The endless river of stars flowed, and Zhang Fan, alone, transformed into a beam of light charging into the dark space. Now that his Dao body had reached great accomplishment, his speed was incomparable to what it was before. In just a few days, he followed the river of stars all the way up to the source of this branch, and ahead lay an endless dark forest.
"It's actually the dojo of the Evil Buddha Demonic Lord?" Zhang Fan sensed a vast palace complex hanging above the dark forest from a great distance. Only when he got closer did he recognize it.
The Evil Buddha Demonic Lord was an Immortal Venerable from a million years ago. He had merged Buddhism with Dao, eventually mastering the Myriad Buddha Dao. However, for reasons unknown, he later became tainted by the sinister, calling himself the Evil Buddha and integrating the Dao of the Evil Buddha into his Myriad Buddha Dao. But he ultimately failed, perishing under the terrifying tribulation lightning of an Immortal Venerable.
With the appearance of the Evil Buddha Immortal Venerable's dojo, quite a few cultivators at the Nascent Divinity stage had entered the Starry Sky Battlefield during this period, even if they couldn't enter the dojo to explore, they could at least witness the grandeur of an Immortal Venerable's dwelling.
The space-time around the Immortal Venerable's dojo was completely suppressed. Even powerful beings at the Void Returning stage couldn't tear through space. To enter and explore, one would need at least the level of an Immortal King.
"It seems I need to complete my military merits as soon as possible, then I can break through to the Immortal King realm and check out this Immortal Venerable's dojo," Zhang Fan thought to himself. He no longer lingered there and turned to fly towards the source of the river of stars.
At the source of the river of stars, danger was everywhere. The terrifying whirlpools formed by the river water churned space-time, forcing even Nascent Divinity cultivators to tread carefully, not daring to venture in.
Relying on his formidable strength, Zhang Fan charged through, heading towards Thousand Star Island in the center of the river's source.
On his journey, he encountered many Nascent Divinity cultivators from the Purple霄 Star Domain. However, most of them moved in small groups of two or three. Some cultivators recognized Zhang Fan and proactively sent him messages to greet him.
Zhang Fan politely responded to them and continued his journey. It took him nearly half a month to finally reach the vicinity of Thousand Star Island.
Thousand Star Island was an archipelago standing in the river of stars. If one were to dive into the river, they would discover that this was once a mountain range of immeasurable height in the starry sky. After being submerged by the river water, it became the current Thousand Star Island.
On Thousand Star Island, most resource-rich islands were occupied by powerful cultivators. Currently, the three Enfeoffed Kings in the Starry Sky Battlefield—Thousand Spirit King of Jiuyá Star Domain, Mangya True Immortal, and Purple Ling Fairy of Purple霄 Star Domain—all occupied islands on Thousand Star Island.
The islands they occupied were enveloped by layers of formations. It was difficult for other cultivators to attack them unless there was a significant disparity in strength.
For example, even for an Enfeoffed King of nine stars to seize an island occupied by another, it wouldn't be easy for an Enfeoffed King.
The fastest way for Zhang Fan to accumulate a million military merits was to kill a nine-star Enfeoffed Marquis. One nine-star Enfeoffed Marquis was worth five hundred thousand military merits, so killing just two would meet the requirement.
As for ten-star Enfeoffed Kings, Zhang Fan hadn't considered them yet.
The Void Returning stage had three major realms: the Great Dao realm, the Creation realm, and the Dao Source realm.
Being recognized as a ten-star Enfeoffed King was enough to prove their strength was comparable to a cultivator at the Great Dao realm.
Although Zhang Fan had mastered countless Great Daos, he was still in the Nascent Divinity stage, without an inner world created or a Dao Source condensed. To kill a ten-star Enfeoffed King would require some effort.
Zhang Fan's figure weaved through Thousand Star Island, quickly attracting the attention of many cultivators, some from the Jiuyá Star Domain side and some from the Purple霄 Star Domain side.
"Fellow Daoist Ten Absolutes, if you're not in a hurry, why not visit my island as a guest?" Some cultivators extended an olive branch to Zhang Fan, wanting to get acquainted.
After all, Zhang Fan had been able to defeat Giant Peak True Immortal when he was in the late Nascent Divinity stage. Now, judging by his aura, he was even more robust and powerful than many peak Nascent Divinity cultivators. He should have broken through to the peak Nascent Divinity stage. Which powerful cultivator wouldn't want to befriend such a person?
Zhang Fan politely declined all offers, as he was indeed in a hurry. He needed to complete his mission and break through his realm as soon as possible. Otherwise, by the time the Immortal King-level figures from both sides arrived and entered the Immortal Venerable's dojo, he would be far behind.
"Thousand Star Island Number Zero One Three Five, Crimson Dragon True Immortal!"
Zhang Fan set his sights on this as his first target. This Crimson Dragon True Immortal was a peak Nascent Divinity stage exotic beast. After killing him, Zhang Fan would not only gain five hundred thousand military merits but also be able to refine the Crimson Dragon True Immortal's primordial spirit and integrate it into the Myriad Beast Cauldron.
This might be quite challenging for the other three Enfeoffed Kings, but Zhang Fan had fewer concerns now. With the Myriad Beast Cauldron, he could easily suppress peak Nascent Divinity cultivators.
As for the layered defensive formations, for Zhang Fan, they would only require a little more effort.
Each island on Thousand Star Island had a number for the convenience of cultivators navigating the area. After occupying this island, Crimson Dragon True Immortal had renamed it Crimson Dragon Dao.
"Crimson Dragon, I am Ten Absolutes True Immortal of the Purple霄 Star Domain, do you dare to come out and fight!" Zhang Fan circulated his profound magic power, his roar shaking the heavens and resounding through the river of stars, startling other cultivators on Thousand Star Island.
"Ten Absolutes True Immortal is challenging Crimson Dragon True Immortal?"
"Truly confident. Legend has it that this Ten Absolutes True Immortal was only a Spirit Refining stage cultivator when he first entered the Starry Sky Battlefield. Now, in less than ten years, he dares to challenge Crimson Dragon True Immortal."
"Crimson Dragon True Immortal is no ordinary peak Nascent Divinity. Legend has it that Purple Ling Fairy once fought him. Although she heavily injured him, she couldn't keep him."
"Does that mean Crimson Dragon True Immortal has the ability to escape from a Void Returning stage powerhouse?"
Discussions erupted from all sides. Zhang Fan's strength was evident to all. Giant Peak True Immortal was a prime example. However, the fact that he wanted to challenge Crimson Dragon True Immortal did not inspire confidence in many cultivators.
"Boom!"
With a deafening roar, the entire Crimson Dragon Dao began to shake. In an instant, rocks flew everywhere, and a giant dragon, ten thousand li long, slowly ascended from Crimson Dragon Island. A single horn grew on its head, and a scorching flame burned on the horn, like an eternal fire.
Its massive body was covered in dark red dragon scales, each larger than Zhang Fan. It raised its colossal dragon head, looking down at the tiny human before it with cold indifference in its eyes.
...