Splitting the Heavens

Chapter 1203: Spirit Chime Stone

“How many cultivators in our institution require Origin Dippers but can’t get one?”

Yan Ming thought for a moment before sighing in a low voice, “There aren’t too many who require one immediately. Probably 2 or 3 of them are waiting for an Origin Dipper to be produced. I should have done enough to be rewarded with another one, and almost everyone would be gathering merits in order to prepare for their future. If they reach the peak of their current level and can’t obtain Origin Dippers due to their leak of contributions, they can only wait helplessly.”

Shang Xia nodded with a look of deep contemplation before he continued, “After I left, what happened on the battlefield? How were the corpses and loot split?”

Yan Ming thought for some time before responding, “By the time I left, the last of the Star Beasts had already been killed. More than a third of the pack had been slain by us and naturally, the corpses of those Star Beasts belong to us. A good half of the remaining Star Beasts were killed by the experts who came after and we worked together with some other great powers to end the rest. That’s where it becomes difficult to split the gains. When I left, Instructor Ge and Instructor Sun were negotiating with the other great powers. Well... Those Star Beasts that were killed without our involvement aren’t really our problem anyway...”

“Let’s trade some of the resources we obtained from the Star Beasts for Star Essence Cores with the other powers or with other worlds in Star Origin City...” Shang Xia mentioned after thinking for some time.

Yan Ming was taken aback and wanted to say more, but she swallowed her words before they could leave her lips.

Shang Xia wavered his hand casually and muttered, “The most important thing is to locate the Star Beast Nest. You should quickly assist Xin Lu and Yuan Qiuyuan as there might be another batch of high-grade treasures located within. After all... This pack is a lot stronger than the pack of Star Beasts that was attracted by the Heavenly Star Palace back then.”

After he spoke, he wanted to turn to leave. However, he looked at the pool of Star Essence Liquid beneath the Starry Tree for some time. He saw the tree that was the height of a man swaying softly with a cape-like treasure hanging on it. The cape-like treasure was sparkling with starlight.

“Golden Crow Blood, Emperor Flow Liquid... With Star Essence Liquid, can we really create a weakened version of the Triple Divine Light Water?” Shang Xia muttered to himself before finally vanishing from the Star Observatory.

He understood that if he continued to remain in the Star Observatory, he would be placing too much pressure on Yuan Qiuyuan. Well... His presence didn’t really bother Xin Lu, but the same couldn’t be said for the young Stargazer of the Tongyou Institution.

When Shang Xia returned from the battle, Yin Jingxu was quickly hurrying the Stargazers of the Heavenly Star Palace to track the location of the Star Beast Nest.

Yi Jingzi, the third Stargazer of the Heavenly Star Palace who returned from the Star Beast Nest Huang Jinghan had been stationed in, was one of the few experts who had the qualifications to speak to Yin Jingxu directly.

“Martial Uncle, even if we manage to locate the Star Beast Nest before the Tongyou Institution, are we really going to try to take control of it under True Immortal Shang Xia’s nose?” Yi Jingzi asked.

Clearly, she knew that even if they located the Star Beast Nest before the Tongyou Institution, it would be useless.

Yin Jingxu glanced at her and mumbled, “Are you sure the Stargazer of the Tongyou Institution will be able to locate the Star Beast Nest? Moreover...”

“Palace Master!”

Before he could finish, he was interrupted by Stargazer Tang Yu. “When we tried to locate the Star Beast Nest by backtracking the spatial tunnel, we were interrupted!”

Yin Jingxu gasped before growling softly, “Did the Stargazer from the Tongyou Institution make a move? Hmph, perfect timing. Use this chance to show them our might!”

After speaking, Yin Jingxu noticed a strange expression on Tang Yu’s face and heard the Stargazer mutter, “Palace Master, they don’t seem to be the Tongyou Institution...”

“Huh?” Yin Jingxu looked at him in shock.

“Palace Master, the disturbance is extremely intense and we’re basically forced to stop tracking the location of the Star Beast Nest. The method the other side is using is far superior to us and I can’t believe how powerful they are!” Tang Yu frowned and mumbled.

With a tight frown locked on his face, Yin Jingxu asked, “Do you mean... That a Grand Stargazer is interfering with your search? Where the hell did the Tongyou Institution find a Grand Stargazer?”

Stuttering with unease, Tang Yu mumbled, “This... Perhaps... Perhaps the Tongyou Institution isn’t behind this?”

Yin Jingxu widened his eyes in shock before grunting softly, “Try to interact with the other party and ask about their identity.”

Yin Jingxu was an Astronomer himself, and it used to be very likely for him to be able to become a Stargazer.

Unfortunately, with his cultivation rising in recent years, he slackened off when it came to the art of observing the stars. He was still a rank three Astronomer, but he had a certain understanding of their ways.

Yi Jingzi interjected suddenly, “The other party said that he’s Xiao Shengyi of the Star Origin City and requested that we give up tracking this Star Beast Nest. He will also send experts of the Star Origin City to explain his considerations.”

Yin Jingxu felt that something was off and he mumbled with unease, “They probably thought we attracted the Star Beast pack to look for its nest!”

“There’s nothing strange about that. After all, no one knows that our Spirit Luxuriant World had another faction with a Stargazer inheritance that had the ability to do the same...” Yi Jingzi sighed.

