Hearing Xukong's words, Lin Mu was intrigued.
"A Star Shard?" Lin Mu could make out the meaning but knew there was a lot more than just that.
"Yes, it is quite literally a shard from a star… or more accurately, a dead star." Xukong explained further.
"Huh… but why is it… like this?" Lin Mu looked at the strange shard in the center.
"Well, Star Shards are formed when either a star dies or is destroyed. And when that happens, a fraction of their characteristics are left behind in these shards. They can be of various types." Xukong replied.
"Like Fire?" Lin Mu asked.
"Indeed. Those are the most common types of Star Shards. Fire Star Shards are abundant and can be found in many places. Then there are Yang Star Shards, that are full of pure Yang energy of the stars." Xukong replied.
"If so… then what is this?" Lin Mu looked at the swirling black and purple energy.
"That is possibly the most terrifying aspect of a star… Gravity! That is a Gravity Star Shard and is considered the most dangerous. They are also very rare, and many times aren't even formed.
And even if they do, they have limited lifespans. Eventually, they run out of energy and disappear." Xukong explained in detail.
"I see… but then considering that the Great Meteorite Wall came into existence over a hundred thousand years ago… how is the Gravity Star Shard still active?" Lin Mu questioned.
"From what we know, the Gravity Star Shard was kept sealed for a long time. The murals show that. And the seal was lifted, which possibly caused the Great Meteorite Wall to form. But have you thought, why aren't there anymore meteorites falling here?" Xukong asked instead.
"Hmm… I don't know. Considering that gravity was strong enough to pull them from the atmosphere back then, it should still be pulling them. And yet it's not… I guess it actually got weaker?" Lin Mu replied after thinking.
"Exactly," Xukong responded. "It is highly likely that it expended a lot of its energy in pulling and compressing all those meteorites into a wall. That limited its range of effect and now it is at its current level."
"Then how long do you think this Gravity Star Shard will last Senior?" Lin Mu asked in doubt.
"It will depend on the situation in this area. If it continues to stay here, I don't think it'll last more than a thousand years. But if it's sealed again, it might be able to last for another hundred thousand years." Xukong estimated.
"Hmmm…" This put Lin Mu in deep thought as he wondered if he could make use of this. "Since the tribes fought over this shard… It can be used for something right?" he asked.
"Of course. Star Shards are considered treasures, albeit very dangerous ones. Even Peak Immortals can barely use them. And even if they do, it is usually common star shards like the Fire or Yang Star Shards.
At least those can be resisted by suitable Dao Embryos. But for something like the Gravity Star Shards, they can very easily result in a painful death." Xukong warned.
"That is true…" Lin Mu could already feel his instincts warning him that if he got close to the Star Shard, he might just die.
It was a prickly feeling on the back of his neck, that made him think twice about getting any closer.
"So do they use the Star Shards to comprehend the Dao?" Lin Mu asked.
"No… That isn't the right use." Xukong denied.
"It's not?" Lin Mu raised his brows in doubt.
"No. Do you feel any Dao Traces from the Star Shard?" Xukong asked instead.
"Hmm…" Lin Mu narrowed his eyes and realized that there were indeed no Dao Traces. "If not Dao Traces, then what use do they have?" he asked.
"Well, some use them as refining materials or as fuel. The Fire Star Shards, for example, are excellent for all kinds of alchemical as well as weapon or tool refinement. They last for thousands of years and have very pure flames.
The Yang Star Shards, on the other hand, radiate pure Yang Energy and as such are either used directly for Yang Elemental Cultivation techniques or to enrich Herbs. They can also be used to purify negative energies of course, and cleanse areas.
As for the Gravity Star Shard… its uses are very limited. I've heard of them being used in Formation arrays to make Training areas for massive sects. But other than that, they can only be used as weapons." Xukong explained in detail.
"Weapons, guess that's the most straightforward way for it." Lin Mu muttered. "Controlling it though… Does not seem as easy."
