In a secluded area in the Realm of a Hundred Battles where the dark stone was kept.

As soon as Nie Tian approached on his Star Boat, his bloodline allowed him to shrewdly sense an immense flesh aura.

An enormous being seemed to be breathing dark power and strengthening itself in the depths of pitch-black darkness underneath him.

Not just that, but there seemed to be something familiar in its aura.

Nie Tian suddenly realized what that enormous being was. “That’s the black tortoise!”

It was none other than the expanded eighth grade black tortoise, which had hatched with the help of his Blood Essence and grown by gradually devouring Dong Li’s dark power.

Therefore, in some sense, it was a child of him and Dong Li.

After fighting numerous battles in different parts of the starry river, Nie Tian had come to a fairly deep understanding of Ancientbeasts and spirit beasts.

However, he still hadn’t figured out the origin of this black tortoise’s mysterious dark bloodline, or what kind of Ancientbeasts might be its ancestors.

Nie Tian’s Star Boat came to stop over a dome of complete darkness that stretched as far as the eye could see.

As he activated his life bloodline and sensed it with rapt attention, he discovered that the black tortoise’s aura suddenly burst forth from the depths of the darkness.

RUMBLE!

A heaven-shaking, earth-shattering rumble echoed out.

Immediately afterwards, the expanded black tortoise surfaced from the darkness, presenting itself before him like a pitch-black mountain.

Seeing that the black tortoise had become many times larger since the last time they had met, Nie Tian couldn’t help but exclaim softly, “What the...?!”

“It’s almost as large as a full-grown titan now. It’s even larger than the eighth grade dragons and Ancientbeasts I saw in the Dead Star Sea, and its flesh aura seems to be stronger too...

“This is incredible! Don’t tell me there’s something very special about this black tortoise’s origin.

“Is it possible that it carries the bloodline of a Star Behemoth? Could it be the hybrid offspring of a Star Behemoth and some ancient creature?

“Otherwise, it shouldn’t be this large...”

Nie Tian drifted away in thought.

Since that Star Behemoth bone was still in dormancy, he couldn’t awaken it in order for it to answer his questions.

However, the enormousness of this black tortoise made him suspect it carried a Star Behemoth bloodline.

At this moment, Dong Li’s lovely voice came from the darkness. “How come you’re here?”

SHEW!

In a flash, she appeared before him like a dark goddess, wreathed in a faint dark aura.

As she approached, the light around her seemed to be devoured bit by bit.

“Stop!” Only after she called out softy did it stop.

Her curvy waist shook briefly, and the dark aura wreathing her disappeared into her like streams of black water.

Nie Tian was dumbstruck. Only after a moment did he snap out of his daze. He took a deep look at her and said, “Even though I can tell that you’re at the Soul realm, I can’t tell which stage of the Soul realm you’re currently at.”

“I’m in transformation from the middle to the late Soul realm,” Dong Li said with a light tone. “I should be able to enter the late Soul realm in two weeks.”

Nie Tian’s expression flickered. “How did you make such rapid advances in your cultivation?”

“You’ve entered the late Soul realm yourself, haven’t you?” Dong Li responded with a question.

“That’s not the same,” Nie Tian explained. “I found a unique space created by a Star Behemoth in the Shatter Battlefield, where I gathered enough power, but you...”

With a hearty smile, Dong Li said, “You had your fortune, and I had mine.” 

A confused look appeared on Nie Tian’s face.

“Let me show you.” With these words, Dong Li pointed down at the boundless darkness underneath them.

The darkness had spread for thousands of kilometers, enveloping everything it had come across, including mountains, rivers, and lakes.

However, as Dong Li wove her hands in the air, she seemed to be able to shape and manipulate such darkness.

Still puzzled, Nie Tian asked, “What is it that you want to show me?” 

Dong Li once again pointed at the endless darkness below. “I’ve fused that dark stone we obtained from the Demon realms into my dantian region. It has merged with my dark power core, which allows me to release and withdraw it freely.”

Nie Tian’s expression flickered.

She had actually fused the unique treasure into herself like he had done with the Nine Stars Flower, the flame spark, and the Godspirit Tree.

Furthermore, that dark stone should be every bit as powerful as his Nine Stars Flower, flame spark, and Godspirit Tree, if not more powerful.

After all, it had helped a mighty Demon enter the tenth grade before it had been taken from the Demon realms.

“How does it feel to merge with the dark stone?” Nie Tian asked curiously.

A fascinated look appeared on Dong Li’s face as she said, “It feels wonderful. I have a feeling that I won’t meet any cultivation barriers during my breakthroughs for a while. As long as I can accumulate enough dark power and soul power, those breakthroughs will happen naturally. Besides, with every day I spend deriving enlightenment from the dark stone, my understanding of dark power deepens.

“It seems to me that this mysterious stone can help any beings that have awakened dark power, such as Demons, black phoenixes, black dragons, and cultivators like me.

“As long as they can win its acknowledgment, they’ll be able to benefit from it to an incredible extent.”

Nie Tian listened attentively as she spoke, and suddenly realized that that dark stone had a lot in common with the river of time, from which his master, Wu Ji, had benefited greatly.

Nie Tian pointed at the black tortoise. “What about it then?” 

With a sweet smile, Dong Li said, “Like me, it has also benefited a great deal from the dark stone. However, it still has yet to feed. Only by consuming spirit beasts or outsiders with vigorous flesh auras will it be able to make further advances in its bloodline.

“However, now that I’ve fused the dark stone into my dark power core, I don’t have to spend all my time practicing cultivation anymore.

“So if you need me for anything, I can travel around and help you now.”

With these words, Dong Li tapped her forehead hand. “Oh, right. Zhao Shanling seems to have found something in the Realm of Unbounded Desolation. He told me that he’d like to see you when you return from the Shatter Battlefield.”

“The Realm of Unbounded Desolation?” Nie Tian immediately thought of the mysterious spatial patterns they had discovered in the Bone Sect’s ruins.

“Take this Star Medallion, will you?” he said. “Jing Feiyang and the others will take some time to make a list of the materials they wish to purchase from the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace. I’m hoping you can help them with that. As you know, I’m not good at things like that...”

With a dry smile, Nie Tian handed Dong Li his Star Medallion.

According to Wei Lai, whoever held his Star Medallion would be able to trade for any precious materials they wanted from the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace using his contribution points.

Furthermore, since everyone knew about his relationship with Dong Li, no one would question her.

Dong Li grabbed the Star Medallion without hesitation. “No problem. I’m good at things like that. However, I also want to go check out this discovery of Zhao Shanling’s in the Realm of Unbounded Desolation.”

“Sure, why not?”

…

In the Bone Sect’s ruins in the Realm of Unbounded Desolation.

Zhao Shanling was sitting on stony ground that was as hard as metal. Deep carvings could be seen on the smooth surface, emanating curious light.

FIZZ! FIZZ!

His fingers were moving along the lines in a seemingly unconscious fashion.

His eyes were closed, as if he was sensing something with rapt attention.

Before long, his hands that were moving separately suddenly met at a spot in front of him.

SPLASH!

A sparkling aura suddenly rose into the air from the spatial patterns that had been carved in the stony ground.

Like a spiritual snake, it slithered about in front of Zhao Shanling, drawing a brand new spatial spell in the air.

Soon, a unique artistic formation came to shape.

“It must be a portal that connects to somewhere. However, I can’t seem to reach the other side of it with my soul awareness...” Zhao Shanling muttered as he separated his fingers. As soon as he did, the mysterious spell formation vanished, leaving not a single trace in the air.

He shook his head. “I’m just a step away from entering the Saint domain. I guess I shouldn’t take risks in a strange area at such a moment.”

Reluctant to give up, he activated the spell formation a few more times. However every time, he called it off, instead of stepping into it.

Through Nie Tian, he had already gathered all of the spiritual materials he needed to make his breakthrough into the Saint domain, including Barrier Breaking Pills.

Plus, he had benefited a great deal from these unique spatial patterns. He was confident that he would be able to make the breakthrough within a short time, and become a legend in the Domain of the Falling Stars.

Perhaps this was the reason why he was so unusually cautious with this unknown portal.

While he was torn with indecision, Nie Tian and Dong Li suddenly arrived. “You wanted to see me?”

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