The Wizard of Truth: Starting with Analyzing All Things

Inside the core control room of the temple, time seemed to stretch and compress. The Devouring Core trembled violently, deprived of Malbas's precise control. Dark red energy, like a runaway beast, raged from within, violently assaulting its own structure, emitting a teeth-grinding cracking sound. A devastating energy storm was about to engulf everything, devouring the temple, devouring everyone!

"The core is going to explode!" Lilith screamed, trying to calculate the blast radius, but the result was devastating.

"It's too late to retreat!" Barton roared as the Abyss Lord, driven mad by the energy turbulence, launched a furious attack.

Luo Wei knelt on the ground, his chest heaving. The backlash from enduring the Abyss Lord's attack and forcibly using the clumsy "Astral Projection" had left his stellar energy disordered and his meridians throbbing. But he raised his head, his gaze fixed on the impending eruption of the source of destruction, his mind racing at an unprecedented pace. Endure it? Impossible. Stop it? How? A power even Malbas couldn't fully control…

His gaze swept over Malbas, who was clutching his head in agony, then over the still-struggling Sphere of Consciousness, finally settling on the humming Star Key in his palm. A crazy and audacious idea, like a lightning bolt flashing in the darkness, illuminated his thoughts.

"Mentor Verna!" Rowe cried out hoarsely, his voice raspy from his injuries and urgency. "Is there any way... not to stop the explosion, but... to guide it? Like... like diverting a flash flood!"

Instructor Verna was doing her best to maintain the purification interference on Marbas, trying to help him suppress the will of the Silent Court. Upon hearing this, she was suddenly shocked and instantly understood Luo Wei's intention. Her eyes flashed with amazing light: "Theoretically... it's feasible! But it requires two absolutely precise 'coordinates'! One 'outlet' to guide the release of energy, and one 'anchor' to stabilize the energy channel! The outlet can be the external void, but the anchor..." Her gaze turned to the Sphere of Myriad Consciousness, whose light flickered uncertainly.

"The Sphere of Universal Consciousness is the core of the temple's energy network and can serve as an anchor point! But a controlled energy siphon channel must be established before it is completely eroded!" Elder Anderson immediately grasped the key point and hurriedly added, "But this requires extremely precise calculations and a profound understanding of the nature of energy! We cannot do it!"

"The Star Key...it's possible..." Luo Wei struggled to his feet, immersing his entire will into the Star Key. After breaking through to the second ring, his resonance with the Star Key reached a new level. The Star Key was not only a key, but also the supreme crystallization of the observer civilization's energy, possessing a natural affinity and guiding potential for energies of the same origin. "The Star Key can stabilize the entrance to the passage...but it needs another 'coordinate' to define the exit...a sufficiently distant 'nothingness' capable of withstanding this energy..."

"Coordinates...coordinates..." Lilith rapidly operated her portable microcomputer terminal, accessing the starship's database. "We need a massive celestial body as a gravitational anchor to bend the channel and prevent energy from spreading in real space...the closest suitable one is... 'The Silent Black Hole RXJ-7'! But its coordinate precision requirements are extremely high, and the computational load..."

"Let me do it." A weak but firm voice rang out. It was Marbas! He raised his head, his eyes flashing intensely with golden-red light, but the emptiness in them had lessened considerably, replaced by a profound pain and resolve. "The Stasis Court... has imprinted a part of... the cosmological constant model... in my soul... including... the precise coordinates of that black hole..." With each word he spoke, it seemed as if he were enduring immense pain; the will of the Stasis Court was raging out in a frenzied counterattack.

"Elder Marbas! You..." Verna exclaimed in disbelief.

"Quickly... there's no time!" Malbas roared, forcing up his trembling hand. A brilliant point of starlight, imbued with immense information, shot from his fingertip toward Lovi's Star Key. "Use this coordinate... along with my... last will... to guide that destructive force... away from here!"

He chose self-sacrifice! He made himself part of the guiding ritual, using his remaining will and the knowledge imprinted by the Stasis Court to pave a path to the cosmic grave for the energy of destruction!

There was no time to hesitate! Luo Wei sensed that the Star Key had received that extremely complex spacetime coordinate, as well as Malbas's resolute will. He took a deep breath, suppressing his injuries, and poured all his star power, willpower, and trust in his companions into the Star Key!

"Using the Star Key as the guide! Using all consciousness as the anchor! Using the silent black hole as the abyss! Guiding the power of star destruction back to nothingness!"

The Star Key erupted with unprecedented brilliance, and a condensed silver beam shot out, not to attack the core of the light-devouring, but to construct a temporary and extremely unstable energy conduit between it and the Sphere of Myriad Consciousness! At the same time, another, even thinner beam of light, containing profound spacetime fluctuations, traversed the void and pointed to the coordinates of that black hole in a distant star field!

"Mentor Verna! Help me stabilize the channels!" Luo Wei roared, veins bulging on his forehead. Maintaining two energy channels was a huge burden for him.

Verna immediately converted the purification wave into pure star power and injected it into the conduit constructed by the star key to reinforce its structure.

"Lilith! Barton! Lina! Annie! Lend me all your power! Stabilize the energy field here at the temple!" Elder Anderson roared, realizing this was their only chance of survival.

Barton roared as he channeled his fighting spirit into his feet to stabilize the ley lines; Lilith poured out all the potions that could stabilize the energy field; Lina connected her natural spiritual sense with the remaining consciousness of the temple to soothe the restless energy; Annie used all her strength to unleash the strongest starlight shield to protect Rowe and Verna, who were casting spells.

