Arrival

"A Star Gate?!" "True Person, what on earth is going on?" Within the Virtual Spirit Realm, Li Qingshan and Yaoguang appeared at the first possible moment, inquiring of Li Hanqiu—the only one among them who knew the truth of what had happened back then. However... Li Hanqiu shook his head. "I don't know either. For one thing, the timing doesn't match. There are still ten to twenty years left until the agreed-upon century mark. Discrepancies in time can happen, but this is far too early. On the other hand... even if the experts of Beihai Star were returning, they could just warp through the starry sky directly. Why bother using a Star Gate?" "So... whoever is coming isn't Beihai Star's experts? Is it the Moon Demon Empire?" Yaoguang's expression turned slightly grave. "That's unlikely for the Moon Demon Empire as well. Back then, the Moon Demon Empire was immensely powerful. They possessed manufacturing technology far more advanced than we could imagine, with an endless variety of battle armor and battleships. Their top-tier star battleships possessed the power to warp space just like a Void Piercing cultivator, so they had no need for a Star Gate to traverse space either." Saying this, Li Hanqiu's gaze seemed to pierce the void, looking toward the lands of Cangwu. "Right now, all we can do is wait—wait for these Star Gates to fully open." His expression carried a hint of solemnity. "From the present situation, the good news is that no Void Piercing Realm expert is arriving through the Star Gate; no matter how strong they are, they won't exceed that boundary by much. The bad news is... their Star Gate technology is far more sophisticated than ours, to the point where unless we choose to destroy the Star Gate, we cannot forcibly sever the connection on their end." "Wait, then." Hearing Li Hanqiu's words, Yaoguang could say no more. Li Hanqiu himself was in the dark about the unfolding situation. Under these circumstances, waiting truly was the only option. Yet this sensation... Yaoguang found it deeply uncomfortable and profoundly unfamiliar. Withdrawing his consciousness from the Virtual Spirit Realm, his gaze fell upon the ancient tree within his mental world. To be precise, it settled on the branch of [Artifact Refining]. When his artifact refining skills had made another breakthrough, rising from Artifact Saint to a realm whose external designation he didn't even know, a new divine ability had also emerged. An ability that... Compared to the rather useless awakening talent from the "Myriad Spirit Sovereign: Spirit Treasure Chapter," was at least somewhat effective. "Dao Attunement," Yaoguang murmured. Dao Attunement. Any spirit treasure crafted from top-tier materials, or one wielded by top-tier experts, would harbor Dao rhyme. The master of the spirit treasure could use this divine ability to guide the treasure to stimulate its own Dao rhyme and attempt Dao Attunement. If the attunement succeeded, the top-tier spirit treasure would undergo a complete metamorphosis, ascending into a Dao artifact. If it failed... All spirituality would be lost. Not only did the spirit treasure risk being downgraded, but in severe cases, it would be destroyed entirely. 'It's essentially artifact enhancement, letting you take a gamble... Success adds one level, promoting the spirit treasure to a Dao artifact; failure drops one level, or destroys it outright...' Yaoguang mused. Yet... A Dao artifact! That was equipment on par with Void Piercing Realm powerhouses. Moreover... Even among the Void Piercing tier, Dao artifacts were extraordinarily precious. They were nowhere near as awkward and dispensable as spirit treasures were to Golden Cores. If he could enhance and produce a Dao artifact... Wouldn't he be able to handle any impending crisis with far greater composure? He turned his gaze to the Sky Cleaving Plate. With his current artifact refining mastery that touched the realm of Dao artifacts, he could clearly discern how powerful the Dao rhyme radiating from this top-tier spirit treasure was. It did not pale in the slightest compared to genuine Dao artifacts in his "cognition." After all... The materials used in this top-tier spirit treasure were exceedingly solid. The remaining Heaven Disrupting Ruler was slightly inferior, though not by much. As for the other spirit treasures, such as the Hunyuan Bell, their Dao rhyme fell far short. Some spirit treasures possessed no Dao rhyme whatsoever. After a moment of contemplation, Yaoguang took out one of the spirit treasures. In his mind, the profound mysteries of Dao Attunement circulated one by one. The next moment, he placed a hand upon the treasure. Under the guidance of the divine ability, the spirit treasure seemed to awaken, rapidly releasing its latent potential. Ripples spread outward in circles, seeming on the verge of forming a peculiar resonance with the surrounding starry sky... This resonance... With a mental realm approaching the True Spirit, Yaoguang quickly sensed something. Reality! An unprecedented mystery! It was... The foundation underpinning the evolution of myriad things and the bedrock of the world. Whether it was birth, aging, illness, death, the rising of the sun and the setting of the moon, or the genesis and transformation of all creations, all were encompassed within this power. Or rather, it was precisely the existence of such powers that gave rise to birth, aging, illness, death, sunrise, moonset, the flourishing of life, and the movement of the stars. "Dao!" Yaoguang realized. "The laws of the Great Dao!" Crack! The resonance lasted only a moment before a faint sound interrupted Yaoguang's epiphany. He looked down... Cracked. The spirit treasure in his hand cracked wide open on the spot, as though shattered by an invisible blow. It was also as if some vital element had been extracted, causing the once-intact treasure to be ruined instantly. Even though he had been mentally prepared, the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily. Some agonizing memory seemed to reawaken in his mind. "Enhancement failed; equipment shattered." Only after a long while did he turn his gaze to the other spirit treasures. "Dao rhyme, indeed." Of all the spirit treasures, only the Sky Cleaving Plate and the Heaven Disrupting Ruler possessed relatively strong Dao rhyme. The others... Were truly nothing more than a gamble. At best, the success