š Chapter 1013 - Star-Sealing Art!
Wang Baole was dumbfounded. But when he thought back to the previous scenes, he couldnāt pick out any flaws at all. Whether it was his master or his senior brothers and sisters, all of them acted completely naturally, making it difficult for him to distinguish truth from falsehood.
And now, he was struggling over whether or not this ātraditionā was really a tradition. After all, if he believed what Little Missy had told him earlier, then this perfectly lined up with a narrow-minded master doling out punishment for his previous words. But at the same time, the idea of this being a real tradition of the Raging Flame Galaxy also wasnāt too unbelievableā¦
In short, his heart was in an utter mess. It would have been fine if Little Missy hadnāt told him that story, but now, he was unable to tell what the truth was. Eventually, Wang Baole just sighed inwardly.
āForget it, if I continue hesitating over things like this, then there will only be more troubles in the future. In that caseā¦ Iāll just treat all my senior brothers and sisters as if they were Master. The same goes for the fire ladybug, and this old ox in front of me will also be treated as my master!ā Wang Baole gritted his teeth as he made his decision. Looking up at the enormous old ox, his thoughts changed.
āThis old ox is my master. Master was angered by my words, so heās punishing me by making me groom him!ā Wang Baole took a deep breath, and a polite smile appeared on his face. He flew over to the old oxās enormous body and started cleaning it from the hooves.
āThatās right, Little Sixteenth, remember to pick out all the dirt.
āLittle Sixteenth, ah, a little harder. Put some more strength into it!
āGood, good, thatās just right!ā
The old oxās pleased voice rumbled out incessantly. While working his hands, Wang Baoleās mouth wasnāt idle, either; he spewed all sorts of flattery without repeating a single sentence.
Soon, half a month passed. During this half a month, Wang Baole worked hard all day and flattered the old ox constantly. He almost didnāt rest at all, spending most of his time making sure that the old ox was satisfied.
The Flame Patriarch dropped by once during this period. After saying that he was heading out to catch up with old friends, he turned into a long arc of light that disappeared from the Raging Flame Galaxy in front of Wang Baoleās eyes.
And after the Flame Patriarch left, the old ox occasionally spoke some words as if to probe Wang Baole.
āLittle Sixteenth, although your master asked you to groom this old ox, youāve already done enough. Actually, I donāt need you to clean my entire body.ā
āSenior Ox, you are wrong. In my heart, my master is like a father. Naturally, I will obey his words without hesitation. He asked me to clean your entire body, so I wonāt miss a single inch!ā Wang Baole said righteously.
āHaha, donāt try and fool me. Your master isnāt even in the Raging Flame Galaxy anymore. He canāt hear you, so thereās no need to keep pretending.ā The old ox roared with laughter, speaking as if it could see into Wang Baoleās inner thoughts.
Wang Baole blinked, but his expression instantly became solemn.
āSenior Ox, you are wrong again. Masterās orders to carry out the Raging Flame Galaxyās tradition is only one reason. There is another reason Iām doing this, which is that I am extremely grateful for Seniorās devotion and loyalty to Master. I wasnāt here before, but now that Iām in the Raging Flame Galaxy, I must show my respect to you!
āCome, Senior Ox, stay still. Thereās a louse here, Iāll deal with it for you. This damn louse dares to bite Senior Ox, I definitely wonāt forgive it!
āSenior Ox, please lift your feetā¦ Iāll clean out your hooves some more.ā
When it saw Wang Baole so agreeable, the old ox became noticeably happier, causing its laughter to boom throughout the galaxy. However, it continued testing Wang Baole with different methods from time to time. Nevertheless, Wang Baole always responded with an extremely sincere expression, and his every sentence was full of respect for the Flame Patriarch.
Aside from the old ox, Fifteenth and the other senior brothers and sisters came by to take a look from time to time. Each time, no matter what they said, Wang Baole enthusiastically praised their master. Fifteenth even looked like he was about to throw up several times, but Wang Baole persisted in flattering the Flame Patriarch.
Just like that, the rest of the month passed quickly. During this month, Wang Baole practically lived on top of the old ox. Aside from grooming it carefully, he also spent some time pondering over the Star-Sealing Art that the Flame Patriarch had given him.
