Encountering an old friend in Xinghu Secret Realm

After the Li brothers left, Mo Xiaoyu spent three more days alone in the cave.

For the past three days, she had barely slept or rested. Apart from necessary meals and breathing exercises, she spent all her time circulating her cultivation techniques to repair her damaged meridians and accumulate meager spiritual energy. The Soul-Stabilizing Bead was her only solace; its continuous cool aura protected her mind, preventing her from being consumed by worry and despair. The faint warmth emanating from the bead was intermittent, like a candle flickering in the wind, yet it never completely went out, which made her firmly believe that Xie Yunzhi was still alive.

On the morning of the fourth day, she decided to stop waiting. The Li brothers hadn't returned; they were probably in trouble, or… she dared not think further. This place, though secluded, was no place to linger. She had to actively seek a way to survive, to find clues that might lead her to Xie Yunzhi, or to complete her mission.

She carefully wrapped the dry rations left by the Li brothers and replenished her water bag with the rainwater collected in the cave. Looking at her reflection in the puddle, she saw her haggard face and her tattered, blood-stained servant's clothes, knowing she couldn't possibly walk outside in this state. She took out the storage ring Xie Yunzhi had given her—a ring made of a special material that seemed to conceal her aura, and had never been taken—and found a set of ordinary blue clothes he had spared. The clothes were too loose, so she had to tear off a hem to tighten them. She then used the mud from the cave to slightly conceal her overly pale face, and tied up her long hair, dressing herself as a man.

She glanced at her reflection in the water; though still thin, she was at least less conspicuous. She took a deep breath, gripped the Soul-Stabilizing Bead on her chest, and resolutely stepped out of the cave where she had been staying for many days. Following the direction that Li Yan and the others had previously deduced—the path leading to inhabited areas—she cautiously made her way forward.

She dared not travel on the official roads, only venturing through the dense forests and mountains. When hungry, she would nibble on some dry rations; when thirsty, she would drink from mountain springs; and at night, she would seek shelter in tree hollows or rock crevices. She was like a frightened bird, easily alarmed by the slightest sound. Several times, she saw cultivators flying overhead or sensed powerful divine sense sweeping across her from afar, and she would immediately hold her breath and hide until the danger had passed before daring to continue her journey.

She traveled day and night, constantly on edge, for seven or eight days. Her provisions were running low, and she had lost a lot of weight, but her eyes grew ever more determined. One day, she crossed a steep mountain ridge, and suddenly the view opened up before her.

Nestled amidst towering mountains lies a vast, mirror-like lake. Its crystal-clear, azure waters reflect the sky, clouds, and surrounding snow-capped peaks. Tiny, starlight-like sparkles shimmer and dance on the surface, clearly visible even in broad daylight—a scene of dreamlike beauty. Scattered along the lake's shore are ancient stone houses, from which wisps of smoke rise faintly.

The spiritual energy here was abundant and gentle, unlike anywhere she had ever been before. What shook her even more was that the Soul-Stabilizing Pearl on her chest spontaneously warmed up and brightened as she approached the lake, as if it were a wanderer returning home with joy. And the faint connection within her body to the fragments of the Spirit-Sealing Stele also pointed to the center of the lake.

"This... is Starfall Lake?" She recalled the name Xie Yunzhi had mentioned, and an indescribable flutter rose in her heart.

She suppressed her excitement and observed more carefully. An invisible barrier seemed to surround the lake, isolating this place from the outside world. She tried to approach, and the barrier didn't stop her; instead, as she passed through, a gentle ripple spread out. It was as if she belonged here.

Her arrival drew attention. Several men and women dressed in plain linen clothes, exuding a pure and natural aura, emerged from the stone house, warily scrutinizing this unfamiliar "young man." Their eyes were clear, filled with scrutiny, but lacked the greed or ferocity commonly seen in outside cultivators.

“Outsiders, this place does not welcome outsiders, please leave.” The middle-aged man in the lead said, his tone was polite but carried an undeniable distance.

Mo Xiaoyu was anxious and didn't know how to explain when the Soul-Stabilizing Pearl on her chest suddenly detached from her collar, hovering in mid-air and emitting a soft and continuous white halo that enveloped her as well.

Upon seeing this light, the faces of those tribesmen who had been wary instantly changed! Their wariness turned into shock, followed by an unbelievable excitement and... awe?

"This is... the aura of the Ancestral Pearl!"

"The Soul-Stabilizing Pearl! It's a sacred object of the Guardian lineage!"

"She...she could be..."

The middle-aged man strode forward, his gaze fixed intently on Mo Xiaoyu, his voice trembling slightly: "Little girl, where...where did you get this bead?"

