CHAPTER 644: CHAPTER 264: AT ALL COSTS_2

After the exchange, the starlight on the face of Vermilion Bird True Man turned dark and changing; looking at the shattered jade tablet in front of him, he still couldn’t find peace.

It had been more than forty years since Baidou Divine Sect’s Vermilion Bird Palace last lost the Star Official Seal.

That time, the Sect Hierarch was furious.

He ordered the previous Vermilion Bird True Man to find it within a deadline.

He didn’t specify what the consequences would be if it wasn’t found.

But in the end, the consequence was that the Star Official Seal wasn’t recovered, and the former Vermilion Bird True Man also disappeared.

It was unknown whether he died.

Or whether he was punished and imprisoned by the Sect Hierarch.

But he vanished just the same.

Afterwards, it was his turn to take office as the new Vermilion Bird True Man.

The advantages of being the Vermilion Bird True Man no longer needed mentioning; over the past forty plus years, he had experienced it himself, his Cultivation Level advancing by leaps and bounds.

He also held enormous authority, saying it was comparable to an emperor was no exaggeration.

But if the Star Official Seal was lost...

On New Year’s Day each year, the Hierarch would hold a grand ceremony to pay homage to the Star Battle gods, which would summon the Four Phases Star Palace and the twenty-eight constellations to pay their respects from afar. At that time, the Hierarch would discover the loss of the Star Official Seal.

There was less than two months until New Year’s Day.

After the discovery, the Hierarch would most likely give him three months to retrieve it.

So, theoretically, he had at most five months to recover this Star Official Seal.

Of course, the best scenario would be to find the lost Star Official Seal before New Year’s Day.

As long as the Hierarch didn’t discover it, it would be as if the incident never happened.

Otherwise, even if he managed to recover it after the Sect Hierarch knew about it, his time as the Vermilion Bird True Man was likely over, and he would be reassigned elsewhere.

"How many fourth-tier ninth-layer elites do we have in the palace?" Suddenly, Vermilion Bird True Man spoke up and asked.

When the Grand Steward of Vermilion Bird Palace was questioned, it was as if he had been granted amnesty, and he quickly kowtowed and replied, "Replying to True Man, among core believers who cultivate within the palace, there are three fourth-tier ninth-layer elites, and a total of eight fourth-tier late-period elite believers.

Outside the palace, there are twelve disciples at fourth-tier ninth-layer on missions, and more than seventy at the fourth-tier late-period..."

"We don’t need those outside the palace; their loyalty cannot be guaranteed, and their combat power is insufficient. Immediately arrange for these eight fourth-tier late-period elites to head to Galaxy Pass and await orders.

Once the orders are issued, have them invade the Fire Cloud Star Domain.

Even if they must sacrifice themselves to the True God, they must snatch back the Star Official Seal," the Vermilion Bird True Man said.

"I will heed True Man’s divine decree and arrange it promptly."

After the Grand Steward of Vermilion Bird Palace left, the Vermilion Bird True Man pondered a few moments on his divine throne before dissolving into starlight and disappearing.

Only then did the whole Vermilion Bird underground palace breathe a sigh of relief.

*****

In Wind Spirit City within the Fire Cloud Star Domain, Xu Jin, who was cultivating, once again gained a new understanding of the storage capacity within the Star Battle True God.

It may seem like most of the Star Power within the Star Battle True God had been depleted, leaving only a small portion remaining.

But even just this small remaining portion allowed Xu Jin’s Central Star Palace to be rapidly elevated to the peak of the fourth-tier first layer.

Just as Xu Jin intended to use this vast amount of Star Power to condense another Star Core and break through to the second layer of the fourth tier in one go, it suddenly dawned on him.

He couldn’t break through anymore!

Gold Star and Bright Star, ah.

The rule for challenging the Golden Star Bright Star in the Star-picking Secret Realm was that each time your Cultivation Level breached a minor realm, your challenge attempts would reset, but they wouldn’t be retained.

Having broken through from the peak of the third-tier ninth-layer to the first layer of fourth-tier Star Condensation, it meant that Xu Jin had gained the qualification to challenge Gold Star and Bright Star again.

With Xu Jin’s current combat power, it was highly likely he’d be successful in acquiring Gold Star and Bright Star.

But if Xu Jin were to break through to the fourth-tier second layer in one go, he would miss the opportunity to challenge at the first layer of the fourth tier.

Missing out on two incredibly precious Gold Stars and one Bright Star.

Therefore, he could not break through any further.

Even if he couldn’t advance the cultivation in his Central Star Palace, Xu Jin could still improve the Lower Star Palace.

The next instant, Xu Jin directed the vast Star Power toward his Lower Star Palace to attempt a breakthrough in its Cultivation Level.

At the same time, the Star Core in his Upper Star Palace spun, slowly absorbing the leaking Divine Soul Power from within the Divine Statue.

In various handbooks that Xu Jin had previously obtained from the branch Star-picking Tower, it had records on how to deal with the power inside the Star Battle True God Statue.

How to maximize absorption.

How to avoid waste.

All these aspects had been researched.

This shows just how severe the Lingji Star Hall’s blow (affection) for the Baidou Divine Sect was back in the day.

Xu Jin had now learned as well.

While absorbing, he used Star Power and Divine Soul Power combined to seal the leaks within the Star Battle True God Statue.

He strove not to waste even the slightest bit of Divine Soul Power.

With the breakthrough in the Central Star Palace, Xu Jin was already experienced; the Lower Star Palace’s breakthrough went without saying.

However, for the base Star Pattern of the Lower Star Palace, the first pattern Xu Jin chose was the Great Gathering Star Pattern.

From the handbooks he had previously acquired, there had been research by seniors from the Lingji Star Hall suggesting that engraving multiple Mingji Star Patterns could slightly enhance one’s sensing range and abilities.

But this was only one opinion found amongst the records.

Xu Jin planned to conduct a test after settling down and determining which Star Skill to engrave for the second Star Core of his Central and Lower Star Palaces.

For now, he would first engrave the more certain Great Gathering Star Pattern.

Of course, the key reason was that the Great Gathering Star Pattern was faster; for the current Xu Jin, it could be engraved in just a few breaths.

The Mingji Star Pattern was relatively more complex.

After 15 mins, Xu Jin’s second Star Core for the Lower Star Palace emerged, and his Cultivation Level broke through to the early period of the fourth-tier Star Condensation first layer.

Xu Jin had initially thought that his Lower Star Palace’s Cultivation Level could reach the peak of the fourth-tier Star Condensation first layer.

But when the Lower Star Palace’s Cultivation Level reached the late period of the fourth-tier Star Condensation first layer, the Star Power inside the Star Battle True God Statue was completely depleted.