Chapter 286: Arrival

Star Power differentiated, fine as silk threads.

Using the sky as a canvas, he constructed a special Star Array.

With countless experiences of Force Pattern Star Arrays, he now found it easy to carve Star Arrays.

Jiang Changkong steeled his heart, using Star Power like a blade to forcibly sever a finger from his own soul.

The pain of soul fracture made his body tremble uncontrollably.

However, having experienced the Blood Qi Palace, he had developed some resistance.

To obtain the Soul-Stabilizing Tree and protect his soul, he would willingly chop off ten more fingers.

The severed soul finger was crushed by Star Power, transforming into pure Soul Energy, which was then infused into the special Star Array.

As the Soul Energy poured in, the special Star Array emitted faint gray light.

The Star Power of the Divine Control Art continuously poured in, making the special Star Array increasingly complex and intricate.

Hundreds of lines intertwined and connected, forming a unique pattern.

With a faint fluctuation of Star Power, the Star Array rapidly contracted, shrinking from its previous massive size to the size of a fingernail.

The fingernail-sized Star Array trembled and merged into the Soul-Stabilizing Tree.

Hum

The Soul-Stabilizing Tree swayed, scattering faint starlight.

Jiang Changkong extended his index finger, using Star Power as ink to carve Star Script, imprinting it into the Soul-Stabilizing Tree.

Hum

The Soul-Stabilizing Tree absorbed the Star Script, shaking violently. The next moment, it transformed into a streak of light and directly merged into his body.

The Soul-Stabilizing Tree entered the Star Gate, integrating into his Soul Body. Its roots spread like vines throughout his soul, taking root firmly.

“It’s done… This is quite a pleasant surprise.”

Jiang Changkong’s face lit up with joy. The Soul-Stabilizing Tree had actually transmitted a message to him.

From now on, he would sense whenever anyone entered that Dark Space.

This way, he wouldn’t need to keep a constant watch.

“Is it already this late?”

Checking the time, it was already evening, though the sky here hadn’t changed.

Jiang Changkong pondered for a moment, not rushing to leave, and continued searching the area.

Although in the vision, that Soul Warrior had only left behind a seed of the Soul-Stabilizing Tree,

the fragments of ninth-tier lower-grade weapons here were still decent finds for him at his current level.

Soaring through the air, he used the Divine Control Art to scan the area, collecting fragments of ninth-tier lower-grade weapons.

Occasionally, he encountered ninth-tier mid-grade fragments, which could even penetrate his defenses.

Jiang Changkong dared not venture deeper. If he encountered ninth-tier upper-grade or even top-tier fragments, he might meet his end here.

He should be grateful that this Ancient Ruins didn’t have too many valuable treasures.

Otherwise, this Soul-Stabilizing Tree would likely have been taken long ago.

Sometimes, even seemingly insignificant Ancient Ruins could yield miracles.

After wandering for an unknown length of time, Jiang Changkong collected over a hundred fragments, many of which contained Blazing Sun Star Power.

It was enough for him to forge a Blazing Sun Blade, though it was a pity there was no Taiyin Star Power.

Eighth-tier top-grade weapons could no longer withstand his full power now.

Taking out the golden stone, he opened the gate to the Ancient Ruins and left.

Leaving the deep mountains, rumbling sounds echoed from outside.

Figures appeared in his line of sight, cutting down trees and leveling the land.

At the mineral vein, Martial Artists were also digging.

Jiang Changkong glanced over and recognized a few people—members of the Xu family.

It seemed Professor Yun and the others had already arrived.

Thinking of this, Jiang Changkong couldn’t wait any longer and flew toward the base.

The base had undergone a dramatic transformation, with starlight flickering everywhere. Every building was engraved with Star Arrays.

Inside the base, many Martial Artists clad in armor stood guard.

They weren’t military personnel but members of various families from Anding Province.

Professor Yun had brought them along as well.

However, compared to the entire base, these people were still relatively few.

Jiang Changkong entered the base, sweeping his Divine Control Art across the area, and quickly located Professor Yun and the others. They were busy adjusting instruments, and Lin Nanfeng was there as well.

