Chapter 666 : The Unyielding Sword's Resolve

Though he held the Azure Abyss Sword in his hand, with only a single Primordial Solar Immortal Sword [a divine sword forged from the essence of the primordial sun], he was at best a half-piece on the board. To intervene in a clash between Primordial Spirit [the spiritual core of a cultivator, representing a high level of power] experts was to risk utter annihilation, let alone influence the tide of the war itself.

This sense of powerlessness left Eldrin Chen in heavy silence, yet the strand of Sword Intent [the conceptual will and sharpness embodied by a master swordsman] nurtured within his heart grew ever more keen and piercing.

"We will do our utmost."

Time flowed on, and three months passed in a blink. On this day, with the cultivators rested and the spiritual energy reserves of their vessels replenished, they converged upon the designated territory.

Once the fleet of eighteen War Treasure Ship [massive enchanted vessels designed for warfare and long-distance travel] had reassembled, Vast Righteousness True Lord issued the order to continue their advance toward the Distant Sea Cultivation World.

The Eastern Sea Cultivation World was vast beyond measure, its territories even more expansive than those of the Eastern Barrens Cultivation World. The Treasure Ship [a general term for enchanted flying vessels] flew onward toward the Distant Sea Cultivation World, a journey that consumed over five years before they finally drew near the realm's furthest reaches.

"Three million Li-length [one Li-length equals five hundred meters] ahead lies the periphery of the Demonic Abyss. That is where we shall rendezvous with our fellow Daoists from the Three Veins Ancient Domain."

On this day, within the Great Hall, Vast Righteousness True Lord gathered with the assembled cultivators. As they studied a map, he continued his briefing.

The Demonic Abyss War was a matter of grave consequence. Throughout their journey, scarcely any demonic beings dared obstruct their path at such a time. Yet, as they drew ever closer to the battlefield, a palpable aura of solemnity settled upon them all.

The Treasure Ship pressed forward, soon arriving at the outer fringes of the Demonic Abyss. Even from a distance of tens of millions of Li-length, they could behold it—a vast, jagged Heavenly Scar [a colossal, permanent rift torn into the fabric of the world] marring the horizon where heaven met earth. The story continues at audio-novel.com (official site).

It was a hideous, black scar stretching across the heavens and earth for countless thousands of Li-length [one Li-length equals five hundred meters]. From its fissures, tendrils of black demonic energy [the corruptive power wielded by demonic cultivators] continuously seeped forth, relentlessly corroding the edges of that celestial wound.

And surrounding that wound in the world, one could faintly discern a constellation of various Spirit Island [islands rich in spiritual energy], arrayed like stars on a chessboard, encircling the breach.

"What is that?"

Seeing such a sight for the first time, Lila could not help but exclaim in astonishment.

"That is the Cosmic Stellar Islands [a grand celestial formation of spirit islands]," replied the Heavenly Reed Sect Master.

He then began to recount the tale of these Cosmic Stellar Islands.

This formation was composed of thirty-six thousand Spirit Island. It was cultivated by mobilizing the entire strength of the Purple Seal Realm [a specific realm in the cultivation world], a project undertaken by Imperial Sovereign Jiang before his ascension to immortality.

Each of these islands was at least a Fourth-Rank Spirit Island, and among them stood three hundred and sixty-five Fifth Rank Spirit Island.

Furthermore, Imperial Sovereign Jiang seized the essence of the Sun and Moon [the celestial bodies, representing supreme yang and yin energies]. With the aid of dozens of Human Race Path Lord [powerful cultivators who have comprehended a fundamental Path or Dao] from the Purple Seal Realm, he channeled the descending power of the Supreme Lunar and Solar [the highest pure energies of the moon and sun] into the heart of the Cosmic Stellar Islands. There, he nurtured two Ancestral Vein [primordial, world-nourishing spiritual energy arteries].

