Chapter 178
Chapter 178: Devour Star
The praise was simple and direct, but it was quite effective. Wang Jie felt at ease hearing it.
“Unfortunately, Master is in seclusion, otherwise, she would come herself to discuss with you. I’ll send these four pills to the Zhi Learning Valley for Senior Sister to take a look. She will surely be pleased,” Su Le said, before leaving. She added that she would bring another batch of pills for testing.
Wang Jie watched her leave and then turned to head out of the Liuli Court to go shopping.
He needed to buy Bone Strengthening Pills to make money.
The Primal Bone Pill was a full star realm pill, used for absorbing the star force of an entire planet. If one was unsure of success, swallowing the pill could increase bone resilience to cope with the star force explosion. Each pill cost two hundred thousand star stones.
In contrast, the Bone Strengthening Pill was a wandering star realm pill. It permanently enhanced bone resilience, and a person could take up to one hundred pills before reaching the limit. The improvement was significant, with each pill costing one million star stones, and every increase in First Fragrance raised the price by another million.
Thus, buying Bone Strengthening Pills could be very profitable.
While there were many on the market, Wang Jie could only afford to buy six hundred with his current wealth. After refining them, minus the rare star stones and purchase costs, and factoring in the discounted price from the Star Dome Trading House, he could make around five hundred million star stones—quite a sum.
If he didn’t need to delay, he could buy Primal Bone Pills as well, but he’d wait for now.
Refining the pills would take time. He couldn’t just refine all six hundred at once, so he would need to fake it for a few months. Primal Bone Pills were too much to deal with right now.
“Master, your humble servant has something to report,” came the voice of Mu Ran. He had been staying at the Liuli Court recently, and the peaceful environment was much better than in the Frost Radiance Sect.
Wang Jie raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”
Mu Ran spoke in a low voice: “There’s news from outside. The Black White Heaven has opened a Strange Planet called Devour Star. This planet specializes in devouring lock force and contains an immense amount of lock force. Since I see Master cultivates lock force as well, I thought I should ask if you’re interested.”
Wang Jie was taken aback. “A Strange Planet that devours lock force?”
“Master doesn’t know about it?”
“Tell me more.”
Mu Ran explained: “There are countless Strange Planets, and Devour Star is a major type, known for consuming a specific type of force. Some devour flames, some devour heaven’s thunder, some devour light, and even time itself. This particular Devour Star devours lock force.”
“It’s said that Black White Heaven wanted to study the limits of lock force, to see if they could break it. This planet has existed for countless years and has consumed endless lock force materials, including slaughter stones.”
“Now, they’ve suddenly opened it up, and rumors say that Black White Heaven has abandoned its research on lock force. If any disciple performs well, they may be granted access to Devour Star.”
Wang Jie’s expression darkened. He immediately thought of Zhi Qing. This was aimed directly at him.
They knew he needed lock force.
Though Zhi Qing and her followers didn’t know exactly how much lock force he required, given his behavior in the Lock Path Interval, they could easily guess that Devour Star would be irresistibly attractive to him.
Indeed, that was the case.
His Heaven Reversal technique, at ten seals, had already consumed lock force materials for years in the Lock Path Interval. To reach the full star realm, even if he were to get all the lock force materials from the Lock Path Interval over the next few years, it still might not be enough. And he didn’t have that much time to wait.
The full star realm was the easiest for lock force cultivators to attain.
Once reaching the Star Breaking Realm, gathering materials could directly lead to the full star realm. Wasting too much time on this journey would be inefficient.
“Go investigate further. See if you can find out anything more.”
“Understood.”
Wang Jie left for the Star Dome Trading House.
Du Xian gave a clear response: “Yes, it’s indeed something Zhi Qing released. You know their intentions.”
Wang Jie chuckled bitterly. “I don’t know if I should feel honored or sorrowful. They’re putting so much effort into dealing with a mere Star Breaking Realm cultivator like me.”
Du Xian smiled. “You should feel honored. Not everyone gets targeted by Zhi Qing like this. Even a hundred star realm cultivator is no exception. You, my friend, are the first in all of history.”
“That’s because of Elder Xing Xue, isn’t it?”
“It’s not just that. You’re impressive yourself.”
Wang Jie looked at Du Xian. “So, what are they planning to do if I want the Devour Star?”
Du Xian shrugged. “For now, there’s no concrete information. But if you explicitly enter the competition for the Devour Star, the answer is simple—find a disciple to assassinate you.” She looked at Wang Jie seriously. “You’ve been through many battles, but most of them were with lock force cultivators. You may not fully understand the insurmountable gap between lock force and star force, nor the formidable strength of Black White Heaven’s official disciples.”
“Black White Heaven is the fourth nebula overlord, and their disciples are all considered extraordinary. Any random full star realm disciple could easily overpower full star realm cultivators from the Lock Path Interval. Only Zong Cheng Ping could potentially put up a fight. And if Zhi Qing wants to deal with you, they won’t send just any disciple—they’ll send an elite disciple from Black White Heaven. Not to mention, it won’t just be a battle between the Star Breaking Realm and Full Star Realm. The strength they’ll bring will at least surpass Wu Yun’s.”
Wang Jie’s mood darkened. He understood that. How could they kill him if their strength didn’t surpass Wu Yun’s?
Even if their individual power didn’t surpass Wu Yun’s, their numbers would certainly make up for it.
“My suggestion: don’t compete.”
Wang Jie furrowed his brow. “What if I insist on competing?”
Du Xian smiled. “Then your impression in the eyes of the observers will improve.”
Wang Jie was taken aback. The conversation shifted too quickly. He almost wanted to reveal his status as a Star Path Master to shock this woman.
