Sea of Star Remains, the First Toll from the Hall

Ye Chen traveled with Lin Qingxue and Mo Yu using Shrink Earth to an Inch, moving far faster than streaking light. Mountains and rivers swept backward beneath them, cities laid out like pieces on a chessboard. Distances ordinary cultivators could never cross in a lifetime were, to them, no more than a day's journey.

The farther north they went, the stranger the world became. The sky was no longer pure blue, but gradually took on a deep, inky hue. The stars above grew clearer and brighter, as though within arm's reach. The spiritual energy in the air also grew thin and turbulent, mingled with a cold aura of annihilation that seemed to come from the starry heavens.

Ten days later, the sight ahead stirred even the widely traveled Ye Chen.

It was a "sea" beyond description.

It was not made of water, but of countless shattered stellar remains of every size! The smallest were as large as houses, the largest comparable to mountains. Their surfaces were dull black, gray, and brown, pitted and scarred by collisions, explosions, or the rending of some terrifying power. They floated silently in the void, slowly drifting and colliding, giving off low, distant rumbles. Like a graveyard of the stars, they exuded an age-old stillness and desolation.

This was the Fallen Star Sea!

Before they truly entered it, an invisible pressure swept over them. The fabric of space here was exceedingly fragile and chaotic. Fine spatial fissures, visible to the naked eye, flickered like black lightning among the stellar remains. Frenzied stellar killing intent formed visible gray whirlwinds that howled through the void, powerful enough to tear apart a Nascent Soul Cultivator's body and soul with ease.

"So this... is the Fallen Star Sea?" Lin Qingxue gazed at the boundless graveyard of stellar remains before her, unable to hide the shock in her cool eyes. Although the Heavenly Sword Pavilion's records described it, those words conveyed less than a ten-thousandth of the impact of seeing it herself.

Mo Yu's figure, concealed in the shadows, also tensed slightly. He had clearly sensed the danger that permeated this place.

Light flowed through Ye Chen's dual pupils as he carefully examined this deadly realm. Comparing it with the Star Map in his sea of consciousness, he found that the dotted line connecting points of light wound toward the depths of this Sea of Star Remains.

"Stay close to me."

Ye Chen spoke calmly. Primordial chaos purple qi flowed naturally around him, forming a faint violet halo that enveloped all three of them. With a single step, he entered the void filled with countless floating stellar remains.

The moment they entered, powerful, chaotic gravitational forces pulled at them from every direction. Several house-sized fragments were disturbed as well, changing course and hurtling toward them!

Ye Chen's expression remained unchanged. He did not even strike; the violet halo around him merely rippled. The instant the incoming fragments touched it, they seemed to sink into an invisible mire, their speed plummeting. Then a gentle yet irresistible force nudged them aside, sending them gliding away.

Lin Qingxue and Mo Yu felt somewhat reassured and followed close behind Ye Chen.

Like a lone skiff upon a raging sea, the three wove among countless floating stellar remains. Ye Chen followed the dotted line in the Star Map within his sea of consciousness precisely, sometimes moving straight ahead, sometimes taking a winding path. He deftly avoided regions where space was extremely unstable, as well as enormous fragments that radiated danger.

Along the way, they witnessed strange sights. Some stellar remains were composed entirely of an unknown metal, dim runes flowing across their surfaces. Others were cross sections of stars, sliced cleanly as though by a sharp blade, exposing colorful star cores that had long since solidified. There were even skeletons of unknown creatures so immense they defied imagination, mingled with the stellar remains. No one could say how many tens of thousands of years they had been dead, yet they still exuded a heart-quailing pressure.

"They say the Fallen Star Sea was one of the main battlefields in the ancient war between gods and devils. Countless mighty beings, and even actual stars, fell here," Lin Qingxue said softly, trying to dispel some of the oppression in her heart with what she knew. "Those skeletons might belong to some kind of colossal star beasts that fought in the war."

Ye Chen nodded. His dual pupils could see more. Within those skeletons lingered exceedingly faint fragments of different laws of the Great Dao. They intertwined, collided, and annihilated one another, creating this place's uniquely chaotic and dangerous environment.

