Star Lord

Mount Yuhuang Villa. Seeing Yaoguang arrive, Xie Yier stood up immediately. "Lord Yaoguang." Yaoguang gave her a nod. His gaze fell upon a jade box, a sword case, and a cubical container about 1.2 meters across, carved with exquisite patterns, sitting in the hall. Seeing this, Xie Yier wasted no time. Smiling, she first opened the jade box. "These are Spirit Concentration Pills, brought from the Artifact Sect by our Xie family. Personally concocted by certified alchemists, they possess startling efficacy in tempering the mind and spirit. Theoretically, a single bottle can strengthen one's spirit intent or divine mind to an equivalent value of 20—the peak of Spirit Intent Martial Saint." Yaoguang glanced at the box. Inside sat precisely one bottle. Immediately after, Xie Yier stepped in front of the container. After she entered a passcode, the box automatically opened, and a set of full-coverage battle armor was propped up by an internal support frame, appearing before Yaoguang. "This is the Xuanyue Battle Armor." The Eldest Princess introduced it: "The entire armor was crafted using superlative workmanship. Not only does its defensive capability surpass 5S-grade battle armors made with Golden Crow silk, but it also possesses tremendous thermal resistance. Even if you were engulfed in flames of several hundred degrees while wearing this armor, you would face no danger for a short period. Furthermore, the patterns on the armor are actually an array formation simplified to the utmost..." Here, she paused. "The atomic arrangement within different materials causes different changes in them. In truth, this is how formations manifest on a microscopic level. Once these patterns are supplied with special energy—namely, spirit stone energy—the atomic arrangement within can be easily activated, granting it an excellent dampening effect against physical kinetic energy. Much like a non-viscous fluid, different states produce different reactions to different forces." "Formation patterns." Yaoguang nodded. Even though he had currently only unlocked two professions touching upon formations—[Martial Path] and [Artifact Refining], the latter of which was only first-tier so far—all paths led to the same destination. Even in the pure [Martial Path] profession, once one's tier grew high enough, one would inevitably come into contact with auxiliary disciplines such as formations, talismans, alchemy, and artifact refining. Naturally, he knew of the formation patterns mastered by formation masters. Formations were somewhat analogous to chemistry. Yet the concepts they represented were far grander. Through the manipulation of an energy that permeated the entire world—spiritual power—they caused this omnipresent energy to undergo chemical reactions with all matter under heaven, bringing about all manner of incredible phenomena. For example, plasma shields, repulsion shields, particle jumping phenomena, and the like. To put it in scientific terms, it was the use of "dark energy" to drive and manifest various cosmic shifts. However, just as manipulating atomic arrangements was no simple task for modern society, utilizing formation patterns to trigger various reactions and produce properties like defense, offense, support, and recovery was similarly high-level. Precisely for this reason, possessing such technology was enough to prove the immense value of the Xuanyue Battle Armor. "In addition, this is the Thunderstrike Sword." Xie Yier opened the sword case again, revealing a precious sword lying within, radiating flowing light. It looked considerably larger than the Shenying Sword. Including the hilt, its total length exceeded 1.4 meters. "The Thunderstrike Sword likewise bears formation patterns and contains the power of thunder. When clashing with an opponent, it can discharge a highly penetrative electric current to paralyze them, disrupting their circulation of qi and blood. Furthermore, if activated with spiritual power, the Thunderstrike Sword can evoke two traits: 'Thunderclap' and 'Purple Lightning'—releasing infrasonic waves to strike the enemy, and unleashing visible lightning." Reaching this point, Xie Yier smiled faintly. "I wonder if Lord Yaoguang is satisfied?" Yaoguang stepped forward and accepted the two treasures. While examining them, he also monitored the changes occurring as he transferred the [Merchant] experience into his [Martial Path] branch. Originally, his [Martial Path] branch had reached 91% of Tier 9. With both treasures in hand, the progress surged rapidly once more, swiftly reaching 98%, climbing further to 99%, and at the final moment... It blossomed and bore fruit! Breaking through the shackles! It was pushed right into the realm of the Great Cultivator that he had yearned for and desired—the Star Lord realm. Even though Yaoguang had weathered many storms by now, a smile appeared in his eyes at this outcome. "Very good. I am well pleased." "It is wonderful that Lord Yaoguang is satisfied." Xie Yier smiled faintly. The immense investment of real wealth and treasures by their Xie family had not been in vain. "Besides the divine weapons, we have also prepared ten spirit stones for Lord Yaoguang." As Xie Yier spoke, she paused briefly. "However, because our world's coordinates in the endless void do not lie in an area rich in spiritual power, even though we possess formations capable of drawing spiritual power from the endless void, the efficiency of converting it into spirit stones remains extremely sluggish. Their numbers are scarce... We ask for your understanding." After all, Yaoguang had not lit up professions such as [Qi Refining] or [Formations], so he did not know the exact methods for obtaining spirit stones. Yet from Xie Yier's words, he could guess that such items were exceedingly precious. Furthermore... This special existence gathered from the endless void—analogous to zero-point energy or dark energy—was