Pale blue light threads spread along the veins of the starstone. When they encountered the gray mist formed by Evil Energy, they transformed into tiny star cocoons, gradually enveloping the gray mist. The warm flame membrane continued to release warmth, causing the star cocoons, enveloping the Evil Energy, to slowly float to the surface of the stone. A Shi immediately caught them with a spoon woven from star leaves and poured them into a ceramic bowl containing Stardust Grass. The moment the star cocoons came into contact with the grass juice, they turned into pale black powder and were completely absorbed by the grass juice.
" A Ya! Time to plant Stardust Grass!" A Mu called out to those behind him. A Ya immediately grabbed the Stardust Grass and followed the Star-dwelling boy into the Star Rock area next to the meteorite. The boy skillfully used a Star Stone shovel to carve shallow pits in the Star Rock crevices and sprinkled some ground "Star Rock Powder" into them. "The chieftain said that Star Rock Powder helps Stardust Grass take root faster and can also lock in the Evil Energy along with the grass's roots, preventing it from seeping back into the Star Stone." A Ya then followed the " Starry Sky Symbiosis Method " taught by Liya, sprinkling Stardust Grass on the Star Rock Powder and watering them with diluted Soul-Purifying Water ( Loran had already mixed it with Star Particles to create " Star Soul Liquid ")—as soon as the seeds touched the water, tiny blue sprouts emerged, roots quickly burrowed into the Star Rock crevices, and when the leaves unfolded, they emitted a pale blue light similar to that of the meteorite. The black threads on the surface of the Star Stone seemed to be attracted by a magnet, slowly gathering towards the grass leaves.
A Shi squatted beside the starstone, his notebook filled with rapid notes. "At 11:15 AM, the Ice-Fire Harmonization was activated, and the concentration of starstone lime mist decreased by 20%; at 3:45 AM, the symbiotic zone of Stardust Grass and starstone powder took shape, and the Starstamen Flower began to bud; at 1:15 AM, Star Insect crawled out from the cracks in the starstone, and the Stardust Grass regained its bright light!" He also asked the star-dwelling boy to help measure the energy fluctuations of the starstone, and drew a map of the starstone's veins and the distribution of star plants on the notebook, marking " The Evil Energy is most concentrated on the west side of the meteorite, which needs to be purified"—that was what the boy said, because every time a meteor streaked across the night sky, the Stardust Grass on the west side withered the fastest.
Just as A Mu was purifying the western side of the meteorite, the meteorite suddenly trembled slightly— the Evil Energy deep within the stone's core suddenly erupted, causing the warm membrane that A Mu had condensed to shake. The Stardust Grass, which had just regained its faint light, began to turn gray again! A Mu hurriedly gripped the hilt of his sword, suddenly remembering what the star-dwelling boy had said about "borrowing the power of a meteor." He immediately adjusted the power of the ice mist, condensing more star particles into light bands, which wrapped around the veins of the meteorite to form a "star ring," temporarily blocking the spread of Evil Energy.
"Use the ' Star Core Stone ' from the canyon as a catalyst!" The old patriarch of the Star Dwelling clan walked over, leaning on his starwood staff, holding a stone that shimmered with a bluish light. "This is a Star Core Stone dug from the center of a meteorite. It can absorb Evil Energy and gather star energy. Mix its power into the power of ice and fire, and inject it into the Star Stone in accordance with the frequency of star language, and you can purify the deep-seated Evil Energy."
A Mu immediately took the Star Core Stone and fused it with the power of ice and fire, and star particles—the power of fire was tinged with a pale blue light, while the power of ice mist shimmered with a very faint starlight color. The two powers intertwined to form a light stream of the same origin as the Star Stone, which was injected into the meteorite stone along with the resonance of the star language. The tremors of the Star Stone gradually subsided, and the gray mist in the stone's core seemed to be drawn to the surface by the light stream, slowly rising and being firmly absorbed by the leaves of the Stardust Grass; the Star Stone's light became clear again, the grayish Stardust Grass regained its pale blue glow, the tightly closed Starstamen Flower slowly bloomed, and the pale purple petals shimmered with a lustrous light under the starlight. Even the Star Insect hiding in the crevices of the star rocks crawled out and wove a silver star net around the Star Stone.
"Look at the top of the meteorite!" The star-dwelling youth suddenly pointed to the highest point of the meteorite. Everyone looked up and saw a crystal core embedded in the recessed area at the top of the meteorite, shimmering with starlight—half of the crystal core was encased in star rock, its surface wrapped in extremely faint black threads, it was indeed a " Star Core "! The light of the crystal core echoed the color of the starry sky, clearly the life core of the canyon, only it was bound by the evil traces of star turbidity, which prevented it from playing its role in stabilizing star energy.
"This is the ' Heart of the Star Vein ' in the canyon!" Loran squatted beside the meteorite, his fingertips glowing with a purifying light. "Activating it will completely stabilize the Evil Energy within the starstone, restoring Starfall Canyon to its former vitality— A Mu, are you willing to give it a try?"
