The Sun Star Palace's Treasure

Deep within the Sun Star Palace, the tolling of a bell heralded that someone had reached the ground where a heaven-defying battle treasure lay hidden. In that very moment, the voices of the Stone Corpse and the Lishi Beast rang out, and the conversation between two heavenly realm giants shook the entire Sun Star Palace.

The old goat furrowed his brow and muttered to himself, “Why have all these people come at once?”

The Stone Corpse, the Lotus King, the Lishi Beast — several heavenly realm giants had manifested here one after another. How could anyone else compete? With them standing watch, others likely had no chance at all.

Xiao Chen felt helpless. With several heavenly realm giants appearing, he had no strength to contend, and it was hard to imagine what sort of object this heaven-defying battle treasure could be.

“Truly, the good do not last long, while pests endure for ten thousand years. These people should have turned to dust long ago, yet they shamelessly cling to life…”

Hearing the old goat mumble like this, Xiao Chen was utterly speechless. This old fellow was too eccentric. To say such things aloud required extraordinary courage to defame those giants.

“We need to beat a retreat. A heaven-defying treasure belongs to the virtuous. I think the old man’s virtue is a hundred times nobler than those fellows—it’s mine by rights. Let’s go in and take a look; maybe the treasure will throw itself into my arms and fly over on its own.”

Xiao Chen ignored him. He had seen thick-skinned people, but never one this excessive. Still, he had no intention of giving up and continued walking deeper.

The treasure was surely of extraordinary origin, for it had stirred several dormant king-level beings into contention. To miss it would be a pity. Of course, this meant taking great risks, but Xiao Chen planned only to observe from a distance, not to approach too closely.

“Dong…”

The bell tolled, its sound cleansing the soul and calming all who were restless. At this moment, everyone who had entered the Sun Star Palace began walking toward the center.

“How noisy! You’ve been dead for so long, yet you still want to command the world? The kings of yesteryear are now but dust—you should rest in peace!” It was the Stone Corpse’s icy voice, and then the bell rang out mightily, shaking the entire Sun Star Palace.

Clearly, the Stone Corpse was destroying the great bell at the center, displaying his might and dominance, conveying a message to everyone.

“Dong!” With the final great sound, the bell shattered. The Stone Corpse had broken it, and the tolling ceased.

“This old corpse seems to have advanced in cultivation. He’s actively provoking the other giants—unlike his usual gloomy demeanor,” the old goat remarked, frowning.

“Do you have any way to profit under their noses?” Xiao Chen felt this old fellow was too mysterious. Knowing the giants were ahead and still wanting to meddle, he surely had a method to survive.

“Lend me that diagram of yours and that ancient scroll for two days. I reckon I could summon that heaven-defying treasure without having to fight for it like they do.”

Xiao Chen felt like killing him. The old man knew too much—he had spied on the scroll and figured out the secrets of the formation diagram. He knew too many secrets.

“Young man, don’t be rash. Killing to silence someone is outdated and unfashionable. Harmony is everything nowadays. If we join hands, we can profit together and be invincible…” The old goat’s mouth was glib, nagging without end.

While talking, they had traveled far and were now approaching the central region. But just then, they both turned around simultaneously. An extremely dangerous aura enveloped them. The long-absent Otherworld mysterious strongman had appeared without a sound at a passage corner behind them, like a specter, with no energy fluctuations. Yet a suffocating pressure filled the air. He gave the overall impression of extreme danger. His long black hair was scattered freely before his chest and behind his back, obscuring most of his face. The half face that was visible was as wooden as a mask, completely expressionless—like a clay statue. His single eye was like a deep pool, hazy and unfathomable, making one feel as if their soul was about to be drawn into that eye. Of the six Otherworld experts, only he remained, yet Xiao Chen knew he alone was far more terrifying than the other five combined. Intuition told him that even with several great killing implements, it would be very difficult to kill the man before him.

“You killed five of our men…” The mysterious strongman’s words were as wooden as his face, without any tonal inflection, as stiff as his mud-like countenance.

