168: Chapter 168 One Strike, One Kill; Star Core Acquired

The Mother Empress's breathing frequency accelerated from 1.7 seconds/time to 1.3 seconds/time within 7 seconds.

That was the final stage of deep sleep.

Lin Ye was pressed into the crevice between the 3rd and 4th pair of limbs on the Mother Empress's abdomen. The tentacles of the bronze ghost mask writhed under his skin at the limit frequency, suppressing his aura to be even lower than that of a Void Realm larva.

But his heartbeat could not be suppressed.

It had to beat.

Once every 0.7 seconds.

Completely out of sync with the Mother Empress's breathing.

[Current Stealth Effect: 77% → 73%]

[Probability of being discovered: 0.7%/second]

[Mother Empress awakening countdown: approximately 17 seconds]

— — —

Lin Ye looked at that energy core.

3 meters away.

It was pulsing at a frequency of 1.3 seconds/time, and with every pulsation, a circle of purple-black energy ripples surged from deep within the core. The ripples flowed along the Mother Empress's body toward the twelve pairs of limbs, condensing into translucent, blade-like Void Realm energy crystals at the tips of those claws.

That longitudinal crack was right in the center of the core.

Running through from top to bottom.

About 0.3 millimeters wide.

Just wide enough to accommodate the tip of a sword.

— — —

[Chaos Heaven Opening · Charge]

[Current Divine Power: 84%]

[Consumption required: 47%]

[Charge time: 3 seconds]

[Effect: Attack power +500%, ignore 50% of defense]

[Cooldown: 72 hours]

[Current status: Pending activation]

— — —

Lin Ye did not activate it immediately.

He was waiting.

Waiting for the Mother Empress's breathing frequency to stabilize.

Waiting for the 17-second countdown to reach the final 3 seconds.

Waiting for the blood emperor essence blood inside his body—which was currently pulsing at a frequency of 1.3 seconds/time—to perfectly synchronize with the Mother Empress's core.

[Synchronization rate: 31%... 47%... 62%...]

— — —

13th second.

The Mother Empress's first pair of compound eyes—began to tremble.

That was the first sign of awakening.

[Synchronization rate: 78%]

— — —

14th second.

The second pair of compound eyes.

[Synchronization rate: 84%]

— — —

15th second.

The third pair.

The fourth pair.

The fifth pair.

All six pairs of compound eyes trembled simultaneously.

[Synchronization rate: 91%]

— — —

16th second.

The Mother Empress's twelve pairs of limbs contracted slightly at the same time.

That was the movement of it about to rise.

[Synchronization rate: 97%]

— — —

17th second.

The Mother Empress's breathing frequency—locked at 1.0 seconds/time.

All six pairs of compound eyes—opened simultaneously.

[Synchronization rate: 100%]

— — —

Lin Ye's sword—was unsheathed at the exact same moment the Mother Empress opened its eyes.

[Chaos Heaven Opening · Activate]

[Divine Power: 84% → 37%]

[Attack power: +500%]

[Ignore defense: 50%]

— — —

The grey crack in the center of the sword blade erupted with blinding, pure, and unadulterated—white light at this moment.

That white light was not light.

It was "Heaven Opening."

It was a strike that transcended the Law, squeezed out from the depths of the Origin by the Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body.

The sword tip pierced into that longitudinal crack right in the center of the energy core.

The crack—expanded.

0.3 millimeters → 0.7 millimeters → 1.7 millimeters → 3 millimeters.

One-third of the sword blade was submerged.

The purple-black energy inside the core gushed out from the crack like a punctured blood vessel.

That was not blood.

That was "Void Realm Origin."

— — —

The Mother Empress's screech exploded throughout the Mother Empress Hall.

It was not a sound.

It was a "Mental Shock."

[Mother Empress Skill · Near-Death Scream]

[Damage: 17,000 points of mental damage]

[Range: 500-meter radius]

— — —

At the same moment the sword blade submerged into the core, Lin Ye used his remaining strength—to press the sword hilt downward.

The sword blade was completely submerged.

The sword tip pierced through the back of the core.

