Chapter 178

Chapter 178: Star-Devourer

The praise was simple and blunt.

It still hit perfectly.

Wang Jie found himself smiling. “Good.”

“It’s a shame my Master is still in seclusion,” Su Le said, cradling the pills like jewels. “Otherwise she would come personally to speak with you.”

“I’ll take these four to Zhi Study Valley right away. Senior Sister will be thrilled.”

She left in a hurry, promising to bring another batch of pills for testing.

Wang Jie watched her go.

Then he immediately walked out of Glazed Courtyard and headed into the market.

He needed to shop.

Bone-Strengthening Pill meant money.

Whole-Bone Pill was a Full-Star Realm pill. When absorbing an entire planet’s starforce, if you lacked confidence, swallowing one could increase bone toughness and help you survive starforce tearing your body apart. One pill cost two hundred thousand starstones.

Bone-Strengthening Pill, however, was a Roaming-Star Realm pill. After ingesting it, your bone toughness increased permanently. Most people reached their limit after about a hundred pills.

The effect was significant. The price was too: one million starstones per pill, and each additional wen added another million.

If he was going to profit, Bone-Strengthening Pill was the obvious choice.

There were plenty on the market, but even with Wang Jie’s current wealth, he could only buy six hundred.

After enhancement, subtracting the cost of the unusual starstone and the pills, then factoring in the Star Vault Exchange’s discount… he should still net around five hundred million starstones.

That was a fortune.

He could also buy Whole-Bone Pills and make up for lower profit with volume, but star-refining took time. He couldn’t star-refine everything at once. Six hundred Bone-Strengthening Pills already meant months of “work” to keep appearances.

Whole-Bone Pills would be too much for now.

“Master,” Mu Ran said, rushing over, “I have something to report.”

Mu Ran had been living comfortably in Glazed Courtyard. For the first time in a long while, no one dared bully him, and the relief was almost intoxicating.

Wang Jie paused. “What is it?”

“People outside are saying Black-White Heaven opened an unusual planet,” Mu Ran said quickly. “It’s called Star-Devourer.”

“This Star-Devourer devours lockforce. It contains vast lockforce inside. Since you cultivate lockforce too, I wanted to ask if you need it.”

Wang Jie’s eyes narrowed. “A planet that devours lockforce?”

“Master didn’t know?” Mu Ran asked, startled.

“Tell me,” Wang Jie said.

Mu Ran nodded. “Unusual planets come in countless types. Star-Devourer is a broad category—planets that devour a specific kind of power.”

“Some Star-Devourers devour flames. Some devour thunder. Some even devour light… devour time.”

“But Black-White Heaven opened a Star-Devourer that devours lockforce.”

He swallowed, then continued, voice lower. “They say Black-White Heaven wanted to study the limit of lockforce and see if it could be broken.”

“This Star-Devourer has existed for countless years. Endless lockforce materials were poured into it—including Slaughterstone.”

“And now it suddenly opened. Word is Black-White Heaven has ‘given up’ on researching lockforce. If a disciple performs well, Star-Devourer can be bestowed.”

Wang Jie’s expression darkened.

Zhi Qing.

This was aimed directly at him.

They knew he needed lockforce.

Zhi Qing’s people might not know how much he needed, but anyone who’d seen what he did in Lock Line could guess Star-Devourer would be irresistible.

And it was.

The Ten Seals had already drained Lock Line’s supply for years. If Wang Jie wanted to reach Full-Star Realm, even if Lock Line poured the next several years of materials into his hands, it still might not be enough.

He didn’t have years to waste.

Full-Star Realm was the easiest realm for a lockforce cultivator to reach. Once you entered Star-Breaking Realm, you gathered materials and pushed straight up.

If he stalled here, he would be throwing away his advantage.

“Go,” Wang Jie said. “Find out everything you can.”

“Yes,” Mu Ran said immediately.

Wang Jie left as well.

His destination was the Star Vault Exchange.

