The Ziwei Yuan has hung in the very center of the Primordial Wilderness sky for countless Eon. On the day Taiqing attained Hunyuan Taiji, the Imperial Star within the enclosure suddenly shone three times brighter, its starlight cascading into the Ziwei Palace within the enclosure like Big Dipper Seven Stars. When the Ziwei Xingjun emerged from the palace, his body was draped in a long robe of star patterns, its gray-white starlight interwoven with the Nine-Colored Human Dao Formation Network. Where the hem of the robe trailed, the outline of the Big Dipper spontaneously formed in the sky. He raised his hand and gestured towards the Big Dipper, and seven beams of starlight lit up in sequence from the handle to the rim of the dipper. The seven Star Gods— Tian Shu, Tian Quan Tian Xuan, Tian Ji, Tian Quan, Yu Heng, Kai Yang, Yao Guang —simultaneously stepped out from their natal stars and formed a row before the Ziwei Palace.
"Master has attained the Dao of Hunyuan Taiji; it's time to collect those scraps from the Chaos." Ziwei gathered her star robes and glanced towards the Chaos. "The True Body of Taiqing has issued a summons; all those above the Primordial Daluo Golden Immortal are welcome to enter the Chaos to collect shells. Our Star God Lineage has eight Primordial Daluo Golden Immortal, divided into four groups, working in pairs to venture in four directions. Merit will be awarded based on the size of the shells collected, but any shell containing Star Dao Laws will belong to the Star God Lineage and be brought back to spread the Star Network across the heavens."
The Big Dipper Seven Stars Lords simultaneously clasped their hands in greeting. Tian Shu, the Star Lord, stepped forward. He controlled Tian Shu Star and cultivated the Dao of "Star Orbit Guidance," his body wreathed in gray-white starlight with countless arcs of star orbits. With a wave of his hand, he could briefly overlap the orbits of two stars. Ziwei paired Tian Shu with herself, and the two plunged into the depths of the Chaos east. Tian Xuan and Tian Ji formed a pair; Tian Xuan Tian Ji cultivated "Star Chart Divination," while Tian Ji cultivated "Star Power Infusion." Together, they could transform the deduction results into tangible star power and unleash them within a single breath. Tian Quan and Yu Heng formed a pair; Tian Quan cultivated "Star Authority Adjudication," Yu Heng cultivated "Star Balance Measurement." One determined right and wrong, the other weighed importance; they had worked together for tens of thousands of years without a single mistake. Kai Yang and Yao Guang formed a pair; Kai Yang cultivated "Star Gate Genesis Kai Yang," while Yao Guang cultivated "Star Light Extreme Speed." One opened the gate, the other charged forward, specializing in hard battles.
The four groups dispersed in four directions. Ziwei added one last thing, "If you encounter a hard shell, don't try to break it open. Come back and report. The Primordial Daluo Golden Immortal. You two can take down one together, but retreat after taking down two."
Ziwei and Tian Shu traveled due east for forty-nine days, collecting forty Great Thousand World and one hundred and thirty Middle Thousand World. On the evening of the forty-eighth day, the arc of star track in Tian Shu's hand suddenly straightened on its own, and the end of the line deviated three inches due east. Ziwei stepped forward to look and saw a giant shell floating in the depths of Chaos. The shell's surface was covered with gray-white star patterns, which were arranged in a double helix from the core to the surface. Each pattern was a complete Star Law. Every three zhang (approximately 10 meters) on the shell's surface was embedded a Star Core crystal, which sealed a stellar Origin. The shell looked like a miniature galaxy compressed countless times.
Ziwei pressed his hand against the shell, and a gravitational force tore at his palm. The star patterns on the shell suddenly accelerated their rotation, swirling towards his palm from all directions. He withdrew his hand, and a grayish-white star bead appeared in his palm, containing a complete Gravitational Collapse Law. He crushed the star bead and examined it; from the fragments floated an extremely subtle divine thought, "The Myriad Stars Dao Venerable is here. Who comes?"
Ziwei flicked the debris away. "Ziwei, the star patterns on your shell are quite nice. They can spin on their own and even actively roll into people's hands. It's a pity that what rolls in is your own Star Core. If I crush it, you'll collapse a bit."
