Chapter 477: Star-Destroying Dharma Assembly, Heavenly Dao Book Complete

The Empire currently has seven major ancient roads. Assuming the first divination of the Ten Directions is accurate, these seven existing ancient roads are simply insufficient to meet the needs of the entire Profound Spirit Starfield.

More major ancient roads may be added in the future. I believe constructing another star road from the Starfall Corridor would be more convenient and save significant costs.

If we can open it up and establish it as a major ancient road, creating several new Emperor-level families will be entirely feasible.

Once built, it will be difficult for any of you present to ever be poor again!

On Crystal Island, within a private space, dozens of star mirrors surrounded Zhao Xing, displaying numerous figures. Du Yun, Tuo Sen, Fairy Youling... all his partners were listening to Zhao Xing's plans for the future.

"Zhao Xing, everything you've said hinges on the Starfall Corridor being successfully developed, and it must also prove valuable enough to become a major ancient road," someone interjected with questions. It was Qi Tian from the Four Seasons Palace. "I'm not doubting you, but there are indeed many difficulties in developing the Starfall Corridor at present."

Zhao Xing turned to face Qi Tian's star mirror. "Brother Qi is right. I was just about to briefly describe some of the objective challenges we face in developing this ancient road."

"Snap!" Zhao Xing snapped his fingers, and a holographic map appeared before everyone.

It depicted a long, fragmented asteroid belt, parts of which rotated erratically like a twisted tunnel. Debris collided constantly, explosions seemed perpetual, and matter would abruptly vanish or appear.

"First, the challenge of relocating stars."

"The Starfall Corridor is a ruin formed from the collapse of numerous top-tier realm stars and Yin-Yang stars. Within its confines, Sun Stars and Lunar Stars are rarely found. As is well known, establishing a permanent survival base in the desolate reaches is impossible without the Yin-Yang twin stars. Otherwise, not only would food cultivation fail, but the strength of cultivators would also diminish, causing those in the Samsara Realm to only exhibit the power of the Dao Domain Realm, and those in the Dao Domain Realm to only manifest the power of the Origin Realm."

Yin and Yang give rise to the Five Elements; the harmonious blend of Yin and Yang creates all things. This is an eternal truth of the cosmos. From the perspective of life's development, regions devoid of Sun Stars and Lunar Stars cannot be considered habitable zones, and the emergence of life there is exceedingly difficult. Cultivating food for supplies would incur dramatically escalating costs. From a cultivation standpoint, the Five Elements Dao Domain Realm and the Yin-Yang Dao Domain Realm already signify that the Great Dao of Yin and Yang is an indispensable cornerstone. In regions where these two Great Daos are absent or not apparent, it's akin to demolishing two load-bearing walls or removing a crucial support from the cultivation system. Imagine a Samsara Realm expert suddenly losing their experiences in the Five Elements Dao Domain Realm and the Life-Death Dao Domain Realm, with their comprehension of the two Great Daos of Yin and Yang greatly reduced—their strength would naturally decline significantly. Therefore, top-tier Sun and Lunar celestial bodies are not only fundamental for survival but also indispensable for cultivation. This is also why the School of Celestial Timing's theories frequently mention the 'Polar Star' and regard its discovery as the ultimate goal, as a Polar Star is certain to provide the strongest Dao Realm insights.

"In the desolate reaches, the most cost-effective method for establishing a survival base is 'star relocation to establish a system.' In spiritual energy domains, star relocation is a simple matter; even a Dao Domain Realm cultivator can easily move Sun and Lunar Stars. However, in the desolate reaches, the difficulty of transportation increases. Of course, the primary issue lies with the unique characteristics of the Starfall Corridor itself. Once new Sun or Lunar Stars are moved here, they collapse within a few centuries. Thus, star relocation has become a major challenge."

Pausing, Zhao Xing zoomed in on the map, focusing on a small star-continent.

