Chapter 419: Pure Core

The eighth Qisha token was secured.

Watching the fading starlight, Xu Jin tucked away the eighth Qisha token while fully activating the Mingji Star Pattern, sensing all directions.

In his palm, lightning flickered.

Beneath his feet, concentric ripples of earth-yellow radiance pulsed outward in all directions.

In the next instant, a speck of starlight suddenly appeared where the slain Gao Jie Jinzhu alien had stood.

The moment the starlight appeared, the figure of the recently fallen Jinzhu seventh-rank alien materialized.

As it materialized, its body was already encased in layers of starlight.

The instant Xu Jin saw that streak of starlight, he smiled.

He was the one he'd been waiting for.

Xu Jin had predicted that after a Jinzhu seventh-rank died, he would never willingly depart—he would surely use his resurrection chance to revive.

Not to mention, even just the eighth-rank Ju Xuan could elevate them to a sufficiently high level.

Almost the instant the starlight around the Jinzhu seventh-rank solidified, the earth-yellow ripples beneath Xu Jin's feet erupted violently.

Earthly Magnetic Force!

Furious Spear!

The moment the seventh-rank Jinzhu alien lifted off the ground, the earth-spear shot upward from below.

The seventh-rank Jinzhu alien was struck again, shocked and furious.

Especially upon realizing it was Xu Jin—who had just slain him in an instant—his terror peaked; he instinctively tried to flee, but the Earthly Magnetic Force tore him back down.

In the next instant, a massive surge of spiritual soul energy flashed through the air.

Soul Art: Startling Dream!

The seventh-rank Jinzhu alien, who had been fully defending and just shattered part of the Furious Spear, suddenly froze, his expression blank.

Torrents of terrifying lightning rained down simultaneously.

In the next moment, the recently resurrected seventh-rank Jinzhu alien was reduced to a charred lump.

This surprised Xu Jin.

He had expected the fellow to resurrect once more, and doubted he'd get another chance to annihilate him completely.

But unexpectedly, he'd killed the seventh-rank Jinzhu alien after only one resurrection.

Excellent!

Perhaps he'd already used up one resurrection chance earlier, or perhaps he'd only been granted one.

But it didn't matter anymore.

He was already annihilated!

Yet Xu Jin did not relax for an instant.

The earth-yellow ripples beneath his feet continued to pulse gently; lightning flickered between his fingers.

One sixth-rank Jinzhu alien remained!

If he resurrected, Xu Jin would simply cut him down.

Killing aliens was a matter of cumulative effort.

Kill one elite, and there's one less.

One today, twenty next month, three thousand next year!

As long as Xu Jin lived, there would come a day when he wiped them all out.

He waited on the spot for a full ten breaths, but the sixth-rank Jinzhu alien did not return via resurrection.

It seemed this Jinzhu alien was quite clever.

Normal—among aliens, many were clever.

Xu Jin began inspecting the corpse of the seventh-rank Jinzhu alien.

He had assumed the Jinzhu seventh-rank's golden horn would be a fine treasure.

Unexpectedly, it had been charred by Xu Jin's lightning, and most of its starlight essence had scattered.

Slightly frustrating.

In truth, the seventh-rank Jinzhu alien's golden horn was indeed valuable; if taken back, even if it couldn't be forged into a Seven-Star Spirit Artifact, it could still be made into a top-tier sixth-rank Star Weapon.

But Xu Jin's Thunder Star Art was too powerful—it had ruined it.

The seventh-rank Jinzhu alien's spiritual soul cultivation had reached sixth level of the fourth realm; Xu Jin carefully drew out its Numinous Space.

Not much wealth: over a thousand fifth-rank Star Jade Tablets, fifteen sixth-rank ones, and no seventh-rank ones.

Some celestial treasures and rare herbs.

And three seventh-rank Star Cores.

Seeing these three seventh-rank Star Cores, Xu Jin's heart stirred; his mind plunged deep inward.

He instinctively assumed these were the same kind of Star Cores he'd previously seized—ones capable of unleashing seventh-rank Star Art attacks.

That would be an excellent treasure.

Though Xu Jin himself couldn't use them yet, giving them to others at a critical moment would be equivalent to a seventh-rank expert's full-power strike.

This was an extremely precious item.

But the moment his mind sank in, Xu Jin frowned.

Not them.

Completely different from the deadly Star Cores he'd seized before.

No Star Art energy was sealed within.

Only the purest starlight energy.

Purified Star Cores?

Purified Star Cores existed among modern human cultivators too; they were typically used as the starlight source for array plates—more durable than Star Jade Tablets—or to supply starlight to large arrays, which consumed enormous amounts.

Or to power large starlight devices, such as Starlight Crossbows.

But these were far purer than that.

