Nine Astra Skies

Inside the Soul Pagoda, as long as there was no combatant above the rank of Godly Venerable and Daemon King, Ye Chen could do whatever he wanted!

“One more thing, youngling Ye Chen, I have to tell you this. The Heavenly Astra Seal isn’t invincible. Faced against a siege by Mystique Venerable and Mystique Adept combatants, you can hide inside the Heavenly Astra Seal, but if you encounter a Daemon King Rank combatant, you must be careful. Perhaps, before you could even react, the Daemon King had already locked you down using some secret Psyche technique. As for Godly Venerable Rank humans, they have lesser tactics against you, so you don’t have to be afraid. However, if you encounter a more powerful existence such as a Grand Supreme or Peerless Power opponent, you must be cautious,” Master Lion said, “I’m worried that if you keep using the same tricks and your opponent comes prepared, you won’t even get the chance to cry!”

Hearing Master Lion’s advice, Ye Chen’s heart ran cold. He nodded solemnly. “I understand.”

“Always look before you leap. If your opponent didn’t deliberately study your techniques, then that’s fine. But if they did and you arrogantly picked a fight with them, it’d be tantamount to suicide. Most probably, no one has ever told you about the different attainment levels for Grand Supreme Stage and Peerless Power Stage. Similar to how Mystique Venerable and Mystique Adept Rank as well as Godly Venerable and Daemon King Rank, they have beginner, mid and top levels. The Grand Supreme and Peerless Power Stages have their distinctions called Boundless, Transcendent, and Preeminent. These are the three minor attainment levels for Grand Supreme and Peerless Power Stages.”

“Boundless, Transcendent, and Preeminent?” Ye Chen was completely caught by surprise.

“These three minor attainment levels are further divided into ten grades. Together, they symbolize the thirty tiers of heaven. Advancing from one grade to another is as difficult as lifting the sky. Many masters fail to progress even a single step in their entire life.”

It turned out that the Grand Supreme and Peerless Power Stages were so difficult to cultivate.

“Boundless represents mastery over strength. Transcendent represents the harmony between heaven and earth, and mastery over the mind. With that, you’d have the ability to create your subspace. Preeminent means to form your divinity and defy the heavens.”

“Defy the heavens?” Ye Chen’s heart skipped a beat. The cultivation process for these powerhouses was essentially a drawn-out battle with the heavens. With every increase in attainment level, their lifespans were extended, up to the fabled immortality level.

“About these attainment levels, you’ll have to understand them on your own. What Master Lion wants to tell you is that, if you encounter a Boundless Stage powerhouse and they don’t have any special secret techniques, then they will not be able to defeat you once you hide inside the Heavenly Astra Seal. However, if you encounter a Transcendent Stage powerhouse, it’d be very difficult for you to escape. They’ve succeeded in tempering a very strong mind. Within their subspace, everything is controlled by them. Should you try to hide inside the Heavenly Astra Seal, it’d be difficult for me to shield you from their tracking abilities. While they might not be able to break open the Heavenly Astra Seal, you wouldn’t be able to leave either. The beautiful Mermaid you encountered, for example, was initially at Boundless Stage but had later advanced to Transcendent Stage. If you see her again next time, you better not provoke her. Whatever she wants, just give it to her. Even if you have to sacrifice your bodily virtue to her, you just have to bear with it. And if you happen to encounter a Preeminent Stage powerhouse, then I can only say that you’re finished. Anyway, so many years have passed, I don’t even know if Preeminent powerhouses still exist in this world.”

Hearing Master Lion mention about sacrificing bodily virtue, Ye Chen was completely speechless. That Taitai Ling looked so cold and unfriendly, would she even be interested in a guy? Nevertheless, Master Lion’s joke aside, the rest of his words served as a wake-up call for Ye Chen. There was always a higher peak than the next. Just because his Astral Body had reached Daemon King Rank and he had the Heavenly Astral Seal, did not mean that he could act rashly.

“There are a lot of powerhouses who came to this Soul Pagoda, so you must be careful. Perhaps after this, there’ll be Daemon King and Godly Venerable Rank masters or higher,” Master Lion said, “I sensed a number of Grand Supreme and Peerless Power powerhouses outside but fortunately, all of them are only at Boundless Stage.”

“Although there are a lot of powerhouses who came to the Soul Pagoda, now that I’m here, I can’t just hide away in fear. If there’s something good, I’m going to grab it first and worry about the rest later!” Ye Chen grinned confidently. If someone were to be afraid of everything, then life was not worth living.

Upon hearing Ye Chen’s exclamation, Master Lion was momentarily stunned. He had initially thought that once he revealed such greatness to Ye Chen, the youngling would be afraid but he did not expect Ye Chen to give him such an answer. Master Lion pondered for a while and his eyes lit up. “Youngling Ye Chen, your answer has cleared up my muddled head. Back then, my abilities were very powerful, but many opponents were much stronger than me. Even the Purple-fire Astral Lion Clan, which was a gathering of innumerable powerhouses, was wiped out by others. Naturally, I became very cautious and in the end, turned into a sissy protective divine beast. Oh, regrets. Back then, I should’ve acted as you said. If we chance upon a treasure, grab it first and worry about the rest later. Then, once our abilities grow, we’ll fight each opponent as they come. If I did all that, I wouldn’t have fallen to such slumps!”

“Sissy?” Ye Chen questioned. He had never heard Master Lion mention this before.

