In Zhu Xian, people start to rise from plundering entries

Before they had gone far, several blurry, starlight-like figures suddenly shot out from a tall, glowing coral grove to their side! They were as fast as lightning, accompanied by a sharp sound of water breaking through the surface.

It was the same star beast that Elder Mu and his group had encountered before!
These star beasts resemble monstrous fish magnified several times, yet they possess four sharp claws, a lizard-like head covered in fine starlight scales, gleaming teeth in their mouths, and eyes flashing with cold and chaotic starlight.

"Watch out!" Lu Xueqi shouted, and the Tianya Sword was suddenly drawn!
"Qiang——!"

A clear, melodious sword cry echoed across the lakebed, and a magnificent sword light, as blue as autumn water, swept out, precisely slashing at the several star beasts that were charging at them. Within the sword light, there was now a trace of the cool starlight she had comprehended over the past few days, making its power even greater.

Puff puff!
The three-headed star beast at the forefront was directly cut in two by the sword light. No blood flowed from the wound, but starlight escaped. The corpse quickly became transparent and eventually turned into light spots and disappeared, leaving only a few rice-grain-sized, irregular polyhedral crystals that emitted a faint starlight and fell to the bottom of the lake.

But the star beasts behind them were fearless and continued to pounce. Moreover, more star beasts emerged from the surrounding corals and the shadows of the ruins, numbering in the dozens from all directions!
Su Han's eyes turned cold. He pointed his fingers like a sword, a condensed azure sword energy bursting forth from the water, instantly piercing the head of a star beast that attacked from the side. The Taiji Xuanqing Dao spiritual power contained within the sword energy was upright and profound, and seemed to have a good restraining effect on star beasts.

Elder Mu did not attack directly, but instead continuously cast spells to control the "Star-Attracting Bead." The Star-Attracting Bead hovered in front of him, emitting a gentle pulling force, slowly gathering the active star power within a certain range. On the one hand, this reduced the pressure of the star power environment on the three of them, and on the other hand, it slightly interfered with the star beasts that relied on star power for concealment and movement, causing their movements to slow down slightly.

Lu Xueqi moved with her sword, the Tianya Sword transforming into a screen of azure light in her hand. The sword light crisscrossed, annihilating the attacking star beasts one by one. Her swordsmanship was already exquisite, but now, performed underwater in the Star Lake, it became even more fluid and agile, as if it had merged with the surrounding water and starlight.

Su Han, meanwhile, held his ground, using the Azure Cloud Sword Technique in conjunction with his initial mastery of the Starry Sky Sword Qi, with considerable efficiency. He discovered that activating the Star Power Seed within his dantian and drawing a wisp of Star Power into the sword qi, creating a pale blue sword qi interspersed with silver threads, was exceptionally lethal to Star Beasts, almost instantly crushing them upon contact.

The battle was brief but intense. Dozens of star beasts were quickly wiped out by Lu Xueqi and Su Han's swords, leaving only scattered starlight and a few star power crystals.

Su Han collected several crystals, which were slightly warm to the touch. He could sense the pure but somewhat chaotic stellar power within them. "These crystals..."

"It's the core of a star beast, containing the star power it absorbed, but it's not pure enough, mixed with its own chaotic consciousness. Direct absorption would be harmful, but it might be useful as material for refining weapons or setting up formations," Elder Mu explained, waving his hand to collect the scattered crystals.

The three did not stop and continued onward. Having experienced this encounter, they were even more vigilant. Based on his memories of their previous exploration and the guidance of the tattered star map, Elder Mu chose a relatively secluded path with less activity from star beasts, meandering towards the center of the lake.

Along the way, they saw more magnificent ruins: huge star reliefs, broken totem pillars, dried-up sacrificial pools, and rows of half-collapsed palaces. Judging from their scale and style, this must have been a prosperous area of ​​the sacred land of the aquatic tribe in the past.

On some relatively intact walls, they also saw more murals. The murals depicted scenes of the aquatic tribe worshipping the star source, holding grand sacrifices, sailing through the star sea on star rafts, and coexisting with various strange star beasts, all vividly portrayed and filled with an ancient and mysterious atmosphere. Su Han paused for a moment before a huge mural. This mural occupied an entire high wall and seemed to depict a panoramic view of the aquatic tribe's holy land during its heyday. In the center of the painting was the towering pillar of star source light, and below the pillar was an incomparably magnificent giant altar, entirely constructed of some kind of luminous jade. Above the altar, suspended was a huge, complete armor-like artifact, inlaid with countless "stars" arranged and moving according to mysterious trajectories, emitting infinite radiance that enveloped the entire holy land. That should be the complete "Zhou Tian Star Armor".

Around the altar, countless aquatic people knelt in worship, while further away, a star-studded raft floated, its starlight dazzling—a scene of prosperity and peace. However, discordant cracks and shadows began to appear along the edges of the murals, seemingly foreshadowing impending disaster.

"The complete Zhou Tian Xing Jia..." Su Han murmured to himself. The image on the mural alone gave him a sense of vastness, antiquity, and sacredness. It was hard to imagine how awe-inspiring the real thing must be.

"Look here," came Lu Xueqi's cool voice. She was standing next to another, relatively smaller mural.

Su Han and Elder Mu walked over. The mural seemed to depict a scene of internal conflict among the aquatic tribes. The scene was divided into two parts: one group of aquatic tribesmen surrounded the star armor and altar, seemingly performing some kind of ritual; their expressions were fanatical, and they raised their hands to the sky. The other group of aquatic tribesmen were at the edge of the scene, their expressions either grief-stricken or trying to dissuade them; the two sides seemed to be arguing fiercely. Above the mural, the starry sky was distorted, as if something terrible was about to descend from beyond the heavens.

"Internal strife, plus... external threats?" Elder Mu stroked his beard, deep in thought. "Could it be that the destruction of the Water Tribe was not solely due to internal conflicts leading to the shattering of the Star Armor?"

No one can answer. History is buried in the dust of time, leaving only fragments.

They continued onward. The closer they got to the center of the lake, the denser the starlight became, almost solidifying into a mist of light that flowed through the water. The lake water grew warmer, and the pressure increased, as if an invisible force was pressing in from all directions. It was a force field formed by pure stellar energy.

Su Han could clearly feel the excitement and joy of the star power seed within his dantian, as if a prodigal son were returning home. However, he also felt pressure; his physical body and spiritual energy were under constant pressure. He silently circulated his cultivation technique, mobilizing the star power seed to form a very faint layer of silver light on his body surface, which immediately reduced the pressure considerably.

Lu Xueqi was also enveloped in a layer of azure sword light, separating her from the surrounding star power, but her breathing was noticeably more rapid than before. Elder Mu, on the other hand, relied mainly on the star power shield formed by the Star-Guiding Pearl, and his expression grew increasingly solemn.

"The edge of the Stellar Force Field is just ahead," Elder Mu said, stopping and pointing ahead.

About a hundred feet away, the lake water seemed to have changed color, taking on a purer, brighter silvery-white hue, like liquid starlight. The light there was blindingly strong, making it almost impossible to see anything clearly except for the core of the pillar of light that pierced through the sky, clearly visible and radiating a breathtakingly powerful force. Faintly visible deep within the intense halo of light were the outlines of a colossal building. (End of Chapter)