Chapter 1504: A Sea of Stars

The moment the black water bead fell into the mist, the swirling vapors, which had already begun to slow, suddenly erupted like a disturbed swarm of bees.

In a chaotic surge, the mist swirled and rushed towards the black water bead.

As the two-colored mist continuously converged and flowed into it, the black water bead began to rotate in mid-air. With the constant infusion of mist, the bead grew larger and larger, reaching the size of a fist in the blink of an eye.

But its speed did not decrease. It continued to spin, absorbing the two-colored mist, rotating furiously.

From the moment the black water bead began absorbing the mist until it had completely consumed it all, the bead had grown to the size of a platter. The entire process took exactly eighty-one breaths—the Nine-Nines Return to Truth.

The instant the black water bead finished absorbing all the mist, a dazzling black and red light erupted from its surface.

“Om!”

A tremor echoed throughout the grand hall. Li Yan, sitting cross-legged in the center, snapped his eyes open.

At this moment, all the mist around him had vanished. The platter-sized water bead in front of him, after emitting a low hum, suddenly stopped.

A different scene appeared before Li Yan’s eyes.

The black water bead was gone. In its place was a Taiji Yin-Yang Fish platter composed of black and red. It stood vertically in the air, its face oriented towards Li Yan.

The outer edge of the platter formed a black ring, seemingly fixed in time and space, unmoving. At the center of the platter, the black and red yin-yang fish slowly intertwined and rotated.

The power of stars flickered in Li Yan’s eyes. Then, two points of starlight shot out from his eyes, striking the black and red yin-yang fish in the next moment.

If Great Master Lan and the others were here, they would have sensed that the power of stars erupting from Li Yan was the same as it had been seven months ago, with no increase whatsoever. It was still at ninety percent.

This meant that after cultivating for over half a year, Li Yan’s star power had not grown at all, or at least, any growth was imperceptible.

And now, only a few months remained until the deadline set by Great Master Lan.

The instant the two cold stars condensed from star power struck the black and red Taiji Yin-Yang Fish, the floating platter, unable to withstand a single blow, shattered into pieces.

As the platter broke apart, it immediately transformed into ten figures: three red and seven black.

Among them, the five semi-transparent black figures formed from po power had now become as solid as the other two black figures.

Their features, as if a veil had been lifted, revealed five indistinct faces that all resembled Li Yan.

The moment the ten figures separated, they all twisted and transformed into three red and seven black streaks of light, shooting into the crown of the meditating Li Yan’s head.

The instant the ten figures entered Li Yan’s Celestial Crown, the aura around him condensed. Although there was no visible change, his entire being exuded a sense of perfect wholeness, a complete fusion with the surrounding heaven and earth.

It was as if the current Li Yan, no matter where he went, even if he suddenly appeared in a crowd of strangers, would not seem out of place. He would appear as if he had been standing there all along, never having moved.

He would not seem abrupt, nor would he attract the attention of others.

The moment his Three Huns and Seven Pos returned to his body, the power of stars flickered in Li Yan’s eyes once more.

In the next instant, a point of white light shot out from between his eyebrows like an arrow, heading straight for the formation restrictions in front of him.

“Tch!”

A soft sound, almost inaudible.

The innermost defensive formation Li Yan had set up, capable of withstanding a full-force blow from a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, was pierced by a small hole.

Then, the point of white light continued unabated, striking the outer formation. With another “tch,” that formation restriction was also shattered.

Afterward, the point of white light shot out like lightning once more. After shattering a third formation, it finally lodged itself in the fourth.

The several defensive formations Li Yan had laid down had barely been able to stop his attack, being pierced through layer by layer in an instant.

‘A Sea of Stars, Great Perfection!’

Seeing this, Li Yan’s heart swelled with pleasant surprise.

Things had turned out just as he had imagined. Before cultivating this art, he had been contemplating how to cultivate the Power of the Cold Moon.

His soul cultivation had already reached the late-stage Nascent Soul Realm, and he now had the subsequent Spirit Transformation Realm portion of the “Saintly Soul Transformation Art.”

Under these circumstances, he could have tried to break through to the next realm.

But Li Yan knew that his cultivation had been forcefully raised to the late-stage Nascent Soul Realm through his powerful soul and years of relentless tempering.

In truth, his soul cultivation realm had a major flaw; it was not perfect.

The reason was that while the cultivation of his Three Huns was flawless and perfectly matched his realm, of his Seven Pos, only two were strong, while the other five were extremely weak.

This did not mean the five po souls were weak in power, but rather in their application. It was like having strong muscles but blocked meridians; the strength was there, but it couldn’t be wielded with perfect control.

The application of those five po souls, when measured by the “Saintly Soul Transformation Art,” was at best at the Foundation Establishment level. This meant that every one of his breakthroughs had been flawed.

