Chapter 666 : Abyss Depths

Although he held the Green Abyss Sword (Magic Treasure) in his hand, relying solely on a single Pure Yang immortal sword made him little more than a minor pawn at best. To intervene in a battle between Primordial Spirits would risk utter annihilation, let alone attempting to alter the tide of war.

This sense of powerlessness rendered Eldrin speechless, yet the wisp of sword intent harbored within his heart grew ever more razor-sharp.

"Do your best."

In the blink of an eye, 3 months had passed. On this day, after everyone had finished their preparations and the treasure ship was fully charged with spiritual energy, they converged toward the designated territory.

When the 18 war treasure ships had assembled once more, Magnus the Virtuous Lord gave the order for the fleet to press onward toward the distant seas cultivation realm.

The Eastern Sea cultivation realm was vast beyond measure, its territory even more expansive than the Eastern Wasteland cultivation realm. The treasure ship sailed continuously toward the Distant Sea cultivation realm, traversing the skies for over 5 years before finally approaching the realm’s outermost edge.

"3 million li ahead lies the Outer Demonic Abyss, where we shall rendezvous with fellow cultivators from the 3 Veins Ancient Domain."

In the grand hall that day, Magnus the Virtuous Lord gathered with the assembly. Gazing upon the map, he began to speak.

The war in the Abyss was a matter of grave importance. Along the way, scarcely any demons or monsters dared to block their path at such a critical juncture. Yet as they drew ever closer to the battlefield, an aura of solemn reverence steadily enveloped them all.

The treasure ship sailed onward, soon arriving at the periphery of the Demon Abyss. Even separated by millions of miles of territory, the crowd could still glimpse a celestial scar splitting the horizon where heaven and earth converged.

It was a hideous black scar, stretching across countless miles. From it, streams of dark demonic energy continuously seeped and spread, relentlessly corroding this rift in the fabric of heaven and earth.

And around that scar of heaven and earth, 1 could faintly glimpse a scattering of spirit islands, encircling that rift between the firmaments.

What is that?

Lila (Person Name) couldn't help but exclaim in astonishment upon witnessing such a spectacle for the first time.

That is the Zhou Tian Star Island.

The Sect Master of Tianlu began to recount the tale of the Zhou Tian Star Island.

This Zhou Tian Xing Chen Island was formed from 36,000 spirit islands, cultivated by Emperor Jiang before his ascension to immortality by harnessing the power of the entire Purple Realm.

These spirit islands were at the very least fourth-grade, with a full 3 100 and 60-5 of them being fifth-grade spirit islands.

Not only that, but Emperor Jiang seized the essence of the sun and moon, joining forces with dozens of Human Dao Monarchs from the Purple Realm to channel the powers of the Great Yin and Great Yang. They descended upon the core of the Zhou Heavenly Star Islands, elevating 2 ancestral spiritual veins.

They also transplanted the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Root (Spiritual Root), the 'Young Fusang Tree' and 'Lunar Divine Tree', cultivating 2 sixth-tier Soul Formation realm spirit veins for the twin spirit islands.

And these 30-1000-odd spirit islands were merely formation eyes, capable of activating the Zhou Heavenly Star Formation, reputed to be unbreakable save by Ninth Heaven celestials or demons.

To invade the Violet Realm, the Outer Fiends must first breach the grand formation of the Zhou Heavenly Star Islands. Otherwise, even if a handful occasionally slip through the gaps, they pose no significant threat to the human race.

While the crowd was still marveling at the breathtaking scene before them, a streak of light shot across the distant starry sky. A voice called out from afar, "Could it be that the esteemed Daoists from the 3 Veins Ancient Domain have arrived?"

"Indeed."

Magnus the Virtuous Lord (Person Name) spoke, his response tinged with nonchalance.

The newcomer was delighted to hear this, then smiled faintly and said, "You've come at the perfect time. The Sacred Lord has been waiting for you."

Hearing this, the True Monarchs swiftly flew out of the treasure ark, heading toward a resplendent spirit island ahead. Within the magnificent hall, Eldrin (Person Name) was reunited with the long-unseen Saint Monarch Dorian (Person Name).

Dorian cast a glance at Eldrin, gave a slight nod, and then declared, "This elder must take charge at Yinghuo Island. Since nearly everyone has gathered, let us proceed with the arrangements first."

"As decreed by the Sacred Sovereign."

Hearing this, everyone immediately wore solemn expressions.

