Chapter 412: Divine Elixir and the Heart-Mind Palace

"This Star-Awakening Divine Elixir—its aura is truly strange." Li Yuan looked at the Star-Awakening Divine Elixir in his palm. The fragrance it emitted was filled with a seductive quality, giving him an uncontrollable desire to completely devour it.

This made Li Yuan feel alarmed.

Many rare treasures contained powerful origins that could exert a fatal attraction on life forms, and even some poisons were the same... but the more powerful a life form, the stronger its self-control tended to be.

"In terms of self-control, I am not inferior to a peak Demigod, yet it can still stir up intense desire within me," Li Yuan thought to himself. "If an ordinary Heaven-Flying rank saw this directly, they would likely be unable to resist and would swallow it immediately."

According to what Li Yuan knew, in the Divine Domain, some gods who were extremely skilled in charms could easily stir up the desires within a person's heart.

Desire would cause living beings to lose their reason.

Time passed.

Li Yuan observed silently, his spiritual sense attempting to penetrate into the Star-Awakening Divine Elixir, only to feel that the entire elixir was a perfectly round whole, impossible to penetrate.

"I was being naive."

"This Star-Awakening Divine Elixir is a treasure born on the Star-Awakening Continent over hundreds of millions of years. Even Heavenly Gods cannot fathom its mysteries, and it only flows out continuously through the Ancestral Realm... For me, a Heaven-Flying rank, to want to break through its secrets is somewhat wishful thinking," Li Yuan thought to himself.

"I might as well use it directly."

Sent along with the Star-Awakening Divine Elixir were instructions on how to use it.

Furthermore, the intelligence passed on by the True God Jiang Yuan also contained a large amount of descriptions regarding the appearance and usage methods of the "Star-Awakening Divine Elixir."

This allowed Li Yuan to confirm that the Star-Awakening Divine Elixir before him was genuine.

"With True God Jiang Yuan giving the order, and since this is my first time meeting that Void God Luo Bu, there is no need for them to trick me on this," Li Yuan suppressed the many thoughts in his heart and calmed down.

The method for using the Star-Awakening Divine Elixir was vastly different from ordinary elixirs.

Other elixirs were nothing more than oral or topical, and if the body could not withstand the medicinal efficacy, it would instead suffer harm.

But the method for using the Star-Awakening Divine Elixir was refinement.

"The divine elixir is like a tool; only by refining it can one absorb its essence." The secret to using the Star-Awakening Divine Elixir surfaced in Li Yuan's mind.

Refine!

"Hum~" With a thought from Li Yuan, his powerful Yuan Force had already fused with his soul power, completely wrapping around the Star-Awakening Divine Elixir before him like flowing water, attempting to leave a spiritual imprint on the surface of the elixir.

The next instant.

"Boom!" An invisible soul impact instantly erupted from within the Star-Awakening Divine Elixir, striking directly at the soul in Li Yuan's mind, causing his expression to change slightly.

Li Yuan's expression changed, not because this soul impact was very strong—in fact, it hadn't shaken his soul at all.

It was like a gentle breeze brushing against his face.

The key lay in this.

"The Thousand-Heart Lotus Platform actually has no effect at all? Not even a reaction?" Li Yuan was secretly surprised. "Is this soul impact targeting my soul origin directly? Must I rely on my own soul and will to withstand the impact to successfully refine the Star-Awakening Divine Elixir?"

This was the first time Li Yuan had seen a situation where a soul secret treasure had no effect.

This was enough to show the uniqueness of the Star-Awakening Divine Elixir.

"Sss~" Resisting the invisible impact of the Star-Awakening Divine Elixir, Li Yuan successfully branded it with his spiritual imprint.

Following that.

"Swish~" The Star-Awakening Divine Elixir, streaked with purple patterns, suddenly softened, and then began to move in the air like flowing water.

This purple stream of water seemed to sense Li Yuan's direction and flew directly toward him.

"The medicinal efficacy of the Star-Awakening Divine Elixir has been activated. If I don't use it, it will dissipate within ten seconds," Li Yuan thought to himself. He was very clear about the special nature of the Star-Awakening Divine Elixir.

