Chapter 1169

On the ground, increasingly huge and orderly circular pits appeared, as if struck by massive celestial bodies. Exposed rock took on a vitreous texture, and the air was filled with an ancient, chaotic stellar radiation aura; spiritual energy became thin and violent, making it hard for ordinary cultivators to stay long.

"The observation cliff territory lies ahead." Yun Chen's expression grew more solemn as he pointed to a distant, towering black cliff split as if by a giant axe, "The space here is unstable, often riddled with temporal rifts and stellar turbulence, making magical devices unsuitable for deep entry. I can only escort you this far."

Han Wuxian followed his gaze. The cliff was wholly black, towering into the clouds, its walls faintly revealing countless traces of artificial excavation and ruined ancient structures. A desolate, fragmented aura, yet imbued with some mysterious Dao resonance, swept over him.

What stirred his heart and mind slightly was that the Star‑Touring Torch in his bosom and the mark on his brow both emitted a faint resonance, like a feeling of returning home.

"Thank you for your trouble, Fellow Daoist Yun." Han Wuxian bowed his hands in gratitude.

"Take care, Fellow Daoist." Yun Chen produced a transmission jade talisman and handed it to Han Wuxian, "If an emergency arises, you can contact me with this. Though communications are unstable here due to temporal disorder, there is still a sliver of hope."

Han Wuxian took the jade talisman, nodded, said no more, and in a flash turned into a gray streak, shooting toward the black Observation Cliff.

The closer he got, the more pronounced the temporal disorder became. Light twisted, scenery distorted, occasionally tiny black spatial rifts would appear and vanish soundlessly, exuding danger. Violent stellar turbulence, like invisible blades, sliced everything.

Han Wuxian circulated the Return to the Void Sword Core around his body; a gray‑white Silence Extinction field naturally unfolded, and most of the chaotic stellar turbulence and minute spatial rifts that touched the field were silently annihilated or deflected, unable to harm him in the slightest. The Star‑Touring Torch warmed slightly in his bosom, pointing the way.

He landed at the base of the Observation Cliff. Beneath his feet lay hard black stone glittering with star dust. Looking up, the cliff face was indeed covered with countless intricate, profound, mostly fragmented star‑orbit diagrams and ancient runes. These markings, weathered through myriad ages, still emitted a faint light and Dao resonance, recording the wisdom of ancient Star Palace cultivators who observed celestial phenomena and deduced laws.

He followed a barely discernible ancient stone stair upward. Along the way he saw many collapsed halls, broken observation instruments, and even some cultivators' remains seated in caves, long since turned to dust, still preserving the posture of gazing at the starry sky.

This place had once been an extremely prosperous holy land of the stars.

As he climbed, the resonance of the Star‑Touring Torch grew stronger. Eventually he reached the summit of the Observation Cliff.

The cliff top was fairly open, the ground polished smooth, and at its center stood a massive stone stele.

The stele stood about ten zhang high, three zhang wide, and its thickness was astonishing. Its material was neither metal nor stone, presenting a warm, chaotic gray hue, somewhat similar to the coffin casings in the Star Grave but older and more restrained. Its surface was mirror‑smooth, bearing no characters or patterns.

This is the Wordless Star Stele spoken of by the Heavenly Pivot Master.

It stood silently on the cliff top, as if it had existed since time immemorial, enduring endless ages of wind and rain, stellar irradiation, yet untouched by dust, exuding a mysterious aura that embraces all things and perceives everything.

Han Wuxian approached the stele and could clearly feel the Star‑Touring Torch in his bosom buzzing like a jumping insect, while the mark on his brow burned hot. He reached out and lightly touched the stele's surface.

To the touch it was icy cold, yet it seemed possible to sense the warmth of countless stars being born and dying. An ineffable feeling of tranquility, vastness, and vicissitude flowed from his fingertips into his heart.

He tried to probe it with his divine sense, but it was like a mud cow entering the sea—no response. Infusing spiritual power yielded the same result; it seemed like a dead object.

But Han Wuxian was certain the stele was not simple; the Heavenly Pivot Master had specifically mentioned this place, so there must be profound significance.

He sat cross‑legged before the stele, placed the Star‑Touring Torch on his lap, held his breath and focused, attempting to empty his mind and perceive, to communicate with the purest intention.

Time trickled by. The sun rose and set, the stars shifted.

Han Wuxian became like another stone on the cliff top, utterly still. His breath merged completely with the surroundings; the Return to the Void Sword Core slowly turned on its own, absorbing the chaotic yet pure stellar radiation of this place. The Star‑Touring Torch shed a gentle azure glow, enveloping him and the stele.

No one knew how long had passed—perhaps a day, perhaps a month.

