Chapter 171

Star-Fragment Isle, top floor of the Star-Gazing Platform.

The night wind was biting, blowing Wei Gong's dark red python robe to hunt and rustle. He stood with his hands behind his back at the edge of the railing, his turbid yet sharp gaze penetrating the "Zhou Tian Star Dou Formation" light curtain, which was slightly thin after restoration, and cast it toward the eternally dark sea area to the southeast. That was the direction of the Return-to-Ruins Sea Eye, which might look no different from the past in the eyes of ordinary cultivators, but in the perception of a Spirit Transformation powerhouse like Wei Gong, he could capture traces of oppression and ominousness diffusing up from the deep sea.

Behind him, the huge "Star-Gazing Hun Tian Instrument" was operating at full power under the control of several Star Palace deacons. The star map representing the Return-to-Ruins Sea Eye area on the instrument disk was magnified to the extreme, and countless fine data streams refreshed on the floating water mirror screens around it like waterfalls. The dark red light point representing the "Distortion Core" position was still moving extremely slowly, yet firmly, toward the deeper part of the Sea Eye, the area marked as the "blind zone where energy veins gather." What was even more unsettling was that the energy ripple map around the light point was presenting an unprecedented, regular weak pulsation, like... a heartbeat.

"Fetal movement..." Wei Gong repeated the heart-palpitating vocabulary brought by Lin Xuan, the wrinkles on his aged face seeming deeper. "That monster... is not only alive, but also... gestating something?"

Hurried footsteps came from the stairs. True Person Beichen, Elder Lingshuang, and several special envoys from various sects who had just rushed back from the continent, carrying wind, dust, and fatigue, walked quickly into the Star-Gazing Platform.

"Wei Gong!" True Person Beichen's voice was heavy. "The latest monitoring data confirms that the energy activity of the 'Distortion Core' has increased by 3% in the past twelve hours! The number of new energy veins inside has increased, and the efficiency of energy circulation has obviously accelerated! Although the increase is not large, the trend is clear!"

Elder Lingshuang handed over an ice-blue jade slip. "The 'Cold Abyss Induction Formation' set up by the Profound Ice Pavilion on the edge of the 'Silent Graveyard' also transmitted abnormalities. Among the filthy star evil and blood resentment fluctuations diffusing from the Sea Eye direction, a kind of previously unrecorded, more condensed energy characteristic with a clear 'directionality' was detected. Preliminary analysis suggests it may be related to that 'fetal movement'."

The special envoy from the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion, a middle-aged cultivator whose face was shrouded in faint star mist, stepped forward, his voice drifting: "The Pavilion Master paid the price of three years of lifespan to forcibly deduce the heavenly secrets of the Sea Eye, and obtained an eight-character vague prophecy: 'Filth gestates spirit, star contract will collapse; Chaos as guide, perhaps can fight for a glimmer'."

"'Filth gestates spirit, star contract will collapse'..." Wei Gong chewed on these eight characters, the severity in his eyes becoming even more intense. "Sure enough, it is gestating! And it is related to the collapse of the ancient star contract? Chaos as guide... does it refer to Daoist Lin's Chaos Tribulation Power, or..."

He turned around abruptly and looked at everyone. "How is the reaction from the continent?"

A Nascent Soul cultivator wearing the attire of the Imperial Palace of Offerings, with a fierce aura, stepped forward to report: "His Majesty has received the emergency message and is furious! He has issued an imperial decree, ordering the Palace of Offerings to mobilize the First Legion of the 'Demon-Slaying Army' and 30% of the strategic materials in stock to rush to Star-Fragment Isle day and night! At the same time, he ordered the Ministry of Justice and the Shadow Guard to unite with all state and prefecture governments to eradicate all known 'Rebirth Sect' strongholds within the territory at all costs, capture and kill the leaders, and cut off all possible connections with the Demonic Abyss and the Sea Eye!"

