Firmament Sword

Deep in the far reaches of the cosmos lay a desolate expanse, filled everywhere with an Aura of Chaos.

Only a single... desolate and lonely planet hung suspended in the Cosmic Void.

Four Order Divine Chains extended from that planet, stretching out into the even more distant and boundless cosmos.

The ends of the Order Divine Chains were anchored within a small, solitary temple situated at the very center of the planet.

The entire universe was deathly silent.

Suddenly, an earth-shattering roar erupted from the small temple. Without any warning, the poor, innocent planet instantly exploded, crumbling and disintegrating... shattering into endless dust.

In the entire Cosmic Void, only a figure exuding an incomparably terrifying aura remained. It yanked on the four Order Divine Chains and roared at the heavens.

”Who… has messed with your Grandpa Kunpeng’s restrictions again?”

”Who is so bold? AAAAAAH! Damn it! You’re dead! Utterly dead!”

”Silently… you’ve taken another slice out of me, your Grandpa Kunpeng… How ruthless!”

”Power of Origin… My Power of Origin!”

”Damn you all! You juniors of the Divine Domain… Did you think that just because your Grandpa Kunpeng is here cultivating and has no time for you, you could do whatever you please?”

”In your dreams! I, your Grandpa Kunpeng… will never let you go!”

”No matter who you are… Grandpa Kunpeng will never let you off the hook! Never!”

The four Order Divine Chains clanged and vibrated as he pulled them taut, continuously flashing with divine light. The entire expanse of the void distorted in that instant.

BOOM! BOOM! …BOOM!

Countless bolts of Celestial Thunder descended from the Cosmic Void, striking the figure directly.

”Strike away, strike away, you bullshit will of the Great Cosmos… One day, your Grandpa Kunpeng will replace you!”

”Just you wait! Sooner or later… there will come… a day… AAAAAAH!”

…

…

”The Kunpeng? You mean… that old monster from the Ancient Era? How… could you have any dealings with it?” the Monkey asked, looking at Xu Luo with a frown, completely puzzled.

”I didn’t want to have any dealings with it either,” Xu Luo said. ”But… it’s fate!”

As he spoke, Xu Luo put away the section of the Cyan Dragon’s corpse from the table and murmured, ”Don’t worry. I will definitely find the other parts of your real body. No matter how difficult it is… I will find a way to revive you!”

With that, Xu Luo spat out another mouthful of blood. His cultivation realm wasn’t high enough, and he’d suffered a severe backlash from forcibly manipulating the Heaven and Earth Laws.

If this weren’t his own world, he would have perished long ago.

Slowly, Xu Luo picked up an Immortal Spirit Stone from the table and began circulating the Shadow Shaking Heart Method. The vast energy within the Immortal Spirit Stone immediately surged toward his body.

The Monkey watched from the side, his heart pounding and the corners of his mouth twitching violently. ’Top-level Immortal Spirit Stones! I thought I was extravagant enough, but compared to this guy… I’m not even close!’

Soon, Xu Luo had completely absorbed a large Top-level Immortal Spirit Stone. Then, he grabbed a second one.

The Monkey was instantly stunned. The Top-level Immortal Spirit Stones on this table were much larger than the ones on the Immortal Spirit Stone Mountain!

A single Immortal Spirit Stone from the Top-level Immortal Spirit Stone Mountain was enough for a Saint Realm expert to recover all their strength. According to the Monkey’s calculations, half a Top-level Immortal Spirit Stone from this table should have been enough for Xu Luo to fully recover.

But unexpectedly, not only was one Top-level Immortal Spirit Stone not enough, but Xu Luo was actually reaching for a second one!

”This guy… how is he even more of a monster than I am? He’s such a freak!” the Monkey bared his teeth, watching Xu Luo.

Then, something happened that left the Monkey utterly dumbfounded, almost to the point of being psychologically scarred…

After absorbing the second Top-level Immortal Spirit Stone, Xu Luo reached for a third. Then… a fourth, a fifth… all the way to the twentieth!

He continued until he had absorbed every single Immortal Spirit Stone on the table—over a hundred of them—sucking them all dry. Only then did he let out a long breath, stretch, and say, ”Top-level Immortal Spirit Stones are truly something else. The energy is so pure!”

As Xu Luo spoke, he noticed the petrified-looking Monkey at his side and asked in confusion, ”Brother Hui, what’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?”

”I was just wondering… are you even human?” the Monkey muttered.

”Hey, Brother Hui, we may be brothers, but if you talk like that, I’m going to get angry!” Xu Luo glared, looking like he was about to start a fight.

The Monkey’s mouth twitched a few times. ”That’s not what I meant. I was trying to say, how could you possibly… absorb so many Top-level Immortal Spirit Stones? Even that big toad, the Infinite Saint Emperor… would probably have a hard time absorbing all of these in one go!”

”Oh, that…” Xu Luo said, realization dawning on him. He scratched his head. ”Maybe… I just have a big appetite?”

”…” The Monkey stared at Xu Luo speechlessly. ”Do you have any idea? Half of one of those Top-level Immortal Spirit Stones you just absorbed could restore a King-level expert’s full stamina, and a whole one would make him explode! You… you just went through over a hundred of them. Tell me yourself… are you still human?”

