"Argh! I cannot stop spinning!"

  Zhi Xuan screamed in panic, falling uncontrollably in a dark, seemingly bottomless passageway. His body spun wildly in the air, uncontrollable.

  The Formation crack he entered was not a regular corridor, but a small spatial hole created by the spiritual pressure released by the Formation, and now the hole was collapsing around him. The sensation was like being thrown into an empty bottle and shaken relentlessly.

  WHIZZZZZ!

  "Help me! Red Stone!" Zhi Xuan tried to slide down in a dive, but his body remained uncontrollable and kept spinning. "I hate this jade immortal school!"

  The spatial passageway was not black, but filled with dark, swirling jade light, the remnants of agitated Formation energy. Severe nausea hit Zhi Xuan's Sea of Consciousness, and his Heavenly Samsara Wheel spun directionlessly, the pure essence he had gathered nearly exploding.

  "You idiot!" Ruo Xianxue hissed, her voice no longer arrogant, but sounding slightly panicked because of Zhi Xuan's screams. "I told you it was a crack in the Formation, not a stable passage! Shut your monkey mouth! Use your will to fight the spin! Imagine you are a tree root anchoring into the ground!"

  "But I do not have roots!" Zhi Xuan retorted, but he obeyed. He closed his eyes tightly, ignoring the nauseating sensation and the suffocating spin. He focused all his will on one thing: stability. But stability was impossible to achieve when his stomach was churning and his body was uncontrollable.

  "I cannot! I am truly going to die this time!" Zhi Xuan screamed desperately, his fear exceeding his limit as he was tossed around aimlessly. "This is more terrifying than falling from the shadow cliff!"

  "Fool! If you do not stabilize yourself, this passage will treat you as spiritual garbage that must be destroyed!" Ruo Xianxue's roar contained deadly urgency.

  The threat worked. The fear of a futile death, after everything he had been through, ignited a flame of anger within Zhi Xuan.

  'Why must I die from nausea in space?!' Zhi Xuan's mind churned; his mission to protect the star village was not complete. 'I must not die here!'

  With a suddenly hardened will, Zhi Xuan pulled all the essence in his Heavenly Samsara Wheel, forcing it to be still, as if all his energy was a sinking anchor. He imprinted his will on every point of his skin, rejecting the spin.

  Crack!

  A cracking sound was heard in Zhi Xuan's Sea of Consciousness, as if the surrounding spiritual essence was hitting an invisible fortress. The spinning, which was initially wild and chaotic, began to subside, turning into a controlled slide.

  He slid for a few seconds, and then, with a soft impact, his feet touched a solid, hard surface, like a tree branch. Zhi Xuan opened his eyes. His waist ached from resisting the impact, thankfully the lush leaves cushioned the fall's vibration.

  "Ouch... My waist is broken!" Zhi Xuan whispered dramatically, rubbing his waist roughly. "It is so painful to fall every single time."

  Zhi Xuan touched the ground, or more accurately, a sturdy, ancient tree branch. He immediately realized that he was no longer in the Immortal Jade Pocket World.

  "Look around, Zhi Xuan," Ruo Xianxue hissed, her tone returning to calm, though still echoing hidden anger. "I saved you, and you complain about your waist?"

  Zhi Xuan took a deep breath. The air around him felt thick and cold, smelling of wet moss and never-fading dew.

  He looked around. He was in the middle of an extremely dense forest. The trees were unusual; their trunks were porcelain white, soaring toward the sky, and their leaves were silver-blue, emitting a faint light that broke the darkness.

  The entire forest was shrouded in a thick, milky-white mist that swirled between the tree trunks, limiting visibility to only a few meters. However, this mist did not feel cold. Instead, the mist contained incredibly pure Spiritual Essence—as pure as what he had felt in the Immortal Jade Hall, but much softer and more peaceful.

  "Are we in heaven?" Zhi Xuan stared around him in astonishment. But it also made him wary. "Do not tell me this is going to add to my life-and-death experiences."

  "Heaven? Do not be foolish!" Ruo Xianxue snorted sharply. But she was also filled with wonder. "But I am curious too, what is in this place?"

