145: Chapter 145 Ancient Star Ruins, Star Ranking Appears

The morning light on the Trial Ancient Star is unlike any dawn known to humanity.

No sun.

No morning glow.

No gradient of light spreading from the horizon to the firmament.

Only that deep purple canopy, at a critical point impossible for any instrument to capture, slowly transitioning from "the dark purple of night" to "the bright purple of day."

The change was extremely subtle, so subtle that it would be almost imperceptible unless observed continuously for over six hours.

Lin Ye noticed it.

He stood at the edge of the high ground, maintaining the exact same posture he had held twelve hours ago—or rather, since he took over the first watch.

Right knee slightly bent, center of gravity on his back foot, front foot lightly touching the ground, ready to spring in any direction at any moment.

His left hand hung naturally at his side, 0.3 seconds from the retrieval path of his Storage Ring.

His right hand rested on the hilt of the spare refined iron sword at his waist.

His Health had slowly recovered from 7% to 23%.

His Divine Power was still at 0%—the price of running the Chaos Domain on overload for 107 consecutive minutes was that all Divine Power circulation pathways in his Meridians had entered a forced dormant state.

[Lin Ye · Current Status]

[Health: 23% (Slowly recovering)]

[Divine Power: 0% (Completely exhausted)]

[Chaos Domain: Unavailable (Cooldown remaining: 5 hours 17 minutes)]

[Chaos Heaven Opening: Unavailable (Insufficient Divine Power)]

[Void Step: Available (Consumes Health instead of Divine Power, Current mode: Disabled — Automatic protection)]

[Comprehensive Combat Power: 17% of normal state]

[Suggestion: Immediate 6-hour deep rest]

Lin Ye did not look at the System prompt.

From last night until now, he had already closed 70% of the System notifications.

Only two channels remained:

Qin Ruoxue's intelligence warnings.

Yun Qianxue's Health alerts.

Everything else—combat logs, experience point settlements, achievement prompts, and even those force communications that had been flashing unread all night—were all silenced.

His gaze fell on the hillside covered in insect corpses.

Since the logistical personnel from the Vermilion Bird Hall and Black Tortoise Hall were not present, the collection of spoils had to be completed by the expedition team themselves.

Zhao Wuji had been there since 4:00 AM.

He was squatting beside the corpse of a soldier ant, using a specially made scalpel to cut through the carapace at the abdominal joint, extracting the thumb-sized, dimly glowing Star Beast core.

His movements were very slow.

It wasn't that he was unskilled—he had repeated this action over eighty times in the past six hours—it was that his hands were shaking.

A sequela of physical exhaustion.

[Zhao Wuji · Current Status]

[Health: 47%]

[Divine Power: 12%]

[Stamina: 19% (Severe fatigue)]

[Warning: Continuous high-intensity work has exceeded physical limits, immediate rest recommended]

Every time he extracted a core, he would wipe it clean with a cotton cloth, place it into a categorized storage box, and make a record on his data pad.

Then he would push himself up by his knees and walk toward the next insect corpse.

Dried body fluids still remained on the carapace, forming dark green scabs on his gloves.

He did not complain.

7:13 AM.

Yun Qianxue walked out of the tent.

Her complexion was still pale; the bottle of Spring of Life had ultimately been used on Lu Xinghe—not because he was dying, but because the cost of natural recovery after a 72-hour mental sea backlash was something the expedition team could not afford.

[Lu Xinghe · Current Status]

[Health: 38%]

[Divine Power: 0%]

[Mental Energy: 7% (Slowly recovering)]

[Status: Mental Sea Backlash · Mild]

[Estimated recovery time: 46 hours]

[Current ability: Can only maintain basic cognition, cannot cast spells, cannot set up Formations]

He lay in his sleeping bag, eyes open, staring at the purple canopy.

From last night until now, he had not said a single word.

8:00 AM sharp.

Lin Ye issued the order to break camp.

Not "rest for another hour."

