Chapter 112: Refining the Star Core

Inside the main hall of the Primordial Star Palace, there was no golden splendor, only emptiness and ruin. The dome was shattered, revealing the dead, silent starry sky outside, and the floor was covered in cracks. Only a broken armillary sphere, forged from Star God Gold, stood in the center, still slowly rotating on its own, emitting a faint yet resilient spiritual light.

This was the sacred ground where the Primordial Dao Ancestor once deduced the movements of the heavens and governed the stars. Now, only broken walls and ruins remained, telling the tale of past glory and the cruelty of catastrophe.

Lin Xuan stepped into the hall, his gaze immediately drawn to the core of the broken armillary sphere: a crystal about the size of a human head, covered in cracks, its light dim, yet still radiating the most primordial fluctuations of the stars.

"Star core..." Lin Xuan whispered. This was not the small star core that had merged with his Dao seed, but the true, complete star core that supported the existence of the entire Starfall Secret Realm! It was just that it was now on the verge of shattering, which was the fundamental reason for the secret realm's decay.

The inherited memories of the Primordial Dao Ancestor contained the method to repair and refine this star core. Only by refining this core could one truly control this broken secret realm, and perhaps, glimpse a possibility of restoring vitality to it.

He did not hesitate, walking to the armillary sphere and sitting cross-legged. He pressed his hands into the air above the cracked star core, and the newly acquired "Primordial Star General Outline" mental cultivation method operated naturally. Pure, chaotic star spiritual power flowed like a gentle stream into the core.

At the same time, the Starfall Order mark at the center of his brow, which had already merged with the inheritance, glowed slightly, emitting the authority of an "Observation Envoy" to soothe the star core's instinctive resistance.

This was a slow and delicate process. Although the star core was broken, its essence was extremely high, and the star origin contained within was as vast as the sea. Lin Xuan needed to use himself as a bridge and the Dao of Chaos as a guide to bit by bit sort out the chaotic and decaying star power, mend the cracks, and imprint his own spiritual mark.

There was no sun or moon in the hall, and he did not know how much time had passed.

When Lin Xuan’s final chaotic origin mark was successfully imprinted into the deepest part of the star core, the entire broken star core suddenly shook! The hideous cracks on its surface began to mend and repair at a speed visible to the naked eye! Although it was still far from a full recovery, the light it emitted had become stable and warm, no longer like a candle in the wind.

A feeling of being connected by blood to the entire Starfall Secret Realm surged into Lin Xuan's heart. At this moment, he had become the nominal new master of this broken secret realm!

He could vaguely perceive the situation in various parts of the secret realm: the heroic spirits that were still wandering but with reduced hostility; the broken continent that was slowly repairing and expanding; and he could even faintly detect the spatial fluctuations above the Starfall Lake outside the secret realm, which were gradually weakening.

"It is a pity that the origin of the secret realm is too severely damaged. To fully recover will not be a task of a single day, and it will require a massive amount of star origin to nourish it." Lin Xuan understood this in his heart. But even so, controlling a secret realm (even a broken one) meant he had gained an absolutely safe base and a huge treasure trove of resources (though most were currently desolate).

With a thought, the slightly repaired star core turned into a stream of light and submerged into his dantian, hovering above the chaotic Dao seed. It circled the smaller star core, slowly rotating, self-sufficiently swallowing the star power of the secret realm and the outside world to nourish itself while slowly nourishing the secret realm.

After doing all this, Lin Xuan stood up. His aura was more profound and restrained, his Nascent Soul peak cultivation base was completely consolidated, and with every movement, he seemed to merge with the surrounding starry sky.

"Brother Lin... did you succeed?" Huangfu Hao, who had been guarding outside the hall, felt the movement and walked in. Sensing the increasingly unfathomable aura on Lin Xuan, he felt both envy and awe.

Feng Xi also let out a cheerful cry, landing on Lin Xuan's shoulder and affectionately rubbing against his cheek.

