189: Star-shaped ruins and a plan to return to the void.

The fall of that Guixu Cult Nascent Soul Cultivator was like a stone cast into stagnant water; after a brief ripple, the valley returned to deathly silence, yet the dangerous aura permeating the air grew increasingly heavy.

Lin Xuan quickly checked the assassin's belongings. Apart from some standard Cultivate resources and the vortex token representing their identity, he did not find any more direct information regarding this ambush plan. Clearly, the other party acted with extreme caution.

"This place is not suitable for a long stay; there may be more than one ambush site." Lin Xuan said in a deep voice, his gaze casting once again toward the direction indicated by the netherworld token—the deeper hinterland of the mountain range behind that field of meteor-iron stone forests.

Everyone dared not dally and consumed Medicinal Pill to adjust their breathing. Yun Shang, in particular, with the help of Lin Xuan's pure spiritual energy, soon stabilized the internal injuries to her organs. The look she gave Lin Xuan held not only gratitude but also an added sense of determination.

Passing through the low hills riddled with holes and that open valley, the terrain ahead became even more rugged and grotesque. Huge, seemingly torn rock layers were exposed, and in some places, glassy substances remained, having been melted by high heat and then cooled. The chaotic Power of Stars in the air became increasingly obvious, and one could even occasionally see faint ripples of distorted space.

"The space here seems quite unstable." Su Wanqing sensed her surroundings, her icy eyes filled with vigilance. The frost silence sword hummed slightly in her hand, seemingly also sensing this environment.

Qu Feiyan was more focused on the auras of the demonic creatures hidden in shadows and rock crevices. Her purified spiritual sense allowed her to more clearly distinguish which were monsters native to the Zangxing Mountain Range, and which... might bear traces of human intervention.

Gongsun Yu stayed close to Lin Xuan, her small face full of alertness. Electric light flowed across the thunder urgency sword as she stood ready to respond to any sudden situation at any moment.

As they ventured deeper, the ground beneath their feet gradually turned into a dark silver color, as if mixed with countless star fragments. Finally, after crossing a mountain ridge that looked like the spine of a Dragon, the scene before them caused everyone's breathing to hitch.

Ahead lay a huge basin. In the center of the basin, it was not a naturally formed hill or gully, but a... dilapidated complex of palace ruins!

The material of these palaces was neither metal nor stone, presenting a dull silver-gray color similar to the ground beneath their feet, but it was much older, covered in traces left by the erosion of time and massive impacts. Broken walls and ruins were scattered everywhere, and many huge stone pillars were slanted into the ground, carved with strange patterns that had long since blurred and did not belong to any current school, with markings vaguely visible that related to stars and orbits.

What was most shocking was that in the very center of the ruins, a huge, irregularly shaped, dark object was slanted into the ground. Its surface was pitted, as if it had experienced countless impacts, yet it still emitted a heart-palpitating, heavy pressure and residual stellar fluctuations—that seemed to be the wreckage of a star core that had truly fallen from beyond the heavens!

And the netherworld token in Lin Xuan's hand was now pointing toward the area beneath that star core wreckage, where there seemed to be an entrance half-hidden by rubble, deep and dark, leading to who knows where.

"Is this... the ruin of some ancient Sect related to the stars?" Surprise flashed in Qu Feiyan's beautiful eyes.

"I fear it is more than just a Sect." Lin Xuan's expression was grave; the System was rapidly analyzing those broken patterns and architectural structures. "These markings and architectural styles are vastly different from any known ancient Daoist traditions, and are closer to... some kind of facility for observing or channeling the stars. This place may not be a Sect, but an ancient 'Star Observatory' or... a 'Landing Site'."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the ruins, lingering especially on several boulders that seemed randomly scattered but were actually faintly forming some kind of Formation: "Moreover, there are already 'guests' who have arrived here first."

Under his primal nascent soul perception and System scan, at least three powerful auras were lurking within the ruins. Two of them were of the same origin as the assassin just killed—Nascent Soul Cultivators from the Guixu Cult—while the other aura was more obscure and cold, carrying a dense aura of death; they were definitely not benign. They had cleverly used the terrain of the ruins and the traces of residual Formations to hide themselves. If not for Lin Xuan's spiritual sense far exceeding those of the same rank, it would have been difficult to discover them.

