Xia Ningshang stared at Yang Kai with a look of shock on her face, frozen in place.
She had never imagined that stars could be born, grow old, and die. Yang Kai's words had dealt her a tremendous blow.
But since these words had come from her Junior Brother's lips, she believed them without a shred of doubt.
The moment she thought of the entire Tongxuan Continent withered and desolate, plunged into deathly silence, Xia Ningshang's delicate body trembled uncontrollably. She couldn't imagine — if Tongxuan Continent truly met such a fate, how many living beings would suffer through that calamity, how many lives would simply vanish into nothingness.
Her heart ached suddenly.
"Junior Brother, can its light be rekindled?" Xia Ningshang blurted out.
Yang Kai turned his head to look at her and gave a gentle nod.
"How? Junior Brother, teach me!" Xia Ningshang bit her red lip, her voice urgent.
"The key lies with you." Yang Kai drew a deep breath. "Although the Star Source has its own life, it possesses no consciousness. It is a combination of many wondrous properties. It chose you — initially with the purpose of drawing upon your life force to replenish itself and delay its decline. But if handled well, not only can Tongxuan Continent be restored to vitality, you yourself will also gain tremendous benefits."
Xia Ningshang's expression trembled.
Yang Kai turned back around, clicking his tongue in admiration as he examined the massive grey flame below with keen interest.
The Star Source! Ever since he had entered the Star Domain, he had often heard of this thing, yet he had never personally witnessed the source power of any star.
Whether the energy hidden within the Suspended Continent was truly a source or not still remained to be verified.
In truth, the enormous grey flame before his eyes was the first Star Source he had ever laid eyes on!
This was an opportunity that came once in ten thousand years!
The source power was terrifying beyond measure. Anyone who wished to approach it had to shoulder enormous risk — even a Void King Realm powerhouse would not dare casually approach the Star Source of any Cultivation Star.
Refining it was even more fraught with difficulty. The slightest carelessness would result in a violent backlash from the source power, bringing death on the spot.
Throughout all of history, the Star Domain had produced many Void King Realm powerhouses. A considerable number of cultivators at that level had perished in the process of refining a Star Source.
In the current Star Domain, there were countless Cultivation Stars, yet those who had managed to refine the Star Source of a Cultivation Star and ascend to the rank of Star Lord could be counted on one hand.
No Void King Realm cultivator dared gamble so recklessly with their own life. They would far rather endure painstaking Cultivation than rashly attempt to refine a Star Source.
Yet now, such an opportunity had been placed before Xia Ningshang.
Compared to the sources of other Cultivation Stars, the source power of Tongxuan Continent was undoubtedly old and decrepit, its light fading like the setting sun.
It was precisely because of this that Xia Ningshang, who had a source power bonded to her, occasionally felt exhausted — so drained that she couldn't even be bothered to think, overcome by a sense of aging out of nowhere.
It wasn't that she herself was aging. It was the source that was withering, marching step by step toward its end!
This particular source power had chosen Xia Ningshang, granting her the qualification to refine it.
Though Xia Ningshang was only at the second level of the Saint King Realm and her cultivation was insufficient, if she possessed enough willpower and resolute courage, there was no reason she couldn't succeed in refining such a source.
Even Yang Kai couldn't help feeling a twinge of envy for her fortune!
Though it carried some danger, at this point the arrow was already on the bowstring — there was no choice but to see it through.
The source power and Xia Ningshang were tightly linked. If one suffered, both suffered; if one prospered, both prospered. Should the source perish, Xia Ningshang would inevitably be buried along with it. Only by refining it could she seize that sliver of hope.
As Xia Ningshang grew and grew stronger in the future, this massive grey flame would have the chance to rise from its ashes and restore Tongxuan Continent to life once more.
Of course, the prerequisite was that Xia Ningshang had to become powerful enough!
After laying out the reasoning and the stakes, Xia Ningshang nodded without a moment's hesitation. "I'm willing to refine it!"
Yang Kai was momentarily taken aback, then smiled and nodded. "Good. Actually, Senior Sister, you don't need to worry too much. Since it chose you, there must be a reason behind it. All you need to do is try your hardest, let it accept you, and merge with it. Once you succeed, the two of you will be inseparable forever. You will become the Star Lord of Tongxuan Continent — its master. The glory and ruin, the rise and fall of this land, will all rest upon a single thought of yours!"
"En." Xia Ningshang nodded firmly. She did not allow herself to be swept away by the promising future Yang Kai had described, and instead asked with a serious expression, "But what exactly must I do to refine it?"
"Here — I'll pass on a cultivation technique to you. It was created specifically for refining Star Sources." Yang Kai smiled faintly and pulled Xia Ningshang down to sit.
He had her lower the defenses of her Sea of Consciousness, then sent his Spiritual Soul into it, transmitting to her a technique of profound and extraordinary mystery.
The Star Refinement Art!
Something Yang Kai had obtained from the Emperor's Garden.
He had originally thought he wouldn't use it until the day he himself attempted to refine a Star Source. He hadn't expected Xia Ningshang to benefit from it ahead of time.
This technique had been hidden within a stone stele.
On that day inside the Emperor's Garden, Yang Kai had encountered Shan Qingluo and Xue Yue, and a fierce battle had ensued. The stele had been shattered, and from its fragments, a stone tablet had tumbled out, inscribed with three ancient characters.
Xue Yue had seemed to regard that stone tablet with great importance, pleading with Yang Kai to give it to her.
Yang Kai had very nearly done so.
In the end, however, the Emperor's Garden had closed before she could claim it, and the stone tablet slipped from her grasp.
After returning to the Lingxiao Sect, Yang Kai had studied the tablet carefully and discovered that what it contained was a technique called the Star Refinement Art. The three ancient characters on the tablet were none other than the name of the technique.
The technique served a single purpose — the refinement of a Star Source. It had been passed down from the Great Emperor of the Starry Sky, and its depths were truly extraordinary.