Chapter 1002: It's Approaching (II)

Some rejoiced as others despaired.

While the Mount Shu Sect was bustling with activity, the Celestial King Sect was feeling twice as pressured.

They had just finished setting up the Star-Gathering Formation. A wide and towering stone platform stood at its center. It was surrounded by dark blue starfire, and burning within that starfire were General's Constellation Orbs. Eighty-one bronze statues held bronze trays aloft, each tray cradling starfire. The trays gleamed brightly as they reflected the stars above, fuelling the starfire with starlight.

Just as the Heavenly Star Grand Ancestor was about to ascend the platform, Enlightened Wulou and Wenren Yue arrived to report about the Mount Shu Sect's latest developments.

"The Mount Shu Sect is simply too powerful. At this rate, Baize doesn't even need to act personally. It won't be long before all the yin qi will be purged from the mortal realm. She can focus entirely on building her own netherworld and reincarnation process. She might actually finish before us," Enlightened Wulou said.

After losing the Omniscience, Enlightened Wulou, the master of the Celestial Pivot Pavilion, no longer possessed the ability to peer across the world. He could only divine a likely future at best. As for who would become the next Hallowed One, that was well beyond his abilities to predict.

Despite the blurry divinity readings, one thing was clear—the tide was turning toward the Mount Shu Sect.

"What a brilliant move..." The Heavenly Star Grand Ancestor sighed. "Things are never as simple as they seem. I must ascend the platform and activate the formation as soon as possible. The rest... shall be left to fate."

Wenren Yue glanced southwest, her gaze wavering. "Should we..."

"Probably not?" Enlightened Wulou replied. He hesitated and thought about it for a moment. Ultimately, he explained, "The Mount Shu Sect is on the rise, gaining influence and power. Even if we combine all our forces in the Heavenly Star faction, we might not be able to match them.

"Moreover, they haven't roped in other sects to help them, so they've been honoring the agreement. If we sabotage Baize's cultivation now, the Mount Shu Sect will fight back. We will end up fighting to the bitter end and may even lose the advantage we have now."

The contest between Baize and the Heavenly Star Grand Ancestor to fulfill their grand aspirations was a fair one, and the Heavenly Star Grand Ancestor held a considerable advantage over Baize. However, if the Heavenly Star faction and the Mount Shu Sect entered a battle of mutual destruction, there would be no telling who would come out on top.

The Mount Shu Sect now had manpower, wealth, and legendary artifacts—all in abundance. As much as the Heavenly Star faction hated to admit it, the fall of the Penglai Supreme Sect did not result in the Heavenly Star faction rising to take its place. Instead, it was the Mount Shu Sect that had become the undisputed leader of the righteous path.

𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"There's no need for either of you to do anything else," said the Heavenly Star Grand Ancestor with a sweep of his sleeve. "This contest to become the next Hallowed One has reached the final stage. It is now just a matter of which of us finishes first. As long as we both walk the righteous path, I will have no regrets, even if I lose.

"The fact that I've gotten to this stage of proving my understanding of the Dao... means I've lived a full life. If I can stand tall as the one and only supreme being of this world, that would be ideal. But even if I can't, I'm satisfied. This world has not treated me unfairly."

The Heavenly Star Grand Ancestor soared into the air, landed on the high platform, and swept his hand outward.

Rumble.

The bronze mirrors on the platform began to rotate in unison, reflecting the stars above. Fiery starlight erupted with a roar, and eighty-one streams of stellar brilliance pierced the sky, forming a direct path to the endless river of stars!

In the sky, the great Morning Star suddenly stirred into motion, radiating even more dazzlingly.

The Heavenly Star Grand Ancestor had used the Star-Gathering Formation to draw in the starlight of countless stars. He then condensed that starlight into pure starforce and channeled it into the Morning Star.

In one motion, the Morning Star became the most radiant presence in the sky!

As Wenren Yue and Enlightened Wulou witnessed this scene, their hearts surged with emotion. Regardless of who won, they knew they were witnessing history.

...

During this unstable situation, Chu Liang had quietly returned once again to the Divine Ruins Monastery.

The monastery had been shrouded in mystery even to the Divine Nine and Terrestrial Ten, but it wasn't much of a mystery to Chu Liang anymore. He went there every couple of days and gradually saw the monastery in a different light. He now treated it like a second home.

However, Jiang Yuebai had not accompanied him this time. She had stayed behind at Mount Shu for closed-door cultivation.

As Chu Liang's cultivation level continued to soar, the gap between him and the other peerless talents of his generation widened drastically, and Jiang Yuebai was one of them.

She was already incredibly accomplished for someone her age. In fact, she was among the best even throughout the course of history. However, Chu Liang was simply too monstrous. His brilliance cast a shadow over everyone else in his generation.

Jiang Yuebai seldom spoke of it. Nevertheless, Chu Liang knew her well. She was extremely prideful and would never be content with merely living in Chu Liang's shadow. That was why she was putting far more effort into her cultivation than ever before.