  The spiritual root threads of the Ancient Devil Monument, which were usually red, now emitted a dark jade light, shooting out, penetrating the mist, and scanning the surroundings with astonishing speed.

  "Extreme Yin?" Ruo Xianxue whispered in surprise, as if she had found something but was also not too sure. "There is a strong extreme yin aura, do not be reckless. Your current condition is weak, sit down and recover your essence."

  Zhi Xuan nodded, his pounding heart slowly beginning to calm. The pure aura of the mist did indeed feel soothing, calming the chaos in his Heavenly Samsara Wheel. He felt the essence in the air naturally seep into his body, recovering the exhaustion from the spiritual storm in the Immortal Jade Hall. This was much better than the coercion in the spatial corridor earlier.

  He jumped down from the tree branch, landing softly on the ground covered with soft silver moss. The moss felt cold and cushiony under the soles of his cloth shoes.

  "I will recover here," Zhi Xuan muttered. He took a simple meditation posture, crossed his legs, and closed his eyes.

  As he focused his mind, the pure spiritual essence from the surrounding mist flowed more intensely into him, washing over every meridian and calming his Heavenly Samsara Wheel. The pain in his waist subsided, and his nausea vanished.

  Moments later, Zhi Xuan opened his eyes. His face felt fresher, and a third of his essence had recovered. More importantly, his Heavenly Samsara Wheel was now stable and spun with a harmonious rhythm, hungry for more pure energy.

  "Where exactly are we, Ruo?" Zhi Xuan asked, his eyes sweeping the misty forest.

  "This is not a pocket world. The Formation crack threw us to another place in the outer world," Ruo Xianxue replied. "This mist... this is not ordinary mist. This is condensed Extreme Yin Essence, so pure that it feels like spiritual essence."

  "Extreme Yin?" Zhi Xuan frowned.

  "Does not that mean cold and dangerous?"

  "Normally, yes. But here, the energy feels balanced, almost like Yang within Yin," Ruo Xianxue mused. "These trees, they are not ordinary trees. Porcelain trunks and silver leaves... These are silver moon trees, extremely rare spiritual flora that only grow in places with pure and balanced Extreme Yin Essence. Very valuable."

  "Silver moon trees? So, we are in a valuable place?" Zhi Xuan felt excited.

  WHIZZ!

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  Suddenly, the spiritual root threads of the Ancient Devil Monument glowed again, this time brighter, and moved quickly through the mist.

  "Something is moving there," Ruo Xianxue hissed, her voice tense again. "Not an ordinary beast. Its energy... It is a spiritual beast."

  "Is it dangerous?" Zhi Xuan whispered. He rose from his meditation and was wary.

  "I do not know. I have never seen a spiritual beast in a place like this," Ruo Xianxue replied. "But be vigilant. This Extreme Yin energy can strengthen any creature that lives in it."

  The mist in front of them swirled faster. Then, through a gap in the mist, a pair of glowing red eyes emerged, shining sharply. The figure slowly stepped forward, and Zhi Xuan saw it clearly.

  It was a creature that looked like a giant silk worm, the size of a tiger, with a silvery-white body adorned with faint spiral rune patterns. On its back, there was a pair of faint, almost invisible, transparent wings, gently vibrating to break the mist. The creature radiated a cold yet calming Extreme Yin aura, and it floated slightly above the ground, emitting a Divine Wheel level of spiritual essence.

  The creature did not show aggression. It merely stared at Zhi Xuan with its intelligent red eyes, as if assessing him. Then, with a graceful movement, it bowed its head, touching its silver antenna to the ground in front of Zhi Xuan, as if greeting or inviting.

  "Thousand Feathered Moth Fetus," Ruo Xianxue whispered, her tone sounding astonished and full of curiosity. "It is a celestial insect on the ancient insect list."

  Zhi Xuan flinched and took a step back, his eyes widening in disbelief. "A-ancient... Ancient Insect List?"

  Ruo Xianxue whispered cautiously, not lowering her intensity even though the creature looked docile. "It is ranked fortieth on the ancient insect list. Its Divine Wheel power is not its strongest level. Keep your distance!"

