Chapter 309: The Boundary Stone and the Artifact Spirit

Mo Huping quickly replied: "Yes."

Then she stepped onto the Heart-Asking Platform and swore: "Disciple Mo Huping swears she had no knowledge whatsoever of Jia Daoyuan exploiting the disciple recruitment process. If false, may Lei Jie strike me down."

The Heart-Asking Platform did not sound an alarm, proving Mo Huping truly had no knowledge of Jia Daoyuan's actions.

Liu Yinzhu exhaled in relief.

If Mo Huping had known Jia Daoyuan was exploiting disciple recruitment to hoard treasures and extort, and had even taken a share of the gains.

Then she could not have saved Mo Huping.

"Because the administrator appointed by Mo Huping violated the sect's fundamental code during disciple recruitment, all her positions are hereby revoked, and she is expelled from the sect."

Liu Yinzhu said, expressionless.

"Master…" Mo Huping panicked.

Liu Yinzhu said coolly: "If not for the Sect Master saving you, you would have perished on the Opening Heaven Battlefield. Yet you casually entrusted the sect's most critical matter to a man who digs at its very roots. Expelling you is not unjust."

Mo Huping looked up at Liu Yinzhu, heartbroken.

Liu Yinzhu's heart softened, and she sighed:

"Review the sect's laws. Under your circumstances, if you hold fast to your true heart, you may still reapply for disciple recruitment in ten years."

"Yes, disciple takes her leave…" Mo Huping knew any further words were Bai Da; she could only choose to leave Blue Star Sect.

If Jia Daoyuan were still alive, she would kill him again—this swine had ruined her Dao path.

She appointed Jia Daoyuan as administrator for disciple recruitment because he was handsome and made an excellent first impression.

Second, Jia Daoyuan came from the great sect Huangshen Sect in the Ascension Realm, indicating talent and potential.

Whether in the Dao cultivation world or the Ascension Realm, once one leaves their original sect, they may freely join another.

Of course, the prerequisite is that the other sect does not mind—and accepts you.

Thus, though Jia Daoyuan had once been a disciple of Huangshen Sect in the Ascension Realm, once he left, he could join Blue Star Sect.

In Mo Huping's mind, disciples of great sects from the Ascension Realm were all outstanding, even superior to others.

This was a subconscious belief etched into her bones; she could not simply shake it off.

Now she understood: her fixed assumptions had doomed her.

…

The Citadel of the Third Dao City.

In Ding Huan's mind appeared a series of images: deep within the Citadel of the Third Dao City lay a black stone.

The stone was covered in layer upon layer of Dao patterns, and these patterns continued to multiply…

Here, no matter how hard Ding Huan tried to calculate forward, he could deduce nothing.

Ding Huan opened his bloodshot eyes; he felt an extreme sense of danger.

What was the black stone?

And what were the Dao patterns increasing upon it?

Ding Huan decided to go down and see.

If even his divine sense could not reach there, how could someone have planted such a stone?

And those Dao patterns—they resembled the Dao patterns he had encountered when refining his iron pot…

Yes, the iron drum also bore similar Dao patterns.

Ding Huan began crafting talismans: he crafted Earth-Submerging Talismans.

Beyond the first few seventh-grade Earth-Submerging Talismans, he forged one eighth-grade Earth-Submerging Talisman after another.

Ding Huan's talisman art was already strong; combined with the vast amount of top-tier materials he gained from the Divine Clan, his cultivation had reached the Star Domain Realm.

This deepened understanding of the Dao further enhanced his talisman-crafting ability.

After more than ten days, Ding Huan felt that if his flames could be raised just a little more, he might even craft ninth-grade Earth-Submerging Talismans.

But Ding Huan had no desire to continue—he already had a pile of eighth-grade Earth-Submerging Talismans sufficient to descend.

Ding Huan did not immediately use the talismans; instead, he relied on his Earth-Submerging Divine Skill.

One day later, Ding Huan relaxed.

The star within his dantian provided ample true qi, enough to let him Earth-Submerge continuously for months.

This greatly reassured Ding Huan—it meant even if he exhausted his Earth-Submerging Talismans, he would not suffocate underground.

One by one, Ding Huan activated the Earth-Submerging Talismans; he needed no true qi at all, simply descending directly.

After more than twenty days, Ding Huan stopped.

His divine sense had already detected the black stone—less than a kilometer away.

Ding Huan arrived at the perimeter of the black stone; in over a month, its surface had gained several new patterns.

The black stone floated within a space less than ten zhang wide, slowly rotating with a regular rhythm.

At this moment, the black stone's surface still carried a faint aura of control.

Though he did not understand why, Ding Huan sensed this was no good thing.

He did not rashly charge in; during his calculations, the black stone was not something easily taken.

Ding Huan carefully examined the surroundings and found no arrays—only then did he relax.

Of course—this was the Earth's core. Even with eighth-grade Earth-Submerging Talismans, he had descended for over twenty days; who could possibly find this place?

Since there were no arrays, he could enter this space and first trap the stone with his own array.

Yet the moment he raised his foot to step forward, he withdrew it.

He was an eighth-grade Array King; not sensing an array did not mean none existed.

Logically, if he had placed a stone here—especially something so important—he would have set up an array regardless.