[Hit: Energy Core · Fatal Penetration]

[Damage dealt: 1,700,000 × 500% = 8,500,000]

[Mother Empress HP: 1,700,000 → 0]

— — —

The Mother Empress's six pairs of compound eyes.

At the same instant.

Extinguished simultaneously.

— — —

[System prompt: You have killed "Void Realm Star Beast · Mother Empress" (Rank 68 BOSS)]

[Kill method: One-Hit Kill]

[Contribution: Lin Ye 100%]

[Experience gained: 1,700,000 points]

[Lin Ye Rank: Rank 62 → Rank 64 (Dragon Transformation Layer 3)]

— — —

Lin Ye did not look at that prompt.

He leaped out from the crevice in its abdomen 0.3 seconds before the Mother Empress collapsed.

47 meters in mid-air.

Free fall.

— — —

0.3 seconds.

The Mother Empress's body began to tilt.

The pierced energy core fell off its abdomen, tumbling in mid-air.

Fine, dark golden crystal fragments were seeping out from the crack where the sword had pierced the core's surface.

[Mother Empress Crystal Core · Dropping]

[Type: BOSS Core Material]

[Quality: Golden (Legendary Rank)]

[Current status: Unowned]

— — —

Lin Ye reached out in mid-air.

He caught that core.

The moment it touched his hand, a piercing chill traveled from the core's surface into his palm.

That was not temperature.

It was the residue of the "Space Law."

— — —

[Mother Empress Crystal Core]

[Type: Space-type core material]

[Quality: Legendary Rank (Golden)]

[Description: The essence of Space Law condensed by the Void Realm Star Beast Mother Empress throughout its life, a complete core that fell out of its body at the moment of its death. It contains the Origin power sufficient to tear the Void Realm and fold space.]

[Effects:]

[1. Refine: After a Space-type Cultivator consumes it, Space Law affinity permanently +30%, with a probability of comprehending the "Void Realm Walk" skill]

[2. Forge: Can be used as a primary material to craft Legendary Rank space equipment (Storage Ring / Teleportation Array Core / Space Folding Magical Artifact)]

[3. Embed: Embedded in a Mecha energy core, it can grant the Mecha "Short-range Teleportation" ability (Cooldown 60 seconds)]

[4. Research: The Eternal Star Domain Seventh Fleet offers 970,000 technological resource vouchers for acquisition]

[5. Sacrifice: Submit to the Ten Thousand Races Covenant Arbitration Tribunal to obtain the "Space Law Researcher" title]

[Current status: Unbound]

— — —

0.7 seconds.

Lin Ye landed.

Under his feet was the floor of the Mother Empress Hall.

Above his head was the collapsing body of the Mother Empress.

Surrounding him were 12 elite guards—their compound eyes turned toward him simultaneously.

— — —

[Elite Guard · Hate Locked]

[Quantity: 12]

[Rank: Rank 63-65]

[Distance: 17-47 meters]

[Current status: Berserk (Triggered by Mother Empress's death)]

[All attributes +50%]

— — —

1 second.

The first elite guard pounced.

Its forelimbs condensed a Void Realm rift with a diameter of 1.7 meters in mid-air.

[Void Realm Rift · Tear]

[Damage: 7,000 points/second]

[Duration: 3 seconds]

— — —

Lin Ye did not block.

He sidestepped.

The rift grazed past his left shoulder and exploded 3 meters behind him.

[Lin Ye · HP: 100% → 93% (Graze)]

— — —

1.3 seconds.

The second one.

The third one.

The fourth one.

Four elites pounced simultaneously.

Four Void Realm rifts sealed his retreat from four directions at once.

— — —

[Cannot dodge]

[Must take it head-on]

— — —

Lin Ye's sword—the longsword whose grey crack in the center had completely transformed into dark gold after piercing the Mother Empress's core—was held horizontally across his chest.

[Block Stance]

[Defense: +200% (Temporary)]

[Duration: 0.7 seconds]

— — —

Four rifts collided with the sword blade simultaneously.

[Block Successful]

[Damage absorbed: 28,000 points]

[Lin Ye · HP: 93% → 47%]

— — —

1.7 seconds.

At the entrance of the Mother Empress Hall.

A silver-white light exploded.

Lu Xinghe knelt in the center of the light.

