Chapter 1015: Disguise

"Since you are so afraid…" A plan that is almost insane, yet forged with a cold edge honed in desperation, gradually takes shape in Han Wuxian's mind, like a venomous snake's eye quietly lighting up in the darkness.

"You fear the 'light' on my body approaching the Star Sea Map… then I'll let this 'light' become the deadliest bait! Let you yourselves deliver it before the Star Sea Map!"

Idea suddenly clears!

He cannot reveal his identity, cannot approach the Shengming Sect headquarters as Han Wuxian. Both arms are useless, combat power plummets, forcing a breach is a death trap. But he can exploit Shengming Sect's extreme sensitivity and aversion to "light"!

He must disguise himself as a… carrier!

A specimen captured by Shengming Sect, bearing the special "Light Path Starry Power"… or more precisely, a "dangerous item" being tightly escorted, destined for a core location for "research" or "destruction"!

The core of this plan rests on two points:

He must completely alter his aura and condition, masquerading as gravely wounded, dying, unable to resist, with only that bit of "light" as a conspicuous trait. Let Shengming Sect members deem him harmless, merely a "object" needing retrieval and study.

He must deliberately expose that bit of "light" aura, but keep it at a "weak, unstable, seemingly about to dissipate" level. This faint aura is enough to attract the Star Scar Guard tasked with investigation to "recover". He will then use those escorting him as a "pass" into Shengming Sect's core forbidden zone!

The risk is huge! If the disguise is uncovered, or he is "destroyed" during escort, he will die without a burial place.

Yet compared with the current dire situation—both arms useless, trapped in death, ever‑present threat of being devoured by sea beasts or succumbing to worsening wounds—this is almost the only risky move that might bring him close to the goal, perhaps even find a cure for his arms!

"Place me in a death trap… then reborn!" A near‑obsessive ruthlessness flashes in Han Wuxian's eyes. His concern for Yan Xirou, his duty to Qinghe Fairy, and the deep‑seated hatred brought by the Silver Robe Nascent Soul all turn into fuel for this mad scheme.

He painfully introspects. The injuries to both arms are horrific—bones shattered, multiple main veins completely severed and necrotic, corroded by that terrifying Starry Silence Power; ordinary pills cannot mend them.

He clenches his teeth, using his remaining shen consciousness and faint spiritual energy, carefully guiding the medicinal force, not to heal but to seal!

He channels all mobilizable spiritual energy, like a mason, to tightly seal the ends of the broken meridians and bone surfaces of his arms, preventing further deterioration, while also locking the lingering life force and spiritual wave of the arms, turning them into two inert "dead objects", avoiding any spiritual leakage that would expose the disguise.

Simultaneously, he fully contracts the qi sea in his dantian and the heart meridian, retaining only the faint yet pure "Light Path Starry Power" that is tightly linked to Qinghe Fairy's star map imprint.

He gently guides this power outward, as if igniting an extremely weak oil lamp inside his body, its flame nearly exhausted, letting its aura flicker intermittently across his surface.

This aura must be weak enough to simulate a gravely wounded, dying state, yet pure enough to be clearly captured by the Star Scar Guard's tracking methods.

He cannot remain hidden within this shipwreck debris forever.

He needs to be discovered, but only in a "reasonable" situation that fits his disguised state.

Han Wuxian endures the excruciating pain, kicking the water with his legs, moving slowly.

He finds a massive deep‑sea monster corpse wedged by a huge reef, already half rotted. The beast exudes a strong stench and residual demonic energy, perfect to mask his faint life aura and the abnormal "light".

He laboriously squeezes himself into a deep rib cavity of the monster's carcass, letting rotting flesh and broken bones cover most of his body, leaving only his mouth, nose, and a faintly rising chest exposed. The icy flesh clings to his skin, the stench nearly suffocating, but he pays no mind. He lets the simulated, faint "Light Path Starry Power" aura drift outward from the carcass gaps like a fishing bait, extremely slowly and restrained.

This aura mingles with the monster's rot and chaotic demonic energy, like a tiny firefly in darkness—hard to notice yet bearing a unique "purity" that may appear as a lighthouse to the Star Scar Guard tracking that specific scent.

Soon, he fully enters a turtle‑breath death‑like state, heart and breath so weak they almost cease, body temperature matching the surrounding sea water. All senses retract, leaving only a slender thread of divine thought, like the most sensitive tentacle, sensing any energy ripple in the water.

His consciousness sinks into an icy blackness, only that mad plan burning at its core like a star.

Time drifts slowly amid cold, darkness, and agony. No one knows how long—perhaps several hours, perhaps a day.

Just as Han Wuxian feels the cold and his wounds about to swallow him whole, his vigilant divine thought suddenly catches something odd!

Several strong, cold, purpose‑driven divine thoughts, like invisible probes, sweep this water region!

These divine thoughts are far stronger and more refined than ordinary cultivators', bearing a sense of order and search; among them one is especially powerful—though not as strong as the previous Silver Robe Nascent Soul, it far exceeds a Golden Core, at least an early Nascent Soul!

They're coming! Star Scar Guard!

Their divine thoughts, while scanning the area, pause noticeably over the foul‑smelling monster corpse. That weak yet distinctive "Light Path Starry Power" aura acts like a magnet in the dark, firmly drawing their attention!

The divine thoughts scan, probe, confirm repeatedly. Han Wuxian's heart rises to his throat; he strains to maintain the turtle‑breath state, sealing all life, letting the preset "light" flicker like a dying candle in the wind. He simulates the wave of power about to disperse, life on the brink.

At last, several figures appear like ghosts, silently emerging in the water. They wear dark‑silver armor similar to the Silver Robe Nascent Soul's, only simpler in pattern and much weaker in aura, yet their eyes remain ice‑cold and sharp. The leader's aura is dense, that early Nascent Soul cultivator. They cautiously surround the monster corpse.

"Found it!" a Star Scar Guard's voice echoes through the icy water, with a hint of relief, "Aura weak, mixed in the corpse… target appears gravely wounded, power dissipating!"

The leading early Nascent Soul cultivator furrows his brow, his powerful divine thought pierces the monster corpse like a scalpel, probing carefully. He sees Han Wuxian wrapped in rotting flesh.

Face as pale as paper, lips dark violet, arms twisted at a bizarre angle, aura so weak it seems it could extinguish at any moment, only the faint rise of his chest proves he lives.