The Secrets of the Star Palace, the Scheme of Heaven's Way

The side hall was small, appearing to be a place where the Lord of the Stars once meditated or stored treasures. Now it was empty, with only a few toppled star stone sculptures and scattered dust. On the innermost wall of the side hall, there was a highly concealed secret compartment that would be impossible to discover without a profound connection to the Power of the Stars.

Nightmare had not deliberately searched for this secret compartment; rather, after he had achieved Fusion with the star dao fruit and his sensory powers surged, he had naturally "seen" it. Residual will, more obscure yet originating from the same source as the star dao fruit, lingered around the secret compartment, as if calling out to a successor.

Time was tight, and the suppression of the Heavenly Dao hung over him like a sword. Yet, as if guided by a ghostly force, Nightmare stopped in front of the secret compartment. Intuition told him that whatever was inside might be more important than any Magic Treasure or Medicinal Pill.

He raised his hand, his fingertips wreathed in pure Demonic Star Flame, and lightly tapped a slightly recessed star pattern in the center of the secret compartment. The aura of his Origin Demonic Star dao seed was injected into it.

Click. With a soft sound, the secret compartment slid open silently, revealing a silver book inside that was neither silk nor metal, thin as a cicada's wing, yet emanating an aura of eternal immortality. The surface of the book flowed with starlight, and four large characters were written on the cover in ancient Dao script: "Star Fall Notes".

The notes of the Lord of the Stars! Nightmare took it out without hesitation. The notes felt warm and smooth to the touch, pulsing slightly as if alive. He had no time to read carefully, so he directly split off a wisp of his Divine Sense and probed it crudely, performing a rapid extraction of information.

In an instant, a vast torrent of information, accompanied by the strong, lingering emotions of the Lord of the Stars, rushed into his Sea of Consciousness.

"...Heavenly Dao... What is Heaven? What is Dao?..."

"...We were born here, grew here, and attained enlightenment here. What we sought was nothing more than transcendence, nothing more than freedom, nothing more than exploring whether there was another world beyond this one..."

"...However, from the moment we touched the Origin of the 'Laws' and attempted to peer beyond the 'boundaries', 'It' appeared... Formless and intangible, yet omnipresent, maintaining the established 'order' of this world... We call it the 'Heavenly Dao'..."

"...At first, we thought the Heavenly Dao was the foundation of all things and held it in awe. However, as time passed and we attempted Breakthroughs... we discovered that the Heavenly Dao is not a foundation, but a cage! It does not allow any existence to surpass its set 'upper limit', nor does it allow any will to deviate from its planned 'trajectory'..."

"...Cultivators go against the Heavens, which is inherently a process of seeking life within death and breaking before establishing. Yet, the Heavenly Dao views 'Heaven-Defying' as the greatest sin! It labels all Cultivators who attempt to break the boundaries as 'heretics' or 'variables', and treats them as tumors that must be removed..."

The information in the notes, from the perspective of the Lord of the Stars, revealed to Nightmare the tip of the iceberg of that unknown ancient war between Cultivators and "Heaven", filled with sorrow, anger, and unwillingness.

"...In order to more efficiently 'cleanse' heretics and maintain its so-called 'pure order', the Heavenly Dao began to implement the 'son of destiny' program..." Seeing this, Nightmare's Divine Sense jolted violently!

"...Every once in a while (the notes vaguely mention it, seemingly related to the cycle of the Great Calamity of Heaven and Earth), the Heavenly Dao selects an individual from the masses whose Aptitude, Heart-Nature, and even fate are most consistent with its 'order template', and bestows upon them thick 'Luck' of destiny... This child's life is filled with Opportunity, turning misfortune into good fortune. While it seems infinitely glorious, in reality, they are the sharpest knife and the most loyal hunting dog in the hands of the Heavenly Dao..."

