“Whether he’s a cultivator from the Great Jin or not, the fact that he managed to obtain the Void Heaven Cauldron means he has considerable fortune. If it weren’t for the fact that the two of us cultivate the Magnetic Divine Light, which repels treasures of the five elements, and that the incomplete Void Heaven Map is utterly useless to late-stage cultivators like us—preventing us from entering this hall—how could an outsider have gotten their hands on such a spiritual treasure?” The man spoke with a hint of regret in his tone.
“If the Magnetic Divine Light were truly mastered, one could harness the power of the five elements for their own use. How could it be incapable of wielding five-element artifacts? It’s just that we were unlucky and ultimately fell short at the last step.” The woman responded with a bitter smile.
“Indeed! Had I known this earlier, I wouldn’t have dragged you into cultivating this half-understood Magnetic Divine Light. In truth, I owe you an apology.” The man fell silent for a long moment before speaking again, his voice tinged with remorse.
“It’s not your fault. If we hadn’t sought an alternative path, we would never have had a chance to advance to the Deity Transformation stage. And the truth is, if not for that final mishap, we might have already succeeded in breaking through, gaining at least another thousand years of lifespan!” The woman shook her head calmly.
“True. Who would have thought that the final step of cultivating the Magnetic Divine Light required possessing a five-element spiritual root? But those with such chaotic roots can’t even form a Nascent Soul, let alone reach the Foundation Establishment or Core Formation stages. How could they ever qualify to cultivate this technique? No wonder this method, though created long ago, has never been successfully mastered. I, Ling Tianlei, reached the late-stage Nascent Soul in just five hundred years—my talent is no less than any past master of Star Palace. I even overcame the so-called three insurmountable barriers of the Magnetic Divine Light. Yet, in the end, I still ended up like this. The ancient cultivator who created this technique must have deliberately set this trap to ensnare later generations. Who knows what their true intentions were, never mentioning that mastering this technique required such contradictory conditions! Had I known, I would never have chosen to cultivate it.” The man grew increasingly agitated, his resentment toward the ancient creator of the Magnetic Divine Light palpable.
The woman sighed deeply before softly consoling him, “Enough. Whether this technique was truly a joke by an ancient cultivator or not, how can one’s spiritual roots be easily altered? We were fortunate to discover the issue early and stop cultivating. Otherwise, continuing to train on the Magnetic Mountain would have caused the five elemental forces within us to erupt, likely resulting in our bodies exploding! In a way, we should thank Six Paths and Wan Sangu—if they hadn’t forced us to emerge early, we might never have noticed the anomalies within us.”
“Hmph, Six Paths and Wan Sangu were nothing more than my defeated foes in the past, hardly worth mentioning. If not for the restrictions of the Magnetic Mountain, I would have long since stormed their lairs and wiped them out. And this problem isn’t entirely unsolvable!” The man snorted, his tone suddenly shifting.
“What do you mean? Have you truly found a way to alter spiritual roots?” The woman, previously composed, grew visibly excited.
“After discovering the issue, I spent over a century scouring ancient texts for a solution. I did find an ancient secret technique—though it doesn’t truly add spiritual roots, it allows a pure-element treasure, after a blood sacrifice, to substitute for a missing root and harness the power of the five elements.” After a pause, the man revealed his findings.
“That simple?” The woman was skeptical.
“Of course, the refinement process and the choice of treasure require precision, but that’s no obstacle for us. The catch is that this method can only grant control over one additional element. Attempting a second blood sacrifice would overwhelm the Nascent Soul and cause the body to collapse. Unless we originally had four spiritual roots, this method is ultimately futile.” The man sighed in resignation.
“I see. For us, with our single-element roots, it’s useless.” The woman’s brief hope was extinguished.
“Let’s abandon any delusions of mastering the Magnetic Divine Light. Even if another solution existed, with less than a century of lifespan left, we’d never have time to implement it. We should focus on Yu Ling. With our post-seclusion efforts, she’s successfully formed her Nascent Soul. Once her realm stabilizes, we can use the Baptism Technique to forcibly push her to mid-stage in a few decades. With mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivation, she should barely be able to manage Star Palace. But before that, we must eliminate Six Paths and Wan Sangu—they cannot be left alive!” The woman’s voice turned icy, laced with killing intent.
