Chapter 603: Sun Star
Translator: Radiant Editor: Radiant
As Xue Ying's combat power increased, Paragon Huo Cheng and the Bloodshed God Emperor were transmitting him greater amounts of information, and this naturally also meant an increase in his understanding of the Sun Star!
The Sun Star and the Moon Star both had their own natural slaw of operation, and they were no less powerful than those on the material realm or the Dark Abyss. Furthermore, it was hugely different when compared to the material realm and the Dark Abyss precisely because the latter intrinsically acted like cradles, giving birth to countless forms of life. The material realm was even protective of its weaker lifeforms. Even the Dark Abyss, while more sinister and savage, had countless demons emerging out of it, and it even rejected outsiders by motivating the native lives to kill any trespassers.
The Moon Star was vastly different from the Sun Star.
Neither of the two were appropriate for lifeforms to survive in, since they acted like complete extremes with ultra-powerful offensive natures. Forget getting anywhere deep, touching the surface alone was enough to freeze or burn stage four World Deities to the death! The deeper one went, the more dangerous it would become. Even Rulers might die, just like that, if they ventured too deep. It could be said that the danger here was higher than that of any ancient ruins!
Naturally, these two stars were created by the cosmos itself.
They were two celestial bodies juxtaposed with the material realm and the Dark Abyss, and their offensive nature transcended the imagination. This also served to attract many of the more powerful true gods.
"The Sun Star represents extreme warmth. The law inherent to it is even stronger than those of Rulers," Forefather Scarlet Flame explained. "However, if one were to merely touch upon the surface of the Sun Star, they will get no more than a fuzzy sensation of this law. But the deeper one goes, the stronger this feeling becomes in turn."
"The way I understand it…"
"The outermost layer of the Sun Star takes the form of burning surface flames. However, while this layer has the appearance of fire, it is, in actual fact, liquid. It is the first layer of the Sun Star, and we cultivators refer to it as the Sun Sea. It is extremely hot, and only powerful existences have any certainty of surviving in it.
"Going deeper through the Sun Sea, one would eventually reach a thick, substantial physical layer. The unique material forming this physical layer is known as Sun Stone. This is the second layer of the Sun Star—the Sun Stone Layer. It is much more dangerous, and even the occasional strand of flame would find powerful existences with a hard time surviving, much less other dangers.
"Legends speak of a third layer beyond the Sun Stone Layer, known as the Sun Ripple Layer.
"And even deeper is a fourth layer, the Void Black Soil Layer.
"Below it is the fifth layer—the Sun Abyss.
"And beneath the Sun Abyss is the final, most legendary sixth layer—Sun Star Nucleus," Forefather Scarlet Flame slowly said in a voice that clearly tinted with expectation. Over the long periods of time he had cultivated on the Sun Star, it essentially became his home.
Xue Ying and his Eldest Disciple Brother Hui Ming were listening closely, despite already being aware of this information.
"I used to own a Sun Star Nucleus Stone." Forefather Scarlet Flame lowered his voice. "Through its power, my body was protected, and the damage I took greatly reduced. I might not have dared enter the Sun Stone Layer, but I could at least use the Sun Star Nucleus Stone to sit cross-legged on its surface. By coming into contact with the Sun Stone Layer… my ability to sense the profound mysteries of the law on the Sun Star became clearer by a few dozen times, which, in turn, increased my cultivation speed.
"Any Sun Star Nucleus Stone is extremely precious, and not one has shown up in more than a hundred billion years," Forefather Scarlet Flame said. "From the emergence of the cosmos, and up until now, very few Sun Star Nucleus Stone have appeared, and every expert who got their hands on one treats it as a treasure. Even paragons or rulers would rarely ever trade their Sun Star Nucleus Stones."
Xue Ying and Hui Ming both nodded.
"However, about thirty million years ago, the second saint of the Two Saints Ink Clan, a person known as Bamboo Saint, somehow managed to find out that I own a Sun Star Nucleus Stone, and suddenly assassinated me, killing the body I had cultivating on the Sun Star. He then took away my Sun Star Nucleus Stone," Forefather Scarlet Flame lowered his voice and spoke calmly. He seemed calm on the surface, but he was essentially just trying to calm his boundless fury.
