119: Stargazing Trial 3

"Then choose yourself," the cold voice said. "But it requires a two-person sacrifice; you must choose one more."

"Four..."

Xiao Yan knelt on the ground, his mind in Chaos. Choose Yao Lao? His benefactor, like a father? Choose Xun'er? His lifelong beloved? Choose Xiao Bing and Ling Xiao? His blood-related younger brothers?

"Three..."

Time flew by. Xiao Yan suddenly looked up, a resolute glint in his eyes: "I refuse to choose."

"Two..."

"I said, I refuse!" Xiao Yan straightened his body, his voice firm. "If someone must be sacrificed, it must be me. If it's for two people, then take double my life!"

"One..."

The cold voice was silent for a moment: "Unconventional choice... calculating cost..."

The entire space began to tremble. The three light orbs suddenly merged into one, then burst open! In the strong light, the image of Star Lord reappeared, a relieved smile on his face: "Correct choice. The true purpose of the trial was not to make you sacrifice anyone, but to confirm that you would not abandon anyone."

Xiao Yan breathed a sigh of relief, then asked doubtfully: "But what does this have to do with fighting the Chaos Devourer?"

"Everything." The image of Star Lord began to dissipate. "What the Chaos Devourer fears most is this belief of not abandoning anyone... emotion... love... whatever you want to call it... this is the true 'Star Clan Power'..."

The three star pillars simultaneously lit up to their maximum, and Xiao Yan was teleported into a circular secret chamber. There were no luxurious decorations here, only endless star charts on the walls and a stone platform in the center. A miniature star floated on the stone platform, a scaled-down version of the star core Xiao Yan had seen in the previous cave.

"Legacy Pavilion..." Xiao Yan murmured to himself, walking towards the stone platform.

When he reached out to touch the miniature star, a vast stream of information flooded into his mind—the Origin of the Star Clan, the application of star power, the history of fighting Chaos... and most importantly, the method to balance the three powers within his body.

"Not suppression... nor indulgence... but guidance..." Xiao Yan suddenly understood. "Like the starry sky embracing all things..."

Just as he was immersed in the Legacy, a violent tremor suddenly came from outside! Xiao Yan's consciousness was forcibly pulled back to reality, and he found that the Star Observation Platform was under attack!

Six of the seven star pillars had already been activated, with only the last one remaining dim. Yao Lao and the others were desperately maintaining the Star Formation, while the attack came from the sky—Xuan Shuang Celestial Venerable led the Purification Sect army, and countless ice spears rained down like hail!

Even more critically, the seed of chaos within Xiao Yan sensed the external threat and suddenly went berserk! Star patterns appeared on his right half, while his left half was covered in black threads. The two powers clashed fiercely in his chest, and the pain made him kneel on the ground.

"Yan'er!" Xing Lan rushed to his side, despite her own weakness. "How much of the Legacy have you received?"

"Most of it... but I need time to digest it..." Xiao Yan gritted his teeth, resisting the internal conflict.

Xing Lan looked up at the sky. The Purification Sect's attack was becoming more intense, and cracks had already appeared in the Star Formation. She suddenly showed a resolute expression: "That's enough."

Before Xiao Yan could react, Xing Lan placed her hands on his chest, and dazzling starlight erupted from her entire body! She unreservedly poured her remaining Star Origin into her son's body!

"Mother! No!" Xiao Yan wanted to stop her, but he couldn't move.

Xing Lan's white hair rapidly lost its luster, and wrinkles appeared on her skin, but her smile was incomparably peaceful: "Remember... the stars will always guide you... Mother... will always be in your Bloodline..."

As the last trace of starlight flowed into Xiao Yan's body, Xing Lan's body shattered like a wind-dried sand sculpture, turning into stardust and scattering. Xiao Yan let out a heart-wrenching roar, and the star point in his right eye instantly expanded to fill his entire eye socket, temporarily suppressing the black threads!

At the same time, a blue light broke through the Purification Sect's encirclement and crashed heavily onto the Star Observation Platform—it was the injured Ice Soul! Her left arm was gone, the wound frozen, and her right hand tightly clutched a blue crystal.

"Aunt Ice Soul!" Xiao Bing rushed over to support her.

Ice Soul struggled to hand the crystal to Xiao Bing: "Ice Lord... is in the Eternal Ice Coffin... the coordinates are here..." She coughed up a mouthful of ice-blue blood. "Senior Sister Profound Frost... doesn't know... she thought Ice Lord had fallen..."

Xiao Yan staggered over: "Senior Ice Soul..."

Ice Soul's gaze had already become scattered, but she held Xiao Bing's hand tightly: "Within you... is Ice Lord's most precious gift..." Her voice grew weaker and weaker. "Not power... it's... the ability to feel pain..."

This sentence stunned everyone. Ice Soul continued: "The Chaos Devourer... doesn't understand pain... won't have mercy... and you... can feel all of this... this is... the key..."

Her hand suddenly tightened: "Awaken... Ice Lord... only... you..."

Before she finished speaking, Ice Soul's body began to freeze from within, turning into an ice sculpture in an instant, then shattering into countless ice crystals with a "crack." Xiao Bing tried in vain to grasp the ice crystals, but could only watch them slip through his fingers.

The battle in the sky continued. Xuan Shuang Celestial Venerable had already broken through the last line of defense and was swooping down towards the Star Observation Platform! Yao Lao and Xun'er stood in front of Xiao Yan, ready to fight to the death.

Just then, the seventh star pillar—the last one that had remained dim—suddenly lit up with dazzling golden light! This light was different from the previous starlight; it carried the characteristics of Flame Lord's Fire!

Star Lord's voice rang out again, but this time with urgency: "Yan'er, time's up! Inject the power of the Three Spirits into the star pillar and open the passage to the Chaos Furnace!"

Xiao Yan looked at Yao Lao and Xun'er, then at Xiao Bing and Ling Xiao, who had just lost Ice Soul, his eyes filled with reluctance.

"Go." Yao Lao patted his shoulder. "We'll hold off the Purification Sect."

"Brother Xiao Yan..." Xun'er's eyes were filled with tears, but she nodded firmly. "We'll wait for you to come back."

Xiao Bing wiped away his tears, his ice-flame longsword in hand: "Big Brother, fulfill your mission."

Ling Xiao's nexus seed floated in his palm: "Three Spirits as one, remember? We are always with you."

Xiao Yan took a deep breath and turned to walk towards the seventh star pillar. As he placed his hand on the pillar, the Flame Lord's Fire, the seed of chaos, and the Star Bloodline, all three powers, surged in simultaneously!

The golden light on the star pillar grew brighter and brighter, finally transforming into a beam of light that shot straight into the sky! A golden vortex tore open in the sky, and dimly visible within it was the scene of the Chaos Furnace!

Xuan Shuang Celestial Venerable was shocked at the sight: "No! He cannot enter the Furnace!" She rushed forward desperately, but was jointly blocked by Yao Lao and Xun'er.

Xiao Yan took one last look at his beloved ones and leaped into the golden vortex. Before fully entering, he heard Star Lord's final voice:

"Remember... the Furnace itself is the container... the true meaning of the Three Spirits as one is..."

The voice was cut off by the roar of the vortex, and Xiao Yan's figure completely disappeared into the air. The seventh star pillar then exploded, and the Star Observation Platform began to collapse!

Yao Lao hurriedly organized everyone to evacuate: "Hurry! This place is collapsing!"

Xuan Shuang Celestial Venerable let out an unwilling roar, but could not stop anything. When the Star Observation Platform completely collapsed, the golden vortex also closed, leaving only scattered stardust, like tears seeing off a hero...