Chapter 531 - 501: Ziwei Star Monarch

Chapter 531: Chapter 501: Ziwei Star Monarch

The Silver Threaded Star Candles, each as thick as an arm, produced no flame when lit, only shimmering threads of starlight.

Heavy draperies hung down, vaguely revealing fourteen divine statues behind them.

The fourteen divine statues possessed a lofty, magnificent aura and an indescribable, intricate charm, inspiring an irresistible urge to prostrate oneself in worship.

"The divine statues look as if they were divinely wrought. To think such craftsmanship existed during the Near Ancient period... How could it have been lost just ten thousand years later?"

Bai Zichen’s expression was dazed; he was somewhat overwhelmed by this Secret Realm.

He had explored three Secret Realms before. The Sword Immortal Secret Realm in Black Mountain was on the brink of collapse, already in an extreme state of ruin.

If he and Lu Song hadn’t entered it, the realm might have vanished completely within a few hundred years, taking the three great legacies of that Upper Realm Sword Immortal with it into the void.

The Tianhe Sword Sect’s Sword Tomb Secret Realm was likely also established by that same Sword Immortal, who carved it out of the void.

Because it didn’t house the unique Supreme Qingwei Sword Box, it was actually in better condition, still maintaining its three distinct spatial layers.

Furthermore, as far as he could tell, there was no risk of it collapsing within the next several thousand years.

But in terms of vastness, neither could compare to the Lotus Secret Realm, which was nearly half the size of Hejian County.

Yet even after flying thousands of feet into the air in this current Secret Realm, he was nowhere near its edge. Its sheer expanse was several times greater than even the Lotus Secret Realm.

It also had no fixed entrance; every member of the Star Palace could enter and exit at will from any location—something he had never heard of in connection with any other Secret Realm.

"I suspect these divine statues were not crafted by the Taibai Sword Sect, but were passed down from the Upper Realm. Otherwise, how could they be so incredibly lifelike?"

Po Jun Star Monarch donned his Star God Mask and changed into the legendary Immortal Robe, appearing like an Immortal descended from the heavens.

For a disorienting moment, one couldn’t tell if it was Zhuo Xiong or one of the divine statues stepping down from its pedestal.

"Of the Fourteen Star Palaces, five Star Lords, including myself, have now taken their places. Fellow Daoist Bai, you may choose one of the vacant palaces, inherit its mask, and once you complete its Refinement, you will learn the incantation to enter this Secret Realm. This mask can block the Divine Sense of an opponent one Great Tier of Cultivation above you, and it also serves as the credential for entry. It is extremely important to us."

"I still don’t know the name of this Secret Realm. Is it the legendary Sword-Cleansing Grotto Heaven?"

As Bai Zichen took a step forward, whispers murmured in his ear. The fourteen divine statues abruptly grew to a colossal size, towering between heaven and earth and completely filling his Sea of Consciousness Space.

The Celestial Might Star Bone activated on its own. A similarly lofty and vast aura descended, expelling the fourteen statues from his Sea of Consciousness. They reverted to mere clay sculptures, allowing him to appraise them on equal footing.

Among the fourteen divine statues, five were indeed missing their masks, and as a result, they appeared to lack a certain luster.

He recalled what Meng Dongye had mentioned about the Five Phoenix Sword Sect discovering a place suspected to be the Sword-Cleansing Grotto Heaven. ’After this,’ he thought, ’I wonder if I’ll still have a chance to be invited to that one.’

There was a world of difference between sharing the potential Cave Profound Godslaying Sword Scripture with a newly ascended Nascent Soul from the Northern Domain, and allowing it to be obtained by an Unparalleled Sword Cultivator who could soundly defeat a Great True Monarch while only at the Early-Stage Nascent Soul.

No matter how magnanimous the Five Phoenix Sword Sect was, they would not willingly nurture their greatest potential rival on their path to becoming the First Sword Sect.

"The three seniors who founded the Star Palace suspected as much, but information regarding the Sword-Cleansing Grotto Heaven was always a top secret among the Taibai Sword Sect’s leadership. Very few records have survived. In all these years, the Star Palace has only managed to explore the periphery. We have never met the conditions required to enter the inner core, so we can’t draw a definitive conclusion."

After putting on the mask, not only Po Jun Star Monarch’s physique and voice changed, but even his entire demeanor underwent a drastic transformation.

The once stout and amiable Nascent Soul True Monarch had instantly become a cold and aloof Sword Cultivator, exuding a grim, murderous aura.

"I can only say that based on our discoveries so far, there is a strong possibility that this is the Sword-Cleansing Grotto Heaven."

’If the Secret Realm the Star Palace has access to is the Sword-Cleansing Grotto Heaven, then what does the Five Phoenix Sword Sect have? Or... could they both lead to the same Secret Realm, with the Star Palace merely on the outskirts while the Five Phoenix Sword Sect has already entered the core region beneath that ’boundless pot lid’?’

Bai Zichen, of course, did not let his thoughts show. He asked, "Is there any particular significance to which divine statue’s mask I choose?"

To his eyes, the fourteen divine statues looked largely the same, with regal, imposing faces and only slight differences in their attire.

Upon closer inspection, however, he could discern subtle variations beneath their lofty auras.

However, he had never studied matters concerning the Upper Realm Divine Officials. The Ascension Platform was long gone, making it impossible for Upper Realm Immortals to descend into the mortal realm. Consequently, prayers and petitions to the gods no longer received any response.

The study of divine and immortal official hierarchies, which had been all the rage in Ancient Times and even spawned several schools of thought, had fallen into rapid decline since the Middle Ancient period.

By now, it was an extremely obscure field of study. He estimated that only a handful of interested individuals in the entire Cultivation Realm still pursued it.

It was precisely because he could not distinguish between them that he had to ask; since there was a distinction between the Fourteen Star Palaces, the divine statues surely had to hold different meanings.

"Perhaps they once did, but to us, they are merely codenames, different faces. I mentioned to you before, Fellow Daoist Bai, that the Star Palace is in possession of three Cultivation Techniques that lead directly to the Divinity Transformation realm. They were discovered beneath three of these very statues. Our predecessors in the Star Palace believe that during the era of the Taibai Sword Sect, they may have possessed a unique legacy Cultivation Technique for every single Star Hall. It is just that some sudden catastrophe struck, and the majority of them were lost."

Po Jun Star Monarch snapped his fingers. All the draperies slowly rose, revealing the fourteen divine statues in their full glory.

"When a member of the Star Palace dies, regardless of where or how they pass, their Star God Mask will reappear on the face of its corresponding statue through some mechanism we don’t understand. This allows a successor to choose it once more. The Qisha Star Monarch, who recently met an unexpected end, is a case in point—his mask has returned here. This is how we are able to confirm the life or death of our members."