Chapter 174: All Heaven Star Banner
Chapter 174: Chapter 174: All Heaven Star Banner
Above the Wilderness.
Xiao Yunzhi intercepted Li Ping. Before he had time to think, she called out, "Fellow Daoist Yan."
This couldn’t help but leave Li Ping slightly stunned. He was currently disguised as Xiong Dahai. How had Xiao Yunzhi recognized him?
After a moment’s hesitation, however, he shook his head coolly. "Fairy, I’m afraid you have the wrong person. I am Xiong Dahai, not some Fellow Daoist Yan you know."
Hearing his denial, Xiao Yunzhi couldn’t help but look doubtfully at the Blazing Sun Bird on her shoulder.
The Spirit Bird glanced at Li Ping with disdain, then let out an anthropomorphically proud, clear chirp.
Its incredibly intelligent expression seemed to say, ’Hmph, you think you can fool your big sister bird?’
Seeing this, Li Ping had a flash of understanding. ’No wonder Xiao Yunzhi stopped me for no reason,’ he thought. ’It turns out her Spirit Bird recognized my aura.’
This left him feeling rather awkward.
His shapeshifting and disguise abilities had actually been defeated by this Blazing Sun Bird.
’Still, it’s not surprising for a heavenly Spirit Bird like this to have special abilities,’ he mused. ’After all, my Desolate Fire Sparrow can inflict double damage on Demon Cultivators.’
"Physician Yan, I still haven’t properly thanked you for saving my life." Xiao Yunzhi had no intention of mocking him; instead, she spoke softly to Li Ping, expressing her gratitude.
As she spoke, she seemed to recall the process of Li Ping treating her, and a blush couldn’t help but creep onto her face.
Li Ping had no time to get entangled with her here. After spreading the news that ’the four sects of the Demon Dao have allied with the Tuluo People to invade the Western Wilderness,’ his plan was to return to Fenglan Immortal City and lay low.
Facing Xiao Yunzhi’s thanks, he said flatly, "I’ve already made myself clear. You have the wrong person, Fairy. I have matters to attend to, so I must take my leave now."
’No matter what Xiao Yunzhi wants, I will not admit my identity. This is the self-discipline of an actor.’
Hearing this, Xiao Yunzhi looked at him in surprise, then her eyes dimmed. "Since you put it that way, Fellow Daoist, then perhaps I really have made a mistake. Please forgive me if I’ve disturbed you."
"It’s nothing. I’ll be going now." Li Ping nodded slightly.
He didn’t look at Xiao Yunzhi again. With a stir of his Divine Thought, the Flying Ship beneath his feet shot forward, heading toward Fenglan Immortal City, and vanished over the horizon in the blink of an eye.
Leaving Xiao Yunzhi standing alone in the air, her expression wistful.
"CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP..."
The Blazing Sun Bird chirped urgently, as if to say it would never mistake someone.
Xiao Yunzhi smiled and stroked its head. "Alright, alright, I know you’re the best. Let’s go back."
「Shortly after returning to the Immortal City.」
Xiao Yunzhi received an order from the higher-ups of the Academy Palace to gather in the Central Hall, and she hurried over.
When she arrived at the Central Hall, she discovered that it wasn’t just her; every Foundation Establishment Cultivator currently at Jixia had been summoned.
Soon, Song Yushu came out and informed them of a shocking piece of news.
On the way back to her immortal’s-cave, Xiao Yunzhi’s eyes were filled with contemplation. ’According to what the Blazing Sun Bird sensed, Fellow Daoist Yan seems to have arrived at the Immortal City five days ago. And the rumors just happened to start spreading shortly after that. Could this matter be related to him?’
Perhaps it was a woman’s sixth sense, but Xiao Yunzhi immediately connected the two events.
’If Fellow Daoist Yan was the one who spread the rumor, how did he find out this information?’ Xiao Yunzhi was bewildered. ’Logically, a matter like this should be an absolute secret for the four sects of the Demon Dao and the Tuluo People.’