"Look everyone, this is a small survival base established by the four major families. There are no Sun or Lunar Stars present around it. Their method is to replace the Yin-Yang twin stars with large Dao soldiers—Sun Star Lanterns and Lunar Star Lanterns. Using the Great Dao of Yin and Yang inherent in the base's formations and Dao soldiers, they stabilize the surrounding space-time, transforming chaotic Daos into perceivable and usable ones, and turning chaotic void into stable void. Such a small survival base, merely for the setup of the two star lanterns and the Yin-Yang Rotation Formation, has a basic cost of 880,000 Five Emperor Coins, not including maintenance costs. Furthermore, its operational lifespan is only ten thousand years, after which everything must be replaced."

Qi Tian, playing the straight man, continued his questioning. "Brother Zhao, if we were to follow the four great families' method, I'm afraid the funds we've raised now would be exhausted before the Third Desolate Era, wouldn't they?"

Zhao Xing quipped, "Of course, if we followed the approach of those four idiots, no amount of money would be enough. Their withdrawal was precisely because they realized it was a bottomless pit for burning money."

"Hahahahaha," the crowd burst into laughter. Only Zhao Xing would dare call the four great families 'idiots.' Although they didn't know where Zhao Xing's confidence came from, it was certainly exhilarating to hear him speak so boldly.

Qi Tian also teased, "Brother Zhao, they probably think the same thing about us, hahahaha."

Zhao Xing glanced at Qi Tian. This guy was really getting addicted to playing the straight man. That line wasn't in the script he'd given Qi Tian.

At this moment, the second straight man, Xu Youling, chimed in. "So, does that mean Brother Zhao has a better solution?"

"Yes, we certainly can't do it that way," Zhao Xing replied. "The Starfall Corridor, ultimately, is an environmental issue. How can we simply rely on Dao soldiers and formations to overpower it? The four great families' approach is like trying to control a raging river by mindlessly building dikes and then raising their city walls. In my opinion, their formations are intricate, and their Dao soldiers are top-tier, but from a broader perspective, their efforts were fundamentally misdirected."

Lou Lanxiao deeply agreed. Although he was a physician, he could discern some flaws in the Starfall Corridor's development approach. He also felt that the four great families' method was akin to cutting off a foot when it hurt, or a hand when it pained. Now, with no other option, they had to 'cut off their heads,' selling out with tears in their eyes to escape this massive pit.

Qi Tian, a Samsara Realm Minister of Agriculture from the Four Seasons Palace, had profound insights into local governance. Building bases in the desolate reaches wasn't a single environmental issue, solvable by one method for everything. Places like the Starfall Corridor were even more complex. Changing the season to rainy weather today because of a drought, and then reversing rain to intense heat tomorrow... it wasn't that simple at all. In truth, the four great families were helpless. They weren't lacking in agricultural talent; aside from management issues, purely from an objective standpoint, the Starfall Corridor indeed presented a complex, structural environmental problem. It encompassed a series of issues including transformation, reconstruction, disaster resistance, Marquis changes, and space-time alterations. Looking back at the four great families' development path over seven millennia, they were gradually forced into this clumsy approach, eventually giving up their perseverance in despair.

"I've done the calculations," Zhao Xing continued, "if we dismantle their bases and reconfigure them according to my methods, we could yield ten times the number of bases. As for the specific construction methods, I won't elaborate now and waste your time. When the Dharma Assembly convenes and the project restarts, those interested can come and see for yourselves. Next, I'll discuss the second objective problem."

Zhao Xing waved his hand, and the scene transformed again. Seven realm stars appeared, aligned in a line in the cosmic void.

These were seven realm stars, also artificial bases. They orbited a Sun Star and a Lunar Star, with Boundary Stabilizing Towers present around them.

"This is an example of successful star relocation in the Starfall Corridor," Zhao Xing explained. "While not numerous, the four great families were wealthy and could hire skilled Ministers of Agriculture. They managed to relocate approximately forty-nine pairs of twin-star systems. However, only a third of them remain now; the rest were lost due to natural wear and tear."

Warrior Zhou Gang, a martial officer accompanying Zhao Xing on the Taoyang Star-Continent, couldn't help but ask, "Lord Zhao, did they suffer some disaster? How could so many be lost?"

