Star Palace!
Lu Yang was astonished inwardly but feigned a look of confusion. "What is the Star Palace? Is it an Immortal Division under the jurisdiction of the Heavenly Court? Are you planning to invite me to take charge of it, Fellow Daoist?"
Gasp.
Hearing this, the Supreme of the Mystic Spirit World Realm, who had been harboring some probing intentions, hurriedly waved his hands. "You misunderstand, Fellow Daoist. You absolutely cannot speak such nonsense carelessly."
"The so-called Star Palace is a super world realm that far surpasses our Mystic Spirit World Realm. About five thousand years ago, our realm was absorbed under the Star Palace's jurisdiction. Every generation of the Mystic Spirit World Realm's Supreme must go and seek an audience with the mighty figures there after attaining the Dao. Now that you have emerged, Fellow Daoist, you naturally are no exception."
There's a connection like that?
Lu Yang frowned slightly, pondering internally. Five thousand years ago... It seems the Mystic Spirit World Realm must have been assimilated by the Star Palace during the last Thousand-Year Great Tribulation.
This was quite normal.
After all, the essence of the previous Thousand-Year Great Tribulations was just various factions purging dissidents, specifically targeting the Unorthodox Dao. It was only natural that the Mystic Spirit World Realm had been swept up and assimilated in the process.
However, judging by the Mystic Spirit World Realm's fate in my previous lifetimes, the Star Palace probably didn't take this place seriously at all. They didn't even share intelligence regarding the Immortal Nexus. Otherwise, given the scale of the Mystic Spirit World Realm, it wouldn't have been captured by the Immortal Nexus back then; it would have fled the moment it caught wind of danger.
But this was actually a good thing!
Merely having the identity of a native Unorthodox Perfected Lord of the Mystic Spirit World Realm might not be enough to prevent the World Honored One from descending. After all, he has never been above stooping to deal with lesser beings.
But adding the Star Palace into the mix changes everything.
The Star Palace has Dao Lords of its own. If I can establish a connection with the Star Palace and then kill Bodhisattva Precious Vajra Victory, the World Honored One absolutely will not intervene!
To hell with the trash Immortal Nexus! I am irreconcilable with those fiends!
With this thought, Lu Yang's expression immediately turned solemn.
"I understand. Since I am now also a cultivator of the Mystic Spirit World Realm, and this is a long-established rule, there is naturally no reason for me not to comply."
"Good! Excellent!"
The Supreme of the Mystic Spirit World Realm instantly smiled upon hearing this. "In that case, I will make the arrangements for you, Fellow Daoist. I'm sure the Star Palace will definitely give you an enthusiastic reception."
Despite his words, he sneered inwardly.
Enthusiastic reception? Don't joke around!
Once upon a time, when he had just taken charge of the [Siming] Dao Fruit, riding high on his success and achieving the position of Supreme, he had thought the exact same thing. However, reality was far crueler.
In all fairness, the Star Lords of the Star Palace weren't actually that strong. If they fought one-on-one within the Mystic Spirit World Realm, he was confident he could win.
Unfortunately, once he left the Mystic Spirit World Realm, his combat prowess plummeted drastically.
He was forcefully given a brutal show of dominance by that gang of Star Lords—a memory that still brought him humiliation.
Perfect. This will knock him down a peg too.
The Supreme's calculations were shrewd.
I got drenched in the rain back then, so why should you get to use an umbrella? It's only right that you experience the same severe beating I went through.
Back when he returned from the Star Palace, it took him a full century of recuperation to heal his injuries.
And when the guy standing before him went, he would definitely receive the same treatment. Once that happened, he wouldn't have to worry about this newcomer competing for favor and being highly regarded by the Mystic Spirit World Realm.
..
Within Sea of Light, Star Palace.
In The [Vast Realm of Myriad Lands], billions of stars converged into four great constellations, jointly guarding a majestic palace that illuminated the surfaces of all the stars like a massive sun.
Each of these billions of stars housed a massive population. With four constellations and twenty-eight star charts, a full twenty-eight Star Lords patrolled day and night without rest. They turned the entire world realm into a bustling, magnificent spectacle overflowing with people. Its level of prosperity was enough to leave any other world realm in awe.
However, in stark contrast to the external prosperity...
As the center of [The Vast Realm of Myriad Lands], the palace guarded by billions of stars was dead silent. A gloomy, bone-chilling cold crept across its floors.
This was the true core of the Star Palace, and the origin of its name.
At this moment, inside the majestic palace, cultivators dressed in luxurious robes walked past in silence. Their expressions were solemn as they inspected the palace's formations day and night without pause.
Any slight error would be immediately corrected.
For no other reason than to maintain the formations in their most perfect state. Only by doing so could they lock in the vitality and prevent the flow of time from eroding the palace.
Passing through the jade pavilions and going straight into the depths of the palace...
