Chapter 154

"With my blood, sharpen the sword.

With the intent of annihilation, guide the light of the star essence.

Not broken, not established; not destroyed, not established..."

Zhao Yuan's low chanting echoed on the star-shining stone platform, not loud, but as if it had triggered some kind of ancient law that had been silent for eons in this space. The life essence mixed with the purest Sword Intent of Annihilation turned into pale golden blood mist, shrouding the sword body of "Shadow-Annihilation" and the "Star Essence" fragment below.

Hum——!

The sword body of "Shadow-Annihilation" shook violently, the dark gold patterns flowing with unprecedented brilliance like burning lava, no longer the grayish-white of annihilation, but a chaotic dark gold that blended the "end" of annihilation and the "beginning" of stars.

The "Star Essence" fragment below erupted with brilliant dark blue star radiance in response, the miniature star sea sealed inside rotating and expanding frantically, as if about to break free from the crystal's constraints and merge with the sword light above.

Two forces with different origins but subtly connected at some supreme level—"Annihilation," symbolizing the return to silence at the end of all things, and "Star Essence," symbolizing the origin of star birth—under the catalysis of Zhao Yuan's life essence containing a resolute Dao heart, underwent an incredible blending, collision, and rebirth!

Between the tip of the sword and the fragment, the dark silver light gestating at that point suddenly expanded, no longer a point, but a strange ring of light that rotated slowly, between reality and illusion. Inside the ring of light, countless tiny stars seemed to be born in annihilation, and countless new births seemed to be heading toward annihilation in an instant, circulating repeatedly, interpreting a supreme truth about "end and beginning" and "breaking and establishing" that exceeded ordinary people's understanding.

Zhao Yuan's face turned gray at a speed visible to the naked eye, pale golden blood threads seeped from his seven orifices again, his arm holding the sword trembled violently, and his bones made a groaning sound that could not bear the burden. Forcibly triggering and mastering the blending of power at this level, even if it was only a negligible trace, far exceeded the limit of his Golden Core peak cultivation (actual combat power approaching mid-Soul Formation). His Dao foundation was wailing, his soul was like a candle in the wind, and his life origin was burning frantically.

But in his eyes, that cold, translucent, resolute light became brighter and brighter, more and more firm.

He saw it.

Through that dark silver ring of light, through the strange perspective of the resonance between "Shadow-Annihilation" and "Star Essence," he "saw" deep inside the "Slumbering Star Core" (giant cocoon) that was mutating violently above, deep within countless dark red energy streams, those invisible "Covenant Patterns" like chains, emitting an ancient, solemn, yet cold and greedy aura, connecting the core of the "Star Core" with the high and distant starry sky in the dark...

He also "saw" those evil intents belonging to the Wangsheng Sect and the Abyss, like filthy vines extending from the blasphemous altar, winding around parts of the "Covenant Patterns," attempting to dye them dark purple!

"Covenant... pollution... anchor..." Broken enlightenment flashed in Zhao Yuan's mind, which was about to collapse.

He no longer hesitated, and had no strength to think about more consequences.

All his spirit, will, and even his life force, which was on the verge of collapse, condensed into this one sword!

"Slash——!!!"

There was no earth-shattering shout, only a hoarse roar that erupted from the depths of his soul, exhausting all his strength.

The "Shadow-Annihilation" sword moved.

It did not slash toward a solid object, nor did it slash toward energy. Zhao Yuan used his body as a bridge, his sword as a guide, and the dark silver ring of light formed by the blending as the edge, slashing vaguely toward the "node" deep inside the giant cocoon above, where the "Covenant Patterns" and evil intents were most densely intertwined!

The dark silver ring of light flew out from the sword, silent and soundless, without grand momentum, without dazzling light, and did not even cause obvious fluctuations in the violent energy around it. It was like a phantom ripple, a shadow of a concept, easily passing through the obstruction of solid objects and energy, and sinking into the boiling dark red giant cocoon above.

Time seemed to be stretched and solidified at this moment.

Above, Elder Xinghui, Han Ying, Shi Meng, and Tie Shan, who were fighting a bloody battle with the swarming mutant monsters, simultaneously felt an indescribable palpitation sweep through their hearts, their movements involuntarily pausing. Even the monsters attacking frantically seemed to have sensed something, emitting uneasy roars, their attacks slowing down.

Inside the giant cocoon, the violent dark red energy tide that seemed to want to devour everything suddenly paused for an instant.

Immediately after.

"Click... crack..."

An extremely faint sound, as if glass was shattering, which seemed to ring at the level of the soul, clearly rang in the consciousness of every living being in the ruins.

That was not the sound of a solid object shattering, but... the sound of some kind of invisible "shackle" or "connection" that had been maintained for tens of thousands of years being forcibly slashed open with a tiny crack at the level of the law!

The giant cocoon shook violently!

