Chapter 135: Undercurrents in Linhai City, Traces of Star Maps

Linhai City, towering over the east coast of the Tianyuan Continent, was an important gateway connecting the inland and the Endless Hanhai. The city walls were towering, cast from deep-sea sunken iron and diamond rock, and after countless sea beast tides and storms, they remained majestic. On the city walls, the newly reinforced formation runes flowed with a faint luster in the sunlight, revealing that after the demonic disaster and the Battle of Shattered Stars, this place had entered a state of high alert.

The fleet carrying Lin Xuan and his party, after experiencing the thrilling ambush in the Lost Sea Area, finally sailed into the massive military port of Linhai City without incident. The Imperial Dynasty officials and garrison, as well as the cultivators of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion who had been prepared, quickly took over the series of matters such as treating the wounded, sealing the spoils of war, and imprisoning the captives.

A murderous and tense atmosphere shrouded the entire city.

The decree of Emperor Chengping, Huangfu Hao, had long since been transmitted: with the "Sea-Suppressing Military Governor's Mansion" of Linhai City as the core, establish the "East Coast Joint Defense Department" to coordinate responses to the demonic disaster and the threat of the Blood Shark Pirates. Eunuch Wei was temporarily the Department Head, the three overseas Elders Beichen, Yan Gang, and Ling Shuang were Deputy Department Heads, and Lin Xuan was honored as the "Chief Consultant," possessing the power of on-the-spot decision-making.

In the Sea-Suppressing Military Governor's Mansion, on the third underground floor, was a secret room sealed by multiple layers of formations, making it difficult even for Soul Formation spiritual sense to pry into.

In the center of the secret room, that pale bone sickle was floating. At this moment, it was shrouded by a composite formation that had been temporarily inscribed, fusing Chaos Tribulation Power, Star Purification Power, and Profound Ice Sealing Power. On the surface of the bone sickle, strands of black demonic energy still attempted to seep out from those ferocious cracks, but under the alternating scouring of gray-purple lightning, silver starlight, and ice-blue cold energy, they were constantly purified and dispersed.

Lin Xuan sat cross-legged on one side of the formation, his eyes slightly closed, his right hand pressing vaguely. A strand of pure Chaos Tribulation Power, like the most dexterous carving knife, cooperated with the Star Purification Power induced by Beichen and the Profound Ice Sealing Power catalyzed by Ling Shuang, carefully peeling and extracting those residual demonic thought fragments and law imprints containing information from the deepest structural gaps of the bone sickle.

This was a delicate and energy-consuming process; a slight carelessness could trigger the final self-destruction seal within the bone sickle or be backlashed by the residual demonic thoughts.

Beichen and Ling Shuang sat on both sides, assisting with full concentration. Yan Gang and Eunuch Wei guarded the entrance of the secret room, responsible for vigilance while handling information coming from the outside.

Time passed bit by bit.

Sweat gradually seeped from Lin Xuan's forehead, but his expression remained calm. In his Chaos Tribulation Power perception, this bone sickle was not just a demonic weapon, but more like a distorted "information carrier" and "coordinate beacon." Its material itself seemed to have an affinity with some kind of special "void" or "dead silence" law, allowing it to carry the projection of the high-level will of the Ruins Abyss demonic consciousness.

Gradually, some fragmented images, distorted thoughts, and intermittent coordinate fluctuations were peeled away, intertwining into blurry and unsettling scenes above the center of the composite formation—

A boundless dark void rolling with chaos and the desire to devour (where the Ruins Abyss body is located?); channels flowing with demonic energy connecting different realms or planes like blood vessels; figures of various forms, all emitting powerful demonic might, swimming and conquering in the void; and... a strange regional coordinate fragment wrapped in thick demonic energy, where giant skeletons and broken star outlines could be vaguely seen. Its aura was similar to the Bone Sickle Demon Marshal and "Shadow Erosion," and it was likely one of their important strongholds or core areas of the nest in this realm.

