Half an hour later, Ma Lian brought Wu Tianjun and the others back to the asteroid. After a brief exchange with everyone, he began to steer the asteroid toward the Primordial Wood Star Forest. Their departure left behind an extremely mysterious secret realm, which was precisely the place Wu Tianjun had sealed with the power of Samsara.
Almost a month after being sealed, the Six Demon Star was accidentally discovered. The finder sensed an extremely strange yet powerful force existing outside the star. Enveloped by this force, the Six Demon Star had no connection whatsoever with the outside world. When this person tried to probe it, any matter or energy that came into contact with that strange force vanished without a trace. He quickly spread the news. Initially, few believed it, but as more and more people confirmed it, the rumor became fact. Not long after, powerful experts arrived one after another to investigate. It turned out that even when a Saint Ancestor descended to attack, it only caused slight ripples in the force enveloping the Six Demon Star before the attack immediately dissipated. Several other Saint Ancestors also came to test it, but they all quickly departed. Simply put, that kind of power could threaten them with death! They concluded that a supreme powerhouse had cast down this force to seal the Six Demon Star, and they did not wish to provoke such an existence. Consequently, this place became a forbidden zone. However, it also became a pilgrimage site for many to comprehend the Dao-essence of that power. It was rumored that even Saint Ancestor-level figures were secretly sensing it! A sacred land and a forbidden zone formed in parallel, and thus, fighting was strictly forbidden here! Of course, this all happened a few years later.
Ma Lian continuously increased the speed of the asteroid, steering it toward the Primordial Wood Star Forest. It became a streak of light, traversing the starry sky. Almost a month had passed since they left the Profound Heaven Continent, and Wu Tianjun had finally awakened.
"Almost there! Ma Lian, head that way a bit." Wu Tianjun opened his eyes, pointed in a direction, and spoke to Ma Lian. He had already sensed the second Ice Spirit Body. Originally, he had intended to return to the God-Slaying Star Domain to retrieve Qin Qingqing, but he didn't want to reveal himself at this moment, so he gave up on that idea. He decided to find another Ice Spirit Body instead!
"Yes, Young Master!" Although Ma Lian didn't know what method Wu Tianjun used to find the Spirit Body, he knew that the Young Master's perception would not be mistaken.
"Have you all understood the path of cultivation?" Wu Tianjun turned and spoke to the Spirit Body individuals. They were respectively: Yan Ling'er, the Water Spirit Body; Lu Yunzheng, the Earth Spirit Body; Huo Yunfeng, the Fire Spirit Body; Mu Xingshi, the Lightning Spirit Body; Mu Li, the Hidden Wood Spirit Body; Feng Daoling, the Wind Spirit Body; and Hu Yu, the Metal Spirit Body. He wanted to gather various Spirit Bodies because, according to the inherited memories of that Demonic Dao cultivator (the former master of Demonic Dragon City), the eight great Spirit Bodies were very likely descendants of the eight great branches of the Primordial God Clans. With his Divine Vein primordial essence blood, he believed he could activate their ancestral bloodline. At that time, the eight great Spirit Bodies would be the representatives of the eight great Primordial God Clans in this era, and their innate talent and physique would be at the peak in the starry sky!
"We've understood a little, Young Master!" Some of these individuals had initially been unconvinced by Wu Tianjun, but upon witnessing his methods, they were filled with nothing but awe and reverence.
"Hmph! After we return, I will help you activate your spirit bodies and bloodlines, and then you can begin cultivating. Don’t disappoint me!" Wu Tianjun said sternly, looking at them. In the future, they would be the first group he personally groomed to protect the Wu family, so they absolutely could not afford to make any mistakes.
"Yes, Young Master!" The others had no objections.
"I’m not deceiving you. I intend to nurture you to protect my family and loved ones in the future, so I hope you won’t do anything I don’t want to see. If you do, I won’t hold back!" Wu Tianjun decided to lay out the worst-case scenario first. "Hmph! Rest assured! This is just the worst-case scenario. As long as you don’t betray me or harm my clansmen, I will fully support your growth, empower you to seek revenge if there’s a need, and then have you wholeheartedly protect my family!" he added calmly.
"Young Master! I have no ties, and I will follow you to the very end!" Lu Yunzheng was the first to speak.
"My sister’s life and mine were saved by you. From now on, I swear to protect your clansmen with my life!" Mu Xingshi said coldly. "I’ll follow Big Brother too!" Mu Li chimed in.
"Once my revenge is complete, this life of mine is yours!" Feng Daoling said.
"Haha, I don’t have any lingering attachments either. You’re the one who led me to the path of cultivation, so I definitely won’t let you down!" Huo Yunfeng said calmly; being able to cultivate was more than he could have ever hoped for.
