Seven Progenitors

Time flowed slowly, and nightfall arrived in an instant.

Just then, Gu Changyuan received a message from the Star Clan. The report stated that their cross-domain teleportation array was now fully completed and could be used at any time.

He rose and finished giving instructions to Gu Xing'er, Jun Mukong, and Jun Anshi. With a flicker of his form, he instantly returned to the Heavenly Court.

After briefly explaining to Ye Qingxue and the group of disciples that he needed to visit the Star Clan to handle important matters within the secret realm, he vanished with a flash of light, disappearing from the Heavenly Court.

The entrance to the Star Clan's secret realm was hidden deep within the mountains of the Eastern Domain in the Eastern Region of the Mortal Immortal Realm, a location of extreme seclusion.

Surrounded by rolling mountain ranges, the terrain was steep, shrouded in clouds and mist all year round, with sparse spiritual energy and rarely visited by humans.

As Gu Changyuan stepped out of the teleportation array, he saw several Star Clan Primordial Ancestors waiting there.

Five Star Clan Primordial Ancestors, each with the cultivation of an Immortal King.

Their robes were embroidered with patterns of stars, each star slowly rotating, emitting a soft, gentle glow.

Xing Wuzhan stood among the five, at the far left and half a step behind. His cultivation was the lowest among the five Primordial Ancestors, but he held an irreplaceable role in this setting. He was the first to make contact with the Ancestor, the first Star Clan Primordial Ancestor the Ancestor had ever met among the branch families in the Nine-Sky Realm.

The moment they saw Gu Changyuan emerge from the teleportation array, the five Star Clan Primordial Ancestors bowed simultaneously, their movements perfectly synchronized, as if they had rehearsed them countless times.

"Ancestor."

They had already learned not long ago that Gu Changyuan was the new Ancestor.

Gu Changyuan gave a slight nod in acknowledgment.

Without any unnecessary pleasantries or polite greetings, his gaze settled on one of the Primordial Ancestors, who immediately understood and turned to face the barren mountain, surging with the power of stars.

That Primordial Ancestor raised his hands gently, channeling countless threads of star power that traced an intricate array pattern in the void.

At the center of the array was a star, surrounded by countless tiny points of light, each point representing an array line.

As the array finally took shape, his finger paused at its center, touching the core of that star.

The moment the array appeared, the entrance to the secret realm began to resonate with it. Silver-white cracks emerged in the void, spreading outward from the edges of the array.

Eventually, a passage several zhang in diameter formed in the void. On the other side of that passage lay the Star Clan's secret realm.

The entrance to the Star Clan's secret realm resembled that of the Starry Sky Secret Realm, both unlocked by a key array formed from star power.

The entrance arrays for each secret realm were different, and the key array for the Star Clan's secret realm was replaced every century.

Gu Changyuan observed the technique used by that Primordial Ancestor to activate the array and nodded.

He raised his right hand, spreading his five fingers as star power condensed in his palm.

Silver-white light surged from his hand, tracing an array pattern in the void identical to the one the Primordial Ancestor had just performed.

The other Primordial Ancestors could not hide the shock in their eyes.

They were already aware that this new Ancestor possessed exceptional skill in the Way of the Stars, otherwise Xing Wuzhan would not have invited him to become Ancestor.

But they had not realized his mastery went this far. He learned it just by watching? Without even flipping through the secret scrolls? Just by observing the process once, he could reproduce it perfectly?

This demonstrated that his understanding of the Way of the Stars had reached the level of the Dao itself, and his mastery of arrays had also reached a terrifying degree.

Standing at the back, Xing Wuzhan watched the expressions of the four Primordial Ancestors and felt a subtle sense of satisfaction.

Back when he first met the Ancestor in the lower realm, he had worn the same expression. Now it was their turn.

Gu Changyuan withdrew his right hand, and the array in his palm gradually dissipated.

He stepped forward, walking toward that doorway.

The five Primordial Ancestors hurriedly followed, their steps rushed.

Stepping into the passage, the view before them opened up.

The Star Clan's secret realm was many times larger than the Starry Sky Secret Realm, stretching as far as the eye could see.

The sky was a deep starry expanse, with countless stars slowly rotating in the void.

In the distance lay rolling mountain ranges with peaks of varied shapes.

Light shimmered across the mountain surfaces, echoing the stars above, as if the entire range were a projection of the night sky.

Between the mountains were spiritual springs and waterfalls, their waters clear enough to see the bottom.

The secret realm held many structures—palaces, towers, pavilions, a library, alchemy rooms, cultivation chambers—scattered across every corner.

Gu Changyuan took a deep breath, feeling the star power that filled this realm.

According to Xing Wuzhan, the Star Clan originally had seven Ancestors.

The Star Clan did not begin as an ordinary offshoot; rather, it was founded when seven Supreme Ancestors joined forces to establish the clan and create the secret realm.

Each of the seven Ancestors governed an ultimate Star Dao, with distinct responsibilities, their authority covering every star-based phenomenon here.

Xing Zixu, the Ancestor of Ten Thousand Stars, whose law was the Star Track, governed the trajectory and order of the stars.

Xing Xuanji, the Ancestor of the Myriad Forms, whose law was the Star Pattern, governed the myriad changes revealed by the arrangement of the stars.

Xing Wuyi, the Ancestor of Heavenly Calculations, whose law was the Star Order, governed the laws of the stars' movement and the calculating power of celestial mechanisms.

Xing Pojun, the Ancestor of Conquest, whose law was the Star Balefulness, governed the power of the stars' slaughter and destruction.

Xing Buyu, the Ancestor of Fate’s Wheel, whose law was the Star Fate, governed the wheel-of-fate connection between stars and life.

Xing Huang, the Ancestor of Radiance, whose law was the Star Brilliance, governed the purifying and shining power of the stars.

Xing Weiyang, the Ancestor of Return to Ruin, whose law was the Star Annihilation, governed the end and return to void of the stars.

Each of the seven Ancestors possessed a unique supreme Star Dao and fundamental authority, mutually reinforcing and balancing each other in symbiosis, upholding the Star Clan's eternal, supreme legacy.

And what Gu Changyuan was now inheriting was exactly the Dao-holder position of Xing Zixu, the first among the seven Ancestors and the Ancestor of Ten Thousand Stars.

The moment Gu Changyuan fully stepped into the core region of the secret realm, the entire Star River Secret Realm trembled violently. The starry brilliance in the sky surged and roiled.

Four figures, each bearing a distinct aura, appeared before him.

On the far left stood a man.

He wore a deep blue long robe, his long hair tied up with a silver hairpin. His face was handsome but utterly expressionless.

His face was as blank as a sheet of paper, his eyes like two emotionless black gems, his lips pressed into a straight line, lacking even the slightest curve at the corners.

His eyes were fixed on Gu Changyuan, but the gaze in those eyes was not so much "looking at a person" as it was "scanning."

From his current state to future possibilities—everything was being dismantled, analyzed, and calculated within that gaze.

The Ancestor of Heavenly Calculations, Xing Wuyi.