"One Middle Nascent Soul Stage, two Early Nascent Soul Stage, and one... thing similar to a corpse puppet, with an aura close to the Early Nascent Soul Stage." Lin Xuan quickly informed the others of the detected information. "They are guarding near that entrance; it seems the destination indicated by the netherworld token is inside there. The Guixu Cult has deployed heavy troops here, so their plot must be immense."

Upon hearing this, the three women, Su Wanqing and the others, all became serious. The opponent was strong, rested, and occupied a geographical advantage; forcing their way in would certainly not be easy.

"Big Brother Lin, what should we do?" Gongsun Yu asked in a low voice.

Lin Xuan pondered for a moment, a flash of determination in his eyes: "A frontal assault is not advisable; we must use strategy. They are lying in wait, either waiting for us to walk into their trap, or... waiting for a certain opportunity."

He looked again at the netherworld token in his hand; the dark markings on the surface of the token seemed to become clearer and more active after approaching these ruins.

"System, perform a deep analysis of the connection between the netherworld token and the environment here, and find any usable nodes or fluctuations."

【Ding! Analyzing... The energy fluctuations of the netherworld token are resonating strongly with the central star core wreckage and the entrance below!】

【Detected seventeen residual Formation nodes in the ruins, three of which have abnormal energy flow and are suspected to be secretly controlled by the Guixu Cult Cultivators for warning and triggering traps.】

【Discovered one hidden energy node not found by the Guixu Cult, located beneath a broken pillar on the southeast side, connected to the ruins' residual 'Chaos Void Barrier' Formation (incomplete). If activated, it can create small-scale spatial turbulence to interfere with perception.】

"Very good!" Lin Xuan had a plan in mind. He looked at Yun Shang: "Yun Shang, can your Star Spirit Body sense and guide the residual Power of Stars here?"

Upon hearing this, Yun Shang immediately focused her mind, formed hand seals, and faint starlight radiated from her body. After carefully sensing for a moment, she nodded affirmatively: "I can. Although it is very chaotic, the fluctuations emitted by that star core wreckage in the center are very clear. I can try to channel a trace of it, but I cannot sustain it, nor can I control it precisely."

"A trace—to create a little chaos—is enough." A curve appeared at the corner of Lin Xuan's mouth. "Wanqing, Feiyan, Xiaoyu, listen to my instructions..."

A short while later, beneath the shadow of a half-collapsed giant stone pillar on the southeast side of the ruins, the space twisted slightly, then returned to normal.

Meanwhile, in the core area of the ruins, near that star core wreckage, three Guixu Cult Cultivators were hiding in the shadows. The leader was that Middle Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator, whose face was shrouded in a black robe, revealing only a pair of emotionless eyes. The other two Early Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators stood to the left and right, vigilantly watching their surroundings. Not far away, a corpse puppet wearing ancient armor, with green soul fire flickering in its eye sockets, stood like a statue.

"Elder, one of the soul lamps on the perimeter extinguished just now; I fear the 'Shadow Assassin' has failed." One Early Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator said in a low voice.

The Middle Nascent Soul Stage Elder snorted coldly: "It does not matter. What waves can a few juniors make? Guard this place well. Once the 'Sacred Artifact' fluctuations reach their peak, opening the 'Starfall Gate' to welcome the descent of the 'Xu' will be a great achievement! By then, the entire Eastern Region will tremble at the feet of my Guixu!"

Before his words had even finished, a sudden change occurred!

Hum!

The dark silver ground beneath everyone's feet shook slightly without warning! Immediately after, at the base of a seemingly ordinary broken pillar located behind them to the side, a blindingly bright yet very small-range flash of starlight suddenly erupted!

This flash came and went quickly, but in that very instant—

With that broken pillar as the center, the space within a radius of several dozen zhang seemed like a scrambled chessboard; light twisted, scenery overlapped, and perception instantly became blurred! It was precisely that incomplete "Chaos Void Barrier" Formation that had been temporarily activated!

"What is happening?!"

"Enemy attack?!"

The three Guixu Cult Cultivators and that corpse puppet were all simultaneously affected by this sudden spatial turbulence. Their Divine Sense probing was obstructed, their vision distorted, and for a moment, they actually lost accurate judgment of each other's positions and the lock on the direction of the entrance!

Now is the time!

Having already used the Taichu Sword Domain to hide his aura and lurk on the other side, Lin Xuan's eyes shot out a cold glint!

"Attack!"