The Stars Beyond

Chapter 519: The Evil Dragon’s Terms

“Xiong Er, I'm teaching you the 'Guidance Scripture.' If there's danger or anything unusual, recite it immediately and call for us!” Wang Xuan instructed carefully.

“Take it seriously, and maybe you'll advance to Bear Three,” Jiang Qingyao added with a smile.

The two settled into a meditative posture and then set off, with Sword Immortal’s spirit entering Wang Xuan’s realm of fate. He carried her as they plunged deep into the thick layers of his Life Soil.

“Life Soil is enigmatic and even terrifying,” Sword Immortal remarked. “Ordinary people who venture too deep are doomed to get lost, never reaching the end.”

Now, fearless and curious, she was eager to uncover Wang Xuan’s secrets. She came bearing her own fragmented treasures, traveling by sword no slower than Wang Xuan.

Finally, they reached the Ethereal Realm, and upon seeing the vast, dim expanse that resembled the vast universe, Jiang Qingyao was astounded. Could it really be possible to traverse this place?

“It’s like a starless cosmos, pitch-black, silent, and infinite. Standing here makes one feel like an insignificant speck of dust facing the eternal night—utterly trivial,” she reflected, gripping her Purple Celestial Dao Sword, her gaze sweeping across the Ethereal Realm.

“It’s not completely silent; look over there, they’re coming soon,” Wang Xuan pointed out. In this dark world, waves of red material periodically surged, rolling through the void.

True enough, a fierce light, blood-red like twilight, resplendent and vast, thundered through the dark void, lighting it up.

“Let’s go, I'll take you for tea. Don’t worry about time here; a week in the outside world is like a thousand years here. It’s quite mystical.”

Wang Xuan led her to the edge of a silver pool surrounded by Life Soil mountains, where mutated nine calamities vines and the primordial tea tree grew.

“This is Heng Jun’s tea tree; he really was a good soul,” Jiang Qingyao noted with surprise. “This tea tree might transform from a celestial medicine into a true medicine!”

“Heng Jun died tragically,” Wang Xuan explained. “He was abruptly killed, and I suspect that madman severed his arm, causing him to lose the Ascension Banner. Holding a treasure like that, it would be hard for other supremes to harm him.”

As the Life Furnace was engulfed by the red substance, tea aroma wafted around them. Sitting down for tea, Wang Xuan detailed the intricacies of their surroundings to her.

Jiang Qingyao was not one to sit idly; such passivity did not suit her spirited nature. She had already begun using her Purple Celestial Dao Sword to draw in the red material, refining and studying it.

“This ultra-substance has lethal potential, comparable to rare energy materials harvested from high-level spiritual worlds. The key here is the abundance!” she noted, nodding with bright eyes. However, she soon frowned, troubled by the insufficient affinity this super-material had with the soul, posing a high risk of backlash.

“It's indeed a significant issue. The places we’re heading next are even more perilous—I get burnt to the brink each time, trying to adapt to this red material,” Wang Xuan explained, suggesting that if his spirit could adjust to this high-energy substance, it would face little resistance in absorbing and refining other energies.

Should that happen, even in the age of mythic silence, he would have an endless supply of ultra-material to harness, never reduced to mere mortality.

“Let’s take a dip,” Wang Xuan suggested with a smile, pointing towards a rough-hewn pool nearby, its interior steaming with silver celestial liquid, utterly sacred.

“Looking for a beating, huh?” Sword Immortal shot him a glance.

“I’m serious. This stuff is great, capable of transforming one's spirit and elevating the essence of life. It’s most effective the first few times.”

Plunk! Before Wang Xuan could finish, Jiang Qingyao had already dived into the pool, clutching her fragmented treasures, emitting a contented hum as she relaxed into what seemed a hot spring soak.

“Bring some tea over here,” she commanded, lounging comfortably, far removed from her usual transcendent celestial demeanor, displaying a lazy charm as she beckoned Wang Xuan.

A pot of celestial tea wafted over, its aroma nourishing for the spirit. “Hey, my spirit really is transforming! Great pool, great tea—what a perfect place for nourishing immortals,” she exclaimed joyfully.

Like Wang Xuan once did, her spirit was shedding its old layer, with her spiritual power visibly enhancing; the effects were immediate and her cultivation steadily advanced.

Soon after, the two ventured into the meteorite corridor. When Sword Immortal first encountered the demonic flower, she too was stunned as it tried to intrude upon her psyche.

Clang!

The Purple Celestial Dao Sword sang softly as it unsheathed itself, casting a purple haze that repelled some unseen force, enveloping Sword Immortal in a protective purple light.

