Divine Heart

A rare treasure of heaven and earth! Yaoguang understood full well the weight behind those words. Anything worthy of being called a rare treasure of heaven and earth was an existence of the very highest caliber across the entire Cangwu Great World. It was no exaggeration to say that even one or two spirit treasures could not match the sheer value contained within such a supreme treasure. Were it put on the open market, buyers would scramble to purchase it not merely for twenty or thirty million, but even at an asking price of forty or fifty million spirit stones. And what did forty or fifty million spirit stones represent? The total annual output value of spirit stones for the entire Nine Cauldrons Sect. "When the Artifact Sect fell back then, this was the treasure Martial Uncle did everything in his power to preserve. His intention was to save it for a prodigy of supreme talent who might one day appear, yet found himself barred from the path of qi refining due to natural limitations." Li Qingshan said with a smile, "After more than sixty years, Martial Uncle has finally found him." "Dual cultivation in qi refining." Yaoguang gazed at the treasure before him. Although the ancient tree would inevitably sprout a new branch once he formally stepped into the Dharma Idol or Star God Realm... No one could say whether that branch would point toward Qi Refining. There were simply too many disciplines in this world. Pill refining, talismans, beast taming, demonic arts, ghostly cultivation, and far more besides were not uncommon. If the next branch still was not Qi Refining, he would undoubtedly have to wait until reaching a realm beyond the Star God. What that realm was, he did not know. However... Given the resources currently available in the Cangwu Great World, piling up enough cultivation to reach such heights would undoubtedly require a vast amount of time. And in that time, should unforeseen variables arise... Well, that probability was rather low and could be left out of consideration. Even so, this treasure had arrived at an exceptionally opportune moment. Not only would it allow him to pursue dual cultivation in Qi Refining, but its sheer value alone was enough to give his cultivation a tremendous boost—especially now that his status was rising by the day. Otherwise, once word spread that he had achieved the status of a Dharma Idol, accumulating experience through the Merchant branch would undoubtedly become far more difficult. "This treasure will be very useful to me. Thank you." Yaoguang closed the box. Li Qingshan smiled faintly. "We belong to the same sect. What need is there for such courtesy?" Yaoguang nodded. A treasure worth forty to fifty million spirit stones... After a moment of reflection, he said, "Over the next ten to twenty years, I will still require enough spirit stones for my cultivation. Once twenty years have passed and my cultivation reaches a certain level, from the thirty-percent profit share brought by the spirit gathering formations, I can yield ten percent." Li Qingshan was taken aback. Yielding a ten-percent share after twenty years... Even without factoring in the future recovery of the East Sea Archipelago and the Shiwan Dashan, that would still amount to a massive annual revenue of over twenty million! If the East Sea Archipelago and the Shiwan Dashan were reclaimed, it would be equivalent to giving up forty to fifty million spirit stones every year! Li Qingshan hastily replied, "There is no need for that. This is something you deserve..." "Then I shall accept it for now." Yaoguang abruptly changed his tune. He had recalled the evaluation criteria of the Merchant branch. Using tens of millions of future spirit stones to trade for a treasure valued at forty to fifty million would likely be judged by the Merchant as a ruinous loss. Thus, he rephrased his words: "In the end, that is something for twenty years from now. We can discuss it when the time comes. Perhaps by then, a few tens of millions of spirit stones will no longer matter to me." Hearing this, Li Qingshan chuckled. "Rest easy and take it. This is a gift from us to you. After all, you led our people and directly captured a sky-patrol warship for the sect." "Very well, then let us treat it as the transaction fee for that sky-patrol warship," Yaoguang said in a joking tone. "Acquiring a second-generation sky-patrol warship for forty or fifty million is hardly a loss for our Nine Cauldrons Sect." Li Qingshan nodded slightly. "Alright. Get plenty of rest today. Tomorrow, you will attend the commendation ceremony. You will be in charge of conferring the honors for Zhenhai Courtyard. We must properly reward the disciples of both the Sword-Bearing Institute and Zhenhai Courtyard." Yaoguang gave his assent. Once Li Qingshan departed, Yaoguang went to the quarters Fang Jinxue had arranged for him. He glanced down at the Heavenly Spirit Root in his hand... He did not consume it immediately. Instead, he cast his mind toward the ancient tree within his spiritual world. Because this rare treasure of heaven and earth had been framed as the proceeds from selling the captured sky-patrol warship, the ultimate gain recorded by the Merchant was indeed substantial. Yet it was not quite as high as Yaoguang had imagined. At best, it was equivalent to completing a major order yielding around fifteen million in profit. *Labor costs and the transaction risk involved?* After brief consideration, Yaoguang understood the underlying reason. *The constraints are considerable. Lowering the transaction risk requires sufficient strength, but greater strength inevitably drives up labor costs...* Still... Yaoguang glanced outside toward the sky-patrol warship. Although the transaction risk had reduced the perceived gains, how long had it taken him to capture that warship in the first place? Merely a few days. Yet to complete an order yielding fifteen million in profit under Zixiao Institute's current artifact refining and sales efficiency would probably take nearly a year. In other words, if he urgently needed to rapidly accumulate Merchant experience, battling other factions and capturing sky-patrol warships was far more efficient than refining artifacts honestly. After all... How could regular commerce ever match the speed of outright plundering? "The true essence of a merchant," Yaoguang murmured with a sigh. Immediately following that, he turned his attention to his other branches. With profits on the order of fifteen million credited to his account... He could elevate the other three branches—excluding the Divine Path—to an entirely new level. Sweeping his gaze over Formation, Artifact Refining, and Martial Path, he hesitated scarcely at all before pouring the resources straight into Martial