Chapter 193

Chapter 193: Lunar Star

One stick of incense time passed.

Even though Li Shuang was focused, and even though the stars shone bright and clear,

she still could not sense even a trace of star power.

Much less catch it and draw it into her body.

She did not panic.

This art was never simple. Otherwise, given how long it had existed, there would be far more than ten people who had reached the Second Tier.

You had to remember:

In the Central Continent, even most rogue cultivators and those of average talent could not get a ticket to Myriad Arts City.

Anyone who entered Myriad Arts City was already a genius.

Yet so many geniuses had come one after another to practice it, and none had reached the end. That alone proved its difficulty.

Half an hour passed.

An hour passed.

Li Shuang kept trying to sense, yet she still had no harvest at all.

She opened her eyes, a hint of confusion in them.

[Do I really have no talent for this art?]

Compared with others, she had the Heaven and Earth Furnace. She could probably use the furnace to force herself to sense starlight.

But then she thought, [If even sensing starlight needs the furnace’s help, how many resources will that consume over the years? I cannot afford that.]

Tonight the stars were bright, but night always ends.

At most one more hour, and the sea of stars would fade. Then she would have to wait for the next night.

No wonder Su Mu had not advised her to try this art.

If the first step was already this hard, she might spend years or decades and still fail to sense starlight.

If she used that time to train a different Soul Method, she might already have made solid progress.

[What good is a powerful art if I cannot practice it?]

Thoughts flickered through her heart, but with the Supreme Emotionless Art running, she did not feel anxious.

She tilted her head to look at the sky.

Tonight the stars were especially bright, like bits of snow set into the Milky Way.

Vast and endless.

She was caught up by the sight and forgot about sensing star power. Like a child, she lay back, staring up at the countless falling points of light.

For this moment,

she seemed to forget all the goals she had set for herself:

Nascent Soul Stage, Divine Transformation Stage, the sect tournament, Ye Zhao Zhao’s hidden danger, the future of the sect.

For this moment,

all of it was set aside.

As a child wandering alone in the wilds, she had also looked up at the starry sky like this.

Life back then was hard, but the sky let her forget for a while.

Since stepping onto the path of cultivation, as she grew stronger, she had never again looked at the world so simply, with only appreciation.

She smiled and whispered: “Holding the moon and carrying the wind, life feels like this.”

Just as she forgot to practice,

the countless stars seemed to receive a signal and slowly flowed toward her.

The light was pure and bright. It washed her soul with gentle force.

There was no pain. Li Shuang only felt as if she had been washed clean from head to toe. It was wonderfully comfortable.

She slowly sat up cross legged.

This time,

with just a thought, she could sense the sea of starlight.

This incoming light belonged to scattered star glow, not to any chosen Origin Star.

It could wash her soul, but the effect was only average.

To truly practice this Secret Art, she had to choose a star as her Origin Star.

Her eyes went straight to the full moon hanging high.

The Lunar Star was still a star.

It was just too special and too strong; at the First Tier, it was almost impossible to choose as an Origin Star.

But,

if she chose the Lunar Star as her Origin Star from the very beginning,

then from that first step on, every step would be faster.

Ambition flashed in Li Shuang’s eyes.

Even if there was only the tiniest chance, she would try.

With the Heaven and Earth Furnace in hand, [if I do not dare to have any ambition, I would waste this gift.]

She called in her mind: “Heaven and Earth Furnace, how can I set the Lunar Star as my Origin Star?”

Since she had grasped the First Turn’s Secret Art, it meant the furnace had understood it too.

After analyzing the Secret Art, with the Heaven and Earth Furnace’s ability, it should be able to answer.

As expected,

after taking 300 Value Points, a mechanical voice replied: “Lunar Starlight is too strong. To choose the Lunar Star, you need three rare items. First, a Stellar Fruit, a Seventh Tier treasure that can briefly let a cultivator possess the power to complete the art and reduce the conflict between you and the Lunar Star. Second, a Ninth-Grade Azure Lotus, which calms and purifies; it can cleanse Lunar Starlight so the body can absorb it. Third, a Soul-Settling Pill, refined mainly from the soul core of an Eighth Tier Demonic Beast, the Soulrending Beast; this pill can anchor the soul so it can endure the impact of Lunar Starlight. With all three, the chance to set the Lunar Star as your Origin Star is ten percent.”

Li Shuang’s pupils tightened.

None of the three were easy to obtain.

Yet even with all three, the success rate was only ten percent.

Among them, the rarest was the Ninth-Grade Azure Lotus. Luckily, her Foundation Establishment item had been a Ninth-Grade Lotus Seed, which should substitute somewhat.

As for the other two, with her current wealth, she could exchange them three times.

That gave her three chances.

She drew in a long breath.

Both the Stellar Fruit and the Soul-Settling Pill were recorded in the Compendium of Marvels. Their rank was not the highest, but both were very rare.

The Stellar Fruit was even long extinct.

Only the Heaven and Earth Furnace could steal the power of creation and draw such a thing from nothing.

[If anyone in this world can set the Lunar Star as an Origin Star, it is me.]

[Then what is there to hesitate about? Bet it all once.]

She first confirmed with the furnace that the power of her Lotus Seed had fully merged into her Golden Core and could indeed replace the Ninefold Lotus Platform.

With that confirmed, she only needed to exchange for the other two items.

Li Shuang redeemed one of each.

She looked up at the Lunar Star.

Then she swallowed the Stellar Fruit and the Soul-Settling Pill.

Right after,

she used her soul power to forcefully draw in the Lunar Star’s radiance.

As if sensing a tiny human who wanted to borrow its light, Lunar Starlight flashed, and a vast power poured straight toward Li Shuang.

Without the help of the Stellar Fruit and the Soul-Settling Pill, and without the Lotus Seed’s power to cleanse the light, the instant that glow entered her body she would have exploded and died.

With the aid of all three wonders,

she felt pain at its limit, yet those wonders shielded her soul.

[If I can break through this pain, I might succeed in choosing the Lunar Star.]