Nine Star Hegemon Body Arts

Chapter 5601 Heavenly Doyen Divine Marrow

“This is incredible. I still have at least fifty percent of my astral energy left.”

After leaving the battlefield, Long Chen found a secluded place to examine his astral energy more closely. When he did, he couldn’t help but cry out excitedly.

The power contained within his astral vein was truly amazing. Even now, he still felt like he was dreaming. His single astral vein was more potent than Sha Tiantong’s eight-and-a-half heaven veins combined. Qualitatively, the difference was vast.

Sha Tiantong’s heaven vein dragon qi was like fragile blades of grass, while Long Chen’s astral dragon qi resembled steel wire—unyielding and dense. To make matters worse for Sha Tiantong, Long Chen’s steel wire was thicker than all eight of his strands combined. Their battle had been less of a clash and more of a one-sided display of force.

“Hmm… Although it’s strong, I can’t maintain it for too long. If I ignite my astral dragon qi for the Eight Star Battle Armor, it will only last for a single breath,” Long Chen muttered. 

He didn’t let this joy get to his head and immediately thought about this astral vein’s weakness.

Because Long Chen had just gained the astral vein, his control over the new energy was far from perfect, and too much energy was wasted during combat. Moreover, he was limited by a single astral vein. If he could condense more, his endurance and efficiency would multiply exponentially.

“Senior, didn’t you say the Heavenly Star Daffodil would help me condense astral energy? Has the time come?” asked Long Chen.

After all, the Heavenly Star Daffodil’s fruit had matured, and Long Chen needed more astral veins to stand a chance against multiple experts of Sha Tiantong’s caliber.

“No. To fully harness the Heavenly Star Daffodil’s power, you must first condense nine astral veins,” the Earth Cauldron replied.

“What? Why?” Long Chen was baffled. If he needed to condense nine astral veins first, what was the point of the fruit?

The Earth Cauldron explained, “If you were an ordinary nine-star heir, one astral vein would suffice. But your astral vein is far too powerful, containing an overwhelming amount of energy. If you use the Heavenly Star Daffodil too early, it could be rejected by the Heavenly Daos, and toward the end, its supportive energy may sharply diminish—or vanish entirely.

“To use the Heavenly Star Daffodil optimally, I recommend waiting until you’ve condensed nine astral veins. Better yet, ten. With careful planning, you could use its power to directly condense thirteen astral veins and advance to the Human Emperor realm in a single breakthrough. If you fail to break through in one go, the Heavenly Daos will erect a barrier, making further progress significantly more challenging and time-consuming. You know how crucial time is to you.”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Through the Earth Cauldron’s explanation, Long Chen realized that using the Heavenly Star Daffodil was not so simple. While the Heavenly Star Daffodil could accelerate his growth, using it would alert the Heavenly Daos, possibly sabotaging his progress. To maximize its effects, he had to wait until the perfect moment.

For now, Long Chen couldn’t use the Heavenly Star Daffodil and had to rely on himself. However, condensing a single astral vein used up a terrifying amount of energy. Based on the cultivation world’s standards, condensing the second heaven vein required at least double the energy of the first one.

“But don’t fret,” the Earth Cauldron consoled. “Your first astral vein will exponentially increase your devouring speed. As long as you find large enough energy reserves, your rate of advancement will outpace ninety-nine percent of cultivators.”

Long Chen smiled bitterly. “That’s easier said than done. Finding such resources is no simple task.”

“What are you afraid of?” scoffed Evilmoon. “If you can’t find them, take them from others. The Heaven Vein Mystic Realm is a land of countless treasures. As long as you’re strong enough to claim them, the opportunity is yours.”

Long Chen’s spirits lifted. Evilmoon was right. If Sha Tiantong could find a high-energy area to condense his ninth heaven vein, then Long Chen could find similar treasures—or seize them if necessary.

He already had an astral vein, while the Earth Cauldron, the Demon Moon Cauldron, Evilmoon, and the Heaven Flipping Seal had also awoken. What was there to fear?

With renewed determination, Long Chen launched himself deeper into the Heaven Vein Mystic Realm.

As he was flying, an enormous head broke out of the ground, its mouth snapping shut around him.

The creature was a centipede-like monster, its head alone the size of a small mountain. Its mouth was lined with countless barbs, ensuring no prey could escape once devoured.

“You idiot, you want to eat me? What were you thinking?” Long Chen cursed.

This bug was as strong as a rank-five Divine Emperor from the outside world. In principle, Long Chen wouldn’t even be enough to fill the crack between its teeth. If the creature had merely warned him off with its aura, he might have let it live. But lying in wait trying to eat him like this was unforgivable.

“Waning Moon Heaven Shaking Slash!”

Long Chen swung Evilmoon, starlight blazing as his astral energy smoothly surged.

The saber carved through the centipede’s head with ease, splitting it in two. Black blood erupted into the air, and the saber’s momentum continued, slicing through its massive body.

The terrifying bug couldn’t withstand a single strike. Even Long Chen was surprised by the sheer power of Evilmoon after its awakening.

With a wave of his hand, Long Chen dragged the massive corpse into the primal chaos space.

“There’s something underground?”

Long Chen peered into the exposed underground cavern. A dark red divine light flickered faintly within, drawing his attention.

“Oh? This stupid bug actually found a treasure land,” Long Chen muttered.

After entering the cave, he discovered a divine magma pool glowing with dense Heavenly Doyen fluctuations.

“What are you planning to do?” asked the Earth Cauldron.

“I was going to absorb the Heavenly Doyen energy,” Long Chen replied.

The Earth Cauldron explained, “Why? This is a Heavenly Doyen Divine Marrow. It might possess its own Heavenly Doyen energy, but if you absorb it directly, you won’t get much. However, you can use it to draw over a thousand times the Heavenly Doyen energy from the surroundings.”

“You mean like Sha Tiantong?” asked Long Chen.

“Correct. Sha Tiantong built an altar on top of a similar divine marrow and then gathered the power of millions of devil experts to aid him in condensing his ninth heaven vein.”

“But I don’t know how to build such an altar,” replied Long Chen. 

“Who needs an altar? You have me. I will teach you how to condense the Four Guardians Heaven Merging Formation. It takes only the time of an incense stick to complete.”

Information flowed into Long Chen’s mind as the Earth Cauldron’s runes quivered.

Without hesitation, Long Chen started forming hand seals. Hundreds of seals coalesced into four radiant runes, which expanded to the four corners of the divine pool.

The runes detonated, transforming into towering heavenly pillars. The divine pool boiled, and a tremendous surge of Heavenly Doyen energy started converging from every direction.

Summoning his divine ring, Long Chen sat in midair, and a massive whirlpool formed around him as he devoured the energy. Behind him, the stars ignited one by one, their flames converging in one spot.

Long Chen couldn’t help but feel overjoyed upon seeing that. His second astral vein was on the verge of forming.

BOOM!

A streak of blood-colored divine light suddenly shot toward Long Chen, accompanied by a crushing pressure that made his chest tighten.