74: Chapter 74 Starry Sky Inside the Hall, Ancient Stele Transmitting the Law, Elixir Condensed in the Void

Stepping into the darkness, it was not solid ground.

Ye Qing felt his body lighten, as if falling into an infinite Void Realm.

The surroundings were dark and deep, with only the faint twinkling of stars in the distance, silent and vast.

He steadied himself, floating in the Void Realm, and extended his Divine Sense to its limit, but it was like a clay ox entering the sea; his perception range was compressed to ten zhang around him.

"An independent space? No, is it an 'Endless Starry Sky' simulated by a Formation? What a grand feat."

Ye Qing felt a chill in his heart and dared not move rashly.

He attempted to fly toward the nearest starlight.

The light seemed close, but it was actually extremely far away. He flew for a long time, yet the distance seemed not to have shortened.

Space seemed to have lost its meaning here; distance became blurred.

"Is it an illusion Formation? Or spatial folding?"

He stopped, no longer flying in vain, but closed his eyes and sank his mind into the Void Dao Seed.

The Void Dao Seed trembled slightly, emitting a trace of cool Void Realm true intent, helping him perceive the true spatial structure around him.

A moment later, he opened his eyes, a flash of realization in them.

"So that's how it is. This is not the true infinite Void Realm, but rather, using the power of a Formation, it stretches, twists, and folds limited space to create the effect of 'a world at one's fingertips.' Those starlight flickers are not physical entities, but Formation nodes, and also... guides."

He no longer looked with his eyes, nor did he judge distance by conventional logic.

Instead, he followed the instinctual sensing of spatial fluctuations by the Void Dao Seed, and took a slow step toward the direction where the spatial ripples were most 'smooth'.

The Void Step was not a straight forward movement, but followed the 'wrinkles' of space itself, stepping out in profound arcs.

With one step, the scene before his eyes changed abruptly.

The darkness receded, and the starlight rapidly drew closer and magnified.

The next moment, he was already in the midst of a brilliant 'starry sky'.

Above, below, left, right, front, back—all directions were filled with slowly rotating, flickering stars, forming a massive, three-dimensional, vivid star map.

In the center of the star map floated a ten-zhang square, primitive platform made entirely of dark golden star jade.

On the platform, there was nothing else, only an ancient dark golden stele, three zhang high, about one zhang wide, and over a chi thick.

The ancient stele stood quietly, its surface smooth as a mirror, reflecting the rotating stars around it.

On the stele body, there were no characters or patterns, only a deep darkness that seemed capable of sucking one's Divine Soul in.

But Ye Qing could feel an indescribable, vast, ancient, pure, and direct-to-the-source-of-the-Star-Dao aura slowly radiating from within the ancient stele, permeating the entire space.

"Inheritance Stele?"

Ye Qing approached slowly and stopped at the edge of the platform.

He attempted to probe the ancient stele with his Divine Sense.

The moment his Divine Sense touched the stele, it was not blocked, but like a drop of water merging into the sea, it was instantly sucked into that deep darkness.

Immediately following, a vast torrent of information, along the connection of his Divine Sense, surged into Ye Qing's Sea of Consciousness!

This time, it was not fragmented insights, but a complete, systematic, direct-to-the-source-of-the-Star-Dao Legacy!

Great Dao Scripture of Zhou Tian Stars!

The opening chapter expounded on the Origin, operation, and life-and-death of stars, revealing that the power of stars is one of the cornerstones of the Universe, on par with Chaos, Space-Time, Yin and Yang, and other supreme Laws.

Following that, it detailed how to sense, draw, refine, and control the power of the stars of the heavens, forging the "Zhou Tian Dao Foundation," condensing the "Golden Core of Stars," and even cultivation methods for higher Realms.

The Cultivation Technique was all-encompassing, containing not only the main cultivation method but also dozens of powerful star Divine Abilities, secret techniques, as well as supporting Formation, Restriction, Artifact Refining, Alchemy, and even star-divination arts.

Its conceptual breadth, systematic completeness, and meticulous details far exceeded the nameless star Cultivation Technique Ye Qing had previously obtained, and was incomparable to the current embryonic form of the Hunxu Yandao Scripture.