Du Xian gave him confirmation without hesitation. “It’s true. Zhi Qing released it.”

“And you already understand the purpose.”

Wang Jie let out a bitter laugh. “I don’t know whether to feel honored or miserable. To deal with me—a Star-Breaking Realm—they’re actually going this far.”

Du Xian smiled. “Guest should feel honored. Not everyone is worthy of being targeted like this by Zhi Qing.”

“Even Hundred-Star Realm aren’t exceptions.”

“Then again, Elder Xing Xue is part of it,” Wang Jie said.

“Not only that.” Du Xian’s eyes were steady. “Guest himself is exceptional.”

Wang Jie stared at her. “If I compete for Star-Devourer… how will they deal with me?”

Du Xian shrugged. “There’s no concrete intelligence yet.”

“But if you join the competition openly, the answer is simple: they’ll find disciples to snipe you.”

Her expression turned serious. “Guest has fought many battles, but most were against lockforce cultivators. You don’t truly understand the unbridgeable gap between lockforce and starforce.”

“And you understand even less how terrifying the formal disciples of Black-White Heaven are.”

“Black-White Heaven is the overlord of Fourth Nebula,” she continued. “Their disciples are all geniuses.”

“Pick any Full-Star Realm disciple, and they can crush Lock Line’s Full-Star Realm cultivators. Only Zong Cheng Ping might be able to contest them.”

“And if Zhi Qing wants you dead, she won’t choose an ordinary disciple.”

“It will be an elite—at minimum.”

“And it may not be limited to Star-Breaking Realm and Full-Star Realm,” Du Xian added. “Their battle strength will at least surpass Wu Yun’s.”

Wang Jie’s stomach sank.

He knew that much was true. If they didn’t surpass Wu Yun, how could they kill him?

Even if they couldn’t surpass her individually, they would simply overwhelm him with numbers.

“My advice,” Du Xian said, “is not to compete.”

Wang Jie frowned. “And if I insist?”

Du Xian’s smile returned, faintly amused. “Then you’ll raise your standing in the Observer’s eyes.”

Wang Jie blinked. The shift was abrupt.

For a heartbeat, he almost wanted to tell her he was a star dao master just to watch her expression.

But Du Xian likely didn’t know. Whatever Shu Rang did to hide himself, even the Star Vault Vista wouldn’t easily uncover it.

Wang Jie asked instead, “Do all Black-White Heaven disciples listen to Zhi Qing?”

“Of course not,” Du Xian said. “Black-White Heaven is full of factions. The Zhi Family holds absolute control, but that doesn’t mean others can’t resist.”

“The Elder Council. The Black and White Realm Lords. None of them are easy.”

She leaned forward. “But Guest needs to understand something. Star-Devourer itself is a temptation.”

“Whoever wins Star-Devourer can sell it,” she said. “And there will be buyers.”

“Over countless years, how many lockforce cultivators exist across the universe? Too many to count.”

“Everyone believes the one who breaks the limits of lockforce will seize the future.”

“No one has done it,” Du Xian said, almost shrugging, “but that doesn’t stop them from trying.”

“That’s why Black-White Heaven has a lockforce Star-Devourer.”

“And the Star Vault Vista has one too.”

Wang Jie’s eyes sharpened. “If I sold it to you, what would you pay?”

Du Xian answered without flinching. “Five hundred billion starstones at minimum.”

Wang Jie’s breath caught.

Five hundred billion—minimum?

At that price, a little bidding war would push it into the trillions.

No one would resist that.

Even Black-White Heaven’s most elite disciples wouldn’t.

Zhi Qing didn’t need to send killers. If Wang Jie competed, killers would come to him on their own.

“I want intelligence,” Wang Jie said.

“Of course, Guest.”

After leaving the Star Vault Exchange, Wang Jie went to the shop through which he could contact Xing Xue. Xing Xue had clearly been waiting for him to reach out.

“Senior,” Wang Jie said, “Junior wants to compete for Star-Devourer.”

