UGB Chapter 1015 Perilous Journey Through Star Remains
Chapter 1015 Perilous Journey Through Star Remains
In the distorted space surrounding the Ancient Starfall Road, crescent-shaped star debris cast a pale, cold light in the distance. Elder Qingyi's Purifying Lotus Barrier had shrunk to a mere three zhang in diameter, barely protecting the Burial Abyss Black Sword where Yu Changsheng, Chen Xueqing, and the remnant souls of Mo Yu resided, as well as the hundreds of Xuantian Sword Sect disciples led by Elder Jianchen. The remnants of the Lotus Leaf Dharma Boat had long since vanished, and now everyone hovered among the shattered star debris, with an unfathomable void abyss beneath their feet.
“These remnants of star remains… can actually devour the Dao essence of the Pure World Lotus.” Qingyi’s face was pale as she maintained the barrier with hand seals, fine beads of sweat forming on her forehead. Outside the barrier, dozens of translucent, twisted shadows were constantly colliding, each impact causing ripples to spread across the barrier. These shadows were of various shapes: some were humanoid but had compound eyes like stars, while others were beast-like but trailed long energy tails. What they had in common was an all-consuming hunger.
The core remains of the isolated island in Chen Xueqing's arms were slightly warm. She closed her eyes to sense the inherited memories, and opened them after a moment: "Elder Qingyi, these remnant spirits are the surviving wills of those who failed to escape the Starry Sky Forger's array when the ancient road collapsed, fused with the shattered star remains. They live by devouring energy, and the purifying essence of the Purifying Lotus is both a threat and... bait to them."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a crack suddenly appeared in the northeast corner of the barrier! A remnant spirit with six energy tentacles suddenly darted in, its tentacles aimed straight at Qingyi's face!
"Don't even think about it!" Elder Jian Chen roared, unleashing his Xuan Tian Sword Qi. Hundreds of Sword Sect disciples simultaneously formed an array, their sword qi converging into a cyan sword curtain that slashed towards the tentacle. However, the tentacle somehow pierced through the sword curtain and continued its advance—
clang!
The Burial Abyss Black Sword flew up on its own, and the remnant soul of Mo Yu unleashed its annihilation sword intent. The black sword drew a dark arc, severing the tentacles. The severed tentacles turned into starlight fragments and dissipated, but the original spirit emitted a sharp shriek, and more spirits surged forth as if enraged!
The barrier shook violently, and Qingyi groaned, blood trickling from the corner of her lips. Yu Changsheng sat cross-legged at the center of the barrier, the five forces within the Guixu Jinyuan Dao Embryo still clashing: the base formed by the Origin of Annihilation trembled, the runes corroded by the Devouring Void flickered with a ghostly light, the vines formed from the myriad poisonous aura twisted, the stardust formed from the resentment of stars danced, and the Jinyuan Fire Core flickered erratically. He forcefully circulated the *Guixu Yin·Yuanliu Pivot*, the emerald-gold Daoist rhyme flowing through his meridians, attempting to bring the five forces into a cycle.
"We can't stay here in this stalemate." Yu Changsheng opened his eyes, the Void Vortex in his left eye slowly rotating, and the Abyss Flame in his right eye flickering. "Qing'er, where is the Starbone Chain you mentioned?"
Chen Xueqing pointed to the left of the crescent-shaped star remnant: "There—in the inherited memories, the Star Dome Forger once set up seven post station nodes on the outer perimeter of the ancient road, connected by a chain of star remnants. This broken area we are in is the 'Abandoned Area,' with the most remnant spirits. We must move along the chain of star remnants to find the first post station node, 'Chuchen Post Station,' where there are remnants of the Star Dome formation that can temporarily isolate the remnant spirits."
Elder Jian Chen gritted his teeth: "But how can we break through the encirclement of these remnant spirits? The Pure Lotus barrier won't last long. My Xuan Tian Sword Sect disciples can hold them off to some extent by forming an array, but there are too many remnant spirits, and they can become ethereal and penetrate physical attacks..."
