Chapter 149: Deep Sea Mystery, Sunken Star Ruins

The "Star-Seeking Shuttle" glided silently through the ten-thousand-fathom deep sea.

The "Sea-Illuminating Pearls" embedded in the cabin walls emitted a soft, blue-white light, barely illuminating the surrounding dozens of zhang of sea area. Through the reinforced crystal portholes, one could see the eternal darkness of the outside world, with the occasional strange, dimly phosphorescent deep-sea creature swimming past, casting twisted shadows. The water pressure was immense; even with the array protection, one could still feel the pervasive, crushing weight that threatened to shatter everything.

Zhao Yuan sat cross-legged in the main control cabin, the "Shadow of Silence" resting horizontally across his knees. The dark gold patterns on the blade flowed with a faint luster in the deep-sea gloom, forming a resonance cycle with Zhao Yuan's own Sword Intent of Silence, allowing him to maintain a clear mind in this extreme environment. He kept his eyes slightly closed, yet his spiritual sense was tightly connected to the "Star-Guiding Compass" at the bow, sensing the course and coordinates.

Elder Xinghui focused on manipulating the shuttle's concealment and pressure-resistant arrays, beads of sweat forming on his temples. Chen Yue stood guard by a small "Astrolabe," constantly comparing the seafloor geomagnetism and stellar force flows to correct the course. Han Ying stood to the side, her Fairy Fairy Bingpo Heart-Protecting Mirror emitting a faint cold mist that dispersed the wisps of foul energy seeping through the array gaps—remnants from the Great Battle at the Return-to-Ruins Sea Eye that had diffused this far. Shi Meng and Tie Shan stood like two iron towers by the cabin door leading to the deck, their breathing steady. Shadow Seven and Shadow Eleven were like true shadows, hiding in the corners of the cabin, with only the occasional faint glimmer of their communication jade talismans showing they were maintaining minimal contact with the Imperial Capital or Star Fall Island.

The voyage had lasted five days. According to the coordinates provided by the Pavilion Master of Heavenly Secrets and the ancient sea charts of the Star Palace, they should have been approaching the sea area known as the intersection of the "Chaotic Star Vortex" and the "Silent Graveyard." However, the closer they got to the target, the more bizarre the surrounding environment became.

"Elder Xinghui, something is wrong," Chen Yue suddenly spoke, her voice carrying a trace of imperceptible trembling. "The Astrolabe shows that the stellar force flow in the sea area ahead is... completely chaotic. No, not chaotic—it's being 'devoured' or 'twisted.' Conventional stellar positioning methods are failing."

Elder Xinghui's brows were locked in a frown as he looked at the main control array disk. "Geomagnetism is also shifting, and... the current direction deviates from the forecast by over thirty degrees. We seem to have been... drawn in by some kind of force without realizing it."

Zhao Yuan opened his eyes, a flash of sword light in them. "How long?"

"At least two hours," Elder Xinghui said with an ugly expression. "We were relying on inertial navigation and conventional corrections, so we didn't notice the anomaly. It wasn't until Chen Yue performed a periodic star chart calibration just now that we discovered it."

"Is it the ruin's own protection? Or..." Han Ying's cold voice rose, "remnants of the Demonic Abyss?"

Zhao Yuan stood up and walked to the porthole, gazing into the deep darkness. The stone slab fragment in his bosom emitted a faint warmth, and "Shadow of Silence" gave a low, barely audible hum. He pondered for a moment. "Slow down. Activate the full-frequency detection array and focus on scanning the seafloor terrain and energy reactions ahead. Shadow Seven, Shadow Eleven, prepare the 'Break-Seal Awl' and the 'Image-Recording Disk.' Shi Meng, Tie Shan, stay alert."

The orders were executed immediately. The "Star-Seeking Shuttle" slowed drastically, and a circle of detection ripples spread from the hull like invisible tentacles, sweeping toward the front.

The feedback from the detection ripples left everyone gasping.

It was not the expected seafloor mountain range or canyon, but a piece of... "nothingness."

It wasn't truly empty; rather, the detection ripples entered a certain range and vanished like a stone into the sea. The information fed back was fragmented and contradictory: at times showing a trench tens of thousands of zhang deep, at others showing rising seafloor hills. The energy reactions were even more chaotic, containing faint stellar force, dense deathly silence, and even traces of the familiar, unsettling blood-evil and demonic energy!

"Spatial distortion? An illusion array? Or... is the ruin itself in an unstable state?" Elder Xinghui's face was grave.

Zhao Yuan stared at that piece of "nothingness," his Sword Intent of Silence slowly operating. In his perception, it was not empty, but filled with a sense of... "sinking" and "solidification." It was as if time and space there had been forcibly pressed into a pause, yet were continuously repeating the process of "falling" and "extinction" in some paradox.

