The Shining Star Above The Heaven-Chapter 487: The Strangeness of the Secret Place

Once Aldrian successfully built his domain, another surge of power flowed through him. His cultivation rose again, and he finally broke through to the High Duke stage—but it didn’t stop there. Since he had already been close to breaking through before he arrived, the creation of the empire’s domain gave him a high starting point.

After reaching the High Duke stage, his cultivation continued to rise. The energy within him kept growing, nearing the threshold of the Peak Duke stage. A few seconds later, he finally reached it, and it kept rising still, before finally slowed down at the midpoint of the Peak Duke stage.

Emperor Herman, watching everything unfold, felt like he was seeing something out of a fantasy. Someone breaking through stages as easily as breathing made him start to question Aldrian’s existence.

By now, he was convinced that Aldrian was not human in the way others were. He might appear human, but Herman believed he was something entirely different—some other kind of being with a cultivation constitution far beyond his knowledge.

There was no way a true human could do something like this without harming their body. A sudden rise in energy would tear the meridians or even destroy the dantian if it was not stabilized properly after a breakthrough.

The cultivation foundation of someone who focuses on speed tends to be fragile. It can collapse if they force their cultivation to endure too much strain.

For example, unleashing a complex technique that demands a large amount of energy and a high cultivation stage can backfire. If their foundation cannot withstand the burden of the technique, their cultivation may collapse, causing them to drop in level or even become crippled entirely.

Another example is when someone attempts to break through to a higher stage, such as the Duke stage. They often struggle due to the weakness of their foundation. Even if they succeed, they might only be able to exert power equivalent to the peak of the Marquess stage.

The strength behind each attack from a cultivator with a weak foundation is far less than the same attack performed by someone with a stable foundation at the same level.

This does not even take into account the cultivator’s comprehension, which is important in supporting the cultivation process, or other factors that must be considered before attempting a breakthrough.

In short, breaking through, especially at levels like the Duke stage and above, is not a simple or easy matter.

That was common knowledge in the cultivation world—something most cultivators with high aspirations tried to avoid. Only foolish and reckless individuals would sacrifice their foundation just to reach a higher level more quickly.

But what about Aldrian? From the emperor’s observation, it was clear that Aldrian’s cultivation foundation remained solid despite the speed of his breakthroughs.

The last time Aldrian had been in the Vindas Empire, he was still at the Marquess stage. Then, more than a year later, news came that he had already reached the Duke stage while causing chaos in the Atria Empire.

Now, he had broken through again—this time to the Peak Duke stage. The emperor could even sense that Aldrian was already halfway toward another breakthrough, to the Grand Duke stage.

Aldrian also possesses incredible strength, allowing him to battle across levels—something only cultivators with both genius and a solid foundation can achieve. Many noble descendants are considered geniuses and can cross levels in battle, so that’s not too surprising for most.

Aldrian being able to cross battles wouldn’t be too amazing... that is, if he could only cross a level or two of minor stages.

In Aldrian’s case, he was able to fight against someone at the Emperor stage while he was still at the Marquess stage in the past. That’s already beyond the realm of what common sense can explain. It can’t simply be attributed to genius or anything of the sort.

Anyone who can battle an Emperor-stage cultivator while still at the Marquess stage has transcended the knowledge and comprehension built over countless generations.

Looking at Aldrian’s figure now, Emperor Herman felt an urge to prostrate towards him. Aldrian exuded an aura much stronger than ever before after reaching the Peak Duke stage, and his presence had become more and more like that of a true monarch, radiating a regal aura. Even if he simply stood there, doing nothing, it was clear to anyone that Aldrian was no ordinary person.

Once the surge in his cultivation stopped, Aldrian exhaled a mouthful of air and opened his eyes. His aura receded and returned to his body. He looked at his hands, clenching them a few times to feel the new power inside him.

A satisfied smile appeared on his face, and after a moment he looked at the sword. There was no trigger for a vision or anything of that sort, so he thought he was done here, as there was nothing left that interested him.

