Chapter 1336: Stars Sparkling

Xiao Chen remained in the Eastern Sea for half a month, most of which he spent in the Heavenly Province Academy.

He was absorbed in the Daoist and Confucian remnants in the Heavenly Province Academy. If he were not in a rush, he would have definitely spent more time there.

This trip was considered one with great profits. The three Immortal Holy Lands all agreed to help at the crucial moment. As long as Xiao Chen gave the word, they would bring out their full force.

As for Xiao Chen’s next destination, it was as Tian Youxi guessed. It was indeed the Cyclic Astral Palace, a Holy Land that he had many grudges and conflicts with.

The Holy Daughter Fu Hongyao and the Holy Son Chu Yang both hated Xiao Chen to the bone. It would already be very good if they did not come and kick him while he was down during the crucial moment. It would be rather difficult to hope for them to come and help.

As for the Lunar Palace, which was even more incredible than the Cyclic Astral Palace, that was a headache for him. He had been chased out miserably during the Four Seas Hero Gathering, meaning that they would never welcome him.

Xiao Chen did not even dare thinking about it or even bothered to.

The final large faction left in the Heavenly Starry Ocean was the Northern Sea Alliance. Xiao Chen did not think that there would be any difficulty with this. He would go there at the end and let them know about it. It would be fine with just that.

As Xiao Chen walked on the surface of the sea, he verified the direction of the Cyclic Astral Palace. Then, he both moved like a fish and a dragon as fast as lightning.

He had the ferocity of a dragon and the nimbleness of a fish. Balancing both aspects, he shot through the air like a fish in water, not experiencing any obstruction at all.

Previously, when Xiao Chen’s speed reached the limits of the realm, the air became the greatest impediment.

Now that he was using the Fish Dragon Art, he could use the air to assist him, raising his speed by another level.

With such speed, after traveling for three days, Xiao Chen arrived in the sea region where the Cyclic Astral Palace was.

As one of the top three Holy Lands of the Heavenly Starry Ocean, the Cyclic Astral Palace occupied an extremely vast sea region. Aside from its own sea region, the Cyclic Astral Palace held all the major factions within five thousand kilometers as subordinates.

After Xiao Chen passed the sea regions subject to the Cyclic Astral Palace, many fantastic sights appeared before him.

There was not a single wave on the vast sea; it was as smooth as a mirror, filled with spirituality. A sea region spanning millions of kilometers like a mirror—that was how majestic and grand this was.

During the day, this mirrorlike sea region reflected only a large sun.

The sun in the water was glaring and dazzling. It was like there really was a huge fireball burning wildly in the water.

The reflected hot sunlight obscured the visible buildings in this sea region, the extensive buildings, pavilions, and palaces of the Cyclic Astral Palace vanishing entirely.

The boundless sea region only contained a sun. Aside from this, nothing else existed.

As Xiao Chen stood in the distance and watched, the sight shocked him. The accumulations of the Cyclic Astral Palace was not something that the Western Sea Divine Dragon Palace could compete with.

The Cyclic Astral Palace was right before Xiao Chen’s eyes, but he could not enter. This mysterious formation was somewhat vexing.

“Is this a test for me?”

Xiao Chen wondered out loud as he looked at the sun in the water. Logically speaking, the Cyclic Astral Palace should have sensed his arrival.

As he looked at the mirrorlike sea surface and the blazing sun, he pondered how to break the formation.

The area one kilometer in front of Xiao Chen had an invisible barrier blocking his Spiritual Sense, preventing him from seeing what lay before him.

This formation looked extremely simple and harmless. It was like he could just enter directly.

However, Xiao Chen could sense the danger with his sharp senses. He felt that it was sufficient to threaten his life.

The lair of the Cyclic Astral Palace would absolutely not be that simple.

“Go!”

After thinking hard and not understanding, Xiao Chen pointed a finger and instantly executed the Life Bestowal Spell. He made it assume his appearance and fly forward.

“Whoosh!”

Without any warnings, a hundred beams of bright light suddenly manifested in the air of the vast and boundless sea in front. The sparkles gave off a resplendent light like countless miniaturized suns.

Ow! Xiao Chen’s eyes hurt. He took two steps back and covered his eyes, gently massaging them.

When Xiao Chen opened his eyes again, the vast sea surface was already back to normal. The clone that he created with the Life Bestowal Spell had burned up, vaporized into steam in mere moments.

Fear flashed in Xiao Chen’s eyes. Indeed, it was not as simple as it looked. If his true body rushed in, the attack he would have received would probably be ten times—no, a hundred or a thousand times—stronger.

He had gotten a good look at that sunlike resplendent light before he covered his eyes. That was the purest Solar True Flame. Furthermore, it was not just one strand but thousands upon thousands of strands.

If they were all combined, Xiao Chen did not even dare to imagine the resulting might.

This still did not include the vast Solar True Flame underwater, which had not activated at all. If it had, it could probably injure a Prime.

It looks like there will not be any opportunity in the day. After thinking for a while, Xiao Chen prepared to wait for nightfall before checking the situation again.

Time passed, and the sun set in the west. When the final beams of light vanished, the entire sky turned dark. Countless stars sparkled. Together with the moon, it looked very beautiful.

As one stood on the surface of the sea, it was like one could pluck the stars just by stretching out one’s hand. Yet, it seemed so far as well. This felt very contradictory.

The surface of the sea also sparkled with stars. At this moment, the sea and sky seemed to become one.