Mo Xiaoyu knew that hiding it was useless, and besides, this place gave her an unusually warm and peaceful feeling. She took a deep breath, pulled down the ribbon binding her hair, revealing her originally pretty but haggard face, and said frankly, "This pearl is a family heirloom. This junior, Mo Xiaoyu, does not know where this place is..."

"Mo! Your surname is Mo?!" the middle-aged man exclaimed in surprise. The crowd behind him also stirred, their eyes filled with excitement and curiosity as they looked at Mo Xiaoyu.

“So alike…so alike…” An elderly woman with white hair, leaning on a cane, stepped forward, her cloudy eyes carefully examining Mo Xiaoyu’s face, and murmured, “In her eyebrows and eyes, there is a resemblance to the ancestor Mo Lan from back then…”

Mo Lan? Mo Xiaoyu's heart trembled violently. That was the name of her long-lost ancestor! It was only mentioned in a few words in the oldest and most incomplete family genealogy!

"Child, don't be afraid." The old woman's tone became incredibly kind. She reached out and gently took Mo Xiaoyu's cold hand. "This is Starfall Lake. We are the descendants of the Mo clan, who have guarded this place for generations. The blood flowing in your veins is the purest bloodline of our guardians. Welcome home."

"Going home..." These two words were like a warm current, instantly shattering all of Mo Xiaoyu's facade of strength built up over the past few days. Her eyes reddened, and tears welled up in her eyes. After wandering for so long, experiencing life and death, she had actually found the source of her bloodline here?

She was warmly and respectfully welcomed by the villagers into the largest stone house in the center of the village. The interior was simple and ancient, bearing the marks of time. The white-haired old woman was the village's shrine maiden, named Mo Sang.

After listening to Mo Xiaoyu's choked, halting recounting of her experiences, especially her mention of Xie Yunzhi, Su Mengyu, the calamity of the Heavenly River, and the mission of the Ancestral Dragon's inheritance, the entire stone house fell silent. The clansmen's faces displayed a complex mix of understanding, grief, and the relief of finally having waited for this day.

Granny Mosang sighed deeply, her eyes gleaming with wisdom: "Child, what you say is true. In that calamity three hundred years ago, our ancestor Mo Lan was one of the guardians who fought alongside Yun Xi. After her sacrifice, some of our clan followed our ancestral teachings and moved to this Starfall Lake. One reason was to guard the 'Star Core' sleeping at the bottom of the lake, which shares the same origin as the Spirit Sealing Stele and can sense fragments; the other was to wait, to wait for the new generation of guardians recognized by the Soul-Stabilizing Pearl to return and continue the unfinished mission."

She took Mo Xiaoyu's hand and led her to an altar behind the stone house. In the center of the altar was a fragmented stone tablet, neither gold nor jade, exuding an aura of the same origin as the Spirit Sealing Tablet—it was a single piece of it! Around the altar were ancient array runes and images, depicting the mysteries of the Nine Revolutions Spirit Sealing Array and the secret method of how the guardian and the jade holder complemented each other's spiritual power and connected their minds.

“Look,” Granny Mosang pointed to the images and words, “the guardians of the formation are not appendages of the jade holders, but an indispensable other pole of the formation. Your Soul-Stabilizing Pearl can not only stabilize the mind of the jade holder, but also resonate with the star core, greatly enhancing the range of perception of the Spirit-Sealing Stele fragments, and even, at critical moments, guide the power of the stars to strengthen the seal!”

She began to explain in detail to Mo Xiaoyu the lost secret techniques, how to better utilize the power of one's own bloodline, how to deeply resonate with the Soul-Holding Pearl, and how to maximize the spiritual power of both parties when cooperating with the holder of the pearl.

Mo Xiaoyu studied with great eagerness, as if a door to a new world had opened before her. She was no longer just the weak Mo Xiaoyu who needed protection; she was a guardian bearing an ancient mission, an indispensable partner to Xie Yunzhi! This realization filled her previously somewhat humble heart with an unprecedented sense of power and responsibility.

Under the pure spiritual energy of Starfall Lake and the careful guidance of her clansmen, her injuries healed at a visible speed, her cultivation level steadily improved, and her understanding of her own power and the responsibilities of a guardian of the formation deepened day by day.

She stood by the lake, gazing at the starlight reflected on its surface, clutching the warm Soul-Stabilizing Pearl tightly in her hand. She could not only clearly sense the call of the fragment at the bottom of the lake, but also vaguely perceive the existence of another fragment in the extremely distant southeast direction.

"Yunzhi, can you see? I've found my way home, and I've found our way." She said silently in her heart, "I will definitely become stronger, and then... I will come to find you. Wherever you are, wait for me."

Under the starlight, the girl's figure was still slender, but her eyes were as firm and bright as the core of a star at the bottom of a lake.