258: The Star People's Remains and the Truth About the "Spark"

Inside the giant basin was deathly silent, save for the faint ripple of "Flowing Silver" as it slowly moved around the dark-gold remains. Wen Youyi stood there, the fragmented information echoing in his mind like an ancient echo.

"the watchman... broken cradle... Star People..."

Each word was like a heavy stone tablet crashing into his consciousness, stirring up massive waves.

"Boss, what exactly is going on?" Zhao Iron Pillar supported Wen Youyi and asked in a low voice, his eyes warily fixed on the giant beast's remains—though it had clearly been dead for countless years, the lingering pressure still made the hair on his body stand on end.

Wang Wu had already turned on the recording Magical Artifact and was carefully scanning the surroundings, whispering: "The energy readings are very strange. The remains themselves have almost no energy response, but just a moment ago, something like a 'rule fluctuation' was triggered."

Xiao Wu squatted on the ground, watching the slowly flowing "Flowing Silver," his eyes wide: "They... they seem very close to this corpse? Like... a child finding its mother?" As he spoke, he tentatively extended his Mental Energy toward the nearest small blob of "Flowing Silver," "Hey, what are you guys doing here?"

That blob of "Flowing Silver" sluggishly wriggled and sent back a simple thought: [Home... Protect...]

"Home?" Xiao Wu was stunned.

Wen Youyi took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He walked to the edge of the basin and carefully observed the details of the giant beast's remains. The dark-gold bone armor was covered in mysterious natural patterns, and some parts seemed to have shattered under a terrible impact. At the fractures, a substance similar to "Flowing Silver" but darker and more condensed could be seen.

He tried to carefully probe a wisp of Mental Energy toward the dark-gold diamond-shaped crystal on the remains' forehead that had flashed earlier.

This time, there was no sudden surge of information. The crystal remained dim, but Wen Youyi could feel that it seemed to contain a frozen starry sky, vast and silent. As he approached, the star core fragment and the crystal key both sent out slight tremors, like the sigh of an old friend meeting again.

"The star core and the key... are they of the same origin as it?" A thought stirred in Wen Youyi's heart. He recalled the fragmented information he had just received—"Successor... same origin... Star People".

Could it be that the star core fragment and the key are the so-called "Star People" relics? Or rather, the source of their branch's "Fireseed"?

He thought again of the words "the watchman" and "broken cradle". A vague hypothesis gradually took shape in his mind.

"Could it be like this," Wen Youyi spoke slowly, his voice exceptionally clear in the silent basin, "this 'Tianyuan World' we are in, as well as the countless Small Worlds, were treated as ranches for harvesting by the Creation Heavenly Court. But what about before that? Before the Creation Heavenly Court discovered this 'Ranch,' this place might have originally belonged to another civilization—the 'Star People' to which this corpse belongs."

Zhao Iron Pillar scratched his head: "What do you mean? Our ancestors were actually aliens?"

"Not necessarily ancestors," Wen Youyi shook his head, "more like... neighbors? Or rather, the original 'masters' of this Star Domain? 'the watchman' might have been some kind of guardian or defense System of theirs, just like this corpse. And the 'cradle'..." He looked at the surrounding endless Starry Sky Debris, "might be this very region we are in now, perhaps even including those worlds transformed into ranches by the Creation Heavenly Court—it was originally the 'cradle' where the 'Star People' nurtured their descendants or protected important things."

Wang Wu added: "And then the 'cradle' was smashed by the Creation Heavenly Court? So there's debris everywhere? Then the 'Flowing Silver'..."

"Flowing Silver," Wen Youyi looked at those silver lifeforms, "is likely some kind of... 'maintenance worker' left behind by the 'Star People'? Or 'guardian larvae'? They are instinctively drawn to the star core and the key, and they instinctively gather here to try and 'repair' or 'awaken' this corpse, because they perceive a common origin."

Xiao Wu slapped his thigh: "That makes sense! No wonder I felt that when I was teaching them things, their understanding of stellar energy was ridiculously fast! It turns out they were born for this!"

"Then what's the 'Reaper's mark'?" Zhao Iron Pillar remembered the final warning, "Does it mean we've been tagged?"

Wen Youyi's expression turned solemn: "Very likely. Since the Creation Heavenly Court could establish a triple harvesting System to monitor the entire world, there must be some kind of marking or tracking mechanism. We've caused so much trouble, disrupted the spirit net harvesting, established the 'Mind Net', and now we've obtained the star core and the key... We might have been targeted long ago. This warning might be the final alert left by this 'watchman' before it fell."

A chill crawled up everyone's spines. They had thought they were temporarily safe hiding deep within the Starry Sky Debris, putting all their effort into building a starship to escape. But if they had been "marked" long ago, would the so-called "Hidden Dragon" plan and the "hope" be locked onto as soon as they set sail?

"This is trouble," Wang Wu's face turned pale, "we can't hide here forever, can we?"

Wen Youyi was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked: "Xiao Wu, can you ask these 'Flowing Silver', they are gathered here, besides 'guarding,' what else do they want to do? Is there... a more specific intention?"

Xiao Wu hurriedly concentrated his mind and began communicating with several active "Flowing Silver" blobs around him. This time, he tried to ask with a clearer thought: [Do you want to repair it? Do you need help?]

After a while, the "Flowing Silver" sent back a mixed but clearly directed thought: [Not enough... energy... core missing... need 'Seed'... return...]

