"Wah—"
"Pfft!"
"Cough, cough!"
Inside the great tent, the two of them lowered their heads and spat blood from time to time, making for a rather frightening scene.
Lin Suqing wiped the corner of her mouth. The faint Star Power around her had completely dispersed as she looked pitifully at Wu Wang.
"Young Master, this can't go on.
Every time I cultivate the Star Invocation Technique, my blood and qi churn. Immortal Cultivation doesn't eat Blood Food, and I don't have several pounds of blood to spit out. I really can't endure it anymore.
Pfft!"
"Stop for now."
Wu Wang slowly exhaled, signaling Lin Suqing to rest for the moment. He summoned the guards to clean the room and bring some blood-replenishing food while they were at it.
How had this happened?
Whether he cultivated Human Domain cultivation methods on the basis of the Star Invocation Technique, or Lin Suqing cultivated the Star Invocation Technique on the basis of Human Domain cultivation methods, the result was the same.
This path was impassable—three pints of blood coughed up.
Why could the two not coexist in harmony?
Wu Wang tried hard to recall all the details from before. Resting his chin on his hand, he sat there and gradually became absorbed in thought.
Had he misunderstood something before?
The Star Invocation Technique: priests prayed to the gods of the stars, thereby receiving the Star Power bestowed by those gods and gaining control over wind, frost, rain, snow, and lightning.
—That was the official explanation of the Star Invocation Technique.
Wu Wang's understanding of it was much more straightforward.
There existed some kind of Dao in heaven and earth that allowed living beings to wield Star Power.
Through methods of self-suggestion such as prayer and invocation, living beings constantly strengthened their spirits and resonated with the Dao of Stars.
Then, through fixed methods, they expended their own spirits, drew upon Star Power, and unleashed different Star Invocation Techniques.
Before now, that understanding had always been correct.
Wu Wang had strengthened his self-suggestion through all kinds of methods, constantly tempered his "spirit," and mastered many Star Invocation Techniques in a short time.
It was just that the process of strengthening self-suggestion... was a little embarrassing.
Something along the lines of draping himself in a cloak late at night, putting on a mask, standing before a glass mirror, making humiliating gestures, and shouting at himself that he was "Ultraman of the Stars."
When one sincerely believed one could become powerful, one became powerful.
Besides that, it also required all kinds of precious medicinal herbs and training.
In Wu Wang's understanding, whether Immortal Cultivation spells or Star Invocation Techniques, at their root, both used one's essence, qi, and spirit to resonate with the laws of heaven and earth.
The Star Invocation Technique emphasized "spirit";
Human Domain cultivation methods placed equal importance on "essence," "qi," and "spirit": refining essence to nourish qi, transforming qi into spirit, returning spirit to emptiness, becoming a god unto oneself, and enjoying a long lifespan.
Thus, the Star Invocation Technique did not increase one's lifespan. That was also the main reason Wu Wang had kept Lin Suqing and continued trying Human Domain Immortal Cultivation methods despite vomiting blood.
Then why did Human Domain Foundation Establishment Cultivation Methods repel the Star Invocation Technique?
No, that wasn't right.
It seemed the Star Invocation Technique was the one unilaterally rejecting Human Domain cultivation methods.
Wu Wang looked up and asked, "Suqing, was Star Power the first thing to react?"
"Hm?"
Lin Suqing thought carefully, then nodded. "My aura didn't become disordered. Rather, it was the Star Power I drew in that interfered with the circulation of my aura.
"Young Master, I have heard people mention the Star Invocation Technique of the Northern Wilds before. They all said it was an immensely powerful and mysterious art, exclusive to the priests of the great clans of the Northern Wilds.
"Could it be that the Star Invocation Technique itself has some kind of restriction?"
Wu Wang gave a simple acknowledgment. "Move a little farther away from me. I'll investigate the cause."
Lin Suqing obediently retreated to a corner of the great tent, watching Wu Wang with some worry in her eyes as he closed his eyes and focused his mind, apparently preparing to carry out some mysterious ritual.
Wu Wang suddenly opened his eyes, turned to Lin Suqing, and smiled.
"Have we only known each other for two or three days?"
Two question marks immediately seemed to hang over Lin Suqing's forehead. Before she could understand what Wu Wang meant, he made a hand signal, and a group of burly men carrying the scent of grassland men's sweat rushed in, isolating her in the corner.
Wu Wang's voice carried a trace of apology.
"This is the awareness one must have as the heir of a clan."
Lin Suqing pursed her lips, stood there honestly, and for a moment looked exceptionally well-behaved.
She only saw—
Wu Wang remained seated cross-legged, both hands rapidly forming a series of intricate and complex seals.
In but a moment, brilliant points of light slowly appeared in Wu Wang's palms, elbows, shoulders, back, and legs.
Like scattered stars in the night sky.
Wu Wang's lips moved softly, strange syllables echoing through the great tent. As those murmurs sounded, starlight blazed around him. His body actually became somewhat translucent, and a dazzling river of stars appeared within him, connecting to some unknown void.
