Chapter 288: Soul-Condensing Star Crystal, Longevity Bloodline Essence

Heavenly Star Holy Land, Sacred Lord Hall.

Star Child stood before Zhou Chen, his face beaming with a smile that could not be contained.

“Fellow Daoist Green Lotus, thanks to you this time, our Heavenly Star Holy Land can finally hold its head high!”

Several surrounding Elders also stepped forward to express their gratitude to Zhou Chen.

“Fellow Daoist Green Lotus possesses extraordinary strength; our Heavenly Star Holy Land is truly blessed!”

“Indeed, taking first place in this grand assembly is enough for our Heavenly Star Holy Land to stand tall in the Eastern Wasteland!”

Zhou Chen waved his hand and said indifferently, “I was merely fulfilling our agreement.”

“Be that as it may, a kindness is still a kindness.” Star Child took out a palm-sized crystal from his Storage Ring.

The crystal was pale purple throughout, with points of starlight flowing within, emitting intense Divine Soul fluctuations.

“This is a Top-Grade Imperial Rank Soul-Condensing Star Crystal; it can significantly enhance one's Divine Soul strength.” Star Child handed the crystal to Zhou Chen. “This is the last piece in our Heavenly Star Holy Land. It was originally reserved for the next Sacred Lord, but now I give it to you, Fellow Daoist.”

Zhou Chen raised an eyebrow slightly.

A Top-Grade Imperial Rank Soul-Condensing Star Crystal? This item was quite rare.

Increasing Divine Soul strength had always been difficult, and treasures specifically for enhancing the Divine Soul were even scarcer.

“This is too precious,” Zhou Chen said.

“It’s not too precious, not at all!” Star Child waved his hands repeatedly. “Compared to your kindness, Fellow Daoist, what does this little thing matter?”

Zhou Chen remained silent for a moment. Sensing that Star Child was sincere, he eventually accepted the crystal.

“Then, thank you.”

“It is only right, only right!”

Star Child smiled so broadly that his eyes narrowed into slits.

Zhou Chen took his leave and returned to the residence arranged for him.

It was an independent small courtyard with a quiet environment and dense Spiritual Qi.

Zhou Chen set up an Isolation Formation in the courtyard, sat cross-legged, and took out the Soul-Condensing Star Crystal.

The crystal felt warm in his hand. The starlight inside flowed endlessly, emitting a mysterious aura.

“Let’s begin.”

Zhou Chen closed his eyes and pressed the crystal to his forehead.

Hum—

The crystal instantly transformed into a beam of purple light, surging into Zhou Chen’s Sea of Consciousness.

Within the Sea of Consciousness, Zhou Chen’s Divine Soul sat cross-legged in the void, surrounded by a faint golden glow.

The purple light poured in, immediately beginning to nourish the Divine Soul.

Zhou Chen could feel his Divine Soul constantly strengthening, becoming more condensed and more powerful.

Time passed minute by minute.

Three hours later, Zhou Chen opened his eyes.

A sharp light flashed through his eyes, tearing tiny cracks in the Void Realm with just that gaze.

“My Divine Soul strength has broken through to the Emperor Realm Sixth Layer.” Zhou Chen nodded with satisfaction.

Originally, his Divine Soul strength was at the Peak of the Emperor Realm Fifth Layer. Now, after absorbing the Soul-Condensing Star Crystal, it had directly broken through to the Emperor Realm Sixth Layer.

This meant that the power of his Divine Soul attacks had increased by at least fifty percent!

“Not bad, this trip wasn't in vain.”

Zhou Chen stood up, preparing to continue his cultivation, when a piece of information on the System panel caught his attention.

[Name: Gu Jifeng]

[Recent Opportunity: In five days, at the Ancient Bloodline Legacy Hall on an unnamed small island in the east of the Eastern Wasteland, obtain Longevity Bloodline Essence. The Longevity Physique will evolve into the Creation Longevity Physique.]

“Longevity Bloodline Essence?!” Zhou Chen’s eyes lit up.

