Chapter 273

The night was like ink, and the stars were like diamonds.

Luo En stood on the balcony, looking up at the firmament.

The stars flickered slightly in the black velvet-like night sky, like countless cold eyes overlooking this tiny world.

At this time, he was trying to combine the astrology taught by Princess Yi Fu with his own "Star Projection" trait.

Luo En took out a polyhedral crystal and placed it gently in his palm.

This crystal looked ordinary on the outside, but it sealed subtle energy fluctuations inside, as if it had imprisoned a miniature starry sky.

This was an auxiliary tool given by the other party, which could help beginners establish contact with the stars more safely.

"Caution is the priority; just try a shallow contact first." He said to himself in his heart.

He straightened his posture, took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and began to adjust his breathing rhythm.

His body gradually relaxed, but his consciousness became increasingly clear.

Spiritual power flowed along the path he was already familiar with and soon reached a deep meditation state.

But unlike the past, this time he was not simply drawing star energy.

Instead, he was trying to find a deeper connection—a bridge between reality and nothingness.

The warnings in "Astrology Entry" still rang in his ears:

"Never stare directly at those 'dark areas'...

Never respond to strange starlight fluctuations

Never try to understand those 'whispers' that suddenly intrude into your mind..."

Luo En kept these principles in mind, carefully extending his consciousness toward the starry sky, carefully avoiding those voids that were too deep.

He let his perception touch every star like a dragonfly skimming the water, neither staying too long nor peeking too much.

After some cautious searching, he finally focused his attention on the "Hermit Star."

This lonely star occupied a special position in the ancient star map and was said to have some mysterious connection with wisdom and hidden knowledge.

The initial contact was like touching a light source through a thick curtain, blurry and distant.

Luo En's spiritual power reached out gently, like dipping his fingers into cold lake water, cautiously testing the temperature.

As spiritual power continued to be invested, that layer of invisible curtain seemed to be gradually thinning.

At a certain moment, an unprecedented connection was suddenly established.

It was not "communication" in the traditional sense, but some kind of more primitive, more essential sensing.

Luo En felt his spiritual world tremble violently, as if countless incomprehensible information were pouring into his mind at the same time.

It was not specific language or images, but more like some indescribable fragments and echoes.

Like scattered light and shadows reflected when a mirror shattered, although they could not be interpreted, they could not be ignored.

The starry sky twisted and deformed in his perception, as if it were experiencing a kind of dimensional expansion.

The originally independent celestial bodies began to form a complex and strange node network with the "Hermit Star" as the center.

Each node emitted energy fluctuations of different frequencies, but there was some kind of connection between them.

Luo En carefully "lit up" several nodes related to the "Hermit Star," drawing a mysterious rune composed of starlight in the darkness.

The technique was precise and cautious, fearing that any deviation would lead to unpredictable consequences.

The moment the last node was activated, he felt an invisible energy fluctuation coming from the depths of the starry sky.

At that moment, his perception was suddenly stretched to an incredible breadth...

He was both standing on the balcony of the Crystal Spire and seemed to be floating in the depths of the universe;

He was both himself at this moment and seemed to have crossed the river of time of countless light-years;

He was both an observer and had become the object being observed.

In this state of consciousness that transcended conventional cognition, Luo En saw a terrifying truth...

The "Hermit Star" was not just an ordinary star, but the remains of some indescribable existence.

A tiny fragment of a huge, ancient entity that was unimaginable after its decay.

Only this small part remained now, anchored at the edge of the material universe, unconsciously radiating residual energy.

Deep in the stars, some syllables and symbols that could not be described in words poured into Luo En's consciousness.

These were not languages, not thoughts, and not even any orderly information.

They were just broken consciousness fragments, like torn books, leaving only unrelated words and punctuation.

"... knowledge observer... cage light will go out..."

The consciousness fragments had no logic, no coherence, but contained a heavy pressure that made people palpitate.

His spirit could almost not withstand this pressure; his forehead was covered with cold sweat, and his breathing became rapid and chaotic.

Luo En knew that his guidance direction had deviated somewhat, and he began to make adjustments consciously.

Just like what Princess Yi Fu told him:

Simply maintaining one-way observation without attempting interaction or understanding usually avoids direct harm.

Clenching his teeth and stabilizing his mind, he continued to maintain the state of passive reception.

He tried hard to control himself not to think about the meaning of those fragments, not to try to piece them into meaningful information, just letting them flow over the surface of his consciousness like water.

The "Star Projection" trait showed amazing effects in this strange connection.