A cold snort came from within the shell, and the star patterns on its surface suddenly exploded simultaneously, transforming into a gray-white Star Network net that enveloped the entire giant shell. From within the Star Network emerged an old man in a gray-white robe, surrounded by nine star pythons, each holding a still-spinning Star Core in its mouth, each Star Core sealing a complete law of gravity. The Myriad Stars Dao Venerable spoke, his voice like two neutron stars colliding. "This shell of mine is covered with ninety-nine million star patterns, each formed from a wisp of starlight I release. For every Star Core you crush, I release ten more wisps of starlight. The faster you crush them, the more I release."
Ziwei ignored him and took a step towards the very center of the shell. The star patterns on the shell immediately wrapped around his ankle. He trembled, and the star patterns shattered into stardust, but the shattered stardust reformed into even denser star patterns within three breaths, binding him even more tightly. He took another step, and another layer of star patterns shattered, the reformed pattern twice as thick as before. Myriad Stars Dao Venerable stood within the Star Network and laughed, "You've taken three steps, and the star patterns on the shell have increased from 99 million to 110 million. After you take a hundred steps, the star patterns on my shell will increase to one billion. When you reach the center of the shell, the star patterns on the shell will be able to crush you into a white dwarf."
Ziwei stopped and glanced at the shell. The star patterns on the shell were indeed growing wildly, but he noticed that the direction of the star patterns' rotation was regular—they converged from the surface to the center of the shell, becoming denser towards the center. However, there was a palm-sized area in the very center of the shell where the star patterns were extremely sparse, so sparse that the shell material underneath could be seen. He pointed to that sparse area, and a drop of Ziwei's Origin starlight seeped from his fingertip. The starlight landed on the sparse area, and suddenly a small section of the shell collapsed, revealing a bottomless star cave. From inside the cave came a muffled groan from Myriad Stars Dao Venerable.
"All ninety-nine million star patterns on your core are connected to that 'Myriad Star Core' at the heart of your shell." Ziwei withdrew her finger. "You release starlight to nourish the patterns; the more patterns, the larger the core, and the larger the core, the more starlight you can release. But you have a 'Star Eye' under your core. When the Star Eye is blocked, the core can store starlight, but when the Star Eye opens, all the starlight in the core is released. I just dripped a drop of Ziwei's Origin Starlight onto your Star Eye Star Eye, and now it can't be blocked anymore."
Myriad Stars Dao Venerable's expression changed as a rumbling sound of starlight erupting emanated from within the shell. The star patterns on the shell began to wither, dimming layer by layer from the center outwards, revealing the shell's material beneath, covered with fine cracks. Myriad Stars Dao Venerable pressed the nine star pythons onto the shell, which transformed into nine star pillars to support the surface. However, while the pillars could support the shell, they couldn't hold up the Star Eye. The Star Core inside was still erupting, its starlight leaking out from the cracks. Ziwei slapped a dim spot on the shell, creating a crack. He crawled through the crack and landed beside the Star Core. Myriad Stars Dao Venerable was squatting at the bottom of the core, trying to block the Star Eye with his hand. One block resulted in two eruptions, two blocks resulted in four eruptions.
"Don't block it." Ziwei squatted down beside the core and looked down. "That Star Eye is the counterweight hole of the shell, a counterweight hole on the debris that Pangu threw out when he created the world. You've turned the shell into Star Core, and the counterweight hole has become the Star Eye. The Star Eye spraying starlight is the shell's self-regulation—if there's too much starlight in the core, the shell becomes too heavy, so the shell opens the Star Eye to release starlight to reduce weight. You've blocked the Star Eye, no wonder the shell collapsed."
Myriad Stars Dao Venerable looked up at him. "Then what should we do?"
"Open half of the Star Eye, store half of its starlight in the core, and the shell's weight will be just right. Don't cover all those star patterns on the shell's surface; leave 30% inside as a star reservoir, and 70% on the surface is enough."
Myriad Stars Dao Venerable squatted at the bottom of the core for a long time, then released his hand from blocking the Star Eye. The Star Eye sprayed for a while and then stopped on its own. The starlight inside the core decreased from full to half, and the star patterns on the shell decreased from one billion to sixty million. The shell was no longer dim, and the star patterns were no longer erratic. He jumped up from the bottom of the core and handed the nine Star Core to Ziwei: "You can take this world. But I'll go back with you, and I'll borrow your method of adjusting the Star Eye for three days. I've cultivated the Myriad Stars Dao for tens of thousands of years, and in the end, I turned my shell into a sieve. I don't even know when I blocked it."