Blood was seeping from his seven orifices.

But his compass—[Star River · Rebirth]—was spinning at a speed of one rotation every 0.1 seconds.

[Space Folding · Emergency Evacuation]

[Target: Outside the nest entrance · Shi Potian's location]

[Number of people: ≤ 7]

[Preparation time: 3 seconds]

[Current progress: 1.7 seconds]

— — —

2 seconds.

Su Qingyue rushed in from the entrance.

Her left hand pressed onto the ground.

[Vast Cold Descent · Extreme Cold Burst]

[Range: 30-meter radius]

[Damage: 17,000 points of Ice-type damage]

[Target: 12 elite guards]

— — —

Frost exploded from the ground.

The movements of the 12 elites were stalled for 0.3 seconds.

— — —

2.3 seconds.

Chu Yunxi stood at the entrance.

Her bow was fully drawn.

The 1st arrow—left the string.

[Hit: Left eye of the nearest elite]

[Damage dealt: 7,300 points]

— — —

2.5 seconds.

Shi Potian rushed in from the entrance.

His left fist slammed into the cephalothorax armor of the 2nd elite.

[Damage dealt: 4,700 points]

— — —

2.7 seconds.

Lin Ye leaped backward 7 meters.

Landing beside Lu Xinghe.

— — —

3 seconds.

[Space Folding · Complete]

The silver-white light engulfed the 6 people—

Lin Ye, Su Qingyue, Shi Potian, Chu Yunxi, Lu Xinghe, Yun Qianxue.

— — —

3.3 seconds.

The light dissipated.

The 6 people stood 17 meters outside the nest entrance.

Behind them, those 37 Chaos · Mass-produced Type I Mechas were retreating.

In front of them, Zhou Tieshan was holding [Xuanwu · Rebirth], with the shield face forward, blocking in front of everyone.

— — —

[Nest Riot · Confirmed]

[Mother Empress is dead]

[All small Star Beasts / Worker Bees / Elite Guards: Enter indiscriminate Berserk state]

[The nest will completely collapse in 17 seconds]

— — —

Lin Ye did not look back.

He looked ahead.

Looking at that nest entrance which was shrinking violently.

17 seconds.

— — —

"Retreat," he said.

— — —

17 seconds.

37 mechas.

6 people.

1 shield.

— — —

4 seconds.

The first batch of small Star Beasts poured out from the entrance.

Quantity about 300.

Rank 58.

— — —

Zhou Tieshan's shield—blocked the center of the 1st wave of impact.

[Xuanwu · Rebirth · Unmoving as a Mountain]

[Duration: 3 seconds]

[Immune to all control effects]

— — —

5 seconds.

The 2nd batch.

The 3rd batch.

The 4th batch.

One batch every 3 seconds.

300 per batch.

— — —

8 seconds.

The 1st elite guard rushed out from the entrance.

Its compound eyes locked onto Lin Ye.

— — —

Chu Yunxi's 17th arrow.

Hit its left eye.

It fell.

— — —

11 seconds.

The entrance began to collapse.

Diameter 17 meters → 11 meters → 7 meters.

— — —

13 seconds.

The last batch of small Star Beasts poured out from the entrance.

Quantity about 700.

— — —

37 mechas opened fire simultaneously.

700 particle beams pierced through the beast horde.

470 fell.

230 rushed through the firepower net.

— — —

14 seconds.

Zhou Tieshan's shield—was hit for the 17th time.

[Xuanwu · Rebirth · Durability: 100% → 73%]

— — —

15 seconds.

Entrance diameter: 3 meters.

— — —

16 seconds.

The last elite guard squeezed out from the entrance.

Its body was torn in half by the collapsing space as it passed through the entrance.

But it still rushed out.

— — —

Shi Potian's left fist.

The 1st punch slammed into its cephalothorax armor.

[Damage dealt: 4,700 points]

The 2nd punch.

[4,300 points]

The 3rd punch.

[4,500 points]

— — —

17 seconds.

The entrance closed completely.

The last elite guard fell at Shi Potian's feet.

— — —

[Nest Collapse · Confirmed]

[All remaining Star Beasts: Buried]

[Our entire team: Alive]

— — —

Lin Ye stood in front of the collapsed nest entrance.