“You need lockforce that badly?” Xing Xue asked, resigned. “From Star-Breaking Realm to Full-Star Realm, you don’t need Star-Devourer. Solve Wu Yun, return to Lock Line for a period, and you’ll have enough.”

“There’s no need to risk your life.”

Wang Jie exhaled, helpless. “Junior truly needs Star-Devourer. Please forgive me, Senior.”

Xing Xue’s sigh was heavy. “Zhi Qing played this perfectly. Do you understand how dangerous this is?”

“Among Black-White Heaven disciples, there are plenty in Roaming-Star Realm.”

“The Wu Yun you fought—among their disciples, she wouldn’t rank top ten. A single disciple from the top ten can end you.”

Wang Jie’s voice went low. “Disciple understands.”

Xing Xue paused, then said, “The schedule for the Star-Devourer competition isn’t set yet. I’ll do my best to delay it.”

“You… prepare as much as you can.”

Wang Jie bowed deeply. “Thank you, Senior.”

No one thought he had a chance. Xing Xue sounded as if she were sending him off to die.

Wang Jie understood the danger, especially after Du Xian’s intelligence.

But he still had to go.

Cultivation itself was a contest—a fight for resources, a fight for fate.

Even if he avoided this once, could he avoid it twice?

If Zhi Qing truly wanted him dead, she would find another way.

The only way forward was to fight upstream—again and again—until he carved out a path to live.

Being passive meant only one ending.

Death.

Half a month later, Su Le returned with a small batch of pills.

When she learned Wang Jie intended to compete for Star-Devourer, she immediately tried to stop him.

In her words, someone like Wang Jie—a master—shouldn’t be fighting over scraps with brutes.

She couldn’t persuade him.

In the end, she clenched her jaw and said, “Then we’ll wait for my Master to leave seclusion. Maybe she can buy Star-Devourer outright.”

“Celestial Master Bai Ye’s face still carries weight.”

Wang Jie’s heart stirred.

Zhi Qing’s campaign against him was, at its root, a matter of face. She didn’t truly care about a Star-Breaking Realm “ant.”

If Celestial Master Bai Ye intervened, Zhi Qing likely wouldn’t offend her.

It wasn’t worth antagonizing a Celestial Master over Wang Jie.

That eased Wang Jie’s chest slightly.

Still, preparation was preparation.

This batch of pills didn’t yield anything he could star-refine.

More than a month later, Du Xian notified him that the Thunder-Seal Pill he wanted had arrived.

Around the same time, Wang Jie sold all the Bone-Strengthening Pills he’d enhanced to the Star Vault Exchange.

He made a tidy profit.

Which he promptly poured into the Thunder-Seal Pill purchase.

Du Xian looked faintly pained, as if she’d been fed a meal and then handed the bill.

Wang Jie didn’t care.

He had six thousand Thunder-Seal Pills.

He intended to push his Thunder Pattern straight to red.

With increased strength and lockforce, his physique had grown stronger too. An ordinary Star-Breaking Realm cultivator, absorbing that much lockforce, might have risen from ten thousand battle strength to nearly twenty thousand.

Wang Jie had improved even more.

His Thunder-Seal Pill usage went from thirty per day to fifty per day.

Fifty was a strain, but with Recovery Pill and Revival Pill, time mattered more than comfort.

Day after day, lightning tempered his body.

The pain didn’t fade.

If anything, it sharpened.

Wang Jie clenched his teeth and endured until the agony became familiar.

Four months later, all six thousand Thunder-Seal Pills were gone.

And the Thunder Pattern had turned red.

A red Thunder Pattern could withstand destructive power up to one hundred thousand.

It was absurd.

Normally, only a Roaming-Star Realm cultivator could reach that level.

Even for a Full-Star Realm cultivator, consuming over ten thousand Thunder-Seal Pills would take more than a decade.

This path required money, time, and suffering.

But it was made for Wang Jie.