Lin Suqing held her breath. Though she could not understand what was happening, she could feel the might of that Star Power.
It rivaled her sect master at the late Golden Core stage—no!
That profound and distant feeling, she had only felt it from those white-haired elders of the great sect next door!
The guards before her seemed even more nervous, constantly on guard against any unusual movement from her, which made Lin Suqing feel slightly uncomfortable.
Forget it. She was merely passing through this place, staying for six years at most.
Still, in all fairness, the Young Master, who had activated some unknown technique, was indeed rather handsome.
Half an hour later.
The starlight around Wu Wang flickered between brilliance and dimness, while his closed eyes had yet to open.
Lin Suqing could not help rubbing her eyelids. The guards around her stood silently like iron towers.
I might as well meditate. It's not as if I have anything else to do.
Three hours later.
"Ha... haachoo."
That elegant yawn behind her hand brought tears to Lin Suqing's eyes. Just as she raised her hand to wipe the corners of them, several guards in front of her turned and glared at her.
Then, one after another, people inside the great tent began yawning.
Three days later.
Amid orderly footsteps, two teams of guards filed in, replacing the companions who had stood watch here for half a day.
Lin Suqing glanced at Wu Wang, who was still meditating, her gaze wandering over the guards.
Tsk, tsk. The more she looked, the more she felt these guards were quite nice too.
But speaking of which...
Lin Suqing looked at Wu Wang with slight concern. The starlight around him had grown somewhat dim, yet within that dim starlight, strange phenomena would occasionally appear.
Ancient stone halls floating out of the void, exotic beasts roaming among the stars, figures slaughtering one another;
There were all sorts of such sights.
Was this how one cultivated the Star Invocation Technique?
Yet Lin Suqing vaguely felt that Wu Wang's current state was a little off.
Where exactly did the problem lie? Why did it reject other cultivation methods?
Within the starry sky, Wu Wang's phantom sat quietly cross-legged. Before him seemed to hang a beaded curtain woven from starlight; every thread formed from gathered starlight represented a Star Invocation Technique Wu Wang had mastered.
His grandmother was the clan's Grand Priestess, so naturally, he had no shortage of ways to learn the Star Invocation Technique.
At this moment, his figure was faint and insubstantial, his fingertips pinching thread after thread, like an ancient god weaving the canopy of heaven.
Wu Wang had been in this world called the Great Wilderness for twelve years. The thing he had spent the most time doing was gathering knowledge and pondering the Star Invocation Technique.
The memories of his previous life had given him tremendous benefits, allowing him to quickly master the Star Invocation Technique and rapidly strengthen his "spirit."
No joke—among thousands of volunteers, Wu Wang had stood head and shoulders above the rest to become the sole designated member of a wormhole exploration suicide squad. His psychological fortitude was absolutely solid, and he had undergone several years of unimaginably harsh training.
Of essence, qi, and spirit, "spirit" depended to a great extent on one's own willpower.
It was precisely that tempered willpower, together with a teensy-weensy bit of help from his grandmother and mother, that had given him the small achievement of becoming a Great Star Sacrifice at twelve.
He was ashamed. He had disgraced his old home on Blue Star.
—In the hierarchy of the Star Invocation Technique, Star Sacrifices stood above ranks such as Invocation, Great Invocation, Divination, and Grand Diviner. Great Star Sacrifices ranked only below Moon Sacrifices and Sun Sacrifices who possessed their own titles.
There were no more than seven Sun Sacrifices in the entire Northern Wilds, while a Moon Sacrifice could already serve as the chief priest of a great clan in one region.
In cultivating the Star Invocation Technique, Wu Wang had always sailed with a favorable wind. Even if there were principles difficult to comprehend, he could draw inferences from one instance, boldly hypothesize, cautiously test, and ultimately overcome them smoothly.
Only today, when he wished to step beyond the scope of the Star Invocation Technique and try the Human Domain cultivation method that was crucial to him, the Star Invocation Technique instead bound his steps.
And the answer to this question ought to be hidden within the Star Invocation Technique.
In Wu Wang's understanding, the essence of every cultivation method could be simplified as—mastering a way to resonate with Dao, achieving resonance with Dao, borrowing Dao to drive the corresponding spiritual energy, and thus condensing it into spells.
Whether the power of stars or the power of the Five Elements, they were ultimately only "spiritual energy" that filled the heavens and earth of the Great Wilderness.
If he thought more deeply, what was preventing him from cultivating the ordinary Foundation Establishment method of Human Domain cultivators ought to be the Dao behind the Star Invocation Technique.
The Dao of stars.
Had some expert of the Star Invocation Technique once placed shackles upon this Dao?
Or did this Dao itself conflict with the foundational Dao of Human Domain cultivation methods?
Was his strange illness truly related to the Star Invocation Technique?
The onset of this strange illness had nearly coincided with the time he came into contact with the Star Invocation Technique. Though both his grandmother and mother said the Star Invocation Technique was a gift from the Starry Sky God, Wu Wang had always doubted it.
