46: The journey home takes an unexpected turn; sails are set on the desolate sea.

Inside the Demon Suppressing Palace, starlight flowed like water, carrying the tranquility of surviving a catastrophe. Lin Xuan sat cross-legged on the Star Platform, his Golden Core circulating. The warmth from the dissolved Medicinal Pill, mixed with the pure Power of Stars in this place, rapidly repaired his damaged Meridians and exhausted mental energy. The immortal abode pivot token and the restarted circumferential star lock subtly resonated, and fragmented, vague information regarding the Demon Palace's Seal structure and the laws of star movement, like trickling streams, converged into his Sea of Consciousness.

Su Wanqing stood quietly to the side, her moonlight radiance restrained. Her cool eyes swept over the stable Teleportation Array before returning to Lin Xuan. Seeing his aura gradually stabilize, the tension deep within her eyes slowly eased. However, when her gaze occasionally brushed past Qu Feiyan, who was sitting languidly nearby, her seductive eyes never leaving Lin Xuan, a barely perceptible ripple would stir.

Qu Feiyan appeared to be playing with the tips of her hair, but her Spiritual Sense keenly captured every subtle change in Lin Xuan's aura, as well as Su Wanqing's hidden gaze. A faint smile played on her red lips, as if she were enjoying a pantomime closely related to herself. This brief tranquility only made a certain undercurrent surge more clearly.

Gongsun Yu didn't have so many thoughts. She leaned beside the Teleportation Array, gazing at the flowing starlight, her small face filled with anticipation. She could finally leave this damned place!

After about the time it takes for an Incense Stick to burn, Lin Xuan slowly opened his eyes, his gaze brilliant with Divine Radiance. Not only were his injuries fully healed, but his aura seemed even more refined than before. He stood tall, his eyes sweeping over the Three women before finally settling on the Star Teleportation Array.

"My state has recovered. We shall leave now."

Without unnecessary words, the four people nodded to each other and stepped together into the Formation Diagram where the starlight flowed.

A flash of light, and the world spun. The familiar sensation of weightlessness from teleportation arrived, but this time, the spatial fluctuations were stable and gentle, without the chaos and tearing experienced before.

Moments later, the feeling of solid ground underfoot returned. Salty and fresh sea breeze rushed toward them, accompanied by the crashing sound of waves hitting the shore.

They appeared on the edge of an unfamiliar island. Looking back, behind them was a dense tropical jungle, and ahead was the familiar, boundless, ink-blue Myriad Ages Desolate Sea. The sky was still gray and low-hanging, but at least they had left the suffocating Demon Palace!

"We... got out?" Gongsun Yu stepped on the solid beach beneath her feet in disbelief, feeling an aura completely different from the Demon Palace, so excited she nearly jumped.

Su Wanqing also let out a soft sigh, her constantly tense nerves finally able to relax slightly.

Qu Feiyan stretched her graceful waist. Her red dress flapped in the sea breeze as she took a deep breath of the fishy air, her seductive eyes curving upward: "We've finally seen the light of day again, even if the sky doesn't look too good."

Lin Xuan did not immediately lower his guard. He spread his Divine Sense, quickly investigating the island. The island was small, with dense vegetation. The Spiritual Qi was slightly better than the outer regions of the Demon Palace, but it still carried the unique wildness and chaos of the Desolate Sea. There was no aura of powerful creatures on the island; it was temporarily safe.

His gaze turned towards the vast, endless sea. Daoist Shoujing had not specified where the Teleportation Array would send them, only that it was a safe passage. Now it seemed they had only been sent out of the Demon Palace and were still within the Myriad Ages Desolate Sea.

"We are still in the Desolate Sea. We must quickly determine our location and find a way to return to the Cultivation World," Lin Xuan said solemnly. Although the journey to the Demon Palace had ended, the path home was still long and full of unknowns.

Fortunately, they were not unprepared. Lin Xuan recalled the crude Sea Chart he had obtained on a lonely island in the Desolate Sea, and the marker [Gui Xu?] on it. Now it seemed that Gui Xu was not a path to survival, but rather the entrance to the Demon Palace. However, the chart itself might still conceal other information.

He took out the Beast Skin Sea Chart and studied it carefully again. Combining the information acquired in the Demon Palace with his understanding of the Power of Stars, he subtly perceived that some seemingly meaningless lines and symbols drawn on the chart appeared to correspond vaguely with certain trajectories of the Circumferential Stars.

"Perhaps... we can try using Star Positioning?" Lin Xuan looked up at the gray sky. Although he couldn't see the real stars, he possessed the immortal abode pivot token and had just restarted the circumferential star lock, making his sensitivity to the Power of Stars far surpass that of ordinary people.

He closed his eyes, fully activating the immortal abode pivot token, integrating his Divine Sense into the surrounding world, meticulously sensing the faint fluctuations that existed in the darkness, originating from the Eternal Star Sea.

Seeing this, Su Wanqing and the Three women knew he was performing a Secret Technique, and immediately spread out to act as his Protector, while vigilantly observing the sea and the island.

Time passed slowly. Lin Xuan's brows were sometimes furrowed, sometimes relaxed. Performing Star Positioning in the Spiritual Qi-chaotic Desolate Sea was extremely difficult; even with the aid of the immortal abode pivot token, it was like groping in thick fog.

Suddenly, he snapped his eyes open, a flash of brilliance crossing his gaze! He pointed in a direction completely different from the way they came: "Over there! I sense that the Power of Stars in that direction is relatively stable, and it faintly corresponds with the common Astral Trajectories of the Cultivation World. Perhaps... that is the direction to leave the Desolate Sea!"

Although precise positioning was impossible, this was undoubtedly a valuable clue!

"There's no time to lose, let's set off now!" Lin Xuan decided instantly. His gaze swept over the beach. He repeated his old trick, searching for suitable wood to prepare a new Raft.

With their previous experience, coupled with Lin Xuan's Golden Core Stage strength, the speed of raft construction was much faster. He selected several tough Ancient Trees, cutting them with Sword Qi. Su Wanqing assisted with Ice-type Spells for shaping, while Qu Feiyan and Gongsun Yu were responsible for binding and reinforcing. In less than half a day, a black Raft—sturdier than the previous one and inscribed with more simplified runes—was completed.

The setting sun's afterglow struggled to penetrate the gray clouds, staining the sea surface a strange, dark gold. The four people boarded the Raft, which was propelled by Lin Xuan using the Power of Vitality and Blood, and left the temporary island, sailing into the vast Desolate Sea in the direction he had sensed.

The Raft cut through the ink-blue waves. The speed was not fast, but the direction was clear. Looking back, the palace that had imprisoned the Devil Head for ages had completely vanished from sight and perception, as if it were just a bizarre nightmare.

But everyone knew that the experiences in the Demon Palace, especially the final crisis and fighting together, had left an indelible mark on them. The relationships between them had also become increasingly subtle and complex.

The road ahead was still an unknown voyage, and the journey home was long. But at least they had broken free from the deepest cage, carrying their gains and secrets, and taken the first step toward returning to their homeland.

The sea breeze swept their faces, bringing hope, and also new challenges.