72: The Secret of the Star Core

Within the Star Realm, time quietly flowed. Xiao Chen sat cross-legged on a meteorite, surrounded by starlight, his aura several times stronger than when he first entered.

After refining a large amount of Star Power and a trace of Origin Qi dispersed from the star ancient dragon fruit, his cultivation had stabilized at the Peak Dou Zong, just one step away from Three-Star Dou Zong.

What surprised him even more was that his Spirit Realm Great Perfection soul, under the continuous nourishment of Star Power, finally underwent a qualitative change.

His perception range broke through a thousand zhang, and his control over energy became extremely subtle, already touching the threshold of the Heaven Realm!

However, the Heaven Realm barrier was exceptionally solid, far incomparable to a Dou Zong (Fighting Sect) star-level breakthrough.

Xiao Chen attempted to break through several times, but each time he felt just a hair's breadth away, as if separated by an invisible membrane that he could see but not pierce.

"It seems I need a greater fortuitous encounter or pressure," Xiao Chen opened his eyes, starlight swirling within them.

His gaze turned towards the deeper, darker void of the Star Realm, where the ancient, primordial fluctuation he had sensed before seemed to become clearer.

Meanwhile, after consuming the star ancient dragon fruit, Zi Yan had fallen into a deep state of cultivation, enveloped by a crystalline starlight cocoon, her aura fluctuating, clearly undergoing an important transformation.

"I can't wait any longer," Xiao Chen made up his mind to investigate the source of that fluctuation.

He left a Soul Imprint to protect Zi Yan, and with a movement of his body, transformed into a streak of light, speeding towards the core region of the Star Realm.

The deeper he went, the more violent the Star Power became.

Distorted spatial folds and black hole vortices that swallowed all light began to appear in the void, doubling the danger.

Even Xiao Chen had to fully operate his soul power, carefully avoiding them.

Along the way, he saw more powerful Star Beasts, and even a giant starry python whose body was comparable to a mountain and whose aura reached the peak of the seventh-tier (equivalent to Peak Dou Zong) was in slumber.

A Star Lotus Platform it guarded emitted a heart-palpitating energy fluctuation.

Xiao Chen did not disturb it, concealing his aura and taking a detour.

His target was clear: the most core fluctuation.

Finally, after traversing an asteroid belt formed by shattered stars, the scene before Xiao Chen made him gasp.

In the center of the void, a brilliant crystal, no bigger than a fist but radiating endless light and heat, floated!

It was like a miniature sun, slowly rotating, and with each rotation, it caused the Star Power of the entire Star Realm to ebb and flow like a tide!

That ancient, primordial fluctuation originated precisely from here!

"This is... the Star Realm Core?!" Xiao Chen's heart surged with stormy waves.

According to scattered records in ancient texts, the energy operation core of some powerful secret realms would condense into a physical Star Realm Core, containing the fundamental laws of that world!

This Star Realm Core was undoubtedly the most precious and powerful treasure in the entire Star Realm!

Its value even far surpassed that of ordinary exotic flames!

But at the same time, the space around the Star Realm Core was extremely unstable, filled with dense, constantly appearing and disappearing spatial cracks, forming a natural death barrier.

Furthermore, a powerful will and pressure emanated from the Star Realm Core, resisting the approach of all outsiders.

"System, Scan and analyze!" Xiao Chen ordered in his mind.

[Scan: Star Realm Core (Damaged)]

[Status]: Energy stable, but core laws are incomplete, and the realm shows a slow trend of shrinking.

[Energy Level]: Extremely high (Warning! Host's current strength is insufficient to forcibly collect!)

[Barrier]: High-intensity spatial turbulence layer, containing weak fragments of Space Power.

[Suggestion]: Can attempt to resonate with soul power, guiding a trace of Origin Qi for comprehension, with an extremely low chance of comprehending incomplete Space Power.

Forcibly approaching carries extreme risk!

"Fragments of Space Power!" Xiao Chen's eyes burst with dazzling light!

Dou Zong (Fighting Sect) experts begin to come into contact with the Power of Space, and only by mastering the laws of space can one truly traverse heaven and earth!

The turbulence around this Star Realm Core, though a desperate situation, also contained an immense opportunity!

