In one breath, Di Jiang fled from the Purple Sky Palace into the Primordial World. Only after breathing in the familiar atmosphere of heaven, earth, and all things did his tense heart finally settle. He glanced back toward Chaos and shuddered at the memory.
"That old bastard Hongjun definitely had something up his sleeve! I'd better stay far away from him from now on!"
After this trip, Di Jiang's resolve only grew firmer.
"Unless Hongjun personally puts the Taiji Diagram, Pangu Banner, and Immortal Slaying Four Swords in my hands, I won't take any spiritual treasure, no matter how good it is!"
Steadying himself, Di Jiang turned his attention back to the noble cause of "getting some gear for his younger siblings." Standing among the clouds, he surveyed the vast earth, his gaze eventually settling on the boundless starry sky.
"If there's nothing worth finding on the ground, surely there'll be something up in the sky? They say the starry sky is mysterious. Maybe it's hiding some real treasures!"
He acted as soon as the thought struck him. His body became a streak of light, shot through the Nine Heavens, and headed straight for the most exalted and brilliant star in the sky: Ziwei Star!
One of the three supreme stars of the Primordial World, Ziwei Star was enormous. It was surrounded by dense stellar essence and a majestic, imperial aura that ruled over the All-Heaven Stars. Di Jiang landed on its surface and swept his divine sense across the entire star like a comb, going over it several times.
In the end, he found nothing. Aside from its dense stellar essence and the ubiquitous Ziwei imperial aura, the entire star was so clean it looked as if someone had licked it spotless!
"How strange!"
Di Jiang rubbed his chin, deeply puzzled.
"The Sun Star gave birth to Di Jun and Taiyi, and the Moon Star gave birth to Xihe and Changxi. But Ziwei Star is also a supreme star—how come it hasn't even grown a single hair? This makes no sense! Well, no Primordial World sense, anyway!"
Di Jiang examined it carefully and found no nascent lifeforms or hidden caves. This star seemed to be nothing but a mass of pure energy, possessing immense power but no will to rule it.
"Since it has no master..." Di Jiang's eyes lit up as an idea came to him.
"Doesn't that mean I can take control of it?"
If he could control this supreme star and draw its imperial aura upon himself, it would greatly benefit his cultivation. He could also use it to command some of the power of the All-Heaven Stars. Whether in battle or when laying out formations, it would be an enormous advantage! Much better than finding one or two spiritual treasures!
Di Jiang immediately sat cross-legged at Ziwei Star's core and tried to use his Primordial Origin Golden Immortal Primordial Spirit and magic power to communicate with, draw upon, and even refine the imperial aura suffusing the entire star.
He released his aura, revealed his Primordial Origin Golden Immortal Dao Fruit, and called upon a trace of the majesty of his Pangu bloodline. Then he silently repeated:
"Come on! Ziwei Star, submit to me! I am of Pangu's True Lineage, lord of Mount Buzhou, and a future Primordial Origin Golden Immortal! Merge with me, and I'll lead you to the pinnacle of the stars!"
And yet—
A hundred years passed. The Ziwei imperial aura drifted by lazily.
A thousand years passed. The Ziwei imperial aura swirled and went around him.
Ten thousand years passed. The Ziwei imperial aura continued to do as it pleased, as if Di Jiang were invisible.
Di Jiang expended a great deal of mental energy and magic power, but the Ziwei imperial aura—supposedly noble and symbolic of dominion—couldn't have cared less. Forget acknowledging him as its master or being refined; it barely showed any inclination to draw near!
"???"
Di Jiang opened his eyes and stared blankly, and with growing frustration, at the violet currents still circulating around him without reacting in the slightest.
"What's going on? Did I do it wrong?"
Di Jiang scratched his head. "Or am I just naturally lacking that kind of kingly aura that makes people bow down the moment they see me?"