The special envoy of the Giant Spirit Sect, a bald man with a height of nine feet and muscles like rocks, had a voice like a bell: "Our Sect Master said, all body cultivators of the Giant Spirit Sect are ready to be dispatched at any time! If you need people, we give people; if you need strength, we give strength! As long as we can smash that ghost thing in the Sea Eye, we can even dismantle our sect's mountain gate and refine it into weapons!"

Needless to say, sects like the Profound Ice Pavilion and the Star Palace, which had always had a close relationship with Star-Fragment Isle, were already fully mobilized. What was even more gratifying was that some medium-sized sects and loose cultivator alliances on the continent that had originally held a wait-and-see or skeptical attitude toward the "World-Erosion" threat, after learning that the abnormality of the Return-to-Ruins Sea Eye had intensified and might gestate a terrifying existence capable of subverting the Hanhai and even the continent, also changed their attitudes one after another, either sending elites or opening resource channels, expressing their willingness to fight against the great catastrophe with the Alliance.

Star-Fragment Isle, once a forward outpost of the Hanhai, had become the focus and banner of the entire Tianyuan Continent in resisting the Demonic Abyss's "World-Erosion" plan and dealing with the Return-to-Ruins Sea Eye crisis.

Wei Gong took a deep breath, suppressing the complex emotions surging in his heart—the heaviness of the intensifying crisis, the excitement of support from all sides, and the deep worry about the future.

"Pass the order!" His voice suddenly rose, carrying unquestionable majesty. "First, Star-Fragment Isle enters the highest state of combat readiness! All defensive formations are to be fully opened, patrol vigilance is to be upgraded to wartime standards, and all non-essential personnel and materials are to begin transferring to the rear of the continent! This place will become the first line of defense against the Sea Eye catastrophe, and also the last line of defense!"

"Second, establish the 'Sea Eye Countermeasure Division,' led by this old man, with Beichen, Lingshuang, Hunyou, and special envoys from various sects participating, to coordinate all matters regarding Sea Eye monitoring, research, countermeasures, and combat! All intelligence, resources, and personnel are to be unified and dispatched!"

"Third, accelerate the research and deployment progress of 'space anchoring' and 'energy hysteresis' formations! Goal: Deploy at least three lines of defense in front of the 'Distortion Core's' movement path to delay its movement as much as possible and win time for us!"

"Fourth, fully support Venerable Lin's treatment and research on Zhao Yuan. The demonic seed within Zhao Yuan and its connection with the core is the most direct window for us to understand that monster, and may also be the key to breaking the situation in the future. Everything needed is to be supplied with priority!"

"Fifth," Wei Gong's gaze swept over everyone, word by word, "Issue a 'Demon-Slaying Order' and 'Sea Exploration Reward' to the entire continent! Collect all clues about purifying filthy star evil, restraining blood resentment, stabilizing space, and resisting cultivation methods, secret techniques, magic tools, and formation clues similar to 'living pollution hubs'! Under heavy rewards, there must be brave men and strange strategies! My Tianyuan Continent has a heritage of ten thousand years and a profound foundation; this old man does not believe that with the power of one realm, we cannot find a way to deal with that monster!"

A series of orders, swift and decisive, showed the determination and courage of this veteran Spirit Transformation powerhouse in the face of the crisis.

Everyone responded loudly, the will to fight and determination igniting in their eyes. In the oppressive atmosphere, a tragic yet high-spirited fighting spirit began to rise.

Wind and rain from all directions gathered at Star-Fragment Isle.

Side hall of the Star-Fixing Hall.

A full day had passed since the end of the second treatment.

Zhao Yuan was still sitting cross-legged on the jade bed, his eyes closed, his complexion still pale, but his aura had stabilized, no longer on the verge of collapse as it was yesterday. A faint layer of light, interwoven with gray-blue and Chaos energy streams, shrouded his body, slowly flickering with his breathing.

His mind was completely immersed in the depths of his consciousness sea, comprehending the brand-new power artistic conception that erupted in the desperate situation yesterday.

