On the stargazing platform at the peak of Kunlun Mountains, Tianji Zi sat cross-legged in the center of the Heavenly Cycle Star Diagram. His breath was faint as a candle flame in the wind. This great cultivator who had presided over the Heaven's Secrets Pavilion for a thousand years now had an ashen complexion, yet his eyes remained as clear as ever, reflecting the countless stars in the night sky.
"Alliance Leader Tang," Tianji Zi's voice was weak but clear, "my time has come. Today, I entrust the lineage of the Heaven's Secrets Pavilion to you."
Xiao Qi bowed respectfully: "Senior..."
Tianji Zi waved his hand to interrupt, then drew from his bosom an ancient star plate. This astrolabe was made from some unknown material, neither gold nor jade, its surface flowing with dreamlike luster. Embedded in it were three hundred sixty-five stars arranged according to the positions of the heavenly constellations, each one flickering like a real star in the heavens.
"This is the Heavenly Cycle Astrolabe, the treasure of our Heaven's Secrets Pavilion." Tianji Zi gently stroked the astrolabe, his eyes full of reluctance to part with it. "A thousand years of legacy, today changes hands."
He bit his fingertip and, with his essence blood, drew a mysterious seal on the astrolabe. The star plate blazed with brilliant light as all three hundred sixty-five stars lit up simultaneously, projecting a magnificent star map shadow across the night sky.
"Relax your mind and accept the legacy." Tianji Zi shouted softly, pressing the astrolabe against Xiao Qi's brow.
In an instant, a flood of information surged into Xiao Qi's consciousness. It was not merely the cultivation techniques and secret arts of the Heaven's Secrets Pavilion, but also the insights into the Dao of Heaven and the glimpses into fate accumulated by generations of pavilion masters. He saw the patterns of stellar movement, the interwoven threads of cause and effect, fragments of past and future...
Three hours later, the transmission was complete. Tianji Zi had exhausted his last reserves, yet his face wore a relieved smile: "Good... good... As expected of the tribulation-responding person, able to accept the legacy so swiftly..."
His body began to dissolve into specks of starlight, gradually scattering into the night sky: "Remember... what the astrolabe shows is not necessarily fate... destiny... must ultimately be fought for by oneself..."
The last speck of starlight faded. This great cultivator who had peered into heavenly secrets for a thousand years had thus perished, his Dao dissipated and body vanished.
Xiao Qi held the astrolabe, sensing the vast power contained within. This was not merely a magical artifact but a treasure house of wisdom passed down through ten thousand years. Following the methods from the transmission, he submerged his spiritual sense into the depths of the astrolabe.
At first, there was only chaos, as if standing in an infinite starry sky. But as he refined the astrolabe, the scene before him gradually clarified. He saw the mountains and rivers of the three realms, the threads of fate of all living beings, and then...
Suddenly, the astrolabe violently trembled! The three hundred sixty-five stars flashed frantically, finally condensing into a pitch-black point of light in the northwest direction. That point of light continuously devoured the surrounding starlight, like a passage to nothingness.
"A void rift..." Xiao Qi's heart tightened. This was the astrolabe's warning, indicating a tremendous threat.
He concentrated his spirit, pouring all his spiritual sense into that black point. Passing through layers of mist, he saw a chilling vision:
In a twisted void, the demonic entity's origin was slowly reviving. Unlike before, it no longer existed in a concrete form but had transformed into a constantly shifting shadow. This shadow sometimes took the shape of a menacing demon head, sometimes a flowing black river, sometimes countless tiny demon insects...
More terrifying was that Xiao Qi could sense the demonic entity's aura was purer than before its sealing, closer to the essence of demonic cultivation. It was utilizing the special environment of the void rift, shedding all impurities, evolving toward a higher form.
"So that's how it is..." Xiao Qi suddenly understood.
