Star Core Essence, Void Remnant

The devastating fluctuations brought by the giant palm gradually subsided, but the energy turbulence in the Ancient Ruins was still several times more violent than before. Nightmare focused his mind and proceeded even more cautiously toward the mine marked by the System.

Along the way, he saw devastation everywhere. Many star remnants had been completely shattered by the aftershock, turning into finer Debris Belts, mixed with Mineral Crystals flashing various colors. These were clearly exposed from the depths of the star remains due to the giant palm's disturbance.

Nightmare casually collected several pieces of decent quality Star Iron and Void Crystals, but he did not linger. His goal was the stable, high-energy source.

After advancing for roughly the time it takes for an incense stick to burn and passing through a dense Rubble Belt, the scene before him suddenly opened up.

He saw an enormous, relatively intact Dark Blue star core Fragment quietly suspended in the Void Realm. Its volume was comparable to a mountain range, and its surface was covered with jagged edges and impact marks, yet it emitted pure and majestic Power of the Stars, forming a soft halo that repelled the surrounding chaotic energy.

Surrounding this massive core fragment were many smaller, similar pieces floating, encircling it like stars surrounding the moon. A mysterious connection seemed to exist between them, forming a relatively stable Energy Field.

"It really is a star core that hasn't completely dissipated! And the quality is extremely high!" Joy appeared in Nightmare's eyes. A star core this massive and with its energy relatively well-preserved was invaluable; whether used for Cultivation, Artifact Refining, or as an energy source, it was a Peerless Treasure!

He observed carefully and found obvious Artificial Excavation Marks on the surface of the largest core piece. It seemed someone had discovered this place long ago and begun preliminary mining, but for some unknown reason, they had stopped.

"System, scan the Mine Structure, evaluate the difficulty and risk of mining, and find the Optimal Extraction Point."

[Scanning... The star core structure is stable, energy is contained internally. Forcible attack and extraction may trigger an Energy Detonation... Three Natural Energy Fissures have been found, which can serve as safe extraction entrances... Calculating Optimal Solution...]

Just as the System was performing the scan and calculation, Nightmare's powerful Divine Sense suddenly captured an extremely faint energy fluctuation emanating from deep within a fissure in the largest star core!

This fluctuation... wasn't pure star energy; instead, it carried a trace of... the Breath of Life? Moreover, this aura seemed to originate from the same source as the Faint Life Signal the System detected when he first entered the Ancient Ruins!

"Hmm?" Nightmare's gaze sharpened, and he instantly became vigilant. Could there truly be Living Beings in these silent and desolate Ancient Ruins?

He silently approached the fissure, his Divine Sense slowly probing inward like a tentacle.

The fissure was extremely deep and winding. After probing about a thousand zhang deep, the interior suddenly opened up, revealing a simple yet stable Stone Chamber that had been artificially carved out!

Inside the Stone Chamber, a small Concealment Formation and a Spirit Gathering Formation were set up. It was the Spirit Gathering Formation that was faintly drawing energy from the star core to maintain its operation. In the center of the Formation, a figure was curled up, their aura extremely weak, like a Flickering Candle in the Wind.

It was a woman, wearing ancient clothing that was already tattered and covered in Star Dust, similar in style to the Star Palace Ruins. Her face was pale and haggard, yet her original beautiful features could still be discerned, and her long hair was scattered like withered grass. Most striking was the pair of small, crystal clear Jade Horns on her forehead, which were currently dim and lusterless.

She seemed to have fallen into a deep slumber or a state of Self-Seal to resist the erosion of long years and the harsh environment.

"This is... a Star Palace Survivor?" Nightmare was astonished. He hadn't expected to encounter a living Cultivator, possibly from the ancient Star Palace, in this desperate land!

Judging by her condition, she had probably been in a sealed slumber here for countless millennia, relying entirely on the energy of the star core and the Formation to sustain a Thread of Life, but she was already On the Verge of Exhaustion.

Nightmare carefully observed the Concealment Formation and the small Spirit Gathering Formation. The technique was quite advanced; although the energy was weak, it was still operating tenaciously, showing that the woman had considerable attainment in the Dao of Formations.

He pondered for a moment and did not immediately wake or disturb her. Instead, he withdrew from the fissure and began collecting the smaller star core fragments from the periphery, following the solution provided by the System.

He held his fingers together like a knife, the Power of Rules swirling around his fingertips. He precisely cut into the Energy Fissure Nodes marked by the System, carefully extracting core fragments the size of a fist, which contained pure Power of the Stars, and stored them in his Storage Ring. The process was very smooth and did not trigger any energy loss of control.

Soon, he had collected a sufficient quantity of star cores, enough to advance his Cultivation further and significantly increase the Refinement Degree of his star source core.

After completing all this, he once again cast his gaze toward the fissure where the Star Palace Survivor Girl was hidden.

To save, or not to save?

Saving her might yield valuable information about the Star Palace and the Fallen Star Ancient Ruins, but it could also bring unforeseen risks and trouble.

Not saving her meant the Karma associated with this place would be limited solely to resource acquisition, which was simpler and more direct.

Nightmare only pondered for a few breaths before making a decision.

He raised his hand and struck out a stream of pure Demonic Essence, integrating it into the small Spirit Gathering Formation. At the same time, he forced out a drop of his Natal essence blood, containing vast vitality and the Aura of Rules, from his fingertip and flicked it into the woman's chapped lips.

