Transmigrating Into a Fantasy World: Signing in During Pregnancy, Reaching the Summit with My Childhood Sweetheart

95: Chapter 95: The Ancient Path of Stars and the Shadow of the ErosionInside the cave, time passed slowly amidst the silence and the flowing specks of starlight.

Su Muxue didn’t dare to lightly probe the murals containing the dangerous will again, focusing all her mind on recovering her breath and guiding the Stellar Power. Although the residual stellar energy here wasn’t vast, it was exceptionally pure, and its nourishing effect on her Lunar Body was unexpectedly good, making her injury recovery significantly faster than simply absorbing Spirit Stones.

More importantly, both Nangong Xuan and Lin Mo’s conditions were steadily improving.

After the residual miasma poison within Nangong Xuan’s body was purged, his powerful Golden Core Cultivator physique and resilient sword Dao Foundation began to take effect, autonomously absorbing Stellar Power to repair his damaged Meridians and dimmed Golden Core. Although he remained unconscious, his aura grew increasingly stable, and occasionally, faint arcs of lightning thunder fused with a hint of silver starlight would circulate around him; clearly, he was gaining much.

Lin Mo’s ball of light was no longer so deathly dim. Under the dual influence of Stellar Power and earth mother spiritual saliva, the cracks on its surface had healed by nearly a third. Though the light remained restrained, it now possessed a touch of lustrous quality. His consciousness seemed to remain dormant in the depths, focused on repairing his Origin, but Su Muxue could feel that the Nirvana Dao Rhyme he emitted had formed a delicate balance with the surrounding Stellar Power, neither encroaching on the other and even showing a faint trend of complementing each other.

This gave her a slight sense of peace.

However, the world outside the cave was far from silent.

Occasionally, extremely faint but malicious Divine Thoughts would wash over the valley like a tide, meticulously scanning every inch of the land. It was the follow-up search party from Dark Flame City! They hadn’t given up and were expanding their range, conducting a carpet search.

Every time a Divine Thought swept past, Su Muxue’s heart would leap into her throat. She exerted her full effort to restrain her aura, using the special material of the cave walls and the flowing starlight within to hide their tracks. Fortunately, this cave seemed to possess a strange quality; whenever those Divine Thoughts swept over the area, they would become blurred and indistinct, as if interfered with by some force, failing to discover their hiding place.

But this was by no means a long-term solution. Dark Flame City had operated here for a long time and possessed eerie methods; it was only a matter of time before they were found.

They had to leave as soon as possible!

Once her condition had recovered slightly, Su Muxue began to carefully explore the small cave. She avoided the main rock walls carved with murals and text, focusing instead on the darkness deep within the cave.

She condensed a faint spark of spiritual light at her fingertip—a Fusion of Great Yin Cold Malice and Stellar Power—and cautiously probed inward.

The light dispelled the darkness, revealing a narrow, deep natural corridor that slanted downwards. Scattered at the entrance of the corridor were some heavily weathered skeletons, the bones showing a faint silver hue, originating from the same source as the starlight seeping from the rock walls.

These... are the remains of the Star Palace survivors?

Su Muxue’s heart tightened, and she became even more cautious. She sensed for a moment; there was no aura of living things inside the corridor, only a denser, more ancient stellar intent, and... a trace of faint, cold Death Qi being suppressed by the Stellar Power.

This corridor seemed to lead to deeper secrets of the Valley of Fallen Stars.

To go, or not to go?

Ahead might lie greater danger, or it might be the only way to survive.

She looked back at the two who were still recovering, her gaze gradually becoming firm. Staying in place was equivalent to being a lamb waiting for the slaughter; her only choice was to take a risk!

She first returned to Nangong Xuan’s side and tried to call out softly: ”Senior Brother Nangong? Senior Brother?”

Nangong Xuan’s eyelashes fluttered a few times, and he actually slowly opened his eyes! His gaze was initially somewhat scattered and dazed, but it soon focused, his sharp, sword-like nature quickly overriding his weakness. He saw Su Muxue, saw the surrounding environment, and felt the strange yet comfortable Stellar Power flowing within him, instantly understanding most of the situation.

”Junior Sister... Su...” His voice was still raspy, but much clearer, ”It was you who saved me... This place is...”

”It’s good that you’re awake, Senior Brother!” Su Muxue was filled with a mix of surprise and joy, quickly explaining the current situation, her discoveries, and the danger outside.

