Starting as a menial disciple, he cultivated beasts and achieved immortality.

Mochen Station, the ninth floor of the Star Tower.

Yu Changsheng sat cross-legged in the center of that primordial starry sky, beneath him a starlight futon formed from the Time-Space Tribulation Seal. Three days of his seven-day seclusion had already passed.

His consciousness completely sank into his dantian—no longer the golden core or nascent soul of an ordinary cultivator, but a real, miniature starry universe. The star base spread out into an endless sea of ​​stars, each star a nascent Dao seed; the Annihilation Sword Pattern no longer existed independently, but merged into the sea of ​​stars, becoming the natural law of the birth and death of stars; the Star Ember Fire Core transformed into the eternally burning "Primordial Fire" in the center of the sea of ​​stars, providing light, heat, and evolutionary power to the entire starry sky; the Devouring Void Runes wove together to form the dimensional skeleton supporting the starry sky, stabilizing the spacetime structure; the Chaos Emperor's Blood flowed within, like a river of life nurturing infinite possibilities; and the Emerald Gold Dao Rhyme transformed into an invisible net of Heavenly Dao Laws, regulating the balanced operation of all things.

With the six forces returning to their source, the original Dao embryo has been formed.

But Yu Changsheng knew that this was only the tip of the iceberg of the true power of "Source Star".

With a slight thought, the Origin Star that had merged into the Dao Embryo began to slowly rotate. A vast yet gentle primordial power surged from the depths of the star's core, silently permeating every corner of the starry sky like spring rain nourishing all things.

First, there was the Star Base. The previously somewhat illusory starry sky gradually solidified under the nourishment of the Origin Star's power. One by one, the faint stars, like fireflies, lit up, their starlight intertwining to form a complex yet orderly star map. Yu Changsheng could clearly perceive that each star resonated with the real nodes of the Ancient Starfall Road in the outside world—the ruins of Mochen Station, Zhongchen Station, and Chuchen Station, and even those smaller nodes that had long been lost to the river of history, were all clearly presented in his perception at this moment.

“So when the Starry Sky Forger opened the ancient path, he integrated his own Dao Seed with the ancient path’s veins.” Yu Changsheng realized in his heart, “The so-called ‘Source Star’ is both the core of inheritance and part of the origin of the ancient path. To inherit the Source Star is to inherit the past and future of this star path.”

The next day, he focused on the transformation of the Annihilation Sword Pattern.

Annihilation is not mere destruction. Throughout the long history of the Ancient Starfall Path, countless stars have been born and fallen, countless civilizations have risen and fallen. The essence of the Annihilation Sword Mark is the embodiment of the Great Dao law that "all existence must end." But the end is not nothingness—after stars fall, they turn into stardust, and stardust condenses to give birth to new stars; after life perishes, it returns to heaven and earth, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth nourishes new life.

"Annihilation and rebirth are two sides of the same coin." Yu Changsheng used his divine sense to manipulate the sword patterns of annihilation, the dark blue lines weaving through the sea of ​​stars like a dragon. Wherever it passed, some overly dense stars on the verge of collapsing due to energy imbalance were "annihilated," turning into pure stardust. But this stardust did not dissipate; instead, it was swept away by the Chaos Emperor's Blood River, flowing towards the nascent starfields still in the gestation phase at the edge of the sea of ​​stars.

The sword strike was not meant to kill, but to stop killing; annihilation was not the end, but the beginning of new life. This was the "Compassionate Sword Intent" he had comprehended in the eighth level of the Tribulation of All Beings.

On the third day, the Star Ember Core underwent its transformation.

This fire core originated from the energy of the Devouring Mother Nest that Yu Changsheng absorbed during the death battle in the Burial Star Sea. It then merged with the annihilation sword intent of Mo Yu's remnant soul when the Star Silence Sword was reforged, and finally transformed into the Star Ember Fire when the Dao Embryo was reforged at the First Star Station. Its essence is "new life born from destruction"—like the singularity at the beginning of the Big Bang, which burst forth with the power to create all things in the extreme destruction.

Yu Changsheng guided the fire core into the center of the starry sea, merging it with the power of the source star. In an instant, the entire starry sky seemed to be ignited! Flames intertwined with icy blue and dark red swept in all directions, and wherever they passed, the still illusory stars were "tempered" to become more solid. Some nascent Dao seeds rapidly grew and differentiated in the flames, evolving into stars with different attributes—there were blazing stars, icy stars, vibrant green stars, and deathly dark stars...

“I see.” Yu Changsheng suddenly understood. “The Star Ember Fire is not simply a ‘flame,’ but ‘evolution’ itself. It does not burn matter, but ‘possibilities’—refining the undifferentiated Dao Seeds of Chaos into unique and independent existences.”

On the fourth day, the Devouring Void Rune underwent a transformation.

In the river of time, Yu Changsheng once used the Devouring Void Rune to anchor "this moment," comprehending the profound connection between space and time. Now, he integrates this understanding into his Dao Embryo.

