"So that was it! That was it!"
Di Jun threw back his head and laughed, his laughter tinged with ruefulness and relief.
At last, he understood why, despite possessing Imperial Purple Qi, he had never been able to refine the Purple Star's Stellar Origin.
"I was born on the Sun Star, an innate divine being nurtured by it. I carry its immense Fortune."
Di Jun gazed at the cluster of Stellar Origin glowing with noble purple light and murmured, "By trying to force the Purple Star to submit, I was unconsciously trying to make it a vassal of the Sun Star."
"But the Purple Star is the lord of all stars, the star of emperors. How could it willingly bow to the Sun Star?!"
"Two tigers cannot share one mountain, and an emperor bows to no second master!"
With that realization, the frenzy in Di Jun's eyes faded, replaced by unprecedented clarity and resolve.
"If the Purple Star will not submit to the Sun Star, then I'll... relinquish the Sun Star's Fortune!"
Di Jun took a deep breath and swiftly formed an ancient, intricate hand seal.
"Sever!"
At his low command, a sharp crack sounded inside him, as though a shackle had snapped.
Then an unimaginably vast tide of golden Fortune surged from Di Jun's body like a breached dam. Following an unseen connection, it poured back toward the Sun Star!
He had severed his own Fortune!
It was tantamount to cutting away his own foundation!
As the Sun Star's Fortune drained away, Di Jun's late Quasi-Saint cultivation began to fluctuate violently. He was even in danger of falling to a lower realm.
His face turned white as paper, and beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. But he gritted his teeth and did not utter a cry of pain.