Evan Chu stepped toward the Starflare Stone, feeling the pressure grow heavier with every step. The closer he got, the denser the Stellar Power became. He really wanted to stop and absorb it right then, but he forced himself to hold back.
It wasn’t too late to absorb after he got the Starflare Stone and Star Crystals. After all, the Starflare Stone was the key to entering the Netherworld and getting the Netherghost Violet Orchid, while the Star Crystals were absolutely essential for Frostbane Sect’s rise.
Evan was bursting with excitement. Just thinking about getting dozens of Star Crystals made him fired up. He’d already broken through to the Fifth Layer of the Starforge Body, and if he mastered Woodshift, he could basically walk sideways across the whole Azure Tide Ruins!
Once Frostbane Sect was strong enough to stand among the Nine Great Sects, he could finally take care of the mission on his shoulders. Just thinking about it made him pick up his pace.
Evan started to notice an invisible wall blocking his way, making every step a struggle. Weirded out, he asked Luna, the Sword Spirit, "Big Sis Luna, what’s going on? Something’s stopping me."
"That’s a barrier formed by Stellar Power over countless years. You’ll have to break through it to get past. Hit it with your strongest attack—maybe that’ll do the trick," Luna said.
Evan instantly pulled out the Flame Dragon Sword from his storage ring. He didn’t use the Frostbane Sword for a reason: even though Frostbane was insanely sharp, when it came to raw attack power, the Flame Dragon Sword was way stronger.
The Flame Dragon Sword had the Fire Dragon King inside, which boosted its attack power even more. Without hesitation, Evan activated Tyrant Cleave.
A dragon’s roar echoed through the spatial black hole again as Evan’s Flame Dragon Sword unleashed a blazing red sword light, slashing straight at the invisible barrier.
A deafening boom erupted. The rebound force blasted Evan dozens of meters away, slamming him to the ground. His wrist, still gripping the Flame Dragon Sword, throbbed with pain.
Even with his Fifth Layer Starforge Body, Evan could feel the pain—just shows how insanely strong that rebound force was. He scrambled back to his feet, ready to go at the barrier again.
Goldwing stopped absorbing Stellar Power and waddled over. "Boss, you okay? What are you chopping at that blasted you so far back?"
"I’m fine, Old Goldwing. You keep absorbing that Stellar Power—this is a rare chance, don’t waste it. Leave me be," Evan said, glancing at Goldwing.
Goldwing nodded and went back to his spot, soaking up Stellar Power. Evan, meanwhile, took another swing at the invisible wall.
"Aooo!" "Bang!" Evan unleashed Tyrant Cleave again, only to get blasted back once more. Since his bloodline had partially awakened, he was already at Seventh-Layer Divine Martial Realm, and his Chaos Dragon Force could power Tyrant Cleave nearly ten times.
Breaking through a whole realm’s worth of Chaos Dragon Force was seriously terrifying. Evan kept slashing at the barrier, but by the ninth strike, his face was as pale as a ghost.
"Evan, you’re swinging all over the place—you’ll never break through like that. Every strike lands in a different spot, so it’s barely doing anything. You need to hit the same place every time if you want results." Luna sounded super frustrated.
"It’s like chopping a tree—if you don’t hit the same spot, you’ll never cut it down. With your divine sense, you should be able to see where you’re striking." Luna’s tone was like she couldn’t believe how clueless Evan was.
Evan got it instantly. His Chaos Dragon Force was almost tapped out, so he moved right up to the barrier and started absorbing energy like crazy.
He realized the Stellar Power here was every bit as pure as that green solid energy he’d used before. His absorption rate was off the charts, and in less than a day, his Chaos Dragon Force was maxed out again.
This time, Evan didn’t rush to attack the barrier—he spread out his divine sense and started examining the invisible wall up close.
The moment his divine sense touched the barrier, Evan spotted tons of marks all over it—his handiwork from earlier, no doubt. He memorized the deepest scar.
Gripping the Flame Dragon Sword tight, Evan poured everything into a devastating Tyrant Cleave, landing the blow right on that deepest mark.
He still got blasted back, but this time Evan called out to the Fire Dragon King: "Fire Dragon King, let loose all your flames! Maybe only fire can break through a barrier made of Stellar Power. Other attacks might split it, but it just fuses right back together."
"Don’t worry, I’ve got this covered!" the Fire Dragon King replied confidently.
Evan walked up to the barrier, checked the spot with his divine sense, and saw it had grown bigger. He swung again—the flames from this strike lit up the whole area, tongues of fire almost half a meter high, and the sword light stretched a full three meters. Now that was a real flame sword!
Another deafening boom rang out, and Evan got blasted back again. On his eighth Tyrant Cleave, the barrier finally shattered—a surge of Stellar Power sent him flying.
"Evan, hurry and get Goldwing back inside you—he can’t handle this kind of pressure!" Luna yelled urgently.
Evan knew how serious it was. He shouted to Goldwing, "Old Goldwing, get back in my body—pressure’s spiking again!"
Goldwing flashed with golden light and vanished. But this time, instead of the Stellar Power ramping up the pressure like Luna said, it shot straight toward the astral wind region behind them. Watching all that power rush away, Evan couldn’t help but feel a little regret.
After about half a stick of incense, everything finally calmed down. The Stellar Power in the area was still thick as ever. Evan called Goldwing back out to absorb, and started soaking it up himself too.
Once he’d fully recovered, Evan walked up to the Starflare Stone. Only now did he get a good look: it was a gray-white boulder, and all around it were massive Starstones—some of the biggest were taller than a person. If a Starstone this size showed up in the Azure Tide Ruins, it’d cause a total uproar.
Evan hesitated. The treasure was right in front of him, but he had no clue how to get it out. After staring for ages and getting nowhere, he finally asked Luna, the Sword Spirit, "Big Sis Luna, how do I get the Starflare Stone out?"
"Just pull out the Starstones around it first—then you’ll be able to reach it. Those outside are all low-grade Starstones. Who’d have thought this spatial spirit vein was actually a Starstone lode? What a rare find," Luna said.
"A Starstone lode? You mean there are loads of Starstones here?" Evan asked, shocked.
"Not that many—just enough to fill up all your storage rings and belts, maybe even have plenty left over. But don’t think it’ll be easy to get them. You’ll have to work for it," Luna replied.
Evan just stood there, totally stunned... like he’d turned to stone.