Nourished by the power of the Origin Star, the 108 Devouring Void Runes began to split and recombine. Each rune transformed into a miniature "void vortex," interconnected by spatial veins, weaving a dimensional network covering the entire starry sea. This network served as both the framework supporting the stable existence of the starry sky and the channel for devouring external energy and feeding it back into the starry sky.

Even more remarkably, when Yu Changsheng touched the net with his divine sense, he could perceive the "flow rate" of spacetime within the star sea—time was slightly faster in some areas and slightly slower in others, but overall it maintained a delicate balance. This reminded him of the "Spacetime Calamity Seal" he had obtained on the seventh floor.

He took out the Calamity Seal, a silvery-white teardrop-shaped crystal that floated in his palm, its interior swirling with galaxies. The power of the Origin Star automatically surged into the Calamity Seal, and dense time runes appeared on its surface. Yu Changsheng used his divine sense to decipher it, gradually understanding the true use of the Calamity Seal.

“Reversing local time three times… or accelerating time a hundredfold for the duration of an incense stick…” he muttered to himself. “But the real use is not simply reversing or accelerating, but rather ‘anchoring’ and ‘cutting’. By locking a certain moment with the calamity seal, even if the external spacetime collapses, order can be reshaped based on this point.”

He absorbed the Calamity Seal into his Dao Embryo, which floated in the center of the Star Sea, becoming the second core after the Origin Star.

On the fifth day, the Chaos Emperor's Blood underwent a transformation.

The Chaos Emperor's Bloodline originates from Yu Changsheng's bloodline inheritance and is the most "ancient" and "domineering" of the six powers of the Star Silence Dao Embryo. Its essence is "vitality and inclusiveness"—the Emperor does not rule over all living beings, but rather guides them to create order within chaos.

Yu Changsheng connected the Chaos Emperor's Blood River with the dimensional network woven from the Devouring Void Runes. The river surged, flowing along the spatial veins to every corner of the star sea. Wherever it passed, the surfaces of those originally lifeless stars began to emerge with the most primal seeds of life—tiny as dust, yet containing infinite possibilities.

“Life…is so fragile, yet so tenacious,” Yu Changsheng remarked.

He recalled the beings he had seen in the eighth level of the Tribulation of All Beings: the struggles of the Yin Sha Sect demonic cultivators, the obsessions of the Xuan Tian Sword Sect disciples, the longing of the Star Remains Spirits for "going home" before their distortion, and even the anger of the Void Beasts when they first felt "pain"... These emotions and memories were now integrated into the Chaos Emperor's Blood River, becoming nourishment for the birth of new life.

On the sixth day, the transformation of Cui Jin Dao Yun took place.

This is the power imprinted in Chen Xueqing's Dao Embryo, and it is also the most unique of the six powers. It is not a means of attack or defense, but rather "regulation" and "balance"—like the net of the laws of heaven, maintaining the harmonious operation of all things in the entire star sea.

Yu Changsheng communicated with the Emerald Gold Dao Aura through his divine sense, only to discover that it was resonating with something in the outside world. Following the resonance, he "saw" Chen Xueqing sitting cross-legged before the Star Chart Altar in the center of the main hall of the post station, her hands holding the fused Star Key fragment. Her spiritual body had become much more solid, and an emerald gold halo enveloped her like a light veil. A mark remarkably similar to the Origin Star appeared between her brows—it was the "Star Key Dao Seal" she had condensed after deeply fusing the Star Key fragment with the "Return to the Void: Origin Pivot".

Separated by the distance between the Star Tower and the altar, the two opened their eyes simultaneously, their gazes meeting. Without a word, Yu Changsheng understood Chen Xueqing's progress over the past six days: her spirit body had not only recovered but, nourished by the Star Key fragment, had reached unprecedented stability. The fused Star Key fragment now completely recognized her as its master, and the locations of the five remaining fragments marked on the star map were clearly visible, especially the sealed "Starfall Gate" deep within the Meteor Abyss—the star map's guidance was crystal clear; the second fragment was behind the gate.

The seventh day.

Yu Changsheng integrated all his insights. The six powers of his original Dao Embryo returned to their source, and his cultivation naturally broke through to the peak of the Nascent Soul stage. However, he was not in a hurry to leave seclusion, but instead used his last moments to comprehend the deep connection between the "Space-Time Tribulation Seal" and the "Origin Star".

He took out a "Sand of Time" from the ruins of the Soul-Severing Corridor—a strange object condensed from the turbulent flow of time, about the size of a fingernail, with twisted silver-white light flowing inside. The Calamity Seal hovered above the Sand of Time, slowly rotating. Guided by the power of the Origin Star, the Sand of Time gradually melted, turning into a pool of silver-white liquid, which merged into the Calamity Seal.

A third time rune appeared on the surface of the calamity seal.

“Reversed three times… no, now it’s four times.” Yu Changsheng sensed the changes in the Calamity Seal. “Moreover, I can use the Calamity Seal as a medium to briefly ‘peek’ into the possibilities of different timelines—just like those future fragments I saw in the seventh layer of the River of Time.”