One must refine it oneself to use it.

After successful refinement, one must quickly integrate the elixir water into the body, otherwise, it would be wasted.

Therefore, Li Yuan did not resist.

"Swish~" The purple water stream quickly permeated into Li Yuan's skin, and then completely integrated into his entire body, as if it had vanished without a trace.

"This?" Li Yuan was surprised. In just one second, he could not find any trace of the Star-Awakening Divine Elixir in his body.

"Continue following the usage instructions."

Li Yuan closed his eyes, his entire spirit and consciousness concentrated on that mysterious point within his body.

Within this point, however, lay a mysterious starry sky.

This was the Life-Star Space, where eight star veins ran through the starry sky like eight galaxies, reflecting each other's brilliance.

Hundreds of thousands of "ownerless life stars" were scattered throughout the Life-Star Space, unable to form complete star veins.

These ownerless life stars were all life stars that Li Yuan had awakened continuously in the past.

"Every living being has hundreds or thousands of star veins in their body, and each star vein can awaken a large number of life stars, but most life stars often struggle to reach the threshold to form a life star vein," Li Yuan sensed the various parts of the Life-Star Space. "And every life form can awaken at most ten star veins." (Chapter 149)

"This is the limit of star veins that a life form can carry."

Therefore, it was destined that there would be a large number of ownerless life stars.

This was also one of the reasons why star vein awakening became more difficult the further one went; ownerless life stars could not play any role... but when awakening them, one still needed to integrate a large amount of soul power.

And before awakening, no one knew which star vein these life stars belonged to.

Even when Li Yuan used "Spiritual Guidance," he was unable to make a judgment.

Time passed, and Li Yuan only waited for a dozen seconds.

"Hum~" In the Life-Star Space, wisps of mysterious airflow suddenly appeared. This airflow was pale purple, extremely thin, and almost in the blink of an eye, it crossed the vast starry sky.

It integrated directly into Li Yuan's soul.

In an instant.

Li Yuan felt his perception ability improving rapidly, as if it had been magnified a hundred or a thousand times in an instant. In the starry sky all around, those unawakened life stars—which he had previously sensed vaguely and could not distinguish from dead stars—could all be distinguished at this moment.

"Hum~" "Hum~" "Hum~" Subconsciously, Li Yuan's soul had already followed this invisible sensation, quickly differentiating and awakening a large number of life stars.

Swish~ This astonishing perceptual effect vanished in a flash.

A few seconds later, Li Yuan's soul had returned to normal, and everything just now felt like a dream.

But in this short time, Li Yuan had already awakened over three hundred life stars... this could not be fake.

"This!"

"This! How is this possible?" Li Yuan's heart was already stirred with stormy waves. "The strange power contained in this Star-Awakening Divine Elixir is actually the effect of Spiritual Guidance..."

Just now, when he sensed that wisp of thin, mysterious airflow appearing in the Life-Star Space, he had already felt suspicious.

It wasn't until he used it that he confirmed it completely.

Having already experienced Spiritual Guidance three times, Li Yuan could not be clearer about the effect of this power.

"The effect of the Star-Awakening Divine Elixir is very weak!"

"The 'medicinal power' produced by one Star-Awakening Divine Elixir is probably only one-hundredth, or even one-thousandth, the effect of one Spiritual Guidance," Li Yuan judged.

But looking at it from another angle.

If a person could use thousands of Star-Awakening Divine Elixirs, then the accumulated effect would likely be comparable to several instances of "Spiritual Guidance."

"Although the Yuan Nation is a first-class nation and one of the core divine nations of the Star-Awakening Ancient City, it is ultimately just a nation opened up by a True God... And every top ten Heaven-Flying ranker can receive a bestowal of ten Star-Awakening Divine Elixirs," thoughts surfaced in Li Yuan's heart.

A slight calculation was all it took to know.

If one widened their gaze, the number of Star-Awakening Divine Elixirs used every year across the entire Star-Awakening Continent was definitely in the tens of thousands.

Over long years, the number of Star-Awakening Divine Elixirs used was an astronomical figure.

