50: Nighttime research at Wangyueyuan: The star core holds profound secrets.

Wangyue Courtyard. As Lin Yang pushed open his room door, the fragrance of the Spirit Condensing Grass in the bamboo basket wafted in first. Liu Hongluan stood on her tiptoes at the bottom of the steps, holding a bamboo basket embroidered with green vines. Liu Qingluan supported her from the side. Both sisters still had lingering worry in their eyes, clearly having waited for a long time.

"Brother! You're finally back!" Liu Hongluan quickly ran over, the three Spirit Condensing Grass leaves in the bamboo basket still bearing morning dew. "Senior Sister Su said that the Spiritual Qi in the Five Elements Spirit Pool is too strong, which can easily make True Essence restless. I specially cultivated Spirit Condensing Grass. If you soak it in water and drink it, it can stabilize your mind." As she spoke, her gaze fell on Lin Yang's forearm. Although the shallow marks left by the battle were faint, she still spotted them at a glance. Her fingertips gently touched them, and her voice softened, "Does it still hurt? We heard about what happened in Luoxing Gorge..."

Lin Yang smiled, took the bamboo basket, and rubbed the top of her head: "It's already healed. The water-element spiritual liquid from the Five Elements Spirit Pool even healed old injuries in my Meridians." He turned sideways to let the sisters enter the room and closed the door. "Come in and sit. It's a good time to show you my gains from the Five Elements Spirit Pool."

Inside the room, the candlelight was warm and bright. Lin Yang placed the bamboo basket on the table. With a thought, a grey-gold light emanated from his palm—a fist-sized five elements small world appeared in the halo. Golden mountains gleamed with Sharp Metal Sword Qi. In the emerald green forest, the wood-element spiritual butterfly Liu Hongluan had given him earlier was resting on a leaf. Upon sensing a familiar aura, it flapped its wings and flew towards the edge of the halo. "This is the five elements small world. It can hold living things and nourish spiritual plants." He carefully picked up a stalk of Spirit Condensing Grass and placed it into the Small World. As soon as the grass leaf touched the soil of the emerald green forest, it immediately took root, and its leaves instantly brightened a few shades. Even the morning dew shimmered with spiritual light. "If you ever encounter danger in the future, I can hide you in here. The Spiritual Qi inside is even denser than in the Outer Sect Cultivation Rooms, so it's very safe."

Liu Hongluan leaned closer to the halo, her eyes sparkling like stars: "The spiritual butterfly is still alive! It's greeting me!" She pointed at the spiritual butterfly in the Small World, then looked up at Lin Yang, her tone full of pride, "Brother, you're amazing! We'll never have to fear anyone bullying us again!"

Liu Qingluan also sighed in relief, her fingertips brushing the edge of the halo, clearly feeling the gentle Spiritual Qi within: "With this, we can rest assured. You focus on researching your gains from the Five Elements Spirit Pool. We won't disturb you. Remember to soak one Spirit Condensing Grass daily; don't think it's too much trouble." She tugged at Liu Hongluan, who still wanted to look more. "Let's go. Let Brother rest for a bit. We still need to register at the Deacon's Office tomorrow."

As the sisters reached the door, the soft tinkling of ice silk came from outside the courtyard—Su Qingyue stood under the moonlight, holding a palace lantern. Seeing the Liu sisters, she nodded gently: "You're here too? Perfect, I need to talk to Lin Yang about something."

After the Liu sisters left, Su Qingyue entered the room, took out an ancient text, and placed it on the table, tapping its cover with her fingertip: "This is 'Ancient Space Formation Studies' from the Sect's Scripture Pavilion. I mentioned to Elder Mo from the Scripture Pavilion that you brought out a space stone from the Five Elements Spirit Pool. He specifically found this for me, saying it might help you decipher the map." She paused, her gaze falling on the space stone on the table. The translucent stone body glowed with a faint purple halo under the candlelight. "I saw you take it out outside the Five Elements Spirit Pool. How is its resonance with the chaos star core now?"

Lin Yang picked up the space stone, injecting a trace of True Essence into his fingertip. The star patterns within the stone immediately lit up, resonating with the chaos star core in his Dantian—a grey-gold phantom of the chaos star core appeared in his palm. The completed star chart on it connected with the space stone's star patterns, forming a thin line that also illuminated the chain patterns on Elder Mo's half-map of the Forbidden Ground. "Look." Lin Yang spread the map on the table. The moment the space stone touched the parchment, a section of text unfolded from the chain patterns: "Within a hundred li radius of the Forbidden Ground, nine spatial Restrictions are set. The first can only be broken by activating the space stone with the Five Elements Origin."

Su Qingyue leaned over to look, her brows slightly furrowed: "Five Elements Origin... Your Five Elements dantian core, perfected in the Five Elements Spirit Pool, just happens to match. But these nine Restrictions, the later ones will likely be even more difficult." Her finger pointed at the Misty Forbidden Land marker on the star chart. "Sect texts mention that the Immortal Palace laid a 'Soul Locking Formation' on the outskirts of the Forbidden Ground, which even Spirit Sea Realm Cultivators dare not approach easily."