He thought back over his life since transmigrating. Aside from relying on merit and bloodline for protection, and holding out against the Heavenly Dao, he hadn't really had any moments where he shook with might and had younger brothers rush to join him. Even winning over the Green Lotus of Creation and persuading Minghe had relied on tangible benefits.
"Tsk. Guess I'm not cut out to be the protagonist."
Di Jiang laughed at himself. Since he couldn't follow the path of a king, he'd just have to keep being practical!
Since Ziwei Star wasn't interested, Di Jiang couldn't be bothered to keep throwing himself at it. He stood up, brushed off nonexistent dust, and decided not to waste any more time.
"If this place won't keep me, there are plenty of places that will! The Primordial World is so vast. I refuse to believe I can't find a few decent scraps!"
Di Jiang took one last look at the aloof supreme star. Then, with a flicker, he left Ziwei Star and continued deeper into the starry sky in search of another likely target. Ziwei Star remained where it was, radiating an isolated imperial aura that no one could understand.
After making a fuss on Ziwei Star and eventually leaving empty-handed, Di Jiang decided he probably wasn't destined to be the protagonist. Even a star couldn't be bothered with him.
What he didn't know was that, although the Ziwei imperial aura hadn't submitted to him as he'd hoped, his Primordial Origin Golden Immortal aura, the Daoist resonance of Pangu's True Lineage, and the immense magic power that had spilled out as he tried to communicate with and refine the star had left an indelible mark on the ancient supreme star.
The aura was strongest in the core region where he had sat to cultivate. After he left, the Ziwei imperial aura that had ignored him didn't immediately disperse. Instead, drawn by some invisible force, it began to slowly gather in that spot.
Ten thousand years passed in the blink of an eye for a star. Where Di Jiang had once sat, the gathering Ziwei imperial aura grew denser and purer until it spontaneously coalesced into a rotating sphere of violet light, a hundred zhang across!
The sphere wasn't lifeless. It seemed to possess a trace of the most rudimentary sentience, greedily absorbing the vast stellar power of Ziwei Star by instinct!
With every rotation, the light of Ziwei Star trembled, and wisps of supreme stellar essence flowed into the sphere like rivers returning to the sea.
Within the sphere, violet mists surged and churned. Daoist patterns flickered in and out, as if something extraordinary were taking shape. An aura of innate nobility and dominion over the eight directions was quietly forming within it.
In time, when the moment was right and it had accumulated enough stellar power, this sphere of violet light—unintentionally brought to life by Di Jiang—would give birth to a special lifeform endowed with the origin of Ziwei Emperor Star!
This future lifeform would share the same origin as Ziwei Star and possess the most legitimate, purest Ziwei destiny from birth. Its noble origins and enormous potential would likely be surpassed only by those, such as Di Jun and Xihe, directly conceived by the Sun and Moon.
The instigator of all this, Di Jiang, had long since put Ziwei Star out of his mind. Yet within the sphere taking shape on Ziwei Star, there remained a trace of his bloodline aura, a mark that belonged to Di Jiang.
After roaming the vast starry sky for a long while, visiting nearly every star with a name, Di Jiang had to admit the truth: there were no Innate Spiritual Treasures in the stars that were meant for him.
Perhaps there had once been some, but they had likely been claimed first by the two on the Sun Star or by Xihe and Changxi on the Moon Star. Alternatively, they might be hidden somewhere so secret even he couldn't detect them.
"Ah, looks like the starry sky is a poor place too. But since I'm already here..."
Di Jiang sighed, feeling rather disappointed. True to his habit of making the most of a trip once he'd already made it, he turned his attention to the stars themselves.
His divine sense passed over the Sun Star and sensed its blazing Solar True Fire, powerful enough to melt all things, as well as the top-grade divine material tempered within it: Solar True Gold! He also sensed the rare treasure that had settled in the depths of the moonlight, a material of the utmost yin and cold: Lunar Cold Iron!