Aldrian turned his body to look at Emperor Herman.

"Thank you for the chance to cultivate here, Your Majesty. I truly appreciate it," he said with gratitude, giving a slight bow towards the emperor. The gesture made Herman flinch slightly, snapping him out of his trance. He looked at Aldrian for a moment before unconsciously releasing a sigh.

"You are truly an anomaly," he said. "I really can’t understand you. To be honest, I’m slightly scared by your absurdity. This is the first time I’ve encountered someone like you, so I apologize."

Aldrian smiled at the emperor.

"Well, what can I say? I didn’t choose to be this way—I’ve been different since the day I was born. All I can do is take advantage of my unique condition and use it to contribute to society."

Emperor Herman smiled at Aldrian. He was truly down to earth, not pompous like some cultivators who, after gaining a little strength, immediately became showy and arrogant, caring little for others. He found himself liking Aldrian more and more.

"Right, Your Majesty, I’ve been wondering about this place. Why is the secret location for storing the imperial family’s legacy artifacts here? Normally, wouldn’t the secret vault or storage place for such items be within the imperial palace area? Isn’t that safer and easier to access than a place so far away from the palace?"

Emperor Herman nodded.

"Right, Your question is understandable. This place was built during the era of the first emperor. As for why this location was chosen? Well, it’s because the first emperor himself ordered it."

"At one time, the first emperor reached the state of enlightenment while cultivating after he got the scale of the dragon. What kind of enlightenment? The records don’t go into detail. However, since that time, the emperor ordered that this place be used as the secret location for storing the legacy artifact. He also gave strict orders that the storage place should never be moved."

He paused for a moment, then continued. "We keep this place here because of the first emperor’s order, but the true reason why he chose this place remains a mystery. We’ve never dared to move it because the first emperor warned, and it’s written in the records, that if the secret location were ever moved, it would bring chaos and disaster. And so, it remains here to this day."

Aldrian frowned upon hearing that. The place of enlightenment? After that, the first emperor chose this spot to store the legacy artifact? Aldrian felt there had to be more to it. The first emperor must have experienced something during that enlightenment for him to suddenly choose this place and leave behind such a warning.

Something big—something Aldrian had missed when he stepped into this place.

He spread his senses across the entire secret area, extending even to the mountain itself, but still found nothing unusual. Everything seemed normal, which only deepened his confusion.

What made the emperor give such a warning? Why this place? What had he missed?

Aldrian turned his gaze toward the Heavenly Dragon Sword, then looked at Emperor Herman.

"Your Majesty, may I touch the sword? I want to make sure of something," he said.

The emperor raised his eyebrows but still nodded.

"Of course you can, but be careful. As is commonly known, divine-grade artifacts already have their own consciousness. This is our family’s legacy artifact, so it might try to reject you, or even harm you."

"If the sword shows any sign of rejection, release your hand immediately."

Aldrian nodded. "Alright."

He floated toward the platform and landed in front of the sword. Without hesitation, he reached out and touched the blade, which was forged from Long Shentian’s scale. The sword trembled, but before it could react further, Aldrian released his golden energy and enveloped the sword in it.

The sword stopped trembling, and Aldrian could even sense the feeling coming from it—it happily accepted his golden energy. However, after a few seconds, he withdrew his hand from the blade, a confused expression forming on his face.

"There’s no reaction."

No hidden will of a dragon. Nothing special at all. It felt like a "normal" divine-grade artifact.

He then tried to use the thread of origin to look into the past, but what he saw were scattered fragments of visions with no clear connection to what he wanted to find. After thinking for a few moments, he finally found a possible reason.

"The dragon scale that already became the sword is mixed with other materials. If I want to focus on the dragon scale alone, I’ll have to separate each of the materials," Aldrian thought with a sigh.

His comprehension of the thread of origin was still insufficient for dealing with mixed objects.

"Forget it. Maybe I’ll uncover the mystery behind this place in the future." With that, he turned back to the emperor’s side.