26: Star trails approaching and the prelude to a storm
Peaceful days slipped away like sand through fingers. Liu Qingtian frantically absorbed energy from the three sources, his strength steadily improving, and his comprehension of the Law of Life and Death deepening. The willow leaf grotto-heaven had expanded to the size of a millstone, and the Qi of Life and Death circulated ceaselessly within it, faintly forming its own cycle and emitting a trace of weak World Embryo aura.
However, the external situation was deteriorating at a speed far exceeding his expectations.
The Etchings on the Jade Dream Realm no longer transmitted vague historical echoes or the wails of shattered planes, but increasingly urgent and clear warnings!
The warning was not language, but a direct Law fluctuation, a tremor and fear originating from the World Origin:
"...Star Track deviation accelerating... the 'Convergence Point' is approaching..."
"...Barrier continues to weaken... Howling Corridor stability decreasing..."
"...Advanced Annihilation Beasts... activity frequency increasing... coordinates... locked..."
"...Requesting awakening of the Gatekeeper... requesting... support..."
The information fragments were chaotic and urgent, as if the Dream Realm itself was trembling. Through the Etchings, Liu Qingtian could vaguely sense the edges of the Dream Realm, where Annihilation Beasts, like a black tide, were becoming more frenzied and violently assaulting the Barrier between the Dream Realm and other worlds. The aura emanating from some especially powerful individuals among them made his heart pound with dread.
Concurrently, through the Etchings of the Bone Abyss, the whispers of that Ancient Existence gained an unusual undertone. It was no longer Eternal silence, but mixed with a hint of... vigilance? Or even an extremely faint, offended anger? It was as if something was attempting to defile pure death, provoking the instinctive displeasure of the sleeping existence.
Even the Demon Abyss was beginning to stir, showing the severity of the external situation.
On this day, Lin Feng returned. His figure was more illusory than before, and the playful smile on his face was greatly diminished, replaced by an unprecedented solemnity.
"Fellow Villager, the situation is bad!" He said hurriedly the moment he appeared, not even bothering to ask for energy. "The Heavenly Knowledge System just completed a massive deduction at great energy cost—the final time point for the Star Track convergence has likely been Advanced by at least one-third! It will be ten years at most, possibly even shorter!"
"Ten years?" Liu Qingtian's tree soul sank. This amount of time was suffocatingly short for a Cultivator who often entered seclusion for centuries.
"Yes! Ten years!" Lin Feng's tone was urgent. "And that's not the worst part. The System detected that advance teams of Advanced Annihilation Beasts have successfully infiltrated the Sumeru Spirit Realm through temporary weak points! Their objective is clear—to find and destroy potential Gatekeeper Awakening Nodes, and... to search for star disk fragments!"
He glanced at Liu Qingtian and said solemnly, "Your location, with its unique energy signature and hidden fierce halberd, is practically a lighthouse in the dark night! It's only a matter of time before they come knocking! The Earth Spirit Sect has also been frequently restless lately. Their Sect Master Yue Shan seems to have caught wind of something and has begun frantically consolidating his power and reinforcing the Mountain Gate, likely intending to act like a shrinking turtle."
Liu Qingtian remained silent, digesting the terrible news. Ten years? Advanced Annihilation Beasts? Searching for star disk fragments?
"Where are the Gatekeeper Awakening Nodes?" he asked.
Lin Feng smiled bitterly and shook his head: "I don't know! The System database has a top-level gap regarding this part! They might be scattered throughout the Spirit Realm, hidden in a Secret Realm, or perhaps... located on some inconspicuous person or object. The Annihilation Beasts definitely have detection methods, otherwise, they wouldn't be infiltrating with such specific targets."
He paused, adding: "Furthermore, regarding the 'key'... the System has a new discovery. It doesn't seem to be a physical object, but rather a kind of... qualification, or authority. When the Star Track reaches a specific position, the person or object that meets specific conditions will automatically obtain the 'key,' thereby gaining the potential to access star disk fragments or... the means to awaken the Gatekeeper."
Qualification? Authority? Liu Qingtian was deep in thought.
"Fellow Villager, make plans soon!" Lin Feng warned. "The storm is truly coming! My frail body can't handle it; I need to quickly find a place to hide and upgrade the System. You... fend for yourself! If you manage to survive, business as usual!"
Having said that, he dared not linger, and his figure quickly faded and vanished, clearly afraid of being affected by the impending danger.
After Lin Feng left, Liu Qingtian fell into complete silence.
Ten years was too short. He had to use every means available to frantically increase his strength!
He controlled the main root extending deep into the Black Fiend Abyss, no longer content with drawing energy from the edges, but exploring deeper into the rift valley, where the Yin Fiend Death Qi was denser and the danger greater! He even actively lured the Yin Soldier Patrol Teams, turning them into nourishment!
At the same time, he took greater risks, attempting to capture more profound fragments of the Law of Death that leaked out when the Ancient Existence stirred through the Abyss Etchings, even if it meant enduring greater backlash risks.
The absorption of natural spirit essence from the Jade Dream Realm side was also maximized, balancing the rapidly increasing death origin.
His tree body visibly grew larger and more imposing. The Law Patterns on the main trunk almost seemed to come alive, the branches covered the sky and sun, and the Grotto-Heaven Vortices on the leaves slowly spun, devouring massive amounts of energy.
The scope of the Wither and Flourish Domain expanded once again; the wall of mist formed by the Qi of Life and Death grew thicker, and Space Wrinkles in the peripheral areas became more frequent and dangerous.
He even began attempting to integrate a trace of the 'Return to Void' intent into the Domain, making its lethality more bizarre and unpredictable.
Just as Liu Qingtian was undergoing his frantic preparations, the very thing he worried about finally happened.
On this day, through his underground roots, he sensed three cold, deathly silent auras, completely alien to the surrounding environment, stealthily bypassing most of the natural dangers outside the Domain using an extremely strange infiltration method, rapidly approaching his core area!
Their energy fluctuations were extremely restrained, yet they carried a nauseating quality that devoured all life force!
They were Annihilation Beasts! And definitely not the low-grade cannon fodder like the Black Fiend Abyss Yin Soldiers! Their energy levels had distinctly reached the standard of the Wutian Realm!
Their target was clear—the Demon Willow emanating vast vitality and Death Qi, and the purplish-black fierce halberd beside it, which instinctively repulsed and attracted them!
All of Liu Qingtian's branches instantly tensed; killing intent boiled within his tree soul.
They came so fast!
Good! I'll use you to test my current strength!
The Wither and Flourish Domain silently operated at its maximum, waiting for the prey to step into the final death trap.
The prelude to the storm had already begun.