Martial Ascent to Divinity-Chapter 655 - 634: Divine Lake

"Undying Star Body..."

The first layer of the Undying Star Body is the Crossing Body. Once cultivated, it allows one to fly through the starry space filled with destructive power.

Although my Crossing Body is not yet complete, compared to the starry sky, this environment is too weak.

Putting away the Demon Spirit Artifact, I took out the "Dragon God Skull" obtained from the Giant Dragon.

It’s the size of a fist, small, but it’s a complete skull of a Demigod Black Dragon.

Hanging it at my waist, I watched as wisps of pale red mist entered the nostrils of the Dragon God Skull, swirling within the skull.

Most of the power surged out from the dragon ears, with a small portion remaining in the dragon skull.

The power is too little to use, so I’ll leave it for now.

Raising my head to look around.

The pale red mist is not dense, but endless, limiting visibility to just over a dozen kilometers, making it impossible to see what’s in the distance.

Zhou Leng remembered what the Giant Dragon reminded him before entering, sat down on the ground, placed his hands on the ground, and called out in his heart to the "Great Death-defying Star," feeling the earth.

It is said that if one’s power is strong enough or devout enough, one can sense where the Sacred River is, directly enter and soak in it, and gain great benefits.

The luckiest can quickly elevate the strength of an ordinary Upper-Rank Grandmaster to the upper peak, improve qualifications, and easily advance to Grandmaster, or even King Grandmaster, after leaving.

Zhou Leng continuously chanted "Great Death-defying Star" in his heart, activating his martial arts perception.

At first, he only heard the sound of the wind and felt the breath of the God-forsaken mist.

Gradually, within his heart, he sensed a long force flowing like a river not far away.

Zhou Leng opened his eyes, got up, confirmed the direction, and ran towards it.

It seems that what the Giant Dragon said may not be accurate; they said it would take at least ten minutes to sense it, yet it only took a dozen seconds.

After running over fifty kilometers, three shadows suddenly appeared in front.

Zhou Leng suddenly stopped, ready for combat.

A closer look revealed that they were three very odd creatures.

Over three meters tall, humanoid in body but more robust, with bodies covered in green scales, like a mix of flesh and rock.

On their necks perched a fierce big red carp, about a meter long, with heads, bodies, and tails.

However, each carp was covered in scarlet dragon scales, with particularly large fish heads and red filamentous patterns swirling inside their big fish eyes.

God-forsaken spirits, Dragon Carp People.

Two Upper-Rank Grandmasters and one Grandmaster, their aura far stronger than ordinary Grandmasters, even stronger than common Demigod bloodlines.

Zhou Leng is currently a Middle-Rank Grandmaster; even if he uses true star power, he can only flee from such a top-level Grandmaster, with no chance of killing them.

Upon seeing them clearly, Zhou Leng let out a sigh of relief.

In the God-forsaken spirits of the Giant Dragon Race, Dragon Carp People are considered relatively gentle, as long as not provoked, they won’t kill dragons.

But to giants, they show no mercy.

The three Dragon Carp People glanced quizzically at Zhou Leng, exchanged looks, and murmured to each other.

The leading Dragon Carp Grandmaster beckoned to Zhou Leng. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Seeing their lack of malice, and himself blessed with the Dragon God and Giant Dragon Blood Marvelous Body, Zhou Leng cautiously approached, ready to fight or flee if needed.

As he got closer, the three Dragon Carp People seemed curious, making murmuring sounds, while Zhou Leng waved to indicate he couldn’t understand.

But the Dragon Carp People seemed chatty and kept talking.

Zhou Leng pondered, then used a Divine Text to ask, "I can’t understand you, can you understand me?"

The three Dragon Carp People were stunned; the Grandmaster was fine, but the other two Upper-Ranks nearly fell to their knees.

"Murmur murmur murmur..."

The Dragon Carp People looked at Zhou Leng, speaking frantically.

"Can you understand me? Or half-understand?"

The Dragon Carp People nodded repeatedly.

Seeing this, Zhou Leng felt a sense of familiarity... remembering this was how he communicated with Huang.

"I want to go to the Sacred River, which is a river..." Zhou Leng said and gestured.

The Dragon Carp People exchanged looks, one shook its head, another waived, and the Grandmaster Dragon Carp grabbed Zhou Leng’s hand, murmuring loudly, with a hospitable demeanor.

"You want to take me somewhere else?"

The Dragon Carp People nodded.

"Better than the Sacred River?"

"Murmur murmur murmur..." The Dragon Carp People showed disdain for the Sacred River.

Zhou Leng faintly understood some possibilities.

With a thought, he used a Divine Text to say, "I came here to pay respects to the Great Death-defying Star."

The three Dragon Carp People paused, then bowed together, stood up, their eyes filled with not only closeness but also respect.

"Have you heard anyone use Divine Text in the past?" Zhou Leng asked.

One shook its head, two nodded.

"Murmur murmur murmur..."

"You’ve heard of it, but never seen it?"

All three nodded.

"Was it a long time ago?"

Nods.

Zhou Leng recalled matters related to the Death-defying Star and the Far-reaching Mountain, guessing they considered him someone associated with the Great Death-defying Star.

Feeling reassured, Zhou Leng walked with them.

The three Dragon Carp People were delighted, talking loudly along the way.

Occasionally, other Dragon Carp People passed by, and with loud shouts, they bowed and gathered around.

More and more Dragon Carp People appeared as they ran along.

Half an hour later, they arrived at a very ordinary small hill.

Walking halfway around the hill, an entrance appeared, where two Dragon Carp People stood guard.

Zhou Leng followed the Dragon Carp People into the entrance, descending all the way down.

