Chapter 372: Unexpected Gains
Han Li heaved a faint sigh and wasted no further time contemplating this topic.
Seeing as he had already mastered the laws of time, his top priorities now were to secure the second half of the Spirit Refinement Technique and make a breakthrough to the Golden Immortal Stage.
With that in mind, he put on his Transient Guild mask, then summoned the array plate projection, only to find that his Spirit Refinement Technique acquisition mission still hadn't received any responses.
He heaved a faint sigh, then stowed the mask away, but he wasn't overly disappointed.
After all, this was a matter of luck, and at the very least, it seemed that he wasn't going to enter that deranged state again anytime soon.
At this point, he was only one immortal acupoint away from reaching the Golden Immortal Stage, and if he could make the breakthrough, then that would significantly increase his chances of survival in the Immortal Realm.
However, he still had no idea how to complete the breakthrough.
A contemplative look appeared on his face, and he flipped a hand over to produce the gray stone slab that contained the Great Universe Origin Arts.
He had released a mission in the Transient Guild searching for the second half of the Great Universe Origin Arts, but that mission hadn't received any responses up to this point, either.
He stared at the stone slab for a moment, then abruptly rose to his feet before making his way outside.
Just now, he had decided to cultivate the Great Universe Origin Arts. Even though he only had the first half, perhaps it would provide him with some inspiration with regard to how he could break through the final immortal acupoint.
Even if that didn't prove to be the case, the Big Dipper Origin Arts had significantly enhanced his physical prowess, so cultivating the more complete Great Universe Origin Arts certainly couldn't have been detrimental.
Han Li handed his Heaven Controlling Vial to his giant ape puppet, instructing it to continue watering the spirit plants in his medicine garden, then flew out of his cave abode and arrived on a mountain at the center of the island.
This was the highest point on the entire island, and from there, everything on the island was laid bare before his eyes.
Han Li swept a sleeve through the air to release a streak of azure sword qi, which shaved off a small chunk of the mountain summit to create a flat and smooth stone platform.
After that, he swept both sleeves through the air to release a series of materials, all of which were giving off bursts of starpower.
These materials had virtually all been acquired from Tao Yu's portly guard. That man had also been cultivating starpower-based abilities, and he had also been a late-True Immortal cultivator, so he possessed a huge supply of starpower materials.
From there, Han Li opened his mouth to produce a ball of azure flames that enveloped the mountaintop, quickly melting it down into a soft and malleable texture.
He then made a hand seal, and a series of materials came flying out before landing in the azure flame, where they were quickly refined and fused as one with the mountain.
The originally mundane and unremarkable mountain quickly began to glow brightly, and four or five days passed by in the blink of an eye.
At this point, the mountain summit had already undergone a complete makeover. The mountain had already been cylindrical in shape, but it had been transformed into a pagoda, resembling a giant stone platform that was giving off radiant blue starlight.
There were also numerous runes that depicted all types of star designs engraved onto the stone platform, forming an extremely complex array.
Everything here was very similar to the Star Gathering Platform back in the Origin Realm Temple, except it was far more grand and spectacular.
Han Li had created the array on the stone platform by referencing the Star Gathering Array on the Star Gathering Platform, while also infusing elements of star array design that he had mastered over the years.
The portly guard's storage tool contained some very intricate star arrays, as well as some cultivation arts and secret techniques related to stars. In order to refine the Seven Bright Star Rings, Han Li had previously taken some time to study those arrays, cultivation arts, and secret techniques.
A Seven Bright Starlight Array had been integrated into the array on the stone platform, so its ability to gather starlight would've undoubtedly been superior to that of the Star Gathering Platform of the Origin Realm Temple.
Most importantly, this Seven Bright Starlight Array was closely linked to the Seven Bright Star Rings, so when using this array, Han Li could draw upon the power of the Seven Bright Star Rings to enhance the array's effects.
After doing all of this, Han Li descended onto the platform, then gave a pleased nod.
He sat down onto the ground with his legs crossed, then closed his eyes as he began to study the gray stone slab in his hand.
Before long, day had transitioned into night, and countless stars appeared in the night sky.
Han Li opened his eyes before casting his gaze upward, then swept a sleeve through the air to release eight blue crystals, which were giving off a collective aura that was very similar to that of the Starwash Stone.
These crystals were called Starheaven Stones, and just like Starwash Stone, they contained extremely pure starpower, except the starpower in Starheaven Stones was far more abundant than in Starwash Stones, making them an even superior energy source for star arrays.
These Starheaven Stones had also been acquired from the portly guard's storage tool, but there weren't many of them, so they weren't going to last very long.
However, that wasn't a problem as he had already released a Starheaven Stone acquisition mission in the Transient Guild. Starheaven Stones were quite precious, but not as rare as dao pill ingredients, so it shouldn't be too difficult to acquire them.
The eight Starheaven Stones were accurately embedded into the eight slots around the array, and bursts of blue light instantly emerged within those slots before quickly flowing over the array on the stone platform.