What was even more interesting was that while the light of day was too dazzling, preventing the eyes from perceiving the many palaces, when night fell, they all appeared on the sea surface. They were like Night Pearls dotting the sea, shining with a gentle light.

They attracted the starlight of the universe to gather into pillars of starlight. These merged into a dazzling and beautiful spectacle.

As Xiao Chen watched, he felt deeply moved. The so-called dream world was probably just like this.

Xiao Chen could see that the banisters of the various palaces were all filled with people with pride gleaming in their eyes. As they chatted with each other, they all looked at Xiao Chen.

Big Dipper Palace, Sagittarius Palace, Rosette Star Palace, Sun Palace, Moon Palace…all the palaces were filled with the Cyclic Astral Palace’s disciples.

They were all looking at the Azure Dragon King, who was famous throughout the Heavenly Starry Ocean, being blocked by the formation. They were all pointing and whispering, laughing endlessly.

Xiao Chen could see everyone who was watching him. However, the invisible barrier separated them. It was like they were in two different worlds, never to meet.

In the Sun Palace, there were three of Xiao Chen’s old acquaintances coldly watching him. The one in the middle was the Holy Son Chu Yang. On the left was the Holy Daughter Fu Hongyao. On the right was someone that Xiao Chen would never have guessed, Yi Ling.

“Life Bestowal Spell!”

Xiao Chen extended a finger and tried again. Thousands of figures leaped out of the seawater, moving forward one after another and charging forward in an overwhelming assault.

“Whoosh!”

The pillars of starlight above the three thousand palaces swept out. Like breaking off dead branches, they crushed all of Xiao Chen’s clones into powder.

Xiao Chen’s eyes sparkled with light. He instantly memorized all the positions of where the pillars of starlight moved. Then, he pushed off with his feet and charged over.

As he walked on the sea surface, the wind howled in his ears. His white robes flapped about loudly.

The pillars made of starlight either swept across, chopped down, or fell from the sky. They were all different, showing thousands of variations.

Suddenly, all the starlight gathered around Xiao Chen, turning the other places pitch-dark.

In the darkness, the gazes of the many Cyclic Astral Palace disciples all locked on to Xiao Chen, the focus of the starlight.

Amid the many complicated, intersecting attacks of the starlight, Xiao Chen moved forward and backward, his figure ethereal. Occasionally, he turned into a dragon, soaring into the sky in rage. Occasionally, he turned into a fish, showing many variations.

He executed the Fish Dragon Art to its limits. Despite all these chaotic yet magnificent attacks, not a single bit of starlight reached him.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

The seawater surged and pillars of water shot up. Xiao Chen looked like he was dancing with his flowing white robes and white hair. His extremely graceful bearing eclipsed the stars.

All the Cyclic Astral Palace disciples were attracted by Xiao Chen’s figure, drunk on that dreamlike dance and forgetting that even more resplendent and brilliant starlight.

The sparkling stars dance for me!

As time passed, Xiao Chen figured out the offensive power of the starlight. Then, he released his bated breath. The upper echelon of the Cyclic Astral Palace did not push him into a dead end. The offense power of this starlight was not that scary.

Furthermore, it seemed like no one was managing this formation.

“Indeed, this is a test for me. There are still some weaknesses. Otherwise, even a Sovereign Martial Emperor would not be able to pass.”

In that case, I shall draw the Lunar Shadow Saber here, then!

“Buzz!”

All of a sudden, melodious saber hums rang out. Together with these saber hums, Xiao Chen’s aura changed. He no longer suppressed the sharpness of his body.

With his saber drawn, he charged forward boldly. The sound of the saber turned into an aura that broke the starlight and shattered the waves. It was like a True Dragon descended into the world; nothing could stop it.

Up in the Sun Palace, the expressions of Chu Yang and the others changed slightly. Shock flashed in their eyes.

Chu Yang rapped on the railing with one hand as he said softly, “Hongyao, go over.”

Fu Hongyao nodded gently, and her figure drifted up. Under the light of the full moon, she flew increasingly higher. After a while, her figure holding her sword seemed to merge with the moon.

After she merged with the moon, she danced in the air, brandishing her sword and directing all the starlight around.

Just as Xiao Chen was about to cross the barrier, Fu Hongyao, who was in the bright moon, narrowed her eyes. She pointed, and a sword intent surged. A celestial sword descended from the moon.

Xiao Chen, who was pressing forward, suddenly sensed an extremely dangerous aura. He felt a chill and quickly withdrew.

“Bang!”

Xiao Chen narrowed dodged this sword. However, the shock wave that blew into the surroundings sent him flying, causing him to vomit blood.

It would be hard to imagine the consequences if this sword strike had landed on him.

Just as Xiao Chen was about to release his bated breath after surviving that dangerous attack, an unexpected blow came from the sea beneath the Cyclic Astral Palace, shooting out of the water.

There was also a starry sky on the surface of the sea with the same bright moon and the same sword.

This sword strike was unexpected, hitting Xiao Chen squarely and tearing a large hole in his chest. Blood poured out like a fountain, splattering as he retreated.

The blood mixed with the starlight, producing an intoxicating light.

As Xiao Chen frantically retreated, this scarlet moonlight entranced his eyes. He forgot about the pain and time, about all his worries.

This scene looked very miserable: Xiao Chen’s white robes stained scarlet, blood pouring out like a fountain from the wound on his chest and dyeing the night sky red. However, a strong dedication was still clearly visible in the entranced eyes under the illumination of the starlight.