Path. In the next instant, the branch representing the Martial Path blossomed and bore fruit in rapid succession, surging directly into the Star God domain. Moreover, its momentum showed no sign of flagging upon reaching the Star God domain, pressing forward unstoppably until it finally settled at 22%. Yaoguang immersed himself in digesting the various wondrous aspects of achieving the Star God level. Most of it matched the records he had gathered previously. Yet a small fraction of information not found within the Cangwu Great World left him faintly astonished. "The human body... does not have merely one hundred and eight acupoints? The cultivation method outlined here marks three hundred and sixty-five?! Matching the count of celestial stars?!" Digesting this revelation, he felt considerable shock. The Star God path... Had already been deduced to the fourth generation? "I knew it," Yaoguang said emphatically. He had suspected as much. If the Golden Core could undergo so many generations of evolution, why should the Star God terminate after only three? "Before achieving a Crimson Golden Core, the Golden Core progressed through three generations of evolution: the original Golden Core Realm, the Fission Realm, and the Fusion Realm. Theoretically, the Crimson Golden Core belongs to the fourth generation. Yet the Star God path simply stepped through the Falling Star God, Sky Star God, and Main Star God before concluding at the third. No wonder ordinary Star Gods cannot contend against Golden Core cultivators who have formed a Crimson Golden Core. If I can cultivate a Star God to three hundred and sixty-five acupoints... matching a Crimson Golden Core will be child's play... No!" A gleam flashed through Yaoguang's eyes. "Rather, as long as I can withstand the successive onslaught of a Crimson Golden Core, the core itself will collapse under its own instability." At that thought, he turned his gaze once more to the Hunyuan Bell in his hand. The order associated with the Hunyuan Bell was not yet fully concluded, nor had its gains been fully recorded. He was eager to see just how far Martial Path could be propelled once the tens of millions in revenue from the Hunyuan Bell came through. *Three hundred and sixty-five acupoints may not even be the limit of a Star God. Theoretically, the human body should possess seven hundred and twenty acupoints... As for the specifics, I will naturally find out once the Star God's progress pushes past forty percent.* Settling his mind, Yaoguang redirected his attention to the Dao Fruit formed upon Martial Path's ascension to Star God. "Divine Heart!" Yaoguang perceived the wondrous properties of this Dao Fruit. Gradually, his expression turned grave. The divine ability manifested from this Dao Fruit proved far more startling than he had anticipated. *Choose a star, or a world, and plant the Divine Heart within it. The Divine Heart will gradually mature until it becomes the stellar core of that star or the world core of that realm, thereby mastering the power of that star or the entire world... The growth rate of the Divine Heart depends on the strength of the star or world, as well as the strength of the cultivator's divine mind. The mightier the world, the slower the growth, but once complete, the resulting capabilities will be immensely formidable... However, this power can only be exerted upon the star or world to which the Divine Heart belongs. Once departing that celestial body or realm, the Divine Heart cannot offer the cultivator any aid whatsoever.* Yaoguang absorbed the marvels of this Dao Fruit. Once planted, the Divine Heart could also be retrieved. Yet during the retrieval process, either the Divine Heart reverted to its primal state—rendering long years of effort entirely futile—or it absorbed the full power of the entire star or world, causing that star or world to collapse and perish. *Compared to the one hundred and eight thousand surrounding auxiliary stars, the Cangwu Great World is undeniably far more powerful. Given that this realm spans thirty million li in diameter, its mass is terrifyingly immense; more than ninety percent of stellar suns pale into insignificance before it... Planting the Divine Heart in the Cangwu Great World would not be a bad choice...* Yaoguang deliberated. The crucial factor was that planting the Divine Heart offered simply too many benefits. At the most fundamental level, in the location where the Divine Heart was planted, he would be able to mobilize far greater astral force fields. When that time came, whether utilizing the astral force field for cultivation or combat, his capability would rise to an entirely new echelon. It was no exaggeration to say that once he stepped into the Star God Realm in the future and the Divine Heart's integration surpassed 50%, the astral force field he could summon would be powerful enough to withstand the self-detonation of a Crimson Golden Core! "The security this ability provides... is unmatched," Yaoguang remarked with heartfelt conviction. Then what was he waiting for? He immediately sent out his divine mind, speaking directly to Tang Fenghua: "Take me back to Zixiao Institute in the Jiuxiao Domain." "Understood," Tang Fenghua replied with a nod. "As it happens, you must attend the commendation ceremony in Jiuxiao City tomorrow anyway... Shall we head over early?" "Yes, early. Go prepare." "Understood." Tang Fenghua asked no further questions. After a brief moment of preparation, he returned, took Yaoguang with him, and rode his flying sword through the sky, hurtling toward the Jiuxiao Domain at over thirty times the speed of sound. Upon arriving in the Jiuxiao Domain, Yaoguang wasted no time. Centering upon the mountain peak where Zixiao Institute stood outside Longxiang City, he planted the Divine Heart. Guided by his divine mind, the Divine Heart seemed almost alive, sinking deep into the earth toward the world's core. Because he already possessed the trait Child of the Stars, as the Divine Heart merged into the world's depths, he clearly felt that trait seem to upgrade. It was as though he had truly ascended from a Child of the Stars to a Master of the Stars; with every gesture and movement, he could summon a tremendous augmentation of astral force fields. The sheer potency of the astral force field he could call upon gave him a sudden urge to test it directly against Tang Fenghua's life-bound flying sword. Fortunately, he forcefully suppressed that impulse. No matter how formidable the Divine Heart was, it could not elevate him to such an extent in an instant. In the future, once the Divine Heart's integration reached 10%, or once he forged a demon god body, he could certainly give it a try. But for now... His mastery still fell just a bit short.