Chapter 928: Dragon God Star

Star Devourer.

While the Immortal Sect was openly and vigorously suppressing the insect beasts, several figures, hidden in the darkness of the extraterrestrial space of this distant other world, stood on various meteorites, watching coldly.

"Just when we finally made some discoveries, the Immortal Sect arrived and almost completely destroyed everything."

The Divine Control Master spoke, his tone filled with dissatisfaction.

Their Ascension Sect had secretly infiltrated this alien world, hoping to collect resources that could elevate their cultivation further. However, due to the presence of strange and powerful insect beasts underground, even with their cultivation levels, they couldn't guarantee a decisive victory, so they could only explore gradually, step by step. Among them, the Divine Control Master used his Devouring God Technique to take over many insect beasts, gradually dissecting and approaching the core of the nest.

However, in the underground nest world, the insect beasts had a very strict hierarchy. Thus, most of the insect beasts he had taken over, in this war against the Immortal Sect, were forced to surge out and become insect corpses in the conflict.

"Let's take our time," said the person on the central meteorite, their voice hoarse. "The slumbering sovereign mother worm deep within the planet's core, in terms of power, is already among the strongest of the Soul Transformation cultivators. If it were just us, we probably couldn't deal with it. It's perfect to let the Immortal Sect help us clear the obstacles." As they stood there, they were enveloped in a dark aura; only a vague human outline was visible, and it was impossible to tell if it was male or female.

This person was precisely the leader of the Ascension Sect, the most wanted individual on the Immortal Sect's list for nearly a thousand years.

"Yes, Sect Leader!"

Everyone on the meteorites nodded in unison.

"Once the Immortal Sect enters, let's all conceal ourselves. But don't make things too easy for them. And see if you can wake up the mother worm deep within the planet's core. I'll leave this matter to you two." The Ascension Sect Leader said to the Divine Control Master and the Dragon-Tiger Patriarch, who stood on either side. The two nodded slightly.

Among them, the Divine Control Master relied on the Devouring God Technique to take over bodies and infiltrate. The Dragon-Tiger Patriarch, on the other hand, specialized in the Beast Taming Art. With the Divine Control Master's cooperation, he had already contracted many potentially powerful insect beasts. Previously, due to the stable social structure and hierarchical system within the insect beast's underground nest, they dared not go too far. But now that war had arrived, they could cultivate several of the promising insect beasts. As long as they grew stronger and stronger, they would be able to get closer to the Soul Transformation realm mother worm. This was especially true now, after the Immortal Sect, using the Black Tortoise Dao Palace, had suppressed and killed two lords equivalent to Nascent Soul cultivators.

"Has Lin Daoming made any unusual moves?"

Finally, the Ascension Sect Leader asked the Dragon-Tiger Patriarch. The latter closed his eyes, sensed for a moment, then shook his head, indicating everything was normal.

"Let's see if he can pass this test. If he is willing to sever all emotions, letting him see the Purple Cloud Dao Scroll wouldn't hurt."

Hearing the Ascension Sect Leader's words, the Dragon-Tiger Patriarch nodded gently.

"What's wrong!" Lin Daoming asked with a frown, turning his head in a certain cave deep underground in the alien world, seeing Yan Xinjì staring blankly at the rice-grain-sized golden-red ants on the wall, no longer moving forward.

"The ants here are very interesting," Yan Xinjì replied, then reached out and collected the ants into a glass tube.

"Let's go quickly. I sense that the essence of this planet's creation is not far ahead," Lin Daoming urged him after he finished.

As a cultivator who achieved Golden Core through enlightenment in the Immortal Sect, Lin Daoming possessed the ability to sense the essence of the great earth's spirit pivot and creation. He named this ability "Spirit Pivot Myriad Manifestations." Relying on this ability, he could not only perceive the vast energy flowing deep within the earth; he could even use it to comprehend the profound mysteries of creation amidst endless ages of change; and he could also replace the earth's spirit pivot with his own body, tempering himself to rapidly improve his cultivation. It was precisely because of this that he was able to find fragments of the Fetal Transformation Furnace.