Not "wait for Lu Xinghe to recover a bit before leaving."

It was "break camp."

No one objected.

Zhou Tieshan strapped the spare refined-grade iron shield to his back and wrapped his right arm three times with bandages—the stress fracture was still swollen, but his grip strength had returned to 60% of its normal value.

Chu Yunxi put the two broken halves of her bow into her Storage Ring and switched to her spare longbow.

The bow limb tension was 12% lower than her usual one, and the effective range was shortened by 30 meters.

She test-drew the bowstring three times.

On the third time, the web of her hand split open again, and blood dripped onto the ground along the arrow rest.

She did not bandage it.

She simply took a roll of bandage from the first-aid kit handed over by Zhao Wuji, wrapped it three times with one hand, and bit it off with her teeth.

Shi Potian was the last to stand up.

His right arm still could not bear weight; the three open fractures had closed after Yun Qianxue's emergency treatment, but the bone sutures needed at least 24 hours to heal.

He used his left hand to push off the ground and stood up.

He did not let anyone help him.

8:23 AM.

The expedition team left the high ground and continued northward.

The daytime temperature on the Meteorite Plain was about -3°C to 7°C.

The purple canopy had no light source, but the entire plain was shrouded in a kind of extremely uniform, shadowless cold light.

There was no sense of direction.

There were no reference points.

Only the porous gray-brown rock layer underfoot and the outline of the mountain range in the distance that remained unreachable.

Lin Ye walked at the very front.

His Chaos Domain was still on cooldown, but the perception skin attached to his body surface had recovered to a radius of 5 meters.

He could sense the state of everyone behind him.

Zhou Tieshan's footsteps were about 8% slower than yesterday, and the swing of his right arm was deliberately reduced.

There was an extremely subtle instability in Chu Yunxi's breathing rhythm—that was the precursor to a persistent low-grade fever.

Shi Potian's left shoulder was about 3 centimeters higher than his right; he was compensating for the loss of function in his right arm with an asymmetrical gait.

Zhao Wuji's backpack was about 7 kilograms lighter than yesterday—that was the weight of 127 Star Beast cores and over 200 kilograms of Zerg Materials.

But he did not speak.

He just walked in silence, each step landing in the footprints left by the person in front of him.

The eleventh hour.

The expedition team had walked about 41 kilometers.

The speed was slightly higher than yesterday—not because of stamina recovery, but because of adaptation.

9.7 times gravity was still pressing down on everyone.

But the suffocating feeling of being "pressed into the ground by a giant palm and unable to move" was slowly fading.

Su Qingyue's thin ice membrane no longer needed to be deliberately maintained; it had become the default state of her spiritual power circulation System.

Shi Potian's bone density had increased by about 3% within 12 hours—the adaptability of the Hegemon Blood was far beyond the predictions of any human Physique model.

Chen Hao's mecha foot magnetic anchors had found the optimal frequency to resonate with the geomagnetic field of the Trial Ancient Star, reducing energy consumption by 19% compared to yesterday.

Even Zhao Wuji.

His legs, which had been trembling since they landed, finally stopped shaking after 11 consecutive hours of marching.

[Zhao Wuji · Gravity Adaptation Progress: 78%]

[Estimated time for full adaptation: about 0.8 hours]

The thirteenth hour.

Qin Ruoxue suddenly stopped.

Not a guard alert.

It was a kind of more focused, more cautious, more instinctual—pause.

"700 meters ahead." Her voice sounded in the team channel, very light, but everyone stopped simultaneously.

"There is an anomaly."

Lin Ye did not speak.

He walked forward thirty meters, stood beside Qin Ruoxue, and looked in the direction of her gaze.

There was nothing there.

Only one of the countless craters on the Meteorite Plain, a very ordinary one.

About 80 meters in diameter, about 12 meters deep, with edges weathered and eroded by gravity into gentle slopes.

The bottom of the crater was covered with a layer of light gray, fine, volcanic ash-like sediment.

