87: Counterattack from the brink of defeat, stellar core mutation

Cracks spread across the dark red crystal, and the connected dark red light beams twisted and flickered violently, like the wailing of a dying behemoth. The energy flow of the entire Star Guiding Grand Array instantly fell into chaos, with some Formation patterns flickering uncertainly or even beginning to disintegrate and backlash! The massive energy vortex in the sky also became unstable, its rotation speed fluctuating, emitting a violent and ominous aura.

"Junior! You're looking for death!!!" Ghost Star Elder's eyes nearly split open, his withered face contorted in rage. He had planned for years, consuming countless resources and effort to set up the Star Guiding Grand Array here, and was on the verge of channeling the power of the Star Ruins Secret Realm to seize the true star source core, only to have it ruined at the last moment by a brat who had just entered the Divine Power Realm! This was not just a failure; it was a supreme humiliation!

The terrifying pressure of a Half-step Saint Realm was no longer held back, crashing down like a tangible mountain of ten thousand ice blades! The space around the altar seemed to freeze and solidify, and even the violent, chaotic Power of the Stars was forcibly suppressed! Ghost Star Elder's withered body slowly stood up, and with every step he took, a scorched mark emitting black smoke was left on the ground. The phantom of the myriad ghost banner behind him completely solidified, its surface flapping loudly as countless distorted, pained ghostly faces emitted silent shrieks. Ghostly Qi, so dense it was inseparable, swept toward Lin Fan and Blazing Fierce like a tsunami!

"Brother Lin, be careful!" Blazing Fierce's face was pale. The withering of his left arm had already spread to his shoulder, and the erosion of Death Qi had left his aura withered, but he still gritted his teeth and stood in front of Lin Fan, circulating his remaining fire spiritual power in an attempt to resist that overwhelming ghostly Qi.

Lin Fan was also in a terrible state. Death spots were spreading on his right arm, and the power of the cold erosion was constantly attacking his heart meridians; forcibly activating the star pagoda and the black key had exhausted most of his spiritual power and Divine Soul energy, causing waves of stinging pain in his Sea of Consciousness. Facing the full pressure and attack of the enraged Ghost Star Elder, he felt breathing become difficult, as if he had fallen into a boundless ghost Domain, surrounded on all sides by life-seeking vengeful spirits.

But his eyes remained sharp as a knife. Instead of retreating, he took a step forward against that overwhelming ghostly Qi!

With this step, the star pagoda within his body seemed to sense its master's resolute will, emitting a hum that refused to be suppressed by evil! Although the pagoda's light was dim, it still flowed stubbornly. Strands of pure Power of the Star Origin surged out, mixing with the golden blood of the Eternal Indestructible Body to frantically fight and annihilate the Death Qi invading his body.

At the same time, he struggled to lift his left hand and grasped the black key, which was dim and nearly shattered from the previous strike. As the key touched his palm, a weak but exceptionally resilient resonance was transmitted—it was a resonance with the true star source core in the deepest part of the Remnant Realm!

"So what if you're in the Half-step Saint Realm?" Lin Fan's mouth overflowed with blood, his voice hoarse yet carrying an Unyielding pride. "You want to channel the Star Ruins and seize the star source core? Have you asked me?"

He suddenly pressed the black key against his forehead! It wasn't physical contact; instead, using his own Divine Soul and the star pagoda as a medium, he briefly "embedded" the key, which was suspected to share the same Origin as the star source core, into his Sea of Consciousness!

Buzz! As the key entered his Sea of Consciousness, it was like a spark splashing into a pot of oil! Lin Fan felt his entire Divine Soul shake violently, and the scene before his eyes changed instantly! It was no longer the ghostly altar, but a vast, boundless, yet fragmented starry sky that he "saw"! Countless star remains floated within it, and a dark gold sphere as massive as a sun but emitting a cold, deathly aura hung quietly in the deepest part of the starry sky, entwined by countless broken chains of Law. That was the true star source core, the broken heart of the Thousand Star Remnant Realm!

At the same time, the resonance generated between the key, his Sea of Consciousness, and the star pagoda was transmitted to that dark gold star source core through some profound and mysterious way!

The star source core trembled slightly. Although it was only an extremely subtle tremor, this fragmented cave-heaven supported by its power produced a chain reaction!

Meteorite Mountain began to vibrate violently! It wasn't an earthquake, but the entire mountain body—those piles of star remains seemed to be moved by an invisible force, and the residual Power of the Stars within them began to spiral out of control and run wild!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Countless burning, freezing, poisonous, or radioactive star fragments burst forth from all parts of the mountain! Some exploded into a rain of fire across the sky, some turned into sharp ice crystal storms, and some released torrents of corrosive energy! These out-of-control powers attacked everything within range indiscriminately—the Nether Pavilion's Formation, the Nether Pavilion's Disciples, and even... Ghost Star Elder himself!