Ziwei put the Star Core into her sleeve. "I'll lend you the method. You keep the shell. After you're done, go to City of Ten Thousand Crafts and find Yin Xi. He has ten thousand trials there. The ten thousandth trial is called the 'Naturalness Pass.' When you can adjust the weight of the shell without using the Star Eye, you'll be considered a master."
Tian Xuan and Tian Ji traveled due south for forty-nine days, collecting thirty-three Great Thousand World and one hundred and ten Middle Thousand World. On the evening of the forty-eighth day, the star chart in Tian Xuan's hand suddenly spun three times on its own, and the outline of a giant shell in the due south direction appeared on the surface. Tian Ji poured star power into the star chart, and the outline became clear: the shell was covered with gray-white star map patterns, the patterns arranged in a radial pattern from the core of the shell to the surface, each pattern being a complete star map law. Every three zhang (approximately 13 meters) on the shell surface was embedded a star map crystal, each crystal sealing a star map Origin, making the shell look like a giant star map Eon.
Tian Xuan pressed his hand against the shell, and a tearing, deduce-like sensation surged through his palm. The star-patterned lines on the shell suddenly accelerated their flow, converging into his palm from all directions. He withdrew his hand, and a grayish-white bead appeared in his palm, containing a complete deduction law. He crushed the bead and examined it; from the fragments floated an extremely subtle divine thought, "The Myriad Charts Dao Venerable is here. Who comes?"
Tian Xuan flicked the debris away. "Tian Xuan, the star map on your shell is quite nice. It can rotate on its own and even actively flow into people's hands. It's a pity that what flows in is your own deduction. Even if I crush it, you'll still have to do the calculations."
A cold laugh came from within the shell, and the star pattern on its surface suddenly exploded simultaneously, transforming into a gray-white star pattern net that enveloped the entire giant shell. An old man in a gray-white Daoist robe emerged from the star pattern net, surrounded by nine serpentine serpents, each holding a spinning bead in its mouth, each bead containing a complete deduction law. The Myriad Charts Dao Venerable spoke, his voice like counting rods rolling on an abacus. "This shell of mine is covered with ninety-nine million patterns, each pattern formed from a strand of deduction I released. For every bead you crush, I release ten more strands of deduction. The faster you crush them, the more I release."
Tian Xuan ignored him and took a step towards the very center of the shell. The shell's patterns immediately wrapped around his ankle. He trembled, and the patterns shattered into fragments, but within three breaths, the fragments reformed into even denser patterns, binding him even more tightly. He took another step, and another layer of patterns shattered, the reformed patterns being twice as thick as before. Myriad Charts Dao Venerable stood in the Star Chart Network and laughed, "You've taken three steps, and the shell's patterns have increased from 99 million to 110 million. After you take a hundred steps, my shell's patterns will increase to 1 billion. When you reach the center of the shell, the shell's patterns will render you a pile of useless counting rods."
Tian Xuan stopped and winked at Tian Ji. Tian Ji understood and channeled his star power into Tian Xuan, causing Tian Xuan's Star Chart Divination speed to triple. Within a breath, he deduced the arrangement of all 99 million patterns on the shell. He pointed to the sparsest pattern in the very center of the shell, and a drop of Tian Xuan's Origin starlight seeped from his fingertip. The starlight landed on the sparse area, and a small section of the shell suddenly collapsed, revealing a bottomless hole in the pattern. From inside the hole came a muffled groan from the Myriad Charts Dao Venerable.
"All ninety-nine million patterns in your diagrams are connected to the 'Myriad Charts Pool' at the core of your shell." Tian Xuan withdrew his finger. "You release divination patterns to nurture them; the more patterns you release, the larger the pool becomes, and the larger the pool, the more divinations you can release. But there's a 'Chart Eye' at the bottom of your pool. When the Chart Eye is blocked, the pool can hold the divinations, but when the Chart Eye is open, all the divinations in the pool leak out. I just dripped a drop of Tian Xuan's Origin Starlight onto your Chart Eye Chart Eye, and now it can't be blocked anymore."
