Firmament Sword

Li Ye used the Blazing Golden Dragon Spear in his hand as a crutch, leaning on it to slowly stand up and head down.

Li Hua followed closely, his eyes burning with desire as he stared at the spear in his brother’s hand. He hesitated, then gathered his courage, just about to speak.

Without turning his head, Li Ye said, ”What’s the rush? Wait a little. Once my legs don’t feel like jelly, this Blazing Golden Dragon Spear... it’s yours!”

”You know about it?” Li Hua asked, somewhat surprised.

”Of course! You think your brother’s an idiot who doesn’t know anything?” Li Ye said coolly. ”I know far more than you could possibly imagine!”

...

Chaos begets Creation, full of mysteries too profound for words.

All things, in their infancy, stem from Creation.

The Creation of this world is twofold: one part is the Creation of Good, and to obtain it is to gain great fortune. The other is the Creation of Evil, and to obtain it is to suffer endless misfortune.

According to the Dubhe Star Soul, even the mighty experts of the Divine Domain would grow pale at the mere mention of the Creation of Evil.

Even for them, to become entangled with the Creation of Evil meant, at best, falling from the highest heavens to become a mere mortal. At worst, not only would they perish, but their entire family would be implicated. The bad luck would persist for dozens of generations until their bloodline was extinguished and they were utterly annihilated!

Even through the cycle of reincarnation, the Creation of Evil would follow relentlessly...

An old saying suddenly popped into Xu Luo’s head: ’To be cursed with eight lifetimes of bad luck...’

’Perhaps,’ he thought, ’that’s where the saying comes from...’

Upon receiving this sliver of the Source of Creation, Xu Luo didn’t feel any major change. He only sensed waves of mystical energy coursing through the meridians of his entire body, constantly converging in his Dantian. Within his Dantian, his seven Star Souls glittered, each one radiating a dazzling light!

Even the Cyan Dragon’s Spirit and the White Tiger Residual Thought, which had been slumbering within Xu Luo’s arms, were startled awake by this fluctuation.

The Cyan Dragon cried out in astonishment, ”The... the power of Creation! I can actually feel the power of Creation!”

The White Tiger Residual Thought, though more composed, still projected an excited consciousness, murmuring, ”As expected of the Eighth Star Monarch... to actually obtain the power of Creation!”

At that very moment, outside, every person on the four continents of the world witnessed a scene that was so shocking it would be seared into their memories for the rest of their lives.

The day was bright, with a red sun hanging high in the sky. Almost everywhere, the heavens were clear and cloudless, a vast expanse of azure blue.

Suddenly, across the endless expanse of the Cangqiong above, every star in the heavens appeared in a single instant, emitting a dazzling, brilliant starlight!

The stars had appeared in broad daylight!

Among them, the seven great stars of the Big Dipper shone with a light even more brilliant than on the darkest night, so bright that none dared to look at them directly!

The red sun hanging high on one side, a legion of stars shining on the other—such a scene had never occurred in all of recorded history!

And yet today, it had abruptly manifested before the eyes of every person on the world’s four continents!

...

Xu Luo felt his seven Star Souls in his Dantian begin to emit dazzling rays of starlight. First, the Shaking Light Star Soul shot out a beam of light, connecting to the Kaiyang Star Soul.

Immediately after, the Kaiyang Star Soul also shot out a beam of white light, connecting to the Jade Balance Star Soul.

Then came Jade Balance... Tianquan... Phecda... Merak... and finally, Dubhe. They all linked together. Within Xu Luo’s Dantian, an incomparably vast and majestic energy erupted, surging up through the Baihui Acupoint on the crown of his head and bursting forth as a colossal pillar of light.

It pierced through Old Baldy Ridge and roared toward the endless Cangqiong!

BANG!

In the distant Southern Celestial Divine Continent, a great mountain range spanning the entire continent suddenly, without any warning, split apart. A massive fissure, tens of thousands of miles long, tore through the earth. Mountains crumbled, rivers reversed their flow, and giant boulders rained from the sky as towering ancient trees toppled.

An immense altar... rose from the earth, emerging from within the fissure!

The altar, which appeared to be carved from a single, massive stone, was thousands of miles wide!

It looked somewhat dilapidated, and there was no telling how many eons it had weathered or how many years it had been sealed here. It radiated an ancient, time-worn aura.

Many mysterious, faded symbols and patterns were carved upon its surface. The instant it emerged from the earth, it shot a crimson beam of light high into the heavens, aimed straight for the endless Cangqiong!

BANG!

In the heartland of the Central Plains Star Continent, a massive vortex, tens of thousands of miles wide, suddenly appeared in a desolate desert!

The vortex grew larger and deeper, threatening to swallow the entire desert whole!

Then, an incredibly thick, dazzling yellow beam of light erupted from the vortex’s center, shooting toward the heavens!

BOOM!

In the center of the Ancient Race Continent, beneath a vast swamp, a series of rumbles echoed from deep underground. All the creatures in the swamp fled in a panic. Many powerful Spirit Beasts let out roars of despair before being instantly obliterated by a mysterious power!

Next, the entire swamp began to boil. The water level dropped, evaporating at a rate visible to the naked eye!

The powerful creatures that lived in the swamp let out desperate shrieks before turning to ash. As for the weaker ones... they didn’t even have a chance to react before disintegrating into dust and vanishing completely.