omnipresent and could be applied in countless ways. According to the information Yaoguang had obtained from his [Martial Path] branch, spirit stones remained the core currency. Alchemy, artifact refining, and establishing formations were all inseparable from this solidified energy source. Their importance in the cultivation world far surpassed that of electrical power in modern society. "Given the grade of the Xuanyue Armor and the Thunderstrike Sword, these ten spirit stones should have no problem sustaining a single high-intensity battle," Yaoguang remarked with a smile. Beneath his words... lay a deeper implication. Hearing this, Xie Yier showed a touch of well-measured embarrassment between her brows. Both sides understood clearly without needing to state it openly. Such measured calculation was by no means a bad thing; rather, it added to the reliability of their cooperation. "I will acclimate to this gear as quickly as possible. You may also seek out several heavyweights within the Rebirth Society to force the rest of them to take action," Yaoguang said. "We have already pinpointed three director-level figures and one vice chairman of the Rebirth Society. Whenever Lord Yaoguang is ready, you need only inform us. Naturally, we will also do everything in our power to locate Chairman Mo Guang, and we will notify you at once the moment we find him," Xie Yier said hurriedly. "Good." Yaoguang nodded. "Once I am mostly prepared on my end, I will let you know." "Then we shall await your good news, Lord Yaoguang." Xie Yier offered a slight bow and took her leave. After Xie Yier departed, Yaoguang looked toward Yue Xingzhou, Lei Yun, and the others. "You may all step down as well." Not daring to disturb Yaoguang, they bowed as well and excused themselves. Once everyone had left, Yaoguang did not immediately test the Thunderstrike Sword and the Xuanyue Battle Armor. Instead, he immersed his consciousness into the ancient tree within his spiritual world. At this moment, inside the ancient tree... The main trunk and the [Martial Path] branch were already almost indistinguishable in primacy. Or rather, as his [Martial Path] broke through into the Star Lord realm, this branch had effectively become his main trunk. Yaoguang sensed it for a moment, and suddenly felt his spiritual state detach from his physical body, plunging into the ancient tree. This immersion was different from his previous manipulations of the tree's branches and allocations of nutrients. Instead, he was completely blending with the ancient tree, becoming a part of it. And as his mind merged into the ancient tree, the world before him seemed to undergo a silent transformation. Human perceptions gradually blurred and receded, replaced by unprecedented senses and a brand-new vision. "This is...?!" An irrepressible shock welled up in Yaoguang's heart. Right now, the senses he possessed were entirely different from those of a human. He could see no pictures, nor could he see any images. Within his "vision," countless streams of information flooded his awareness. What light was made of. What matter was composed of. What the essence of life was. Everything was dissected in its most fundamental manner and laid bare before him, leaving no secrets whatsoever. Yet because the volume of information was overwhelmingly vast, Yaoguang's human faculties were simply incapable of processing it all. Receiving this data proved exceedingly arduous, and in mere moments, his thoughts blurred into a dreamlike muddle. "Ugh!" This daze lasted only a short while before an unprecedented exhaustion surged into his mind. With a muffled grunt, Yaoguang swiftly retreated from the high-dimensional perception that reached directly into the informational essence of all things. His consciousness gradually drifted downward, returning once more to his physical form. Feeling the mental exhaustion within his spirit, Yaoguang felt as drowsy as a mortal who had pulled three consecutive all-nighters, yearning nothing more than to shut his eyes and sink into deep slumber. "Did this... damage my soul?!" Yaoguang was alarmed. Forcing himself forward, he took advantage of this mental exhaustion to visualize the Great Sun Spirit-Suppressing Diagram to strengthen his soul. At the same time, he quickly swallowed a Spirit Concentration Pill brought by the Xuelong Xie family from the Artifact Sect to cultivate. This state of slight soul damage was much like having just finished an intense workout; if one could endure and sustain it, it was undeniably equivalent to an exercise in breaking past one's limits. With his abundant experience in spirit nurturing, Yaoguang naturally would not miss such an opportunity. More than two hours later, Yaoguang opened his eyes once more. The weariness in his eyes had not entirely vanished. Yet deep within his pupils, the divine light shone even brighter than before. Clearly, this was a sign of considerable progress in his spirit intent. Squinting, he took in the surroundings of the room, feeling slightly unaccustomed to it. Recalling that extraordinary perspective when he had merged into the ancient tree... "Truly incredible," he murmured softly. In that single instant, it was as if he had shared the ancient tree's understanding and perception of the cosmos. Like a human infant opening its eyes in wide-eyed ignorance, gazing for the first time upon the vibrant, colorful world outside. And before becoming an infant... He had merely been an ant, a mayfly, whose entire lifetime of existence spanned a world narrower than a single glance from that human baby. The shock brought by this fundamental difference in life, dimensional perspective, and transcendent perception shook him to the core. It also made Yaoguang realize for the first time the true origin of the "ancient tree." A high-dimensional perception. A form of... high-dimensional perception that surpassed human comprehension.