The endless river of stars flowed, and Zhang Fan, alone, transformed into a streak of light, charging into the dark space. Now that his Dao body had reached great completion, his speed was incomparable to his past. In just a few days, he followed the star river upwards, reaching the source of this branch of the star river. Ahead, he saw an endless dark forest.
"Is this the dojo of the Evil Buddha Demon Venerable?" From a distance, Zhang Fan sensed a vast palace complex hovering above the dark forest. Only when he got closer did he recognize it.
The Evil Buddha Demon Venerable was an Immortal Venerable-level figure from a million years ago. He had merged Buddha with Dao, ultimately mastering the Myriad Buddha Dao. However, for some unknown reason, he later became tainted by evil. He called himself the Evil Buddha, integrating the Dao of the Evil Buddha into his Myriad Buddha Dao. But he ultimately failed, perishing under the terrifying Heavenly Tribulation lightning of an Immortal Venerable.
With the appearance of the Evil Buddha Immortal Venerable's dojo, many Nascent Soul realm powerhouses 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 splendor of an Immortal Venerable's dojo.
The space and time around the Immortal Venerable's dojo were completely suppressed. Even powerful beings at the Void Returning stage could not tear through space. To enter and explore, one would need to be at least at the Immortal King level.
"It seems I need to complete accumulating military merits as quickly as possible, and then I can break through to the Immortal King realm and have a look at this Immortal Venerable's dojo," Zhang Fan thought to himself. He lingered no longer, turning and flying towards the source of the star river.
At the source of the star river, danger was everywhere. The terrifying vortexes formed by the river of stars churned space-time. Even Nascent Soul cultivators had to proceed with extreme caution, not daring to venture in.
Relying on his formidable strength, Zhang Fan charged headlong towards Thousand Star Island at the center of the star river's source.
While on his journey, he encountered many Nascent Soul realm cultivators from the Purple霄 Star Domain. However, they mostly traveled in small groups. Some cultivators recognized Zhang Fan and even proactively sent messages to greet him.
Zhang Fan casually responded and continued his journey. After nearly half a month, he finally reached the vicinity of Thousand Star Island.
Thousand Star Island was an island cluster situated within the star river. If one were to dive into the star river, they would discover that this was once a chain of infinitely tall mountains in space. After being submerged by the river of stars, it became the present Thousand Star Island.
On Thousand Star Island, most resource-rich islands were occupied by powerful cultivators. The three King-ranked powerhouses currently in the Starry Sky Battlefield – King Qian Ling from the Nine Cliff Star Domain, True Immortal Mang Ya, and Fairy Zi Ling from the Purple霄 Star Domain – all occupied islands on Thousand Star Island.
Each of their occupied islands was covered by layers of defensive formations. Other cultivators attempting to attack them would find it difficult to gain an advantage unless the power difference was immense.
For example, even a King-ranked expert would find it difficult to forcefully seize an island occupied by a nine-star Marquis.
The quickest way for Zhang Fan to accumulate a million military merits was to kill a nine-star Marquis. A nine-star Marquis was worth five hundred thousand military merits. Killing just two would fulfill the requirement.
As for ten-star Kings, Zhang Fan had not considered them for the time being.
The Void Returning stage had three major realms: the Great Dao realm, the Void Opening realm, and the Dao Origin realm.
Being recognized as a ten-star King was sufficient to indicate that their strength could contend with Great Dao realm cultivators.
Although Zhang Fan now mastered countless Great Daos, he was still in the Nascent Soul body. He had not yet opened up an inner world or condensed a Dao Origin. To kill a ten-star King would still require some effort.
Zhang Fan's figure weaved through the islands of Thousand Star Island, quickly attracting the attention of many cultivators, some from the Nine Cliff Star Domain and some from the Purple霄 Star Domain.
"Fellow Daoist Shi Jue, if you are not in a hurry, would you care to visit my island?" Some cultivators extended an invitation to Zhang Fan, wanting to befriend him.
After all, Zhang Fan had been able to defeat True Immortal Ju Feng when he was in the late Nascent Soul stage. Now, judging by his aura, it was more robust and magnificent than many peak Nascent Soul cultivators. He should have broken through to the peak Nascent Soul stage. Which powerful cultivator wouldn't want to establish a connection?
Zhang Fan politely declined all invitations, as he was indeed pressed for time. He needed to complete his mission and break through his cultivation as quickly 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 0135, True Immortal Chi Long!"
Zhang Fan set his sights on this first target. True Immortal Chi Long was a peak Nascent Soul realm exotic beast. After killing him, Zhang Fan would not only gain five hundred thousand military merits but also refine True Immortal Chi Long's primordial spirit and merge it into the Myriad Beast Cauldron.
This might be difficult for other King-ranked powerhouses, but Zhang Fan had fewer scruples in his actions now. With the Myriad Beast Cauldron, he could easily suppress peak Nascent Soul realm cultivators.
As for the layered defensive formations covering the island, they would only require him to expend a bit more effort.
Each island on Thousand Star Island had a number, intended to help cultivators navigating the area identify their directions. After True Immortal Chi Long occupied this island, he renamed it Chi Long Dao.
"Chi Long, I am True Immortal Shi Jue of the Purple霄 Star Domain. Do you dare to come out and fight!" Zhang Fan circulated his powerful mana, his roar shaking the heavens and spreading across the star river, alerting other cultivators on Thousand Star Island.
"Shi Jue challenged True Immortal Chi Long?"
"He's truly confident. Rumor has it that this True Immortal Shi Jue was only at the Spirit Refining stage when he first entered the Starry Sky Battlefield. In less than ten years, he now dares to challenge True Immortal Chi Long."
"True Immortal Chi Long is no ordinary peak Nascent Soul. Rumor has it that Fairy Zi Ling once fought him. Although she severely injured him, she couldn't keep him."
"Does that mean True Immortal Chi Long has the ability to escape from a Void Returning expert?"
Discussions arose from all sides. Zhang Fan's strength was evident to all. True Immortal Ju Feng was a prime example. However, his attempt to challenge True Immortal Chi Long still left many cultivators with little optimism.
"Boom!"
With a thunderous roar, the entire Chi Long Dao shook. Rocks flew everywhere. A giant dragon, thousands of miles long, slowly ascended from Chi Long Island. It had a single horn on its head, and scorching flames burned on the horn, like an eternal fire.
Its massive body was covered in dark red scales, each larger than Zhang Fan. It raised its enormous dragon head, gazing down at the tiny human before it, its eyes filled with cold indifference.
...