Staying in the sect, controlling beasts and cultivating immortals

Yu Changsheng knelt on the cold, bone-chilling metal deck. The annihilation wound left by the Patrol Envoy on his back suddenly erupted, as if being devoured by an invisible giant maw. The excruciating pain made his vision go black, and he almost collapsed to the ground.

Chen Xueqing collapsed beside him, the tattered, illusory image of the Pure Lotus above her head flickering uncertainly. The last bit of blue light stubbornly protected the faint light of her heart, each breath so weak it seemed as if it would be extinguished at any moment.

Dead silence.

The "plaza," occupied by the massive wreckage of the Starry Sky Ark, was eerily empty. Beneath my feet lay the metal deck, scarred with ancient marks, the icy touch penetrating my boots and reaching my very bones.

The massive, fractured metal structure, like the skeleton of a behemoth, twisted and pierced towards the equally solidified, starless, pitch-black dome of the void.

Only the indescribable "mechanical giant tree" in the center stands silently, forming the core of this desolate ruin.

Its trunk is not wood at all, but is formed by countless extremely thick, dark gold metal pipes twisted and gnarled, covered with strange edges and runes, shimmering with a faint but constant and inextinguishable cold light.

The branches, like twisted and spiraling galaxies, support the enormous, dark purple crystal above.

Inside the crystal, like a beating heart, flickered a deep, cold, and primal aura. Consecutive ripples of tangible energy, carrying heavy pressure, silently swept across the entire plaza.

His gaze shifted downwards, and a chill instantly froze Yu Changsheng's blood. Surrounding the base of the giant tree, countless metal golems knelt in a dense, prostrate array.

They come in all shapes and sizes, some humanoid, some beast-like, and many more are indescribable twisted geometric shapes, covered in a dull metallic shell, with thick cosmic dust solidified at their joints.

Without exception, they all bowed in worship toward the crystal at the core of the giant tree, their postures devout and eternal, forming a silent, solidified circular graveyard that exuded boundless deathly stillness and oppression.

“Return to… Ruins… Dao… Embryo…”

That mental impact crashed into his sea of ​​consciousness once more, clearer than ever before, carrying an undeniable direction, firmly locking onto the annihilation wound of the same origin on Yu Changsheng's back.

The wound burned intensely as if in response, and what seeped out was no longer fresh blood, but wisps of black mist that could devour light.

In his sea of ​​consciousness, the Guixu Star Orbit Compass spun wildly, the "Silence" rune bright and cracking, resonating with the wound; while the "Life" rune dimmed and swayed, struggling to hold onto his shattered soul.

"Ugh...!" Yu Changsheng groaned, slamming one knee heavily onto the deck as he struggled against the tearing sensation from both inside and outside.

Just then, the dark purple crystal at the core of the giant tree suddenly lit up!
Om-!
A silent tremor swept across the entire ruined plaza. The dust on the surface of those metal golems, frozen for countless epochs, crumbled away, and their stiff heads slowly rose. Suddenly, a cold, eerie blue light, devoid of any warmth, shone from the depths of their countless empty eye sockets.

Like a sleeping army awakened, they uniformly locked onto the two tiny life forms in the center of the square.

Killing intent! Pure, cold killing intent, born solely for destruction, like tangible ice water, instantly overwhelmed Yu Changsheng's remaining will.

There was no roaring, no shouting.

The dozens of humanoid puppets closest to the target moved stiffly yet with lightning speed, suddenly springing up from their kneeling positions. Their arms instantly transformed into sharp metal blades flashing with a high-frequency vibration, tearing through the solidified air and slashing down!

The shriek from the sharp blade was the only "sound" in this deathly silence.

Yu Changsheng's pupils contracted sharply. Behind him was the unconscious Chen Xueqing; he had nowhere to hide!

He took a deep breath, his chest feeling like a broken bellows, forcibly suppressing the excruciating pain and soul-tearing sensation brought on by the annihilation of the wound.

His left palm instinctively pressed down on the cold deck. The remaining fragments of the Void Star Core in his palm had long been exhausted in the previous explosion, but an instinct originating from the annihilation of the stars was awakened at this moment.

"Silence!" he roared, not as a Taoist incantation, but as the howl of a dying will.

Within his sea of ​​consciousness, the "Silence" rune on the Guixu Star Orbit Compass burst into flames! It was not a dazzling light, but an extreme darkness like the core of a black hole.

The annihilation wound on his back seemed to have found an outlet, and thick, impenetrable black energy surged wildly towards his left arm.

