Chapter 622: Thousand Star Jade Token (Requesting Monthly Votes)

After reading the jade slip left by his master, Emperor Master Fenghua.

All of Xu Jin's worries dissolved completely.

Xu Jin had sought out Emperor Master Fenghua immediately after refining the Star River Islet's terrene core precisely because he still had several important matters to ask him.

Such as breaking through his Divine Soul cultivation to the sixth rank and the method to gestate the Dao Embryo.

This was currently the most important.

In fact, the primary reason Xu Jin had come to participate in the Thousand Star Alliance's trial was to learn the method for breaking his Divine Soul cultivation to the sixth rank through the Thousand Star Alliance.

Seeing Emperor Master Fenghua depart, his disappointment was understandable.

But Xu Jin had not expected that even without being asked, Emperor Master Fenghua had already perceived the state of his current cultivation.

The jade slip he left contained solutions to all of them.

Most crucially, Emperor Master Fenghua had provided Xu Jin with a broad directional guidance for his cultivation path, instantly grounding him with profound reassurance.

"Jin'er, my disciple, I am fully aware of your current cultivation state. Your condition is exceedingly rare: possessing the cultivation base of sixth-rank ninth layer peak, yet capable of battling talents of ninth-rank early stage. As your Uncle Uncle Youyu put it, you are a monster.

Whether it is your continuously breaking-limit Divine Spirit, the over eighty layers of Celestial Cloud Tower within your body, or the integration of your Divine Spirit with the Cloud Tower—all are unprecedented in my experience.

Neither in my own observations, nor in the lore passed down through generations, has such a case ever been recorded.

Celestial Cloud Towers are not uncommon.

Those who follow the Body Refinement path eventually forge a Celestial Cloud Tower, but most achieve only thirty to forty layers; forty layers are already rare. You have forged over eighty. Moreover, those on the Body Refinement path typically only forge the Celestial Cloud Tower after reaching the ninth rank, using external forces.

All of this may sound complex, but you need not panic.

Whatever exists is reasonable.

When Heaven and Earth first opened, the first cultivator's entire path emerged from nothingness; what did not exist before does not mean it is incorrect.

Continue cultivating at your own pace.

Your current problems, when broken down, reveal a simple cultivation path.

First, you must break through your already-maxed-out Divine Spirit cultivation and gestate the Dao Embryo, which should further enhance your combat power.

Second, you must advance your cultivation base to seventh and eighth ranks as soon as possible.

Third, it concerns your choice of Dao.

I observe you have cultivated an extraordinary number of Star Patterns: Five Elements, Wind, Thunder, and Space. Aside from Time, you have cultivated them all—and to a high degree. I do not know what kind of miracle you experienced, but cultivating all systems simultaneously becomes increasingly difficult the further you progress.

Because after the ninth-rank Star Patterns, one directly approaches the Dao.

Many struggle to break through even one system; how much harder is it to cultivate them all?

Even the most gifted cultivators rarely master more than two or three.

I advise you to focus primarily on one or two systems. Space energy is omnipresent and the foundation of all existence in the Star River realms; you may study it. For the others, choose wisely.

The cultivation methods you urgently need have been left in another jade slip. If you have questions, you may send me a message via the Thousand Star Token, or consult your Uncle Uncle Youyu."

The two jade slips left by Emperor Master Fenghua contained much information.

Yet the topic he elaborated on most was the Star River Islet Terrene Core.

The Star River Islet where the Thousand Star Alliance's Trial Tower stands was formed from the growth of a Star River Islet Terrene Core.

From the moment the Star River Islet Terrene Core was refined, the term "terrene core" may be discarded.

It has become a Star River Islet.

A solitary islet located within the Star River.

The aura Xu Jin sensed after activating that chaotic starlight was the aura of the Star River Islet.

However, the Star River Islet where the Thousand Star Alliance's Trial Tower stands is enormous, spanning hundreds of miles.

Xu Jin's Star River Islet, by contrast, is currently estimated to be only about one meter across.

Even he himself finds it cramped to sit alone.

Yet it is the supreme treasure of cultivators.

Its first great advantage is cultivation.

All cultivators are limited by the terrestrial veins of their home star domain; the Heavenly Dao naturally protects these veins, restricting the dispersion of star energy, limiting its concentration, and thus capping cultivation speed.

But the Star River Islet lies within the Star River, where countless stars radiate infinite star energy—its star energy is inexhaustible and may be freely absorbed and refined.

