Cultivation

The Blazing Sun Heavenly Lightning Layer. The Nine Firmaments Divine Lightning Layer. The Chaos Emptiness Layer. Yaoguang soared straight up, traversing the outer perimeter of the Cangwu Great World. Only after passing through the space-time distortions of the Chaos Emptiness Layer did he emerge above the Nine Heavens. Looking down at the Cangwu Great World from his vantage point above the Nine Heavens, it seemed as though... The entire Cangwu Great World was situated within a wormhole. Warped space flattened the entire world into a plane of light and shadow, resembling a completely transparent glass sphere. Yet through the outer edge of this "glass sphere," one could see all the matter within, as well as the five continents dotting its perimeter. "Truly marvelous..." Even though he had already learned the truth about the Cangwu Great World through other channels, witnessing the full scope of this world with his own eyes still drew a quiet murmur from Yaoguang. The way this world existed almost exceeded his comprehension. Had he not transmigrated, he likely never would have witnessed such a sight in his lifetime. He couldn't even have imagined it. For a world practically residing inside a wormhole could simply not be explained by the theories of his former world. "This wormhole must be the full picture of a spirit energy node..." Yaoguang murmured. Back in that world, they had published a dark matter web that formed the cosmos, dotted with countless dark matter nodes—just like the spirit energy nodes of this world. Or perhaps, as he had theorized early on, so-called "spirit energy" was in fact a concept far broader than "dark matter." It encompassed all forms of energy, including dark matter, vacuum zero-point energy, and more. "Different civilizations are defined by their utilization of different energies, and cultivation civilization is no exception," Yaoguang remarked. Then, manipulating gravity, he traversed the void of the starry sky. His speed was not particularly fast. After all, this was his first time traveling through the cosmic void in a flesh-and-blood body; he wanted to properly sense and adapt to this state. However... Though the starry sky appeared completely void, in reality it contained countless different particle energies. These energies... Could be likened to floating particulates, a gentle breeze, or moisture in an atmosphere. Energies undetectable to the naked eye were tangibly real in this starry sky, laying themselves bare before Yaoguang's divine mind. By manipulating these energies through their Life Force Field, cultivators could effortlessly navigate the cosmic void. "According to the classifications on North Sea Star, the nine layers of qi refining are considered life confined within a planet—planetary life. Upon reaching Golden Core First Tier Foundation Establishment, the essence of life transforms, acquiring the traits of cosmic life. Taking another step forward to the Unity Realm, where both body and spirit have completed their metamorphosis, one can perceive cosmic energy with divine mind and harness it through a Life Force Field to traverse the cosmos, truly walking among the stars." Beyond that, forming a core... Dramatically prolonged a cultivator's lifespan. Moreover, the core form could reduce one's energy consumption to an absolute minimum, thereby meeting the demands of cosmic travel. However, this level only allowed cultivators to roam within a few light-years, a dozen light-years, or several dozen light-years at most; beyond that, they were powerless. To truly journey across greater distances, one had to reach the Fission realm, the Fusion realm, or even condense a Crimson Golden Core. As Yaoguang pondered, he seemed to sense a burst of light. Looking up, a palace appeared before his eyes several hundred thousand li away. At the entrance of the palace, Li Hanqiu's projection appeared. And inside the palace, even with countless formations sealing it, vast and boundless energy continuously leaked out. The light radiated by this energy shone upon the surroundings like a dazzling yellow sun. Yaoguang slightly relaxed his Life Force Field's restraint on his mass, and utilizing gravity, he soon crossed several hundred thousand li and arrived at the perimeter of the palace. Intense radiance and searing heat—reaching thousands of degrees even when suppressed by formations—washed over him. The surrounding gloom was completely illuminated. "Yaoguang," Li Hanqiu greeted him with a smile from the palace entrance. "This is our first time meeting in the flesh, isn't it?" "It is." Yaoguang nodded with a smile, sizing Li Hanqiu up. "A Radiant Sun Golden Core is truly incredible." "It's merely the power of a conventional yellow star," Li Hanqiu said. "Of course, fusion efficiency in normal stars is quite slow, which is why their volume is so massive. But within our bodies, the fusion rate is extraordinarily fast. We rely entirely on the precise manipulation of energy to sustain this cycle, so our volume is naturally far smaller..." Yaoguang glanced at him. Even with the formations containing it, and even with the Golden Core being constantly stabilized, the energy radiating from Li Hanqiu's core still reached the equivalent of a trillion-ton hydrogen bomb every second. No wonder its radiance could be "seen" with crystalline clarity even from hundreds of thousands of li away. To sustain such energy consumption, the number of spirit stones this Golden Core required daily was easily imagined. It was said that merely sustaining Li Hanqiu's state cost the Nine Cauldrons Sect several million to over ten million spirit stones each year. And that was only the bare minimum for maintenance, as Li Hanqiu himself replenished energy from other sources, such as cosmic rays. In other factions like Wuji Astral Palace, the funds poured into such Golden Core cultivators exceeded two hundred million a year. The reason