The secret pact of rebirth, guiding the soul homeward.
Chapter 52: Secret Contract of Rebirth
The shadow cast by the fallen star, like an unhealed wound, stretches across the demon realm and weighs heavily on the hearts of every surviving demon. The once sacred Hanging Mirror Palace is now nothing but ruins, standing silently amidst the swirling, thin demonic energy, like a gigantic, pale skeleton.
Yun Zhiyu stood by the broken window, his silver-gray hair fluttering in the wind mixed with ashes. He opened his palm, and the shard of glass lay quietly in his hand, its color dull, as if it were just an ordinary scrap of jade. Since the strange event that day, it had fallen completely silent, and no matter how he tested it with his own demonic power, or even risked approaching the edge of the Starfall Scar, it had no further reaction.
"An illusion..." he murmured to himself, his icy blue eyes filled with an unyielding weariness and disappointment. Ten years of perseverance, the constant sacrifices of his people, and the dwindling resources had long since worn away most of the young leader's spirit. The faint tremor from the fragments that day was once a glimmer of light he had seen in the darkness; now, the light had been extinguished, leaving only a deeper chill.
He took a deep breath of the cold air and was about to turn away from the suffocating ruins when he caught a strange sight out of the corner of his eye—not from the fragments, but from a mark he had unconsciously made with his demonic power on the dusty window frame.
The mark bore a resemblance to, yet was entirely different from, an ancient demon seal pattern that the young master Yun Zhixue had once demonstrated in his memory. Driven by an inexplicable impulse, he focused his mind and attempted to use the demonic power at his fingertips to trace in mid-air the more complex spiritual contract rune that Mo Xiaoyu (in her glass heart form) had once used to stabilize the chaotic energy within his body.
The moment the final stroke of the rune was completed—
Buzz!
The shards of glass in his palm suddenly became scalding hot, and a burst of scorching air erupted from them. It was not an attack, but rather carried an indescribable urgency and...guidance!
The light flashed and disappeared, and the fragments fell silent once more. But Yun Zhiyu's heart pounded wildly, and his blood rushed to his head. It wasn't an illusion! It required a specific "key"! Not brute force, but... resonance!
He immediately closed his eyes and focused his mind, abandoning all distractions, and tried his best to recall all the details related to Mo Xiaoyu and the young master. He recalled the unique warmth and inclusiveness of the power of the glass heart, which also carried the cunning charm of the cat demon. He recalled the lofty spirit and resolute protection in the young master's sword intent... He carefully wrapped the glass heart with his purest snow owl demon power, mixing these mixed thoughts together.
It's lit up!
The glass shards lit up again, this time with a weak but steady and continuous light! Moreover, the shards began to rotate slightly in his palm, and finally, one of the sharp points pointed firmly towards the depths of the Suspended Mirror Palace—towards the "Hall of Rebirth," a forbidden area rumored to be the place where the Snow Owl Demon Kings of all ages had passed away!
Under the same sky, in the human realm, on the southern border.
Unlike the desolate and bleak demon realm, this place is humid and sweltering, teeming with life to the point of being wild. But beneath this vitality lies an even more sinister and deadly intent.
Su Xiaolou stood before a jarring forest shrouded in distorted light. The trees before her were growing, flowering, bearing fruit, and withering at a visible speed, then cycling again and again, so fast it was dizzying. This was the "Fleeting Forest" formed under the influence of the "Fountain of Youth."
"Tsk, they've stolen time right up to my doorstep." He muttered, instinctively reaching for the wine gourd at his waist, only to find it empty. He scratched his messy hair in frustration, but his eyes were sharp as an eagle's.
He came here not to resolve this temporal chaos, but to trace an extremely subtle "dream guide." It was a unique sensation possessed by his Dream Weaver bloodline; just a few days ago, a faint yet strangely familiar dream fluctuation flashed through the depths of this "Fleeting Forest." That feeling… was strikingly similar to the unique leaps and agility of Mo Xiaoyu's spiritual consciousness!
"Little Fish Girl... Is that you? Or is it some demon or monster causing trouble?" Su Xiaolou dared not be negligent. He bit his fingertip and used his own blood essence to quickly draw in the void. Crimson runes appeared, not for attack, but to spread outwards like a spider web, carefully sensing all traces related to dreams and souls in this area.
The blood-red rune trembled, most of its energy pointing towards the chaotic vortex of time within the forest. However, amidst the countless chaotic points, a tiny, almost imperceptible pull did not sink into the forest floor, but instead… meandered upwards, like a transparent thread, ignoring the barriers of space, reaching towards the distant northern sky—
Probe towards that "mark of fallen stars"!
Su Xiaolou suddenly looked up, his eyes flashing with a sharp light. Sure enough! His guess was right! That hellish place not only devoured matter, but also interfered with and even captured the fragments of souls and dreams drifting between heaven and earth! Mo Xiaoyu's spiritual consciousness fragments were very likely trapped inside!
