Free Web NovelChapter 149: Chapter 149: Records That Read Back
Sunken Star Library did not require breathing.
That was the first mercy.
The dark water surrounding the archive moved like air, but every motion felt slightly slower, as if thoughts and limbs both traveled through liquid. Starlight drifted through the aisles in silver threads. Books floated inside translucent bubbles, each sealed by a tiny star-shaped lock.
Qin Yuheng gave the first rule.
"No one opens a book alone."
Qin Mo looked personally wounded.
"It is a library."
"It is a Tower library."
"That is fair."
They moved through the outer archive.
The first Star Ink Guardian emerged from spilled ink beneath a shelf. It took the shape of a tall scholar with a brush spear.
[Star Ink Guardian]
[Level: 30]
[Type: Knowledge guardian]
[Weakness: Ink core, star lock disruption]
It attacked when Qin Mo approached a restricted shelf.
Qin Yuchen blocked the brush spear. Qin Lian struck the ink core. Qin Mo disrupted the star lock. Qin Yuheng finished it with thunder.
The guardian dissolved into black-blue ink.
[Star Ink Essence acquired.] freewebnovёl.ƈom
The library shelves were divided by themes.
Outer records:
Beast types.
Early floor geography.
Basic class history.
Common corruption patterns.
Market law principles.
Middle records:
Blood rituals.
Ancient battlefield remnants.
Gate authority traces.
Class contamination.
Seal injuries.
Forbidden shelves:
Bloodline awakening.
Void moon inheritance.
Primordial authority.
Tower origin fragments.
Black sun eclipse rituals.
Qin Yuheng avoided the forbidden shelves.
For now.
They collected safe records first.
A book on Class Contamination Through External Resonance Crystals confirmed what happened to Zhao Tianyu. It described delayed hooks, emotional amplification, and recall seeds.
Another record on Commander Classes and Burden Distortion warned that hostile forces often targeted commander-class climbers through responsibility traps.
Qin Mo copied what he could into memory crystals.
Then Qin Lian discovered a hidden archive door behind a shelf of water-damaged star maps.
The door had no handle.
Only an inscription:
A record opens to one who knows what not to ask.
Qin Mo stared.
"That is rude."
Qin Yuheng thought carefully.
If they asked for Crimson Eclipse directly, the archive might read his connection and trigger forbidden backlash.
If they asked for Qin bloodline, worse.
So he asked indirectly.
"Records of black sun bone corruption in moon-aligned environments."
The door opened.
Qin Mo whispered, "Very specific. Good."
Inside the hidden archive chamber, books were chained to stone pedestals. At the center floated a star-water crystal.
A panel appeared.
[Hidden Archive Chamber discovered.]
[Select one record for retrieval.]
Only one.
The available records included:
1. Moonbone Corruption and Black Solar Residue
2. Early Blood Sun Ritual Classifications
3. Seal Wounds Caused by Eclipse-Type Rituals
4. Dangers of Ancient Family Bloodline Recognition
5. Void Moon Reflection Records
Mu Qinglan’s warning echoed.
Do not open moon-void records.
Qin Yuheng avoided record five.
Record four was tempting but dangerous.
Record three was directly related to Qin Zhengyuan.
He selected:
Seal Wounds Caused by Eclipse-Type Rituals.
The record bubble opened.
Immediately, the book looked back.
Qin Yuheng felt something scan his blood, his class, his father’s wound connection, and the hidden traces of Primordial Origin Evolution.
The True Self Soul Anchor Crystal reacted.
The True Soul Guiding Lantern warmed.
The Crownless Authority Heart Fragment resisted unwanted recognition.
Qin Yuheng did not panic.
He used Law-Thread Severing Eye to cut the reading thread before it reached deeper.
The book shuddered.
Then stabilized.
The record opened safely.
It contained several key facts.
Eclipse-type rituals combined opposing authorities: sun and moon, blood and seal, bone and spirit, shadow and command. They were often used not simply to kill, but to lock power in a dormant, extractable state.
Qin Zhengyuan’s dream phrase returned.
The Qin seal was not destroyed, only sleeping.
The record did not mention the Qin family.
But one section described:
If an ancient seal bloodline is struck by Crimson Eclipse patterning, the victim may appear wounded while actually carrying a dormant ritual anchor.
Removing surface corruption without understanding the anchor may awaken the ritual prematurely.
Qin Yuheng’s heart sank.
His father’s wound was not only injury.
It might be an anchor.
They copied the record carefully.
Then the archive reacted.
Forbidden attention stirred from deeper shelves.
A black-red book opened by itself.
Title:
Crimson Eclipse Vessel Preparation
Qin Mo’s face changed.
"Do not read."
Too late.
The title alone triggered guardians.
Five Star Ink Guardians emerged, stronger than before.
Behind them rose a dark ink figure carrying a closed forbidden book.
[Forbidden Archive Warden]
[Level: 35]
[Status: Awakened by restricted title exposure]
The fight was difficult because damaging shelves risked record backlash. Qin Yuheng used Gate Thunder Command Field in a tight radius. Qin Yuchen held the Warden’s brush blade. Qin Lian disrupted guardian cores. Qin Mo sealed floating books before their titles opened.
The Warden tried to force Qin Yuheng to read.
Pages flew open, showing fragments:
Vessel.
Dormant seal.
Blood extraction.
Command bloodline.
Moon counterweight.
Qin Yuheng shut his eyes and followed the True Soul Guiding Lantern’s direction instead of sight.
He struck the Warden’s ink core without reading further.
The Warden dissolved.
The hidden archive stabilized.
[Forbidden backlash avoided.]
[Hidden Archive Chamber cleared.]
[Valid star record retrieved.]
The surface archive exit opened above them.
They left immediately.
Qin Mo looked back at the forbidden shelves.
"I like normal libraries more."
Qin Yuheng held the copied record.
Floor 29 had given them what they needed.
But it also confirmed what they feared.
Crimson Eclipse was a vessel ritual.
And Qin Zhengyuan might still be carrying its dormant anchor.