Nirvana and the stars, two Dao true meanings that originally seemed different and even somewhat opposite, under the extreme pressure of the critical moment of life and death, actually merged like water and milk, giving birth to a brand-new "Chaos starlight." This light not only had the sharpness and resolution of the Nirvana Sword Intent to cut off vanity and cleanse evil spirits, but also the inclusiveness and hope of the star power to be vast, pure, and guide the path ahead. It was not a simple superposition, but a qualitative transformation, forming a unique power of a higher level that possessed the artistic conception of both "breaking" and "establishing," "ending" and "beginning."

At this moment, Zhao Yuan was guiding this weak yet tenacious "Chaos starlight," slowly flowing through every crack in the Nascent Soul. Unlike the external nourishment brought by the "Star Essence" fragments and Lin Xuan's Chaos Tribulation Power, this power derived from the transformation of his own Dao foundation had a deeper and more essential repair effect on the Nascent Soul. Wherever the gray-blue starlight passed, the edges of the cracks were no longer just simply bridged, but seemed to be re-"tempered" and "defined," becoming more tenacious, faintly revealing a charm of "non-perishability" that had survived the catastrophe.

At the same time, he was also trying to use this "Chaos starlight" to contact and perceive the demonic seed that was heavily sealed by the "Chaos maze" deep in his consciousness sea.

Unlike the pure Nirvana Sword Intent or star power before, when the "Chaos starlight" touched the dark purple evil energy on the periphery of the demonic seed, it did not immediately trigger a fierce confrontation. It seemed to carry a strange "inclusiveness" and "analysis" characteristic, able to "see" the subtle parts of the demonic seed's energy structure more clearly, the "nodes" entangled with his own Nascent Soul origin and inherited memory fragments, and the "resonance frequency" that the demonic seed continuously emitted, attempting to trigger the Sea Eye core.

He could even vaguely sense that, under the obstruction of the "Chaos maze," the signal transmitted by the demonic seed became irritable and chaotic, like a trapped beast in a cage.

"With my 'Chaos', observe its 'filth'..." Zhao Yuan felt an epiphany in his heart. "Perhaps, I don't need to forcibly purify or strip it with absolute power like Senior Lin. I can try... to guide? Transform? Or, use it as a 'mirror' to reflect the weakness of the Sea Eye core?"

This thought made his spirit lift. He knew this was very difficult, and even extremely dangerous, but it was the only direction he could think of at the moment where he could actively do something.

He carefully condensed a trace of "Chaos starlight" into a "probe" thinner than a hair, avoided the dangerous areas that were too deeply entangled with his own origin, and gently touched a relatively independent, small "tentacle" on the periphery of the demonic seed that had not yet been purified.

There was no expected fierce backlash.

The dark purple "tentacle" trembled slightly under the touch of the "Chaos starlight," and immediately, a trace of an extremely weak, yet incomparably clear information fragment, full of chaos, resentment, and a certain cold "instruction" meaning, was fed back along the "probe"!

The information was extremely fragmented and difficult to understand, but Zhao Yuan captured a core frequency that was constantly repeating, as if a "call," and a vague "coordinate" feeling pointing to a certain direction in the deep sea!

This frequency, this coordinate feeling, was homologous to the fluctuations when the demonic seed tried to trigger the Sea Eye core before, but more specific!

"It... is continuously sending a 'call' to a certain 'coordinate'..." Zhao Yuan was horrified in his heart. "Could this coordinate be the current position of that 'Distortion Core'? Or... is it where the 'thing' it is 'gestating' is located?"

He suppressed his excitement and uneasiness, and tried to simulate and change this feedback information frequency with "Chaos starlight," trying to create a tiny "interference."

However, the moment he adjusted the "probe" frequency—

The demonic seed shook violently!

A colder, clearer intent, like a snake awakened, lunged back along the "tentacle"! This time, it was no longer chaotic information fragments, but an extremely clear intent full of warning and greed:

"Found... you... pure... star fire... and... Chaos... aura... come over... become... a part..."

