Star Tower
Lin Ming led the three into the Inner World. Seven Stone Island floated quietly in mid-air, no longer connected by any array formations, each floating in isolation, like scattered chess pieces.
The seven Stone Island were arranged in the void from different directions, occupying a space of hundreds of miles in radius, each as large as a small landmass.
"Which one should we go to first?" Zi Yan's gaze swept back and forth across the seven Stone Island, her purple-gold eyes reflecting the outlines of the Stone Island with a hint of eager anticipation.
After absorbing the Dragon Spirit Pearl, the Dragon-Phoenix Bloodline within her became even more acute, and she could now vaguely sense the different auras emanating from each of the seven Stone Island.
Some islands are filled with extremely dense Spirit Mist, some emanate subtle array fluctuations, some exude ancient Wood Element energy, and some are as still and silent as a stagnant pool.
Lin Ming did not rush to answer. His gaze slowly swept across the seven Stone Island, and the World Power spread out in all directions like countless invisible tentacles, enveloping each Stone Island.
Under his absolute control, the structure of every inch of land, every building, and every array on the seven Stone Island was clearly visible to him.
A moment later, he raised his palm and gently beckoned to the long, narrow Stone Island on the east side.
The Stone Island, which had been floating motionless in the void, suddenly trembled under his will and then slowly drifted toward them like a piece of driftwood propelled by the current.
The surface of the Stone Island was covered by a light blue array of light, which flickered with a ghostly blue light as it moved, like a flowing curtain of water enveloping the entire island.
"This island is the gateway to the Star Residence," Lin Ming said slowly.
He could sense the core structure of the array on the Stone Island. Although the light blue shield looked like just a defensive barrier, the Formation Patterns contained within it were extremely intricate.
Countless Spiritual Runes flowed slowly across the surface of the light shield, each containing a Law of Spiritual Runes and recognition, like an invisible eye scrutinizing every creature that tried to approach.
If someone tries to force their way in, the light barrier will instantly unleash a counterattack far exceeding that of ordinary grandmaster-level formations, annihilating the intruder within.
But Lin Ming simply raised his finger and gently tapped a spot on the surface of the light shield.
A beam of light shot out from his fingertip, like an extremely fine needle precisely piercing a crack in a spiritual pattern on the surface of the light Spiritual Runes.
The Spiritual Runes glowed slightly, and then the entire light shield began to ripple outwards from the center, like a thin piece of ice thrown into water. The cracks spread rapidly, and within a few breaths, it shattered with a bang, turning into countless dark blue light spots that dissipated into the air.
The true face of the Stone Island was fully revealed.
The Stone Island was an extremely spacious plaza. The plaza was paved with a single piece of bluish-gray rock, the surface of which was covered with densely packed Spiritual Runes. These Spiritual Runes were arranged in a very precise pattern and connected to each other by thin lines of light, forming a huge array diagram.
In the center of the square stood a tall tower, about a hundred feet high, made entirely of some kind of translucent Crystal Stone, its surface covered with Spiritual Runes in the same style as the square's ground.
At the top of the tower is a circular platform with a small Altar. In the center of the Altar floats a pale blue Crystal Stone about the size of a fist. The Crystal Stone emits a soft glow under the grayish-white light of the sky, like a miniature star slowly rotating at the top of the tower.
"The entrance to the Star Residence is a formation?" Zi Yan landed on the empty square, her feet resting on the rocks engraved with Spiritual Runes, and frowned slightly.
Her gaze swept from the plaza to the tower, and then from the tower to the azure Crystal Stone at its top. She felt that the Stone Island was too empty and too quiet, like a meticulously planned trap, leaving no place to land.
Lin Ming landed beside her, his gaze falling on the Spiritual Runes in the square. He crouched down and gently touched a Spiritual Runes on the ground with his fingertip.
The Spiritual Runes glowed faintly under his fingertip, then dimmed again, like a pair of sleeping eyes being gently touched.
Lin Ming's expression turned slightly solemn as he slowly spoke, "This Heavenly Pivot Island itself is a grand formation. The Spiritual Runes on the plaza, the tall tower, and the Crystal Stone atop the tower are all part of this formation. The function of this formation is probably for detection and screening, like a gateway; only by passing through its detection can one enter the next Stone Island."
Standing up, Lin Ming's gaze fell upon the tall tower, a faint light slowly swirling in the depths of his pupils.
"That tall tower must be the core of the detection system. To get through, we'd probably have to climb to the top."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go." Zi Yan said, and started walking towards the tall tower.
Lin Ming reached out and pulled her back. Zi Yan turned to look at him, a helpless smile flashing across her purple-gold eyes. She knew Lin Ming too well; the fact that he had pulled her back meant he had discovered something she hadn't noticed.
