Li Shuang's endurance was beyond doubt.
Her childhood as a wanderer.
The ten years of forced silence.
And the countless heart-wrenching betrayals had forged her spirit into a blade, capable of severing all chains forged from pain.
The moonlight from the Lunar Star was indeed fierce. Under its illumination, Li Shuang's soul felt as if it were being scorched by a raging fire, every fiber enveloped in extreme agony.
Li Shuang sat cross-legged, drops of sweat falling from her forehead, instantly evaporating in the air.
Her soul felt as if it were torn into countless fragments. Every moment, Li Shuang felt as if she might just die then and there.
Yet, in the next instant, her soul re-coalesced under the influence of the three wondrous items.
Again and again.
Shattered and reassembled.
After an unknown period of torment, the light of the Lunar Star faded, and the effects of the Star Fruit and Soul-Solidifying Pill slowly dissipated.
Li Shuang's expression was calm.
She had failed.
She had endured to the very end.
But.
The probability of success was, after all, too small.
The Lunar Star's light had ultimately dispersed.
After a battle of the soul, her body appeared unharmed, but the pain originating from her soul made her shiver involuntarily even in retrospect.
Li Shuang looked at the Heaven and Earth Smelting Furnace.
The starlight was still there.
The moonlight was also still there.
Her resources were still sufficient for two more attempts.
If both attempts failed.
Then, her hard-won gains from this endeavor would be reset to zero, and she would still have to choose a dimly lit star as her Origin Star.
If she succeeded.
That would naturally be a step to heaven.
To gamble or not to gamble?
In just an instant, Li Shuang made her final decision.
Gamble!
With a wondrous item like the Heaven and Earth Smelting Furnace in hand, if she only played it safe, how could she ever catch up to the peerless geniuses of the Central Continent?
Li Shuang regulated her breathing, then once again consumed a Star Fruit and a Soul-Solidifying Pill.
The intense pain was still vivid in her memory, but Li Shuang, without hesitation, once again drew upon the light of the Lunar Star!
When people face pain for the first time, because they don't know what to expect, they might be able to endure it.
But if they have already experienced extreme pain once, very few would have the courage to go through it a second time.
Yet, for Li Shuang.
The previous pain had, on the contrary, given her a baseline.
So.
It was only this level.
This amount of pain.
How could it compare to the despair she felt that day in the snowy mountains?
The Lunar Star hung high, its light pouring down on Li Shuang like water.
Under the moonlight.
Li Shuang's body was also enveloped in a hazy glow.
This time.
The light of the Lunar Star was even fiercer than before.
Li Shuang was like a lone boat, navigating upstream on a sea of suffering that belonged only to her.
This ocean held endless torment.
This ocean was stormy and turbulent, and the small boat could sink to the bottom at any moment.
But if one could cross this vast ocean, a new world would be revealed.
In the midst of intense pain, Li Shuang's will slowly began to waver.
The "Supreme Forgetfulness Art" circulated constantly, bringing her a touch of coolness amidst the burning agony.
This cultivation method helped Li Shuang maintain a sliver of clarity in her sea of consciousness.
Once again.
In the sea of suffering, the winds were high and the waves fierce.
According to the previous situation, Li Shuang would have forcibly endured it.
But this time.
She suddenly opened her eyes.
The pain of the soul, the suffering of the soul, was indescribable.
But if she only endured, could she truly reach the other shore?
Li Shuang looked up at the starry sky.
The world was vast; to reach the other shore, one needed to leverage the situation.
In the vast sea of soul suffering, when the storm struck again, the lone boat disappeared, replaced by a patch of lotus flowers beneath Li Shuang's feet.
Only one patch, that was not enough.
So.
One green lotus after another condensed.
The lotus seed, which had already merged with her, slowly floated to the center of the green lotus.
Beneath Li Shuang's feet.
The green lotus reappeared!
At this moment.
A nine-petal green lotus faintly emerged on Li Shuang's forehead.
The image of this green lotus flashed and quickly receded, but Li Shuang knew that many things had changed.
The moment the green lotus formed, the intense pain dissolved like ice and snow. Streaks of lunar brilliance fell upon the lotus petals, exquisitely mysterious, as if this scene was meant to be.
At this moment.
Li Shuang had a strong feeling!
She had succeeded!
She unhesitatingly took the final step, directly establishing a connection between her soul and the Lunar Star.
The Lunar Star in the sky instantly flickered on and off.
Sword Sect.
On a secluded mountain peak, an old man looked up at the sky, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.
The Lunar and Solar Stars were the two most important stars.
There were many cultivation methods in this world that utilized stellar power, but none had ever been heard of that could involve the Lunar and Solar Stars.
But this Lunar Star at this moment...
"No, this is impossible," the old man murmured. "It must be an anomaly in the star itself. It couldn't possibly be man-made?"
A hint of worry flashed in his eyes.
Did the Lunar anomaly point to these troubled times?
At the entrance of the Treasure Pavilion.
A woman looked up.
Elder Ling looked at the sky, her hand trembling slightly. The last stitch fell, but it directly drew a long mark on the silk fabric.
"The Lunar Star..."
What had caused the change in the Lunar Star?
Central Continent.
Many peerless experts felt a sense of unease.
The Lunar anomaly was not just in the Southern Azure Continent; the entire world witnessed it at the same time.
"Could it be that the heavenly secrets have changed?"
"Could it be that a demon has appeared?"
"Troubled times, indeed troubled times..."
In Myriad Law City.
A stunning woman opened her eyes.
There was no sun or moon in Myriad Law City, but her gaze pierced the sky, as if seeing the outside world at a glance.
"Lunar starlight..." the woman murmured.
No, that's not right, this wasn't a simple anomaly.
She sensed a familiar aura from it.
This was...
The Rebirth Art!
The woman's heart suddenly trembled.
The first rotation of the Rebirth Art required refining the soul with stellar power.
Now...
Someone had chosen the Lunar Star as their Origin Star?
One must know that she was only in the second rotation herself, and she had already changed her Origin Star once, but in terms of intensity, it couldn't compare to the Lunar Star at all.
Who was this person who had caused the Lunar anomaly?
It was impossible for those newcomers who were only in the first rotation.
Who would choose the Lunar Star from the very beginning?
Could it be a hidden second-rotation expert?
The woman's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
Who was it!
Who had reached this stage!
She forced herself to calm down.
Since this person had reached this stage, they would eventually need the third-rotation method.
She just needed to wait quietly.
Sister, the day we meet may not be far off.
The anomaly of the Lunar Star did not last too long. After Li Shuang completely selected her Origin Star, the Lunar Star returned to normal.
Only Li Shuang herself felt that she had subtly established a peculiar connection with the Lunar Star.
What delighted Li Shuang the most was this:
In just one night.
Just by drawing upon the power of the Lunar Star to refine her soul for the first time.
Her soul power had instantly reached the late Nascent Soul stage!
This had already surpassed her previous peak state!