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Chapter 848: Insignificant

Standing on the deck, Xiao Chen looked back at the formless barrier of the sky. He felt astonished in his heart as he wondered where the Immortal Epoch got the resources to set up such a thing.

For them to make such an immense barrier that enveloped the entire Kunlun Continent, what kind of enemy were they defending against? Could it just be Astral Beasts?

Xiao Chen felt that it was impossible. Even the highest rank of Astral Beast—the Destroyers—was only slightly stronger than a Sovereign Martial Emperor. Given the strength of the Immortal Epoch, it was impossible for them to be frightened of such Astral Beasts.

Thus, Xiao Chen disagreed with the prevailing opinion of the current generation. Most people believed that the barrier of the sky was intended to stop Astral Beasts. This belief was likely because the peak of the Martial Epoch was over. In their eyes, Astral Beasts were a horrifying existence that they could not deal with.

They feared that the Astral Beasts’ descent onto the Kunlun Continent would be a great calamity. They judged the thinking of the ancient people of the Immortal Epoch by their own strength.

The Astral Beasts that caused Martial Cultivators such a headache might not have been a problem at all for Immortal Cultivators. The real trouble might be coming from even farther away.

Xiao Chen withdrew his gaze and now fixed it on the vast starry heavens. Now that he was in the starry heavens, he only felt insignificant and nothing else.

He now felt somewhat embarrassed. Back then, he heard that the Supreme Sky Star was just five thousand kilometers from the barrier of the sky.

Furthermore, the bases of most major sects were within this distance. Xiao Chen thought that after he broke through the barrier of the sky, even if he could not find the Supreme Sky Star, he could find the star base of another major sect. He thought that he would not be lost in space.

However, after he came out, he realized that he was badly mistaken. When he looked around, all he saw were infinite stars, uncountable and of many types and sizes. This vista completely surpassed his expectations.

Furthermore, there were other things in the starry heavens—like asteroid belts, rivers of light, black holes—that were forbidden lands. Once he entered them, he would die for sure.

Only now did Xiao Chen realize the importance of a star chart. Without a star chart, traveling in the starry heavens would be very difficult.

Back then, when Xiao Chen followed the two Vice Palace Masters of the Heavenly Battle Palace, he had felt that the journey had gone very smoothly. They had also managed to evade the occasional trouble with ease. Now that he was piloting his own warship in the starry heavens, he did not feel that way anymore.

Don’t be anxious. There should be a starry heaven relay station nearby. Since I did not object to your plan of entering the starry heavens, it is definitely feasible.

Ao Jiao’s voice rang out at the right moment, helping to calm Xiao Chen enormously.

Not daring to act rashly, he only had the Dragon’s Gate’s warship drift in space. He asked, “What is a starry heaven relay station? I have never heard of it.”

Ao Jiao smiled and replied, Given your experience, it’s only natural that you’ve never heard of it. Grandmaster Martial Sages and above are already capable of wandering the starry heavens alone. Starry heaven relay stations are specially made for such people as layover points.

Plenty of independent cultivators establish a relay station purely for the sake of enjoying the scenery of the starry heavens or as a personal romantic pursuit. This kind of starry heaven relay station is rather simple to construct. It just needs a Star Fixing Rock and formations capable of basic defense against meteors and cosmic storms.

The other kind is more professional. Established by large factions, these relay stations dot the Kunlun Realm’s entire starry heavens. They can transport people between various relay stations and also have strong defenses against all sorts of dangers in the starry heavens.

Xiao Chen gained a slightly better understanding. The starry heavens were apparently far more magnificent than he imagined. However, how was he to find these starry heaven relay stations?

Ao Jiao could tell what his doubts were. She smiled and said, Without a star chart, there is no way you can find a relay station. Just don’t move rashly. Let the Dragon’s Gate’s warship fly along the barrier of the sky. Sooner or later, you will run into a relay station.

The vicinity of the barrier of the sky is rife with starry heaven relay stations built by independent cultivators. There is no need to fear not being able to find one.

Not having a star chart was really problematic. However, since Xiao Chen already made his decision, he should not regret it. He perked himself up and asked, “How long do we have to wait?”

Don’t worry. It won’t be long. These starry heaven relay stations definitely have Star Fixing Rocks; their positions in the starry heavens are fixed. As long as you keep flying around the barrier of the sky, you will run into one sooner or later. Furthermore, they are very easy to discover.

Hearing this, Xiao Chen stopped asking further. Then, he reflected on the experience of this trip.

Now that he had reached this level, he could no longer limit his sights to the younger generation. Martial Sage could be considered the top layer of the pyramid.

He would have to face an increasing number of older-generation experts. After some thought, he realized that he had to make preparations for these experts.

In the future, it would be normal for him to run into Superior Grade Martial Sage or even grandmaster-level Martial Sages.

Xiao Chen needed to think about how to deal with these experts and protect himself from them. He also had to ready some trump cards that would allow him to escape the hands of these experts easily.

After a while, he took out the Saber Monarch Grass, intending to use this time to absorb the saber intent within it.

There was a danger zone in the Kunlun Continent known as the Heavenly Lightning Peak. In the Ancient Era, a powerful Saber Emperor had comprehended his Dao there, successfully breaking through to become the Sovereign Saber Monarch.

Eventually, this person disappeared mysteriously, leaving behind many legends in the Kunlun Continent. Some said that he advanced to the legendary Martial God realm, while others said that he died long ago.