When his mind and spirit were utterly tranquil, self and object forgotten—

The Star‑Touring Torch on his knee suddenly moved without wind, hovering lightly. At the lamp's center, the torch stone burned softly, emitting a self‑propelled column of condensed azure‑gold light that shot forth and struck the smooth face of the Wordless Star Stele.

Hum……

The stele was bathed in light, yet still no characters appeared; however its chaotic gray body seemed to come alive, beginning to turn transparent!

No, it was not transparency; rather, inside the stele countless infinitesimal points of light, like stellar dust, ignited, flowed, and flickered! They followed some ineffable supreme trajectory, evolving into an endless panorama of stellar rivers being born and dying, spacetime shifting, and laws intertwining.

This Wordless Star Stele actually seals within it a miniature, dynamic map of the cosmos!

And the light of the Star‑Touring Torch, like a key, activated this star map!

Han Wuxian's mind and spirit were instantly drawn into that vast, splendid, endlessly changing micro‑cosmos!

He seemed to become a tiny star, shuttling within that map, witnessing the birth and death of stars, the collision and merger of galaxies, black holes devouring and spewing, spacetime bending and folding… countless fragmentary insights about the Stellar Grand Dao, spatial laws, and even temporal mysteries flooded his sea of consciousness like a deluge.

This information was not a direct transmission of techniques, but a more fundamental, primordial manifestation of the Dao's evolution! Comprehending and absorbing it requires extraordinarily high insight.

Han Wuxian, blessed with sudden insight, immediately pushed the Return to the Void Sword Core and his divine sense to the limit, frantically absorbing and comprehending all of this! His Return to the Void Sword Way, which already can encompass myriad methods, underwent a crazy surge and transformation at an unprecedented speed under the baptism of this cosmic star map.

His command of stellar power became more exquisite and refined, his grasp of space deeper, and he even faintly touched a hint of that mysterious temporal law!

What delighted him further was that this star map seemed able to reflect his own self! Within him, the newly formed Divine‑Transformation Sword Core, fused with stellar Silence Extinction intent, under the map's light became purer and more condensed, its union with his flesh flawless; the subtle hidden flaws left by his rapid advancement were quietly smoothed away.

After an unknown span, the Star‑Touring Torch's light gradually waned, the miniature cosmic vision within the stele faded, and it returned to being that smooth, chaotic, wordless stone stele.

Han Wuxian slowly opened his eyes; his pupils seemed to hold billions of stars being born and dying, then they drew inward, becoming a deeper calm. His aura grew more profound; though his cultivation rank had not risen directly, his mastery of power and his insight into the Dao underwent a qualitative leap.

"I see now… this Wordless Star Stele is actually the supreme treasure the ancient Star Palace used to transmit the Dao and reflect the self…" Han Wuxian realized this inwardly, forming a new conjecture about the Heavenly Pivot Master's intentions. This sect leader seemed truly to be aiding him in secret.

However, just as he was immersed in the joy of his insight's improvement—

"Pfft!"

A gray arrow, extremely fine yet razor‑sharp, carrying an icy, deathly stillness, shot forth without warning from a twisted spatial shadow at his rear‑side!

The timing was viciously extreme! It was precisely the moment he had just finished his insight, when his mind and spirit were most relaxed!

The arrow's speed surpassed thought; the power it bore was extraordinarily strange—not mere spiritual force or killing qi, but a kind of… Silence Extinction power specifically aimed at annihilating the primordial spirit and extinguishing life! It shared the same origin as his Return to the Void Sword Core, yet was more sinister and vicious, born solely for assassination.

An assassin! Moreover, one who understood his techniques extremely well and had meticulously prepared countermeasures!

Certainly not the methods of the Nether Dao or the Heavenly Slaughter Sect!

Han Wuxian's hairs stood on end all over; the shadow of death fell upon him once again!

At such close range, with such a cunning moment, and such a targeted assassination, there was almost no solution!

Seeing that the gray arrow was about to pierce the back of his head and annihilate his primordial spirit—

Han Wuxian didn't even have time to turn around, nor to summon the Star‑Touring Torch!

At this critical juncture, blessed with sudden insight, he made a move that far exceeded the assassin's expectations!

He did not try to dodge or defend, but instead… lunged forward violently, slamming his forehead hard against that Wordless Star Stele!

At the same time, he poured into the mark on his brow a thread of the profound insight he had just gained from the star map concerning spatial folding, together with all of his Silence Extinction sword intent!

He intended to use this indestructible Wordless Star Stele to hard‑block that deadly arrow! And to turn force against force!

"Clang!!!!!"

A clear, piercing ring, like the great bell Zhou Lü, resounded, shaking the entire Observation Cliff!

That gray Silence Extinction arrow struck Han Wuxian's brow with pinpoint accuracy… and the stele's surface directly before his brow, which had suddenly become solid as a mirror!

The stele remained unmoved, its smooth surface not even bearing a single white mark.