He even, at the moment of successfully forming his Nascent Soul, captured the essence of the Heaven-Mending Dao Academy's spiritual vein at the moment of its birth in this world, seeing himself using a fifth-grade spiritual vein as a pivot, evolving the myriad manifestations of the world, perceiving all the creative vitality of the Terrestrial Star, and ascending to a corner of the future as a Soul Transformation cultivator. It's just a pity that Star-Guiding Patriarch said it was likely a heart demon, and even if it could truly allow him to reach Soul Transformation, at the cost of sacrificing the Heaven-Mending Dao Academy's fifth-grade spiritual vein, it would certainly not be permitted.

What saddened Lin Daoming the most was that all the Immortal Sect's great earth spirit pivots had long been integrated by the Earth Vein Grand Formation, rendering his ability largely useless within the Immortal Sect.

Besides this, there was another matter. That is, besides achieving Golden Core through enlightenment, Lin Daoming also experienced an awakening of his immortal spiritual root. At that time, his Spirit Pivot Myriad Manifestations allowed him to enter the deepest part of the Terrestrial Star. He saw the planet's greatest secret, and the true reason why the Immortal Sect's Five Patriarchs came here from the distant depths of the universe.

Above the alien world, Chen Mobai and sixteen other Nascent Soul cultivators of the Immortal Sect were already standing in small groups of two or three within their respective circles, chatting. Not far away, after Venerable Water Lily successively suppressed and killed two Nascent Soul-level insect beasts, the huge cave entrance, which had been surging with terrifying auras, began to stabilize. Although some ferocious-looking insect beasts occasionally surged out, with the North Heaven Gate of the Black Tortoise Dao Palace hovering above and suppressing them, all those above the Foundation Establishment level were annihilated.

While they were talking, Venerable Three Absolutes, who was beside Chen Mobai, flashed with silver light. At some unknown point, he was holding several insect beasts restrained and immobile by energy prisons, as well as fragments of high-level insect beast corpses.

"I'll take these back for research first," Venerable Three Absolutes said, then directly departed this alien world. At his movement, Venerable Peach Blossom, who had long wanted to leave, immediately used the excuse of helping and also withdrew.

Of the Jumang Lineage present, only Wenren Xuewei remained. She gave a slightly awkward smile.

"Send over the previously agreed-upon personnel and equipment as soon as possible. There are many things here worth studying," Venerable Yuanxu spoke to Ying Guanghua, then directly used Void Walking, heading towards the ore veins previously surveyed by Nangong Xuanyu and the other vanguard forces.

"Then I'll go check out the underwater ruins. Perhaps I can unravel the buried history and civilization of this planet," Venerable Plum Blossom of the Star-Gazing Academy said this. Although the ruin maps and patterns transmitted by Nangong Xuanyu and others were very clear, they certainly couldn't reveal as much as being there in person.

"I can go with you, can't I?" Venerable Yuyi was also very interested. Venerable Plum Blossom was naturally happy to have company. Finally, Venerable Sea Cloud also wanted to experience the natural landscapes of the alien world. The three of them set off together.

"Then I'll just wander around. Maybe I'll encounter an opportunity to reach Soul Transformation," Venerable Chengxuan spoke. His lifespan was not much longer. If there were no resources in this alien world that could allow him to reach Soul Transformation, then after the world gate closed, he would only be able to risk taking that final step.

After that, Chen Mobai and the others stayed for several more days, confirmed that the overall situation here was stable, and then returned to the Immortal Sect.

Time slowly passed! Soon, a year had passed.

First, Venerable Plum Blossom made a significant breakthrough discovery within the underwater ruins. Around the ruins, they found numerous skeletons of half-human, half-fish beings. By comparing them with various findings and murals, they confirmed that these were the original rulers of this planet. However, these merfolk were not originally like this.

According to research findings from the ruins, they were previously also overlords of the land, ruling this planet's heavens, underground, and marine waters. Any place they could set foot on was their territory. They called themselves descendants of the Three Dragon Gods. The civilization they established was named the Dragon God Dynasty. The Three Dragon Gods were the Sky Dragon God, the Earth Dragon God, and the Sea Dragon God! They respectively governed the sky, the land, and the ocean. This planet was also known as Dragon God Star!

