Han Li was naturally unaware that a potential crisis had just been averted. Nevertheless, out of caution, he continued flying northeast day and night without pause.
Since he was now a wanted man, he could no longer stay in the southwestern sea region. However, to venture elsewhere, he needed a complete map of the entire Chaotic Star Sea—something he lacked, possessing only a map of the southwestern area.
A month later, Han Li made a brief stop on a small island.
Though the island was not large, its location at the border between the southwestern sea and other regions supported a thriving little market town.
Exercising caution, Han Li had Qu Hun use a secret technique to obscure both their appearances before donning cloaks. Unless a cultivator possessed higher cultivation than Qu Hun, any attempt to spy on them with divine sense would reveal only a blurry red glow.
Over the next half-day, Han Li restocked a large quantity of materials on the island’s market and purchased numerous texts detailing various aspects of the Chaotic Star Sea, along with relevant sea maps. The expenses were considerable.
The shopkeepers in the market, delighted by the arrival of such a big spender, were overjoyed.
Once his purchases were complete, Han Li dared not linger and left the island that very day.
Aboard the Divine Wind Boat, Han Li took out jade slip after jade slip, studying them carefully. After some time, he let out a long sigh, tossed the slip into his storage pouch, and fell into deep thought.
After thorough review, Han Li finally gained a general understanding of the Chaotic Star Sea.
The Chaotic Star Sea was vast—so vast that no one knew its true extent, and no one was foolish enough to attempt measuring it. The existing sea maps covered only a small fraction of its actual area, a fact universally acknowledged by all cultivators in the region.
The explored sea regions were commonly referred to as the “Inner Star Sea,” while the unexplored outer sea regions were known as the “Outer Star Sea.” When people spoke of the “Chaotic Star Sea,” they typically meant only the “Inner Star Sea.”
The “Outer Star Sea” had a more fearsome name: “Demon Sea,” for it was home to many incredibly powerful demon beasts. Rumor had it that some could rival Nascent Soul stage cultivators, a notion that left many low-level cultivators who had never ventured there utterly astounded.
According to the texts, in ancient times, both the Inner and Outer Star Seas were dominated by sea demons, with cultivators confined to a few isolated islands. Only after untold ages did the ancestors of the Chaotic Star Sea gradually eliminate the powerful demon beasts, opening up what is now the Inner Star Sea.
Today, the entire Chaotic Star Sea was governed by a massive organization known as “Star Palace,” whose history was so long that even the texts could not pinpoint its exact origins.
Reasons for its establishment varied—some claimed it was formed by the ancestors who eradicated the demon beasts, while others believed it was founded by a powerful figure who unified the Chaotic Star Sea long ago.
The present-day Star Palace had developed a giant island in the central Inner Star Sea into a super city called “Heavenly Star City,” ruled by two city lords known as the “Heavenly Star Dual Sages,” who governed the entire Star Palace organization.
These two lords were extremely mysterious, never leaving Heavenly Star City nor appearing in public, so no one had ever seen their true faces. Yet, it was widely rumored among cultivators that they were either late Nascent Soul stage cultivators or even legendary Deity Transformation stage beings.
After all, the title “Heavenly Star Dual Sages” had been around for nearly a millennium—far beyond the lifespan of an ordinary cultivator.
Beyond Heavenly Star City, Star Palace also established direct subsidiary islands on the three largest islands in each of the eight outer regions and four central regions of the Inner Star Sea. These were known as the Twenty-Four Outer Star Islands and Twelve Inner Star Islands, forming a protective arc around Heavenly Star City.
The Turtle Spirit Island where Han Li had once stayed was one of these subsidiary outer islands under Star Palace.
Thus, with these star islands and their numerous affiliated islets, it was no exaggeration to say that Star Palace was the official power of the Chaotic Star Sea.
Even more astonishing was Star Palace’s method of appointing rulers for these star islands.