With every heartbeat, more pure star breath poured into Luo En's body, far exceeding the absorption efficiency of ordinary meditation.

【Detected special linkage: Astrology (Skill) + Star Projection (Advanced Trait)】

【Astrology (Entry) Experience +1】

【Astrology (Entry) Experience +1】

【Astrology (Entry) Experience +1】

【Current Progress: Astrology (Entry 6/50)】

With the appearance of the prompt, a stream of energy as cool as a stream flowed through Luo En's whole body, taking away the fatigue and tension on his spirit.

The connection gradually weakened and finally disconnected completely.

The starry sky returned to its normal appearance, and that sense of distortion and dimension disappeared, as if it had never existed.

Luo En opened his eyes slowly and found that he was still standing on the balcony, his clothes soaked with cold sweat.

"Adventures within a certain limit, the effect is not bad..." He felt the changes in the magic power in his body.

The magic power pool not only expanded faster than usual, but its quality also had a subtle improvement, as if it had been injected with some more pure energy.

The harvest was far more than that; he felt that his understanding of the "Hermit Star" was deeper, as if a more solid bridge had been established between his spirit and the starry sky.

【Whispers of the Star Eater (Proficient) Experience +1】

【Whispers of the Star Eater (Proficient) Experience +1】

【Current Progress: Whispers of the Star Eater (Proficient 23/500)】

According to the current progress, in another week or two, he would be able to light up the first star node symbolizing the "Hermit Star,"

thereby completing the first phased breakthrough of the Morning Star level and obtaining the special star sign effect granted by the "Hermit Star."

Luo En calmed his chaotic breathing and began to think about another question:

Since the astrologer's astrology could establish a connection with the "Star Projection" trait of the meditation method.

Then could the historian's historical research skill also produce a linkage effect with his existing system?

Once this thought was generated, it was like a prairie fire, impossible to suppress.

"Historian" and "Astrologer" were theoretically regarded as two complementary ancient professions.

One peeks into the past, the other looks up at the starry sky; only by combining the two can the full picture of the universe be revealed.

Princess Yi Fu's words still echoed in his mind:

"History is not a simple record of past events, but an active node in the river of time..."

Luo En walked to the desk and sat down, taking out the booklet Princess Yi Fu gave him from the bookshelf.

He read the content again and carefully studied those basic techniques about historical sensing.

Unlike traditional paths through archaeological excavation or literature verification, historians use a more mysterious sensing method:

Directly contacting "historical nodes" to obtain pure historical information.

"If the method is improper, it is very easy to attract the attention of Time Hounds."

He began to calculate carefully:

"The key is how to maximize benefits while controlling risks within an acceptable range."

Luo En's gaze swept over the various collections and research materials in the study, and suddenly stopped at a small box in the corner.

Inside it were several "rare antiques" he had collected.

A bold hypothesis formed in his mind:

Perhaps, the skill of historical research could help him dig out the deeper mysteries of these antiques?

"Rare antiques" and "Glorious Heritage" were just like their names, carrying the brand of ancient civilization.

If he could directly "read" the historical information contained in these items through historical research techniques, wouldn't he be able to peek into their true origins and potential functions?

Once the thoughts were opened, it was out of control.

Luo En quickly took out several rare antiques he had collected from the box:

Time Guardian's Pocket Watch, Thousand-Change Phantom, and Substitute Puppet.

He pondered for a moment and decided to start with the substitute puppet.

Compared to the other two, this antique was obviously "younger," perhaps easier to sense the historical information within.

"Historical research needs an 'anchor point' to connect the observer with a specific historical fragment."

Luo En recalled the description in the booklet:

"And some antiques themselves are the most ideal anchor points; they experienced those past events and retained the most direct time imprints."

He placed the substitute puppet on the desktop, covered it gently with his right hand, and began to adjust his breathing and spiritual fluctuations, trying to enter the special sensing state described in the booklet.

This state was different from ordinary meditation and different from the starry sky link just now.

It was more like projecting consciousness into the river of time, becoming a pure observer.

At first, there was only a piece of chaotic darkness.

It felt like standing in the middle of the night without starlight, with nothingness without end in all directions.

Luo En remained patient and continued to deepen the sensing; slowly, some blurry images began to emerge in the darkness.

Like bubbles rising slowly underwater, but they were extremely unstable and would shatter and dissipate if not careful.

At first, they were just scattered fragments:

A dim basement... hoarse incantations... the process of the puppet being carved into shape by a carving knife bit by bit...

And that kind of emotion full of malice and greed, stained on the surface of the memory like sticky sludge.

