176: The glimmer of light at the end and the confusion on the way back

The stream of light from the Source Point's core enveloped the two, shuttling through the star sea at a speed so fast that the surrounding stars were almost indistinguishable.

Those once brilliant points of light transformed into blurry streaks, much like the fireflies of Luoxia Valley on a summer night, only with less warmth and more of an ancient chill.

Liu Shan held Lin Qingxue in his arms, the Light and Darkness Power in his palm intertwining with the black and white light of the core, forming a thin barrier.

He could feel that the core was actively guiding them forward, its destination seemingly that deep part of the star sea where even starlight could not penetrate the darkness.

"Where is it taking us?" Lin Qingxue's voice came from his embrace, with a barely perceptible tremor.

She wasn't afraid of battle, but she was instinctively wary of this unknown darkness—the aura there was too deathly still, as if even time had stopped flowing.

Liu Shan didn't answer, only held her tighter.

His gaze fell on the words "The end, and also the return" on the core's surface, his fingertips gently caressing the edges of the characters.

The end was the Source Point's end, but the return... was it the way back to Luoxia Valley?

The stream of light suddenly decelerated.

In the darkness ahead, a blurry outline vaguely appeared.

It was a colossal gate, older and more dilapidated than the Starlight Archway, its panels covered in cracks, as if a mere touch would shatter them.

The gate's material was unclear; it was neither jade nor star, but more like something carved from solidified darkness, with only two black and white beads, similar to the Source Point's core, embedded in the gate rings, emitting a faint glow.

"Is this... the Gate of the End?" Lin Qingxue looked up, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.

The Source Point's core vibrated gently, as if responding to her words.

The stream of light slowly stopped before the gate, and black and white light seeped through the cracks, causing the gate to creak open inward.

Behind the gate was not the expected darkness, but a familiar scene—the spiritual fields of Luoxia Valley, the dense shade of the ancient locust tree, and even the busy figures of Shi Yan and Liu Zhi outside the Pill Chamber.

biye flowers swayed in the breeze by the spiritual fields, emitting a faint fragrance.

"Luoxia Valley?" Liu Shan's pupils suddenly contracted, his heart feeling as if something had struck it hard.

This was not an illusion.

He could clearly smell the fragrance of the biye flowers, hear Liu Zhi's hearty laughter, and even feel the unique, warm pulse of Luoxia Valley's Spiritual Vein.

"We... came back?" Lin Qingxue's voice carried an unbelievable joy, and she instinctively tried to rush in, but Liu Shan pulled her back.

Liu Shan's expression was unusually grave, his gaze fixed on the seemingly perfect scene: "No, this isn't right."

He pointed to a biye flower by the spiritual field: "Look, that flower has seven petals, but the biye flowers in Luoxia Valley always have five."

Lin Qingxue looked in the direction he pointed, and indeed it was true!

The flower swayed in the sunlight, its seven petals clearly visible, exuding an indescribable strangeness.

Not only that, on the stone tablet outside the Pill Chamber, although the carved name was Liu Shan, there was an additional twisted symbol she had never seen before, like some kind of curse.

"This is... fake?" Lin Qingxue's joy instantly faded, replaced by a deep chill.

"It's a trap," Liu Shan's voice was low, "an illusion set by the Purple Abyss Dominator; it knows where we most want to return."

He could feel that hidden within the scene behind the gate was a cold malice, originating from the same source as the colossal purple-black shadow, perfectly disguised beneath a warm facade.

Just then, the scene behind the gate suddenly changed.

The spiritual fields began to wither, the biye flowers rapidly wilted, and the figures of Shi Yan and Liu Zhi became distorted, emitting painful roars.

The twisted symbol on the stone tablet glowed with a dazzling red light, and the entire Luoxia Valley was enveloped in a dense purple-black aura, transforming into a deathly still appearance similar to the Purple Abyss Realm.

"Come in..." A seductive voice came from behind the gate, sounding both like Liu Zhi's voice and the Purple Abyss Dominator's roar, "As long as you come in, you can stay here forever, never having to face those dangers again..."

Liu Shan's heart pounded violently, a strong urge surging within him.

Even knowing it was fake, he wanted to rush in, to see those familiar figures, to smell the fragrance of the biye flowers again.

"Liu Shan!" Lin Qingxue gripped his hand tightly, the warmth of her palm instantly bringing him to his senses.

Liu Shan snapped back, the confusion in his eyes dissipating, replaced by determination: "Let's go!"

He pulled Lin Qingxue and turned to leave.

But it was too late.

The Gate of the End suddenly shook violently, and the two black and white beads on its panels erupted with dazzling red light, locking onto them.

The purple-black aura from behind the gate surged out like a tide, coiling up along the stream of light, rapidly corroding the Source Point's core's barrier.

"Since you've come, don't even think about leaving!" The Purple Abyss Dominator's voice echoed through the star sea, filled with venom and madness, "I will make you forever trapped in your own obsessions!"

The Source Point's core's light flickered violently, clearly resisting the erosion of the purple-black aura with all its might, but cracks on the barrier grew more numerous, and the black and white light grew dimmer.

Liu Shan could feel that the core's power was rapidly draining; it had already consumed too much energy to escape with them earlier.

"Qingxue, use the power of memory!" he suddenly shouted, the Light and Darkness Power condensing into a long sword in his palm, "Only our memories can resist this false illusion!"

Lin Qingxue immediately understood, injecting all her memory power into the token in her palm.

The token erupted with a cyan-gold light, intertwining with the Source Point's core's black and white light, forming a new barrier around the two.

Within this barrier, their true memories appeared—in the morning light of Luoxia Valley, the two of them watching the biye flowers bloom side by side for the first time; in the darkness of the Ancient Ruin, he protected her from behind; by thecrack in the Void Realm, she kissed his lips...

These real, warm memories were like sharp swords, shattering those false illusions!

The purple-black aura behind the gate let out a painful shriek and retreated.

The Gate of the End's shaking also weakened, and the light from the two black and white beads on its panels dimmed considerably.

"There's still a chance!" Liu Shan looked at the cracks on the core's barrier, a determined glint in his eyes, "Qingxue, come with me, let's use our last bit of strength to rush through!

Behind the gate might not be a trap; it might... truly be the way home!"

He didn't know why he thought this, perhaps it was the Source Point's core's guidance, or perhaps the strong intuition deep within his heart—the other side of the Gate of the End was both the end and the true return.

Lin Qingxue looked at his resolute gaze and nodded vigorously: "Okay!"

Both simultaneously injected all their power into the Source Point's core.

The core erupted with its final light, carrying them as they resolutely charged towards the Gate of the End!

The purple-black aura surged again, attempting to stop them, but was blocked by the barrier formed by the power of memory.

As they drew closer to the gate, they could feel the scene behind it changing again; this time, it was no longer the false Luoxia Valley, but a chaotic, both familiar and strange space, like the Universe at its birth.

Just as they were about to pass through the gate, Liu Shan suddenly saw two figures reflected in the two black and white beads on the gate rings.

In one bead, the colossal shadow of the Purple Abyss Dominator roared in anger.

In the other bead, his original self, wearing a blue cloth shirt, gave Liu Shan a relieved smile.

The moment they passed through the gate, all sounds vanished.

The surroundings were deathly silent, with no light, no darkness, not even the concept of time.

Liu Shan and Lin Qingxue held each other's hands tightly, able to feel each other's body temperature, but unable to see each other's figures.

Only the Source Point's core was still faintly warm in their palms, and the characters on its surface slowly changed, finally settling on two words:

"Awakened."