In a daze, he seemed to see a magnificent, majestic cyan dragon that spanned the Star Sea. Its entire body was formed from starlight, but in an instant, it collapsed, shrinking to the size of a thumb and falling into the space between his eyebrows.

In an instant, Zhu Xuanhao was ecstatic.

”Yes! I did it!”

The next second, Zhu Xuanhao’s aura began to skyrocket. In the blink of an eye, he broke through the barrier, successfully attaining the Cyan Dragon Star and gaining the Position of a Perfected Lord!

Zhu Xuanhao was not at all surprised by this.

After all, the Cyan Dragon Star had been reserved for him since the moment he was born, simply because he was the one with the noblest bloodline in this generation of the Zhu Xuan Clan.

With such a bloodline, there would be no accidents in his pursuit of the Cyan Dragon Star.

As long as his basic qualities met the standard, success was only a matter of course.

The only surprise was the speed at which he’d achieved it. He had thought he would need at least another hundred years, but he had succeeded in just a few short days.

”The Celestial Human Residual Consciousness truly lives up to its name!”

At that moment, Zhu Xuanhao felt a strong repulsive force manifest beside him, as if trying to directly eject him—now that he had become a Perfected Lord—from the Secret Realm.

At this thought, Zhu Xuanhao hurriedly formed a Daoist Hand Seal, wrapping his entire body in the Cyan Dragon Star he had just attained. He then quickly began to restrain his Qi trace. In a flash, he returned to his Foundation Establishment state. As his Qi trace was restrained, the repulsive force from the Human World dissipated.

’It worked!’

’Master was right! The profound mysteries of the Cyan Dragon Star are enough to deceive the rules of the Human World, allowing me to remain here with the status of a Perfected Lord!’

Instantly, Zhu Xuanhao’s confidence surged.

At this moment, a new Liu Ying walked out from within the Human World. It didn’t attack, but instead smiled at him and said, ”As expected of a prodigy from my Star Palace.”

Seeing this, Zhu Xuanhao hurriedly bowed. ”Greetings, Master.”

This Liu Ying was the one left behind by the Star Monarch of Qinghe. It was also the second-to-last trial, as far as he knew. After this one was the Immortal Core Demon, who was said to have slipped into the Human World with the status of a Golden Core Perfected Lord, shamelessly blocking all subsequent Challengers.

Before, Zhu Xuanhao would naturally have had no confidence.

Now, however, he smiled confidently as the phantom of a cyan dragon appeared behind him. ”Master, do you think this disciple can now fight that Immortal Core Demon?”

”Hmm...”

The Qinghe Liu Ying paused for a moment before saying indifferently, ”You have just become a Perfected Lord and are full of vigor. There’s no need to rush to suppress your own arrogance.”

The implication was: ’You can’t beat him.’

Zhu Xuanhao’s eyebrows shot up at these words.

’What does Master mean by that? That Immortal Core Demon cultivates the Fruit of Great-Forest Wood, which is an Emperor Fruit. I have a Supreme Star Map. Rounding up, we’re about the same.’

’Why does he think I can’t win?’

’Is everyone from the Immortal Pivot really that amazing?’

At this thought, Zhu Xuanhao declared loudly, ”Master, do not worry. Now that I have become a Perfected Lord, I must naturally rise to the challenge. How could I fear a Demon?”

The Qinghe Liu Ying fell silent upon hearing this, then promptly dissipated.

Seeing this, Zhu Xuanhao immediately focused all his attention, preparing to face his next opponent.

A moment later, with a loud BOOM, the Star Monarch of Qinghe, in the Current World, saw a figure covered in blood come tumbling out.