Myriad Charts Dao Venerable's expression changed. A gurgling sound of leaking patterns came from inside the shell. The patterns on the shell began to loosen, peeling off layer by layer from the center outwards, exposing the shell material covered with fine cracks. Myriad Charts Dao Venerable pressed the nine pythons onto the shell surface, and the pythons transformed into nine pillars to support the shell. However, while the pillars could support the shell surface, they couldn't hold up the holes in the Chart Eye. The pool inside the shell was still leaking, and the leaking water seeped out from the cracks. Tian Xuan slapped the area where the shell had peeled off, and a crack appeared in the shell. He crawled through the crack and landed on the edge of the pool inside the shell. Myriad Charts Dao Venerable was squatting at the bottom of the pool, trying to plug the holes in the patterns with his hands. He plugged Chart Eye and it leaked two, then two and it leaked four.
"Don't block it." Tian Xuan squatted by the pool and looked down. "Those Chart Eye are the counterweight holes of the shell, the counterweight holes that were thrown out by Pangu when he created the world. You've turned the shell into a diagram pool, and those counterweight holes have become Chart Eye. The Chart Eye leaking out is the shell's self-regulation—if there are too many diagrams in the pool, the shell becomes too heavy, so the shell opens the Chart Eye and reduce its weight. If you block the Chart Eye, it's no wonder the shell collapses."
Myriad Charts Dao Venerable looked up at him. "Then what should we do?"
"Open half the Chart Eye, store half in the tank, and the shell's weight will be just right. Don't cover all your designs on the shell surface; leave 30% inside as a design library, and 70% on the shell surface is enough."
Myriad Charts Dao Venerable squatted at the bottom of the pool for a long time, then loosened his hand from blocking the Chart Eye. The Chart Eye leaked for a while and then stopped on its own. The diagram in the pool decreased from full to half full, and the number of patterns on the shell decreased from one billion to sixty million. The shell stopped falling off, and the patterns stopped malfunctioning. He jumped up from the bottom of the pool and handed the nine diagram beads to Tian Xuan: "You can take this world. But I'll go back with you, and I'll borrow your method of adjusting the Chart Eye for three days. I've cultivated the Wan Tu Dao for tens of thousands of years, and in the end, I turned my own shell into a leaky ladle. I don't even know when I blocked it."
Tian Xuan put the diagram bead into her sleeve. "I'll lend you the method. You keep the shell. After you're done, go to City of Ten Thousand Crafts and find Yin Xi. He has ten thousand trials there. The ten thousandth trial is called the 'Naturalness Pass.' When you can adjust the weight of the shell without using the Chart Eye, you'll be considered a master."
Tian Quan and Yu Heng traveled due west for forty-nine days, collecting thirty-one Great Thousand World and one hundred and four Middle Thousand World. On the evening of the forty-eighth day, the Star Authority Ruler in Tian Quan's hand suddenly lit up by itself, and the ruler's surface shifted three inches due west. Yu Heng placed the Star Balance Measurement on the ruler's surface and measured the outline of a giant shell due west: the shell's surface was covered with gray-white Star Ruler patterns, arranged in a chessboard pattern from the shell's core to the surface, each pattern being a complete rule of judgment. Every three zhang (approximately 13 meters) on the shell's surface was embedded a Star Ruler crystal, each crystal sealing a rule of judgment Origin, making the shell look like a giant chessboard covered with countless Eon.
Tian Quan pressed his hand against the shell, and a tearing force of judgment surged through his palm. The star-power patterns on the shell suddenly accelerated their flow, converging into his palm from all directions. He withdrew his hand, and a gray-white power bead appeared in his palm, containing a complete law of judgment. He crushed the power bead and examined it. From the fragments floated an extremely subtle divine thought, "The Myriad Authorities Dao Venerable is here. Who comes?"
Tian Quan flicked the debris away. "Tian Quan, the star power on your shell is quite good. It can make its own judgments and actively channel them into people's hands. Unfortunately, what's channeled in is your own judgment. Even if I crush it, you still have to judge it."
A cold snort came from within the shell, and the star-shaped patterns on its surface suddenly exploded simultaneously, transforming into a gray-white chessboard net that enveloped the entire giant shell. From within the chessboard net emerged an old man in a gray-white robe, surrounded by nine power pythons, each holding a spinning power bead in its mouth, each bead sealing a complete law of judgment. The Myriad Authorities Dao Venerable spoke, his voice like a gavel slamming on a table. "This shell of mine is covered with ninety-nine million power patterns, each one formed from a strand of judgment I have released. For every power bead you crush, I release ten more strands of judgment. The faster you crush them, the more I release."