As they walked, Zhou Leng gestured and guessed, gathering some understanding along the way.

The divine spirits initially lacked wisdom, but gradually gained intelligence over time.

The Dragon Carp People were relatively weak, so they gathered together to form a tribe that has continued until now, while many powerful individual divine spirits gradually perished.

The river of divine veins is just an ordinary force in the Land of Divine Spirits.

The true essence lies in the divine lake located underground.

Only those divine spirits who gain the divine lake can ascend to become demigods.

The Dragon Carp Tribe possesses three demigods, but to prevent other divine spirits from seizing it, the three demigods have been guarding the divine lake.

Expectations rose in Zhou Leng’s heart.

The river of divine veins is powerful, and by soaking in it for a long time, one could obtain a bit of divine power.

However, once the river water is taken out, it loses all its effect.

He wondered if the water of the divine lake could be taken out.

After walking quickly for more than ten minutes, they reached an underground hall.

Many Dragon Carp People stood up inside, watching Zhou Leng, speaking in murmurs.

The Dragon Carp People who brought Zhou Leng in shouted loudly, while the other Dragon Carp People were surprised yet delighted, bowing respectfully to Zhou Leng.

Zhou Leng scanned the Dragon Carp People; most of them only held Innate Power, with only a few Grandmasters.

Everyone sat on the ground, chatting.

Some Dragon Carp People held various bone and leather containers, placing them in front of Zhou Leng.

There were jerky, fairly fresh meat, crushed bones revealing marrow, and something similar to fruits and grass leaves. Additionally, there were some gem-like items.

Upon careful sensing, all the items emitted a powerful aura, with the weakest being equivalent to an Innate Pill.

With such enthusiastic generosity, Zhou Leng first took out various food items, then brought out some Innate and Grandmaster-level beast meat.

Many Dragon Carp People glanced at Zhou Leng’s Magic Spirit Bag but quickly averted their eyes.

They ate the things given by Zhou Leng, and Zhou Leng ate the things from the Dragon Carp People.

Most of the food carried toxicity, remnants of divine power, or destructive star power.

However, his powerful body forcibly digested it without any side effects.

After a long time, an elderly Dragon Carp Person walked in, short in stature, with the edges of his scales turning white, but his presence was immensely powerful, stronger than most demigods and Martial Saints Zhou Leng had seen.

Everyone stood up, and Zhou Leng imitated the rest of the Dragon Carp People’s posture, tilting his head slightly to the right, then nodded in greeting.

The Demigod Dragon Carp Person communicated through gestures with the crowd and Zhou Leng.

"Who are you?"

"I come from the world of the Giant Dragons. I heard the call of the Great Star of Unyielding Fate; my bloodline is boiling..." Zhou Leng used a clever trick from the Jade Wings’ survival manual, a literary creation.

Every time Zhou Leng spoke the Divine Text phrase "Star of Unyielding Fate," some Dragon Carp People would gasp softly, especially the younger ones, whose eyes were filled with reverence.

"What is your purpose for coming here?"

"I am seeking medicinal materials to claim the true king’s position and to save my friends, as well as searching for materials for artifact refining..." Zhou Leng replied openly.

After extensive gestural communication, gaining basic understanding, the Demigod Dragon Carp Person nodded, invited Zhou Leng to sit down, and left through the path they came.

Shortly after, two Dragon Carp People came through the passage and invited Zhou Leng inside.

Amidst the envious gazes of the Dragon Carp People, Zhou Leng followed the two into the passage.

Walking for a while, they reached a more spacious underground hall, with three demigod Dragon Carp People standing in the center.

Behind the demigod Dragon Carp People was a blood-colored bubbling pool, approximately fifteen or sixteen meters in diameter.

The three demigod Dragon Carp People gestured for a while with Zhou Leng, then made a welcoming gesture.

Zhou Leng thanked the three demigod Dragon Carp People and recited "Great Star of Unyielding Fate" as he slowly walked forward.

Now, Zhou Leng had sorted out the reasons.

It turns out the descendant of the Star of Unyielding Fate’s Giant Dragon still lives, but in another peculiar world, coming here only infrequently.

The initial descendants of the Star of Unyielding Fate could speak the Divine Text, and some divine spirits took them as emissaries of the Divine Spirits.

The later descendants of the Star of Unyielding Fate lost the ability to speak the Divine Text, and the divine spirits only saw them as ordinary Giant Dragons.

Divine spirits’ lives originate from the remains of the Divine Spirits’ power, granting them innate abilities.

Understanding part of the Divine Text is one of their instincts, but they cannot speak it.

The Dragon Carp People and other divine spirits made agreements with those emissaries; any divine emissary could enter the divine lake for a baptism, bathing in divine power.

Zhou Leng removed his coat, extended his leg, and slowly stepped into the divine lake.

The divine lake was about four to five meters deep. Zhou Leng walked into the center, closed his eyes, and activated his martial arts perception.

At first, it was icy cold, but after a while, it felt like warm water.

Threads of power entered his body.

Zhou Leng was both surprised and delighted.

The delight stemmed from the fact that it contained a considerable amount of true astral power, which the Solar Shield Disc could also absorb and continuously replenish.

The surprise came from the extremely complex nature of the divine lake’s water, containing a large amount of toxicity and destructive star power.

Though a small amount was manageable, too much would still cause damage to the body.

Thus, Zhou Leng consumed true astral power, simultaneously operating the Great Sun Divine Skill and the Undying Star Body.

The Great Sun Divine Skill enhanced power, mainly increasing the total capacity of true astral power and accelerating star body transformation.

The Undying Star Body primarily strengthened the physical body.

Meanwhile, over ten million star conch, which constructively formed, glowed faintly.