The "Lesser Shattered Star Chambers" were generally rented out to cultivators below the Golden Core realm for alchemy and artifact crafting. The underground "Shattered Star Chambers," on the other hand, were typically provided for the use of the sect's Foundation Establishment cultivators and above, as well as the sect's core elite disciples for their alchemy and crafting needs.
However, if one was willing to pay a significant price, the "Shattered Star Chambers" could also be rented out to ordinary disciples, provided they could afford the large amount of spirit stones. In addition, if your realm was not high enough, or if you had not cultivated the "Shattered Star Ice-Fire Manual" past the eighth layer, the only outcome awaiting you would be Fire Poison entering your body and being incinerated by raging flames. When your Sea of Consciousness shattered, the only path left was for your Dao to dissipate and your body to perish. After cultivating the "Shattered Star Ice-Fire Manual" to the eighth layer, one could briefly perform alchemy and artifact refining within.
Therefore, Falling Star Valley had this rule, mainly aimed at those ambitious disciples in the sect, to prevent them from overestimating their abilities and perishing on the spot.
In previous years, as long as one was willing to spend spirit stones and Sect Contribution Points, the "Lesser Shattered Star Chambers" could be rented. Although the requirements for the "Shattered Star Chambers" were high, if one's cultivation met the criteria and with some connections, they could still be rented.
However, starting from the beginning of last year, the sect's rules changed. Each person could only rent a "Lesser Shattered Star Chamber" for a cumulative total of seventy-two hours per month. The "Shattered Star Chambers" were temporarily only available to disciples who had been in the sect for more than fifteen years, and this condition also applied to newly joined Foundation Establishment cultivators, with no exceptions.
This change had a negligible impact on new disciples like Li Yan. But for some of the Foundation Establishment rogue cultivators who had recently joined Falling Star Valley, as well as elite disciples who had been in the sect for less than fifteen years, it was a source of great complaint. Many even went directly to the Sect Master, Lin Xinghe, but were all refused. He stated that he would consider the matter and would naturally open them up when possible. After all, the frequent use of the Earth Fire Spirit Vein over the years meant that the rate of consumption far outpaced the rate at which the spirit vein could generate earth fire. Much of it had already shown signs of grey mist, and it could currently only be used for the sect's own operations. It could only be used when crafting high-grade medicinal pills and spirit artifacts for external trade.
"However, this phenomenon will gradually change within five to fifteen years. What do these years count for to a cultivator? It's often just the length of a single seclusion."
The Sect Master's reply left many people particularly disappointed, especially those rogue cultivators who had joined Falling Star Valley because of its reputation. Most of them were cultivators at the ninth layer of Qi Condensation or above, and there were even three powerful cultivators who had already reached Foundation Establishment. They were not like the newly entered disciples such as Li Yan, who needed several years just to familiarize themselves with herbs and refining materials to build a foundation.
Afterward, they only needed to use the "Shattered Star Ice-Fire Manual" they had cultivated to condense flames and slowly simulate the refining process. When they felt confident enough to start refining pills and artifacts, they would then go and rent a "Lesser Shattered Star Chamber" for formal alchemy and crafting. The currently provided seventy-two hours, which is six days, was completely sufficient for them. They didn't need to refine pills of the third rank or higher, nor did they need to craft mid or high-grade spirit artifacts.
Usually, a single refining session of three to five days was already their limit, and that was with constantly consuming qi-replenishing pills. If more time was provided, they themselves couldn't continue to consume pills and refine. The pill poison and Fire Poison accumulated in their bodies would reach a certain level, and they would have to leave to meditate and expel it. Not to mention those low-level disciples who were just trying to start refining; they would often leave on their own after one or two hours. Either the materials they prepared were exhausted, or they couldn't withstand the corrosion of the earth fire's poison. In short, what was most valued in Falling Star Valley was actually the underground "Shattered Star Chambers."
Li Yan had more or less figured out these circumstances during this period. However, this matter left him extremely frustrated. He felt that his luck was simply terrible; he had missed the window by just one year and run into this mess.
He had once been to the "Shattered Star Grotto," on the surface just a curious new disciple. There were many cultivators who went there with the same mindset, mostly new members of Falling Star Valley, so Li Yan's presence there didn't attract any attention.
A "Lesser Shattered Star Chamber" could be rented for one low-grade spirit stone for four hours. This fee was already frighteningly high for a Qi Condensation cultivator. The sect only gave them three spirit stones a month, and for their own cultivation, these three spirit stones weren't even enough. So those low-level disciples had to sacrifice some cultivation time to do sect missions, such as cleaning the sect, helping to classify herbs, refining low-level demonic beast bones into liquid, sorting through waste pills in the Waste Pill Chamber, and various other tasks. This was to earn some spirit stones and Sect Contribution Points to supplement their wallets. Every spirit stone they had was saved by scrimping and saving.
Therefore, low-level cultivators usually used flames conjured from their spirit power to repeatedly practice alchemy and artifact refining techniques. Only when they were proficient would they go to the "Shattered Star Grotto" to actually start a furnace. This was not only to save on rental spirit stones but more so because they were worried about wasting raw materials. That was the real money-swallowing beast, a bottomless pit. If they ruined a batch of raw materials, they might remain in a state of insolvency for years, even decades.
For new disciples like Li Yan to go and see the "Shattered Star Grotto" was firstly to familiarize themselves with the place, and secondly to experience the environment there. Very few people were willing to spend spirit stones to rent a chamber for testing right away.
Although Li Yan didn't care about that small amount of spirit stones and even really wanted to take a closer look at the earth fire, that would not be in line with his current identity. He was just like the others, standing on the periphery, waiting for the brief moment when someone came out of a "Lesser Shattered Star Chamber" to get a slight feel of the earth fire's aura.
