Translator: CinderTL
Whoosh!
As the seven-colored guardians descended from the sky, a Sword Qi Long River surged forward like a roaring torrent, colliding instantly with three streaks of seven-colored light.
The moment they clashed mid-air, dazzling Hua Guang and exploding Sword Qi filled the sky for tens of thousands of miles around.
The impact seemed to shatter the Sword Qi Long River's upward momentum, bringing it to an abrupt halt.
However, instead of scattering across the barren land, the shattered Sword Qi, guided by mental power, transformed into a swirling sword qi storm that spun rapidly like a celestial ring around the perimeter.
The more Sword Qi the seven-colored guardians shattered, the stronger the outer ring of sword qi storm became.
Within a few breaths, over a million units of Sword Qi had been destroyed. At the center of the collapsing Sword Qi, a calm eye formed, like the eye of a storm.
By the time the three seven-colored guardians finally broke through the Sword Qi Long River, the sword qi storm born from its collapse was already upon them.
Under the relentless onslaught of countless strands of Sword Qi, the three seven-colored guardians were once again trapped in a maelstrom of sword qi, unable to escape.
"Impressive," Li Chunjun murmured.
Li Chunjun was slightly alarmed. "Since my Life Level increased, Zhuo Long and the others, even with their Myriad Realms Compass and Dharma Manifestation Armaments forming a Battle Formation, couldn't withstand my sword qi storm's onslaught. At best, they could only hold out for a little longer. Yet these three seven-colored guardians are actually able to directly clash with my sword qi storm, even though they're losing ground and can't escape. This level of strength... Luo Yao would probably be inferior to them."
He estimated that the Dao Cultivation and Qi of these three seven-colored guardians must be around 25,000 or 26,000.
Even a Heaven's Chosen like Primordial True Martial from the Wu Ji Sect would likely only be able to manage a one-on-one fight against them.
Facing three of them at once...
"What about the supposed weaknesses of these seven-colored guardians? Where are they?"
Li Chunjun focused his attention, his gaze darting back and forth between the three guardians.
After a long moment of observation, he found nothing.
This result gave him a subtle realization.
The Starspirit Dao Venerable wasn't playing around.
He truly wanted to find a successor with the potential to become a dao monarch.
That meant their comprehension and talent had to meet the standards of Life Level 40, or even 41.
Of course, due to various other factors, the actual execution of this standard might be slightly lower. But if Li Chunjun truly wanted to rely on his own talent to quickly pass these trials, he'd likely need to raise his Life Level by another tier.
"No, the requirements shouldn't be this high. After all, more than twenty core disciples from various sects have already passed the assessment."
Li Chunjun focused his attention on the three seven-colored guardians, observing them intently for a moment. He did indeed sense a subtle disharmony.
But the source of this disharmony remained elusive for the time being.
"Never mind."
Li Chunjun manipulated the sword qi storm. "If I had more time, I could probably discern the weaknesses of these three guardians. But why waste time when I could just go all out and dismantle them directly?"
With this thought in mind, he unleashed his mental power, which had already recovered to its peak. The Void storm contracted violently, targeting the three seven-colored guardians, who were already at a disadvantage.
In mere moments, the three guardians were overwhelmed. Under the relentless assault of the sword qi storm, they shattered into pieces.
After the three seven-colored guardians were destroyed, Li Chunjun couldn't help but grumble inwardly.
"When other guardians are defeated, they usually drop some kind of reward—Heavenly Treasures, combat experience, or dao technique inheritance. But these seven-colored guardians, the so-called boss-level guardians, drop nothing at all. No wonder so many adventurers in the Star Abyss consider them a waste of time."
With a wave of his empty hand, the scarlet sky sword returned to his body, where it was nourished by his qi to recover from the damage sustained in defeating the three seven-colored guardians.
If the star spirit dao harmonization was truly so stingy that it couldn't part with anything, it would be a terrible loss.