Tian Quan ignored him and took a step towards the very center of the shell. The power patterns on the shell immediately wrapped around his ankle. He trembled, and the power patterns shattered into fragments, but within three breaths, the fragments reformed into even denser power patterns, binding him even more tightly. He took another step, and another layer of power patterns shattered, the reformed ones being twice as thick as before. Myriad Authorities Dao Venerable stood in the chessboard network and laughed, "You've taken three steps, and the power patterns on the shell have increased from 99 million to 110 million. After you take a hundred steps, my power patterns on the shell will increase to 1 billion. When you reach the center of the shell, the power patterns on the shell will render you a piece of scrap metal."
Tian Quan stopped and winked at Yu Heng. Yu Heng placed the Star Balance Measurement on the shell, measuring the precise location of the sparsest power pattern in the very center. Tian Quan pointed to that sparse spot, and a drop of Tian Quan's Origin starlight seeped from his fingertip. The starlight landed on the sparse spot, and a small section of the shell suddenly collapsed, revealing a bottomless power hole. From inside the hole came a muffled groan from Myriad Authorities Dao Venerable.
"All ninety-nine million power runes of yours are connected to the 'Myriad Authorities Pool' at the core of your shell." Tian Quan withdrew his finger. "You release power runes to nurture them; the more runes, the larger the pool, and the larger the pool, the more power you can release. But there's a 'Authority Eye' at the bottom of your pool. When the Authority Eye is blocked, the pool can hold power, but when the Authority Eye is open, all the power leaks out. I just dripped a drop of Tian Quan's Origin Starlight onto your Authority Eye Authority Eye, and now it can't be blocked anymore."
Myriad Authorities Dao Venerable Zun's expression changed. A gurgling sound of power leaking out came from inside the shell. The power patterns on the shell began to loosen, peeling off layer by layer from the center outwards, exposing the shell material where it had fallen off, which was covered with fine cracks. Myriad Authorities Dao Venerable pressed the nine power pythons onto the shell surface, and the pythons transformed into nine power pillars to support the shell surface. However, the power pillars could support the shell surface but not the Authority Eye. The power pool inside the shell was still leaking, and the leaking power water seeped out from the cracks in the shell. Tian Quan slapped the area where the shell had fallen off, and a crack appeared in the shell surface. He crawled into the crack and landed on the edge of the power pool inside the shell. Myriad Authorities Dao Venerable Zun was squatting at the bottom of the pool, trying to plug the Authority Eye with his hands. He plugged it once, and it leaked twice. He plugged it twice, and it leaked four times.
"Don't block it." Tian Quan squatted by the pool and looked down. "That 'Authority Eye' you have is the counterweight hole of the shell, a counterweight hole from the debris that Pangu threw out when he created the world. You've turned the shell into a power pool, and the counterweight hole has become the Authority Eye. The Authority Eye is the shell's self-regulation—if there's too much power in the pool, the shell becomes too heavy, so the shell opens the Authority Eye to release power and reduce weight. If you block the Authority Eye, it's no wonder the shell collapses."
Myriad Authorities Dao Venerable looked up at him. "Then what should we do?"
"Open half the Authority Eye, store half the power in the pool, and the weight of the shell is just right. Don't cover all your power patterns on the shell surface; leave 30% inside the shell as a power repository, and 70% on the shell surface is enough."
Myriad Authorities Dao Venerable squatted at the bottom of the pool for a long time, then loosened his hand from blocking the Authority Eye. The Authority Eye leaked for a while and then stopped on its own. The power in the pool dropped from full to half, and the power patterns on the shell decreased from one billion to sixty million. The shell stopped falling off, and the power patterns stopped malfunctioning. He jumped up from the bottom of the pool and handed the nine power beads to Tian Quan: "You can take this world. But I'll go back with you, and I'll borrow your method of regulating the Authority Eye for three days. I've cultivated the Dao of Ten Thousand Powers for tens of thousands of years, and in the end, I turned my own shell into a leaky ladle. I don't even know when I blocked it."
Tian Quan put the power pearl into his sleeve. "I'll lend you the method. You collect the shell. After you're done, go to City of Ten Thousand Crafts and find Yin Xi. He has ten thousand trials there. The ten thousandth trial is called the 'Naturalness Pass.' When you can adjust the weight of the shell without using the Authority Eye, you'll be considered a master."