"Can it really do that, automatically protect its master?" Wang Xuan marveled, then glanced down at his Health Furnace, which had never once interacted with him of its own accord.

Jiang Qingyao nodded with a smile, "Of course, my original celestial sword has fully integrated with it. That sword, which I've cultivated for eight hundred years, is a divine and holy artifact, inseparable from me."

"These meteorites are remarkable, tougher than many divine objects. They could solve some of the material needs for the First Killing Array," she noted, her senses keenly picking up on the unusual properties of the meteorites.

"Exactly, I had the same thought. We'll take some with us when we leave," agreed Wang Xuan. However, the First Killing Array required various materials, and this place could only provide the unique divine stones.

Soon, Jiang Qingyao experienced what it meant to be scorched by fierce flames, teetering between life and death. Even someone as powerful as her, with years of cultivation, struggled to withstand it as they progressed.

The two had no choice but to retreat into the furnace, ascending into the above sea of red mists, where they began to meditate.

In a dazed state that seemed to stretch over decades or even centuries, Wang Xuan's eyes gleamed with a sharp vitality. He was certain that his external spirit now carried a taint of decay, unable to fully recover.

Had he surpassed his previous realm, reaching into the fourteenth domain? Yet, he found himself in a stalemate, unable to fully realize his potential or advance further.

"Should I wait for my external spirit to decay along with the myth, naturally shedding itself, or should I now sever it myself?" Wang Xuan pondered, wrestling with the tough decision.

He dared not act rashly, feeling it best to let nature take its course, waiting for the new inner spirit to emerge naturally, fearing any misstep might lead to his own destruction.

"In the past 'forty years,' Jiang Qingyao made tremendous strides here by herself, tempering her spirit with the red substance and elevating her cultivation once more," Wang Xuan recounted. "Besides the red substance, other genuine energy particles and mysterious Dao rhymes she actively engaged with also refined her spirit."

However, the effects began to diminish over the decades, mainly because the place had become somewhat unsuitable for her. "I need to leave," Sword Immortal declared, alert to the dreadful signs foretold in ancient texts. "The 'uniqueness' of the command ground is manifesting, and my mental state is becoming distorted."

Such places were not meant for outsiders to linger long; staying too extended could mean being replaced by the newcomer or being assimilated by the original holder. "Let’s go!" Wang Xuan's expression shifted, and he promptly whisked her away, not even pausing to collect the meteorites.

After leaving the meteorite channel, the Purple Celestial Dao Sword and the Health Furnace resonated, transforming into beams of light that sped away, distorting time and space.

Returning to the real world, Wang Xuan’s vitality was incredibly vibrant, and yet another layer of charred material sloughed off his body. Sword Immortal seemed dazed, noticeably shaken by the experience, taking over an hour to recover fully. "That was truly perilous," she admitted, shuddering at the memory. "I almost lost myself in your command ground, nearly dissolving into nothingness!"

But her spirits quickly lifted, her innate optimism shining through. "My cultivation has significantly improved. In this era of decay, I’ve actually managed to advance. My main body now possesses the power of the fifth level of Xiaoyao Game."

The sixth level of Xiaoyao Game is that of a celestial immortal, and she was just one stage away. Moreover, the Purple Celestial Dao Sword was now fully integrated with her, responding to her thoughts as easily as moving her own limbs, capable of delivering a formidable strike with a mere thought.

"Hand over your internal landscape treasures to me. I’m going to collect some meteorites soon and will bring back various super materials for you," Wang Xuan said.

In these uncertain times, with the end of the mythological era possibly closing access to the void forever, he was preparing to 'winter through.' He continued to traverse the void, mining meteorite fragments, collecting super materials, and cultivating celestial medicines.

In his command ground, three celestial medicines grew; one of them, glowing silver, had originated from Zheng Yuantian. Originally gifted to Zheng Wu to possess Wang Xuan and plant a great medicine, it was a celestial medicine provided by an enemy.

Another was from the wooden tray that had been under the Health Furnace, now sprouted and reviving, unfurling several iridescent purple leaves.

Another of the celestial medicines came from a spiritual world deep in the outer space of the old earth, associated with the super-civilization where the Dao Harnessing Flag originated. When Wang Xuan first encountered this medicine, it had long since withered, only its roots remained, nailed down by an iron spike. In that area, several other celestial medicines thrived, unbound and unpunished, making this one particularly unique.

Wang Xuan's cactus-like celestial medicine, along with Chen Yongjie’s coral-like celestial medicine, were also discovered there. The two speculated that the dried-up roots, constrained by the iron spike, might have transcended the category of celestial medicines to become true medicines.

"This thing should still be alive!" Wang Xuan paid special attention to the withered roots, having nurtured them in the Health Furnace for a long time; they seemed to have a flicker of life.