Buzz... buzz...
The instant the three seven-colored guardians dissipated, the surrounding environment shifted once more.
The desolate wilderness transformed into a spacious, cozy library. Starlight floated above it.
His gaze fell on Li Chunjun, and a hint of emotion finally crept into his otherwise calm voice: "You are very powerful."
"Show me the rewards I can obtain."
Li Chunjun had no intention of cultivating a relationship with this spirit-type life. The difficulty was too high, and he lacked the time and energy.
Starlight remained silent for a moment before finally waving his empty hand, revealing a list.
"These are the rewards you can claim. However, due to a temporary shortage, I cannot provide the gray-grade materials."
Li Chunjun studied the list.
Before his eyes lay countless materials that would drive any void refining cultivator mad with desire. He even spotted an immortal artifact.
Unfortunately, the Immortal Artifact on the list was grayed out.
"An Immortal Artifact," Li Chunjun sighed, "too bad it was taken."
He added, "So many things have been taken. The number is down by eighty or ninety percent, and the value is probably less than a drop in the bucket."
Starlight remained silent, listening to Li Chunjun's words.
Many qualified candidates had abandoned the inheritance because the resources provided were too meager and the responsibilities too great.
"I know plenty of spirit-type lives who understand the importance of saving and earning. Why can't you think of a way to earn another Immortal Artifact?" Li Chunjun asked.
This spirit-type life's initiative was far inferior to Liu Yu's.
"Immortal Artifact..." Starlight was speechless.
He hadn't wanted to say much, but he couldn't help but ask, "Do you even know what an Immortal Artifact is?"
"Of course," Li Chunjun replied. "It's a Dao Artifact that surpasses all others."
Starlight didn't deny Li Chunjun's understanding, but he offered a formal explanation: "Dao Harmonizers, Supreme Sovereigns, and Ultimate Powerhouses call their personal Mystic Treasures Immortal Artifacts. They are Supreme Treasures capable of manifesting the Great Dao."
He paused for half a breath before continuing. "But true immortal artifacts can't be artificially crafted. Those made by humans are merely pseudo-immortal artifacts."
Li Chunjun was stunned.
"The so-called immortal artifacts circulating outside are like quasi-dao artifacts. They possess a trace of the profoundness of true immortal artifacts, but they can never match the perfection of the real thing. Each true immortal artifact is almost a manifestation of the Dao itself, which is why they're also called great dao immortal artifacts."
Starlight explained, "The only way to create them is for one Dao Harmonizer to kill another, extract the Dao from their body, and then refine it using a special method to transform it into an immortal artifact."
At these words, Li Chunjun's pupils contracted sharply.
"Once they reach the Dao Unification stage, almost no natural disaster in the Cosmos can threaten them anymore, except for the mysterious Five Declines of Heaven and Man. They've essentially achieved immortality. But at this point, their greatest adversaries become other Dao Harmonizers."
Starlight explained calmly, "Theoretically, a Dao Unification cultivator can only merge with one Dao. Because of interference between Daos, they rely on Immortal Artifacts, which manifest like Dao itself, to bypass the interference from their own Dao and comprehend a second Dao, paving the path to becoming a Supreme Sovereign."
"Are you saying Immortal Artifacts are essential for Dao Unification cultivators to advance to Supreme Sovereign?"
"Precisely. An Immortal Artifact is like a path forward for a Dao Unification cultivator. Similar Immortal Artifacts are almost like having an extra life. Killing any Dao Unification cultivator carries unpredictable dangers, making Immortal Artifacts invaluable."
As Starlight spoke, Li Chunjun understood what he meant by "unpredictable dangers."
If the Dao Venerable of the Great Dao of Destruction wanted to kill the Dao Venerable of the Great Dao of Life, they would have to actively enter the Great Dao River where the Dao Venerable of the Great Dao of Life resided. In that river, the Great Dao of Destruction would be almost useless. Once the Dao Venerable of Destruction entered, death would be inevitable.