"For ordinary Heaven-Flying ranks and Demigods, Star-Awakening Divine Elixirs are very hard to obtain," Li Yuan pondered. "But for True Gods, getting a large batch of Star-Awakening Divine Elixirs shouldn't be a difficult matter."

Li Yuan was most clear about the magic of Spiritual Guidance.

Never mind thousands of Star-Awakening Divine Elixirs, even if it consumed tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of Star-Awakening Divine Elixirs, if it could create a peerless genius with "Second-Rank Eight Star Veins," it would absolutely be worth it.

"A powerhouse."

"One super powerhouse is worth ten thousand ordinary powerhouses," Li Yuan was very clear about this point.

One super powerhouse could change the fate of an entire ethnic group or civilization.

"But over long years."

"Although the powerhouses of the Star-Awakening Continent generally have stronger awakened star veins, they haven't become strong to an outrageous degree, and nine star veins remain a legend," Li Yuan thought to himself.

Then, there could only be one reason!

"Normal Heaven-Flying ranks and Demigods, even those top-tier geniuses, probably can't use thousands of Star-Awakening Divine Elixirs." Li Yuan flipped his palm, and another Star-Awakening Divine Elixir appeared in his palm.

Guiding his Yuan Force with his spiritual sense, he wrapped the Star-Awakening Divine Elixir again, attempting to refine it.

"Hum~"

Almost exactly like before, an invisible soul impact erupted instantly from within the Star-Awakening Divine Elixir.

"Boom!" The power contained in this soul impact was much stronger than the last time, ignoring the defense of the Thousand-Heart Lotus Platform and striking directly at Li Yuan's soul origin.

Rumble~

Li Yuan's soul and will were both considered infinitely close to the Void God level; the vast majority of Demigods were inferior to him, so naturally, it was very easy to just withstand this soul impact.

Not long after.

Relying on the power of this Star-Awakening Divine Elixir, Li Yuan awakened nearly three hundred more life stars.

The body is the source of the soul.

Therefore, the stronger the body, the more powerful the soul will be.

Similarly, once one crosses the threshold of the Laws and is nourished by the origin of the Laws, the soul also tends to become stronger.

And will is related to one's own experiences, as well as the strength of the soul.

Li Yuan had been continuously cultivating the "Great Sun Starry Sky Scripture," and combined with his many experiences, it was only then that his such powerful soul and will were forged.

"Star-Awakening Divine Elixir."

"Every single one is the same."

"But as described in the intelligence, the more you use, the stronger the soul impact will become... until the soul and will can no longer withstand the impact, at which point the refinement will fail," Li Yuan thought to himself.

On the Star-Awakening Continent, there was an upper limit to the number of Star-Awakening Divine Elixirs every powerhouse could use.

This upper limit was their own soul and will!

The stronger the soul and will, the more one could refine, and the more Star-Awakening Divine Elixirs one could use.

"If I want to awaken 'Spiritual Guidance' more times, I must also have my soul transform to an extremely high level," Li Yuan thought to himself. "This Star-Awakening Divine Elixir is completely a super-weakened version of 'Spiritual Guidance'."

Even the "purple airflow" it transformed into was suspected to be the same, just vastly different in quantity.

Many conjectures arose in Li Yuan's heart.

"What exactly is the relationship between the Star-Awakening Divine Elixir and the Heart-Mind Palace?"

"The Ancestral Realm... perhaps, if I can obtain an Ancestral Realm Token, I might be able to get some clues," Li Yuan thought to himself.

At this moment, Li Yuan's heart was filled with a longing for the Battle of the Ancestral Realm.

It wasn't just to complete the purple-clothed task of that unknown existence, nor was it purely the pursuit of becoming a nine-star-vein powerhouse... he wanted even more to figure out the secret of the Heart-Mind Palace.

What exactly was this greatest reliance for his rise? And where did it come from?

Li Yuan suppressed the many thoughts in his heart: "No need to think too much for now. If I want to seize an Ancestral Realm Token, I must first make my strength stronger. My current strength is still far from enough."

"Use two more Star-Awakening Divine Elixirs."

