Nine Star Hegemon Body Art (WN)
chapter-4500

At the core of the Darklight Heaven, the light of the various worlds gathered into one enormous gate.

The entire world shook. However, some ancient factions seemed to have predicted this and didn’t react. On the other hand, the rest of the world was shocked, and the dark undercurrents started to surge.

When Long Chen returned to the Esoteric Spirit World, he saw that the divine light shooting out of its gate was coming from the Esoteric Spirit Eye. It pierced through the gateway and seamlessly integrated into it.

Long Chen wanted to check the Esoteric Spirit Eye and see if he could look at the other world again. Had it changed? Was the stone lifeform still present?

However, the Esoteric Spirit Eye was like a gushing spring, so let alone going underwater, it was impossible to even get close to it.

This was the power of the world gushing out, potent enough to annihilate even a Saint if drawn into its currents.

During this period, the Esoteric Spirit World faced no threats. The energy of the holy tree permeated every corner of the realm, transforming it into the exclusive domain of the Earth Spirit race.

The all-encompassing presence of the holy tree meant that the world’s power was under its control. Now, the holy tree was unleashing the full power of the Esoteric Spirit Eye to nourish the Earth Spirit race.

With the help of the holy tree and Ye Xue, as well as the Earth Spirit race’s racial advantage, powerful experts rose amongst them like bamboo shoots after rainfall.

When Long Chen returned, he didn’t dare to believe his eyes. The Earth Spirit races now had thousands of Heavenly Doyens, and tens of thousands of budding Doyens.

After asking, he learned that this was thanks to no longer being disturbed by their enemies. Having taken control of the Esoteric Spirit Eye’s energy, the holy tree could use its energy to stimulate the potential of the Earth Spirit race’s heavenly geniuses.

The Earth Spirit race’s disciples were also extremely hardworking. All of them were going all-out, not daring to slack off in the slightest.

After all, the Earth Spirit race had almost been destroyed. Seeing so many of their comrades fall to the butcher’s blade of their enemies made them profoundly aware of just how important power was.

Presented with this rare opportunity for improvement, they spared no effort. In their own words, they were hoping that the efforts of their generation would protect their descendants and let them live in peace.

The Earth Spirit race had completely transformed. The newly awakened Doyens were far from ordinary, with several among them being truly terrifying beings. Long Chen estimated that quite a few of them were two-star Doyens.

As for Ye Xue, she was the most terrifying existence. Her sacred aura seemed to flow out of her endlessly, but it didn’t pressure anyone. Hence, it was impossible to tell what level she was at.

After all, Ye Xue was not a fighter but a genius at support. In group battles, she could use her power to draw out the full potential of her people and even heal them.

Although the power of thousands of Doyens was limited, with Ye Xue present, no one knew what kind of terrifying power they could unleash.

If those thousands of Doyens were like firewood, Ye Xue was the tinder that could set them ablaze.

In the end, no matter how strong the Earth Spirit grew, they were still eternally grateful to Long Chen. As a result, they were always extremely respectful whenever they saw Long Chen, to the point that he felt a bit embarrassed.

“Race leader, you’ve come out of seclusion?” Just as Long Chen was about to leave, he saw Ye Ling come over.

Long Chen felt even more embarrassed now. In order to protect her people, Ye Ling had ignited her own soul essence, so she had been in recovery this entire time. Even with the holy tree’s help, her recovery speed was very slow.

Ye Ling smiled. “Actually, I’m just healing, so I’m not really in seclusion. Come with me. The holy tree wishes to speak to you.”

Long Chen followed Ye Ling to the bottom of the holy tree. Compared to before, it was many times grander. The divine light on its leaves illuminated the entire Esoteric Spirit World, making everything beneath its branches a wonderland.

A sacred aura came from it and cleansed Long Chen’s mind. When he arrived, a green leaf slowly floated down from the holy tree.

It was an enormous leaf at first but was only the size of a palm when it arrived before Long Chen. With deliberate ease, Long Chen caught the leaf, and it shimmered with vitality.

As the leaf gradually melted into his hand, it left behind minuscule imprints on the center of his palm. These marks then slowly faded away.

“What…?”

Long Chen didn’t know what was going on.

Ye Ling explained, “The holy tree has left a mark on you. That way, when you enter the pathway to the ninth heaven, if you encounter any of our people, they will help you.”

“That world will have others like you?” Long Chen was startled.

“The holy tree says that it can sense their auras. They are like us, cursed by fiends. As you have the Spirit race’s blessing, under normal circumstances, our people wouldn’t dare to approach you for fear of cursing you. Now that you have the holy tree’s mark though, if they sense you, they will come forward to help you. This way, you won’t be alone in that world,” answered Ye Ling.

“Just what kind of world is it?” Long Chen couldn’t help asking.

Ye Ling didn’t reply and just looked at the holy tree. The holy tree’s leaves flashed repeatedly, as if communicating with it.

After a while, Ye Ling said, “The holy tree says that it is a pathway, a crack between worlds. Although it is a pathway, it is also its own world, called the pathway to the ninth heaven. As the name implies, it connects to the ninth heaven—the final heaven of the nine heavens and also the strongest world.”

Hearing this, he hastily asked, “Then does that mean that following the pathway to the ninth heaven will let you enter the ninth heaven?”

Ye Ling nodded. “In theory, yes. However, theory is not reality. It is said that the starry sea heavenly path that leads to the ninth heaven was broken in the battle of gods and devils in the primal chaos era. Although the pathway to the ninth heaven has appeared, wanting to use it to enter the ninth heaven is almost impossible. No one can pass through that broken sea of stars.”

“Starry sea heavenly path? Broken sea of stars?” Long Chen’s heart shook.

The mysterious voice had previously mentioned something about the pathway to the ninth heaven. It seemed like the owner of that voice lived in the ninth heaven.

Long Chen was still lost when it came to the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art and the Pill Sovereign memories. Now, it seemed that the only one who knew the answers to his questions was the master of that mysterious voice.

When Long Chen continued asking questions about what the ninth heaven was like, the holy tree couldn’t reply. That was because it only knew this much from its inherited memories.

All it could say was that back then, when the starry sea heavenly path was broken, certain lifeforms fled from the ninth heaven and became ensnared within the pathway.

Over time, the channel evolved into a distinct and autonomous world, complete with its own set of specific laws. In essence, it became a self-contained realm outside of the nine heavens.

After speaking to the holy tree, Long Chen came to realize a terrifying fact: the pathway to the ninth heaven was a huge opportunity, but it was also a hellish trial. This stemmed from the realization that the original lifeforms within the pathway were once beings that occupied the pinnacle of the world.

Furthermore, if Long Chen and his companions were to enter the pathway to the ninth heaven, those lifeforms would brand them as invaders and hunt them down. It was a terrifying place. The impression conveyed by the holy tree suggested that it harbored hope for Long Chen to safeguard its people once they ventured into that world.

Upon returning from the Esoteric Spirit World, Long Chen looked at the sky and saw the enormous gate still hovering in the sky. However, a seed had now manifested within it, and seeing it made Long Chen’s heart pound wildly.