However, countless ages ago, a massive meteorite descended from the sky, pierced through the world's primordial membrane, crashed into the earth, creating an incredibly deep crater. Based on the murals of the underwater ruins, Venerable Sea Cloud used geomancy to pinpoint the location where the meteorite fell, confirming it was precisely where the Black Tortoise Dao Palace was currently suppressing. This was also the passage for entering and exiting the underground of Dragon God Star.

Initially, the beings of the Dragon God Dynasty merely approached the meteorite with a research attitude. The most powerful priests among them even used materials from this meteorite to forge crowns, scepters, and other divine artifacts for the emperors of the Dragon God Dynasty. Unfortunately, they did not notice that this extraterrestrial meteorite also carried a terrifying insect beast from the cosmos. Before the beings of the Dragon God Dynasty arrived, the mother worm hid itself, then continuously absorbed the planet's energy and extensively laid eggs.

Several hundred years later, because the number of insect beasts was simply too vast, and the underground nest could no longer bear the burden, under the leadership of the mother worm, they surged out from underground and began to devour the beings on the surface. The Dragon God Dynasty was initially able to organize forces to suppress the insect beasts. However, as time passed, the experts of the Dragon God Dynasty, under the continuous siege of insect beasts, began to fall one by one. Eventually, the long-slumbering Three Dragon Gods were awakened. Under their leadership, the priests of the Dragon God Dynasty even counterattacked, fighting their way deep underground. The murals did not depict what exactly happened in the underground battle. But including the Three Dragon Gods and all the priests of the Dragon God Dynasty, none of them ever returned. However, the insect beasts also vanished for several decades. Just when the beings of the Dragon God Dynasty thought everything was over, more insect beasts began to emerge from underground, devouring every living creature they encountered.

At this time, the Three Dragon Gods never reappeared. Ultimately, all beings of the Dragon God Dynasty were forced to abandon the land and flee to the oceans. Although those insect beasts were incredibly powerful and could devour various metals, trees, minerals, and so on, they uniquely disliked water. The beings of the Dragon God Dynasty began to eke out a meager existence in the oceans. A millennium passed, and they even evolved into half-human, half-dragon, half-fish forms.

During this period, the emperors of the Dragon God Dynasty did not give up hope, sending newly born priests to the land to search for traces of the Three Dragon Gods. Perseverance pays off; they found a blood-written message from their predecessors in the underground nest. However, the contents recorded there filled them with despair. The mother worm had devoured the planet's core energy, becoming powerful beyond imagination. In a direct confrontation, although the Three Dragon Gods severely wounded it, they could not completely destroy its body and spirit. Ultimately, the Three Dragon Gods exhausted their power and were, in turn, devoured by the mother worm. The remaining priests of the Dragon God Dynasty were also caught and killed by the endless insect beasts in the underground nest. This blood-written message was left by one of the most powerful priests, who had cultivated to the Dragon King realm, just before his death.

After learning all this, the Dragon God Dynasty no longer harbored any plans to counterattack the land. They also gave the mother worm a name — "Star Devourer"!

The remnants of the Dragon God Dynasty wanted to barely survive in the oceans. However, the insect beasts' evolution speed far exceeded their imagination. Soon, the mother worm produced a type of insect beast that was not afraid of seawater. Another century passed. The beings of the Dragon God Dynasty who had fled to the oceans, including the creatures originally inhabiting the oceans, were all devoured by this evolved batch of insect beasts. Fortunately, the insect beasts were only interested in living creatures and metal minerals. Thus, these stone ruins and murals were preserved, leaving the Immortal Sect an opportunity for interpretation.

After these interpretations, the Immortal Sect placed even greater importance on Dragon God Star. According to the descriptions in these ruin murals, this planet had clearly become an insect nest. The deep underground was entirely filled with insect beasts. And the mother worm, known as the Star Devourer, should be what Star-Guiding Patriarch referred to as a being with traces of the Soul Transformation realm. If the opponent truly was a Soul Transformation realm being, according to the Immortal Sect's rules, they would have to confirm this as the highest level of world-opening war, which is "World Opening."

