Chapter 25: The Inner Eight Stars
The Dim Realm Ball turned to dust and, along with the four elders of the Azure Flame Peak, flew at high speed through the starry sky.
Inside the Dim Realm Ball, Qu Yi sat quietly by the lake, scanning the Dual Path. It was estimated that in another eight years, Qu Yi would be able to fully scan the Dual Path, at which point his soul realm would reach the later stage of Divine Splitting.
The Artifact God lay on a soft chair by the lake. No one paid him any attention, and he didn’t bother anyone either, occasionally rolling over. In the mundane world, such a little infant rolling around would surely win many people’s affection and receive plenty of praise. But inside this Dim Realm Ball, everyone had grown accustomed to it, and no one bothered to even glance at him.
This was because the Artifact God was far too mysterious. If he was said to be transformed from a Nascent Soul, there was no trace of energy fluctuations; if he was said to be transformed from a Primordial Soul, it was impossible for it to remain intact for so long without dissipating. The existence of the Artifact God had left everyone utterly puzzled, and no one could guess his origin.
Because Qu Yi’s cultivation had reached the middle stage of Divine Splitting, the space he could move around in the Dim Realm Ball expanded tenfold again. Within this expanded space, there was a valley.
In the valley, Wu Yuan, whose cultivation had reached the early stage of Combined Form, was constantly fighting alongside the Golden Qilin. Both monstrous beasts had reverted to their true forms, each fifty meters tall, and were engaged in fierce close combat.
This was a strict order given by Qu Yi—to keep fighting constantly to hone their combat skills.
Wu Yuan’s body consisted of a dragon head, a horse body, roc wings, a phoenix tail, and turtle patterns. The dragon head represented metal energy, the horse body represented earth energy, the roc wings represented wood energy, the phoenix tail represented fire energy, and the turtle patterns represented water energy. During battles, the dragon head, roc wings, and phoenix tail could be used to cast offensive spells, while the horse body and turtle patterns served defensive purposes.
The Golden Qilin reverted to its monstrous form, its entire body covered in golden scales, appearing mighty and formidable.
The two monstrous beasts fought desperately in the valley—sometimes unleashing golden swords at each other, sometimes colliding, sometimes entangling together, toppling the entire valley.
Bai Man and the Illusory Dance Butterfly watched the two beasts fight every day. When they grew bored, they would stroll around in the space of the Dim Realm Ball.
Such a leisurely life continued for a year.
……
The four people from the Azure Flame Peak flew at full speed through the starry skies of the Demon Poison Star Region. After a full year, they finally arrived at the Inner Eight Stars.
Nei Ba Xing is one of the few planets in the entire Magic Poison Star Region capable of giving birth to poisonous beasts, with various such beasts roaming there. Some highly trained poisonous beasts can even fly across the starry skies to other planets in the Magic Poison Surveillance Area.
The four members of Bi Yan Peak landed on the summit of a high mountain on Nei Ba Xing, releasing their spiritual senses to scan for poisonous beasts in the surroundings.
“There are hundreds of poisonous beasts at the embryonic stage and two at the divine consciousness stage in the surrounding mountains—they pose no threat to us,” said Yan Guan, the leader of the group, softly.
All four of them were at the merged stage of cultivation. As long as they didn’t encounter a poisonous beast at that stage, they could easily kill any they faced. Among the twenty inner planets in the Magic Poison Star Region, each had only one poisonous beast at the merged stage, which dominated that planet.
Therefore, as long as the four members of Bi Yan Peak kept their spiritual senses active and avoided that single merged-stage beast, they could move around Nei Ba Xing with ease.
Yan Zhen, Yan Chen, and Yan Hong also smiled calmly. After a year of traveling, they could finally take some time to rest.
Three days later, the four members of Bi Yan Peak had fully recovered, full of energy and in optimal physical condition.
“That elder from the Ying Tian Sect and the four members of the Xiao family have been on Nei Ba Xing for over a year. I guess they’ve already searched the entire planet. They don’t realize that the poison-dispelling robes they’re wearing were crafted by our Bi Yan Peak. We deliberately let the Xiao family steal them so that we can use everything they’ve established in the Magic Poison Star Region someday,” Yan Guan said with a faint smile as he looked at the dark surroundings.
It turned out that Bi Yan Peak also had a craftsmanship hall. Though not as powerful as the Tai Yuan Gate, it still had some skilled craftsmen. Knowing that the Xiao family was a famous assassin clan in the cultivation world and that they often operated in the Magic Poison Star Region, Bi Yan Peak deduced that they must have set up space teleportation arrays there. So, they analyzed the Xiao family’s needs, crafted over a dozen poison-dispelling robes, and gave them to a cultivation clan they supported, deliberately letting the Xiao family find out about them. Upon hearing this, the Xiao family realized that these robes would be extremely useful for their people in the Magic Poison Star Region, so they went to steal them.
What the Xiao family didn’t know was that although these robes had poison-blocking capabilities, they also contained a space positioning array. Bi Yan Peak’s people possessed a special set of spells that could detect the location of these robes, which was why the four members of Bi Yan Peak could accurately sense the direction of Nei Ba Xing as they flew from the outer planets into space.
“Senior Yan Guan, I’m really looking forward to the Xiao family finding the Poison Soul Beast. Then we can rush over and use the ‘Spell Array to Remove the Seal’ to eliminate the effects of the Poison Dispelling Robe. I wonder how the Xiao family can escape from the Inner Eight Stars,” Yan Zhen said with a grin.
