Shrouding the Heavens: Starting by joining the Holy Land of Yao Guang

Chapter 340 Bright Blue Ancient Star
The universe is like a black curtain, adorned with dazzling stars that bring a glimmer of light.

This is the first time Li Yao has crossed such a long distance since he set foot in the starry sky.

The Holy Spirit Ancient Road is located deep within the universe and is extremely hidden. Without knowing the exact coordinates, one would simply get lost and would have no chance of finding it.

Ahead, nine enormous stars lay in a line, far apart. Each one was incredibly large, exuding astonishing Daoist charm and boundless vital energy.

"Is this the Ancient Holy Spirit Road? Every ancient star here is no less impressive than the tenth level of the human race!" White Tiger exclaimed in surprise.

The Ancient Road of the Holy Spirit is renowned throughout the entire starry sky, but very few actually venture there. This is because the Holy Spirit has an extremely strong sense of territory; anyone who dares to approach will be killed without mercy.

Li Yao gazed at the nine celestial bodies ahead and fell into deep thought.

He was thinking about how to proceed so that he could devour the Holy Spirit without attracting too much attention.

Although this breakthrough has further enhanced his strength, Li Yao still hopes to avoid attracting the attention of the Holy Spirit Quasi-Emperor and secretly develop his abilities for a while.

After thinking for a moment, Li Yao came up with an idea.

The Holy Spirit has nine trials, each consisting of a different challenge. Through Shi Mang's memories, Li Yao knows what the trials are.

In the first trial, a powerful Holy Spirit will lead the team to place the Holy Spirits on a pre-selected ancient star. Once the Holy Spirits are wiped out, the trial will be considered complete.

It has to be said that when Li Yao saw this, he felt that the Holy Spirit Clan truly deserved to die.

Without any grudge or enmity, they deliberately come to your door and exterminate your entire clan; this is no different from being a killing machine.

Those chosen targets, until the moment of their death, still couldn't understand when they had offended the Holy Spirit.
Destroying you has nothing to do with you!

This statement was perfectly revealed by the Holy Spirit.

In particular, Li Yao also learned from Shi Mang's memories that during the first trial, the Holy Spirit preferred to target humans.

However, for the human race, the approach is not to exterminate them, but to choose a sacred place.

Over the years, countless people have died at the hands of the Holy Spirit, including cultivators and countless mortals.

It has to be said that Li Yao was furious when he saw this.

He was not a man of great emotion, but when he saw those infants being mercilessly killed, he couldn't help but feel a surge of rage, and his murderous intent towards the Holy Spirit reached its peak.

If he weren't so rational, Li Yao might have already stormed into the Holy Spirit Ancient Road and wreaked havoc.

"No rush, it's only a matter of time. All the Holy Spirits will become my nourishment." In the end, Li Yao could only tell himself this.

His thoughts were racing, but in the blink of an eye, Li Yao withdrew his gaze, concealed the murderous intent in his eyes, and regained his composure.

This scene terrified the White Tiger.

Having followed Li Yao for two and a half years, I have come to know my lord somewhat.

In that instant, it was clear that Li Yao was furious, the murderous intent surging in his eyes seemingly capable of freezing the entire starry sky and bringing everything to an end.

Even though it knew that as Li Yao's mount, it was not within the scope of the killing intent, the white tiger still instinctively felt fear.

"Let's go, move closer," Li Yao said, urging the white tiger forward.

With his current cultivation level, it would be easy for him to hide himself; no one below the Quasi-Emperor level could possibly discover him.

The first barrier of the Holy Spirit is adorned with falling starlight, dazzling and radiant, its entire surface possessing a glassy texture. Outside the ancient star, a warning array shrouds the area; if an outsider were to intrude, the array would issue a warning.

This method is very clever; even a Great Sage wouldn't be able to pass through the formation silently.

But in front of Li Yao, everything was meaningless, and he passed straight through the great formation.

The First Holy City.

This is a magnificent ancient city, standing tall in the sky, shrouded in clouds and mist, hazy and incomparably sacred, and the center of the first pass.

Within the city dwell many holy spirits of various kinds, but the most prominent are the Holy Spirits born of stone.

This is also the most numerous race in the Holy Spirit lineage; other races such as the Immortal Gold Holy Spirit and the Immortal Fire Holy Spirit are only a minority.

Li Yao did not enter the ancient city; instead, he remained hidden outside, using his powerful divine sense to probe for information within.

