128: Cave of Terror and "Star Anchor" Navigation

The suction force coming from the 'Labyrinth of Ten Thousand Mirrors' was violent and bizarre. It was not merely a pull of force, but more like directly twisting space, attempting to 'erase' them from their current position and 'paste' them into that fragmented mirror world!

'Hold on!' Zhao Iron Pillar roared, slamming his heavy sword into the jelly-like, wobbling ground beneath his feet. His arm muscles bulged as he steadied himself, while his other hand tightly gripped the arm of Senior Brother Zhang beside him.

Senior Brother Zhang's face turned green with fear, feeling like a leaf in a gale, ready to be swept away at any moment.

Wen Youyi and the Purifiers, including Ying, also used their various methods, desperately resisting the suction force. White light shone around Ying as she attempted to 'purify' the twisted spatial rules around them, but with little effect. Wen Youyi, meanwhile, channeled his Star Core Power with all his might, forming a thin layer of starlight shield around his body. The chaotic rules tore against the starlight shield, creating a teeth-grinding friction sound.

However, the suction force continued to strengthen! The ground began to crack, and the strangely colored stones and plants around them were uprooted, sucked into the labyrinth, and instantly shredded into the most basic energy particles, vanishing without a trace.

'This can't go on! We'll all be sucked in!' one of the Purifiers shouted with difficulty, half of his body already floating involuntarily, saved only by his companion holding onto him tightly.

Wen Youyi looked at the frantically spinning labyrinth, which resembled the maw of a giant beast, and felt the unprecedented activity of the star core fragment in his arms, along with... a peculiar 'directionality'?

That was it! The star core was exceptionally active here, not just because the rules were chaotic, but likely because this place was near some... 'boundary'? Or rather, near the 'source' to which the Star Core Power truly belonged?

Deep within that labyrinth, although dangerous, perhaps hid the true secret! It might even be... a fissure not controlled by the 'web weaver' that led to the 'outside world'?

A crazy idea formed in Wen Youyi's mind!

He stopped resisting the suction force with all his might and instead submerged most of his consciousness into the star core fragment, attempting to understand and resonate with the subtle 'pores' in this chaotic space that shared the same source as the star core!

'Lady Ying! Everyone! Stop resisting! Restrain your power! Trust me this once!' Wen Youyi roared, his voice sounding somewhat distorted amidst the violent suction.

'What?!' Zhao Iron Pillar widened his eyes. 'Boss! If we go in there, we won't be able to come out!'

Ying also looked at Wen Youyi in shock, but seeing the resolute and bright light in his eyes, as well as the increasingly solid starlight around him, she gritted her teeth: 'Listen to him! Restrain your power!'

Out of trust for Wen Youyi (or rather, for the star core), the six survivors (three Purifiers plus Wen Youyi's trio) gave up resistance almost simultaneously and restrained their own energy fluctuations to the extreme.

In an instant, having lost the force of resistance, the six of them were like kites with broken strings, violently dragged into the 'Labyrinth of Ten Thousand Mirrors' by the terrifying suction!

The world spun! Light and shadow twisted!

The moment they entered the labyrinth, they felt as if they had passed through a cold, viscous membrane, and immediately fell into endless chaos. Up, down, left, and right lost their meaning; front and back became indistinguishable; and their sense of time blurred. All around them were countless 'mirrors' that were broken, rotating, and reflecting grotesque and bizarre scenes. Each 'mirror' seemed to lead to a different fragment of space-time!

'Steady your minds! Do not be deceived by the illusions!' Wen Youyi's voice sounded directly in everyone's minds via 'Star Language,' carrying a strange power of calmness.

The star core fragment in his arms shone brightly at this moment, like a beacon guiding the way through raging waves! The light was not blinding, but carried an ancient, unchanging sense of stability, piercing through the surrounding chaos and faintly pointing towards a specific 'direction'!

Wen Youyi had a flash of inspiration. He channeled the star core with all his might, amplifying the directional fluctuation, as if dropping a 'Star Power anchor' in the chaotic ocean!

'Follow the starlight!' He transmitted again.

The six of them, as if grabbing a lifeline, desperately 'swam' in the direction guided by the starlight. In this labyrinth with broken rules, conventional methods of movement were ineffective; they were more like traversing by relying on their willpower and the guidance of the starlight.

Along the way, they saw countless heart-stopping scenes: broken mountains and rivers floating in the mirrors, twisted creatures wailing in the fragments, and they even saw silver figures similar to 'Scavenger' trapped in a certain mirror, futilely attacking an invisible barrier... This place seemed to be a junkyard for the world, burying countless space-time fragments that had been destroyed or banished.

They didn't know how long had passed; perhaps it was an instant, perhaps an eternity.

The starlight ahead suddenly became intense, as if piercing through a layer of mist. Everyone felt a sudden lightness, and the ubiquitous tearing force and sense of chaos vanished instantly!

'Thump!' 'Thump!'

Several of them fell awkwardly onto the solid ground, greedily breathing in the air, which, although thin, was exceptionally 'clean'—it seemed there was absolutely no trace of the 'spirit net' here!

Wen Youyi struggled to stand up and looked around.

They seemed to be in a huge, hemispherical cavern. The top of the cavern was not rock, but a deep, slowly rotating phantom of the starry sky, casting down cold starlight that illuminated the cavern. In the center of the cavern stood an ancient, dilapidated altar made of some black material that was neither metal nor jade.

The surface of the altar was covered with ancient runes that shared the same source as the star core's fluctuations, with many places already broken and blurred. Yet, even so, it still exuded an aura that was vast, desolate, and incredibly pure.

This place seemed to be a... miniature shelter independent of the 'cradle'?

'Where... where are we?' Senior Brother Zhang muttered to himself, looking at the starry sky above that did not seem fake.

Ying and the other two Purifiers also stood up, looking at everything in shock, especially the altar.

'The legendary... Astral Shelter?' Ying's voice trembled with disbelief. 'It is said that before the 'web weaving,' some powerful star mages could use the star core to open up such temporary sanctuaries in the cracks of the rules... I didn't expect it to actually exist!'

A narrow escape from death!

Everyone realized that they might have stumbled upon a... safe zone that even the 'web weaver' could hardly reach!

Wen Youyi walked to the dilapidated altar, feeling the fluctuations within that echoed with his own star core, his heart module pounding.

This place might just be the starting point for them to achieve 'disconnection' and build the true 'ark'!

(End of chapter)