Harvest

Huo Yuhao blinked, restraining the starlight shimmering in his eyes. Looking at Gu Yuena standing outside the door—her elemental power already dispelled, looking somewhat flustered—he broke into a smile. "Thank you." He naturally understood why she had come. Just moments ago within the Divine Throne, he had noticed the severing of their contractual link. Gu Yuena froze slightly at his words. His tone was gentle and completely natural, just like when he had shown concern for her earlier that day. At this thought, Gu Yuena's heart settled down, and she asked, "Yuhao, what was that just now?" Indeed, they were already friends. She had only wanted to enter a friend's room out of concern; why feel so flustered? It was better to be natural, just like Yuhao. She should learn from him! "I went to pick something up." Huo Yuhao looked out at the star-studded night sky and said, "Want to go take a look?" Gu Yuena nodded and followed Huo Yuhao curiously to the open ground outside the dormitory. Few people came here to begin with, and now that it was the dead of night, the clearing was completely tranquil. Huo Yuhao looked up at the sky. Starlight blossomed beside his right hand, and with a swift grasp, a staff materialized in his grip. Gu Yuena was instantly drawn to it. The magic staff was set with no gems whatsoever, yet what met her eyes seemed less like a staff and more like the sun, moon, and stars themselves. *A Divine Tool?* Seeing Huo Yuhao produce a Divine Tool did not shock Gu Yuena in the least. For a Godking who possessed a Super Divine Tool, what was so surprising about having a few more Divine Tools? To say nothing of herself, even several ancient clans within the Spirit Pagoda possessed Divine Tools that had seemingly tumbled down from the God Realm—though no one knew what had actually transpired there. What truly gave Gu Yuena pause was where Huo Yuhao had gone just moments before. To sever their contract, had he traveled to another plane? Or was it the space within a Divine Tool? *Whichever it is, it proves Yuhao has plenty of trump cards and the means to reclaim his original strength. Fortunately, I didn't keep probing him at the beginning; otherwise, I'd have had to pack up and run by now.* Gu Yuena felt secretly relieved. It wasn't that she had never doubted whether Yuhao could restore his cultivation, but she had forced herself not to dwell on it. After all, they bore each other no animosity. If overthinking and probing eventually turned them into enemies, it would do no one any good. Things were quite good as they were. Meanwhile, with a thought, Huo Yuhao guided the staff in his hand to automatically gather the astral power of the constellations. Flecks of starlight gathered around him, steadily merging into his body to temper and bolster his physical constitution. This Divine Tool was called Star's Blessing. Rather than a weapon meant for combat, it was an auxiliary tool. Huo Yuhao was still studying its myriad functions, but two core abilities had already been determined. Through this Divine Tool, he could open an Astral Gate leading to the Domain of Eternity—an authority likely granted to him by the Lord of Eternity. He had gained yet another escape route, and it seemed even safer than the Undead Half-Plane. A truly gratifying development. As for the second function... it was naturally drawing upon astral power. Much like the Stargazing Platform that served as the very foundation of Tianding Xingkong Soul Master Academy, the harvested astral energy could be used to temper the flesh, boost soul power recovery, accelerate cultivation speed, and more. Of course, the effects of Star's Blessing far surpassed that Stargazing Platform. However, to cultivate with astral energy, the user had to possess a Martial Soul or an ability capable of harnessing astral power. Originally, Huo Yuhao did not belong to that category of Soul Master. But after Elder Yi placed Star's Blessing into the Eye of Life, he did. According to the original course of events, the Eye of Life would have been filled with the Auspicious Beast's power of destiny, transforming from the Eye of Life into the Eye of Destiny, and ultimately absorbing Chaos Power in the Great Divine Circle to become the Super Divine Tool known as the Eye of Eternity. Yet now, the space was suffused with the vital aura of Life Gold and the astral power bestowed by the Eternal Angel. The Eye of Life had already acquired an astral attribute, and whenever Huo Yuhao was not using Star's Blessing, it rested there as an anchor to stabilize the astral force, further altering the nature of the Eye of Life. If Huo Yuhao wished, he could open the Eye of Life and directly mobilize astral power, infusing his soul power with the astral attribute. Well, maybe it was time to consider moves like the Diamond Dust... *The three artifact spirits wield astral power, life power, and natural power respectively. Judging from the performance of the Sacred Giant Dragon that represents life power, that life energy likely ties into elemental power, as it controls seven elements.