Yu Changsheng took a deep breath, feeling the violent power of the five forces within his Dao Embryo. The Dao Embryo of Guixu Jinyuan was on the verge of collapse, and forcibly activating it would be tantamount to suicide, but at this moment there was no other choice. He looked at Chen Xueqing: "Qing'er, lend me a trace of the Dao rhyme of 'Guixu Yin·Yuanliu Shu'. I want to try to use the Guixu Vortex... to devour some of the remaining spirits."
"No!" Qingyi and Chen Xueqing exclaimed simultaneously. Qingyi said urgently, "Your Dao Embryo is already overburdened. If you continue to devour these distorted wills, it will likely trigger an even more severe backlash!"
Chen Xueqing grasped Yu Changsheng's hand, and a golden aura flowed from her palm into his body: "Brother Changsheng, let me do it. After I fused with the core of the Starry Sky Forger's inheritance, I have a slight suppressive force on the Star Remnant Spirit. Although my spiritual body is weak now, I can try to simulate the fluctuations of the 'Relay Node' with the aura of inheritance, which may temporarily confuse the remnant spirit and buy us time to break through."
Yu Changsheng grasped her hand in return, his dark gold imperial blood surging through his veins: "Your spiritual body is already unstable; if you further deplete it..."
“It’s better than letting your Dao Embryo completely collapse.” Chen Xueqing smiled, but her eyes were full of determination. “You protected us time and time again in the Burial Star Sea. Now it’s my turn to lend a hand.”
She said no more, closing her eyes to concentrate. The core remains of the isolated island in her arms shone brightly, and emerald-gold ripples spread out from her center. Complex star patterns emerged from those ripples, precisely the array structure of the relay station nodes from the Starry Sky Forger's inheritance.
A strange change occurred: the frantically crashing spirits outside the barrier paused, and the dozens of twisted shadows seemed confused. They circled the barrier, their tentacles tentatively touching the emerald-gold halo, but no longer launched an attack.
"It works!" Elder Jian Chen exclaimed softly.
Cold sweat beaded on Chen Xueqing's forehead, and her body trembled slightly: "Hurry up... the fluctuations I simulated can't last long, and the spirit will see through it sooner or later."
Qingyi immediately activated the Purifying Lotus, and the barrier transformed into a phantom azure lotus boat, carrying everyone towards the left side of the crescent-shaped star. Elder Jianchen led his disciples to form a sword array around the lotus boat for protection, with hundreds of sword energies swirling around it like swimming fish.
After flying for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the first segment of the star debris chain appeared in the void ahead: seven fragments of star debris of varying sizes, arranged in a certain pattern, connected by pale blue energy threads, with starlight flowing through them. Although most of the threads were broken, the remaining energy still allowed one to discern the path.
"That's it!" Chen Xueqing pointed to a rhomboid fragment at the starting point of the Star Remains Chain. "Stepping onto the fragment and moving along the energy threads will allow you to avoid most of the void turbulence and the gathering areas of remnants."
The illusory image of the lotus boat landed on the rhomboid fragment. The fragment was about ten zhang long, its surface uneven and riddled with ancient engravings. As everyone stepped onto solid ground, many Sword Sect disciples breathed a sigh of relief—suspending themselves in the void for so long was extremely taxing on disciples with lower cultivation levels.
However, the crisis was far from over. The fluctuations in the simulated post station by Chen Xueqing began to weaken, and some remnant spirits in the distance had already sensed the anomaly and were swimming towards them. To make matters worse, the energy threads on the Star Remains Chain were extremely unstable, breaking off from time to time and revealing the void abyss below.
"We must get through as soon as possible." Qingyi sensed the depletion of the Pure World Lotus's essence. "My power can only last for another half an hour at most."
Yu Changsheng endured the excruciating pain in his Dao Embryo and stood up: "I'll clear the way." The Void of Returning to Nothingness vortex in his left eye spun faster, but instead of devouring, it released a layer of dark golden Void of Returning to Nothingness force field that enveloped a ten-zhang radius in front of him. When the force field touched the energy threads, it actually temporarily stabilized those threads that were about to break—the power of Void of Returning to Nothingness inherently contains the characteristics of "accommodation and stability," which he forcibly activated to solidify the passage.
