"Wait!" Han Feng stepped forward urgently. "What did you mean when you said I might take that step?"
The ethereal figure swayed slightly, like a candle flame in the wind: "Your star network diagram... has it undergone some kind of mutation?"
Han Feng's heart skipped a beat. Indeed, since receiving guidance from Zero in the cultivation space, the energy flow within his body had become vastly different from when he first began cultivating. Those originally fixed meridian routes were now constantly adjusting, as if they were living things, seemingly pursuing some more optimized path.
"Yes." Han Feng honestly admitted, "My cultivation method... differs somewhat from the records of my lineage."
"It's not a change, it's evolution." A sharp, resolute voice trembled with barely concealed excitement. "Before you, all the Star Soul Lords strictly followed the Star Vein Diagram in their cultivation, yet they were all stuck at the threshold of the Supreme Realm, forever missing that final step."
The surrounding starlight flickered with Jue Li's emotional fluctuations, projecting the light and shadow of countless generations of Star Soul Masters during their cultivation—each of them ultimately reached the same height, facing the same invisible barrier.
"We've passed it down through generations, constantly reflecting..." Jue Li continued, "Does the Star Chart itself need to be changed? Until I dissipated, when I infused the Star Mirror with my inheritance, I made a bold decision—to no longer fix the cultivation path, but let the next inheritor explore it on their own."
Han Feng's pupils contracted slightly: "So that's why Zero guided me..."
"Zero?" Jue Li laughed, his figure dimming further. "Ah, that old buddy... he's still as mysterious as ever, isn't he?"
Han Feng was about to press for more information about Zero when he suddenly remembered another crucial point: "Wait, what was this 'power of faith' you mentioned earlier? I sensed some unfamiliar energy within the inheritance..."
Jue Li waved his hand, a simple gesture that caused a portion of his illusory form to crumble: "You'll have to ask Zero about that. I can only say... you've definitely already come into contact with it." He added meaningfully, "Every time people genuinely call you 'Star Lord'..."
Han Feng suddenly recalled that in the Eastern Family's secret realm, whenever his clansmen bowed to him, he felt a strange resonance with the power of the stars within him. So that was... the power of faith?
"What exactly is Zero?" Han Feng couldn't help but ask. "Why does it exist in my system... uh, my cultivation space?"
“Both the previous Star Soul Lords and I have speculated about his identity, but we have never been able to figure it out. If you have any ideas about this, you’ll have to figure it out yourself,” Jue Li said to Han Feng.
"Wait!" Han Feng, seeing Jue Li's figure rapidly disappearing, hurriedly asked, "Why did you come to Blue Star? And what's the deal with those defenses against extraterrestrial forces?"
The ethereal figure, now as faint as mist, patiently explained, "It was purely an accident... I had just killed two leaders from beyond the realm, and was then besieged by the entire extraterrestrial force." His voice carried a wistful, reminiscent quality. "After settling my family, I was hunted down by seven experts at the Rule Realm, traversing three thousand minor worlds, until finally, my energy was exhausted and I crashed onto Blue Star."
The starlight conjured up the scene from years past—the heavily wounded Jue Li had fallen outside a mountain village, his magnificent battle robe tattered and barely able to stand. Just as several armed bandits were about to rob him, three ordinary passersby came to his rescue.
"Because of those three people's single act of kindness, I changed my mind." His sharp tone softened. "Originally, I only wanted to recuperate temporarily, but they showed me the purity of this world..." He smiled. "So I left the Star Mirror as a legacy, thinking that if I ultimately die in battle, at least the lineage of the Star Soul Lord will not be severed."
Han Feng suddenly realized: "Those three are..."
"The ancestors of the Dongfang, Shangguan, and Zhang families." Only the upper half of Jue Li's figure remained, "I never imagined they could grow to such a scale. However..." He suddenly sneered, "I heard one of them has sided with an extraterritorial force?"
Han Feng nodded heavily: "The Shangguan family has already..."
"Then let's clean house." Jue Li said casually, as if it were a trivial matter. "Back in the original plane, we saw this kind of thing all the time."
"The Primal Plane?" Han Feng grasped at this unfamiliar term. "What's that?"
Jue Li's remaining figure began to disintegrate into specks of light: "Your Blue Star is merely one of the three thousand minor worlds. The Origin Plane..." His voice faded into the distance, "is the source that gives birth to all minor worlds. Once you've dealt with matters on Blue Star and reached the mid-stage of the Great Dao Realm, you will naturally understand."
The points of light formed a vast star map in the sky, with one particularly bright star: "There are more comrades resisting the forces from beyond the realm, and also..." The star map suddenly distorted, transforming into a scene of two armies clashing, "and even more traitors who have forgotten their roots."
Han Feng stared at the blurry figures on the star map, a sense of urgency rising within him like never before. It turned out that beyond Blue Star, war had already raged for countless eons...
Jue Li's last words were like a whisper in the wind: "I truly hoped to see the day you reach the Supreme Realm... but alas..."
The last glimmer of starlight went out with a "pop," plunging the entire starry sky into darkness. Han Feng reached out as if to grasp something, but only felt the cold cosmic dust slip through his fingers.
"Senior Jue Li?" he called softly, but there was no response.
Suddenly, the surrounding darkness shattered like a mirror, pulling Han Feng's consciousness back to reality. He was still sitting cross-legged on the cot inside the tent, the complete Star Mirror trembling slightly in his dantian, as if mourning the passing of its former master.
In the real world, Han Feng suddenly opened his eyes, his clothes soaked with sweat. The Star Mirror was slightly hot in his dantian, reminding him that everything that had just happened was not an illusion.
"Star Lord?" Dongfang Lin's voice came from afar, "Are you alright?"
Han Feng slowly stood up, feeling the new power flowing through his body—not only the inheritance of the "Nine Forms of Starfall", but also something deeper... that subtle energy that Jue Li called "the power of faith" flowed into his meridians from all directions like a small stream.
"I'm fine." Han Feng gazed towards the exit of the secret realm, his eyes sparkling. "It's just... I've learned some things I needed to do."
He touched the Star Mirror that was burning hot in his dantian, and a bold guess took shape in his mind—if Zero really existed in the inheritance of generations as Jue Li said, then could the current Zero also hide the secrets of countless generations of Star Soul Masters?
"Let's go." Han Feng strode towards Dongfang Lin and Zhang Jingcheng, who were waiting. "It's time to deal with the Shangguan family's problem."
The Star Mirror trembled gently within him, as if in response to this decision.
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