Firmament Sword

The Phecda Star Soul had indeed told Xu Luo that a supreme treasure from the Ancient Divine Beast Cyan Dragon was located here on Hualong Mountain. It had also mentioned that this treasure was fated to be his... which was why Xu Luo had worn such a strange expression at the time.

In the past, Xu Luo had always believed that even though all signs pointed to a deep connection with the Big Dipper, he was still just himself.

He was Xu Luo!

The son of Xu Ji and Luo Xinlan, and Xu Su’s younger brother!

Absolutely not some Beidou’s Eighth Star!

’How could a star possibly become a person?’

Besides, Beidou’s Eighth Star had fallen to the mortal world during the Ancient Era, while he... was just an ordinary young man born into a secular family countless years later.

But as his experience grew, Xu Luo felt an increasing sense of powerlessness. It was as if his destiny had already been decided, and every step... was leading him toward that predetermined goal.

No matter how unwilling he was, it made no difference.

His journey to the Southern Celestial Divine Continent, then to Hualong Mountain, and his discovery of the Cyan Dragon’s old training grounds... it was as if an invisible hand of fate was guiding him at every moment.

Therefore, after hearing the Divine Thought transmitted from the black pearl, Xu Luo was suddenly struck by a powerful sense of helplessness.

’Am I really some Beidou’s Eighth Star?’ This claim, once so absurd, now seemed to be true.

”Your Excellency is the reincarnation of the Beidou Eighth Star Monarch. Before your reincarnation, this little dragon was fortunate enough to have met Your Excellency, which is why I recognize your aura. Now, only Your Excellency can save this little dragon...” The Divine Thought was extremely humble and its tone very polite.

Xu Luo couldn’t help but give a bitter smile. ”I don’t even know how I became Beidou’s Eighth Star, let alone anything about your kind. How do you expect me to save you?”

”This... this little dragon will explain everything to Your Excellency. But for now, it would be best for Your Excellency to leave this place. After all, this is no place to talk,” the Cyan Dragon’s Spirit transmitted via Divine Thought.

Xu Luo nodded. If he hadn’t been injured and poisoned, he wouldn’t have feared much with his power. But now that his strength had dropped to Sword Venerable Peak, anyone at the Fifth Layer of Transformation Realm or above would be difficult for him to handle, to say nothing of the terrifying creature that laired here.

Just from the fluctuations the creature had emitted earlier, Xu Luo already understood that the being... was at least a powerful entity of the Divine Power Realm!

”Since you’re the Cyan Dragon’s Spirit, are there any other treasures you left behind in this place?” Xu Luo asked.

”Treasures... This little dragon only left one of my spirits here back then, no other treasures. What Your Excellency just took all belonged to that Jiao Long,” the Cyan Dragon’s Spirit replied.

”What a pauper...” Xu Luo grumbled.

”Uhm... Although this little dragon has no treasures here, I do have quite a few good things stored away in other places. If Your Excellency takes me away from here, this little dragon will naturally repay you!” The Cyan Dragon’s Spirit’s Divine Thought carried a hint of pained reluctance.

Dragons will be dragons. Even with only a single spirit remaining, their greedy habits were hard to change.

However, since the Cyan Dragon’s Spirit had said it, it would naturally do it. As the head of the Four Ancient Divine Beasts, the Cyan Dragon still had that much credibility.

Xu Luo then swiped the table and the ancient painting, causing the Cyan Dragon’s Spirit in his Dantian to grimace and silently curse: ’Could it be that Lord Eighth Star Monarch has some Dragon Race blood in him too?’

Xu Luo didn’t linger. The terrifying creature could return at any moment. ’I’ve cleaned out its entire home. I’d better leave quickly.’

Outside the cave, the sounds of fierce battle were still raging. The qi of the entire sky was being drawn, converging on that location.

Xu Luo’s brow furrowed slightly. He could tell that someone must have set up some kind of powerful array there; otherwise, such a celestial phenomenon wouldn’t have appeared.

’Looks like someone else has designs on this place, or at least, on that terrifying creature.’ The Grand Array looked anything but simple; even from this distance, it gave Xu Luo a feeling of heart-pounding dread.

Sliding quickly down the cliff to the valley floor, Xu Luo then used the Shaking Light Step and silently, swiftly departed.

...

Meanwhile, Chu Tianlie was locked in a fierce battle with the Jiao Long.

In terms of raw power, Chu Tianlie was no match for the Jiao Long at all. However, the Grand Array he had spent many years preparing and had finally completed was immensely powerful.

Caught off guard, the Jiao Long had plunged headfirst into the Grand Array and was instantly trapped. Not only that, but fifty to sixty percent of its full power... was suppressed by the array!

The venomous Jiao Long roared and shrieked incessantly, bellowing threats, ”When this venerable one gets out of this damn array, I will tear you to a million pieces!”

”Get out? HAHAHAHA! You oversized worm, you severely underestimate human ingenuity! Do you think this is still the Ancient Era when you beasts ruled the world? Let me tell you, this world... belongs to humanity now! What do you take this array for? I spent a full eighty years gathering all the materials to set up this Grand Array. You think you can just break through it casually? How naive!” Having finally waited for this day, Chu Tianlie roared with laughter.

This feeling was too good, too exhilarating.

