The Star Sea was not a true sea, but a floating Star Domain formed from countless star fragments. Hundreds of millions of fragments drifted slowly through the void, radiating brilliant light. Nebulous clouds dotted the expanse, which held pure spatial and stellar power. The sight was breathtakingly magnificent.
"The spatial power here is so dense!" The moment Xiao Yan entered the Star Sea, he felt the Origin Stabilizing Divine Stone and the Void Origin Stone Fragment tremble violently, as though they had found where they belonged. The stellar power flowing through the void poured into him without cease, nourishing his Origin Qi and soul.
Mo Chen was equally awestruck. "The Pill God's Notes said the Star Sea was the heart of the Pill Realm's spatial laws. It's true after all. Look at those star fragments. Every one of them contains complete spatial runes."
According to the Notes, the fifth fragment of the Heart of the Pill Realm was hidden in the Star Core Hall at the center of the Star Sea. The two flew through the air, weaving between the star fragments. The stellar power along the way was so pure that Xiao Yan's Origin Qi grew on its own without any deliberate cultivation, while his soul grew increasingly solid under the starlight.
Along the way, they encountered several Star Beasts that fed on stellar power. They resembled swimming fish, with transparent bodies, and could control star fragments to attack. But even the strongest of them had only reached Intermediate Origin Emperor, and they could not withstand a single blow from Xiao Yan's five-colored Heavenly Flames. After they died, Xiao Yan took the opportunity to absorb the stellar essence that dispersed from their bodies, making his Origin Qi even more refined.
The closer they drew to the center of the Star Sea, the denser the stellar power became, until it began to condense into tangible star liquid. When drops of it landed on Xiao Yan, a faint starlight appeared on his skin and flesh.
"The energy here is enough to support cultivation at the Origin Venerate realm." Sensing the Origin Qi surging through him, Xiao Yan had a thought. He was already a Peak High-Grade Origin Emperor, only one step away from the Origin Venerate realm. Perhaps he could use the favorable conditions of the Star Sea to break through in one stroke!
"Brother Mo Chen, go ahead and wait at the Star Core Hall. I'm going to attempt a breakthrough here," Xiao Yan said.
Mo Chen was taken aback, then overjoyed. "You're going to attempt to reach the Origin Venerate realm? Good! I'll stand guard for you outside the hall!"
Xiao Yan found a spot where star fragments were clustered densely and sat down cross-legged. He suspended the Burning Heaven Cauldron above his head, with the fragments of the Heart of the Pill Realm circling his body. Taking a deep breath, he stopped suppressing his Origin Qi and simultaneously guided the surrounding stellar and spatial power, launching an assault on the bottleneck to the Origin Venerate realm.
Advancing from Origin Emperor to Origin Venerate was a process of qualitative transformation for one's Origin Qi. It required drawing the laws of heaven and earth into the body and condensing an Origin Venerate Dharma Body in the dantian. Ordinary cultivators needed years or even decades of accumulation, and their chances of success were extremely low. But Xiao Yan had the five-colored Heavenly Flames to temper his Origin Qi, the pure energy of the Star Sea to bolster him, and the Pill God bloodline secretly lending its aid. The time was ripe.
Stellar power poured into him like a tide, intertwining with the five-colored Heavenly Flames as it surged through his meridians. Xiao Yan's dantian trembled violently. Drawn by the power of the laws, his Origin Qi compressed and condensed without cease, showing faint signs of taking tangible form.
Rumble!
A thunderclap seemed to sound within his dantian. His Origin Qi burst through the bottleneck and began to condense a Dharma Body. The Green Lotus Core Flame became a lotus platform, the Fallen Heart Flame a cloak, the Netherworld Core Flame and ghost flames a pair of boots, and the Pill Realm Origin Fire a suit of battle armor. A Dharma Body clad in five-colored flame armor and standing on a lotus platform slowly took shape. It was Xiao Yan's Origin Venerate Dharma Body!
The moment the Dharma Body formed, the surrounding star fragments trembled violently. Countless spatial runes were stirred and merged into it. Xiao Yan's presence soared, and the High-Grade Origin Emperor barrier shattered with a crash. The pressure of an Initial Origin Venerate spread out, bringing every star fragment in the Star Sea to a momentary halt!
"I did it!" Xiao Yan opened his eyes, two flashes of fire glinting in them as his heart surged. The power of the Origin Venerate realm far surpassed that of an Origin Emperor. He could clearly sense the flow of the laws of heaven and earth, and with a mere gesture could stir stellar and spatial power. His strength had increased by far more than tenfold!
He took one step and appeared before the Star Core Hall. Seeing the pressure of an Origin Venerate emanating from him, Mo Chen's mouth fell open in shock. "You... you broke through just like that? From High-Grade Origin Emperor to Origin Venerate in less than half an hour?"
Xiao Yan smiled, his spirits soaring with the exhilaration of his increased strength. "The energy in the Star Sea was incredibly pure, and with the Heavenly Flames helping, it was simply a matter of water flowing into a ready channel."
The Star Core Hall was a palace built of pure white star crystals. An enormous star core was set into its roof, casting a soft glow. The hall was empty, and above the star disk at its center floated a crystal fragment radiating starlight. It was the sixth fragment of the Heart of the Pill Realm.
Once in his hand, the fragment fused perfectly with the previous five, leaving only two gaps in the crystal sphere. The instant they fused, a vast surge of spatial law power poured into Xiao Yan, deepening his mastery of space another level. The power of the Origin Stabilizing Divine Stone and the Void Origin Stone Fragment soared with it.