He also transplanted the Worldly Spiritual Root [a legendary plant of immense spiritual significance] known as the 'Lesser Fusang Tree' [a mythical sun-tree] and the 'Moon Spirit Divine Tree' [a mythical moon-tree]. These served as cores for two of the Spirit Island, allowing their Spiritual Vein [a subterranean flow of concentrated spiritual energy] to advance to the Sixth Rank level, matching the Primordial Spirit Realm [a high stage of cultivation where one's spiritual core becomes independent].

And these thirty thousand plus Spirit Island [islands imbued with spiritual energy] are merely Formation Eye [key nodes of a magical formation]. They can activate the Cosmic Stellar Formation [a grand stellar defensive array], which is said to be unbreakable except by Nine Heavens Celestial Immortals and Demons [powerful beings from the highest celestial realms].

For Outer Realm Heavenly Demon [demonic beings from beyond this realm] to invade the Purple Seal Realm [the realm under the Purple Seal's protection], they must first breach the Formation [magical defensive array] of the Cosmic Stellar Islands [the stellar archipelago]. Otherwise, even if a few manage to slip through the cracks into the Purple Seal Realm, they pose little significant threat to the Human Race.

Just as everyone was awestruck by the sight before them, a streak of light flew over from the distant starry void. From afar, a voice called out, "Are the visitors fellow Daoists from the Three Veins Ancient Domain [the ancient land of the Three Veins]?"

"Indeed we are."

Vast Righteousness True Lord replied calmly.

The newcomer's face lit up with joy upon hearing this. He smiled and said, "Your timing is perfect. The Sage Lord has been awaiting your arrival."

Upon hearing this, the various True Lord [cultivators who have attained the True Lord realm] promptly disembarked from their treasure vessel and flew towards a magnificent Spirit Island ahead. Within its resplendent Great Hall, Eldrin Chen finally saw Sage Lord Dorian, whom he had not met for many years.

Dorian Ji glanced at Eldrin Chen, giving a slight nod of acknowledgment. Then he declared, "This old man must still take up my post at Mars Island [the Island of the War God]. Since our forces are nearly assembled, let us proceed with the arrangements."

"We respectfully obey the Sage Lord's command."

Upon hearing his words, solemn expressions settled upon the faces of all present.

Dorian Ji swept his sleeve, conjuring a dazzling array of ethereal maps. "This Cosmic Stellar Formation," he declared, "is composed of over thirty thousand Spirit Island [islands imbued with spiritual energy]. Among them, the crucial Formation Eye [the core nodes that power and stabilize the formation] are the three hundred sixty-five Fifth Rank Spirit Island [islands of the fifth spiritual grade]."

"These Spirit Island are further divided into several regions: the Three Enclosures [the three celestial enclosures], the Twenty-Eight Mansions [the twenty-eight lunar mansions], and the Five Luminaries [the five visible planets]."

As Dorian Ji continued his explanation, Eldrin Chen began to grasp the overall structure of the vast Cosmic Stellar Formation [a grand defensive array modeled after the constellations].

Within this formation, the Three Enclosures comprised the Purple Tenuity Enclosure [the enclosure of the Purple Forbidden], the Supreme Subtlety Enclosure [the enclosure of Supreme Mystery], and the Celestial Market Enclosure [the enclosure of the Heavenly Market]. The Twenty-Eight Mansions corresponded to the Four Directions Star Palace [the stellar palaces of the four cardinal directions] symbolized by the Vermilion Bird [the mythical crimson bird of the south], the White Tiger [the mythical white tiger of the west], the Black Tortoise [the mythical black tortoise of the north], and the Azure Dragon [the mythical azure dragon of the east].

The Five Luminaries represented the Five Luminaries [the five visible planets] themselves: Venus [the Metal Star], Jupiter [the Wood Star], Mercury [the Water Star], Mars [the Fire Star], and Saturn [the Earth Star], signifying the five elemental stars of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.

