Chapter 49

"Only girl?" Shen Qingli exclaimed, "Are they all having few children?"

Shen Kuo shook his head, "I am the seventh son, with six older brothers above me; you have six uncles, and also ten cousins."

Shen Qingli felt numb; the Changshui Shen clan, indeed a great family, truly able to bear many...

"Your eldest uncle has three sons; the letter says they will come together to fetch you," Shen Kuo added.

"Are they all brothers?" Shen Qingli asked, a bit missing her little brother; the little brother can fight, but the older brothers cannot.

"Hmm, they also asked what you like," Shen Kuo could already tell from between the lines that they all warmly welcome his daughter.

Shen Qingli didn't mind, but Shen Kuo had already written various treasure names on the reply letter, and told her, "Don't be polite with them, ask for more."

"Is the junior sister here?" Li Yidao's voice came.

"Yes." Shen Qingli rose to open the door.

"Second senior brother."

"Junior sister, the sect master is looking for you."

"Are we going to enter the Star-Observation Mountain?" Shen Kuo stepped forward to ask.

"Right, the fifth and sixth uncles have left seclusion."

The Star-Observation Mountain requires six elders and Ji Wanxing to open it together.

Shen Kuo knew about this, but felt uncertain in his heart, "A Li, how do you feel, can you go in?"

Regarding the Star-Observation Mountain, Shen Qingli had recently learned that it selects a heavenly star for each entering disciple and bestows that star's power.

For example, Liu Meng is the Sword Star; it is said she gains the Sword Star's power.

Different talents result in different degrees of stellar blessing.

"Not necessarily just gaining stellar power; there are also star phenomena and the universe. You only need to remember: once inside, act as your heart desires," Ji Wanxing reminded.

"Okay." Shen Qingli remembered.

As for the so-called Star-Observation Mountain, it cannot be seen with the naked eye!

But as Ji Wanxing and the seven others each took their places, they activated the Star-Observation Gate.

Shen Qingli saw myriad stars, as if the stars in the sky had been captured inside the gate.

"This is..."

Shen Kuo was shocked!

His cultivation is high; he can clearly sense that these stars are real stars, not illusions.

But how could the stars in the heavens possibly be truly locked up?

There is only one possibility—

The Star-Observation Gate reaches to heaven, entering the cosmos!

As expected of the Primordial Unity Sect...

No wonder they assign someone to guard this place.

"Little Qingli, go in."

Ji Wanxing spoke weakly; it's clear that opening the Star-Observation Gate drained them greatly.

Shen Qingli felt moved, and she leapt lightly into the gate.

As soon as she entered, the Star-Observation Gate closed immediately.

Shen Kuo was a bit worried, "Won't there be danger?"

"At least so far nothing has gone wrong." Ji Wanxing took a sip of spiritual liquid, rested a moment, "Old Seven doesn't need to be overly shocked; this is actually not a place our sect opened ourselves, but a heritage from ancient times."

"It's also quite extraordinary." Shen Kuo praised.

"Your Changshui Shen clan's ancestral land is truly exceptional."

Ji Wanxing had also heard of the Shen clan's ancestral land; it is said to be a mysterious place passed down from antiquity.

Rumor has it that even the remains of the primordial phoenix lie within; thus, although the Changshui Shen clan is merely a aristocratic family, it is not weaker than the Three Sects and Six Realms.

Shen clan women are even more sought after by all major powers, yet Shen clan women generally do not marry out, because Shen clan daughters are rare; they are basically destined to become the clan head, only taking in sons-in-law.

"Come to think of it, how could you have stayed at the Bijade Sect for so many years?" Ji Wanxing was a bit curious, "And you made your daughter suffer like that?"

Shen Kuo was speechless; even if he had many difficulties, the fact remains the fact, with no room for excuse.

Zhuge Yun actually helped him explain a bit, "Surely no one expected the birth mother to be so vicious toward her own daughter."

"That's right." Ji Wanxing and the others nodded; parental favoritism happens, but with only one daughter, to be that ruthless is unfathomable.

"Never mind, it's all in the past." Ji Wanxing looked at the Star-Observation Gate, somewhat anticipating Shen Qingli's opportunity; as the inheritor chosen by the Taiyi God Sovereign, she must be extraordinary.

"Sect master, a letter has arrived." The letter talisman delivered by Master Hua Yuan made Ji Wanxing solemn.

After he undid the talisman and read it carefully, his brows furrowed, "I haven't even sent word to the main sect yet; how do they already know about little Qingli?"

"What's wrong?" everyone asked.

"Let me bring little Qingli back early."

"What about the Star-Observation Mountain?"

"They said to leave it in the care of Master Hua Yuan and you."

Ji Wanxing received the letter and had no intention of replying.

In his view, once Shen Qingli enters the Star-Observation Mountain, she will surely alarm those few.

By then, the arrangements in the letter will certainly change.

But he didn't know that the Primordial Unity Sect had him bring Shen Qingli back early because her marriage to Pei Jianshu had already been set.

"Young master, the lord's reply letter says the marriage document is set and the wedding date is also fixed." Xuan Shi reported respectfully.

This was somewhat unexpected for Pei Jianshu, "When?"

"In three months, which also happens to be the great day for welcoming your return to the ancestral shrine."

"Does A Li have any objections?" Pei Jianshu asked.

"I don't know." The Mysterious Envoy actually had a guess.

Already got a reply this quickly; the news definitely hasn't reached Shen Qingli's ears yet.

However, the Azure Cloud Realm's Young Master seeking marriage, even as strong as the Primordial Origin Sect, would not refuse.

On the other hand, the Shen Clan of Longwater might be more troublesome; this wedding date…

"Young Master, the Shen Clan of Longwater might cause some trouble."

"We'll have to pass through Longwater, right?" Pei Jianshu remembered that Longwater was on the route.

"Yes, we'll arrive in three days." The Mysterious Envoy reported truthfully.

"Then let's first visit the Shen Clan." Pei Jianshu arranged.

The Mysterious Envoy naturally had no objection and immediately passed on the orders.

During these three days, Star Phenomenon Mountain showed no movement.

"Strange." Feng Yimo remembered that Liu Meng went in and came out after three days.

Logically, with Shen Qingli's talent so high, there should be movement as soon as she entered; even if she didn't come out after three days, it shouldn't be this quiet.

"Has anything like this ever happened before?" Shen Kuo asked anxiously.

"Actually, there has been. Well, my useless disciple showed no movement for ten days; we had given up on him, but on the eleventh day he received the favor of the Heaven Slaying Star." Zhao Qingshan pointed to his disciple Li Yidao, who scratched his head, a bit embarrassed.

"The longer it goes, the less hope?" Shen Kuo seized the point.

"Not necessarily." Ji Wanxing recalled, "Our Heavenly Star Ancestor stayed inside for thirty days."

"But the first three days weren't this quiet either." Zhao Qingshan, rubbing his fleshy face, was also worried.

Everyone suddenly fell silent, staring blankly toward Star Phenomenon Mountain; at this moment, Shen Qingli was walking through endless darkness.

Unlike what she saw before entering, around her there were no stars at all, only boundless darkness—lonely, chilling, enough to drive one mad.

It seemed as soon as she entered, all the stars in the sky hid from her; nobody wanted to see her.

"What's going on?"

Shen Qingli gazed up at the endless darkness, thinking: "Could it be due to cultivation demonic transformation?"

Others can't detect it, not even the Demon-Verifying Pillar can, but Star Phenomenon Mountain knows, so it rejects her?