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

100: Chapter 100: The Shadow of the Black Lake and the Key to the Ancient SteleLin Mo’s faint but clear warning was like ice water splashed onto the hearts of the group who had just survived a disaster. All eyes instantly focused on that black lake, which was unnervingly calm.

The lake water was as black as ink and bottomless, reflecting the ”starry sky” on the ceiling, yet it gave off an eerie sensation of devouring light. Previously, they were too occupied with fleeing and resting to examine it closely. Now, focusing their senses, they indeed detected an extremely subtle yet ancient and vast aura permeating the depths of the lake. That aura shared the same origin as the Stellar Power at the Core of the Valley of Fallen Stars, but it was more settled, more... deathly silent, like a giant beast that had slept for eons, instinctively causing one’s heart to palpitate.

”There’s something at the bottom of the lake?” Nangong Xuan’s sword-like brows furrowed as his Divine Thought attempted to probe downward, only to be blocked by an invisible, cold force, making it impossible to penetrate deeply. ”Divine Sense cannot penetrate it; there’s a powerful natural Restriction.”

The aged face of Acting Elder Xing Teng also showed gravity and doubt: ”This ’Silent Star Lake’ has existed for a long time. Our clan’s ancient records describe it as unfathomable. Ancestors once tried to dive and explore, but none returned, and not a single word was sent back. Over time, it became a forbidden area for the clan... I didn’t expect it to be related to the sacred stele?”

Su Muxue held Lin Mo in her arms, feeling that the intent transmitted from his light orb contained not just a warning, but also an indescribable... attraction? It was as if the thing at the bottom of the lake shared a strange resonance with his nirvana star core.

”Lin Mo, can you perceive anything more?” she asked via Divine Thought.

Lin Mo’s response remained weak but carried a sense of certainty: ”...Calling... very faint... but it definitely exists... neither good nor evil... more like a... silent... waiting... a power of the same origin... as the falling star monument... perhaps it’s a... key...”

A key?

Everyone’s heart skipped a beat. The path to the falling star monument was fraught with danger; any clue or item that could provide help was of vital importance.

”I’ll go down and take a look,” Nangong Xuan said in a deep voice. He had recovered some of his strength and was in the best condition of the three, making it his responsibility.

”Senior Brother, be careful!” Su Muxue said worriedly. This black lake gave her an extremely uneasy feeling.

Nangong Xuan nodded, took a deep breath, and withdrew his lightning glow, turning it into a thin Sword Intent barrier as he slowly sank into the pitch-black lake water.

The lake water was bone-chillingly cold, far exceeding ordinary chill, piercing straight through to the Divine Soul. The deeper he went, the dimmer the light became, until he eventually fell into absolute darkness, where even his Divine Sense was compressed to a range of only a few feet around him. Powerful water pressure surged from all directions, squeezing his protective Sword Intent and making a tooth-grinding creaking sound.

The surroundings were deathly silent, with only the sound of the water currents he created as he descended. A nameless sense of loneliness and oppression arose spontaneously, as if he had been forgotten by the entire world.

After descending about a hundred zhang, he still couldn’t see the bottom. Nangong Xuan felt a sense of awe; this lake was indeed strange.

Suddenly, he felt an abnormality in the water current behind and to his side!

Without a second thought, he swung his sword backward! Nirvana lightning exploded in the water, illuminating a small area!

He saw a blurry, twisted figure composed entirely of pitch-black lake water, lunging with claws and teeth, only to be instantly evaporated by the lightning! But the moment that black shadow dissipated, it let out a soul-piercing shriek that caused a slight pain in Nangong Xuan’s Sea of Consciousness!

”What was that?!” He felt a chill in his heart and became even more alert.

However, as if a switch had been flipped, countless identical pitch-black water shadows quietly coalesced in the surrounding darkness, closing in silently from all directions! They had no facial features or fixed forms, yet they radiated pure coldness, deathly silence, and malice!