Kai Yang and Yao Guang traveled due north for forty-nine days, collecting thirty-four Great Thousand World and one hundred and eight Middle Thousand World. On the evening of the forty-eighth day, the Star Gate Ruler in Kai Yang's hand suddenly lit up by itself, and the ruler's surface shifted three inches to the due north direction. Yao Guang Star Light Extreme Speed onto the ruler's surface and measured the outline of a giant shell in the due north direction: the shell's surface was covered with gray-white star gate patterns, the patterns arranged in concentric circles from the shell's center to the surface, each pattern being a complete gate principle. Every three zhang (approximately 10 meters) on the shell's surface was embedded a star gate crystal, each crystal sealing a gate principle Origin, making the shell look like a giant city built over countless Eon.
Kai Yang pressed his hand against the shell, and a tearing, opening sensation shot through his palm. The star-gate patterns on the shell suddenly accelerated their rotation, squeezing into his palm from all directions. He withdrew his hand, and a gray-white gate bead appeared in his palm, containing a complete opening and closing law. He crushed the gate bead and examined it; from the fragments floated an extremely subtle divine thought, "The Myriad Gates Dao Venerable is here. Who comes?"
Kai Yang flicked the debris away. "Kai Yang, the stargate on your shell is pretty good. It can open by itself and even actively squeeze into people's hands. It's a pity that the one that squeezed in was your own portal. I crushed it, and you still have to close it."
A muffled thud came from within the shell, and the star-gate patterns on its surface suddenly exploded simultaneously, transforming into a gray-white gate city that enveloped the entire giant shell. From within the gate city emerged an old man with a gray-white, short-haired appearance. The old man was square-shaped, and nine gate pythons coiled around him, each holding a still-spinning gate bead in its mouth. Each bead contained a complete opening law. The Myriad Gates Dao Venerable spoke, his voice like a city gate slamming against a doorframe. "This shell of mine is covered with ninety-nine million gate patterns, each one formed from a wisp of gate I released. For every gate bead you crush, I release ten more gate paths. The faster you crush them, the more I release."
Kai Yang ignored him and took a step towards the very center of the shell. The shell's markings immediately wrapped around his ankle. He trembled, and the markings shattered into fragments, but within three breaths, they reformed into even denser, more tightly packed markings. He took another step, and another layer of markings shattered, the reformed layer twice as thick as before. Myriad Gates Dao Venerable stood within the gate city, laughing, "You've taken three steps, and the shell's markings have increased from 99 million to 110 million. After you take a hundred steps, they'll reach 1 billion. When you reach the core of the shell, the markings will lock you inside, preventing you from ever coming out."
Kai Yang stopped and winked at Yao Guang. Yao Guang Star Light Extreme Speed to the shell's surface, circling it three times in an instant, marking the location of the sparsest gate pattern in the very center of the shell. Kai Yang pointed to that sparse area, and a drop of his Origin Kai Yang seeped from his fingertip. The starlight landed on the sparse area, and a small section of the shell suddenly collapsed, revealing a bottomless doorway. From inside the doorway came a muffled groan from Myriad Gates Dao Venerable.
"All ninety-nine million gate patterns in your body are connected to the 'Myriad Gates Pool' at the core of your shell." Kai Yang withdrew his finger. "You place gates to nurture the patterns; the more patterns, the larger the pool, and the larger the pool, the more gates you can place. But there's a 'Gate Eye' at the bottom of your pool. When the Gate Eye is blocked, the pool can hold the gates, but when the Gate Eye opening is open, all the gates in the pool leak out. I just dripped a drop of Kai Yang 'Origin Starlight onto your Gate Eye Gate Eye, and now it can't be blocked anymore."
Myriad Gates Dao Venerable's expression changed. A clanging sound, as if leaking water, came from inside the shell. The shell's surface texture began to loosen, collapsing layer by layer from the center outwards, exposing the shell's inner material, which was covered in fine cracks. Myriad Gates Dao Venerable pressed the nine gate pythons onto the shell, which transformed into nine gate pillars to support the surface. However, while the pillars could support the surface, they couldn't hold the Gate Eye. The gate pool inside the shell was still leaking, the leaking water seeping out through the cracks. Kai Yang slapped the collapsed area of the shell, creating a crack. He crawled through the crack and landed beside the gate pool inside. Myriad Gates Dao Venerable was squatting at the bottom of the pool, trying to plug the openings with his Gate Eye. Each plug resulted in two leaks, and each plug resulted in four leaks.