No wonder demonic energy throughout the realms had shown strange variations in recent years, no wonder new types of demons kept emerging. This was all part of the demonic entity's plan—it deliberately allowed some demonic energy to scatter across the three realms. On one hand, this created chaos; on the other, it conducted some kind of experiment.
By observing how demonic energy changed in different environments, the demonic entity was constantly perfecting its own essence. And those mutated demons were its test subjects.
Xiao Qi continued his deeper investigation, trying to locate the void rift's specific coordinates. But each time he was about to lock onto them, a powerful force interfered, causing the astrolabe's divination to deviate.
"It's guarding against the astrolabe..." Xiao Qi realized the demonic entity was very familiar with the Heaven's Secrets Pavilion's legacy and had long prepared countermeasures.
He changed strategy, no longer directly searching for the demonic entity but deducing the patterns of demonic energy variation. The stars on the astrolabe rearranged, showing the flow trajectories of demonic energy throughout the three realms. These trajectories appeared chaotic but actually contained some mysterious formation pattern.
"This is... the Ten Thousand Demons Return Array!" Xiao Qi drew a sharp breath.
According to records from the Heaven's Secrets Pavilion, this was a terrifying formation created by a great demonic power in ancient times. It used demonic energy scattered across various locations as nodes, ultimatelying all power to one place. Once completed, the demonic entity would not only restore all its strength but might even break through to a higher realm.
And the core of the formation was within that void rift.
Xiao Qi immediately exited the divination state and informed the Alliance's high command of this news.
"Ten Thousand Demons Return Array?" Xuanji True Person's expression was grave. "This is a legendary forbidden formation. They say it requires sacrificing billions of living beings to complete."
"The demonic entity doesn't need sacrifices." Xiao Qi shook his head. "It uses another method—using mutated demons as conduits to absorb the world's negative emotions."
He pointed at the trajectories displayed on the astrolabe: "Each mutated demon is a miniature formation node. They create fear, despair, anger... these negative emotions are the demonic entity's best nourishment."
This discovery made everyone feel chills. So all these years, their demon-clearing operations had, to some extent, been helping the demonic entity collect negative emotions.
"We must find the void rift as soon as possible!" Liu Yun said resolutely.
But Xiao Qi shook his head: "Since the demonic entity dares to use a formation that the astrolabe can warn about, it means it's confident in its position. Recklessly going there will likely fall into a trap."
He and came up with an idea: "Since it uses formations to absorb negative emotions, we can also use formations to transform these emotions."
"Transform negative emotions?" Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. This sounded like pure fantasy.
"That's right." Xiao Qi's gaze was firm. "In the Heaven's Secrets Pavilion's legacy, there happens to be a 'World Purification Heavenly Array' that can transform negative emotions into positive energy."
This idea was too bold, but it was indeed possible. In the following days, the Alliance fully researched the World Purification Heavenly Array, while Xiao Qi continued using the astrolabe to monitor the demonic entity's movements.
He discovered the demonic entity's evolution speed exceeded expectations. At this rate, the Ten Thousand Demons Return Array would be completed in at most ten more years. By then, the three realms would face an even more terrifying demonic tribulation than before.
"Ten years..." Xiao Qi gazed at the ever-expanding black point on the astrolabe, knowing their time was running out.
He must, within this limited time, not only devise methods to counter the demonic entity but also find a way to completely eliminate this curse. And the astrolabe's legacy would become his most important reliance.
In the quiet of night, Xiao Qi sat alone on the stargazing platform deducing. The astrolabe flowed with mysterious luster under the moonlight, as if narrating the deepest secrets of the universe.
At one moment, he suddenly felt something, lifting his head to look at the northwestern sky. There, a dark red star was flickering abnormally.
"The Demon Star appears..." he murmured to himself. "A great tribulation approaches..."
But this time, he did not feel as helpless as in years past. He had the astrolabe's legacy, the Alliance of the Three Realms, and more importantly, people and things he must protect.
No matter how difficult the road ahead, he would walk it.