In the depths of the Cardinal Hall's secret chamber, the air seemed to have solidified into heavy blocks of lead, weighing upon everyone's hearts. Above the jade platform, the jade slip that the master of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion had obtained at the cost of his lifelong cultivation and several thousand years of lifespan floated silently. The four blood-red words, "Star Sacrifice Key Appears," resembled the final gasps of a dying beast, radiating a heart-chilling sense of ill omen and sorrow.
Xuan Nü's gaze swept over the jade slip. No ripple showed on her exquisite face, yet within her eyes, which reflected the Myriad Stars, glaciers seemed to be slowly flowing. Standing beside her, Li Wuyang could clearly feel the despair and warning emanating from those four words, like icy needles piercing deep into his soul.
The inspector's starlight projection flickered slightly as he reported the disastrous news they had just received in a hoarse voice. "...At the edge of the Barren Star Domain, three Green Source Stars that possessed primitive life... half an hour ago... their vitality was completely extinguished. Their stellar origins were drained dry, turning them into silent stellar husks... The process was incredibly swift, as though they had been swallowed by some invisible giant maw..."
Once the news was confirmed, the temperature in the secret chamber plummeted. Even Ling Xiao Sword Master, a sword cultivator with an iron will, clenched his sword hilt until his knuckles turned white. Wonderful Sound Bodhisattva closed her eyes, rapidly rolling her prayer beads as she softly chanted a rebirth scripture, her face filled with boundless compassion.
"The star sacrifice... has already begun." Master of Qingwei Temple's voice trembled slightly. The pointer of the compass in his hand had long since shattered, clearly showing that he had suffered an enormous backlash