Dorian waved his sleeve, unveiling a series of resplendent illusory maps as he declared, "This Cosmic Star Formation is composed of over 30,000 spirit islands, with precisely 365 pivotal fifth-tier spirit islands serving as its formation anchors."

Among these spirit islands, they are further divided into several regions: the 3 Enclosures, the 20-8 Lunar Mansions, and the 5 Luminaries.

As Dorian recounted, Eldrin came to grasp the general layout of the Great Zhou Heaven Star Formation.

Within the Cosmic Star Formation, the 3 Enclosures comprise 3 distinct regions: the Purple Forbidden Enclosure, the Supreme Palace Enclosure, and the Heavenly Market Enclosure. The 20-8 Mansions correspond respectively to the 4 celestial palaces—the Vermilion Bird, the White Tiger, the Black Tortoise, and the Azure Dragon.

The 5 Luminaries correspond to the celestial bodies of Taibai, Suixing, Chenxing, Yinghuo, and Zhenxing—representing the 5 stars of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.

Each spirit island corresponds to the 9 celestial stars, with the 3 Enclosures and 5 Luminaries islands serving as crucial array pivots. These are personally guarded by Primordial Immortal clans leading vast numbers of Nascent Soul Immortals. Upon the Sun and Moon Twin Islands, multiple Dao Monarchs maintain perpetual rotational watch throughout the years.

Dorian was headed to secure the pivotal Glimmerfire Island. The island itself was but a single landmass, and the Ji Clan's strength alone would suffice to garrison it.

With the Ji Clan no longer holding the fort, the armies of the 3 Veins Ancient Domain were naturally ill-suited to guard the 3 Enclosures. Most likely, they could only be relegated to the slightly inferior 4 Direction Star Palaces.

Indeed, this was precisely the case. The core sixth-stage Sun-Moon Twin Islands were presided over by envoys from the Central Ancestral Domain, while the most pivotal Purple Tenuity Enclosure among the 3 Enclosures was guarded by the Astral Palace alongside cultivators from the 7 Stars Ancient Domain and the Star Lake Ancient Domain.

The Eternal River Sacred Land led its people from the Eternal River Ancient Domain to guard the location of the Great Subtlety Wall. As for the 3 lineages of the ancient domains engaged in discourse, it was naturally the 4 Directions Star Palace Spirit Islands.

Sure enough, after Dorian (Person Name) explained the situation, he spoke up: "Our 3 Veins Ancient Domain is responsible for the Vermilion Bird Star Palace."

"I have already delineated the territories each of you shall guard. Go forth and assume your posts."

Dorian said, handing a jade slip to the group.

Eldrin glanced at the jade slip, his brow subtly tightening with solemnity.

The Vermilion Bird Sky contained a total of 47 primary stars, corresponding to 47 fifth-order spirit islands. These were further divided into 7 celestial regions: the Well, the Ghost, the Willow, the Star, the Spread, the Wings, and the Chariot.

Also known as the 7 constellations: Wellwood Ape, Ghostwood Goat, Willowearth Antelope, Starday Horse, Moondeer, Firewing Serpent, and Waterwain Worm.

Each of these 7 territories contained several Grade 5 spirit islands, and every Grade 5 spirit island required 1 or even multiple powerful immortal clans to garrison them.

The Featherflight Pavilion will oversee the Well Domain, the Celestial Profound Sect will primarily manage the Ghost Domain, the Half-Step Primordial Spirit (Cultivation Realm) expert Mysterious Void Daoist will take charge of the Zhang Moon Deer Region, while Maris the Sea Steader (Person Name) will preside over the Blazing Winged Serpent Domain.

Meanwhile, Eldrin and his fellow cultivators were situated within the Starry Expanse, also known as the Lunar Steed Region, guarded by a total of 7 fifth-order spirit islands.

With the Chen Clan's strength alone insufficient to guard these 7 spirit islands, Dorian simply assigned Magnus the Virtuous Lord and fellow cultivators like the Tianlu Sect to this location.

Within the Stellar Equine Region, a total of 38 True Lords stood guard. Though this number fell slightly short compared to other domains, the presence of Magnus the Virtuous Lord and multiple late-stage Nascent Soul combatants rendered their collective strength formidably substantial.

After Dorian had departed, Magnus the Virtuous Lord gathered everyone once more and declared, "As the 1 overseeing the grand scheme of the star domain, I invite you all to deliberate on the candidates for guarding the various spirit islands."