On the third day, as night approached.
Bai Xin, Liou Yuan's mother, uncharacteristically left the medical hall's front room early.
She brought Kong Yi to the room where Liou Yuan was recuperating.
The three of them sat face to face, all with grave expressions.
Even Kong Yi, who was always chattering away, was for once unusually silent, her bright black eyes wide, nervously lying by the window, gazing at the sky beyond.
The reason for such tension was that today was a special day.
"By my calculations, today is already the thirtieth day of the Auspicious Star's rotation."
"Tonight, during the star shift, is the day that decides fortune or misfortune."
Influenced by Kong Yi, Liou Yuan was also extremely nervous, shifting his half-reclining body against the wall.
His five fingers gripped the bedding tight as he gazed up at the stars scattered across the sky.
Whenever the star shift came, Yanhe City was at its most anxious.
Every household would stop whatever they were doing—no matter how busy—tilting up their necks to witness the changes in the stars above.
Because what happened next dictated the fortunes of the following month.
If an Evil Star appeared, no one would dare set foot outside Yanhe City's walls.
It mattered greatly not only to ordinary folks but also to the city's powerful rulers.
What's more, during the reign of an Evil Star, those Star Evils usually hidden would emerge to cause chaos.
Everyone knew: Yanhe City's moat could not block out all the Star Evil spirits.
It was like a fisherman's net—there would always be some little shrimp that slipped through its gaps into the city.
The more powerful the Star Evil, the harder it actually was for them to enter.
Even so, no matter how weak the Star Evil, they were not something ordinary people could handle. Another month of chickens flying and dogs jumping was inevitable then.
If it was an Auspicious Star, of course everyone would rejoice.
So, among Yanhe City's residents, there wasn't a single one who wasn't hoping for the Auspicious Star's turn.
Liou Yuan was no exception.
"Regrettably, the pattern of the star shift is completely unfathomable in this world."
"If only there were a method to predict the star shift; it would absolutely change the world."
Liou Yuan's eyes shone as he gazed skyward, thoughts turning lightly in his mind.
Because it could not be predicted, whether an Auspicious or Evil Star came was all up to fate.
After an Evil Star, it could well be another Evil Star.
After an Auspicious Star, it might still be an Auspicious Star.
As the entire city watched tensely, time ebbed away slowly.
In Liou Yuan's room, you could practically hear a pin drop.
Time reached the moment of midnight.
Liou Yuan's eyes opened a fraction wider.
Under his gaze, the stars above finally began to shift and change.
Under the curtain of night, the previously shining stars began to dim.
By contrast, the stars that had been obscure suddenly began to twinkle.
At last, in the center of the Milky Way above, sixteen of the brightest stars hung high.
The sixteen stars each occupied a separate spot, outlining the clear shape of a shoe.
Having spent two months in this world, Liou Yuan recognized this celestial image instantly. The nervousness lingering on his face melted away, replaced by a smile.
His mouth opened and he softly spoke the name of this star pattern:
"Kuixu, the Auspicious Star!"
He was lucky—Liou Yuan, in his third month in this world, had encountered his second Auspicious Star rotation.
"Yeah! Star Monarch Kuixu is presiding—a flourishing era of culture." Kong Yi's joyful voice rang through the room. After her exclamation, she even bowed reverently to the stars overhead.
"This humble girl, Kong Yi, respectfully welcomes Star Monarch Kuixu."
And it wasn't just Kong Yi—the entire city burst into cheers.
In an instant, Yanhe City was awash with jubilation.
Most of the cries were devotions to welcoming Star Monarch Kuixu.
Liou Yuan was unsurprised, even smiling as he repeated Kong Yi's words: "Respectfully welcoming Star Monarch Kuixu."
Star Monarch, the most venerable title in this world—the holiest of appellations.
Neither Cultivator nor commoner would dare show the slightest disrespect.
They were like gods, suspended above the world, worshiped by innumerable incense offerings.
...
The night was like a swath of black silk, gently unfurling between heaven and earth.
The stars were the most dazzling, mysterious part of that silk. Countless gems seemed to be studded within, densely dotting the expanse.
On Virgo Peak, Liou Yuan lay flat on the earth, gazing skyward.
The very spot beneath the pine where he'd earlier placed the Fixed Star Compass, absorbing the radiance of the stars above.
He allowed his entire body to bask in pure starlight.
At this moment, Liou Yuan was utterly forgetful of himself—fully immersed in the cultivation of the Breathing Skill.
He could not even hear the wind brushing over his body above—echoing in his ears only the tremors of the Five Mansions within him.
Indeed, this was the most abundant spot for starlight in all Yanhe City.
The power of the stars pouring into his body through his two Star Acupoints was several times what he'd attained at home.
Not only was his absorption rate vastly improved—
In this environment, the Five Mansions, nourished to fullness by celestial power, allowed him to maintain cultivation for extended periods without trouble.
Before, he'd dared cultivate for only an hour each day.
Now he'd been cultivating for more than three hours, yet still had no urge to stop.
With Kuixu, the Auspicious Star in power, beneath this starlight, Liou Yuan was free from undue worry about the Star Evil threat.
Thus he sat—a whole night passing in deep meditation.
Not until the golden dawn rose from the east, casting light onto his face, did he slowly open his eyes, ending the cultivation that had lasted for a full four hours.
"Hoo—!" A mouthful of turbid air escaped Liou Yuan's lips, his eyes shining as brightly as the stars themselves.
It had already been twenty-five days since the last star shift.
This marked Liou Yuan's twenty-third day cultivating on Virgo Peak.
On the day Bai Xin declared that he could leave his bed, that very evening he'd been unable to resist climbing Virgo Peak.
He cultivated there night after night, without cease.
Of course, the results were remarkable.
"Within my Five Mansions, there seems to be a hidden surge of power—just like the qi-sense my eldest brother described in the 'Five Mansions Star Gazing Breathing Skill,' a sign that spiritual qi is soon to be born."
Rising from the cold ground where he'd lain all night, Liou Yuan silently sensed the state of his Five Mansions, uncertainty and amazement flickering in his eyes.
His uncertainty was because he wasn't sure if that power truly was qi-sense.
After all, Liou Zhen wrote in the Breathing Skill that only those of exceptional talent could bring forth qi-sense and birth their first strand of spiritual qi within a month.
And he was clearly not such an exceptional talent.
Even with two Star Acupoints, even if their combined cultivation speed outstripped all other Two-Star Star Acupoint aptitudes—
At best, that would amount to a Three-Star Star Acupoint qualification.
Liou Yuan really didn't think a Three-Star Star Acupoint meant "exceptional."
From what Bai Xin said, his eldest brother had a Five-Star Star Acupoint.
In Liou Yuan's estimation, only someone like that could be considered truly exceptional.
Yet for some reason, with his lackluster potential, he already felt the precursor to qi-sense on only his twenty-third day of formal cultivation.
No wonder Liou Yuan was starting to doubt himself.
"So I can rule out my talent as the cause."
One of Liou Yuan's strengths was his self-awareness—he knew exactly how capable he was.
First, rule out the least likely option.
If not an internal cause, then it must be something in the outside world that affected him.