"Go!" Elder Jian Chen ordered his disciples to split into three teams. The first team followed Yu Changsheng onto the leading energy threads, the second team protected Chen Xueqing and Qingyi in the middle, and the third team brought up the rear. Traveling on the Starbone Chain was more difficult than expected. The energy threads were only three feet wide, with endless void below; a slight misstep would result in a fall. Moreover, the threads were not static, but vibrated slightly like harp strings. Each step had to be precisely placed on the vibrating points, otherwise, the threads would resonate and break. Although the Xuan Tian Sword Sect disciples cultivated sword techniques and were agile, several disciples still slipped due to severe injuries, but were fortunately caught by their fellow disciples in time.
When they reached the third fragment of the star remnant, a sudden change occurred!
This fragment was much larger than the previous two, irregularly shaped like a hemisphere, its surface riddled with holes. As Yu Changsheng stepped onto the fragment, a grayish-white mist suddenly spewed out from the holes! Wherever the mist passed, the energy threads rapidly decayed and disintegrated, even eroding the Void Force Field with voids!
"It's 'Star Erosion Miasma'!" Chen Xueqing exclaimed. "The star remnants have been exposed to the turbulent void for a long time, and the corrosive energy generated by the internal material mutations is detrimental. We can't force our way through; we must go around it—"
Before the words were even finished, the gray-white mist had already condensed into dozens of tentacle-like shapes, sweeping towards the crowd! Even before the tentacles arrived, the aura that corroded everything caused the Sword Sect disciples' protective qi to hiss.
Elder Jian Chen swung his sword at a tentacle, but the sword energy, once it entered the mist, vanished like a mud ox entering the sea; instead, it was absorbed by the mist and grew stronger! "This thing can devour energy attacks!"
Yu Changsheng's left eye swirled wildly in the Void Reversion vortex, attempting to devour the Star Erosion Miasma. However, the Devouring Void Corrosion Runes within his Dao Embryo resonated with the mist, exacerbating the cracks in his Dao Embryo. He groaned, and dark golden blood trickled from the corner of his lips.
At the critical moment, the core remains of the isolated island in Chen Xueqing's arms heated up again. A sudden inspiration struck her; she formed hand seals, and the emerald-gold aura transformed into countless intricate chains. The tips of these chains displayed the runes of the Starry Sky Forger, piercing the tentacles of the Star Erosion Miasma!
"The essence of the Star Erosion Miasma is the contamination of star debris by the turbulent void. My inherited core can temporarily 'purify' the contamination and restore it to its original state!" Chen Xueqing gritted her teeth and persevered. Wherever the chains passed, the gray-white mist faded and returned to pure star energy that dispersed into the void.
However, the Star Eclipse Miasma was too numerous, and Chen Xueqing's spirit body was already weak; her face was now deathly pale. Qingyi immediately transferred the essence of the Pure World Green Lotus to her, but it was only a drop in the ocean.
"Let me do it." A weak spiritual fluctuation emanated from the silent Burial Abyss Black Sword, emanating from Mo Yu. The next instant, the black sword soared into the air, its blade revealing blood-red patterns—the annihilation bloodthirsty sword intent unleashed by Mo Yu's burning remnant soul!
The sword intent didn't attack the Star Erosion Miasma, but instead slashed at the Star Remains Fragment itself! The crimson sword light penetrated deep into the fragment's hole, triggering a structural resonance within the fragment. The entire hemispherical fragment trembled violently, and the eruption of Star Erosion Miasma from the hole abruptly ceased; instead, it began to flow back into the hole!
"Senior Mo Yu!" Chen Xueqing exclaimed.
"Star Eclipse Miasma... requires energy to sustain it... I use the Sword Intent of Annihilation... to temporarily disrupt the internal balance of the fragments... and cut off the energy source..." Mo Yu's divine sense was intermittent, clearly indicating that this attack had consumed a great deal of energy. "Quickly... I can only maintain this for... ten breaths..."
