195: The Secrets of the Star Monument, Ambition in the Ruins

Under the guidance of Yun Shang's "Star Orbit Spatial Fixing Art", the star nether core temporarily regained stability; the heart-palpitating, violent energy fluctuations were constrained within relatively orderly "orbits", buying everyone a precious chance to catch their breath.

Everyone seized the time to regulate their breathing and recover. They consumed Medicinal Pills as if they were free, and with the help of the still-dense Power of Stars within the great hall, their injuries and consumption were rapidly restored.

Lin Xuan's primal nascent soul became more refined; the compatibility between Su Wanqing and her frost silence sword seemed to have deepened a layer; Qu Feiyan also gained some insights into the netherworld Death Qi, while Gongsun Yu worked hard to consolidate her cultivation.

As for Yun Shang, who had just achieved a Breakthrough to the Mid-stage Golden Core and obtained part of the Star Palace Legacy, she seized every moment to familiarize herself with her newly increased power and the profound knowledge in her mind.

Once everyone's condition had mostly recovered, Lin Xuan's gaze turned again toward the deep passage, and further in, vaguely illuminated by the light of the star nether core.

"The goal of the Guixu Cult is by no means as simple as just opening a passage," Lin Xuan said in a deep voice. He recalled the pure decay and deathly will he felt when fighting the Guixu Cult Cultivators, as well as their mention of "welcoming the will of the void". "This star nether core, this netherworld token, and this Star Remains Ancient Palace are likely all just one link in their grand plan. We must know what they are actually trying to do."

"Let's go deeper and take a look," Su Wanqing said concisely, the frost silence sword already in her hand.

Qu Feiyan licked her red lips, a dangerous glint flashing in her charming eyes: "Perfect, I also want to see what kind of tricks these guys who hide their heads and show their tails are up to."

Gongsun Yu and Yun Shang naturally had no objections.

This time, the five of them moved together, exploring along the passage behind the central great hall toward the more core area of the ancient palace.

The passage was longer and more winding than expected. Along the way, they could see more traces left by battles; some were ancient, while others were relatively new, clearly left by the Guixu Cult during their exploration.

They even discovered several remnants of Restrictions that had been violently broken, as well as a few mummified corpses wearing Guixu Cult attire, their deaths miserable, as if they had triggered some terrible trap.

Lin Xuan used his primal nascent soul and the System to scout the path ahead, avoiding residual dangers while constantly collecting fragments of information along the way.

Finally, after passing through a "jungle" made of broken star metal, a more magnificent but also more severely damaged main hall appeared ahead.

The dome of this main hall had completely collapsed, revealing the fake starry sky made of energy outside. Cold "starlight" spilled down, illuminating the scene inside the hall.

In the center of the main hall, there was not an altar, but a giant stele ten zhang high, cast entirely from some kind of dark gold metal!

The giant stele was engraved with dense, complex, and profound star trajectories and ancient runes, even more so than those on the walls of the side halls. Many places were already blurred, but it still radiated a vast aura that shook the soul.

Directly in front of the giant stele, a huge, slowly operating, complex Formation was carved into the ground!

The Formation consisted of inner, middle, and outer rings. The core of the inner ring was empty, but the energy fluctuations were of the same Origin as the star nether core.

The middle ring was inlaid with dozens of crystals or bone fragments emitting various lights and distinct auras, vaguely forming some kind of sacrificial ritual; the outer ring extended countless fine lines, connecting to the base of the giant stele and... that fake starry sky on the dome!

Even more alarming was that around the periphery of the Formation, several fresh corpses were scattered. Judging by their clothing, they were exactly those Guixu Cult Cultivators who had fled in defeat earlier!

They seemed to have tried to activate or interfere with this Formation but suffered a backlash, their state of death similar to the mummified corpses found earlier.

"This is... a reverse variant of the 'Zhou Tian Star Spirit Invocation Formation'?!" Yun Shang looked at the huge Formation, especially the "sacrifices" in the middle ring emitting different auras. Combining this with the Star Palace Legacy knowledge she had just obtained, she exclaimed, "They... they want to forcibly reverse the Power of Stars, not to welcome, but to... sacrifice! Using living beings or Origin of specific attributes as sacrifices, amplifying it through the star nether core, and then using this stele as a medium to bombard... to bombard a certain spatial coordinate behind this starry sky curtain!"

