393: Remains and fragments

Di Xingyun felt like a small boat in a stormy sea, being crazily torn apart by an irresistible force.

Countless grains of star sand, like billions of high-speed rotating blades, hacked wildly at the Star Gang Light Screen, splashing eye-piercing sparks of energy.

Every impact caused his blood to boil. His Star Body operated to its limit, his bones groaned under the unbearable weight, and his skin was torn open with fine bloody gashes by the escaping Star Power. The golden sacred blood had just seeped out when it was evaporated by the violent Star Power!

“Argh!”

Di Xingyun let out a muffled groan, a trace of blood leaking from the corner of his mouth.

He frantically circulated the Star Saint Body Art, and the starfall pagoda in his Dantian also rotated at an unprecedented speed, trying its best to swallow the surrounding violent Star Power and transform it into its own defensive strength, but it was like trying to put out a burning cart of wood with a cup of water!

The storm's power was too strong and its range too vast; it was simply not something human strength could withstand!

“I can't resist it head-on! I must break out!”

He endured the pain of his body feeling as if it were being torn apart, concentrated all his mind, and communicated with the starfall pagoda in his Dantian.

The pagoda's body radiated light, and a mysterious spatial ripple spread out.

“Star Shield Art—Thousand-Mile Shift!”

Di Xingyun roared low, pouring all the remaining Power of Starlight in his body, along with the energy accumulated in the starfall pagoda, into this life-saving Divine Ability in a desperate gamble!

Swish!

His entire being turned into an extremely dim meteor, almost completely covered by the storm, as he desperately fled toward the edge of the storm where he perceived it to be relatively weak!

The starlight shield formed by the Star Shield Art twisted and deformed violently in the storm, letting out a wail as it approached the brink of shattering.

Countless fragments of star sand penetrated the shield, leaving deep scars that showed bone on his body. Golden sacred blood constantly spilled out, only to vanish into nothingness within the violent Star Power.

“This won't work! I can't escape at all!”

He discovered that the more he resisted the storm, the greater the damage it caused!

Di Xingyun took a deep breath and retracted all his aura, appearing like an ordinary person without any cultivation!

Sure enough, the storm no longer attacked Di Xingyun!

Just like that, like a small boat, he drifted along with the waves in the storm.

He didn't know how much time had passed; it felt like an instant, yet also like ten thousand years.

The world-destroying tearing force around him suddenly lightened!

Thud!

He fell heavily to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Behind him, the terrifying Star Power storm that connected the sky and the earth continued to rage and roar toward the depths of the wasteland like a furious astral beast.

Yet where he was, it was an eerily quiet valley, as if there were an invisible barrier isolating it from the world-destroying storm outside.

“Cough, cough...” Di Xingyun coughed violently, spitting out several mouthfuls of stagnant blood.

He struggled to sit up, covered in blood. The light of his Star Body was dim, and he was covered in crisscrossing, terrible wounds. In the places where the wounds were deep enough to see bone, his flesh wriggled with difficulty, slowly healing under the nourishment of the Power of Starlight. Every moment of healing was accompanied by piercing pain.

“That was close...” He looked back at the world-destroying scene outside the valley with lingering fear, and was then drawn to the sights inside the valley.

“Where is this?”

He didn't know where the Star Power storm had taken him.

It was exceptionally quiet here, completely different from the violent Star Power outside.

An ancient, pure, gentle, yet incomparably majestic astral energy flowed in the air.

In the center of the valley stood a half-collapsed giant stone hall.

The material of the stone hall was neither metal nor jade, appearing as a deep dark blue. It was covered with complex and profound star patterns that still flowed with a faint starlight even after countless ages.

These patterns seemed to contain the ultimate principles of the Universe's operation. With just one look, Di Xingyun felt the starfall pagoda in his Dantian emit a longing hum, and the healing speed of his wounds suddenly accelerated under the nourishment of the pure Star Power!

What made his heart race the most was that when he operated the Star Saint Body Art, the star patterns of the entire ruined stone hall actually produced a strange resonance with the starlight on his body's surface!

Could this be the Stargazing Terrace?!

