Chapter 165: Re-exploring the Sea Eye

Inside the Star-Fixing Palace, time flowed slowly amidst the heavy atmosphere.

Using the Chaos Tribulation Power as a guide, Lin Xuan acted like the most skilled craftsman, carefully combing through the chaotic energy flows within Zhao Yuan’s body, repairing the cracks in his Nascent Soul, and simultaneously reinforcing the seal on the restless "Demonic Seed." Gray, misty currents enveloped Zhao Yuan, intermingling with the residual star vitality in the jade pool—which had been stimulated by the fragments of "Star Essence"—to form a unique force of nourishment and suppression.

Outside the palace, the battle on Star Fall Island was nearing its end. The remnants of the Demon Abyss, having lost the support of the spatial rifts and their high-level command, were rapidly routed under the organized mopping-up operations of the allied cultivators. Most were annihilated, while a small number fled into the vast, boundless sea, no longer posing a threat. Smoke and the scent of blood rose from various parts of the island, but the horns of victory and the cries of survivors weeping with joy also rang out.

After arranging the perimeter defenses and post-war disposal, Wei Gongshen rushed back to the Star-Fixing Palace at the first opportunity. Seeing that Lin Xuan was treating Zhao Yuan’s injuries, he did not disturb him, but stood to the side with a grave expression, his gaze lingering between Lin Xuan’s slightly pale face and Zhao Yuan’s tightly furrowed brows.

After a long while, Lin Xuan slowly withdrew his hands, and the halo of chaos around his body dimmed a little more. He opened his eyes, and the rotation speed of the chaotic vortex within them slowed down; clearly, the consumption had been significant.

"Fellow Daoist Lin, how is it?" Wei Gongshen immediately stepped forward and asked in a low voice.

"His life is not in danger, and the cracks in his Nascent Soul have temporarily stabilized, but his origin is damaged and requires long-term nourishment." Lin Xuan’s voice carried a hint of fatigue, yet remained steady. "The tricky part is the 'Demonic Seed.' This thing has deeply entangled itself with parts of his Nascent Soul origin and inherited memories, almost to the point of symbiosis. Just now, while I was healing him, it actually attempted to absorb my dissipating Chaos Tribulation Power to nourish itself. Although it was curbed in time, its 'adaptability' and 'latent nature' far exceed expectations."

Wei Gongshen’s brows locked together: "The disturbance in the Sea Eye just now..."

"It was indeed triggered by that Demonic Seed." Lin Xuan nodded, a hint of coldness flashing in his Chaos Tribulation Pupils. "The resonant waves it emitted pointed directly to that foul star-evil and blood-resentment force deep within the Sea Eye, which shares the same origin as the 'Blood-Remains Star God' and the 'Sunken Star Ruins.' Although I cut it off in time, that 'greeting' in that instant has already been sent. Something deep within the Sea Eye must have 'responded'."

Wei Gongshen took a deep breath, his aged face covered in frost: "In that case, the Demon Abyss's infiltration and plotting regarding the Return-to-Ruins Sea Eye are far deeper and earlier than we imagined. They are not only attempting to catalyze the Blood-Remains Star God and utilize the Sunken Star Contract, but they may also... have buried other contingency plans deeper within the Sea Eye? The Demonic Seed in Zhao Yuan’s sea of consciousness might be one part of it, serving both as a poisonous bait to contaminate the inheritor and perhaps... as some kind of 'key' for positioning or awakening?"

"That is highly likely." Lin Xuan walked to the window and looked toward the direction deep within the island, which was invisible yet emitted a faint sense of oppression. "The Return-to-Ruins Sea Eye, connecting the origin of this realm with the Demon Sea of the Ruins, is the natural target and breakthrough point for the 'World-Erosion' plan. The previous chaos of the Blood-Remains Star God was perhaps just the tip of the iceberg. Now that the Demonic Seed and the Sea Eye have resonated, it shows that there are still 'pollution sources' or 'sleeping objects' within it that are closely related to the power of the Demon Abyss and have not been cleared. Without finding and resolving the root cause, Star Fall Island will never have peace, and the hidden danger within Zhao Yuan will be difficult to eradicate."

"We need to explore the Sea Eye again." Wei Gongshen said in a deep voice, his tone resolute. "And we must go deep into the core area to investigate the source of that resonance. It’s just..." He looked at Lin Xuan, "Fellow Daoist Lin, you have just awakened, and your Dao foundation is not yet firm; Zhao Yuan is even more severely injured and unconscious. The environment deep in the Sea Eye is harsh, and there are unknown dangers. As for the candidate..."

