Chapter 430: Realm Token

Hua Changxi gazed at the well-like abyss swallowing and spitting out the starry river, her eyes filled with undisguised doubt.

Even if Yuan Qi spoke the truth and the Star Sea Pool held many treasures, could their value possibly compensate for the losses she suffered from having her merit power drained away?

Yuan Qi saw the skepticism in Hua Changxi's eyes and let out a long sigh: "The Star Sea Pool connects to the meridians of the Zhoutian stars across the Four Spirits Realm; all ownerless treasures eventually follow the stellar trajectories and fall within it."

"Calling it the largest treasury of the Four Spirits Realm would not be an exaggeration."

"In the Realm-Sealing War before the Great Extinction of ancient times, even the Four Spirit Emperors returned to chaos, and thereafter, the various gods and Dao Lords could not escape the calamity of falling."

"Yet the imperial weapons held by the Emperors, the divine arms wielded by the deities, and the Dao weapons refined by the Dao Lords, along with the rare treasures they gathered throughout their lives, do not vanish simply because their owners perished."

"Those things can be obtained by those destined for them through this Star Sea Pool."

Hearing this, Hua Changxi's eyes finally brightened as she looked at Yuan Qi: "Can't I try grabbing a few more times?"

Yuan Qi looked at her, smiling without speaking.

Hua Changxi understood his meaning and did not press further; instead, she stood quietly by the pool's edge, focusing her mind to sense.

Seeing her discretion, Yuan Qi reminded her: "Objects within the Star Sea Pool are bound by stellar gravity; they cannot be taken by brute force. One must rely on one's own power to form a resonance with the treasure before it can be drawn out."

Hua Changxi looked up: "How does one trigger resonance with a treasure?"

Yuan Qi smiled: "Each person has their own path of fate; Peak Master Hua must realize this for herself."

Hearing him say this, Hua Changxi knew she would learn nothing more from questioning.

Having gained experience from seizing the six great blessed lands and grotto-heavens of Nanxiang City, she knew that many things required personal exploration to understand; even if setbacks occurred along the way, corrections could be made through action.

Thinking thus, she began to adjust her breathing, and once her state reached its peak, she decisively slowly extended her right hand into that starlight-bright abyss.

Seeing Hua Changxi act so decisively and cleanly, a look of appreciation flashed in Yuan Qi's eyes.

This bold spirit of daring to think and act that Hua Changxi possessed marked her as a natural pioneer!

Outside the Star Sea Pool, Hua Changxi could only vaguely see the brilliant starlight within; but once her right hand submerged into the well's mouth, perceived through her hand, she suddenly felt as though she were placed entirely within a starry universe!

She felt billions of stars being born and dying in circulation; she perceived countless blurred lights rising and sinking in the galaxy, some like swords, some like pagodas, some like scrolls, and others emitting energy fluctuations that made the heart tremble.

Those things were precisely ownerless magical artifacts, ancient treasures, materials, and jade slips.

However, these treasures were not stationary; bound by an invisible stellar gravitational field, they moved slowly along their respective orbits, maintaining subtle distances from one another, forming a grand and magnificent dynamic star map.

Grabbing treasures?

How to grab?

Those treasures seemed close at hand yet were actually far beyond reach.

Hua Changxi began to circulate her spiritual power; strands of spiritual energy extended from her right hand like threads, cautiously touching this sea of stars.

"Hum—"

The moment the spiritual energy dispersed, the entire Star Sea Pool resembled a lake surface struck by a stone, rippling with concentric circles.

The rising and sinking silhouettes of the treasures seemed disturbed; their rotation speed suddenly accelerated, their light flickering bright and dim, becoming even more elusive.

"Hiss~"

Stellar power surged back along the spiritual energy like thousands of fine needles stabbing her right hand, causing her brows to knit tightly in pain. To avoid a fiercer backlash, she could only cautiously increase her spiritual output little by little.

"No good!"

As spiritual power increased, the tearing force of the stellar power grew stronger; continuing like this, let alone grabbing treasures, her right hand would likely be torn apart directly by that violent stellar gravity.

"Perhaps, besides 'grabbing,' one can also 'guide'."

Hua Changxi recalled the scene when she cast 'Law of Heaven and Earth,' drawing upon the laws of heaven and earth to serve her.