But in the center of that sediment—

Something was reflecting the purple cold light of the canopy.

Not metal.

Not crystal.

Not any building material known to human civilization.

It was a tablet.

[Ancient Star Relics · star tablet]

[Type: Special Scene / Historical Relic]

[Rank: None]

[Description: One of the oldest relics on the Trial Ancient Star in the first stage of the Ancient Star Road. It is rumored to have been forged by the first-generation Ancient Road Guardian using fragments of the Trial Ancient Star's core as the core, fused with a wisp of soul fire from past Trial Takers. This tablet belongs to no civilization, no power, no era—it belongs only to "Trial Takers."]

[Functions:]

[1. Records the clearance time of all Trial Takers who have passed the first stage since the opening of the Ancient Star Road, and generates a "Star Ranking"]

[2. Generates an exclusive trial ID and initial ranking for Trial Takers who contact the star tablet for the first time]

[3. Stores combat images, Legacy fragments, and unfinished obsessions left by past Trial Takers]

[4. Resets the ranking every thousand years. Current ranking cycle: Era 972 - 1972 (28 years remaining)]

[Contact method: Walk within 10 meters of the stone tablet and touch the tablet face with your palm]

[First contact reward:]

[1. Unlock personal/team Star Ranking]

[2. Obtain "Gaze of the star tablet" status: Within the range of the Trial Ancient Star, Perception +15%, Critical Hit Rate +5%]

[3. Unlock redemption eligibility for some Legacy fragments within the tablet (requires consuming clearance time points)]

[Warning: The star tablet is also a manifestation node of the "Will of the Ancient Road". Those who touch it will be "marked" by the Will of the Ancient Road—this mark has no negative effects, but will trigger unknown Karma in future specific events.]

Lin Ye stood at the edge of the crater.

He did not go down immediately.

He just stood there, looking at the tablet standing quietly at the bottom of the pit.

The tablet was about 4.7 meters high, 1.2 meters wide, and 0.3 meters thick.

It was dark gray all over, with no characters, patterns, or ornaments on the surface.

But under that cold light, something seemed to be flowing slowly inside the tablet body.

Not liquid.

It was "light."

Countless extremely thin, extremely faint, almost invisible filaments of light wound through the interior of the stone tablet like blood vessels.

Each ray of light corresponded to a Trial Taker who had once stood before this tablet.

Each pulse corresponded to the refreshing of a clearance record.

Each wisp of soul fire corresponded to an unfinished obsession on the Ancient Road.

Lin Ye lifted his foot and walked down the gentle slope.

Each of his steps was very light, so light that he left almost no footprints under 9.7 times gravity.

10 meters.

8 meters.

5 meters.

3 meters.

1 meter.

He reached out his hand and pressed his palm against the cold, temperatureless tablet face.

Hum—

At that moment, Lin Ye's consciousness was dragged into a space without up or down, without distance, without direction.

Not the Void.

It was "inside the tablet."

Countless starlights moved around him in incomprehensible patterns.

Some starlights were extremely bright, like the remnants of a supernova explosion; some were extremely dim, like ashes that had burned out their last drop of fuel.

Each starlight was a clearance record.

Each starlight was a Trial Taker who had once stood before the tablet like him.

And in the deepest part of this sea of stars, there was a starlight so bright it was blinding.

That was not starlight.

That was a "Record."

[Star Ranking · Historical Total Ranking · First Stage Trial Ancient Star]

[Ranking cycle: Era 972 - 1972 (28 years remaining)]

[1st Place]

[Trial Taker Code: Nameless One]

[Clearance Time: 1 day 7 hours 23 minutes 41 seconds]

[Clearance Achievement: Killed Star Core Giant Beast · Completed all hidden tasks · Broke three Ancient Star records]

[Current status: Record held (Has lasted 814 years)]

[Message inside tablet: None]

[2nd Place]

[Trial Taker Code: Beichen]

[Clearance Time: 1 day 11 hours 7 minutes 12 seconds]

[Clearance Achievement: Killed Star Core Giant Beast · Broke one Ancient Star record]

[Current status: Fallen (Rumored to have fallen at the seventh stage of the Ancient Star Road)]

[Message inside tablet: "The road is long, bring enough dry rations."]