More importantly, in the final chapter of this Legacy, it vaguely mentioned the possibility of using the Star Dao to comprehend higher-level Laws like Space-Time and Chaos by analogy, pointing out a direction for Ye Qing to perfect the Hunxu Yandao Scripture in the future.

Massive amounts of information impacted Ye Qing's Divine Soul.

If not for his already condensed Divine Soul, the presence of the Void Dao Seed, and the Foundation from previously absorbing the star core and obtaining the nameless Cultivation Technique, he likely would have been overwhelmed by this torrent of information, his intelligence shattered, becoming an idiot.

He gritted his teeth, held onto his mind, and using the Void Dao Seed as an anchor, frantically absorbed, understood, and digested this supreme Legacy.

The Hunxu Yandao Scripture operated at high speed on its own, like a greedy glutton, constantly dismantling, analyzing, absorbing, and fusing the essence, operational methods, and Divine Ability mysteries of the Great Dao Scripture of Zhou Tian Stars, turning them into nutrients for its own growth.

Ye Qing's understanding of the Star Dao was rising, deepening, and sublimating at an unprecedented speed.

Many previously vague points became clear in an instant.

Many directions he had never thought of suddenly opened up.

The framework of the Hunxu Yandao Scripture, under the irrigation of this complete Legacy, was perfecting, filling out, and transforming at an unprecedented speed.

The Star chapter was no longer incomplete, but rapidly became the most perfect and powerful link in the Cultivation Technique, and began to produce deeper resonance and Fusion with the Five Elements, Chaos, Moonlight, Void Realm, and other chapters.

Above the Dao Foundation, that miniature star map shone brightly, its operation trajectory becoming more profound, faintly resonating with the Dao rhyme emitted by the Inheritance Stele.

Inside the Dantian, the Foundation Establishment Perfection Stage mana began to boil violently, compress, and undergo qualitative change, launching an assault towards a higher life form—the Golden Core!

It was a natural progression, unstoppable.

Ye Qing had a sudden flash of inspiration and no longer suppressed it.

He sat cross-legged on the platform, right in front of the Inheritance Stele, in this simulated endless starry sky, and began to condense his Golden Core.

His mind sank into his Dantian.

The four-hundred-and-fifty-zhang space sensed its master's intention to break through and shook violently.

Chaos Qi flowed backward, the star core shone with immense light, moonlight silver radiance fell like a waterfall, Void Realm ripples surged, Five Elements essence boiled...

All powers, under the governance of Ye Qing's will and the newly perfected Hunxu Yandao Scripture, twisted into an unprecedented, vast torrent containing all the true intent of the Hunxu Yandao Scripture, feeding back out, rushing into the Dantian, and merging into the boiling mana.

Driven by the torrent, the mana rotated crazily, compressed, and condensed.

At the center of the Dao Foundation, a tiny, extremely brilliant spot of light, containing the colors of Chaos, star glimmers, moonlight runes, Void Realm ripples, and Five Elements Dao patterns, suddenly lit up.

The light spot was like a cosmic singularity, emitting a terrifying suction force, swallowing all the surrounding mana and the torrent fed back by the space.

The light spot became brighter and brighter, while its volume continuously shrank and its texture became increasingly solid.

Gradually, a Golden Core phantom, the size of a dragon's eye, completely round, with Chaos Qi flowing on its surface, a miniature starry sky seemingly sealed inside, dotted with moonlight and stars, and ripples of the Void Realm undulating at the edges, slowly took shape.

Cores are formed in nine grades, with the first grade being the lowest and the ninth grade being the highest.

Ordinary Cultivators condensing a Golden Core usually achieve the third to sixth grade. A top three grade Golden Core is already for a Genius. A ninth-grade Golden Core is a legend.

The Golden Core phantom Ye Qing was condensing at this moment, its aura so profound, its Foundation so deep, its quality so superb, had already exceeded the scope of an ordinary ninth-grade Golden Core, faintly touching upon a legendary "Supreme" Realm.

