Liu Wuxie didn't rush his breakthrough to the fifth-level Heaven Profound Realm; instead, he cultivated steadily while refining the Panwu Divine Art.
As his cultivation rose, the art revealed even deeper mysteries. The technique Ye Hongyi had given him in gratitude was so powerful and profound that even he couldn't fully comprehend it, and he suspected it originated from the celestial realm.
The human body held countless star nodes; the more that lit, the stronger the physique became. At its peak, the Panwu Divine Art could forge the entire body into a universe, and that was its true power.
After a full day, Liu Wuxie's aura continued to climb, yet he still hadn't reached the fifth-level Heaven Profound Realm.
He Yingwu watched in disbelief. Any other cultivator's body would have collapsed under such prolonged strain, but Liu Wuxie's physique only grew sturdier.
A sudden impact echoed through the tunnel. The wind swept an astral beast into the tunnel, and it tumbled toward them, letting out a sharp cry.
"It's an Astral Moon Bird!" He Yingwu tensed instantly. Native to Anlu Star, these beasts led the annual assaults on the camp.
Their main goal during the horde was to gather more beasts for the next breeding season. Unable to hunt during that time, Astral Moon Birds relied on hoarding astral stones, plundering from humans when they could.
Liu Wuxie was at the critical point of his breakthrough and couldn't be disturbed. He Yingwu grabbed an iron pick without hesitation, moving to block the creature.
The bird let out another cry when it spotted the astral stones scattered across the ground. Smaller than usual, it was likely a youngling. Standing three meters tall, it had a long, sword-like beak and a thick neck with a pouch beneath its jaw for carrying stones.
In the cramped mine tunnel, it couldn't open its wings and had to rely on its beak. Demonic energy flared as it advanced.
This one was only as strong as a high-level Heaven Profound Realm cultivator. Liu Wuxie could have killed it with a single blow, but for He Yingwu, the gap was daunting.
The bird lunged, its beak striking like a spear. Forced on the defensive, the creature's reach pinned He Yingwu in the narrow tunnel.
"Kill!" Liu Wuxie's calm voice rang out.
The Heretic Blade flashed into existence, slicing clean through the bird's neck before it could react.
He Yingwu froze, stunned that Liu Wuxie had smuggled in a weapon. He Yingwu knew that if he had produced the Heavenly Dragon Seal, he would have dropped to his knees under sheer pressure.
The Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron instantly absorbed the beast's laws and energy. The infusion accelerated Liu Wuxie's breakthrough, pushing him into the fifth-level Heaven Profound Realm in moments, where before, it would have taken him half a day.
The gate to the fifth level burst open, true essence flooding his body and driving his cultivation to the late phase in one surge.
In just two days, his cultivation and combat strength had transformed. The third divine gate stood open, giving him the power to execute the Frost Mythical Art with ease, though his other Dao techniques still required deeper comprehension.
After half a day stabilizing his realm, Liu Wuxie rose. His aura burst outward, scattering the surrounding astral wind. The astral wind no longer affected him; his body alone was enough to withstand it. Bones cracked like roasting beans, rumbling through the tunnel and making He Yingwu's eyelids twitch. He stood behind Liu Wuxie, and it was clear that they were no longer in the same league.
Liu Wuxie's eyes glowed gold. Ghost Eye's range had grown tenfold, now reaching 110 meters compared to just ten when he had first arrived.
"Wuxie, today's the day to submit the raw stones. Should we deliver them?" He Yingwu asked.
They had consumed the raw stones they had mined on the first day and spent the remaining time on cultivation.
"No need to hurry,” Liu Wuxie replied lightly. "We can hand them in tonight. There's no rule saying it must be in the afternoon."
With their improved strength, they mined at a far faster pace. Stones clattered to the ground, and Liu Wuxie crushed them one after another, revealing the astral stones inside.
By evening, they stopped and tidied up before pushing their cart out.
"Let's organize the place before we deliver the raw stones," Liu Wuxie said as they pushed the cart.
"This is all we've mined in the past three days. Think it'll raise suspicion?" He Yingwu asked, uneasy. They had dug more than a thousand raw stones, yielding over four thousand astral stones. They had refined some and kept the rest.
"It's already good," Liu Wuxie said honestly. "Others might not even survive long enough to mine a single stone."
In this harsh environment, another slave would die long before mining even one piece.
When they reached the collection point, the guard raised an eyebrow.
"Well, this is interesting. I thought you two had died in there," he said, surprised they had survived three days and returned with over a hundred raw stones. The yield was low, but better than nothing.
After unloading the stones, they returned to the mine to continue mining and cultivating.
Time moved on, and only five days remained before the astral beast attack on the camp.
"Wuxie, you're heading out again?" He Yingwu asked.
After more than twenty days in the Northern Foothill Mines, Liu Wuxie's cultivation had reached the sixth-level Heaven Profound Realm, and his strength had advanced dramatically. They had also amassed over a hundred thousand astral stones. It was an impressive haul, though time was running out.
"Yeah. I need to study the Astral Moon Birds' behavior,” Liu Wuxie said, vanishing into the wind tunnel.
On the tenth day, he began venturing out nightly. The surface winds were fierce, forcing him to shield himself with the Divine Glazed Cloth.
The moment he appeared, nearby Astral Moon Birds stirred. This human had been disturbing them for days.
Crouched low, he closed in on the weaker ones. After days of observation, he understood their social structure: a flock led by a king with a wingspan over twenty meters that could blot out the sky.
Last night, he had tried to approach the king, but the king's glare had forced him to retreat. The king ruled at the pinnacle of the Transcendent Realm, far stronger than the Silverthunder Ant Beast.
Brute force wouldn't work. He needed cunning. Now, with his higher cultivation, he wanted to try again. If he could tame the king, all the Astral Moon Birds on the planet would follow.
Taming lesser birds was pointless, as they lacked the strength to carry him off-world, and the king could command them to break free.
Taming the king would bring all the Astral Moon Birds on the planet under his control. The plan was good, but the reality was harsh.
When he got within a few hundred meters, an oppressive force surged toward him. Dozens of birds rose, advancing in unison.
"It's impossible to get close to the king ," Liu Wuxie muttered. "If it doesn't work, I'll tame a weaker one."
The king's wariness was too strong, and it looked like he needed to wait for the astral beasts to start their attack on the camp.
One bird spotted him and charged. The others ignored him, still resting.
Liu Wuxie lured it toward the wasteland, out of the king's sight.
The bird, enraged by his cunning, closed in. Liu Wuxie displayed strength far superior to that of the other humans it had encountered in the past, when it could easily kill them.
The Astral Moon Bird let out a strange cry and slowly approached Liu Wuxie with its sharp claws and beak capable of breaking apart the defenses of even those at the Transcendent Realm.
Bending slightly, Liu Wuxie mirrored its approach, excitement, and tension coursing through him. This one was only at the seventh or eighth-level Heaven Profound Realm; Liu Wuxie could kill it in a single blow.
In an instant, Liu Wuxie sprang upward like a meteor, landing on its back and gripping its feathers. The Astral Moon Bird shrieked in fury when it realized the human was trying to tame it.