"Next is the Ten Thousand Arrays Cliff." Xiao Yan looked toward the edge of the Star Sea. "The Notes say it's the center of the Pill Realm's arrays. It holds the seventh fragment, as well as the diagram for the ancient Myriad Transformations Burning Heaven Array. If we can obtain it, it'll be a great help against the Lord of Darkness."
Mo Chen nodded. "With your current strength as an Origin Venerate, you should be able to handle the dangers of the Ten Thousand Arrays Cliff too."
The two wasted no more time and left the Star Sea. Since Xiao Yan's breakthrough to the Origin Venerate realm, his flying speed had soared. A journey that once took several days now took only one.
The Ten Thousand Arrays Cliff was covered in ancient array patterns. Flowing array runes were carved all over its face, forming countless natural arrays. At times they became torrents of flame; at others, prisons of ice. Their power was boundless. An array tower stood atop the cliff, its walls wrapped in countless array patterns that gave off a weighty presence.
"The arrays here are a hundred times more intricate than the Nine Revolutions Burning Heaven Array in the Pill Region." Mo Chen gazed at the array patterns operating on their own across the cliff face, filled with wonder.
Xiao Yan's gaze, however, grew grave. He could sense faint dark energy mixed into the arrays of the Ten Thousand Arrays Cliff. They had evidently been corrupted as well.
"Be careful. The arrays may have been tampered with."
No sooner had he spoken than the ground ahead suddenly split open. Countless sharp stone spikes burst from the earth, while a prison of flame descended from the sky, trapping them both inside. It was the Ten Thousand Arrays Cliff's Earthfire Prison Array.
"Break!"
Xiao Yan snorted coldly. His Origin Venerate Dharma Body appeared, and five-colored flames swept out, burning the flame prison to nothing in an instant. At the same time, he pointed two fingers, and spatial power erupted. The stone spikes on the ground froze and shattered at once.
"Roar!"
A roar came from the array tower, and an Array Demon formed from array patterns and dark energy charged out. Its body was illusory, and it held an array flag. It could control every array on the Ten Thousand Arrays Cliff, and its presence had reached Intermediate Origin Venerate!
"Another dark creature!" Mo Chen summoned his pill cauldron, and pill fire blazed fiercely.
Xiao Yan's gaze sharpened as he unleashed the full power of the Origin Venerate realm. "Today, I'll show you what it truly means to break an array!"
His figure flickered and merged into the void. At the same time, he controlled the Origin Stabilizing Divine Stone, stirring the surrounding spatial power to continually disrupt the Array Demon's control over the Ten Thousand Arrays Cliff's arrays. Openings appeared repeatedly in the arrays it controlled, and Mo Chen seized the chance to smash them with his pill fire.
"Heavenly Flames: Spatial Burning Slaughter!"
Xiao Yan seized an opening and emerged from the void. His five-colored Heavenly Flames fused with spatial power, forming a twisted blade of flame that struck the Array Demon in an instant. It let out a piercing scream as the flame blade tore its illusory body apart, and its dark energy was swiftly purified by Heavenly Flames · Purification.
With the Array Demon dealt with, the arrays of the Ten Thousand Arrays Cliff returned to normal. The two entered the array tower and found the seventh fragment of the Heart of the Pill Realm at the top, along with the diagram recording the Myriad Transformations Burning Heaven Array.
With the fragment in hand, only one gap remained in the crystal sphere. Xiao Yan could feel that most of the Heart of the Pill Realm's power had been restored. The light it radiated could almost dispel the dark energy throughout the entire Pill Realm.
"The last fragment is in the Primordial Hall." Xiao Yan tightened his grip on the crystal sphere, anticipation and gravity flashing in his eyes. "That's also where we'll reforge the seal."
Mo Chen took a deep breath. "We're finally nearing the end."
The two left the Ten Thousand Arrays Cliff and flew toward the Primordial Hall at the very center of the Pill Realm. As they drew closer, the energy of heaven and earth in the Pill Realm grew increasingly pure. They could even see the remains of dark creatures that had been purified. Clearly, the power of the Primordial Hall had been silently protecting the Pill Realm all along.
Three days later, a palace appeared before them, floating among the clouds and entirely wreathed in currents of chaos. It had no fixed shape, becoming a pill cauldron one moment and a star the next. It was the heart of the Pill Realm-the Primordial Hall.
A hazy figure stood before the hall's doors, radiating a presence from the same source as Xiao Yan's, as though it had waited for countless ages.
It's a remnant will of Senior Pill God! Xiao Yan's heart shook, and he quickened his pace.
The figure slowly turned, revealing a face that bore a strong resemblance to Xiao Yan's. It was indeed a remnant will of the ancient Pill God. He looked at Xiao Yan, a gratified smile appearing in his eyes. "My descendant, you have finally come."
"Senior!" Xiao Yan bowed respectfully.
The Pill God's remnant will nodded slightly and pointed inside the Primordial Hall. "The final fragment is on the sealing platform within the hall. Once you have reforged the seal, you will inherit the whole of the Pill Realm's legacy. Then, you will have enough strength to face the Lord of Darkness."
He paused, a grave look flashing in his eyes. "Remember, the Lord of Darkness's true body has already taken form at the edge of the Great Thousand World. We do not have much time left."
Xiao Yan clenched his fists, his gaze resolute. "I understand!"
The instant he stepped into the Primordial Hall, Xiao Yan felt his Pill God bloodline and Origin Venerate Dharma Body boil at once, as though they were about to merge with the palace. On the sealing platform, the final fragment of the Heart of the Pill Realm flickered, waiting for the moment all the pieces were gathered.
Reforge the seal, protect the Pill Realm, and then... return to the Great Thousand World to face the Lord of Darkness!
The journey that belonged to Xiao Yan was about to enter its most crucial chapter.