”Was it a bit extravagant?” Xu Luo asked, looking at the Monkey cautiously. ”How about… you take some more of the Spirit Stones from the Immortal Spirit Stone Mountain?”

”You’re pissing me off!” The Monkey bared his teeth and rolled his eyes, not wanting to deal with this freak anymore.

Of course, Xu Luo knew what the Monkey was curious about, but this kind of thing… how was he supposed to explain it?

He was a star’s reincarnation. After years of continuous tempering, his physical form had become incomparably tough. Even an expert a full major realm higher than him wouldn’t necessarily have a stronger body.

Coupled with the constant transformations his body had undergone over the years from the Seven Star Souls, Xu Luo’s physical form was, in a sense, closer to that of a planet!

At the same cultivation realm… Xu Luo was virtually invincible!

No other living being could surpass him in terms of sheer power capacity!

With his formidable combat strength, Xu Luo was supremely confident that he would be the final victor against any opponent of the same realm!

A trace of disappointment appeared on the Monkey’s face as he mumbled, ”So that day when we fought, you… you weren’t even using your full strength.”

Xu Luo gave a wry smile. ”Brother Hui, you’re overthinking it. There’s no grudge between us, so why would I fight you to the death? Besides, my constitution is just a bit special. I can store more power, that’s all. It doesn’t mean my combat strength is the absolute strongest.”

”Let me put it this way… People in my world all say I’m a star’s reincarnation. From the day I first made a name for myself, people have constantly tried to capture me and refine me… to turn me into their tonic.”

”So… I’ve always been reluctant to mention my origins. It’s not that I was deliberately hiding anything from you, Brother Hui. If you have a problem with it, then I apologize to you right here!”

As Xu Luo spoke, he gave the Monkey a fist-and-palm salute.

Xu Luo’s explanation actually made the Monkey feel a bit embarrassed. It scratched its head and ears, bared its teeth, and then said, ”That’s not what I meant. I just think you’re a bit… you just hide your true strength way too well!”

The Monkey was quite curious about Xu Luo’s identity as a star’s reincarnation. ”A star’s reincarnation? I think I’ve vaguely heard of that somewhere… But why would they want to refine you?”

As he spoke, the Monkey slapped his forehead in a moment of epiphany. ”I get it! They want to refine you into pure energy. They’re treating you like a Human-Shaped Elixir!”

Xu Luo nodded with a wry smile.

The Monkey curled his lip. ”That’s why… so many humans are cruel and have no morals or principles. They can treat their own kind like that, let alone other races…”

”But you can rest assured. Even if the people in this Divine Domain are just as unprincipled and shameless, they won’t be too interested in you!”

”The Divine Domain is full of all kinds of Heavenly and Earthly Treasures. To refine you… they’d have to face your desperate counterattack. One careless move and their own ship could sink… I doubt anyone would be willing to do something where the effort and reward are so disproportionate.”

Xu Luo said, ”I hope so.”

He recalled what the Su Family Ancestor had said before his ascension: that he would spread news about him in the Divine Domain and turn everyone against him…

Xu Luo thought to himself, ’I hope the people of the Divine Domain are just as the Monkey said, and won’t be that interested in… Beidou’s Eighth Star.’

”However… it’s best you don’t go around announcing this identity of yours.”

The Monkey thought for a moment and said, ”Because in this Divine Domain… there are, after all, some people who are ruthless and will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. Those kinds of people… are capable of anything. It’s better to be on your guard.”

Xu Luo nodded. He certainly wasn’t going to go around showing off about it.

”I never would’ve thought that big toad, the Infinite Saint Emperor, was actually a subordinate of that fierce bird from antiquity. I really underestimated him,” the Monkey said, somewhat resentfully, as he recalled what had just happened. ”That old monster disappeared back in the Ancient Times. I thought he died long ago, but he’s actually still alive…”

”He… doesn’t have a big reputation in the Divine Domain?” Xu Luo was a little puzzled. He noticed that the Monkey’s tone held little reverence for the Kunpeng, just like when he talked about the Infinite Saint Emperor… directly calling him a ”big toad.”

Logically, the Kunpeng’s power had already reached a profound level. Even in the Divine Domain, he should be anything but unknown.

The Monkey laughed casually and said, ”That fierce bird really doesn’t have much of a reputation in the Divine Domain. My uncle once said that compared to a Supreme Great Sect like Celestial Brilliance, a Kunpeng or whatever… is nothing!”

Xu Luo’s eyes narrowed slightly. He felt that the Monkey’s uncle must have misjudged the Kunpeng!

He didn’t doubt that the Monkey was telling the truth, but he had a feeling: the Kunpeng seemed to be doing this intentionally. It didn’t want its name to become too famous in the Divine Domain!

The Monkey’s eyes, which flashed with electric light, blinked. He suddenly said, ”But based on what you said, this Kunpeng… seems pretty incredible. And now that I think about it, for it to be able to set up such a measure in this treasury is really unusual, especially inside the big toad’s treasury! Even if the big toad isn’t its subordinate, at the very least… they must be very good friends!”

”Maybe… what my uncle said back then… wasn’t entirely correct.” The Monkey looked at Xu Luo and added, ”But the terror of Celestial Brilliance… that’s real!”

Xu Luo took a deep breath and said softly, ”Even if it’s a road of no return, it’s one I have to walk.”