424: Chapter 359: Opportunity to Ask Questions, Exploring the Origins of the Temple of Civilization

The lingering echoes of the Universe's will slowly dissipated into the Void Realm.

That immense, formless existence had departed, yet the information it left behind—those images, those words, those meanings—continued to reverberate in Lin Zhou's consciousness, like the unending chime of a bell.

"The Legacy of a failed transcendent..."

"Related to the Return to Ruins..."

"The Return to Ruins is coming; civilization must seek a new path..."

Every word was as heavy as a mountain.

Lin Zhou stood in the Void Realm, silent for a long time. His expression was calm, but the hand holding the token trembled slightly. It was not out of fear, but because—he knew he had touched the deepest secret of this Universe.

A secret regarding the end.

[Lin Zhou · Status]

- Divinity Rank: LV720 (Mid-Tier Divine Power, Mid-stage)

- Dao Heart stability: 98%

- Current emotion: Solemn

- Information obtained: [Origin of the Temple of Civilization] (Epic-grade intelligence)

"Captain, are you okay?" Qin Qing's voice came through the mental link, filled with worry.

"I'm fine." Lin Zhou turned and walked toward the group. "Just... learned some things I shouldn't have."

"What things?" Wang Meng asked eagerly.

Lin Zhou was silent for a moment, then spoke slowly: "The Temple of Civilization is not from this Universe."

Everyone was stunned.

"It comes from the previous Universe," Lin Zhou continued. "When the previous Universe ended, a transcendent built this hall and left their civilization's Legacy inside. Then, they walked toward the Return to Ruins, attempting to stop the end, but failed."

"The hall remained, waiting for someone fated."

"I am that person."

Everyone was silent.

This news was too shocking.

The previous Universe, transcendent, Return to Ruins... these concepts were already beyond their cognitive range.

"The Return to Ruins... what is it?" Zhao Hao's voice was somewhat dry.

Lin Zhou pulled up the information transmitted by the Universe's will and projected it onto the light screen:

[Return to Ruins · Information (From Universe Will)]

- Definition: The place where the Universe ends, the final destination of all existence

- Essence: An inevitable link in the cycle of the Universe's birth and destruction

- Status: Slowly eroding the current Universe

- Estimated time to total erosion: Unknown (but based on the transcendent's experience, it may be calculated in epochs)

- Warning: The Return to Ruins is coming, civilization must seek a new path

"The Return to Ruins is coming..." Qin Qing murmured, "What does this mean? Is the Universe going to be destroyed?"

"Not immediately." Lin Zhou shook his head. "But, sooner or later."

"How long is sooner or later?" Wang Meng asked.

"I don't know." Lin Zhou put away the light screen. "Perhaps tens of thousands of years, perhaps hundreds of millions. But it will come eventually."

"Then what can we do?"

Lin Zhou was silent.

He recalled the last words of the Universe's will— "Civilization must seek a new path."

What is a new path?

Is it to walk toward the Return to Ruins like the transcendent and try to stop it?

Or to build a new Temple of Civilization and wait for the next person fated?

He didn't know.

But he knew he had to find the answer.

"Captain, what are you thinking about?" Qin Qing walked over.

"Thinking about why the transcendent failed," Lin Zhou replied.

"Why?"

"Because they were alone." Lin Zhou raised his head and looked into the depths of the Void Realm. "They walked toward the Return to Ruins alone. Alone, they resisted the end. Alone, they left behind the Legacy."

"They were very strong, but they were only one person."

"And civilization has never been a one-person affair."

Qin Qing was thoughtful.

"So, you want to..."

"I want to find their ruins," Lin Zhou said. "In the Chaos Star Domain."

"The Chaos Star Domain?" Qin Qing frowned. "Isn't the mortality rate there 70%?"

"Yes." Lin Zhou nodded. "But the transcendent came from the previous Universe; their civilization might be hidden in the Chaos Star Domain. The information from the Universe's will mentioned that the Chaos Star Domain is a fragment of the previous Universe, a 'ruin' left behind after the Return to Ruins eroded it. It might contain the complete Legacy of the transcendent."

"You want to go find it?"

"Yes."

"But it's too dangerous..."

"I know." Lin Zhou interrupted her. "But I have to go."

He looked at Qin Qing, his eyes firm.

"The Return to Ruins is coming, and civilization needs a new path. And the new path might be in the Chaos Star Domain."

"I cannot not go."

Qin Qing was silent for a long time, then nodded slowly.

"Okay. I'll go with you."

"No." Lin Zhou shook his head. "You stay behind."

"Why?"

"Because the entrance to the Chaos Star Domain can only be entered by one person at a time," Lin Zhou said. "This is the rule set by the competition organizing committee. Moreover, the rules there are chaotic, so having more people is more likely to cause problems."