Therefore, unless a high-tier Dao Harmonizer from the Great Dao of Life personally intervened, a Dao Venerable from the Great Dao of Destruction would be left helpless against a Dao Venerable from the Great Dao of Life hiding within the Great Dao River.
Even for a high-tier Dao Harmonizer from the Great Dao of Life to eliminate this Dao Venerable, it would require time and effort. During this period, the Dao Venerable could use an Immortal Artifact to defend themselves, buy time, and summon a higher-tier Dao Venerable from the Great Dao of Life to crush their opponent.
Even without a higher-tier Dao Venerable intervening, the Dao Harmonizer could use the Immortal Artifact to stall the high-tier Dao Venerable, preventing them from advancing while they themselves fought their way upstream.
By the time the high-tier Dao Venerable finally managed to destroy the Immortal Artifact's manifestation of the Great Dao, the Dao Harmonizer might have already descended from high-tier to low-tier.
This is why Immortal Artifacts are so precious.
A Dao Harmonizer wielding three to five Immortal Artifacts would possess deterrence comparable to that of a Supreme Sovereign.
"No wonder the Supreme Truth Sovereign felt such immense satisfaction and joy back then," Li Chunjun realized. "Who wouldn't be thrilled to acquire an Immortal Artifact?"
The boundaries between Dao Harmonizers, Supreme Sovereigns, and Ultimate Powerhouses are even more blurred than those between Void Refining, Dharma Manifestation, and Supreme Sage.
Considering the difference in strength between them lies solely in their mastery of the Dao, with no inherent superiority in the nature of their power, these three realms could even be considered the early, middle, and late stages of a single major cultivation realm.
Like veteran void refining cultivators, top-tier void refining cultivators, and peak void refining cultivators.
Or like ordinary dharma manifestations, high-grade dharma manifestations, and top-tier dharma manifestations.
"Perhaps you should also be astonished that Lord Chi Rong possesses an Immortal Artifact," starlight said.
"Chi Rong?" Li Chunjun looked up slightly. "Is that the Dao Venerable's name?"
But then, as if understanding something, he suddenly exclaimed, "You seem to be speaking in riddles?"
He continued, "No, wait... your attitude toward me seems different."
"Yes," starlight replied calmly. "Because you are unlike the other examinees."
"Different?"
"Even the strongest seeds from the so-called top-tier Great Sects could not defeat the three seven-colored guardians through sheer strength. Such individuals have little hope of reaching Dao Unification in the future."
Starlight looked at Li Chunjun. "But you did. Moreover, the techniques you employed resonated with both the Void and the Great Dao of Destruction. This suggests that either you are a Special Life, or..."
"Or else..." He didn't finish the sentence, but Li Chunjun already knew what he meant.
Divine.
Moreover, his words had reminded Li Chunjun.
While the Void Dao Body and Destruction Dao Body were excellent, directly boosting his combat power by thirty percent, their effects were too obvious. Using them would inevitably lead people to suspect he was an Innate Divine Being.
It was fine for now, while his dao bodies were still gestating. But once they fully matured...
A one- or two-fold increase wouldn't be surprising.
At that point, the Supreme Sages who sought to use a divine embryo to fuse with a dao opportunity would go mad. Even Dao Harmonizers would be tempted.
"What level is your Mind Realm?" Li Chunjun asked.
"Ninth level," Starlight replied calmly. "For beings like us, bound by certain responsibilities, our Mind Realm can never reach perfection."
Li Chunjun nodded.
"As a Special Life, you obviously can't shoulder the burden of reviving the Star Spirit Clan for the sake of the few remaining relics. However, I believe we can cooperate through a second method."
"Cooperate?"
"Yes." Starlight looked at Li Chunjun. "Would you accept a position with a salary, to become the Dao Protector of the future heir chosen by Emperor Chi Rong?"
(End of the Chapter)
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