Inside Spirit Pivot Valley, the air was thick with blood, the stench of char, and a suffocating despair. Elder Xuan Shi, who had been guarding the array eye, and most of his disciples lay as cold corpses. The few survivors were nearing exhaustion in their desperate struggle against traitors and infiltrators from the Shadow Snake Pavilion. The jade altar that carried the final hope of Qingxu Temple was covered in web-like cracks. A strange, viscous, ink-black energy, like a living thing, was eroding the altar's core from within, trying to sever its last connection to the earth veins. The altar's light had dimmed to its utmost limit, as if it would extinguish completely in the next moment.
The entire Qingxu Profound Light Shield groaned under the strain, flickering violently, its brilliance dimming. The light screen covering the entire sect grew thin and transparent at a visible rate. On the mountain gate plaza, the remaining disciples looked up at the soon-to-shatter firmament, their eyes bloodshot with despair. High in the sky, Sect Master Xuan Xuan Zhenren let out anguished, furious roars, but the ghost-masked elder's cackling laughter and even fiercer attacks kept him pinned down, unable to come to the rescue.
Destruction seemed inevitable.
In that moment of utter silence, with only the approach of death—
A figure, like a lone sailboat moving against the current, charged into Spirit Pivot Valley with unhesitating resolve and landed steadily before the crumbling altar.
It was Xuan Lin Zhenren!
His left sleeve was empty, his body drenched in blood, his Daoist robe torn, his face pale as paper without a trace of color, his aura as faint as a candle in the wind. Yet his spine remained straight. Those eyes, usually warm and caring, now held only the calm and unwavering certainty of one who had seen through life and death.
He did not even glance at the traitors and enemies still putting up a desperate fight around him. All his mind and spirit were focused on the altar before him, on the verge of shattering.
"Master!" Tang Xiaoqi staggered into the valley entrance and witnessed this scene. He shouted hoarsely, the foreboding in his heart gnawing at him like a venomous snake.
Xuan Lin Zhenren seemed not to hear. Or perhaps, he had no time for anything else.
Slowly, he raised his remaining right arm, fingers spread wide. He did not form seals. Instead, he traced an ancient, profound trajectory through the void. As his fingertips moved, an indescribable fluctuation, as if emanating from the very source of his soul, began to radiate from within his body.
He looked up at the sky, rendered chaotic by demonic energy and spiritual light. Yet his gaze seemed to pierce through it all, reaching the eternal, circulating stars of the Zhou Tian.
**Master Xuan Lin's farewell words:** *"Qingxu Temple is my Dao-field, and you are my Dao-fruit. With my broken body, I will protect your path forward… It is worth it."*
His lips moved. Ancient, obscure syllables, like prayers from a distant age, or a final contract signed with Heaven and Earth, echoed low and clear through Spirit Pivot Valley, even spreading throughout Qingxu Temple:
**"Stars… as the guide."**
The moment the words fell, a strange transformation occurred!
The sky, originally obscured by demonic energy and the light of battle, seemed to be forcibly torn open by an invisible, mighty force! Strands of pure, cold, boundless star power, ignoring distance and the obstruction of demonic energy, descended as if summoned, crossing the endless void!
This star power was not hot. It carried a cold, eternal, law-like force. Its target was unmistakably Spirit Pivot Valley, Xuan Lin Zhenren, and the crumbling altar!
Starlight enveloped Xuan Lin Zhenren. His broken body began to radiate a hazy, otherworldly glow. His flesh, his bones, his remaining spiritual power, and even the deepest part of his soul spirit—all of it became a vessel and a bridge to receive and bear this vast star power!
But this vessel could not withstand such immense force.
Fine cracks began to appear on the surface of his body, like porcelain about to shatter. Before blood could seep out, it was evaporated by the star power. His eyes remained calm, but now held the tenacity of one enduring boundless pain.
**"Soul spirit… as the sacrifice."**
He uttered the last four words, with a sense of release, and even more, with an unquestionable finality!
In the next instant, his entire aura changed abruptly! He was no longer an independent individual, but had become part of the descending star power, a node closely connected to the altar beneath his feet, to the entire Qingxu Profound Light Shield, to these mountains and earth veins!
He suddenly threw open his arms, as if to embrace all of heaven and earth, or as if to offer himself completely.
**"SOLIDIFY!!!"**
A world-shaking shout, like the first thunderclap at the dawn of creation, exploded in the very soul spirits of every living being!
The descending star power, along with all the energy transformed from Xuan Lin Zhenren's burning flesh and soul, poured like a hundred rivers returning to the sea into the crack-covered jade altar!
*HUM—!!!!!*
The altar let out an unprecedented, deafening hum! The jade, which had been dim, suddenly burst into dazzling platinum white light, so intense that it temporarily dispelled the demonic energy and gloom in the valley! The vicious cracks on the altar's surface, under the scouring of the platinum light, were forcibly sealed and repaired at a visible rate! The strange, pitch-black energy eroding the altar, as if encountering its bane, hissed and rapidly melted away, dispersing!
But that was not all!
This energy, which combined star power and the entire lifebound origin of a Golden Core cultivator, surged through the altar as a hub and instantly flooded every corner of the Qingxu Profound Light Shield like a raging torrent!
The flickering, crumbling light screen, as if injected with immortal divine power, instantly became solid, thick, and indestructible! All the cracks on the screen vanished, replaced by a flowing, platinum white luminescence imbued with star law and a tragic will!
The sect-protecting grand formation was not only instantly repaired but, reinforced by this sacrificial power, briefly reached an unprecedented level of strength! The light screen became as solid as substance, firmly blocking all external attacks!
This earth-shattering change made the demonic tide outside the mountain gate pause for a moment, and drew a roar of shock and fury from the ghost-masked elder high above!
But the price paid was eternal.
Inside Spirit Pivot Valley, the dazzling platinum light gradually faded.
The altar was functioning again, even more stable than before, radiating vast star power and earth vein spiritual energy.
But before the altar, the figure of Xuan Lin Zhenren, enveloped in starlight, had become like transparent crystal—clear, yet no longer real.
Slowly, he turned his head. His gaze traversed space and fell upon the youth kneeling at the valley entrance, face streaked with tears, futilely reaching out a hand.
That gaze was still peaceful. It held a trace of regret at not being able to witness his true growth, but even more, a deep affection and a silent entrustment.
In the direction of Xiao Qi, he formed an extremely faint, gentle smile—one that seemed to have consumed his last remaining strength to conjure.
Then, amidst the flowing starlight, his figure began to dissolve, starting from his fingertips, bit by bit, into countless tiny motes of warm white light. Like fireflies fluttering on a summer night, or a reverse rain of stars ascending to the sky, they slowly rose and finally vanished completely between heaven and earth.
No trace remained. Only the now-stronger sect-protecting grand formation, and the faint, lingering afterglow of starlight in the air, testified to his existence and his final decision.
**Stars as the guide, connecting Heaven and Earth.**
**Soul spirit as the sacrifice, protecting the sect.**
**Master Xuan Lin, body fallen, Dao vanished, transformed into stars, forever watching over Qingxu.**