"...The mission of the son of destiny is, under the faint guidance of the Heavenly Dao, to gather the power of the 'Righteous Path', to seek out, suppress, and even eliminate those Cultivators who might grow into 'heretics', especially... those who have obtained the Legacy of ancient Heaven-Defying individuals! The meaning of their existence is to set off the 'correctness' of the Heavenly Dao and maintain the stability of its rule..."

"...I, the Lord of the Stars, held the authority over the stars of the heavens and attempted to break the barriers of the Void Realm with the Power of the Stars. I was then listed as a 'Grade A Heretic' by the Heavenly Dao, which sent down endless heavenly punishments and incited the siege of ten thousand worlds... In the end, my Dao perished here... My subordinates also had their blood stain the starry sky, burying their bones in this abyss..."

"...However, the Heavenly Dao does not cease, and the Legacy does not perish. Latecomer, if you can see these notes and achieve Fusion with my dao fruit, you already know your situation—you have been marked by the Heavenly Dao as a 'source of chaos that must be eliminated', with a priority even higher than the current son of destiny! Because you have inherited the mantle of us 'old-era chaos-bringers'..."

The information in the notes continued to flow, and one blurry image made Nightmare's Divine Sense freeze instantly, as if struck by lightning! It was not the memory of the Lord of the Stars, but a scene from the final era recorded in the notes, some kind of cross-temporal peeping or deduction: a young Cultivator with mediocre Aptitude and a slightly cowardly personality, originally cultivating ordinarily in a small Sect. However, an "accidental" conflict, a "coincidental" opening of a Secret Realm, a "destined" heroic rescue... His fate was pulled and woven by invisible threads; his Sect was destroyed, his relatives and friends died miserably, he himself suffered endless humiliation, and finally, he blew himself up in despair... And all this "plot" seemed to be for the purpose of setting off the justice and greatness of another rising, brilliant "son of destiny"! Nightmare was intimately familiar with the young Cultivator's desperate and twisted face—it was his own previous life!

At the end of the notes, the will of the Lord of the Stars issued a heavy sigh and a warning: "...I do not know how the future will be, but according to the deduction of my lingering will, the 'script' for the son of destiny has long been written. Everything from your previous life may not have been entirely coincidental; perhaps... it was also one of the 'stepping stones' set by the Heavenly Dao to set off the current son of destiny..."

"...Latecomer, since you have inherited my will, you must know: there is no turning back on the road ahead! Either break these shackles of the Heavenly Dao, end this repetitive 'destiny' play, and fight for true freedom and transcendence for all Cultivators in the world, as well as for yourself! Or... like us, like your previous life, become dust under the order of the Heavenly Dao, becoming the... withered bone stepping stone for the new son of destiny to reach the pinnacle!"

Boom! Nightmare's Divine Sense withdrew from the notes and returned to reality. His expression was terrifyingly gloomy, his chest heaved violently, and his fists were clenched so tightly that his nails dug deep into his palms, bleeding without him even noticing. It was not because of fear, but because of towering rage and bone-chilling cold!

So that was it! So that was it! The destruction of the Xuantian Sect in his previous life, his own path of Dao being severed, and dying by self-detonation after suffering endless humiliation... All that heart-wrenching pain, all that unwillingness and resentment, could it actually be just a play orchestrated by the Heavenly Dao for "plot needs"?! Was he, along with his entire Sect, just a sacrifice used to shape the glorious image of Lin Hao, this "son of destiny"?!

"Heavenly Dao... What a Heavenly Dao!" Nightmare's voice was hoarse, like a ghoul crawling out of Hell growling, the blood color and starlight in his eyes intertwining madly, and the Demonic Star Flame uncontrollably spewing out from every pore of his body, illuminating the side hall in a dark gloom, "Viewing all living beings as dolls, manipulating fate, orchestrating life and death... just to maintain your ridiculous 'order'?!"

"Lin Hao... son of destiny... Hahaha!" He let out a shrill and crazy laugh, "What a puppet of the Heavenly Dao! What a spokesperson for order!"

