Art of Nine Astrarium

Art of Nine Astrarium...

As Qin Wentian and his companions ventured into the heart of the raging windstorm tempest, a bone-chilling gust of wind struck them immediately. They hastily summoned their Astral Energy, wrapping themselves in a protective cocoon.

Stellar Martial Cultivators, despite their prowess, possessed inherently fragile bodies. Demonic beasts were the fortunate exception. Attempting to endure this tempest with their physical forms alone was madness. Even Qin Wentian, with his robust physique, couldn't brave it without relying on his Astral Energy.

Amidst the tempest's chaos, Qin Wentian held Mo Qingcheng's hand. They moved forward cautiously, side by side, their bodies bathed in a radiant aura of Astral Light. They could feel their Astral Energy depleting at an alarming rate. This was precisely what had claimed the lives of earlier adventurers. Fortunately, Qin Wentian and his comrades had a stash of Stellar Fruits to replenish their energy.

"Qingcheng, let's consume the Stellar Fruits now," Qin Wentian shouted over the howling winds. Mo Qingcheng nodded. They had already covered one-third of the treacherous path, and after munching on the fruits, their energy reserves surged back to full.

An hour passed, and fatigue weighed heavily on their bodies. But finally, Qin Wentian and his group broke through the last barrier, breathing sighs of relief.

"How utterly magnificent," Mo Qingcheng marveled. Seven celestial pools graced the celestial lake, each surrounded by colossal astral stone pillars that seemed to reach for the heavens themselves, coaxing shimmering starlight to cascade like a celestial waterfall. It was a sight beyond imagination.

"It's the Celestial Lake!" Their companions from the Mystic Moon Hall and Ouyang Kuangsheng's group had also arrived. Grinning, they exchanged knowing glances. This journey had been far from easy.

Qin Wentian pulled Mo Qingcheng closer and approached the three members of the Mystic Moon Hall. He smiled and said, "Thank you."

Gazing at the veiled lady, Qin Wentian noticed an unspoken emotion lingering in her bright, clear eyes, leaving him puzzled. Did he know her?

She lowered her head and replied softly, "You're welcome."

Qin Wentian was about to turn to Ouyang Kuangsheng when the latter interjected with a chuckle. "I'm Ouyang Kuangsheng, hailing from the Azure Continent. Even though we're allies now, it wouldn't hurt to reintroduce ourselves."

"I'm Qin Wentian, from Chu, a realm under the Nine Mystical Palace's jurisdiction," Qin Wentian replied with a serene smile. His countenance had transformed from a demonic visage into one of tranquility, his eyes gleaming with clarity, a stark contrast to his earlier menacing appearance.

"How unexpected. To learn you hail from a realm under the Nine Mystical Palace's rule," Ouyang Kuangsheng remarked, genuinely surprised. Chu was a name he hadn't heard before, but the Nine Mystical Palace was well-known. The fact that such a remarkable talent came from a relatively small domain within its jurisdiction was astonishing.

"Haha, no more chit-chat. Let's focus on the task at hand," Ouyang Kuangsheng said with a hearty laugh, his eyes fixed on the celestial pools. Everyone nodded in agreement and marched toward their shimmering destinations, bathed in the unending radiance of starlight.

"I'm going in," Ouyang Kuangsheng declared boldly, stepping into a celestial pool beside him. As he entered, the stone pillars surrounding the pool erupted with dazzling brilliance, shifting and rearranging themselves. The abundance of Astral Energy created an almost suffocating aura. Ouyang Kuangsheng's figure disappeared, concealed by a curtain of exquisite Astral Light.

Qin Wentian turned to Mo Qingcheng and said, "Let's enter as well," leading the way as they entered two other celestial pools.

The remaining two females from the Mystic Moon Hall stepped into the last two celestial pools, leaving only the veiled lady behind. A single tear trickled down her cheek as she watched Qin Wentian enter a celestial pool. Yet, behind her veil, she was smiling, her tears of joy.

"Wentian gege," a gentle, melodious voice whispered, the voice of a young woman.

The veiled lady raised her hand to wipe away the tears forming at the corners of her eyes. She was genuinely happy, knowing that she had finally been of assistance to her beloved Wentian gege.

Over the past year, she had endured numerous trials and had finally met her mentor, who brought her to the Mystic Moon Hall in the Spirit Continent. Her mentor was strict but caring, and although her new life had been challenging, it was also a welcome change from her past solitude.

Seeing her Wentian gege again brought her immense joy.

"Wentian gege, as much as I wish to chat with you, I can't do so now. My mentor is exceptionally strict, and she'd surely find out. I could only secretly arrange for Gu Xing to travel to Chu to aid you back then. Learning that you're well and even became the champion of the Jun Lin Banquet fills me with happiness. You're just as radiant as I always imagined you to be, and now your light is finally shining."

The young lady spoke softly to herself, her only way to 'communicate' with Qin Wentian being through these indirect methods.

"Mmm, you're right. Your fame will undoubtedly spread far and wide. Not only in Chu, not only in the Nine States Cities, but even the Grand Xia Empire will know your name," the young lady remarked, her smile radiant as she finally stepped into one of the celestial pools. In an instant, her figure vanished, obscured by the Astral Light's shimmering screen.

