Chapter Eleven: Thunder Mountain Abode, Shifting of the Stars

On the planet Zixuan Star—a colossal world among the mortal realms subordinate to the Immortal, Demon, and Monster Worlds—life thrived with unprecedented vigor. Aside from its boundless seas, two vast continents stretched across its surface: the Hidden Dragon Continent, inhabited mainly by ordinary mortals, and the Soaring Dragon Continent, a domain reserved for cultivators.

At the extreme east of Hidden Dragon Continent lay the endless Wildlands, a region of towering mountains and sprawling forests teeming with countless monsters. The deeper one ventured into these wilds, the stronger and more formidable the beasts became. Even to this day, no one could say with certainty how vast the Wildlands truly were. The deeper one traveled, the denser the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and the more terrifying the monsters.

About a hundred thousand miles from the western border of the Wildlands—though such a distance was but a short span in that immeasurable expanse—there was a vast lake. Beside it stood a massive mountain-like structure, rising only two stories high and some ten meters tall, but sprawling over a hundred meters in both length and width.

Suddenly, the tranquil surface of the lake rippled as if stirred by an unseen hand; a spatial vortex appeared, and a young man in a cyan Daoist robe stepped out. This was none other than the avatar of the Old Ancestor of Heaven and Earth—let us call him Qiankun.

Suspended above the lake, Qiankun looked around with curiosity, his sharp gaze soon falling upon the mountain-like structure by the shore.

“This must be the boundless Wildlands at the eastern edge of Hidden Dragon Continent. That building, if I’m not mistaken, must be Thunder Guard’s Thunder Mountain Abode,” he mused. With a flicker, he appeared at the entrance of the abode.

Though the door was tightly shut, an unclaimed treasure such as this could easily be claimed by Qiankun as its master. Controlling the abode with ease, he opened the doors and stepped inside.

Within the vast main hall was an indoor pool of considerable size. Qiankun walked along its edge into a spacious martial hall, its silver walls and flooring gleaming. The room was empty, save for the intricate patterns on the floor resembling formation diagrams.

Thunder Mountain Abode was grand, with two levels akin to a villa. The lower floor housed the martial hall, main hall, artifact refining chamber, pill refining chamber, and storerooms. At the front was the pool, and at the rear, a garden brimming with exotic flora from distant worlds.

The first floor contained nothing of technological indulgence; it was dedicated to cultivation and the arts of refining. The second floor, in contrast, was a place of rest and leisure, complete with bathhouse, kitchen, entertainment hall, bedrooms, and a study.

In the study upstairs, Qiankun found many paper-bound books—some on astronomy and geography, others on cultivation. With a cursory glance, his eyes settled on the topmost book upon the desk, its cover inscribed with the bold words, “Stellar Transformations.”

Taking a seat behind the desk, Qiankun eagerly picked up the manual and began to read.

“Is the path of the Golden Core and Nascent Soul truly the righteous way? What does it mean to pursue the Heavenly Dao? Observing the evolution of the universe, I created this cultivation art—another path to immortality. This method is divided into six great realms. Let us first consider the opening chapter: the Nebula Stage.

“Ordinarily, after surviving the tribulation, one’s innate true energy in the dantian condenses into liquid, which must then be formed into a water sphere and finally refined into a golden core. But must it be so? Must it gather thus? My ‘Stellar Transformations’ begins with dispersal: innate true energy is reverted to gaseous form, diffused not only throughout the dantian but even beyond, with the dantian at the center, the body as a bridge, connecting the universe with one’s true self, evolving together with the Dao of nature…”

Marveling at this method, Qiankun could not help but be amazed. Thunder Guard was indeed a prodigy, devising such a unique art that mirrored the evolution of the cosmos. If one followed the later steps established by Qin Yu—after the sixth realm, transforming the star into a dark star, becoming a black hole, condensing a singularity, and finally giving birth to a world of heaven and earth—one would truly be treading the path of universal creation, an unspeakably marvelous and direct route to the Grand Dao.

The prerequisites for cultivating Stellar Transformations were demanding, but for Qiankun, even this avatar, forged from the essence of his true form, possessed a physical strength far beyond that of mortals who had reached the peak of body cultivation. To him, practicing this art posed no difficulty.

After thoroughly studying the technique, Qiankun could not wait to leave the study and enter the martial hall on the first floor. Sitting cross-legged at the center of the silver floor, he closed his eyes and calmed his mind. According to the secret art, he began to guide all his inner power to his dantian. Once gathered, he dispersed his energy along prescribed pathways, allowing it to flow through his body and even beyond its surface. Then, he drew the mist-like energy back within, gathering it once more in the dantian.

This cycle of gathering and dispersing, repeated over and over, not only tempered his flesh but also gradually formed a swirling cloud within his dantian. With each cycle, the energy absorbed the power of the stars, refining bones and muscles, so the nebula within grew ever more potent.

After only half a day, a dense silvery mist enveloped Qiankun’s body, constantly drawing in the power of the stars. Within his dantian, a nebula composed of countless silver particles spread throughout every corner, a concentrated essence formed from the abundant stellar energy—now the very source of his inner strength.

“Nebula stage, late peak. Next, by harnessing the myriad stars and borrowing the Primordial Solar Truefire to forge a trace of golden star essence, I can reach the Meteor stage,” Qiankun murmured as the silvery, hazy star light enveloped him in a vast nebula.

Suddenly, the space above his head twisted, and a surge of blazing energy poured forth, merging into the nebula. Instantly, the nebula turned gold, and Qiankun was bathed in radiant light. Within his dantian, the density of silver stars doubled, whirling rapidly. The stellar truefire blazed forth, refining the stars as they spun and merged until only one brilliant golden particle remained.

The cultivation art left behind by Thunder Guard, “Stellar Transformations,” comprised six main realms: Nebula, Meteor, Core, Planet, Tribulation, and Star.

With his pure celestial power, Qiankun progressed swiftly, breaking through each stage in succession until he reached the consummate Star realm.

Yet, when he attempted to evolve his internal star to a dark star, he helplessly found that his remaining celestial power was insufficient to support the energy requirements of the Dark Star stage. Reluctantly, he had to halt his cultivation.

“Ah, that’s right. If I recall, Thunder Guard also left behind a storage ring—the Illusion Ring, wasn’t it?” Finishing his cultivation, Qiankun muttered softly and made his way from the martial hall to the storeroom.

Opening the heavy doors to the storeroom on the first floor, he was greeted by a dazzling array of colorful minerals, precious stones of the cultivation world. Yet he paid them no mind, heading straight to a nearby counter. Picking up a small ring, he pricked his finger, letting a drop of blood fall upon it to bind it as its master.