He walked straight into the building, where Professor Yun, Wang Ruiqing, Lin Nanfeng, Xu Hengzhi, Xu Xinghe, and the others had gathered.

“City Lord,” Xu Hengzhi was the first to step forward. “Old Liang and the others have families in the Void Realm as well and plan to bring them here to serve you.”

“Thoughtful of them,” Jiang Changkong nodded, then turned his attention to the instruments—all of them were used for Star Demon research. “Professor Yun, are these instruments still functional?”

“Most of them can be repaired,” Professor Yun replied. “For those that can’t, I’ll dismantle them and salvage usable parts.”

“What about the data inside? I also have some phones here,” Jiang Changkong took out the phones and handed them to her. “They’re from the Star Demons, all encrypted.”

“I can recover some of the data, but some are too severely damaged to restore.”

Professor Yun frowned slightly. “Next time, try to be gentler. Learn from Nanfeng—he knows how to bring things back intact.”

“Ahem, I’ll be more careful next time. But this situation was just too outrageous, and I acted out of anger.”

Jiang Changkong cleared his throat and glanced at Lin Nanfeng. “It seems you’ve all met, so I don’t need to introduce you personally.”

Lin Nanfeng quickly added, “City Lord Jiang, rest assured, I am very obedient.”

“Although I haven’t fully grasped the details of this incident, I’ve learned some things from the research data.”

Wang Ruiqing chimed in. “According to this information, they were likely researching how many Star Array Patterns different human bodies could withstand.”

Jiang Changkong was slightly surprised. “Ordinary people can’t withstand Star Arrays, can they?”

“No, but these Star Demons are different—their physical constitutions are superior to ours.”

“What’s more intriguing is that they mentioned Taiyin and Taiyang, with Power Runes Stellar Bodies being the most common.”

Wang Ruiqing pointed to the information on the screen, a hint of confusion in his voice. “Look, they even specifically captured Taiyin and Taiyang cultivators for research.”

“The Heng and Nan families?”

Jiang Changkong’s expression grew serious. These two families were representatives of Taiyin and Taiyang, specializing in cultivating these two attributes.

Moreover, the Power Runes Stellar Body—wasn’t this the Star Script obtained from the War Palace, where the fusion of three stellar bodies could achieve the ultimate stellar body?

The Immortal Palace had been pursuing the War Palace and was still researching these three stellar bodies.

Previously, the Immortal Palace Martial Artists had also wanted to know what he had obtained from the War Palace.

They were after the fusion of the three great stellar bodies!

Currently, he could only operate the three great stellar bodies simultaneously thanks to his Taiji Yin-Yang Stellar Body, but that wasn’t fusion.

True fusion meant merging the three stellar bodies into one, forming a new, unique stellar body.

“Hard to say. Deaths are common in the Void Realm,” Wang Ruiqing shook his head. “As for the Power Pattern War Body, the ones they captured were just ordinary people practicing basic martial arts.”

Jiang Changkong nodded. Whether there were still body-refining Martial Artists in secret, he didn’t know.

But on the surface, he was the only one in the entire Federation!

“More information will require decrypting these instruments. I’ll need a day.”

Professor Yun examined the instruments and made her conclusion.

“Jiang Jiuqiao, a Jiang family Martial Artist at the Early Star Constellation Stage, was studied by the Star Demons for a period. He’ll come over once he’s finished with family matters.”

Jiang Changkong finished speaking and took out some Star Demon corpses: “These are the Star Demon corpses I obtained, with the Star Stones inside. I’ll hand them over to you so the mechas can be put to use.”

The two professors nodded and collected the corpses.

Lin Nanfeng had already informed them about what Jiang Changkong had done in the Void Realm, so they weren’t surprised to see high-level Star Demon corpses.

He also handed over the recently acquired weapon fragments to the two professors, asking them to reforge and craft a ninth-tier lower-grade weapon.

If any instruments were needed, they could purchase them without hesitation—Jiang Changkong was willing to spare no expense in this regard.

Next, they chatted about everyday matters. Tang Ruoxi and the others had stayed in Anding Province and hadn’t come over.

I Can Upgrade Infinitely