Lin Xuan instantly understood, and the System also provided a high-speed analysis result: [Warning! Large-scale reverse sacrificial Formation detected! Goal: Tear open the peripheral Seal of the 'Star Remains Ancient Palace', establish a temporary unstable passage, and project aggregated energy toward unknown dimensional coordinates (coincides with deep fluctuations of the netherworld token)!]

[Inference: The Guixu Cult plans to use the star nether core as an energy source, and use various special Bloodlines/Physiques (such as Supreme Yin Body, blood lotus Demon Physique, Star Spirit Body, etc.) or powerful living beings as Origin sacrifices to forcibly open a passage to the Domain of the 'Nether Ruins'! Not to welcome the will, but to... transport 'supplies'! Or welcome some entity to descend!]

"They want to blood sacrifice us... no, they want to blood sacrifice beings with special Physiques as keys or offerings to open the passage and welcome the so-called 'Nether Ruins'!" Qu Feiyan's face turned ugly. She instantly understood why she had been targeted by both the Blood Lotus Cult and the Guixu Cult. It was not just because of the value of a Cauldron, but because her blood lotus Demon Physique was one of the "sacrifices" needed for this evil ritual!

Su Wanqing's icy eyes contained frost. She possessed the Supreme Yin Body and was clearly also on the list of sacrifices. Yun Shang's Star Spirit Body was even more of the same Origin as this Star Palace ruin, and its value was likely even greater!

"No wonder they were in hot pursuit, not just for the netherworld token, but to collect 'sacrifices'!" A chill rose in Lin Xuan's heart. The Guixu Cult's plot was far more insane and terrifying than he had imagined! What they wanted was not a simple descent, but to forcibly break through the barrier between the two worlds at the cost of the Origin of countless living beings and those with special Physiques!

His gaze fell on the base of the giant stele, where several relatively intact jade tablets seemed to record more information. He stepped forward quickly, his Divine Sense sweeping over them.

The information on the jade tablets was intermittent, but combined with what he had obtained before, it was enough to piece together part of the truth: Originally, this Star Remains Ancient Palace was not just an observatory in ancient times, but an outpost of the Star Palace's "Yao Guang Hall" responsible for monitoring and sealing a weak spatial node connected to the "Nether Ruins" (what the Guixu Cult called the "Nether Ruins").

That Chen Yuan, the Star Patrol Envoy who left behind the Star Vortex Soul Seed, was the last guardian. He was severely injured and passed away in the battle against the infiltrating power of the "Nether Ruins". Before dying, he activated the self-destruct program of the ancient palace, but it was not completely successful; it only sealed and put it into slumber.

As for the Guixu Cult, they learned the secret and the method of opening it from somewhere and obtained the netherworld token (suspected to be the key that flowed out from the "Nether Ruins" back then). What they wanted to do was reverse the Seal of the ancient Star Palace, reopen this node, and use the many living beings and those with special Physiques in the Eastern Region as sacrifices to open a passage for some terrifying existence in the depths of the "Nether Ruins" they worshipped, or to transport "nutrients" sufficient to allow it to recover or become powerful!

"Lunatics! They are a bunch of lunatics!" Gongsun Yu was so angry her little face turned red. She could not imagine that for a vague "Nether Ruins", they would sacrifice so many lives.

"We must stop them!" Su Wanqing's tone was firm and decisive, her body surrounded by biting moonlight.

Killing intent boiled in Qu Feiyan's eyes: "Want to use me as a sacrifice? Let's see if they have the teeth for it!"

Lin Xuan took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He looked at the slowly operating yet unwavering reverse Formation, and then looked at the star nether core that was temporarily stabilized in the direction of the central great hall.

"The Formation has not been fully activated yet. The main force of the Guixu Cult does not seem to be here; they may be waiting for more 'sacrifices' or a specific timing. Those few people before may have been vanguards or probes." Lin Xuan analyzed quickly. "This is our last chance to stop them!"

His gaze became extremely sharp: "Destroy this Formation, or... completely close the star nether core, or even... use this Formation to give them a 'surprise'!"

The shocking conspiracy of the Guixu Cult had been revealed. A battle concerning the survival of the Eastern Region and even wider regions was imminent. Lin Xuan and the five of them had stumbled upon this conspiracy and had become the only hope to stop it.