"You could say that." Zhao Xing pointed. "Look, in a certain year, this relocated twin-star system was suddenly swallowed by the void layer."

Everyone watched as the void suddenly distorted, and the Sun Star rapidly extinguished. Then, space collapsed like a curtain, and the seven realm stars, rapidly spinning, fell into the void abyss as the Yin-Yang twin stars vanished. There was no warning whatsoever! Not even the base's alarm system was triggered.

"According to the official reports summarizing the disaster, this twin-star system, designated Blue Ice 42, was swallowed due to a space-time distortion in the Starfall Corridor," Zhao Xing stated. "Such occurrences are common in the Starfall Corridor. This is the second objective challenge that needs to be addressed."

Qi Tian once again deviated from the script, genuinely feeling confused. "Brother Zhao, what exactly happened? Why did it suddenly turn out like this?"

Zhao Xing decided to reveal more, as most of his partners were Ministers of Agriculture, and he couldn't just give a presentation; he needed to offer something substantial to reassure them. "If you ask me, it's still a matter of site selection," he began. "The four great families established their survival bases in a region of the Phenomenal Layer where space-time is unstable. It's like building our homes in an area prone to frequent geological shifts. Due to the Starfall Corridor's characteristics, this space-time instability is chaotic, without prior warning, and involves the Great Dao of Space-Time, meaning even disturbed Fate Masters cannot accurately predict it. As for the underlying principle, it should be a space-time upheaval caused by a void dark river. I've read about similar occurrences in the Transference Tower; if any fellow Daoists are interested, you can research the Li Xing River Shift that happened in the ancient Tianyou Kingdom."

"The ancient Tianyou Kingdom?" Du Yun's interest was piqued, as he himself was from the Tianyou Kingdom (Du Yun believed his historical memories of the Yuanhai Ancient Kingdom were yet to be unsealed).

"Brother Zhao, is there a solution?" Yu Qing, the Minister of Agriculture from the Primeval Realm, couldn't help but ask. He was also a Minister of Agriculture from the School of Celestial Timing, and during the initial selection, he had been first in his division. Any Minister of Agriculture would be greatly curious when faced with a difficult environmental problem.

"Before the first objective challenge is resolved, there isn't a good solution for the second; we can only try to avoid it," Zhao Xing mused. "Because the Li Xing River Shift was an insoluble problem in history, lasting for two entire eras, and even demigod-level Ministers of Agriculture couldn't resolve it. I haven't personally surveyed the Starfall Corridor yet, so perhaps it's not as severe, but it certainly won't be easy to fix."

In reality, the problem wasn't as severe as he made it out to be, but Zhao Xing simply didn't want to give his partners overly high expectations at this point. Zhao Xing clearly remembered that after the Primordial Hill took over the corridor route, it was opened in less than five hundred years. The people of Primordial Hill not only didn't incur losses but even made a substantial profit before it was fully opened. This was because, approximately 450 million astronomical units further northwest along the Starfall Corridor, several small 'Origin Realms' appeared. Within these Origin Realms were vast quantities of 'non-renewable' materials, all suitable for creating 'Origin Divine Weapons' and 'Samsara Divine Weapons'! Of course, this premise was based on the timeframe having reached the early Third Desolate Era, and the other two ancient roads, the Haitong Ancient Road and the Mingguang Ancient Road, were already eighty to ninety percent excavated. The Primordial Hill had gained extensive experience and discovered paths along these two roads that overlapped with the Starfall Ancient Road, thus achieving such rapid efficiency. Zhao Xing currently didn't have such high demands; his goal was simple: to excavate a few Origin Realms along the Starfall Ancient Road before the Third Desolate Era. As for fully excavating it, he didn't want to do that, because reaching the spiritual energy domain at the other end would inevitably lead to resistance from native forces of that spiritual energy domain, making an inter-domain war unavoidable. The Starfall Corridor's transportation efficiency was too high; possessing a space-time channel, it was known as the 'War Ancient Road' among the nine great ancient roads, serving as the primary channel for the Great Emperor's military operations. Zhao Xing couldn't possibly monopolize the rights to this channel; that would be suicidal. So, once it was mostly excavated, selling the rights to this ancient road to the Empire for them to take over would be the most suitable option. Taking his money and extricating himself from the battlefield of interests would be the best course of action.