Bai Wuxiang had been waiting for Chu Liang for some time.

"For some reason, I've been feeling restless lately. It feels as if something major is about to happen," Bai Wuxiang said, his square face tensed into a frown. "I hope you really can replicate the Jade Slip of Life and Death."

"I can't guarantee anything. After all, it's on par with a legendary artifact," Chu Liang replied solemnly. "But I will give it my best."

Bai Wuxiang pulled a jade box from his sleeve and opened it slowly. Inside it lay an ancient, slender slip of green jade, with a single thread of gold coursing through it.

With just one glance, Chu Liang could perceive the intense divine light concealed within the jade slip.

He muttered, "So, this is the treasure Hallowed Li left behind, one that can slay a ninth-realm being..."

With a hint of reverence in his posture, Chu Liang reached into the box and plucked out the jade slip. The moment he touched it, he thought it felt immensely heavy, as if it held an entire ocean within.

He tried to probe it with his divine sense. However, when the divine sense he poured in neared the golden imprint, it was immediately incinerated.

"What is this?" Chu Liang asked in bewilderment.

"Immortal qi," Bai Wuxiang answered. "It's immortal qi that Hallowed Li left behind... the most pure and powerful strand of immortal qi in this world."

Chu Liang had heard the Whale-Riding Immortal mention immortal qi before. It was the breath of immortals, produced by purifying spiritual qi.

After Hallowed Li broke through the world's constraints, he severed his trail of immortal qi. There had been a great number of Eminent Ones emerging in the world. If they were to cultivate and produce immortal qi too, the spiritual qi in the world would soon run dry.

Even so, Hallowed Li had passed the technique to the Divine Ruins Monastery, and the monastery had continued to pass down the method to its members. The Cauldron of the Great Dao and the art of producing immortal qi were key reasons why there were no weaklings in the Divine Ruins Monastery.

The Whale-Riding Immortal had secretly learned the technique to produce immortal qi, but he had no intention of using it unnecessarily. He didn't want to risk leaking this technique to the outside world.

If the Eminent Ones of the world were to purify all the spiritual qi, then those at the lower cultivation realms would struggle to survive. Over time, fewer and fewer cultivation prodigies would emerge, and the development of the mortal realm would suffer.

That was why the Whale-Riding Immortal never taught the technique to Chu Liang. This was Chu Liang's first time coming into such close contact with immortal qi.

Chu Liang remarked, "This strand of immortal qi contains the breath of creation."

Despite the brief contact, Chu Liang could sense the immense power of creation within the immortal qi. It appeared that a large part of why this immortal qi was so formidable was the power of creation contained within it. That power could bring forth boundless change.

"Is that so?" Bai Wuxiang mused briefly. Then he flipped his hand and summoned a strand of silver-colored foundational qi—his own refined immortal qi. "And this one?"

Chu Liang focused on it for a moment, then he nodded. "This one has it too."

"Then perhaps, immortal qi is the product of foundational qi combined with the Great Dao of Creation. That's why it contains the essence of all change in the world," Bai Wuxiang realized. "The power of creation has always been within it."

"Monastery Overseer," Chu Liang said resolutely, "I want to learn this."

...

Dragon-Fishing Pool, Mount Shu.

Ling Ao sat cross-legged on the edge of the pool, circulating his qi through his meridians. Two streams of dragon breath flowed in and out rhythmically from his nose.

Suddenly, the water in the pool began to bubble. Two beams of divine light—one gold, one white—burst from the pool. They were the White Dragon and the Little Golden Dragon. Just a moment ago, they had been quietly cultivating within the pool, but now they were thrashing about, stirring up winds and clouds.

Ling Ao stood up and asked, "What's wrong?"

No longer the teenage boy who needed to plead for a cultivation legacy, Ling Ao had been given the responsibility of overseeing the Dragon-Fishing Pool on behalf of his teacher. Ling Ao was one of the Mount Shu Sect's rising stars on par with Chu Liang, Jiang Yuebai, and Xu Ziyang, and his status within the sect had grown immensely.

The White Dragon and the Little Golden Dragon raised their heads from the water. Their eyes, glowing with crimson-gold flames, stared fearfully at the sky.

Despite its young age, the Little Golden Dragon's cultivation level was quite high. Yet, it muttered in confusion, "I think... I had a nightmare while I was cultivating."

The older White Dragon appeared far more flustered. It lowered its head and bowed toward the heavens, murmuring in the language of dragons, "It seems it's coming soon. The great calamity draws near... May the destined child save this world..."

Ling Ao tried to reassure them. "You've seen the Yin-Yang Realm above. Baize is about to ascend and become a Hallowed One. No demon, devil, or evil entity could possibly stir up trouble now!"

Nevertheless, no matter what he said, the White Dragon continued to bow toward the sky, as though praying for salvation.