Chapter 127 Turned to Ashes

That dazzling starlight hovered in the air, its glow gradually retracting, revealing its true form.

It was an object about the size of a thumb, irregularly shaped, like a fragment of some crystal. It was a deep, ever-changing dark blue, with a miniature galaxy seemingly sealed within it. Countless tiny points of light flickered into existence and vanished, emanating an indescribable vastness, ancientness, and a Law fluctuation that transcended the mundane.

This fluctuation was not unfamiliar to Nightmare; in fact, it was incredibly familiar!

The aura of a rule fragment!

Although extremely faint, far smaller than the main fragment in his own Sea of Consciousness, its intrinsic essence was exactly the same!

“Another rule fragment?!” Nightmare’s eyes burst with unprecedented brilliance, and a stormy wave surged in his heart!

He never imagined that deep within this Star Palace’s abandoned ore vein, within this trial jade wall, another rule fragment was hidden! Although it was just an insignificant small piece, its significance was immense!

rule fragments were the foundation for him to transcend this world and embark on the truly supreme Dao! The more he integrated, the greater the qualitative leap his potential, strength, and comprehension of the Heavenly Dao would undergo!

He suppressed the excitement in his heart and carefully held the tiny rule fragment in his palm. The fragment felt cold to the touch, yet it resonated strongly with the main fragment in his Sea of Consciousness, emitting a faint hum.

Without needing to refine it, this small fragment transformed into a stream of light, actively merging into his glabella, directly entering his Sea of Consciousness, and slowly approaching and rotating with his original rule fragment. Like twin stars, they echoed each other, and the Dao charm of the Law they emitted instantly became more than twice as Rich.

【Detected a homologous rule fragment (tiny)... Initiating automatic Fusion... Fusing...】

【rule fragment Fusion degree increased: 8.7% → 9.8%!】

【Host’s affinity for Star Law greatly increased... All Divine Ability power increased... Cultivation Bottleneck loosened...】

The System’s prompts sounded one after another, confirming this immense harvest!

Nightmare closed his eyes and felt his Divine Soul clear. His perception of the Laws of Heaven and Earth, especially the Star Law, reached a new height. Many previously obscure and difficult-to-understand points suddenly became clear. The barrier between Mid-stage Soul Transformation and Late Stage seemed to have thinned considerably!

“I didn’t expect such an Opportunity!” Nightmare slowly opened his eyes, his gaze brimming with divine light. The value of this unexpectedly obtained rule fragment far exceeded ten Star ore veins!

He looked at the jade wall again. Its light had completely dimmed, and the Dao patterns on its surface had lost their divine charm, as if all its essence had condensed into that fragment. The three Star Palace Seniors who had passed away here had probably exhausted their life’s efforts but failed to activate the deepest mysteries of this jade wall, ultimately dying with regret.

“The Star Road is broken, the path of the heart is unfathomable... So the true ‘True Self’ is hidden here.” Nightmare seemed to have an epiphany. This jade wall was both a trial and a test and Legacy. Fail, and one would perish. Pass, and one would obtain this heaven-shaking Opportunity.

He nodded slightly at the three skeletons, acknowledging this Karma, then flicked out a wisp of demonic flame, turning their remains to ash and burying them beneath the passage.

After doing all this, he did not leave immediately. The Power of the Stars here was still rich, and he had just fused the rule fragment, requiring time to stabilize his comprehension.

He sat cross-legged and once again immersed his mind in Cultivation.

Time slowly passed.

After an unknown period, Nightmare’s fluctuating aura gradually calmed, becoming more profound and restrained. He slowly opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing across them.

His Mid-stage Soul Transformation Realm was completely stable, and he had even taken a big step towards the peak of the Middle Stage. The benefits brought by the rule fragment Fusion were comprehensive and continuous.

He stood up, his gaze once again cast towards the depths of the passage. According to Xuan Ji, the end of this passage should connect to that abandoned ancient Star Road.