However, the boundless star energy within the Star River, lacking the sedimentation and nourishment of a star domain's terrestrial veins, is inherently far more violent. Under normal circumstances, one must possess at least the cultivation base of a Great Tianyang Xingjun to cultivate on a Star River Islet.

Its second great advantage is insight.

Almost all cultivators seeking Dao insight, due to the constraints of their star domain, remain beneath the Star River, limited by their own domain's perception and experience.

But cultivating Dao insight upon a Star River Islet is equivalent to being within—or even above—the Star River.

This grants cultivators a godlike perspective, directly facing billions of stars, multiplying their cultivation and insight efficiency manyfold compared to within a star domain.

The specific effects vary by individual.

Its third great advantage is as a transit point.

This advantage can also fundamentally resolve Xu Jin's problem of returning home.

Each star domain has its own Heavenly Dao protection; beneath the Heavenly Dao, even as mighty as an Emperor, one cannot defy it, or face Dao retribution.

Specifically, figures like Emperor Master Fenghua—or even the Ultimate Emperors behind the Three Star Palaces Xu Jin mentioned—though immensely powerful, cannot manifest their true bodies in Kunling Domain.

Currently, if Xu Jin breaks through to the tenth-rank Tianyang Xingjun, he will be unable to return to Kunling Domain.

It is similar to the previous restriction of star domains: once cultivation exceeds the limit, entry is barred.

But the Star River Islet has no such restriction: no matter how strong Xu Jin becomes, he may always return to his own Star River Islet, and if he possesses sufficient power, he may also bring his family and friends to join him there.

It functions as a transit station.

Anyone may come.

Other advantages exist, but they are beyond Xu Jin's current reach.

Yet risks arise accordingly.

Though the Star River is vast, a one-meter-wide Star River Islet lost within it is like a grain of sand in the Ganges—hard to detect, and rarely intruded upon.

But if discovered by aliens or other cultivators, he will surely be targeted, bringing danger.

However, according to Emperor Master Fenghua, he has already arranged emergency countermeasures for Xu Jin.

Other matters, including entry methods and the Star River Islet's growth and tempering techniques, have all been explained to Xu Jin.

He also stated that if Xu Jin could nurture this Star River Islet, his cultivation speed, though not tenfold that of his peers, could easily reach three or four times theirs.

The matter of the Star River Islet received the most detailed exposition.

Xu Jin's most anticipated method for gestating the Dao Embryo was only a few thousand characters long, yet extremely thorough. After reading it, Xu Jin could only admire—no wonder he was an Emperor-level figure; he had explained the Dao Embryo to Xu Jin with absolute clarity.

Emperor Master Fenghua said that the Dao Embryo concept originally resembled pregnancy: a natural process of gestation and birth.

After breaking the limits of the Divine Soul and cultivating it to its peak—as Xu Jin has done, with his Divine Soul's aura radiating over a hundred meters—it enters a prolonged gestation phase.

It takes at least two full cycles of sixty years, up to three, until the Dao Embryo matures naturally.

Such naturally gestated Dao Embryos possess the greatest future potential.

But due to lifespan limitations and time constraints, most cultivators exhaust their lives before the Dao Embryo fully matures.

Gradually, methods for artificially gestating the Dao Embryo emerged.

Once one reaches the peak of fifth-rank Divine Soul cultivation, one may begin gestating the Dao Embryo.

The method Emperor Master Fenghua transmitted is called the Nine Yuan Sword Embryo.

It can best produce a top-grade ninth-rank Dao Embryo.

Emperor Master Fenghua instructed Xu Jin to study and prepare thoroughly before gestating the Dao Embryo; if he had any questions, he could directly ask him or Uncle Uncle Youyu.

The cultivation path rests on two fundamentals: the Cloud Tower and the Dao Embryo.

The Dao Embryo is especially critical, determining future growth and combat power.

In addition, the jade slip contained another method for breaking through to the seventh rank, called the Star-Subduing Scripture.

After studying it, Xu Jin found the Star-Subduing Scripture superior to the Star-Invoking Scripture and Star-Union Scripture obtained from the Seven Kill Legacy, yet slightly weaker than the Star-Slaying Scripture.

However, compared to the Star-Slaying Scripture, the Star-Subduing Scripture is faster to cultivate and easier to master.

The key to cultivating the Star-Slaying Scripture—the Seven Kill Sword Heart—is so difficult that many spend over a decade without achieving success.

Only now, with Xu Jin's high-rank Seven Kill Sword Heart nearing completion, might he have considered switching to the Star-Subduing Scripture.