Moreover, he keenly sensed that this dream-guiding thread originating from "Shamaelin" did not exist independently. Around it, countless finer and dimmer threads were wrapped, coming from all directions, from the various perilous places and strange phenomena that appeared due to the starfall scar, and ultimately all flowing into the scar that stretched across the sky like rivers flowing into the sea.
"Using the most dangerous places as anchor points, weaving a vast net to capture the dreams and souls of all living beings... This kind of operation doesn't seem like something that brainless demon lord could pull off." Su Xiaolou felt a chill rise up her spine. "Starfall Mark... what exactly are you?"
Inside the Hall of Rebirth, there were no opulent decorations, only endless emptiness and a bone-chilling cold. Huge ice pillars supported the dome, and beneath the ice, the remains and wills of the Snow Owl warriors of past generations were vaguely frozen.
Following the guidance of the glass shards, Yun Zhiyu traversed numerous restrictions and arrived at the deepest part of the main hall. Here, there was only a solitary ice platform, completely empty except for a huge relief of outstretched ice and snow wings, imprinted on the wall, exuding a desolate and ancient aura.
When the glass shards reached this point, their brilliance reached its peak, and they even floated slightly, emitting a clear and melodious sound.
Yun Zhiyu gazed at the wing relief, a sense of enlightenment washing over him. He stepped forward, knelt on one knee, and gently pressed the shimmering glass shard onto the center of the relief, onto the most central feather.
"With the blood of the snowy owl, we carry on the will of the former king; with crystal as our bond, we guide lost souls. Return!"
He murmured the ancient prayer that naturally came to mind, a prayer that originated from the depths of his blood.
boom--!
The entire Rebirth Hall trembled violently! The ice platform emitted a blinding white light, and the wing reliefs on the wall seemed to come alive. Strands of icy blue light rapidly spread along the patterns of the wings, instantly filling the entire wall!
At the same time, the light of the glass shard in Yun Zhiyu's hand suddenly increased, and a solid glass beam shot into the sky. It did not pierce through the roof of the palace, but seemed to communicate with some mysterious entity and directly disappeared into the void!
Deep within the distant Starfall Scar.
Those two drifting specks of dust nestled together were surrounded by eternal silence and the chaotic currents of shattered rules. Suddenly, a warm, familiar beam of light, carrying the scent of home and dearest friends, seemed to disregard the distance of time and space, abruptly piercing through layers of mist and precisely enveloping them!
Buzz!
The luminous dust was the first to respond, its light flashing loudly, and a faint yet clear desire to "return" traveled down the beam of light. The snow owl-shaped dust also vibrated, its instinctive protective sword intent and icy aura being activated, resonating with the luminous light.
An extremely thin passage, made of pure light and willpower, was briefly opened up within the chaotic spacetime barrier!
However, at that very moment—
"Click... snap..."
Like the crisp sound of glass shattering, it exploded deep within Yun Zhiyu's soul!
He looked up abruptly and saw that several clear cracks had appeared out of nowhere on the glass pillar of light that led to the unknown land! A cold, deathly, and malicious will spread down the pillar of light, and wherever it passed, the light of the pillar quickly dimmed!
The white light and ice-blue light inside the Hall of Rebirth also flickered violently, becoming uncertain, and even the feather reliefs on the walls began to show fine cracks!
"Not good!" Yun Zhiyu's heart trembled violently. He could sense that something... or rather, some kind of "rule" existing deep within the Starfall Scar had discovered this passage and was forcibly interfering with, and even... devouring, this hope of return!
He frantically channeled all his demonic power, recklessly pouring it into the shards of glass in his hands and the ice platform beneath his feet, attempting to stabilize the fragile passage. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, but he was completely unaware.
"Young Master! Miss Mo! Seize her!"
In the human realm, outside the Southern Frontier Forest.
Su Xiaolou, who was concentrating on sensing the dream-guiding thread, suddenly changed her expression!
He clearly "saw" that the dream-guiding thread connecting to the Starfall Mark, belonging to Mo Xiaoyu, was suddenly taut and trembling as if pulled by an invisible force. Then, the thread itself began to blur and dim, as if it might break at any moment! Moreover, a nauseating aura, full of the meaning of "end," eroded in the opposite direction along the thread!
"Damn it! There really are guards!" Su Xiaolou cursed, a resolute glint in his eyes.
He clasped his hands together abruptly, and the power of his Dream Weaver bloodline erupted from his body. It was not an attack, but rather a silent and vast "Dream of Solace," flowing upstream along the dream-guiding thread and rushing toward the Starfall Scar!
"Little fish! Calm your mind! I'll build you a bridge!"
His dream power gently enveloped the about-to-break thread, echoing the glass passage that Yun Zhiyu was struggling to maintain in the Demon Realm, together resisting the cold, devouring power from the depths of the Starfall Scar.
A struggle spanning two realms, concerning the soul's return journey, quietly unfolds in this silent void and turbulent present world.
At the other end of the passage, the light from the two specks of dust flickered under suppression; the road back was fraught with both hope and danger.
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