His entire left arm was instantly covered by a flowing, almost tangible darkness. He spread his five fingers and clenched them tightly against the surging torrent of blades coming from the front!
Guixu Yin: Star Ashes Sink into the Abyss!
A low, muffled sound, as if space itself were being forcibly compressed and crushed, arose. It was not a deafening explosion, but a silent annihilation.

Centered on Yu Changsheng's left palm, the space dozens of feet in front of him suddenly collapsed, twisted, and dimmed inward! Time seemed to freeze and become viscous in this small area.

Those metal golems that charged ahead and unleashed deadly blades suddenly became sluggish, as if they were sinking into a quagmire a billion times larger.

Their indestructible metal bodies emitted a tooth-grinding groan in the distorted spatial force field, and the high-frequency vibrating blades dimmed instantly, their light being swallowed and annihilated by an invisible force!
Chi Chi Chi -!
The first seven or eight puppets, their hard alloy bodies like ice blocks thrown into strong acid, silently decomposed and disintegrated from the point of contact with the distortion, turning into the finest, shimmering metallic dust, which was then completely swallowed by the distorted darkness and disappeared without a trace.

It's as if it never existed.

However, this attack that forcibly triggered the source of annihilation came at a heavy price! Yu Changsheng's wound on his back suddenly tore open, and a piercing, bone-deep pain shot straight to his brain. Even more terrifying, a chilling sense of "nothingness" crept up his left arm, as if it wanted to drag him into that eternal annihilation.

He suddenly spat out a mouthful of dark purple blood that was somewhere between reality and illusion. His body shook violently, and stars flashed before his eyes. The annihilating darkness covering his left arm instantly dissipated, leaving only wisps of black energy swirling around it.

"Longevity...!" A weak yet extremely anxious cry rang out.

It was Chen Xueqing! She was awakened by the intense energy fluctuations and the blood spurted out by Yu Changsheng.

When he opened his eyes, all he saw was his swaying back and the surging tide of puppets rushing towards him once again.

Despair and the will to protect burned in her eyes. Even though her source was exhausted, the broken illusory image of the Pure Lotus above her head suddenly burst out with an unprecedented blue light!
This light was no longer pure vitality, but rather a trace of brilliant golden light mixed with the ancestral star vein liquid, carrying a resolute will to destroy decay and cleanse the universe!

"Azure Lotus... Burning Soul Ashes!"

She laboriously formed an ancient mudra with her hands in front of her chest, and her body visibly became more transparent, as if it were about to dissipate at any moment.

The broken lotus platform suddenly spun, and the lotus petals peeled off one by one, turning into streams of light burning with cyan-gold flames!

It is no longer about protecting, but about sacrificing one's very essence, burning the last embers of one's soul, and transforming them into the most ferocious strike!
Whoosh!Whoosh!Whoosh!
The burning azure-gold light seemed to have a life of its own, precisely avoiding Yu Changsheng and shooting towards the metal beast puppets that had broken through the annihilation force field and rushed close.

The hissing sound was incessant! The flames containing the power to purify the world landed on the metal shell, and it was like a hot iron being embedded in ice, producing a piercing melting sound.

The joints of several monstrous, spider-like puppets were instantly pierced and melted, causing them to lose control and crash together, giving Yu Changsheng a precious chance to catch his breath.

However, the price was that Chen Xueqing's aura plummeted to rock bottom, the blue light almost went out, her body went limp, and she completely lost consciousness.

That pure blue lotus, with only one petal remaining, swayed in the wind, emitting a faint light that seemed ready to vanish at any moment.

"Xueqing!!!"

Yu Changsheng's eyes were bloodshot as he watched the light that had burned everything for him fall. A flame mixed with despair, anger, madness, and protection exploded in his chest! This flame even temporarily overwhelmed the pain of annihilating his wounds and tearing his soul.

Just then, the silent mechanical giant tree seemed to be touched by Chen Xueqing's soul-burning purification power, and the dark purple crystal at its core suddenly stopped pulsating.

An even larger, more ancient, and colder will, like an ancient ferocious beast awakening, instantly enveloped the entire ruined square!

The kneeling puppet army ceased their attack in perfect unison, as if a pause button had been pressed. The azure gaze remained fixed on Yu Changsheng, but neither took another step forward.