[3rd Place]

[Trial Taker Code: Shuangyue]

[Clearance Time: 1 day 14 hours 52 minutes 3 seconds]

[Clearance Achievement: Killed Star Core Giant Beast · Completed 5 hidden tasks]

[Current status: Ascended (Passed the Ancient Star Road in Era 1357)]

[Message inside tablet: "The end of the Ancient Road is another Ancient Road."]

[4th Place]

...

[998th Place]

[Trial Taker Code: Night Emperor (Heavenly Court)]

[Affiliated Force: Heavenly Court]

[Clearance Time: Not completed (Current time elapsed: 13 hours 47 minutes)]

[Current ranking: 998th (Temporary / Final time determined upon clearance)]

[Note: Your current elapsed time has exceeded the 1000th place on the historical total ranking (19 hours 22 minutes), officially entering the ranking range of the Star Ranking.]

998th place.

Lin Ye looked at that line of numbers.

Not angry.

Not frustrated.

It wasn't even the deliberately inspired competitive spirit of "knowing shame and then being brave."

He just looked at the ranking very calmly.

998th place.

In front of him, there were 997 people.

In front of him, there were 997 Trial Takers with shorter clearance times, better combat performance, and deeper footprints left on the Trial Ancient Star than him.

And he—

Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body.

Rebirth.

Leader of the Heavenly Court.

Fifth seat of the All-Race Council.

The first force in the entire server to open the Ancient Star Road.

At this moment, in front of this stone tablet that had witnessed Trial Takers through the ages, his ranking was—

998th place.

Lin Ye withdrew his hand.

The phantom of the sea of stars inside the tablet dissipated like a receding tide the moment his palm left the tablet surface.

He stood in place, silent for a long time.

Footsteps sounded behind him.

Su Qingyue walked to his side.

She didn't ask him "what did you see."

She just pressed her palm against the tablet surface and closed her eyes.

Three seconds later, she opened her eyes.

Her ice-blue eyes also reflected the afterimage of that sea of stars.

[Su Qingyue · Star Ranking]

[Current ranking: 1247th (Temporary)]

[Current time elapsed: 13 hours 49 minutes]

She lowered her hand.

No words.

Then it was Shi Potian.

[Shi Potian · Star Ranking]

[Current ranking: 887th (Temporary)]

[Current time elapsed: 13 hours 51 minutes]

His ranking was 111 places higher than Lin Ye's.

— The Nine Heavens trial of the Hegemon Body Ancestral Star gave his comprehensive evaluation extra weighting in the algorithm of the star tablet.

He was not proud.

He just glanced at the ranking and stepped aside.

Chen Hao.

[Chen Hao · Star Ranking]

[Current ranking: 2103rd (Temporary)]

[Current time elapsed: 13 hours 52 minutes]

Zhou Tieshan.

[Zhou Tieshan · Star Ranking]

[Current ranking: 1897th (Temporary)]

[Current time elapsed: 13 hours 53 minutes]

Chu Yunxi.

[Chu Yunxi · Star Ranking]

[Current ranking: 2041st (Temporary)]

[Current time elapsed: 13 hours 54 minutes]

Zhao Wuji.

[Zhao Wuji · Star Ranking]

[Current ranking: 4127th (Temporary)]

[Current time elapsed: 13 hours 56 minutes]

Qin Ruoxue.

[Qin Ruoxue · Star Ranking]

[Current ranking: 2876th (Temporary)]

[Current time elapsed: 13 hours 57 minutes]

Yun Qianxue.

[Yun Qianxue · Star Ranking]

[Current ranking: 3551st (Temporary)]

[Current time elapsed: 13 hours 58 minutes]

Lu Xinghe.