It was just that for breakthroughs in the “Saintly Soul Transformation Art,” as long as the soul power reached the required level, one could advance by focusing on either the huns or the pos.

Li Yan had focused on his three huns, so his breakthroughs had not been an issue.

Li Yan believed that by supplementing the application of these five po souls, the star power he had accumulated might also be replenished with new strength.

As for how far it could elevate his star power, Li Yan felt it might bring him very close to one hundred percent. If that were the case, even without cultivating the Power of the Cold Moon, it would still be a tremendous improvement.

Therefore, he decided to start over from the Qi Condensation stage and cultivate step by step.

Because his own soul cultivation realm had been achieved using the “Saintly Soul Transformation Art” to break through to the late-stage Nascent Soul Realm, even when re-cultivating the five po souls’ arts, he charged to the Golden Core Realm in just a day.

After another month, he broke through to the initial-stage Nascent Soul Realm, and then reached the mid-stage soon after. The subsequent five months or so were mostly spent charging towards the late-stage Nascent Soul Realm.

What Li Yan had not expected was that today, the moment all his soul cultivation reached the late-stage Nascent Soul Realm, his star power would instantly fill to the brim, reaching the state of Great Perfection.

With just one more step, the phenomenon of “The Stars Move and the Moon Appears” should occur.

‘It seems now that the Great Perfection of star power accumulation corresponds to the peak of the late-stage Nascent Soul Realm. This is the true manifestation of the “Saintly Soul Transformation Art,” not a result of a mismatch between my realm and the sun, moon, and stars!’

Li Yan thought to himself.

‘Yin huns and yang pos. The Great Dao of soul cultivation is also yin and yang, but it integrates the unity of the Three Talents to allow the Three Huns and Seven Pos to merge harmoniously.’

‘When breaking through to the late-stage Nascent Soul Realm, the three huns must adopt the position of the Three Talents, and then reverse the process to reform and reconstruct yin and yang…’

Li Yan quickly recalled the scene of his breakthrough.

Besides these points, the black water bead Li Yan had condensed at the end served as a vessel. It had to be condensed using the attribute of your strongest spirit root.

Otherwise, the water bead you condense might shatter instantly, unable to bear the two-colored mist and the final impact of the falling stars.

This would lead to a complete failure of the breakthrough. Attempting to break through again in the future would be extremely difficult.

Li Yan had used Gui Water to condense a black water bead. Its color was nearly identical to that of the seven pos. It was estimated that even an outsider would have difficulty telling the difference.

As Li Yan recalled the breakthrough, the scene of the Three Talents reversing into yin and yang appeared in his mind.

‘I overlooked one point. Before the Taiji Yin-Yang Fish appeared, the black and red mists were mixed together. At that time, the soul power was in a chaotic state. This is a great dao rule of reversal and alternation…’

Li Yan contemplated the interplay of the three states. During this process, the True Scripture of Gui Water in his body also began to alter its circulation route in response to his thoughts.

Li Yan, immersed in his thoughts, was completely unaware of this.

It was the method of the Five Elements Great Heavenly Cycle. It no longer circulated according to the generative cycle of the True Scripture of Gui Water. After changing its route, the Five Elements continuously collided and merged, then began to stagnate and diverge.

At a certain moment, this magical power began to flow to places it had never reached before, to meridians that were completely unused during the circulation of the True Scripture of Gui Water.

And yet, the contemplative Li Yan remained oblivious to it all. Right after his breakthrough with the “Saintly Soul Transformation Art,” Li Yan had suddenly entered a strange state.

At one point, he instinctively took out the “Fuxi Plate,” his eyes staring blankly at it. The five-colored light on the Nascent Soul within his body also flickered and changed colors along with Li Yan’s thoughts…

Before Li Yan’s eyes, everything had vanished. The grand hall, the statues, even the “Fuxi Plate” in his hand no longer existed.

In his Sea of Consciousness, the spatial laws, life laws, and the Great Dao of the five elements’ circulation he contemplated would appear, disappear, then reappear and disappear again, endlessly replacing each other, in a cycle of perpetual renewal…

Previously, Li Yan’s understanding of the power of laws was more than ninety percent limited to the Great Dao of the Five Elements.

And now, following his acquisition of the “Fuxi Plate,” he had taken another step, touching upon another great door. It was a Great Dao that could refine and sublimate the Great Dao of the Five Elements…

Li Yan just sat there, motionless like a clay statue, having forgotten everything, lost in a daze.

He remained like this, sitting for another half a year…

…

In a side hall on a lone peak of the Soul-Suppression Palace, Great Master Lan was seated. This side hall had been converted by her into a testing area. The set of formations Li Yan had previously tested had long since been moved here.