The Twelve Inner Star Islands were each appointed by the two sages, who selected six individuals from within the organization. For the Twenty-Four Outer Star Islands, a public challenge was held every century in Heavenly Star City, where the final victor would automatically become the island lord, wielding significant authority.
Consequently, the century-held assembly to select outer island lords was dubbed the “Star Gathering Conference” by cultivators eager to leap into prominence. As the conference approached, nearly all high-level cultivators in the Chaotic Star Sea would gather there.
Some came aiming for island lordship, others simply to broaden their horizons and exchange insights with peers, and still others to trade materials, pills, or even cultivation techniques. It was a grand convergence, often overcrowding Heavenly Star City during that time.
Even outside the conference, Heavenly Star City was exceptionally bustling and diverse.
The city was extremely free, allowing cultivators of all levels to come and go at will. Apart from prohibiting fights within the city and requiring long-term residents to pay a monthly spirit stone fee, Star Palace did not interfere in any city affairs. Even wanted criminals or evil cultivators pursued by Star Palace were left alone as long as they caused no trouble within the city.
Major merchants were highly satisfied with this liberal environment, establishing permanent shops and setting up auction houses and procurement businesses that generated substantial spirit stone profits.
As a result, countless rare items flowed into Heavenly Star City from all over the Chaotic Star Sea each year.
Additionally, Heavenly Star City had another major attraction for cultivators: Star Palace had built teleportation arrays directly leading to the Outer Star Sea.
For a large sum of spirit stones, anyone could use these arrays to teleport to dozens of varying-sized “Demon Beast Islands” in the Outer Star Sea—isolated islands with spiritual energy developed by predecessors. Upon arrival, cultivators could hunt demon beasts in nearby waters, retrieve their demon cores, and return to Heavenly Star City to trade them for spirit stones.
Given the value of demon cores, a single grade-five core could fetch nearly a thousand spirit stones, while a grade-six core could secure a Foundation Establishment cultivator’s needs for life. Thus, the majority of cultivators visiting Heavenly Star City each year came for these teleportation arrays.
After all, flying to the outer sea without teleportation was not only time-consuming but also perilous, like wandering blindly into danger.
Reading this, Han Li didn’t hesitate—he immediately decided to head to Heavenly Star City. Both the safe environment and the opportunity to hunt demon cores via the teleportation arrays were highly appealing to him.
Of course, besides the superpower Star Palace, the Chaotic Star Sea also hosted other organizations of varying sizes, such as “Night Dragon Island,” “Four Great Merchant Alliances,” “Charming Devil Sect,” “Three Immortals Sect,” and notably, “Extreme Yin Island” and “Six United Palaces,” both considerable forces in their own right.
Mentally organizing the information he’d gathered, Han Li took out his map of the Chaotic Star Sea, studied it for a while, then adjusted the Divine Wind Boat’s course. With Qu Hun, he transformed into a streak of white light and soared into the distance.
…
Several months later, a white streak cut across the sea sky. Standing atop it was Han Li, his face weary from days of relentless travel.
Such a long journey was a rare experience for Han Li. Not wanting to waste time, he had attempted to cultivate the Great Development Art while controlling his vessel, relying on his strong divine sense.
Initially, this dual-tasking was extremely difficult—far more challenging than simply controlling puppets with a trained split divine sense. It required genuine multitasking, leading to frequent mistakes early on.
Sometimes the Divine Wind Boat would veer erratically during cultivation, or he would struggle to concentrate the necessary part of his divine sense for the Great Development Art, making no progress for days.
But as the saying goes, practice makes perfect. After countless attempts and divided focus, Han Li could now barely manage to control his vessel while covertly cultivating the Great Development Art.
However, today Han Li was not multitasking. Instead, he stood steadily at the front of the Divine Wind Boat, gazing intently ahead.
Based on the deserted island he passed half a month ago, he estimated he was near the giant island where Heavenly Star City was located, stirring excitement within him.
After flying a bit longer, Han Li’s expression shifted slightly. A massive black dot had appeared hazily in the distance.
Without a second thought, he urged his magic tool faster, speeding toward it urgently.
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