291: Chapter 226: The Grotto-Heaven Recognizes Its Master, the Blessed Land Merges into the Divine Kingdom

"Rumble—!!!"

The deafening roar of the collapsing mountain range ruins behind them continued to echo. The ground beneath their feet shook violently, as if this independent space was undergoing a painful "death" spasm. In the sky, the originally gray firmament was now covered with spiderweb-like cracks. Through these cracks, what could be seen was not the familiar starry sky of the outside world, but a deeper, more chaotic void turbulence. The broken walls and debris in the gray mist ruins were also accelerating their weathering and disintegration in this wave of collapse sweeping the entire Grotto-Heaven, turning into finer dust.

"Is... is this Grotto-Heaven going to be finished too?!" Zhao Hao looked at the scene of heaven and earth rending before him, a trace of alarm flashing in his Dragon pupils. Before the majestic power of nature, even deities would feel small.

"The core ruins are the 'anchor point' and 'energy source' of this Grotto-Heaven." Li Mo rapidly analyzed the environmental data, his expression grave. "The Spark being taken and the ruins collapsing is equivalent to removing the 'heart' and 'skeleton' of the Grotto-Heaven. The spatial structure is rapidly destabilizing and collapsing. At this rate, in at most... half an hour, this Grotto-Heaven will be completely annihilated in the Void Realm. If we stay here, we'll be torn apart with it!"

"We must use a teleportation Talisman to leave immediately!" Qin Qing said decisively, the emergency teleportation Talisman previously issued by the academy already appearing in her hand. This kind of Talisman could lock onto the spatial coordinates they used to enter and safely send them back to the Xinghai University teleportation point.

Wang Meng also looked at Lin Zhou, waiting for his decision. Although Lin Zhou had mentioned wanting to try and integrate the Grotto-Heaven before, the speed and power of this collapse were clearly beyond expectations.

Lin Zhou stood on the edge of the collapse, the strong wind making his clothes flutter and snap. He gazed at this world on the brink of destruction, but there wasn't much panic in his eyes; instead, a strange, eager light flickered.

"No, we aren't leaving directly." Lin Zhou's voice was steady and powerful, overriding some of the roar of the collapse. "This is an opportunity, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—to integrate this dying Grotto-Heaven into my Divine Kingdom!"

"What?!" Zhao Hao blurted out. "Boss, this Grotto-Heaven is about to explode! How can we integrate it? Use our heads?"

Qin Qing and Li Mo also showed looks of disbelief. Integrating a stable piece of land or a resource card required caution, let alone an independent space that was collapsing and had chaotic rules. One mistake would not only result in a failed Fusion but could also trigger a violent conflict or even the breakdown of his own Divine Kingdom's rules!

"Theoretically... if we can capture and stabilize the core spatial rule fragments and the 'Leyline Spiritual Pivot' before the Grotto-Heaven is completely annihilated, and forcibly 'contain' them with a higher level of power, it is possible to integrate part of the 'essence' into the Divine Kingdom..." Li Mo pushed his glasses, the data stream in his eyes flashing wildly as he tried to construct a model. "But the success rate... is below 5%! And the power level required is at least mid-tier Divine Power, along with a very deep understanding of spatial rules! Boss, you right now..."

"The conventional method won't work, of course." Lin Zhou interrupted him, the corner of his mouth curling into a confident arc. "But I have this."

With a thought, the Void Realm behind him rippled, and that dark golden, semi-solidified river of civilization phantom surged forth once again! But this time, the river was no longer confined to a single area behind him; it was like a real, physical, great river, spanning across the collapsing heaven and earth! The river water surged, and within the waves, epic scenes like Great Yu Controlling the Waters and Confucius' Travels rose and fell, emitting a grand Aura that suppressed time and space and carried civilization!

river of civilization · Semi-Physical (Embryonic Form)!

Characteristics: [Rule Bearing], [Civilization Protection], [History Projection], [Information Sedimentation]!

"This Grotto-Heaven is essentially a Legacy site opened by a great powerhouse of the ancient Huaxia civilization. Its spatial rules and Foundation share the same source as my Way of Civilization!" Lin Zhou's voice was clear and resonant, carrying an unquestionable decisiveness. "My river of civilization has preliminarily materialized, possessing the ability to carry and harmonize rules! I will use the river as a 'net' and my Divine Kingdom as an 'anchor' to forcibly salvage this sinking 'civilization fragment'!"

Before he had even finished speaking, he had already begun to act!

"Zhao Hao, Wang Meng, act as my Protectors, and block the turbulence and collapse debris overflowing from the spatial cracks!"

"Li Mo, Qin Qing, help me monitor the changes in the Grotto-Heaven's core energy nodes and spatial weak points! Use data and spiritual sensing to assist me in positioning!"

