Chapter 319: Mysterious Runes, Chaotic Star River

At this very moment!

Li An stared intently at the mysterious gemstone in his hand. Stellar power surged within his palm, seeping into the gem strand by strand, as if resonating with this ancient heirloom.

"The power of this gemstone is far too great. We must first find a safe place and carefully study how to control it," Li An said, his look grave, his gaze sweeping over the dreamlike sea of stellar flowers around them, yet his vigilance had not relaxed in the slightest.

Teacher Hiratsuka Shizuka gave a slight nod, weapon gripped tightly in her hand, watching the surroundings closely: "Li An is right. This Stellar Sanctuary hides danger everywhere — we cannot afford to be careless."

Yukinoshita Haruno and Yuigahama Yui obediently drew close to Li An. The four of them searched through the sea of flowers together and finally found a hidden mountain cave.

After entering the cave, Li An placed the gemstone at its center, and the four sat around it. As Li An continuously channeled stellar power into it, the gemstone gradually levitated, the runes on its surface flickering with a faint glow, as if slowly recounting an ancient tale.

"These runes… seem to be an ancient stellar Cursed Technique. Perhaps it can help us wield stellar power better," Yukinoshita Haruno said, leaning in to observe, a gleam of wisdom in her eyes.

Following the guidance of the runes, Li An channeled stellar power to circulate within his body. His aura grew increasingly mighty, and behind him, a phantom image of twinkling stars faintly emerged.

"What an overwhelming feeling…" Yuigahama Yui exclaimed, her eyes full of admiration for Li An.

However, just as Li An was about to fully grasp the mysteries of the runes, a violent surge of energy suddenly came from outside the cave. Li An's face changed, and with a flash of his body he was at the cave entrance. He saw the sky outside shrouded in an eerie blood-red glow, and the once-brilliant stellar power seemed polluted by this evil force, becoming restless and uneasy.

"Not good — a powerful enemy is attacking, and this force… seems connected to stellar power. Everyone, be careful!" Li An shouted. The longsword in his hand hummed, stellar power coursing madly along its blade.

Teacher Hiratsuka Shizuka, Yukinoshita Haruno, and Yuigahama Yui quickly came to Li An's side and formed a defensive formation.

A moment later, a black shadow streaked out of the blood-light at tremendous speed and stopped not far from the cave. The figure was entirely cloaked in a black mantle, radiating a thick aura of evil, gripping in his hand a demonic staff that gleamed with blood-light. It was one of the avatars of the Sixth Heavenly Demon drawn here by the stellar power — Blood Demon Shadow.

"Hmph, to think that in this Stellar Sanctuary I would run into ants like you, and discover such a powerful stellar gemstone — heaven truly aids me! Hand over the gemstone obediently, or there is only death for you!" Blood Demon Shadow's voice was hoarse and icy, like a curse from hell.

Li An snorted coldly. Stellar power erupted from his body, illuminating the surroundings like a shining star: "You want the gemstone? You, who hides your head and shows only your tail? If you've got the skill, come and take it!"

Blood Demon Shadow flew into a rage. With a swing of his demonic staff, a blood-red river of stars surged toward Li An and the others. The river carried a powerful corrosive force — wherever it passed, flowers and grass withered instantly, and rocks were eroded into a thousand holes.

Li An's eyes grew sharp. With a swing of his longsword, a stellar sword-qi slashed toward the blood-red river of stars. The two collided with a tremendous crash, and the powerful shockwave caused the surrounding space itself to tremble.

"Stellar Body Protection!" Li An roared. A layer of stellar shield enveloped the group, withstanding Blood Demon Shadow's follow-up attacks.

"Everyone, attack together — don't give him a chance to catch his breath!" Li An shouted, his body flashing as he charged at Blood Demon Shadow.

Teacher Hiratsuka Shizuka swung her long blade, its light flashing fiercely, every strike carrying a fierce momentum aimed at Blood Demon Shadow's vital points. Yukinoshita Haruno's hands blazed with magical light, elemental force under her control transforming into lethal attacks that shot toward Blood Demon Shadow. Yuigahama Yui was not to be outdone either — her water magic ceaselessly disrupted Blood Demon Shadow's movements, creating openings in his attacks.

Under the combined assault of the four, Blood Demon Shadow gradually weakened, but the madness in his eyes only grew more intense.

"You detestable wretches — you actually hurt me! But this is only the beginning…" Blood Demon Shadow roared, suddenly plunging his demonic staff into the ground and forming eerie hand seals with both hands.

In an instant, the surrounding space began to twist. Countless blood-shadows surged up from underground and pounced toward Li An and the others. These blood-shadows were ghostly in form, extremely fast, and possessed strong regenerative ability — once scattered, they would quickly coalesce again.

Seeing this, Li An's gaze grew even more resolute. He drew a deep breath, and the stellar power within him surged wildly, gathering upon his longsword.

"Stellar Sacred Soul, awaken!" Li An roared. Around his body, a colossal stellar phantom suddenly materialized. This stellar phantom was as solid as substance, radiating an ancient and mighty aura — it was the primordial Sacred Soul of stellar power.

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After the Stellar Sacred Soul appeared, the surrounding stellar power seemed to answer its summons, converging from all directions to form a powerful energy storm. Wielding his longsword and empowered by the Stellar Sacred Soul, Li An unleashed a sword strike of unprecedented might.

"Star-Destroying Sword!" Li An slashed out. A colossal sword-qi imbued with the power of the Stellar Sacred Soul surged toward Blood Demon Shadow and the blood-shadows. Wherever the sword-qi passed, space itself was torn apart; the blood-shadows were instantly obliterated, and even Blood Demon Shadow was sent flying by this tremendous force, a great mouthful of fresh blood spraying from his lips.

"Th-this… how is this possible?" Blood Demon Shadow stared at Li An in terror, disbelief flooding his eyes.

Li An snorted coldly. His body flashed, and in an instant he was before Blood Demon Shadow, the longsword in his hand pressed against his throat: "Now, do you have any last words?"

A flash of resolve crossed Blood Demon Shadow's eyes, and he suddenly burst into wild laughter: "Do you think killing this avatar of mine will stop the great Sixth Heavenly Demon's plan? You will all become sacrifices for my lord. This Stellar Sanctuary, and even the entire world, will be devoured by my lord's dark power…"

Li An's eyes turned cold. With a forceful slash of his longsword, Blood Demon Shadow's head tumbled down, dissolving into a cloud of blood mist that scattered into the air.

With Blood Demon Shadow's death, the polluted stellar power in the surroundings gradually returned to normal, yet Li An's expression was still grave.

"The Sixth Heavenly Demon's power is far too great, and he seems to have already become aware of the Stellar Sanctuary's secrets. We must move faster and find a way to counter him," Li An said, a firm determination shining in his eyes.

Teacher Hiratsuka Shizuka stepped forward and patted Li An's shoulder: "Li An, no matter what difficulties we face, we are with you."

Yukinoshita Haruno and Yuigahama Yui also nodded one after another, expressing their support for Li An.

Looking at everyone, a warm current welled up in Li An's heart: "Thank you, everyone. Let's return to the cave first and continue studying this stellar gemstone — perhaps it can give us some clues."

After the four returned to the cave, they once again sat around the stellar gemstone. Through this battle, Li An's control over stellar power had grown more adept. Under his guidance, more information gradually surfaced from the runes on the gemstone.

"This mentions a place… the Chaotic Star River. It seems the key power to counter the Sixth Heavenly Demon is hidden there," Li An said, a gleam of hope shining in his eyes.

"Then let's go to the Chaotic Star River!" Yuigahama Yui said without hesitation seven..