The boiling dark red light inside became chaotic, like hot oil poured into cold water! Those "Covenant Patterns" that had originally circulated in an orderly manner (despite being full of evil intent), as if key threads had been severed, began to twist, break, and disintegrate! The Wangsheng Sect evil intents and demonic energy intertwined with them, like shadows exposed to the sun, emitted silent shrieks, evaporating and dissipating violently!

The pulse of the entire giant cocoon suddenly turned from violent to a kind of... out-of-control "spasm"! The huge energy lost part of its core constraints and guidance, and began to impact and vent toward all directions indiscriminately!

Rumble——!

The entire underground space, no, the entire Star-Sinking Ruins, began to shake and collapse violently! Huge cracks opened in the dome, and countless metal fragments and star remains fell like a rainstorm! The surrounding walls cracked, and those wriggling dark red "vessels" ruptured one after another, spraying chaotic energy streams!

"The ruins are collapsing!" Elder Xinghui spat blood, barely supporting a tattered starlight shield, resisting the falling objects and energy impacts, "Little Friend Zhao Yuan succeeded?! Quick! Move closer to him!"

Han Ying's face was as pale as paper, the Ice Soul Heart-Protecting Mirror had already developed cracks, and she gritted her teeth to urge her last spiritual power. An ice bridge extended from under her feet, barely connecting toward the direction of the star-shining stone platform where Zhao Yuan was. Shi Meng and Tie Shan roared, blasting away several monsters that were disturbed by the collapse and became even more crazy, protecting Xinghui and Han Ying, and moving toward the platform with difficulty.

And at this moment, on the star-shining stone platform.

After slashing out that sword strike that exceeded his own limit, Zhao Yuan collapsed backward like he had been drained of all his bones. "Shadow-Annihilation" slipped from his hand and fell, slanting into the edge of the platform, the light on the sword body dimming, emitting a low wail. That "Star Essence" fragment also lost all its luster, becoming like the most ordinary blue stone, lying quietly on the ground.

Zhao Yuan's vision was blurry, his ears were buzzing, he could only feel the world spinning, his body was like a dilapidated cotton wadding, light and airy, and his consciousness was sinking rapidly into the boundless darkness. In the last remaining perception, it was the giant cocoon above that was collapsing and whose light was dimming rapidly, and the roar like mountains collapsing and the earth cracking all around.

"Is it... over..." he thought vaguely, his heart surprisingly calm.

However, the moment his consciousness was about to sink thoroughly.

Deep inside the "Slumbering Star Core" (giant cocoon) that had been slashed open with a crack and fallen into an out-of-control spasm, the mixture of the last collective will of the Star-Fallen people and the star origin that had been polluted, twisted, and imprisoned for tens of thousands of years, seemed to have gained a moment of "sobriety" because of the breaking of the "Covenant Patterns" and the loosening of the shackles!

A grand, sorrowful, yet incomparably pure stream of intent, like a flash of light before death, suddenly erupted from the core of the giant cocoon that was about to disintegrate, not as an attack, but as... a gift! Or rather, it was... gratitude and entrustment that had arrived thirty thousand years late!

This stream of intent ignored the distance of space and precisely poured into Zhao Yuan's body on the platform, who was resonating with the "Star Essence" fragment and had swung the sword strike that severed the shackles! A part of it, following the connection with the "Shadow-Annihilation" sword that had not yet completely dissipated, flowed into the divine sword!

Zhao Yuan was like charcoal that was about to extinguish being splashed with hot oil!

In his cold, stiff, and near-collapse body, a warm, vast, and pure energy full of life vitality and star power surged in! This energy did not simply supplement his consumption, but repaired his damaged meridians, nourished his dried Dantian, and stabilized his Dao foundation and soul that were about to collapse in an extremely high-level and gentle way! Even his life origin, which had been burned excessively, was slowly moistened and retrieved by this power containing the realm of "Star Immortality" and "Civilization's Remaining Fire"!

Not only that, massive amounts of fragmented memories about the "Star-Fallen people," star observation knowledge, some star secret technique runes that had not been polluted, and even a vague cognition of the essence of the "Three Enclosure Star Gods" covenant... surged into his sea of consciousness like a tide! The amount of information was so huge that it almost crushed his consciousness, but the intent itself carried a power of comfort and guidance, "sealing" and "precipitating" these pieces of information deep in his sea of consciousness, waiting for him to slowly digest them in the future.

The "Shadow-Annihilation" sword also emitted a clear, long hum, the light on the sword body lit up again, and in the dark gold patterns, there was a trace of dark blue luster like stars flowing, as if it had absorbed part of the star origin and undergone some subtle and beneficial transformation.

All of this happened in a flash.

When Elder Xinghui, Han Ying, Shi Meng, and Tie Shan arrived at the edge of the platform, what they saw was the strange star radiance slowly converging on Zhao Yuan's body, and his physical state, which, although still unconscious, had been pulled back from the edge of death, becoming stable and long, and even vaguely improved. The "Shadow-Annihilation" stuck to the side also appeared more ancient and profound.