He continued forward and, at the very bottom of the passage, indeed found an even larger stone gate, also sealed by runes. Spatial fluctuations were clearly visible on the stone gate.

Nightmare followed suit, using the Power of the Law to unseal it.

Rumble... The heavy stone gate slowly slid open to both sides.

Behind the door was not a dark tunnel, but a twisted, swirling silver light curtain, like rippling water! Beyond the light curtain, an ancient path paved with starlight, winding into the depths of nothingness, was faintly visible!

Dense, stable spatial power emanated from the light curtain!

“The Star Road!” Nightmare’s eyes narrowed. Although this Star Road looked extremely ancient, and its energy was far less powerful than the teleportation Formation in the Starfall Secret Realm, its structure seemed relatively complete!

“System, scan the Star Road’s status, evaluate its stability and reachable range.”

【Scanning... Star Road energy level is low, structural integrity 71%, multiple aging nodes exist... Spatial coordinates are vague, pointing to three possible directions...】

【Direction A: Energy reaction is weak, suspected to lead to an unknown area deeper within the Ancient Ruins, extremely high risk.】

【Direction B: Energy reaction is chaotic, coordinates are extremely unstable, possibly leading to Spatial Turbulence or unknown dangerous lands, extremely high risk.】

【Direction C: Energy reaction is relatively stable, coordinates point to... suspected weak point in space somewhere in the Northern Region? Distance unknown, risk rating: Medium.】

“Northern Region?” Nightmare’s heart stirred. This was an unexpected discovery. Could this Star Road actually connect directly to the Northern Region?

If so, wouldn’t it provide him with a shortcut to leave the Ancient Ruins and return to the Northern Region? Perhaps even a secret, unknown passage?

Although the risk rating was “Medium,” this Star Road was clearly much safer than blindly wandering through the Ancient Ruins or forcing his way into the core forbidden zone.

He carefully noted down the coordinate information and Star Road structure for Direction C, but did not activate it immediately. The Star Road was old and in disrepair, requiring more thorough preparation before attempting passage.

“It’s time to go back.” Nightmare had made up his mind. This trip to the Ancient Ruins had yielded far more than expected. Not only had he obtained a large number of star cores and increased his strength, but he had also acquired a second rule fragment and Star Road coordinates that might lead to the Northern Region.

It was time to return to Ye Yan Palace, digest his gains, and prepare for his next actions.

He turned and returned along the original path.

As he passed the crevice where Xuan Ji was hidden, his Divine Sense swept over it and found that Xuan Ji’s aura was much stronger than before, clearly recovering rapidly, but she was still in deep meditation.

Nightmare did not disturb her. After leaving a hidden Divine Thought mark, he quietly left the star core area and fled towards the secluded teleportation point he had come from.

The journey was uneventful. After avoiding several newly formed energy vortexes, he returned to the small teleportation Formation hidden in the mountain crevice.

After inspecting it and confirming the Formation was intact, Nightmare took out several Star Spirit Stones and embedded them into the energy slots, then cast a spell.

Buzz... The Formation lit up with a soft glow, and spatial power began to converge.

Nightmare stepped into the light array.

The light flashed fiercely, and his figure instantly disappeared from this desolate and dangerous Ancient Ruins world... The next moment, Nightmare’s figure appeared on the teleportation Formation in that barren valley in the Northern Region.

The familiar, slightly chilling Spiritual Qi of the Northern Region assailed him.

Nightmare’s Divine Sense instantly spread out, covering tens of thousands of miles, and quickly locked onto the direction of Profound Yin Ravine. Everything was as usual; Ye Yan Palace was operating smoothly, but there seemed to be more prying Divine Senses around.

He snorted coldly, ignoring them, and his figure transformed into a faint stream of light, silently speeding towards Ye Yan Palace.

Upon his return, his strength was no longer what it used to be.

It was also time for the Northern Region to truly realize who was the master of this land.

Perhaps it was time to clean up some of those petty clowns.