"It is the entrance to the ruin, or rather... it exists in this 'abnormal' state itself," Zhao Yuan said slowly, his fingers lightly stroking the "Shadow of Silence" blade. "The sword is resonating, and the stone slab is heating up. We found the right place."

He turned to the others. "The situation ahead is unknown, and conventional detection methods have failed. I propose using the 'Break-Seal Awl' for a probing strike while using the 'Image-Recording Disk' to document all anomalous fluctuations. If an entrance or weak point is confirmed, the 'Star-Seeking Shuttle' will follow closely and break through. Does anyone have objections?"

Everyone looked at each other and eventually shook their heads. Retreat was no longer an option; they could only move forward.

Shadow Seven nodded and went to the special launch port at the bow with Shadow Eleven. Together, they injected spiritual power into the "Break-Seal Awl." The awl's silver runes flared, and the tip spun with increasing speed, emitting a high-frequency hum.

"Fire!"

"Whoosh—!"

The Break-Seal Awl turned into a silver streak and shot straight into the "nothingness" area where the detection was chaotic!

The moment the silver streak entered the darkness, a sudden change occurred!

There was no violent explosion or energy clash. That piece of "nothingness" rippled like the surface of a pond struck by a stone! As the ripples passed, the seafloor scene twisted and transformed violently, vaguely revealing a corner of a structure that was definitely not natural—it was a wall of unimaginable size, covered in rust and strange reliefs, and a broken metal structure that looked like some kind of giant support!

Immediately after, at the location of the Break-Seal Awl's silver streak, space "cracked" with a sound like shattering glass, leaving an irregular "fissure" with edges flowing with intertwined gray-white and dark red light! Inside the fissure, there was no seawater, but a dead, silent void that seemed to have frozen ten thousand years of time, vaguely revealing the twisted shadows of giant buildings deeper within!

"Now! Full speed, charge in!" Zhao Yuan shouted.

Elder Xinghui gritted his teeth and pushed the control lever to the limit. The "Star-Seeking Shuttle" activated all propulsion arrays, turned into a streak of light, and plunged headlong into the spatial fissure, following the trajectory of the Break-Seal Awl's silver streak!

The world spun!

It was not a physical tumble, but a complete disorder of perception. Everyone felt the world go black, and then an endless stream of fragmented images and noisy thoughts surged into their minds: stars falling, seas boiling, cities collapsing, all spirits wailing, ancient and solemn sacrificial chants, crazy and greedy devouring whispers... various contradictory "information fragments" full of pain and despair struck everyone's soul like a tsunami!

"Hold your minds!" Zhao Yuan shouted, and "Shadow of Silence" suddenly unsheathed three inches! The clear sword hum carried a pure intent of silence, sweeping out like a needle to calm the sea, forcibly carving out a small piece of "purity" in the chaotic information flow.

Everyone was an elite; taking advantage of this gap, they each operated their cultivation techniques to stabilize their Dao hearts and resist the impact.

This terrifying perceptual chaos lasted for about ten breaths before gradually subsiding.

When their vision finally cleared, everyone was so shocked by the sight before them that they were speechless.

The "Star-Seeking Shuttle" was hovering in a... "space" that could not be accurately described in words.

There was no seawater here, no sky, only an endless "void" background composed of solidified darkness and faint starlight. And in the "void," floated countless giant, broken "fragments."

Those "fragments" were actually broken towers, collapsed palaces, twisted bridges, and disintegrated giant statues... All the buildings were constructed from a strange material that was neither gold nor stone, shimmering with a dull metallic luster and stellar spots, with surfaces carved with complex stellar trajectories, celestial movement charts, and reliefs of countless kneeling, praying, and sacrificing spirits. The style was ancient and solemn, yet carried a creepy feeling—because all these buildings were in an extremely unnatural state of "solidification" and "fragmentation," as if at the moment a destructive force descended, they had been forcibly "frozen" in the process of disintegration, and then scattered in this void like trash.

Further away, at the "center" of these building debris islands, a larger, relatively complete outline was vaguely visible—it seemed to be a giant pyramid-shaped sacrificial altar, or some kind of stepped temple base, its top disappearing into the deeper darkness above, its full appearance unseen.

And between all the "fragments," permeated a dense, inescapable aura of "deathly silence" and "decay," mixed with faint stellar force, and... traces of dark red "blood-evil" remnants like dried blood. The entire space was terrifyingly quiet, save for the faint hum of the shuttle's array operation and the increasingly heavy heartbeats and breathing of the people.

"Here... is the sunken capital of the 'Star-Falling People'?" Han Ying's voice carried a trace of unbelievable chill. "Not sunk on the seafloor, but... banished or sealed in such a twisted spatial layer?"

