565: Soul-Eating Wind

On the tidal flat, as expected, some more complete skeletal remains were scattered sparsely. Most were incomplete, half-buried by the wind and sand.

Ye Xuan's Divine Sense carefully swept over every inch of the ground.

Soon, beneath a pile of rubble, he discovered a half-buried corpse.

The skeleton of this corpse was dark gold. Even after enduring the erosion of time, it still faintly shimmered, clearly indicating that the deceased had exceptional cultivation during their life.

Scattered beside the remains were several fragments of armor that had long lost their spiritual light, and an ancient bronze sword broken into several pieces.

What caught Ye Xuan's attention was something tightly clutched in the fingers of the remains —a piece of dark, dull animal hide, slightly larger than the one he had previously obtained, with similarly jagged edges.

Ye Xuan retrieved it through the air. The patterns on this fragment were clearer. Besides the distorted lines and the character 'Xu' ( Ruins), there was also a small, vortex-like mark, next to which was carved the ancient character 'Yan' ( Eye, Eye).

"Eye of Guixu."

Yue Xuan looked at the mark and said coolly, "This fragment is more specific in its direction. It seems that more than one person explored this place back then, and they might have held different parts of the map."

Ye Xuan pieced the two fragments together. The broken edges did not fully match, and a large section was missing in the middle, but the two marks, 'Xu' and 'Yan', and parts of the topographic lines could faintly connect.

This confirmed that the fragments were not forged; they truly belonged to a much older Star Chart detailing the Eye of Guixu region.

"Are there any other discoveries?"

Ye Xuan asked.

Yue Xuan closed her eyes, carefully sensing the rubble beach.

A moment later, she pointed to a seemingly ordinary grayish-brown stone not far from the remains: "Beneath that, there are faint residual spatial fluctuations, very subtle, almost undetectable unless specifically investigated."

Ye Xuan flicked his sleeve, and the stone silently turned into dust.

Below, a small patch of scorched earth was revealed, on which was an extremely faint, almost dissipated silver runic mark.

"This is the residual coordinate mark left after a short-distance spatial transmission."

Yue Xuan identified it.

"It is extremely ancient. It seems this person did not walk in from outside the gorge back then but was directly teleported here by some means, and then died here."

"The map fragment in his hand might also be the reason for the transmission."

Ye Xuan pondered, "The transmission landing point being here suggests that this might have been a relatively safe place back then. The fact that he could teleport here but ultimately perished means he was either severely injured or encountered an irresistible danger here."

Ye Xuan's gaze swept over the surroundings again, especially the dark gold remains.

Upon closer inspection, the bones were covered in extremely fine pores.

"The soul-eroding netherwind..."

Yue Xuan also noticed.

"He was likely injured by the soul-eroding netherwind deep within the Ancient River, managed to teleport here, but ultimately perished due to severe injuries and the destruction of his Divine Soul."

"If it can even corrode Emperor Realm skeletons, the power of the soul-eroding netherwind appears more terrifying than recorded."

"Perhaps there were other reasons."

Ye Xuan did not jump to conclusions. After all, this place was strange, and the remains were tens of thousands of years old. Time changes everything, and many transformations had occurred here, so judgment could not be made as usual.

The two investigated Black Wind Gorge again, but besides finding a few more inconsequential fragments of relics, they gained nothing further.

However, obtaining the second map fragment and confirming the threat of the soul-eroding netherwind meant this trip was quite fruitful.

Leaving Black Wind Gorge and looking back at the murky, dead silence of the Meteorite Ancient River, Ye Xuan's gaze grew deeper.

"It's time to go back."

"The Big Dipper Star Palace should be making a move soon."

They needed to return to the vicinity of Tianxuan Ancient City before the main force of the Big Dipper Star Palace departed for the Eye of Guixu, so they could monitor them in secret.

Ye Xuan and Yue Xuan did not return directly to Tianxuan Ancient City, but instead concealed themselves in a desolate asteroid belt outside the city.

This location offered an open view, allowing them to remotely observe the movements in the Ancient City while avoiding the numerous spies within it.

"They obtained the incomplete scripture and had an unpleasant incident at the auction, so they certainly won't stay in the city for long."

Ye Xuan sat cross-legged on a floating meteorite, his gaze calmly fixed on the direction of the Ancient City.

"They will definitely make a move by tomorrow at the latest."

Yue Xuan stood silently beside him, her Divine Sense quietly covering the Ancient City's exit and the surrounding Star Domain. No energy fluctuation could escape her perception.

After about half a day, movement finally appeared in the direction of Tianxuan Ancient City.

First, several subtle but powerful Divine Senses swept across the starry sky outside the city. Then, from the majestic palace complex belonging to the Big Dipper Star Palace in the center of the Ancient City, a brilliant starlight suddenly rose, faintly forming a complex Star Chart phantom, which slowly dissipated after flashing for a few breaths.

"It's the derived phantom of the Cosmic Constellation Great Array. They are activating a secret treasure related to the stars."

Yue Xuan's cool voice rang out.

Ye Xuan nodded slightly, "It seems they are about to depart."

Sure enough, shortly after the starlight dissipated, a convoy consisting of more than a dozen shuttle-shaped Star Skiffs quietly sailed out from the Big Dipper Star Palace.

The leading Star Skiff was exceptionally massive and had the deepest aura. A figure stood at the bow. Although the distance was vast, Ye Xuan and Yue Xuan could still recognize him: it was the Young Palace Master, Zhou Chenxing.

Standing beside him were Elder Zhao and Elder Sun, both in the Emperor Realm, along with several attendants whose auras were condensed.

On the Star Skiffs behind them were more elite Disciples and Elders of the Big Dipper Star Palace. A rough estimate put the number at least three Emperor Realm experts, over ten Quasi-Emperors, and even more in the Saint Realm. This lineup was enough to sweep through a Star Domain.

"Quite a display."

Ye Xuan said lightly.

"They are determined to obtain the Eye of Guixu, but this number of people is insufficient."

The Star Skiff convoy did not stop outside the Ancient City but sped directly toward the Meteorite Ancient River, quickly turning into silver specks and disappearing into the starry sky.

"Let's go."

Ye Xuan rose and quietly followed them with Yue Xuan.

The Star Skiff convoy was extremely fast, but Ye Xuan and Yue Xuan followed unhurriedly.

Along the way, Ye Xuan's Divine Sense constantly monitored the movements of the convoy ahead. He noticed that the people from the Big Dipper Star Palace were unusually familiar with this Star Domain.

They avoided some areas that seemed calm but actually concealed spatial turbulence.

Clearly, they possessed not only the incomplete scripture made of Chaos beast hide but also detailed Star Charts of the Meteorite Ancient River's periphery accumulated over many years.

After navigating for more than a day, the broken star debris ahead increased, and space subtly began to fluctuate unstably.

The Meteorite Ancient River was close.

The Big Dipper Star Palace's Star Skiffs began to slow down, becoming extremely cautious.

Around them, sporadic teams of Cultivators or solo adventurers, also heading toward the Ancient River, began to appear. Everyone maintained a cautious distance from each other, and no one spoke.

"We have entered the outer influence zone of the Ancient River."

Yue Xuan looked at the massive, slowly rotating, murky Star River ahead.

"The spatial structure here is starting to become fragile. Cracks or turbulence could appear at any moment, and the soul-eroding netherwind could also sweep out from anywhere."