Chapter 477: Heavenly Palace Realm, Chen Mu!

Chen Mu opened his eyes, a hint of loss flickering in them, but more so, clarity.

He turned his gaze inward to his spirit sea.

The small spirit figure still stood at the center of the Mandate Palace.

The repulsive force remained, stronger than before, yet the small figure stood firm as a boulder, utterly unmoved.

It stood there, as if it had become part of the Mandate Palace itself.

The second step, completed.

……

Outside the Wu Qu Star Hall.

"The Mandate Palace is stable," said the Tianfu Star Lord softly. "The second step is done."

The Taiyang Star Lord nodded. "Next is the third step—drawing in the power of heaven and earth, leaving a covenant."

"This step is the most perilous!"

The Di Kong Star Lord said gravely, "Extending your spiritual awareness to draw heaven and earth's power into your body—any misstep invites backlash. Heaven and earth's power is not a docile lamb; it is a wild beast in frenzy."

"How much to draw, how to draw it, how to tame it afterward—each step holds danger. Many who break through to the Heavenly Palace Realm get stuck here, unable to complete it for years, even decades."

"Wu Qu should be fine."

The Tianxi Star Lord said, "If he could advance from the Earth Altar to this point in just a few years, he must have his own extraordinary strengths."

Everyone nodded and continued watching in silence.

……

Inside the hall.

Chen Mu took a deep breath and began the third step.

This step requires extending spiritual awareness to draw heaven and earth's power into the body, leaving behind a "covenant."

With this covenant, he will one day be able to manipulate heaven and earth's power at will in battle.

Then, a single palm strike will no longer be mere true qi, but wrapped in the might of heaven and earth.

A single punch will stir wind and clouds, altering the heavens.

Its power is boundless.

But the test lies in the strength or weakness of the spirit soul.

The stronger the spirit soul, the more heaven and earth's power it can draw, the more stable the covenant, and the greater the future combat power.

The weaker the spirit soul, the opposite.

If too little heaven and earth's power is drawn, the covenant will be unstable, and later, when controlling heaven and earth's power, he will find himself powerless.

Chen Mu did not hesitate—he pulled out a stack of cards.

Soul-Enhancing Card. Spirit-Focusing Card.

One, two, three… a full hundred cards!

All saved up over time.

Chen Mu used them one by one.

The instant the cards dissolved, pure streams of spiritual energy surged into his spirit sea.

As soon as all the spiritual energy entered the Mandate Palace, the small spirit figure tamed each stream, transforming it into the purest spirit-soul force and absorbing it into itself.

The small figure's glow grew brighter and brighter.

From pale gold to bright gold, from bright gold to radiant as the sun—when the final card's power was fully absorbed, Chen Mu's spirit-soul strength had surged to an unprecedented height.

Within his spirit sea, golden light blazed ten thousandfold!

Within the Mandate Palace, the small figure stood like a god!

It was time.

Chen Mu closed his eyes and extended his spiritual awareness!

……

Outside the Wu Qu Star Hall, the Star Gods all reacted in shock.

"This spiritual awareness…"

The Taiyang Star Lord said gravely, "So strong!"

The Tianfu Star Lord nodded, astonished. "Several times stronger than an average beginner in the Heavenly Palace Realm. When I broke through, my spirit-soul strength was less than half his."

"What secret method did he use?" asked the Di Kong Star Lord, puzzled.

No one could answer.

They could only "see"—

Inside the Wu Qu Star Hall, a vast spiritual awareness surged forth like a tidal wave, spreading in all directions!

So powerful was this spiritual awareness that it solidified in the void, forming faint ripples that expanded outward in concentric circles.

Where the ripples passed, even the white clouds within the Star Palace were pushed aside, creating a vacuum zone spanning several li in diameter!

The spiritual awareness pierced through the hall's walls, through the Star Palace, extending all the way into the depths of the void!

Then, it began to draw in heaven and earth's power.