"Yes!" Although the four of them felt this move was crazy, seeing the surging river of civilization behind Lin Zhou and feeling that unprecedented, steady Aura on him that seemed to resonate with heaven and earth, they involuntarily chose to trust him and immediately took up their roles.

Zhao Hao's Dragon wings unfurled, his Dragon Might mixing with the ancient Dragon nature stimulated by the ancient lamp's flames to form a reddish-gold barrier. Wang Meng roared, his Behemoth phantom solidifying into a massive energy body, slamming his fists into the ground to stabilize the surrounding earth. Qin Qing's Light of Jurisprudence turned into Chains of Order, weaving through the surrounding space, attempting to temporarily "define" and stabilize the chaos of the local area. Li Mo's mechanical eyeballs and portable probes operated at full power, sharing the scanned energy flows, spatial stress, and rule disintegration points in real-time to Lin Zhou's consciousness.

Lin Zhou himself was completely immersed in communication with the river of civilization. He stood at the "source" phantom of the river (which was actually an extension of his own godhead), his mind completely open, merging into one with the river.

"River, hear my command—"

"Expand!"

"Buzz!!!"

The dark golden river of civilization phantom suddenly erupted with brilliant light, and the river's width and length surged at an incredible speed! From its original width of several yards, it instantly expanded to nearly a hundred yards wide! Its length seemed to extend infinitely, with one end connected to Lin Zhou and the other spreading toward all directions of the collapsing Grotto-Heaven, the sky, and the earth!

This was not an extension in the physical sense, but a coverage and penetration at the level of rules and concepts!

The waters of the river (actually highly condensed civilization rules and information streams) surged out, washing over the gray mist ruins, over the collapsing mountains, and over the sky filled with cracks!

Wherever it passed, a miracle occurred!

Those violent spatial turbulences, the moment they touched the waters of the river of civilization, seemed to be smoothed and combed by a gentle yet resilient power. Although they weren't completely calmed, their destructiveness and chaos were significantly reduced.

The earth and rocks that were disintegrating seemed to slow down slightly under the soaking of the river water. Some fragments containing special rules or spirituality were even "picked up" by the river water, carried into the river, and began to flow with the water.

Most importantly, the river water seemed to be resonating with the deepest remaining "ancient civilization imprints" and "spatial leylines" of this Grotto-Heaven! Some invisible lines of "Leyline Spiritual Light," which Li Mo's probes could capture and which were like the Bloodlines of the earth, emerged from the collapsing ruins under the illumination and attraction of the river. Like injured giant pythons, they instinctively moved closer to the river, this warmer and more kindred "mother river"!

[Warning: Forcibly expanding and covering an independent space on the verge of annihilation, the river of civilization's load is rising sharply! Divine Power consumption is accelerating!]

[Current Load: 72%... 75%... 80%... Divine Power Reserve: 12,000/18,000... Continuing to decline!]

[Detected kindred spatial rule fragments and Leyline Spiritual Pivot, attempting to guide and contain...]

[River characteristic "Rule Bearing" in effect, repulsion of kindred rule fragments reduced by 65%...]

[River characteristic "Information Sedimentation" in effect, a large amount of spatial structure information and broken rule information is being absorbed, precipitated, and preliminarily integrated by the river...]

Lin Zhou's face turned slightly pale, and sweat appeared on his forehead. Covering and stabilizing such a large area of collapsing space, even with the river's characteristic bonuses, was a huge drain on his Divine Power and a heavy mental burden. But he gritted his teeth and persevered, with only one thought in his mind: Catch it! This is a Legacy left by civilization ancestors; it cannot be allowed to be completely annihilated into nothingness!

"Found it! Predicting the transfer trajectory of the core energy node!" Li Mo's voice suddenly rang out in the mental link. A dynamic 3D model composed of countless light lines and nodes was projected into Lin Zhou's mind, marking a "light orb" that was constantly flashing, moving, and becoming increasingly dim—that was where the Grotto-Heaven's final "Spiritual Pivot" was located, like a spark about to go out.

"Now is the time!" A sharp glint flashed in Lin Zhou's eyes, and he poured all his mind and Divine Power into the river of civilization without reservation!

"River—close the net!"

"Boom!!!"

The main trunk of the surging river of civilization suddenly gave a "tail flick," like a giant dragon swinging its tail or a fisherman closing his net. The dark golden river water formed a massive vortex, "covering" the location of the "light orb" marked by Li Mo and the large "Leyline Spiritual Light network" spreading out from it!

