Talisman Emperor

There were naturally many friends that Chen Xi was unable to get angry with, and A’xiu was obviously one of them.

As he gazed at A’xiu who wore a green dress and smiled as she walked over with her hands behind her back, Chen Xi asked with slight surprise. “What are you doing here?”

A’xiu said as matter of course. “Everyone was cheering for you earlier, so I wouldn’t be able to display my superiority if I came looking for you earlier.”

Chen Xi rubbed his nose and was extremely amused.

“Oh, you don’t mind me wasting a bit of your cultivation time, right?” A’xiu blinked at him.

Chen Xi shrugged. “We’re already so close, so is there any need for such courtesy?”

A’xiu paused and smiled brilliantly.

    …

“You did brilliantly this time. You have both reputation and prestige now. I came here to congratulate you, but most importantly, I have something to discuss with you.”

After they chatted for a while, A’xiu directly spoke of the reason for her arrival. “I’ve heard a great deal of rumors that many student societies are trying their best to rope in the outstanding experts amongst the new students. I feel that you can’t stay idle either. You must establish your own society. Strike while the iron is still hot, and you’ll definitely be able to attain unexpected results.”

She paused for a moment and continued. “Otherwise, if you miss this opportunity, then you’ll have to wait until you enter the inner court. But at that time, the resources that are the new students would have probably have long been split up between the other societies, and it would be rather difficult for you to take in some elites.”

Chen Xi was stunned. His brows knit together as he pondered deeply for a long time, and then he said, “I don’t have any idea about this matter now. I’m afraid that hastily establishing my own society will only…”

A’xiu smiled and interrupted him before he could finish. “Don’t worry, don’t you have me? I’m free and unoccupied because I don’t have to participate in the inner court exam, so I’ll help you sort out this matter.”

Chen Xi stared blankly at A’xiu, and he was at a loss for words.

Since he’d known A’xiu until now, he’d noticed that he’d always been passively receiving her help, yet when he wanted to repay her, he noticed that no words, action, or gift would repay it.

So at this moment, his feelings were extremely complicated.

“Hey, tell me, what name do you intend to give your society? You don’t have to bother about anything after you settle on a name.” A’xiu turned around and avoided Chen Xi’s gaze as she spoke with a grin on her face.

“A name?” Chen Xi’s attention was instantly diverted, and he contemplated with concentration for a long time. In the end, he laughed bitterly as he said, “I better not. Even until now, Bai Kui still feels that the name I gave him was horrible…”

A’xiu exploded with laughter, and she revealed a radiant dimple on her face. “It really is horrible. Even I feel it was unfair to Bai Ku.”

Chen Xi was embarrassed, and he said in his heart, It’s only a name, the worse it sounds, the longer one will be able to survive…

“Why don’t we call it the Chen Alliance?” A’xiu looked at Chen Xi with anticipation.

“The Chen Alliance?” Chen Xi shook his head and said, “I’m not the only one in the academy that’s surnamed Chen, so doing this will probably arouse the displeasure of the other students that are surnamed Chen…”

When he spoke up to here, A’xiu suddenly thought of something, and her eyes lit up as she said, “Then we’ll call it the Star Alliance! The ‘Chen’ for the word star. It sounds exactly alike to your own surname, and it implies the meaning of a myriad of stars gathering together to shine brilliantly.” [1] 

Star Alliance…

Chen Xi stared blankly while feeling moved in his heart. In his daze, he recalled that he’d obtained the Star Manor, cultivated the Universe Starslayer Bodyforging Arts, and even inherited various Divine Abilities from the Master of the Manor like the Grand Astral Palm and the Starsky Wings…

It seems that I’m indeed tied tightly by fate to the stars.

“Then it’s decided.” A’xiu bluntly agreed on his behalf when she saw that Chen Xi was moved by the idea, and then she left swiftly as if she was in great haste. Obviously, she intended to make the best use of time and spread Chen Xi’s popularity to absorb others into the society.

This little girl is even more diligent towards this than I am… A wisp of indescribable warmth surged out from Chen Xi’s heart as he watched A’xiu leave.

Chen Xi was completely unaware of what sort of profound and lasting effect this decision that was made between him and A’xiu in a few words would have on the three dimensions.

At this moment, he was still a student in the outer court of Dao Emperor Academy, and he was still working hard and bustling about to forge his future.

It was also after A’xiu left on this day that Chen Xi fully entered into a state of closed-door cultivation.

    …

Within the abode, the tiny cauldron absorbed the Primeval Chaotic Qi in silence.

On the other hand, his clone accepted assignments in the Dao of Talismans all day and night to earn Starpoints. It was precisely because of this that many people in the outside world misunderstood that Chen Xi had no intent to participate in the inner court exam that was occurring in two years from now, and he had instead placed all his attention onto earning Starpoints.

Some people heaved a sigh of relief towards this, as they felt there was one less powerful adversary during the inner court exam.

Some were disappointed by this as they felt that Chen Xi was ignoring what should be prioritized, and he was delaying his path towards the Dao.

Some were curious as they didn’t understand why Chen Xi was earning Starpoints in such an insane manner, and exactly what was the reason for it. Was it for the sake of a precious treasure or a cultivation technique?

In short, many people in the outside world knew that Chen Xi was always earning Starpoints, yet practically no one knew that Chen Xi’s main body had always been in closed-door cultivation while all of this was the actions of his clone.

Flowers bloomed and fell, spring passed, and autumn arrived. Without his realizing it, a year had passed since the moment Chen Xi entered the academy, yet five years had passed in the world of stars.

Huff~

On this day, Chen Xi who was meditating with his eyes closed in the world of stars had suddenly opened them. He let out a long breath of foul air before the spirit, energy, and essence within his entire body became even more restrained and calm like an abyss.