During cultivation, people mainly fought for opportunities. Forefather Scarlet Flame's most precious treasure had been snatched away, which created an enmity so huge that the two parties could not exist under the same sky.
"Bamboo Saint?" Xue Ying frowned.
The two saints of the Two Saints Ink Clan were powerful existences who did not belong to any of the superpower factions.
Of the two, Bamboo Saint was not too dangerous. Holding the 53rd rank on the Cosmos Deity-Demon List, he was a single spot lower than Xue Ying. Their power in combat was roughly on the same level.
However, the one truly establishing the status of the Two Saints Ink Clan was the elder brother, Leaf Saint—a paragon! He was just an ordinary paragon, and could not hope to fight against the Bamboo Mountain Prefecture Master or the Mysterious North Imperial Empress, yet the Dao he opened rather strange and unique, and it allowed him to roam freely without any need to depend on superpowers.
The two of them had once formed a clan, and their relationship was close.
"Forefather, what is it you request of me?" Xue Ying asked. If it was to deal with Bamboo Saint, the truth was he could hardly fight him! Even if they were to truly fight, the other party was backed by a powerful paragon.
"I would not think of taking revenge," Forefather Scarlet Flame said. "The gap between our combat power is too huge, and the person backing him is even more formidable! What I wish for is simply to acquire another Sun Star Nucleus Stone. The flame has been my aim for a very long time, and if I am ever to open up my own path, it would be on the flame Dao. Without a Sun Star Nucleus Stone, I would never dare to touch the Sun Stone Layer. I could only ever cultivate in the Sun Sea, and my senses there are too fuzzy; the efficiency of cultivation would not be even a thousandth of my previous speed. Such a rate of progress would lead nowhere. I would have no chance of breaking through. Of those I know and who I am close to, only you, Dong Bo, have any hope of getting me another Sun Star Nucleus Stone."
The way Forefather Scarlet Flame looked at it, Xue Ying's combat power, as well as his network, were stronger than his by many times! He had the Bloodshed God Emperor behind his back, as well as Monarch Green, the Bamboo Mountain Prefecture Master, Paragon Huo Cheng and many others. Such connections were stronger than his by tens or even hundreds of times.
"You want me to make a Sun Star Nucleus Stone?" Xue Ying frowned. This would be a huge ordeal even for someone like him.
"There are two known origins for Sun Star Nucleus Stones," Xue Ying said. "The first origin refers to the stones which originate from the deepest layer of the Sun Star, the Sun Star Nucleus. The Sun Star Nucleus would occasionally form a speck of dust or two over a long period of time which would cross through the Sun Abyss and the Void Black Soil Layer… before finally being discovered."
Forefather Scarlet Flame nodded rapidly. "Back then, it was by luck that I discovered a unique source of light on the surface of the Sun Stone Layer. Using my weapon, I dug that part out and discovered a Sun Star Nucleus Stone. It was roughly the size of a fingernail, and it weighed about half a kilogram."
"Then it was your luck, forefather. It was likely a granule that moved all the way to the surface after a very long time," Xue Ying said. "However, getting another piece in this same manner is almost impossible. After all, no Sun Star Nucleus Stone has formed in the past hundred billion years! Or perhaps there has been one which was acquired by a powerful existence but not publicized.
"In any case, nobody would be willing to trade it even if they got one," Xue Ying said. "In that case, we must defer to the other method."
"We'd have to purify a large amount of Void Black Soil until a Sun Star Nucleus Stone forms out of it," Xue Ying said. This was a method discovered by the cultivators of Deity world and the Dark Abyss. The Void Black Soil layer was the fourth layer of Sun Star, and the Void Black Soil formed there was, by nature, very offensive. The temperature of its flames was such that only Rulers could barely resist it. However, if it was purified down to its very essence, it would eventually form an identical Sun Star Nucleus Stone.
Forefather Scarlet Flame felt slightly guilty. "I know how difficult this would be. I have hesitated a number of times before telling you. However, as time passed, I began to realize that I have no other hope to further my cultivation, and thus decided to thicken my skin…"
"Forefather, there's no need to keep speaking of it! Just leave it to me," Xue Ying said. Although it was troublesome, this was the first time Forefather Scarlet Flame ever asked for help. This was a matter related to his benefactor's cultivation path, so he had to help him!
******