Fleeing the bloody camp, the five plunged into the vast sea of sand. No direction, no water, only endless yellow sand and the indifferent stars and moon overhead. The days were unbearably hot, the nights piercingly cold. The last of the compressed biscuits were long gone. Thirst clung to them like a barnacle, torturing everyone. Xiao Liu and Xiao Wang soon showed signs of dehydration and exhaustion.
"Must find water... or we won't last two days..." Chen Feng's lips were cracked and bleeding, his voice raspy. Using his geological knowledge, he strained to observe the dune formations, wind patterns, searching for any possible indication of water—even the withered remains of the most drought-resistant plants.
Su Wan, however, clutched the cloth bundle containing the blood-crystal fragments close, feeling its strange, faintly warm, almost pulsating warmth. She occasionally took out the largest blood-crystal fragment, examining it in the moonlight. Under the moon, it seemed as if dark red liquid flowed slowly within it, seemingly fused with Huo Xiao's blood. She remembered the star chart on the mirror's back and the inscribed slab.
"Captain, Chen Feng," Su Wan said weakly. "I remember... that mirror and slab seemed to activate with specific celestial patterns. And... the place where General Huo fell, was the magnetic field abnormal there too?"
Chen Feng jolted. "Yes! At the camp, my instrument was broken, but I could feel the field was extremely chaotic there! And... Su Wan, you said celestial patterns?" He looked up at the brilliant stars. As a geology and environment expert, he had some knowledge of astronomy too. "What's the lunar date today? The night General Huo fell, what was the moon phase?"
Qin Yuan struggled to recall the date on the epitaph and the Ming calendar conversion. "If not mistaken... the day Huo Xiao fell should be the... twenty-seventh day of the third month in the Jiajing year? Moon phase... approaching last quarter!"
"Last quarter moon... specific star positions..." A light flashed in Chen Feng's eyes. "That mirror's star chart! Su Wan, do you remember the pattern roughly?"
Su Wan closed her eyes. The professional training of an archaeologist gave her a strong memory for images. She used her finger to carefully draw a complex pattern formed by connecting several constellations in the sand. "Roughly like this... the core is the Big Dipper pointing... and this star... this one..."
Chen Feng looked carefully, then looked up at the sky, comparing. His expression grew increasingly grave. "This is... the long-lost 'Guide to the Returning Abyss' chart?! I've seen descriptions in extremely obscure ancient astronomical fragments! Legend says it can guide souls lost in the cracks between space-time back to their place! And the time it appears... is precisely when the last quarter moon forms a specific angle with the Pleiades and Hyades!" He looked sharply at Su Wan. "It's now! Tonight!"
Hope, like an oasis in the desert, instantly nourished their on the verge of collapse hearts!
"The place where Huo Xiao fell! That's the origin point of the space-time energy burst! Plus this blood-crystal fragment containing his life essence... This might be our only chance!" Qin Yuan decided instantly. "We must go back! Back to that battlefield!"
The return journey was even more arduous. Physically exhausted, mentally strained, they also had to avoid possible Oirat patrols. Relying on astonishing willpower, the five supported each other, stumbling and staggering. Finally, around midnight, guided by memory and the patch of sand conspicuously stained by blood and fire under the moonlight, they returned to the ruins of the battlefield.
The camp was deathly still, only the wind moaning through the broken walls, like the weeping of souls. Huo Xiao's body still lay there, the moonlight covering him in a cold, silver frost. That broken combat knife was thrust into the sand beside him.
Qin Yuan and the others, not bothering with sorrow and fear, immediately began searching around the site of Huo Xiao's death. Chen Feng felt around and took out his cracked, long-blackened instrument. Relying only on the faint deflection of its internal magnetic needle and the abnormal warmth his fingertips sensed, he tried to perceive the magnetic anomaly.
"Here! The magnetic needle reaction is strongest!" Chen Feng pointed to a spot in the sand about five paces directly in front of Huo Xiao's body.
Su Wan immediately took out the largest, blood-stained red crystal fragment. She took a deep breath and, according to the orientation of the mirror's star chart from memory, carefully placed the fragment on the spot Chen Feng indicated, then stepped back.
Moonlight flowed like water, gently illuminating the blood-crystal fragment. The dark red liquid inside seemed to come alive, flowing faster, emitting an increasingly bright, eerie red light! The surrounding air began to emit a low hum. Fine sand grains moved without wind, slowly rotating around the blood-crystal fragment!
"Energy is gathering!" Chen Feng watched tensely. "Not enough! Needs a catalyst! Needs... star chart resonance!"
Su Wan looked up at the deep night sky. The cold light of the last quarter moon shone down. The Pleiades star cluster and the Hyades star cluster (part of Taurus) shone brightly, precisely at the key positions marked on the star chart she remembered!
"Now!" Su Wan felt a sudden inspiration. She mimicked the sequence of the mirror knob's star chart "lighting up" from memory, extended her finger, and pointed towards the constellations in the sky, tracing the pattern in the air, subconsciously uttering a few ancient, obscure syllables—ones she had deduced from studying the mirror's symbols based on ancient texts!
"Om—!"
As Su Wan's actions and syllables landed, the blood-crystal fragment placed on the sand suddenly erupted with a blinding red light! A pillar of blood-red light shot up into the sky, connecting directly with the Pleiades and Hyades in the firmament! The entire ruined battlefield was illuminated in a bloody red!
Simultaneously, centered on the blood-crystal fragment, a complex, profound, massive star chart pattern made of pure light instantly unfolded on the sand! Its pattern was identical to the star chart on the mirror's back and the symbols on the slab!
A powerful energy storm arose from the ground! A whirlwind swept up sand, forming a massive vortex! Space began to violently twist and fold! That familiar, terrifying sensation of tearing returned!
"Hold hands! Don't let go!" Qin Yuan roared with all his strength! The five gripped each other's hands tightly, swept into the furious energy storm!
In the last instant before consciousness was completely swallowed by white light, Su Wan struggled to look towards Huo Xiao's body. Under the moonlight, she clearly saw a woman in bright tribal clothing, her face veiled (A Yi Sha), kneeling beside Huo Xiao's body, gently placing a small dagger inlaid with turquoise on his chest. The woman seemed to sense the anomaly of the light pillar, looking up. Her deep eyes were filled with boundless sorrow and a trace of understanding farewell?
The next moment, absolute white and silent thunder swallowed all perception.