90: Ambush in the Starfield, the First Signs of Eternal Silence

Night fell, and the stars were like grains of sand.

In the center of the Grand Void Holy Land, the Star Domain Teleportation Array shone with brilliant light, its Dao runes slithering like dragons and snakes, illuminating the surrounding hundred zhang as if it were broad daylight.

Lu Qingxuan stood at the eye of the array, his black robes fluttering without wind. Behind him were a hundred Soul Transformation elites—all clad in the Holy Land's specially crafted "Chaos Star Pattern Armor." The faint light of the "ten thousand ruins Purification Brand" shimmered between their brows, their auras merging into one, the murderous aura causing the surrounding temperature to plummet.

"Activate the array." He spoke indifferently.

Hum— The teleportation array erupted with a pillar of light that shot into the sky; space twisted, and the figures of the hundred-plus people instantly blurred.

The next moment, a desolate Star Domain, a nameless planet.

There was no atmosphere here, and the surface was covered in dark red rock layers, scraped by stellar storms all year round, forming countless bottomless gullies.

The only "structure" was the phantom of a broken ancient bronze palace at the planet's equator—a thousand zhang tall, yet swaying uncertainly like a reflection in water; it was the secondary projection of the bronze immortal palace.

Lu Qingxuan stepped out of the spatial ripples first, his Divine Sense spreading out like a tide.

"Within a radius of thirty thousand li, there are no signs of life, and the spatial structure is stable." He judged quickly, "This place is suitable for setting up an array."

"Holy Master, shall we proceed according to the plan?" A white-browed Elder at the Peak of the Soul Transformation Realm stepped forward; it was "Sword Dust," who had performed excellently at the welcoming plain battle.

Lu Qingxuan nodded: "Elder Sword Dust, take thirty people and set up the 'Zhou Tian Star Dou Hidden Killing Array' three hundred li to the east of the projection."

"Yes!"

"Pavilion Master Moyuan." Lu Qingxuan looked beside him, "Has the 'Void Realm Prohibition Talisman' of the Star Sea Pavilion been set up?"

Moyuan cupped his hands: "Seventy-two have been deployed in the planet's outer orbit. Once triggered, they can seal the space for three hours; those below the Middle Stage of Undergoing Tribulation cannot break through."

"Very good." Lu Qingxuan looked at Jin Wanxiang again, "What about the 'Illusory Sea Mirage Pearl' of the Merchant Alliance?"

Jin Wanxiang held out a precious pearl shimmering with seven-colored light in his palm: "It has been activated. It can simulate the energy fluctuations of the projection, misleading the opponent's detection and making them believe the coordinates are correct."

In just half an incense stick of time, all preparations were completed.

Lu Qingxuan walked alone toward the phantom of the ancient bronze palace.

The closer he got, the stronger the resonance of the bronze immortal palace core fragment within his body became. Although this projection was merely a mirage formed by the dissipation of the immortal palace's power, it still retained a trace of the brand of the immortal palace's Origin.

He reached out to touch the phantom.

"Ding! Secondary projection detected. Do you wish to perform 'Origin Synchronization'? After synchronization, you can briefly control part of the projection's power." The System prompt popped up.

"Synchronize."

A wisp of Chaos Qi was injected into the phantom. In an instant, the entire ancient palace phantom solidified slightly, and bronze-colored Dao runes faintly flowed within. Although its power was not even a ten-thousandth of the real immortal palace, it was enough for "acting."

Time passed. There was no day or night in the Star Domain, only perception based on cultivation. About two hours later—

"They are here." Lu Qingxuan suddenly opened his eyes, the Chaos galaxy reversing in his pupils.

The "myriad ages demon suppressing star chart" automatically unfolded. Three pitch-black stars had already jumped to the periphery of this Star Domain, followed by dense red dots like a plague of locusts.

"Three Apostles, five hundred thousand corrupted allied forces..." A cold arc curled at the corner of his mouth, "They really think highly of me."

"Everyone, hide and wait for my signal."

The hundred Soul Transformation cultivators instantly restrained their auras, merging into the rock layers and gullies, their breathing dropping to freezing point. Moyuan and Jin Wanxiang also hid in their preset hidden array eyes.