I’ve attained perfection in the advanced-stage of the Mysterious Immortal Realm. Unfortunately, I’m still lacking a critical factor. I never expected that the Golden Immortal Realm would be so difficult to attain… Chen Xi frowned as he muttered.

In these past five years, he’d always been in closed door cultivation, and he used most of his time to temper his cultivation while only spending a small amount of time on condensing the Laws and comprehending the inheritances within the Infinite Divine Talisman.

But up until now, he was still unable to grasp the critical factor needed to advance and break through into the Golden Immortal Realm.

On the contrary, the various Grand Dao profundities he’d grasped were already condensed into the Laws. Moreover, not only was he able to overlap the five elements, he’d even comprehended the inheritances of wind, lightning, Yin, and Yang from the Infinite Divine Talisman.

Merely based on his current strength, he would absolutely be able to easily defeat Liu Zefeng who was suppressed at the Mysterious Immortal Realm.

Unfortunately, even if he’d cultivated within the world of stars for five years, he was still unable to advance into the Golden Immortal Realm.

The Golden Immortal Realm was a divide in the path of immortality, and it was extremely difficult to surmount, just like the Rebirth Realm was for cultivators in the Mortal Dimension. However, once he did advance, he would possess the strength to rule over an area, and he could be considered a pillar of the Immortal Dimension.

The Golden Immortal Realm was divided into three levels, the Allheaven Level, the Embody Heaven Level, and the Brahma Heaven Level.

The reason it was differentiated with the word ‘heaven’ was obvious because every advancement of a level was like surmounting and transcending to a completely new world.

These three levels were also simply called the initial-stage, intermediate-stage, and advanced-stage.

“Allheaven, Allheaven, boundlessly vast. Its origins are unknown, so how does one find the method to cross it? Success equals an eternal golden body, whereas failure equals eternal damnation from the path to immortality…” This was the description of the Allheaven Level in an ancient scripture. It meant that the Allheaven Level was boundless and unfathomable. There was no technique that allowed one to surmount it smoothly, and one could only rely on one’s own ability to attain it.

If one successfully advanced into the Allheaven Level, then one would attain an eternal body that had a lifespan that was equal to the heavens. One would be able to move freely through space, wander through the three dimensions and the universe, and disregard the barriers of the various Laws.

However, if one failed, then one would transform into the ash beneath a tribulation while one’s foundation in the path towards immortality would be destroyed. Even if one was able to survive, it would be impossible for one to attain the Dao and immorality again.

This showed exactly how difficult it was to attain the Allheaven Level. In Dao Emperor Academy, perhaps Golden Immortals could be seen all over, but if it was in a place like Eastern Peace Continent, then a Golden Immortal could become the ruler of an area and take control of numerous cities.

The simplest difference was that Golden Immortals had grasped Golden Immortal Laws, and they condensed Allheaven Divine Crests, whereas those beneath the Golden Immortal Realm cultivated in the Laws of the Grand Dao.

Their grasp of the might of the Heaven Dao had already differentiated the Golden Immortal Realm from the Mysterious Immortal and Heavenly Immortal realms.

Chen Xi’s current situation was that he’d attained perfection in the Mysterious Immortal Realm and wasn’t able to advance in the slightest. If he wanted to improve, then he had to find a path towards the Golden Immortal Realm, yet this path wasn’t recorded in any books or scriptures.

It wasn’t because it was a secret, and it was instead because this path required a cultivator to comprehend it themselves. The path every single person comprehended was completely different. 

Examples of success can’t be found, yet there should be examples of failure to use as reference and avoid mistakes, right? Chen Xi was clearly aware that he didn’t lack cultivation techniques, medicinal pills, comprehension ability, or natural talent all along his path, and the only thing he lacked was the guidance of a senior.

That sort of guidance was usually reflected in cultivation experience. For example, Chen Xi could only search and comprehend himself when trying to charge into the Golden Immortal Realm, but if he had the guidance of a senior, then the senior could impart his experience to Chen Xi, so that Chen Xi could use it as reference. At the very least, Chen Xi could avoid taking some wrong paths and save a great deal of time.

This was the meaning behind possessing a senior and guidance.

Perhaps it’s time to head to the Scripture Reserve to read some books in the Scripture Pavilion. There ought to be some books to look over there… If I really am not able to find one, then I’ll spend some Starpoints and ask for the guidance of some instructors within the academy. Oh, at the very least, those seniors in the Pill Reserve and from the Xuanyuan Clan will definitely not refuse me… Chen Xi pondered deeply for a short while before he stood up. There was only a year left until the inner court exam of the academy, so even if he could still cultivate for five years within the world of stars, time would be of no use if he was unable to find a path to the Golden Immortal Realm.

So the important matter at hand was to find a path that led to the Golden Immortal Realm!Swoosh!Chen Xi left the abode, and his figure flashed as it flew directly towards the Scripture Reserve.

The Scripture Reserve stored the various books gathered through the countless years Dao Emperor Academy had existed. It wasn’t just related to cultivation, and there was even everything else that one expected to find like books on medicine, astrology, music, Go, and so on and so forth. Moreover, all of them were rare and unique copies that were the only one in existence. They were priceless.

If course, one similarly had to pay Starpoints in order to enter the Scripture Reserve to read through its books. Moreover, the Starpoints varied according to the book one chose.

Fortunately, Chen Xi’s current wealth was still alright, so he wasn’t worried that he would be kicked out of the Scripture Reserve…

1. His surname and the word ‘辰’ derived from ‘星辰’, a term that means star, possess the same pinyin. ‘辰’ by itself is considered as the collective term for the sun, moon, and stars (celestial bodies).