Chapter 1492: The Hunter Eight Stars
"Have you heard of the Hunter Eight Stars?"
The voice of the Rakshasa Princess echoed through the great hall.
Those present, the various First-Class Marquises, had all heard of the "Hunter Eight Stars" before, but the meaning was entirely different when spoken from the Rakshasa Princess's lips.
Could it be that the secret of the Phoenix Nest was connected to the Hunter Eight Stars?
Among them, Yang Qi possessed the deepest knowledge and the most profound schemes. In an instant, he grasped the meaning behind the Rakshasa Princess's words. His pupils shifted, emitting a sharp gleam, and he said, "According to calculations, from the birth of the Ancestral Spirit Realm to its destruction by the Rakshasa Clan, it experienced a total of one thousand Eons, amounting to one hundred and twenty-nine million six hundred thousand years. In such a vast span of time, only three deities were born in the Ancestral Spirit Realm."
"Two of those deities awakened their spiritual wisdom at the dawn of heaven and earth, cultivating through endless ages to reach the Divine Realm. However, those two deities perished in the Eon Calamity in extremely ancient times. Only in some ancient texts of the Ancestral Spirit Realm can one find mythological tales about them."
"In the most recent Eon, the Ancestral Spirit Realm gave birth to a new deity. That new deity was originally a human hunter, but by a twist of fate, he obtained the cultivation scriptures of one of the Ancestral Spirit Realm's ancient deities. From then on, he embarked on the path of cultivation, becoming a deity in just three thousand years."
"He is the only deity of the Ancestral Spirit Realm—the Hunter God."
"Not long ago, the Hunter God died in battle in the starry sky while defending the Ancestral Spirit Realm. The Hunter Eight Stars that Her Highness the Princess speaks of are the Star Soul Divine Throne of the Hunter God. Everyone only needs to look up to see those eight brilliant stars in the sky. Among them, the three stars at the waist of the Hunter's Divine Throne form a straight line, the most conspicuous of all."
One Eon was one hundred and twenty-nine thousand six hundred years.
In the heavens and earth, any living being that lived through one Eon had to endure a great calamity.
The higher one's cultivation, the greater the calamity.
Theoretically, the lifespan of a deity was one Eon.
However, some powerful deities could survive the Eon Calamity and live into a second Eon, or even a third.
As long as a living being cultivated to become a deity, they could condense their own Star Soul Divine Throne, which would sit in the starry sky. Its starlight could reach extremely distant cosmic spaces, emitting light and heat—a truly awe-inspiring sight.
At the same time, the Star Soul Divine Throne could absorb energy from the universe, converting it into divine power, making the deity's strength grow ever greater.
The Rakshasa Princess said, "After the Hunter God was killed, the deities of the Rakshasa Clan did not find his Divine Star Soul within his body. Therefore, they speculated that the Hunter God's Divine Star Soul still remained in the Ancestral Spirit Realm. Before leaving the Ancestral Spirit Realm, the only place the Hunter God went was the Phoenix Nest."
"Perhaps the Hunter God knew that this journey would be his death, and he did not want the Divine Star Soul to fall into the hands of the Rakshasa Clan, so he placed it in the Phoenix Nest in advance. If the Ancestral Spirit Realm were destroyed, the Divine Star Soul and the Phoenix Nest would be destroyed along with it."
"I have reason to believe that the Divine Star Soul is inside the Phoenix Nest."
The Divine Star Soul was countless times more precious than the inheritance of the Ice Fire Phoenix. No matter how powerful the Ice Fire Phoenix was, it had never become a deity—there was no comparison between the two.
After Chi Yao became a deity, Zhang Ruochen had specifically looked up relevant books and had a certain understanding of the "Divine Star Soul" and "Star Soul Divine Throne."
Even if a deity had fallen, their Star Soul Divine Throne could endure between heaven and earth for a long time.
As long as a cultivator could obtain the deity's star soul, they could absorb the divine power converted by the throne, allowing their cultivation speed to reach an utterly terrifying level.
Moreover, possessing a Divine Star Soul greatly increased the cultivator's chances of becoming a deity.
Even with the Rakshasa Princess's extraordinary talent, becoming a deity was still an extremely uncertain matter. For example, Wen Di, Haitang Popo, the Ice Fire Phoenix, Jiemie Dadi, Wu Zu—these top-tier figures among Great Saints—were all unparalleled prodigies in their youth, yet they were all stuck below the Divine Realm, unable to break through.
But if she obtained the Hunter God's star soul, with her monstrous talent, she would have a high probability of reaching the Divine Realm in the future.
Beyond that, a cultivator who obtained a Divine Star Soul could even mobilize the power of the Star Soul Divine Throne in the starry sky, unleashing attacks far beyond their own cultivation level.
A Great Saint possessing a Divine Star Soul was also called a "False God" in the Heavenly Court Realm.
Because when they mobilized the power of the Star Soul Divine Throne, their combat strength far exceeded the Great Saint level, approaching that of a deity. Some of these "False Gods," who controlled extremely powerful Star Soul Divine Thrones, could even contend with weaker true deities.
It could be said that a single Divine Star Soul was enough to trigger a divine war.
