Sherry Jing had just stepped into the Foundation Stage, and her Starstream Pearl began to merge with the starry veins in her meridians. The Starstream Pearl glowed brilliantly, and rows of script appeared upon its surface.
"Transforming true qi into primal essence, forging the foundation—this marks the beginning of the Starstream, forming the first star..."
Sherry Jing was stunned—this was exactly the Foundation Stage cultivation method she had long dreamed of obtaining. She had rushed back through dust and wind to break through to Foundation, hoping the sect would value her and grant her the inner disciple status and the Foundation Stage technique. She never imagined that the technique would come to her the moment she reached Foundation.
By now, Sherry Jing was no longer the inexperienced outsider she once was. She knew clearly where the Starstream Pearl came from—it belonged to the founding Patriarch of Starstream School. Since that was the case, the Starstream Technique shown on the pearl must be far more detailed than the sect’s standard method. It was said that Starstream School had once been a great sect, but later declined—perhaps because the Starstream Pearl was lost.
If she had known earlier that she could obtain the technique directly from the Starstream Pearl upon reaching Foundation, Sherry Jing would never have returned to Starstream School.
Sherry Jing took a deep breath. She decided to go to the Transmission Hall immediately to claim her new technique, then leave the sect to search for Joe Di.
"Has Sherry Jing of the Starstream School truly forged her foundation?" A deep voice rang out, filled with the care and joy of an elder for the younger generation.
Sherry Jing quickly performed the Dust-Clearing Technique on herself, activated a simple protective array, and stepped out of her room.
Standing several yards outside her room was a middle-aged man in a gray robe. Although Sherry Jing didn’t know who he was, she respectfully bowed and said, "Outer disciple Sherry Jing greets the elder. I have just succeeded in breaking through to Foundation. I obtained a Foundation Pill outside and feared it was unsafe to advance there, so I returned to the sect to break through. I was fortunate—success came on my first try."
"Haha, excellent!" The gray-robed man laughed heartily, then said, "I’m not an elder—I am Elder Harvey Reed, the current sect master of Starstream School."
Sherry Jing was momentarily confused—wasn’t Timothy Xiang the sect master of Starstream School? She knew Sect Master Xiang, so when had the sect changed leaders?
Elder Harvey Reed saw the look on Sherry Jing’s face and understood her thoughts. He waved his hand casually and said, "Sect Master Xiang has had some health issues, so I am currently serving as sect master. Congratulations on reaching Foundation—you may now go to the Affairs Hall to process your promotion to inner disciple, then proceed to the Technique Hall to claim your new technique... Ah, I remember now, you’re the Sherry Jing Elder Yu spoke so highly of, aren’t you?"
Elder Harvey Reed’s words were somewhat abrupt, but Sherry Jing understood perfectly. She quickly bowed again, "I am humbled, Elder. I have been away from the sect for years and did not know the sect master had changed. The matter Elder Yu mentioned was just a jest—I am of poor talent and hardly worthy of praise."
Elder Harvey Reed’s expression grew serious. "For you to reach Foundation in just over three years, no matter how fortunate you’ve been, your talent is truly outstanding. I have some matters to discuss with you. After you obtain your inner disciple status, come find me at Starstream Peak."
It was rare for a sect master to speak so kindly with a disciple—perhaps only Elder Harvey Reed would do so. He was always approachable, and he truly valued Sherry Jing’s talent. To reach Foundation in three years was not just a sign of good aptitude, but of genius.
The Skyveil was about to open, and this time Starstream School would send its ten most outstanding Qi Refining disciples and ten Foundation Stage disciples to compete for entry slots.
Sherry Jing had just reached Foundation, so she clearly couldn’t represent the sect in the competition. Still, with her talent, if the sect gained extra slots, Elder Harvey Reed planned to let her enter the Skyveil.
Only a genius like Sherry Jing could make truly great progress within the Skyveil.
If Sherry Jing were to perish inside the Skyveil, it would simply mean her luck had run out. Cultivation is always a battle for survival—no one achieves success by hiding at home. Even so, Elder Harvey Reed would let her decide for herself.
"I’ll follow your instructions, Elder. But do you know how Elder Yu is doing these days?" Sherry Jing didn’t want to continue discussing her talent and quickly changed the subject.
Upon hearing Sherry Jing ask about Elder Yu, Elder Harvey Reed sighed, "Elder Yu passed away several years ago."
"Ah..." Sherry Jing gasped, unable to speak for a long moment.
She had heard that Elder Yu was a top expert of Starstream School, at the ninth level of Golden Core. How could someone so strong just perish?
