Chapter 1119: Filthy Remains

His gaze swept the room. The runes were dim, the formation damaged, the components twisted… This place seemed to be only an abandoned node control chamber. The only thing worth noting were the fist‑sized star crystal fragments in the corner. Though their glow was faint, they emitted a relatively pure star power.

A faint spark of hope ignited in Han Wuxian's heart. Star crystal! Containing the pure essence of star origin! If he could absorb even a sliver, perhaps he could temporarily suppress his injuries and activate a trace of power in the Star Map Fragment?

He almost crawled over. He grabbed the smallest star crystal fragment. The fragment was icy cold to the touch, feeling like jade, its interior seeming to hold a solidified star river flowing slowly. He tried, using the most primitive, most clumsy method

to press the fragment tightly against the wound on his chest, the spot closest to his heart and the Star Map Fragment.

Without a cultivation technique to guide, without divine consciousness to refine. He could only rely on instinct, on the natural affinity between the Star Map Fragment and star power, attempting to draw a sliver of energy from the fragment.

Time slipped by bit by bit. In the dark, deathly silent room, only his heavy, labored breathing could be heard. Just as he was about to give up

Buzz…

The star crystal fragment pressed to his chest quivered extremely faintly! A filament thinner than a hair, barely perceptible, a pale silver star ray, as if summoned, slowly emanated from the fragment, ignoring his torn flesh, silently merging into the skin on his chest, reaching the dormant Star Map Fragment!

"Ugh!" Han Wuxian shuddered all over!

It was not pain, but a faint nourishment like sweet rain after a long drought! Though that star ray was extremely weak, it carried an indescribable purity and vitality! It was like a spark, thrown into the near‑extinguished embers of the Star Map Fragment!

The Star Map Fragment on his back, that lingering warmth, seemed… to pulse! Extremely faint, yet unmistakably clear!

At the same time, the Nine Nether Death Qi coiled inside him, like a heel‑bone maggot, seemed provoked by the faint star ray, suddenly turning a bit feral, bringing a sharp sting!

"Effective!" Han Wuxian's eyes flashed with astonishing brilliance, the light of a sliver of hope in a desperate situation! Though the process was slow, painful, and might provoke the death qi to strike back, it was at least a path! A thorny road using star crystal as fuel, reigniting the Star Map Fragment, battling the death qi, repairing his broken body!

He clutched the star crystal fragment tightly, as if holding the last lifeline. His gaze swept to the slightly larger fragments in the corner, then to the many more scattered at the bottom of the huge cold pool outside…

The hope of survival lies within these shattered starlights!

However, just as his spirit lifted slightly

"Dong!"

A deep, thudding roar, as if from far above, yet also as if striking directly against the metal walls of this space! The whole room shivered slightly, dust fluttered down from the ceiling.

Immediately after, an extremely faint yet unbearably cold, filthy, malicious aura seeped in like ink dropped into clear water! It did not come through a passage, but seemed to pierce the heavy metal barrier directly, spreading through the icy air!

Han Wuxian's pupils suddenly contracted, the hope fire that had just ignited instantly doused with a bucket of water!

It! The filth within the Star Remains Core! Those black root‑like tendrils that moved like living things and the Nine Nether Death Qi! They… actually managed to seep down?!

Although this seeping aura was extremely faint, nowhere near the terror at the core, it was undeniably a deadly signal.

He had not truly escaped! The filthy will coiled in the Star Remains Core, like a heel‑bone maggot, was tracing the lingering scent of his fall, or sensing the sliver of star power he had just summoned, and began extending its tendrils… toward the shelter beneath this cooling pool!

The shadow of death did not dissipate; instead, like the seeping filthy aura, it wound around him thicker and colder! He must, before being fully discovered, use these broken star crystals to restore even a sliver of self‑preservation power!

Time became more precious than ever, and more cruel than ever!

That thin, cold, filthy aura coiled like an invisible venomous snake in the icy air, instantly snuffing the faint hope that had just sparked in Han Wuxian's heart. It was extremely thin, yet carried the nauseating, Nine‑Nether‑sourced madness and greed at the heart of the Star Remains Core!

"It's… looking for me!" Han Wuxian's heart hammered, nearly leaping out of his throat. The Star Map Fragment on his back sent a faint but rapid throb, as if warning. Though the seeping aura was weak, it was the most lethal indication.

He had not truly escaped the perception range of that filthy will! This place is certainly not one to linger!

The urgency of death clamped his throat like cold iron tongs. He abruptly lowered his head, his gaze fixed on the star crystal fragment in his hand that was slowly emitting a faint glow. Time! He needed time! Every breath could be his last chance!

He no longer hesitated, pressing the fragment even tighter against the wound on his chest, the place where flesh and blood were muddied, closest to the Star Map Fragment. He gritted his teeth against the sting of chaotic energy seeping from the fragment and the restless backlash of the Nine Nether Death Qi inside, pouring all his spirit into that faint resonance

Guide the star power, nourish the Star Map Fragment!

Buzz… buzz…

A subtle vibration traveled from the fragment to his palm, then into his flesh. Strands of pale silver star rays, clearer than before, were painstakingly drawn out of the crystal fragment like a trickling stream, flowing into his dried, near‑dead body. Most of these rays were greedily absorbed by the dormant Star Map Fragment, and the warmth on that fragment was no longer merely a "feeling," but became a tangible, faint yet continuously radiating warmth, like a tiny soul‑lamp ignited on his cold spine, ready to go out at any moment.

The energy absorbed by the Star Map Fragment seemed instinctively to split off a sliver, extremely faintly nourishing his riddled meridians and nearly shattered dantian. Like cracked earth after a long drought receiving a negligible drizzle, a drop in a bucket, yet it allowed his near‑collapsing body to cling to the last thread of life, and his consciousness cleared slightly.

The excruciating pain remained, the weakness like a heavy shackles. But at least, he felt he was no longer a completely paralyzed wreck.

Dong!

Another deep thud! Clearer than before! The entire metal room shook violently, the ceiling and walls shedding more metal debris and dust. The seeping filthy aura suddenly thickened, carrying an impatient frenzy!

"It's striking the barrier!" Han Wuxian shivered in shock. This filthy will was not merely sensing; it was attempting to break through! Though the metal barrier of this space was sturdy, how long could it hold against the terrifying corrosive force of the Star Remains Core?