131: Chapter 131 The Star Palace Appears for the First Time, the Star Lord's Palace

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Thirty miles northeast of the Corrupt Dragon Pool, a swampy depression hidden by dense, rotting wood.

Lin Yue and Star Radiance stood at the edge of the depression; before them was the entrance to an underground river, barely thirty feet wide with a gentle current.

The river water was dark green, with fine foam floating on the surface, emitting a faint stench of rot. But strangely, the water was mixed with a sliver of extremely weak Dragon Qi fluctuations—if not for Lin Yue possessing the dragon soul crystal core and having undergone Dragon Qi Body Tempering, it would have been nearly impossible to notice.

"It's here."

Star Radiance held a specially made "Dragon Seeking Compass" in her hand, its needle trembling violently as it pointed toward the depths of the underground river.

"The concentration of Dragon Qi at the river's source is more than ten times higher than at the periphery. Moreover... I sense a resonance with the Power of the Stars."

She looked at Lin Yue, "It shouldn't be wrong."

Lin Yue nodded and was the first to step into the river.

The river water was bone-chillingly cold, but it was nothing to his current physical strength. More importantly, as they went deeper into the underground river, those Dragon Qi fluctuations became clearer and clearer, as if actively guiding them forward.

The two swam downstream like fish.

The underground river wound and twisted, passing through several Caverns along the way. The cave walls were covered with glowing moss, illuminating the underwater area as if it were broad daylight.

After traveling about five miles, a natural stone gate appeared ahead.

The stone gate was about thirty feet high, its surface covered with thick calcified deposits, but ancient star patterns—the symbol of the Star Lord lineage—were faintly visible on the lintel.

"Found it..."

A hint of excitement flashed in Star Radiance's eyes.

She swam to the stone gate and reached out to gently stroke the star patterns on the lintel.

The patterns glowed slightly, and a surge of pure Power of the Stars seeped out from inside the stone gate, resonating with her spiritual energy.

"It is indeed the Star Lords Relic Mansion. And... this door has no signs of erosion by the Spirit Devouring Clan; it is perfectly preserved."

"Can it be opened?"

Lin Yue swam to her side.

"It requires the star lord token."

Star Radiance moved aside.

Lin Yue took out the dark-gold token and injected spiritual energy into it.

On the surface of the token, the word "Lord" suddenly lit up, emitting a warm glow. The light spread like flowing water, eventually enveloping the entire stone gate.

Buzz—!

The stone gate vibrated, and the calcified layer on the surface fell off one after another, revealing the complete star patterns underneath.

The patterns and the light from the star lord token complemented each other, eventually turning into a rotating vortex of starlight.

The portal opened.

"Let's go."

Lin Yue was the first to step into the vortex.

Star Radiance followed closely behind... the moment they passed through the portal, the scene before them suddenly opened up.

This was not the underground cave they had imagined, but a massive Star Lords Palace floating in the Void Realm!

The palace was cast from an unknown silver metal, with brilliant starlight flowing over its surface. Countless phantom stars slowly rotated around the palace like a miniature galaxy.

Above the main entrance of the palace hung a plaque with four ancient characters written on it:

Star Lords Palace

"A Void Secret Realm..."

Star Radiance whispered in shock, "The Star Lord actually had such a grand scale back then, to be able to open an independent space in the Void Realm and build a palace..."

"And it's preserved so perfectly."

Lin Yue looked around.

Although the aura of the Void Realm was thick around the palace, there were no traces of erosion by the Spirit Devouring Clan. Clearly, this palace had some kind of powerful defensive mechanism that even the Spirit Devouring Clan could not penetrate.

The two stepped onto the starlight steps in front of the palace.

There were ninety-nine steps in total. With every step they took, they could feel a surge of pure Power of the Stars pouring into their bodies, nourishing their Meridians and Divine Soul.

When he stepped onto the last step, Lin Yue even felt a slight loosening of his cultivation Bottleneck.

"What a great place... if one were to Cultivate here, the efficiency would be at least five times that of the outside world."

Star Radiance also showed a look of amazement.

The palace doors were wide open.

The two stepped inside.

The main hall was incredibly vast, with a ceiling a hundred feet high, embedded with countless real star crystals, illuminating the entire space as if under a starry sky.

