Published at 16th of January 2026 9:05 am

Chapter 2014: Research Group Officially Launched! The So Called Sacrifice? (Part 2)

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The air was filled with the unique, dry and slightly astringent scent of ancient tomes.

With his profound knowledge, Elder Wen extracted each obscure and difficult ancient rune from the vast sea of data, analyzing their possible structure and origin.

Luo Qingchen then compared these analyses with the constantly shifting runes on the Star Map bronze disk.

His Divine Sense, like countless invisible tendrils, cautiously probed into the deep interior of the bronze disk, sensing the subtle changes each rune underwent under different energy stimuli.

This process was extremely monotonous, yet also filled with the joy of exploring the unknown.

Whenever a previously baffling rune was successfully deciphered through their joint efforts, Luo Qingchen could feel a profound satisfaction from deep within his soul.

It was a pure joy of fulfillment in one’s thirst for knowledge, uncovering a corner of the world with his own hands.

At night, the research location would shift to the center of a formation personally set by Elder Gu.

It was a large and spacious underground Stone Chamber, with the floor and walls engraved with densely packed, ghostly blue shimmering array patterns.

In the air, the thickness of Spiritual Power almost condensed into a tangible substance.

Elder Gu, with a serious expression, continuously executed complex spells with his hands, controlling dozens of protective and monitoring formations to ensure any trace of energy leakage would be instantly detected.

Elder Feng would close her eyes, her whole being plunging into a wondrous meditative state, her Divine Sense already penetrating the thick rock layers, connecting with the myriad stars above the firmament.

"At this moment, Merak Star is in the Yuang stage, Star Power has increased by three points, you may test the 372nd rune in the ’Kun’ position."

Elder Feng’s voice was ethereal and distant.

Luo Qingchen would immediately focus his mind, guiding a thread of Chaotic Power thinner than a hair, and blending it with a gentle and pure trace of Dragon Power from Bai Ling’er’s fingertip, carefully injecting it into the corresponding rune on the Star Map bronze disk.

Buzz...

The bronze disk emitted a faint hum, and that rune instantly lit up, projecting a weak beam of light towards a void coordinate point in the northwest direction of the underground Stone Chamber.

Such attempts were made hundreds to thousands of times each night.

Luo Qingchen’s spirit was constantly in a state of high tension.

His Chaotic Power became increasingly refined and pure under such meticulous control.

His understanding of the Star Force, Rune Array, and Space Law also improved at an incredible speed.

However, the research process was not smooth sailing.

As the research deepened, more and more bottlenecks emerged.

The Star Map bronze disk contained seventy-two core runes, whose structures were a hundred times more complex than all other runes, like products of a higher-level civilization, completely beyond Elder Wen’s knowledge system.

No matter how many Ancient Tomes they consulted or how many speculations they made, they couldn’t comprehend their true meanings.

Furthermore, probing the energy of these core runes was fraught with danger.

Once, under Elder Feng’s guidance, Luo Qingchen attempted to stimulate one of the core runes with a slightly stronger energy.

The moment the energy was injected, the rune suddenly erupted with a black as ink force of backlash.

This force, cold and bizarre, instantly penetrated Luo Qingchen’s Chaotic Power defense.

A formation hall Elder assisting Elder Gu with data recording was caught off guard, swept by this black light.

The Elder screamed and fainted on the spot, his face turning ashen visibly, spirit dampened, as if his Divine Soul had been severely damaged.

If it weren’t for Elder Xiao’s timely intervention with a precious "Nine Revolutions Soul Stabilizing Pill" to steady his spirit, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

This accident cast a shadow over the entire research team.

Everyone realized they were touching upon an extremely dangerous domain.

And a greater conflict erupted several days later.

After combining all known information and undergoing a three-day closed-door cultivation simulation, Elder Wen, with a face full of fatigue and struggle, announced a shocking conclusion.

"According to all current clues, the seventy-two core runes collectively form an activation command."

"The ultimate meaning of this command points to two words."

"Sacrifice."

Elder Wen’s voice was hoarse and heavy.

"What? Sacrifice?"

Elder Zhou, the most hot-tempered one, was the first to slam the table.

"Sacrifice what? Does it require special heavenly materials and earthly treasures, or some powerful energy source?"

Elder Wen slowly shook his head, his gaze complex to the extreme.

"No... not an object."

"According to the runes’ description, to open the Star Gate requires a living being containing the ’essence of life’ and a ’powerful Divine Soul’ as the offering."

"The stronger and purer the sacrificed life, the more stable the Star Gate will be once opened, and the wider the passage will be."

These words plunged the entire hall into dead silence.

All eyes instinctively turned to Bai Ling’er, who was happily gnawing on a Spirit Fruit.

True Dragon Bloodline.

What life is stronger, purer, than the legendary True Dragon?

A bone-chilling coldness surged from Luo Qingchen’s feet straight up to his head.

He instinctively pulled Bai Ling’er into his embrace, holding her tightly, his eyes guarded and resolute like a drawn sword.

"Nonsense!"

Elder Xiao burst into rage, his beard bristling with anger.

"We cultivators pursue the grand path for longevity, seeking freedom and acting in accordance with heaven and people! How can we commit such heinous acts, akin to the Demonic Path, involving bloody sacrifices?"

"I absolutely disagree!"

Qin Mingyuan also spoke solemnly: "I oppose it too. If the price of opening the Star Gate is sacrificing an innocent life, then our Qingyun Sect would rather never have this opportunity!"

However, after a long silence, Elder Gu spoke cold and hard words.

"The grand path is emotionless."

"For the sect’s everlasting legacy, to let our Qingyun Sect seize this once-in-a-lifetime chance to transcend this realm, some necessary... sacrifices may be inevitable."

His gaze swept coldly over Bai Ling’er in Luo Qingchen’s arms as if looking at a lifeless object.

"We can’t let benevolence ruin the entire sect’s future."

"I agree with Elder Gu’s view!" Elder Zhou immediately concurred, "It’s better for us to control the opportunity than let it fall into Demonic Cultivators’ hands, sacrificing countless lives. Of two evils, choose the lesser."

For a moment, the research team was utterly divided into two factions.

One side, led by Elder Xiao and Qin Mingyuan, stood for upholding ethics and principles.

The other, led by Elder Gu and Elder Zhou, was willing to stop at nothing for the Sect’s benefit.

The dispute grew more and more intense, words escalating, and the hall’s atmosphere grew extremely tense.

At this moment, Bai Ling’er, who had been in Luo Qingchen’s arms, seemingly oblivious, perhaps sensed this tense atmosphere or the energy fluctuation from the Star Map bronze disk caused by the argument.

She suddenly broke free from Luo Qingchen’s embrace, and tottered towards the bronze disk suspended mid-air.

"Bai Ling’er, come back!"

Luo Qingchen’s heart tightened, shouting urgently.

But it was too late.

Bai Ling’er extended her small, tender hand, gently touching the surface of the bronze disk.

The moment her small hand made contact with the cold bronze disk.

Buzz!

The entire Star Map bronze disk suddenly emitted an unprecedented gentle golden light.

The seventy-two core runes, which were initially obscure and even emitted a dangerous aura, began to rearrange and recombine in a wholly new manner under this golden light.

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