"I will go." Lin Xuan turned around, his gaze calm yet unquestionable. "The Chaos Tribulation Power has a natural advantage in purifying demonic energy and disintegrating anomalies. Moreover, I have dealt with the 'Primordial Demonic Energy' within the Sea Eye and am more familiar with its nature. This deep dive is not only to identify the root of the disturbance but, if possible, to attempt to completely purify or seal that hidden danger."

He paused and looked at the unconscious Zhao Yuan: "As for Zhao Yuan... the connection between the Demonic Seed in his body and the Sea Eye is too deep. Taking him there carries huge risks; he might be countered by the Demonic Seed or trigger even more terrifying changes. However, among the inheritances he obtained, there may be key information regarding the Sea Eye and the ancient Star Contract. We must find a way to obtain this information without him going there in person."

Wei Gongshen pondered for a moment: "In the Star Palace inheritance, there is a technique called the 'Star-Radiance Soul-Reflecting Art.' When the subject is in a deep coma or voluntarily releases their soul defenses, the practitioner can guide them to project specific related memory fragments from their sea of consciousness in the form of star-radiance imagery for others to observe and study. However, this method has extremely high requirements for the practitioner, and it requires the subject’s subconscious not to strongly resist. Young Friend Zhao is currently unconscious, and his subconscious defense might be chaotic due to the interference of the Demonic Seed..."

"I will perform the technique." Lin Xuan said. "The Chaos Tribulation Power can temporarily suppress the activity of the Demonic Seed and stabilize his soul. Furthermore, my cultivation method once resonated with his, which might reduce the rejection. We only need to project the memory fragments related to the Sea Eye, the Star Contract, and the Demon Abyss pollution."

Seeing that Lin Xuan’s mind was made up, Wei Gongshen no longer tried to dissuade him: "Good! I will arrange it immediately. The Star-Radiance Soul-Reflecting Art must be performed in the 'Star-Gazing Quiet Room,' where the star power is purest and most stable, and it requires at least three Nascent Soul cultivators proficient in the Star Soul Dao to guard the side. I will personally go to invite Beichen and Ling Shuang, and then summon a soul-dao master from the Imperial Palace’s Offering Hall."

"I trouble you, Wei Gongshen." Lin Xuan nodded slightly. "There is no time to lose. Once Zhao Yuan’s state is slightly more stable, we will proceed tonight. After the soul-reflection, I will immediately prepare, and before dawn tomorrow, I will set out to explore the Return-to-Ruins Sea Eye again."

The order was quickly issued. The entire Star Fall Island, amidst the fatigue of having just experienced a great battle and the lingering echoes of victory, began to operate efficiently once again. The Star-Gazing Quiet Room was urgently cleaned and set up, and the necessary supplies and guarding personnel were quickly in place.

One hour later, Zhao Yuan was carefully moved into the "Star-Gazing Quiet Room." The quiet room was located at the highest point of Star Fall Island, and its roof could be opened and closed; at this moment, it was completely open, revealing the brilliant, temporarily unpolluted night sky and star river. The floor of the room was engraved with a huge star-gathering array, and at each of the four corners stood a statue of a strange beast cast from star-essence gold, holding a treasure bead that emitted soft star radiance in its mouth.

Zhao Yuan lay flat on the jade couch in the center of the array, still unconscious, but his breathing had become much more stable under the nourishment of the Chaos Tribulation Power continuously input by Lin Xuan.

Lin Xuan sat in front of the couch, while True Person Beichen, Elder Ling Shuang, and a late-stage Nascent Soul soul-dao grandmaster from the Imperial Palace’s Offering Hall, known as "Old Man Soul-Hidden," sat at the three corners, forming the "Three Talents Soul-Guarding Array" to stabilize the soul and guide star power. Wei Gongshen personally guarded the entrance of the quiet room, isolating all interference.

"Begin." Lin Xuan whispered. He raised his hands, his left hand pressing against Zhao Yuan’s forehead, and his right index and middle fingers pressed together, pointing at his own glabella. A pure and gentle Chaos Tribulation Power flowed along his fingers and slowly injected into Zhao Yuan’s sea of consciousness, like the most dexterous key, suppressing the restlessness of the Demonic Seed while gently "knocking" on those deep regions wrapped in the inherited memories of the Star-Fallen People.

At the same time, True Person Beichen and the other two simultaneously activated the array and their own star power and soul power. The star radiance falling from the roof and the light from the array on the ground intermingled, turning into soft, spiritual light bands that wrapped around Zhao Yuan and slowly seeped into his body, assisting in stabilizing his soul and guiding the memory projection.