He didn't try to glimpse the future. His experience on the eighth floor taught him that the future is not predetermined; every choice can cause countless possibilities to crumble and recombine. Anchoring himself in the present moment and believing in the choices he makes now is what matters most.

On the evening of the seventh day, Yu Changsheng walked out of the Star Tower.

Outside the tower, Elder Qingyi and Elder Jianchen had been waiting for a long time. Their auras were much more stable than seven days ago. Although Elder Qingyi's Pure World Lotus was still missing three petals, the lotus heart had regained its vitality. At Elder Jianchen's severed arm, a new arm formed by the origin of stars and the blood of the Chaos Emperor was growing. Although it was not yet fully formed, its outline could already be seen.

"Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Yu, on your great progress in cultivation." Elder Qingyi smiled.

Yu Changsheng returned the greeting, his gaze falling towards the altar. Chen Xueqing had risen from before the altar; her spirit body was no longer translucent, but rather resembled a jade-gold glass statue, shimmering with light. Only her eyes remained as clear as ever.

"Meteor Abyss." She uttered the three words softly, and a clear star map was projected from the Star Key fragment in her palm. In the star map, the point of light representing Meteor Abyss was flickering slightly, as if calling out.

Yu Changsheng nodded and turned to Qingyi and Jianchen: "Elders, I entrust Mochen Post Station to you. The reception array has been set up. If we do not return within seven days, or if any changes occur in the direction of Meteor Abyss, do not wait. Activate the array immediately and lead the disciples back to Chuchen Post Station."

Elder Qingyi remained silent for a moment, then took out a vibrant green lotus seed from her bosom: "This is the 'natal lotus seed' of the Pure World Lotus. If you encounter the corruption of the Void Ruler's will in the Meteor Abyss, this lotus seed can protect your soul from falling for seven days."

Yu Changsheng solemnly accepted it. Elder Jian Chen then handed over a sword talisman with his one arm: "This talisman contains the full power of the Xuan Tian Star Dou Sword Formation. Although it is not enough to harm the Void Ruler, it may buy you a moment."

"Thank you." Yu Changsheng put the lotus seed and sword talisman into his Dao Embryo, and hung them together with the Time-Space Tribulation Seal in the center of the star sea.

He turned around, and Chen Xueqing had already transformed into emerald-gold threads of light, wrapping around his wrist. The two stepped out of the protective light shield of Mochen Post Station and flew along the Star Remains Chain towards the direction of Meteor Abyss.

Deep within the ancient path of fallen stars lies the Meteorite Abyss.

This place was once an abyss formed from a piece of "star core waste" that the Starry Sky Forgers extracted from the void when they opened the ancient path. Later, the Starfall Venerable attained enlightenment here, integrating his understanding of annihilation and stars into it, making it a forbidden place that is both dangerous and full of opportunities.

Yu Changsheng and Chen Xueqing traveled along the Star Remains Chain for a day and a night, finally reaching the edge of the Abyss.

The scene before me was even more breathtaking than any depiction on the star map.

It was an abyss formed from billions of shattered stellar fragments, its mouth a thousand miles wide, its edges jagged, like wounds gnawed by a colossal beast. Countless fragments of stellar debris swirled slowly and eerily around the mouth of the abyss, forming concentric rings of "stellar debris." Between the rings, there were silvery-white spatial turbulences and gray-black annihilating mists. Occasionally, a fragment of stellar debris would fall into the mist and be instantly eroded into nothingness.

Even more chilling is that directly above the abyss, suspended in the air, is a "Starry Annihilation Array" composed of nine dark blue stars. These nine stars are not physical entities, but rather sealing nexus formed by Venerable Starfall using his own sword intent of annihilation and the essence of stars. Each star exudes the pressure of a full-force attack from a peak Nascent Soul cultivator. The nine stars work together to form a pale blue light membrane, firmly sealing off the entire abyss.

On the surface of the light membrane, there were constant impacts from void turbulence and annihilation mist, but they were all neutralized by the power of the nine stars.

"What a terrifying seal." Chen Xueqing's spirit body appeared, her emerald-gold pupils reflecting the brilliance of nine stars. "This formation... is actually based on the Venerable's own Annihilation Sword Intent, with the star cores of nine real stars as the hub, forcibly separating the Meteor Abyss from the main space to form an independent 'sealed realm.' To forcibly break the formation, one would probably need the cultivation of the Void Refinement stage."

“There’s no need to force it.” Yu Changsheng gazed at the Nine Stars, the Origin Star slowly rotating within his Dao Embryo. “I can sense that this formation has a ‘back door’—when Venerable Starfall set up this seal, he left a way to communicate using the power of the Origin Star.”

He raised his right hand, and the Origin Star appeared in his palm. The gentle starlight spread like ripples on water, and the moment it touched the Nine Star Barrier, the nine dark blue stars trembled slightly at the same time, as if sleeping guardians were awakened by a familiar call.

At the very center of the abyss, the light membrane slowly cracked open, creating a gap just wide enough for one person to pass through.

Just then, a sudden change occurred! (End of Chapter)