The mountain gate was too far from the back mountain. Due to the great war, Great Master Lan frequently had to participate in important sect discussions and no longer had the leisure of the past.

Therefore, it was no longer suitable for her to remain at the mountain gate for long periods.

At this moment, Great Master Lan’s purple eyes were solemn as she looked at Tang Feng, whom she had just summoned.

“More than a year has passed now. Li Yan has not reported his cultivation progress as agreed. He may have fallen into a deep meditative state and lost track of time. You need to go and check on his situation,” Great Master Lan said.

Although her purple eyes were still sharp, her face was etched with fatigue.

But Great Master Lan also knew that the other elders were all equally exhausted, especially the Sect Master, Xue Tieyi, who was the key to this war.

Therefore, the matter of Li Yan had been entirely entrusted to her. She was more familiar with Li Yan and the plan for that matter.

Great Master Lan had just emerged from her research on formations. After calculating the time, she immediately summoned Tang Feng, her tone laced with dissatisfaction.

First, she was displeased with Li Yan for not reporting his cultivation progress on time. Second, she was displeased with Tang Feng. She had been researching formations and had specifically instructed Tang Feng to follow up on this matter.

But neither of them had reported back. She had to take the initiative to ask about such things.

“Elder Lan, I actually tried to find you some time ago, but seeing that you were in seclusion, I did not immediately report the matter. As for Li Yan, I requested a warrant from the Sect Master. Although I couldn’t enter the Civil and Martial Hall, I did enter the secret realm. From outside the hall, I could feel that the soul power there was swirling and incredibly dense, as if he had reached a critical point in his cultivation. I was afraid that disturbing him might cause all his previous efforts to go to waste!”

Tang Feng immediately explained the situation, a hesitant look on his face. He had already considered this when Li Yan had been inside for a full year.

In addition, he now had to lead the cultivators of the Soul Palace’s Rear Hall on missions from time to time and was extremely busy, so he had decided to wait a little longer.

Now, Tang Feng’s mood had improved considerably. Elder Ling had proven himself worthy of being his designated guardian. Trapped and surrounded, he had relied on his own formidable cultivation to fight his way out.

But due to his grievous injuries, he had found a place to hide and recuperate after escaping. Even Elder Zhou and the others couldn’t find him. Because his soul lamp was still lit, they thought he might have been captured by the nine major powers.

It wasn’t until a few months ago that Elder Ling, still injured, finally returned to the sect. After a brief report, he went directly into seclusion, having temporarily lost his combat strength.

However, none of this mattered to Tang Feng. As long as Elder Ling had returned alive, he was overjoyed.

“Oh? You’ve already been there… Hmm, then don’t disturb him for now. I will give you a magical treasure that can roughly measure his star power without disturbing his cultivation. Although it’s not very precise, it can serve as a reference. You can test him three times at intervals. After you return, we will make a final judgment!”

After hearing Tang Feng’s explanation, Great Master Lan’s expression softened slightly. As she spoke, she took out a mirror.

This matter could not be delayed any longer. A decision had to be made today. Under these circumstances, they couldn’t wait for Li Yan to continue cultivating. If it didn’t work, they would have to call him out.

Just then, Great Master Lan and Tang Feng suddenly turned their heads to look in the same direction.

“Someone is breaking through!”

Tang Feng’s face showed surprise as he sensed it too. This kind of thing happened frequently within the sect.

He had just said this to Great Master Lan when he saw her flash towards the door. Tang Feng immediately followed.

The next moment, they were standing in mid-air. Their gazes swept across the area and fell on a region behind the lone peak. That area was perennially shrouded in mist, a perilous land forbidden to outsiders.

Some of the Soul-Suppression Palace’s secret locations, like the Rear Hall and the Civil and Martial Hall, were located there. Although they were said to be in the perilous land, that area had actually been explored by the Soul-Suppression Palace and was considered safe.

At this moment, the sound of thunder and lightning could be faintly heard from the sky above that area.

“This is a Heavenly Tribulation for someone above the Nascent Soul Realm. Are there still cultivators from your Rear Hall cultivating and breaking through in their cave residences?”

Great Master Lan looked at Tang Feng.

More than ninety percent of cultivators would have a premonition or sign before breaking through a major realm. Spontaneous breakthroughs did happen, but they were not common.

Therefore, the sect had specific areas for cultivators to face their Heavenly Tribulations. These areas were divided by realm and guarded by different people.

Especially for a Spirit Transformation cultivator’s breakthrough, a Void Refining elder would personally stand guard. But even then, it would be in a designated area.

Unless it was an unexpected breakthrough, very few people would choose to undergo their Heavenly Tribulation in their own cave residence.