Chapter 495 - 492: Starlight Forest

Chapter 495: Chapter 492: Starlight Forest

’Is this the central region Lord Ying mentioned, the one shrouded in starlight?’

Mo Ling was utterly shocked, but also a little relieved.

’We’ve finally reached the center.’

The Sky Island was much larger than Mo Ling had imagined. They had already spent a lot of time getting here.

The starlight filling the sky seemed to celebrate their arrival, but Mo Ling knew that a deeper terror lurked within it.

’Where is the Eye of the Stars hiding? What is it planning?’

Although they had reached their initial destination, the mysteries of the Sky Island were only deepening. The animated relics seemed to weave together a little-known piece of history, waiting to be unraveled.

"Should we go in?" Zhou Dynasty asked, turning to Li Luo.

Li Luo said nothing. She simply gazed at the bands of light spreading in all directions and nodded.

And so, they stepped into the forest shrouded in starlight.

The night air was cool. Huge, ancient trees swayed gently, like giants rooted to the earth waving their arms. But faint blue chains bound them, holding them in place.

Upon entering the Starlight Forest, Li Luo and Zhou Dynasty immediately began to scan their surroundings.

"Do you feel that? It feels like we’re being watched by so many eyes." The hair on Zhou Dynasty’s arms stood on end. He clutched his arm and spoke worriedly.

"The ancient trees?" Li Luo tilted her head back to look at the towering, giant-like trees.

"It’s more than that..." Zhou Dynasty reached out, grasping at the air.

Blue motes of light drifted through the air. A faint blue mist floated from the ground toward the sky, and tiny threads of light zipped back and forth, as if carrying messages.

"It’s animated air," Zhou Dynasty said, stunned. "It’s watching us, too."

Under the starlight, the air currents became visible. The direction of the mist faintly revealed their flow.

However, these currents seemed to have minds of their own. They didn’t follow the wind at all, but drifted about freely, going wherever they pleased.

There was only one explanation: the air here had long since become animated.

But the surging currents didn’t attack them. They simply swirled the motes of light about with abandon, drawing near as if just passing by, taking a few curious glances before hurrying away.

"They’re not attacking us."

"Yeah, it seems they’re just... curious?"

Before entering, Li Luo had steeled herself for a bitter fight. A forest controlled by the Eye of the Stars should have been fraught with danger. She had already been gripping the hilt of her Holy Sword, yet there were no "enemies" to be found.

The curious gazes came from all directions—even the ground itself.

The starlit soil quivered, as if something was about to burst forth. But after a moment, the trembling stopped, and all was still again.

The very soil beneath them was curious about the visitors. It churned upward for a moment to get a better look, then quietly settled back down.

Without realizing it, the outsiders had become the newest "attraction" in the Starlight Forest. Everything that passed by had to stop for a look.

Furthermore, the concentration of animated matter here seemed off the charts. Animated things were everywhere, yet they all coexisted in perfect harmony, with no sign of conflict.

In this lush Starlight Forest, everything was orderly. The animated things were like orbiting stars, each keeping to its own path.

What struck Mo Ling as odd was, ’They don’t seem to be drawn to the starlight?’

The image of the entranced Antlered Apes was still fresh in Mo Ling’s mind.

Upon seeing the starlight, all creatures were irresistibly drawn to it, walking unconsciously toward its source, oblivious to their surroundings.

Yet the animated things here were actually interested in the outsiders, as if the starlight’s pull had no effect on them whatsoever.

Faint blue bands of light crept over the bodies of these animated things, with shimmering motes wandering along them. When one of these creatures approached the outsiders, the motes around it would flash purple as if stimulated, then quickly fade back to blue.

Everywhere Li Luo and Zhou Dynasty went, the bands of light would change color as if stimulated, which in turn would attract more of the curious animated things.

The Starlight Forest was like a spiderweb connected by these bands of light. The slightest movement drew the attention of everything within it.

Their hearts pounded with every step. They dared not make any sudden moves, but still, they attracted something strange.

It was a type of animated thing they had never seen before—or perhaps it was a creature of some kind. Unlike the more common animated trees and soil, it radiated an aura of the unknown.

They were coiled around the ancient trees, resembling long, gelatinous clusters of stars. Upon spotting the newcomers, they extended like snakes, stretching right up to Li Luo and Zhou Dynasty’s faces.

The center of the massive star cluster gazed at them, its swirling nebula beginning to creep onto their bodies.

Li Luo felt a vast, boundless aura from the strange creature, as if it were trying to pull her in. She had no choice but to back away.

But then she felt the same strange presence behind her.

"We’re surrounded," Zhou Dynasty said, his voice trembling.

Without them even realizing it, the long, sinuous creatures had completely surrounded them.

They extended from the trees they were coiled around, their long bodies slowly revolving around the pair. The deep nebulas on their forms made Li Luo and Zhou Dynasty dizzy, and they quickly lowered their heads, unable to meet the creatures’ gaze.

A faint red glow pulsed between the strange creatures. Stars flickered, and motes of light drifted from one to the next, as if they were communicating.

But because they were so close, some of the motes of light drifted onto Li Luo and Zhou Dynasty. The instant the light sank into their bodies, they both froze.

A moment later, they looked at each other.

"Did you hear that?"

"Did you hear that?"

The two spoke the exact same words in unison, as if their minds were perfectly synchronized.

They started to speak again, but both clamped their mouths shut at the same instant, the shock in their eyes undeniable.

’I can feel your thoughts.’ The thought came from Li Luo, transmitted into Zhou Dynasty’s mind through the motes of light.

’Me too.’

Tiny motes of light passed through Zhou Dynasty’s body, emerged from his clothes, and traveled along a faint blue band of light, causing a red ripple to appear on Li Luo’s arm.

They realized at the exact same moment that they could use these motes of light to know what the other was thinking!

However, the thoughts were vague. They could only perceive the general meaning, and only a particularly strong thought could create a resonance.

Li Luo observed the motes of light around them and quickly noticed something.

"Only the red motes of light transmit thoughts. The blue ones don’t."