Though these materials couldn't compare to Innate Spiritual Treasures, they were top-grade materials for crafting artifacts in the Primordial World, rare and hard to come by!
Di Jiang knew how to be discreet. Without a sound, he carefully scraped off a thin layer of Solar True Gold and Lunar Cold Iron from the vast bodies of the Sun Star and Moon Star.
It was an insignificant amount compared to the massive supreme stars, so tiny it wouldn't cause the slightest ripple in their origins. Even so, the Solar True Gold and Lunar Cold Iron he collected would be enough to form a whole mountain range on the Primordial World's land!
Di Jiang looked at his haul and nodded in satisfaction. Naturally, he wouldn't disturb the residents of the Sun Star and Moon Star, Di Jun and Xihe among them. They had no dealings yet, and he had no desire to start any. There was no need to cause trouble.
That kid Hou Yi had a Sun-Shooting Bow but lacked good arrows, especially arrowheads! Even without being an Innate Spiritual Treasure, an arrowhead made from good material and crafted with a skilled hand could still be fearsomely powerful! Besides, Innate Spiritual Treasures shaped like arrowheads were extremely rare in the Primordial World. These would be more than enough for Hou Yi!
Arrowheads made from Solar True Gold would be fiery and unyielding, with formidable piercing power and the ability to burn and dispel evil. Those made from Lunar Cold Iron would be cold and yin, incredibly fast, and capable of freezing and corroding the soul!
If he could combine yin and yang, their power would multiply! Using these top-grade materials to craft a few exceptional arrows for Hou Yi would surely make the kid ecstatic!
With that thought, Di Jiang wasted no time. He found a relatively quiet floating island in the starry sky, set up a concealment formation, and prepared to begin his Primordial World handicraft project: custom-made arrows for his younger brother!
Although he hadn't found a ready-made Innate Spiritual Treasure, personally making his younger brother a unique and powerful gift seemed pretty fulfilling too!
Ten thousand years passed as Di Jiang devoted himself to crafting. Aside from the occasional shooting star, nothing disturbed the floating island he had chosen.
Artifact crafting wasn't Di Jiang's strong suit. He was better at using his fists and the laws to make his point. But with the abundant magic power of a Primordial Origin Golden Immortal, his initial understanding of the Yin-Yang Law, and the innate qualities of materials as fine as Solar True Gold and Lunar Cold Iron, Di Jiang—the "Primordial World's Best Big Brother"—still completed the arduous task through painstaking effort and sheer brute force.
At last, two hundred divine arrows floated neatly before Di Jiang, each gleaming with spiritual light!
One hundred were a warm red-gold from tip to tail. Liquid flame seemed to flow along their shafts, and they gave off a blazing, domineering solar aura. They were the Solar Divine Arrows.
The other hundred were a cool, moonlit white. A thin layer of frost covered their shafts, and they radiated a chilling Taiyin aura. They were the Lunar Divine Arrows.
Each arrow had reached the level of a Mid-grade Acquired Spiritual Treasure! Their grade wasn't top-tier, but they owed much of their strength to the nature of the Primordial World's finest materials, Solar True Gold and Lunar Cold Iron!
In terms of sturdiness and piercing power, and with their accompanying Solar True Fire and Taiyin Cold Fiend, they were in no way inferior to ordinary Low-grade or even Mid-grade Innate Spiritual Treasures! They were especially effective against specific enemies or in particular environments.
"What a pity!"
Di Jiang looked at the two batches of arrows, whose properties were polar opposites, and shook his head with some regret. His grasp of harmonizing yin and yang into a unified whole still needed work; he hadn't managed to craft a true arrow that combined the two. Otherwise, its power could have reached another level, perhaps even that of a High-grade Acquired Spiritual Treasure.
Still, the crafting process hadn't been fruitless. To better control the two materials, Solar True Gold and Lunar Cold Iron, which were complete opposites, he'd had to repeatedly summon and study his own trace of the Yin-Yang Law. Without realizing it, he'd deepened his understanding and use of the law considerably. It was an unexpected bonus.
