"Give up."

The voice of the Erosion Heart slithered into her ears like a venomous snake.

"You cannot save them. Their souls have long since become my nourishment, and their pain is my strength.

For every bit you resist, they will suffer another measure of torment."

The golem's other massive palm rose, condensing a dark red orb of light in its center. The outline of Star Chart Island flickered upon the orb's surface.

That was the final blow the Erosion Heart had long prepared, intending to refine the entire island and everyone's souls into crystals of pure resentment.

Bai Cheng closed her eyes.

Deep within her soul, the five clusters of astral fire within the Star Rail Gate flickered simultaneously.

She heard the whispers within that resentment, those imperceptible voices buried beneath despair:

"...It hurts..."

"...Someone... save us..."

"...Don't want... to become like this..."

That was not surrender, but a plea for help.

Even though their souls were corroded almost to the point of shattering, the most primal desire of these living beings was still to live, to be saved.

Bai Cheng opened her eyes again.

The star track within her silver eyes were no longer chaotic; instead, they were clearer than ever before.

She released the starlight longsword in her hand.

The longsword dissolved in her palm into countless fine points of light. These points danced like fireflies and merged into the Star Rail Gate behind her.

The gate swung wide open.

The radiance of the five clusters of astral fire gushed out like a bursting river of stars, yet it was not an attack, but... an embrace.

Warm amber halos transformed into countless gentle hands, softly cradling those pained faces.

Tragic golden will turned into chains, but they no longer suppressed; instead, they slowly peeled the corroded soul fragments away from the dark red heart.

Pure white light of hope fell like spring rain, nourishing the parched soul bodies.

Dark gold power of persistence constructed a temporary sanctuary, isolating them from external erosion.

And the golden astral fire of Cuiluo Bay turned into tiny wisps of flame, entering the forehead of every face.

"I am here," Bai Cheng's voice pierced through all the whispers of pain. "I hear you."

"I have come to take you home."

The dark red heart suddenly stopped beating.

The Erosion Heart let out an incredulous roar: "Are you mad?! Forcibly stripping soul resonance... your consciousness will be completely drowned by this pain—"

"Then let it be drowned," Bai Cheng interrupted calmly.

The light of the five-colored astral fires grew brighter and more intense.

The stripped soul fragments began to reshape within the light. Each pained face gradually grew peaceful, the crimson in their eyes fading to reveal their original colors.

These were the appearances the residents of the various islands in the Emerald Sea were meant to have.

The vicissitudes in the eyes of the elderly, the innocence in the eyes of children, the fortitude in the eyes of fishermen, and the persistence in the eyes of Astrologers.

They looked at Bai Cheng, their lips moving slightly as they silently uttered the same words:

"Thank you."

Then, they turned into specks of starlight and dissipated into the night sky.

It was not the scattering of their souls, but rather a final liberation from the erosion, returning to the cycle of the Emerald Sea's belief network.

The dark red heart completely shriveled and shattered.

The skeletal golem formed by the Erosion Heart began to collapse, the dark red mist receding like a tide to reveal the withered and twisted true body beneath.

He stared wide-eyed at Bai Cheng: "You... you destroyed three years of hard work..."

"That's not enough."

Bai Cheng raised her hand, and a wisp of silver glow flew out from the Star Rail Gate, transforming into chains that wrapped around the Erosion Heart's neck.

"Tell me, where is the Enforcement Officer's main base in the Emerald Sea? How far along is the refinement of the seed of world purification?"

The Erosion Heart grinned, revealing teeth stained dark red: "You... will... never know..."

The chains tightened.

But Bai Cheng did not press him; she simply looked into his eyes, the reflection of the star track in her silver pupils rotating slowly: "Then I will see for myself."

The silver glow of the Stardust Remnants flowed along the chains into the depths of the Erosion Heart's soul, acting like the most precise probe to flip through those encrypted and sealed memory fragments.

The Erosion Heart struggled violently but could not break free from the shackles of the astral fire.

Three breaths later, Bai Cheng released the chains.

The Erosion Heart slumped to the ground, his pupils dilated. His soul had been completely purified by the silver glow, all memories stripped away, leaving only an empty shell.

And deep within Bai Cheng's silver eyes, a massive base constructed of dark red crystals hidden beneath the deepest trench of the Emerald Sea was reflected.

As well as the "seed of world purification" at the center of the base, seventy percent complete and slowly pulsing like a heart.

"Found it," she said softly.

She turned to look at the Observatory.

Mo Yan had already collapsed, enveloped in Lu Duo's emerald radiance; his life aura was weak but stable.

The Starfall Array had deactivated with the defeat of the Erosion Heart. The light of the star rings gradually dimmed, but the island's own astrological force field remained solid.

The crisis of Star Chart Island was temporarily resolved.

But Bai Cheng knew the real battle had only just begun.

The Enforcement Officer's main base, the refinement of the seed of world purification, the pursuers from the Star Rail Orthodoxy, and the suffering still continuing across the three thousand six hundred islands of the Emerald Sea.

She walked to Mo Yan's side, knelt down, and injected a wisp of Cuiluo Bay's golden astral fire into the old man's body.

Mo Yan slowly opened his eyes and looked at her, a smile appearing on his aged face: "The blueprint..."

"I have already committed it to memory," Bai Cheng said softly. "Every star track, every node, every cluster of astral fire that needs to be ignited."

"That is good," Mo Yan sighed in relief. "Star Chart Island... from this day forth, is in your hands."

He looked at the Astrologers gathering around. Those faces, young and old, were all reflected in the light of the astral fire now.

"Everyone, hear my command. From this day forward, Star ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ Chart Island joins the Glimmer Alliance. Our astrological heritage, spatial secret arts, and all the knowledge accumulated over three thousand years..."

"Shall all be opened to contribute to the path of the emperor and for the freedom of the Emerald Sea."

The Astrologers bowed in unison: "We follow the command of the Starwatcher!"

Bai Cheng stood up and looked toward the east.

That was where the deepest trench of the Emerald Sea lay, the location of the Enforcement Officer's main base, and the place where the seed of world purification was growing.

She raised her hand, palm facing up.

The Star Rail Gate expanded behind her, the five clusters of astral fire burning quietly.

"Next stop," her voice was clear and firm, echoing under the night sky of Star Chart Island, "the Deep Sea Forbidden Zone."

"To end this nightmare that has lasted far too long."

The silver train slowly ascended. Under the gaze of the Astrologers, it turned and sailed toward that dark deep sea that even the stars feared.

And in the night sky of the Emerald Sea, the Cuiluo Bay astral fire that Bai Cheng had reignited shone in harmony with the other four clusters. Like five lighthouses in the darkness, they guided the way for all the glimmers still tossing in the storm to converge.

The prologue of the prairie fire of astral sparks had finally turned its first page.

The true war was about to begin.