“Cough, cough, it’s nothing.” Master Lion quickly deflected. That was a past he was unwilling to recall. Instead, he let out a hearty laugh. “I’m happy to accompany you, youngling. You’re a perfect match for my temperament. Let’s go, we’ll continue to snatch whatever we can. If the second level of the Soul Pagoda already has so many Cosmic Stones, then it’s impossible for the third and fourth levels to not have something good!”

“Yup!” Ye Chen also did not waste any time. With a “swoosh”, he exited the Heavenly Astra Seal.

Outside, a few Mystique Venerable masters from the Leiyun Empire were passing by. When they saw Ye Chen appear, they were so surprised that their steps faltered. Was this person a ghost? How could he appear so suddenly? Did he teleport here?

Ye Chen glanced at the few people. Before they could gather their wits, with a “swoosh”, Ye Chen had already transformed into a light beam and shot into the distance.

Ye Chen had stayed in the Heavenly Astra Seal for such a long time that those from the Thunder Beast Clan and the Temple of War had disappeared without a trace. Perhaps, they had entered the third level. Ye Chen had to speed up, otherwise, all the treasure would be snatched up by them!

“Swish, swish, swish.” Ye Chen flew across the sky. Another Cosmic Stone appeared in his hand, which he placed beside the Soul Pearl. There was an audible “swoosh”, and the Cosmic Stone was swallowed into it.

“Little Wingsy, this Cosmic Stone is for you!” Ye Chen told him. With this Cosmic Stone, Little Wingsy’s abilities would improve significantly!

Little Wingsy happily opened his mouth and bit the Cosmic Stone. “Snap”, a loud sound rang out. His face wrinkled. “This thing is so hard, it’s not delicious at all. It almost broke my tooth.”

“You want to absorb its energy, not eat it!” Ye Chen explained with a long-suffering smile. He no longer knew what to do with Little Wingsy. Little Wingsy tried to eat this thing?

“Oh.” Little Wingsy grinned sheepishly. He turned into a small snake and coiled around the Cosmic Stone to absorb its energy.

In the distance, there was another black gate. Many people were rushing in. Ye Chen swept ahead with a “swish” and rushed in. He disappeared into the gate.

After a moment, the view changed. Ye Chen appeared on the third level. The Spirit Beasts here were somewhat different from the ones on the lower levels. They looked like blacgiant praying mantises that were black all over. In front, they had a pair of jagged forearms and on their backs were two pairs of wings. They could not fly for long periods, so they mostly lurked on the ground. When they saw someone fly across the sky, they would flap their wings in a flash and launch a brutal ambush.

These mantis-shaped Spirit Beasts were equivalent to Heavenly Venerable and Heavenly Adept Rank masters, but their ambush attacks were entirely terrifying. Even a Mystique Venerable or Mystique Adept master could be grievously harmed by their sharp jagged forearms.

From a distance, several painful screams could be heard. Ye Chen could not help but feel anxious.

Now that his Astral Body had reached the level of a beginner Daemon King, Ye Chen did not intend to sneak around like a field mouse. A powerful Psyche extended and spread out in every direction, searching for treasures contained on the third level of the Soul Pagoda.

When the Mystique Venerable and Mystique Adept Rank mystical beasts who were flying in the air sensed the energy of a Daemon King, all of them trembled in fright. All the major factions had a mutual agreement. The first wave would only comprise of Mystique Rank masters and below to investigate. It seemed that one of the factions had broken the rules and had sent in a Daemon King!

Without other Daemon Kings or Godly Venerable Rank masters around, this Daemon King was literally a tyrant!

Ye Chen’s Astral Body immediately found a small hill about thirty kilometers away. On that small hill, swarms of mantis Spirit Beasts were flying around. The mantis Spirit Beasts had built a nest underneath the ground and the nest contained dozens of golden eggs. Each egg was about the size of a millstone and they were covered with mysterious runes all over.

Golden eggs covered with runes? Was this another treasure?

As soon as Ye Chen made up his mind, he flew in that direction.

“Youngling Ye Chen, did you discover something?” Master Lion, who was inside the Heavenly Astra Seal, also appeared to be very excited.

“I found some golden eggs. I don’t know what they are but the eggshell contains a lot of mysterious runes,” Ye Chen described. Perhaps, it was the Spirit Beasts’ eggs. Would those eggs hatch into Spirit Beasts?

“Golden eggs? Covered with runes?” Master Lion did not seem as excited as before upon hearing Ye Chen’s words. On the contrary, his expression turned grave.

Ye Chen’s Astral Body swept across. In the ground not too far from the golden eggs, there was a purple light. Would there be another treasure? He was prepared to dig it out to check.

Soon, Ye Chen could see those golden eggs. His Astral Body swiftly condensed into the gold-armored soldier. With a swing of the Fangtian halberd, “slash, slash, slash”, all the mantis Spirit Beasts were killed. Fresh blood spurted all around.

These mantis Spirit Beasts also contained Tianyuan ancient coins. There were so many Spirit Beasts in the Soul Pagoda that Tianyuan ancient coins were abundant here. The rarer the item, the more expensive it would be. Hence, these Tianyuan ancient coins were probably less valuable now. He could even buy them outside the Soul Pagoda. Therefore, the priority was to snatch the other treasures!

Ye Chen flew down and landed beside the nest of golden eggs. He prepared to keep the entire nest of golden eggs.

“Youngling Ye Chen, don’t touch them!” Master Lion yelled urgently.

“Why?” Ye Chen was puzzled by the urgency in Master Lion’s tone. What was the origin of these eggs? Ye Chen pulled his hand back.

“Use the Storm Sword and smash them. Make sure you shatter them completely and none of them survive, quick!” Master Lion said, a tinge of horror in his tone.

What were these golden eggs that could frighten even Master Lion?