Chapter 150: The Star-Sinking Covenant

"Offering... Witness..."

That dry, hoarse voice scraped against everyone's soul like countless rusted blades. The starlight flowing upon the stone stele grew increasingly intense, and the three star totems and the Ouroboros rotated faster and faster, as if they were about to break free from the stele's constraints and transform into some kind of living creature.

Zhao Yuan's sword strike had been in vain, and a sense of impending danger surged in his heart. Although the Sword Intent of Annihilation was powerful, the will and strength contained within this stele seemed to share the same essence as "Annihilation"—both were states tending toward an end, returning to nothingness. However, the "end" of this stele carried intense resentment, the constraints of a contract, and a twisted sense of worship, which differed from the pure, transcendent "Annihilation" of the Shadow-Annihilation Sword, making it difficult to sever easily.

"Fall back! Form a defensive formation!" shouted Elder Xinghui, a star-studded array disk already appearing in his hand as he quickly deployed a "Starlight Protective Wall." Chen Yue coordinated by scattering several starlight talismans to reinforce the defense.

Han Ying formed seals with her hands, the Fairy Fairy Bingpo Heart-Protecting Mirror hovering above her head, shedding layers of icy blue mist that enveloped the group, attempting to freeze the pervasive erosion of that will. Shi Meng and Tie Shan roared, their Qi and blood burning like a furnace as they blocked the front. Shadow Seven and Shadow Eleven flickered, disappearing from their spots like two ghosts, quietly sneaking toward the sides of the stele to find a flaw or cut off the energy nodes.

However, the will within the stele seemed to perceive everything.

"Useless... Descendants of the Star-Fallen people? No... intruders with impure auras... your flesh, your souls, your memories and fears... will all become nourishment to nurture the 'Covenant' and awaken 'My God'..."

As the voice spoke, the eye sockets of the relief carvings of kneeling beings on the stele's surface suddenly lit up with dark red light, as if they had come to life, "looking" at the group in unison. An invisible, tyrannical suction force suddenly emerged, acting not on their bodies, but directly on everyone's vitality, spiritual power, and even... the origin of their souls!

"It's absorbing our vitality and spiritual power!" Chen Yue exclaimed, her face turning pale instantly. The spiritual power she was using to maintain the talismans poured out like a floodgate opening, being sucked away by the stele.

The Starlight Protective Wall deployed by Elder Xinghui also fluctuated violently, the starlight dimming rapidly. Han Ying's Fairy Fairy Bingpo mist was pulled into twisted trajectories by the suction. Although Shi Meng and Tie Shan had vigorous Qi and blood, they also felt their strength draining rapidly, a wave of weakness spreading through their muscles.

The most terrifying part was the erosion at the soul level. The voice carried endless resentment and temptation, whispering constantly in their minds:

"Offer it up... sacrifice everything... and decay with the stars..."

"The consequence of betraying the covenant... is eternal sinking..."

"Join us... become a part of the covenant... witness the return of My God..."

The eyes of the two Juling Sect body cultivators began to turn red, their breathing heavy, showing signs of losing control. Chen Yue's gaze became unfocused, and the talisman in her hand nearly dropped. Even Soul Formation cultivators like Elder Xinghui and Han Ying had their brows locked, sweat on their foreheads, clearly struggling with all their might against the bewitchment aimed directly at their Dao hearts.

Zhao Yuan gripped "Shadow-Annihilation" tightly, the cold touch from the sword body keeping him a sliver of clarity. He could feel that the suction and bewitchment had minimal impact on "Shadow-Annihilation"; the Sword Intent of Annihilation was like a reef in a torrent, standing unmoved. But if this continued, the others would not be able to hold on for long.

The stele's traction must be broken!

His gaze swept over the three mummified corpses of the Wangsheng Sect priests before the stele, and his heart stirred. These priests had maintained a posture of worship before death, and the "Blood-Eye Star" pattern on the backs of their black robes appeared particularly glaring under the stele's starlight. They had clearly performed some kind of ritual here, only to be drained of all vitality and turned into mummies.

Could it be that they were not the providers of the offering, but... victims of a backlash from attempting to tamper with or seize control of the covenant?

Just then, Shadow Seven, who had snuck to the left side of the stele, suddenly transmitted his voice, sounding urgent: "Crack in the left base! There is a strong demonic energy reaction, and also... traces of living creatures moving!"

Almost simultaneously, Shadow Eleven on the right also sent a message: "Energy node discovered on the right, suspected to be an energy transmission channel between the stele and the structure below, but it is blocked and contaminated by a filthy blood-colored light!"