Then, an ancient altar slowly rose from beneath the swamp, and a green pillar of light, thousands of miles thick, thundered toward the sky!

RUMBLE!

On the Sect Continent, in a desolate region with almost no Spiritual Qi—a place known to the world as a deadland—a fissure silently opened, stretching for thousands of miles. The ground then began to tremble violently. Amidst deafening rumbles, an altar... slowly ascended!

A purple beam of light roared toward the heavens!

Four continents. Four colossal altars. Four beams of differently colored light, all shooting toward the endless Cangqiong at nearly the same instant!

Crimson, yellow, green, and purple!

High in the endless sky, these four beams of light converged, their colors blending and shining together.

Just then, a white beam of light merged with them, transforming into the Five-Colored Divine Light. It converged into a single point and shot toward a specific location in the void.

High in the Cangqiong, among the stars, the seven stars of the Big Dipper also began to glow, linking together. Finally, they seemed to answer the call of the Five-Colored Divine Light from across the cosmos!

At the apex of the Cangqiong, the Five-Colored Divine Light transformed into a long rainbow, like a great road connecting directly to the Big Dipper!

Across the entire world, cultivator and mortal alike were left utterly dumbstruck!

Countless mortals, witnessing this soul-shaking celestial phenomenon, prostrated themselves on the ground and began to pray with fervent devotion.

「In the distant Southern Celestial Divine Continent」

Inside the Starlight Sect—which was well on its way to becoming one of the continent’s top sects—an exceptionally beautiful young woman gazed up at the Cangqiong. Her eyes were lightly closed as she murmured, ”My name is Yang Dan. I don’t know which Immortal has manifested to create such a phenomenon, but I beg you... please let me see him again... even if... even if it’s just a glimpse from afar. As long as I know he is well, I will be content!”

「On the Ancient Race Continent.」

The Huo Family’s ancestor, Huo Tongtian, burst out of his seclusion. He stared blankly up at the Cangqiong, his hands a blur as he formed one Technique after another. His expression shifted rapidly until finally, with a wretched cough, he sprayed a mouthful of blood.

He murmured, ”The celestial mechanisms are in chaos... I can’t see a thing. What’s happening? Is this world... about to change? Could it be... has Beidou’s Eighth Star awakened? But that’s impossible! How could it be so soon?”

Huo Tongtian stood there, silent for a moment, before performing another divination. His brow furrowed as he muttered, ”The people who were with Feng’Er... they’ve all perished. And Feng’Er’s fate... why is it also in chaos? It seems to be entangled with Beidou’s Eighth Star... What... what is happening?”

Huo Tongtian spat out another mouthful of blood, soaking the front of his robes crimson. He heaved a long sigh, but a resolute glint flashed in his eyes. He murmured, ”Even if you have truly awakened, I *will* have you! Only by obtaining Beidou’s Eighth Star can I finally take that next step!”

「Central Plains Star Continent, Cangqiong Empire, Imperial Capital.」

Even before the celestial phenomenon began, the Grand Array enveloping the entire Cangqiong Imperial Capital had already been activated. A horde of people was desperately assailing it. Every single one of them possessed immense power; the very weakest among them had reached the Ninth Layer of Transformation Realm or higher!

The vast majority were mighty experts of the Divine Power Realm!

Each one unleashed their Divine Techniques. Powerful Dharma Heaven and Earth manifestations appeared, a chaotic dance of demons, as they frantically attacked the Cangqiong Imperial Capital’s City Defense Array.

Atop the city walls stood a large group of people.

Xu Ji, Xu Su, Luo Xinlan, Phoenix, Lianyi, Huangfu Shishi, Little Fatty Liu Feng, Huangfu Chongzhi, Xu Jie, Sui Yan—all of Xu Luo’s family and friends were present.

They watched with cold eyes as the attackers desperately tried to break through, a hint of worry on all their faces.

Sui Yan stated with a calm expression, ”They... can’t break through!”

Sui Yan’s aura now fluctuated with a power that had, astonishingly, already reached the Divine Power Realm!

He had achieved his Dao through Arrays. The very instant the City Defense Array was successfully activated, he took that final step into the Divine Power Realm!

”But this can’t go on forever... it’s not a solution,” Xu Jie said softly, his brow furrowed. ”These people are too powerful. If they keep attacking like this, I’m afraid the Grand Array will eventually fail.”

Astonishingly, Xu Jie was also emanating the powerful aura of the Divine Power Realm!

He had achieved his Dao through Casting Skill. The moment he successfully forged his first Spirit-Connected Magical Artifact, he stepped into the Divine Power Realm!

Huangfu Chongzhi had also stepped into the Divine Power Realm. This Supreme Emperor, who had no desire for the throne, had achieved his Dao through Alchemy. His Elixirs had already reached the level of Tongxuan!

Aside from those few, every single person here had reached the Ninth Layer of Transformation Realm!

This was a group of peerless experts who stood at the very pinnacle of the mortal world!

The once-powerful sects of the Central Plains Star Continent paled in comparison to this force!

All of this... stemmed from the Top-Grade Divine Materials Xu Luo had left behind and Huangfu Chongzhi’s Alchemy Skill!

It was precisely because of this group that the Cangqiong Imperial Capital had not fallen and was able to hold out to this day.

Phoenix suddenly broke into a smile. ”Actually,” she said, ”the actions of these people prove one thing for us...”