79: Star Pivot Examination, Throne of Punishment

Deep within the deathly silent metal megastructure, that faint yet clear force of homologous attraction was like a lone lamp lit in the boundless darkness. Chen Feng forcibly suppressed the piercing pain in his Divine Soul after the tribulation imprint retreated, as well as the surging new power within his body. His gaze was like a torch, locked firmly onto those ancient patterns half-hidden by dust on the metal debris beneath his feet. The dim starlight luster was like the final breath of a dying star, flickering tenaciously under the resonance of the guixu star core.

"Homologous... star vault..." Chen Feng's heart shook violently. This was definitely no coincidence! Zhang Shouzhuo's starlight Incarnation, Su Wanzhao's starlight mark, his own newly born Star Dome Eternal Burning Violet Flame, and even the patterns remaining on this unbelievably huge metal debris—their Origin actually faintly pointed to the same source!

He no longer hesitated. Spreading his five fingers, his palm, burning with thin violet flames, pressed down fiercely with a sense of determination onto the core where those star patterns converged!

Hum—! The instant his palm touched the cold metal, it felt as if he had pressed it onto a red-hot branding iron! It was not a burning heat, but a powerful resonance and impact originating from the level of the Soul! Inside his Dantian, the newly born guixu star core suddenly erupted with unprecedented, brilliant starlight, and the rotation speed of the core Star Vortex Universe soared! A suction force, so immense it was hard to resist, used his palm as a medium to crazily devour a certain extremely pure Star Origin that had been silent deep within the metal debris for who knew how many epochs!

Crack... crackle! The incomparably hard metal ground beneath his feet, with Chen Feng's palm as the center, suddenly developed countless fine, spiderweb-like cracks! Deep within the cracks, it was not a metal structure, but deep blue light flowing out like a viscous liquid galaxy! These rays of light rapidly spread and lit up along the trajectories of those ancient star patterns!

Rumble! The entire piece of huge metal debris began to shake violently! Dust and solidified lava fragments fell with a rustle. The ground beneath Chen Feng's feet suddenly collapsed and rotated! A complex teleportation array, about ten zhang in diameter and composed of pure deep blue starlight, instantly formed beneath his feet! At the core of the array, countless profound star runes flickered, emitting ancient and majestic spatial fluctuations!

[Triggering unknown star vault teleportation array! Spatial coordinates locked: Megastructure debris core!]

[Warning: Detected high-intensity guardian Restriction and will imprint! Unknown risk!]

Chen Feng had no time to react at all before he was completely engulfed by the deep blue starlight erupting beneath his feet! A strong sense of spatial tearing struck again, even more overbearing than when he entered the Cosmic Graveyard! The light and shadows before his eyes twisted and stretched crazily, and in his ears was the sharp screeching of the Law of space being forcibly penetrated.

The sensation of weightlessness lasted only for a brief moment.

Bang! Chen Feng slammed heavily onto a piece of cold metal ground that emitted a faint fluorescent light. Before the dizziness of the spatial teleportation had completely faded, an indescribable, desolate Aura, mixed with extreme glory and ultimate destruction, engulfed him like a tide.

He struggled to lift his head.

His pupils suddenly contracted to the extreme!

Before him was not the mechanical core or energy hub he had expected. This was a... ruin of a hall whose magnificence and desolation could not be described in words!

The dome had long since shattered, revealing the eternal, cold darkness of the Cosmic Graveyard outside, as well as the huge star debris suspended in the darkness, like broken chandeliers hanging from the top of the temple. Supporting the dome were countless broken, huge metal pillars with diameters comparable to mountains. The surfaces of these giant pillars were covered with complex, dizzying reliefs of star trajectories, as well as profound rune arrays that had long since dimmed and shattered. On the remaining huge dome fragments, one could faintly see magnificent murals depicting the birth of galaxies, the rise and fall of civilizations, and the worship of ten thousand races. Although the colors had faded and become mottled, that grand and majestic Aura still rushed at him.

The floor of the hall was paved with a strange material that was neither gold nor jade, emitting a warm starlight, and was also covered with huge cracks. What was most shocking to the mind was the central area of the hall.

It was not empty, but... a forest of star thrones!

Hundreds of huge thrones, in a posture like stars surrounding the moon, surrounded the largest and most majestic main throne at the center. These thrones were of various shapes; some looked like they were cast from stars, some like coiled ancient wood, some like piles of giant beast bones... Each one emitted a different yet equally powerful Aura of Law, symbolizing that their former owners must have been the supreme Dominators of a certain era or a certain Star Domain.

However, at this moment, these star thrones, which symbolized supreme authority and power, were all broken and dilapidated! Most of the thrones had already shattered, turning into huge metal fragments scattered on the ground. On the few relatively intact thrones, there sat, shockingly, huge... skeletons!