The will within the stele seemed to have detected the Shadow Guards' investigation, emitting an angry shriek: "Filthy bugs! How dare you spy on the sacred covenant!"

Before the voice faded, dozens of dark red threads suddenly shot out from the eyes of the glowing relief carvings on the stele's surface! These threads were as fast as lightning, ignoring the obstruction of the Starlight Protective Wall and the Fairy Fairy Bingpo mist, shooting straight at the hiding places of Shadow Seven and Shadow Eleven!

"Careful!" Zhao Yuan shouted sharply, his figure already in motion. The sword light of "Shadow-Annihilation" erupted, and a grayish-white Sword Intent of Annihilation struck first, precisely cutting through several threads shooting toward Shadow Seven.

Sss—!

The sword intent made a corrosive sound upon contact with the threads. The threads were severed, but the broken ends did not dissipate; instead, they twisted like living creatures, continuing to lunge at Shadow Seven! And Zhao Yuan's Sword Intent of Annihilation was also rapidly eroded and neutralized by the resentment and covenant power contained within those threads!

As elite Shadow Guards, Shadow Seven and Shadow Eleven reacted extremely quickly, their figures flickering continuously like ghosts, narrowly avoiding most of the threads. But a few still grazed them; their protective shadow spiritual power was instantly eroded, leaving gaps, and the clothing and flesh at the contact points immediately turned gray and lifeless, as if they had experienced thousands of years of decay in an instant!

"These threads can devour vitality and time!" Shadow Seven grunted, retreating rapidly, already having taken out an Imperial-made "Evil-Cleansing Talisman" to press onto his wound, the talisman's light fiercely resisting the erosive power.

The stele's will emitted a triumphant shriek: "Struggle... fear... every fluctuation of your emotions, every use of your spiritual power, is adding strength to the covenant!"

The suction force suddenly intensified! The Starlight Protective Wall groaned under the strain and shattered with a boom! Chen Yue groaned, blood spilling from the corner of her mouth as she collapsed to the ground. Han Ying's Fairy Fairy Bingpo mist was also compressed to only protect a three-foot radius around her. Shi Meng and Tie Shan roared repeatedly, but could not stop the frantic drain of their Qi, blood, and strength, and fine wrinkles began to appear on their skin.

At this critical moment, a fierce look flashed in Zhao Yuan's eyes. He could not wait any longer!

He held "Shadow-Annihilation" vertically before him, his left hand forming a finger seal, slowly wiping across the sword body. The dark gold patterns on the sword body lit up one by one as his fingertips moved, like a lit lamp string, finally converging at the tip of the sword.

"Shadow-Annihilation... is not just about 'Annihilation'." Zhao Yuan whispered, as if speaking to the sword, and as if questioning his own Dao heart, "Stars fall and return to annihilation. But before annihilation, there was brilliant light; after annihilation, new life can also be conceived... My sword path does not seek only the end, but also... to carve out a path amidst the end!"

He remembered purifying demonic thoughts with the Sword Intent of Annihilation under Heishuicheng; he remembered watching Lin Xuan trigger the Return to Ruins Tribulation on the Star-Shattering Isle. Annihilation was not purely destruction and demise; it could also be a form of "purification," a form of "severing," a form of... "opening"!

With his mind clear, the sword intent transformed accordingly!

The point of light at the tip of "Shadow-Annihilation" suddenly retracted, and then, a deeper, more internal sword intent that seemed to encompass the cycle of stars and the reincarnation of all things slowly rose. This sword intent still had annihilation as its core, but it gained an extra edge of "clearing" and "opening"!

Zhao Yuan took a step forward, ignoring the terrifying suction and the dark red threads flying across the sky. His figure seemed to merge into a grayish-white stream of light, man and sword as one, piercing straight toward the core of the "Star-Sinking Covenant" stele—the center of the three rotating star totems!

"Shadow-Annihilation: Heart-Questioning Slash!"

There was no earth-shattering momentum, only a grayish-white cold star at the tip of the sword, condensed to the extreme, as if it could pierce through time, space, and illusion!

The stele's will seemed to sense the difference in this sword strike, emitting a roar mixed with shock and anger: "Impossible! Your sword... how could it touch the 'node' of the covenant?!"

It frantically urged the starlight, countless dark red threads weaving into a net to block the sword. Furthermore, shockwaves mixed with blood-evil resentment and star curses erupted from the stele, blasting toward Zhao Yuan.

