Chapter 344

Chapter 344: Nian Wei

The guard’s warning echoed in Wang Jie’s mind, but it only hardened his resolve.

He made straight for the Star Fusion Center.

Inside a reception room, Wang Jie sat with a cup of tea, thinking.

Not long after, a woman entered and sat across from him. “My name is Nian Wei. I’m the head of the Third Zen Heaven Star Fusion Center, and also the Star Vault Vista intelligence lead here. What can I help you with?”

Wang Jie studied her.

It seemed that most of Star Vault Vista’s field intelligence leads were women.

Yet Nian Wei felt different from the others he’d met—sharp, efficient, expressionless. For a heartbeat, he almost wondered if he’d come to the wrong person.

He stated his identity as an analyst. He needed to use Star Vault Vista’s presence inside Third Zen Heaven to stabilize himself quickly.

Nian Wei had been identified to him by Si Yao. As an analyst, Wang Jie had the right to know which nearby people could support him.

“I want to know a few things,” Wang Jie said.

“Ask,” Nian Wei replied. She didn’t probe his identity or test him. She simply waited, unhurried.

Wang Jie asked first, “Within Third Zen Heaven, what’s the most convenient way to replenish lockforce?”

Nian Wei answered immediately. “The most common method is lockforce materials or slaughterstone. If you’re asking that question, you’re dissatisfied with their efficiency.”

Wang Jie didn’t deny it.

“Then the next answer is star-devourer,” Nian Wei continued. “It’s the most convenient method, and it contains the most abundant lockforce among strange stars. Third Zen Heaven has them—more than one.”

Wang Jie’s gaze sharpened. “Where? How do I get one?”

“You can’t,” Nian Wei said flatly. “Third Zen Heaven uses lockforce star-devourers for research. The goal is to break the conclusion that lockforce cultivators have no future—to reshape the universe’s structure. After all, lockforce cultivators are the most common cultivators in the universe.

“It isn’t only Third Zen Heaven. Any major force with the capacity cultivates lockforce star-devourers.

“Unless it’s an absolute last resort, they will never open them to outsiders.”

“So there’s no chance at all?” Wang Jie asked.

“No.”

Wang Jie’s brow creased. “Even Star Vault Vista can’t help?”

Nian Wei looked at him steadily. “This is Third Zen Heaven.”

Cold disappointment settled in Wang Jie’s chest.

Without a lockforce star-devourer, absorbing lockforce quickly would be difficult. Breaking through to the Roaming-Star Realm would take far longer.

Leaving Black-White Heaven had come with its own price.

Nian Wei spoke again. “Not inside Third Zen Heaven. But outside it—yes.”

Wang Jie stared at her. “What do you mean?”

“I told you: any force with the means will cultivate lockforce star-devourers,” Nian Wei said. “Near Third Zen Heaven there is a family known as the Haiya Madam Miao. They possess a lockforce star-devourer.”

Wang Jie’s eyes lit up. “Can I get it?”

“There’s a possibility,” Nian Wei said.

“How?”

Nian Wei didn’t answer right away. She simply watched him, calm and unblinking.

Wang Jie tested the thought aloud. “You mean… steal it?”

Nian Wei nodded once, completely serious. “Yes. Take it.”

Wang Jie almost laughed. “That’s a family with the ability to cultivate a star-devourer. How am I supposed to take it? There’s at least a Hundred-Star Realm cultivator in there.”

“Two Hundred-Star Realm cultivators,” Nian Wei corrected, “and fifteen Roaming-Star Realm cultivators. Their strength is not great—typical of families that survive in the universe’s corners.”

She continued matter-of-factly, like she was reading from a report. “The Haiya Madam Miao endure because their ancestors once had ties to the Heaven-Insect People. They borrow that name to hold their ground.”

“I can’t fight a Hundred-Star Realm cultivator,” Wang Jie said. “Let alone two.”

“Then hire someone,” Nian Wei said. “As long as you have money. Or hire assassins.”

She laid out options—cleanly, efficiently—as if she’d already mapped every angle. For a moment, Wang Jie wondered if she had a grudge against the Haiya Madam Miao.

When he asked, she denied it without hesitation.

“You want an answer,” she said. “I’m giving you one. The Haiya Madam Miao are close to Third Zen Heaven, but they have no relationship with it. That makes them an ideal target.

“If you refuse to act against them, you can seek other families and forces. It will simply be farther.”

“Even if I wipe out the Haiya Madam Miao,” Wang Jie said, “the lockforce star-devourer won’t be mine. Anyone could seize it.”

“You are a Star Vault Vista analyst,” Nian Wei replied. “If the Haiya Madam Miao are destroyed, and before other forces intervene, you turn the lockforce star-devourer over to Star Vault Vista, you can obtain usage rights and earn Star Vault Vista merit.”

She paused. “The prerequisite is that it must be after the Haiya Madam Miao are destroyed. Star Vault Vista will not act against outside forces proactively—especially not at a time like this.”

Wang Jie didn’t answer. He needed to think.

Instead, he asked, “Where is the nearest thunder well?”

“In Jia Yi Sect territory, beneath the star wall,” Nian Wei said. “The second closest is Second Star Cloud.”

“Star wall?” Wang Jie asked.

“A barrier separating bridge-pillar lands,” Nian Wei explained. “It is formed by integrating and arranging countless stars to block enemies…”

Wang Jie asked more questions, and Nian Wei answered without visible emotion—patient, precise.

He asked about Myriad-Instant Slash. Nian Wei told him what she knew, and even pointed out that the technique was incomplete.

That only made Wang Jie more interested.

He liked incomplete techniques. He could plant them, harvest what was missing, and cultivate the complete version—the kind of forgotten martial art people whispered about.

He asked about Third Zen Heaven observers.

Nian Wei refused to speak. “That information can only come from above. Not from me.”

In the end, Nian Wei offered one piece of advice that surprised him: take control of a mountain range.

A mountain range within Zen Mountain’s territory.

Zen Mountain was vast, spanning a stretch of starry sky, its peaks interwoven with countless stars. To control a mountain range meant controlling the stars within its domain—denying entry to outsiders.

The suggestion made Wang Jie wonder whether she knew about Undying Body. He needed exactly that: a place where no one could disturb him while he compressed a star’s starforce.

“Only by controlling a mountain range can you cultivate in peace,” Nian Wei said. “Without interference.”

Then she added, “But I don’t recommend learning Myriad-Instant Slash. It consumes too much time. If you want to face the Wandering-Star Tournament, your first priority is breaking into the Roaming-Star Realm.

“That’s why the lockforce star-devourer matters most.”

Her advice was practical—perfect for a normal cultivator.

Wang Jie was not normal.

So the moment he left the Star Fusion Center, he went straight for Outer Zen to find Myriad-Instant Slash.

He couldn’t forget what he’d seen back then—Luan Dao’s First Blade, cutting down Han Ling in a single flash.

Compared to Zen Mountain’s scripture pavilion, Outer Zen’s scripture pavilion was swamped with people. There was even a line at the entrance.

Outer Zen techniques required little contribution, and most of the people here were borrowed disciples from various forces—each with backing behind them.