638: Lu Xueqi and Biyao (21)

Before they had gone far, several blurry starlight shadows suddenly lunged out from a cluster of tall, glowing coral to the side! Their speed was as swift as lightning, accompanied by sharp sounds of water being pierced.

They were the Star Beasts that Elder Mu and the others had encountered earlier!

These Star Beasts resembled monstrous fish magnified several times over, but with four sharp claws, lizard-like heads covered in fine starlight scales, ferocious teeth in their mouths, and eyes gleaming with cold, frenzied starlight.

"Be careful!" Lu Xueqi shouted clearly, her tianya sword abruptly unsheathing!

"Clang—!"

A clear, melodious sword cry echoed through the lake bottom as a vast, azure sword light, pure as autumn water, swept out, accurately slashing toward the charging Star Beasts. Within the sword light, there was already a trace of the cold starlight she had comprehended over the past few days, making it even more powerful.

Thud, thud, thud!

The three Star Beasts at the forefront were directly sliced in half by the sword light. No blood flowed from the wounds; instead, specks of starlight scattered out. The corpses quickly turned transparent, eventually dissolving into points of light, leaving only a few irregular, multifaceted crystals the size of rice grains, emitting faint Star Power, which fell to the lake bottom.

But the Star Beasts behind them, fearless of death, continued to charge, and more Star Beasts emerged from the surrounding coral and ruins' shadows—dozens of them from all directions!

Su Han's eyes turned cold. He pointed like a sword, with green light flickering, and a condensed green Sword Qi shot through the water, instantly piercing the head of a Star Beast attacking from the side. The Taiji Profound Clarity Dao spiritual power contained in the Sword Qi was upright and robust, seemingly quite effective at suppressing the Star Beasts.

Elder Mu did not directly attack but continuously formed hand seals, controlling the "star-guiding pearl." The star-guiding pearl hovered before him, emitting a gentle pulling force that slowly gathered the active Star Power within a certain range around them. On one hand, this reduced the pressure of the Star Power environment on the three of them; on the other hand, it slightly interfered with the Star Beasts that relied on Star Power for concealment and movement, causing their actions to show a barely noticeable delay.

Lu Xueqi moved with her sword, the tianya sword transforming into a curtain of azure light in her hands. Sword light crisscrossed, shredding the charging Star Beasts one by one. Her swordsmanship was already exquisite, and now, executed at the bottom of Star Lake, it gained even more fluidity and agility, as if merging with the surrounding water flow and starlight.

Su Han steadily guarded one side, combining the Qingyun Sword Art with his newly mastered Star Sword Qi, achieving high efficiency. He discovered that by activating the Star Power Seed in his Dantian and channeling a trace of Star Power into his Sword Qi, the resulting pale green Sword Qi mixed with silver threads was particularly lethal to Star Beasts, almost causing them to collapse upon contact.

The battle was brief yet intense. Dozens of Star Beasts were quickly cleared out under Lu Xueqi and Su Han's swords, leaving only scattered points of dissipating starlight and a few Star Power crystals.

Su Han collected a few crystals. They felt slightly warm to the touch, and he could sense the pure yet somewhat frenzied Star Power within. "These crystals..."

"They are the cores of the Star Beasts, containing the Star Power they absorbed, but it's not pure enough, mixed with their own chaotic consciousness. Direct absorption is harmful rather than beneficial, but they might serve as Materials for Artifact Refining or array formation," Elder Mu explained, waving his hand to gather the scattered crystals.

The three did not linger and continued forward. After this encounter, they became even more vigilant. Based on his previous exploration memories and the guidance of the tattered star map, Elder Mu chose a relatively hidden path with fewer Star Beast activities, circling toward the lake's center.

Along the way, they saw more magnificent ruins: massive star reliefs, broken totem pillars, dried-up sacrificial pools, and half-collapsed palaces. Judging by their scale and style, this area must have been a bustling district of the Water Tribe's Holy Land in its heyday.

On some relatively intact walls, they saw more murals. The murals depicted scenes of the Water Tribe worshipping the star source, holding grand sacrifices, navigating Star Rafts through the starry sea, and coexisting with various strange Star Beasts—vivid and filled with an ancient, mysterious aura.

Su Han paused for a moment before a huge mural. This mural occupied an entire high wall, seemingly depicting a panoramic view of the Holy Land during the Water Tribe's peak. At the center of the image was the sky-piercing star source light pillar, below which stood an immensely grand, giant altar built entirely from some kind of glowing jade. Above the altar hovered a massive, complete armor-like artifact, inlaid with countless "stars" arranged and moving along profound trajectories, emitting infinite radiance that enveloped the entire Holy Land. That should be the complete "zhoutian star armor."

Around the altar, countless Water Tribe people knelt in worship. Further away, Star Rafts floated, starlight glittered, a scene of prosperity and harmony. But at the edges of the mural, some discordant cracks and shadows had begun to appear, as if foretelling an impending disaster.

"The complete zhoutian star armor..." Su Han murmured to himself. Even just the image on the mural made him feel a vast, ancient, and sacred Concept. It was hard to imagine how awe-inspiring the real object must be.

"Look here," Lu Xueqi's clear, cold voice came. She stood beside another, relatively smaller mural.

Su Han and Elder Mu walked over. This mural seemed to depict a scene of internal conflict within the Water Tribe. The image was divided into two parts: one part showed Water Tribe members gathered around the Star Armor and altar, seemingly performing some ritual, their expressions fanatical, hands raised to the sky. The other part showed Water Tribe members at the edge of the image, with expressions of grief, anger, or dissuasion, as if the two sides were arguing fiercely. Above the mural, the starry sky twisted, as if something terrifying was about to descend from beyond the heavens.

"Internal strife, plus... external threat?" Elder Mu stroked his beard, thoughtful. "Could it be that the Water Tribe's downfall wasn't solely due to internal conflict causing the Star Armor to shatter?"

No one could answer. History was buried in the dust of time, leaving only fragments.

They continued forward. The closer they got to the lake center, the denser the surrounding starlight became, almost condensing into a substantial mist of light flowing in the water. The lake water grew warm, and the pressure increased, as if an invisible force was squeezing from all directions. That was the force field formed by pure Star Source Power.

Su Han could already clearly feel the excitement and joy of the Star Power Seed in his Dantian, like a wanderer returning home. But he also felt the pressure, with his Physical Body and spiritual power enduring continuous compression. He silently circulated his Cultivation Technique, mobilized the Star Power Seed, and formed an extremely faint layer of silver radiance on his body's surface, immediately reducing the pressure significantly.

Lu Xueqi was also enveloped in a layer of azure sword light, separating her from the surrounding Star Power, but her breathing was noticeably slightly faster than before. Elder Mu mainly relied on the Star Power shield formed by the star-guiding pearl, his expression growing increasingly grave.

"Ahead is the edge of the Star Power Field," Elder Mu stopped and pointed forward.

About a hundred zhang away, the color of the lake water seemed to change, taking on a purer, brighter silver-white hue, like liquid starlight. The light there was so intense it was blinding, making it almost impossible to see the scenery within. Only the core of the light pillar connecting heaven and earth was clearly visible, emitting a heart-palpitating, majestic power. Faintly, within the intense halo, the outlines of massive structures could be seen. (End of Chapter)