However, Zhao Yuan's sword strike had already locked onto the core "node" of the stele's power operation—that was the most fragile and critical point where the laws of the covenant, the resentment of the star people, the pollution of the Wangsheng Sect, and the erosion of demonic energy were intertwined! It was only through the resonance between "Shadow-Annihilation" and the stele fragments, combined with Zhao Yuan's current enlightenment of his sword heart, that he could vaguely perceive this flaw!

Pfft!

The grayish-white sword light cut into the stele like a hot knife through butter, actually piercing through the layers of threads and shockwaves, precisely stabbing into the tiny gap in the center of the three star totems where the Ouroboros coiled!

Time seemed to stand still at this moment.

The violently rotating starlight on the stele suddenly stopped. The dry, hoarse roaring sound came to an abrupt halt. The dark red threads flying across the sky snapped inch by inch, turning into ashes.

The suction force disappeared.

Everyone felt their bodies lighten, almost to the point of collapse. Shi Meng and Tie Shan sat down on the ground, gasping for air. Chen Yue struggled to sit up and quickly took an elixir. Elder Xinghui and Han Ying also breathed a sigh of relief, but their eyes remained nervously fixed on the stele.

Where the tip of "Shadow-Annihilation" had stabbed in, there were no sparks, nor any energy explosion. Only circles of gray ripples spread out from the tip of the sword across the surface of the stele. Wherever the ripples passed, the flowing starlight rapidly dimmed and dissipated, revealing the stele's original, ancient, and mottled metallic texture. The relief eyes that had been glowing red also extinguished one by one.

From deep within the stele came a series of faint sounds like glass shattering, as well as a wail full of unwillingness and resentment that gradually faded away: "Covenant... not... finished... My God... will eventually... return..."

Finally, the stele fell completely silent, with no further anomalies, as if it were just an ordinary, ancient metal stele covered in runes.

Zhao Yuan slowly retracted his sword, his face pale, sweat rolling down his temples. The "Heart-Questioning Slash" just now not only consumed most of his spiritual power and sword intent, but also performed a direct "slash-question" on that ancient, twisted will at the level of his mind and spirit, placing a heavy burden on him.

But he had succeeded. This sword strike had temporarily "severed" or "sealed" the awakened, malicious covenant will within the stele, or rather, suppressed it back into a dormant state.

"Little Friend Zhao Yuan, are you alright?" Elder Xinghui stepped forward and asked with concern.

Zhao Yuan shook his head, but his gaze turned toward the back of the stele, to the dark red light still pulsing within the cracks of the pyramid base. The stele's anomaly had been suppressed, but the movement below had not stopped; instead... it seemed to have become even more chaotic and intense because it had lost part of the stele's suppression or guidance.

"The stele is just a facade, or rather, one of the control hubs." Zhao Yuan said in a deep voice, "The real trouble is likely below. And..."

He looked in the direction Shadow Seven and Shadow Eleven had just investigated: "The demonic energy reaction and traces of living creatures are still there. The Wangsheng Sect priests died here, but there might be other 'things' that got here before us, and are perhaps still active below."

No sooner had he finished speaking.

"Boom—!"

A dull, loud noise came from deep within the pyramid base, and the entire ruin space shook with it! Countless floating architectural ruins trembled, dropping more dust and fragments.

Within the cracks of the base, the dark red pulsing light surged violently, like a fierce heartbeat after a cardiac arrest! A more tyrannical, more primitive, and terrifying aura filled with the desire to violently devour, like a fierce beast that had slept for eons, was slowly raising its head deep within the cracks!

At the same time, from the direction of the crack in the left base, came a teeth-aching rustling sound, as if countless shells were rubbing against each other, along with a low, inhuman roar! Thick Abyss demonic energy mixed with a fishy, salty sea smell surged over like a tide!

"Alert! Something is coming up!" Shadow Seven warned sharply, his figure rapidly retreating back to the team.

The heartstrings that everyone had just relaxed tightened again, and they quickly assembled into a formation, facing both the left crack and the crack in the base below, standing ready.

Zhao Yuan took a deep breath, suppressing his churning Qi and blood, and gripped "Shadow-Annihilation" again. The sword body transmitted a slight tremor, not of fear, but of... excitement in the face of a strong enemy, and a trace of a deeper palpitation that seemed to touch some distant resonance.

The secrets of these Star-Sinking Ruins were far deeper and more dangerous than imagined. And their exploration had only just entered the core.