Star light flowed within the quiet room, and it was silent and still.

Lin Xuan closed his eyes and focused, his mind following the guidance of the Chaos Tribulation Power, sinking into the vast and chaotic "Sea of Memory Stars" in Zhao Yuan’s sea of consciousness. The gray, misty chaotic aura acted like a bright lamp, illuminating the path ahead, avoiding those violent and chaotic regions (mostly influenced by the Demonic Seed or memories of extreme pain and despair), and specifically searching for star points flashing with "tags" related to stars, contracts, the Sea Eye, and foul energy.

His consciousness was like traveling through a bizarre and dreamlike corridor.

He saw fragmented scenes: ancient Star-Fallen People looking up at the starry sky, holding grand sacrifices, and concluding flashing contract runes with the "Three Enclosure Star Gods" in the darkness; stars falling, seawater backflowing, and civilization collapsing in blood and fire; the surviving priests forging the "Sunken Star Core," attempting to preserve the spark of life, only to be polluted and imprisoned instead; foul star-evil and blood-resentment forces settling and twisting deep within the Return-to-Ruins Sea Eye...

He also saw some blurred fragments that did not seem to belong to the original inheritance of the Star-Fallen People, which were even darker and more twisted: dark purple runes wriggling like living things, attempting to erode the nodes of the Star Contract; low, greedy whispers echoing in the blood-evil, inducing desperate beings toward deeper depravity; in the deepest part of the Return-to-Ruins Sea Eye, in the absolute darkness that even starlight could not reach, it seemed as if some huge and ancient thing was... slowly pulsating amidst the endless demonic energy and star-remnant resentment, like the fetal movement of a sleeping entity...

These fragments were disjointed, full of contradictions and noise, clearly the result of the combined effects of Demonic Seed pollution and the decay of the inherited information itself. However, relying on the analytical ability of his Chaos Tribulation Pupils and his own keen perception of "tribulations" and "anomalies," Lin Xuan still extracted key information from them:

First, deep within the Return-to-Ruins Sea Eye, there indeed existed a "pollution source" or "aberrant core" closely related to the ancient "Star Contract" and the destruction of the "Star-Fallen People." It was very likely a deformed existence produced by the combination of some negative force and the "Primordial Demonic Energy" of the Sea Eye itself when the contract backfired and the stars fell, and it was also one of the important inducements for the later sinking and pollution of the Blood-Remains Star God’s remains.

Second, the Demon Abyss (or an earlier similar existence) likely began to covet and attempt to influence this "aberrant core" in a very distant era. Some rituals and symbols of the Rebirth Sect had astonishing similarities to the polluted and twisted parts of the ancient contracts of the Star-Fallen People, indicating that they likely inherited or stole a portion of the polluted and twisted contract knowledge.

Third, the core essence of the Demonic Seed in Zhao Yuan’s sea of consciousness seemed to have some kind of "same-origin" but "secondary" connection with that "aberrant core." It was like a "sub-body" or "beacon" carefully crafted to "mark," "resonate with," and eventually potentially "trigger" or "control" that core. When Zhao Yuan obtained the inheritance in the Sunken Star Ruins, he happened to "activate" and "parasitize" it.

Finally, and most importantly—on the edge of those darkest and most chaotic memory fragments, Lin Xuan vaguely "saw" that the "aberrant core" did not seem to be completely dead. It seemed to retain some extremely weak, yet filled with endless resentment and hunger... primitive will! This will was different from the chaotic madness of the Blood-Remains Star God; it was more ancient, colder, and more... close to the dark side of some "rule."

"The backfire product of the Star-Fallen Contract... long-term pollution and infiltration by the Demon Abyss... an aberrant core with a weak primitive will..." A vague yet heart-palpitating outline gradually took shape in Lin Xuan’s mind.

Just then, a sudden change occurred in the quiet room!

It seemed that because Lin Xuan had touched some memory regions that were too core or dangerous, the "Demonic Seed" deeply sealed within Zhao Yuan’s sea of consciousness suddenly erupted with an extremely intense force of resistance and backlash! The dark purple light actually penetrated part of the seal, forcibly twisting several nearby memory star seas, disrupting and blurring some key information about the "aberrant core," and even attempting to inject false, misleading images!

"Pfft!" Zhao Yuan’s body shook violently, and he suddenly spat out a mouthful of dark red stagnant blood, the dark purple light at his glabella flashing crazily!

The guarding Beichen, Ling Shuang, and Old Man Soul-Hidden all groaned simultaneously, their faces turning pale; they had clearly suffered a shock at the soul level. The light of the maintained Three Talents Soul-Guarding Array fluctuated violently.