"Seed?" Wen Youyi frowned.

Xiao Wu thought for a bit and pointed at the crystal key in Wen Youyi's arms: "They seem particularly concerned about the key and the star core; the remains flashed earlier because they covered it. Could 'Seed' be referring to this?"

Wen Youyi took out the crystal key. In the dim light of the basin, the star chart on the key's surface flowed with a warm luster. He hesitated for a moment, then slowly moved the key closer to the dark-gold crystal on the remains' forehead.

This time, the change was even more obvious.

As soon as the crystal key came within three feet, the dark-gold crystal lit up again with a faint light, more stable than before. And those "Flowing Silver" also seemed to be summoned, "flowing" toward the key one after another, but they didn't touch it; they only surrounded it, emitting subtle vibrations that were almost like cheering.

The star chart inside the key accelerated its flow, and a soft light shot out from it, connecting with the dark-gold crystal. Wen Youyi felt that the key was transmitting something to the crystal—not energy, but some kind of information code.

A moment later, the light of the dark-gold crystal stabilized, and a clearer, though still fragmented, image was projected directly into the air in front of everyone!

In the image was a prosperous and magnificent sea of stars. Countless strange starships sailed among the stars, with giant whale-like creatures swimming alongside them. Starlight was woven into roads, and life and energy resonated in harmony. It was a bright, vibrant cosmic civilization.

Then the scene changed, and darkness descended. Hideous giant ships, looking like a mixture of metal and flesh, tore through the starry sky. Wherever they passed, stars dimmed and life withered. The whale-like creatures let out sorrowful cries as they fought the invaders, and the starry sky was stained with blood.

Finally, there were images of despair: the "cradle" Star Domain was torn apart, and the giant "watchman" beast fell under a coordinated attack, its body shattered as it plunged into the depths of the debris. In its final moments, it sealed its remaining consciousness and core information into the forehead crystal and scattered a batch of immature "Guardian Seeds" (shown as silver liquid in the image), hoping that one day they would be awakened by someone of the same origin to continue the civilization's fireseed... The image ended abruptly.

The basin fell into silence. Everyone was speechless, shocked by this tragic memory from ancient times.

"So... that's how it is." Wen Youyi murmured, "'Flowing Silver' are immature 'Guardian Seeds,' and we are the 'successors' who obtained the Star People's Legacy. And the Creation Heavenly Court... are they the invaders in the image? Or rather, beings of the same kind?"

He looked at the key in his hand: "So the key is not just a star chart and a key, but also the carrier of the Star People's civilization fireseed. The 'Guixu - Lighthouse' it points to is likely the Star People's final refuge or revival base!"

This way, the messages and coordinate updates from "Guixu" earlier were easier to understand—it was the surviving "Star People" waiting for the lost "Fireseed" to return!

"Then the significance of our 'Star Sea Return Journey' is even greater!" Zhao Iron Pillar's eyes lit up, "It's not just about running for our lives, it's about... returning the fireseed? Helping our ancestors... ah no, helping our neighbors restore their nation?"

"You could say that." Wen Youyi nodded, but his brow remained furrowed, "But the problem is also more serious. If we really have the 'Reaper's mark' on us, we might be intercepted by the Creation Heavenly Court on our way to 'Guixu'. Moreover, 'Guixu' itself might not be safe—since the Creation Heavenly Court could destroy the Star People's cradle, their final refuge is probably also being searched for and attacked."

Wang Wu smiled bitterly: "So we're jumping from a small pit into a larger, more dangerous whirlpool?"

"But it's also an opportunity." Wen Youyi's gaze became sharp again, "We are no longer fighting alone. We have the Star People's Legacy, the help of the 'Flowing Silver,' and the potentially existing allies in 'Guixu'. More importantly, we know who the enemy is and the mission we carry."

He looked at the silent giant beast remains and bowed solemnly: "Senior, although we come from different worlds, we have a common enemy and have inherited your fireseed. We will take it, find 'Guixu,' and continue the civilization."

As if hearing his words, the dark-gold crystal flickered faintly again, transmitting a sense of relief and blessing. The surrounding "Flowing Silver" also surged gently, as if in response.

"Xiao Wu," Wen Youyi turned around, "try to establish more stable communication with these 'Flowing Silver' and see if you can invite some... or rather, invite those 'Guardian Seeds' who are willing to come with us. Their understanding of the deep-space environment and stellar energy will be of great help to our starship construction and future navigation."

Xiao Wu nodded quickly: "I'll try! I think they'd be willing—they seem to treat the key and you as 'parents'."

"Wang Wu, record all the data here in detail, especially the structure and energy characteristics of the remains. This information might inspire us to improve the defense and propulsion Systems of the 'hope'."

"Understood!"

"Iron Pillar, step up the guard. Although it's temporarily safe here, the commotion just now might attract the attention of other things deep within the debris."

"Leave it to me!"

Wen Youyi took one last look at the giant beast remains carrying the ancient tragic song, took a deep breath, and turned to walk back the way he came.

The unexpected discovery of the truth about the "Star People" added weight to their journey and injected it with greater meaning. The road ahead was destined to be more perilous, but there was now a clearer lighthouse.

They not only had to find a way out for themselves and their home civilization, they also shouldered the mission of continuing the fireseed of an ancient star-sea civilization.

The burden was heavy, but Wen Youyi's steps were more determined.

Though a spark is tiny, it can start a prairie fire, and it can also be passed on.

(End of Chapter)