34: Fragment Anomalies and a Glimmer of Hope

Carrying the burning (psychologically speaking) star core fragment, with a piercing pain coming from his left arm, Wen Youyi didn't dare to pause for a moment. He and Zhao Iron Pillar and the others pushed their speed to the limit, fleeing for their lives.

Behind them, Chen Jian's exasperated roars and the sounds of fighting from elsewhere could still be heard faintly, but that earth-shattering explosion had clearly intimidated most people, buying them a precious escape window.

"This way! The terrain is complex and easy to hide in!" Wang Wu, sensitive to directions, guided everyone into a maze-like giant Weathered Stone Forest.

The passages within the stone forest were intricate, with jagged rocks effectively concealing their figures and auras. The core five people dared not be careless, maintaining the "Inner Network" to fully hide themselves. After many twists and turns, they finally found an extremely hidden crevice to crawl into once they could no longer hear any movement behind them.

"Whew... whew... finally... finally shook them off..." Zhao Iron Pillar slid down against the stone wall, panting heavily. Having just opened the path and used Earth Shaker, he had also consumed a massive amount of energy.

Wang Wu and the others were also pale, their hearts still pounding with fear. That moment just now truly felt like a walk past the gates of hell.

Wen Youyi was in the worst condition; the wound on his left arm was deep enough to see the bone, blood staining half his body, and his face was as pale as paper from blood loss and intense pain.

"Little Wen! Your arm!" Zhao Iron Pillar finally noticed Wen Youyi's injury and exclaimed.

"It's fine... I won't die." Wen Youyi gritted his teeth, his forehead covered in cold sweat. "Quick, help me treat it."

Wang Wu and Senior Brother Li hurried forward, carefully washing the wound with clean water, applying the best Golden Sore Ointment, and then wrapping it tightly with clean cloth strips. The intense pain made Wen Youyi tremble all over, but he gritted his teeth and didn't make a sound.

After the wound was treated, Wen Youyi leaned weakly against the rock wall and slowly pulled the star core fragment from his robes.

The dull gray stone now seemed to have a very subtle change. Within those cracks on its surface, a faint, almost imperceptible starlight flowed. It was no longer just cold to the touch but carried a hint of warmth. More strangely, while holding it, Wen Youyi felt the piercing pain in his left arm subside slightly, and his mental exhaustion was also slowly recovering.

"This thing... seems to be helping me?" Wen Youyi was surprised. He tried to probe into it with a sliver of Mental Energy.

"Buzz—"

Like a stone dropped into a lake, the star core fragment brightened slightly. A vast, ancient, yet sorrowful stream of information carrying the sense of being broken flooded into Wen Youyi's mind! It wasn't specific knowledge, but the transmission of a Concept—the birth and death of stars, the vastness of the Universe, and... the anger and unwillingness of having its Origin power extracted while being shrouded by an invisible giant net!

This fragment has a spirit?! Or rather, it contains a fragment of the will of its original star!

At the same time, Wen Youyi clearly felt that within a foot of the fragment, the ubiquitous sense of restraint from "the net" was being repelled by a more fundamental, Advanced power! It formed a miniature absolute Domain!

Although the range was extremely small, its significance was immense! This proved that the star core fragment indeed possessed the essence to counter "the net"!

"We... really got it!" Wen Youyi's voice trembled with excitement as he shared his perception with everyone.

Zhao Iron Pillar and the others were also ecstatic, looking at the unremarkable stone as if it were a peerless treasure.

"Great! With this treasure, can we finally get rid of that damn net?" Zhao Iron Pillar asked excitedly.

"It's too early for that." Wen Youyi poured cold water on his excitement, but his eyes were full of hope. "This fragment is too small, and its power has leaked too much; it can only protect this tiny area. The 'Primal Array' Fairy Yun mentioned probably requires more and more complete fragments, or... finding a way to stimulate its deeper power."

He carefully felt the resonance between the fragment and his own "Inner Network," and a thought suddenly occurred to him: could he use this fragment as the... "core server" of their "Inner Network"?

This idea made his heart race. If successful, their "Inner Network" would no longer be a vague connection of Mental Energy and spiritual power, but would have a tangible, high-grade energy core and foundational rules! Its stability, coverage, and functions would all achieve a qualitative leap!

Just as he was immersed in this tempting Concept, Senior Brother Zhang, who was on guard duty at the cave entrance, suddenly lowered his voice and said with alarm, "Not good! Outside... there's movement! Many people! It looks like they're searching the mountain!"

Everyone fell silent instantly, their hearts leaping into their throats.

Wen Youyi forced himself to walk to the edge of the crevice and peered out through the gaps in the vines.

On the outskirts of the stone forest, no fewer than ten figures appeared indistinctly, searching carefully. Judging by their clothes, they were Chen Jian and the remaining people from the Five Elements Courtyard! They had actually teamed up and tracked them down so quickly!

"Damn it, they're like lingering ghosts!" Zhao Iron Pillar cursed under his breath.

Wen Youyi's expression was grave. They were in terrible shape right now—he was seriously injured, and the others had consumed a huge amount of energy. Once discovered, it would surely be a dead end!

The search perimeter was gradually shrinking. The nearest figure was less than twenty yards away from the crevice where they were hiding!

Cold sweat dripped from their foreheads.

Would they perish here just as they had found hope?

Wen Youyi's brain worked frantically, searching for a way to escape. Fighting head-on was a death sentence, and running away would likely lead to discovery... His gaze fell back onto the star core fragment in his hand.

Take a gamble!

He took a deep breath, gripped the fragment tightly in his right hand, and then gently pressed it against the hideous wound on his left arm!

"Little Wen, what are you doing?!" Zhao Iron Pillar cried out in surprise.

The next moment, something strange happened!

Upon contact with blood, the starlight on the surface of the star core fragment suddenly brightened several times. A gentle yet majestic Star Power surged into Wen Youyi's body through the wound! The burning pain in his left arm rapidly faded, and the wound wriggled and healed at a pace visible to the naked eye! Not only that, but his consumed Mental Energy and spiritual power were also recovering quickly!

This fragment actually has such powerful healing and recovery effects?!

However, at the same time, the energy fluctuations emitted by the fragment also suddenly intensified. Although extremely faint, at such a close distance, it was likely... "Over there! There are energy fluctuations!" Chen Jian's harsh shout and the sound of hurried footsteps immediately came from outside!

Exposed!

Wen Youyi made a prompt decision, abruptly pulling the fragment away from his wound (which was mostly healed) and growled, "We can't stay! Crawl out through that small crevice in the back! Quick!"

Just as they squeezed through an extremely narrow exit in the back wall of the crevice and rolled into an underground river, Chen Jian and the others' attacks slammed into the entrance of the crevice where they had been hiding, sending stone fragments flying!

The icy river water swept The core five people away, instantly disappearing into the dark underground river channel... (End of Chapter)