Chapter 245: Killing Dream

"Grand Master, do you have any instructions?"

After entering the Star Dome Secret Realm, Xu Jin thought for a moment before looking toward the Grand Master.

He asked this because he wanted to know if the Grand Master had any special arrangements.

For instance, whether he should prioritize deducing a certain star pattern, or which star pattern would best enhance his combat strength.

Because based on Xu Jin's performance today, it was clear he wouldn't be using just a single Golden Star.

To Xu Jin's surprise, the Grand Master shook his head. "No special instructions. Deduce whatever you have in mind; any breakthrough in a star pattern is a gain and progress for the Profound Heaven Sect.

During the deduction process, don't get hung up on gains or losses.

Some star patterns might yield results with just one Golden Star, while others might require two or even three.

But the process of your contemplation itself is a massive harvest, do you understand?"

Xu Jin frowned slightly. He understood the first part of what the Grand Master said, but the latter part seemed both clear and yet a bit obscure.

Cheng Yuexiao, possessing immense experience and having walked this path himself, naturally understood Xu Jin's current confusion.

"Xu Jin, you must know that the process of a Golden Star guiding your deduction, regardless of whether there is a tangible result, is in itself a tremendous gain.

Once or twice, you might not feel anything.

But after eight or ten times, the improvement to you will be comprehensive.

To put it simply, it's like experience!

Or perhaps insight!

As the saying goes, all paths lead to the same source.

Or, drawing inferences from one instance.

Or, ten thousand laws returning to one.

The process of having numerous Golden Stars and Brilliant Stars guide your deduction will eventually bring your understanding of the Dao to an unprecedented height.

With such accumulation, even if you don't have Golden Stars or Brilliant Stars in the future, your speed in deducing star patterns will be two, three, or even ten times that of others!

At this stage, what is most important to you is the process of deduction, not the result.

Do you understand what I mean now?" Cheng Yuexiao said.

"I understand!"

Xu Jin nodded heavily.

This time, he truly understood.

The Grand Master's words initially sounded like a quantitative change leading to a qualitative change, but the ultimate meaning was about accumulation.

The process of deduction was a bit like feeding an AI.

When this process happens enough times, the AI truly becomes an AI, rather than a simpleton.

At the same time, it was an affirmation of Xu Jin's decision to use a large number of Golden Stars today.

"Then begin. I will guard nearby; if you have any doubts, you can call out to me directly."

After saying this, Cheng Yuexiao went to the other side of the Star Dome Secret Realm, sat cross-legged, and began his own contemplation.

Xu Jin also sat cross-legged.

But he didn't start the deduction immediately; instead, he organized the order of the star patterns he intended to deduce today.

Up to now, Xu Jin had obtained twelve Golden Stars and four Brilliant Stars.

He had already used four Golden Stars previously.

He still had eight Golden Stars and four Brilliant Stars in his possession.

As for Silver Stars, he had used ten last time and currently had eight left; he needed two more to use them.

With so many Golden Stars, Xu Jin planned to consume more than half of them today. It was better to convert them into strength early.

The first, naturally, was the Fire Source star pattern.

Knowing a hundred techniques is not as good as mastering one lethal move.

If Xu Jin could push the Fire Source star pattern to the eighth tier, then even if he used the most ordinary fire-type star techniques, he could unleash immense power.

He had seen this clearly from his sparring session with Star Fire.

In terms of fire-type star techniques, Zhou Xinghuo, who came from the Tianyang Star Palace, indeed mastered more than Xu Jin.

Techniques like his Fire Meteor were superior to Xu Jin's Spiral Flame Burst in both speed and power.

Yet, he still couldn't beat Xu Jin's Spiral Flame Burst.

There was no other reason: Xu Jin's Spiral Flame Burst used a seventh-tier Fire Source star pattern, which was inherently stronger than his Fire Meteor.

It was like weaponry: Zhou Xinghuo's craftsmanship was exquisite, but the material was wood; Xu Jin's craftsmanship was average, but the material was refined iron.