[Lu Xinghe · Star Ranking]

[Current ranking: Unable to evaluate (Mental Sea Backlash)]

[Current time elapsed: 13 hours 59 minutes]

[Note: The Trial Taker's current state cannot be fully evaluated, ranking is not included in the list for now].

Ten people, ten rankings.

Highest 887th.

Lowest 4127th.

No one spoke.

Not because of frustration.

It was because — that number.

1st place.

1 day 7 hours 23 minutes 41 seconds.

814 years.

No one has broken it.

— — —

“Nameless One.”

Lin Ye spoke.

His voice was very calm, without any emotional fluctuations.

But everyone stopped what they were doing.

“I have seen this name before.”

No one asked where.

He just continued:

“In my past life, the third year, the Dark Turmoil.”

“The Supreme of the Forbidden Ground awakened, six great Forbidden Grounds rioted simultaneously, and the Big Dipper Star Field retreated across the board.”

“At that time, the person ranked first in the entire server was Sword Nameless of the Sword Pavilion — a Nine Heavens Quasi-Emperor.”

“He alone, with one sword, blocked the projections of two Supremes outside the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Land.”

“They fought for seven days and seven nights.”

“In the end, he died.”

“Before he died, he posted a message on the forum.”

Lin Ye paused.

“‘My path has come to an end.’”

“That night, someone found a shattered Jade Slip on the edge of the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Land.”

“Inside the Jade Slip was only one line of text —”

“‘The end of the ancient road is another ancient road.’”

3rd Place · Frost Moon.

Message on tablet: “The end of the ancient road is another ancient road.”

1st Place · Nameless One.

Message on tablet: None.

Lin Ye looked at those two starlight traces.

Silence.

— — —

After a long while.

He turned around, facing the nine people behind him.

“1st place, 1 day 7 hours.”

“We have currently spent 13 hours and 47 minutes.”

“There are 10 hours and 13 minutes left until the end of the first day.”

“To break the record, we need to compress the total time to under 31 hours.”

“That means —”

He paused.

“In the next 17 hours, we have to cover the remaining 320 kilometers.”

“Average speed of 18.8 kilometers per hour.”

“9.7 times gravity.”

“In between, we have to cross the Star Remains Mountains, pass through the Crystallized Forest, and defeat the gatekeeper BOSS, the Star Core Giant Beast.”

“And —”

“When arriving at the final teleportation array, the total time spent must not exceed 31 hours.”

No one spoke.

No one calculated what this number meant.

No one asked “How is this possible?”

Lin Ye looked at them.

One by one.

Su Qingyue.

Shi Potian.

Chen Hao.

Zhou Tieshan.

Chu Yunxi.

Zhao Wuji.

Qin Ruoxue.

Yun Qianxue.

Lu Xinghe.

Then he said:

“I am going to break this record.”

Not “I want to.”

Not “We can try.”

It was “I am going to.”

— — —

Three seconds.

Su Qingyue spoke:

“I am confident in compressing the cooldown of the Vast Cold Descent's forbidden reset from 12 hours to 8 hours.”

“The cost is that the backlash time will be extended by 50%.”

“But if you need a second Domain expansion —”

“I can do it.”

Shi Potian spoke:

“There are still two Hegemon Blood essences left from the Ancestral Star.”

“My right arm will recover 80% of its combat power after 24 hours.”

“If we need to face a target above level 70 head-on by then —”

“I will do it.”

Chen Hao spoke:

“The missile nest of the chaos unit no. 1 is empty, but the particle rifle's capacitor can be overclocked.”

“Overclocking mode will shorten the barrel's lifespan, but firepower can increase by 35%.”

“I can manually adjust the parameters of the mecha's leg hydraulic System to increase the maximum walking speed to 22 km/h.”

“Endurance will drop, but to last 17 hours — it's enough.”