Consequently, the Immortal Sect's Three Great Halls began a full mobilization. The proposal to unseal the other three Dao Palaces, after the murals in the ruins were deciphered, was quickly passed by the Three Great Halls. Besides this, there was also the Numinous Sky Treasure Palace. However, this required a Soul Transformation True Monarch to activate and control it. So, although the proposal was also passed, with Star-Guiding Patriarch not yet returned and White Light Patriarch still unawakened, they could only first send someone to retrieve it from the warehouse.

Among the Three Great Dao Palaces, Hall Master Ying Guanghua of the Immortal Affairs Hall gained control of the White Tiger Dao Palace. However, he was mainly responsible for guarding the Immortal Sect and the Terrestrial Star, primarily serving as a custodian. The Vermillion Bird Dao Palace naturally fell into Chen Mobai's hands, as the Righteous Law Hall was responsible for warfare. Therefore, if the war on Dragon God Star went unfavorably, Chen Mobai would directly lead a large army to provide support. Besides the Vermillion Bird Dao Palace, the accompanying "South Heaven Gate," and the Southern Seven Constellations Immortal Armor, along with seven space battleships, all fell into his hands. Aside from not being fully supplied with spirit stones, this was almost a full configuration.

The ownership and leadership of the White Tiger Dao Palace and Vermillion Bird Dao Palace were basically passed by unanimous vote. But for the remaining Azure Dragon Dao Palace, some controversy arose. According to the Immortal Sect's unwritten rules, it belonged to the Jumang Dao Academy. But the Jumang Dao Academy currently lacked a powerful leader. Venerable Three Absolutes, as a researcher and doctor, unless all the Immortal Sect's Nascent Soul cultivators were dead, he would certainly be the last to go to the battlefield. Venerable Peach Blossom had sufficient qualifications, but she didn't want the job. Furthermore, her command ability in war was probably inferior to Wenren Xuewei's.

But Wenren Xuewei had just formed her Nascent Soul, her qualifications were shallow, and she lacked extensive experience in leadership. Unlike Chen Mobai, from the Qi Condensation stage during the college entrance exam all the way to Nascent Soul, he had always dominated in combat, suppressing all opponents of the same rank. Therefore, although Chen Mobai had only recently formed his Nascent Soul, everyone in the Immortal Sect was full of confidence in him, believing that someone so powerful in combat must also be very strong in warfare. While Wenren Xuewei had outstanding talent, and was even publicly recognized as second only to Chen Mobai in this generation, warfare was not child's play. Many people were skeptical about her leading the Azure Dragon Dao Palace.

Coincidentally, at this time, Qi Yuheng, the Immortal Sect's foremost Nascent Soul cultivator, was still available. Therefore, the general public of the Immortal Sect widely hoped that this strong individual could lead the last Azure Dragon Dao Palace. However, Chen Mobai knew that all of this was the Kunpeng Dao Academy using their affiliated media to create momentum, intending to use public opinion to force Wenren Xuewei to give up, and also to make many neutral Golden Core True Men among the Three Great Halls cast their valuable votes for Qi Yuheng.

"What are your thoughts?" In the Righteous Law Hall's office, Chen Mobai asked Wenren Xuewei, who was before him. Besides the two of them, Pei Qingshuang was also present, though she was somewhat anxiously pacing by the window.

"I should at least contend for it," Wenren Xuewei said, seeing things very clearly. "I just managed to form my Nascent Soul, which boosted morale. Although I know I probably can't win against Grand Hall Master Qi, if I don't even try, the morale of my subordinates will dissipate."

"Alright, if you want to contend for it, I'll definitely help you," Chen Mobai nodded upon hearing her words. He was about to call Hua Zijing and Zhuang Jialan from the next office, but Wenren Xuewei stopped him with a hand.

"I said, I'll contend for it, but it's just me..."

Hearing Wenren Xuewei's words, Chen Mobai was slightly taken aback, then couldn't help but chuckle. "Alright, I understand what you mean."