Xiao Yunzhi thought silently, ’If the news is true, everyone in the Daoist Guardian Alliance will owe you a favor!’
She knew just how important this information was.
But at the same time, she was even more puzzled.
’If the news is true, why would Fellow Daoist Yan choose to spread it anonymously? Wouldn’t it be better to directly inform the higher-ups of the Daoist Guardian Alliance?’
’Once the news is confirmed, he would surely gain immense prestige, as well as rewards and favors from the alliance. Isn’t that better than being a silent, unsung hero like this?’
’Perhaps...’ A possibility suddenly occurred to Xiao Yunzhi. ’Fellow Daoist Yan is a person of noble character who is indifferent to fame and fortune. He doesn’t care about prestige or rewards and doesn’t want to be burdened by them.’
Thinking of this, Xiao Yunzhi’s admiration for ’Fellow Daoist Yan’ grew even stronger.
She could also understand why he was unwilling to admit his identity.
To her, the fact that he had saved her life was a monumental event.
But to him, saving people was perhaps something he did every day, a routine he had long grown accustomed to. How could he possibly care?
Only she would be unable to stop thinking about it.
...
Li Ping, of course, had no idea what Xiao Yunzhi was thinking.
After rushing nonstop between three locations to spread all the information he had obtained from Yan Liming,
he sat on his Flying Ship and finally had a moment to open Yan Liming’s Storage Bag and sort through his loot.
Perhaps because it wasn’t a "first kill," the "drop rate" from Yan Liming the second time was clearly not as high as the first.
There weren’t many Spirit Stones, only a few thousand in total.
The Dharma Artifacts were also quite ordinary; there wasn’t a single Top-Grade Spiritual Artifact among them.
Li Ping didn’t fancy any of these Dharma Artifacts and planned to find a market on his way to sell them all.
He didn’t think much of the other miscellaneous materials either and planned to exchange them for Spirit Stones along the way.
"Huh? What’s this?"
Suddenly, Li Ping picked out a silver-colored metal plate from a pile of junk.
After inspecting its appearance for a moment and finding nothing special, he sent his Divine Sense directly into the metal plate to investigate it carefully.
And this investigation left him stunned.
「Several days later.」
Li Ping stood on the Floating Shadow Shuttle, a contemplative look in his eyes.
Over the past few days, he had passed through several markets, changed his appearance, and sold off all the Dharma Artifacts and miscellaneous items from Yan Liming’s Storage Bag, exchanging them for the Spirit Medicines needed to refine the Gathering Essence Pill.
But right now, he wasn’t thinking about the Spirit Medicines in his Storage Bag, but rather the silver metal plate from Yan Liming’s.
He had discovered something when he sent his Divine Sense into it to check.
This silver metal plate actually recorded the refining method for a Magical Treasure... well, calling it one item isn’t quite accurate. It should be called a set of Magical Treasures.
This Magical Treasure was called the All Heaven Star Banner!
It was a complete set of Magical Treasures, requiring the refinement of 365 banner flags, each corresponding to one of the 365 major stars in the sky.
Once this treasure was successfully refined, one could use the Star Banners to channel the Power of the Stars for attack during Magical Combat. Its might was vast, enough to sweep away any Cultivator of the same realm.
Of course, its offensive power was just one aspect. The most marvelous part was its deeper utilization of the Power of the Stars.
According to the treasure’s description, after successful refinement, a Cultivator could use the Star Banner as a medium to refine the Power of the Stars into their body, thereby using it to execute the famous ’Star Escape’.
Star Escape was a powerful Escape Technique, as famous as Thunder Escape and Wind Escape.
If he really possessed such a profoundly mystical Escape Technique, Li Ping would truly dare to say he could go anywhere he pleased in the world.