The chaotic light in Lin Xuan’s eyes flared, and he shouted in a low voice: "Suppress!"

A more powerful Chaos Tribulation Power surged out like an invisible giant hammer, smashing fiercely onto the restless Demonic Seed! At the same time, he made a decisive decision to cut off the connection with the memories of the polluted regions and quickly withdrew his mind from Zhao Yuan’s sea of consciousness.

The "Star-Radiance Soul-Reflecting Art" was forced to stop.

The star light in the quiet room gradually dimmed, and the array stopped running. True Person Beichen and the others adjusted their breathing for a moment before they recovered, their gazes toward Zhao Yuan filled with worry.

Zhao Yuan was still unconscious, but there were bloodstains at the corners of his mouth, and the dark purple light at his glabella slowly retracted and was suppressed again, though his face was even more ashen than before.

"Fellow Daoist Lin, how is it?" Wei Gongshen asked urgently.

Lin Xuan was silent for a moment and said slowly: "I obtained some key information, but at the last moment, I was interfered with by the Demonic Seed and failed to see the full picture. However, the general outline is already clear."

He concisely informed everyone of his findings and speculations.

Hearing terms like "aberrant core," "same-origin sub-body," and "weak primitive will," the expressions of Wei Gongshen and the others became extremely grave.

"In that case, the trouble deep in the Sea Eye is even harder to deal with than the remains of the Blood-Remains Star God." True Person Beichen said hoarsely. "It is closer to the origin, more deeply involved with the Demon Abyss, and may... possess some kind of 'activity'."

Ice-blue light flickered in Elder Ling Shuang’s eyes: "It must be purified or sealed before it is completely awakened or triggered. Otherwise, once it erupts, the consequences will be unimaginable. Star Fall Island will bear the brunt, and the entire eastern part of the Boundless Sea will be plunged into misery."

Old Man Soul-Hidden’s voice was hoarse: "The Demonic Seed in Young Friend Zhao’s body is a disaster, but perhaps... it can also become a clue. It is of the same origin as that core; after going deep into the Sea Eye, it may produce a clearer resonance, helping us locate it."

"But taking him there is too dangerous." Wei Gongshen shook his head.

"There is no need to take him." Lin Xuan spoke, his gaze falling on Zhao Yuan and then on a wisp of residual Chaos Tribulation Power at his own fingertips, which had been stained with an extremely weak dark purple aura after countering the Demonic Seed. "When the Demonic Seed backlashed, I captured a 'trajectory' and 'frequency' of its resonance with the core deep in the Sea Eye. Using this as an opportunity, I might be able to perform remote tracking and sensing. However, this method requires being within a certain range of the Sea Eye and consumes a great deal."

He looked at Wei Gongshen: "Before dawn tomorrow, I will go to the Sea Eye alone. Using the Chaos Tribulation Power as a basis, I will track the resonance and go straight to the core area. If the state of that 'aberrant core' can be purified or sealed, I will take action. If it cannot be done, I must also find out the truth to prepare for the follow-up."

"Go alone?" Wei Gongshen frowned. "The depths of the Sea Eye are fraught with crises and unknown dangers. Fellow Daoist Lin, you..."

"I have my own measure." Lin Xuan interrupted, his tone calm yet unquestionable. "The Chaos Tribulation Dao itself requires tempering and moving forward amidst 'tribulations.' This trip is both to resolve the external threat and an opportunity to stabilize my newly awakened Dao foundation. It is more important for Wei Gongshen to sit in command of Star Fall Island, stabilize the overall situation, and guard against possible contingency plans of the Demon Abyss."

Seeing that Lin Xuan’s mind was made up and his reasons were sufficient, Wei Gongshen knew he could not dissuade him. He sighed long and hard and bowed solemnly: "In that case, I wish Fellow Daoist Lin success! Everyone on Star Fall Island awaits the good news! If there is any need for help, send a message from ten thousand miles away, and I will surely lead the crowd to assist!"

Lin Xuan nodded and said no more. He took one last look at the unconscious Zhao Yuan, sat cross-legged, and began to adjust his breathing to recover, making final preparations for his solitary deep dive before dawn.

Outside the quiet room, the night was deep, and the star river was gradually fading.

After a brief respite of victory, Star Fall Island was about to face another adventure that concerned its foundation and involved diving into the deepest darkness.

And deep within the Return-to-Ruins Sea Eye, the "aberrant core" that had been silent for who knows how many years seemed to have sensed the "visitor" about to arrive in the darkness, and its weak, cold primitive will... fluctuated extremely slowly amidst the endless filth and darkness.