Immediately after, a weak yet real "pulling force" actually tried to act inversely on Zhao Yuan's Nascent Soul and soul along the "probe" of the "Chaos starlight"! It was as if to drag him, along with his soul, toward the endless deep sea along this invisible connection!

Zhao Yuan was shocked, immediately severed the "probe" connection, and fully operated the "Chaos starlight" to protect himself!

The pulling force stopped abruptly. But the cold intent lingered in his consciousness for a moment before slowly dissipating, as if branded.

Cold sweat instantly soaked Zhao Yuan's back.

That "Distortion Core" was not just passively receiving the demonic seed signal! It could actually inversely perceive and lock onto him through the demonic seed! And even... developed a clear, greedy "interest" in the power he possessed that fused star and Chaos characteristics!

"It... treated me as a 'supplement'? Or... some kind of 'key'?" A chill filled Zhao Yuan's heart.

He knew that his probe was risky. But at the same time, he confirmed a crucial point—the connection between the demonic seed and the core was bidirectional! He could perceive and even "touch" certain states of the core through the demonic seed! It was just that this touch was extremely dangerous; a moment of carelessness could lead to being countered or marked by the other party!

He must be more careful, and must... become stronger faster!

He opened his eyes and looked at Lin Xuan, who had been guarding on the side and also seemed to be adjusting his breathing.

"Senior, this junior has made a discovery..."

Zhao Yuan informed Lin Xuan of his probe and perception without reservation.

After listening, Lin Xuan was silent for a moment, light flowing in his Chaos Tribulation Pupils.

"Bidirectional connection... reverse locking... treating you as a 'target'..." Lin Xuan said slowly. "This is exactly the same as when it tried to erode my Chaos Tribulation Power before. It seems that the 'Distortion Core' has a natural desire to devour and assimilate all high-level powers containing 'order,' 'purification,' 'star origin,' and 'Chaos' characteristics. Your 'Chaos starlight' happens to possess both star and Chaos characteristics, which is an irresistible temptation for it."

He looked at Zhao Yuan, his gaze deep. "Fortune and misfortune are interdependent. This is both a huge danger and perhaps... a unique opportunity. Since it can lock onto you through the demonic seed, can you, in turn, obtain more core information about it, or even... exert influence on it at a critical moment, by deepening this 'dangerous connection' with the demonic seed?"

Zhao Yuan took a deep breath. "This junior is willing to try! But... how to do it so as not to be backlashed by it?"

"It requires stronger power, more exquisite control, and... a more solid 'anchor'." Lin Xuan said. "The 'Chaos starlight' you newly comprehended is a good starting point, but it is too weak. You need to repair the Nascent Soul as soon as possible, stabilize the realm, and make this power strong and proficient. At the same time, I will continue to strengthen the 'Chaos maze' for you, and try to add some more complex 'induction' and 'disguise' structures to it, so that you can better hide yourself and mislead the other party when contacting the demonic seed."

"In addition," Lin Xuan paused, "perhaps, you need a magic tool or formation that can stabilize the soul, isolate external evil, and even amplify your control over 'Chaos starlight' as an 'anchor.' Some characteristics of the 'Star Essence' fragments might be usable, but it is not enough."

Zhao Yuan nodded, a firm flame burning in his eyes. He knew the road ahead was more dangerous, but he had no way back.

Just as the two were discussing.

Outside the hall, a Star Palace cultivator hurried over. After being stopped by the guards, he whispered urgently, his expression filled with undisguised shock and excitement, even forgetting etiquette, directly reporting: "Venerable Lin! Wei Gong requests your presence! The special envoy jointly dispatched by the continent's 'Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion' and 'Heavenly Workshop' has arrived! They... they brought the lost formation fragments about 'purifying ancient filthy star evil,' and... a prehistoric relic said to be able to significantly stabilize the soul and resonate with the stars! They specifically asked to see you and young master Zhao Yuan!"

Lin Xuan and Zhao Yuan looked at each other, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes.

The continent's reaction speed was faster than anticipated! The spark was small, but it already had the potential to start a prairie fire.

And the real test, perhaps, had just begun.