Hunxu Golden Core!

Once this core was formed, not only would his mana surge and his Lifespan greatly increase, but it also meant that his comprehension and control over various Daos like Chaos, Stars, Moonlight, Void Realm, Five Elements, etc., would reach a brand-new level, with limitless future potential.

The Golden Core phantom rotated slowly, emitting a vast and majestic aura, continuously solidifying and stabilizing.

However, just at the final moment when the Golden Core was about to fully solidify, an unexpected change occurred.

On the Inheritance Stele, that deep darkness suddenly fluctuated.

A blurred phantom, seemingly composed of pure starlight, slowly emerged from the stele.

The phantom's features were unclear; one could only feel an even more ancient, even more vast will, seemingly superior to this starry sky, descending slowly.

That will had no malice, but it carried a sense of scrutiny and testing, like a high-and-mighty deity overlooking Ye Qing, who was in the midst of condensing his Golden Core.

Immediately following, an indescribable, vast pressure, as if coming from the source of the heavens' stars, descended with a boom, pressing down on Ye Qing, and even more so on that nearly formed Hunxu Golden Core!

The intensity of the pressure far exceeded the False Core Star Meteor Demon Ape, and even faintly exceeded the scope of the Early Stage Golden Core!

This was the Inheritance Stele's final test for the inheritor!

If he could not withstand this pressure from the star source essence, the Golden Core would fail to fully solidify, and might even collapse, causing his cultivation to regress, or worse, leading to death and the dissipation of his Dao!

Ye Qing's body shook violently, his face turned pale instantly, and a trace of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

The rotation of the Hunxu Golden Core also became sluggish, its brilliance flickering.

But his eyes remained calm, without a trace of panic.

"A test, is it... just as I wished."

He whispered, his mind communicating with the space within his body.

The star core seemed to sense the pressure, which was of the same Origin but of a higher level, and its light suddenly surged, scattering even more concentrated star source essence, merging into Ye Qing's body to resist the external pressure.

The moonlight jade tree's silver radiance soared to the sky, providing the power to calm the spirit and stabilize the soul.

The Void Dao Seed trembled slightly, emitting Void Realm true intent, diffusing part of the pressure.

Chaos Qi flowed vast and mighty, encompassing everything.

The Five Elements rotated endlessly, providing a solid Foundation.

The Hunxu Yandao Scripture operated to its limit, perfectly integrating all these powers.

"My Dao is all-encompassing, with Hunyuan returning to one. How can mere star pressure stop me from achieving the Dao!"

Ye Qing let out a long shout, no longer resisting the pressure, but instead actively guiding a trace of its essence to merge into the nearly formed Hunxu Golden Core.

He wanted to use this test to temper his Golden Core, making its Foundation more perfect and its potential deeper!

The pressure was triggered and surged over even more violently.

Ye Qing's body trembled, blood began to seep from his seven orifices, but his eyes became brighter and brighter.

Under the dual pressure from inside and outside, the Hunxu Golden Core not only did not collapse but solidified and stabilized at an even faster speed, the Chaos Qi flowing on its surface became denser, the miniature starry sky inside became clearer, the moonlight and stars became more brilliant, and the Void Realm ripples became more profound.

When the last trace of star pressure was guided, refined, and merged into the Golden Core by his immense perseverance and profound Cultivation Technique—

Buzz!!!

The Hunxu Golden Core shook violently, its brilliance completely retracted, transforming from virtual to real, and was completely formed!

The Golden Core was round, the size of a dragon's eye, entirely presenting a deep Chaos color, with an endless starry sky seemingly living and dying inside, moonlight flowing, Void Realm ripples undulating, Five Elements Dao patterns faintly visible, emitting an indescribable, supreme Dao rhyme that seemed capable of encompassing heaven and earth and evolving all things.

The core was formed, of Supreme Grade.

Hunxu Golden Core, complete!

Once the Golden Core was formed, a vast, pure, brand-new power—far exceeding the Foundation Establishment Stage by a thousand times—known as Dantian Yuan, surged from the Golden Core, instantly flowing through his limbs and bones, washing over his Divine Soul and Physical Body.