"Continue." A light shone in Li Yuan's eyes.

In the few years since becoming a Heaven-Flying rank, without Spiritual Guidance, on the foundation of eight star veins, he had awakened tens of thousands more life stars, and the star vein layers of his sixth to eighth star veins had all improved.

But overall, the speed of awakening was getting slower and slower.

How could it compare to the ease of the Star-Awakening Divine Elixir?

Yuan Nation Royal Capital.

Just as Void God Luo Bu expected, after he seemingly unintentionally exposed Li Yuan's identity at the entrance of the Divine Fire Palace.

Within a very short time, the news that "a new Heaven-Flying rank member has arrived at the Divine Fire Palace and is directly ranked in the top ten of the Heaven-Flying List" spread rapidly among the many members of the Divine Fire Palace.

A newly arrived member would normally not cause too much of a stir.

After all, the Divine Fire Palace had nearly a thousand official members.

Among them were about two hundred Heaven-Flying ranks and over seven hundred Demigods... but being directly ranked in the top ten of the Heaven-Flying List meant something completely different.

Especially at this critical juncture of being about to head to the "Star-Awakening Ancient City," it was even more eye-catching.

The Illusion-Truth Hou Fu occupied an area of several dozen kilometers.

As a god with a different surname, being enfeoffed as a Marquis was extremely rare. In the Yuan Nation Royal Capital, the sheer size of the Hou Fu was enough to show the strength of the Illusion-Truth Marquis.

Among the thousands of Void Gods in the Yuan Nation, she belonged to the top tier.

Inside a palace within the Hou Fu.

"Bastard!"

"My spot was snatched?" Leng Yan, who had previously been quite scholarly, had his expression change instantly: "The rankings were already set a month ago; how can they be changed?"

"This servant doesn't know either. It was the Demigod Commander 'Xue Mou' of the Divine Fire Palace who sent the message, so this servant immediately came to report to the Young Master," the purple-clothed woman said hurriedly, keeping her head low.

She was also secretly worried in her heart.

Who could have imagined that a spot already set would be changed at the last minute? This was extremely rare in the history of the Yuan Nation.

If the Young Master were to fly into a rage, that would truly be an injustice.

In the Hou Fu, servants were often killed by the Young Master... many were even tortured to death.

"Who is it?" Leng Yan's eyes were cold, a hint of ferocity faintly flickering across them.

His personality was inherently tyrannical.

His cultivation talent was quite extraordinary, and he was the only son the Illusion-Truth Marquis had had in over two thousand years, so he was extremely pampered.

It could be said.

Among the Heaven-Flying ranks in the Yuan Nation Royal Capital, there were those with higher talent than him, but almost none with a stronger background... There were also Heaven-Flying ranks in the Royal Capital who were children of gods, but very few were only children.

"I only know the other party is called Xu Yuan; I don't know the background," the purple-clothed woman said hurriedly.

"Xu Yuan? In the Royal Capital, I haven't heard of any powerful Xu-surname Marquis," Leng Yan frowned, many thoughts flashing through his mind.

He was arrogant, but not stupid.

In the Royal Capital, there were Void Gods with the surname Xu, but their status and strength were inferior to his mother... It was impossible for them to directly replace his spot.

"What is the background?" Leng Yan thought to himself. "It seems I must go see Mother."

Whoosh!

Leng Yan flew directly out of the palace and headed toward the depths of the Hou Fu.

Along the way, many Heaven-Flying guards, and even some Demigod guest ministers, bowed respectfully.

As a peak Void God powerhouse, the Illusion-Truth Marquis kept over three hundred Demigods under her command, and among them, there was a large group of peak Demigod powerhouses alone.

Soon.

Leng Yan arrived at a palace in the depths of the Hou Fu. It was empty, and even the void seemed filled with coldness.

Hu!

Leng Yan did not walk through the main gate but walked straight toward the pillar in front. The moment he was about to collide with it, his entire body passed through it and vanished from the plaza.

"Mother's cultivation residence."

"All truth can be illusion, all illusion can also be truth. Her illusion techniques have already reached the peak of perfection; this is the origin of the Illusion-Truth Marquis," Leng Yan thought to himself.

