Chapter 1103: Aspiring to Inherit the Star Path

The handwriting is coarse and forceful, faintly exuding a murderous aura. Beside the stone tablet lie several long‑weathered skeletons, their bones riddled with fine cracks, as if shattered by some power.

The elder of the Qinglan Sect said gravely, "For three hundred years, anyone who tried to force their way in has died here."

Han Wuxian was silent for a moment, then suddenly raised his hand, a strand of starlight gathering at his fingertip, and lightly tapped the stone tablet.

Hum!

The stone tablet suddenly flared with dazzling starlight, and a vague figure slowly materialized. It was an old man clad in a star‑patterned robe, his face indistinct, but his eyes were as deep as the night sky.

"Who comes?" the old man's voice sounded like the whisper of countless stars.

Han Wuxian gave no reply, but slowly lifted his hand, revealing a blue‑gold star pattern on his chest.

In an instant, the phantom of the star‑robed elder quivered, a flash of shock crossed his eyes, then he let out a long sigh:

"Three wan years… at last I've waited for you."

Before the words finished, the stone tablet shattered with a roar, and the star‑dome barrier cracked open a slit, exposing the valley beyond.

A massive bronze altar floated in the center of the valley, a broken ancient star‑sword lodged upon it; the blade was riddled with cracks yet still radiated a terrifying pressure. Around the altar, seven jade‑white skeletons sat in a Northern Dipper formation, each clutching a bronze fragment identical to the one inside Han Wuxian!

"Grave Keeper…" Han Wuxian's pupils narrowed.

The phantom of the star‑robed elder slowly raised his hand, pointing to the altar's center:

"The star core is shattered; the Nine Nether will awaken."

"Only by gathering the seven star keys and reforging the star gate can we reseal the Nine Nether!"

Han Wuxian's heart trembled violently.

It turned out the bronze fragments were not ordinary keys but the "Star Keys," the supreme treasure the Star Yan Sect once used to seal the lord of the Nine Nether! And Starfall Valley is the final sealing site!

Yet just as he was about to step into the valley, a cold, sinister laugh echoed from afar:

"Finally found you… Star Yan's remnant!"

Han Wuxian whirled around and saw black clouds roiling in the sky; a figure shrouded in black vapor stepped through the void, exuding a terrifying Transformation‑God aura!

Worse still, that person held in his hand a blood‑stained bronze fragment!

"Hand over the star key, or… die!"

Han Wuxian's gaze turned icy; the shattered star blade unsheathed silently, starlight swirling.

"Want it? Take it yourself!"

The great battle was about to erupt!

Black clouds pressed down; the Transformation‑God cultivator walked on void, and with each step the ground beneath solidified into pitch‑black ice crystals. He slowly lifted his hand; the bronze fragment hovering in his palm emitted an eerie dark‑purple glow, resonating strongly with the star key inside Han Wuxian.

"Three hundred years… I have finally waited for the star key to appear," the Transformation‑God cultivator rasped, black vapors swirling to reveal a face covered in bizarre markings, "Give me the star key within you, and I'll give you a swift end."

Han Wuxian sneered, the star light on the shattered star blade flaring: "Even the Nine Nether's lapdogs dare to touch the star key?"

"Seeking death!" the Transformation‑God cultivator roared, raising his hand to unleash a black palm imprint. Where the palm passed, grass and trees withered instantly, and the air itself turned corrosive with a pungent, bloody stench.

"Star Chain Nine Slashes!" Han Wuxian moved like lightning, the shattered star blade drawing nine brilliant star chains that interwove into a net, crushing the poisonous palm. In the aftershock he used the momentum to retreat, grabbed Lin Xiaoshi's shoulder and shouted, "Go!"

The Star‑Evasion technique activated, and the two instantly appeared at the edge of the altar, a hundred zhang away. The Qinglan Sect members were not so fortunate; the black vapors swept over them, and several disciples turned to white bone before they could even scream.

"Benefactor!" Lin Xiaoshi's face turned deathly pale as the star‑spotted ore in his hand suddenly heated intensely.

Han Wuxian's eyes narrowed; the seven grave‑keeper skeletons on the altar simultaneously glowed faintly, their bronze fragments slowly levitating, echoing the star pattern on Han Wuxian's chest.