Lu Qingxuan sat cross-legged in front of the ancient palace phantom, deliberately simulating "weak fluctuations" in his aura, as if he had just experienced a Breakthrough and his Realm was unstable. At the same time, he injected a trace of Chaos Dao Law into the projection, causing it to emit an alluring fluctuation of "coordinates about to be activated."

In the Void Realm of the Universe. Three towering figures tore through space and descended into the Star Domain.

The one on the left was covered in dark golden bone armor, with hideous bone spurs extending from its joints. Its head was dragon-like yet not a dragon, and its eye sockets burned with ghastly green soul fire—Apostle · Dragon Bone, at the Peak of the Early Stage of Undergoing Tribulation, who ruled the "Bone Star Domain" and commanded an army of two hundred thousand bone demons.

The one on the right was a constantly writhing aggregate of flesh and blood, with countless painful human faces appearing on its surface, sometimes merging and sometimes splitting—Apostle · Thousand Faces, Middle Stage of Undergoing Tribulation, ruling the "Flesh and Blood Swamp" and commanding one hundred and fifty thousand corrupted beings.

And the one in the middle was the most bizarre. It had no fixed form, appearing like a constantly twisting shadow. Within the shadow, illusions of stars collapsing and civilizations decaying sometimes appeared, its aura as obscure as an abyss—Apostle · Dark Erosion, at the Peak of the Middle Stage of Undergoing Tribulation, second only to the Mourner of the Departed among the six great Apostles, ruling the "Shadow Star Abyss" and commanding one hundred and fifty thousand shadow demons.

"Is this the place?" Dragon Bone's voice was hoarse, like bone fragments rubbing together.

Dark Erosion's "body" fluctuated slightly, and a shadow tentacle probed toward the planet's surface. The moment it touched the bronze projection, the tentacle trembled violently.

"The coordinates are correct... and the energy is active, about to be fully activated." Dark Erosion's voice rang directly in their consciousness, "But... it is too quiet."

Thousand Faces' countless human faces let out a shrill laugh simultaneously: "Quiet is good! That fool, the Mourner of the Departed, insisted on attacking the Eastern Domain Allied Forces head-on, only to be killed by Lu Qingxuan in a counter-slaughter. We are taking the coordinates directly; that is the best strategy!"

"Do not be careless." The soul fire in Dragon Bone's eye sockets leaped, "Lu Qingxuan was able to kill the Mourner of the Departed; he must have trump cards. Intelligence said he went into seclusion after the Breakthrough, but what if..."

"There are no 'what ifs'." Dark Erosion's shadow rolled, "I have peered into the heavenly secrets with 'Shadow Divination.' This child is indeed in a weak period, and the Grand Void Holy Land is heavily guarded; he would never expect us to come straight for the coordinates."

It paused: "But to prevent accidents, Thousand Faces, you send down fifty thousand vanguards first to test the reality."

"Tsk, overly cautious." Thousand Faces was dissatisfied, but the mass of flesh and blood still split off a large chunk, turning into flying shuttles of flesh and blood that filled the sky, carrying fifty thousand corrupted beings, smashing toward the planet's surface like blood-colored meteors.

Lu Qingxuan's Divine Sense "saw" it clearly. Fifty thousand vanguards, at most Soul Transformation, most were Nascent Soul-level corrupted monsters.

"System, scan the structure of the vanguard army." The light screen unfolded: [Corrupted Flesh and Blood Puppet · Average Rank: Nascent Soul Late Stage] [Weakness: Head core corruption crystal, fears high-frequency purification energy] [Carries corrosive spores: contact can pollute Spiritual Qi]

"A rabble." Lu Qingxuan sneered in his heart, but remained sitting cross-legged.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The fifty thousand vanguards landed, shaking the rock layers until they cracked. They let out non-human roars, greedily pouncing toward the bronze projection—in their perception, it was the supreme "key," and devouring it would grant endless power.

Lu Qingxuan "timely" opened his eyes, his face "pale," and he shouted sternly: "What monsters dare to disturb my cultivation!"

He "reluctantly" stood up and struck out with a palm. The Chaos palm print whistled, smashing hundreds of Puppets into meat paste, but the palm print's power was clearly "insufficient," and the recoil even made him "stagger" backward.