Zhou Tieshan spoke:

“The Black Tortoise Shield is gone, but this fine-grade shield can still hold.”

“The bone fracture won't affect holding the shield — it won't.”

Chu Yunxi spoke:

“The spare bow's range is 30 meters shorter, but there are 9 enchanted arrows left.”

“9 arrows, 9 Nine-Star Linked Shots.”

“When needed, I can shoot them.”

Zhao Wuji spoke:

“Medicine is running low, but there are exchange points for Star Beast cores and insect Materials in the ancient star ruins.”

“I just scanned the area around the star tablet — there is a hidden trading interface under the tablet base.”

“You can use material points to exchange for supplies, temporary enhancements, and even one-time skill resets.”

“127 cores, over 200 kilograms of insect armor...”

“Enough to exchange for one round.”

Qin Ruoxue spoke:

“The ant queen's pheromone marker is still on us.”

“But it doesn't know we've discovered the star tablet.”

“It also doesn't know we will obtain supplies and enhancements in front of the tablet.”

“The next encounter —”

“It will be the one being hunted.”

Yun Qianxue spoke:

“There is half a bottle of Fountain of Life left.”

“0 HP recovery pills, 0 Divine Power recovery pills.”

“But as long as I have 1 point of Divine Power —”

“You will not die.”

Lu Xinghe did not speak.

He was still lying in his sleeping bag, looking at that purple sky.

But his right hand, slowly, extremely slowly —

Clenched into a fist.

— — —

Lin Ye turned around.

He faced the star tablet again.

The dark gray tablet body still stood there silently, and the light filaments inside were still flowing slowly, like an eternal Bloodline.

He reached out his hand again.

Not to touch.

But to “grasp.”

【System Prompt: Do you confirm initiating a “Record-Breaking Challenge” against the star tablet in the name of “Night Emperor (Heavenly Court)”?】

【Challenge Target: Break the historical total ranking 1st place “Nameless One” clearance record (1 day 7 hours 23 minutes 41 seconds)】

【Challenge Conditions:】

【1. Must complete all main quests of the first level in this trial (reach the teleportation array on the other side)】

【2. Total time spent must be ≤ 1 day 7 hours 23 minutes 41 seconds upon clearance】

【3. Must defeat the gatekeeper BOSS “Star Core Giant Beast”】

【4. Must complete at least 3 hidden quests/Secret Realm explorations】

【Challenge Rewards:】

【1. Exclusive title “Invincible Under the Starry Sky” (All attributes +20%, damage to alien races +50%)】

【2. star tablet 1st place reward (Includes: Legendary grade optional treasure chest × 1, Star Core Fragment × 10, Ancient Road Legacy Fragment × 3)】

【3. Permanent unlock of Trial Ancient Star map (Whole team)】

【4. Unlock hidden plot line “The Last Message of the Nameless One”】

【Challenge Failure Penalty:】

【1. None】

【2. The star tablet will remember your name — that is all.】

— — —

Lin Ye grasped that void hand.

【Confirm.】

— — —

The light filaments inside the star tablet, at the same instant —

All turned towards Lin Ye.

Countless gazes, spanning 814 years, spanning 997 Trial Takers who were faster than him, spanning all challengers who had stood before this tablet since ancient times —

Fell upon him.

That was not just watching.

That was “remembering.”

【star tablet · Record-Breaking Challenge Recorded】

【Challenger: Night Emperor (Heavenly Court)】

【Challenge Target: 1 day 7 hours 23 minutes 41 seconds】

【Current Time Spent: 14 hours 3 minutes】

【Remaining Time: 17 hours 20 minutes】

【Remaining Distance: approx. 320 kilometers】

【Remaining Threats: Star Remains Mountains, Crystallized Forest, Star Core Giant Beast, and — Unknown】

— — —

Lin Ye turned around.

He did not look back at the tablet.

He just took a step, walking towards the north, towards the outline of the mountains that were still far away.

Behind him, nine people stepped forward simultaneously.

