Chapter 160: Breaking the Barrier and Condensing the Nascent Soul, the Sudden Arrival of External Evil

Deep within the Star Tempering Platform, time seemed to lose its flow.

Zhao Yuan sat cross-legged in the center of the Star Radiance Stone platform, his entire being enveloped in the star power that cascaded from the crystal dome like a tangible waterfall of light. His breathing was long and faint, nearly merging with the rhythm of the circulating star power around him. With every inhalation, a vast amount of pure star power surged into his meridians, nourishing every inch of his flesh, warming his soul which was nearing its limit, and consolidating his precarious Dao foundation; with every exhalation, he expelled the minute impurities and lingering battle fatigue from his body.

Deep within his sea of consciousness, the dark purple "Demonic Seed," heavily sealed by gray-white sword intent and ghostly blue star power, finally fell completely silent under the soothing influence of the gentle yet firm Imperial Dragon Qi continuously emitted by the "Imperial God-Protecting Decree," as well as the relentless scouring of pure star power from the outside. Its dark purple light retracted, no longer attempting to strike the seal, as if it had fallen into the deepest state of dormancy. But Zhao Yuan could feel that it had not disappeared; it had merely lowered its presence to the minimum, like a venomous snake waiting for the right moment.

This bought him precious, undisturbed cultivation time.

His mind was entirely immersed in two core tasks: first, digesting the insights from his battle with the "Star-Shattering Blood Spine," thoroughly making the "Evil-Slaying Sword Intent"—which fused annihilation and star power—his own, and further integrating it with inherited knowledge such as the "Star Dust-Cleansing Art"; second, mobilizing all his strength to strike at the bottleneck between the peak of the Golden Core and the Nascent Soul, which appeared thin yet was incomparably tough.

In his dantian, the Golden Core, which was already round and full with contained light, had expanded to the size of a fist under the continuous infusion and tempering of the vast star power and annihilation sword intent. Its surface flowed with strange patterns of interwoven dark gold and ghostly blue, emitting increasingly powerful energy fluctuations. Inside the Golden Core, it felt as if something was gestating, struggling, and wanting to break out of its shell.

"The Golden Core is the seed, the Dao intent is the soul, the spiritual power is the soil... break the shell to condense the Nascent Soul, elevate the soul..." Various essential techniques for condensing a Nascent Soul flowed through Zhao Yuan's mind, including both general sect methods and the unique perspectives recorded in the heritage of the Star-Falling People that leaned toward the Great Dao of Stars. He did not blindly copy any single path, but instead used his own annihilation sword intent as the foundation, supplemented by his newly acquired star power and insights, to walk a path of his own.

Days passed one by one.

Outside the Star Tempering Platform, True Person Beichen stood guard without leaving for a single moment, yet his expression grew more solemn with each passing day. The jade talisman in his hand, which recorded the urgent warning from the Pavilion Master of Heavenly Secrets, felt as heavy as a thousand catties. Three strongholds of the Rebirth Sect within the continent had simultaneously activated suspected ultra-long-range teleportation arrays, with targets pointing toward the Vast Sea! What did this mean? Was the Rebirth Sect moving their forces to the Vast Sea in a massive scale? Or were they preparing to welcome the arrival of an even more terrifying existence? Star Fragment Isle was the first to bear the brunt!

He had long since reported the intelligence to Wei Gongshen, and the entire Star Fragment Isle had entered the highest state of combat readiness. Patrol forces had been increased several times over, the grand array was kept running at over seventy percent power at all times, and all teams performing missions outside had been urgently recalled. Elder Ling Shuang personally led people to conduct a dragnet-style search of the surrounding waters, with "Ghost Tooth Bay" as the center, looking for any possible teleportation array reception points or spatial anomalies. Wei Gongshen himself sat in command at the center, deploying the Imperial Dynasty's "Demon-Slaying Army" and reinforcements from various sects, standing ready in full battle array.

However, a full seven days passed, and apart from discovering a few scattered, insignificant, and long-abandoned hiding spots, they had found nothing! Those three anomalous spatial fluctuations were like stones sinking into the sea, with no follow-up. This deathly silence before the storm only made the strings in everyone's hearts pull tighter.

The preparations for Lin Xuan's awakening ceremony continued in an orderly fashion, with the location set at the "Star-Fixing Hall," where the ley lines, star power, and arrays of Star Fragment Isle converged most stably. All materials, arrays, and personnel were in place, waiting only for the "Star Tide Stability Period" two days later. Wei Gongshen strictly ordered that the ceremony proceed as planned, but the guard force was tripled, and he would personally oversee it.

Everyone understood that this awakening ceremony might very well become the key node that ignited the undercurrents.

The eighth day, late at night.

Inside the Star Tempering Platform, the aura on Zhao Yuan's body suddenly climbed to a critical point!

