Chapter 648: The Heart of the Stars
The boundless stellar vortex, with its casually rising waves of stellar power, was potent enough to obliterate several empires the size of those on the Dou Qi Continent. No wonder there has been so little exploration of the vast starry sky throughout ancient times, with even fewer ancient texts mentioning it. At that time, Xiao Yan's ancestor, at the peak of Nine Star Dou Saint, could sense that something incredibly valuable was being nurtured within this immense stellar vortex spanning millions of miles. Xiao Ze thought to himself, "It seems I am indeed far from reaching the peak of a Nine Star Dou Saint."
Wearing his Origin Armor, Xiao Ze was struck by a wave of stellar power. The vast stellar forces washed over his armor, yet Xiao Ze stood firm as if anchored in the void. Even though the wave was powerful enough to destroy regions as large as several empires, it seemed to meet an unmovable force when crashing against Xiao Ze, unable to budge him.
However, Xiao Ze did not take this lightly; this was just the outermost layer of the vast stellar vortex. He knew the vast starry domain was perilous and enormous, perhaps even connecting beyond the plane of the Dou Qi Continent. But the sheer size of this million mile wide stellar vortex still took him by surprise. He could hardly fathom the magnitude of stellar power stored within it. "Truly the magnificent work of nature," he mused, continuing his descent into the depths of the vortex.
The relentless stellar power continued to batter his Origin Armor, causing Xiao Ze's form to waver. Progressing through the vortex was challenging, and his curiosity about what was being nurtured deep within the vortex grew. After all, if the vortex itself contained such terrifying stellar power, the treasures it nurtured must be extraordinary.
It took over a month for Xiao Ze to penetrate tens of thousands of miles into the vortex a distance that might seem laughable under normal circumstances for a Dou Saint, but was unsurprising here due to the dense, almost tangible stellar forces he encountered. Ordinary Dou Saints might be crushed by such intense power.
By then, Xiao Ze's Origin Armor was groaning under the strain, seeming ready to collapse at any moment. He had been using his energy to relieve the armor from the star power's crush for two days. Now, with his Dou Qi dwindling, Xiao Ze used his soul power to survey his surroundings.
The stellar forces ahead had solidified into something tangible. Normally, Xiao Ze would fear no subterranean depths; he could simply punch through the ground. However, the pure stellar forces he faced were another matter. "One last try. If the Origin Armor is about to fail, I'll just leave," Xiao Ze resolved, not expecting to use all his strength against a natural force rather than an enemy.
As he continued, his vast Dou Qi was rapidly depleting just to alleviate the impact on the Origin Armor, which felt every moment as though it were being hammered by massive mountain ranges. Maintaining its integrity this long was already the limit of Xiao Ze's efforts.
"Let's see what the Emperor Soul can do," Xiao Ze thought, forming hand seals to create a gigantic soul phantom in the starry forces, then opening his mouth to roar.
A massive wave of soul power surged toward the depths of the stellar vortex. Xiao Ze carefully directed the torrent to avoid scattering his forces too broadly. The solidified star forces in front of him cracked and shattered, extending thousands of yards before stopping.
Seeing this, Xiao Ze quickly dove into the broken star forces. Entering this solidified mass, he immediately felt the pressure ease. Realizing why, he was relieved the fixed star forces no longer bombarded him with energy as the flowing ones had. "Lucky I didn't give up halfway."
With a sigh of relief, Xiao Ze plunged deeper, blasting through with the Huang Quan Fury and using his physical strength to clear a path. Given the limitations of his soul power's recovery rate, he couldn't keep using Huang Quan Fury indefinitely.
After advancing nearly ten thousand miles further, Xiao Ze punched the completely solidified star forces. Unlike before, the space tens of yards ahead did not burst open but withstood his punch a change that invigorated Xiao Ze.
There was a shift; he felt as if he were drilling through the earth's crust to its core. Noticing the change, Xiao Ze began to carefully probe the barrier formed from pure stellar forces, far stronger than any he had shattered before.
"If I can't break it, I'll burn through it," Xiao Ze decided, igniting a wisp of golden flame that melted a hole in the barrier. Exploiting this victory, he intensified the Emperor Flame, finally burning through the star barrier completely. Bracing for danger, he was surprised to find only vast darkness ahead.
Probing with his soul power, Xiao Ze widened his eyes in shock. Without hesitation, he passed through the hole burned by the Emperor Flame and entered the star barrier.
In the endless darkness, a luminous heart pulsed slowly Thump... Thump...
Swallowing hard, Xiao Ze beheld the Heart of the Stars a legendary celestial treasure believed to exist only in ancient myths. If the Bodhi Ancient Tree was among the top three treasures of the Dou Qi Continent, few could match it. But here was the Heart of the Stars, formed from endless stellar power.
Legend had it: "As long as stars do not perish, the Heart remains undying. Even if stars fall to silence, the Heart endures."
(End of Chapter 648)
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