The skeletons were of various shapes, neither human nor beast. Some were crystalline like jade, some pitch black like ink, some wrapped in withered vines, some covered in dim scales... They still maintained a seated posture, their empty eye sockets gazing at the shattered dome, or pointing towards the entrance of the hall. Terrible scars remained on the skeletons: there were fractures torn by great force, holes pierced by terrifying energy, and even large areas of traces completely eroded and decayed by some kind of gray Aura. A sense of tragedy and unwillingness, solidified through the ages, radiated from these skeletons like a tangible substance, permeating the entire deathly silent hall.

This was the mausoleum of the kings! It was the end place of a glorious civilization!

And in the center of all the surrounding thrones, that most towering main throne was relatively the most intact. It was cast entirely from a deep black star metal that seemed capable of devouring starlight. Its shape was simple and heavy, its back towering into the broken dome, and it was inlaid with countless star gemstones that had long since lost their luster, outlining a vague star map contour. On the throne, there was nothing, only a sense of aloofness and... guardian will, which had been silent for endless years yet could still be faintly felt, transcending above the kings.

"star vault... Royal Court?" A name flashed through Chen Feng's chaotic consciousness like lightning. He had once seen descriptions of this legendary civilization, which had long since vanished in the river of time, in the scattered words of some ancient books. Could it be... that the megastructure debris floating in this Cosmic Graveyard was actually a part of the main body of that legendary Star Dome Royal Court?!

Just at this moment!

Hum—! In the center of the hall, in front of that huge main throne, space twisted silently. A point of starlight, pure to the extreme, suddenly lit up, rapidly condensing and stretching, turning into a strange prism about the height of a person, composed entirely of flowing starlight! On the surface of the prism, countless tiny star runes flowed ceaselessly like living creatures, emitting an Aura of Law that was homologous to Zhang Shouzhuo's starlight Incarnation and his guixu star core, yet more ancient and more Origin-based!

At the top of the prism, a point of purple light lit up dimly, projecting a vague light and shadow. The light and shadow condensed, and it was shockingly the figure of Chen Feng! Beside the light and shadow, countless star runes jumped and combined, finally condensing into a line of cold and majestic ancient star text, directly imprinted into Chen Feng's Divine Soul perception:

[shouzhuo star hub activated.]

[Trial-taker: Life wheel returns to truth, violet flame initially ignited.]

[Proof: Your Dao shall be the Star Dome Eternal Burning Dao!]

Proof? Star Dome Eternal Burning Dao? Chen Feng's spirit shuddered. This suddenly appearing "shouzhuo star hub" clearly had a great connection with Zhang Shouzhuo! It required him to prove that the path he was walking was exactly the "Star Dome Eternal Burning" Dao that Zhang Shouzhuo practiced and guarded!

How to prove it? Just as Chen Feng's thoughts raced, pondering how to deal with this sudden "Dao Trial"—a strange change, suddenly occurred!

"Hehehe... star vault remnants... a will lingering on its last breath... also worthy of testing my sacrifice?!"

Xing Tian's will, filled with endless violence and resentment, exploded once again deep in Chen Feng's Divine Soul like a maggot on a bone! The tribulation imprint, which had previously been severely damaged and suppressed by the [Punishment Lock Extinction], instantly erupted like a raging fire poured with boiling oil the moment it sensed the pure Star Dome Origin Aura of the "shouzhuo star hub"!

Boom!

A viscous, filthy, dark red blood light carrying the Slaughter Dao Origin suddenly gushed out from the tribulation imprint at the center of Chen Feng's eyebrows! This blood light did not attack Chen Feng, but twisted and condensed like a living thing, instantly turning into a vague, heaven-supporting Xing Tian Phantom! This phantom was more solid than it had been in the Annihilation Void; although still vague, that destructive Aura originating from the ancient progenitor made the air in the entire deathly silent hall freeze!

The instant the phantom appeared, the skeletons of the kings surrounding the main throne all issued a silent wail together, and the gray erosion traces remaining on the skeletons seemed to come alive, emitting an even more intense Aura of despair!

"Shouzhuo... star hub..." The eyes of the Xing Tian Phantom, condensed from pure Slaughter Dao blood light, locked firmly onto that starlight prism, and it roared with deep-seated hatred, "Back then... it was your residual will... that ruined my good deed! Today... I will also... crush... even your last bit of star fire!"

Before the words fell, the Xing Tian Phantom suddenly raised that giant hand condensed from dark red blood light, not attacking Chen Feng, but grabbing fiercely towards the center of the hall, towards that main throne—which symbolized the supreme authority and guardianship of the Star Dome Royal Court!