Nangong Xuan’s thunder sword danced wildly as his Nirvana Sword Intent erupted into streaks of grayish-black lightning underwater, continuously evaporating and purifying the lunging water shadows. But these shadows seemed infinite and inexhaustible. Moreover, the soul shrieks emitted every time one was destroyed layered upon each other, like countless steel needles constantly stabbing at his Divine Sense!

More troublesome was that he felt his protective Sword Intent was being consumed rapidly; the coldness and pressure of the lake water seemed to be constantly eroding his power.

”I can’t fight for long!” Nangong Xuan realized he had to find the target or retreat as soon as possible.

While fending off the attacks of the water shadows, he fully activated the nirvana sword seed within him, carefully sensing the direction of the ”same-origin power” Lin Mo had mentioned.

Found it! Deeper down!

He no longer paid attention to the increasing number of water shadows and used his sword light to clear a path, forcibly diving deeper!

The deeper he went, the greater the water pressure, and the attacks of the water shadows became denser and more ferocious. The soul shrieks were almost continuous, giving him a splitting headache. His protective Sword Intent was already flickering, seemingly on the verge of shattering at any moment.

Just as he was about to reach his limit, a faint, azure light finally appeared on the pitch-black lake floor ahead!

The light wasn’t dazzling, but it was exceptionally pure and resilient, like a star that would never be extinguished in the dark night.

All the pitch-black water shadows lunging toward that blue light spontaneously collapsed several zhang away, as if they had met their natural enemy!

Nangong Xuan’s spirits lifted, and he swam toward the blue light with all his might.

As he got closer, he discovered that the source of the blue light was actually a damaged black stele half-buried in the silt at the bottom of the lake!

The stele’s material was neither metal nor stone, cold to the touch, and covered in ancient and mysterious stellar runes. They shared the same origin as those seen in the Valley of Fallen Stars but were more complex and profound. The soft azure light was precisely what these runes were emitting.

In the center of the stele was a fist-sized groove, as if something was missing.

Nangong Xuan immediately recognized that the shape and size of this groove were extremely similar to the ancient token engraved with a star map he had obtained earlier in the Star Palace ruins, whose purpose had remained unknown!

Without hesitation, he immediately took out that token and carefully placed it into the groove.

A perfect fit!

Buzz—!!!

The entire damaged stele shook violently! The stellar runes lit up one by one, erupting with a brilliant yet non-blinding azure radiance, instantly dispelling the surrounding darkness and cold!

Those infinite pitch-black water shadows let out shrill wails as if they had met their natural enemy, retreating like a tide and disappearing into the endless dark lake water.

Centering on the stele, a massive, complex 3D array diagram composed of starlight slowly emerged and rotated, radiating a vast and majestic aura.

At the same time, a flow of information surged from the stele into Nangong Xuan’s mind.

”Star Outpost... Seventh Outpost... Record: Star Calendar Year 97,000... ’the dark side’ pollution intensifying... ’Night Watchmen’ Alpha Squad carrying the ’world key’ heading to the ’Eye of Ten Thousand Miasmas’ for final containment... failed to return...” ”Outpost energy about to be exhausted... automatically sinking into the Stasis Lake... waiting for the ’Key’ to restart... transmit... early warning...” ”Warning: Detected highly active ’Dark Side’ pollution... ’Night Watchmen’ plan may have failed...” ”Highest priority mission change: Ensure the ’world key’ fragments do not fall into the hands of ’the dark side’...” ”Information backup uploaded to... ’main star stele’...” ”May the stars... guide the lost...”

The information flow cut off.

The token (world key fragment) placed in the groove slowly floated up, the star map on it becoming more complex and bright, as if it had been charged and activated. After transmitting the information, the light of the damaged stele (Star Outpost) gradually faded, eventually turning completely dim and becoming an ordinary stone that sank into the silt, as if it had completed its final mission.

Nangong Xuan gripped the now-different token, waves of shock surging in his heart.

Star Outpost? Night Watchmen? world key? the dark side? (Undoubtedly referring to the miasma pollution.) Eye of Ten Thousand Miasmas?