No matter how exquisite the craftsmanship, if the material is inferior, it snaps at the first strike of iron.

Now, Xu Jin was preparing to upgrade his refined iron to steel.

Therefore, the first star pattern to contemplate was his current seventh-tier high-grade Fire Source star pattern.

【Do you wish to consume one Golden Star to enter high-grade deduction?】

【Yes】

After choosing to confirm, in the next instant, Xu Jin's mind was pulled to an infinite height, as if he were looking down at countless flames in the universe. Yet, with a single thought, he could enter the very center of a flame, experiencing its birth, growth, and extinction.

Combined with the bits and pieces of accumulation from Xu Jin's previous usage, fragments of new fire-type star patterns constantly emerged and flashed by. However, trying to fuse them with his current seventh-tier high-grade Fire Source star pattern proved extremely difficult.

It was a bit like trying to crack a combination lock using the most primitive method.

One had to try every single digit.

Yet it was also like solving a riddle; in the process of contemplation, it would give him vague, ambiguous hints.

Whether one could comprehend it depended on individual aptitude.

Xu Jin was like someone playing a jigsaw puzzle, piecing it together bit by bit.

Suddenly, Xu Jin's "God's Eye" perspective began to plummet, dropping him out of that mysterious state.

Xu Jin gave a bitter smile.

The high-grade deduction using one Golden Star had ended.

Yet, his gains from the contemplation were minimal.

The seventh-tier high-grade Fire Source star pattern had only added two branches so far.

It could barely be said to have broken through to the eighth tier, but the breakthrough was very limited.

One would need to add one main branch and three sub-branches to truly consider the high-grade Fire Source star pattern pushed to the eighth tier.

And currently, the completion rate with one Golden Star was only one-third.

The difficulty of deducing an eighth-tier star pattern was indeed extraordinary.

Thinking for a moment, Xu Jin sank his mind into the Brilliant Star.

Activating the Brilliant Star.

The moment he triggered that Brilliant Star, a line of starlight information appeared before Xu Jin's eyes.

【Each Brilliant Star can directly help you complete a small realm of a star pattern below the ninth tier, and then enter high-grade deduction time. Do you wish to complete it now?】

【Enter high-grade deduction time】

Xu Jin made his choice.

First, maximize the benefits: convert the previous gains and see if he could push the deduction further.

Just like the previous high-grade deduction with the Golden Star, his perspective was pulled high, and like a god, he began to observe the flames among the stars. With the foundation from the first Golden Star, this second high-grade deduction became much smoother, especially since the first high-grade deduction had already helped Xu Jin find certain directions.

Two quarters of an hour later, Xu Jin directly completed the main trunk of the eighth-tier high-grade Fire Source star pattern.

The previous Starry Sky Heavenly Fire, under sublimation and condensation, had transformed into a brilliant purple flame.

This purple flame burned everything it touched, both fast and fierce.

As soon as it touched a rock, the rock immediately turned into magma.

Xu Jin continued to deduce, following the main trunk, and with the previous accumulation, he slowly deduced the second and third branches.

Eighth-tier high-grade Fire Source star pattern achieved.

The flame brought by this eighth-tier high-grade Fire Source star pattern had increased by one form: Dazzling Purple Heavenly Fire.

Xu Jin gave a name to the flame brought by the eighth-tier high-grade Fire Source star pattern.

The seventh-tier high-grade Fire Source star pattern only had one form: Starry Sky Heavenly Fire.

But the eighth-tier flame had directly added a new form: Dazzling Purple Heavenly Fire.

A quarter of an hour later, his consciousness fell from the sky again. Xu Jin understood that this high-grade deduction had ended.

【Now, based on the current star pattern, a small realm of the current star pattern will be completed.】

After the starlight message flashed, Xu Jin's consciousness was pulled high again, and then he merged into a flame, experiencing everything from its gestation and birth to its surging growth and eventual extinction, including the power of the flame. Xu Jin experienced it all.