Later, he planted Zheng Yuantian's great medicine by the silver pool and settled the purple celestial medicine that had revived from the base of the Health Furnace there. Finally, he threw the dried-up roots directly into the shimmering silver celestial pool.

Days later, Wang Xuan and Sword Immortal combined their efforts to refine the rocks and other treasures collected from the meteorite channel. With these, they managed to set up a rudimentary version of the First Slaying Formation.

"Treasures are only missed when needed; we still lack some," Wang Xuan sighed. They had been monitoring this realm closely; the celestial realm was fading, and the great barrier was drying up.

This mythological era could end at any moment! It might be a few days or perhaps even today. No one could precisely predict the time, but they all knew the great supernatural winter was fast approaching.

......

Two days later, Xiong Er's expression changed as he received a mysterious signal, then an enemy trace appeared on the screen: the formidable, transcendent evil dragon emerged.

His visage appeared clearly on the screen, smiling. Judging solely by his looks and demeanor, he indeed seemed like a supreme celestial being descended to earth. Every gesture resonated with a divine charm, his demeanor graceful and untainted by the mundane world.

Now, he seemed quite down-to-earth, engaging in the simple pleasures of dining and tea drinking amidst the hustle and bustle of the mortal realm, not perched in the elusive clouds.

"These ingredients are all from my own stockpile, you've really outdone yourself," he chuckled. The table was laden with divine delicacies like fire dragon dates, golden grapes, phoenix marrow, and genuine dragon meat.

In the room, Zhou Yun seemed out of sorts, his condition a bit alarming—it appeared that the Evil Dragon Qi Tian had controlled him, searching through his mental memories.

"What do you want?!" Wang Xuan demanded coldly.

"Easy there," Qi Tian responded nonchalantly, and with a flicker on the screen, he vanished.

Shortly after, his figure reappeared on the spaceship’s large screen, this time accompanied by someone else familiar to Wang Xuan—Professor Lin. This elderly man had been Wang Xuan's guide, the one who had given him the ancient bamboo scrolls that first exposed him to advanced secret teachings, and later enabled him to unlock his own Inner Landscape.

Professor Lin also seemed dazed, his mental state suggesting his memories had been probed too.

Qi Tian spoke calmly, "You hold no secrets from me. In fact, I’ve understood you thoroughly for quite some time now, even better than you understand yourself."

"Do you intend to use them to threaten me into returning?" Wang Xuan said icily.

Sword Immortal also spoke up, "Qi Tian, as a supreme powerhouse from 3,500 years ago, the second person to open a special Inner Landscape during his mortal phase, and now a transcendent being, do you really need to stoop so low as to threaten Wang Xuan with ordinary people?"

"You're all thinking too much. These are just impressions I left a few days ago; I haven’t actually done anything to them yet," Qi Tian replied dismissively.

Wang Xuan and Sword Immortal remained highly vigilant, sensing trouble.

Next, the screen shifted again. Qi Tian was seen arriving at a commonplace life-bearing planet isolated from the outside world. There, he joined Chen Yongjie, Qing Mu, Zhao Qinghan, Wu Yin, and others at a banquet, having changed his face to blend in as a guest, enjoying the feast laid out before him.

“You...” Wang Xuan's expression darkened entirely. How is it possible for Qi Tian to possibly know of that location? It was a blatant threat, suggesting that Wang Xuan's movements were no secret to him. Wherever he had been, Qi Tian knew it all too well.

"Ah, as I said, I understand you more deeply than you understand yourself. I'm here now!" Qi Tian spoke, his handsome face composed and suffused with a celestial aura.

"An old spacecraft has appeared in the distance, its capabilities are no less than ours!" the Mechanical Little Bear urgently reported, readying for aerial combat.

"Don't act rashly," Qi Tian warned. "If you really open fire, the Ascension Banner can block it. Besides, I've brought ten spacecraft with me, enough to encircle and annihilate you."

"How did you get hold of my movements?" Wang Xuan asked, deeply unsettled, his spirit trembling—an unpleasant sensation.

Sword Immortal, holding the Purple Dawn Converging Sword, wiped all smiles from her face, her expression becoming incredibly serious, ready for a major battle.

Qi Tian smiled, saying, "I'm very familiar with your affairs. Your biggest trump card, the treasure you're hiding, is the Life-Preserving Furnace, right? Heh, but you've never truly refined it, because it doesn’t really belong to you."

Wang Xuan's scalp tingled. How did Qi Tian know even this? That was deeply troubling—the Life-Preserving Furnace had significant connections to the Leviathan, the third entity to open a special Inner Landscape during its mortal phase.