As the sensing deepened, these fragments gradually connected to form a more complete scene.

Luo En saw a thin old man carefully carving a puppet by candlelight, chanting incantations in a low voice while smearing some kind of black liquid on the puppet's joints.

His eyes were bloodshot, and his body was swaying, obviously suffering from a severe curse backlash.

And this puppet was the tool he created to escape death.

The scene continued to transform, and after the puppet was completed, it was injected with some kind of black energy and gained initial vitality.

The picture became blurry, and it seemed that some kind of power was interfering with historical sensing.

Luo En tried to explore deeper, but felt his spiritual sense begin to launch a strong warning to him.

... Deeper, perhaps it might attract the attention of those "hounds."

Seeing this, he could only decisively withdraw his consciousness and end this historical sensing.

Opening his eyes, the substitute puppet in front of him lay quietly on the desktop, looking no different from before.

【Historical Research (Entry) Experience +1】

【Historical Research (Entry) Experience +1】

【Historical Research (Entry) Experience +1】

【Current Progress: Historical Research (Entry 8/50)】

"Although the harvest is limited, it is enough to verify the feasibility of this path."

Luo En began to organize the historical fragments he had just obtained.

Although he failed to fully reveal the true origin of the substitute puppet.

But this attempt had already proven that the "Historical Research" skill could indeed help him understand the essence of rare antiques more deeply.

The origin of the substitute puppet might be much darker than he imagined.

Because of this successful experience, Luo En decided to continue trying the other two rare antiques.

He first picked up the Thousand-Change Phantom, but when he tried to conduct historical sensing, he encountered strong resistance.

That was not resistance from the river of time, but the resistance of the Thousand-Change Phantom itself.

It sensed Luo En's peeking and actively shielded its historical information.

"Antiques with self-consciousness are indeed difficult to interpret."

Luo En was not surprised and turned to pick up the last one—Time Guardian's Pocket Watch.

This antique was exceptionally mysterious and was unique even among all his collections.

Its structure was so exquisite that it made people feel that it did not come from human hands.

Even if his "Extraordinary Identification" skill had already reached the proficient level, he found it difficult to analyze it effectively.

Luo En placed his palm on the pocket watch and entered the historical sensing state again.

However, when his spiritual power touched the pocket watch, it was like a stone sinking into the sea, unable to stir up any waves.

It was not encountering resistance, not being shielded, but completely without any reaction.

It was as if his spiritual power passed through the pocket watch and fell into some infinitely deep void.

He increased his spiritual power input, trying to sense deeper, but the result remained the same.

The pocket watch was like a deep well that never saw the bottom, swallowing all probes without giving any response.

"The gap in power level." Luo En soon concluded:

"The Time Guardian's Pocket Watch obviously exceeds the level I can understand; with my current historical research skill level, I can't even make a splash."

This attempt confirmed a fact again: even among rare antiques of the same level, there were still obvious grade differences.

And the Time Guardian's Pocket Watch was undoubtedly the one with the highest status among his three antiques.

【Detected skill linkage:

Historical Research + Extraordinary Identification

1. Analysis efficiency of Historical Research on rare antiques improved

2. Capture precision of Extraordinary Identification on historical information improved】

The prompt from the panel made Luo En feel very encouraged; this kind of skill linkage was exactly what he was looking forward to, proving that the direction he was exploring had not deviated.

"The direction is correct, but more patience is needed."

He finally concluded:

"Historical research, like astrology, is a profound learning that requires long-term accumulation; haste makes waste."

He continued to conduct small-dose historical sensing on the substitute puppet.

Each time he could obtain sporadic new information, gradually piecing together a more complete history of this antique.

He learned that the substitute puppet had changed hands many times, and every owner had left bloody marks on it.

After the puppet flowed out of the hands of the original creator, it was picked up or looted by several wizards or other abyss explorers one after another.

Every change of hands was accompanied by violence and death, as if this antique itself carried some kind of curse.

As the research deepened, he also increasingly felt the "weight" and spiritual pollution brought by that knowledge.

After each historical sensing, he would feel a splitting headache for a period of time, and even experience short-term hallucinations or confusion.

Especially those historical fragments full of blood and violence brought more obvious negative effects.

"It seems that the research progress in this area still needs to be extended further." Luo En reminded himself:

"Both astrology and historical research require long-term stable accumulation; eagerness for quick success will only aggravate spiritual pollution."

He slowed down the pace of these two studies and only conducted limited practice.

More time was invested in two other important things:

Writing his own academic paper and preparing for the "Rainbow Ring" competition.

(End of chapter)