And the most important discovery was an extremely subtle yet incredibly tough "imprint" at the very core of the bone sickle. This imprint was not composed of demonic energy, but rather resembled a... distorted star trajectory? Or rather, a "Star Beacon" that had been polluted and forcibly distorted by demonic energy!

When Lin Xuan's Chaos Tribulation Power touched this imprint, it actually lit up slightly, projecting a star map phantom that was extremely incomplete yet could vaguely identify parts of the east coast of the Tianyuan Continent and the edge of the Endless Hanhai! On the star map, several light points flickered, two of which were particularly bright: one was located in a deep mountain somewhere on the continent (suspected to be Falling Star Lake?), and the other was located in the depths of the Hanhai, on the edge of an area marked with chaotic storm symbols (suspected to be the Returning Ruins Sea Eye?). And near that light point in the Hanhai, there was another extremely dim, tiny light point that was about to go out, whose position roughly coincided with Blood Shark Island!

What shocked Lin Xuan even more was that when he tried to trace the source of this star imprint with Chaos Tribulation Power, he actually faintly felt a trace of... an aura that was of the same source as the broken "Star Core" in his dantian and the "small star core" on Huangfu Hao, but even more ancient and majestic!

"This bone sickle... is actually related to ancient stars, or rather, to the source of the 'Starfall Mystical Realm'?" Lin Xuan's heart was stirred. "That's right, Xing Lan is desperate to find Star Gold to repair the 'Star Derivation Compass' to deduce the 'Chaos Sea Ruins.' And Star Gold is likely related to the fall of ancient stars. The material of this bone sickle might be mixed with ancient star fragments polluted by demonic energy? That's why it can carry both demonic consciousness and star coordinates?"

He temporarily suppressed the speculation in his heart and continued to peel. Finally, after completely purifying all dangerous demonic thoughts, the bone sickle completely lost all spirituality, turning into a strange gray-white skeletal material covered in cracks, floating in the air. And that incomplete star imprint was carefully sealed by Lin Xuan in a specially made jade slip using Chaos Tribulation Power.

"Fellow Daoist Lin, how is it?" Beichen asked hurriedly when he saw Lin Xuan finish his work and open his eyes. Ling Shuang also cast a concerned gaze.

Lin Xuan briefly informed them of the purification process and the main discoveries (except for the part about the star imprint and his own star core resonance), and showed the incomplete star map phantom and the sealed star imprint jade slip.

"Ancient star fragments? Refined into a demonic weapon after being polluted by demonic energy?" Beichen gasped. As a Star Palace cultivator, he was most sensitive to star power, and looking at the jade slip at this moment, his eyes were filled with shock and pain. "No wonder that traitor Xing Lan is so persistent! He must have sensed clues about ancient star relics from this bone sickle or related records, wanting to use the power of the Demon Abyss to find the 'Chaos Sea Ruins'! Hateful! Shameful!"

Ling Shuang also frowned: "In that case, the relic under Blood Shark Island is likely related to this ancient star fragment, and it might even be a place where a star fell. It is no coincidence that the Demon Abyss chose to build its nest there."

"We must take Blood Shark Island as soon as possible, destroy the demon nest, and at the same time find out the truth of the relic. We must never let the Demon Abyss or that traitor Xing Lan obtain more ancient star legacies!" Beichen said decisively.

Just then, the formation fluctuations from outside the secret room came, and Eunuch Wei's voice sounded: "Consultant Lin, Elder Beichen, Elder Ling Shuang, the Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion has arrived and has important matters to discuss."

The three looked at each other, put away the purified skeletal material and jade slip, and walked out of the secret room.

In the meeting hall, the blurry figure of the Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion was already seated. Yan Gang and Zhao Yuan were also present. Zhao Yuan stood quietly to the side, still holding the broken "Silent Shadow" sword in his hand, his aura steady and his eyes sharp, a completely different person from before.

"The Pavilion Master has come in person, are there any new discoveries?" Lin Xuan went straight to the point.

The Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion nodded slightly, his voice carrying a trace of gravity: "After Xing Lan defected to Blood Shark Island, his aura merged with the demonic energy on the island, making it difficult to lock onto him precisely. But this old man observed the heavenly secrets and earth veins with secret techniques and found that the earth vein direction beneath the sea area where Blood Shark Island is located is extremely abnormal, and there is a strong interweaving of 'Star Evil' and 'Demonic Erosion' aura."

He waved his sleeve, and a sea area terrain map condensed by spiritual power appeared in the air, with the location of Blood Shark Island highlighted. Beneath it, several distorted pulse lines emitting dim starlight could be vaguely seen, entangled with the demonic energy black tide surging from deeper down.

"Star Evil?" Beichen's eyes narrowed.

"Correct. It is not natural star power, but the fierce evil aura formed after the core laws of a star collapse and disintegrate, which has strong corrosive and destructive power to living beings and spiritual energy. Usually, it only forms such a scale of 'Star Evil Earth Veins' in the core area of a large star fall after a long period of time." The Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion explained, "The relic under Blood Shark Island is probably not just an ordinary ancient cultivation cave, but a... 'Falling Graveyard' of an ancient star! Moreover, this star graveyard seems to be polluted and demonized by some kind of power."

Star Graveyard! Demonized!

Everyone's heart sank. This meant that the danger level there far exceeded their estimates.

"What's more troublesome is," the Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion continued, pointing to the intersection of those distorted starlight pulse lines and the demonic energy black tide, "this old man deduced that the intersection of these Star Evil Earth Veins and demonic energy seems to form an extremely hidden yet slowly 'activating' formation node. This node not only absorbs the power of the earth veins and demonic energy, but is also faintly resonating with... the direction of the Imperial Capital, the Demon Abyss channel sealed by Little Friend Lin, and the 'Returning Ruins Eye' in the south!"

"What?!" Eunuch Wei exclaimed, "Does the Pavilion Master mean... the demonized Star Evil node under Blood Shark Island might be a... 'hub' or 'amplifier' connecting multiple sources of demonic disaster?"

"Highly likely." The Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion nodded. "If this is true, once this node is fully activated and controlled by the Demon Abyss, it will not only greatly enhance the power of the Blood Shark Island demon nest, but may also use this as a fulcrum to influence or even shake the stability of the Imperial Capital seal and the Returning Ruins Sea Eye! At that time, the linkage of the three demonic disasters will have unimaginable consequences!"

In the meeting hall, the atmosphere suddenly dropped to freezing point.

Beichen's face was livid: "That idiot Xing Lan! He is playing with fire! No, he is dragging the entire Hanhai and Tianyuan Continent to be buried with him!"

Ling Shuang said coldly: "We must destroy the Blood Shark Island demon nest before he and that 'Shadow Erosion' complete the node activation!"

Yan Gang slammed the table: "Then what are we waiting for? Assemble the troops and kill them!"

Lin Xuan was silent for a moment and asked: "Pavilion Master, how long will it take for the node to activate?"

The Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion pondered: "Calculated based on the currently observed flow speed of earth veins and demonic energy, if there is no artificial acceleration, natural activation will take at least ten years. But if there are cultivators proficient in formations and star power (like Xing Lan) cooperating with Demon Abyss means to deliberately catalyze it... it will take at least three months, and at most one year, for the node to be completed."

"Three months..." A sharp look flashed in Lin Xuan's eyes. "Time is tight, but there is still room for maneuver. Blood Shark Island has been operating for many years and has the blessing of the Demon Abyss, so a frontal assault will inevitably lead to heavy losses. We need a careful plan, preferably from inside and outside, to strike directly at the core and destroy the node."

He looked at Zhao Yuan: "Zhao Yuan, how is your communication with the 'Silent Shadow' sword spirit? Can you sense any 'flaws' or 'keys' in the demonic energy of Blood Shark Island?"

Zhao Yuan stepped forward and said respectfully: "Reporting to Senior, the junior's communication with the sword spirit is deepening, and this sword indeed has a unique sense for things that are 'false,' 'shackles,' and 'secret.' When approaching the sea area of Blood Shark Island, the junior faintly felt a trace of extreme 'discord' and 'decay' in the demonic energy to the southeast of the island, which seems to be related to dead silence and decay, perhaps... a weakness or entrance that can be utilized."