"Yes, matters here are finished, we should leave." Lin Xuan nodded. Through the secret realm authority he controlled, he could feel that the spatial passage to the outside world was about to close completely.

He glanced at the ruins in the distance outside the hall where the Old Man Xingyan had fallen. The old monster still had a breath of life, but he was on the verge of death, his Dao foundation severely damaged; it would be difficult to recover without hundreds of years of bitter cultivation. Lin Xuan did not take his life, not out of kindness, but to leave him to be guarded by the heroic spirits of the secret realm, which could be considered a warning and a check on the Star Palace.

"Let's go."

Lin Xuan waved his sleeve, and a star-light portal condensed in the hall, which was the exit leading to the Starfall Lake outside.

The three of them stepped in, and their figures disappeared from the Primordial Star Palace.

By the Starfall Lake.

The stargazing platform had long since sunk back to the bottom of the lake, and the strange phenomena above the lake had basically subsided, leaving only a faint mist of starlight still lingering. Most of the cultivators who had come to try their luck had dispersed, leaving only some who were unwilling to give up still wandering nearby, as well as the troops of the Imperial City Department still maintaining order.

When Lin Xuan and the others appeared out of thin air by the lake, it immediately caused a commotion.

"They're out! They're out!"

"Only the three of them? What about that Soul Transformation senior from the Star Palace? What about the Zhao family?"

"His aura... it seems stronger! Could it be that he obtained a heaven-defying opportunity inside?"

Countless gazes focused on Lin Xuan, filled with inquiry, jealousy, and awe.

Lin Xuan turned a deaf ear to the surrounding discussions, nodded slightly to the approaching general of the Imperial City Department, and prepared to leave with Huangfu Hao and Feng Xi.

However, at this very moment—

"BOOM!!!"

A dull, evil-filled roar that seemed to come from the depths of the Nine Netherworlds suddenly erupted from the direction of the Imperial Capital in the south! Even thousands of miles away, one could still feel the heart-palpitating fluctuations!

Immediately following, a pillar of ink-black, twisted, and ominous demonic energy, mixed with streaks of blood-colored thunder, shot into the sky from the center of the Imperial Capital, dyeing that entire sky a dark red! A vast, violent will, filled with destruction and chaos, swept out like a storm!

"That is... the direction of the Imperial Capital?!"

"What terrifying demonic energy! What happened?!"

"Could it be... the Demon of the Ruin Abyss?!"

The lakeside was instantly in chaos, and everyone was frightened pale by this sudden, earth-shattering change!

Huangfu Hao's expression changed drastically, and he exclaimed, "No! The Imperial Palace! It's the direction of the Imperial Palace!"

Lin Xuan's pupils contracted sharply as he looked at the pillar of demonic energy connecting heaven and earth. Feeling the evil aura within, which was of the same origin as the Imperial Mausoleum forbidden area and the Starfall Secret Realm but a hundred times stronger, a cold chill rose from the bottom of his heart.

"Ruin Abyss demonic consciousness... it actually erupted at the core of the Imperial Capital?!"

He understood in an instant that the Imperial Capital, and perhaps the entire Tianyuan Dynasty, was facing an unprecedented catastrophe!

Without any hesitation, starlight surged around Lin Xuan, and the Chaotic Immortal-Slaying Sword let out an urgent hum!

"Feng Xi! Return to the Imperial Capital at full speed!"

He grabbed Huangfu Hao and leaped onto the back of the Azure Phoenix, which had instantly manifested its true form.

Feng Xi let out a long cry, its wings surging with azure flames, pushing its speed to the limit. It turned into an azure rainbow tearing through the sky, rushing toward the Imperial Capital regardless of everything!

The Imperial Capital was in turmoil, and catastrophe had descended!

Having just returned with the inheritance, Lin Xuan had to immediately throw himself into an even more dangerous battle concerning the survival of billions of lives!

(End of Volume Two: [Wind Rises in Tianyuan])