"What's the third objective challenge?" A voice interrupted Zhao Xing's contemplation.

Zhao Xing looked up, realizing that at some point, Lord Lushan had also joined the group chat.

Lord Lushan was an expert, so Zhao Xing's replies to his questions became much more rigorous.

"Uncle-master, the third objective challenge is actually a conclusion drawn from my subjective speculation. We likely won't encounter it in the short term."

"Tell me about it," Lord Lushan smiled.

Zhao Xing nodded. With a flick of his wrist, the map of the Starfall Corridor expanded and reoriented. Now, the Starfall Corridor resembled a rough band on a jade raw stone. Approximately 300 million astronomical units to the northwest, a large black rift appeared. Nothing was visible there. Zhao Xing wrote three annotations on this cross-section: "Spiritual energy index possibly zero," "Generations of stable reproduction: zero," and "Suspected Annihilation Layer."

Lord Lushan mused, "Are you suggesting that the end of the Starfall Corridor is a void region where the Phenomenal Layer transforms into the Annihilation Layer? How did you arrive at this conjecture?"

Zhao Xing waved his hand again, and columnar data graphs rose from various regions of the Starfall Corridor. "Uncle-master, please see, starting from the corridor's origin, the spiritual energy concentration index is 7. For every 100 million astronomical units, it drops by two basis points. Following this pattern, after approximately 500 million astronomical units, the spiritual energy index will completely fall to zero. The second set of data concerns the reproductive status of plant life over the past seven millennia for the four great families. For every 35,000 astronomical units advanced deeper into the Moon Minister's Desolate Domain, the generations of stable reproduction for plant life decrease by 0.03, while the probability of variant degradation correspondingly increases by 0.07. This change is subtle but extremely regular. By the time we reach this area..." Zhao Xing's finger tapped the black void region, "I believe no native species will be able to undergo stable reproduction anymore."

After Zhao Xing finished speaking, all the Ministers of Agriculture, including Lord Lushan, fell silent. Others present, seeing everyone quiet down, immediately dared not speak, instead frantically researching privately, attempting to understand the meaning of Zhao Xing and Lord Lushan's conversation.

However, for the Ministers of Agriculture from the Primeval Realm, it was easy to understand. "Stable reproduction" refers to plant life retaining the same quality as the original mother species after multiple generations of reproduction. For example, Zhao Xing's Seven Realms True Spirit Bamboo is of Emperor-grade quality. Since it is a native species without a life origin lock, as long as it reproduces in a suitable environment, a large number of its offspring will also exhibit Emperor-grade quality. Naturally, any plant life has a generational count for stable reproduction; the stronger the life form, the more difficult stable reproduction becomes, and the shorter the generational count. However, the four auxiliary methods of the Ego School's Ministers of Agriculture—Divine Radiance, Regulation Dao, Primordial Clarity, and Primordial Foundation—can greatly extend this generational count. Yet, this data set was based on the four great families' Ministers of Agriculture cultivating plants for supplies. Even with human intervention by the Ministers of Agriculture, there was still a downward trend of degradation in quality. This implied that a massive, unavoidable environmental factor was at play.

Over the seven millennia of the four great families' development, this wasn't very obvious, but if development continued according to Zhao Xing's data model, this situation would inevitably be encountered.

"Qiusheng, I don't understand. Can you explain what it means?" At this moment, Yang Baihe quietly messaged Yuan Qiusheng next to him.

"Assuming we take the True Spirit Tree as an example, by the time we reach the location Zhao Xing designated, certain extreme conditions will arise: an Emperor-grade True Spirit Tree simply won't be able to flower or bear fruit there to provide supplies," Yuan Qiusheng explained. "Losing its ability to produce True Spirit Fruit, it becomes worthless except as firewood, no different from an ordinary tree in quality; in fact, its branches might even burn less efficiently than those of common trees. This is because it still requires far more nutrients than ordinary quality trees to sustain its own life and prevent decay."