Within the vortex, epic scenes of civilization flowed frantically: Confucius' Light of Enlightenment, Great Yu's Power to Stabilize the Cauldrons, Mozi's Logic Net... various manifestations of civilization's great power intertwined, turning into the toughest "net ropes."

"Buzz—!!!"

The "netted" Grotto-Heaven Core Spiritual Hub and a large area of Earth Veins made a final instinctive struggle, erupting with blinding radiance, clashing and grinding fiercely against the dark-gold halo of the river of civilization!

Space let out an overburdened groan as even more violent collapses occurred, but the core area was firmly locked by the vortex of the river of civilization!

"Divine Kingdom—Open! Reception!"

Lin Zhou shouted, no longer hesitating, and directly opened a massive "portal" projection of his Divine Kingdom (located within the Xinghai University Divine Domain Space)! This portal was not physical but a temporary "interface" of the Divine Kingdom's rules driven by Lin Zhou's Divine Power, appearing above the vortex of the river of civilization, emitting a more stable and complete Aura of civilization that shared the same source as himself.

"Get... in here!"

Lin Zhou felt his Divinity buzzing, his Divine Soul transmitting a tearing pain, and his Divine Power reserves plummeting like a flood! But he ignored it, driving the river of civilization to forcibly drag the "netted" core essence of the Grotto-Heaven—about fifty square kilometers in area (containing relatively complete spatial structure fragments, the main body of the Earth Veins, some not yet fully annihilated rule imprints, and a large amount of spiritual material dust)—and hurl it toward the open "portal" of the Divine Kingdom!

This scene was incredibly spectacular and extremely dangerous. It was like a dark-gold Dragon snatching a piece of "continent" burning with the final embers of civilization from the collapsing heavens and earth, stuffing it into another world!

[Warning! Divine Kingdom rules are under strong impact from external rules!]

[Warning! Spatial structure load is increasing rapidly!]

[Homologous civilization rule imprints detected, conflict Rank reduced from "Destructive" to "Violent Grinding"!]

[river of civilization continues to channel and harmonize... The Divine Kingdom core (Hundred Schools Temple) resonates, releasing a stabilization force field...]

[Fusion in progress...]

Inside Lin Zhou's Divine Kingdom, earth-shattering changes were taking place at this moment!

At the edge of the original 100-square-kilometer Divine Kingdom territory, the rule barriers fluctuated violently as a new phantom of "land," filled with a decayed and ancient Aura, was forcibly squeezing in and docking! On this new land, broken palace Foundations, fractured stone tablets, traces of dried-up spiritual springs, and the blurry outline of that collapsed mountain range were faintly visible—it was the "essence imprint" of that ancient Grotto-Heaven Secret Realm!

The Divine Kingdom land expanded amidst the rumbling, and the rule firmament of the sky extended. The original Literary Heart Elves village, Tiangong Dwarves mine, and Law Fishmen town all felt the intense tremors. All the servitors looked toward the sky and the edge of the land in fear and awe at the miracle being created by the Divine Power of their god.

Lin Zhou's consciousness Clone remaining in the Divine Kingdom (represented by the Divine Kingdom manager, Elena) immediately initiated emergency measures, mobilizing the Divine Kingdom's stored Power Of Faith to cooperate with the stable rule fields emitted by the Temple of Civilization and Hundred Schools miracle buildings (Jixia Academy, Temple of Law, Tiangong Workshop, etc.), doing everything possible to help the main body stabilize this crude "devouring" process.

Outside, the collapsing Grotto-Heaven.

After that piece of core essence was "swallowed" by Lin Zhou's Divine Kingdom, the remaining, more peripheral and fragmented parts seemed to lose their final support, and the speed of collapse suddenly accelerated!

"Let's go! This place is about to vanish completely!" Li Mo shouted, looking at the soaring energy turbulence readings on his detector.

Lin Zhou had also reached his limit; his face was as pale as paper, his Divine Power was almost exhausted, and the phantom of the river of civilization had become dim and small. But his eyes shone with the light of success.

"Withdraw!"

The five no longer hesitated, and Qin Qing instantly activated the group teleportation Talisman she had prepared long ago!

A soft silver-white light enveloped the five of them.

In the next second, their figures vanished from this collapsing space that was about to turn completely into nothingness.

"BOOM—!!!!!"

At the moment they disappeared, an ultimate roar like the beginning and end of the Universe came from behind them; that ancient Grotto-Heaven completely dissipated into nothingness.

...

Xinghai University, Advanced Secret Realm Teleportation Management Area.

With a flash of silver light, five slightly disheveled figures appeared in the teleportation array.

As soon as Lin Zhou landed, he staggered and almost fell, but was caught by Zhao Hao and Wang Meng beside him.

"Boss!" "Captain!"

