The Shining Star Above The Heaven

Aldrian at this moment already sat on his sofa while the Spirit Ancestor sat across from him. As for the others, they also sat not far from them. The Spirit Ancestor's retainer and guardian stood behind her sofa where she sat, while the others kept a slight respectful distance, although what they did seemed disrespectful.

Well, they were truly curious about Aldrian and the Spirit Ancestor's conversation, and Aldrian seemed not to mind that their conversation was being heard.

Aldrian kept observing the Spirit Ancestor, who had lived for almost a million years! This was the oldest being he had ever directly seen in this life. The Spirit Ancestor was a spirit called the Celestial Night Spirit, a spirit race that legends said was born from the night not long after the first heaven was created.

Many said that this was one of the oldest spirit races and one of the rarest, which also explained why their population was so sparse compared to other spirit races. Their specialty?

Looking into the secrets of heaven.

It was different from the clairvoyance techniques or visions that some cultivators had, or someone like Angelica or the Spirit of the World Tree, to whom the heavens had given a special privilege to see the possibilities of future events. All of them had to wait passively for the heavens to give them a sign. Even if they tried to force it, those who wished to see the signs would have to pay a price to look into the secrets of heaven.

It was like, "Oh, you want to see the heaven's secret? Then you have to pay for it."

That price could be their fate, their luck, their karma, or even their life, depending on how great the secret they sought to uncover was.

However, the Celestial Night Spirit was said to be a special spirit race capable of looking into the secrets of heaven without suffering major setbacks, no matter how great the secret was.

As a spirit race, they were already adored by both the heavens and nature, as they were first born from the very nature of the universe itself.

Without suffering major setbacks, they were a truly valuable race, revered by many for their ability. Yet because this ability was so precious to all beings, it seemed the heavens had also placed a balance upon them, limiting their birth rate so that it was never too high.

Their race was known to exist only in the Ancient Blue Gate World and nowhere else. Within this world, there were no more than fifty members of the race, and even in a span of a thousand years, not a single new member might appear.

But unfortunately, not all beings shared the same respect that the beasts of the Beast Continent had toward this spirit race. Because of their innate ability to communicate with the heavens so easily, many regarded them as a great threat that had to be eliminated.

There was a time when this race nearly became extinct because they were hunted by humans while they still resided on another continent. That was also the reason this spirit race migrated to the Beast Continent. The beasts here were far more visionary, for they saw that this spirit race would bring them great value, so they decided to protect them.

With the Celestial Night Spirit successfully relocating to the Beast Continent, their pursuers did not dare to enter recklessly. How could they simply barge into a territory where dragons, phoenixes, and other powerful spiritual beasts resided? Doing so would invite their own destruction, forcing them to leave the Celestial Night Spirit alone.

Even so, to this day, there are still those among the human race who see them as a threat.

'Elder Sariel, the most powerful and the oldest Celestial Night Spirit. Her ability to look into the secrets of heaven is undoubtedly the strongest compared to the others because of her powerful cultivation,' Aldrian thought.

'Many stories and legends about her have spread, but one question always lingers—why has she not ascended to the higher heavens yet? Normally, a being would strive for greater power and immortality, but she still chooses to remain in this heaven.'

After a moment of silence, Aldrian finally opened his lips, trying to appear as warm as possible before this grandmotherly figure.

"So, Elder Sariel, I know that you must have your own reason for acting that way in front of me. It truly surprised me when you suddenly knelt, which makes me very curious. What did you see in me, Elder? Why did you act that way?"

The others were also wondering what had happened, their eyes fixed on the Spirit Ancestor as they waited for her answer. Elder Sariel, still gripping her cane with both hands even though she was already seated, finally spoke.

"How could I not do that before the light that will spread across the universe, erasing the evil and the outsiders' influence that encroaches upon it? How could I not do that before the true bearer of the crown, sovereign over all beings of the universe?"

Hearing the Spirit Ancestor's words, the others were utterly astonished and turned to look at Aldrian again in shock.

The Spirit Ancestor placed Aldrian on such a high pedestal? Wasn't that too high, as if he were some kind of god who ruled this universe alone? They knew there were surely many gods beyond their knowledge, but to claim that this human was the true ruler of all?

Just what kind of existence was the man before them?

Aldrian raised his eyebrows. From the way the Spirit Ancestor spoke, it seemed she already knew about the invasion of the universe, the truth and the hidden danger of those invaders. This was the first time he had met someone who already realized that most of the universe was under occupation, and who more or less understood his role in this journey.

Aldrian nodded in understanding, finding it no surprise given her innate ability and the heavens' favor upon her. He then raised his hand to his mask and removed it from his face, revealing his true appearance to those who had not yet seen it here.

The Spirit Ancestor's two companions slightly widened their eyes, especially the guard. She was one of the beings who had directly witnessed Aldrian fight Tarius at that time. Under the Spirit Ancestor's orders, she and several others had gone to the Barisan Continent then.

Of course she recognized his face, it was the same as that giant avatar who had unleashed the most powerful strike she had ever witnessed.

She knew the Spirit Ancestor insisted on visiting this place now because she had seen something in her visions, though she herself could not understand it. Although they were both Celestial Night Spirits, her ability was nowhere near that of the Spirit Ancestor.

The only thing she knew was that the Spirit Ancestor had explained she saw a light would visit the phoenix territory, but the guard did not know which light it was. It could have been Aldrian, but she was not certain—there might have been another light in the Spirit Ancestor's vision.

Now it was confirmed. The light she had seen was this man, the one who had fought an immortal and saved the day.

The Spirit Ancestor's half-closed eyes, already wet with tears. As the tears began to fall, she moved as if to drop to her knees again, but Aldrian sighed and held her in place with the surrounding energy.

"Elder, please… this makes me uncomfortable. Don't fall to your knees every time you see me, Elder. I truly feel bad to make you act that way," he said, which made the Spirit Ancestor stop what she intended and remain seated.

"My apologies, Your Majesty. I was simply overwhelmed that I could finally see your glorious face directly. To live until this day and behold Your Majesty is truly my greatest blessing," the Spirit Ancestor said.

Aldrian only nodded.

"So, Elder, I suppose you know about the universe already being invaded by outside entities?" Aldrian asked.

The Spirit Ancestor nodded. "Yes, I know. And that is also why I chose not to ascend. If I ascend, I will encounter many of them. I fear I may be forced to act against my will, and even worse, I may end up betraying this universe."

Aldrian nodded again, while the others, hearing this for the first time, finally understood the reason she had chosen not to ascend. Even her own retainer and personal guard were surprised. They had already asked her in the past why she postponed her ascension, but she had only answered, "It's not the right time," leaving them no choice but to accept it.

But it seemed there was something deeper than that, and another question rose in their minds. Who were these invaders mentioned by this young man, and also known to the Spirit Ancestor? The universe being invaded? This was truly shocking news.

Aldrian knew the others here would not fully understand what he and the Spirit Ancestor were about to discuss if he did not explain it first. Now that the Spirit Ancestor had brought this topic into the open, he thought it was time for them to learn about the threat looming over the First Heaven and about these invaders.

Aldrian turned his gaze to the others in the room.

"I believe you must be curious about these invaders we mentioned, so I will tell you about them…" He began to explain how their universe was being invaded by beings from another universe, also revealing this to be the true source of the devils.

He did not go into too much detail, only laying out the general facts of the invasion, yet even that was enough to leave them utterly astonished.

When Aldrian finished, Shen Longwei's aura suddenly started to leak, his eyes turning cold.

"I see… so that's how it is, everything connects now," he said through clenched teeth.