Chapter 464: The Shi Chui Tribe

"Hmph."

The Star Lord of Tiankui let out a cold snort, his figure flickering before vanishing into the earth.

Beneath the ground, a fierce battle invisible to outsiders had erupted.

The pale yellow silhouette of a mountain and the ink-black torrent of corruption repeatedly clashed and strangled each other, their muffled energy fluctuations vibrating through thick rock layers, causing surface stones to rattle and roll.

Meanwhile, the Star Lord of Dikong also vanished without a sound.

His battle lacked the grandeur of the Star Lord of Pojun and the earth-shaking force of the Star Lord of Tiankui.

He merely located the second convergence point marked by the Star Lord of Tianfu, then merged his form into the void, and in a moment too swift for even divine sense to catch, his short blade swept across with casual ease.

The corruption spawn, a cluster of countless tiny corruptions entrenched within the fissure, did not even manage a complete cry of anguish before being precisely sliced apart by spatial cutting force—along with the fissure space it inhabited—crushed and annihilated.

【Star Lord of Dikong has eliminated the second target.】

【Star Lord of Tiankui is engaged in combat, estimated completion within thirty breaths.】

On the Star Lord of Tianfu's starry compass, information scrolled with orderly precision.

The Shi Chui chieftain and the two Shi Gui watched all this from the side.

They said nothing, but their slightly forward-leaning postures and the intensifying glow within their stone eyes betrayed their inner shock.

For the Shi Gui, accustomed to slowly chiseling through rock over vast spans of time, these Star Gods' methods of purifying corruption.

Overwhelming, thunderous, precise as a surgeon's scalpel—they were beings of an entirely different dimension.

Twenty-nine breaths later.

Boom!

At the very center of the mine, the ground surged violently upward, then exploded outward.

In its final instant before total collapse, a jet of ink-black corruption, laced with countless twisted, tormented faces, defiantly erupted skyward!

But in the next instant, a larger, denser shadow of dark-gold mountain burst from beneath the earth and slammed down with crushing force.

The corruption jet shattered and vanished inch by inch.

Along with it rose the Star Lord of Tiankui's pale face and slightly heaving chest, yet his gaze remained as steady as bedrock.

"Geopulse node cleared. All three corruption spawns eliminated." His voice remained deep and resonant.

【All core sources of corruption have been eliminated】

On the Star Lord of Tianfu's starry compass, all three light points extinguished.

"Good!"

The Star Lord of Pojun now emerged from the mine tunnel, the last traces of corrupted blood dripping from his silver spear, instantly vaporized by radiant light.

Though his breath was slightly unsteady, his battle spirit burned high, "What's next?"

"What comes next is my affair with Wu Qu." The Star Lord of Tianfu tucked away his compass and stepped forward.

He hovered above the center of the mine, slowly raising his hands; the starry compass reappeared, spinning faster now, glowing brighter, as if straining to draw in something immense.

"Star Lord of Wu Quxing, use your purifying power to guide the landing points of my Cleansing Flame."

The Star Lord of Tianfu intoned, "The main ore vein here runs northeast-southwest, with seventeen subsidiary veins. I need you to lock each terminal node of these veins with your divine sense. My Cleansing Flame will ignite from those points and burn backward toward the core."

"Understood."

Chen Mu drew a deep breath and rose into the air, hovering just behind and to the side of the Star Lord of Tianfu.

He spread his divine sense to its fullest extent; the heightened perception from his Four Cauldrons Body and the refined spiritual power cultivated through the Starry Transformation scripture now proved invaluable.

Soon, he "saw" the terminal nodes most deeply corrupted—each like a wound needing final suturing.

Only by completely eradicating the residual corruption in these nodes could the entire ore vein truly be restored to purity.

"First subsidiary vein, northeast side… coordinates marked."

"Third subsidiary vein, southwest side… marked."

"Lateral branch from the main vein's center…"

Chen Mu spoke rapidly; each time he named a location, a concentrated beam of light shot from his fingertip, piercing precisely into the corresponding spot underground—like a series of locator beacons.

The Star Lord of Tianfu no longer waited.

His hand seals shifted; the starry compass trembled violently, and from its center erupted a beam of extreme refinement—a brilliant silver-white light resembling flowing flame!

This was no ordinary starlight—it was the "Northern Dipper Cleansing Flame," summoned and condensed by the Star Lord of Tianfu's Tiangong realm true energy!

This flame was no ordinary fire; it did not burn physical matter, but specialized in scorching yin evils, corruption, resentment, and curses.

Under the Star Lord of Tianfu's control, the silver-white column of Cleansing Flame moved like a living serpent, plunging into the first subsidiary node Chen Mu had marked.

Ssshh—

Deep beneath the earth, came a faint sound, like a red-hot iron rod inserted into snow.

The Cleansing Flame spread swiftly along the subsidiary veins toward the main vein, burning away all residual, stubborn traces of corruption as if they were their natural enemy—without even struggling, they were utterly incinerated into nothingness.

The Star Lord of Tianfu's expression was grim, beads of sweat forming on his brow.

Even with his cultivation, simultaneously guiding the Cleansing Flame to precisely burn seventeen complex underground veins while avoiding damage to the ore itself demanded immense energy—and even greater mental strain.

Chen Mu, beside him, continuously marked the next terminal node needing "continuation," adjusting to the speed and direction of the Cleansing Flame's advance, ensuring seamless, flawless purification across the entire mine network.