"Oh?" Lin Xuan and the Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion looked at each other.

The Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion pinched his fingers to calculate for a moment, and his blurry face seemed to move: "Southeast... dead silence and decay... could it be a 'Star Evil' vent? Or a place of permanent 'Dao injury' caused when the star fell that year? If so, that place might be a 'blind spot' that neither demonic energy nor Star Evil can completely cover, and it is also a relatively weak point of the formation node."

"Very good." Lin Xuan nodded. "Zhao Yuan, you will be the vanguard for this investigation. Eunuch Wei, Elder Beichen, Elder Ling Shuang, Elder Yan Gang, we need to formulate a detailed attack plan as soon as possible, assemble the elites, and strike directly at the southeast weakness of Blood Shark Island. At the same time, we need to guard against the Demon Abyss and Xing Lan jumping over the wall in a hurry, activating the node in advance, or launching attacks from other directions to contain us."

Everyone took orders and began to plan nervously.

Just as Linhai City was preparing for the decisive battle.

Deep in Blood Shark Island, in a cave filled with demonic energy.

Xing Lan's face was pale, sitting on the edge of the incomplete ancient altar emitting faint starlight, casting star magic power into the altar, blending with the demonic energy released by "Lord Shadow Erosion" shrouded in rolling demonic energy beside him, attempting to jointly catalyze the altar and accelerate the activation of the "Star Evil Demonization Node" below.

Beneath the altar, it was bottomless, and faint "thump... thump..." sounds like a heartbeat could be heard. Every time it beat, it caused the demonic energy in the entire cave to roll and the starlight to be chaotic.

"Lord Shadow Erosion, at this speed, the node will be initially activated in at most two months!" Xing Lan's eyes flashed with a mix of fanaticism and exhaustion. "At that time, using this node as a base, not only can we completely control this Star Evil Earth Vein, but we can also remotely sense the true entrance to the 'Chaos Sea Ruins'! As long as..."

"As long as you can provide enough 'Imperial Dynasty Luck Blood' and 'Chaos Cultivator Origin,' this seat will naturally fulfill its promise." Shadow Erosion's voice was hoarse and low, as if coming from the Nine Netherworlds. "Xing Lan, you have no retreat. The Star Palace cannot accommodate you, and the Tianyuan Imperial Dynasty and Lin Xuan want to kill you even more. Only by helping this seat achieve great things can you get everything you want."

Xing Lan gritted his teeth and nodded, looking at a groove in the center of the altar, which was empty, and was the position reserved for placing the "key offering." A fierce look flashed in his eyes: "The 'offering'... will be sent soon. I have already arranged for people from the 'Shadow Hall' to take advantage of Linhai City's focus on the front and take another secret sea route..."

Before he could finish his sentence, hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the cave, and a Blood Shark Pirate leader covered in blood and with a withered aura stumbled in, hissing: "My Lord! It's not good! There is abnormal movement from the direction of Linhai City, a large number of cultivators are assembling, and their movements are unclear! And... the secret sentries we set up in the southeast 'Dead Silence Gorge' have just lost contact!"

"What?!" Xing Lan stood up abruptly.

The demonic energy around Shadow Erosion also rolled violently, emitting a cold snort: "The reaction is quite fast... It seems they have sensed the abnormality of the 'Dead Silence Gorge.' Xing Lan, your plan may have to be advanced."

Xing Lan's expression changed, finally turning into ferocity: "Then advance it! 'Shadow Hall' act immediately, according to the second plan, capture the 'offering'! At the same time, activate all defensive formations on the island and deploy heavy troops in the 'Dead Silence Gorge'! I want to see if they have the guts to break into my dragon pool and tiger den!"

On Blood Shark Island, ear-piercing alarms and the roars of demonic creatures suddenly sounded, breaking the silence of the island.

The great war was on the verge of breaking out.