Aside from these legends, there was a story about the grass of the Heavenly Lightning Peak where he comprehended his Dao. This grass was initially just ordinary grass. However, when this Saber Emperor advanced to Sovereign Martial Emperor, it mutated and stored the saber intent that he unintentionally emitted.

Thus, this grass became very precious and, furthermore, it continued growing. Every time spring arrived, many Martial Sages would go to pick the Saber Monarch Grass.

Xiao Chen held the Saber Monarch Grass in his palm and sent out his Spiritual Sense. Then, he closed his eyes and started absorbing the saber intent it contained.

“Buzz…buzz…buzz…” Buzzing saber intent appeared in his mind. Thousands of strands of saber intent flew about everywhere, kicking up horrifying waves in his sea of consciousness.

Every strand of saber intent was very terrifying. The high waves crashing around in his sea of consciousness made him feel like his brain was shaking.

Xiao Chen painstakingly merged the saber intent in the Saber Monarch Grass with the saber intent he comprehended himself. The saber intent of the Saber Monarch Grass was overly tyrannical and berserk; thus, the process was very long.

However, he gained many benefits. He could feel his saber intent improving with each additional strand of saber intent he assimilated from the Saber Monarch Grass.

When Xiao Chen collected all the scattered saber intent, his eighty-percent-comprehended saber intent reached peak ninety-percent comprehended saber intent.

Now, the originally formless saber intent in his sea of consciousness was vaguely visible as small indistinct sabers flying around.

This should be the rough appearance of a saber soul. When Xiao Chen’s saber intent reached one hundred percent comprehension, there would be a qualitative change, and a “soul” would be born.

Swordsmen had sword souls, bladesmen had saber souls. Cultivators who comprehended a “soul” would be especially sharp when they used their weapons to execute Martial Techniques, able to kill instantly, evoking fear in others.

Their Saber Techniques would be much sharper. However, it was not that simple to condense a “soul.”

Out of ten thousand bladesmen, only one would be able to comprehend saber intent. Likewise, out of ten thousand of those who comprehended saber intent, only one would be able to condense a saber soul.

Just from this, one could imagine how difficult it was to condense a saber soul.

After Xiao Chen drained the saber intent in the Saber Monarch Grass, the blade of grass withered and disintegrated. He opened his eyes, and it felt like his gaze could pierce through the infinite starry heavens. Its sharpness was unparalleled; others would not dare to underestimate him.

He raised his head and looked around. Then he asked, “Ao Jiao, how long did I spend absorbing the saber intent?”

Ao Jiao counted on her fingers for a while and then replied, About half a month. Hehe! During this time, we even passed by a starry heaven relay station.

Xiao Chen raised his eyebrows and said, “Let’s turn back, then. I don’t want to keep drifting anymore. You remember how to get back to that starry heaven relay station, right?”

Naturally. I remembered it for you.

Xiao Chen turned the Dragon’s Gate’s warship around and controlled its eighteen sails to head in the direction Ao Jiao indicated. Then, he set off at full speed. Eight exhaust pipes at the stern of the warship released a dark red tail of flames.

The Dragon’s Gate’s warship moved like an Azure Dragon soaring through the clouds, looking very mighty.

In less than half a day, a bright bluish-green spot of light appeared in his vision. That was the characteristic light of a Star Fixing Rock. It was unique in this boundless universe.

Xiao Chen’s face lit up in joy. He could not help but increase his speed. The talisman scripts in the ship’s sails flickered with light as they hummed.

The Star Fixing Rock was one of the top one hundred rocks on the starry heavens’ Unusual Rock Ranking. Actually, it did not provide cultivators with any practical help. Its usage hinged on the word “fix.”

A Star Fixing Rock already had a spatial connection. Hence, it could serve as a space anchor, preventing anything bound to it from getting blown away, no matter how strong a cosmic storm was.

It was the foundation of a starry heaven relay station. Without a Star Fixing Rock, there would not be any starry heaven relay station. A relay station that always drifted about in the starry heavens would not be of any help to a cultivator on an adventure.

The price of a Star Fixing Rock depended on its size. A palm-sized Star Fixing Rock would typically cost a Superior Grade Martial Sage about ten years of his earnings. The larger the rock, the more expensive it was.

That spot of bright bluish-green light slowly drew closer to Xiao Chen. When he arrived within five kilometers of it, he could make out the details of the relay station.

Although it was called a relay station, it was actually the chopped-off top half of a mountain peak that had then been flipped upside down with many buildings erected on the flat surface.

The bluish-green light came from the tip of the mountain peak below. That had to be where the Star Fixing Rock was inlaid.

The size of this starry heaven relay station was extremely small, only about one kilometer wide. With Xiao Chen’s cultivation, he could circle it four to five times in one breath.

The buildings on the flat surface were extremely simple—a shop, a few wooden houses, and a large courtyard. Aside from these, there were just some plants and trees around.

Two old men sat leisurely at a stone table in the courtyard, playing a game of chess. Not far away, a seven- or eight-year-old girl was practicing the saber alone. The entire scene looked very peaceful.

Xiao Chen carefully put away the Dragon’s Gate’s warship. Then two clumps of electric light appeared under his feet. In a flash, he arrived at the flat surface and found himself blocked by a formless restriction.

The two old men glanced casually at Xiao Chen but did not pay any more attention to him. However, the girl practicing the saber shouted with a young and tender voice, “Daddy, Daddy, there is a guest. We have business.”