The Star Palace was an independent space, yet it still contained heaven and earth's power.

But here, heaven and earth's power was denser and purer than outside.

Chen Mu's spiritual awareness became countless invisible hands, probing the void, grasping strands of heaven and earth's power, slowly pulling them toward himself.

One strand, two strands, ten strands, a hundred strands…

The heaven and earth's power gathered increasingly, gradually coalescing into a massive vortex above his head!

The vortex, over ten zhang in diameter, rotated slowly, radiating a terrifying pressure.

At the center of the vortex was a light existing between reality and illusion—the color of heavenly and earthly power compressed to its extreme.

The Star Lord of Ju Men silently watched this scene, his eyes beneath the mask filled with complexity.

He knew that from this moment on, Chen Mu was no longer the junior who needed his recommendation.

A Tiangong realm cultivator at twenty-two.

How far could he go on the path ahead?

No one knew.

…

Time slipped away in cultivation.

One day, two days, three days…

One month, two months…

Chen Mu sat cross-legged inside the Wu Quxing Hall, utterly motionless.

The vortex of heavenly and earthly power above him grew denser, more stable.

From its initial gaseous state, it gradually became liquid, then solidified, finally forming a constantly rotating crystalline mass.

This heavenly and earthly power was slowly merging into his body, coalescing in his middle dantian region.

This process could not be rushed, could not be hurried—only patience would do.

Too fast would damage the meridians.

Too slow would undermine the stability of the pact.

Chen Mu was not in a hurry.

He had endless patience.

As he extended his spiritual awareness, Chen Mu also "saw" the several Star Gods outside the hall.

Ju Men Star, Tai Yang Star, Tian Fu Star, Di Kong Star, Tian Xi Star, Hong Luan Star—six Star Gods hovered in midair, all guarding him.

Their spiritual awareness periodically swept over him, confirming his condition, then swiftly withdrew, afraid of disturbing him.

Chen Mu felt a faint warmth in his heart.

Star Gods truly were different.

Returning his thoughts, Chen Mu continued focusing on drawing in heavenly and earthly power.

…

Finally, on a certain day two months later—

Hum!

Inside the Wu Quxing Hall, a brilliant light surged upward toward the heavens.

This light differed from the previous starlight—it was heavier, more vast, imbued with the might of heaven and earth.

The color of the light shifted continuously—gold, deep blue, transparent, purple-gold—finally settling on a profound dark gold.

Within the light, Chen Mu slowly opened his eyes.

He raised his hand and flicked it lightly.

Boom—

A surge of heavenly and earthly power burst from his palm, forming a giant hand that gently clenched the empty air within the hall.

The space trembled!

The power of this hand was more than ten times stronger than when he was in the Earth Altar realm.

Where the hand passed, the void slightly warped, as if unable to bear this force.

Chen Mu's lips curled slightly upward.

His spiritual awareness returned, the spiritual miniature firmly seated in his Mandate Palace.

The heavenly and earthly power he had drawn in had successfully remained in his middle dantian, forming a pact.

It was a constantly rotating mass of dark gold light, pulsing in sync with his heartbeat, like a second heart.

Tiangong realm.

He had finally entered it!

…

Outside the hall, the six Star Gods collectively exhaled in relief.

"It's done."

The Star Lord of Tian Fu smiled, his voice brimming with relief.

The Star Lord of Tai Yang nodded along, "From today, our Star Gods have gained another true powerhouse!"

The Star Lords of Di Kong, Tian Xi, and Hong Luan all nodded in acknowledgment.

The Star Lord of Ju Men said nothing, only silently gazing toward the Wu Quxing Hall.

After a long while, he turned and slowly flew toward his own Star Hall.

Behind him, the voice of the Star Lord of Tian Fu reached him.

"Ju Men, aren't you going in to see him?"

"No need."

The Star Lord of Ju Men did not look back; his voice was hoarse yet carried a hint of satisfaction.

"He no longer needs me."

With those words, his figure vanished among the clouds…