Before long, the entire array had lit up with dazzling blue radiance, while the stone platform had taken on a translucent appearance.
The blue light that was radiating from the platform projected a series of star diagrams in the air, and these diagrams were slowly revolving around the stone platform, presenting a stunning sight to behold.
Right at this moment, the starlight in the sky abruptly brightened, then came raining down from above, forming an incredibly thick pillar of light that converged toward the stone platform before encompassing the platform in its entirety.nOVe-lb.1n
This burst of starpower was at least 10 times as formidable as what the Star Gathering Platform had been able to summon, and Han Li nodded to himself with a pleased expression, clearly quite happy with his own handiwork.
However, this level of starpower still wasn't quite sufficient for his current needs, so he made a hand seal and began to chant an incantation, upon which the Seven Bright Star Rings flew out of his body before hovering above his head.
As soon as the seven rings were summoned, the array on the stone platform instantly brightened considerably, and seven huge spots of blue light appeared, each of which was around the size of a millstone with countless runes flashing within them.
The seven spots of starlight appeared to have been arranged in a haphazard fashion, but in reality, they were organized in the arrangement of a profound array.
Right at this moment, the Seven Bright Star Rings also descended out of the sky and onto the seven spots of blue light on the platform.
The blue light radiating from the stone platform brightened even further, while the pillar of starlight descending from the heavens also brightened considerably.
Bursts of starpower were cascading down like a waterfall, producing a massive commotion, and only upon seeing this did Han Li close his eyes before channeling the Great Universe Origin Arts.
This cultivation art also contained the manifestation method for the first seven profound acupoints, and it was far more complex and profound than the Big Dipper Origin Arts.
A dull thump rang out as the pillar of starlight split up into seven smaller pillars of light that surged into Han Li's body.
Even though the pillars of starlight had shrunk down, the starlight that they contained had become even more concentrated, virtually forming substantial pillars.
Seven specks of blue light instantly appeared on Han Li's body, and those were the seven spots where the seven pillars of starlight had descended upon.
Enormous starpower surged into the seven profound acupoints, and Han Li's brows furrowed slightly as a pained look appeared on his face.
A burst of tearing pain immediately shot through the profound acupoints that had already opened up, and it was as if there were countless steel needles poking around inside.
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, and his brows quickly unfurrowed again.
This level of pain was still tolerable to him.
He cycled through a series of different hand seals, and the starlight cascading down from the heavens became even brighter as it flooded into his body.
A vast expanse of blue mist emerged to encompass the entire stone platform, and Han Li's body was also enveloped in starlight.
The night passed by in the blink of an eye, and as the sun began to rise, teh stars in the sky quickly faded, while the starpower descending from the heavens also vanished.
At this point, Han Li's robes were drenched in blood, and his complexion was also a little pale.
He opened his eyes, and he was looking a little weary, but there was a hint of excitement on his face.
The seven profound acupoints on his body had clearly become larger than before, while the True Extreme Film that had appeared over his body had also become slightly brighter and denser.
The Big Dipper Origin Arts that he had previously cultivated had only been a simplified version of the Great Universe Origin Arts, and now that he had begun cultivating the latter, the profound acupoints that had already been opened up in his body had expanded even further, while his physical prowess had also been enhanced.
He clenched his fists tightly as he sensed the changes that had taken place in his body, and even though he had only been cultivating for one night, his True Extreme Physique was already displaying some measure of improvement.
If he could open up all 18 profound acupoints, then his physical prowess would undoubtedly be enhanced even further.
He slowly exhaled as he suppressed the excitement in his heart, then took a restorative pill before closing his eyes to meditate.
A gentle azure glow appeared over his entire body, forming a ball of azure light.
It didn't take long before night arrived once again, and the ball of azure light faded to reveal Han Li, who had already made a full recovery at this point.
He opened his eyes and took a glance up at the starry night sky, then immediately activated the array once again.
The array on the stone platform was activated, quickly drawing down rays of starlight that enveloped his entire body, and Han Li immediately began channeling his cultivation art to absorb the starpower cascading down upon him.
Over a year passed by in the blink of an eye, and Han Li had refined his seven existing profound acupoints once again using the method described in the Great Universe Origin Arts.
At this moment, he was seated with his legs crossed on the stone platform with blue light flashing over his entire body.
His seven profound acupoints had become around twice as bright as before, while his physical prowess had also been significantly enhanced, and his True Extreme Film was looking even denser and more radiant.
A hint of excitement appeared on Han Li's face as he felt all of these changes in his own body.
The physical enhancements were naturally quite welcome, but that wasn't what he was excited about.
During this past year of cultivation, he discovered that the immortal acupoint in his body that overlapped with his existing profound acupoints had also expanded significantly and also become more resilient, allowing them to take in more of the world's origin qi.
This was very much a pleasant surprise, and he had never heard of immortal acupoints being able to undergo changes after they were opened.