When Zhao Wuji passed the tablet base, he paused for three seconds.

He poured 127 Star Beast cores, 217 kilograms of insect Materials, and the 【Blood Energy Amplification Core (Damaged)】 captured from the wreckage of the pirate ship —

All into the trading interface under the tablet base.

【Material Points: 21,470 points】

【Exchange:】

【High-Grade HP Recovery Pill × 50 (-5,000 points)】

【High-Grade Divine Power Recovery Pill × 30 (-6,000 points)】

【Emergency Repair Kit × 5 (-3,500 points)】

【Mecha Energy Core · Spare × 2 (-4,000 points)】

【One-time Formation “Star Protection” (50m radius, lasts 180 seconds, -2,000 points)】

【Remaining Points: 970 points (Retained)】

He did not report to anyone.

He just classified the exchanged supplies, bagged them, and put them back on his shoulders.

Then he quickened his pace, catching up to the figure that had already walked thirty meters ahead.

— — —

The fourteenth hour.

The expedition team passed the junction between the Meteorite Plain and the Star Remains Mountains.

The surface transitioned from grayish-brown porous rock layers to dark red, iron-rich sedimentary rock.

There was an extremely faint scent of sulfides in the air.

That was a sign of geothermal activity.

Lin Ye stopped.

He crouched down and touched the rock layer on the ground with his fingers.

Very hot.

About 47°C.

In an environment of 9.7 times gravity and an average temperature of -3°C to 7°C, the abnormal heating of this rock layer meant —

“There is a lava river underground.” Su Qingyue's voice came from behind him.

Her thin ice membrane automatically thickened by 0.3 millimeters the moment it touched the surface thermal radiation.

“Depth is about 80-120 meters.”

“Flow rate is about 3-5 meters/second.”

“Flow direction — northwest.”

Northwest.

That was the direction of the heart of the Star Remains Mountains.

It was also the direction they had to cross.

Lin Ye stood up.

He did not speak.

He just continued walking forward.

— — —

The fifteenth hour.

The expedition team entered the first canyon on the edge of the Star Remains Mountains.

The canyon walls on both sides were about 200-300 meters high, with a slope of over 70 degrees, and the surface was covered with a black, glass-like substance.

That was rock melted by high temperatures, cooled under extreme gravity to form — lava glass.

The volcanic activity here was more intense than Su Qingyue had estimated.

“Signs of biological activity 500 meters ahead.” Qin Ruoxue's voice sounded in the team channel.

“Not Gold-Devouring Ants.”

“It's another kind.”

“Larger size, fewer in number — about 7-9.”

“Moving towards us.”

Lin Ye did not stop.

He just drew the fine iron longsword from his waist.

The blade reflected his calm, almost indifferent profile under the purple cold light.

“Distance.”

“470 meters.”

“420 meters.”

“380 meters.”

“350 meters —”

The moment the first Star Remains Beast rushed out from the canyon corner, Lin Ye moved.

He did not use Void Step — Divine Power was still at 0%.

He relied solely on the instinctual control of the Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body over 9.7 times gravity after 15 hours of adaptation —

He took a step forward.

This step shattered the half-meter diameter rock layer under his feet.

This step left an afterimage in everyone's field of vision.

This step compressed the distance between him and the Star Remains Beast from 35 meters to 3 meters.

【Star Remains Beast · Native Star Beast of the Lava Zone of Trial Ancient Star】

【Level: 61-64】

【Body Length: 4.2 - 4.8 meters】

【Weight: About 6-9 tons】

【Characteristics: Feeds on lava, carapace can withstand 1200°C high temperatures; violent temperament, actively attacks anyone who intrudes into its territory】

【Danger Rating: ★★★★】

Lin Ye's sword pierced into the only gap in the connection of its head and chest carapace.

Two-thirds of the blade went in.

The Star Remains Beast let out a hiss that could shatter the eardrums of ordinary Cultivators.

And then — fell.