Fortune favors the bold!

Xiao Chen did not hesitate in the slightest.

His Spirit Realm Great Perfection soul power was highly condensed, forming a thin yet tough soul gauze that covered his entire body, while he held the fragment of the heaven burning furnace in his hand, in case of any unforeseen circumstances.

He cautiously approached the spatial turbulence layer.

"Sizzle!"

As he stepped onto the edge, a subtle spatial crack sliced through, instantly tearing a gash in his soul gauze, and Xiao Chen felt his soul ache as if being cut by a knife!

He quickly retreated, his face pale.

"What terrifying Power of Space!" Xiao Chen felt a lingering fear.

But he did not give up, adjusting his state and trying again.

This time, he no longer resisted directly, but transformed his soul power into countless slender tendrils, like sea anemones, gently probing into the turbulence layer, trying to sense and understand the patterns of spatial fluctuations contained within.

This was an extremely dangerous and mentally exhausting process.

His soul tendrils were constantly shredded by the Power of Space, only to be reborn again and again.

Each time they shattered and reformed, it was accompanied by immense pain, but it also gave him a more intuitive understanding of the characteristics of the Power of Space.

Shattering, reorganizing, shattering again, reorganizing again... Cycle after cycle, his soul power, amidst extreme consumption and recovery, became increasingly resilient, and his perception of space became clearer.

After an unknown period, just as Xiao Chen's soul power was about to deplete, he captured a unique rhythm!

It was a relatively stable, breathing-like pulsating trajectory amidst countless chaotic spatial cracks!

"Now's the time!" Xiao Chen had an epiphany, concentrating all his remaining soul power and extending it fiercely along that trajectory towards the Star Realm Core!

"Buzz—!"

As if a certain string had been plucked, the Star Realm Core trembled slightly, and a thread-thin, yet incomparably pure Star Origin, mixed with a wisp of profound spatial law information, fed back along Xiao Chen's soul tendrils!

In an instant, Xiao Chen's sea of consciousness exploded, flooded with a massive amount of information!

These were ancient imprints concerning the birth and destruction of stars, and the folding and extension of space!

Although incomplete, they opened a whole new door for him!

At the same time, deep within his Qi Sea, the dormant Origin Qi seed seemed stimulated by this wisp of high-level Origin Qi law, gently trembling again, releasing a barely perceptible trace of Origin Qi that merged with the incoming Star Origin and spatial information!

"Crack!"

It was as if some shackles within his body had been broken!

Xiao Chen's cultivation naturally stepped into Three-Star Dou Zong!

More importantly, his perception of the surrounding space underwent an earth-shattering change!

With a slight thought, subtle ripples appeared in the space beside him.

Although still far from being able to tear space, he could already initially perform short-distance spatial distortions to accelerate or deflect attacks!

"Power of Space... I've entered the initial stage!" Xiao Chen was ecstatic.

Although it was only an initial comprehension, its significance was immense!

This meant that his life-saving abilities and attack methods would become even more elusive and difficult to guard against!

However, just as he was immersed in the joy of his breakthrough, an unexpected change occurred!

"Hehehe... So you are here after all! It wasn't in vain for this Venerable One to wait here for so long!"

A cold, sinister laugh suddenly echoed in the void!

From the shadows on the other side of the Star Realm Core, space twisted, and three figures shrouded in black robes slowly emerged!

The leader's aura was vast, revealing him to be a Soul Hall Elder, and his strength had actually reached the level of an Eight-star Dou Zong!

The two behind him were also Soul Emissaries of the Five-Star Dou Zong level!

"Soul Hall! How could they be here?!" Xiao Chen's face changed dramatically, and alarm bells rang in his heart!

The entrance to the Star Realm was guarded by academy elders; how did they sneak in? And their target was so clear!

"Boy, obediently hand over what you obtained from the Star Realm Core, and then come back to the Soul Hall with us!

Our Lord is very much looking forward to your soul!" The Soul Hall Elder grinned menacingly, and a gigantic black ghostly hand tore through space, directly grabbing towards Xiao Chen!

The other two Soul Emissaries also attacked simultaneously, their soul chains sealing off all his escape routes!

Crisis, descended instantly!