"Never mind. This is good enough for that kid Hou Yi. Two hundred divine arrows should last him a long time!"
Di Jiang happily put the two hundred divine arrows away. Although he hadn't found any of the Innate Spiritual Treasures he'd hoped for, he'd collected top-grade materials, improved his grasp of the Yin-Yang Law, and, most importantly, settled the question of a gift for Hou Yi. All in all, his resource-gathering mission was a success.
Di Jiang rose to his feet and waved away the concealment formation. After one last look at the vast, silent starry sky, he turned away without regret. His figure became an invisible ripple in space and instantly crossed the boundary between the stars and the Primordial World.
Having taken care of spiritual treasures for Jiu Feng and Hou Yi, Di Jiang felt half the burden lift from his shoulders. But when he thought of his four younger brothers—Xing Tian, Chi You, Xiangliu, and Kuafu, each with their own distinct style—he felt the pressure mount again.
So he hurried through the famous paradises and scenic places of the Primordial World. He visited the outskirts of Mount Longevity, the coast of the East Sea, the area around the Immortal Volcano... Wherever rumors suggested there might be treasures, he went to take a look.
Fortune favored the persistent—or perhaps it was just that a Primordial Origin Golden Immortal's divine sense could search every inch of the land. Either way, Di Jiang really did find two ownerless Innate Spiritual Treasures.
One was a Bewildering Banner that could conjure illusions and confuse the mind. It was a Low-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure.
The other was a Spirit Gathering Pearl that could gather the vitality of plants and accelerate their growth. It, too, was a Low-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure.
Di Jiang looked the two treasures over from every angle.
"How am I supposed to give these away?" Di Jiang said with a look of disgust.
It wasn't that they were completely useless. They were just too low-grade! They were only Low-grade treasures! When his younger siblings went out, they represented Mount Buzhou's reputation. It would be downright embarrassing for them to bring a Low-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure to a debate or a fight!
Besides, Jiu Feng had received a High-grade Spirit Root, while Hou Yi was getting custom-made divine arrows fashioned from top-grade materials, with power on par with Mid-grade Innate Spiritual Treasures. The difference would be too great for the others!
More importantly, the properties of these two treasures had nothing to do with Xing Tian and the others' paths. Give the Bewildering Banner to Xing Tian? That brute would probably use it as a rag. Give the Spirit Gathering Pearl to Chi You? He'd probably chew it like a candy bean. Neither would be of any use!
"Ah, after all these eons of people scouring the Primordial World, any halfway decent Mid- or High-grade spiritual treasures are either already owned, hidden away by some old schemer, or lying on that old bastard Hongjun's Treasure Distribution Rock!"
Di Jiang reluctantly accepted reality. Finding suitable, high-grade treasures for his remaining four younger brothers by picking up leftovers was going to be difficult.
At the same time, a promise Di Jiang had temporarily forgotten burst into his mind like a thunderclap!
Minghe! A High-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure!
He had promised to give Minghe a High-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure as payment for entering the Blood Sea to investigate the Netherworld!
"Crap! I forgot about that!" Di Jiang slapped his forehead, his face falling at once!
Now what? He still hadn't found anything for his four younger brothers, and he already owed someone a fortune! A High-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure! Where was he supposed to find one?
Di Jiang suddenly felt like he had twice as much to worry about, and this was more headache-inducing than facing Hongjun.
"What do I do? I can't exactly give the Banana Fan to Minghe, can I? What about Jiu Feng? Or should I renege?"
The thought had barely crossed his mind before he dismissed it. Not because he had especially high moral standards, but because this was a matter of karmic cause and effect. He had to settle it!
Di Jiang stood there, weighed down with worry, and felt that his image as the Primordial World's best big brother was about to fall apart. His treasure hunt was going to be a long and difficult road ahead!
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