Opportunities for Physique evolution were rare, let alone evolving from the Longevity Dao Physique to a higher level. Zhou Chen sensed that this would be one of Gu Jifeng's most important opportunities.

Zhou Chen did not hesitate. He immediately left the Heavenly Star Holy Land and rushed toward the east of the Eastern Wasteland.

With the speed of the xuanhuang boundary breaking boat, five days was more than enough time.

—

The easternmost edge of the Eastern Wasteland, the vast sea.

The sea surface was turbulent with surging waves, and the sea breeze howled.

Zhou Chen stood on a reef, his Divine Sense sweeping over the surrounding waters.

According to the System's prompt, that unnamed small island was nearby.

Soon, Zhou Chen discovered a small island three hundred miles away.

The island was not large, barely ten miles across. It was covered in lush vegetation and looked unremarkable.

However, Zhou Chen’s Divine Sense perceived an obscure fluctuation deep within the island.

“This is the place.”

Zhou Chen’s figure flashed, and he landed on the island.

Following the System's prompt, he arrived at a cave in the center of the island.

The cave was deep and its entrance was covered in vines, clearly untouched for a long time.

Zhou Chen pushed aside the vines and entered the cave.

The interior was pitch black, but it had no effect on Zhou Chen.

He went deep inside and soon reached the end of the cave.

At the end was a stone wall covered in ancient runes, emitting a faint blood-red light.

“The entrance to the Ancient Bloodline Legacy Hall.”

Zhou Chen pressed his hand against the stone wall, and Chaos Spiritual Qi poured in.

Rumble—

The stone wall distorted wildly and then began to slowly crack open, splitting into two halves to reveal a downward passage.

The passage was bottomless and devoid of light, yet this caused no trouble for Zhou Chen.

Walking down the passage, there were no traps along the way. After about fifteen minutes, the view suddenly opened up.

This was an underground palace. In the center of the palace stood a blood-colored altar.

Suspended above the altar was a drop of blood the size of a fist.

The blood was golden-yellow overall, emitting a rich aura of life as if it contained infinite vitality.

“Longevity Bloodline Essence!”

Zhou Chen’s eyes lit up.

This was a supreme treasure that could evolve one's Physique, its value immeasurable. He hoped the System would be effective and trigger a ten-thousand-fold return.

He did not hesitate, restrained all his Spiritual Qi, walked directly onto the blood-colored altar, and reached out to grab the drop of blood.

As for why Zhou Chen did not use Spiritual Qi to retrieve the Longevity Bloodline Essence…

It was because the entire altar had a Sacrificial Formation connected to the earth veins.

If a Cultivator attempted to use Spiritual Qi on the altar to take the Longevity Bloodline Essence, the Sacrificial Formation would instantly trigger. Their entire flesh and blood energy would be sacrificed to maintain the Isolation Formation that kept the Longevity Bloodline Essence active.

Without the System panel, Zhou Chen would likely have fallen for it as well.

“No wonder it hasn't been taken for so long; the person who set up this Opportunity was truly ruthless.”

Zhou Chen grumbled inwardly.

The moment his finger touched the blood, the System prompt sounded.

[Congratulations to the Host for intercepting the Child of Destiny Gu Jifeng's Longevity Bloodline Awakening Opportunity. Triggering ten-thousand-fold return. Congratulations to the Host for obtaining one additional Physique upgrade Opportunity!]

“Holy crap, my luck exploded! A ten-thousand-fold reward is too exaggerated!”

Zhou Chen was overjoyed. A Physique upgrade Opportunity was extremely rare for him.

Every Physique upgrade was accompanied by a massive increase in strength.

However, he quickly reacted, swiftly left the altar, found an open space, and sat cross-legged.

As the Longevity Bloodline Essence was swallowed, Zhou Chen felt a scorching torrent of golden light surge into his body, his Bloodline boiling and rushing like lava.

Every inch of his skin and bone was transforming. A massive phantom of a green Dao lotus emerged on the surface of his body, its petals flowing with primitive runes like those from the dawn of Chaos.

Surging life energy tore through the void, and a majestic pressure erupted, announcing a stunning leap in his level of existence.

Hum.