Lin Zhou waved his hand to indicate he was fine, just over-exhausted. He immediately sat cross-legged, absorbing the rich Divine Power environment of the teleportation area to recover while sinking most of his mind into his Divine Kingdom to monitor the Fusion situation after the "devouring."

Inside the Divine Kingdom, the changes continued, but the most violent conflict period had passed.

The newly integrated land of about fifty square kilometers had preliminarily stabilized and bordered the original Divine Kingdom territory. This land was grayish-brown, with a landscape mainly consisting of hills, broken valleys, and small plains, with traces of ruins everywhere. The Spiritual Qi concentration was slightly higher than the original area of the Divine Kingdom, but it carried a sense of vicissitudes and silence. Most prominent was the "Ancient Ruins Area" in the center of that region, which simulated the outline of the original mountain range; although most buildings only had Foundations left, the layout remained, emitting an ancient Aura.

[Divine Kingdom Data Update]

Divine Kingdom Area: 100 square kilometers → 150 square kilometers! (50% expansion)

Divine Kingdom Rating: Mid-tier Divine Kingdom (Early Stage) → Mid-tier Divine Kingdom (Stable)! (Rule completeness increased from 68% to 73%)

New Terrain/Area: [Ancient Ruins Area] (Approximately 8 square kilometers, located at the core of the new territory)

Characteristics: Contains faint residual charms of ancient civilization rules, Spiritual Qi concentration +20%, time flow slightly slower (approximately 0.95 times that of the outside world), with a certain chance of unearthing ancient civilization remnants or triggering rule insights.

New Resources: Large areas of spiritual land (requires Living Soil or time to nurture back to optimal state), a small number of residual rare Ore points (requires exploration), several nearly dried up but well-founded Spiritual Spring Eyes (repairable).

Rule Perfection: Due to the Fusion of spatial rule fragments that are homologous but slightly different, Divine Kingdom spatial stability +10%; affinity and carrying capacity for rules related to "History," "Ruins," and "Legacy" are enhanced.

river of civilization Feedback: Due to leading this Fusion and absorbing a massive amount of spatial and ruins information, the River's materialization progress increased from 42% to 48%! The "Information Sedimentation" characteristic effect is enhanced.

Divine Power Reserves: Extremely low (approx. 500/18000), requires time to recover.

Servitor Status: The initial panic has passed; under the appeasement of Hero Units and the manifestation of miracles (the Fusion process was seen as a miracle), faith piety has generally increased slightly, with a deeper understanding of the "Weight of Civilization" and "Divine Might." Some servitors near the new area have shown a desire to explore.

"Success... it really succeeded!" Lin Zhou opened his eyes, and though exhausted, they were full of spirit. He had successfully turned a Grotto-Heaven on the brink of destruction into nourishment for his own Divine Kingdom's growth! The area had exploded, the Foundation had deepened, and a special area with huge potential had been added!

He informed his teammates of the general situation in the Divine Kingdom, leaving Zhao Hao and the others both amazed and envious.

"150 square kilometers! And an added ruins area! Boss, your Divine Kingdom's Foundation is probably sturdier than many seniors in their fourth year!" Zhao Hao clicked his tongue.

"Data... an incredible success case! The critical threshold for reducing rule conflict, the River's load curve, the stability of the Divine Kingdom interface... this data is too precious!" Li Mo had already pulled out a notebook and started scribbling frantically.

Qin Qing looked at Lin Zhou and nodded slightly: "Winning through danger, possessing both courage and strength. Your path is indeed unique."

Wang Meng chuckled: "Following the Boss, we always get to see such grand scenes!"

Just then, staff from the teleportation area and several professors who had heard the news gathered around. They had felt the abnormal fluctuations of the teleportation array earlier (the slight spatial ripples caused by the opening of Lin Zhou's Divine Kingdom portal during the Grotto-Heaven Fusion) and saw the five of them looking disheveled but joyful with their harvest.

"Student Lin Zhou, you've returned from that unnamed Grotto-Heaven? Looking at you, it seems you've had quite an experience?" A professor in charge of Secret Realm management asked with interest, his gaze lingering for a few extra seconds on Lin Zhou, whose Aura was noticeably different and carried a faint ancient pressure.

Lin Zhou calmed his breathing, stood up, and gave a smile to the professor and the curious students.

"Yes, Professor. We're back. The harvest... was indeed not small."

He didn't go into detail, but everyone could feel that this Star Sea Rookie King, who had created countless miracles, seemed to have become even more unfathomable after returning from this Secret Realm.

The Grotto-Heaven recognized its master, and the blessed land was integrated.

From then on, the Divine Kingdom's Foundation became even more solid.

The ark of civilization will take this as a new starting point and sail toward the even vaster Star Sea.