After a moment of silence, Yi Jingzi asked, “How should we respond? Should we inform them that we’re not the Tongyou Institution?”

Before Yin Jingxu could say anything, his expression changed and he turned to look outside the heavenly screen.

“They’re really fast...”

Turning to Yi Jingzi, he mumbled, “There’s no need to tell them anything. They are already here. From the looks of it, more waves are going to rise...”

After he spoke, he disappeared from the Star Observatory.

...

At the same time, Star Ships started to return with their spoils of battle.

Yin Jingxu hurried over to the Three Unity Island and saw Xing Xingtian waiting for him.

Abiding by the rules of Star Origin City and the Spirit Luxuriant World, even though Xing Xingtian rushed over without informing the Spirit Luxuriant World, he didn’t leave the island. The True Immortals of the Spirit Luxuriant World didn’t see him as a threat and merely sent someone over to take a look.

Seeing Yin Jingxu, Xing Xingtian smiled and cupped his fists respectfully. “The Star Beast pack has been eliminated and from the looks of it, your Spirit Luxuriant World gained a lot. I believe your Heavenly Star Palace definitely gained a bulk of the treasures.”

Hearing Xing Xingtian’s praise, Yin Jingxu sighed but didn’t mention anything related to the Star Beast pack. Instead, he questioned, “I wonder what brings you here?”

The moment Yin Jingxu saw Xing Xingtian, he understood that there had to be a secret involved in whatever they were doing. However, he didn’t mention anything about the Tongyou Institution having their own Star Observatory yet as he wanted to probe out more information from Xing Xingtian.

“Let’s walk and talk. Speaking of which, I haven’t left Star Origin City for a long time and I have long since heard of your Heavenly Star Palace’s Star Observatory. I apologize for intruding, but I hope Palace Master Yin can bring me around your Star Observatory and allow me to widen my horizons.” Xing Xingtian chuckled.

“Camp Commander Xing, you’re joking... How can my Star Observatory be compared to the Star Observatory in Star Origin City? We’re just a little fry in front of you guys and we’re not worth mentioning at all!” Even though that was what Yin Jingxu was saying, he didn’t dare to force Xing Xingtian to remain in Three Unity Island. He simply gestured for the Camp Commander to follow him before flying slowly towards the Spirit Luxuriant World.

While they were making their way over, Yin Jingxu asked, “I wonder what’s the reason behind Grandmaster Xiao’s message? I am extremely confused now and I hope Camp Commander Xing can enlighten me...”

At the side, Xing Xingtian sighed, “It’s nothing much... It’s just that the star curtain has been weakened and the discovery of every Star Beast Nest might cause this region of space containing our Star Origin Dao Field and all your worlds to be exposed to the vast sea of stars and attract unwanted troubles.”

“Star curtain?” Yin Jingxu raised an eyebrow.

Since he heard from Shang Xia about the Star Origin Dao Field’s plan to exploit the various worlds, he felt extremely uneasy with how Xing Xingtian was making it seem like they wanted to protect the various worlds connected to them.

Naturally, he concealed what he heard from Xing Xingtian.

Chuckling softly, Xing Xingtian didn’t say anymore. Instead, he continued to saunter in front of Yin Jingxu before entering the spatial tunnel that led to the Spirit Luxuriant World from Three Unity Island.

Yin Jingxu quickly followed behind him, but his gaze was suddenly attracted to several Star Ships that were returning and he sighed to himself. He wanted to shift Xing Xingtian’s attention away, but Xing Xingtian was the first to speak. “From the looks of it, the Star Beast pack you killed was pretty large... Every Star Ship is carrying a lot of treasure...”

Yin Jingxu forced a chuckle and wanted to change the topic again, but Xing Xingtian grunted in a strange tone, “Huh? Why are the Star Ships flying to another part of the heavenly screen?”

...

After Shang Xia left the Tongyou Elysium, he ran into the Star Ships returning and noticed that almost all of them contained the gains they received after killing the Star Beast pack.

The Spirit Luxuriant World only learned of how valuable treasures obtained from the corpses of those beasts were a long time after the first Star Beast Invasion.

After a Star Beast was killed, other than their skin that could be used to create super large Spatial Pouches and their Star Essence Core, their bodies would usually turn to stone.

The various factions of the Spirit Luxuriant World didn’t know the use of their petrified corpse, but the Stargazers of the Heavenly Star Palace eventually noticed that those corpses were great material to create Star Observatories due to their superior ability to attract starlight.

After they discovered the Star Beast Nest, they realized that if they were to break everything down, they would be able to use the fragments and whatever was contained within to build a Star Observatory.

They also discovered those petrified corpses were extremely suitable when it came to laying down formations.

It was a pity they discovered it too late. The spirits stored in the petrified corpses had already dissipated and they were useless. They also learned that those petrified corpses were called Spirit Chime Stones, and the Star Beast nest also contained a bunch of them. Not only did the Star Beast Nest nurture treasures, they could also ensure the spirituality in those Spirit Chime Stones didn’t dissipate.

The Star Beast pack that came to invade the Spirit Luxuriant World was basically free treasure delivery, and the Tongyou Institution benefited the most from it. In fact, most of their Star Ships contained the petrified stone corpses of those beasts.