The major powers of the Heavenly Court Realm all believed that the Hunter God's star soul had already been taken by the Rakshasa Clan, so they did not place much importance on the Ancestral Spirit Realm's Sacred Merit Battlefield.
If they had known that the Hunter God's star soul might be in the Phoenix Nest, a large number of powerful figures from the Heavenly Court Realm would have already rushed over.
Fang Yi, the Realm Son of the Blade Prison Realm, had refined a Divine Throne Planet into his body. Even just mobilizing a sliver of the planet's power greatly increased his combat strength. As his cultivation grew, he could draw out more of the planet's power, unleashing even greater force.
However, the star soul power within Fang Yi's Divine Throne Planet had long since dissipated, and even its divine power was less than one ten-thousandth of its original state—essentially a dead star.
The Hunter Eight Stars were completely different. First, it was a complete divine throne, incomparable to a single Divine Throne Planet. Second, the star soul and divine power of the Hunter Eight Stars were at their peak, not something a dead star could match.
"The Hunter God's star soul is far too important. If it really is in the Phoenix Nest, I must seize it no matter what."
Zhang Ruochen's heart pounded wildly. He realized this was a tremendous opportunity. If he grasped it, he would have greater capital in the future to contend with Chi Yao and negotiate with the Moon God.
In the future, if he were attacked by the Hell Realm, he would also have a stronger trump card to protect his family and friends.
The First-Class Marquises present were even more excited than Zhang Ruochen. If not for the Rakshasa Princess holding them back, they would have already charged toward the Phoenix Nest.
The Rakshasa Princess said, "The deepest barrier region of the ninety-nine sacred mountains can only be broken by space cultivators. If you rush in recklessly, you will only meet your death. With my attainments in the Way of Space, I cannot break the barrier region. I must rely on Zhang Ruochen's power. So, before the barrier region is opened, you had better not provoke Zhang Ruochen."
Hearing this, a sharp gleam flashed in Zhang Ruochen's eyes, and he thought to himself, "The Rakshasa Princess is also a space cultivator... Could it be..."
There weren't that many space cultivators.
A bold conjecture arose in Zhang Ruochen's mind, and the more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.
"The Rakshasa Princess is the Flame Demon Consort, or perhaps the Rakshasa Princess used some secret art to inhabit the Flame Demon Consort's body. If that's the case, all the previous doubts would be explained."
"But why didn't the saints of the Great Demon Ten Directions Realm ever suspect the Flame Demon Consort's identity? There must be shrewd people in the Great Demon Ten Directions Realm—surely they noticed no flaws?"
Zhang Ruochen couldn't help but frown.
Regardless, for now, it was all just suspicion. There was no concrete evidence to prove a direct connection between the Rakshasa Princess and the Flame Demon Consort.
The Rakshasa Princess gave some further instructions before dismissing the various First-Class Marquises.
Just as he stepped out of the great hall, Zhang Ruochen felt a gust of wind from behind. His entire body tensed, and the sacred qi within him began to circulate rapidly.
But when he remembered his new identity, he quickly dispersed the sacred power he had just gathered.
A Rakshasa woman with an incredibly graceful figure flew in from behind. Her slender waist twisted sharply, and her firm, elastic buttocks sat down on Zhang Ruochen's left shoulder. One of her long, jade-like arms wrapped around the back of his head, touching his right ear.
Zhang Ruochen caught a whiff of an enchanting fragrance. He looked up at the beautiful woman sitting on his shoulder and recognized her.
She was a First-Class Marquis of the Rakshasa Clan—Yanlin Hou.
During the struggle for the Merit Record Wall, Zhang Ruochen had seen her. At the time, she had been standing close to Shengjian Hou, appearing quite intimate.
It was worth noting that Zhang Ruochen's current body was over three and a half meters tall. Even though Yanlin Hou was nearly two meters in height, she looked extremely petite and slender compared to him.
Yanlin Hou's voice was very seductive, and she spoke with a smile in Zhang Ruochen's ear, "You need to be careful when carrying out missions. I heard another First-Class Marquis has fallen recently."
Zhang Ruochen's eyes shifted. He slipped into his role, reaching out a large hand to stroke Yanlin Hou's long, shapely leg, and said with a grin, "With my strength, do you still need to worry?"
Yanlin Hou looked very pleased, her seductive eyes growing hazy, and asked, "Did you bring me any food this time?"
Zhang Ruochen knew very well that "food" referred to the flesh and blood of saints.
The flesh and blood of saints were also supplements for Rakshasa cultivators to enhance their cultivation.
Zhang Ruochen hadn't found anything like a storage pouch on Shengjian Hou's body, so naturally, he hadn't brought back any saint flesh. He said, "With your formidable strength, do you still need me to hunt food for you?"
Yanlin Hou furrowed her slender brows, showing a look of annoyance, and said, "I have to stay at the ancient castle to guard that prisoner from the Great Demon Ten Directions Realm. When do I ever get a chance to go out and find food? You bad man, you must have eaten all the food yourself without even thinking of me."
A First-Class Marquis personally guarding a prisoner—just how important was that prisoner?
"The Great Demon Ten Directions Realm..."
Zhang Ruochen connected this to his earlier conjecture, and his heart stirred violently. He vaguely guessed the identity of that prisoner.