In the Holy City, in a vast restaurant forged entirely from divine gold, the Holy Spirits, the trial-takers, gathered and chatted merrily.

"How long until this trial begins? I've been staying in the First City for more than half a year now," complained a Saint-level Stone Embryo Holy Spirit.

“It will be soon, I have received the news, it will be in the coming days,” another Holy Spirit in stone replied.

The communication between these two Holy Spirits drew the attention of many more Holy Spirits.

A holy spirit, whose appearance was that of a stone man but whose eyes flowed with flames, looked around and asked, "Does anyone know which ancient star this time?"

Upon hearing this, many of the Holy Spirits in the restaurant shook their heads, indicating that they did not know, as the City Lord's Mansion had not yet made an announcement.

Just then, the Holy Spirit with flames flowing in his eyes spoke, "It is Minglan Star. You should all have heard of this ancient star to some extent."

"What?! It's actually that ancient star!"

All the Holy Spirits were astonished, finding it hard to believe.

Li Yao, standing outside the Holy City, felt a stirring in his heart. He knew that this ancient star was quite famous in the universe.

In the original work, the fate of this ancient star was also tragic. It was almost completely devoured by the Supreme Being, and all those above the Saint level were transformed into the Supreme Being's life source.

Minglan Ancient Star is a great star that is no less powerful than the Eternal Starfield or the Ascension Main Star. It is full of powerful individuals and has formidable strength.

"How could it be this ancient star?"

"Minglan Ancient Star has a Great Sage-level expert!"

Inside the restaurant, many holy spirits were unable to calm down, not understanding why the city lord's mansion had made that arrangement.

They were arrogant, but not stupid. They knew they couldn't fight against the Great Sage; that would be no different from courting death.

"Don't worry, this time the leader is Lord Shenyu, he will stop the Great Saint level expert." The Holy Spirit with flames flowing in his eyes said.

The other Holy Spirits, upon hearing this, were relieved, knowing that the Great Sage was there for them!
……

With the Great Sage around, Li Yao felt a surge of joy outside the ancient city.

At his current level, the divine power contained in saints and saint kings cannot satisfy him; only a great saint can produce immediate results.

Of course, this does not mean that saints and saint-kings are useless. If there are enough of them, the benefits they bring are no less significant.

Even the smallest mosquito leg is still meat; he will not let any Holy Spirit go unpunished, and if he could exterminate them, he would not hesitate.

Li Yao then stayed outside the ancient city for several more days to ensure that Minglan Star was the trial location before leaving the Holy City.

With a month to go before the trial begins, he doesn't plan to leave now, but instead seeks out some cultivation resources.

On this ancient star, many holy spirits lived.

Just like the human race's trial path, they came from different star systems and chose to stay here after failing the test.

Gradually, the number increased, and it reached a certain scale.

Li Yao traveled secretly, during which he saw many holy spirits, each of whom was very powerful, almost all of them at the level of ancient saints.

They walked right past him like a rare, walking treasure.

Even from a great distance, one could feel the immense divine power, as vast as an ocean. Truly a race born of nature, each one is of the highest quality.

It's very tempting, like the Dark Lord seeing a powerful cultivator.

Li Yao restrained himself and did not act impulsively. His target was the Holy Spirit who had been in seclusion for a long time.

These Holy Spirits disappeared so quickly that no one could detect it, and in fact, they might never be discovered.

With his divine sense, no array could block him, making the search very convenient.

The Holy Spirit’s terrifying life force, like a rainbow, pierced through heaven and earth, guiding His direction.

In a majestic sacred mountain, Li Yao finally made his harvest.

Inside a secret cave, Dao patterns were densely packed, isolating the inside from the outside. Judging from the traces, it had been in seclusion for at least several years.

Li Yao rode the white tiger and silently crept in, looking at the Holy Spirit sitting cross-legged before him.

This is a stone figure, tall and with an incredibly hard stone body, like an immortal divine metal. Its blood and energy surged, and its divine power was astonishing.

"how do you feel?"

"My lord, I think it's feasible and won't attract attention."

"Okay, that's it. We're finally open for business."

The stone man, who was in the process of comprehending the Dao, was startled, and his mind instantly tensed up.

"Someone!"

But how could that be? The formation wasn't activated, and he hadn't noticed anything at all!

The stone figure suddenly opened its eyes, a blinding divine light shooting forth, illuminating the dark cavern. An illusion…

He closed his eyes and opened them again, but unfortunately, the figures in front of him were still there—a young human and the divine tiger beneath him, both looking over curiously.