"The spatial laws are extremely chaotic and fragile," Elder Xinghui said with a pale face, looking at the violently fluctuating and nearly out-of-control array disk. "Our 'Star-Seeking Shuttle' cannot last long here. We must find a landing spot as soon as possible, or... find a way to leave."

Chen Yue stared at the small Astrolabe, its needle spinning wildly: "The stellar force... has been polluted. The starlight here carries strong 'falling' and 'cursed' characteristics. It cannot be absorbed directly, or we risk a backlash."

Shi Meng and Tie Shan gripped their weapons tightly, muscles tense, ready for battle. Shadow Seven and Shadow Eleven had already silently released several miniature "reconnaissance puppets," which crawled out of the cabin like metal spiders, attaching themselves to the nearest building debris and beginning to scan.

Zhao Yuan took a deep breath, suppressing the shock in his heart. The stone slab fragment in his bosom was already burning hot, and the hum of "Shadow of Silence" was clearer, the tip of the sword pointing slightly toward the base of the giant pyramid-shaped building in the distance.

"Target: the central altar," Zhao Yuan said in a low voice. "The shuttle's energy is limited; we need to land and explore. Elder Xinghui, find a relatively stable debris piece with low energy reaction as a temporary anchor. Everyone else, check your gear and prepare to disembark."

A moment later, the "Star-Seeking Shuttle" carefully landed on a relatively flat piece of debris, which seemed to be the roof of a palace, near the direction of the central altar. The surface was covered with thick, gray, dust-like sediment, but stepping on it produced a dull, metallic echo.

The nine of them disembarked one after another, stepping onto this land that had been silent for at least thirty thousand years.

The moment their feet touched the ground, everyone felt a bone-chilling "intent of death" spreading up from the soles of their feet, as if countless cold hands were trying to drag them into eternal slumber. The body-refiners Shi Meng and Tie Shan erupted with blood-energy, driving away the chill; Han Ying's Fairy Fairy Bingpo Heart-Protecting Mirror automatically protected its master; Xinghui, Chen Yue, and the shadow guards also used their own methods to resist.

Zhao Yuan felt the "Shadow of Silence" sword tremble, and that cold intent of death melted like snow upon touching his Sword Intent of Silence, instead being absorbed and transformed by the sword intent, giving him a clearer perception of the "silence" Dao rhyme in this space.

"The 'deathly silence' here is not a natural extinction, but more like... a 'solidification' after being forcibly plundered of all vitality and time," Zhao Yuan pondered, his gaze sweeping across the surroundings.

The reconnaissance puppets released by Shadow Seven and Shadow Eleven had sent back preliminary information: the material of these building fragments contained extremely high concentrations of unknown metals and stellar essence, but the structure was fragile, with hidden spatial fissures or energy turbulence in many places. The stellar force permeating the air was polluted but highly concentrated; if a method of purification could be found, it might be a huge resource. At the same time, several weak energy fluctuations identical to the Black Water City stone slab were detected, as well as... several relatively strong, unsettling life reactions—not living things, but more like some kind of imprisoned resentment or remnant souls, and... traces of non-native demonic energy!

"Something has been here, and it might still be here," Shadow Seven reported in a low voice, pointing to an image sent back by a reconnaissance puppet: under a collapsed giant pillar, there were dragging marks that were not naturally formed, and dark purple energy particles—Demonic Abyss energy—remained on the edges of the marks!

Everyone's heart tightened. This meant that the Demonic Abyss had likely discovered this place, and might even have arrived first!

"Speed up," Zhao Yuan decided immediately. "Target the central altar. Avoid energy turbulence and suspicious life reactions along the way. If we encounter enemies, end the battle quickly; do not get entangled."

The team formed a defensive formation, with Shi Meng and Tie Shan leading the way, Zhao Yuan supporting from the center, Xinghui and Chen Yue responsible for monitoring the environment and array anomalies, and Han Ying and the two shadow guards bringing up the rear, cautiously advancing toward the base of the pyramid-shaped building.

What they saw along the way was shocking. Inside the collapsed buildings, one could occasionally see skeletons that had turned to dust but still maintained kneeling or praying postures; their clothing had long since weathered away, but a few skeletons still had star-shaped ornaments or magic tool fragments in their hands or around their necks, emitting a faint light. The reliefs on the walls depicted the glorious past of this civilization: they observed the stars and built massive stellar trajectory calculation arrays; they held grand sacrifices to offer tributes to the "gods" in the starry sky; they drove giant ships powered by stellar force to sail the vast seas and even the starry sky... until one day, the sky cracked, burning stars fell, seawater poured in, giant shadows shrouded everything, and then came disintegration, solidification, and sinking.