rate was probably around one percent. Far too low. For a moment, Yaoguang could not help but direct his gaze toward the Heaven Disrupting Ruler. "I wonder what the enhancement odds are for a top-tier spirit treasure whose Dao rhyme is strong enough to approach a Dao artifact." Although losing a top-tier spirit treasure that could otherwise be dismantled and forged into a Dao artifact would be deeply regrettable, nevertheless... Yaoguang decided to give it a shot. With a thought, he activated the Dao Attunement divine ability once more. The Heaven Disrupting Ruler was thoroughly stimulated, rippling outward with waves countless times clearer than before. That resonance, seemingly touching the true essence of how all things in the world operate, manifested once again, readily perceived by Yaoguang at close range. Compared to merely touching upon the concept of "Great Dao laws" earlier, this time the concepts were undeniably far clearer. Following the resonance and immersing himself in this state, Yaoguang vaguely sensed five Great Dao laws circulating: Life, Death, Illusion, Mind, and Soul. It was precisely this unique sensation, coupled with his exquisitely refined artifact refining craft, that made him instantly realize why the Heaven Disrupting Ruler—despite incorporating so many top-tier materials—had ultimately failed to accumulate into a Dao artifact. Compatibility! The materials used were far too chaotic, lacking any compatibility! Consequently, the wondrous properties of many materials failed to yield a result greater than the sum of their parts; they could barely even guarantee a one-to-one synergy. Ultimately... The refinement had failed. Just like right now: when this top-tier spirit treasure attempted Dao Attunement, five distinct Great Dao laws actually emerged. What kind of hodgepodge was this?! And the outcome... Was wholly unsurprising! Crack! As that familiar sound rang out once more, this top-tier spirit treasure—heaped with copious top-tier materials, boasting Dao rhyme rivaling a Dao artifact—fractured with a soft snap. The moment the spirit treasure shattered, Yaoguang instantly snapped back from that resonance that seemed to touch the Great Dao. Looking at the Heaven Disrupting Ruler, now completely stripped of its extraordinary nature, Yaoguang couldn't help but groan in heartache, "What a sin." Calling it a wanton waste of natural treasures didn't begin to do it justice. The artifact refiner who crafted this top-tier spirit treasure deserved to be dragged out and shot. Looking again at the Sky Cleaving Plate... He dared not waste it. The spirit treasures crafted by the artifact refiners of the Cangwu Great World were simply too crude. The only reason they could craft these treasures at all was entirely due to the excellence of the raw materials. To the artifact refiners of the Cangwu Great World, they were like cooks endowed with top-grade ingredients: merely preserving the raw flavor of the ingredients was deemed a success. As for making them taste better... Perish the thought. If artifact refiners from a century ago had been given ordinary spirit treasure materials to forge a treasure, the entire Cangwu Realm probably couldn't have produced a single one. 'Forget it. When I have spare time, I will just reforge the Sky Cleaving Plate, perhaps dividing it into two or even three parts... and then use Dao Attunement to enhance them. If all goes smoothly, I might even obtain two or three Dao artifacts at once.' Yaoguang set this talent aside for now. ... Just as Yaoguang was studying spirit treasures with the aim of upgrading them into Dao artifacts... Having transmitted messages several months earlier, the Wuji Astral Palace—firmly believing that those teleporting across were Beihai Star experts—actively cooperated in calibrating coordinates with the other side of the Star Gate. After a month's time, the opening of the Star Gate finally neared completion. As spatial ripples spread outward ring after ring, the Star Gate was at last activated. At this moment, everyone's hearts were in their throats. The people who walked out next would directly determine whether an opportunity or a catastrophe awaited the Cangwu Great World. And those on the other side did not keep them waiting for long. Less than half a minute after the Star Gate opened completely, figure after figure manifested from within. Everyone watched with wide eyes; some had already circulated the Golden Core power within their bodies, preparing for the worst. However... When the figures who arrived first revealed their appearances and auras, the tense, hostile atmosphere dissipated in an instant. Qiao An was the first to let out an irrepressible cry of pleasant surprise: "Elder Hela?! Is that you?!" The other Golden Cores broke into smiles one after another. "That's... Elder Susan?! I recognize her! When resisting the Moon Demon Empire's invasion back then, I fought side by side with her!" "And Elder Yang Han... They are seniors of our Wuji Astral Palace! All of them are our elders!" "Wonderful! Truly wonderful! Our Wuji Astral Palace shall be great once more!" Amid cheers of all kinds, Golden Cores used various means to project themselves to the Star Gate site. Meanwhile, the Wuji Astral Palace cultivators emerging from the Star Gate surveyed their surroundings with a tinge of nostalgia. "The Cangwu Great World. It has been nearly a hundred years, and we have finally returned. What a familiar, peaceful place." "Peaceful it may be, but compared to Beihai Star's cultivation environment, it falls far short. Immense stellar power literally wrests spiritual energy straight from the void... If I had to choose, I would still return to Beihai Star..." "Cultivation may be easier over there, but when it comes to comfort, it cannot compare to the Cangwu Great World." "If comfort were of any use, the living beings of the surrounding great worlds wouldn't all gather at Beihai Star." Susan, Hela, Yang Han, and the others conversed, deeply moved by the occasion. After reminiscing for a moment, Hela cut straight to the point: "All right, don't forget our mission in the Cangwu Realm." "We know—to rebuild the Artifact Sect in Cangwu," Yang Han said, irrepressible envy gleaming in his eyes. "The Artifact Sect is truly about to soar. Chances are, from now on, everyone in our entire Cangwu lineage will look to the Artifact Sect for leadership."