Unaware of the veiled lady's whispered thoughts, Qin Wentian entered the celestial pool. He immediately sensed the pool's saturation with Astral Energy. As he tilted his head to the sky, he saw starlight descending, flowing through the astral stone pillars. It felt incredibly marvelous compared to the torment they endured in the windstorm tempest.

Cross-legged, Qin Wentian entered his dreamscape. The Great Dreamcast Art he practiced notably accelerated his cultivation when done within this realm.

Releasing his Astral Souls, beams of Astral Light shot into them. After Astral Souls underwent grinding and refinement, Astral Light transformed into Astral Energy, coursing back into his body. Gradually, his body overflowed with Astral Energy, stimulating his arterial pathways, meridians, and energy channels.

The sound of rushing energy filled the air as his nine arterial pathways roared to life. Here, Astral Energy seemed limitless. It would be a missed opportunity not to absorb it all.

Qin Wentian understood that for Stellar Martial Cultivators, especially in the Body Refinement and Arterial Circulation Realm, progress depended heavily on Astral Energy accumulation. It was essential to break through. However, when reaching Yuanfu, advancement no longer relied solely on Astral Energy. Yuanfu's capacity was determined during formation. Excess energy beyond this limit couldn't be absorbed. To increase the capacity of Yuanfu and advance further, it wasn't as simple as absorbing Astral Energy. This explained the allure of the celestial lake for peak Arterial Circulation Realm and early Yuanfu Realm cultivators.

The celestial pool immersion lasted three days. Qin Wentian felt his arterial pathways reaching their limits, just a step away from forming his Yuanfu.

Opening his eyes, Astral Light flickered within them. "I've passed the Refinement Grounds test, but where did the Azure Emperor hide the secret? Do I truly need to seek out Fairy Qingmei?" Qin Wentian sighed. As an unknown cultivator, gaining an audience with Fairy Qingmei seemed impossible.

Rubbing his interspatial ring, he retrieved the map of Dicang. There shouldn't be any errors; the marked location on the map was the Celestial Lake Palace.

"Huh?" Qin Wentian's heart raced as the map of Dicang suddenly bathed in a dazzling light. Beneath the starry cascade, ancient-looking words appeared on the map's reverse side, lifting it into the air. These words were crafted entirely from starlight.

This was the authentic map leading to the Azure Emperor's secret, Dicang! The map the Azure Emperor had originally drawn was merely a decoy. The real treasure lay on the flipside, which had been blank until now, only revealing itself under the intense starlight of the celestial pool.

This revelation left Qin Wentian thunderstruck.

"The Art of the Nine Astrarium," Qin Wentian breathed, his eyes fixed on the floating underside of the map of Dicang. It was a cultivation technique, an otherworldly art that allowed practitioners to cultivate up to nine Yuanfus.

The Azure Emperor's secret was real!

Qin Wentian studied the map with utmost seriousness, imprinting the ancient words into his mind. Profound waves of emotion surged within him. In the cultivation world, individuals could typically cultivate only a single Yuanfu. Yet, the users of the Art of Nine Astrarium were destined to cultivate a total of nine Yuanfus.

Moreover, this art could only be practiced during the Arterial Circulation Realm. Practitioners had to follow the art's instructions to cultivate their first Yuanfu, after which it would eventually give birth to a second Yuanfu, and so on.

The number of Yuanfus correlated directly with the number of Astral Souls a cultivator possessed. Normally, in the Yuanfu Realm, ordinary cultivators condensed a total of three Astral Souls. This meant that, lacking talent, they would remain stuck in the Yuanfu Realm with a maximum of three Yuanfus.

Furthermore, once Astral Souls were placed within Yuanfus to be nurtured, those Yuanfus could only absorb Astral Energy directly from the constellation corresponding to the Astral Soul. For example, if Qin Wentian chose to nurture his Heavenly Hammer Astral Soul in his first Yuanfu, he could only absorb Astral Energy from the Heavenly Hammer Constellation. This applied to Astral Light converted into Astral Energy by his Heavenly Hammer Astral Soul as well.

"After mastering the Art of Nine Astrarium, I'll have three Yuanfus in the Yuanfu Realm. This means I'll possess three times the Astral Energy of others," Qin Wentian said with anticipation, trembling at the thought.

Slaughtering opponents at the Yuanfu level would become a simple task. When the time came, dealing with someone like Ye Wuque would be as easy as squashing an ant. How could he not be excited about this prospect?

With these thoughts swirling in his mind, Qin Wentian wasted no time and dove headfirst into his cultivation. It was crystal clear to him that no other place on this vast Earth could be better suited for mastering the Art of Nine Astrarium. Perhaps this piece of the map wasn't crafted by Dicang; rather, he had stumbled upon it within this very place. This might explain why Fairy Qingmei was so determined to lay claim to this area, going so far as to build the Celestial Lake Palace to control the celestial lake.

If this was indeed the case, it further solidified his earlier suspicion that Azure Emperor Dicang and Fairy Qingmei had never truly separated. Their entire story had been an intricate performance, an emotional drama that they had endured, all to create the illusion that Fairy Qingmei despised the Azure Emperor with every fiber of her being. The true tale of what had transpired between them back then must be profoundly moving.

Little did Qin Wentian know that at this very moment, Fairy Qingmei was observing his every move. After thousands of years, a suitable successor had finally emerged!