This vivid experience allowed Xu Jin to understand the difference between the two particularly clearly.

Compared to the Dazzling Purple Heavenly Fire, the destructive power of this newly opened flame was about the same, or perhaps just a line stronger.

But within this new dazzling purple flame, a thick, dark black hue flickered, making the entire flame appear a bit more somber.

Xu Jin also experienced its power.

This flame could directly burn the soul and incinerate the primordial spirit.

Unlike the righteous and masculine nature of thunder-type star techniques, this flame, as long as it touched the physical body, would burn the soul and directly incinerate the target's soul cultivation—extremely vicious!

But Xu Jin liked this power.

At the same instant, the eighth-tier high-grade Fire Source star pattern before Xu Jin's eyes seemed to grow, sprouting a main trunk and three branches.

Eighth-tier mid-grade high-grade Fire Source star pattern—Success!

At the same time, Xu Jin gave this flame another name: Soul-Burning Heavenly Fire.

One Golden Star had yielded meager results, but adding one Brilliant Star had allowed the seventh-tier high-grade Fire Source star pattern he was contemplating to jump by one and a half tiers.

Awesome!

Now, Xu Jin truly felt a sense of security.

He had to know that the strongest Wind Source star pattern in the Profound Heaven Sect was only eighth-tier mid-grade.

That is to say, the strongest star pattern Cheng Yuexiao had engraved was only an eighth-tier mid-grade high-grade Wind Source star pattern.

Now, Xu Jin's Fire Source star pattern was also eighth-tier mid-grade.

Xu Jin didn't know how much this would improve his strength, but it was definitely significant.

The first goal was achieved, and Xu Jin still needed to continue deducing.

So, which star pattern should he deduce next?

Now, Xu Jin's Fire Lei Lei Yuanxing Pattern was also at the eighth-tier mid-grade.

Xu Jin did not know how much this would improve his strength, but it was definitely significant.

The first goal was achieved, and Xu Jin had to continue his derivation.

So, what should he derive for the second star pattern?

For the second star pattern, Xu Jin determined that the direction of derivation would be the Soul Star Pattern.

During these ten days, especially these last few days, Xu Jin's cultivation had reached its peak, so he spent nearly half his time using the Star Lamp to study, derive, and learn the star pattern research notes obtained from the Lingji Star Palace, sleeping only two hours a day.

As of today, he had finished it all.

This was also the reason Xu Jin came over to use the Golden Star for derivation.

Among the Soul Star Patterns, the one that could instantly improve Soul attack power was naturally the Shatter-Evil Star Pattern.

But at this very moment, Xu Jin was wavering between the Shatter-Evil and the Gentle Dream star patterns.

The Gentle Dream star pattern was auxiliary.

But recently, after studying all the research notes given by the Grand Master, and having previously derived the Gentle Dream star pattern to the sixth-tier supreme grade, Xu Jin had gained a lot.

In the process of derivation, Xu Jin also had the same feeling as the Grand Master.

He felt that this auxiliary Gentle Dream star pattern would undergo a fundamental change after breaking through.

So was it Gentle Dream or Shatter-Evil?

After thinking for a moment, Xu Jin smiled.

Why make a choice? Since he wanted to, he would just derive both.

As for the Golden Star, Xu Jin could be certain that once he broke through to the first layer of the fourth-tier Condense Star, he would definitely be able to obtain it.

This was determined by strength.

Having previously challenged the Golden Star and Radiant Star, Xu Jin had been incomparably relaxed, so the next Golden Star challenge would have no difficulty.

And now that Xu Jin's high-tier Fire Lei Lei Yuanxing Pattern had broken through, his strength had improved significantly.

Xu Jin estimated that the Golden Star he would get when he broke through to the second layer of the fourth-tier Condense Star should also be within his grasp.

In the future, he would be able to obtain at least four more Golden Stars.