Nothing else was given; only what was immediately useful was provided.

After all, Xu Jin's current priorities are gestating the Dao Embryo and advancing his cultivation.

Yet at the end of the jade slip, Emperor Master Fenghua mentioned one very important matter.

That was the rank of the Thousand Star Token.

According to Thousand Star Alliance rules, any trial participant who is taken as a disciple by any Alliance Master automatically has their Thousand Star Token upgraded to Gold Rank.

There is no functional difference between a Thousand Star Gold Token and a Thousand Star Jade Token.

The greatest difference is in privileges.

Holders of the Thousand Star Gold Token receive one thousand Thousand Star Points monthly for ten years as cultivation resources.

This is the Thousand Star Alliance's benefit for talented cultivators.

But as an Alliance Master, Emperor Master Fenghua held a qualification to upgrade Xu Jin's token to Jade Rank.

Holders of the Thousand Star Jade Token receive one hundred free messages monthly; their status within the Thousand Star Alliance is exalted, second only to Alliance Masters, equivalent to True Persons; they receive three thousand Thousand Star Points monthly for at least ten years, along with other privileges.

However, holders of the Thousand Star Jade Token must participate in an internal Alliance assessment every five years.

Those who pass receive generous rewards; those ranked in the bottom twenty percent face a penalty of double point deductions.

The choice was left to Xu Jin.

After reading it, Xu Jin frowned slightly.

The qualifications for Gold Token and Jade Token.

One option grants 12,000 points annually with zero risk.

The other grants 36,000 points annually, but those who fall behind in evaluation face double punishment.

That's a bit harsh.

The next instant, Xu Jin turned his gaze to True Person Uncle Youyu. "Senior Grandmaster, between the Thousand Stars Gold Token and the Thousand Stars Jade Token, how should I choose? Do you have any advice?" Asking more questions and gathering more opinions could only help.

True Person Uncle Youyu smiled at Xu Jin. "Good granddisciple, let me ask you this: which is easier—a man with not a single coin earning silver, or a man with some skill and modest wealth earning silver?"

"Naturally, the one with some skill and modest wealth."

"Then let me ask you again: is it harder to turn ten taels of silver into a hundred, or to turn one hundred thousand taels into a hundred?"

"Definitely the first."

"Exactly. Do you understand now?"

"I understand. Thank you, Senior Grandmaster." Xu Jin bowed formally in thanks; this mode of interaction made the free-spirited True Person Uncle Youyu slightly uneasy.

【Master, I choose the Thousand Stars Jade Token.】 The moment Xu Jin made his decision, he sent a Starlight Message to his master, True Person Master Fenghua.

True Person Uncle Youyu had already made the pros and cons perfectly clear.

If compensation were needed, hundreds of thousands of points would be a serious burden for Xu Jin, whose cultivation base was still low.

But if Xu Jin's cultivation advanced to a certain level, the value of hundreds of thousands of points would change entirely.

【Good. I'll upgrade it for you right away.】

Almost simultaneously with True Person Master Fenghua's message arriving, Xu Jin's Thousand Stars Token sent a Starlight Message.

【Token Holder 765586, someone has sent you an item via the Thousand Stars Token. Accept it?】

【Accept.】

The instant Xu Jin confirmed, his Thousand Stars Token blazed with starlight, radiating for five breaths before a sphere of jade-colored light materialized before him.

At the same time, starlight prompts appeared, and Xu Jin immediately began fusing and upgrading his Thousand Stars Token.

After a quarter-hour, Xu Jin's Thousand Stars Token shifted from silver to a warm jade hue, and a series of starlight prompts appeared.

They detailed the many benefits of his second-rank Thousand Stars Jade Token.

They matched closely with his master Master Fenghua Emperor's earlier message.

The next instant, a starlight prompt made Xu Jin's gaze sharpen.

【Token Holder 765586, Master Master Fenghua has transferred 60,000 points to you. Accept?】

Sixty thousand!

Xu Jin's eyes widened slightly; his gaze flickered unconsciously toward True Person Uncle Youyu, then he accepted the transfer.

Though his master, Master Fenghua Emperor, had only recognized him for half a day, his generosity was truly remarkable!

Sixty thousand points—just like that.

Xu Jin immediately sent a message of thanks to Master Fenghua Emperor.

【We are master and disciple, bound by karmic threads—no need for thanks. If there's nothing else, return soon and cultivate in seclusion to nurture your Dao Embryo. We'll discuss other matters later.】

(End of Chapter)