First Constellation

Within the Lonely Devilwood Forest, a delicate figure could be seen staggering as she walked in difficulty amidst the seemingly endless number of sky-towering trees.

This figure's hair and clothes were disheveled and in tatters as she hugged her bleeding left arm, leaving drops of crimson trickles on her trail

"Pff—" she coughed out blood repeatedly while covering her mouth, leaking it between the gaps of her fingers as her already pale-as-snow face became even more haggard.

However, despite being clearly weakened and fatigued, the exhaustion couldn't hide her valiant and noble temperament which she exuded, clearly suggesting her exalted background and identity. But contrasting her unique irrepressible disposition, this young woman's face could only be described with one word—ordinary.

Her face was so plain that one wouldn't even notice it amidst a crowd of people.

At this moment, she suddenly saw a strange image from her already blurred eyes.

From afar, an out-of-this-world ethereal figure wearing a handsome white robe could be seen sitting cross-legged atop a large boulder.

This figure seemed to be a young man that was younger than her, cultivating within this desolate forest seemingly void of humans.

"...a hallucination?" she whispered in difficulty as blood flowed down from the corner of her lips.

Suddenly, right then, a wave of agony coursed throughout her body as she felt an intense pain ravaging her internal organs and skin.

"Ugh." she couldn't help but grit her teeth as she felt like her insides were being burned and incinerated, while her skin being cut by thousands of razor-sharp blades.

'Is this how everything ends?'

Looking at that immortal figure one last time, the young woman couldn't resist the calling of weariness as she collapsed on the ground, helpless and powerless.

Thud!

**********

Meanwhile, Tian Long was still in the middle of cultivation as his spiritual body broke through the barrier of the 3rd Cosmos and entered the 4th.

Staring at the countless constellations interwoven together, he couldn't help but be in awe of the sheer beauty and marvel of this 'place'.

It was like a river of different and uniquely shaped stars!

From animal-looking constellations to humanoid-looking ones, from armor-shaped constellations to weapon-shaped ones, they were present and too many to count.

'Strange, the 'previous Tian Long' had suffered a tremendously powerful suppression that nearly destroyed his spiritual will back when he reached this layer.' Tian Long thought. 'And that was when he had the cultivation base of Astral Sea realm.'

As he wondered in his heart, Tian Long felt no backlash or any type of violent power oppressing his spiritual will as he continued traversing past the numerous constellations.

'Oh well, no use dwelling on it now.' he smiled. 'I'll just keep going as far as I can.'

Resolutely deciding that, he ignored the temptation of forming an innate-link with a constellation at this cosmos despite them emanating earth-shaking might, seemingly capable of destroying planets and continents with ease.

As Tian Long's spiritual body floated past an untold number of enormous constellations, he finally stopped before a screen of white light that extended onto the far edges of the universe, seemingly endless and boundless.

A forceful pressure radiated from the screen of white light, acting as a barrier between this cosmos and the next one.

However, just like all the previous 'barriers' of the previous cosmos, it was unable to stop Tian Long's spiritual body from entering. Actually, it even acted as if it was welcoming him as not a shred of that powerful pressure descended onto Tian Long's spiritual will.

And then, what welcomed his eyes was the same yet still a shocking scene of myriad constellations hanging at the endless space as far as the eye could see, which still sent Tian Long in a daze, clearly awe-struck.

'Oh?'

Different from the previous cosmos, Tian Long finally felt a significant strain on him this time. He felt like he was being forcefully chained down, shackling his movements as he flew past the endless constellations.

Time passed, and Tian Long didn't know how long he had been floating in space. He didn't know if it had been a few hours, days, or weeks. Maybe even a few months had already passed, or even a year.

Nonetheless, he didn't know as time seemed to be meaningless in this vast expanse.

What accompanied him, however, was the countless constellations that were too gigantic for him to even comprehend how large they were.

At one point, he even saw a constellation in the form of a crimson-colored gigantic human with obscure features, wearing a crown on his head with his hands behind his back, radiating an air of an unrivaled king.

Other than that, he even saw a large dragon that glared at him, sending chills down his spine; its immense size was beyond one's imagination, emitting a dominant aura befitting that of one of the strongest, if not the strongest, race in the world.