It turned out that besides a positioning array, the Poison Dispelling Robe also had a crucial array. By using the ‘Spell Array to Remove the Seal’, the effects of the entire robe could be eliminated. At that point, the people of the Xiao family would have to constantly use their vital energy shields to defend against the poison gas, which would surely deplete their vital energy. Then, the four members of the Biyan Peak could wait patiently and easily kill them.
Haha!
The four members of Biyan Peak laughed triumphantly at the thought. Of course, they had already set up restrictions on the peak’s summit, so their laughter wouldn’t spread and wouldn’t be detected by the Poison Fiend Beasts.
……
Tan Xiu, an elder from the Yingtian Sect, along with the four top assassins from the Xiao family, had arrived in the Inner Eight Stars via a secret spatial teleportation array over a year ago.
During this year, the five of them had traveled throughout the entire Inner Eight Stars but found no trace of the Poison Soul Beast. Since their target hadn’t been found, they were naturally frustrated. However, they were somewhat comforted by the fact that while searching the Inner Eight Stars, they encountered Poison Fiend Beasts in the Diversion Stage and killed them all, collecting a large amount of poisonous materials that could be used to create extremely powerful poisons.
At this moment, Tan Xiu and the four members of the Xiao family arrived at the summit of a high mountain.
“Xiao Long, Xiao Hu, Xiao Bao, Xiao Lang, we’ve been in the Inner Eight Stars for a year now, right?” Tan Xiu asked calmly.
The four top assassins sent by the Xiao family were indeed Xiao Long, Xiao Hu, Xiao Bao, and Xiao Lang. All of them were at the Mid-Combination Stage, showing that the Xiao family had sent its best fighters—evidence of their firm determination.
In the cultivation world, an ordinary cultivation family with just one strong person at the Combination Stage could establish a solid foothold. Yet after years of effort, the Xiao family only had ten such strong individuals. By sending four at the Mid-Combination Stage, they showed great determination, as this was related to the rise and fall of their family.
“Yes, Elder Tan Xiu,” the four replied simultaneously, bowing their heads in silence.
Tan Xiu calmed himself down before saying, “Over this year, we’ve searched the entire planet but found no trace of the Poison Soul Beast. It’s certain that the beast must be near that Poison Fiend Beast at the Combination Stage in the Inner Eight Stars.”
Upon hearing this, the four members of the Xiao family’s eyes lit up, as if they had just been enlightened.
“Elder Tan Xiu, your inference must be correct. Then let’s head to the cave with the thickest poisonous gas in the Inner Eight Stars. We can go straight and kill that Poison Beast in its merged state. We all want to see what this Poison Beast looks like, right?” Xiao Long said, filled with fighting spirit.
Hearing this, Tan Xiu nodded in agreement.
Soon, the five of them flew straight to the most mysterious place in the Inner Eight Stars—the Poison Gas Cave.
※※※
The Poison Gas Cave was the most important place in the Inner Eight Stars. Inside grew a magical poisonous tree that produced black fruits the size of a thumb every year. If a Poison Beast ate these fruits, it could give birth to more Poison Beasts. Moreover, if a cluster of poisonous gas enveloped these black fruits, it could develop its own soul, allowing the gas cluster to transform into the form of a beast.
The reason the Inner Eight Stars was one of the few planets in the Demon Poison Star Region capable of giving birth to beasts was precisely because of this magical place—the Poison Gas Cave. This was also why there were far more beasts in the Inner Eight Stars than on other planets.
A Poison Soul Beast initially started as just a gas cluster with a soul. When this gas cluster fought fiercely against other gas clusters and eventually consumed 9,999 such soul-bearing gas clusters, it would transform into a ball-shaped Poison Beast the size of a head—that was a Poison Soul Beast.
It could be said that the birth of a Poison Soul Beast required countless years and brutal battles. It was already a miracle if one was born every ten thousand years.
At this moment, Elder Tan Xiu from the Ying Tian Sect, along with the four members of the Xiao family, had already arrived near the Poison Gas Cave.
At the entrance of the Poison Gas Cave was only a hundred-meter-wide stone opening. Various caves branched off inside, seemingly occupying the entire underground area. Thick black gas clouds constantly billowed out from the entrance, like swirling black smoke, making it terrifying and hard for anyone to dare enter.
Tan Xiu spread his spiritual sense and penetrated directly into the Poison Gas Cave to search for the presence of beasts inside.
“Haha, as I expected. The Poison Soul Beast is in the Poison Gas Cave. Good. This Poison Soul Beast isn’t fully grown yet; it’s only at the late Diversion stage. We can still suppress it,” Tan Xiu said happily after searching.
Xiao Long, Xiao Hu, Xiao Bao, and Xiao Lang also smiled upon hearing this. Finally, they had found it.
“However, while discovering the Poison Soul Beast, I also learned that there is a mid-stage merged demon beast in this poisonous cave—apparently, it’s the merged demon beast from the Inner Eight Stars. Let’s plan carefully first before deciding how to enter the poisonous cave and capture that Poison Soul Beast,” Tan Xiu said, his expression changing with concern.
Xiao Long, Xiao Hu, Xiao Bao, and Xiao Lang all trembled at these words. All four of them knew from the Xiao family’s records that, in this Demon Poison Star region, to completely kill those poisonous demon beasts, one needed to be at a higher cultivation level than them.