“Brother Mudman, you’re mistaken. I didn’t kill any of your people…” The old goat shamelessly stepped back and pointed at Xiao Chen. “He killed all five by himself.”

“The result is the same—five men dead.” The mysterious strongman, truly like a clay figure, spoke expressionlessly. “You shall die too.” His tone was perfectly flat, which made it all the more frightening.

“What are you waiting for? Bring out the great killing implements and sacrifice him alive!” The old goat urged Xiao Chen while backing away, ready to flee at any moment.

This old thing was truly repulsive. Xiao Chen felt like sacrificing him instead. The whole way, the old man had exerted almost no effort, relying on him to handle everything.

Just then, a terrifying murderous aura came billowing from a distant passage, completely undisguised, accompanied by a thick stench of blood.

“The Lost One—it’s him.” At this point, the old goat no longer hurried to escape, but frowned and stopped.

Sure enough, the disheveled strange man emerged from another passageway. In his hand, he held an arm, gnawing at it. The flesh on the arm was almost entirely eaten, leaving only a bare bone covered in tooth marks and traces of blood—a gruesome sight.

“That’s his arm.” The mysterious strongman, Mudman, muttered woodenly. He recognized the arm as a remnant of the White Ancestral God.

At that moment, the old goat made strange sounds, transmitting to the strange man with a peculiar, undulating tone. The strange man was immediately attracted, listening intently. The Otherworld mysterious strongman, Mudman, showed the first flicker of emotion on his wooden half-face. “A lost heavenly divine language.”

By now, the old goat had ceased that mysterious tongue. The disheveled strange man turned to face the Otherworld expert, let out a low roar, threw down the bloodless arm, and advanced, raising a crack-ridden stone sword.

“Weng!”

A terrible tremor sounded. The mysterious strongman, Mudman, produced a stone blade—primitive, grand, and simple—and traced an arc of mysterious trajectory to meet the stone sword.

“Dang!”

Hazy multicolored light flashed. The surrounding palaces dissolved like snowflakes, a large area collapsing, and several passages were destroyed. Yet no fearsome energy fluctuations burst forth; it all collapsed silently. This was the first time since entering the Sun Star Palace that someone had destroyed buildings, a testament to their devastating power.

The old goat pulled Xiao Chen away swiftly. “Don’t even think about killing that Mudman. He’s no ordinary fellow. That stone blade in his hand, though an inferior product—not a true transformed stone weapon—is still something only extraordinary individuals can wield.”

“What did you say to that strange man just now?” Xiao Chen asked.

“I told him that Mudman was so beautiful he could topple cities, that even I would be moved, and that if he took off his mask, he’d be captivated. So he eagerly charged forward.”

Xiao Chen wanted to slap him to death. This old man was full of nonsense, talking out of both sides of his mouth.

“Your tongue is too glib—you must have been a magpie in a past life…”

“You’re wrong there. In my past life, I was a giant of the heavenly realm. With one stomp, the entire heavenly realm would shake three times, and all powers would kowtow to me. Those Otherworld kings, civilization’s first ancestors—in my eyes, they were all cabbages…”

“Keep spouting nonsense. When we meet the Lotus King and Lishi Beast, I hope you talk the same way, so they’ll destroy you quickly and give my ears some peace.”

“Kill me? That won’t be easy. I am a heaven-defying battle master returned, and soon the entire heavenly realm will tremble under my feet again.” The old man grew more excited, pointing and declaiming with an air of dominance, as if he were the world’s foremost invincible being.

By now, they were very close to the central region. Emerging from the passage before them, the space opened up. No longer a maze of passageways, no surging flames from the Sun Star—what they saw was a peaceful, tranquil scene. Ahead lay a beautiful world: gentle winds, clear streams, divine springs welling, celestial cranes dancing, white apes frolicking, lush vegetation full of life. At the end of this scorching Sun Star Palace was such a vivid tableau, a stark contrast that made one feel they had entered a different world.

In the distance, the edge of that radiant pure land held a cluster of magnificent buildings and several immortal mountain caves, shrouded in flowing light and mist, full of mystery.

