"Tap...!"
Xu Taiping and Ping'an took nearly an entire hour to climb those mere nine steps, then almost another two hours to cover the distance from the hall entrance to its center.
"Tap!"
Even Old Daoist Huang and Xiaohei, who were only watching from the entrance, broke into a cold sweat on their behalf.
"Clang...!"
Then, with the clear ring of metal and stone striking the floor, the last of the nine Star Soul Cauldrons, the Tianshu Cauldron, was finally carried into the center of the hall, directly beneath the Tianshu Star Position.
At the same time, Xu Taiping and Ping'an, their bodies on the verge of collapse, both fell to their knees.
"My lord!"
"Wait!"
Xiaohei was about to help them up when Old Daoist Huang caught hold of him.
"Boom...!"
Just then, star marrow power a hundred times purer and deeper than ordinary spiritual power poured down from the Star River overhead like an enormous waterfall, washing over Xu Taiping and Ping'an together.
"Rumble...!"
Amid the violent trembling of heaven and earth, indescribable aura fluctuations spread out from where Xu Taiping and Ping'an stood, surging outward in wave after wave.
Sensing the strength of this star marrow power, Old Daoist Huang said with deep feeling:
"According to legend, star marrow power is the fundamental source of vitality in a world, much like the Dao essence power cultivators develop after reaching the Dao Integration Realm."
"And it is a hundred times more precious than Dao essence."
"This power has no fixed use. It can repair your divine essence when it is damaged, or restore your golden core when it is damaged."
"Likewise, when your body is damaged, it can transform into divine power that repairs your body."
"Once your body is restored, this power will continue strengthening it until