The essence blood melted upon entry, and vast energy instantly surged into the woman's nearly depleted body. The Spirit Gathering Formation, bolstered by Nightmare's Demonic Essence, suddenly lit up, drawing the star core's energy even more frantically and pouring it into the woman's body.

"Mmm..."

An extremely faint groan, tinged with pain, escaped the woman's throat. Her long eyelashes trembled a few times, and with immense difficulty, she slowly opened her eyes.

They were extremely beautiful Eyes like Purple Stars, but at this moment, they were filled with confusion, weakness, and deep exhaustion.

Her gaze was unfocused for a moment before finally locking onto the Black-Robed Person standing at the entrance of the Stone Chamber.

Vigilance, fear, confusion... various emotions flashed quickly through her eyes. She subconsciously tried to struggle to her feet but was too weak to even lift a finger.

"Who... who are you..." Her voice was hoarse and dry, like two pieces of sandpaper rubbing together, so faint it was almost inaudible.

Nightmare looked at her calmly and said mildly, "A passerby. You have been in slumber here for a long time. Had I not arrived by chance, you would not have had much time left."

Hearing this, a flash of realization crossed her purple eyes, followed by deep sorrow and despair. She seemed to recall something, her lips trembling slightly, eventually turning into a silent sigh.

"Thank... thank you... Fellow Daoist... for saving me..." she said with difficulty. The vigilance in her eyes had not completely disappeared, but the hostility had greatly lessened. Anyone who could appear here, easily reinforce her Formation, and inject such pure vitality into her was extraordinary, making resistance meaningless.

"Are you from the Star Palace?" Nightmare asked directly.

The woman's body trembled slightly, and surprise appeared in her eyes. After carefully examining Nightmare for a moment, she slowly nodded: "This Humble One... is Xuan Ji, a Disciple of the Star Palace Yaoguang Lineage... Thank you, Fellow Daoist... for saving my life..."

Her aura was still very weak, and her speech was intermittent.

"Star Palace Yaoguang Lineage... Xuan Ji..." Nightmare noted the name and continued to ask, "What happened here? Why did the Star Palace perish? Why are you sleeping here alone?"

Hearing these questions, immense fear and pain surfaced in Xuan Ji's eyes, as if she were recalling extremely terrifying scenes, and her body began to tremble slightly.

"Disaster... an indescribable... disaster..." Her voice trembled. "Outer Heaven Evil Entities... descended... Stars fell... The Palace Lord... the Elders... all... died... died..."

Her emotions became agitated, her breathing quickened, and her face grew even paler.

"I was... the Mine Steward... ordered to guard this place... When the disaster came... I was lucky enough... to Seal myself... using the core energy and the Formation... to escape the catastrophe... but I... exhausted everything... and could only fall into slumber..."

Her fragmented words painted a tragic picture of an ancient Sect suffering a Catastrophe of Annihilation.

Outer Heaven Evil Entities? Nightmare's gaze narrowed slightly. This reminded him of the information about "Encountering Unknown Attacks" he had seen in the Star Dust Mortal's Jade Slip.

"Do you know where the Core Area of the 'Fallen Star Ancient Ruins' is? What is the situation there?" Nightmare changed the question.

Xuan Ji's fear intensified, and she shook her head violently: "No... you can't go... the core... is a Forbidden Zone... the Evil Entities... are densest there... and there is also... a terrifying... Guardian Behemoth... Just now... the tremor just now... was it... waking up..."

Guardian Behemoth? Was she referring to that terrifying giant palm?

Thoughts raced through Nightmare's mind. It seemed the Core Area of these Ancient Ruins was a hundred times more dangerous than the periphery.

He asked a few more questions about Star Palace Cultivation Techniques and the distribution of the ruins, but Xuan Ji's knowledge was limited. She was just an ordinary Steward of the Yaoguang Lineage, responsible for guarding the mine, and did not know much about the Star Palace's Core Secrets. Furthermore, having slept for too long, many of her memories were blurred.

However, she still provided a valuable piece of information: deep within this Mining Area, there seemed to be an abandoned ancient Star Road, which might lead to other relatively safe areas of the Ancient Ruins. It was a passage used by Star Palace Disciples to travel to and from the mines, but she didn't know if it was still usable now.

After getting the information he wanted, Nightmare looked at the extremely weak Xuan Ji, flicked his finger, and sent another stream of pure energy into her body to stabilize her injuries.

"Rest well here and recover quickly. Perhaps in the future, This Sovereign will have a use for you."

Having said this, he disappeared outside the fissure without waiting for Xuan Ji's response.

Saving this woman planted a chess piece that might have unexpected uses in the future. As for now, he needed to first explore that abandoned Star Road.

Inside the Stone Chamber, Xuan Ji looked in the direction where Nightmare had disappeared. Her purple eyes were filled with complex emotions: the Relief of Surviving a Catastrophe, fear of the unknown, and a trace of deep confusion.

This mysterious Black-Robed Person who saved her life had unfathomable strength and an exceptionally strange aura, definitely not of the Righteous Path, yet he seemed different from the Outer Heaven Evil Entities that destroyed the Star Palace.

Who... exactly was he?

What would her future fate be?

She slowly closed her eyes, fully absorbing the energy and restoring her withered Physical Body and Divine Soul. Regardless of the future, recovering her strength was the most important thing right now.

Following the vague directions provided by Xuan Ji, Nightmare quickly found an Ancient Passage on the back of the star core fragment, blocked by massive rocks and almost fused with the cliff face.

The entrance to the passage was inscribed with Star Palace Runes that had long since faded.

An abandoned Star Road lay right before him.