“Let’s find a place to hide. We won’t join the fray.” Xiao Chen had no intention of getting drawn into a fierce battle.

“Right, just what I was thinking.” The old goat’s eyes gleamed with sly light. “We’ll wait for the heaven-defying treasure to fall into our laps.”

They found a hidden nook and concealed themselves, peeping at everything in the pure land. Before long, figures kept flashing by, entering the pure land one after another, though many also stopped at the outer perimeter to hide. Xiao Chen felt more and more that the old goat was insufferable. The old man muttered to himself, then crouched down and began scratching aimlessly around their hiding spot, like a ghost drawing charms—as ugly as could be, rivaling Keke’s handwriting.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m carving the number one forbidden formation of all time, past and present.”

“That ranks last—I suppose someone might believe you. Look at that line, it’s bent into twenty-three curves. Can you really call that part of a formation?”

“You don’t understand. This is called ‘the Dao follows nature.’ The divine formation is naturally formed; I, a heaven-defying battle master, obtained it by chance. Everything preserves its original flavor. The foremost forbidden formation was born this way, and I merely described it naturally.”

“If it’s naturally formed, why are you modifying it?” Xiao Chen found the old man more and more unreliable.

“You wouldn’t understand. Nothing naturally formed is perfect. To achieve perfection in this world, one must destroy. Therefore, I destroyed the part you mentioned, then used my heaven-defying means to create perfection.”

“What nonsense are you spouting?!” By now, Xiao Chen was almost certain the old man might have something to him, but it was hard to say how deep his foundations were.

“Perfection does not exist. Now that I have created a perfect formation, it cannot last. It must also be defiled—only the incomplete is splendid.” The old man spoke with mock seriousness, then casually tossed a small stone into the mess of scribbles. “That’s how it will last and be powerful without decline.”

“You throw in a stone and think it’s heaven-defying?” Xiao Chen had lost all patience with him. The old man could really spin a tale.

“Don’t underestimate it. This is deeply significant. The chief forbidden formation is incomplete, yet this is the most complete state.” The old man said meaningfully, “Don’t underestimate that small stone. Do you know what it is? It is ‘the one that fled’—the embodiment of my heaven-defying crystallization. It ruined perfection, but the stone preserves its essence. Something has departed, escaped beyond the world, no longer within the cosmos…”

The old goat assumed an air of profundity, as if expounding the great Dao, and it seemed to carry deep principle. Watching him talk nonstop, spittle flying, Xiao Chen could only see him as a creature begging to be beaten. He wanted to punch him.

“Bang!”

Finally, Xiao Chen slapped him on the head to shut him up.

“I say, young man, this kind of thing is liable to bring divine punishment. I have returned as a heaven-defying being and have already offended the origin of heaven and earth. Disrespect toward me is disrespect toward all worlds!”

“Less boasting. Hurry up and finish your ghost drawings. Try not to spray so much spittle—it’s raining in here. Look at the ground, the puddles…”

“This place lacks the water element. I am perfecting the chief forbidden formation of all time.” The old goat spoke with conviction and continued his ghost scribbling. It took a full half hour before he was completely done. Every surrounding stone and blade of grass had been carved with mysterious patterns. The sight alone was dizzying; if it truly was a formation, it was certainly a vast and mysterious one.

“All is well. Harvest complete.” The old fellow looked at his work with great satisfaction, evidently quite pleased with himself. “Truly a work of divine craftsmanship, a heaven-defying masterpiece. The greatest formation in the world is complete. In the five million years before, no one was seen; in the five million years after, no one will come. No one can match such skill. I am the greatest genius of the ages, past and present!”

Xiao Chen: “…”

How could there be such a shameless person? Xiao Chen again felt the urge to beat him.

“… Young man, I’m warning you, don’t touch me, or you really will be punished by heaven. I am the source of ten thousand Daos, the convergence of all rivers.” Seeing Xiao Chen’s hand about to descend again, the old goat quickly changed the subject. “Quick, bring out that formation diagram of yours. We have everything now—all we lack is your remnants.”