The Golden Core within his body, which had expanded to its limit, suddenly lit up with blinding radiance on its surface, and the dark gold and ghostly blue patterns seemed to come alive, spinning crazily! A majestic energy fluctuation, mixed with annihilation, stars, and a trace of incomparably sharp sword intent, erupted from his dantian like a waking volcano!

The Golden Core... began to crack!

It was not a violent shattering, but rather like a lotus blooming, or a star bursting into new life. The first fine crack appeared on the shell of the Golden Core, and then, the cracks spread rapidly, weaving into a web! Brilliant light burst forth from the fissures, illuminating the entire grotto!

An intense pain, as if his soul were being torn apart and reconstructed, swept through Zhao Yuan's entire body! This was a leap in the level of life, a fundamental reshaping of his Dao foundation; pain was inevitable. He held fast to the single point of clarity in his mind, operating his Annihilation Sword Heart to the extreme, turning all the pain, distracting thoughts, and even his worries about the "Demonic Seed" into fuel for tempering himself.

"Break!"

A silent shout exploded in the depths of his soul.

Crack—!

The shell of the Golden Core completely collapsed, turning into countless specks of pure energy, but they did not dissipate. Instead, like stars surrounding the moon, they circled a tiny point of light that had suddenly been born in the center—a light that emitted majestic vitality and vast intent!

That spiritual light was initially only the size of a grain of rice, presenting a chaotic gray-blue color. Inside, one could faintly see a tiny phantom sitting cross-legged, with a face identical to Zhao Yuan's, as well as an almost imperceptible sword-shaped mark!

The Nascent Soul embryo! Born!

Next was the critical moment of shaping and stabilization. The vast star power around him seemed to have found its home, surging crazily toward that point of light. In Zhao Yuan's sea of consciousness, all the insights and will regarding the Annihilation Sword Dao and the star heritage also poured into it, like a hundred rivers returning to the sea.

The spiritual light expanded and solidified at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the phantom and sword shape inside became clearer and clearer. Gray-blue light flowed, and the intent of annihilation and the Dao rhyme of the stars reached a wonderful balance and unity within it.

However, just as the Nascent Soul was about to fully form, and the infusion of heaven and earth spiritual energy (star power) reached its most intense moment—

A sudden change occurred!

It was not an attack from the outside, nor was it the work of inner demons.

It was the "Demonic Seed" in his sea of consciousness, which had been silent and dormant, heavily sealed—at this very moment, when Zhao Yuan's mind was in deepest resonance with heaven and earth and his defensive instincts were at their lowest, it suddenly erupted!

It did not strike the seal, but instead... released an extremely subtle dark purple fluctuation that carried a strong intent of "assimilation" and "disguise"! This fluctuation followed the connection between Zhao Yuan's mind and his newborn Nascent Soul, silently... seeping into the gray-blue Nascent Soul embryo that was currently condensing!

"Hum—!"

Zhao Yuan felt his newborn Nascent Soul shudder violently! A strange aura, cold and evil, yet possessing a certain eerie "affinity" with his own annihilation sword intent and star power, began to permeate his Nascent Soul origin like ink dropped into clear water! Within the gray-blue light of the Nascent Soul, there was a faint, extremely thin, yet real... dark purple hue!

This "Demonic Seed" was truly this cunning! It took advantage of the fleeting moment when Zhao Yuan was breaking his core and condensing his Nascent Soul, while his life origin was open and reshaping, to "parasitize" a trace of its most fundamental aura into Zhao Yuan's newborn Nascent Soul like a brand! In this way, it was no longer just a "foreign object" in his sea of consciousness, but had achieved "symbiosis" with a part of Zhao Yuan's Dao foundation!

"Damn it!" Zhao Yuan was filled with shock and anger, nearly losing his composure. Once this trace of the Demonic Seed's origin took root in the Nascent Soul, the consequences would be unimaginable! At best, his Dao foundation would be polluted and his future ruined; at worst, he would gradually lose his mind and become a puppet controlled by the Demonic Seed!

At this critical moment, the "Imperial God-Protecting Decree" suddenly erupted with unprecedented brilliant golden light! The majestic and grand Imperial Dragon Qi rushed into Zhao Yuan's sea of consciousness and dantian like a surging tide, forcibly blocking the infiltrating dark purple aura!

At the same time, Zhao Yuan's own Annihilation Sword Heart, stimulated by the life-and-death crisis, erupted with its most resolute light! The sword-shaped mark within the newborn Nascent Soul vibrated autonomously, emitting a clear sword cry that seemed to want to sever all shackles!

"Annihilation as the blade, stars as the shield! How can my Nascent Soul allow the contamination of evil filth! Slash!"

Zhao Yuan concentrated all his will on the sword-shaped mark within the Nascent Soul! The mark shone brightly, turning into a gray-white sword light of ultimate purity. It did not slash toward the dark purple aura (as it was already entangled with part of the Nascent Soul's origin), but instead... slashed toward the small portion of his own Nascent Soul that had been "polluted" or "marked" by that dark purple aura!