After hearing this, Nangong Xuan’s sword-like brows furrowed tightly. He struggled to sit up but aggravated his injuries, letting out a muffled groan.

”Don’t move, Senior Brother, your injuries are still severe.” Su Muxue hurriedly supported him.

”It’s fine... I won’t die yet.” Nangong Xuan waved his hand, his gaze sweeping over the starlight on the cave walls and that deep corridor, his eyes profound. ”Residual Stellar Power... Valley of Fallen Stars... I didn’t expect the place I fell to would hold such secrets. You’re right, this is no place to stay for long.”

His gaze finally landed on Lin Mo’s ball of light, a complex and unreadable look flashing through his eyes: ”Just now... I felt the miasma poison in my body being purified by a strange power... Was it Lin Mo?”

Su Muxue shook her head: ”It was the residual Stellar Power of this place. Lin Mo... to save us, his power was exhausted and he fell into a slumber.” She briefly explained Lin Mo’s final, battle-reversing ’Nirvana Severed Thought’.

Hearing this, Nangong Xuan’s gaze toward Lin Mo held a bit more gravity and gratitude. He was silent for a moment before saying: ”The Stellar Power here is of great benefit to my recovery. Give me a little time, and I can regain some mobility. This corridor... I sense residual Sword Intent within it that shares the same Origin as mine. Perhaps it was left by my previous explorations, or it could be... other clues. It’s worth investigating.”

With Nangong Xuan’s affirmation, Su Muxue felt more confident.

The two said no more, seizing the time to recover. Nangong Xuan focused entirely on absorbing Stellar Power, his recovery speed far exceeding Su Muxue’s. About half a day later, he was barely able to move. Although his strength was not even a tenth of what it had been, he at least had the power to protect himself.

And from Lin Mo’s ball of light, a faint ripple of thought finally came through, indicating that he had initially stabilized his condition and could accompany them, though he still couldn’t use much power.

There was no time to lose; they had to go!

Su Muxue picked up Lin Mo, and Nangong Xuan forced a breath of Sword Qi, holding his crack-filled thunder sword. The three of them resolutely stepped into that downward-extending stellar corridor.

The corridor was extremely narrow at first, barely allowing a person through, but after walking dozens of steps, it gradually opened up. The rock walls on both sides were no longer rough and natural but showed clear signs of manual excavation, covered in ancient Star Runes. These runes were of the same Origin as those on the murals, emitting a soft and continuous starlight that illuminated the path ahead.

The Stellar Power permeating the air became increasingly dense, almost impossible to disperse. Every breath carried a cool and vast energy that refreshed the spirit. But at the same time, that suppressed, cold Death Qi also became more apparent.

More silver skeletons began to appear on the ground. Some remained in a cross-legged sitting posture, while others looked as if they had collapsed after struggling forward. Beside many skeletons were scattered broken fragments of ancient-styled weapons, which vaguely showed the style of the Star Palace.

This place seemed to be a site of collective meditation unto death or a final stand.

Nangong Xuan’s gaze swept over those skeletons and weapon fragments, his eyes sorrowful yet alert. He whispered: ”Be careful, there is residual resentment on these skeletons; they have not all found peace.”

Just as he finished speaking, at the corner of the corridor ahead, a sudden change occurred!

A skeleton leaning against the wall, its bones a dull silver, suddenly had two clusters of ghostly green evil fire ignite in its hollow eye sockets!

Ka... ka-ka... It actually stood up slowly and stiffly, its bones grinding with a tooth-aching sound. On the tattered clothing remaining on its body, that crossed-out emblem was faintly visible, and at this moment, that emblem was being entwined by a dark purple energy filled with a foul aura!

And it wasn’t just that one!

As if being awakened, in the corridor ahead, ghostly green evil fires lit up one after another in the eye sockets of dozens of skeletons. They stood up and picked up the broken weapons from the ground, like a resurrected undead army blocking the way!

The originally pure Stellar Power on them had long been polluted and twisted by the soul-eroding miasma, turning into sinister undead power! That dense stellar environment had instead become a perfect barrier to nourish them and mask their miasma fluctuations!

“They are the remains of the Star Palace ancestors, eroded and controlled by the miasma!” Su Muxue cried out, her face turning pale. These skeletons must have been powerful in life; even after countless ages in death, driven by the miasma, they emitted auras comparable to Foundation Establishment or even the False Core realm!