This grab carried a monstrous malice, a kind of blasphemy, a kind of trampling, a kind of desire to completely trample the last dignity of the Star Dome Royal Court into the dust! Wherever the dark red blood light passed, space made a sizzling sound of being corroded, and even the residual, faint guardian starlight around the main throne trembled and flickered violently!

"Don't even think about it—!" Chen Feng's eyes were splitting with rage!

Xing Tian's target was not him at all, but this main throne! It was the shouzhuo star hub! It was the final symbol of the Star Dome Royal Court! And even more... the will that Zhang Shouzhuo left here, guarding something of vital importance!

Guardianship!

These two words exploded in Chen Feng's heart like thunder! The guardian will of the mark on Su Wanzhao's chest, the guardianship of Zhang Shouzhuo's starlight Incarnation blocking the halberd shadow, the guixu star core guarding him as he broke and then stood... isn't guardianship the core manifestation of "Star Dome Eternal Burning"? Burning oneself, illuminating others, guarding hope!

Proof? This is the proof! No need for words, action is the Dao proof!

"Xing Tian!!" Chen Feng let out a roar that shook the hall! Inside his body, the newly stabilized Star Dome Eternal Burning Violet Flame life wheel roared beyond its limits! The life wheel with 55% solidity rotated crazily, and the purple-blue flames instantly surged!

Deep in his Dantian, the guixu star core shone brightly! The core Star Vortex Universe rotated rapidly, crazily devouring and transforming the residual, desolate Aura of destruction belonging to the Star Dome Royal Court here, along with the tragic and unwilling will radiating from those skeletons of the kings! An unprecedented, immense Star Power, fused with the will of extinction, guardianship, and Nirvana, poured into the life wheel!

[Star Dome Barrier · Punishment Lock Extinction]—Full power!

Clatter—!

Countless Law chains burning with deep purple-blue flames and flowing with silver star runes on their surfaces, like wild dragons breaking free from restraints, erupted from Chen Feng's whole body! The chains did not attack the main body of the Xing Tian Phantom, but arrived later and yet first, like the toughest vines, instantly entangling and weaving across the path of the Xing Tian blood light giant hand reaching towards the main throne!

At the same time, Chen Feng's figure turned into a burning purple-blue meteor, and with an indomitable determination, he rushed fiercely towards the main throne! His target was that suspended shouzhuo star hub!

"Star Dome Eternal Burning, guardianship never extinguished! Why need proof for this Dao!" Chen Feng's roar, accompanied by the violent collision between the violet flame chains and the Xing Tian blood light giant hand, resounded through the deathly silent Hall of Kings!

Boom—!!!

The purple-blue flames and the dark red blood light collided fiercely! A terrifying Law annihilation storm instantly exploded! The entire hall shook violently, and dome fragments fell like rain! The Punishment Locks condensed by Chen Feng trembled violently and snapped under the crazy erosion of the Slaughter Dao blood light, emitting a harsh wail! His whole body felt as if it had been hit hard, blood sprayed wildly, the Star Dome Barrier fluctuated violently again, and its strength plummeted to 3%!

The Xing Tian blood light giant hand slowed slightly, but still carried an unrivaled will of destruction, grabbing towards the main throne! It was about to touch that cold star metal!

Just at this critical moment!

Chen Feng's burning figure finally took the lead and slammed heavily onto that shouzhuo star hub!

Hum—!!!

It was as if a sleeping ancient giant god had been awakened! The entire shouzhuo star hub suddenly erupted with starlight billions of times brighter than the core of the sun! It was vast, pure, and carried a will of guardianship and expectation that pierced through the ages!

This immense starlight instantly engulfed Chen Feng! The violet flames on his body, the star core in his Dantian, the mark on his chest, all merged perfectly with this starlight!

At the top of the star hub, that point of dim purple light suddenly shone as bright as the sun! A beam of light, purely condensed from the Star Dome Origin Law, arrived later yet first, and struck the wrist of the Xing Tian blood light giant hand with incomparable precision!

Sizzle—!

Like a red-hot branding iron pressed onto snow! Xing Tian's condensed Slaughter Dao blood light giant hand was actually forcibly pierced and torn by this star hub light beam! The dark red blood light let out a shrill screech, twisting and evaporating crazily as if it had life!

"Roar—!!!" The Xing Tian Phantom let out a roar of extreme pain and rage, and the giant hand condensed from blood light instantly dissipated by more than half!

And Chen Feng's body, the moment it touched the shouzhuo star hub, his consciousness was completely engulfed by an irresistible, warm, and vast torrent of will.

A gentle thought, carrying endless vicissitudes and a hint of relief, as if crossing the long river of ages, sounded directly in the deepest part of his Soul:

"Star fire... finally burns... my Dao... is not alone..."

"Latecomer... do not forget... the star fire..."