Even knowing no one could find this place, he would surely have arranged protection.

Ding Huan simply used the Great Wasteland Eye to observe closely; after an hour, he frowned, his face dark as he stared at the black stone.

He saw the formation patterns with the Great Wasteland Eye.

There truly was a formation here—he simply hadn't seen it because his formation knowledge was insufficient.

This formation was constructed using formation patterns; Ding Huan had long known such patterns existed, but he had never reached this level.

Of course, the formation patterns before him were of low rank.

True formation patterns should be invisible even to the Great Wasteland Eye.

Ding Huan carefully observed the formation patterns of this array—it was a Level Nine Concealment, Entrapment, and Annihilation Formation.

If he hadn't used the Great Wasteland Eye to observe, and had stepped in carelessly, he would likely already be trapped.

A Level Nine Entrapment and Annihilation Formation posed a great threat to him, and if he triggered these formation patterns, he would surely alert the one who set up the formation.

After half a day passed, Ding Huan had devised a way to dismantle it.

Ding Huan did not immediately attempt to dismantle this formation built from formation patterns.

He could not construct such a grand formation, but he sensed flaws in its setup.

If there were flaws, then traces must exist.

Using the Great Cosmos Art he cultivated, he could find even the faintest trace—and from it, learn how to lay out these formation patterns.

Once he mastered the basics of laying out formation patterns, he could gradually perfect them.

What he feared most was failing to even enter this level.

The Great Cosmos Art carefully drew the formation pattern array into Zhou Tian, and Ding Huan caught faint traces of Dao rhythm.

Not only that—the formation patterns themselves formed Dao rhythm, their combinations formed Dao rhythm, their carving formed Dao rhythm, directional formation patterns, offensive formation patterns…

The more Ding Huan sensed, the more he realized how far behind he was in formation arts.

The more he studied, the more he felt his deficiencies.

When he once carved talismans, he had thought of formation patterns; back then, the method of laying them out had hovered at the edge of his mind, as if he could do it any moment.

That "any moment" was just a tiny, unattainable gap.

Today, seeing this formation pattern array, he finally found the method of its construction.

From today on, he would be able to independently lay out formation pattern arrays.

Ding Huan ceased activating the Great Cosmos Art and silently thought: this must have been set up by some formation master from Jiuyuan.

Regardless, he owed them thanks.

Ding Huan used no formation flags at all—he learned on the spot, carving several formation patterns into the void, then gestured with his hand.

A brand-new formation pattern flag sank into the space before him, and Ding Huan stepped forward.

The formation pattern array seemed to know Ding Huan was coming—it automatically tore open an entrance.

Ding Huan stared closely at the black stone before him, and suddenly a few words surfaced in his mind: "Star Core Stone…"

The value of a Star Core Stone cannot be described as precious or not—it's simply unseen.

This is a priceless treasure, because only one Star Core Stone exists per planet.

If the Star Core Stone continues to grow, it becomes a Star Core Crystal.

The Star Core Stone before him was not as valuable as a Star Core Crystal, but it was still one of the hardest treasures to obtain in the vast universe.

The uses of a Star Core Stone are vast—if used to forge a magical artifact, it would produce the absolute top-tier artifact.

Aside from forging artifacts, the Star Core Stone had another more vital use: it could be used to assimilate a planet.

Ding Huan sucked in a sharp breath.

He finally understood Jiuyuan's goal—it intended to assimilate the Three Heavens Star Continent.

When the Three Heavens Star Continent was assimilated into a True Spirit World, this Star Core Stone would become its core artifact.

The greatest advantage of using this Star Core Stone to assimilate the Three Heavens Star Continent was that it would not alert the cultivators on the star continent.

Because at that time, the one who came to assimilate it would only need to act upon the Star Core Stone—by then, the Star Core Stone would already have become the boundary marker of the True Spirit World.

When the Dao rhythm patterns on the Star Core Stone were fully covered, that would be the moment the one behind it came to assimilate the Three Heavens Star Continent.

This Star Core Stone had likely been here for over a thousand years; all these Dao rhythms were the Dao principles and rhythms of the Three Heavens Star Continent.

Only a Star Core Stone could collect the Dao principles and rhythms of an entire realm.

As for why Wang Wang Pingdao had once been so confident that he was indispensable…

Wang Wang Pingdao resided in the governor's mansion, directly above the Star Core Stone; while he cultivated, he sent his own Dao rhythm into the Star Core Stone.

When the owner of the Star Core Stone came to assimilate the Three Heavens Star Continent and turn it into a True Spirit World, Wang Wang Pingdao would become the spirit of the boundary marker artifact of that True Spirit World.

Ding Huan was certain Wang Wang Pingdao did not know this—if he had known, he would never willingly become an artifact spirit.

Ding Huan would never allow this to continue.

First, Ding Huan severed all possible teleportation formation patterns around him.

He had indeed not seen any teleportation formation patterns, but what if there were? What if there were, and he ended up fighting someone underground?

After severing the teleportation Dao rhythms in the surrounding space, Ding Huan set up sealing restrictions and drew the still-incomplete Star Core Stone into his ring.

As for the surrounding Entrapment and Annihilation Formation built from formation patterns, Ding Huan ruthlessly tore them all apart.