Seek the answer.
Understand this Dao.
If there truly was a will that ruled this Dao, could he make contact with such an existence through the Dao?
Question after question melted into his heart as Wu Wang continuously attempted to enter a state where self and object were forgotten.
Merging with the starry sky, probing the underlying logic of the Star Invocation Technique's operation, searching for the Dao that governed everything in the starry sky, and making it into his own law.
He could not sense the passing of time, nor could he feel the changes of heaven and earth.
Faint starlight flowed into him from the starry sky. His Spiritual Sense slowly and steadily grew stronger, while his entire body tingled pleasantly and felt quite comfortable.
This was actually Wu Wang's usual state when cultivating the Star Invocation Technique.
Hm?
A glimmer of inspiration suddenly flashed through Wu Wang's heart.
If he followed the basic Human Domain cultivation method and treated Star Power as the spiritual energy he absorbed, allowing the Star Power to circulate through his body in a celestial circuit, then wouldn't that be... tempering his body with stars?
It seemed he had inadvertently opened some kind of great door.
Wu Wang raised an eyebrow and immediately prepared to try it. But just as he was about to act, he vaguely seemed to hear an incomparably distant call:
"Play it safe, young man~ Play it safe~"
Wu Wang's mouth twitched. Calmly, he closed his eyes and brought his hands together, returning to unity.
This was not some dangerous experiment. He would only use a faint wisp of Star Power. At worst, the auras would clash and he would spit out some blood. Could it really cost him his life?
He did it as soon as he decided!
Wu Wang closed his eyes and focused his mind, lightly drawing a breath. A wisp of Star Power entered his body through his mouth, gathered in his dantian, traveled through his meridians, and attempted to complete one Lesser Celestial Circuit.
I possess one Dao that fuses ten thousand methods; I dare command ten suns to turn the gourd sky.
The Star Power was like a brook, slowly swirling through Wu Wang's chest. It drifted past numerous checkpoints and gathered toward his dantian.
Could this method succeed?
Could it be that the laws of stars were incompatible with other laws, resulting in different cultivation systems being unable to cultivate together?
Wu Wang stared fixedly at that wisp of Star Power. The closer it came to this point, the easier it was to fail when success was within reach.
Without warning, that wisp of Star Power exploded apart strangely.
Wu Wang's eyes flew open. Before him was a brilliant starry sky and a beaded curtain woven from stars, but within that curtain, a faint gray and dim thread was about to vanish!
That was it!
Before he had time to think further or consider anything else, Wu Wang "raised his hand" in his consciousness, seized the thread, and "pulled" hard.
The scene before him suddenly changed. The originally tranquil starry sky transformed into boundless streams of light. Ahead was utter blackness, then a speck of light abruptly swelled within it, becoming a magnificent hall towering above ten thousand stars!
The entire hall was piled from translucent Star Jade, with only a simple dome, foundation, and twelve pillars.
The dim thread that had been pinched between Wu Wang's fingertips had disappeared at some unknown moment, while his figure hovered outside the hall, staring blankly at the scene within.
This place contained the ultimate profundities of the Star Invocation Technique;
This place preserved every explanation of the Dao of the starry sky;
With but one glance, endless information appeared from nowhere within Wu Wang's heart. Then his gaze suddenly caught a figure—a figure standing at the center of this Hall of Ten Thousand Stars, like a stone statue.
She wore a dazzling star robe and held a pitch-black staff. At this moment, she was slowly turning around, and a pair of emotionless eyes filled with divine light had locked onto Wu Wang.
Wu Wang tilted his head, his pupils trembling slightly.
This, this, this!?
The goddess spoke a phrase in an obscure and incomprehensible tone, yet Wu Wang instantly understood its meaning in his heart:
"Those who trespass into the sacred hall shall die."
Before the word "die" had faded, a bolt of lightning shot from the staff in that figure's hand, crashing down upon Wu Wang's Spiritual Sense!
At the same time, above the great tent where Wu Wang was located!
Deep within the starry sky, a jade-green pillar of lightning appeared bizarrely and struck savagely toward Wu Wang's great tent. The people inside did not even have time to notice its assault before they were about to be reduced to ashes!
That instant!
Just that instant!
Wu Wang's Spiritual Sense stood before that hall, while Wu Wang's body was in the great tent. His movements froze. Filled with bewilderment, he opened his mouth and shouted an utterly stunned syllable.
It was that cry!
The figure within the divine hall rapidly closed her eyes, then opened them. The divine light in her eyes instantly receded, and she anxiously stretched her left hand toward Wu Wang.
At the great tent where Wu Wang was located, a jade-green barrier appeared from nowhere just beneath the tent roof. At some unknown moment, a figure had appeared before Wu Wang, long hair and wide robes still fluttering lightly.
Lin Suqing stared blankly from the side;
Yet all the guards had already dropped to one knee, one hand covering their chests as they lowered their heads in salute.
The word Wu Wang had cried seemed to still circle within the tent. It was—
"Mother?"
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