With her right hand inside the Star Sea Pool, 'Law of Heaven and Earth' could not be cast, but she could employ the divine abilities 'Buddha Kingdom in Palm' and 'Ten Thousand Fires Paying Homage.'

Thinking thus, Hua Changxi immediately cast the divine ability 'Buddha Kingdom in Palm.'

The moment the divine ability unfolded, her right hand suddenly expanded wildly, and the stellar power随之疯狂 tearing and crushing the enlarged limb.

Ignoring everything, she lunged toward the densest cluster of treasures—grabbing whatever she could!

Just before the giant hand was about to be crushed, a cold token was finally clamped between her fingers.

Upon securing the token, Hua Changxi did not withdraw her hand but pressed on in one breath, casting the divine ability 'Ten Thousand Fires Paying Homage.'

A vortex of flames rising from her palm pulled the surrounding starlight into rotation, gradually dragging a fiery red longbow emitting scorching heat closer via gravity.

Cracks on her right hand had already spread to her wrist; daring not to delay, she gripped the longbow firmly and yanked her hand out of the abyss in one swift motion!

Yuan Qi could not see what Hua Changxi did after inserting her hand into the Star Sea Pool.

But when he saw Hua Changxi withdraw her hand, causing pillars on all four sides of the forbidden ground to burst with intense light, and hearing the cry of Zhu Que emanate specifically from the southern Zhu Que pillar, a look of horror appeared on his face.

"Bang, bang!"

Due to the cracking of her right hand, Hua Changxi could barely hold onto the token she had grabbed and the fiery red longbow she had attracted.

As soon as her hand left the Star Sea Pool, the token and the longbow fell to the ground, stirring up ripples of light.

"This is..."

Seeing the token and the fiery red longbow, Yuan Qi's pupils contracted sharply, his face filled with shock: "You actually obtained these two items!"

Hua Changxi had no leisure to respond; at this moment, all her attention focused on her agonizing right hand—blood dripped through her finger cracks, and the entire hand was covered in spiderweb-like fissures.

She hastily circulated spiritual power to stop the bleeding and summoned flames to incinerate the bloodstains on the ground; only when the wounds ceased oozing blood did she raise her eyes to look at Yuan Qi: "Do you recognize these two items?"

Yuan Qi stared at the token and longbow on the ground, his Adam's apple bobbing; it was a good while before he spoke: "These are the Realm Token and the Zhu Que Bow!"

The Zhu Que Bow was easy to understand.

After Hua Changxi had absorbed and refined the essence blood of Zhu Que, she did not find it strange that she could attract treasures related to Zhu Que.

"What is the Realm Token?"

Hua Changxi picked up the token; its surface was covered with profound runes, and its four corners were carved with lifelike totems of the Four Spirits: Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Zhu Que, and Black Tortoise.

Yuan Qi sighed: "Whoever holds the Realm Token may freely enter and exit the Four Spirits Realm, unimpeded by the realm barrier; it is equivalent to carrying a small realm gate on one's person."

Seeing that Hua Changxi seemed somewhat dismissive and did not grasp its importance, Yuan Qi added: "Do you know what methods cultivators of the Four Spirits Realm have to leave the realm?"

Hua Changxi felt that leaving the realm was still somewhat distant for her and indeed did not place much value on the Realm Token in her hand, but she still asked casually: "What methods are there?"

Yuan Qi: "The most standard method is naturally to go through the Realm Gate."

"The Four Spirits Realm has four great Realm Gates suspended in the Nine Heavens, guarding the east, south, west, and north respectively; these are the Four Celestial Gates."

"The Realm Gates are the key to maintaining the stability of the Four Spirits Realm. They are garrisoned year-round by the armies of the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Zhu Que, and Black Tortoise. Ordinary cultivators may spend their entire lives without ever nearing one."

"Aside from the four great Realm Gates, one can also leave the realm through certain special secret realms or spatial rifts, but the danger is immense; nine out of ten who attempt it never return."

"Moreover, those who possess a Realm Token can not only traverse realms freely but also use it to locate the Realm Temples."

Realm Temples?

Hearing yet another unfamiliar term, Hua Changxi hurriedly asked, "What exactly are Realm Temples?"

Yuan Qi shook his head. "I know little about this myself. I only know that beyond the Four Spirits Realm lie other realms. Interaction between these realms occurs in specific star regions, forming realm assemblies akin to market towns."

"The Realm Temples are the representative halls of each realm within these realm assemblies."