The entire foot of Meteorite Mountain instantly turned into a deathly purgatory of rampaging Power of the Stars!

"What?! A star source riot?! This is impossible!" Ghost Star Elder was both shocked and enraged. He felt his control over the Formation and the surrounding energy rapidly slipping away! Those rampaging star powers even began to push back and erode his ghostly Qi Domain! The myriad ghost banner shook, and countless fierce ghosts were torn apart and purified in the star storm!

He was forced to divert a portion of his power to resist this sudden "backlash" from the Remnant Realm itself!

And in that chaotic moment of heaven and earth changing color and energy rampaging, "Now is the time! Brother Ye! Brother Yan! Fellow Daoists! Strike with all your might and break the Formation!" Lin Fan roared hoarsely, enduring the tearing pain in his Sea of Consciousness caused by the forced "embedding" of the key, pouring his last bit of strength into his voice!

In the distance, Ye Lingyun, who was struggling with the eight Starfall War Puppets, saw the sword light in his eyes surge!

"Azure Lotus Sword Song!" The longsword in his hand hummed, and man and sword seemed to merge into one, transforming into a blue sword lotus that slowly bloomed but contained endless destructive Sword Intent! The sword lotus rotated, and petals flew, each one a sharp and peerless Sword Qi! The eight incredibly sturdy Starfall War Puppets were pierced, sliced, and finally disintegrated into a pile of broken bones under this extremely brilliant and dangerous sword lotus!

Having broken free from the war puppets, Ye Lingyun's sword momentum did not stop. He moved with the sword, turning into a blue sword rainbow that tore through the sky, stabbing directly at another key node of the Formation—the stone pillar of the array eye that supported the dark red light beam!

Blazing Fierce also roared, ignoring his withered left arm, and burned all his remaining fire spiritual power along with his natal essence blood, transforming into a red-gold fireball about a zhang in diameter, like a small sun, crashing into another part of the foundation!

Bright Wisdom sat cross-legged in the distance, chanting the Diamond Sutra. Buddha light condensed into a giant golden Buddhist palm, carrying the mighty power to suppress all evil, and struck toward the phantom of the myriad ghost banner where ghostly Qi was churning, trying to interfere with Ghost Star Elder!

Blue Tide manipulated Mysterious Water, transforming it into countless tough and cold water chains that wrapped around the elite Nether Pavilion Disciples who were trying to stabilize the Formation, obstructing their movements.

Two Loose Cultivators skilled in Formations seized the Opportunity provided by the array's disorder and the star riot to precisely throw pre-prepared array-breaking Talismans and interfering Magical Artifacts into several fragile nodes of the Formation patterns!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! A series of explosions and energy impacts erupted across the Star Guiding Grand Array! Already disordered due to the damage to the core imitation, the Formation finally began a full-scale collapse under the multiple blows of the internal and external attacks and the star riot!

One by one, the stone pillars of the array eyes snapped, the Formation patterns went dark, and the dark red light beams completely twisted, broke, and finally vanished! The massive energy vortex in the sky, having lost its guiding force, began to collapse and explode in a chaotic manner, releasing destructive energy turbulence that swallowed and annihilated large areas of nearby starry sky fragments!

"No!! My Formation! My star source core!!!" Ghost Star Elder let out a desperate and frantic roar. He watched as his years of hard work were ruined in an instant, and even felt that the true star source core seemed to be triggered by some force and was undergoing unpredictable changes! He was mad with hatred, his eyes locking onto the culprit, Lin Fan. Ignoring the rampaging Power of the Stars and the backlash of the collapsing Formation, he was prepared to be injured just to completely tear Lin Fan apart and perform Soul Refining on him!

However, at the moment he prepared to pounce on Lin Fan regardless of the cost, "Ghost Star old ghost! Within the Remnant Realm, how can you be allowed to act so presumptuously!" A cold and noble female voice, carrying a brilliant heavenly majesty, resounded across the battlefield like a Phoenix cry from the Nine Heavens!

Immediately after, a dazzling golden sword light, seemingly condensed from pure Imperial Dragon Qi, streaked across the horizon! Within the sword light, a peerless figure wearing a phoenix crown was vaguely visible—it was the Grand Princess of the Great Xia Dynasty, Xia Qingyue!

Behind her were several figures with powerful auras, all enshrined experts and elite Imperial Guards of the Great Xia Dynasty. Among them, a figure in golden robes had an especially terrifying aura—it was Prince Hongyi, King Xia, who had previously assisted them! They had clearly been drawn by the violent anomaly of the Remnant Realm's core and the aura of the Nether Pavilion's Formation, arriving just in time!

Xia Qingyue's phoenix eyes were filled with frost. She raised her jade hand, and an Imperial Sword Qi, more refined and majestic than before, slashed down at Ghost Star Elder like a blade of heavenly punishment!