He worshipped his mother immensely.

Entering the main hall, the interior was decorated quite elegantly, just like a landscape courtyard.

"Mother," Leng Yan shouted loudly.

"Yan'er, you've suddenly come to me, what is the matter?" A gentle voice rang out, and then ripples appeared in the void. A woman in palace attire appeared in Leng Yan's line of sight, her eyes filled with doting love.

"I wouldn't dare disturb Mother's cultivation," Leng Yan said respectfully; he was very well-behaved in front of his mother. "But I just received news, the Divine Fire Palace..."

Leng Yan quickly recounted the matter, without adding any embellishments, just describing the facts.

He knew he couldn't affect his mother's judgment.

"What?"

"Xu Yuan? He actually snatched your spot? Is it impossible to change someone else's spot?" The Illusion-Truth Marquis's expression changed, a hint of anger flashing in her eyes. "A good Luo Bu, such a major event, and he didn't even tell me!"

Leng Yan felt helpless in his heart. Change someone else's spot?

Although it was true that the top ten of the Heaven-Flying List and the top ten of the Demigod List could privately carry out some operations... these were all private, and it was impossible to fake it publicly.

His true strength was barely able to rank in the top twenty among the Heaven-Flying ranks of the Divine Fire Palace... being able to operate his way to tenth was already the limit.

Continue upward?

The higher the ranking, the easier it was to make mistakes. After all, there would be another assessment in the Star-Awakening Ancient City in the future. If he were ranked fourth or fifth now... it would be very easy to be exposed when he arrived at the Star-Awakening Ancient City.

If it were just for a spot in the Star-Awakening Ancient City, the difference between tenth and first on the Heaven-Flying List was not large.

But who could have imagined that a Li Yuan would pop up at the last minute?

"Yan'er, wait a moment."

Without any hesitation, the Illusion-Truth Marquis was already angrily sending a message to Void God Luo Bu, asking about the situation.

Time passed.

A full two minutes later.

"Yan'er."

The Illusion-Truth Marquis looked down at Leng Yan and said solemnly: "I have already asked clearly. Changing the spot was not Void God Luo Bu's intention; it should be an order and pressure from a higher level."

"Higher level?" Leng Yan was startled. "Mother, could it be the Nation Lord?"

"It shouldn't be."

"If the Nation Lord had ordered it directly, with one command, he could have just sent a message to me," the Illusion-Truth Marquis shook her head. "Perhaps it is some True God, or perhaps some Void God who spent a great deal of merit to exchange a spot for their descendant."

Leng Yan couldn't help but nod.

Within the Divine Nation, besides the Nation Lord, there were several other True Gods whose status was naturally extremely high... Some peak Void God powerhouses, if they were willing to pay a huge price to the Divine Nation, it was also possible.

"Mother, what should we do then?" Leng Yan couldn't help but ask.

"Hmph!"

"That Xu Yuan must have a background, but we must still fight for it," the Illusion-Truth Marquis looked at her son. "I cannot take action directly, but if I want to go find the Nation Lord, I must first have a reason."

"A reason?" Leng Yan was stunned.

Immediately after.

The Illusion-Truth Marquis explained her thoughts and continued: "Yan'er, this is an open scheme. As long as you can succeed, I will have sufficient reason."

"Furthermore."

"This can also be considered a test for you. I cannot protect you for a lifetime," the Illusion-Truth Marquis said in a low voice. "Even if you head to the Star-Awakening Ancient City, whether you can become a god in the future depends on yourself."

"Good," Leng Yan gritted his teeth. "This child will definitely work hard."

He also understood the pros and cons.

In the Yuan Nation, with his mother's protection, it wasn't difficult for him to become a Demigod... but in the Star-Awakening Ancient City, let alone Void Gods, even True Gods were in large groups, and his background counted for nothing.

"Mother, I'll go first," Leng Yan left quickly.

Inside the palace, only the Illusion-Truth Marquis remained.

"Xu Yuan's identity, cannot be disclosed?"

