The news of Xiao Yan's return spread like a warm current, quickly reaching every inch of the Co-Prosperity Zone. Those names that once existed only in legends now had a tangible form—children surrounded him, asking about the details of their battle against the Those Who Return to Silence, elders held his hands and reminisced about the past, and even the Tree of Chaos stretched out its newly sprouted buds, as if brushing away the dust for an old friend.
"Let's check the defenses first." Xiao Yan slung his longsword across his back, his gaze sweeping over the protective shield of the Co-Prosperity Zone. "The tremors at the Bottom of the Void don't appear out of nowhere; we need to confirm the limits of its power."
Qing He and Meng Ke immediately followed. The energy ripples at the edge of the protective shield were more chaotic than usual, and black tentacle-like patterns flashed across the pale purple light screen from time to time, much like the "peeping" from the Bottom of the Void. Xiao Yan reached out and touched the light screen, and his fingertips felt a bone-chilling cold, more intense than he could remember.
"It's testing." Xiao Yan withdrew his hand, a wisp of Power of Chaos gathering at his fingertips, which he gently touched the black patterns. The patterns instantly contracted, but before disappearing, they left behind an extremely thin black line that burrowed into the depths of the light barrier. "It's searching for the 'stitch' in the protective shield—the weak point where the forces of the various races were connected back then."
Meng Ke frowned. "We reinforce it every month, could it be...?"
"It's not a reinforcement issue." Xiao Yan shook his head, his gaze fixed on the distant Star Orbit Tower. "It's the star orbits that are shifting. The energy cycle of the Co-Prosperity Zone relies on the guidance of the star orbits. Once the star orbit angle is wrong, the power at the seam will become unbalanced."
When the three arrived at the Star Orbit Tower, the Star Disk at the top of the tower was indeed malfunctioning. The markings that originally corresponded precisely to the positions of the stars had shifted, and the "chaotic pointer" at the very center was rotating counterclockwise at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, causing the entire star orbit network to tilt slightly.
"It's the ' Power of Forgetting ' of the Bottom of the Void." Qing He's fingertips traced the engravings on the Star Disk, those marks were fading, "It's silently erasing the 'memory' of the star trails, making the pointer forget its original position."
Xiao Yan to the top of the tower and injected Power of Chaos into the center of the Star Disk. Gray-gold light spread along the scale, and the faded marks became clear again, but the counterclockwise rotation of the pointer did not stop. Instead, it trembled due to the resistance.
"One-on-one won't work," Xiao Yan said in a deep voice. " Meng Ke, use your Power of Destruction to stabilize the pointer's foundation; Qing He, channel the Light of Faith from the Co-Prosperity Zone into the star track to strengthen the engraved memory; I'll redraw the offset star track angle."
As soon as the command was given, the three immediately took action. Meng Ke stood below the Star Disk, his dark red energy penetrating the base of the tower like roots, firmly locking the trembling Star Disk to the ground; Qing He ascended into the air, her hands forming a seal, and the light points of faith rising from all parts of the Co-Prosperity Zone converged like shooting stars, flowing into the star orbit along her fingertips, making every engraving light shine with a warm golden light; Xiao Yan stood in the center of the Star Disk, his longsword transforming into a gray-gold pen, redrawing lines on the star orbit according to the true position of the stars.
The deviation between the star trails and the real stars was being corrected little by little. When the last deviated star trail was straightened by Xiao Yan's longsword, the entire Co-Prosperity Zone suddenly lit up with a layer of pale golden light—the black patterns on the protective shield receded like a tide, the Star Trail Tower emitted a long resonance, and even the void chill in the air dissipated by more than half.
"Done?" Meng Ke wiped his sweat and looked up at the starry sky. The stars that were originally blurry were now so clear on the sky that they seemed within reach, perfectly corresponding to the markings on the Star Disk.
"Only temporarily." Xiao Yan jumped off the Star Disk, his gaze profound. " The Bottom of the Void won't just try once. It's waiting for us to tire, waiting for the star orbits to shift again... waiting for an opportunity to completely tear apart the protective shield."
Looking at the now-stabilized protective shield, Qing He pondered, "Perhaps we should take the initiative to go out. Instead of passively defending, we should find its 'source'."
Xiao Yan nodded, the Power of Chaos slowly flowing between his fingertips. "You're right. But before that, we need a 'locating anchor'—something that can pinpoint the coordinates of the Bottom of the Void." He looked towards the direction of the Tree of Chaos, " The Tree Spirit might know something."
At this moment, the fruit of the Tree of Chaos was emitting a soft light, and a new seed fell from the fruit, landing in Xiao Yan's palm. Inscribed on the seed's surface were a line of small characters. " The Bottom of the Void, born from 'nothingness,' nurtured by 'forgetting,' can only be broken by 'memory.'"
Xiao Yan gripped the seed tightly, a flash of realization crossing his eyes. "It seems we have to make a trip to the ' Sea of Forgetting.' The most ancient memories slumber there, perhaps holding the secrets of the Bottom of the Void."
The star trails returned to normal, and the protective shield of the Co-Prosperity Zone regained its former stability. But everyone knew that this was merely a lull before the next clash. Xiao Yan gazed towards the Sea of Forgetting, his longsword humming softly in its sheath, as if it couldn't wait to cleave through the mist shrouding the secrets.