That was enough for him to consume.

The next instant, Xu Jin's mind sank into the Golden Star, and he once again triggered a Golden Star to begin high-tier derivation.

What was different was that his mind sank into the Gentle Dream star pattern like it was sinking into an bottomless abyss, and then one dream after another constantly opened, he entered, and then fought his way out.

In countless dreams, Xu Jin was like that god-like existence.

All his previous accumulation, plus the hard work of studying and deriving Soul Star Patterns during this period, all erupted in this high-tier derivation.

A main trunk slowly formed, and branch after branch was constantly filled in.

Seventh-tier low-grade, seventh-tier mid-grade.

This high-tier derivation pushed the Gentle Dream star pattern to the seventh-tier mid-grade.

And the change in the Gentle Dream star pattern after breaking through to the seventh tier also left Xu Jin incomparably shocked.

It really was... a heaven-turning and earth-flipping change.

A change in nature itself.

It used to be called Gentle Dream, but now, it should be called Killing Dream!

Previously, it required the target to be unguarded, or to have fallen into a deep sleep, or to have a huge gap in Soul cultivation to be pulled into the dream.

Now, it ignored everything; when casting Killing Dream, one could pull the target into the dream, and it was a dream that replaced reality with falsehood.

If the target was killed in the dream, the target's Soul would collapse and die!

However, to kill the target in the dream, one's Soul attack needed to be strong enough, or one had to weave a corresponding illusion dream.

Besides that, it also possessed home-field advantage.

The sixth-tier Gentle Dream pulled the target into the target's own dream, but the seventh-tier Killing Dream pulled the target into a dream whose nature was decided by the caster.

A huge improvement!

Seventh-tier mid-grade star pattern: Killing Dream!

In an instant, Xu Jin thought of many possibilities.

Combined with Startle Dream, it was a killing trap like a dream within a dream.

If Shatter-Evil were improved a bit more, defeating the strong with the weak would not be difficult!

Thinking and doing, not long after, Xu Jin used another Golden Star and used high-tier derivation.

This time, he naturally derived Shatter-Evil.

The Shatter-Evil star pattern had always been the main attack direction of the Lingji Star Palace, so there were the most relevant research notes.

Previously, Xu Jin had also considered that the Lingji Star Palace main palace might have a Shatter-Evil star pattern above the seventh tier.

So was his derivation now a waste?

But in the end, Xu Jin still decided to derive Shatter-Evil.

Not a waste at all!

The Lingji Star Palace main palace had been killed into a locked state; Xu Jin wouldn't even know what year or month he could enter it.

And even if he entered, why would they pass on a Shatter-Evil star pattern above the seventh tier to Xu Jin?

Difficult!

Incomparably difficult!

Better to rely on himself.

Use Golden Star derivation directly; at worst, he would just waste one.

And according to the Grand Master, this derivation process would not be wasted!

Moreover, Xu Jin highly suspected that his current Golden Star derivation effect was so good because of the accumulation from his previous processes of using Golden Stars and Radiant Stars for derivation.

Currently, Xu Jin had already used ten Silver Stars, six Golden Stars, and one Radiant Star.

He had already achieved in one go a height that many people could not reach in several lifetimes of derivation.

Half a quarter of an hour later, this Golden Star high-tier derivation ended smoothly, and the harvest was still gratifying.

The sixth-tier supreme grade Shatter-Evil star pattern was pushed by Xu Jin from the sixth-tier supreme grade to the seventh-tier mid-grade, still two small realms.

In the process of derivation, Xu Jin felt he had vaguely touched the threshold of the seventh-tier supreme grade, but he was just a little bit off.

He could only give up.

Up to this point, Xu Jin had used three Golden Stars and one Radiant Star today.

The harvest was also gratifying, but the Star Dome enlightenment time opened for him by the Grand Master had only been used for a little over an hour and a half, with half the time still remaining.

So next, which star pattern should Xu Jin derive?

(End of chapter)