He watched the venomous Jiao Long desperately trying to break free, but four pillars of light shot out from the four corners of the Grand Array, soaring into the sky. They activated the ambient energy in the heavens, locking down the entire area. For the Jiao Long to break out was a near-impossible feat!

Moreover, the more violently the Jiao Long struggled, the more ferocious the Grand Array’s counterattack became!

Before long, the venomous Jiao Long’s entire body was streaming with blood, and it was severely injured. It now understood that it had fallen into the man’s trap. It simply stopped struggling and stared coldly at Chu Tianlie, its eyes emitting a chilling, terrifying light. ”So what if you’ve trapped this venerable one for a while...? This venerable one will not move... Is there anything you can do to me?”

Chu Tianlie cursed inwardly. This was the sole weakness of the Qiankun Reversal Five Elements Array.

Relying on the Power of the Five Elements, the Grand Array could sustain itself indefinitely. If the venomous Jiao Long couldn’t break through, it would be trapped inside forever. If it desperately tried to break through, the Grand Array would reverse Qiankun, launching a furious assault until it was dead!

Therefore, it was like an unsolvable dilemma: don’t resist, and be trapped forever; resist... and face certain death!

But this very fact was also the Qiankun Reversal Five Elements Array’s only weakness!

The reason was simple. A creature like this venomous Jiao Long already possessed an extremely long lifespan, not to mention it had already stepped into the Divine Power Realm. Although it was trapped by the array, it wouldn’t die for several hundred or even several thousand years. On the contrary, inside the Qiankun Reversal Five Elements Array, it could even cultivate slowly!

As long as it could control its violent temper and not try to break free from the Grand Array, then Chu Tianlie, the Array Master, would have no way to deal with it at all!

”Heheheh, you oversized worm, you’re smarter than you look. That’s right, if you don’t resist, the Grand Array won’t attack you, and I can’t do anything to you.” Chu Tianlie’s expression flickered with indecision for a moment before he suddenly broke into a laugh. ”But... while I can’t do anything to you, you can’t get out either!”

”So what?” The Jiao Long’s eyes flashed with a cold light.

”Not much, except that the treasures inside Fulong Cave... HAHAHA, they’ll all be mine!” Chu Tianlie laughed smugly. ”For the past eighty years, I’ve mastered your habits completely. Though you are not of the Dragon Race, you have their tendencies, collecting countless treasures in your cave. Most importantly, the Dragon Pearl that seals one of the Cyan Dragon’s spirits... is also in that cave! If I obtain it and slowly refine it, tell me... do you think I might one day... become a Saint? HAHAHAHA!”

”And when that time comes, I’ll come back to deal with you, you oversized worm... Don’t you think... it’ll be a piece of cake? Hahaha, as easy as crushing a little bug? HAHAHAHA!”

”Eighty years... a full eighty years! I spent eighty years doing something that others thought was completely impossible! And as it turns out... the facts prove... I’ve succeeded! HAHAHAHA!”

Chu Tianlie’s wild laughter echoed between heaven and earth, like that of a madman.

Hearing his words, the Jiao Long flew into a rage, shrieking and roaring, ”You dare! You dare refine Lord Cyan Dragon’s spirit... You will face retribution!”

”Retribution? The Cyan Dragon has been dead for who knows how many years! Hmph, don’t think I’m ignorant. The Four Ancient Divine Beasts have long since fallen. They each left behind a wisp of their soul, hoping to one day revive... How naive! As long as I get that Dragon Pearl sealing the Cyan Dragon, I will definitely refine it! And then, I’ll come back and deal with you!” Chu Tianlie said gloatingly, then turned and swaggered away.

”AAAAAH! DAMN YOU! You despicable human! This venerable one will kill you! AAAAAH! You can’t do this! You can’t touch that Dragon Pearl...” The Jiao Long began to struggle frantically.

Beams of incomparably sharp light shot out from the Grand Array, relentlessly striking its body and instantly mangling its flesh.

But the Jiao Long seemed oblivious to the pain, still roaring, ”That’s mine! It’s all mine! You can’t take it! DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT! AAAAAH!”

”It’s mine now!” Chu Tianlie was practically humming a tune, a carefree expression on his face as he arrived at the entrance to Fulong Cave.

At the cave entrance, Chu Tianlie took a deep breath, looked up at the sky, and murmured, ”I, Chu Tianlie, am about to embark on a brand new path! From this day forward, the Cyan Dragon’s Spirit will accompany me for life... it will be the witness to my true rise! When I, Chu Tianlie, stand at the pinnacle of this world, it will not have been a waste of your great name, Cyan Dragon!”

After speaking, Chu Tianlie let out a sharp exhale, a look of firm conviction flashing in his eyes.

For this day, he had spent eighty years of his life!

Next, it would be his time to shine brilliantly!

He walked down the slope. The cave, a world of its own, was as bright as day!

Lifting his head to look at the Treasure Pearls on the cave’s ceiling, Chu Tianlie smiled faintly and murmured, ”These things... I won’t take them. Let’s leave them here as a memento. All I need is... huh?”

As he was speaking, Chu Tianlie’s eyes... suddenly froze. He stared intently into the depths of the cave.

Under the bright light from the ceiling, on the ground in the depths of the otherwise empty cave, there was only a set of very messy... footprints.