Monster

The Star Scroll One seemed to be filled with nothing more than casual notes, recording the sentiments of the book's owner.

Yet, as Lei Zhan read it word by word, the extraordinary nature of the text gradually began to reveal itself.

These seemingly simple passages slowly drew him in, and as he resonated with the Star Hall, they transported him into a brand-new world.

He looked at the lush, verdant mountain peaks in the distance, at the countless desolate stones, and at the babbling, vibrant stream, as if he were seeing the countless "Daos"—the Daos that contained endless mysteries.

Even a small tuft of grass growing stubbornly from a crack in the rock contained a profound and mysterious "Dao."

Without realizing it, Lei Zhan raised his head.

High above, stars shone with brilliant, dazzling light, and each one gave Lei Zhan a different sensation.

"This is water... a Dao related to water?" Lei Zhan felt the roar of surging waves echoing in his ears.

It was the vast, boundless sea he had seen only after traversing the endless earth.

He had flown across that very sea, riding the waves and exhausting his energy to reach this place and participate in the three trials of Immortal Juhua.

Whoosh, whoosh...

Whoosh, whoosh...

Inside the Star Hall, beside the stone bench in front of the thatched cottage.

Streams of azure water shimmered with spray, gradually converging.

One, two, three, and then countless streams gathered into a vast ocean, the waves surging and rising into a tempestuous storm...

Surging, magnificent, and endless.

"As expected of the one who stood out from countless Xiantian Beings and Purple Mansion beings to become the only one to pass the trial. This level of enlightenment is truly high!"

The Yellow-Haired Great Bear nodded slightly. "Is this a Dao? It should be a Dao belonging to the water element!"

"This is the Dao of the Azure Sea!"

A muffled voice sounded from behind the Yellow-Haired Great Bear, and an old man in Daoist robes slowly walked in from outside the Star Hall.

He stared at Lei Zhan, who was experiencing enlightenment before the thatched cottage, a flash of amazement in his eyes.

The Yellow-Haired Great Bear glanced indifferently at Immortal Juhua, who stood beside it. "I thought you really wouldn't come to see your only disciple! What? Couldn't help yourself?"

"Why wouldn't I come! As you said, this is my only disciple, and my closing disciple at that! Since it is his first time in the Star Hall and he has accumulated much insight, the effect is excellent; naturally, I must come to see the disciple I have taken in," Immortal Juhua retorted, eyes widening.

"Indeed. The disciple you've taken in is far better than you were as a master! When you were at the Purple Mansion level, you were far inferior to him now."

The Yellow-Haired Great Bear spoke calmly, "The stars in the Star Hall are brilliant, and Lei Zhan doesn't look like he has only realized one Dao."

"That is only natural. The disciple I, Juhua, have taken in could not possibly be mediocre."

Immortal Juhua ignored the Yellow-Haired Great Bear's words and nodded. "I have some understanding of the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Map; once one cultivates to the level of a Xiantian Being, one can control water and fire."

"And every time one breaks through a major realm, the two supreme stars, the Lunar and the Solar, appear, descending a trace of Lunar True Water and Solar True Fire. Naturally, as Lei Zhan breaks through to become a Purple Mansion cultivator, his understanding of water and fire will be deeper. There should be a Dao of the fire element appearing soon."

Whoosh!

The waves churned up by the surging sea became increasingly violent, wave after wave, seemingly endless...

As Immortal Juhua and the Yellow-Haired Great Bear spoke, the azure water lingering before Lei Zhan in front of the thatched cottage suddenly dissipated into nothingness.

But it was not over yet.

Rumble!

Rumble! Rumble!

Suddenly.

Even more surging, magnificent azure water gushed forth. If the previous waves were a tempestuous storm, this was now a terrifying tsunami rising from the vast ocean—endless and grand in scale.

"This is... the Domain of the Azure Sea!"

At this moment, even Immortal Juhua's eyes showed clear astonishment.

The war between gods and demons had just ended, and all things were at their beginning.

It was extremely rare for a cultivator to realize the true intent of the Dao at the Purple Mansion level; once one appeared, they were snatched up as disciples by the powerhouses of great tribes and sects.

Now, his disciple had actually realized the Domain Realm of the Dao right here in the Star Hall?

One had to know that usually, only Wanxiang-level cultivators could grasp a trace of the true intent of the Dao. Those who could realize a Domain Realm of the Dao were typically veteran Wanxiang True Persons or even Primordial Spirit Daoists.

Of course, these were all ordinary, mediocre cultivators whose paths would stop there.

Time passed until the tsunami-like Domain of the Azure Sea dissipated...

Boom!

Boom! Boom!

One, two, three.

Following that, crimson sparks suddenly emerged from the void.

"Another Dao!" Immortal Juhua and the Yellow-Haired Great Bear immediately sensed the change before the thatched cottage.

"Is this the True Intent of Blazing Fire?"

The Way of Blazing Fire represented by this True Intent was considered the most common minor path. Without waiting for Immortal Juhua to speak, the Yellow-Haired Great Bear revealed a faint, satisfied smile on its face.

The more monstrous the future successor of its master, Daoist Sanshou, the greater the hope of surviving the Celestial God tribulation. Consequently, there was a better chance of becoming its master's formal disciple and inheriting Daoist Sanshou's mantle, which naturally made it all the more pleased.

"Mm. It is indeed the Way of Blazing Fire!" Immortal Juhua nodded.

A moment later.

In front of the thatched cottage, the phenomena manifested by the Way of Blazing Fire and the power of the Dao it had stirred up slowly dissipated.

"Truly incredible."

Immortal Juhua sighed with emotion, "To read the entirety of the first volume during his first time comprehending the Dao in the Star Hall before stopping! Lei Zhan's realm is truly high. Having read so many characters, I fear he has already fallen into an extremely deep state of enlightenment."

"This just goes to show that your disciple hasn't encountered any good guidance in his daily life. Now that he has entered this Star Hall, he is unleashing his accumulated potential, transforming the foundation he has built over these years into insights on the Dao all at once..."

The Yellow-Haired Great Bear also praised, "With such a monstrous talent, if you guide him well from here on out, it is not entirely impossible that he might..."

Immortal Juhua and the Yellow-Haired Great Bear were both very clear on this.

The scroll was actually merely a guide, leading the cultivator to immerse themselves in an extremely deep state of enlightenment. The more characters one read, the deeper the state of enlightenment one could sink into!

Of course... what one could comprehend depended on one's own usual accumulation. The so-called unleashing of accumulated potential meant that one must have the usual foundation to have a sudden moment of clarity.

And Lei Zhan was currently in the midst of this very process!

But everything did not seem to have stopped yet.

Lei Zhan suddenly looked up, staring at the high heavens. In the high heavens, stars were scattered like pieces on a chessboard, all of them emitting brilliant starlight.

At this moment, the Star Scroll One in his hands had long since been set aside. He stood just like that, standing beneath this starry sky, his eyes fixed solely upon that one incomparably massive star.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Inside the Star Hall, wisps of breeze descended out of thin air.

In an instant, threads of mysterious and profound 'intent' suddenly appeared all around Lei Zhan.

"This is..." The Yellow-Haired Great Bear sensed the vast 'Dao' intent that had suddenly appeared, and its pair of bear eyes widened until they were like copper bells.