What came into view was a massive ancestral hall shaped like a pagoda. On the walls surrounding all four sides stood exactly thirty-six ancient, pitch-black stone statues.
This was the core of the formation. Every Star Palace cultivator who arrived here would reveal a look of reverence and solemnly bow to the surrounding stone statues.
Because everyone knew clearly that the Star Lords outside were merely for show—they were only good for bullying Unorthodox cultivators.
These thirty-six stone statues were the true foundation of the Star Palace. Even if every Star Lord outside were to die out, they still had to ensure these stone statues didn't suffer the slightest bit of damage.
Soon, a cultivator walked into the great hall.
He first bowed to the surrounding stone statues, then spoke in a low voice, "Reporting to the Exalted Ones, that world realm has produced another Perfected Lord."
The next second, a strand of divine sense awakened.
The stone statue it originated from sat firmly at the very apex of the thirty-six statues. The reporting Star Palace cultivator immediately bowed his head in terrified awe.
"Greetings, Exalted One Hao Yuan!"
"...Rise."
His voice boomed like thunder. Though it was merely a sliver of divine sense, to a subordinate cultivator, it felt as unfathomably deep as the ocean. "Are you talking about the Mystic Spirit World Realm?"
"Your insight is clear, Exalted One." The cultivator nodded hurriedly.
"...That's not right."
Exalted One Hao Yuan fell silent for a moment before voicing his confusion. "It hasn't been that long since the last Unorthodox cultivator from the Mystic Spirit World Realm came. How could a newcomer have taken over so quickly?"
Contrary to Lu Yang's guess, the Mystic Spirit World Realm had actually always been under the Star Palace's observation—and it was a high-priority target at that.
Because the lifespans of the Mystic Spirit World Realm's cultivators were too unique, the severing of the Dharma Body Dao had a relatively minor impact on them.
To the Ancient Method Perfected Lords of the Star Palace, who were trapped by their lifespans, this was practically an absolute treasure.
Therefore, they had always wanted to unravel the secrets of the Mystic Spirit World Realm.
Frustratingly, however, over the past five thousand years, they had practically dissected every single Supreme of the Mystic Spirit World Realm, yet they could never uncover where its secret lay.
This was also the real reason why every generation's Supreme of the Mystic Spirit World Realm was required to report to the Star Palace.
As for the show of dominance, it wasn't done aimlessly either; it was entirely deliberate. The Star Palace wasn't bored enough to specifically bully Unorthodox country bumpkins for no reason.
Under the guise of asserting dominance, they were actually using the battles to secretly study the Mystic Spirit World Realm's [Siming] Dao Fruit, hoping to discover the truth behind the realm's lifespans.
"Answering the Exalted One, this time is a bit different."
"The Perfected Lord of the Mystic Spirit World Realm who came last time has not yet fallen. This time, it's a newcomer. Furthermore, it's said that he emerged by achieving Void Attainment for a Dao Fruit."
Upon hearing this, Exalted One Hao Yuan instantly went silent.
"...Huh?"
After a brief moment of being stunned, Exalted One Hao Yuan almost burst out laughing. "Void Attainment? These Unorthodox country bumpkins really are ignorant. Does he think Void Attainment is that simple?"
"Does the Exalted One mean it's fake?"
"It's absolutely fake!"
Exalted One Hao Yuan spoke with absolute certainty. "It should be that the Mystic Spirit World Realm has nurtured another Dao Fruit. Given the foundation of that world realm, it's not impossible."
"Interesting."
"Perhaps the reason we haven't been able to uncover the secret of the Mystic Spirit World Realm all this time is because we were missing this step... Let that Unorthodox cultivator come over. Deal with him according to the usual routine."
Hearing this, the Star Palace cultivator immediately smiled.
What was the usual routine?
Naturally, it was to let the Unorthodox country bumpkin come over, have the various Star Lords step in, teach the other party a brutal lesson, beat them half to death, and then toss them back.
The Star Lords of the Star Palace were always happy to oblige in this matter.
After all, they didn't have the guts to go deal with those vicious and evil fiends in the Immortal Nexus, but they certainly had the guts to bully Unorthodox cultivators.
And plenty of it!
Watching the cultivator leave, Exalted One Hao Yuan also fell into deep thought. "The second Unorthodox cultivator of the Mystic Spirit World Realm... I wonder what the difference is compared to the one who came before."
At this thought, another wave of melancholy washed over him.
As a former Great Perfected Lord of the Ancient Method, he was now trapped within a stone statue, half-asleep and half-awake every day, lingering on his last breath. It was truly suffocating.
"Sigh... Dharma Body Dao, where exactly are you?"
"The inheritances are completely destroyed, and the Celestial Court has been reduced to the backyard of the fiends of the Immortal Nexus. Is there truly not a single Dharma Body Dao cultivator left in today's world?"