Chapter 422: The Star Transformation Is Mine!

Boom!

A flood of information containing the true essence of sword Dao and the mysteries of the stars, as if it had waited for ages and finally found an outlet, surged violently into his mind through the connection between the sword armor and Chen Mu.

The Star Transformation!

Followed by an expansive, profound scripture of visualization, star trajectories, mental cultivation methods, and numerous secrets related to the "Life Palace"!

Though vast, the information was clearly structured, pointing directly to the core of martial cultivation.

Chen Mu immersed his spirit within it, greedily absorbing and comprehending.

The most crucial step in breaking from Earth Altar Realm to Tiangong Realm lies in awakening one's own "Life Palace"!

The "Life Palace" resides at the deepest, most central void within the mind sea—not a physical entity, but a primordial spiritual core representing the origin and potential of life.

Before reaching Earth Altar Realm, cultivators condense their spiritual bodies only within the "periphery" or "surface" of the mind sea, utterly unable to touch or even perceive the existence of the "Life Palace."

Only through a specific, advanced "visualization method" can the spiritual body gradually penetrate deeper into the mind sea, faintly sensing the approximate location of the "Life Palace."

Then, guided by the visualization method and using one's own spiritual force as material, one must painstakingly construct a staircase within the mind sea leading to the "Life Palace."

This is the "Ascension of the Soul Altar!"

After forging the Divine Bridge, condensing the Three Flowers, harmonizing the Five Qi, and perceiving one's true self, the final stage of Earth Altar Realm is the "Ascension of the Soul Altar!"

The higher and more stable the Soul Altar, the closer the spiritual body draws to the "Life Palace," the clearer the perception, and the greater the success rate and potential when eventually breaking into Tiangong Realm and awakening the Life Palace!

Since breaking through to See God Unbreakable, Chen Mu had continuously honed his spiritual awareness and accumulated spiritual power, all to lay a solid foundation for this "Ascension of the Soul Altar."

But without a visualization method, he had never truly begun this process.

Now, The Star Transformation is in his hands!

This visualization method, left behind by Duan Tianhe, the Sword Lord of the Heavenly River, and activatable only through the complete sword armor, finally illuminated his path ahead!

The flood of information slowly subsided, every detail deeply etched into Chen Mu's memory—understanding may still require time, but the cultivation method was now crystal clear.

Chen Mu exhaled a long, stale breath, his eyes gleaming with determination and anticipation for the future.

He did not immediately begin visualization practice.

Having just encountered such an advanced method, he needed to quiet his mind, reflect, and adjust his state.

With a thought, light flowed over his body; the complete Heavenly River Sword Armor dissolved into specks of starlight, along with Tianzong Yun Sword, retracted into the space within his palm.

This set of armor integrates attack, defense, flight, enhancement, and even auxiliary cultivation—its power is limitless.

But as its name suggests, it is far too conspicuous; once revealed, it would inevitably draw covetous eyes.

Unless facing a life-or-death enemy or in an absolutely secure environment, Chen Mu would never use it lightly.

The same applied to Tianzong Yun Sword—its divine blade's radiance must remain a hidden trump card, never casually displayed.

After stowing the armor, Chen Mu felt a faint weariness—not physical, but the natural response of his spirit after absorbing immense information.

He sat cross-legged, activated the Heavenly River Scripture, restoring his true qi and nurturing his spiritual awareness.

Outside the window, night was thick as ink.

After an unknown length of time, when Chen Mu opened his eyes again, dawn had begun to lighten the sky beyond the window; morning light filtered through the paper, bringing a touch of warmth.

He rose, stretched his limbs, washed up simply, changed into a clean set of ordinary clothes, and once again disguised himself as Qin Shuang.

Pushing open the door, the morning air carried a chill; the streets already held early risers and vendors.

After yesterday's chaos and tension, the morning of Wulong Prefecture felt unusually quiet, yet faintly carried the atmosphere of survival after disaster.

Chen Mu strolled to a corner breakfast stall, ordered a bowl of plain porridge and a few side dishes, ate slowly, while listening intently to the low murmurs of diners and passersby.

Indeed, news of yesterday's great battle on the western highway had spread like wings across Wulong Prefecture.

"... Did you hear? Yesterday there was a fight on the western highway! Man, the ground shook—I felt my house sway even inside the city!"

"That's right! I heard the Mo Sect ambushed the Mo family's treasure convoy bound for Juling Sect!"

"The Long Life Sect! Those scum of the Long Life Sect! And other demonic brats!"

"Tsk, the Baoxiang Mo family—one of the Eight Great Clans—their treasure must've been incredible. Too bad, I heard a lot was stolen..."

"Stolen? Not that easy! Later, Juling Sect's reinforcements arrived and slaughtered those demonic brats, screaming and crying—I heard they killed over half!"

"Sigh, pity we're too low in cultivation—if we'd rushed over then, maybe we could've picked up some leftovers..."

"Dream on. With your third-rate skills? Go pick up leftovers? You'd get picked up as a snack for the Mo Sect instead. Didn't you see how many warriors returned to Huicheng yesterday, wounded? I heard many died!"

Inside Hero Tower, the rumors were far more detailed and explosive.

When Chen Mu stepped back into the Hero Tower's main hall, it was already roaring with voices—nearly everyone was discussing yesterday's shocking battle outside the city.

"The Mo family suffered heavy losses—I heard several escorting experts died, much of the treasure was stolen, even the central carriage was shattered!"

"The Long Life Sect is insane—daring to strike under Juling Sect's nose!"

"Do you think Juling Sect's reinforcements arrived so fast? Did they get wind of it beforehand?"

"Of course! Would Juling Sect be unprepared for something this big? I heard their leader was a Tiangong Realm elder. As soon as he arrived, that aura—tch, the Mo Sect's leaders were terrified out of their wits!"

"Too bad some escaped. That ancient demon of the Long Life Sect is slippery—he fled the moment things turned bad."

"The remaining Mo family members and treasure have been escorted into Lingwu City by Juling Sect, right? Now they're safe."

"Safe? I doubt it. The Mo Sect suffered a massive blow—will they just let it go? Shannan Dao will only grow more chaotic..."

Chen Mu found a corner seat, ordered a pot of tea, and listened quietly.

From the chatter, he pieced together the aftermath.

Shortly after he left with Tianzong Yun Sword via earth tunneling, Juling Sect's reinforcements—a team led by a Tiangong Realm expert—arrived on the scene, crushing the remaining Mo Sect forces with Lei Ting force, slaying over half, rescuing the surviving Mo family members and some unrecovered treasure, and escorting them to Lingwu City.

The withered old man of the Long Life Sect, who had reached See God Unbreakable, sensed the danger early and barely escaped.

As for the vanished Great Stone, amidst yesterday's chaos and everyone scrambling for other obvious treasures, it seemed to have drawn little attention—or if noticed, was assumed destroyed or lost in the melee, never becoming a focus of discussion.

This suited Chen Mu perfectly.