Lin Yang nodded, his mind sinking into his Dantian. The chaos star core suddenly emitted a strange fluctuation—countless fragmented images flashed through his mind: his mother, Lin Wan, standing with a sword outside the Forbidden Ground; Elder Mo in the Pill Hall's secret room, drawing a map with spiritual liquid on his fingertip; and even a blurry figure, touching the Forbidden Ground's chains with a power originating from the same source as the space stone. These images were fleeting. When Lin Yang opened his eyes, his chest was still trembling: "The chaos star core seems to be able to project past scenes. Just now, I saw... it might be my mother's past situation."

Su Qingyue's pupils constricted. She knew Lin Yang's obsession with finding his mother, but she hadn't expected the chaos star core to possess such an ability: "Can you see clearly? For example, the direction of the Forbidden Ground's entrance, or your mother's current situation?"

"It's still very blurry, I can only see fragments." Lin Yang admitted frankly, "But when the chaos star core analyzes the map, it can deduce the pattern of the chain markings—after that text just now, there was actually half a sentence that the chaos star core completed, saying 'breaking the Restriction requires Chaos power as an auxiliary.' It seems my True Essence attribute is also key to unlocking the Forbidden Ground." He paused, recalling Elder Mo's instructions, and lowered his voice, "Also, the Sect Master, outside the Five Elements Spirit Pool, he said 'the Five Elements Spirit Pool can unlock the secrets of the chaos star core.' Now that I think about it, he probably already knew the connection between the space stone and the Forbidden Ground, but he didn't elaborate."

Su Qingyue's expression darkened: "I will help you keep an eye on the Sect Master's movements. News came from the Deacon's Office today that communication fluctuations from the Misty Immortal Palace were detected on the outskirts of the Secret Realm, consistent with the frequency on Zhao Kun's waist token. You must be extra careful when going out recently. Do you still have the communication tool I gave you? Crush it if you encounter danger, and I'll be able to sense your location."

Lin Yang pulled out the Jade Bottle of Ice Soul Pills from his Huai, shaking it: "It's still here, don't worry. Oh, and the chaos star core has a new use." He picked up the advanced volume of the Thick Earth Shield that Chu He had given him. As his True Essence touched the pages, the chaos star core automatically began to analyze the Cultivation Technique's Meridians, even projecting Chu He's flaws during cultivation in his mind—for example, when Chu He circulated the Thick Earth Shield, his True Essence would momentarily stagnate at his waist. "It can see through the shortcomings of Cultivation Techniques and even deduce new training methods. In the future, when Cultivating or facing opponents, I'll have more confidence."

Admiration flashed in Su Qingyue's eyes, mixed with a hint of worry: "While this ability is good, if the Immortal Palace or Sword Sect found out, they would only be more frantic to seize the chaos star core. You must hide it well and never easily reveal it in front of outsiders."

Just then, the chaos star core suddenly issued a sharp warning—more intense than at Luoxing Gorge. Lin Yang abruptly looked out the window. Under the moonlight, the leaves of the old locust tree tree outside the courtyard wall quietly fell, but paused in mid-air, transforming into an extremely faint grey shadow. The chaos star core not only allowed him to perceive the grey shadow's existence but also projected details into his mind: the opponent's sleeve was embroidered with the Flowing Cloud Pattern of the Misty Immortal Palace, a token engraved with star patterns hung from their waist, and they were clutching a communication talisman in their palm.

"It's someone from the Immortal Palace." Lin Yang put away the space stone and the map, and rolled up the ancient text Su Qingyue had brought. "It seems they've already set their sights on me."

Su Qingyue immediately stood up, her fingertips condensing Ice True Essence: "I'll go check!"

"No need." Lin Yang pulled her back. "The other party is just scouting; they didn't intend to act. Chasing them out now would only alert them." With a thought, the halo of the five elements small world dissipated. "Let's first examine the spatial Formation in the ancient text. Deciphering the map as soon as possible is the priority."

Su Qingyue hesitated for a moment, but ultimately sat down and opened the ancient text with Lin Yang. The candlelight flickered on the pages. The two leaned together, sometimes discussing Formation details, sometimes deducing how the chaos star core and space stone resonated. The warmth in the room dispelled the chill of the night. It wasn't until past midnight that Su Qingyue rose to bid farewell, reminding him before leaving: "Send a message anytime if something happens. I've arranged for two reliable Inner Sect Disciples to guard outside Wangyue Courtyard."

After seeing Su Qingyue off, Lin Yang moved the Spirit Condensing Grass given by the Liu sisters into the five elements small world, watching the grass leaves unfurl in the emerald green forest. He then touched the space stone in his Huai—the chaos star core was still slowly analyzing the map's chain patterns, faint golden runes flickering on its surface, as if guiding the way. He knew that with Su Qingyue's help, the Liu sisters' concern, and the mysterious power of the chaos star core, even if the shadow of the Immortal Palace had arrived, he had the confidence to approach the Misty Forbidden Land step by step and find his mother.