As Tian Long continued drifting past them, the formless power that oppressed his spiritual will increased and increased, forcibly slowing him down to the point that his speed was as slow as a turtle's.

Pain racked throughout Tian Long as he gritted his teeth and continued on.

'Keep going!' he declared in his heart, enduring the tormenting pressure as his speed slowed down even further; the pain becoming more unbearable and the formless power being more intense.

A while later...

After what seemed like an eternity, Tian Long finally reached the boundary of the 5th Cosmos as he sensed the familiar, yet clearly more powerful, pressure radiating from the white screen of light.

'Please let me pass through.' he prayed in his heart as he floated towards the boundary.

As Tian Long inched closer, the painful obstruction that he was expecting actually didn't occur as he entered the light, similar to a stone falling into a river freely as ripples spread throughout the light screen.

Opening his eyes, the first thing that greeted Tian Long wasn't the boundless resplendent lights of the constellations but instead a horrifying pressure that forced him to halt on the spot.

"ARGHH!" Tian Long cried out when he tried moving a leg.

When he moved his body, the extreme power that seemed to be the omnipresent rule of the Nine Cosmos sought to invade his very being as it entered him, bringing forth pain beyond one's imagination.

"AHHHHHHHH!!!!" Tian Long howled in pain as he felt the feeling of his soul being pierced and cut by countless blades. However, despite the pain, he compelled his body to move forward.

His eyes barely open due to the agony, Tian Long swept his eyes across the constellations as he slowly floated forward.

Scanning his gaze continuously to find his first constellation, his eyes then locked onto a colossal translucent golden spear with motes and specks of light coursing through its glistening surface. It was like an unrivaled weapon of a god.

One look was all it took before Tian Long's entire attention was drawn in by the spear. He was so focused on reaching the constellation that while he moved as slow as a snail, he had ignored the extreme pain and discomfort that he was experiencing.

It was as if he was in a trance.

After a long time of drifting in the seemingly endless space, Tian Long inclined his head as he 'stood' before the towering spear that seemed to be capable of piercing even the heavens.

He then reached his hand out as his palm touched its surface without any hindrance.

**********

At this moment, within the Lonely Devilwood Forest, an irresistible divine might gathered above the forest, looming atop the position where Tian Long was cultivating at.

Whoosh!

Right then, from the sea of clouds that had formed on the firmament, a golden beam of light descended from above, slowly, as it lit up the entirety of Tian Long's sitting figure. At this moment, he was akin to an immortal that had descended down to the mortal world as he sat on the ground motionless, radiating a sacred and imperious aura.

The powerful behemoths within the devilwood forest were even more frightened of this aura than the one that had appeared the other day. They were scared to the point that they all immediately fled in terror from their habitats and homes as resounding eruptions and explosions reverberated across the entire forest due them trying to quickly escape.

Meanwhile, the one that caused the phenomenon was still sitting in a meditative pose, clearly unaware of what was happening.

After a while, the godly might that had descended onto Tian Long vanished as the atmosphere around the forest returned to normal.

Right now, Tian Long felt absolute pleasure as a foreign yet powerful energy coursed throughout his veins, flowing within all over his body.

Suddenly, behind Tian Long's figure, an incandescent golden light arose before gathering together and condensing a long and thin shape.

A second later, from the resplendent luminosity that had come out of nowhere, a semi-transparent golden spear appeared, taking its place. The wind swirled all over the place as a potent aura spread across the forest.

Right now, this occurrence had officially stabilized Tian Long's cultivation of Spiritual Awareness!

As the golden spear hovered behind him, Tian Long finally opened his eyes as he stood up with a smile and extended an arm. The spear, in response, flew towards his grasp as he clenched his hand, tightly gripping it.

"My first constellation." he laughed in delight as he felt his newfound power.

Everything about him seemed to have improved, from his physique to his senses, from his temperament to his dao heart.

But at that moment, just as he was celebrating inwardly, a figure tens of meters away suddenly caught his attention.

"There's someone else here?" Tian Long muttered before jumping down the large boulder and walking towards the unconscious guest.