Yang Baihe suddenly understood. "So, it's like a stud bull becoming infertile—it still eats, but it's no longer very useful, right?"

"To be more precise, if auxiliary plant life doesn't flower or bear fruit, it's completely useless. Keeping it is a burden, and cutting it for firewood is less efficient than burning low-quality wood."

Yang Baihe muttered to himself, "If trees become like this, perhaps people will too... I absolutely cannot go to this place."

The collapse of the Yin-Yang twin stars led to increased costs for star relocation. Space-time rifts elevated the difficulty of constructing survival bases. The Annihilation Layer region blocked the path of exploration. These three problems were progressively more challenging. And these were merely objective issues; subjective problems included human resources, materials, policies, and other human-generated concerns. However, compared to the three major challenges, Zhao Xing considered the latter negligible. He had raised sufficient funds, and the Great Zhou Dynasty was the institution responsible for construction, placing both money and personnel under his control. As long as the Dharma Assembly could be held smoothly, these would not be problems.

After the partners' meeting concluded, Zhao Xing began preparations for the Dharma Assembly.

"To organize a Dharma Assembly, it's simply a matter of time, place, people, and content."

"The location has been set: Rainbow Moon Star-Continent, a large base in the Starfall Corridor. The time is tentatively set for a century from now." A century was already a short timeframe; Zhao Xing needed to let the news spread and ferment, otherwise, powerful figures wouldn't have enough time to attend.

"The Dharma Assembly must have some prominent figures. If only Lord Lushan attends, it would be too meager. Even with Emperor Wudu and Emperor Hongshan, it would still be a bit lacking. It would be ideal if the Scholarly City could send some representatives."

Zhao Xing pondered for a moment, then began writing a letter to Bowei.

"Junior Zhao Xing bows his head to Elder Bowei. The Scholarly City is the sacred land where all the world's knowledge converges. Elder, you are the foremost among the wise in the Scholarly City. Your ascent to the Eighth Dharma Realm, your miraculous resolution of the Heavenly Poison plague, and your activation of the divine artifact, the Transference Tower—these are accomplishments unparalleled throughout history!"

The moment Bowei saw the letter, his heart instinctively sank. Zhao Xing had praised him to the heavens in the letter, which, instead of pleasing him, filled him with wariness.

"Master, what does this boy want?"

Bowei interrupted Zhixin, telling him to skip the pleasantries and get straight to the point.

Zhixin flipped through several pages, then chuckled, "This boy wants to convene a Dharma Assembly and wishes to invite you to make an appearance. He also says his admiration for you is 'as clear as the sun and moon,' and 'like the waters of the Li River, unstoppable'... Pfft." By the end, Zhixin couldn't help but burst into laughter. This was utterly sickeningly sweet!

"Master! Get to the point!"

"Ahem, alright," Zhixin continued flipping pages, finally revealing the dagger at the end of the scroll, understanding Zhao Xing's true motive. "He says if you don't agree, he'll follow ancient custom and make three visits to the Scholarly City's sacred grounds... Hahahaha." Zhixin's second laugh was completely uncontrollable. He saw that his disciple's face was as black as if he'd eaten dirt. The thought that Bowei had recently lost 2.4 billion realm spirit points because of Zhao Xing made Zhixin unable to restrain himself. Bowei was also completely flustered; at this moment, he had temporarily shelved the idea of making Zhao Xing a core part of the God-Creation Project. But he realized this fellow was simply impossible to shake off! Admire him? And personally visit? "I beg you, please stop admiring me!" he thought. "If you come again, my Transference Tower will go bankrupt even if it isn't shut down by the five major powers!"