Though their coordination was not perfectly seamless, it was unexpectedly efficient.

One pointed, the other burned—like a pair of seasoned partners who had worked together for years.

Roughly fifteen minutes later, when the final traces of corruption in the seventeenth subsidiary node were utterly incinerated, the entire underground ore vein network of the black obsidian mine was finally free of all residual corruption.

The Star Lord of Tianfu slowly retracted the Cleansing Flame; the starry compass dimmed, and he exhaled a long, weary breath, his voice tinged with unmistakable fatigue.

"Main ore vein of the mine purified."

Simultaneously, deprived of corruption sources and the dark, yin energy of the geopulse, the remaining, greatly thinned emerald-green mists on the surface—now rootless—began naturally dissipating.

The Star Lord of Pojun casually slashed out a sharp silver spearwind, accelerating the mist's dispersal.

Roughly one incense stick later, the corruption-laden fog that had shrouded the mine for so long vanished completely.

Sunlight streamed through cracks in the ancient ruin's dome, falling upon the black rock layers that had finally revealed their true faces.

Deep and serene, their surfaces shimmered with tiny, starlike glimmers.

The obsidian mining zone had been purified.

The Shi Hui leader, accompanied by the two Shi Gui, stepped slowly into the depths of the mining zone.

He bent down, extended his massive stone hand, and gently caressed a bare obsidian ore.

The ore was cool and smooth, its interior faintly flickering with starlike specks, pure and flawless.

"Cleaned…"

The Shi Hui leader's thought-voice came—this time, not a brief note of satisfaction or admiration, but a heavy, weighty solemnity, burdened by the passage of ages.

"This mining zone was discovered by my ancestors seventeen hundred years ago. For eight hundred years, we mined it, nurturing countless generations of our people's tools, weapons, and totem poles."

"Three hundred years ago, it was tainted. For three centuries, we tried burning it with earthfire, drilling through the rock layers, even offering our own divine souls as sacrifice—none worked."

It rose, turning toward the Five Star Gods.

Its face, carved from hard blue rock, showed no expression, yet conveyed an utmost solemnity.

"You have done it. Three hundred years of filth, cleansed in a single day."

The Shi Hui leader's thought-voice was as steady as stone: "The Shi Hui tribe owes you a debt—not a transaction, but a bond of kinship."

With a wave of his hand, the two Shi Gui behind him turned and marched heavily toward the desert.

About two watches later, they returned, each carrying several large baskets woven from tough vines and lined with soft animal hides.

Inside the baskets lay neatly stacked, evenly sized, high-quality obsidian ores.

Each piece glowed a deep, profound black, refracting fine silver light like stars under sunlight, pure and flawless, bearing not a trace of contamination.

These were the Shi Gui tribe's three-century treasure— the final batch of pure ores mined and carefully sealed before the pollution.

"These are our thanks," came the Shi Hui leader's thought-voice.

The Po Jun Star Lord made no refusal, gesturing for the Tian Fu Star Lord to accept them.

These obsidian ores contained pure energy, greatly beneficial to their cultivation.

The Shi Hui leader turned to Chen Mu.

After a moment of silence, his thought-voice carried a unique solemnity, reserved only for the "Recognized One."

"Your body is like starsteel forged through a thousand hammerings. Though today you were not the main force in purifying the mine, you kept your promise, mediated between us, and aided with your divine awareness to locate the contamination—this integrity and cooperation, my tribe has seen clearly."

With another wave of his hand, another Shi Gui reached into his chest and withdrew a dark-gold metal, no larger than an adult's fist yet unnaturally heavy, offering it reverently with both hands.

"This is 'Earthheart Starvein Steel,' a rare treasure born where earthfire and starlight converge. My tribe has preserved three pieces—this is one of them."

The Shi Hui leader's thought-voice held a trace of reluctance, but mostly solemnity: "Your cultivation art is grand and righteous, resonating with the stars and bound to the earth. I bestow this upon you—it may be forged into a divine weapon, or melted into armor—so its nature is not wasted."

Chen Mu took the dark-gold metal; it felt slightly heavy, and he clearly sensed within it a vast, pure, perfectly balanced energy—both the weight of the earth and the sharpness of the stars.

The natural silver vortex patterns on its surface slowly swirled under starlight, like a miniature galaxy.

"Thank you, Shi Hui leader," Chen Mu said solemnly.

He understood: this gift surpassed "transaction." It was the Shi Gui tribe's recognition of the "Star Gods" as a group—and especially of his personal virtue of keeping his word.

The Shi Hui leader gave a slight nod, his thought-voice carrying a rare warmth, like rock weathered over countless millennia.

"May our friendship, like this obsidian vein, lie deep beneath the earth, enduring through ten thousand ages without decay."

Then he turned and, with his tribe members, slowly walked into the depths of the desert.

His towering stone silhouette, framed by the ancient ruin's gray mist, resembled a moving ancient mountain—silent, resilient, unchanging since time immemorial.

The Five Star Gods watched the Shi Gui tribe depart.

"The matter here is concluded."

The Tian Fu Star Lord murmured, "We should return. Ju Men still recovers in the Star Palace; Tian Xi must be anxious."

"Let's go."

The Po Jun Star Lord drew forth the Star Token, casting one final glance at the now-purified mining zone.

Shhh—shhh~

Starlight flared in succession; five figures vanished one after another into the void, swallowed by the vast gray mist of the ancient ruin…