"So that's it…" Han Wuxian realized, "The star key needs the bloodline of a Star Yan descendant to activate!"

Without hesitation he sliced his palm, letting blood pour onto the altar. The seven bronze fragments instantly emitted a clear humming, turning into flowing light that merged into the star pattern on his chest. In that instant the entire altar shook violently, and the broken ancient star‑sword let out a thunderous sword‑cry!

"Don't you dare!" the Transformation‑God cultivator roared, charging forward as black vapors coalesced into nine snarling giant serpents that lunged at Han Wuxian.

At that critical moment, the ancient star‑sword suddenly flew up of its own accord and lodged in Han Wuxian's hand. Though the blade was broken, the moment he grasped it a vast torrent of stellar sword intent surged skyward!

"Starfall!"

Han Wuxian swung the sword down; a single simple slash seemed to summon the power of the heavens' stars. Where the blade passed, the nine black‑vapor serpents evaporated instantly, and the Transformation‑God cultivator's protective aura shattered like paper.

"No! This can't be!" the Transformation‑God cultivator shrank back in terror, but the lingering sword light struck his right arm, turning the whole limb to ash.

Seizing the chance, Han Wuxian grabbed Lin Xiaoshi and leapt into the altar's center. The seven star keys resonated within his body, activating the altar's final transmission array. Amid dazzling starlight, the two silhouettes gradually faded.

"Just wait! The Nine Nether army is about to descend; you won't escape!" the Transformation‑God cultivator's venomous roar faded into the distance.

When the light dimmed, Han Wuxian found himself standing in an unfamiliar star‑filled sky. Beneath his feet floated a bronze platform, surrounded by an endless river of stars. At the platform's center stood an intact Celestial Star Gate, its seven‑star motif aligning with the positions of the seven star keys.

"Where… is this?" Lin Xiaoshi stared in disbelief.

"Star‑Dome Secret Realm," Han Wuxian said, gazing at the gate, "the true inheritance site of the Star Yan Sect."

The Star‑Dome Secret Realm had no sun or moon. The ancient floating bronze platform stretched beneath him, its cold surface spreading from his soles. Han Wuxian sat cross‑legged at the platform's center, the pristine Celestial Star Gate looming before him, its seven‑star pattern swirling with profound light. Lin Xiaoshi curled at the platform's edge, looking at the boundless star river, awe and bewilderment mixing with fear.

"Benefactor…" his voice trembled, "Can we… still return?"

Han Wuxian gave no immediate reply. He was still bearing the drastic changes brought by the gate's inheritance. The seven star keys had fully merged within him, forming a single ancient sigil pulsing with stellar light, etched deep in his sea of consciousness. Along with it came the core inheritance of the Star Yan Sect— the complete infusion of the "Celestial Stars True Explanation".

This inheritance is as vast as an ocean, far surpassing the previous fragments. It not only contains the supreme methods of stellar cultivation, but also encompasses alchemy, pill‑making, array formation, star divination and countless other arts. Yet this inheritance, which could drive any cultivator mad, carries a cold premise.

"To walk the Star Path, first shatter the mortal foundation." An aged voice echoed in his sea of consciousness, "A mortal body cannot bear the heavens' star power; only by breaking and rebuilding, using the stars as foundation, can we reforge the Dao body!"

Han Wuxian snapped open his eyes, the star clouds in his pupils fading. He looked down at his hands, the dense stellar essence that once surged within now being ravenously devoured by that sigil of the star key in his sea of consciousness! The qi‑sea collapsed, the meridians withered, foundation‑building, Golden Core… all the barriers of realms crumbled like sandcastles! An indescribable emptiness and weakness swept his whole body, as if the very source of life was being stripped away.

"Puff!" He spat out a mouthful of blood, the blood tinged with faint dim star glimmers. His face turned ashen, his breath sank to the valley floor, and even maintaining a seated posture became precarious.

"Benefactor! What's happening to you?!" Lin Xiaoshi shouted, rushing to help.

"Don't touch me!" Han Wuxian croaked hoarsely, his voice hoarse and weak yet bearing undeniable authority. He forced his last clear mind to circulate the most basic breathing method from the "Celestial Stars True Explanation".