Not long after, during the meeting of the Three Great Halls, the leadership of the Azure Dragon Dao Palace was voted on again. The people from Heaven-Mending and Weapon Arts Dao Academies all abstained. Among the final votes, Qi Yuheng was elected with over eighty percent of the votes. Wenren Xuewei's contention was merely symbolic, indicating that the Jumang Dao Academy now had a Nascent Soul cultivator in her. For her, her greatest asset was youth. The Jumang Dao Academy had been weak among the Three Great Halls for a long time. If it wanted to rise, unless a monstrous talent like Chen Mobai appeared, it would have to proceed slowly, step by step. Moreover, she cultivated the Evergreen Art, and her future was promising. As long as she lived, she would certainly have opportunities in the future. Qi Yuheng clearly intended to use this World Opening war to attempt reaching Soul Transformation. Wenren Xuewei's casual approach to contending ended up earning her a favor with Qi Yuheng.

After the ownership of the Three Great Dao Palaces was fully established, the most important people were still needed. The Immortal Sect had a total of ten military districts and a million military cultivators. Venerable Water Lily had mobilized 200,000, but she only had four space battleships activated at that time. This time, the Azure Dragon, Vermillion Bird, and White Tiger Dao Palaces collectively had seven fully equipped ships, so they naturally wanted more military cultivators. Chen Mobai, using his position as master of the Righteous Law Hall as a reason, stated that military cultivators under his command could be directed as effortlessly as an arm, thus maximizing their combat power, and requested 400,000 cultivators. This request was naturally rejected by a joint effort of the Immortal Affairs Hall and the Origin Opening Hall. After some debate among the three, they eventually parted unhappily.

At the Nascent Soul meeting held after the grand assembly, the three sat together again, and finally determined the number of cultivator armies for the Three Great Dao Palaces. Chen Mobai and Qi Yuheng each took 250,000, leaving the remaining 300,000 for Ying Guanghua to guard the home front. However, after this matter was settled, Chen Mobai directly called the various military leaders, asking them to first transfer their most elite soldiers from their respective military districts to him. The Righteous Law Hall Master still held this much authority. Even if Ying Guanghua and Qi Yuheng knew, they couldn't say much, as these individuals were normally trained by the Righteous Law Hall.

After the Three Great Dao Palaces were activated, Chen Mobai frequently led the Vermillion Bird Dao Palace to conduct drills in space, and also constantly stationed himself outside the world gate, to prevent situations on Dragon God Star from occurring where rescue might be delayed. However, he soon discovered that his ability to lead armies in battle was not as outstanding as his combat prowess. But under the Immortal Sect's system, he only needed to know how to utilize talent. Just like that, he discovered that Zhongli Tianyu had a knack for leading armies. The latter, after hearing about the upcoming war, voluntarily relinquished his position as Head of the Enforcement Department and was selected for a spot in the Vermillion Bird Dao Palace's cultivator army. Regarding this, Zhongli Zheng, the patriarch of the Zhongli family and one of the military leaders, strongly supported it. After all, everyone knew how difficult it was to obtain resources within the Immortal Sect. If he could perform exceptionally well in the war, and after it ended, Chen Mobai was promoted to Righteous Law Hall Master based on military merits, wouldn't the position of Deputy Hall Master be Zhongli Tianyu's? Therefore, Zhongli Tianyu joining the army, besides his own preference, was also due to family reasons.

Chen Mobai naturally wouldn't object. After all, the more Golden Core True Men in the army, the better. Moreover, he soon discovered that Zhongli Tianyu was truly worthy of his military family background. Deploying troops, practicing formations, piloting space battleships, and even mastering the South Heaven Gate's Myriad Raven Firelight, the Vermillion Bird Immortal Armor, and other such things. According to him, his Eight Trigrams Mirror, which he cultivated with, contained memories of these things. Later, Chen Mobai only then realized that the Four Symbols Dao Palaces were only truly perfected in the hands of Patriarch Zhongli. Before that, they were merely war artifacts that the Immortal Sect had replicated based on the Numinous Sky Treasure Palace. It was Patriarch Zhongli who, based on the Four Symbols and Twenty-Eight Constellations, equipped the space battleships and the Four Great Heaven Gates. And when the number of Nascent Soul cultivators was insufficient, he further developed the Constellation Immortal Armor. It was precisely because of this that as soon as Zhongli Tianyu touched these items, a feeling of familiarity instinctively emerged in his mind.