At the thought of the consequences if Zhao Xing came again, Bowei couldn't help but take a deep breath. "Hmph." After exhaling a pent-up breath, he finally managed to suppress his emotions. "How do you plan to reply?" Zhixin asked. "Agree to his request," Bowei said. "As long as he doesn't come to the Scholarly City and enter the Transference Tower, anything is negotiable." It was just a matter of sending a few people to the desolate reaches to lend support to the Dharma Assembly and promote Zhao Xing, wasn't it? Although he was angry, it was a minor matter that Bowei could tolerate.

"Perhaps you should still send a Dharma clone there," Zhixin mused. "The Scholarly City's opening of the Transference Tower has attracted a large number of powerful individuals, which is already somewhat affecting the Red Star Empire's desolate region development progress. If the Great Emperor becomes displeased and pressures us, the closure of the Transference Tower won't be far off. Don't let personal emotions impact the plan."

A flicker of disgust crossed Bowei's eyes, but he ultimately nodded in agreement. "Master's admonition is correct; it should be so."

On an inconspicuous realm star at the border of the Myriad Rivers Demonic Kingdom in the Profound Spirit Starfield. Wei Tianchen looked at the full-length mirror before him, within which a figure shrouded in a black robe gradually materialized.

"Brother Wei, there's news about Zhao Xing. Are you willing to purchase it from the Holy Temple?"

Wei Tianchen nodded expressionlessly. "Speak."

"The development rights for the Starfall Ancient Road have been transferred. Lord Lushan and the Great Zhou Dynasty are mere fronts; the true controllers are Zhao Xing and his close associates. Additionally, he is about to convene the Starfall Dharma Assembly, set for 135 years from now, at the Rainbow Moon Star-Continent in the Starfall Corridor. The Rainbow Moon Star-Continent was originally controlled by the local Rainbow Moon Dynasty, whose influence was initially held by the Carlos family, but it also has ties to the Scholarly City. Among them, Bience is a subordinate secretly cultivated by Bowei. Zhao Xing has even invited Elder Bowei of the Scholarly City as a guest of honor. With the Scholarly City's promotion and Bowei's participation, the scale of this private Dharma Assembly is already quite high."

Wei Tianchen frowned. "What is the content of this Dharma Assembly that it could attract Bowei himself? His Eight Methods of Zhao and the Earth Epoch Geomancy Theory were only published two millennia ago; could he have a new theory already?" It is said that methods are easy to cultivate, but theories are difficult to come by. Zhao Xing's speed in publishing theories was perhaps too fast. Bowei would not endorse someone without good reason, and Zhao Xing would need to have something substantial to offer. Otherwise, it would be damaging the Scholarly City's reputation.

"The specific content is undecided, but the theme has been set: it aims to address the extreme environment of the Starfall Corridor. It's said there will be a total of thirty-four sessions."

"Thirty-four sessions?!" Wei Tianchen was somewhat shocked. Thirty-four sessions would require an immense amount of content. He was certainly familiar with the Starfall Corridor; it contained many problems comparable to those of the Boundary Mountain.

"What is the true origin of Emperor Tianning?" A strong sense of curiosity arose in Wei Tianchen's heart. "Could he also be a survivor from the Era of the Five Emperors?"

The black-robed figure slowly said, "Brother Wei, the Dark Hall can provide an opportunity for one of your Dharma clones to travel there in disguise without being detected by karmic investigations."

Wei Tianchen shook his head. "I have the ability myself; I don't need the Holy Temple to shield myself from the Empire's karmic investigations." The Celestial Master's Bureau established by the Red Star Emperor inherited relics from the Li Emperor's era, and three of these Fate Master treasures were in Wei Tianchen's possession—this was the source of his confidence.

The black-robed voice then added, "You can indeed be fearless of the Empire's Celestial Master's Bureau's investigations, but you cannot isolate yourself from the Samsara Divine Palace's probes."

Wei Tianchen was somewhat startled. "What do you mean?"

The black robe nodded. "A god from the Samsara Divine Palace is tracking you. Based on your client access level, this information is free. We will prioritize asking you if you wish to purchase targeted karmic protection."

"Can I know who it is?" Wei Tianchen asked.

"That cannot be disclosed. Just as the Holy Temple will not reveal your information, you cannot obtain information about that individual," the black robe shook its head.

