Chapter 130: Huasheng

"Two?"

"First, I would like to ask the Venerable to forge a strand of Heart-to-Heart Mutual Affinity Qi for the Yuchu Sect free of charge."

Danya put forward her first request. This condition was by no means modest, but she believed that Star Venerable would agree.

"Heart-to-Heart, pure and clear. I haven't forged this divine Qi for several epochs. It requires dual cultivation to achieve perfection. Rumor has it that the Ninefold Red has a confidant... Hmm, has the candidate for the manifestation of the Yuchu Sect been decided yet?"

Star Venerable looked surprised, casting a deep glance at Danya.

"It has been decided."

Danya's cheeks flushed slightly.

"Second, I ask the Venerable to erect a Star-Forging Pagoda in the Sea of Stars, and dispatch one venerable senior star-forger and a hundred renowned star-forgers every century at the command of the Yuchu Sect."

"Hahaha."

Star Venerable smiled slightly. "If you want me to agree to the first condition, then the second one is void."

Danya knitted her brows and spoke, "Respected Venerable, the scoundrel who wreaked havoc on my Yuchu children even relieved himself in my Primordial Life Spring, not to mention hundreds and thousands of other places. Danya dares say these two conditions are not harsh."

"Precisely because the damage is so extensive, I am willing to forge the Heart-to-Heart Mutual Affinity Qi for you. Otherwise, how could one of the top ten peak divine qi be forged just like that?"

Star Venerable shook his head.

Danya furrowed her brows again, dissatisfied with the result. These two conditions were the result of her careful deliberation, and neither could be abandoned.

The former could create an invincible pair, while the latter could continuously provide star-forging divine qi.

"Very well, I will take a step back. After the Star-Forging Pagoda is erected in the Sea of Stars, I will invite the star-forgers of Star City as distinguished guests and will never treat them poorly. What does the Venerable think?"

"What difference does that make?"

Star Venerable still shook his head. Seeing Danya's deeply knitted brows, he said, "I had hoped to resolve this matter amicably, but it seems you are only full of petty calculations. In that case, take a look at this item, and then decide whether you want to continue haggling with this old man."

An object, crystal-clear and emitting a faint, hazy glow, flew out from the elder's sleeve.

"What is this?"

Danya reached out for the beam of light. It felt smooth, delicate, and cool to the touch. Enveloped by the faint light, she was utterly unable to see through it. When she channeled her divine vision to peer into the light, she discovered it was merely a strand of silvery, crystalline hair.

"It's that woman's hair!"

In an instant, divine light burst forth from Danya's eyes, and she was deeply shaken as ancestral memories regarding this object surged into her mind.

***

In the center of the Greater Thousand Cultivation Realm, there was an ocean of divine power where spiritual energy was inexhaustible and boundless, displaying the utmost prosperity of the world.

This place was known as the Firmament of the Sea of Stars, hailed as the number one blessed land in the mortal universe. It was not only the dwelling place of the Nine Saints of the Sea of Stars and the headquarters of the Yuchu Sect, but apart from these two dominant overlords, there was also an extremely tyrannical and transcendent force—a mortal enemy that the Yuchu Sect detested to the core yet remained inextricably linked with.

This strand of silvery, crystalline hair originated precisely from the most renowned female figure of that faction during the ancient immortal era.

"In the ancient immortal era, I once carried the heavenly blade through desolation, cut through the heavenly aperture with a chilling sweep, borrowed life from the underworld, and challenged the arrogant with blazing eyes." Nostalgia flashed in Star Venerable's gaze.

At these words, Danya was shaken. Clutching the strand of silver hair, her expression grew extremely complex.

"So... at the end of that great battle, the Venerable bestowed a life-and-death grace upon my Yuchu."

After a long while, she sighed softly, "Danya was being presumptuous. My visit today was indeed rash. As for the matter of your young master, I will surely seal it as an absolute secret. As for those two conditions being void, I am willing to pay the Venerable to forge a strand of Heart-to-Heart Mutual Affinity Qi."

***

A page of an ancient star chart made of yellowed paper, bearing deep traces of time, was densely covered with writing detailing strange and wondrous stars.

Emerging from the Star Heaven Pagoda, Danya held the star chart for the Heart-to-Heart Mutual Affinity Qi in her slender fingers. She gazed at it for a long time, and without further hesitation, she steered her divine flower lotus platform and returned.

At the city wall, the ragged old man was hugging a jar of golden-red wine, fast asleep with drool at the corners of his mouth.

Seeming to sense someone leaving, the old man opened one eyelid, twitched his lips, and shook his head like a wooden fish, sighing, "Nine epochs. I can hardly believe that so much time has already passed. Zhili, the Daoist orthodoxy you left behind is still endlessly bickering with her..."

A burst of footsteps came from behind.

Star Venerable, dressed in a spotless, moon-white robe of a star-forger, walked over and gazed into the deep and distant starry sky in the distance.

"Old drunkard, after all these years, shouldn't you tell me your origins?"

***

The divine ship was crimson, its entire body resembling a living volcano.

A young man sat cross-legged with his eyes closed.

Four children—the eldest fourteen or fifteen, the youngest far from coming of age—surrounded him with sharp, glowing eyes. In particular, a little purple-haired girl's eyes were sparkling, carved out of jade and impossibly cute.

"Young masters and misses, can you perhaps stop staring at this humble one?"

Finally unable to bear these youthful and curious gazes, the young man let out a soft sigh.

"Master Wumen, are you truly the Sage of Hua?"

Feng Shang gazed at the young man with glowing eyes. Not long ago, they were still in the hurricane world, and it was this refined scholar like the breeze and the bright moon who had sealed a saint's remains with a single slip of paper and persuaded the Yuchu Sect Leader to let them go with a single word.

Outwardly unassuming and tranquil, yet every move he made was earth-shattering.

The young man hesitated for a moment, then smiled wryly and admitted it. If it were anyone else, it would be one thing, but with these children, he truly did not wish to conceal the truth.

"You really are the Sage of Hua."

Qing'er's large eyes were animated like a pool of clear water, starlight shining upon her flawless, white skin, making her face look even more crystal-clear and dazzling.

"I am merely an experiential mortal avatar, and by rights, I should not have awakened my memories ahead of time," the young man said with a gentle expression, as if bathed in a warm radiance.

"Master Wumen, can I pinch you?"

Little Huang blinked her large eyes, her tender little hands opening and closing as she desperately wanted to pinch the young man's fair cheeks, yet not quite daring to, ultimately settling for tweaking his robe instead.

The young man patted Little Huang's head.

"I previously promised the Venerable that I would carefully instruct you young misses and young master. However, since this body must continue its trials in the mortal world, I must sever this experience. I will send you young misses to the Yuxi Manor and ask a friend to help guide you."

"Where is the Yuxi Manor?" Little Huang asked curiously.

"The residence of a female saint in the Sea of Stars," Qing'er murmured, dazed.

"Indeed. That female saint is very gentle, and you young misses are clever and intelligent; she will surely dote on you."

"Am I going too?" Feng Shang asked.

"Young master should go to the Sea of Stars; an opportunity awaits you there."

"The Sea of Stars?"

Feng Shang secretly ground his teeth, recalling unpleasant memories.

Seeing this, the young man smiled and said, "Young master, the descendants of the emperors of the ten cultivation realms, the heirs of immortal bloodlines, and the heavenly sons of exotic realms will soon gather in one place, all vying for that opportunity in the Sea of Stars. Are you really not interested, young master?"

Oh?

Feng Shang's eyes lit up.

"What kind of opportunity could attract so many people?"