Staying in the sect, controlling beasts and cultivating immortals

The spatial collapse point, like a cosmic wound, frantically devoured the chaotic turbulence; Yu Changsheng's roar pointing at the vortex was torn apart by the storm of laws.
The shadowy spear thrust out by Guiyinzi was already at his face, and the void-corroding law swirling around the spear tip burned his soul with excruciating pain.

"Go!" Wang Cheng roared, using his remaining skeletal arm to shove Chen Xueqing aside, but the spear grazed his shoulder blade. His domineering blood aura flickered like a candle in the wind, and the black energy instantly seeped into his bones.

Ling Wuying transformed into a dim phantom and wrapped around Mo Heng and Gui Yinzi's true forms—the latter's body was loosened due to the distraction caused by the attack—the three of them crashed into the collapse point like meteors.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Yu Changsheng grabbed Wang Cheng and Chen Xueqing and detonated the compressed Star Extinction Dao Principle within the Returning to the Void Compass in his Sea of ​​Consciousness.

boom!
The crystalline explosion formed by the annihilation of wounds and fragments of laws blasted everyone into a vortex.

In an instant, spacetime was stretched into a viscous gel. Yu Changsheng's last glimpse was of the Annihilation Ray of the Patrol Envoy tearing through the passage, and three crystallized star remains guarding him emerged from the crack with heads burning with ghostly flames...

When Yu Changsheng awoke from the chaos, excruciating pain felt like millions of steel needles piercing his Dao foundation.

He found himself floating in a dark void, with a cold metal deck beneath him.

The Guixu Compass slowly rotated in the sea of ​​consciousness. The "Silence" rune was dim like a dying ember, while the "Life" rune was slightly brighter—some vast and ancient law was suppressing the deterioration of the annihilation wound.

"Ahem. This is..." Mo Heng's hoarse voice came from the left.

The Wanhua Guixu Furnace in the old man's arms had shattered into three pieces, but strangely, silvery-white light threads flowed between the cracks, like self-repairing blood vessels.

The fragments of the furnace resonated with the metal deck beneath their feet, emitting a low hum.

"The wreckage of the Starry Ark!"

Mo Heng suddenly became excited, his withered fingers tracing the familiar spiral patterns on the deck. "The compass sensed the rhythm of creation... it's the ark piloted by the forgers back then! We've fallen into the core of the Hole of Silence!"

Wang Cheng knelt not far away, his Chaos Bone Arm completely shattered, held together only by muscles. He was using his weak Tyrant Blood Qi to protect the unconscious Chen Xueqing and Gui Yinzi.

Ling Wuying's figure appeared and disappeared in the shadows of the deck. Half of his frozen body was slowly melting. The Lonely Star Cold Iron Shadow Dagger was stuck in the crack of the deck, and the stardust flowing from the dagger was being absorbed by the metal.

The crisis has eased, but the despair has intensified.

The Pure Lotus above Chen Xueqing's head had only three charred petals left, its source depleted like a dried-up riverbed.

Guiyinzi fell into an even more bizarre state: black energy formed wriggling veins under his skin, and several bulges rose on his back, as if something was about to burst out of his body—the consciousness of the Void Devouring Worm's nest was being revived by the energy of the void!
"We must find the control center." Mo Heng coughed violently, the light from the fragments of the furnace pointing deep into the cabin. "The Ark can isolate the Abyss Envoy's senses, but what's inside Gui Yinzi's body..."

Before the words were even finished, a sudden change occurred!
Guiyinzi suddenly opened his eyes, his pupils turning into pure black vortexes.

The bulge on his back exploded, and three dark tentacles wrapped with void runes pierced towards Yu Changsheng's brow, Chen Xueqing's heart, and the furnace in Mo Heng's arms with lightning speed!
"Suppress!" Yu Changsheng shouted sternly.

The "Silence" rune on the Guixu Compass suddenly glowed with a surge of eerie light, forcibly drawing upon the power to annihilate the wounds on its back.