In the center of the hall, a ten-foot-high Star Chart Sand Table floated.

In the sand table, countless tiny star models rotated slowly, connected to each other by lines of light, forming a complex map of the starry sky.

"Is this... the Southern Border Star Chart?"

Lin Yue walked closer to take a look.

The star positions marked on the sand table corresponded one-to-one with the real Spiritual Vein nodes in the Southern Border. And at the location of the Burial Dragon Abyss, there was a conspicuous red mark, with three phantom cracks surrounding the mark.

"Real-time monitoring of the Seal status..."

Star Radiance also saw the clue, "The Star Lord actually left behind this level of monitoring! This sand table can not only show the status of the Seal, but should also be able to warn of anomalies."

She looked at Lin Yue, excitement flashing in her eyes.

"If we can master this sand table, our monitoring of the Burial Dragon Abyss will be upgraded by several levels!"

Lin Yue nodded, but was in no hurry to touch the sand table.

His gaze swept across the hall.

Besides the central Star Chart Sand Table, there were two side doors on either side of the hall.

The left side door was inscribed with the characters "Scripture," and the right side door was inscribed with "Treasure."

Clearly, these were the true core areas of the palace.

"Let's go to the Scripture Pavilion first."

Lin Yue made a decision.

The Legacy of Cultivation Techniques was more important than treasures, especially the means to combat the Spirit Devouring Clan.

The two walked toward the left side door.

The door was closed, its surface covered with complex sealing runes.

Lin Yue took out the star lord token again.

The light from the token shone on the door, and the sealing runes faded away like melting snow, the door slowly opening.

Behind the door was a three-story pavilion.

The first floor was filled with Jade Slip bookshelves, with at least ten thousand Jade Slips densely packed, each emitting an ancient aura.

The second floor contained star chart Scrolls, with hundreds of Star Array Diagrams hanging, ranging from the most basic Seven Star Formation to the complex Nine Heavens Demon Suppression Grand Array.

The third floor... had only three stone platforms.

On each stone platform floated a fist-sized crystal.

The first crystal was silver-white throughout, with a galaxy rotating inside—that was a star origin crystal.

The second crystal was dark gold, with a dragon shadow moving within—that was a dragon soul origin crystal.

The third crystal was pitch black as ink, but pure starlight flowed on its surface—that was the rare "starfall iron essence," a top-tier material for refining star Magic Treasures.

"These... are all priceless treasures."

Star Radiance's voice trembled slightly.

As the Star Gazing Emissary of the Star Track Pavilion, she knew the value of these legacies better than anyone. Especially those Star Array Diagrams on the second floor; taking out any one of them would be enough to make the major powers of the Central Realm fight for it.

"Let's look at the first floor first."

Lin Yue walked toward the bookshelves.

The Jade Slips on the shelves were categorized: Cultivation Techniques, Divine Abilities, Formations, Alchemy, Tool Refinement, Miscellaneous... He went directly to the "Cultivation Technique" section and picked up a Jade Slip labeled "star lord secret record: General Outline."

His Divine Sense probed into it.

A massive amount of information flooded into his mind.

The "star lord secret record," the core Legacy of the Star Lord lineage, was divided into nine volumes.

Volume One: Foundation Establishment Chapter, describing how to use the Power of the Stars to establish a foundation and forge a "Star Foundation Dao Platform."

Volume Two: Golden Core Chapter, describing how to condense a "Star Core Golden Core" and master star Divine Abilities.

Volume Three: Nascent Soul Chapter, describing how to transform the core into a soul and forge a "Star Nascent Soul Dharma Image."

Volume Four: Soul Transformation Chapter, describing how to comprehend the Great Dao of the stars and achieve a "Star God Body."

The contents of the following five volumes were blurry, seemingly requiring one to reach the corresponding Realm to unlock them.

But the first four volumes alone were enough to make Lin Yue's heart race.

This was a complete Legacy pointing directly to the Soul Transformation Dao! And it was a Legacy that perfectly matched his Star Body!

"Found it..."

He put down the Jade Slip, a sharp light flashing in his eyes.

With this Cultivation Technique, his certainty of breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage would increase by at least thirty percent.

