Chapter 389: Nine Stars Align

Chapter 389: Nine Stars Align

Translator: yikaii Editor: yikaii

Lu Yang returned to Heaven's Gate Peak and sat cross-legged on the giant stone infused with sword energy, opening his mouth to absorb spiritual energy as he focused on his cultivation.

An endless stream of spiritual energy flowed into his body, and under the effects of the Enlightenment of Heart and Nature Technique, it transformed into pure spiritual power, surging within him.

He slowly extended two fingers, and a yard-long cyan sword energy condensed at his fingertips.

"Go!" With a sharp gesture, the cyan sword energy flew forward, piercing through three trees and embedding itself half an inch into a fourth before dissipating.

These weren't ordinary trees but rather Coiling Dragon Trees that Daoist Non-Speaker had specifically planted on Heaven's Gate Peak. Their roots were thick like coiling dragons, and their bark resembled dragon scales.

(TL Note: Qiulong or qiu was a Chinese dragon that is contradictorily defined as "horned dragon" and "hornless dragon". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qiulong)

Legend has it that during a great war in the Demon Territory, many true dragons participated and fell. Their blood dyed a nearby lake red, and the trees that grew on the shores of that lake were imbued with the essence of true dragon blood, mutating and gaining the power of the dragon.

Thus, the Qiu Dragon Tree was born.

These trees were incredibly expensive. Lesser sects could only afford to buy one or two for decoration, but on Heaven's Gate Peak, there was a small forest of them.

Lu Yang opened his eyes and, through the holes in the three trees, saw the fourth tree had been pierced half an inch. He felt a surge of joy.

Previously, he could only pierce three Coiling Dragon Trees before his sword energy weakened, unable to even scratch the bark of the fourth.

"Seems like my training has paid off!" Lu Yang thought, feeling more adept in wielding his sword energy. A three-inch cyan sword energy coiled around his fingertips like a snake, nimble and precise.

He even joked to himself that he could use the sword energy to clean his ears.

"Unfortunately, there's no one at my level who can match me in the way of the sword. It would be great to spar with someone to compare techniques." He shook his head in regret.

Although he hadn't fought with others in his realm, the confidence brought by the Invincible Core made him believe he was the top swordsman among his peers.

Everlasting Fairy nodded in secret approval. This was the aura of invincibility!

Lu Yang had the bearing of her former self. He was bound to achieve greatness in the future!

"By the way, Fairy, since you and the others created Buddhism, do you know the Buddhist Kingdom in the Palm technique?"

"What's the Buddhist Kingdom in the Palm?"

"You've never heard of this grand technique? It's said to be the supreme space technique of Buddhism, even surpassing the six divine abilities like Heavenly Eyes and Heavenly Ears."

"In the Buddhist Kingdom in the Palm, the palm holds a vast country, with space infinitely large. No matter how great your divine powers or speed, once you're trapped within, there's no escape. One strike of the palm brings down an entire nation, unmatched and unstoppable."

"Some say the Western Golden Buddha Kingdom is actually a manifestation of the Buddhist Kingdom in the Palm."

Everlasting Fairy pondered for a moment. "I've never heard of the Buddhist Kingdom in the Palm. It's likely a technique created in later generations or a renamed version of something from our time."

"For instance, I know of a technique called Universe in the Palm, where the palm contains the heavens and the earth. The stars in the sky are merely toys in the palm, and the sun and moon are like two orbs of yin and yang, insignificant in comparison."

"Perhaps Universe in the Palm is what later generations call the Buddhist Kingdom in the Palm—they probably just renamed it."

"There are even legends about a nameless figure refining all the stars into a continent. It's likely the same technique!"

Lu Yang shuddered at the thought of someone using Universe in the Palm to control the stars. What terrifying power must it take to manipulate entire celestial bodies at will?

Compared to the power of immortals, even natural disasters seemed as small as dust.

"Did you know that the rotation of stars follows a specific pattern? Oh, right, you've never been to space, so you wouldn't have seen how the stars move."

With a tone of mild arrogance, Everlasting Fairy continued, "I've traveled through the cosmos before, watching meteors revolve around stars, and smaller stars orbit larger ones. It made me wonder, could this pattern of smaller objects revolving around larger ones be the natural law of celestial movement?"

"The great Everlasting Fairy observed, speculated, drew diagrams, calculated, and finally..."

"Finally, you figured out the laws of star movement, Fairy?" Lu Yang couldn't help but interject, thinking that the fairy had moments of real intelligence.

"In the end, Nonuple Immortal told me that someone had already figured out the laws of star movement long ago."

Lu Yang: "..."

That made sense. It wasn't necessary to become an immortal to venture into space. Even those at Unity or Tribulation Crossing Stage could reach space. If someone with enough interest decided to sit beside the stars for a few years, they could figure it out easily.

And if they knew time-related magic, they could probably calculate it within half an hour.

"Back then, it was popular to use stars for divination. There was a great astrologer who pointed to a specific constellation and said that when the Nine Stars aligned, chaos would ensue in that region of space, causing the fall of empires and the destruction of the star domain."

"Based on the movement of the stars, the alignment would happen in three years!"

"That astrologer's name was Shi Cang, from the Shi Royal Clan, and he was famous. Half of his predictions were accurate."

"You know how it goes—some cultivators believe in fate, and others don't. A big debate started about how to deal with the predicted disaster."

"Those who believed in fate said Shi Cang was right and that people living on those stars should be evacuated quickly. There were many other habitable stars they could move to, though it would take effort."

"Those who didn't believe in fate argued that forcing the migration of tens of billions of people over one prophecy was unnecessary. The process itself would result in countless deaths, and starting fresh on new stars would take generations of effort."

"And you, Fairy—did you believe in fate or not?"

"I listened to the whole thing and then smashed one of the uninhabited stars. That way, the Nine Stars could never align!"

Lu Yang silently gave a thumbs-up, thinking that the fairy was truly impressive.

"Even though I hadn't ascended to immortality at the time, smashing one or two stars was easy for me."

"After destroying that first star, I found a formation hidden in its core. Curious, I went to check the remaining eight stars, and sure enough, each one had the same formation at its core."

"My guess was that when the nine stars aligned, the formations would resonate, causing a massive explosion."

"Was this done intentionally?!"

Everlasting Fairy growled, "Yes, it was Shi Cang. That scoundrel disguised his plot as a divination to stir chaos and make a fortune off of it. The disasters he predicted were all ones they had secretly engineered!"

"I was so furious that I killed Shi Cang. Even when the Shi Royal Clan came to apologize and offer compensation, I still didn't let it go. I killed him regardless, and when the Shi Royal Clan tried to interfere with my path to Tribulation Crossing, it didn't work!"

With a huff, Everlasting Fairy added, "It didn't matter—my talent was unparalleled in the ancient world. I became Tribulation Crossing Stage regardless of their interference!"

Lu Yang clapped in awe.

The devious plots of ancient times were truly unimaginable, using entire stars as tools in their schemes. How many people would have been affected by such a disaster?

As Lu Yang was contemplating the terrifying nature of ancient conspiracies, he heard Everlasting Fairy ask, "By the way, do you want to learn Universe in the Palm? I know it."

"Universe in the Palm? Me?" Lu Yang glanced at his small hand, wondering if the fairy had overestimated him.

(End of the chapter)