"I'll buy it." Wei Tianchen nodded.

After the black robe vanished, he looked down at the Seven-Star Coffer before him. Two drawers were already open, but one deeply hidden compartment remained impenetrable.

"In that case, I shall make the trip."

In the Empire's northern territory, Ru'yin Star System. "You mean Zhao Xing is holding a Dharma Assembly at the Starfall Dharma Assembly?" Ru'yin Carlos, in the form of a tiger-like mechanical beast, lay sprawled before a stone gate. Upon hearing the report, he abruptly opened his eyes.

"Yes, we suspect Zhao Xing is well-prepared, and the Starfall Corridor holds unknown value," the informant stated. "It's said that Bowei himself will attend this assembly."

"Hmph, the problems of the Starfall Ancient Road are not so easily solved," Ru'yin Carlos scoffed. "He's just creating a gimmick to attract people; if he can't solve the problems, it will all be for naught. Tell the other three families not to bother me with this matter," Ru'yin Carlos instructed. "Just wait and watch the spectacle unfold."

"Understood."

At the Empire's border, Crystal Island. Within a private cloud space, blank sacred pages gradually filled, eventually forming a thick book.

Zhao Xing finished writing the last character, his body slick with sweat, and he fell straight onto the clouds. On the cloud layer lay hundreds of other books, all shimmering with golden light. Clearly, they were not mere treatises, but possessed Dao charm, indicating that both methods and theories were complete.

"Buzz." The golden-glowing book slowly descended, landing beside his hand. Six streams of energy encircled it, shimmering like stars and moons upon closer inspection. The cover bore large characters: "Annihilation Star Six Qi Theory: Yin-Yang Chapter."

However, the golden light trembled slightly, indicating that the fragile pages couldn't withstand the immense Dao charm. "Hmph," Zhao Xing blew a breath, using his magic power to stabilize the golden light. "This is truly exhausting," he groaned weakly. "Maybe I should just take the money and run."

The problems of the Starfall Corridor were more complex than those of the Boundary Mountain. To explain and solve them required incorporating content from the Schools of Celestial Timing, Terrestrial Advantage, and Ego.

First among these was the challenge of star relocation. Why did Yin-Yang twin stars, thriving in spiritual energy domains, collapse within a very short period upon reaching the Starfall Corridor?

Zhao Xing turned his head and blew out another breath of magic power. The book's pages turned, revealing text: "An orange grown south of the Huai River is an orange; grown north, it is a trifoliate orange. Their leaves are similar, but their taste differs. Why is this so? Because of the differing water, soil, Yin, and Yang! Twin stars are manifestations of the Great Dao of Yin and Yang. When they enter a spiritual domain, the Six Qi shine boundlessly, and their lifespan is generally about a million years, because the Qi count of celestial timing is stable. When they enter the desolate reaches, the Six Qi bring chaos to the stars, and their lifespan is uncertain, because the Qi count of celestial timing is chaotic!"

Relocating Sun Stars and Lunar Stars leads to a reduction in their lifespan; this is a common phenomenon, particularly pronounced when moving from spiritual energy domains to desolate reaches. Previously, those who studied this phenomenon often attributed the cause to superficial manifestations, rarely explaining it from the level of the Dao. Zhao Xing, however, uses the Ego School's theory to tackle the topic by indirectly proving the Great Dao of Yin and Yang, then employs the Celestial Timing School's Qi theory to explain this phenomenon. However, the Starfall Corridor is clearly an extreme case, and this alone is not enough to fully explain it.

"Hmph." Zhao Xing turned his head and blew another breath. This time, it was a different book: "Annihilation Star Geomancy Theory: Yin-Yang Chapter."