The myriad Spirit Island corresponded to the Nine Heavens Stellar [the stars of the nine heavens]. The Three Enclosures and the Five Luminaries Spirit Islands [the spirit islands representing the five planets], serving as the critical Formation Eye, were each garrisoned by a Primordial Spirit Immortal Clan [a clan led by a Primordial Spirit Realm expert] accompanied by numerous Infant Soul Immortal Clan [clans led by Infant Soul Realm experts]. The Sun and Moon Twin Islands [the twin islands representing the sun and moon] were perpetually guarded by a rotation of multiple Path Lord [cultivators who have comprehended and walk their own unique Dao Path]. This chapter is part of a larger work available at audio-novel .c om.

Dorian Ji himself was assigned to garrison the crucial Mars Island [the Fire Star Island]. As a single island, the strength of the Ji Clan alone was sufficient to hold it.

With the Ji Clan redeployed, the forces from the Three Veins Ancient Domain would naturally be hard-pressed to shoulder the responsibility of defending the core Three Enclosures. Most likely, they would be relegated to guarding the slightly less critical Four Directions Star Palace regions.

And indeed, this was the case. The most central Sixth Rank [pertaining to the sixth spiritual grade] Sun and Moon Twin Islands were overseen by forces from the Central Ancestral Domain. The most pivotal of the Three Enclosures, the Purple Tenuity Enclosure, was defended by the Stellar Palace alongside forces from the Seven Stars Ancient Domain and the Star Lake Ancient Domain.

The Long River Holy Land, leading the forces of the Long River Ancient Domain, was stationed at the Supreme Subtlety Enclosure. Thus, it fell to the Three Veins Ancient Domain to garrison the Spirit Island within the Four Directions Star Palace.

As expected, after Dorian Ji explained the situation, he spoke: "Our responsibility from the Three Veins Ancient Domain is the Vermilion Bird Star Palace."

"I have already delineated the territories each of you is to guard. Proceed to your posts."

As he spoke, Dorian Ji handed a jade slip to the group.

Eldrin Chen glanced at the jade slip, and a trace of gravity settled between his brows.

The Vermilion Bird Star Region contained forty-seven primary stars, corresponding to forty-seven Fifth Rank Spirit Islands. These were divided into seven regions: the Well, the Ghost, the Willow, the Star, the Extended Net, the Wings, and the Chariot.

These were also known as the seven stellar mansions: the Well Mansion, the Ghost Mansion, the Willow Mansion, the Star Mansion, the Extended Net, the Wings Mansion, and the Chariot Mansion.

Each of these seven territories held several Fifth Rank Spirit Islands, and each island required one or even several powerful Immortal Clans to garrison it securely.

The Featherflight Pavilion was assigned the Well Domain. The Heaven's Profound Sect Master would take charge of the Ghost Domain. The Half-Step Primordial Spirit cultivator Mysterious Void Path Master was responsible for the Extended Net region. The Sea-Calmer Path Master would primarily oversee the Wings Mansion Domain.

As for Eldrin Chen and his fellow Daoists, they were assigned to the Star Domain, also called the Star and Moon Horse Region. This region was guarded by a total of seven Fifth Rank Spirit Islands.

The strength of the Chen Clan alone was insufficient to garrison all seven Spirit Islands. Therefore, Dorian Ji simply grouped Vast Righteousness True Lord, the Heavenly Reed Sect, and the other fellow Daoists into this same area.

Within the Star and Moon Horse Region, a full thirty-eight True Lord [powerful cultivators who have condensed their Primordial Spirit] stand guard. While this number is somewhat fewer than in other regions, the presence of Vast Righteousness True Lord and several other cultivators with combat power rivaling the Infant Soul Late Stage [the advanced stage of the Primordial Spirit cultivation realm] renders their overall strength exceptionally formidable.

After Dorian Ji had departed, Vast Righteousness True Lord once again gathered the assembled cultivators and declared, "As the one responsible for overseeing the strategic situation across this starry domain, I propose we now deliberate on the assignments for guarding the various Spirit Island [islands rich in spiritual energy]." Original publication: audio‑novel.com - The source of this chapter.