  Zhi Xuan stammered and wanted to run backward, but his legs trembled, and he was momentarily fascinated by the insect. Despite the information that the Thousand Feathered Moth was a celestial insect, this was only a fetus of the Thousand Feathered Moth, moreover, it seemed to have only recently hatched.

  Suddenly, the Thousand Feathered Moth Fetus moved. Not attacking, but it turned and floated slowly through the mist, glancing back at Zhi Xuan with its red eyes, as if urging him.

  "It... it is not attacking me," Zhi Xuan muttered, swallowing hard. "Is it trying to guide me?"

  "Perhaps," Ruo Xianxue hissed. "Celestial insects do not act carelessly. The Extreme Yin aura around here could poison you if the insect intended to act."

  "Whatever it is, we must follow it," Zhi Xuan urged, his caution now replaced by curiosity. A celestial creature ranked fortieth? This was an opportunity not to be missed.

  Zhi Xuan immediately followed the moth fetus, moving quickly but silently over the silver moss. Ruo Xianxue's vigilance remained high, and her spiritual threads continued to scan every inch of the surroundings.

  After walking for approximately half the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the mist began to thin, and the silver light in the air became brighter. They arrived at a stunning open location.

  In the center of the silver moon tree forest, lay a tranquil pool of water. The water was not clear, but pitch black, reflecting the silver light from the surrounding leaves like an obsidian mirror. Cold vapor gently drifted over the water's surface. Around the pool, the Extreme Yin energy was so condensed that it almost looked like invisible crystals in the air.

  "Taiyin Sacred Pool," Ruo Xianxue whispered, her voice filled with genuine shock, her tone slowly turning to rare admiration. "I never thought a place like this existed in this declining world!"

  The moth fetus floated to the edge of the pool, touching the pitch-black water with its antenna. When its antenna touched the water, the pool rippled, and the overflowing Pure Spiritual Essence suddenly centered at the point of contact.

  "What is the Taiyin Sacred Pool?" Zhi Xuan asked, his eyes fixed on the seemingly bottomless pool water. His instinct screamed that this place was the greatest treasure he had ever encountered.

  "Taiyin, or Great Yin, is the source of all pure Yin Essence. This pool... every drop of its water is the essence of heaven and earth energy," Ruo Xianxue explained, her voice trembling slightly. "This pool formed under the pure moonlight, and this place might have a natural formation that collected it for thousands of years!"

  From inside the pool, a palm-sized jade bottle emerged, appearing to glow with a pure light. The moth wrapped the jade bottle with its antenna, turning to fly toward Zhi Xuan.

  "Spiritual cage?" Ruo Xianxue whispered skeptically. "The moth is not fully born yet, it is like it is desperate."

  The Thousand Feathered Moth Fetus floated right in front of Zhi Xuan's face, the jade bottle it carried glowing softly. The bottle was engraved with unknown runes, and inside, the pitch-black liquid of the Taiyin Pool gently rippled. The creature urged, as if offering the bottle to Zhi Xuan, its red eyes pleading.

  "It... it seems to be asking for help," Zhi Xuan said, extending his hand hesitantly. "But why would a celestial insect ask for help from a Golden Core like me?"

  "Take the bottle, but be careful," Ruo Xianxue commanded, her voice now sharp again. "Celestial insects never give without taking something. But this bottle... it might contain the strongest essence in this place."

  Zhi Xuan nodded, taking a deep breath, and carefully took the jade bottle from the Moth's antenna. The surface of the bottle felt ice-cold, and as Zhi Xuan grasped it, his Heavenly Samsara Wheel spun wildly. When Zhi Xuan took the bottle, the Thousand Feathered Moth Fetus let out a low, sad hissing sound.

  The creature suddenly flew quickly forward, toward the Taiyin Sacred Pool. Instead of touching the water, it suddenly slammed into the air, as if hitting an invisible crystal wall, making it bounce backward.

  CRACK!

  The moth fell back to the ground, its body trembling, its fragile Divine Wheel essence fading quickly, and its red eyes dimming. It struggled to get up, but could not. It glanced at Zhi Xuan one last time, its gaze implying deep sadness and despair.

