Chapter 212: Remnants of the Blue Star Sect
Somewhere within the Whispering Expanse True World, hidden within the ruins of a sect, sat the Demon Lord upon a throne with a grim expression. The place he was currently in was secretly a vassal sect of his dominion that still suffered—though not as badly as his actual kingdom.
Bowing before him were numerous demons and demonic beast experts, each with equally grim expressions.
"Things have certainly taken quite the unexpected turn… It's a good thing I had long deserted those fools as they fought against Aetherial Master Golden Brilliance Sword. Who would have guessed that such a horrifying being would appear? And its aura… it faintly resembles the Key! DAMN IT!"
The Demon Lord growled in fury as his Master Realm pressure swept outwardly, shaking the hall.
"I'm running out of time! I want you all to send a message to all remnant forces while also forcefully urging others to begin a full-scale invasion into Desert Red Star by any means! We will get Daoist Blue Heavens Sword by any and all means!"
"Yes, Your Excellency!" the many experts in the hall shouted, moving to execute his command.
…
Some time later, back in the place where Elton and the others were currently stationed, Christy had finally managed to completely breach and open the seal.
A vast amount of essence could be felt as it silently yet swiftly shot through the entire region and beyond, alarming many experts before it just as quickly vanished without a trace. Naturally, this would bring about speculation, greed, plots, and many who would eventually come to search for where the source had originated.
The entire underground space where Elton and the others stood had vastly transformed in that moment, almost as if they were in an entirely different realm, shocking them greatly.
"Wow… this is astonishing. What exactly is this place? And the area has widened and grown exponentially." Erica looked around with amazement.
"This place is nothing more than the entrance—or rather, the safe entrance. I can suddenly sense that a bit away from this area lies another void entrance above ground, where the true invasion was likely to happen. Looks like what we've discovered is perhaps another Pocket World? Though I don't think it's quite like the giant one where the Fanged Elves lived." Christy said in thought, her expression slightly tired as she released her Kokon Tengan and reverted to using her Aka Boshi no Tengan.
Elton's gaze swept through the area before focusing on a singular direction. He began to walk forward before speaking.
"Let's go this way."
Both Christy and Erica nodded and followed behind him as they traveled through the wide corridors. The sensory encryptions spread throughout the underground space had similarly expanded along with the now much larger area.
Christy, upon examining the runes, became astonished as she realized that the seals and encryptions were even more powerful than before. She wasn't certain she could pierce through them now, even with her Kokon Tengan fully active.
The trio eventually arrived at a massive open chamber. At its center stood a colossal gate of stone, ancient and imposing. The powerful essence energy from earlier had most definitely escaped from this place—its presence still faintly leaking through the cracks.
"Gege, do you believe that this is the place?" Christy asked cautiously, her starry eyes scanning for every hidden detail.
Elton looked straight ahead with a determined expression and nodded. "This is certainly the place. I can feel a calling coming from beyond this gate."
"…!!!" Both Erica and Christy stiffened, alarm flashing through their eyes—Christy especially, remembering all too well what it meant when Elton uttered such words.
"Before we go any further, I'll make preparations for anything unexpected." Erica's tone grew sharp as her aura erupted. She began chanting long incantations through her spirit, layering four powerful spells at once to unleash instantly if an ambush occurred. Christy followed suit, her eyes shining faintly with a void-piercing brilliance.
Elton smiled briefly before his expression turned serious. A surge of power erupted from his body—White Lightning Star Essence flickering with arcs of silver-blue radiance.
He approached the massive stone doors and placed both hands upon them. The instant his palms made contact, a vibrant blue barrier of condensed starlight erupted, resisting his touch.
Then, as though recognizing him, the barrier shimmered, took on a faint life, and dissolved into streams of luminescent energy.
Those starry-blue sparkles—pure, gentle, and impossibly ancient—drifted through the air, bathing the chamber in soft radiance. Slowly, the massive doors creaked open on their own, weightless as light itself.
Beyond the gates was a beautiful sight to behold upon first visual impressions, but the further the three looked forward, the more they realized that this place was in fact in a state of ruin. Rather, it was better to say that it was forcefully abandoned with the remnants of a terrible internal battle evident.
As Elton looked around, he could surmise that this place was probably about one-third the size of the Fae region in the pocket world, which was somewhat smaller than Brawlmanica if he had to guess. He could tell that overall this place was kind of like a giant dome-like space.