His right hand held that [Mother Empress Crystal Core].

The dark golden crystal was rotating slowly in his palm, and the crack on the surface where the sword had pierced was self-repairing at a visible speed.

[Mother Empress Crystal Core · Self-healing]

[Estimated time to full repair: 72 hours]

[Cannot be used during repair]

— — —

He put the crystal core into his Storage Ring.

Along with those three pieces of [Broken Saint Feather].

Along with those 47 final commands sent by the command-type mechas before they self-destructed.

Placed side by side.

— — —

Su Qingyue walked to his side.

Her left hand—the hand that had released the Extreme Cold Burst in the Mother Empress Hall and still had the ice-blue lingering warmth on its palm—pressed gently on the back of his right hand that was holding the crystal core.

3 seconds.

She let go.

"How many?" she asked.

— — —

Lin Ye did not answer immediately.

He looked at the three pulsing [star core energy] in the Storage Ring.

[star core energy × 3]

[Type: Quest Item]

[Quality: Epic Rank]

[Description: Pure energy crystals obtained from the Mother Empress's core storage room, each containing concentrated energy sufficient to support a Cultivator below the Saint Realm for 30 minutes of high-intensity combat.]

[Current quest progress: 3/10]

— — —

"3," he said.

— — —

No one spoke.

3.

10 minus 3, still 7 short.

Mine Area No. 2 still has 4-7.

Mine Area No. 1 still has 3-5.

Added together, enough.

— — —

Lin Ye turned around.

Looking at those 6 people.

Su Qingyue.

Shi Potian.

Chu Yunxi.

Lu Xinghe.

Yun Qianxue.

And Zhou Tieshan—he had just lowered his shield and was checking the 17 new claw marks on the shield surface.

— — —

"Mine Area No. 1," he said.

"Chen Hao's side."

"3-5."

"Mine Area No. 2."

"We'll go ourselves."

— — —

Shi Potian took a step forward.

His left fist—the left fist that had smashed 12 elites in the Mother Empress Hall and still had the dark golden Star Beast body fluids on its surface—

Raised to his chest.

"Mine Area No. 2," he said.

"What's the situation?"

— — —

Lin Ye did not answer immediately.

He took out the intelligence crystal left by Qin Ruoxue from his bosom.

Divine Power injected.

A screen unfolded before him.

[Mine Area No. 2 · Real-time Monitoring]

[Coordinates: Eternal Star Domain · Second Pass · 210 km Northwest]

[Current status: Active]

[Occupying Force: Dragon Clan Alliance (Third Battle Group)]

[Number of people: about 70]

[Rank: Rank 60-64]

[Current action: Engaging in battle with the mining area guardian mechas]

[Number of guardian mechas: 47]

[Guardian mecha Rank: Rank 62-63]

[Battle progress: Dragon Clan Alliance has the advantage, expected to occupy the mining area within 2 hours]

— — —

Lin Ye looked at that line "Dragon Clan Alliance."

Ten Thousand Races Prodigy Ranking No. 4 · Cang Xuan.

Dragon Clan Alliance's First Battle General.

Rank 64.

Bloodline: Golden Dragon Royal Family (Purity 71%).

— — —

He closed the screen.

Looking ahead.

The direction of Mine Area No. 2.

210 kilometers.

— — —

"Dragon Clan," he said.

— — —

Shi Potian's left fist tightened.

The dried Star Beast body fluids on the fist surface peeled off, piece by piece.

"...Shall we fight?" he asked.

— — —

Lin Ye did not answer.

He simply took a step forward.

— — —

Behind him.

6 people.

Stepped forward simultaneously.

— — —

[System prompt: Expedition Team Mine Area No. 2 quest activated]

[Quest objective: Obtain star core energy × 4-7]

[Current mining area status: Occupied by Dragon Clan Alliance (In battle)]

[Estimated arrival time: 7 hours later]

[Suggested tactics: Negotiation / Deterrence / Raid]

[Current choice: Undecided]

— — —

Lin Ye closed the prompt.

He looked ahead.

210 kilometers.

Dragon Clan.

Cang Xuan.

— — —

[Chapter 168 · End]