At this moment, his hatred for the Heavenly Dao exceeded the sum of his previous and current lives, reaching an unprecedented peak! This hatred no longer stemmed solely from personal grievances, but from a complete negation of and rebellion against this cold "order" that treated all things as chess pieces!

[Ding! Host has read the "Star Fall Notes" and gained insight into some ancient secrets and the essence of the 'son of destiny' program!]

[Worldview cognition significantly updated! Understanding of the essence of the 'Heavenly Dao' deepened!]

[Main quest forcibly updated!]

[New main quest released: Chaos in the Firmament · Final Chapter!]

[Quest objective: Break the shackles of the Heavenly Dao, end the 'son of destiny' program, and establish a new order (or achieve transcendence).]

[Quest hint: This is an ultimate long-term quest. Current stage objectives: 1. Thoroughly defeat the current son of destiny, Lin Hao, and plunder all of his Luck of destiny. 2. Resist the subsequent suppression and liquidation of the Heavenly Dao. 3. Accumulate strength and explore methods to oppose/transcend the Heavenly Dao.]

[Warning: This quest is in direct opposition to the Heavenly Dao, and the level of danger exceeds the sum of all previous quests!]

The System's prompts were cold and objective, yet they accurately reflected his current situation and determination.

Nightmare took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the rage and hatred that were about to overwhelm his reason. Now was not the time to completely lose control. He carefully tucked the "Star Fall Notes" into his bosom (the material of this object was special and does not fear the Demonic Star Flame); this was not only a relic of the Lord of the Stars, but also ironclad evidence exposing the essence of the Heavenly Dao, which might have other uses in the future.

Just as he finished putting away the notes and prepared to leave immediately, through his fully awakened Origin Demonic Star dao seed, he clearly sensed an indescribable, terrifying will that was above all things and filled with the meaning of "purification" and "erasure", which had completely locked onto this area! It had locked onto the eternal remnant world! It had locked onto... him!

In the sky (although they were deep underground in the remnant world, this sensation was directed at the level of the Laws), it was as if an invisible giant hand was stirring the clouds and winds, and unimaginable energy was gathering above the Nine Heavens, aimed directly at the Bone Burial Abyss! That was the true rage and will to kill descended by the Heavenly Dao after sensing that the dao fruit had been stolen, an important chess piece (Lin Hao) had been severely wounded, and the source of chaos (Nightmare) had completely taken shape!

The pressure was so strong that even Nightmare, a newly promoted Late-Stage Transformation Spirit, felt his Soul tremble and his breathing become difficult! It was as if the entire world was repelling him, wanting to completely "erase" him from this world!

"Heavenly Dao suppression... it really came!" Nightmare's expression changed; it was faster and fiercer than he had expected!

He no longer hesitated, his eyes fixed on the place at the end of the side hall where the spatial fluctuations were most intense—there, a faint, distorted silver light gate was vaguely forming, which seemed to be an emergency teleportation channel left behind by the Lord of the Stars, activated by the energy of the Demonic Star Flame and the aura of the star dao fruit.

"Go!" Nightmare turned into a stream of light and shot toward the silver light gate. At the last moment before stepping into the light gate, he looked back and took a deep look at the collapsing and burning ruins of the Star Hall behind him, as well as the terrifying Heavenly Dao pressure that was invisibly getting closer and closer, as if the sky were collapsing and the earth were sinking.

In his eyes, there was no longer any confusion or Luck, only steel-like determination and bone-chilling killing intent.

"Heavenly Dao... Lin Hao... our accounts have only just begun to be settled!"

The dark shadow of the stars submerged into the silver light gate and disappeared. The next moment, the light gate flickered violently, then collapsed and dissipated.

Almost at the same time, an indescribable pure white radiance, which seemed to represent "absolute correctness" and "ultimate erasure", ignored all spatial barriers, descended from an unknown place, and quietly shrouded the entire area where the Bone Burial Abyss was located...