“Guard your mind, their attacks carry Divine Soul pollution!” Nangong Xuan shouted. Despite his heavy injuries, he still stepped forward, shielding Su Muxue and Lin Mo behind him, the thunder sword in his hand erupting with a faint but determined lightning light.

However, facing dozens of surging stellar skeletons while the three of them were in a weakened state, the situation instantly became critical to the extreme!

At this critical juncture—

Lin Mo, in Su Muxue’s arms, suddenly gave his ball of light a gentle tremor.

He didn’t release Annihilation Power to attack, but instead... emitted an extremely special, ethereal, and distant ripple of thought.

This ripple wasn’t directed at those polluted skeletons, but instead... seeped into the ancient Star Runes on the rock walls on both sides!

It was as if a key had found its keyhole!

Buzz—!!!

The Star Runes on the entire corridor walls suddenly erupted with an unprecedented, brilliant silver light! The light flowed and converged like a living thing, turning into chains of pure and powerful stellar light that accurately shot toward the skeletons controlled by the miasma!

Sizzle—!

Like a red-hot iron plunged into ice water, the stellar light chains contacted the dark purple energy on the skeletons, immediately producing a violent corrosive sound! That ghostly green evil fire flickered wildly, letting out silent screams, as the dark purple miasma was purified and evaporated at a visible speed!

The skeletons’ movements instantly froze, the evil fire in their eye sockets gradually extinguished, returning to a pure silver color, and then with a crash, they scattered onto the ground, turning back into quiet skeletons as if they had never awakened.

The crisis was actually resolved in an instant!

Nangong Xuan and Su Muxue were both stunned, looking at Lin Mo.

Lin Mo’s thought came through with a hint of exhaustion: ”...Just... briefly activated... the purification Restriction... left here... go quickly... while we can...”

He had actually relied on the nirvana star core’s ability to perceive the essence of all laws to instantly understand the operating principles of some of the Star Runes and, using himself as a conduit, briefly activated the self-purification mechanism of this ’Ancient Star Remains Path’!

The three didn’t dare to delay, immediately quickening their pace, passing through the scattered skeletons and hurrying toward the depths of the corridor.

The deeper they went, the more obvious the manual traces became; they could even see some ruined palace remains and plazas. It was as if they were walking into an ancient city buried deep underground.

And the source of that suppressed, cold Death Qi became increasingly clear.

Finally, the path ahead opened up.

They stepped out of the corridor, and before them was an incredibly vast underground space.

In the center of the space was not a magnificent palace, but a huge, bottomless black pit! Terrifying tear marks remained at the edges of the pit, as if it had been blasted out by some unimaginable force!

Within the pit, a dark purple miasma so dense it couldn’t be dispersed, thick as liquid, permeated the air! The purity and activity of this miasma far exceeded anything they had seen before! It rolled and writhed like a living thing, occasionally condensing into pained, twisted faces that let out silent howls.

And directly above the pit, a massive, crack-filled stellar Core was suspended! It emitted a strong stellar radiance, shining like a sun over the entire underground space, forming a giant pillar of light that firmly suppressed the miasma pit below!

But this stellar Core had clearly reached its limit; the cracks on its surface continued to spread, and its light flickered. Meanwhile, the suppressed miasma was constantly battering the light pillar, trying to break free from its shackles!

The entire scene was incredibly spectacular, yet also incredibly... hopeless!

This was the true Core of the Valley of Fallen Stars! It was the place where the Star Palace survivors finally suppressed the source of the miasma! And it was... the root from which Dark Flame City’s power grew!

And what shook Su Muxue and Nangong Xuan’s hearts even more was—

Directly below that massive stellar Core, at the point where the light pillar and the miasma clashed most fiercely, a figure sat cross-legged!

The person wore tattered ancient clothing that vaguely showed the style of the Star Palace. His body was withered, his face blurred, and he had long since lost all signs of life, like a dried corpse in meditation.

But from him emanated a heart-palpitating, vast Sword Intent that surpassed the Golden Core level! That Sword Intent was closely linked to the stellar Core above and the source of miasma below, as if he were the final hub of this suppression formation, using his own remains and Sword Intent to maintain this fragile balance!

And that Sword Intent... Nangong Xuan’s body shook violently, his eyes erupting with an unbelievable light as he whispered in shock:

”This... this is the Nirvana Sword Intent of our LingXiao Pavilion’s Grand Elder who has been missing for three hundred years—Ling Xu Sword Venerable?!”