A Rift in the Sea of Stars

Inside the underground prison, the torches burned weakly, casting a dim yellow light on the stone walls and casting long shadows of the Borisin lieutenant. Lin Yuan sat on a wooden chair, looking at the prisoner who was firmly chained to the wall, and without beating around the bush, asked the question he most wanted to know.

How did you get here?

Borisin's second-in-command did not answer immediately. He stared at Lin Yuan for a long time, his gaze filled with both wariness and obvious doubt. Since the battle in the valley ended, he had been recalling every word Lin Yuan had said. Moon Rage, Wolf Poison, Borisin, and even their relationship with Abundance —this young man knew far too much.

These things shouldn't exist in a world that hasn't even set foot in the stars.

"I'd rather ask you something first," Borisin's deputy spoke slowly, his voice hoarse from his injuries, "How would a native who hasn't even left his own planet know about my race's Moon Rage and Wolf Poison? These aren't things that just any Xianzhou native can explain. Who exactly are you?"

Lin Yuan leaned back in his chair and laughed after listening. He didn't show any nervousness at having his secret exposed; in fact, he deliberately spoke in a half-serious, half-joking tone, "Since you're so eager to know, I might as well tell you. Because I am the spokesperson for the Reignbow Arbiter, is that answer enough?"

After he finished speaking, the cell fell silent for a brief moment.

Borisin's deputy's expression froze at first, then, as if he had heard something utterly unacceptable, his previously calm face instantly contorted. He violently struggled against the chains, the metal buckles on his shoulders ripping and scraping with a harsh sound, and blood quickly flowed down the wound, but he paid no heed.

"The lackeys of the Xianzhou!"

The roar echoed through the underground prison.

"I knew it! Aside from those bastards from the Xianzhou who keep chasing us, who else would know about Moon Rage and Wolf Poison? What kind of spokesperson for the Reignbow Arbiter? In the end, aren't they just dogs working for the Hunt!"

Lin Yuan's smile actually became more pronounced.

He had only been casually testing the waters, but the other party had taken him for someone from the Xianzhou faction. This misunderstanding was actually convenient for him, at least he didn't have to continue explaining why he knew so much about things beyond the stars.

"Think whatever you want." Lin Yuan raised his hand and lightly tapped the armrest of his chair with his fingertips. "Now it's your turn to answer my question. You don't have starships, and there are no civilizations capable of interstellar travel near this continent. It's impossible for just a few of you to have crossed the galaxy and arrived here out of thin air."

Borisin's deputy gritted his teeth and remained silent.

Lin Yuan wasn't in a hurry. He just glanced at the wound on the other person's chest that hadn't fully healed yet. The Power of The Hunt left by the Imperial Bow was still there. Whenever the Abundance power tried to repair the flesh, a very faint blue-green light would appear near the wound, suppressing the newly healed part again.

Borisin's deputy clearly knew that continuing to remain silent was pointless.

They were now in a strange world. Their camp had been destroyed, their captain was dead, and the rest of them had all been eliminated. Even if he said nothing, he couldn't wait for his people to come and rescue him. Since this young man knew even the secret techniques of Borisin, he would eventually find clues from other places.

After a long silence, he finally raised his head again.

We didn't come aboard a starship.

Lin Yuan did not interrupt.

Borisin's second-in-command caught his breath and continued, "We originally belonged to a tribe that wandered the starry sea, following the traces left by the Abundance. A few months ago, we discovered a ruin in an abandoned star field. Everything there had long been destroyed, leaving only traces of the Abundance's power."

"We originally only wanted to find any remaining blessings within the ruins, but we discovered a rift in the deepest part. It wasn't an ordinary spatial rift; it had been there consistently, and we could sense an extremely strong life force on the other side."

Lin Yuan's expression gradually became serious.

"So you came in?"

"At first, there was nothing." Borisin's second-in-command shook his head. "Nobody knew what lay on the other side of the rift. The clan sent a few people in to scout, and some of them came back alive. They said the other side was a world that had never been recorded before, with no starships, no Xianzhou, and no other familiar starship powers."

At this point, his gaze returned to Lin Yuan.