Sure enough, Lin Ming raised his other hand and pointed to the base of the tower, saying, "Look there."
Zi Yan followed his finger and looked in that direction. Around the base of the tower was a ring-shaped area several meters wide. There were no Spiritual Runes engraved on the ground of that area, as if it were a deliberately left blank area.
However, upon closer inspection, one would discover that the Spiritual Energy in the air within that seemingly blank area flows in an extremely chaotic manner, like an invisible vortex slowly rotating.
A faint, dark gray light flickered within the chaotic Spiritual Energy.
"Evil energy?" Zi Yan's pupils contracted slightly.
She could sense that although the remaining evil energy in that ring-shaped area was extremely thin, its corrosiveness was still extremely strong, like an invisible poisonous film covering that area.
If one steps into it unprepared, the evil energy will cling to it like a maggot, eroding the meridians and disrupting Spiritual Energy.
"The Master of the Star Residence once fought against a powerful member of the Evil Clan within this grand portal formation." Lin Ming stood up, his gaze sweeping over the circular area, his tone thoughtful.
"Those remnants of evil energy are traces left from the battle years ago. Although they have thinned considerably over the past ten thousand years, the corrosive Law they contain remain intact. Stepping into them rashly will allow the evil energy to invade your body, and it will be troublesome to expel it then."
Turning his head to glance at Zi Yan, Lin Ming's lips curled into a very faint smile.
"So this time, I'll go first."
Zi Yan pursed her lips and didn't argue. She knew that Lin Ming would never let her take risks in such matters, and she didn't want to argue with him at a time like this.
She merely hummed softly, took half a step back, crossed her arms, and stared at Lin Ming's retreating figure with her purplish-gold eyes.
Lin Ming strode towards the tower. His steps were calm and steady, his black robes fluttering gently in the chaotic air currents of Spiritual Energy. When he reached the edge of the circular area, he stopped, slowly raised his hands, and formed an extremely slow hand seal in front of his chest with his ten fingers.
Spiritual Energy flowed and condensed at his fingertips, transforming into a light blade about a foot long.
He gently pushed the light blade forward, and it disappeared into the circular area like a nimble fish.
The moment the light blade entered, the chaotic Spiritual Energy in that area jolted violently, and the dark gray evil energy surged wildly like a disturbed swarm of snakes, rushing towards the location of the light blade.
But that blade of light was extremely fast and agile. It weaved and moved among the evil energy, like a precise scalpel severing the connections between the evil energy and the Spiritual Runes on the ground one by one.
Each severed connection dimmed the evil aura in that area, and the chaotic Spiritual Energy calmed down accordingly.
Lin Ming used his mind to control the light blade, and with the help of the World Power, he peeled away the remaining evil energy in the ring-shaped area one by one.
The process was extremely meticulous and slow, like an embroiderer dismantling a tainted embroidery, carefully picking out, cutting, and removing each thread tainted by evil influences without damaging the original pattern.
After about half a cup of tea's time, the dark gray light in that ring-shaped area finally dissipated completely.
The flow of Spiritual Energy in the air returned to normal, and the remaining evil energy was completely eliminated.
Lin Ming withdrew his hand and stepped onto the circular area. The rocks beneath his feet gave him a warm, smooth feel, like a piece of jade that had been washed clean.
He walked to the base of the tower and looked up at the translucent Crystal Stone tower. The Spiritual Runes on the tower glowed slightly as he approached, like a sleeping building slowly awakening after sensing a visitor.
"Let's go, let's go up and take a look." Lin Ming waved to the three people behind him.
Zi Yan took the lead, followed by North King and Xia Jia, who then stepped into the cleared circular area.
The four figures disappeared one after another into the entrance of the tower. The space inside the tower was more spacious than the outside. A spiral stone staircase extended upwards along the tower wall. The walls on both sides of the staircase were covered with dense Spiritual Runes. The Spiritual Runes lit up at the same time the four stepped in, and the soft light illuminated the entire staircase.
They walked up the stone steps. With each floor they went, the Spiritual Runes on the tower walls would change. The information contained in those Spiritual Runes was extremely complex, including array diagrams, cultivation insights, and understandings of the Law of heaven and earth.
Lin Ming's gaze swept over the Spiritual Runes one by one, memorizing some of the most ingenious array formation ideas.
He could sense that the tower itself was a massive vessel for inheritance. The Master of the Star Residence had inscribed all the essential knowledge of array formations he had learned throughout his life onto the walls of this tower, like an encyclopedia of array formations that had been opened.
The content of those Spiritual Runes became more and more profound and exquisite with each layer, like steps leading them to climb higher levels of the Dao of Arrays.