A Mu nodded and gently placed the New Sprout Sword in the depression of the meteorite. He didn't rush to inject power, but first let the power of ice and fire resonate with the meteorite and the starry sky at the same time. Then, he slowly injected the light stream mixed with the power of the Star Core Stone into the Star Core. The starlight color of the crystal core instantly surged, and the black threads on the surface quickly faded away like mist blown away by the star wind. The starlight color spread along the veins of the meteorite, covering the entire Starfall Canyon.
"The meteorite has brightened! The Starstamen Flower are all in bloom!" the Stardwellers suddenly cheered. Everyone looked up and saw the pale blue halo of the meteorite illuminating the entire canyon. The faint light of the Stardust Grass intertwined with the starlight, making the canyon look like a dream. The Starstamen Flower were blooming exceptionally brightly, with dewdrops formed from stardust clinging to their pale purple petals. The star webs woven by Star Insect swayed gently in the halo, like a flowing star carpet. Even the air was filled with the faint fragrance of the Starstamen Flower.
The Stardwellers emerged from their Star Rock Houses, carrying "Stardust Cakes" baked with stardust and sweet "Star Dew Drinks." The old chieftain handed a bowl of warm Star Dew Drinks to the youths, smiling as he said, "This is made with the juice of Stardust Grass; it gathers star energy. Thank you for bringing the canyon back to life!"
A Ya took out her paintbrush and knelt down beside the meteorite to sketch—she deliberately included the scene of the meteorite reflecting the starry sky, the blooming of the Starstamen Flower, and the scene of the Stardwellers playing with the Star Insect in the drawing. She also marked it next to the Star Core as "The life core of Starfall Canyon, the energy of the meteorite and the status of the star plants need to be monitored monthly." The Icefield Wolf came over and gently touched the meteorite with its paw. The starlight color of the Star Core condensed into a small Starstamen Flower -shaped light pattern in the palm of its paw, which made the star dwellers and the boys laugh.
As the starlight deepened, the romantic Starfall Canyon was brimming with life: the halo of starstones filled the canyon, Stardust Grass swayed gently under the starlight, Star Insect webs swayed in the night breeze, and warm lights shone from the Stardwellers's star-rock huts. A Mu compiled today's patrol records into a "Canyon Guardian Log," with a symbiotic diagram of Star Core and meteorites drawn on the title page; A Shi, on the other hand, compiled the starstone recovery data and the blooming rate of Starstamen Flower into a table, saying he would take it back to the sacred land to compare with the moonlight ecological data of the wetlands, and study the differences in the dissipation of Evil Energy under different starry sky environments.
On the return journey, the Star Core suddenly emitted a starlight-like glow, extending towards the " Mist-Hidden Forest " on the south side of the canyon. Loran temporarily protected the crystal core with a star energy shield (to prevent it from being corroded by the night's chill), and said to the boys with a smile, "It seems it sensed the life force fluctuations of the forest. Next time we patrol, we can go and take a look at the Mist-Hidden Forest."
A Mu gripped the New Sprout Sword tightly, the Ice-Fire Entwining Pattern on the scabbard echoing the starlight of the Star Core: "Whether it's the forest or somewhere else, we can protect the life hidden in the starry sky, moonlight, and sea of fire!" The boys' laughter echoed in the canyon's night sky, and the golden figure of the Icefield Wolf ran along the Star Rock Road, a Stardust Grass with a pale blue glow in its mouth, as if collecting souvenirs for the next guardian journey.
As night deepened, A Mu placed the Canyon Logs into the "Guardian Bookshelf"—the shelf was already filled with thirteen logs, from the water veins of the Clear Creek River and the flowers and plants on the edge of the abyss, to the Ironleaf Flower of the mines and the Fluorescent Butterfly of the Elven Woods, to the wind Windwhisper Stone of the grasslands, the Marshheart Crystal Tidal Crystal Core bays, the swamp core Fallen Star Crystal of the woodlands, the Icefield Crystal of the ice plains, the Tidal Crystal of the archipelago, the Molten Fire Crystal Moonheart Crystal of the wetlands, and the Star Core of the canyons. Each log was filled with the growth and protection of the young people. Moonlight shone through the gaps in the tent onto the logs, reflecting the ice and fire warning crystals and Stardust Grass specimens beside the bookshelf, as if telling a story: the path of protection has no end. Those small beauties hidden in the starry sky of the canyons, the moonlight of the wetlands, and the glow of the volcanoes, those protection methods tailored for each piece of land, will eventually weave a vibrant net covering the continent in the passage of time.
The story of " The Qilin of Falling Maple " continues to grow amidst the starry sky of the canyon, the light of the crystal core, and the laughter of the young boy. There are no thrilling battles, only Stardust Grass planted by hands, starry sky records written with pen, and star language resonance transmitted beside star rocks—these ordinary acts of protection, like the star stones of the Starfall Canyon, are tranquil yet brilliant, slowly converging into a protective river that illuminates the continent, flowing gently towards the more distant Mist-Hidden Forest and the more secluded ecological lands.