Black energy surged from the wound, colliding with the tentacles. But this time, the annihilation power was mostly absorbed by the runes on the surface of the tentacles!
"Useless," Gui Yinzi's voice echoed with countless hisses.

"The dormant force field of the Starry Sky Ark is our cradle."

The tentacles suddenly split apart, transforming into a vast black net that enveloped everyone.

At the same time, a loud metallic clang came from the end of the deck—three crystallized star skeletons had torn through space to catch up, their ghostly blue eternal death rays poised to strike!
Ahead stood the Void Golems, behind the Guardians of Annihilation. The dilapidated deck of the Ark had become a prison of despair.

The eternal death ray and the void black web intertwine to form a web of destruction.

Wang Cheng roared and used his body to block Chen Xueqing, his remaining skeletal arm exploding with the last of his protective energy; Ling Wuying transformed into a shadow barrier to envelop Mo Heng; Yu Changsheng faced Gui Yinzi directly, his palm's dark gold nebula vortex frantically drawing energy from the Ark's deck.

"Zheng—!"

At the critical moment, a golden light suddenly emanated from the broken blue lotus above Chen Xueqing's head!
The light liquid from the ancestral vein of the star source seeped out from the lotus heart, instantly soaking the petals—this was the primordial breath she absorbed in the sea of ​​light!

A golden light, like a sharp sword, pierced into Guiyinzi's brow.

"Ugh!!!" Guiyinzi screamed in agony, clutching his head as his tentacles flared wildly out of control.

Yu Changsheng seized this fleeting opening, activated the compass in his sea of ​​consciousness at full power, channeling the power of the Stellar Annihilation Dao and the Dark Gold Nebula into his feet, and slammed them hard onto the deck—

hum!
The entire deck lit up with tens of thousands of intersecting silver-white lines!
The patterns spread like living things into the cabin, devouring the void net, and even forming a light prison under the feet of the three star skeletons guarding the space.

The guardian's eternal death ray struck the light prison, stirring up a shower of stardust.

"The Ark Defense Array!" Mo Heng trembled with excitement. "Chang Sheng activated its permissions using the Chaos Emperor's Blood!"

But the crisis was far from over. The black energy within Guiyinzi surged back, causing the golden light to retreat steadily. Even more deadly was the terrifying will of the Xunyuan Envoy, which pierced through the void and descended!
A crack appeared in the deck dome, obscuring the view as it cascaded down like a waterfall!

"Take Chen Xueqing to the central command!" Yu Changsheng slapped the illusory image of the Returning Void Compass onto the deck, and the silver-white light patterns suddenly intensified.

"Wang Chengling clears the way without a trace! Elder Mo, destroy the furnace!"

The last sentence was like a thunderclap.

Mo Heng stared blankly at the furnace in his arms, which had been with him for a thousand years, the silvery-white light flowing through the cracks flashing wildly.

He instantly realized that the origin of the Myriad Transformations Returning to the Void Furnace came from the Starry Sky Forger. It was never a deduction tool, but the key to the core of the Ark!
"I understand."

Mo Heng laughed loudly and slammed his withered palm hard against the core of the furnace.

"With my own body as a sacrifice, I beg the starry sky to reignite!"

Boom!

The furnace exploded into billions of silvery-white particles, which surged into the depths of the ship's hold like a reversed galaxy.

The entire ark roared like a prehistoric beast awakening, the deck patterns solidified into physical spears of light that pierced the annihilation vision, and a starlight portal was opened at the entrance to the cabin.

Wang Cheng hoisted Chen Xueqing and charged toward the portal, with Ling Wuying wrapping around the dying Gui Yinzi and following closely behind. Yu Changsheng faced the crack in the dome alone, blood spurting from his seven orifices due to excessive activation of the compass.

He clearly saw the outline of the Patrol Envoy appearing in the sea of ​​light of the Star Origin Ancestral Vein at the other end of the rift. It was a terrifying existence composed purely of annihilation and the breath of the origin.

