Chapter 4: Starry Sky Projection (Part 1)

Baiyuan.
After staying in Mordor City for a few months, Guo Shier started his journey alone, heading straight for Baiyuan. Along the way, he sent signal tokens to summon others. In Mordor City, he spent most of his time practicing cultivation, as the powers of this world also suppressed him; if he didn’t practice, his strength would decline.
As for Aobao and Aode, Guo Shier didn’t worry about them. During his journey, he met many aliens, but they were all just passing by, as he knew he would never have any further contact with them. Of course, to show his gratitude, he gave them various items as rewards.
A year later, Guo Shier arrived in Baiyuan. Li Ran and the others also arrived one after another, gathering in a group of abandoned buildings.
Ezek and Meili arrived last. As soon as he saw everyone, his first question was, “Hey, why did we end up in this hellish place?” The area was deserted, and more importantly, there were no wild beasts he liked to eat. Since leaving the Spell World, he and Meili had survived on the meat of some mutated spell beasts they had stored, and later began eating wild beasts from other small worlds. However, their appetites were enormous, and the prey they hunted was often not enough for the two of them.
Meili nodded and said, “It’s so lifeless. I haven’t seen a single living wild beast.”
The others ignored their complaints and focused on Li Ran, who was holding a piece of spiritual jade. Everyone had examined this spiritual jade, and overall, it seemed to be a key that indicated how to enter the passage space. They also noticed that some records were missing, seemingly describing the place beyond.
Li Ran said, “We need to change our plan. Based on these records, this seems to be the real passage. We were wrong before. If we followed the original plan, we might have kept wandering around in small worlds. The consequences… would be severe. Hehe, we’ve gained a lot this time. Just this spiritual jade is more precious than any material. And Baiyuan… is actually an entrance to a passage.”
Qi Wu Zhen said, “It’s fortunate we made this discovery. Otherwise, we would be in trouble. Not to mention going to the Greater World, we might never be able to leave in this lifetime. From the start… we weren’t prepared. It was too unexpected.”
Zhen Wu Ji said, “Unless we go back to the Spell World, which is almost impossible.” Everyone sighed. The journey had not been easy. With no way back, they could only move forward, facing the possibility of encountering extremely powerful experts. If that happened, it would be the end for them all.

Li Ran said, “This time… maybe we can break through at once, or maybe… we won’t succeed. It depends on our luck…” At this point, he could only rely on luck and good fortune; everything else was uncertain and illusory.
Guo Shier asked, “How’s the Boundary-Piercing Ritual going?”
Qi Wuzhen replied, “With that treasure you gave me, though I don’t know what it is, it has greatly increased the power of the ritual. But… it only works once. Once used, it’s gone and can’t be reused.”
Li Ran said, “That thing is quite good. It might be the best thing you got from the Talismans World. It’s a shame to use it like this.”
Guo Shier was actually quite uneasy about that strange living creature he obtained from the Great Abyss Pool. It was like a time bomb—no one knew when it would explode. So he had no regrets about using it for the Boundary-Piercing Ritual. Anything that could be utilized was valuable. Whether placed on the altar or in the Soul-Stabilizing Cauldron, it always made him uneasy. He laughed and said, “It’s good if it can be used. Hehe… To be honest… I don’t even know how to use that thing. It’s too sinister.”
Li Ran nodded and smiled, “Maybe that thing can save lives.”
Ge Ha said, “Let’s discuss how to get in. This place must be a point, right? According to Lingyu’s description, once this passage is opened, all life in the surroundings will be drawn in. Ninety-nine percent of them will be annihilated in the passage if they don’t have great power. Based on this, this place must be a life-forbidden zone. When I came here, I hardly saw any larger creatures.”
Halechi said, “Actually, there are quite a few on the edges. You just didn’t notice. I came in on foot at first.”
Guo Shier said, “I guess it’s because the passage has been closed for too long… Although it’s lost its vitality, the harm it caused back then is still evident to some extent.” He said absentmindedly.
Yao Zebusong flew into the air, looked around for a while, then landed and said, “It should be ahead. There’s a huge pit… Is that the entrance?”
Li Ran said, “Let’s go check together. If it really is the entrance, we’ll enter.”
The group flew up from the ruins and headed toward the nearby area.
It was a giant pit ten kilometers in diameter, shaped like a pot that sank downward, with thick trees growing on its slopes. If not for Lingyu’s records, they would have thought it was just an ordinary small basin. Li Ran flew down the slope, with the others following closely behind.