"Indeed weak!" Thousand Faces laughed wildly in space, "Dark Erosion, you worried too much! He is struggling to even deal with fifty thousand vanguards!"

Dark Erosion's shadow fluctuated, but it still did not move: "Observe further."

Lu Qingxuan "gritted his teeth and fought hard," Chaos Dao Law crisscrossing, but every strike "just right" appeared to lack follow-up strength, constantly being "forced" to retreat, gradually surrounded by the vanguard army.

"Holy Master!" Elder Sword Dust, in hiding, transmitted his voice urgently.

"Stay calm." Lu Qingxuan responded calmly.

Finally, when Lu Qingxuan "carelessly" had his arm grazed by a corrosive spore and his aura "plummeted"—

"Now!" Dark Erosion's shadow surged, "All forces, press on! Quickly seize the coordinates!"

Boom! The remaining four hundred and fifty thousand allied forces poured down like a black flood! The three Apostles also descended simultaneously, forming a triangular formation, surrounding Lu Qingxuan and the bronze projection in the center.

"Lu Qingxuan." Dragon Bone's bone claws gripped the air, and a giant bone sword condensed, "Hand over the coordinate core, and I will leave your corpse intact."

Thousand Faces' countless human faces mocked: "The Mourner of the Departed died at your hands because he was too useless. Today, the three Apostles have arrived together; even if you have heaven-reaching abilities, you cannot escape death!"

Dark Erosion said nothing, its shadow spreading like a living thing, quietly sealing the surrounding space.

Lu Qingxuan slowly stood up straight. The "paleness" and "weakness" on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a cold smile.

"The play is over."

He gently brushed his sleeves, and at the spot "grazed" by the corrosive spore, Chaos Qi circulated, the injury healed instantly, leaving not even a trace.

The three Apostles froze simultaneously.

"Not good! It's a trap!" Dark Erosion reacted the fastest, its shadow retreating violently. But it was already too late.

"Activate the array!" Lu Qingxuan raised his hand and clenched his five fingers suddenly.

Boom—! Three hundred li to the east, the "Zhou Tian Star Dou Hidden Killing Array" erupted. Thirty Soul Transformation cultivators formed the array, drawing upon the power of the stars, transforming into a sky full of starlight sword rain, piercing directly into the flank of the allied forces! In the planet's orbit, seventy-two "Void Realm Prohibition Talismans" lit up simultaneously, space solidified like glass, and the blockade was complete!

Jin Wanxiang unleashed the Mirage Sea Pearl, and a seven-colored halo enveloped the entire field, simultaneously interfering with the allied forces' vision and Divine Sense, plunging them into Chaos!

"Kill!"

One hundred Soul Transformation elites charged out from their hiding spots, the Purification Brands on their foreheads glowing intensely. Wherever their attacks passed, the corrupted beings dissolved with agonizing screams, like snow meeting the spring sun!

"How is this possible?! Why do the attacks of these Soul Transformation cultivators suppress us?!" Thousand-Face's flesh was struck by a beam of purification sword light, causing it to emit black smoke and shriek in pain.

Dragon Bone swung its bone sword, knocking three Soul Transformation cultivators flying. However, the Chaos Star-Patterned Armor on those three shimmered with light, allowing them to withstand the blow and immediately retaliate with a combined sword formation, forcing Dragon Bone to retreat half a step.

"Their equipment, their blessings... they are all specifically designed against our Void Abyss!" Dragon Bone's soul fire leapt wildly.

The Dark Erosion's shadows churned, attempting to tear through space and escape, but it crashed into the Void Prohibition Barrier and was rebounded back.

"Lu! Qing! Xuan!" It let out a sharp, furious shriek for the first time, "You knew we were coming?!"

Lu Qingxuan stepped into the air, his black robes fluttering, and the Chaos energy swept out like a vast ocean.

"What else?" He looked down at the three apostles, "Did you really think I would foolishly wait for your army to press upon the border?"

He stopped wasting words, turned his palm downward, and pressed down lightly.

"Eternal Silence Domain—Open."

Hum!

With him as the center, the grayish Domain expanded rapidly, instantly enveloping a hundred-mile radius!