King Xia let out a cold snort and threw a punch from a distance! Before the punch reached him, the Imperial Fist Intent that dominated heaven and earth and judged life and death had already shaken Ghost Star Elder's mind!

With the Remnant Realm rioting and the Formation collapsing in backlash in front, and the Imperial Dynasty's experts attacking from behind, even though Ghost Star Elder was in the Half-step Saint Realm, he knew that nothing more could be done. If he continued to linger, he might truly face the danger of falling!

"King Xia! Xia Qingyue! And you junior, Lin Fan! This enmity is irreconcilable! My Nether Pavilion will remember this!" He roared with extreme malice, suddenly spitting out a mouthful of essence blood onto the myriad ghost banner. The banner rolled up, wrapping himself and several trusted Disciples, and transformed into a pitch-black ghost rainbow of incredible speed. Ignoring the cost, it tore through the chaotic space and fled toward the deepest part of the Remnant Realm, where the energy was most violent and disordered, vanishing instantly.

With Ghost Star Elder's flight and the complete collapse of the Star Guiding Grand Array, the remaining Nether Pavilion Disciples were left without a leader. Under the star riot, the Formation backlash, and the encirclement of the Jade Pool and Imperial Dynasty allied forces, they died, fled, or surrendered. Huangfu Jue and several other Huangfu Family members saw the situation was bad and tried to escape in the chaos, but were forced back by a Sword Qi from Ye Lingyun and captured by the Imperial Guards.

A thrilling battle finally came to an end with the defeat of the Nether Pavilion and the flight of Ghost Star Elder.

The foot of Meteorite Mountain was a scene of devastation. The broken remains of the Formation, the scorched earth, the scattered star fragments, and the corpses and bloodstains left by both sides all spoke of the intensity of the battle just now.

Lin Fan could no longer hold on. His body swayed as if he were about to fall. A pair of hands as warm and smooth as jade caught him just in time—it was Meng Liuli. Looking at Lin Fan's pale face and the shocking injuries on his body, a complex and difficult-to-define emotion flashed through her cold eyes.

Xia Qingyue and King Xia also flew down. Xia Qingyue first looked at Lin Fan with concern, and after confirming that his life was not in danger, she turned to Meng Liuli and nodded slightly: "Thank you, Jade Pool Saintess, for your assistance this time."

"Your Highness is too polite; it was my duty," Meng Liuli returned the greeting.

King Xia's gaze was like lightning as it swept across the battlefield, lingering for a moment on the shattered altar and the dim dark red crystal. He said in a deep voice, "The Nether Pavilion has wolfish ambitions, daring to plot against the Star Ruins Secret Realm and the star source core. This matter must be thoroughly investigated! After the Remnant Realm trial ends, the Imperial Dynasty will unite with the various sects to conduct a full-scale purge of the Nether Pavilion!"

He glanced at the captured Huangfu Jue and others, snorting coldly, "The Huangfu Family also needs to give the people of the world an explanation!"

Everyone nodded in agreement. Although this battle was a pyrrhic victory, it had exposed the massive conspiracy of the Nether Pavilion and prevented the channeling of the Star Ruins' power, which was of great significance.

"How are Fellow Daoist Lin's injuries?" Xia Qingyue walked up to Lin Fan, her tone carrying a hint of concern that was not easily noticed.

"Thank you for your concern, Princess, I... won't die yet." Lin Fan managed a forced smile. With Meng Liuli's support, he stood steady and took several Medicinal Pills. After absorbing the last Star Origin Crystal, a trace of color finally returned to his pale face.

With a thought, he "removed" the black key embedded in his Sea of Consciousness. As soon as the key left his Sea of Consciousness, it made a soft "crack" sound. Its surface was covered in cracks, and it had lost all its spiritual light, clearly having been completely rendered useless. But Lin Fan could feel that the brief "resonance" and "embedding" just now seemed to have established an extremely weak but real connection between him and the true star source core.

He looked up toward the depths of Meteorite Mountain, in the direction of the dark gold star source core. There, the rampaging Power of the Stars was slowly subsiding, but a deeper, more ancient fluctuation, as if awakening from an eternal slumber, was faintly coming through.

At the same time, the System prompt in his mind sounded once again:

[Special energy source detected: broken star source core (Thousand Star Remnant Realm Origin)]

[Weak resonance detected between the host and the star source core]

[Hidden condition triggered]

[Would you like to attempt to guide and absorb part of the dissipating star source power to repair the star pagoda and enhance the Eternal Indestructible Body?]

[Warning: This process carries risks and may cause further instability in the Remnant Realm or attract the gaze of unknown existences.]

Lin Fan's heart jolted.

Perhaps the true Opportunity was only just beginning.