【Kill: Star Remains Beast (Level 61)】

【Experience: +37,000】

【Drop: Star Remains Beast Carapace × 2, Lava Core × 1】

Lin Ye pulled out the sword.

The body fluids remaining on the blade cooled, solidified, and turned into dark red scabs at a visible speed under 9.7 times gravity.

He did not wipe it.

He just carried the sword and continued walking forward.

Behind him, the corpses of eight Star Remains Beasts lay across the canyon entrance.

— — —

The seventeenth hour.

The expedition team crossed the main ridge of the Star Remains Mountains.

Altitude: approx. 1700 meters.

Gravity: Still 9.7 G.

Temperature: -11°C (Ridge wind belt).

Field of vision: 30 meters (Dense fog).

Visibility: Extremely low.

Lin Ye walked at the very front.

His armor was covered with a thin layer of ice — that was water vapor from the ridge wind belt hitting his body at high speed under 9.7 times gravity, instantly freezing.

He did not slow down.

Behind him, nine people, not one slowed down.

— — —

The nineteenth hour.

The expedition team walked out of the northern foothills of the Star Remains Mountains and entered the edge of the Crystallized Forest.

【Crystallized Forest · Core Danger Zone of Trial Ancient Star】

【Coverage Area: approx. 170 square kilometers】

【Characteristics: The surface is covered with “Crystallized Trees” 3-8 meters high — these are ancient forest ruins instantly vitrified by energy released during the ancient star core explosion】

【Threats:】

【1. The Crystallized Trees are extremely sharp, causing cutting damage upon contact (Those with Defense < 5000 lose 5% HP per second)】

【2. Space distortion in the forest +30%, very easy to lose one's way】

【3. The Star Core Giant Beast's nest is located in the deepest part of the forest — approx. 11 kilometers from the teleportation array】

【Recommendation: Crossing the Crystallized Forest requires special protective equipment or fixed route guidance】

Lin Ye stood at the edge of the forest.

He had no protective equipment.

No fixed route guidance.

He didn't even have enough medicine to support the 5% HP cutting damage per second.

But he still took a step.

Because —

That record on the star tablet that no one had broken for 814 years.

There were still 21 hours and 20 minutes left.

— — —

The twentieth hour.

The expedition team traveled 6.7 kilometers in the Crystallized Forest.

Each person endured about 230,000 points of cutting damage on average.

Yun Qianxue's Divine Power value dropped from 47% to 9% after 3 hours of continuous healing.

That half bottle of Fountain of Life was divided into 10 portions by her.

1 portion for each person.

Held under the tongue, not swallowed until near death.

— — —

The twenty-second hour.

The expedition team passed through the deepest part of the Crystallized Forest.

300 meters ahead.

The entrance to the Star Core Giant Beast's nest.

It was a huge crater with a diameter of over 50 meters and perfectly circular edges.

Deep in the crater, a dark blue light, pulsing like a heartbeat, could be vaguely seen.

That was the energy core of the Star Core Giant Beast.

It was also the —

Last door for them to clear the Trial Ancient Star.

Lin Ye stood at the edge of the crater.

He did not look back.

He just said softly:

“19 hours left.”

“Is it enough?”

Behind him, nine people.

No one answered.

Because the answer was already written in everyone's eyes.

— — —

In the distance.

At the edge of the Meteorite Plain, the star tablet still stood quietly.

The light filaments inside the tablet were still flowing slowly.

In the 1st place column, the record of the Nameless One remained unshaken.

In the 998th place column, the name of the Night Emperor remained suspended in the center of the tablet in the form of a temporary ranking.

Next to that line of text, there was an extra line of extremely thin, faint, almost imperceptible light filaments.

That was not a ranking.

That was “watching.”

It was the Nameless One, who left no message 814 years ago and whose final destination no one knew —

Casting the only gaze upon this 998th challenger.

The light filaments pulsed gently.

Like a heartbeat.

Like anticipation.

Like — waiting.