Moreover, the Cultivation Technique also included three star Divine Abilities—Star Scar Sword Art, Star Evasion Technique, and Star Lock Trapping Formation, each with startling power.

"Master, there is an anomaly on the right bookshelf."

Haotian suddenly reminded him.

Lin Yue turned to look.

On the top shelf of the right bookshelf, a blood-red Jade Slip was placed alone.

There was no label on the surface of the Jade Slip, but the aura it emitted... was actually somewhat similar to the Spirit Devouring Clan!

He took down the Jade Slip and probed it with his Divine Sense.

This time, the information that flooded in made his face change drastically.

"Research Notes on the Spirit Devouring Clan by the Star Lord"

This was not a Cultivation Technique, but research insights recorded by the Star Lord back when he was fighting the Spirit Devouring Clan.

It detailed the types, characteristics, and weaknesses of the Spirit Devouring Clan, and... methods to combat them.

"The Spirit Devouring Clan is not unsolvable..."

Lin Yue browsed quickly.

The notes recorded that the core weaknesses of the Spirit Devouring Clan were "Star Purification Power" and "Dragon Clan Yang Energy." Star Power could purify their devouring characteristics, and Dragon Qi could suppress their sinister nature.

And the most effective means of combat was a composite Formation called the "Star Dragon Evil-Breaking Formation"—using the Power of the Stars as the base and Dragon Qi as the guide, it could form a continuous purification field, significantly weakening the combat power of the Spirit Devouring Clan.

"So that's how it is..."

A flash of realization appeared in Lin Yue's eyes.

No wonder the Star Lord wanted to build the palace at the intersection of Dragon Qi and Star Power, and no wonder a dragon soul was needed as a formation eye to combat the Spirit Devouring Clan.

All of this was explained in the notes.

"Star Radiance, come and look at this."

He shared the contents of the notes with Star Radiance.

After Star Radiance finished reading, she was equally shocked.

"The Star Lord back then... had actually researched to this extent? The value of these notes is no less than any Cultivation Technique Legacy!"

"Moreover, it mentions the specific method to repair the Seal of the Burial Dragon Abyss."

Lin Yue pointed to the end of the notes.

It recorded a Seal repair plan called the "Nine Dragon Star Suppression Array," which required nine Flood Dragon Essence Souls as a base, combined with the star Origin, to restabilize the Seal for at least three hundred years.

"Flood Dragon Essence Souls..."

Star Radiance frowned, "Nowadays, true dragons are extinct, and flood dragons are also rare. To find nine of them is almost impossible."

"Not necessarily."

Lin Yue thought of the Corrupt Poison Flood Dragon Soul.

Although only a remnant soul remained, its essence was still a flood dragon. Using this as a template, combined with the dragon soul crystal core and the "Soul Nourishing Secret Technique" from the Star Lord Inheritance, it might be possible to Cultivate new Flood Dragon Essence Souls.

Of course, this would require a lot of time and resources.

But at least... there was a direction.

"Put it away first, we'll study it slowly when we get back."

Lin Yue put the research notes Jade Slip into his storage ring.

He then selected a few Legacy Jade Slips related to Formations and Alchemy in the Scripture Pavilion, and then walked to the second floor.

Although the Star Array Diagrams on the second floor were good, most required a cultivation of Nascent Soul or above to set up. Lin Yue only chose three that could be used at his current stage—the Star Lock Trapping Formation, the Starlight Interference Formation, and a simplified version of the Star Dragon Evil-Breaking Formation.

As for the three crystals on the third floor... "The star origin crystal can help Master condense a Star Core when breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage; the dragon soul origin crystal can nourish the Corrupt Poison Flood Dragon Soul and help it recover; the starfall iron essence can recraft the spirit slaying star scar, upgrading it to a fifth-tier Magic Treasure."

Haotian analyzed, "I suggest taking all of them."

Lin Yue nodded and carefully put away the three crystals.

After doing this, the two exited the Scripture Pavilion and walked toward the Treasure Hall on the right.

The Seal on the Treasure Hall was even stronger, but the star lord token was still effective.

After the door opened, the scene inside the hall shocked the two once again.

There were no mountains of treasures here, only nine stone platforms.