He had originally thought it was just a legend, but he hadn't expected to actually stumble upon it!

Buzz... buzz... A low hum came from deep within the stone hall, as if an ancient heart was slowly beating.

An irresistible pulling force dragged him toward the depths of the stone hall.

Passing through collapsed pillars and broken walls, Di Xingyun reached the innermost part of the stone hall.

This place was relatively well-preserved. The dome was shattered, revealing the deep starry sky. Streaks of pure starlight fell like waterfalls, gathering on a broken circular altar in the center of the hall.

In the center of the altar, there was no statue or treasure, but instead, a... remnant map was suspended there!

The scroll was made of an unknown material, thin as a cicada's wing and nearly transparent. Its edges were ragged, as if torn by an invisible force.

Upon the scroll were countless minute yet crystal-clear points of starlight!

These points of light seemed to be slowly moving, appearing and disappearing, and rotating, outlining profound and mysterious trajectories, as if a miniature, living starry sky was sealed within the map!

With just a glance, Di Xingyun felt as if his Soul were about to be sucked in, and his comprehension of the Star Dao instantly became incomparably clear and active!

“Is this... a Dao Map of the Star Origin?”

Di Xingyun was beyond shocked.

The Star Body within him operated to its limit on its own. Every pore in his body expanded, greedily devouring the dense and pure Power of Starlight in this place.

The remnant map on the altar also seemed to sense a familiar aura; it vibrated slightly and shed even more pure starlight to envelop him.

No more hesitation!

Di Xingyun suppressed his excitement and sat cross-legged beneath the altar, his five centers facing the sky.

He operated the Star Saint Body Art with all his might while simultaneously trying to communicate with the mysterious remnant map using his Divine Thought.

Boom!

The moment his Divine Thought touched the remnant map, it was as if a world-shattering thunderclap exploded in his Sea of Consciousness!

Endless Star Profound Truths, like a bursting flood, poured frantically into his Divine Soul!

At the same time, the starlight falling from the altar became even more blazing and pure, like a solid liquid, wrapping his entire being into a giant Starlight Cocoon!

“Arghhh—!”

Intense pain instantly swept through his entire body!

This pain did not come from the flesh, but originated from the depths of his Soul and the Origin of his Star Body!

The incoming Star Profound Truths were too vast and majestic, far beyond what his current Realm could withstand.

His body seemed to have become a container being forcibly expanded. His bones emitted the sound of jade breaking under the unbearable weight, and his Meridians were washed, torn, and then rapidly reorganized and widened under the powerful recovery of his Star Body and the nourishment of pure Star Power!

Every tear and reorganization brought a sharp pain as if he were being sliced alive.

Upon the surface of his skin, countless fine starlight patterns appeared, and fine star dust erupted from his pores. His whole person seemed as if he were about to turn into a star statue, liable to collapse at any moment!

This was tempering!

Di Xingyun gritted his teeth so hard that his gums bled.

His eyes were red-gold, but deep within his pupils, that slowly rotating star remnant map was reflected.

“Pressure? Bottleneck? Break for me!”

The unyielding will to prove his Star Body and himself, which had been pent up in his heart, transformed at this moment into a pillar of support that allowed him to endure the boundless pain!

He frantically absorbed, refined, and understood the incoming Star Profound Truths, guiding the violent Star Power to wash over and hammer his Star Body again and again!

Every impact made the Foundation of his Star Body more solid and its light more restrained and deep. The invisible barrier leading to the Tongtian Realm Fourth Level began to tremble violently and was covered in cracks under the impact of the violent power!

After an unknown amount of time, when the Starlight Cocoon wrapping him gradually became thin and the flood of Star Profound Truths pouring into his Divine Soul began to level off.

Di Xingyun suddenly opened his eyes!

“Break!”

A roar full of power erupted from deep within his throat!

It was as if some sort of shackle within his body had crashed and shattered!

An aura several times stronger than before shot into the sky, stirring even the starlight falling from the altar into disorder!

Tongtian Realm Fourth Level! Under this fortuitous encounter in the ancient ruins, he had finally achieved a Breakthrough!