At the bottom of the giant pit was a small lake. Everyone hovered in the air as Halechi wondered, “Is this the entrance to the passage?”
Ezek said, “Shall I go down and explore?” He, Mei Li, and Halechi were the three in the group who had never seen the Spirit Jade, so they didn’t know what the passage was like.
Li Ran said, “There’s no need to check. The entrance is already sealed. I’ll open it.” With that, he cast a spell, causing the boundary to expand dramatically. He added, “Come to me. As soon as the passage opens, we’ll enter immediately.”
A beam of destruction magic shot out from the expanding boundary.
Boom!
The lake suddenly exploded, sending countless splashes into the air, forming a thick mist. A vortex quickly formed on the lake’s surface. In just a few moments, the entire pit began to shake violently. The trees on the slopes were uprooted, and the sky darkened abruptly. Li Ran shouted, “Get ready! Protect yourselves…” He cast another spell.
Crack! Boom…
The water in the lake suddenly sank downward and vanished in an instant, turning the entire lake surface into an bottomless hole. A fierce wind blew, carrying pieces of wood, soil, and rocks toward the hole. The entrance had an unimaginable sucking force, drawing everything around it in. The entire Baiyuan region trembled violently, as if the earth itself were shaking.
The expanding boundary glowed brightly, with countless beams of magic emerging to form a protective barrier around everyone. Li Ran shouted, “Let’s go!” In an instant, the boundary plunged into the bottomless hole.
Amidst the flashing lights, Li Ran’s team disappeared completely. The entire Baiyuan region changed drastically—a massive tornado appeared, with the entrance to the passage at its center. The violent storm spread outward from the entrance, destroying everything on the ground and sending the debris into the passage.
It wasn’t until a year later that the entrance was completely sealed again. The horizon of the entire Baiyuan region had sunk by at least a meter.
…
Li Ran directed the Sacrificial Magic Boundary to fly downward. The light barrier at its rear surrounded everyone, and they rushed downward like falling meteors. The group moved one after another, like grasshoppers on a string. Under the glow of the boundary, they could see clearly within a hundred meters.
Everything that fell rotated rapidly, leaving spiral trails. Countless pieces of wood and rocks were gradually crushed. If any living beings fell in without proper protection, they would be torn to pieces. But with such power, not only could they maintain the protective barrier of the boundary, but even without it, their strength was sufficient to protect themselves.

Li Ran was slightly surprised and said, “It’s much better than directly tearing through space. This force isn’t strong—truly befitting an ancient passage.”
A moment later, everyone felt they were no longer descending but flying forward. Li Ran also realized he didn’t need to exert full control over the boundary-breaking ability; he just had to follow the pull, which made it much easier for him. Smiling, he said, “This time, we don’t even need to re-cultivate the boundary-breaking ability. Hehe, it’s going smoothly…”
Everyone was secretly delighted. No one liked dangerous paths, and being able to pass through smoothly was beyond perfect.
Flying through the passage for three months was something no one had expected. Fortunately, there were two people in the group who could control the boundary-breaking ability. When Li Ran got tired, Qi Wu Zhen took over and directed the flight. It was also fortunate that the boundary-breaking ability was extremely powerful. Along the way, they encountered a huge rock with no time to avoid it. Thanks to the ability, the rock was shattered, allowing them to pass safely.
They could clearly see countless broken bones embedded in the rock, so numerous they were terrifying. Then, they watched as the boundary-breaking ability shattered the rock—such an obstacle couldn’t stop something capable of breaking through the barriers of a small world.
Three months later, even experts like Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen were extremely tired. Everyone felt helpless, as no one could replace them, so they could only follow behind.
Finally, Li Ran said, “I feel like we’re about to emerge. I hope… I hope we can enter the greater world this time!”
Everyone perked up. Although the passage wasn’t particularly dangerous, such a long journey was also a mental strain, especially when their abilities were useless. Hearing this, joy appeared on everyone’s faces.
Boom!
Suddenly, everything before their eyes brightened, and silence enveloped the surroundings. In that instant, they couldn’t understand how they had gotten here—the passage vanished abruptly, and they found themselves high in the sky, with clouds floating below. Guo Shier looked up, his heart pounding violently. He cried out, “The starry sky!”
Zhen Wu Ji raised his head and stared blankly, murmuring, “Is this the starry sky?”
Countless stars twinkled, and a brilliant galaxy hung in the distant sky. Qi Wu Zhen asked, “Is this what it means to worship the stars?”
Li Ran frowned and examined it carefully for a long time before sighing and saying, “This isn’t the starry sky of the greater world. This is… a projected starry sky. We still haven’t emerged…”
Guo Shier asked in confusion, “Why?”

Li Ran gave a bitter smile and said, “This might be part of why there are few records about Spiritual Jade. Feel it… this isn’t the real starry sky. They probably don’t know. You should be able to tell—it’s a projected starry sky. It might be what Xiao Zhenzhen referred to as sacrificing to the stars, but what we’re going to isn’t there to sacrifice to stars; we’re going to the greater world.”
Qi Wu Zhen said, “This is my destination!”
Guo Shier still didn’t understand. He couldn’t help but smile bitterly and say, “I completely can’t grasp this concept… What does ‘projected starry sky’ mean?”
Li Ran said, “Don’t worry. I’ll explain it later. Let’s go down first.” The group passed through the clouds, and below was a continent. As they descended, they could see mountains, plains, and an ocean.