After roughly half a day of travel, the stellar remains ahead grew sparse, and their view opened considerably. At the center of that relatively empty stretch of void floated an enormous dark-gold platform resembling the foundation of some structure. It was severely damaged, its edges riddled with cracks, but magnificent stone pillars and the broken outlines of halls still stood upon it, exuding an ancient, solemn air.

And the end of the dotted line in the Star Map within Ye Chen's sea of consciousness pointed directly at that platform!

"Could that... be the ruins of Starfall Hall?" Lin Qingxue's beautiful eyes brightened.

Ye Chen's gaze sharpened slightly. He felt a faint tremor from the three fragments against his chest, as though they had resonated with the platform. Yet compared with the chaotic laws that pervaded this place, the space around the platform gave him an eerie sense of "stability."

Just as the three prepared to approach the platform—

"Dong..."

An exceedingly faint toll, seemingly originating in the distant ages and crossing endless time and space, suddenly rang out within their minds!

The bell was not loud, but it possessed a penetrating force that reached straight into the soul. It seemed to speak some ancient maxim, or perhaps... to call for something.

Lin Qingxue and Mo Yu both shuddered, bewilderment appearing in their eyes. Their minds seemed to be drawn by some unseen force.

Ye Chen frowned slightly. A ripple of primordial chaos purple qi dispersed the strange bell's influence. He looked toward the ruined platform, a trace of gravity flashing through his dual pupils.

That toll... was no illusion. Its source seemed to lie deep within the platform. And within it lurked an exceedingly subtle trace of... spatial fluctuations and ripples in time!

"Be careful. Something is strange here," Ye Chen warned, jolting Lin Qingxue and Mo Yu out of their daze.

Both came to their senses, still shaken.

"What... was that bell just now?" Lin Qingxue's face was slightly pale. She had felt as though the toll was about to draw her very soul away.

"Perhaps some restriction left behind by Starfall Hall, or... something else." Ye Chen offered no firm conclusion, but his intuition told him that the Fallen Star Sea was far more than merely a target of the Sacred Emperor Palace.

His gaze swept over the ruined platform, then turned toward the endless darkness deeper within the Fallen Star Sea. The Star Map had guided him here, but beyond the platform, the dotted line seemed to stretch farther still.

"Let's get onto that platform and take a look first."

Having made his decision, Ye Chen led the way toward the dark-gold platform suspended in the Sea of Star Remains. The closer they drew, the more they could feel its immense size and antiquity. Ancient patterns were engraved upon the broken stone pillars, similar in style to the symbols on the Nameless Fragment.

Yet just as they came within a thousand zhang of the platform—

Another sudden change erupted!

Without warning, ripples spread through the void around the platform! Dozens of figures stepped out of empty space like phantoms, blocking their path!

They all wore dark-blue battle armor adorned with star patterns. Their auras were fierce, their eyes cold, and the presence they exuded faintly harmonized with this Sea of Star Remains. Their leader was a stern-faced, middle-aged man with eyes like a hawk's. His aura had actually reached the spirit transformation peak, leaving him just one step from void insight!

Behind and to the side of these star-armored cultivators stood several other figures in assorted clothing. Every one of them possessed a formidable aura; they were all powerful rogue cultivators at the spirit transformation late stage. Their eyes flickered as they studied Ye Chen and his companions, particularly Ye Chen, their scrutiny concealing a barely perceptible trace of greed.

"The Sacred Emperor Palace's Star Guards!" Lin Qingxue's pupils contracted as she recognized the origins of the star-armored cultivators. They were the Sacred Emperor Palace's elite force, serving directly under the Sacred Emperor!

The stern-faced leader's gaze scraped over the three like a blade of ice before finally fixing on Ye Chen. His voice was cold and utterly devoid of emotion:

"The Sacred Emperor Palace is conducting business here. All unauthorized persons, withdraw at once!"

"Otherwise, you will be killed without exception!"