Within the Domain, colors faded, sounds vanished, and even the light became dim. The Law of death and decay transformed into tangible gray mist. Wherever it passed, rock layers turned into powder, and corrupted beings crumbled like sand sculptures before they could even scream, their remains returning to nothingness amidst the decay.

"What... what is this Domain?!" The moment Thousand-Face's massive fleshly body touched the gray mist, its surface began to rapidly age, wither, and peel off! It split frantically, attempting to discard the eroded parts, but the power of decay was like a maggot on a bone, spreading in reverse along the energy connections!

Dragon Bone fared even worse. Its bone armor was originally indestructible, but in the Eternal Silence Domain, dense cracks appeared on the surface, as if it had endured billions of years of erosion, becoming incredibly fragile. The soul fire in its eye sockets flickered uncertainly, as if about to extinguish.

Only Dark Erosion, relying on its shadow properties, constantly flickered within the Domain to evade, but the gray mist was omnipresent, and its shadow body was also slowly "fading."

"This Domain specifically suppresses immortality." Lu Qingxuan's voice echoed within the Domain, "The corrupted Rebirth, bone remodeling, and shadow immortality you rely on... here, they all become a joke."

He took a step forward and arrived before Thousand-Face.

"Let's start with you."

He threw a punch, the Chaos Ancient God Dao Body erupting with full force. Wherever the fist passed, space collapsed inch by inch!

Thousand-Face shrieked, countless flesh tentacles lashing out, but within the Eternal Silence Domain, the tentacles aged and broke as soon as they approached the fist. The fist print smashed without any flourish into that core mass of flesh—

Puchi!

Like a hot knife through butter, Thousand-Face's massive body was pierced by the punch! A twisted human face at the core screamed, "No! I am an Apostle, how could I..."

"An Apostle?" Lu Qingxuan's fist shook, and the Chaos Law erupted.

Boom!

Thousand-Face's body exploded, and the flesh filling the sky rapidly decayed into ash within the gray mist. A dark purple [Abyss Blessing Brand] and a mass of [Flesh Origin (Gold)] flew out, which Lu Qingxuan casually collected.

[Ding! Killed Middle Stage Undergoing Tribulation · Apostle Thousand-Face, obtained 12,000,000 dao rhyme value, obtained trait [Flesh Proliferation (Gold)]]

Instant kill!

Dragon Bone and Dark Erosion retreated in horror.

"Join forces! Otherwise, we'll all die!" Dragon Bone roared, its giant bone sword igniting with ghastly green soul fire, transforming into a ten-thousand-foot sword aura that slashed down!

Dark Erosion's shadow contracted, transforming into a pitch-black spike, silently stabbing toward the back of Lu Qingxuan's heart—this was the ultimate strike of the Shadow Law, capable of ignoring most defenses and directly damaging the Divine Soul!

Lu Qingxuan didn't even look back, pointing a finger with his backhand.

"Word Law Dao Ruling—Return to Silence."

As the two words were uttered, the pitch-black spike suddenly froze three feet away from him, then began to disintegrate inch by inch from the tip, like a weathered sand sculpture! Dark Erosion shrieked, its shadow body retreating frantically, but it saw the disintegration spreading like a chain reaction, backlashing along the energy connection!

"Sever!" It ruthlessly severed itself, sacrificing thirty percent of its shadow Origin to barely stop the disintegration.

Meanwhile, in front, Lu Qingxuan faced the bone sword aura, simply raising his left hand and spreading his five fingers.

"Shatter."

The Chaos energy transformed into a giant palm, actually gripping the sword aura, and with his five fingers exerting force—

Crack!

The sword aura shattered! Dragon Bone's soul fire trembled violently, its bone armor bursting with countless cracks, and it flew backward for a thousand miles, slamming into the depths of the rock layer.

Lu Qingxuan was about to pursue, when suddenly, a hurried telepathic message from Su Linger came from the Blood Contract Dao Seal on his forehead:

"Qingxuan! I just forcibly delved into the Memory Echo and saw a scene—all seven apostles have a 'Key Fragment' inside them! When they all die, the fragments will automatically aggregate to form the complete key, forcibly opening the 'back door' of the ten thousand ruins Burial Pit! This was the final insurance left by the ancient gods, but it has been twisted by the Void Abyss!"