Christy fully activated her Aka Boshi no Tengan, transforming it into her Kokon Tengan as her gaze pierced through everything as far as she could see.
"Gege, this place is truly magnificent and while also in quite an interestingly dormant state. It's also connected to another domain which is likely the true space connecting to what might be where the invasion is likely to appear from. If I had to guess, it might be extremely similar to the case with Desert Red Star connecting to the giant Pocket World including the Whispering Expanse. The Whispering Expanse itself connects directly to the Whispering Expanse True World which is unofficially a part of the Purple Starmist continent. In this case, I suspect that this place is an outside domain similarly connected to that main middle path connecting our Desert Red Star to a place much smaller than that Pocket World while also connecting to the Purple Starmist continent. I also feel as though this place strangely enough has a higher frequency with essence energy very similar to the terrifying place filled with essence beasts," Christy quickly laid out her conjectures filled with thoughts and shining eyes filled with magical symbols.
Erica and Elton were both in awe about how she managed to swiftly come to such conclusions so rapidly after just stepping into this place and barely even moving.
"W-Wow Chrissy. Your analyzing skills are truly top notch! As expected," Erica said with amazement.
Naturally, Elton agreed.
"Haha, thank you for your compliments," Christy smiled as she replied.
"Hmm. Alright guys, let's head to the center area of this place. I can sense that what's calling me is in that place. Also, be on the lookout for all of the wild creatures lurking around here too," Elton said to the two women who nodded in agreement.
The trio moved forward carefully while constantly clearing their paths from the essence beasts of various levels of strength. Erica's powerful ranged magics with homing abilities were especially helpful on their voyage, leaving both Christy and Elton in awe as they appeared more relaxed.
"Erri, we really could have used you when we went on our journey into the Pocket World back then," Elton sighed in amazement.
Erica proudly lifted her head in agreement. "Yes! I completely agree with your statement!"
The further they went, the more grand the dilapidated and destroyed buildings became. All sorts of powerful essence beasts even around Gold Tier 5, Golden Lord level, appeared but were either sent running or killed by the trio. After a while, they finally reached an incredibly large building with ancient etchings and symbols of a large diamond surrounded by three smaller diamonds.
Elton paused momentarily, and in an extremely rare moment, his inner voice spoke out in a serious tone within his mind.
"In the end, my fate has truly been tied to them once more. What 'Key'? What 'Star Sage'? In the end, I'm no longer the me of the past and barely remember many things, but make no mistake. The moment you begin to fail in this life, I will be taking over and doing things my way."
Elton, upon hearing that, wore a serious expression but did not refute anything that was said. He and the others looked at the building which was pretty much the only structure that somehow received little to no damage. Intrigue could be seen in Christy and Erica's expressions. After taking everything in, they walked into the building cautiously, observing everything. They walked through a few halls, spotting remnants of old treasures and many items scattered across the floors.
They eventually walked to a staircase leading to the next floor and began to ascend. The trio continued their exploration into the second and third floors, seeing all sorts of things that were quite awe-inspiring, including sculptures and images of experts that seemed to tell a story.
"This place truly is something interesting. Hopefully there is some sort of sect library in this place. No matter how I look at it, this place is a huge remnant of what was the Blue Star Sect. Though if you ask me, it feels more like a 'Blue Sacred Jewel Sect' or a 'Blue Diamond Sect' given the patterns and images," Erica said with intrigue and a faint hint of sarcasm.
Christy couldn't help but laugh a bit in agreement.
Elton simply smiled wryly as they continued onwards.
After reaching the fourth floor, they came upon a very wide open space. In the middle of this space was an altar. A powerful and archaic feeling filled the air that made the trio feel a strange stuffiness.
"Hmm. It appears that some interesting guests have arrived."
Suddenly, a booming voice appeared out of nowhere, hammering into the minds of the trio as they froze in fear. Elton was the quickest to recover as he kneeled before the presence.
"Forgive us for intruding, Your Excellency. We were sent on a mission to deal with an incoming demon invasion. We were simply very curious about such a beautiful and mysterious place filled with history that we came here and even offended you," Elton said calmly after a breath.
"Hmm? Ah, there is no need for all of that, boy. I'm already aware of you now. Just come here and accept this place as your legacy treasure. Hehehe, what is called the Blue Star Sect in the end was the outer cover for this sacred treasure from the world beyond Terraplane."
"…Ehhhh???"
Elton, Christy, and Erica were completely shocked upon hearing such words.