"Indeed. It isn't meant to be an immortal's weapon in the first place. One would need the power of a Celestial to handle it. The same actually applies to the other Star Shards too. They are far too dangerous for immortals to handle them.
Only Peak Immortals should try to do anything with them. But even if they do have them, their capability of using them is very low. One would have to be a Celestial to fully utilize them." Xukong answered.
"Hmm… Guess it isn't something I should dabble with right now." Lin Mu let out a sigh. "It is for the best." He said.
"But that doesn't mean you can't take it." Xukong suddenly said. "Store it in the ring… in a distant section. But you will have to seal it later on." He added.
"Oh yeah, but how will I seal it?" Lin Mu asked in doubt. "Will you do it Senior?"
"I can't… It would take too much of my power." Xukong gave a rare rejection. "You do have someone else you can ask, though."
"Ah yes! The Saintess." Lin Mu nodded his head.
He didn't mind that Xukong had rejected it. He already knew the great help that had been provided to him before. And as such, Lin Mu didn't want to further strain Xukong.
"Now then, if you are going to take it, you need to take that entire platform. It will keep it contained somewhat and allow you enough time to take it." Xukong advised.
"Alright." Lin Mu nodded his head and got to work.
He took a breath and extended his hand towards the platform. His Spatial Perception activated while his immortal sense was ready.
"Meld!" Lin Mu used the fifth skill of the ring and targeted a cuboid area containing the platform as well as the Gravity Star Shard.
'This is several times more difficult than normal.' Lin Mu could tell that the 'boundaries' of Meld were being warped by the Gravitation force too.
Still, he sped up and quickly brought it towards him before storing it in the ring.
~shua~
As soon as the Gravity Star Shard was gone, the area started to tremble.
~RUMBLE~
~CRACK~CRACK~CRACK~
The ceiling cracked while the load bearing pillars started to shake.
"This place is gonna collapse, time to escape!" Lin Mu knew and used the fourth skill.
Fade!
Lin Mu directly entered the parallel world and flew as fast as he could from his current location. And by the time the duration of the skill had ended, he was halfway out of the ground.
~TREMBLE~ TREMBLE~
But even then, he could feel the ground shaking around him.
"Not safe yet." Lin Mu used Fade again and continued to fly up.
And by the time the duration ended, he was finally out of the ground.
~shua~
Lin Mu reappeared a few meters above the ground and looked behind him.
"Whoa…" Lin Mu was left stunned as a segment of the Great Meteorite Wall sank a kilometer into the ground.
With how compressed the ground was, it normally shouldn't have happened. But the temple underground was an exception to that. It had not been compressed and now that it had the great weight above it; it broke down.
As such, the wall had no option but to sink down.
But the rest of the area didn't have much of a change in terms of appearance. After all, the area was highly dense and could not move much now.
However, there was still a major change in gravity.
"Well… Seems like the Empire will have to update their map." Lin Mu stated as a matter of fact.
He didn't care that he had brought this change, though, as it didn't really cause trouble for anyone. Or rather, it had eliminated a trouble for the Empire instead.
The Great Meteorite wall that formed a barrier between the Minor Mite Mountains and the Serene Glass Valley beyond it was actually traversable.
Of course, due to the height of the wall, not many would be able to cross it, but over time, it would still be possible to make a tunnel.
Though it was doubtful if anyone would try it.
"Well, at least now I have a shortcut." Lin Mu was satisfied by that.
With the gravity of the area gone, even if the Great Meteoric Wall was very dense, Lin Mu could still pass through it. Or rather, if he wanted to, he could even climb over it.
"Actually… it might be better to climb it." Lin Mu reckoned. "This might just be the highest place on the continent after all. I can get a really good view of the area beyond it."
With that in mind, Lin Mu called out Little Shrubby.
~shua~
"Oh, we're ready to go?" Little Shrubby asked before looking around. "Did the area change?" he felt confused.