On the surface of the crystal, the light flowed violently, no longer a single purple, but transformed into countless fragmented light and shadow: there were fragments of a collapsing galaxy and a star ark sailing alone in endless darkness; there were fragments of scenes of countless powerful beings riding puppet armies and fighting fiercely against some indescribable terrifying being in the cold void.
Star debris guarded the flames of the furnace where the forging took place; finally, the light and shadow settled on a blurry yet majestic figure—the Star Forger!
He seemed to stand before the giant tree, his arm deeply embedded in the dark purple crystal, his face bearing a resolute sacrifice and endless pain, his entire body transforming into pure light and merging into the crystal! A thought, accompanying this final scene, crashed into Yu Changsheng's consciousness like the tolling of an ancient bell:
“The Dao Embryo of Returning to Nothingness… Container… Seal… Enemy of the Primordial Origin… Patrol the Abyss… Make… Inherit… or… Destroy…”

The fragmented information was vast and chaotic, yet it acted like a key, suddenly unlocking countless questions in Yu Changsheng's mind!
This dark purple crystal is not the core of any treasure at all!
It is the previous "Return to the Void Dao Embryo"!
It is the ultimate container created by the Starry Sky Forger in order to fight against and seal the terrifying embodiment of the universe's will to return to stillness—the Abyss Patrol Envoy—which originated from the depths of the Star Origin Ancestral Vein and represented the will of the universe to return to stillness. It was created by sacrificing its own origin and fusing with the power of the Void of Annihilation!

Those kneeling metal puppet legions were the victims of the previous era, the most loyal guards under the Starry Sky Forger. They were defeated along with their master and sealed here, becoming the foundation stones of this void graveyard!

Their attacks are not malicious, but rather a kind of awakened, cold judgment mechanism—determining whether a new "Dao Embryo" candidate carrying the power of annihilation from the same source is qualified to inherit this heavy legacy!
The Abyss Patrolman... the embodiment of the ancestral veins of the Star Source... the manifestation of the will to return to quiescence... the driving force behind the ultimate annihilation of the universe... it regards all existences that attempt to maintain "life" as enemies!
The wounds on Yu Changsheng's body that kept gnawing at him were proof that he had been marked by it! And the "Dao Embryo" left by the Starry Sky Forger was its deepest thorn in its side!
Either inherit the power and identity of this "Return to the Void Embryo," bearing the destiny of fighting against the Abyss Patrol Envoy and continuing the flame of life in the universe! Or, right here, together with this crystal, this puppet, and the wreckage of this ark, head towards utter destruction!
Just as this mental shock caused Yu Changsheng's mind to tremble, a sudden change occurred!
A faint yet incredibly clear soul fluctuation, like the last embers of a candle flickering in the wind, struggled to pierce through this solidified space and directly connected to the Guixu Star Orbit Compass in Yu Changsheng's sea of ​​consciousness.

It's Mo Heng! The remnant soul that merged into the Ark Star Chart!
“Brother Yu…” Mo Heng’s thoughts were intermittent and blurry, yet they carried an urgent desire to understand the essence of things, “The crystal… is not… pure… power… It is… a living… seal… shackle… and also… a key… The will of the… creator… remains… waiting… for you… to choose…”

"Be careful...it...is...inducing...assimilation..."

“The core…below…the energy…circuit…leads to…the Ark…central hub…the core…there…is…the…last…record…of…the Starry Sky…civilization…the truth…”

After Mo Heng's remnant soul finished transmitting these crucial messages, the energy fluctuations suddenly trembled violently, like a candle flickering in the wind being blown by a gale, almost extinguishing completely.

"Mo Heng!" Yu Changsheng screamed in his mind, trying to hold onto the consciousness of his last comrade.

"...Quick...it...is here..." Mo Heng's remnant soul uttered the last three words, then the fluctuations abruptly ceased, and he fell into complete silence. Only the "Silence" rune on the Guixu Star Orbit Compass flickered slightly, proving that he had once existed.

"It"? Who's here?
A chill ran through Yu Changsheng's heart, and an immense sense of fear instantly gripped him!
Almost at the same moment Mo Heng's consciousness disappeared, he suddenly looked up at the core of the mechanical giant tree!
The dark purple Guixu Dao Embryo Crystal's surface light and shadow had completely disappeared, restoring its pure and profound cold purple light.

But a will even more greedy, more violent, and more impatient than before erupted from it! It no longer transmitted information, but only the most primal desire to devour—a desire for the same annihilation power on Yu Changsheng!
His longing for the Void Star Orbit Compass in his sea of ​​consciousness!

Countless fine black lines suddenly appeared on the surface of the crystal, like the blood vessels of a living creature! An immense and irresistible terrifying suction force suddenly descended! Its target was Yu Changsheng!
Yu Changsheng felt as if his entire being, including his soul, was being forcibly pulled off the deck and thrown into that crystal that resembled the gaping maw of an abyss! (End of Chapter)