"But..."

"Trust me." Lin Zhou smiled. "I will come back alive."

Qin Qing looked at him, her eyes filled with complexity.

She knew she couldn't change Lin Zhou's decision.

"When are you leaving?"

"After I'm fully prepared," Lin Zhou said. "About a month from now."

"A month..."

"Yes." Lin Zhou nodded. "I need time to digest the information from the Universe's will, research the data on the Chaos Star Domain, and stabilize my divinity at LV720. You also need time to help me prepare supplies and equipment."

Qin Qing took a deep breath, suppressing the unease in her heart.

"Okay. I'll help you."

After returning to Xinghai University, Lin Zhou began intense preparations.

He spent twelve hours a day researching the Chaos Star Domain, six hours consolidating his divinity, and the remaining time cultivating new skills and simulating tactics.

[Chaos Star Domain · Research Progress]

- Data Reading: 80% complete

- Danger points marked: Approximately 3000 identified

- Opportunity points speculated: Approximately 50

- Recommended routes: Three (each with pros and cons)

- Estimated stay time: Approximately three months (internal time flow is different from the outside, may be longer)

Qin Qing was responsible for material preparation.

She mobilized all the resources of Xinghai University to prepare a large number of potions, Talismans, mechanisms, and emergency divinity crystals (3 units, as backup) for Lin Zhou.

[Material List · Chaos Star Domain]

- Divinity Repair Liquid: 5 vials (can quickly repair divinity damage)

- Chaos Resistance Talisman: 30 sheets (each can continuously resist Chaos erosion for one hour)

- Micro-mechanism Scout Bees: 100 (can detect the surrounding environment and warn of dangers)

- Emergency divinity crystal: 3 units (used for emergency Breakthrough or repair)

- Fire of Civilization seed: 1 (Lin Zhou brought it himself, can ignite the Fire of Civilization in a desperate situation)

Wang Meng, Zhao Hao, Li Mo, and Su Yueyao were also busy.

Wang Meng was responsible for training Lin Zhou's melee combat ability. Although Lin Zhou was a deity, in the Chaos Star Domain, Divine Power might be suppressed, and melee ability was the key to survival. Zhao Hao provided the Dragon Clan's secret "Dragon Blood Body Tempering Technique," which could temporarily improve Physique. Li Mo fully upgraded Lin Zhou's equipment, adding Chaos resistance and rule interference modules. Su Yueyao sealed her Moonlight Power into a jade pendant and gave it to Lin Zhou, which could release a "Moonlight Purification" in an emergency.

One month later.

Everything was ready.

Lin Zhou stood on the teleportation platform at Xinghai University, with Qin Qing, Wang Meng, Zhao Hao, Li Mo, and Su Yueyao behind him.

"Captain, you must come back alive." Wang Meng's eyes were slightly red.

"I will." Lin Zhou smiled.

Zhao Hao patted his shoulder: "When you come back, we'll fight again."

"Okay."

Li Mo's projection flickered: "Captain, I've tuned the scout bees; remember to check the energy every three days."

"I'll remember."

Su Yueyao's Moonlight projection floated in front of Lin Zhou and said softly: "There is my Moonlight Power in the pendant; crush it in an emergency."

"Thank you."

Qin Qing walked to Lin Zhou, looked at him, and was silent for a long time.

Then, she reached out and handed him a ring.

"What is this?" Lin Zhou took the ring.

"A space ring," Qin Qing said. "There is a letter inside."

"A letter?"

"Read it when you come back." Qin Qing turned around. "Go, don't dawdle."

Lin Zhou looked at her back, and a warm current surged in his heart.

"Okay. Wait for me to come back."

He turned and walked toward the teleportation platform.

Light flashed, and Lin Zhou's figure disappeared from the teleportation platform.

Qin Qing stood in place, watching the empty teleportation platform, and tears finally fell.

"Captain, you must come back..."

Chaos Star Domain entrance.

This was a crack in the Void Realm, about 100 kilometers long and 10 kilometers wide, with chaotic, disordered light flowing at the edges. Deep in the crack, nothing could be seen, only an absolute darkness that swallowed everything.

Lin Zhou hovered in front of the crack, holding the [Chaos Star Domain Trial Qualification] token in his hand.

The token was glowing, resonating with the chaotic aura in the crack.

[Chaos Star Domain Entrance · Status]

- Type: Space crack (unstable)

- Stability: 72% (safe to enter)

- Internal rules: Chaotic (time, space, and Karma are all uncertain)

- Entry method: Holders of the token can pass through the crack safely

- Estimated internal time flow: Ratio of about 10:1 with the outside (ten days inside, one day outside)

Lin Zhou took a deep breath and pressed the token against his forehead.

The token merged into his divinity, turning into a mark.