Besides these two aspects, according to the description on the Silver Page,
if he could find enough Celestial Meteorite Iron and Earth Magnetic Essence Stone to refine into the 365 Star Banners, he could even deploy the ’All Heaven Star Array’ out of thin air to fight enemies.
The All Heaven Star Array!
Li Ping had naturally heard of this famous Grand Array from ancient legends.
If he could truly deploy this Grand Array out of thin air with his Lifebound Magical Treasure, even if it were just a simplified version, possessing even a ten-thousandth of this ancient array’s power would be enough for him to sweep through the mortal realm and defeat enemies of a higher cultivation level!
However, Li Ping could only dream about it.
Never mind the fact that he was only at Mid-stage Foundation Establishment, with Core Formation still a distant prospect.
Even if he did reach Core Formation, it would be absolutely impossible to gather the materials for 365 All Heaven Star Banners.
Let alone the ’Celestial Meteorite Iron’ and ’Earth Magnetic Essence Stone’ needed to be refined into them to set up the All Heaven Star Array.
Having been at the Foundation Establishment stage for over thirty years, Li Ping had read widely and was no longer the ignorant Loose Cultivator he once was.
Celestial Meteorite Iron and Earth Magnetic Essence Stone.
One was a famous celestial Spiritual Object, refined by the great power of the heavens before falling to the mortal realm. All its impurities were purged, and the remaining essence possessed an indestructible quality, making it the best material for refining Attack-type Magical Treasures.
Many legendary Magical Treasures of immense power were refined using this material.
The other was an extremely mysterious treasure from the earth’s core, containing the legendary primordial magnetic force. It could purportedly brush away all treasures. Only during super-large volcanic eruptions would a few pieces occasionally be brought up from the planet’s core.
In terms of rarity, it was no less scarce than Celestial Meteorite Iron.
For him to gather enough Celestial Meteorite Iron and Earth Magnetic Essence Stone for 365 Star Banners... he probably couldn’t collect such a vast quantity even if he scoured the entire mortal world.
...
"Where did Yan Liming get this refining method for the All Heaven Star Banner?" Li Ping returned to his senses, his eyes full of confusion.
Immediately, he took out Yan Liming’s Life Soul and began to question it carefully.
But to his surprise, Yan Liming’s reply was unexpectedly simple.
According to Yan Liming, he had obtained it by chance after killing a Qi Refining Cultivator and searching their Storage Bag.
Li Ping didn’t believe a word of it.
However, after being subjected to a drop of toxic flood dragon venom, Yan Liming’s Life Soul was already extremely weak. If any more venom were dripped in, it would likely dissipate completely.
Li Ping still had great use for his Life Soul, so he naturally couldn’t just destroy it.
Therefore, Li Ping was temporarily unable to determine the truth of its words.
Moreover, he recalled what Yan Hengchuan had once told him: over a decade ago, he had sensed Yan Liming’s aura suddenly vanish, only for it to reappear in recent years.
He suspected that this silver page might be related to Yan Liming’s experiences during the period when his aura had disappeared.
’The Divine Soul memories of a Core Formation Cultivator are a great treasure trove, but unfortunately, I’m standing before a mountain of treasure without a way in.’ Li Ping couldn’t help but sigh at the thought.
He had originally planned to inherit the Tier Three Puppet techniques right after obtaining the thousand-year-old ironwood that Yu Menghan had promised him.
But now, he hesitated.
After all, it seemed too much of a waste to just sacrifice Yan Liming’s Life Soul like this.
But he couldn’t perform Soul Searching, and besides, Yan Liming’s Life Soul wouldn’t survive until the day he reached Core Formation.
’No... wait. Because I transmigrated and fused with a remnant soul, my Divine Soul is about fifty percent stronger than an average Cultivator’s. If I cultivate to the Late-stage Foundation Establishment, my Divine Sense will soar.’ Li Ping mused silently. ’And Yan Liming’s Divine Soul is weak. When the time comes, perhaps I might actually be able to perform Soul Searching on him!’