"But absolutely do not think about assassinating Xu Yuan?" The Illusion-Truth Marquis's eyes shifted. In her mind, Void God Luo Bu's warning rang out again.

As gods.

When facing some threats, one of their first thoughts was often to kill directly... dead people no longer posed a threat.

But when facing Xu Yuan, this trick couldn't be used.

"This Xu Yuan's background should be some True God," the Illusion-Truth Marquis's eyes were cold. "But so what if it's a True God? I am a Marquis directly under the Nation Lord... As long as I do everything according to the rules, those True Gods cannot do anything to me."

Because of cultivating a special secret technique, it was extremely difficult for her to have offspring.

Over two thousand years old!

Only then did she have Leng Yan as a son. For Leng Yan's cultivation opportunity, she didn't mind offending a True God.

Divine Fire Palace, inside Li Yuan's residence.

Inside the quiet room.

He had already refined and used all ten Star-Awakening Divine Elixirs in one breath.

"Ten Star-Awakening Divine Elixirs actually allowed me to awaken nearly three thousand life stars in one breath?" Li Yuan sat cross-legged on the jade platform, secretly marveling. "The effect is truly astonishing."

Although it was far inferior to the Heart-Mind Palace.

But the higher Li Yuan's vision became, the clearer he understood how magical the Heart-Mind Palace was... even Heavenly Gods likely didn't have such a strange object.

And the Star-Awakening Divine Elixir? It was born continuously, allowing countless practitioners to use it.

"However!"

"For every additional Star-Awakening Divine Elixir used, the soul impact becomes stronger, and the improvement is not small," Li Yuan thought to himself. "With just ten, the soul impact already made me feel a trace of pressure."

Estimating based on the increase in soul impact, Li Yuan felt that he would probably reach his current limit after using fifty or sixty Star-Awakening Divine Elixirs.

"No wonder they only bestow ten Star-Awakening Divine Elixirs."

"The Heaven-Flying ranks in the Yuan Nation, even the so-called top ten of the Heaven-Flying List, most probably haven't awakened a Demigod-level soul... using Star-Awakening Divine Elixirs, they probably can't even use ten," Li Yuan muttered to himself.

Li Yuan also realized that for the top geniuses of the Star-Awakening Continent, wanting to use a large number of Star-Awakening Divine Elixirs to assist in awakening star veins... probably had to wait until the Demigod level.

"But I am different from other Heaven-Flying ranks."

"I must find a way."

"First, is to obtain more Star-Awakening Divine Elixirs," Li Yuan's eyes shone, his heart becoming increasingly eager. "Second, is to strive to make my soul transform and reach the Void God level."

"That way, not only is there hope for my spiritual awakening limit to reach 100%, but I can also use more Star-Awakening Divine Elixirs."

"Then, my hope of becoming a Heaven-Flying nine-star-vein powerhouse."

"And even a future Demigod ten-star-vein powerhouse, will all be greater," Li Yuan realized where the opportunity of the Star-Awakening Continent lay.

Hu!

Li Yuan was not in a hurry. Having just arrived at the Divine Fire Palace, True God Jiang Yuan probably hadn't even finished forging his identity, so there was no need to be too conspicuous.

... Time passed.

In the blink of an eye, two days later.

"Xu Yuan, your identity has been completely forged. I am sending it to you now. As long as you don't expose yourself, there will absolutely be no mistakes," Li Yuan received the message sent by True God Jiang Yuan.

Xu Yuan's entire identity information from childhood to adulthood in the Yuan Nation was now crystal clear.

"Thank you, Master," Li Yuan replied through the token.

And before Li Yuan could even leave the residence.

A servant had already come to visit and handed over a calling card, saying respectfully: "My master is hosting a banquet at the Nine-Sounds Tower and specifically invites Young Master Xu Yuan to attend."

"Your master? Who is it?" Li Yuan was puzzled. Having just arrived at the Royal Capital, who would be hosting a banquet for him?

"The Fog-Mountain Prince's Mansion, His Highness Jiang Shan!" the servant said quite proudly.

——

PS: The true secret of the Heart-Mind Palace is beginning to reveal a thread!

(End of chapter)