[Chaos Star Domain · Admission Mark]

- Effect: Can maintain a "existence anchor" in the Chaos Star Domain to avoid being assimilated by chaotic rules

- Duration: One year (calculated from the time of entry)

- Consumption: None (the mark maintains itself automatically)

- Note: If the mark disappears, you will be "swallowed" by the Chaos Star Domain and will be unable to return.

"One year..." Lin Zhou muttered.

The internal time flow is different from the outside world, but the duration of the mark is calculated based on external time. In other words, he can stay in the Chaos Star Domain for at most ten years (internal time).

Ten years. That is enough for him to explore many places.

He took one last look at the starry sky behind him—there, he had his teammates, his divine kingdom, and his civilization.

"Wait for me to return."

He turned and stepped into the rift.

Inside the rift, the aura of Chaos rushed toward him.

It was not wind, nor energy, but—the rules themselves were in Chaos.

Time was flowing backward, space was folding, and Karma was inverted.

Lin Zhou felt his divinity bearing immense pressure; the entry mark was glowing, maintaining his "existence."

[Chaos Star Domain · Entering] - Rule Chaos Level: Extremely High - Divinity Load: 120% (Overloaded) - Entry Mark Stability: 98% - Estimated Passage Time: About three minutes

Three minutes felt like three years.

Lin Zhou gritted his teeth, forcing himself to steady his mind.

He recalled the warning of the Universe's will— "The Return to Void is coming; civilization must seek a new path."

"The new path is right here."

He opened his eyes and looked into the depths of the rift.

There, there was light. Not sunlight, not starlight, but—the light of civilization.

Faint, yet firm. Just like the first wisp of the Fire of Civilization he ignited in the Divine Domain back then.

"Transcendent, I have come."

He accelerated and rushed toward that light.

Three minutes later. Lin Zhou stood in a strange Void Realm.

The rules here were completely different from the outside world.

The time flow was extremely fast; he could feel his divinity accelerating. Space folding was visible everywhere; a mountain in the distance might actually be a thousand miles away. Karma was inverted; he had to think of the result first to find the cause.

[Chaos Star Domain · Internal Environment] - Time Flow: 1 day external ≈ 10 days internal - Spatial Stability: 45% (Frequent folding) - Karma Logic: Partially inverted - Chaos Energy Concentration: Extremely high (100 times that of the outside world) - Danger Level: SSS+

"So this is the Chaos Star Domain..." Lin Zhou muttered.

He looked around, his gaze falling on a massive ruin floating in the Void Realm.

The ruins were circular, about a hundred kilometers in diameter, covered with thick layers of Chaos dust. However, beneath the dust, one could vaguely see the outlines of buildings—not the architectural style of this era, but something much older and more primitive.

"Relics of an ancient civilization..."

Lin Zhou accelerated and flew toward the ruins.

The closer he got, the stronger the resonance of the Temple of Civilization became.

The river of civilization within the sanctuary was surging, the Pillar of Heaven was vibrating, and even the qiankun tripod was humming.

They were telling him: Here, there is a force of the same origin.

[Temple of Civilization · Resonance] - Source: Depths of the ruins - Intensity: Extremely high - Distance: About 50 kilometers - Nature: Same origin (possibly related to the Transcendent)

Lin Zhou landed on the edge of the ruins and deployed his divine kingdom projection.

As soon as the divine kingdom projection was deployed, it was eroded by Chaos energy, and the rules at the edges began to blur.

[Divine Kingdom Projection · Status] - Stability: 90% (continuously dropping) - Chaos Erosion Rate: About 5% per hour - Estimated Duration: About 20 hours (requires regular purification)

"Not much time left." Lin Zhou quickened his pace.

In the ruins, there were broken walls and ruined pillars everywhere.

There were half-broken stone pillars carved with unreadable text; broken statues with blurred faces; and dried-up riverbeds that might have once been the mother river of the civilization.

Lin Zhou walked slowly, feeling every step. He was sensing the residual aura of civilization in these ruins. Although faint, it still existed. Like a candle in the wind, it had not yet been extinguished.

"Is this the civilization of the previous Universe?" he muttered.

He crouched down and picked up a broken piece of pottery. On the pottery, a simple pattern was drawn—a sun and a person. The person stood under the sun, arms wide open, as if embracing the light.

"Civilization, from ancient times to the present, has always been about 'people'."

He put away the pottery shard and continued to go deeper.

Fifty kilometers in the Chaos Star Domain felt like five hundred kilometers because of the space folding. Even though he was walking forward, he would sometimes suddenly return to the starting point.

[Space Folding · Frequency] - Triggers about once every kilometer - Each fold randomly displaces him 1-10 kilometers - Countermeasure: Use the river of civilization to stabilize the surrounding space.