His Meridians, acupoints, internal organs, bones, and skin, under the baptism of this qualitatively changed power, underwent a rebirth-like transformation, their strength, resilience, and vitality surging.

His Lifespan broke through the five-hundred-year mark!

His Divine Sense expanded wildly, his perception range broke through five hundred zhang, condensed like substance, capable of probing outside his body, and his perception of energy, rules, and crises reached a brand-new level.

More importantly, a "sense of control" that was closer to heaven and earth, more adept at controlling Spiritual Qi, and more thorough in understanding his own power, as well as a "Dao rhyme" that faintly touched the fur of the rules of heaven and earth, arose spontaneously.

Golden Core Stage, achieved!

Ye Qing slowly opened his eyes, Chaos brilliance flowing in his pupils, stars living and dying, moonlight floating and sinking, Void Realm faintly appearing, deep and infinite.

The Golden Core pressure naturally radiated, and although it was quickly retracted, that fleeting aura had already made the simulated starry sky around him tremble slightly.

On the Inheritance Stele, that starlight phantom nodded slowly, seemingly quite satisfied with Ye Qing's performance, and then dissipated into points of starlight, returning to the stele.

On the surface of the ancient stele, that deep darkness also gradually calmed down, returning to be smooth as a mirror.

Only that vast, original aura of the Star Dao continued to radiate slowly.

Ye Qing stood up and bowed to the Inheritance Stele.

"Thank you, Senior, for transmitting the Dao."

He knew that this test was also an Opportunity. Without this pressure, his Hunxu Golden Core might still have been formed, but it would have been impossible to reach such a perfect, flawless, and limitless "Supreme" Realm.

After the salute, he looked at the Inheritance Stele again.

The complete Legacy of the Great Dao Scripture of Zhou Tian Stars had been deeply imprinted in the depths of his Divine Soul, becoming one of the most core and powerful components of the Hunxu Yandao Scripture.

But the stele itself was clearly an extraordinary treasure, capable of evolving a starry sky on its own and containing the original aura of the Star Dao. Cultivating in front of this stele for a long time would be of great benefit to comprehending the Star Dao.

"It's a pity that this stele seems to have become one with this Legacy space and is difficult to move. However, the Legacy has been obtained, and the goal has been achieved."

He no longer craved more, turned around, and took a step.

He performed the "Void Step," and following the spatial sensing from when he arrived, his figure flickered a few times, and he had already passed through the folded space and reappeared in front of the opened Inheritance Hall door.

The darkness inside the hall remained, and the platform outside the hall was empty.

Ye Qing walked out of the hall door and looked back.

The hall door had not closed, and that deep darkness remained.

But he could feel that as he obtained the core Legacy, some Restrictions here had changed. Even if later comers found this place, they would likely be unable to obtain the true transmission of the Great Dao Scripture of Zhou Tian Stars.

He raised his hand and cast a spell.

The hall door slowly closed, finally sealing tightly and returning to its original state.

The star light shield covering the hall flickered slightly, seemingly becoming more solid.

Ye Qing did not linger, steered the Wind Spirit Wings, soared into the sky, and flew toward the exit of the Secret Realm.

The goal of this trip had been perfectly achieved.

Not only did he obtain the complete ancient star Legacy, but he also used it to condense the unprecedented "Hunxu Golden Core," and his strength had undergone an earth-shaking change.

Inside his body, the four-hundred-and-fifty-zhang space had also undergone corresponding changes because its master had formed the core.

The gray fog at the edge of the space rolled and expanded outward again, reaching a radius of five hundred zhang.

The central black soil was more vast and fertile, and the Spiritual Qi was dense like the sea.

The Floating Landmass expanded, and the spiritual plants were flourishing.

The star core hung high, scattering endless starlight, faintly resonating with the Hunxu Golden Core in Ye Qing's Dantian.

The quality of the energy fed back by the space leaped again, turning into even purer Dantian Yuan, nourishing the newly formed Golden Core.

The legend of the Golden Core Cultivator Ye Qing, from this moment, truly began.