“If we’re willing to stake our lives, eliminating those two won’t be difficult,” the man said dismissively.
“What about this Han cultivator? He possesses the Void Heaven Cauldron and may be a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. If we’re gone, he could become a major variable in the Chaotic Star Sea. Yet, from Yu Ling’s message, she seems to hold a favorable impression of him.” The woman hesitated.
“A mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator with such talent is worth recruiting. Let’s see if he’s willing to join Star Palace. If so, we can place restrictions on him, take the Void Heaven Cauldron for Yu Ling’s advancement, and compensate him with other treasures. If not, we’ll eliminate him to avoid future trouble.” The man’s tone turned ruthless.
“That’s the only way,” the woman sighed, not objecting.
“But the message talisman was destroyed once already—he must be wary now. Ordinary elders won’t be able to handle him. We’ll have to intervene personally.” The man spoke coolly.
“Even with a spiritual treasure, he’s just a mid-stage cultivator. No need for both of us—I can handle him alone. Within the Magnetic Mountain’s influence, even a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator would be no match for me.” The woman brimmed with confidence.
“Very well. But be cautious—the Void Heaven Cauldron has circulated in the Chaotic Star Sea for so long; its power shouldn’t be underestimated.” The man didn’t oppose her, merely offering a warning.
“Any five-element treasure’s power is halved under the Magnetic Divine Light. What’s there to fear?” The woman chuckled.
The man in the cavern didn’t respond, tacitly agreeing.
Meanwhile, Han Li had already arrived in Heavenly Star City.
As the foremost city in the Chaotic Star Sea, Heavenly Star City made it easy for Han Li to procure the remaining materials he needed from its markets. He also sold several useless magical treasures, amassing a considerable sum of spirit stones before settling into an inn.
Knowing Ling Yu Ling was aware of his possession of the Void Heaven Cauldron, Han Li wisely avoided using the token to access the Holy Mountain’s teleportation array directly. Instead, he planned to infiltrate the Starry Sky Hall atop the mountain under cover of night.
Unless the Twin Saints of Heavenly Star personally guarded the teleportation array, the stationed cultivators posed no threat to him. Even if the legendary figures appeared, whether they could stop him remained uncertain.
To avoid drawing attention, he chose a modest inn, displaying only mid-stage Core Formation cultivation. The innkeeper, a mere Qi Refinement cultivator, treated him with utmost respect, hastily offering the finest private room lest he offend this “senior.”
By midnight, Han Li quietly left the inn using an escape technique, heading undetected toward the Starry Sky Hall atop the colossal mountain.
Patrols along the way consisted mostly of Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment cultivators, with the occasional Core Formation expert—none of whom noticed Han Li as he slipped past with his concealment techniques.
Reaching the 50th level of the Holy Mountain in moments, Han Li beheld the towering hall, unchanged by time. Just as he prepared to breach its restrictions, a flicker of movement caught his attention. He dissolved into a wisp of smoke, vanishing into the night sky.
Shortly after, shadowy figures emerged from another direction, blending seamlessly with the darkness. Without careful spiritual sense scrutiny, their presence would go unnoticed.
*Are these rebels from the Anti-Star Alliance?* Han Li mused, observing their cautious approach.
The group’s cultivation levels were notable—four Foundation Establishment, two Core Formation, and one mere Qi Refinement cultivator—all faces obscured by a gray mist, clearly hiding their identities. The two Core Formation leaders were evidently a man and a woman.
Finding no Nascent Soul cultivators among them, Han Li lost interest, refraining from probing their true appearances. He simply hovered, arms crossed, as they halted before the Starry Sky Hall’s entrance.
One of the Core Formation cultivators—a tall figure—produced a palm-sized green array disk, channeling a spell to make it glow faintly white. The other, a slender woman, withdrew a small yellow flag, shaking it to release a cloud of yellow mist that enveloped the group before they all vanished.
Han Li’s eyes flickered with surprise at the sight of the yellow flag—a familiar artifact.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage