Chapter 819: Stellar Nest, Lady Clearwind
The two figures gazed intently at the spatial ripples. The feminine figure was of a female, tall, slender, with a willowy figure and modest bust. Her figure wasn't too curvaceous, but it had an allure of stability that emanated a demeanor of authority and power, lending her tall stature a feeling of dominance.
She was short-haired, sleek in style, a balanced set on both sides of her face, and the chestnut colors with brighter shaded highlights exuded a unique elegance. This, alongside her sandy warm ivory complexion, strong facial features, and thin lips, was evidence of a different type of beauty. She exuded an aura of unfathomability, a trait of those who've reached the Earthly Saint level.
The masked mortal figure's physical shape and other features were indistinguishable, concealed by a black cloak, but their height was impressive, standing over six feet by an inch or two. The mask itself was a full facial silver design that had sharply lined eyeholes, nose, and a false mouth. It gave the figure a sense of being human. However, from its heavily concealed figure, it was difficult to tell.
"Lady Clearwind, how is it?" The masked figure spoke, their voice masculine. If this was any indication, the masked figure was certainly male.
The female Earthly Saint, referred to as Lady Clearwind, eyes glowed even brighter in a burst of light; spiritual light erupted with a higher intensity. This lasted for a few moments before settling, revealing her light chestnut-colored eyes that fit perfectly with her hair, adding another touch of beauty.
She was none other than the United Source True Queen, or the Lady Clearwind, the title she possessed prior to becoming an Earthly Saint, taking over the United Source Starfield almost six thousand years ago. "It's as you said, the space within is unstable, and Mystic Intent will destabilize it."
Her words were said with a clear sign of dissatisfaction.
The masked figure replied, "Why would I lie to you? The Stellar Nest isn't an ordinary Secret Realm. It can't be entered by Ascended beings, otherwise, it'll collapse at its core, and the source will be able to make its escape from the chaos."
Lady Clearwind furrowed her brows, "What if I can stabilize its space before then?" Her words were spoken with a little bit of a cold chill, directing her eyes towards the masked figure with a wisp of unconcealed hostility.
The masked figure was unshaken by the tremendous pressure that was exuded by an Earthly Saint's refined will and mental energies. A difficult yet commendable feat for any mortal being. The masked figure gestured towards the ripple, saying: "By all means, give it a try."
Lady Clearwind's eyes flashed with light, tempted to do so. However, after a long moment, she dissipated her hostile intent. "No need; you said you have the means to obtain the Stellar Rain and the Zenith Stellar Source? I find it hard to believe, but I hope you can succeed." The cost of failure was too high, so she didn't even try.
The Stellar Nest was a unique spatial realm that was created by an entity referred to as the Zenith Stellar Source. The Zenith Stellar Source was a strange being of the Void, and it produced Stellar Rain. Stellar Rain was like crystallized solar light that traveled at astonishing speeds throughout the Dark Void.
Despite taking the appearance of crystallized solar light, Stellar Rain was lifeforms born from the Dark Void. They were like parasites that fed off solar essence, energies, and light. Due to this, their bodies were overly saturated by these qualities, taking the form of crystallized light.
They traveled in swarms of hundreds of thousands at a time, sometimes even in the billions, and as they traveled through the Dark Void, from a distance, they seemed like solar rain, hence the name. They weren't demons, but they had similar traits as demons, born abnormally and without reason, but they distinctively lacked the presence of a soul, so they couldn't cultivate.
They were attracted to movement and light energies, while acting like ravenous locusts, devouring everything and anything they considered food without hesitation. Since cultivators' bodies had abundant light energies or were tainted by solar essence, they were delicacies that were snacks to these things.
They were one of the extreme dangers of the Dark Void that rivaled the strange, mysterious, and abrupt Vanishing Points. They moved so fast that Ascended beings would find it challenging to capture them, and mortals could only be devoured and drained until they became floating, cold corpses in the Dark Void. A horrid fate.
If the Stellar Rain could be considered a parasite, like an insect of sorts, then the Zenith Stellar Source was the ant queen that sent them out to gather food, recalling them back at specific periods to eat. However, the nest of such lifeforms was insidiously hidden, and no one could determine its location.
Mostly because Stellar Rain was far too fast to chase for the average cultivator, and they would never enter the nest unless there were no being for millions of miles and no spiritual activity observing them in any capacity. They've developed extremely keen survival instincts, protecting their so-called queen from external threats.
Even Heavenly Seers and Oracles would find their scrying attempts inexplicably blocked. While the Grand Seers of the Golden Gate Pavilion could likely do so, the cost didn't measure up to the possible benefits.
And mostly because of the risk; the Stellar Nest was fragile, another safety mechanism of a parasitic lifeform, and it'd collapse if a being that could threaten it entered. The Zenith Stellar Source wasn't very strong, and there were numerous ways to suppress them. The nest of Stellar Rain was bound to have, well, A LOT of Stellar Rain. Since Ascended beings had difficulties obtaining it, chances were that mortals would have almost no odds for success, just a heavy likelihood of death and despair.
While Stellar Rain was extremely beneficial, it was mostly used for Star Core refinement or creation of Solar Stars, so it was mostly valuable to Starlords, those at the Ninth Stage of the Astral Core Realm. At least, that's what it's known for.
The masked figure seemed unbothered by Lady Clearwind's words, looking at the ripple with a brightly lit gaze suffused with desire and confidence. "You'll upkeep our bargain?" The masked figure turned to Lady Clearwind, the excited gleam in their eyes vanishing, replaced by a neutral indifference.
Lady Clearwind was the United Source Starfield's sole Earthly Saint, but she didn't seem too bothered that a mortal was negotiating with her. She faintly nodded, "I'll swear the necessary oaths, enlisting a thousand Starlords to join your attempt. As long as you can obtain the Zenith Stellar Source, all the Stellar Rain will belong to you."
The deal seemed lopsided, but Stellar Rain was far less valuable than the Zenith Stellar Source. With it, she could produce an endless amount of Stellar Rain with proper planning. She intended to drive the United Source Starfield to be the sole creator of Stellar Rain, elevating its economic situation and diversifying its exports.
There were a few alchemical products requiring Stellar Rain that were extremely rare. With the right contractual deal with the right association or pavilion, she'll be able to secure herself sufficient materials to attempt nurturing a second Earthly Saint in the next fifteen hundred years. Preferably, she'll be able to select her own descendant as the candidate.
When this thought entered her head, she considered possible male candidates to sire a child. A strong man with good genes and talent, preferably a genuine Ascended. She swiftly snapped out of her thoughts, focusing on first obtaining the Zenith Stellar Source before proceeding with any plan.
The masked figure nodded, "A thousand should be enough. When will you be ready? I have already made ample preparations on my part."
"Confident, I see. I've already gathered them in my Internal World; they're cultivating and awaiting orders. I'm never unprepared. Shall you leave now?" Lady Clearwind was thoroughly prepared.
"After the oaths," the masked figure stated.
Lady Clearwind nodded. She proceeded to swear three Mythical Oaths that were previously settled between the two, and then she touched her dantian, and strange spatial ripples emanated from her body. With a wave, a splash of silver light dyed the area for a hundred miles in its brilliance.
As if appearing out of nowhere, a thousand armored figures intermixed with short, tall, slim, heavy-set members of both genders emerged on the Voidship's deck in an orderly fashion. They were all adorned in the colors of red, blue, and green, the defining colors of the United Source Clear Palace. On their gloves and pauldrons were emblems of white-colored wings that fluttered in an animated fashion.
The masked figure was taken aback for a moment and then looked at Clearwind with some shock. "The Clear-Wing Knights?"
"You know of the Clear-Wing Knights?" Lady Clearwind's eyes narrowed, but the masked figure's concealments were far too thorough that her spiritual sense or ocular abilities were unable to glimpse into it.
The masked figure nodded, "To think you'll risk your strongest mortal unit for this; you must have some trust in me."
"If I didn't have any trust in you, your corpse would've been floating in the Dark Void long ago," Lady Clearwind plainly stated. The masked figure merely nodded as if that was to be expected, and he glanced at the thousand Clear-Wing Knights, this elite unit forged by the greatest resources of the United Source Starfield. "They'll follow all your orders, as long as it's not suicidal."
"Three days," the masked figure turned away and looked at the spatial ripples that were roughly a few miles away. With a wave of his hand, a black, shuttle that was typically used for textile with glimmering silver starlight was summoned from a strange space. It was the size of a baby's fist, and it emanated a faint mystic aura, but it was altered in a way that made it feel more mortal than mystic.
Lady Clearwind furrowed her brows with a tinge of surprise. This didn't seem like a spatial ring extraction, more like an Internal World's. Was this a special art that replicated a false Internal World? How peculiar. The gleam in her eyes became brighter. It's not like these arts didn't exist, but cultivating them required a high insight into fixed space and tremendous resources to stabilize it internally, and not without its risks.
After all, an Internal World was meant for Ascended beings, those who exceeded Mortal Limits.
The masked figure performed a set of hand-seals ,and the shuttle moved. It zoomed with remarkable speed, approaching the spatial ripple and then weaving in and out of it as if sewing . Suddenly, the ripples slowed down considerably. They seemed to be stabilizing somehow.
"Let's go!" The masked figure didn't waste time, summoning a Worldly Domain and shooting off the ship, entering the ripple unhesitatingly.
"Go!" Lady Clearwind gestured, and like trained white doves, the Clear-Wing Knights shot out of the ship and followed along. In moments, they all entered.
"This better work out," she commented lightly as the possible rise of the United Source Starfield hinged on it. But she didn't just trust a strange figure; she had certain assurances.
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At this time, within the sealed barrier that trapped the various gold-tier and mystic-forces that had investigated in curiosity yet found themselves sealed away without any way to resist, a distinct popping sound erupted.
Venerable Bluecloud watched as a dark, endless void of space began to manifest directly in front of him!