No one expected the Star Master of the Starry Sect to lose his composure. Even the discovery of the Taiyuan Immortal Mansion hadn't shaken him, yet a single divine ability managed to make his expression change drastically. It was clear that the "Limitless Star Palace" must be deeply connected to the Starry Sect.
Fang Han suddenly recalled that the place he had entered earlier was called the Taiji Star Palace.
In the Daoist classics, it is said: The Unlimited gives birth to the Taiji, the Taiji gives birth to Yin and Yang.
Was there some hidden connection?
At that moment, the Star Master said nothing further. He simply extended his hand and seized the "infant-like" Xingyun Baobao, examining him with his vast mana. Before long, he seemed to have detected the secrets within the Limitless Stars Codex. Xingyun Baobao had already begun cultivating this peerless art, forming astral qi. Although it was far from true mastery, it was enough for the Star Master to sense its essence.
"Senior," Fang Han said, "Xingyun Baobao is still at the earliest stage. If you wish to understand the codex more fully, I can show you the entire formation."
He flicked his fingers, and a book composed entirely of starlight flew out. Its pages turned themselves, and countless stars pulsed within, alongside dense—and still largely uncomprehended—runes. This supreme divine ability he had seized from the Star-Extinguishing Thief was profound beyond measure.
"Oh?"
The Star Master fixed his gaze on the floating starlight tome. He remained motionless, immersed in its mysteries.
One day passed.
Two days…
Three days…
Fang Han sat in meditation throughout, patiently circulating the divine ability.
Only after seven full days did the Star Master's eyes snap open.
"I understand it! The true essence of the Limitless Stars Codex! With it, the weaknesses in the Starry Sect's Dao arts are fully mended. From today forward, our arts stand complete—no longer inferior to the Limitless Star Palace. This will spare the sect a great disaster in the future!"
As he spoke, a massive tome of starlight emerged above his head—his own version of the Limitless Stars Codex.
It was ten times the size of Fang Han's and far denser, emanating a power capable of holding entire constellations. In just seven days, the Star Master had cultivated this supreme divine ability to completion, leaving Fang Han inwardly speechless.
The Star-Extinguishing Thief had spent centuries to comprehend it. Yet the Star Master… seven days.
Then again, the man was the grandmaster of the Starry Sect, one of the timeless giants, with astronomical reserves of celestial force and a lifetime devoted to star-based dao. For him to complete the art so quickly was not impossible.
"Fang Han," the Star Master said, "you've done me a great favor by letting me understand this codex. If I had known earlier that the Star-Extinguishing Thief was a man of the Limitless Star Palace, I would not have waited until now to act."
He closed his own stellar tome, his aura shimmering with newfound insight.
"This divine ability is extremely powerful. Once fully cultivated, it is no weaker than your Five Emperors Demon Divine Ability. But the thief only had half the method, so his power was incomplete. I have spent seven days, drawn upon the full foundation of the Starry Sect, and exhausted a thousand years of lifespan to deduce the complete version. I will now pass it to you—my return gift."
A profound stream of will surged into Fang Han's mind.
The moment he touched it, he recognized it: the complete Limitless Stars Codex, accompanied by the Star Master's personal insights.
His understanding of star-based dao instantly rose to a whole new level.
If anyone in the world understood the Way of the Stars more deeply than the Star Master—there was no such person.
"Good. Study it well; it will benefit you for the rest of your life," the Star Master said. "But be careful—if you ever meet someone from the Limitless Star Palace, make sure you never reveal that you possess this divine ability. The consequences would be… severe."
"Is the Limitless Star Palace even stronger than the Taiyi Sect?" Fang Han asked.
"Of course. But it does not belong to our Xuanhuang World," he replied. "In the endless cosmos, countless worlds exist. Those desolate temples you explored were left behind by ancient Buddhist cultivators. In the depths of the universe exists Buddhist holy lands a thousand times greater than the Taiyi Sect. You cannot begin to imagine how vast this world truly is. As wide as your heart is, so wide is the world. Once you reach the Life-Extension Realm and sense the Immortal Realm, everything will open before you."
Fang Han remembered hearing that phrase once before—from Bai Haichan, also a disciple of the Starry Sect.
He also remembered Bai Haichan's request: steal the Yuhua Immortal Ascension Scripture and present it to the Star Master for resurrection. But Fang Han now understood that not even the Star Master could resurrect him—and certainly would not.
The matter left Fang Han quietly confused… but it would have to wait until he reached the pinnacle of the Life-Extension Realm.
"Good. Seeing you and Xingyun Baobao looking after each other pleases me greatly," the Star Master said. "I will now go into seclusion. Once I emerge, I will meet with Feng Baiyu to discuss important matters."
"Oh—one more thing. Linglong Immortal Venerable's four-thousandth birthday is in three months. I cannot go, yet I must be represented. I will send Baobao. You are to escort him. I will provide the gift when the time comes."
A star-shaped token fell into Fang Han's hand.
"This is a VIP token of the Starry Sect. You may move freely here. For these three months, stay and cultivate."
A powerful wave swept Fang Han and Xingyun Baobao out of the Taiji Star Palace.
Fang Han weighed the gourd in his hand. "A whole gourd of sentient wish-power… Worth every trade. Far purer than battle qi."
With it, he could expand his consciousness sea further and even refine the Nine Ghost Immortal Souls.
Refining them before forming the Golden Core would allow him to incorporate their thirty-plus divine abilities into his life-bound supernatural ability, raising his natural lifespan to the maximum: nine thousand years.
Refining them after Golden Core would only boost power—without affecting lifespan.
"Baobao, where should I cultivate?"
"Come to my Xingyun Peak," the child said, pointing to a distant mountain shrouded in star mist and flowing astral clouds.
"Good."
Fang Han landed atop the peak, released the Blood Skyblade to orbit protectively, then entered the palace and sat cross-legged in the pill room. His consciousness sank directly into the Yellow Springs Diagram.
Inside the Abyss Gate, within the roaring demonic tides, floated a three-headed, six-armed fiend wielding skull staves and murderous implements—the Nine Ghost Immortal Souls cultivated by the Ghost Emperor for over three thousand years.
All his thoughts had been refined away, leaving only pure mana and powerful divine formations.
"Thirty… thirty-four divine abilities," Fang Han whispered as he examined the Nine Ghost Immortal Souls. "If I refine them all… that gives me ninety divine abilities."
Ninety!
A number capable of shaking worlds.