A brave man cutting off his own wrist! Self-purification!

Ssh—!

As the sword light flashed, that small area of the Nascent Soul that had just been stained light purple, along with the portion of newborn essence and weak consciousness contained within it, was forcibly "cut" and "severed" from the whole by Zhao Yuan with great perseverance! Although this caused the Nascent Soul to be slightly damaged and its aura to drop suddenly, it successfully forced that trace of the Demonic Seed's origin out of the core!

The severed mass of light purple energy twisted and struggled as if it had a life of its own, wanting to counterattack. But at this moment, Zhao Yuan's mind had regained stability, and the infusion of external star power was nearing its end. With a thought, the Nascent Soul opened its mouth and inhaled, swallowing the last and purest bit of star power, its light shining once more! Immediately, the Nascent Soul held its hands in a void embrace, firmly imprisoning the mass of light purple energy, and then violently spat out a strand of annihilation sword intent fused with the newly comprehended "Star Dust-Cleansing" artistic conception!

The gray-blue sword light washed over it, and the mass of light purple energy emitted a silent shriek, quickly being decomposed, purified, annihilated, and finally turning into nothingness.

The crisis was temporarily resolved at the cost of losing a portion of his Nascent Soul origin.

Zhao Yuan slowly opened his eyes, his eyes full of exhaustion, his face as pale as paper, and his aura had fallen from the strength of just breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage to the bottom, even weaker than before he went into seclusion. But deep within those eyes flickered a light that was more introverted and firm, born from having endured catastrophe and been tempered by fire.

He had successfully broken through and stepped into the Nascent Soul stage. But the price paid was not small; the Nascent Soul was damaged and needed long-term nourishment. More importantly, the cunning and persistence of the "Demonic Seed" had taught him a profound lesson. It was no longer just a "foreign object" in his sea of consciousness, but a "hidden danger" capable of spying on his flaws and attempting to pollute the origin of his Dao foundation.

He struggled to stand up, intending to regulate his breath and stabilize this extremely weak early Nascent Soul stage.

Suddenly—

BOOM!!!

A terrifying roar, far duller and grander than the one on the day at "Ghost Tooth Bay," as if coming from the depths of the earth beneath his feet and from the distant void, suddenly spread throughout the entire Star Fragment Isle! Even the grotto of the Star Tempering Platform, protected by heavy arrays, shook violently! The starlight on the dome swayed, and the stone platform cracked!

Immediately following, an indescribable, terrifying fluctuation mixed with spatial tearing, the eruption of filthy energy, and the arrival of some... grand and cold will, swept over like a tsunami! The isolation array of the Star Tempering Platform emitted a shrill wail, and its light dimmed by several layers in an instant!

"Enemy attack?! Is it a teleportation array?!" Zhao Yuan reacted instantly, forcing a breath of energy, grabbing "Silent Shadow," and stumbling out of the grotto!

Outside the grotto, True Person Beichen's face was ashen, staring intently toward the main island, his eyes full of horror.

He saw that in the sky above the sea about fifty miles southeast of Star Fragment Isle, the space had been violently torn apart by an invisible giant hand, presenting a huge and hideous spatial rift over a hundred feet in diameter, with edges flowing with energy interwoven with pitch black and dark red! Inside the rift, one could faintly see the phantom of a massive, twisted, dark purple altar covered in blasphemous runes, slowly "squeezing" out from the void! Around the altar, countless shadowy figures emitting fierce auras were shuttling and descending!

What was even more alarming was that the filthy energy emitted by the spatial rift was clashing violently with and eroding the "All-Heaven Star Array" of Star Fragment Isle! The light curtain of the array was dimming at a speed visible to the naked eye in the direction of the rift, emitting a "creaking" sound of being unable to bear the burden!

And right below the rift, the originally calm sea suddenly surged with ten-thousand-foot waves, and countless sea beasts with hideous forms, infected by demonic energy, poured out like a tide, crazily rushing toward Star Fragment Isle!

At the same time, on the west and north sides of the island, violent energy fluctuations and shouts of battle erupted simultaneously from several hidden corners! Inside, traitors or those who had been bewitched took advantage of the chaos to launch destruction and attacks!

Star Fragment Isle, this outpost of the alliance that had just undergone reconstruction and was preparing for a key ceremony, was facing a comprehensive surprise attack that had been long-planned and launched from both inside and out, at the very moment Zhao Yuan broke through!

Zhao Yuan gripped the still-humming "Silent Shadow" in his hand, feeling his weak Nascent Soul and the remaining star power, and looked toward the huge spatial rift ahead that was like the entrance to hell, as well as the island plunged into chaos and the flames of war.

There was no time to stabilize his realm, no time to heal his wounds.

The battle had already arrived.