"Since that's the case, I'll give you a chance," Chen Mobai said on this day, with an expression that clearly showed his approval, after he had Zhongli Tianyu practice with the Vermillion Bird Dao Palace. "If the Vermillion Bird Dao Palace participates in battle, I will hand over command to you. If you keep winning, the command will always be yours. But if you lose even once, I will have to take the field myself."

"Thank you for your favor, Venerable!" Patriarch Zhongli, who was nearby, immediately expressed his thanks. If Zhongli Tianyu could command, even if most of the post-war merits belonged to Chen Mobai as the commander, Zhongli Tianyu's share would certainly not be small. This was essentially cultivating Zhongli Tianyu as the future Deputy Hall Master of the Righteous Law Hall. At this moment, Patriarch Zhongli was extremely glad that he had pushed Zhongli Tianyu to the Weapon Arts Dao Academy instead of Kunpeng. Otherwise, how could he have gotten involved with Venerable Pure Yang?

"As long as I'm here, you'll never have a chance to take action!" Zhongli Tianyu said this with a confident expression.

"Good, not having to act is precisely what I want!" Chen Mobai secretly cheered in his heart, but outwardly maintained an expression of promoting a junior.

Another two years passed.

Under the leadership of the various Nascent Soul cultivators, the Immortal Sect had already established several bases on Dragon God Star. Some were for mining, some for collecting specimens, and others were for searching for ruins everywhere, deciphering and translating the civilization and history of Dragon God Star. And during this process, in various bases of the Immortal Sect, the sandy ground would frequently crack open, and surging insect beasts would launch attacks.

The Black Tortoise Dao Palace guarded the meteorite crater. Venerable Water Lily dispatched space battleships to escort various bases, protecting the Immortal Sect's collection of the planet's resources. Among these, the remaining three space battleships of the Black Tortoise Dao Palace had also been delivered to Venerable Water Lily. It was precisely because of this, coupled with Venerable Yuanxu and other Nascent Soul cultivators, that although the Immortal Sect's development of Dragon God Star occasionally encountered setbacks, it remained within control.

And during the development process, they also discovered that the underground metal ore veins had basically been completely devoured by insect beasts. Even if some remained, they were already fragmented and hollowed out. Conversely, the earth-attribute minerals were mostly preserved. What pleased the Immortal Sect even more was that in the oceanic regions of Dragon God Star, although all living creatures had been annihilated, the resources in the sea had not been wasted by the insect beasts. The Immortal Sect excavated minerals similar to spirit stones. These contained earth and water-attribute spiritual energy. According to the translations of the Dragon God Star's murals, they were called "Elemental Crystals" and came in many diverse types. However, after the Star Devourer descended, only earth and water-attribute elemental crystals remained.

It was based on this information that Venerable Three Absolutes of the Immortal Sect, researching the alien world's insect beasts, made a significant discovery. The genes of these insect beasts shared a common origin, indeed showing signs of being born from the same mother. Furthermore, their bodies were brimming with gold and fire energies. This was why they particularly enjoyed devouring metal ore veins. The deepest part of the planet's core, moreover, contained infinite geocentric magnetic force and true earth fire. The mother worm relied on these to evolve and even develop such a massive nest. Venerable Three Absolutes strongly suspected that this mother worm had already completely devoured the entire planet's core. If so, it might even be beyond the Soul Transformation realm.

After discovering this point, the Immortal Sect became even more anxious. If it was beyond Soul Transformation, would the Numinous Sky Treasure Palace even be able to deal with it? And soon, Venerable Three Absolutes, based on the various genetic sequences and comparisons of insect beasts provided by the Immortal Sect, found the most primitive form closest to this Star Devourer insect beast. It was a type of ant. Venerable Three Absolutes named them "Gold-Gnawing Fire Ants."