  "Quickly help it!" Ruo Xianxue snorted sharply and her voice urged Zhi Xuan. "Get close to it! I will release the red threads to it."

  Zhi Xuan did not need to be told twice. Seeing the celestial creature—even if just a fetus—slumped with a sad and desperate expression, touched a soft side within him. He stepped quickly toward the Thousand Feathered Moth Fetus which now lay limp at the edge of the pool.

  "What happened, Ruo?" Zhi Xuan whispered, kneeling beside the creature. The moth fetus was very cold, and the spiral rune patterns on its body barely glowed anymore.

  "It is trapped," Ruo Xianxue replied, her tone heavy. "Its mother might have left it here; the Taiyin sacred formation changes every few hundred years. I do not know why it was left behind by its mother."

  As Zhi Xuan approached, the dark jade-colored spiritual root threads from the Ancient Devil Monument shot out from his hand. This time, the threads did not scan. They gently and carefully wrapped around the body of the Thousand Feathered Moth Fetus, channeling the Monument's strange energy.

  The Devil Monument's aura, which was an essence that was very ancient and defied fate, met the Extreme Yin essence of the Thousand Feathered Moth Fetus. The creature flinched, but did not resist. Instead, the spiral rune patterns on its body glowed faintly as if responding.

  "Damn it! I cannot break through! This natural Formation of the Taiyin Sacred Pool is the strongest cage!" Ruo Xianxue hissed angrily. "I can only stabilize its essence, but I cannot free it!"

  Ruo Xianxue directed her spiritual threads to focus on the Spiral Rune on the moth's body, trying to link Zhi Xuan's Sea of Consciousness to it.

  WHIZZ!

  Zhi Xuan felt a blast of cold and sad information flow into his mind, not in words, but in emotions and images. He saw the moth alone, saw the invisible spiritual wall, and saw the jade bottle it gave him.

  The moth wanted Zhi Xuan to carry the jade bottle to the 'Folded Silver Moon', the name was spoken in a celestial language he did not understand, but he understood the concept, a place that would only open on a full moon night. The bottle was the key to freeing it.

  "It... it wants me to take it somewhere else," Zhi Xuan muttered, his face pale from information overload. "Folded Silver Moon? What is that?"

  "I do not know what that place is either," Ruo Xianxue said, her voice dripping with a rare lack of knowledge. "Perhaps, it is a place where it is supposed to be right now."

  The moth struggled again, and with a final effort, it touched Zhi Xuan's foot with its antenna, then its eyes completely dimmed. The fragile Divine Wheel essence disappeared, and its body became cold, but did not decay. It remained whole, but lifeless.

  Ruo Xianxue screamed, as if realizing a big mistake. "That bottle is the essence of the Moth's existence. It handed it over to you because it cannot pass the formation. It wants you to plant it in a safe place so it can reincarnate!"

  The Taiyin Sacred Pool, which witnessed the death of this celestial creature, suddenly churned. The pitch-black water swirled, and the cold vapor above it soared high, forming a terrifying vortex of Extreme Yin, ready to punish the last trespasser.

  "Damn it! The Taiyin Formation is enraged!" Ruo Xianxue hissed, her voice filled with shock. "Take the bottle and run! We must find a hiding place! Immediately!"

  Zhi Xuan gripped the ice-cold jade bottle. The swirling Extreme Yin Essence from the pool felt like countless swords targeting him.

  "I... I promise I will plant your spiritual seed!" Zhi Xuan shouted to the stiff Moth Fetus body. This was a promise he made to the first celestial creature he met, a promise that would bind his destiny.

  He got up, hugging the jade bottle to his chest, and ran fast back into the Silver Moon Tree mist forest. Behind him, the rumbling sound of the Taiyin Sacred Pool echoed, announcing that the world's greatest treasure had consumed its last victim and was now seeking revenge.

  WHUUM!

  The Extreme Yin energy vortex from the pool shot quickly, splitting the mist and knocking down the towering Silver Moon Trees, forming a straight path of destruction toward Zhi Xuan.