factions like the Yang God Sect and Pill Sect had fallen so completely was not that not a single Golden Core expert survived, but... They simply could not afford to sustain them. After looking him over, Yaoguang wasted no time and directly brought out a spirit treasure about ten meters in diameter. Even sealed, Li Hanqiu could sense the terrifying confining power emanating from within. "This is the Convergence-Dispersion Ring," Yaoguang said. "Refining this into your Golden Core will help you better regulate its power and output. At the very least, as long as you aren't engaged in a life-or-death struggle and are merely releasing routine energy, you will never have to worry about Golden Core instability again." Seeing it, Li Hanqiu grew somewhat excited. "If this spirit treasure is truly as miraculous as you say, the predicament of every Golden Core in the Cangwu Great World will be vastly improved." "I have great confidence in this spirit treasure. Once the Golden Cores are fitted with this ring, they won't need to fear hidden risks to their cores." Yaoguang looked toward the distant horizon. "Without further ado, I'll head over to the nearest planet and wait." "Alright," Li Hanqiu nodded. "Planet 6713, which you selected, is one billion two hundred and thirty million li from Cangwu. It makes a suitable battlefield. In outer space, you can freely unleash many methods that would be inconvenient to use in the Cangwu Great World. At your speed, a round trip will only take a month, leaving you ample time to attend the Nine Cauldrons Sect's review of strength." "Mm, I'll head out now," Yaoguang said. "I'll keep watch for you. If the Immortal Alliance lacks martial ethics and dispatches more than three Golden Cores, I will inform you," Li Hanqiu said. "Understood." Yaoguang nodded. "However, since we're releasing word about me while I head to an uninhabited planet 1.2 billion li from the Cangwu Great World, anyone would know my intention—I'm waiting for them to test my strength." "Indeed. If they truly send three to five Golden Cores, you don't have to entertain them. Compared to us taking the initiative to demonstrate our might, they want even more to pin down an 'unstable element' like you and figure out what backing and strength you really possess," Li Hanqiu said with a smile. "Release the news in half a month," Yaoguang said, then paused. "In any case, we have the Virtual Spirit Realm to stay in touch at any time." "Very well. Be careful. If things turn against you, preserving yourself comes first," Li Hanqiu urged. "As long as the green mountains remain, one never lacks firewood." "I know what I'm doing." Yaoguang made a reassuring gesture, then set off once more, heading straight for the chosen planet. This planet was among the closest planets to the Cangwu Great World. Its diameter was merely sixty thousand li. As he departed the palace where Li Hanqiu resided, his body steadily accelerated. With no resistance and continuous force applied to himself, his speed soon surged to over a thousand li per second. After reaching this velocity, his frame began expanding as well. Ten meters, a hundred meters, a thousand meters... In an instant, his size had expanded to a colossal ten thousand meters. Upon reaching the second stage of the Star Lord realm, one needed to condense their own astral force field. To acquire an astral force field of sufficient power, the most primitive method was to increase one's mass. Tempered by the Life Force Field, this mass would eventually evolve into an indestructible astral demon god body. Astral demon god bodies often measured thousands or tens of thousands of meters! Even the weakest astral demon god body possessed the mass of a Falling Star, with a final weight reaching hundreds of billions of tons. For an astral demon god body at the Sky Star or Primary Star level, it would even exceed hundreds of millions of billions of tons. Of course, increasing mass was only the most rudimentary method, which would only make a Star Lord's astral demon god body larger and larger. The greater the volume, the poorer the agility; if not careful, one would truly become like a celestial body—a giant, living target. The true method to enhance an astral force field lay in the structural density of the divine body and the activity of its internal energy. Even for stars of the same thousand-li diameter, differing densities produced vastly different masses and astral force field strengths. The true strength of a Star Lord or Star God lay in maximizing mass and energy activity while keeping the divine body at a scale of a hundred meters or less. Right now, Yaoguang had manifested ten thousand meters... And by now, he had grown to a hundred thousand meters. Manifesting a Star God body of a hundred thousand meters was merely preparation for his upcoming cultivation. As he unleashed his Star God body to the fullest via his Life Force Field, his own gravitational pull grew immensely powerful. By deliberately resonating with Planet 6713's astral force field... He felt as though he were being pulled, hurtling toward the planet in free fall. Finally... After fourteen days of flight, Yaoguang's speed had reached its absolute peak. His size had also expanded to hundreds of thousands of meters—over a thousand li. A thousand li was modest compared to a planet sixty thousand li in diameter, yet one could not ignore the astonishing velocity he maintained. As for himself... He slightly reduced his speed to under a hundred li per second, but showed no intention of coming to a full halt. Under these circumstances, the two drew closer and closer... Finally! When they were separated by less than ten thousand li, Yaoguang, having manifested a divine body a thousand li long, slightly adjusted his somewhat sluggish form, and then... Maintaining a speed of nearly a hundred li per second, he slammed heavily into the planet sixty thousand li in diameter.