"This..." The four looked at each other, both surprised and happy.

"Leave here first!" Shadow Seven and Shadow Eleven appeared from the shadows. They had been guarding the edge of the platform before, and now said urgently, "The spatial structure of the entire ruins is thoroughly collapsing! Those monsters have also been affected by the collapse and have no time to attack for the time being, but this place will soon be thoroughly buried!"

Shadow Eleven pointed to the back of the platform, where, for some reason, a temporary vortex composed of pure star light had appeared! "It was torn open when the stream of intent erupted just now! It might be a temporary passage to the outside of the ruins, it is very unstable, we must go immediately!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Shi Meng carried the unconscious Zhao Yuan on his back, Tie Shan carefully pulled out "Shadow-Annihilation," and collected the dim "Star Essence" fragment. Supporting each other, the group leaped into the star light vortex.

The dizzying feeling of teleportation came again.

When the group regained consciousness from the violent spatial turbulence, they found themselves floating in cold seawater. Hundreds of zhang above their heads was the normal, dim deep-sea scene, with faint daylight penetrating down. Looking back, behind them was the cold, abnormal-free deep-sea rock wall; where were the traces of the ruins entrance? Only the extremely faint spatial disturbance and star aura remaining in the seawater proved that everything they had just experienced was not an illusion.

"We... came out?" Chen Yue asked weakly. She had been supporting the defense, and was now almost exhausted.

"It should be that the ruins collapsed, the spatial structure was thoroughly destroyed, and we were excluded." Elder Xinghui gasped for air, looking at the completely damaged array disk in his hand, still having lingering fears, "The position... seems not far from the coordinates when we entered, but closer to the edge of the 'Silent Graveyard'."

The group looked around, all having a sense of trance of surviving a disaster. Shi Meng checked Zhao Yuan's condition on his back, and said happily: "Brother Zhao's pulse and aura are very stable, it seems... it seems his cultivation has even improved? This is really..."

"It's a blessing in disguise, and it's what he deserves." Han Ying looked at Zhao Yuan's peaceful (unconscious) face, a trace of complexity flashing in her cold eyes, "If it weren't for that sword strike of his that exceeded his limit at the end, severing some kind of key, all of us would have been buried in it."

Shadow Seven and Shadow Eleven had already begun to use the remaining magic tools to try to locate and contact the Star-Shattering Isle. At the same time, they vigilantly observed the surrounding deep-sea environment, guarding against possible monsters or dangers.

A moment later, Shadow Eleven breathed a sigh of relief: "Contacted the Star-Shattering Isle! Eunuch Wei has received our emergency distress signal and brief report, and is sending the fastest 'Star-Patrol Boat' to pick us up, expected to arrive in this sea area within a day."

Hearing this, the big stone in everyone's heart finally landed.

Elder Xinghui looked at the unconscious Zhao Yuan, and then at the "Shadow-Annihilation" and "Star Essence" fragment carefully kept by Tie Shan, his expression solemn: "This exploration, although extremely dangerous, suffered heavy losses, but the harvest... is also huge. We not only initially figured out the truth of the 'Star-Sinking Covenant,' destroyed the Wangsheng Sect and the Abyss's attempt to pollute and control the ancient covenant, but also brought back the key 'Star Essence' fragment and a large amount of information. The sword strike with which Little Friend Zhao Yuan finally severed the covenant shackles may have immeasurable significance for the future confrontation with 'World-Erosion' in this world."

"However," he changed the subject, looking in the direction where the ruins disappeared, his face showing worry, "Although the 'Slumbering Star Core' was severed from part of the covenant connection by Little Friend Zhao Yuan and fell into collapse, its core pollution and huge energy did not thoroughly dissipate, but were buried or scattered under this deep sea as the ruins collapsed... I'm afraid the hidden danger remains."

Han Ying nodded: "There is also the escaped 'Filthy Soul' remnant intent, the heavily wounded 'Greed' Demon Marshal, and the Wangsheng Sect remnants lurking inside the continent... The 'World-Erosion' plan of the Abyss will never stop because of this setback."

The group was silent, the joy of escaping death was replaced by heavy worry about the future.

The deep sea was dim, and the water flowed silently.

In the unconscious Zhao Yuan's brow center, a tiny, almost imperceptible light spot that fused grayish-white annihilation light and dark blue star light quietly disappeared. Deep in his consciousness, the sea of memories and knowledge belonging to the Star-Fallen people that had just been forcibly poured in was slowly precipitating and merging with his steady breathing and heartbeat, waiting for the blooming of the day of awakening.

And on the edge of his blurry dream, it seemed to echo with a sigh of relief from the distant time and space, and a whisper that dissipated with the wind:

"The covenant is broken, the star core is rotten, but the remaining fire has been passed on... People of later generations, hope you use the legacy of our clan well, and be vigilant... of the watching from the depths of the starry sky..."

(Volume 6 【Star-Sinking Covenant】 End)