Lu Qingxuan's eyes narrowed suddenly.

In other words... killing all the apostles might instead accelerate the opening of the burial pit?

"Furthermore..." Su Linger's voice was filled with terror, "At the end of the memory, I sensed that deep within the burial pit... there is a wisp of fluctuation originating from the same source as the 'Guixu Sea Eye'! The bronze immortal palace, the ancient god corpse, the ten thousand ruins Burial Pit, the Guixu Sea Eye... all of this likely points to the same ancient secret!"

Just then—

[Warning! Abnormal spatial fluctuation detected! Source: Direction of the Guixu Sea Eye!]

[Fluctuation frequency resonance with the bronze immortal palace core fragment: 37% and continuing to rise!]

The System alarm blared.

Lu Qingxuan suddenly looked up, his gaze seemingly piercing through the endless Star Domain, looking toward the legendary Guixu Sea Eye that devoured everything.

Dragon Bone crawled out from the rock layer, its bone armor mostly shattered, its soul fire dim, yet it let out a crazed laugh: "Lu Qingxuan! You won this battle, but you lost everything! Dark Erosion, initiate the final step of the 'Dark Star Project'!"

Dark Erosion's shadows churned, and without hesitation, it burned its Origin, transforming into a shadow arrow—not aimed at Lu Qingxuan, but shooting toward a certain place beyond the heavens!

"Not good!" Mo Yuan exclaimed from the formation eye, "It's sending a coordinate signal!"

Lu Qingxuan reacted extremely quickly, the Chaos energy transforming into a giant palm to grab the shadow arrow, but after flying a hundred miles, the arrow self-detonated, turning into countless streaks of shadow light that dissipated into the Void Realm.

"It's useless..." Dragon Bone's soul fire flickered, its voice carrying a weird sense of gratification, "The signal has been sent... 'That Lord' at the Guixu Sea Eye... has awakened... the key to the burial pit... you cannot stop it anymore..."

It plunged its bone claw into its own chest, digging out an ink-black fragment—it was one of the Key Fragments!

"With my death... as a sacrifice... accelerate the descent..."

The fragment erupted with blinding light, and Dragon Bone's body exploded with a boom!

[Ding! Killed Peak Early Stage Undergoing Tribulation · Apostle Dragon Bone, obtained 9,000,000 dao rhyme value]

But Lu Qingxuan's expression sank.

Because that Key Fragment was not seized by him; instead, amidst the explosion, it turned into a beam of black light, tore through the Void Realm, and fled toward the direction of the Guixu Sea Eye!

Dark Erosion's shadows were also rapidly fading, and it hissed with a laugh: "Lu Qingxuan... you are indeed stunning... but this war... was never a war between the Eastern Domain and the Void Abyss..."

"This is... the prelude to the return of the burial pit..."

"Just wait... when the seven fragments reunite... the Lord of the ten thousand ruins will descend from the Guixu Sea Eye... to rule over the heavens..."

The shadows dissipated completely, and it had also self-destructed.

[Ding! Apostle Dark Erosion self-destructed, no kill reward obtained]

The battlefield fell into a deathly silence.

The allied forces, under the slaughter of the Eternal Silence Domain and the Holy Land elites, had been completely wiped out. But the joy of victory was washed away by the words of Dragon Bone and Dark Erosion before they died.

Lu Qingxuan withdrew his Domain and looked into the depths of the starry sky.

Guixu Sea Eye... bronze immortal palace... ten thousand ruins Burial Pit...

"Holy Lord, what should we do now?" Elder Sword Dust stepped forward, his expression grave.

Lu Qingxuan was silent for a moment, then spoke slowly: "Clean up the battlefield and collect all the spoils. Recall everyone and return to the Holy Land."

"And the Guixu Sea Eye..."

"I will go personally." Lu Qingxuan's gaze was profound, "But before that, I must return to the Holy Land first, integrate the gains from this battle, and... meet someone."

"Who?"

"The 'Palace Spirit' of the bronze immortal palace." A bronze speck of light appeared in Lu Qingxuan's palm, "It has slept for too long; it is time for it to wake up."