Chapter 2435 , Star Refining Art’s Power
Translator: Silavin & Ashish
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
In other words, the owner of a higher grade Star Seal could detect the locations of those with lower grade Star Seals even from a long distance.
If one’s grade of Star Seal was worse than the opposite party’s Star Seal, they would be found out no matter what kind of concealment technique they used. This feature of the Star Seal made the Shattered Star Sea a bloodbath every time it opened. In order to upgrade one’s Star Seal, many cultivators did not hesitate to kill others.
This feature of the Star Seal was quite sobering, causing Yang Kai’s face to turn serious upon hearing it.
He hadn’t paid much attention to the level of his Star Seal before. Obviously, this grade of Star Seal was sufficient for him; there wasn’t any need to pursue a higher grade, but now, after listening to Hua Qin Si, Yang Kai realized that in order to ensure his own safety, his grade of the Star Seal had to be high enough, otherwise someone would very likely learn his location and come find trouble with him.
This feature secretly promoted killing and snatching between cultivators! It forced all the cultivators in the Shattered Star Sea to find ways to increase the grade of their respective Star Seal, whether they wanted to or not.
“The benefits of the Star Seal are roughly these; however, I have also heard of another legend…” While speaking, Hua Qin Si’s face suddenly turned serious.
Zhang Ruo Xi nervously asked, “What?”
Hua Qing Si replied, gazing at Yang Kai, “Rumour has it that if you can obtain the highest-grade nine-pointed Star Seal, it can guide you to the location of the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor’s inheritance!”
“Really?” Yang Kai looked surprised.
Hua Qing Si pursed her lips and answered, smiling, “This legend has been going around since the Shattered Star Sea was formed, but whether it is true or false, no one has been able to confirm. Naturally, there is no way to verify it.” She paused for a moment before continuing, “But this shouldn’t be appealing to you, Young Master Yang.”
His Embodiment was cultivating the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, which happened to be the key component to the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor’s inheritance, so naturally Yang Kai had no need to pursue this vague opportunity.
“It’s not that attractive to me, but it’s different for others,” Yang Kai’s face stiffened slightly, suddenly realizing that Star Seals in the Shattered Star Sea were like double-edged swords, a source of conflict and avarice. It was of great help to the cultivators here, but because of its various features, it also led to bloody slaughter among the cultivators.
Had there been no such thing as Star Seals, the chances of conflict among the cultivators here would have been much smaller.
“Of course, not everyone is looking for the inheritance of the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor. In the Shattered Star Sea, there are other treasures left by other Great Emperors. These are what generations of cultivators yearn for. I heard that five millennia ago, someone found the Indestructible Cyan Lotus of Cyan Lotus Great Emperor in the Shattered Star Sea, allowing them to inherit the mantle of Cyan Lotus Great Emperor.”
“And how is that person doing now?” Liu Yan indifferently asked.
Hua Qing Si replied, “He created a top Sect that’s renowned in the Eastern Territory, the Cyan Lotus Palace. That person is also the Palace Master of Cyan Lotus Palace.”
“He is quite lucky,” Yang Kai raised his brow slightly.
“Luck is an opportunity. Who hasn’t cultivated without relying on opportunity?” Hua Qing Si stated frankly.
Yang Kai agreed. Every cultivator needed great opportunities in order to cultivate to the Dao Source Realm, and if their opportunities continued, they might even take a step further and explore the mysteries of the Emperor Realm. If one’s opportunities were insufficient, however, they could remain stuck in the Dao Source Realm forever.
“Okay, let’s not talk about this. There is an incomplete Star Source here. Let’s refine it together,” Yang Kai stated.
Originally, the Star Source was supposed to be hidden somewhere inside the Cultivation Star and just finding it would require a lot of effort, but now, this Cultivation Star had been broken and the shattered Star Source Strength was leaking out. There was no need to look for it now and it could be refined at will.
When Hua Qing Si and the others heard this, they nodded and found a place to sit cross-legged, circulating their Secret Arts.
The same was true for Yang Kai. Even though he wasn’t that interested in the Source Strength here, the early bird takes the worm and many grains of sand would eventually build a tower. A change in quantity would always lead to a qualitative change.
Source Strength was a very special type of energy. Refining and absorbing it would not increase the strength of a cultivator directly, but it could bring great benefits to any cultivator. This was especially true for Hua Qing Si and the others who had never refined a Star Source before. If they could gain some Source Strength here in the Shattered Star Sea, it would definitely help them reach the Emperor Realm.
Time slowly trickled by as the four sat cross-legged not far away from each other.
After half a day, Yang Kai couldn’t help but frown.
He discovered that the efficiency of refining and absorbing Source Strength like this was simply too low.
Even after tirelessly trying for half a day, the four hadn’t absorbed much of the Source Strength here. If they kept at it like this, they would need ten days to half a month to completely refine the Shattered Star Source here.
If it was taking this long even when the four of them were cooperating, just how long would it take for a single person? A month? Two months? This was a troublesome situation.
Yang Kai quietly observed Hua Qing Si and the others, and found that they were in the same position as himself.