She probably didn’t know, right?
Recalling Shu Rang’s tactics, he knew that even Star Dome Vision would find it difficult to get such information.
“Not all Black White Heaven disciples listen to Zhi Qing, right?”
“Of course not. There are many factions within Black White Heaven. Although Zhi Qing has absolute control, it doesn’t mean others can’t resist. For example, the Elder Hall and the Black and White Realm Lords are not to be trifled with. But you should understand one thing: Devour Star is inherently attractive.” She took a sip of water. “Anyone who wins it can sell it for a high price, even if they don’t use it.”
“Over the years, how many lock force cultivators are there in the universe? Too many to count.”
“Whoever can break the limit of lock force will control the future of the universe. That’s a belief held by countless people. Unfortunately, no one has succeeded, but that doesn’t stop everyone from trying.”
“This is why Black White Heaven possesses the Devour Star for lock force.”
“We at Star Dome Vision also have it.”
“Let me tell you this: Devour Star is for sale, and it will certainly find buyers. It’s something entirely different from lock force cultivators.”
Wang Jie asked, “How much would it be worth if I sold it to you?”
Du Xian smiled. “Five hundred billion star stones, starting price. That’s the minimum.”
Wang Jie was stunned. Five hundred billion star stones just for the starting price? Who could resist such a temptation? The starting price alone was enough to make it worth several hundred billion or more. Not even the most elite disciples of Black White Heaven would give it up.
Who wouldn’t want that kind of wealth?
Zhi Qing wouldn’t even need to actively seek someone to kill him—if he went after it, people would surely come for him.
“I want to buy information.”
“Of course, customer.”
Leaving the Star Dome Trading House, he went to a shop that could contact Xing Xue. Xing Xue had been waiting for his message.
“Senior, I want to compete for the Devour Star.”
“Do you really need lock force that badly? You don’t need to compete for the Devour Star to get enough lock force to go from Star Breaking Realm to Full Star Realm. Just deal with Wu Yun, stay in the Lock Path Interval for a while, and you’ll have enough. It’s not worth risking your life.”
Wang Jie sighed. “I really need this Devour Star. Please understand, Senior.”
Xing Xue shook his head. “Zhi Qing’s move is likely to succeed. Do you know how dangerous this is? Among Black White Heaven’s disciples, there are many wandering star realm cultivators. If Wu Yun were among them, he wouldn’t even be in the top ten. The top ten disciples would easily defeat you.”
Wang Jie’s voice was heavy. “I understand, Senior.”
Xing Xue could no longer persuade Wang Jie. “The exact time for the Devour Star competition has not been set yet, but I will try to delay it. You should prepare as best you can.”
Wang Jie was grateful.
No one believed he could win the Devour Star. Even Xing Xue sounded as if he were preparing him for failure.
Wang Jie knew how difficult the journey would be. After obtaining more information from Du Xian, he fully understood the danger. But even so, he had to compete. Cultivation was a battle, and he couldn’t afford to stay passive. If he ran from this, he could run forever, but Zhi Qing would still find a way to strike.
Only by rising through these constant struggles could he have a chance of survival. Passivity would only lead to death.
Half a month later, Su Le returned with another batch of pills, though it wasn’t much.
When she learned that Wang Jie intended to compete for the Devour Star, she hurriedly advised against it.
In her words, a master like Wang Jie shouldn’t be competing with such uncouth people. However, she couldn’t persuade him and suggested waiting for Bai Ye Tian Shi to come out of seclusion to see if they could directly purchase the Devour Star.
Bai Ye Tian Shi still had some influence.
Wang Jie’s heart wavered. Zhi Qing’s actions against him were really about face. She didn’t care about a mere Star Breaking Realm cultivator like him.
If Bai Ye Tian Shi intervened, Zhi Qing would likely back off.
It wouldn’t be worth offending Bai Ye Tian Shi for his sake.
With that, Wang Jie felt slightly relieved. But still, the preparations must continue.
The batch of pills Su Le brought didn’t contain anything he could refine, so after more than a month, Wang Jie received notice from Du Xian that the Thunder Sealing Pills he requested had arrived.
As expected, Wang Jie was able to sell all the Bone Strengthening Pills to the Star Dome Trading House, making a small profit.
This batch of Thunder Sealing Pills was almost entirely purchased using the money earned from the Bone Strengthening Pills.
Du Xian seemed uneasy, as if she’d been taken advantage of.
With six thousand Thunder Sealing Pills, Wang Jie intended to raise the Thunder Pattern to the red level.
As his strength and lock force grew, his body strengthened as well. For an average Star Breaking Realm cultivator, absorbing this much lock force would likely increase their battle power from ten thousand to nearly twenty thousand. Wang Jie, of course, experienced an even greater increase.
The consumption of Thunder Sealing Pills had also increased from thirty pills per day to fifty.
Though fifty pills was a bit much, with the help of Restoration Pills and Revive Pills, time was the most important factor.
Each day, he endured Thunder Tempering. The pain became more intense with each passing day, but he gritted his teeth and endured it, eventually growing used to it.
After four months, all six thousand Thunder Sealing Pills were used up, and his Thunder Pattern reached the red level.
At the red level, the Thunder Pattern could withstand a destructive force of one hundred thousand. This was extraordinary—usually, only a Wandering Star Realm cultivator could achieve this.
To reach this level, a full star realm cultivator would need to consume tens of thousands of Thunder Sealing Pills over the course of ten years.
Only a Wandering Star Realm cultivator could use so many pills, spending a few years to achieve a red-level Thunder Pattern and significantly increasing their combat strength.