On each stone platform floated a Magic Treasure emitting powerful fluctuations.

A sword, a shield, armor, a boat, a mirror, a Seal, a tower, a bell, and a banner.

All nine Magic Treasures were fifth-tier!

And each one was flowing with the Power of the Stars, clearly custom-made for the Successor of the Star Lord.

"A fifth-tier star Magic Treasure set..."

Star Radiance gasped, "If these nine Magic Treasures are used as a set, their power is probably no less than a sixth-tier Magic Treasure! Even a Late Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator might not necessarily possess a set."

Lin Yue's gaze swept across the nine Magic Treasures, finally resting on that sword.

The sword was three feet three inches long, silver-white as if cast from a galaxy. The sword body was constantly absorbing the surrounding Power of the Stars, emitting a heart-palpitatingly sharp aura.

At the hilt, two ancient characters were engraved—Starfall.

"A good sword."

Lin Yue reached out and grabbed the hilt.

The sword body trembled slightly, as if responding to him.

A majestic star Sword Intent flowed into his body along his arm, blending perfectly with his own Sword Intent.

This sword was stronger than the spirit slaying star scar and perfectly matched his Star Body.

"From now on, you shall be called... the starfall sword."

The sword body chimed softly, as if cheering.

Lin Yue put it away and looked at the other Magic Treasures.

The star shield could defend automatically, the star armor could resist Divine Soul attacks, the star boat could travel through the Void Realm, the star mirror could peer across a thousand miles, the star seal could suppress all things, the star tower could trap and refine enemies, the star bell could vibrate the Divine Soul, and the star banner could set up Formations to draw in the stars.

Each one was a supreme treasure.

But he was not greedy.

Magic Treasures should be refined rather than numerous; with his current cultivation, simultaneously activating two fifth-tier Magic Treasures was already his limit.

"I will take three: the sword, the armor, and the mirror. As for the others, the Star Envoy may choose one."

Lin Yue looked at Star Radiance.

Star Radiance was stunned.

"This... is too precious. These are the relics of the Star Lord and should be inherited by the successor."

"Without the Star Envoy's help, I wouldn't have found this place."

Lin Yue shook his head, "Besides, combating the Spirit Devouring Clan requires everyone's joint effort. If the Star Track Pavilion can have the help of such a treasure, it is also a good thing."

Star Radiance was silent for a moment, then finally walked toward that star mirror.

"Then I shall take this mirror. The Star Track Pavilion excels in observation and deduction, and this mirror complements my Star Gazing Pupil Technique."

She put away the star mirror and solemnly bowed to Lin Yue.

"City Lord Lin, I, Star Radiance, will remember this favor."

"There is no need for that."

Lin Yue waved his hand and looked toward the depths of the hall.

Behind the Treasure Hall, there seemed to be another passage.

"Let's go and see."

The two passed through the passage and arrived at the deepest part of the palace.

Here, there was only a simple stone chamber.

In the center of the stone chamber sat a... white jade skeleton.

The skeleton was dressed in a star-patterned daoist robe. Although it had turned into dry bones, it still emitted a faint majesty.

And in front of the skeleton was a fist-sized crystal ball.

Inside the ball, a cloud of... nebula was sealed, constantly changing shape.

"Is this... the Star Lord's remains?"

Star Radiance's voice trembled.

Lin Yue slowly approached.

He could feel that the nebula in the crystal ball contained an unimaginable star Origin, even a hundred times purer than the star origin crystal from before!

And the skeleton's finger was pointing to a stone slab beneath the crystal ball.

On the stone slab, several lines of characters were carved:

Latecomer, if you see these words, it means I have fallen.

What is sealed in this ball is the 'Star Lord Origin' condensed from my lifelong cultivation, containing the true intent of the Great Dao of the stars. Obtain it, and you can directly enter the Nascent Soul stage, with hope for Soul Transformation.

But to take this Origin, one must complete three trials: Star Heart Inquiry, Dragon Soul Resonance, and Spirit Devourer Slaying Tribulation.

The entrance to the trials is beneath the palace. Those who pass can obtain all my legacies. Those who fail... will be trapped here forever.

Be cautious, be cautious.

The Star Lord's... final test.