"I, I’ll follow Young Master too!" Hu Yu said somewhat timidly; he seemed afraid of strangers.
"I… I’ll follow you too!" Yan Ling'er finally spoke, her face a little red; it seemed a bit out of place.
"Hmph! Good! Wait for me to pick up one of your companions, then we’ll go to the Yuanmu Star Forest to cultivate!" Wu Tianjun said with a smile. He believed these people wouldn’t betray him, or rather, wouldn’t dare to betray him!
"Ma Lian! Stop here, that’s the planet!" Wu Tianjun said, looking at the planet ahead. It wasn’t large, but it was quite prosperous, considered a medium-sized planet. "Wait for me here!" Wu Tianjun said, then leaped towards the planet.
"..." Seeing Wu Tianjun depart, the others began chatting amongst themselves. They had grown quite familiar with each other over the past month.
Wu Tianjun shot straight towards the planet like a meteor, landing directly in a quiet courtyard.
"Ah... Who are you?" A young girl, seeing Wu Tianjun suddenly descend from the sky, his white robes fluttering with an otherworldly grace, cried out in surprise.
"Haha, why don't you guess?" Wu Tianjun said with a laugh. The girl was around his age.
"Are you an immortal?" The girl's eyes lit up as she stared intently at Wu Tianjun. She knew only immortals could fly in the sky, soaring through the heavens and burrowing through the earth, capable of anything!
"Oh? I suppose so! Do you want to become an immortal too?" Wu Tianjun said with a smile. The Mu family siblings also considered cultivators to be immortals.
"Yes! My father doesn't let me go outside. Can you take me with you?" Her eyes sparkled slightly as she looked at Wu Tianjun. In truth, she didn't know that her father was also a formidable 'immortal'.
"Haha, alright, I'll take you!" Wu Tianjun chuckled. It saved him a lot of trouble, which he found convenient.
"Won't my father blame me for running away?" she asked, a little afraid.
"Haha, he'd be thrilled if you could become an 'immortal,' he wouldn't stop you." Wu Tianjun had already discerned the powerful cold energy in her dantian. If she didn't find a way to cultivate, sooner or later, her meridians would freeze, and she would die. Her father had sealed extreme yang energy within her and placed her in this land of extreme yang, but that would only prolong her life by a few years.
"Is that so..." She seemed lost in thought. "Let me leave him a letter!" With that, she ran into the small courtyard and quickly emerged.
"Hmm! Add this item to the letter, and I'm sure he'll agree to let you come with me." Wu Tianjun handed the young girl a wooden tablet carved with the character "Wu". He had sealed a trace of Samsara power within it, confident that her father would understand.
"Oh! Okay!" The young girl agreed immediately without much thought. *This girl is too easily fooled,* Wu Tianjun thought to himself.
"Let's go!" Wu Tianjun waved his hand, and a surge of Qi wrapped around the young girl, lifting them into the sky.
"Wow... This is flying!" the young girl exclaimed excitedly, looking down.
"You'll be able to fly too, someday! Oh, right! What's your name?" Wu Tianjun hadn't asked her name yet.
"Oh! My name is Chen Xiaoling! And yours?" the young girl asked back.
"Haha, this young master's name is Wu Tianjun!" he said with a laugh.
"Huh! Nothing special about it!" Chen Xiaoling mumbled.
"Haha, you'll know how special my name is later!" Wu Tianjun chuckled.
"We'll see about that..." Chen Xiaoling said, a little unconvinced.
"Haha, ready to go meet the other 'immortals'?" Wu Tianjun laughed. He now had all eight great spirit bodies. His plan to cultivate his power could finally begin, and from now on, he would have a new branch of subordinates: the Eight Great Spirit Children!
Wu Tianjun took Chen Xiaoling directly to the meteorite without any hindrance, arriving in less than half an hour.
"Let’s go! Back to the Primordial Wood Star Forest! Haha, in ten years, I’ll let you all go out and stir up this starfield!” Wu Tianjun looked at the eight spirit bodies and said with a smile. His power had taken shape; now, he just needed them to grow strong enough.
“Yes, Young Master!” Ma Lian and the other ten powerful cultivators shouted excitedly, their blood already boiling. The Young Master was about to begin his conquest of the starfield in the not-too-distant future! They hadn’t dared to imagine this day would come so soon!
“Stirring up the starfield…” The spirit bodies’ faces flushed with excitement. They didn’t fully grasp Wu Tianjun’s meaning yet, but just imagining themselves competing against those so-called ‘heavenly geniuses’ and ‘monstrous talents’ in the near future—what a magnificent prospect! Only Chen Xiaoling didn’t understand. “What does ‘stirring up the starfield’ mean?”