Just as he was about to store them in his Numinous Space, Xu Jin suddenly noticed that the starlight in the third seventh-rank Star Core was only one-third full.

Xu Jin was puzzled.

This wasn't normal.

Such ultra-pure Star Cores usually had full starlight reserves.

Had he used it to activate an array?

But no array plate was found inside the Numinous Space.

Suddenly, Xu Jin's heart leapt—he thought of a possibility!

Cultivation!

Could this bastard have been using seventh-rank Star Cores to cultivate?

In fact, modern human cultivators had tried using Star Cores for cultivation.

After attacking so many star domains, the number of Star Cores acquired was virtually limitless; if they could be used directly for cultivation, it would be an unimaginable reservoir of cultivation resources.

But attempts failed.

Even purified Star Cores wouldn't work.

Starlight could be purified into neutral energy, but it still carried complex personal essences—especially in deceased Star Cores, which bore indescribable negative energies: anger, hatred, malice, and other desires and personal wills.

Absorbing one or two wouldn't have much effect.

But if one absorbed even slightly more, the cultivator might drastically alter their personality, becoming extreme, or worse, go mad.

Thus, modern human society banned Star Core cultivation.

Negative emotions alone were bad enough, but they also carried personal will.

Absorb too much, and you cease to be yourself.

In Xu Jin's understanding, absorbing too much led to something like dissociative identity disorder.

But this purified Star Core was too pure.

When Xu Jin's spiritual soul energy surged into it, he detected not a single trace of negative emotion or personal will.

Could it really have been used for cultivation?

If so, this was a treasure.

Even if purification consumed some of the Star Core's total starlight, a seventh-rank Star Core still held immense energy.

Moreover, among the spoils just seized, there were only three seventh-rank Star Cores, but twelve sixth-rank purified ones.

If cultivation were truly possible, then…

A bold idea surged in Xu Jin's mind—should he try?

But he immediately shook his head.

This wasn't something to be taken lightly.

Whether transcendent power could cure mental fragmentation was still uncertain.

But this problem was solvable—he'd need to capture an alien later.

Capturing a seventh-rank would be difficult, but capturing a sixth-rank Jinzhu alien wouldn't be hard.

In the next instant, Xu Jin shot skyward, once again activating the Heaven-Man Sensing Technique, searching for the last two Qisha tokens and the Jinzhu aliens' whereabouts.

Within just fifteen minutes, Xu Jin located the aura of the ninth Qisha token—but its owner surprised him.

Shan Chang Dong Zhao. As he traced the path, Xu Jin discovered the ninth Qisha token was on Shan Chang Dong Zhao himself.

Meanwhile, Headmaster Dong Zhao had found a secluded mountain hollow and was hiding his aura while cultivating.

It seems he went into hiding after obtaining the Seven Kill Token.

It appears Headmaster Dong Zhao is also a man of fortune.

Such a vast region—Xu Jin found it using the Star Art of Heavenly Sensation; Headmaster Dong Zhao most likely stumbled upon it by chance.

"Xu Jin, have you found the Seven Kill Token?" Seeing it was Xu Jin, Dong Zhao exhaled in relief and quickly asked.

"I found one. What about you, Headmaster?" Xu Jin smiled and asked.

"I have one too."

Dong Zhao revealed his Seven Kill Token, then pointed to his side. "Looks like we're both lucky. Would you like to hide and cultivate here with me, then head to the Seven Kill Palace together after three days? It'd be safer."

It was a good proposal, but Xu Jin still needed to find other Seven Kill Tokens.

"Headmaster, I have some business to attend to. I'll come find you once I'm done."

"Alright!"

In the next instant, Xu Jin stepped upon the stars and departed again, activating Heavenly Sensation to search for other Seven Kill Tokens.

So far, nine had been located; one remained.

While activating Heavenly Sensation, Xu Jin suddenly detected a lone sixth-rank Jin Zhu alien.

Xu Jin was overjoyed.

He dropped down instantly.

This time, before descending, Xu Jin learned from past mistakes.

He immediately swapped his face using the Hundred Illusion Star Pattern.

Yet the moment the sixth-rank Jin Zhu alien sensed his aura, it surged upward, transforming into a streak of starlight and lunging at Xu Jin.

A fifth-rank, third-layer human? Perfect prey for him to crush!

But in the next instant, he was stunned.

Xu Jin took a single step forward—and the alien involuntarily plummeted toward the ground. Instantly, a palm-sized, golden star emerged from the void and slammed into the sixth-rank alien.

The star rapidly expanded as it fell.

Under the pull of Earth's magnetic field, its descent speed screamed through the sound barrier in an instant.

This was the sixth-rank Earth Star Art: Falling Star.

Originally, its destructive power was mediocre.