Only Zhang Ruo Xi seemed to be refining and absorbing the Source Strength at a faster speed. Who knows whether it was related to her bloodline or not; however, even her speed was very limited.
[I wonder, if I threw the Embodiment here and let him use the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, how effective would it be? The Heaven Devour Battle Law can devour everything in the world, so Source Strength should definitely not be an exception.]
Thinking about it, Yang Kai’s eyes suddenly lit up.
Just like the Embodiment had the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, he too had another Secret Technique which was designed to refine Star Sources.
The Star Refining Art!
This Secret Technique was obtained when he explored the Emperor Garden on Shadowed Star. It was one of Yang Yan’s Secret Techniques and it was also thanks to this technique that Yang Kai could refine Shadowed Star’s Star Source and become its Star Master.
Later, he passed on the Star Refining Art to Little Senior Sister Xia Ning Chang, who then successfully refined the Star Source of Tong Xuan Realm.
It was quite evident that the Star Refining Art was a Secret Technique dedicated to refining Star Sources, so wasn’t it perfect for this place?
Yang Kai suddenly became excited and without hesitating for another moment, he promptly began circulating the Star Refining Art.
In the beginning, nothing worth mentioning happened around him, but as time passed, the Source Strength swarmed toward him like cats that had gotten the whiff of fresh fish, waiting to be refined and absorbed by him.
After a while, specks of starlight appeared around Yang Kai, as if he was surrounded by large swaths of fireflies. These specks of starlight were filled with a tremendous amount of Source Strength, the physical manifestation of the Shattered Star Source.
Yang Kai’s body had turned into a bottomless pit, welcoming all of this energy. He opened his body and mind to accept the countless specks of starlight.
For a moment, the entire process painted a spectacular and extremely dazzling picture.
Hua Qing Si and the others were all startled and opened their eyes and stared at Yang Kai in surprise.
After this, even Zhang Ruo Xi was unable to absorb any more Source Strength as all of it had been drawn to Yang Kai, depriving everyone else of any benefits.
After some unknown amount of time, the specks of starlight around Yang Kai gradually became thinner and then disappeared.
Realizing that there was no more Source Strength here, Yang Kai slowly opened his eyes, a satisfied look on his face.
But immediately, he noticed three pairs of beautiful eyes grudgingly glaring at him, as if Yang Kai had abandoned them.
Yang Kai, wiping the sweat off his forehead, embarrassingly stating, “I was doing an experiment. I didn’t expect it to be this effective!”
Although he had been focusing on refining the Source Strength here, he knew what was going around him. He also knew why Hua Qing Si and the others were looking at him with accusatory gazes.
Hua Qing Si spoke, “Young Master, what kind of mysterious technique were you using? It only took you half a day to absorb the Shattered Star Source here.”
“The Star Refining Art,” Yang Kai beckoned and stated, “Come, I will teach it to you. This Secret Technique is tailor-made for this place.”
The three girls’ eyes instantly lit up after hearing this and they hurriedly came to Yang Kai and sat down cross-legged, earnestly looking at him.
Yang Kai immediately began to teach them, hiding nothing.
The three girls listened to him with rapt attention. Each of their aptitudes was quite good, so they mastered this new technique in just two days. After they had mastered the Star Refining Art, Yang Kai finally set off again, flying through the cold and empty Starry Sky.
With the Star Refining Art, he felt that he could make up for the loss of one year easily.
After all, the time it would take others to refine Shattered Star Sources couldn’t be compared with the time he took, making his efficiency much higher than others.
After five days, Yang Kai found another Cultivation Star with a Shattered Source through his Star Seal.
He flew to it with Hua Qing Si and the others, then within half a day, the Source Strength here was completely absorbed. It was the first time Hua Qing Si and the others had absorbed Star Source so efficiently, so they were left wanting more.
Over the next month, Yang Kai continued to explore the Starry Sky, finding Shattered Star Sources several times.
This one month of wandering had made Yang Kai deeply appreciate the mystical effects of his Star Seal. Often, at a very far distance, Yang Kai could sense the presence of others whose grade of Star Seal was obviously lower than his own, making it impossible for them to hide their presence.
Yang Kai didn’t bother these people though as he focused on searching for more Source Strength.
After another month, all four of them had a good harvest.
But today, after absorbing the Shattered Star Source of a certain Cultivation Star, Hua Qing Si suddenly approached Yang Kai, seemingly wanting to say something.
Yang Kai looked at her with a weird gaze and asked, “What’s the matter, Sister Hua?”
Hua Qing Si replied, “Young Master, I want to act alone.”
Yang Kai was taken aback, frowning as he asked, “Is it because the Source Strength is too little for four?”
Hua Qing Si shook her head and stated, “No… it’s not that… It’s just…” She turned her head and looked toward the pitch-black void. Her beautiful eyes flickered with a strange gleam, “I can feel it. There is something in this Shattered Star Sea that can help me take that last step. There is an opportunity waiting for me somewhere! I want to search for it.”
Hua Qing Si was already a peak Dao Source Realm Master, only one step away from the Emperor Realm. Since she was feeling like this at this critical juncture, it was very likely that there was a real opportunity out there for her.
A sudden epiphany was often more useful than entering secluded retreat for ten or twenty years.