"Don't block it." Kai Yang squatted by the pool and looked down. "Those Gate Eye are the counterweight holes of the shell, the counterweight holes that were thrown out by Pangu when he created the world. You've turned the shell into a pool with doors, and those counterweight holes have become the Gate Eye. The Gate Eye are the shell's way of self-regulating—if there are too many doors in the pool, the shell becomes too heavy, so it Gate Eye to let in doors and reduce its weight. If you Gate Eye, it's no wonder the shell collapses."
Myriad Gates Dao Venerable looked up at him. "Then what should we do?"
"Open half the Gate Eye, and keep half the door in the pool; the weight of the shell is just right. Don't cover all the door patterns on the shell surface; leave 30% inside as a door storage area, and 70% on the shell surface is enough."
Myriad Gates Dao Venerable squatted at the bottom of the pool for a long time, then loosened his grip on the Gate Eye. The leak stopped on its own after a while. The number of gates in the pool decreased from full to half, and the number of gate patterns on the shell decreased from one billion to sixty million. The shell no longer collapsed, and the gate patterns stopped malfunctioning. He jumped up from the bottom of the pool and handed the nine gate beads to Kai Yang: "You can take this world. But I'll go back with you, and I'll borrow your method of adjusting the Gate Eye for three days. I've cultivated the Wanmen for tens of thousands of years, and in the end, I turned my shell into a leaky ladle. I don't even know when I blocked it."
Kai Yang the door bead into his sleeve. "I'll lend you the method. You keep the shell. After you're done, go to City of Ten Thousand Crafts and find Yin Xi. He has ten thousand trials there. The ten thousandth trial is called the 'Naturalness Pass.' When you can adjust the weight of the shell without using the Gate Eye, you'll be considered a master."
When the four groups of Star Gods moved the shells of the four Universe World back to the Primordial Wilderness world, Ziwei set up four star jade tables in front of the Ziwei Palace. The four Dao Myriad Stars Dao Venerable, Myriad Charts Dao Venerable, Myriad Authorities Dao Venerable, and Myriad Gates Dao Venerable sat down at the tables. Ziwei looked at them one by one, then turned to Taiqing and said, "We've collected one Universe World for each of the east, south, west, and north. Where should we put the shells after we bring them back?"
Taiqing himself peeked out from halfway up Kunlun Mountain: "The one due east should be placed east of the Eastern Victory Divine Continent, the one due Southern Continent of Jambu, the one due west should be placed west of the Western Ox Continent, and the one due north should be placed north of the Northern Julu Continent. Bring the shells back and dismantle them first. After dismantling, sort them by size. Large shells will be placed on the continent, medium shells will be used for materials, and small shells will be used to feed the earth's veins."
Ziwei nodded and said to Tian Shu, "Take Myriad Stars Dao Venerable to the east of the Eastern Victory Divine Continent to examine the shell. Once the shell is dismantled, keep the star patterns to lay out the Star Network in the sky." He then said to Tian Xuan, "Take Myriad Charts Dao Venerable to the south of Southern Continent of Jambu to examine the shell. Once the shell is dismantled, keep the diagrams as teaching materials for star charts." He then said to Tian Quan, "Take Myriad Authorities Dao Venerable to the west of the Western Ox Continent to examine the shell. Once the shell is dismantled, keep the power patterns to practice judgment." Finally, he said to Kai Yang, "Take Myriad Gates Dao Venerable to the north of the Northern Julu Continent to examine the shell. Once the shell is dismantled, keep the door patterns to practice opening and closing."
The four accepted the order and left. Ziwei sat in front of the Ziwei Palace and sent a message to the Human Dao Heavenly Net: "Ziwei of the Star God Lineage and the Big Dipper Seven Stars Lords divided into four groups to collect the four Great Universe World. The four Primordial Daluo Golden Immortal within the shells have returned to the Primordial Wilderness Eastern Victory Divine Continent. Any disciple of the Star God Lineage who wishes to learn how to collect shells may go to the east of Dongsheng Divine Continent, the south of Southern Continent of Jambu, the west of the Western Ox Continent, and the north of the Northern Julu Continent to look for the shells."