“Tell me, how do you know I have a formation diagram?” Xiao Chen stared at him.

“I inferred it by chance. Don’t worry — that broken diagram is branded on your body. Under normal circumstances, it isn’t easy to steal, so you’re safe. I absolutely will not scheme against it now…”

This fellow was like a piece of pressed meat; it was impossible to extract anything meaningful from him.

“Don’t waste time. Your diagram is the formation flag. Only it can perfectly coordinate with the chief forbidden formation of all time.”

“You can even handle ‘the one that fled.’ Why do you still need the formation diagram?”

“And who do you think is inside? Giants of the heavenly realm—heaven-defying masters! This is like pulling a tiger’s whiskers.” The old goat put on a pitiful expression. “You know, a tiger’s backside is not to be trifled with. The big shots inside—you touch any one of them, and you’d better be ready for reincarnation!”

Xiao Chen still did not produce the formation diagram. The old goat’s beard twitched with anxiety. “Come on, hurry up, or we’ll be too late! You have the formation diagram but don’t use it — that’s like keeping a peerless beauty locked away without ever communing with her. What’s the point? It’s like being a eunuch!”

The old man’s words were too harsh. Xiao Chen produced the formation diagram and pressed down on him with it. “I’ll turn you into a eunuch right now, you old thing!”

“No, no—stand back! The peerless formation, unmatched through the ages and unique in the world, is about to activate!” The old man pulled him back, while the formation diagram remained in place, beginning to cloud over. Xiao Chen felt he had not lost contact with the diagram, so he was not worried. They stood in a relatively sparse area of ghost drawings.

“Excellent! Haha…” The old goat roared with laughter. “Engrave my divine formation, seize others’ battle treasures, and let those giants cry! I need not personally contend—I will still be the ultimate victor, while they stare at each other in blank dismay!”

“Aren’t you afraid the aura of this formation and the diagram will draw those giants here and bring us enormous trouble?” Xiao Chen felt it was dangerous.

“No worries. My forbidden formation is called the best of the ages. If it couldn’t conceal its aura, it would hardly be the supreme work of a genius who sees no predecessors and no successors!”

“I think you’re the supreme specimen!” Xiao Chen again wanted to hit him. There was no other way; being around this old fellow constantly stirred the urge to exercise one’s fists.

“Young man, I’m keeping count. You’ve struck me three times already. I’ll collect with interest later,” the old goat said, then began to mutter in that mysterious tongue, the same he had used with the spectral man. Suddenly he shouted, “Activate! Seize the treasure!”

The mysterious giant formation flashed with light, and in the midst of the array, a dark, grimy wooden board appeared, exuding an intensely evil aura along with a stench of rotting corpses, making one want to vomit.

Xiao Chen covered his nose and said angrily, “Don’t tell me that’s the heaven-defying battle treasure.”

“What rotten luck. I accidentally snatched the Stone Corpse’s coffin board. This is trouble.” The old goat rubbed his hands. “Damn it, I tried to get the mutton but только got the stench. I’ll throw it into the celestial river—let him search for it for a thousand years.”

Xiao Chen was genuinely stunned. Was what the old man said true? Had he really stolen the coffin board of the heavenly realm giant, the Stone Corpse? It seemed unbelievable.

“One more time!” The old goat muttered incessantly, then shouted, “Activate!”

“Shua!” A flash of light, and the formation now contained half a lotus sleeve.

“Don’t tell me that’s the Lotus King’s half sleeve.”

“Damn, big trouble. It is indeed the Lotus King’s. What went wrong this time? If she finds out, I’m as good as dead.”

“Are you reliable or not?”

The old goat ignored him, rubbing his hands. “A lovely woman turns into stone—that’s perverse. Red lips so charming, jade teeth so crystalline—the old beauty is gone forever. I need to think how to get past this.”

“Focus on the main business, you old reprobate. If this doesn’t work, we’d better flee. I don’t want to offend every giant in the heavenly realm alongside you.”

“All right, continue.”

“Shua!” A flash of light, and this time a stone box appeared directly in the middle of the formation.