"At least that's what we thought at the time."

Lin Yuan ignored the obviously sarcastic remark and continued to ask, "Why does that rift lead here?"

Borisin's deputy remained silent for a moment, seemingly unsure of the real answer either.

"I have no idea."

"Before we set off, the clan's shaman did say something."

Lin Yuan's gaze shifted slightly.

Borisin's deputy slowly said, "The branches of the Yaoshi have already taken root on the other side."

The cell fell silent again.

Lin Yuan did not press the matter further.

That's enough.

Yaoshi.

branches and leaves.

the other side.

The things he had discovered over the years flashed through his mind: the Ancient Tree of Abundance that appeared in the Star Dou Great Forest, the Ambrosial Arbor sealed underground in Spirit City, the fragments of the Ambrosial Arbor in the Far North ice mountains, and the Medicine King Holy Church that spread throughout the continent and developed based on the power of Abundance.

The seemingly scattered clues began to slowly connect at this moment.

The spatial rift discovered by Borisin was not connected to the Douluo Continent without reason. At least judging from the priest's words, Abundance power had already arrived here before they actually arrived.

Perhaps it was those scattered fragments of Ambrosial Arbor that became a medium connecting the two worlds.

However, these are just speculations.

Lin Yuan was not prepared to draw any conclusions before finding the true location of the crack.

He stood up from his chair and waved to the two Spirit Hall Soul Master guarding outside the cell.

"Keep an eye on him, don't let him die. His injuries can be treated, but don't touch the remaining Power of The Hunt in his body. When we return to Spirit City in a few days, take him with us."

The two Soul Master immediately responded.

Lin Yuan didn't look at Borisin's deputy again, turned around and left the underground prison. The iron door behind him closed again, the heavy latches snapping shut, isolating Borisin's angry curses and the clanging of chains behind the stone door.

He walked down the stone steps back to the ground of the branch hall, where it was already getting light.

After the battle in the valley ended, the people of the Spirit Hall spent the entire night cleaning up the battlefield. Most of the items in Borisin's camp had been transported back to the branch hall, and some weapons, bone ornaments, and personal belongings that had never been seen before were all sealed separately, awaiting further inspection.

As soon as Lin Yuan stepped out of the dungeon entrance, a Soul Master responsible for counting the spoils of war quickly came to greet him.

"Your His Highness the Holy Son"

"Explain."

The Soul Master handed over two wrapped items with both hands. "We found some things on that werewolf's corpse, two of which are quite special. Even the people from the branch hall don't recognize them, so we dare not handle them casually."

Lin Yuan accepted the first item.

It was a palm-sized bone disc with an uneven surface, covered with numerous fine lines. Tiny crystals were embedded in certain areas, which would appear as faint specks of light when illuminated. If it were any other Soul Master from the Douluo Continent, they might have simply regarded it as some kind of strange ornament, but Lin Yuan had already vaguely guessed its purpose the moment he saw the arrangement of those specks.

Star map.

Or rather, it was some kind of extremely rudimentary star-gazing positioning tool.

The second item was a black token.

The token appeared to be made from some kind of animal bone, with a ferocious beast head engraved on the front and several symbols that Lin Yuan couldn't understand on the back. Although the Imperial Bow didn't appear directly, it emitted a faint reaction the moment he touched the token.

Lin Yuan held the two items in silence for a moment, then finally put them away.

Bringing these things back to Spirit City might allow us to extract more information from that prisoner of Borisin.

"Notify everyone to prepare to depart." Lin Yuan looked up at the Soul Master. "The matter here has been resolved; there's no need to linger. Seal all the spoils. Escort the surviving Borisin separately, and assign several guards to watch over him."

"Yes, Your His Highness the Holy Son."

Just as the Soul Master was about to leave, Lin Yuan added, "Tell Xue'er we're returning to Spirit City."

A moment later, things started to get busy outside the branch hall.

The carriages were re-hooked, and boxes of spoils were loaded one by one onto the carriages. The incapacitated Borisin was locked up alone in a reinforced prison cart. Spirit Hall Soul Master lined up on both sides, firmly protecting the entire team in the center.