Without a word, Yu Changsheng took a deep breath, activated the Void Force Field to envelop everyone, and rushed towards the other side of the fragment. Sword Sect disciples filed in, with Qingyi and Chen Xueqing following closely behind. The last disciple had just left the fragment when the hemispherical fragment suddenly collapsed! The backflowing Star Erosion Mist mixed with the fragment debris, forming an ever-expanding gray-white sphere in the void, which finally exploded, the shockwave pushing everyone forward unsteadily.
Looking back, the third segment of the Starstrip Chain had completely vanished, leaving only broken energy threads drifting in the void. Fortunately, the fourth fragment was just a hundred feet ahead.
“Senior Mo Yu…” Chen Xueqing looked at the Burial Abyss Black Sword floating beside her, the blood-red patterns on the sword had faded considerably.
“It’s alright… just a remnant soul…” Mo Yu’s divine sense was weak. “Continue… Chu Chen Post Station shouldn’t be far away…”
After a short rest, the group resumed their journey. The next leg of the Star Remains Chain was relatively smooth. Although there were still some small remnants causing trouble, thanks to the combined efforts of the Azure Lotus of Purification and the sword formation of the Sword Sect disciples, they managed to avoid any serious danger.
Two hours later, the void ahead suddenly opened up.
It was a relatively stable space, with a dilapidated palace-like building suspended in the center. Constructed of some kind of silvery-white metal and starstone, the building was mostly collapsed, but the main structure remained. A pale blue light membrane flowed around the palace, upon which floated an ever-changing star map—the very defensive array of the Starry Sky Forgers' post station!
Above the main gate of the palace, three characters are engraved in ancient star script: Chuchen Post Station.
"We've arrived!" Chen Xueqing's eyes lit up. "The first station node in the inherited memories. Although the star array here is damaged, the core array eye should still be able to operate, which can temporarily isolate the remnant spirits and the void turbulence."
Qingyi breathed a long sigh of relief, and the Pure World Green Lotus barrier could finally be retracted. She swayed slightly and was supported by Elder Jianchen: "Fellow Daoist Qingyi, you have suffered great losses. Quickly go to the post station to recuperate."
The group stepped into the pale blue light membrane. The membrane rippled like water, isolating them from the chaotic energy of the outside void. Inside the station, the floor was made of smooth starstone, cracked yet giving a long-lost sense of security.
The palace's interior space was larger than it appeared from the outside, clearly due to the use of a spatial expansion array. In the center of the hall stood a three-tiered circular altar, atop which floated a head-sized, ice-blue crystal—the core of the post station's array. The crystal's surface had seven cracks, and its light flickered, yet it still emanated a stable spatial anchoring force.
"Finally... we're safe for now." A Sword Sect disciple collapsed to the ground, while many others embraced and wept. From the fall of the Xuantian Sword Sect's mountain gate to the desperate battle at the Burial Star Sea, and then to their escape along the Starfall Ancient Road, the losses along the way were devastating. Of the hundreds of disciples, less than three hundred remain, and all of them are wounded.
Upon entering the post station, Yu Changsheng immediately sat down cross-legged. The conflict within the Guixu Jinyuan Dao Embryo had eased slightly due to reduced external pressure, but the cracks remained, and the five forces were still like wild horses. He closed his eyes and circulated the "Guixu Yin: Origin Pivot," and with Chen Xueqing's assistance, the emerald-gold Dao rhyme slowly repaired the Dao Embryo.
Chen Xueqing walked towards the central altar and brought the core remains of the isolated island close to the ice-blue crystal. The crystal flashed, and a stream of emerald-gold light flew out from the remains and flowed into the crystal. The crack on the crystal's surface healed at a speed visible to the naked eye!
“As expected, the Starry Sky Forger’s legacy can repair the station’s array core,” Chen Xueqing said softly. “But with my current strength, I can only repair three cracks at most. To completely repair all seven cracks, I need more time and energy.”
After catching her breath for a moment, Qingyi stood up and looked around the post station: "This place can provide temporary refuge, but it is definitely not a place to stay for long. Elder Jianchen, how are the injuries of your Xuantian Sword Sect disciples? Are they able to continue?" (End of this chapter)