* *The King of Easton, who represents natural power, possesses the ability to control life and plant life.* *With Gu Yuena's bloodline laying the groundwork alongside the Life Gold, accepting the power of those two should be relatively easy. Is that why the Eternal Angel was the first to test me?* With this thought, understanding dawned in Huo Yuhao's mind, followed by a touch of speechlessness. The three artifact spirits combined equated to a world of eternity and creation. If the Eye of Life absorbed the power of all three, then... would it still end up being called the Eye of Eternity? Was he just fated to be stuck with the Eye of Eternity in this lifetime? Even after all these changes, he had somehow circled right back to it. Still musing, Huo Yuhao turned to look at Gu Yuena beside him. Seeing her reaching out to catch the swirling starlight gathered from their surroundings, he waited quietly for a moment until her curiosity waned before asking, "Care to spar with me a bit?" Gu Yuena released the starlight in her hands and smiled faintly. "Of course." Huo Yuhao stowed the staff and stepped back a dozen meters. As Gu Yuena summoned her Spirit Rings, he released his as well, making no effort to conceal their true colors. Three rings appeared in succession: platinum, astral gold, and gray-gold. Gu Yuena was momentarily startled, her expression growing solemn. The two yellow Spirit Rings around her likewise shifted into two pale-gold rings. Both of them... were walking cheat codes. The next instant, icicles infused with dual attributes—ice and space, ice and fire—erupted around Gu Yuena and surged toward Huo Yuhao. Since Yuhao was no longer concealing the true state of his Spirit Rings, he clearly wanted her to take the fight seriously. The icicles bearing the space element vanished midair, and when they reappeared, they were already right in front of Huo Yuhao. But just as they were about to strike him, a vertical eye on his forehead—the Eye of Life—quietly opened, mobilizing astral power. At the same time, Huo Yuhao's second Spirit Ring flared. In a flash, a wall composed of starlight materialized before him, withstanding the assault of every icicle. Even the dual-element icicles failed to pierce it. Yet this defense held for only a single second before the wall of starlight dissipated naturally, and Huo Yuhao darted aside to evade the lingering attacks. Divine Sculpt of Myriad Forms had always been an exceptionally malleable Soul Skill, though calling it a divine technique had once been a stretch. But now, under the blessing and influence of astral power, his second Soul Skill had thoroughly evolved into a divine technique! Infused with astral power, the Soul Skill within his second Spirit Ring had undergone a mutation. The astrological attribute carried an absolute establishment effect; governed by this property, any tangible object forged from astral power through his second Soul Skill possessed absolute establishment, making it indestructible for one second! Gu Yuena raised an eyebrow. Seeing Huo Yuhao swiftly charge forward after dodging her assault, she was about to use the space element to evade when a mental interference struck without warning, disrupting her casting motion. Simultaneously, chains of starlight surged forth from Huo Yuhao's side. Gu Yuena's figure blurred, allowing her to evade most of the chains, yet one still managed to wrap around her slender frame. However, in the very next second, Gu Yuena used the space element to vanish from the spot. Huo Yuhao was not surprised in the least. His absolute establishment merely guaranteed that tangible objects could not be broken within a single second. It differed fundamentally from Xu Xiaoyan's absolute crowd-control immobilization; their absolute effects operated in entirely different ways. Fighting Gu Yuena was precisely his way of probing this Soul Skill's various limitations in real combat.