"Your opponent is me!" Yu Changsheng roared, deliberately using the annihilation wound on his back to ram into the spear of light. Black energy and silver light merged and exploded, temporarily sealing the rift. He seized the opportunity to transform into a stream of light and shoot into the cabin, the deck behind him turning into stardust inch by inch in the aftershocks of the annihilation.
The central control room resembles a starry temple.

The dome is a flowing star map, the ground is solidified star embers, and twelve giant pillars engraved with runes of civilization surround the central control console.

Wang Cheng placed Chen Xueqing by the pillar; the withered lotus in her hand was absorbing the energy of the Star Ashes, its golden light gradually intensifying. Ling Wuying pinned Gui Yinzi to the Star Ashes ground, his Shadow Dagger piercing the black vortex in its chest, but the tentacles were still struggling.

The moment Yu Changsheng stepped in, the star map suddenly lit up. A blurry figure appeared on the control panel: clad in a robe of stardust, with eyes containing the birth and death of the universe—it was the remnant consciousness of the Starry Sky Forger!

"The successor. The inheritor of the Void Star Core." The phantom's gaze swept over the vanished crystalline mark on Yu Changsheng's left palm.

"Both the Devouring Mother Nest and the Abyss Patrol have arrived; the Ark's remaining energy is only enough to activate one 'Starfall Leap'."

The phantom waved its hand, and the star map displayed the real-time battle situation: the deck had been completely annihilated, and three star skeletons were bombarding the outer wall of the cabin; the giant hand of the Abyss Envoy tore through space, and the fingertips touched the outer wall of the control room!

"The leap requires ten breaths! Who will take command of the star helm?" the phantom shouted.

Just as Yu Changsheng was about to step forward, a sharp shriek suddenly erupted from Gui Yinzi's body!
Three tentacles, which had evolved crystallized shells, blasted away the Shadow Daggers and pierced straight at the control panel!

One of the tentacles split open, revealing the true form of the Voidworm's mother nest—a pulsating, pitch-black crystal core.

"Don't even think about it!" Wang Cheng stood in front of the control panel, and his broken bone arm flew up on its own, transforming into a chaotic bone prison to lock the tentacles.

His bloodline burned fiercely; this was the final flame of his life!

Ling Wuying transformed into countless shadows that entangled the crystal core, while the Cold Iron Shadow Dagger self-destructed into stardust, slowing its movements.

"Now!" Mo Heng's remnant soul emerged from the star map.

"Chang Sheng, connect the star rudder with the compass! Xue Qing, purify the Mother Nest's will!"

Blood streamed from Chen Xueqing's eyes, and the golden light from the withered lotus was poured into Gui Yinzi's brow.

Guiyinzi trembled violently, and his left eye briefly regained its clarity.

Before the words "Kill me" were even finished, the black energy surged back again.

Yu Changsheng sat cross-legged before the Starship, the Returning Void Compass detaching from his sea of ​​consciousness and merging with the Starship's core. The Abyss Envoy's giant finger pierced the dome, and an annihilation storm poured into the control room!
He closed his eyes and concentrated, pouring all the Chaos Emperor's Blood, the Dao of Star Annihilation, the remaining Annihilation Power within his body, and the Ark Star Ashes into the compass.

"Death becomes fuel, starlight becomes fire," the phantom of the Starry Sky Forger overlapped with his own.

"Leap—Activate!"

The entire ark transformed into a streak of starlight that tore through the void. Inside the control room, Wang Cheng's Bone Prison turned to ashes in the annihilation storm; Ling Wuying's Shadow Body was pierced by the Mother Nest Crystal Core; Chen Xueqing's Pure World Lotus petals withered away. But in the instant the starlight surged, Gui Yinzi's right arm, bathed in golden light, suddenly plunged into his own chest, tearing out the pitch-black crystal core!

"Let's go!"

He let out a final roar and hurled the crystal core at the giant hand of the Patrolman.

The starlight completely disappeared into the depths of the void of silence.

The last thing Yu Changsheng saw was the scene of the annihilating sea of ​​light swallowing everything, and the three points of light on the star map slowly fading out—the life imprints of Wang Cheng, Ling Wuying, and Gui Yinzi, forever remaining in that graveyard.

