Ethan was a little surprised.

The innate spiritual fire could not burn the stone slab, signaling its extraordinary nature.

His eyes gleamed with sudden realization as he intensified the output of his Azure spiritual fire.

In an instant, the Azure flames blazed fiercely.

The scorching heat assaulted the stone slab.

Mud on its surface began to melt away like fragile ice.

"There's a reaction!" Ethan's face lit up with joy.

"Push harder and burn it more!" Onyx Orchid's voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

"Good."

Ethan unleashed the Profound Purifying Flame once more.

The two flames merged, their combined power bursting forth to assail the stone slab relentlessly.

Gradually, stains on its surface dissolved, revealing a brownish material beneath.

Engraved upon the slab were dark golden texts, shimmering with ethereal golden light.

After some time, all the stains had been cleansed.

The stone slab's true form was now visible to Ethan.

"Eh...?"

"On...?!"

Both Ethan and Onyx Orchid uttered words of doubt and surprise simultaneously.

"You go first."

"you go first," they chimed in unison again.

"Then I shall speak."

"Then I shall speak."

Their voices overlapped, their cadence perfectly synchronized.

"Stop, stop, stop, I'll do it." Ethan hurriedly interrupted the synchronization between the two of them and said.

"This is very similar to the stone tablet I found in the ruins beneath the Sun Moon Lake . The writings match exactly—it's the so-called Original Stone Text!"

"Correct! The text is indeed Original Stone Text!"

Onyx Orchid's excited voice resonated in Ethan's mind.

"Moreover, this slab is a part of the larger tablet you obtained earlier."

Ethan promptly took out the fragment he had retrieved from beneath Sun Moon Lake.

He aligned the broken edges of the ancient tablet with the slab in his hand.

They fit perfectly.

It was indeed a fragment of the same stele.

But this was only a small portion.

The combined tablet remained incomplete, missing half its essence.

Yet within the joined fragments lay clearer passages and several intricate patterns.

Beside the Daoist patterns was an unmistakable map.

Though incomplete due to the tablet's fracture, Ethan could discern a mountain range encircling a lake.

At the lake's center glowed a tiny golden dot.

Below this point lay more complete writings.

Ethan paused, struck by the familiarity of the map.

After consideration, he recalled something.

He opened his holographic map, locating Heavenly Lake—a fresh fishing spot he had recently discovered.

Upon comparison, Ethan drew a deep breath.

The area marked on the stone tablet's map was indeed Heavenly Lake, lying east of Noble Sun City near the Holy land of Endless Mountains.

He hadn't expected his next destination to connect so deeply with the fragmented stone tablet.

Within the ruins beneath Sun Moon Lake, Ethan had secured the possessions of the Star Emperor.

The incomplete stone tablet, the Divine Fetus of Sun and Moon—they were relics of the Star Emperor's era.

Yet the ruins were not crafted by the Star Emperor but by a Supreme Realm cultivator who inherited his legacy.

Still, the treasures Ethan had gained were immense.

The Nine Emperors Dao Body, Divine Fetus of Sun and Moon, and Supreme Heart—these were three legendary remains in his hands.

"Could Heavenly Lake be the true inheritance of the Star Emperor?" Ethan mused silently.

At that moment, Onyx Orchid's curious voice surfaced within his mind.

"Where is the map detailed on the stone tablet?"

Naturally, only Ethan could view the system's holographic map.

Answering Onyx Orchid's inquiry, Ethan drew out a regional map stored in his ring.

Though rough, it was enough to indicate the general area.

"The map on the stone tablet corresponds to this section of Skyreach Territory," Ethan explained, circling Heavenly Lake with his fingertip.

"Exactly right! You're so lucky, boy!" Onyx Orchid exclaimed.

He manifested as an ethereal figure, floating before Ethan.

"The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment."

"Don't hold your expectations too high—keep steady and calm."

Ethan responded coolly.

He returned to scrutinizing the tablet's inscriptions.

"Alicia, analyze the Original Stone Text," Ethan instructed.

[Original Daoist patterns detected. Analyzing… please wait.]

[Analysis complete.]

[Heavenly Lake in Skyreach Territory is the weak point of the Heaven and Earth barrier. It corresponds to the Emperor Star of Nine Stars. With cultivation methods such as the Sun and Moon Divine Fetus and the Nine Emperors Dao Body, the first star, the Emperor star, can be condensed within the body.]

"Boy, do you not understand Original Stone Text? Tell me what it says," Onyx Orchid challenged, folded arms.

Ethan lifted an eyebrow and countered with a smirk, "Can you decipher it yourself? Speak up."

"I understand somewhat," Onyx Orchid admitted. "It means that Heavenly Lake can aid cultivation of the Nine Emperors Dao Body."

After finishing, Onyx Orchid circled Ethan twice in a slow dance.

"Your translation is correct."

"The heavens and earth barriers at that place are weaker, facilitating absorption of the power of the stars—a key for cultivating the Nine Emperors Dao Body."

Ethan gave a slight nod.

Onyx Orchid's words carried truth.

Even he could grasp its meaning vaguely—enough to be valuable.

The starry sky's massive chain barrier, which Ethan had observed, was likely the Heaven and Earth barrier discussed by the Star Emperor's text.

"Even the Star Emperor could not break it."

"Who left this behind?"

"Or is it a fundamental law existing since the dawn of time?" Ethan wondered aloud.

"Tell me," Ethan pressed.

"What causes these world obstacles that hinder our cultivation?"

Onyx Orchid spread his hands helplessly.

"I don't know."

"Too much memory loss has left me uncertain."

"I only know that heaven and earth barriers darken the world, but no one knows their origin—whether left by an ancient force or always present."

"Perhaps I once knew."

"You said the Heaven and earth barrier affect cultivators progress and that the great emperors of this era are but false emperors." Ethan spoke.

A/N:

Extra chapters

100 power stones - 1 Extra chapters

200 power stones - 2 Extra chapters

Capsule - 1 Extra chapters

Massage Chair - 3 Extra chapters

Luxury Car - 5 Extra Chapters

Magic Castle - 15 Extra Chapters

...

Thanks for the Massage Chair: @Dao_Explorer

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.