This Star-Sealing Art was extremely bizarre. With Wang Baoleās focused research and the old oxās occasional pointers, his comprehension of this mysterious technique gradually deepened. After obtaining a preliminary understanding of the Star-Sealing Art, Wang Baole felt huge waves surge in his mind.
When the Flame Patriarch had called the Star-Sealing Art unfathomably profound, he really hadnāt been exaggerating.
The basic principle of the technique could be condensed into a single word ā seal!
The Star-Sealing Art was divided into four layers, corresponding to the Planet Realmās early, middle, and late stages, plus the great circle. The first layer, corresponding to the early stage of the Planet Realm, was called the Asteroid-Sealing Art. It was capable of sealing the innumerable asteroids out in the starry sky. The ultimate goal was to use a huge number of sealed asteroids to construct a phantom image and summon it at any time.
This phantom image could be of anything, but once it was decided on, it couldnāt be changed. At the same time, the more realistic the image, the greater its power would be. Of course, its power would also become greater when more asteroids were added.
Thus, there were two main problems involved in the cultivation of this technique. The first was regarding the number of asteroids ā anyone cultivating this technique would have to find the time and energy to seal a huge number of asteroids. The second was regardingā¦ the phantom image. The chosen phantom image was of utmost importance, and it had to be something that the cultivator understood extremely well. Thus, the phantom image Wang Baole chose wasā¦ the old ox.
After all, he had already spent a month cleaning every inch of the old oxās body. Thus, his understanding of it was deep, and the phantom image he would form would definitely be extremely lifelike. With this as motivation, Wang Baole worked even harder to clean and groom the old oxā¦
As for the Star-Sealing Artās second layer, which corresponded to the middle stage of the Planet Realm, its power was even more astonishing. What the second layer sealed was no longer asteroids, but Mortal Planets. Based on Wang Baoleās analysis, if he used Mortal Planets to form the phantom image of the old ox, it would be powerful to a terrifying degree!
The third layer was similar to the second in that it also sealed Planets; however, what it sealed were Spirit and Immortal Planets. Thus, the difference in power between the second and third layers was extremely great. According to the techniqueās description, if a cultivator could seal enough Spirit and Immortal Planets, then even if they faced a higher-level Planet Realm opponent who had a Special Planet, they would be able to match or even suppress their enemy!
The technique also mentioned that sealing Immortal Planets was the limit; it was unable to seal Special Planets. However, the old ox told Wang Baole that since he had a Dao Planet, he might be able to break this limit and reach an unprecedented level.
After all, someone who had fused with a Dao Planet was quintessentially different from ordinary cultivators.
But the Star-Sealing Artās fourth layer was even more impressive than the previous three ā it actually illuminated the path to the Eternal Star Realm. By carefully cultivating the Star-Sealing Art step by step, a Planet Realm cultivatorās breakthrough into the Eternal Star Realm would become far easier!
And what shocked Wang Baole the most wasnāt any of this. Instead, it was the fact that, although this was a technique designed for the Planet Realm, his personal analysis told him thatā¦ it was likely possible to replace the Planets making up the phantom image withā¦ Eternal Stars!
If he could really create a divine ox phantom image composed of countless Eternal Stars, then even though it might not be as terrifying as the real old oxā¦ with enough Eternal Stars, the difference wouldnāt be too great. Thinking of this, Wang Baole almost felt his mind go blank.
Moreover, Wang Baole finally understood why the Flame Patriarch had wanted him to groom the old ox.
Regardless of whether the divine ox in front of him was really a clone or not, the Flame Patriarchās intentions, to Wang Baole, seemed very clear. By grooming the divine ox diligently, he was meant to become extremely familiar with the structure of its body. This kind of detailed understanding would undoubtedly help his cultivation of the Star-Sealing Art, and the techniqueās strength would increase significantly.
After all, the old ox was an Almighty in the Star Domain Realm!
A Star Domain Realm Almighty was opening itself up to him, allowing him to understand its entire bodily structure. Such an opportunity was extremely rare. Even in those great sects or clans, Star Domain Realm Almighties might not be willing to do such a thing for their juniors.
Thus, although Wang Baoleās cultivation base didnāt progress much, his understanding of the Star-Sealing Art improved by leaps and bounds. It wasnāt an exaggeration to call it instantaneous success!