Those relief carvings' final scenes were full of despair and madness: countless living beings rushed toward a certain place (likely the central altar), seemingly holding a final, and most terrifying, sacrifice, trying to save or beg for something.

"Are they praying... or trying to fulfill some kind of 'contract'?" Chen Yue looked at a relief depicting ten thousand spirits kneeling before the altar, with the starry sky shattering above and blood light filling the sky, her voice trembling.

No one could answer.

The closer they got to the central altar, the stronger the pressure mixed with starlight, deathly silence, and blood-evil became. The air became viscous, and every step felt like swimming against the current. More bizarre phenomena began to appear in the surroundings: sparks floating in mid-air, motionless; rubble frozen in the middle of falling; even in one area, the flow of time seemed abnormal, with the shadow of a petrified coral tree slowly "growing" and "shrinking."

"Fragmentation of spatial and temporal laws..." Elder Xinghui's face grew paler. "The degree of decay of this ruin far exceeds imagination. We must find the core, obtain information, and leave as soon as possible, otherwise we might be trapped here forever, or torn apart by chaotic laws."

Finally, they arrived at the foot of the base of the pyramid-shaped building.

The size of this base was beyond imagination, like an inverted mountain. Its surface was not a complete staircase, but full of giant, seemingly violently torn gaps and cracks. Deep within the cracks, faint dark red light, pulsing like a heartbeat, could be seen, mixed with an even denser, nauseating smell of blood and resentment.

And directly in front of the base, among the collapsed giant stone steles and broken statue groups, stood a relatively complete, giant metal stele about ten zhang high and three zhang wide!

The material of the stele was the same as the surrounding buildings, but the surface was relatively well-preserved, engraved with dense ancient runes identical to those on the stone slab fragments, as well as more detailed stellar trajectory charts, the star pattern of three stars surrounding an Ouroboros, and the relief of ten thousand spirits kneeling. At the very top of the stele, a line of giant characters was engraved; although they did not recognize them, the intent contained within struck their souls directly, making them instantly understand its meaning:

"Contract of the Sunken Star"

Below the stele was the line of small characters the Pavilion Master of Heavenly Secrets had described: "By the stars as witness, by blood as contract. Serve my god, and enjoy eternity. Those who betray... stars fall and blood dries, forever falling into the Return-to-Ruins."

And at this moment, this "Contract of the Sunken Star" stele, which should have been silent, had a layer of dim, writhing starlight flowing on its surface. Within the starlight, the star pattern of three stars and the Ouroboros were rotating extremely slowly!

What shocked everyone even more was that in front of the stele, three corpses in tattered black robes, long since turned to dried husks, were kneeling. They were prostrate, their heads pressed against the ground, their hands stretched forward, as if in the last moment before death, they were still trying to touch or worship the stele. And on the backs of their black robes, a ferocious pattern was drawn with dark red material that seemed to be coagulated blood—in the twisted stars, a bloodshot eye had opened!

"The Rebirth Sect!" Zhao Yuan's pupils shrank.

These dried husks were actually priests of the "Rebirth Sect"! They had arrived here much earlier and died before this "Contract of the Sunken Star" stele! How did they find this place? What did they do here? Why did they die here?

Just as everyone was filled with suspicion and fear.

The starlight slowly rotating on the "Contract of the Sunken Star" stele suddenly accelerated! The star pattern of three stars and the Ouroboros flared with brilliant light! A grand, ancient, solemn yet crazy, servile yet greedy terrifying will, like a sleeping giant beast being disturbed, slowly... awakened from deep within the stele!

At the same time, behind the stele, deep within the cracks of the pyramid base, the dark red pulsing light suddenly became rapid and bright, as if something was being "awakened" by the anomaly of the stele!

"Retreat!" Zhao Yuan shouted, unsheathing his sword without hesitation. The dark gold patterns on the "Shadow of Silence" erupted with unprecedented brilliant light, and a pure Sword Intent of Silence slashed toward the stele like an angry dragon!

However, upon touching the starlight flowing on the surface of the stele, the sword intent was swallowed and absorbed like a stone into the sea! The starlight on the stele instead became brighter and more active!

"Hahaha... finally... finally there are new 'sacrifices' and 'witnesses'... delivering themselves to the door..."

A dry, hoarse, bizarre voice that sounded like two pieces of rusted metal rubbing together echoed directly in the depths of everyone's souls, full of endless resentment, greed, and... a twisted joy.

The source of the voice was that "Contract of the Sunken Star" stele!

Or rather, it was the... remnant will of some ancient existence that had been dwelling within the stele, having sunk and twisted for thirty thousand years, and having long since merged with the "contract" itself!