Of course, Li Yan would take advantage of the moment someone opened a door, when no one was paying attention, to instantly invade the "Lesser Shattered Star Chamber" with his Divine Sense. In his senses, the scorching heat of the room held a hint of coldness. The earth fire had been resealed after use, so he couldn't sense much else. However, Li Yan had previously stayed in some alchemy rooms on Lord Lao Peak and had also spent a long time in the Flame Palace within the Northern Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda. He had his own judgment regarding the sensation of heat. Li Yan guessed that the grade of the earth fire in the "Lesser Shattered Star Chamber" was probably a bit higher than that of the ordinary alchemy and artifact refining rooms on Lord Lao Peak.
But this still didn't reach the level Li Yan needed in his heart. The Gui-Yi Water-Parting Spike had specific requirements for the fire vein used in its refining.
Based on the information Li Yan had gathered, coupled with his own sensing of the ground temperature at the "Shattered Star Grotto," the earth fire in the underground "Shattered Star Chambers" should be four to six times denser than the one above. Earth fire of that level would meet the requirements for refining the Gui-Yi Water-Parting Spike.
In the courtyard, Li Yan rested his chin on his hand, repeatedly thinking it over. For a moment, he even had the idea of risking a sneak into the underground of the "Shattered Star Grotto" and using the "Heaven-Stealing Kerchief" to force his way in. But it was just a thought. Things hadn't reached that point yet.
Although the "Heaven-Stealing Kerchief" was powerful, it wasn't a treasure that could break all the restrictions in the world. If things went wrong, not only would he fail to enter the "Shattered Star Chamber," but he would also alert the Golden Core cultivators in the valley. Then all his previous preparations would have been a waste of time. And the endless pursuit that would follow was something Li Yan least wanted to see.
Li Yan suddenly thought of two people: the pair of exceptionally talented youths who had entered Falling Star Valley with him, Tian Denghu and Feng Tao. The last time he went to the "Shattered Star Grotto," he happened to see the two of them standing not far away. It was just that they were standing right next to the "Lesser Shattered Star Chambers," unlike Li Yan and the others who stood at a distance.
As for their cultivation realms, Feng Tao had already reached the seventh layer of Qi Condensation, and Tian Denghu was at the sixth layer. It was said that their cultivation of the "Shattered Star Ice-Fire Manual" was also advancing by leaps and bounds; they had reached the fourth and fifth layers respectively. Especially Feng Tao, in just six short months, had broken through consecutively, her realm jumping two small levels. Her talent was astonishing.
After the "Shattered Star Ice-Fire Manual" broke through to the third layer, the vibrant life force within the conjured flames could be integrated into the refined materials during alchemy and artifact refining. So, it wouldn't be long before they entered the "Lesser Shattered Star Chambers" to start their furnaces.
"It's inevitable that these two will become elite disciples of the sect. As their cultivation improves, their desire to use the 'Shattered Star Chambers' will become more and more urgent. Perhaps this point can be used..."
The fact that Feng Tao and Tian Denghu were taken as disciples by Foundation Establishment cultivators was known to many disciples, so there was naturally some discussion about it. After all, new disciples who were immediately accepted by two of the sect's experts were few and far between.
Li Yan had heard about those two Foundation Establishment cultivators. It was said that they were also martial brothers, and their master was a Golden Core elder of Falling Star Valley. This Golden Core elder had taken three disciples in total and had left the sect to travel far and wide a long time ago. It was said to have been over a hundred years, and he might have already perished outside.
What a Golden Core cultivator represented in a second-rate sect, even if his life or death was unknown, his residual influence still remained. It was said that his three disciples were also very powerful in the sect. This was a case of leaning against a big tree. Feng Tao and Tian Denghu's cultivation progress was astonishingly fast, and with this connection, their status was invisibly different.
Falling Star Valley was fundamentally based on alchemy and artifact refining. Li Yan felt that as these two's realms rapidly increased, their desire to use the "Shattered Star Chambers" was probably several times stronger than that of ordinary disciples like them. Although the "Shattered Star Chambers" were now said to be available only for special sect refining, where in this world was there true fairness?
'It seems there's still an opportunity to be found, but I have to wait for the right time! At the same time, I need to pay more attention to the other elite disciples in the sect.'
After some consideration, Li Yan concluded that apart from risking a sneak-in, he could only wait for an opportunity. But he didn't want to wait too long and pin all his hopes on Feng Tao and Tian Denghu. He felt it was better to pay more attention to the movements of the older elite disciples.
Just as Li Yan was looking for a good opportunity to enter the "Shattered Star Chambers," a major event occurred after another half a month had passed.
One day, news suddenly came from the outside. A team from Falling Star Valley, escorting goods for trade, was ambushed and completely killed six thousand li away from the sect. The items they were carrying, including one magical treasure and seven high-grade spirit artifacts, were all lost. In the escort team, a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator and six Qi Condensation disciples were all killed, with no survivors.
When this news reached the sect, it caused a tremendous shock throughout Falling Star Valley. This was no longer just a matter of compensating the client for their losses. More importantly, someone dared to ambush and kill their own cultivators within Falling Star Valley's sphere of influence.
What a Foundation Establishment cultivator meant to a second-rate sect... they were the pillars of the sect. The entire sect only had thirteen Foundation Establishment cultivators in total, and many of them were not skilled in combat, focusing wholeheartedly on alchemy and artifact refining. Those who could be sent out on missions were often experienced and skilled in fighting, yet they had perished without any warning.
Just as Sect Master Lin Xinghe was enraged and personally went out to search for clues, a series of other unfortunate events occurred. Another nine Falling Star Valley disciples, who were either out training or on missions, went missing one after another. Everything happened quietly. No one saw any related battles, or perhaps those who did also disappeared from this world.