Only Mo Heng's remnant soul merged into the central star map, Chen Xueqing lay unconscious in the star embers with weak breathing, and the annihilation wound on his own back was undergoing an unprecedented upheaval with the creative power of the star rudder.

The dark alleyways, like the cold intestines of a giant beast, greedily devoured the last glimmer of light ignited by Chen Xueqing's burning essence. A forest of broken crystal statues stood, their empty eye sockets seemingly frozen with billions of years of malice, silently watching the two uninvited guests who had intruded.

With each step Yu Changsheng took, he felt as if invisible ice needles were piercing deep into his bone marrow. The burning pain of the constantly crystallizing wound on his back grew stronger and stronger, like a red-hot iron radiating a strong sense of "belonging," desperately trying to pull him into the depths of the ruins—the giant mechanical tree standing in the center of the square, radiating a heart-palpitating aura.

He forcibly suppressed the surging blood and qi and the stinging pain in his sea of ​​consciousness. The Chaos Emperor Blood flowed with difficulty within his body, which was on the verge of collapse. The Star Extinction Dao Principle maintained the weak operation of the nebula in his dantian like a candle flickering in the wind.

Chen Xueqing's body was as light as a feather and so cold that it was almost devoid of warmth. She was fighting against the erosion of this desolate void with only the faint golden mark on her chest and her own tenacious vitality.

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks, as if he had been nailed to the spot by invisible nails.

In the center of the huge plaza ahead, there were not the ruins of a palace or tower as expected.

There stands a "tree".

A colossal mechanical tree, made of cold alloy and dull crystals, so large that it blocked out half the sky above the square!

Countless pipes, like withered vines, twisted and coiled around thick metal trunks, gleaming with the cold, hard luster unique to metal. The broken "leaves" were like shattered, enormous mirrors, reflecting the surrounding eerie green light and cutting the already strange environment into countless twisted and deformed fragments.

At the core of the tree trunk was embedded a massive, dark purple crystal, riddled with spiderweb-like cracks, as if it had been molten and then forcibly solidified. This crystal pulsated extremely slowly, accompanied by energy fluctuations like the heartbeat of a sleeping behemoth.

With each pulse, a visible, grayish-white ripple of energy silently spreads out, carrying a desolate chill that draws life from all things, sweeping across the entire ruined plaza like a cold tide.

The thick stardust on the square was swept away by the ripples, instantly losing its last glimmer of light and becoming even dimmer and more desolate.

What truly made Yu Changsheng's pupils shrink and his blood almost freeze was the countless figures kneeling beneath the mechanical giant tree!
They are not made of flesh and blood, but rather "puppets" forcibly pieced together and solidified from the metal remnants, broken crystals, and even the indistinct fragments of statues in this ruined cemetery, driven by some powerful force! Their forms are distorted and bizarre to the extreme:

Some resembled multi-legged metal lizards, their joints emitting a rusting, grinding sound; others were like three-headed, six-armed rock giants, their heads made of broken cannon barrels and gears; and many more were indescribable twisted clumps, inlaid with glowing crystalline eyeballs or sharp metal spikes.

Their only commonality is that they are all facing the pulsating dark purple crystal at the core of the mechanical giant tree, like the most devout and fanatical believers. With each pulsation of the crystal, their bodies rise and fall slightly, as if performing some kind of strange worship ritual.

An indescribable, cold, and immense pressure, like the breath of a slumbering ancient god slowly awakening, emanated from the pulsating dark purple core crystal.

This oppressive force instantly pierced through space and firmly locked onto the intruder—especially the crystalline wound on Yu Changsheng's back that shared the same origin and emitted a strong attraction!

"Roar……"

A deep, inhuman roar, like the rusting friction of billions of gears and the shattering of billions of bones, exploded directly in the deepest part of Yu Changsheng's consciousness! This thought was not spoken, yet it clearly conveyed an endless hunger and a pure, cold will to annihilate:

"Return to the Void... Dao Embryo!" (End of Chapter)