Chapter 518 - 515: Lord Ying Monitoring the Starlight

Chapter 518: Chapter 515: Lord Ying Monitoring the Starlight

Beneath the spreading starlight and obscured by the Sea of Consciousness, the captain found he could no longer find any trace of the Eye of the Stars.

The Eye of the Stars had also abandoned its vessel, becoming one among countless stars. The captain now had no way of telling which one it was.

Meanwhile, the starlight continued to spread beyond the Sky Island. The Eye of the Stars seemed to have accelerated the activated pollution, causing more and more motes of light to flood into the Sea of Consciousness, helping it hide even deeper.

Seeing this, the captain could only temporarily abandon the thought of total annihilation. He ascended high into the air, first using a filter to contain the starlight’s spread, then began to eliminate the activated pollution.

Thus, the forces of the starlight and the filter entered a stalemate.

For the starlight to spread, it first had to create activated matter. So, the captain desperately destroyed the activated matter, creating an isolation zone to ensure the starlight could never escape the central region.

That swath of toppled ancient forest was the captain’s masterpiece.

However, some activated pollution still escaped, and activated matter began appearing on the outskirts of the Sky Island. The captain, stretched too thin, could only have his unwitting crew members "clean up" this activated matter, after which he would handle the final touches.

These crew members could no longer remember their own identities. They certainly didn’t know who this projector was, but they felt an affinity for it.

One day, when one of the crew members grew curious and asked about the captain’s identity, the captain intended to tell the truth, but he was wracked with guilt.

’I selfishly cast their consciousnesses into relics. They probably wouldn’t have wanted this...’

With this thought, the captain concealed the truth.

"You... just call me Lord Ying."

"We are undertaking a great task. When it is all over, I will tell everyone everything that has happened on this island. That is my promise."

But the captain never imagined things wouldn’t end so quickly.

He and the Eye of the Stars faced off for a very long time, with neither able to gain an advantage.

’I must find a way to make the Eye of the Stars reveal itself.’

The projector’s reels spun. The captain’s vast consciousness churned, piecing together everything on the Sky Island. He thought of the activated relics under his command, and he thought of Zhou Dynasty... alone, waiting for his teammates to return.

’I need a catalyst... a crisis that can threaten the Sea of Consciousness...’

The captain looked toward the Magic Curtain. This relic possessed a wondrous ability: it could create a single key item.

For instance, in a magic show, if one wanted to pull a rabbit from a hat, as long as all other conditions were met, one only had to cover the hat with the Magic Curtain, rub it a few times, and a rabbit would appear beneath it.

There could be one, and only one, key item, and it had to be the most crucial part of the "performance."

And right now, the captain was missing that crucial part.

So he took Old Bu to the edge of the Sky Island.

"Old Bu, I need you to do me a favor."

"Of course, Lord Ying. We are undertaking a great task. Please, tell me what you need."

Just like that, the captain laid out his "magic performance" in its entirety.

After hearing the requirements for the magic trick, Old Bu suddenly unfurled, fumbled about on the grass for a few moments, and the key item appeared.

The captain didn’t know what the specific "prop" would be, so when he saw the thing on the grass, he too was stunned.

’A... human?’

It was a Young Lady in a combat uniform. She looked unremarkable. Dim sunlight filtered through the clouds, glinting off her nameplate, and the captain finally confirmed it: she was just an ordinary Hunter.

’How can this be? The key item is actually a human?’

Looking at the Young Lady lying on the grass, the captain was thoroughly confused. He even began to doubt his own plan.

Before long, however, he sensed a powerful force approaching—a force so strong it felt like it was tearing at his own vast consciousness.

The captain understood instantly. This was a power capable of ripping open the Sea of Consciousness.

’The key item... is what comes next?’

The captain immediately took Old Bu and hid in the sky, concealing their forms.

Before long, a metal Block appeared beside the Young Lady. After circling twice in the air, it hovered motionlessly, seeming rather unremarkable.

But through the projector’s lens, it was clearly no ordinary metal Block. It was a void of consciousness. A profound darkness and silence shrouded the Block; any consciousness that entered it would be completely devoured, utterly annihilated.

The moment he saw this Block, the captain understood. *This* was the key item he needed.

’Now, it’s time for the magic show to begin.’

The captain used an activated shrub to lure Zhou Dynasty to the Young Lady’s side. He had Zhou Dynasty tell her about the Sky Island, then guided them step-by-step toward the island’s center. After that, he separately contacted the Block, which appeared to have a consciousness of its own, and told it part of the truth about the Sky Island.

Then came the final step: casting the void into the starlight.

By the time the group entered the Starlight Forest, the Eye of the Stars had already been roused.

As the creator of the Sea of Consciousness, there was no way it could fail to sense that terrifying void of consciousness.

Sure enough, the Eye of the Stars took the bait. It used the bodies of an investigation team to lure Li Luo’s party to the most turbulent point of the consciousness torrent, pulling the consciousnesses of Zhou Dynasty and Li Luo into the starry expanse.

The captain was certain that even if the Eye of the Stars discovered the film reels on their persons, it would still have no choice but to bring them into the Sea of Consciousness.

Because to counter the consciousness void, one needed an "Indestructible Consciousness."

And Zhou Dynasty was that Indestructible Consciousness.

The consciousness that had once belonged to the relic, the Holy Sword.

Upon touching the consciousness void, the Indestructible Consciousness wouldn’t be devoured. Instead, it would get stuck on the outside of the void, just as Mo Ling had witnessed previously.

The Eye of the Stars wanted to use this Indestructible Consciousness to link all consciousnesses together. That way, every consciousness would become indestructible and would not be devoured by the void, thereby preserving the Sea of Consciousness.

To accelerate the merging of consciousnesses, it had to continuously persuade Zhou Dynasty to let down his guard. In doing so, it was forced to reveal its location.

To avoid being devoured by the consciousness void, it had to connect with the Indestructible Consciousness. To connect with the Indestructible Consciousness, it had to reveal itself to persuade Zhou Dynasty.

Even if the Eye of the Stars had discovered the film reels on them, it had no other choice. Otherwise, the entire Sea of Consciousness would be consumed by the void.

The captain was sure the Eye of the Stars would not abandon its ideals and would inevitably act. And, just as he had predicted, the Eye of the Stars revealed itself.

What the captain hadn’t expected, however, was that Zhou Dynasty never once let down his guard, staunchly defending his inner self. Consequently, the Eye of the Stars gave up completely, fully exposing its location.

This was what allowed the captain to subdue it with ease.

And with that, the entire plan was complete...