"Clear Yang Qi rises to form the heavens, turbid Yin Qi descends to form the earth; the interplay of Yin and Yang twin stars gives birth to all things. The internal turbid Yin Qi transforms into terrestrial veins, while the external clear Yang Qi illuminates the void. With the void as a platform and Yin and Yang in balance, they revolve endlessly. If Yin and Yang are unbalanced, the heavens collapse, the earth sinks, and the Yin-Yang twin stars disintegrate," Zhao Xing murmured to himself. "The physical manifestations of the Great Dao of Yin and Yang in the Phenomenal Layer are the Sun and Lunar Stars. The clear portion of Yang Qi is released outward, becoming the light that illuminates the domain, while a part of the turbid Yang Qi transforms into terrestrial veins, stabilizing the internal structure of the celestial body. If there's even a slight fluctuation in the values of this cosmic law, common Sun and Lunar Star entities cannot coalesce, and they revert to chaotic Dao, as seen in the Dao Ancient Layer. The reason for the collapse of Yin-Yang twin stars in the Starfall Corridor is twofold: first, the chaotic Six Qi externally, and second, internal changes in the terrestrial veins, which can no longer maintain the physical state of the Sun and Lunar Stars. Once the twin stars collapse, they also crush the Phenomenal Layer void, leading to the second phenomenon—space-time depressions or protrusions. Such upheavals are incredibly violent! In realm star geological shifts, there are usually four layers of obstruction from Metal, Wood, Water, and Earth, before the underground fire脈 (magma layer) is exposed. It's like casting the Earth-Splitting Art: one must first disrupt the balance of the first four of the Five Elements' terrestrial veins to witness the eruption of the fire脈. Sun Stars are different; the fire脈 occupies everything, with only a thin layer of fire-attributed Qi acting as an obstruction. A geological shift within it is inherently sufficient to affect changes in the void layer."

Zhao Xing likened the void layer to an elastic box. When twin stars collapse in one place, the void layer in another area experiences compression as the Great Dao of Yin and Yang returns to it, leading to space-time tears or distortions. The Great Daos of Yin and Yang resonate with each other, and these tears or distortions typically appear in the region of another Sun Star or Lunar Star, causing a chain reaction. The creation of stable space-time channels is a product of these changes. One could say the phenomena in the Starfall Corridor have both advantages and disadvantages, depending on whether they can be utilized.

The reason for his exhaustion was that the books lying beside him were no longer ordinary; they contained both methods and theories, and also detailed solutions, making them truly worthy of being called Daoist scriptures! Even if Bowei did not come, and the Scholarly City did not officially certify them, anyone who saw the originals would deeply understand the profound significance of these treatises.

"Actually, some of these theories belong to the School of Celestial Timing, but since the School of Celestial Timing isn't strong enough in the Profound Spirit Starfield, some arguments had to borrow theories from the Ego School or the School of Terrestrial Advantage." Zhao Xing looked at the books as if they were his children. A child that should clearly be named "Celestial Timing" was instead wearing the clothes of Ego or Terrestrial Advantage. "I'll just have to make the School of Celestial Timing suffer a bit," Zhao Xing muttered, his palm stroking the covers of the books one by one.

Immersed in focused study within the cultivation space, Zhao Xing had almost no sense of time, yet he thoroughly enjoyed the feeling. He could sense his soul rapidly growing stronger, already transforming towards the True Spirit stage. If his soul, which commanded the transformation of his inner world, could first reach the True Spirit level, it would be of immense benefit to the opening of his inner world.

"Buzz." Not long after resting, Zhao Xing was suddenly awakened by a tremor in the sky. "Great Minister of Agriculture, Great Minister of Agriculture, it's time to come out of seclusion..." It was Ji Si's voice. "Whoosh!" A golden light pierced the heavens, and the sky opened up, allowing Ji Si's figure to enter the cultivation space. "Ji Si, why have you called me out of seclusion?"

"Great Minister of Agriculture, the first session of the Dharma Assembly is less than a month away. Invited guests, such as Bowei, have already arrived early, and everyone is waiting. It's time for you to emerge from seclusion." Ji Si spoke with a hint of admiration. Zhao Xing had been in seclusion for just over 130 years, yet he seemed to have gained much.

"So fast, I feel like I just entered..." Zhao Xing said, a little disoriented. "In that case, accompany me to meet the guests."