These fragments of information once again pieced together a grander yet more terrifying ancient picture! It seemed the Star Palace’s actions were merely continuing a much older mission to combat ”the dark side”? And they seemed to have failed?

This ”world key” fragment appeared to be part of a crucial item?

He didn’t dare stay long, gripped the token tightly, and quickly floated upward.

On the lake surface, the group was waiting anxiously. Seeing Nangong Xuan break through the water, although his face was pale and his aura unstable, he was largely unharmed, allowing them to breathe a sigh of relief.

”Senior Brother, how is it?” Su Muxue hurried forward.

Nangong Xuan briefly recounted what he saw at the bottom of the lake and the information he obtained, displaying the activated ”world key fragment.”

After hearing his narrative, everyone fell into silence, their hearts heavy and shocked. It turned out that what they were facing was a war that had lasted for tens of thousands of years against a terrifying existence called ”the dark side”! And they, by a twist of fate, had taken up this heavy torch.

Elder Xing Teng stroked the token excitedly, tears streaming down his face: ”The ancestors’ records were fragmented and vague... so this is the truth! The ’world key’... ancient clan songs mention it as the key token to open the ’Stellar Vault Bridge’ and purify the ’Heart of Darkness’! I didn’t expect... I didn’t expect one of the fragments to have been submerged at the bottom of Silent Star Lake all along!”

He looked at Nangong Xuan and the other two, his eyes filled with unprecedented hope and determination: ”Three Venerables! This must be the guidance of the stars! The world key fragment has seen the light of day at this moment; the journey to the sacred stele must have deep meaning! We will surely follow you to the death and help the Venerables complete the mission!”

Nangong Xuan nodded heavily, gripped the token tightly, feeling the faint but firm Stellar Power within it, and looked toward the Black Stone Forest in the northwest.

”There’s no time to lose, let’s go!”

With the Crystal Cluster Remnants acting as ”living maps,” the team shuttled through the maze-like Black Stone Forest, successfully avoiding many known danger zones and Dark Flame City patrols.

Two days later, they had penetrated deep into the heart of the Black Stone Forest.

The surrounding environment became increasingly harsh, and a grayish-black mist, like a sandstorm, began to permeate the air—precisely the ”bone-eroding black wind” Elder Xing Teng had mentioned!

This black wind was incredibly strange; not only could it dissolve spiritual energy barriers, but it could also directly erode a Cultivator’s Golden Core and Divine Soul, possessing terrifying power. The team’s progress had to slow down.

Even with the crude cloaks made from special wind-avoiding fungi provided by the Remnants, everyone still felt their spiritual energy being rapidly consumed and their Divine Souls stinging.

As the team trudged forward, a young Remnant scouting ahead suddenly came running back on all fours, his face full of terror:

”El... Elder! It’s bad! Ahead... ahead in the black wind... there are... many shadows! They look like... like...”

Before he could finish his sentence, a tooth-grinding sound of bones grinding together, ”ka-ka,” came from the dense black wind ahead.

Following that, skeletons draped in tattered black robes, their bones showing an ominous dark purple hue and their eye sockets burning with ghostly green evil fire, emerged from the black wind. Holding broken weapons like an army crawling out of Hell, they swayed as they blocked the path!

On their bones, the flame totems of Dark Flame City were faintly visible!

And the aura emitted by these skeletons was far colder and more powerful than the polluted Star Remains encountered on the ancient path! Some skeletons even had faint Golden Core-level energy fluctuations lingering on their frames!

Dark Flame City had actually refined the bones of the fallen into Undead Demon Soldier under their control! And they had deployed them into this bone-eroding black wind as a barrier to block the road!

With undead blocking the way in front, unpredictable pursuers behind, and the all-eroding bone-eroding black wind all around.

The situation instantly became critical to the extreme!

Nangong Xuan slowly drew his thunder sword, his Nirvana Sword Intent rising once again as he looked coldly at the increasing number of Undead Demon Soldier.

”Prepare for battle!”