Refresh failed!

"His cultivation level is also quite good, at the seventh level of the Saint Realm. He can definitely fill a gap between someone's teeth," Li Yao commented.

Shi Ren was startled again. That gaze was terrifying, like a hunter staring at its prey.

"boom!"

A black hole appeared, and its powerful suction instantly pulled the stone man into the Great Dao Treasure Bottle.

The chasm between the two was completely insurmountable. The stone man had no power to resist and shattered instantly, turning into the purest essence.

At the same time, a faint curse power clung to it, like a maggot clinging to a bone.

Li Yao was satisfied and continued riding the white tiger, beginning to measure the ancient star.

In the following two weeks, Li Yao traversed most of the ancient star and reaped considerable rewards, devouring over seventy Holy Spirits. Although their cultivation levels were not high, only at the Saint level, with only a few Saint Kings among them.

However, the sheer quantity of Holy Spirits brought him considerable divine power, which was far greater than his own arduous spiritual practice.

New cultivation resources entered the Great Dao Treasure Bottle, and a continuous stream of essence began to nourish the body, cleansing every inch of flesh and blood, and finally being refined into chaotic divine power!
Having just broken through to a higher realm, he began to advance rapidly, his progress astonishing.

Like a reservoir, as long as water comes in, it keeps accumulating upwards without any bottleneck.

"Let's go, it's almost time to head to Minglan Ancient Star." Li Yao said with some reluctance.

This ancient star is teeming with holy spirits; if one were to devour them all, one's cultivation would undoubtedly break through once again.

Unfortunately, he doesn't know the exact strength of the Holy Spirit lineage, so he doesn't dare to go all out.

But it doesn't matter, he will come back again, and then he will not be as cautious as he is now.

The secret of the "Travel" technique unfolded, and in an instant, it left the Nine Gates of the Holy Spirit and descended into the outer starry sky. Then, it took out the Divine Light Platform and began to traverse.

He had learned the exact coordinates of Minglan Ancient Star through the memories of the Holy Spirit over the past half month.

After crossing the river more than ten times, a large, azure star appeared before us.

This star is enormous; it can be considered a major star in the entire universe. The Great Dao is active, and its essence is abundant.

……

"This is Minglan Ancient Star!"

A beam of divine light tore through the universe and descended outside the ancient star Minglan, gazing curiously at the large star before it.

This is a team of Holy Spirits, only a few dozen in number, all of whom are the first test subjects of the Holy Spirit.

This batch of Holy Spirits was of exceptionally high quality, each one being the best among the saints. They were all incredibly powerful, releasing their abundant blood and energy without restraint, stirring up this sea of ​​stars and forming a torrent of laws.

Compared to them, some of the surrounding meteorites were completely dim and became inconspicuous.

"This is your trial ground. The test is to annihilate a race. You can choose your own target, but it must be a race with a saint in charge."

A colossal stone figure, exuding immense power and vitality, announced the start of the trial with an expressionless face. The chilling aura emanating from its words sent shivers down the spine of the entire starry sea.

This is a Great Sage named Shenyu, who is the leader and examiner of this trial.

As his words fell, dozens of holy spirits moved and flew towards the ancient star below.

No one questioned the assessment goals; everyone was extremely arrogant, thinking it was not a difficult task.

Just as they were full of vigor and ready to storm into Minglan Ancient Star, a huge hand suddenly slammed down from the sky.

The heavens and earth trembled, and the supreme power was awe-inspiring. Wherever the giant hand passed, stars shattered and turned into dust.

"How dare you, petty scoundrels, invade my Minglan Ancient Star!"

A majestic voice resounded throughout the starry sea, like the clanging war cries of ancient times. The enormous hand, spanning thousands of miles, blotted out the sky and enveloped dozens of holy spirits.

"A Great Sage!"

The Holy Spirits were startled, and fear rose in their hearts. They were powerless to resist such power.

"boom!"

Just then, Shen Yu also moved. With a clang, he drew out a stone spear that pierced through the heavens and the earth, spanning across the starry sea, and intercepted the giant hand.

"Your opponent is me?" A cold voice resounded, and Shen Yu's body swelled up, reaching the sky and transforming into a giant tens of thousands of feet tall.

The great sage's divine radiance swirled around, dazzling the eye and illuminating the entire sea of ​​stars.

"Holy Spirit!" Gu Tian exclaimed in surprise, withdrawing his hand and asking warily, "What do you want to do? Are you going to start a war with Minglan Ancient Star?"