"It’s a long story, and it’s somewhat related to you. I’ll tell you after you come to Starstream Peak." Elder Harvey Reed sighed again and slowly walked away.
From his departing figure, Sherry Jing sensed a kind of desolation and heaviness, and an inexplicable weight settled in her heart.
She had achieved her goal, yet felt not the slightest joy.
...
Borderedge Outpost was as small a trading post as one could imagine.
Of course, even the smallest outpost would have inns and merchant buildings. Borderedge Outpost had only two inns, one of which was called Borderedge Inn.
On the fourth floor of a suite in Borderedge Inn, Joe Di let out a relaxed sigh.
A month ago, the wounds Joe Di suffered in the Qi Trading House’s secret chamber had completely healed. Although he’d been ambushed by Hunchback, he’d still gained a great deal overall.
He’d settle the score with Hunchback in due time. For now, he needed to take inventory of his spoils. As for heading to the Skyveil, there was no rush.
He and Garrett had already agreed that if Garrett didn’t find him within two days, he’d head to the Skyveil first.
From the storage bags of nineteen Golden Core cultivators, Joe Di had gathered a total of 2.6 million high-grade spirit stones, 34 million mid-grade spirit stones, and nearly 30 million low-grade spirit stones.
With just this fortune, Joe Di was now wealthy beyond measure—such riches were usually reserved for Soul Ancestors.
Besides the spirit stones, Joe Di had also collected a pile of spirit herbs below grade four. He handed all these herbs over to Sprout.
After learning about the side effects of pills, Joe Di decided he would never use pills to advance unless absolutely necessary.
He’d also accumulated a heap of materials for artifact refining and array flags, all of which he set aside for his own use.
Thinking of artifact refining, Joe Di remembered the flame Hunchback had taken. If he’d had that flame, he could now forge high-grade, or even top-grade, magical artifacts.
As his artifact refinement skills continued to improve, Joe Di felt more and more that his flame was insufficient. Up to now, he had only used the most basic Foundation Establishment True Flame. For refining artifacts, this kind of flame was nothing short of trash.
No matter how pure his true essence was, his cultivation was only at Foundation Establishment, and the strength of his flame was extremely limited.
What Joe Di loved most was a pile of jade slips—whether it was Geng Ji’s Thunder Sword or his own Peak Gathering and Raging Waves Fist, he had found them among these jade slips. Similarly, his rapid progress in formations and artifact refinement was inseparable from those jade slips.
The jade slips he obtained before had only come from a remote branch of the Qi Trading House. This time, the jade slips were from the Northern Headquarters of the Qi Trading House, and there were also various jade slips from nineteen Golden Core cultivators.
Joe Di held great expectations for this pile of jade slips.
Whenever Joe Di organized his belongings, the jade slips always took the longest. He would look at each and every one. If he found one that was useful, he would study it carefully.
Whether in the Ji Kingdom or on Earth, Joe Di always believed that knowledge could change everything.
No matter how cunning the Hunchback was, as long as Joe Di’s insight could catch up or even surpass him, one day, he would trample the Hunchback beneath his feet.
Joe Di was not so easily used—especially when it came to risking his own life.
The highest level of formation jade slips only involved fifth-grade arrays. The ordinary content of these jade slips meant little to Joe Di. However, some tips and obscure methods for setting up arrays piqued his interest.
Among the jade slips for pill, artifact, and talisman techniques, Joe Di cared most about those for artifact refinement. Just like with the formation jade slips, he had to carefully read every single artifact refinement jade slip.
He was able to refine top-grade mid-tier artifacts with only Foundation Establishment True Flame precisely because he had studied numerous jade slips and insights on artifact refinement.
Joe Di cared least about the cultivation method jade slips. After skimming through them all, he set them aside.
What caught Joe Di’s interest were the technique jade slips. His two fist techniques came from these, and even some Golden Core cultivators he had defeated claimed his fists were not mere techniques, but divine abilities.
Joe Di had looked into what divine abilities were, though he had never seen a true one. Still, his two fist techniques were indeed much stronger than ordinary techniques.
One technique jade slip after another was filtered through by Joe Di, until he picked out an ancient and rustic jade slip labeled Vitality Concealment.
Joe Di didn’t think the name Vitality Concealment sounded particularly impressive. What caught his attention was that the description on this old jade slip actually mentioned the words ‘divine ability’.
Ever since he started fighting against the Qi Trading House, Joe Di had acquired countless technique jade slips, but this was the first time he had seen one that claimed to contain a divine ability.