Just then, the expansion of the Light-Devouring Core reached its limit!

boom!!!!!!!

An indescribable explosion occurred! But it wasn't a widespread, destructive shock; rather, most of the energy was frantically drawn into the temporary conduit constructed by the Star Key, flowing like rivers into the sea. Along the channel defined by the will and coordinates of Marbas, it transformed into a dark red torrent of energy that traversed the starry sky, rushing towards the distant, silent black hole! Only a small amount of energy escaped and impacted the control room, but was blocked by everyone working together.

At the epicenter of the explosion, Marbas's figure blurred in the dark red light. He looked at Verna and Rowe, a final trace of relief and apology flashing in his empty eyes. His lips moved slightly, silently uttering a few words: "...The balance... has tipped...Be careful...the scales..." Then, his figure, along with the imprint of the Court of Stasis, completely disappeared into the torrent of energy, becoming a sacrifice that guided destruction.

The torrent of energy lasted for a full ten breaths before gradually weakening and disappearing. The control room was a mess, but the main structure remained intact. The dark red energy covering the Sphere of All Consciousness had largely receded; although it was riddled with cracks, the core remained, emitting a faint but pure starlight.

The Light-Devouring Core disappeared, along with Marbas.

As the aftershocks of the explosion subsided, the Abyss Lord and the controlled assassin were also severely injured in the energy turbulence, on the verge of death. They were quickly subdued and imprisoned by Barton and Elder Anderson.

Silence, a deathly silence. Only the hissing sound of dissipating energy and the heavy breathing of the crowd could be heard.

They... succeeded. At the cost of a predecessor's sacrifice, they saved the core of the Starry Sky Temple.

"What did he say last?" Lilith asked weakly.

"The balance has been tipped... Beware the scales..." Verna repeated Malbas's last words, her face extremely grave. "Has the 'balance' of the Stagnant Court been broken? The 'scales'... refers to the court itself, or... something else?"

Just then, the light of the Sphere of All Consciousness stabilized, and a gentle but weary thought entered everyone's mind—the very same will to resist from before:

"Thank you, successors... Thank you, Marbas... for your final awakening and sacrifice... I am the guiding AI of the 'Starry Sky Temple,' or you may call me... the soul of the temple."

"The 'Destruction' protocol of the Stasis Court has been interrupted, but the temple has been severely damaged, and my power is less than one-tenth of what it used to be. The 'Libra Coordinates' brought by Marbas has contaminated part of the underlying protocol, and it will take a long time to purify it."

"As a token of gratitude, and as a final act of fulfilling your mission as observers, you have the right to know part of the truth and to receive your due inheritance."

The Sphere of Universal Knowledge projected light, forming a star map and a stream of information.

"The Stasis Courts are not creator gods; they are merely 'administrators' who survived from a more ancient era, obsessed with maintaining a rigid balance based on some kind of 'cosmic constant.' They see any civilization that might cause 'variables' as a threat. The rise of the Stargazer civilization and the loss of control in the Abyss are both due to crossing their 'red lines.'"

"The alteration of the 'Starfall Pact' is one of their means of maintaining balance. Marbas is a pawn they planted, but clearly, he has not completely submitted in his heart."

"Most of the knowledge in the temple's database concerning advanced technologies and cosmic mysteries is temporarily unavailable to you due to the contamination of the 'Libra Coordinates' and the protocol's blockade. Otherwise, it would trigger the final purge mechanism of the Stasis Court."

"However," the Temple Soul's will became solemn, "according to the 'Spark Agreement' left by the Supreme Council of Observers, once the inheritor proves their qualifications (by passing the Path of Truth) and resolves the Temple's crisis, they are entitled to inherit the following legacy:

The Starry Sky Blueprint includes complete blueprints for the restoration of the starship (Starwatcher), advanced Star Speaker training methods (up to the fifth ring), and some basic understanding of the nature of the rules. This is enough to give you the power to establish yourself in the interstellar world.

Purification Sequence: The purification technology principles targeting abyssal contamination and residual energy from the Static Court, while only basic, outline the key points.

It is the right research direction.

Star map markers: Marked several star systems far from the main surveillance area of ​​the Silent Court, where other refuges or friendly civilizations may exist.

Coordinates of the "safe zone".

A final warning: The Court of Stasis will not rest on its laurels. Your actions have drawn attention. The scales have tipped, and a greater storm may be brewing. Use your power with caution, and be wary of the price of maintaining balance.

Information floods into everyone's mind, vast and profound, requiring time to digest.

The light faded, and the Sphere of All Consciousness dimmed. "My power is about to fall into slumber for a long period of self-repair… The temple's defenses will be temporarily shut down… Young Star Speakers, the path ahead is yours to walk… May the stars… guide you…"

The spirit of the temple slowly dissipated, and the control room fell completely silent. Only the survivors remained, along with the heavy legacy and warning in their minds.

Rowe gazed at the Star Key in his hand, its light now subdued yet imbued with a deeper depth, then looked out the porthole at the boundless starry sky. The battle was over, but their struggle against the Court of Stasis seemed to have only just begun. The sacrifice of Malbas, the legacy of the temple, the path ahead… everything pointed to a broader and more perilous future.

He took a deep breath and looked at his tired but determined companions.

"Let's repair the starship and digest our spoils first. Then... it's time to decide our future."

The adventure at the Starry Sky Temple has come to a temporary end, but the journey through the starry sea is endless.