Shen Yu brandished his spear, shattering countless meteors and causing the starry sea to churn. A tremendous divine voice shook the heavens, "Our clan's trial will begin on Minglan Ancient Star. Don't get in the way."

The trial was discovered before it even began, which was unexpected by Shen Yu. However, as a proud Holy Spirit, he would not back down and his imposing aura was overwhelming.

"This is outrageous!" Gu Tian was furious. His divine power surged, and he also manifested a heaven-reaching Dharma form that filled the sky, reaching an unknown height of tens of thousands of miles, no less impressive than the Divine Feather Stone Body.

As a great sage, invincible under heaven and worshipped by all spirits, when has he ever suffered such humiliation and been so despised?

Shen Yu's words just now were extremely arrogant, showing no regard for him whatsoever.

"It seems you want a fight. Then today, I will grant your wish." Shen Yu showed no sign of backing down, his Great Sage power astonishing the world.

"Then let it come! The legend of the invincible Holy Spirit will crumble after today!" Gu Tian's fighting spirit surged.

The terrifying might of the Great Sage caused the star field to tremble, the stars to flash wildly, and the weather in the sky to change unpredictably.

Such a change naturally attracted the attention of the beings within the ancient star Minglan. All the ancient saints opened their heavenly eyes and looked towards the outside world.

"It's the Great Sage Gu Tian! What's wrong with him? Who is he fighting?"

"It's the Holy Spirit! They're going to invade Minglan Ancient Star!"

The entire ancient star trembled, and everyone was shocked. The Holy Spirit lineage had attacked; this was an absolutely earth-shattering change.

In particular, some powerful forces and races are well aware of the horror of the Holy Spirit and are all terrified.

"The Holy Spirit lineage will soon begin its trials on the ancient star of Bright Blue. Everyone, be on alert!" The voice of the Ancient Great Sage resounded across the sky, informing all races of this news.

"Damn Holy Spirit, you've gone too far!"

"Defend our homeland! Fight them to the death!"

Immediately, all living beings living on Minglan Ancient Star, regardless of race, were filled with excitement.

Regardless of any past grievances between them, at this moment, they must cooperate sincerely, for this ancient star is the home of all people, and the Holy Spirit lineage is the invader.

A holy aura swept across the sky, and figures soared into the heavens, all ancient saintly powerhouses, their killing intent boundless.

They come from different races, but they have one thing in common: they all live on the same ancient planet.

At the same time, a majestic divine voice resounded, "The trial has been changed. All Holy Spirits, those who kill two others of the same rank will pass the test."

"Kill..."

Dark clouds loomed over the city, threatening to crush it, as if a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals had descended with an indomitable and invincible momentum, charging towards the ancient star below.

A great massacre has begun!
Standing atop a majestic sacred mountain, Li Yao saw this scene and a smile crept onto his lips.

The fighting has started, and the plan is proceeding as he envisioned. Next, it's time to fish in troubled waters.

With overwhelming divine might, the divine energy swept across the void like a vast ocean, causing it to collapse continuously, and the two sides engaged in an earth-shattering battle.

Those who undergo the Holy Spirit Trials possess boundless energy and power; each is incredibly strong and invincible among their peers. Often, they can single-handedly contend with several saints.

But suddenly, a piercing wail echoed across the battlefield, and a life was extinguished.

The one who made the move was a middle-aged man, who appeared to be around forty years old and of medium build. After killing the Holy Spirit, he casually waved his hand and put it away.

"It's him, the Ancient Saint Mingxuan! He's still alive!" someone exclaimed.

It is said that this ancient sage has been dead for hundreds of years, but unexpectedly he appeared at this time and dealt a heavy blow to the Holy Spirit.

That's not all. After killing one Holy Spirit, Mingxuan Ancient Saint moved and attacked another Holy Spirit.

His strength was far greater than the rumors suggested; even the invincible Holy Spirit couldn't withstand more than a few moves from him.

"The Saint King, Saint King Mingxuan, has broken through his shackles. No wonder he is so powerful!"

"Haha, Minglan is invincible, and the mere Holy Spirit is nothing to worry about!"

Countless people roared. They had already been in despair because of the Holy Spirit's attack, but they never expected that such a powerful figure would suddenly appear on their side.

Just then, the void trembled, and an unfamiliar stone figure emerged, blocking the path of Saint King Mingxuan.

(End of this chapter)