Its potential was strong, especially with Xu Jin's eighth-rank Earth Source and eighth-rank below Earth Image Star Pattern—its power became extraordinary.

But it was useless.

Its speed was limited; no matter how strong, if you can't hit, what's the point?

But after mastering it, Xu Jin had an idea.

Earth's magnetic field and Falling Star were a perfect match.

First, it could multiply Falling Star's speed; second, Earth's magnetic field could immobilize the target—or at least drastically slow it down.

Combined, Falling Star could now strike, and its power surged dramatically.

Anyone hit by this would be dead or crippled.

Xu Jin planned to thoroughly refine Falling Star's pattern in the future.

At that time, it would become another major killing technique.

Even now, it was extremely potent.

BOOM!

The earth trembled violently, as if a small earthquake had struck, sending up a cloud of dust.

This sight made Xu Jin's heart skip.

Don't obliterate him completely!

He'd finally found a lone one.

He unleashed Wind Star Force—the dust vanished instantly. Seeing the sixth-rank Jin Zhu alien's mangled state, Xu Jin's heart lurched.

Reduced to pulp.

Fortunately, Earth's magnetic field's control was stronger.

Good news: his body below the neck was shattered, but he was still alive.

Bad news: he wouldn't last long.

Only because sixth-rank warriors possessed extraordinary vitality could he remain alive with his entire body below the neck destroyed.

In the next instant, Xu Jin placed his palm on the alien's occiput and activated Dreaming.

He induced hypnosis, then interrogated within the dream.

In an instant, the alien entered the dream, freed from his physical agony.

In the dream, Xu Jin was the sovereign.

Xu Jin directly manifested his pure, seventh-rank Star Core and asked, "How do you use this pure seventh-rank Star Core for cultivation?"

"Simply absorb it."

"Aren't you afraid of negative emotions and personal wills? Won't your spirit be affected?"

"Impossible! Only human-purified Star Cores contain negative emotions and personal wills.

Our Sacred Ancestors' purified Star Cores are utterly pure—directly usable for cultivation."

"How do you purify them? What's the method?" As he asked, Xu Jin was filled with intense anticipation.

If he obtained this purification method, it wouldn't just mean great wealth—it would be a world-shaking event.

Within a few years, it could completely reshape the balance of this world.

"I don't know. Supposedly, some Sacred Ancestor invented it—only a tiny fraction of the Sacred Clan know the method!"

"Then where do your Purified Pearls come from?" Among aliens, purified Star Cores usable for cultivation were called Purified Pearls.

"Bestowed from above!

When you earn merit, they're granted as rewards. Absorbing and refining them boosts cultivation far faster than Star Jade Tablets—several times faster. But they're not given out often."

After asking two more questions, Xu Jin was about to continue when the dream shattered—the alien's spiritual essence vanished.

He had succumbed to his wounds and died.

He was unlucky—he'd already used up his substitute-death opportunity.

This one move killed him outright.

A few breaths later, Xu Jin carefully extracted the alien's Nether Space.

There was loot—but it disappointed him.

Only four sixth-rank Purified Pearls; not a single seventh-rank one.

Xu Jin dumped all other rare treasures into the Nether Space.

Holding one sixth-rank Purified Pearl, he cautiously drew a wisp of star force into his body.

The pure star force entered—he sensed it with Mingji Star Pattern—and detected not a trace of negative emotion.

It could be used to restore star force in critical moments, or absorbed in large quantities to boost cultivation.

This was indeed a fine treasure.

It seemed the aliens had their own advantages.

In the future, he must find a way to uncover the aliens' Star Core purification method.

But now, Xu Jin had decided: after collecting all Seven Kill Tokens, he would hunt Jin Zhu aliens—especially seventh-rank ones—and kill them to obtain their Purified Pearls!

Sixth-rank Jin Zhu aliens carried few Purified Pearls.

But seventh-rank Jin Zhu aliens almost certainly carried seventh-rank Purified Pearls.

Accumulate a batch, and his cultivation could surge rapidly.

In the next instant, Xu Jin stepped upon the stars again, activating Heavenly Sensation to search for the next Seven Kill Token.

He must hurry to find the Seven Kill Tokens!

More than half a day had passed; the remaining token was likely already claimed.

If someone just found it, he might still have a chance.

But if they'd already joined forces with their own side, Xu Jin would never get it.

Sensing the aura of a Seven Kill Token, Xu Jin advanced swiftly.

After fifteen minutes, he suddenly noticed violent starlight fluctuations ahead.

Someone was fighting.

As he drew near, Xu Jin's gaze sharpened.

The two fighters—he knew them both.

One was Ning Yuchan!

The other was Sun Fujia, the prodigy of the Sun Yang Star Temple!

(End of Chapter)