Lin Zhou unfurled the river of civilization, and the pale golden water flowed around him, forming a stable spatial zone. The frequency of folding decreased significantly.

[Spatial Stability · Effect] - Folding frequency: Dropped from once per kilometer to once every ten kilometers - Consumption: 100 Divine Power per minute - Duration: Can be maintained long-term.

Finally, he reached the core of the ruins. There, there was a relatively well-preserved building. Not a palace, not a temple, but—a school.

The school was not large, with only three rooms. The roof had half collapsed, and the walls were covered with traces of Chaos erosion. However, on the lintel of the school, two characters were carved—though blurred, they were still faintly discernible: "Civilization."

Lin Zhou's eyes turned slightly red. He walked into the school.

The first room was a classroom. Inside, there were rows of stone benches, and on the benches sat skeletons. They had not died in battle, but—of old age. They sat on the stone benches, facing the podium, as if waiting for the teacher to give a lecture. But the teacher was no longer there.

Lin Zhou walked to the podium and saw a bamboo scroll lying on it. The scroll was broken, but a portion of it was still legible.

[Bamboo Scroll · Fragment] - Content: "...Way of Civilization lies in people. If people exist, civilization exists; if people perish, civilization perishes. Although we are about to pass away, the Fire of Civilization must not be extinguished. Latecomer, if you see this scroll, please take the fire seed out..."

The words that followed were no longer legible. Lin Zhou held the bamboo scroll, silent for a long time.

"The Fire of Civilization... must not be extinguished."

He stored the bamboo scroll in the core of his divine kingdom and placed it in the Temple of Civilization. The river of civilization in the sanctuary brightened slightly, as if welcoming a new member.

[Temple of Civilization · New Collection] - Item: Bamboo Scroll Fragment (Relic of the previous Universe's civilization) - Effect: river of civilization water level +1%, Civilization Affinity +5%

Lin Zhou walked out of the first room and entered the second. The second room was a study. The bookshelves were filled with bamboo scrolls, silk books, and animal skins. However, most had decayed and crumbled at the slightest touch. Lin Zhou searched carefully and found a few relatively intact scrolls.

[Study · Harvest] - "Study on the Origin of Civilization" (Fragment): Records the origin of the previous Universe's civilization - "Record of the Return to Void" (Fragment): Notes from the Transcendent's research on the Return to Void - "Method of Fire Seed Inheritance" (Fragment): Methods on how to pass on the Fire of Civilization to future generations.

Lin Zhou opened "Record of the Return to Void." The handwriting was messy but powerful.

"The Return to Void is not a natural disaster, but an inevitability of the Universe's life and death. We are powerless to stop it, but we can delay it. The method of delay lies in civilization. The stronger the civilization, the slower the erosion of the Return to Void. Conversely, if civilization declines, the Return to Void accelerates."

"I will walk toward the Return to Void, becoming a barrier with my own body to buy time."

"Latecomer, if you see this book, please continue the research. The Return to Void is irreversible, but civilization can be passed on."

"The new Universe needs the fire seed."

Lin Zhou closed the book, a sense of sorrow rising in his heart. The Transcendent had walked alone toward the Return to Void, becoming a barrier with his body. He had failed, but his barrier had delayed the erosion of the Return to Void. He had bought time for those who came after.

"I will not let you die in vain," Lin Zhou said in a low voice.

He walked into the third room. The third room was a secret chamber. Inside the chamber, there was nothing but a flame. The flame was not large, only the size of a fist, but it emitted a warm and firm light. That was—the Fire of Civilization.

It was of the same origin as Lin Zhou's Fire of Civilization, yet much older.

[Fire of Civilization · From the previous Universe] - Status: Faint (but not extinguished) - Source: Fire seed left by the Transcendent - Effect: Can fuse with Lin Zhou's Fire of Civilization to improve its quality.

Lin Zhou walked to the flame and reached out his hand. The flame jumped onto his palm and merged with his Fire of Civilization.

The moment of Fusion, Lin Zhou's divinity shuddered violently!

[Fire of Civilization · Fusion!] - Quality: Mid-tier → High-tier - Effect: river of civilization water level +20%, Pillar of Heaven height +10,000 kilometers, Civilization Affinity +30% - New Ability: [Civilization Legacy]—Can split off a wisp of the Fire of Civilization and gift it to others, helping them ignite their own civilization.

Lin Zhou looked at the brighter flame in his palm, a warm current rising in his heart. "This is the gift the Transcendent left for me."

He turned and walked out of the school. Outside the school, the Chaos Star Domain remained chaotic and dangerous. But in Lin Zhou's heart, he already had a direction.

The Return to Void is coming; civilization must seek a new path. The new path is not elsewhere, but in the heart of every person. "I will find it." He flew into the depths of the Void Realm, continuing his exploration.