191: Chapter 191 Rift Exploration, Data Storm

5 Days 17 Hours.

When the Heavenly Court - First Generation exited its final short-range jump, the full scope of the Void Realm rift unfolded on the command module's holographic star map.

It was not a fissure.

It was a "wound."

An irregular circular opening with a diameter of about 17 kilometers, its edges jagged as if torn by immense force, contracting and expanding at a frequency of once every 1.7 seconds—like the heartbeat of some colossal creature.

Inside the opening, there was no darkness, only "turbulence."

Countless fine, pale blue data streams swirled, collided, annihilated, and were reborn deep within the opening.

Every collision sent a visible ripple spreading outward.

Where the ripples passed, space itself twisted.

---

[System Prompt: You have arrived at the outskirts of the "Void Realm Rift"]

[Current Coordinates: Ancient Star Road, Fourth Pass - Outskirts of the Void Realm Temple]

[Distance to Rift Edge: 17 kilometers]

[Environmental Parameters:]

[Gravity: 0G (Void Realm Environment)]

[Spiritual Qi Concentration: 0%]

[Data Turbulence Concentration: ★★★★★ (Fatal)]

[Suggestion: Activate energy shields, wear protective gear]

[Warning: Data turbulence causes damage to the "Soul," conventional defense is ineffective]

---

Lin Ye stood in the center of the command module.

He looked at that rift.

17 kilometers away, that "breathing" wound.

His right hand rested on the hilt of his sword.

The fine iron longsword brought back from the Trial Ancient Star had a gray crack in the center of its blade, pulsating at three times its usual frequency.

0.5 seconds per beat.

That was the instinctual reaction of the Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body to the "truth."

---

Su Qingyue walked to his side.

Her left hand grasped his hand.

3 seconds.

She let go.

"Data turbulence," she said.

"Soul damage."

"My Vast Cold Spiritual Power... cannot block it."

---

Lin Ye looked at her.

"You stay on the ship," he said.

---

Su Qingyue's pupils constricted slightly.

---

"Shi Potian," Lin Ye said.

"Here."

"Does your Tyrant Body have resistance to Soul damage?"

---

Shi Potian looked at his left fist.

The left fist that had permanently lost 5% of its maximum HP.

3 seconds.

"I don't know," he said.

"But I can try."

---

Lin Ye looked at him.

3 seconds.

"You stay," Lin Ye said.

---

Shi Potian clenched his left fist.

But he said nothing.

---

"Chen Hao," Lin Ye said.

"Here."

"You stay."

"The ship needs people."

---

Chen Hao nodded.

---

"Zhou Tieshan."

"Here."

"You stay."

---

Zhou Tieshan did not speak.

But he took the Xuanwu - New Life from his back.

He stabbed it into the center of the command module.

The shield face upward.

---

"Chu Yunxi."

"Here."

"You stay."

---

Chu Yunxi's hand moved away from the bowstring.

---

"Zhao Wuji."

"Here."

"You stay."

---

Zhao Wuji nodded.

---

"Qin Ruoxue."

"Here."

"You stay."

"Someone needs to summarize the intelligence."

---

Qin Ruoxue did not speak.

But she pulled down the hood of the thousand faces cloak.

---

"Yun Qianxue."

"Here."

"You stay."

"If anyone gets hurt, you are responsible for healing."

---

Yun Qianxue gripped the green lotus staff.

The pale green fluorescent light at the head of the staff pulsed at a frequency of 1.7 seconds per beat.

She nodded.

---

"Lu Xinghe."

"Here."

"You stay."

---

Lu Xinghe did not speak.

But he held the [Star River - Rebirth] in his hand.

---

Lin Ye looked at the last person remaining.

Su Qingyue.

---

"You," Lin Ye said.

"Stay as well."

---

Su Qingyue looked at him.

3 seconds.

She did not speak.

But she walked to the cabin door.

She stood by his side.

---

Lin Ye looked at her.

---

"Data turbulence," she said.

"Vast Cold Spiritual Power cannot block it."

"But my martial arts can hold out for 17 seconds."

---

Lin Ye was silent.

3 seconds.

He nodded.

---

[Void Realm Rift Expedition Team]

[Captain: Lin Ye]

[Member: Su Qingyue]

[Number of People: 2]

[Equipment:]

[1. Energy Shield x 2 (Can withstand 10,000 points of data damage)]

[2. Data Resistance Potion x 2 (After consumption, data damage -50% for 30 seconds)]

[3. Emergency Teleportation Talisman x 2 (Can teleport back to the ship in critical moments)]

---

0 seconds.

Lin Ye and Su Qingyue stepped out of the cabin door.

In the 0G environment, their bodies floated gently.

Energy shields formed a pale blue transparent sphere around them.

[Energy Shield - Activated]

[Current Energy: 10,000 / 10,000]

[Energy Consumption per second: Dynamically changes based on data turbulence concentration]

---

3 seconds.

They floated to the edge of the rift.

That "breathing" wound was 3 meters in front of them.

Every time it expanded, countless fine, pale blue light filaments of data gushed out from within.

After those filaments drifted out of the rift, they would slowly dissipate in the Void Realm.

But before dissipating, they would leave behind an extremely faint, almost imperceptible—image.

---

Lin Ye saw an image.

It was an unfamiliar world.

There were mountains.

There was water.

There was a sky.

There were people.

Those people wore clothing he had never seen before and spoke a language he could not understand.

But the expression on their faces, he understood.

It was "fear."

---

The image lasted for 0.1 seconds.

Then it dissipated.

---

[System Prompt: You have perceived "residual data fragments"]

[Residual Content: Memory fragments of an unknown civilization]

[Completeness: 3%]

---

Lin Ye did not speak.

He took a step forward.

He stepped into the rift.

---

4 seconds.

He was swallowed into the center of the data turbulence.

---

[System Prompt: You have entered the "Void Realm Rift"]

[Current Area: Data Turbulence Layer]

[Data Turbulence Concentration: ★★★★★]

[Damage per second: 5,000 points (Soul damage)]

[Energy Shield Consumption: 5,000 points per second]

[Shield Remaining: 10,000 → 5,000 → 0]

[Shield Broken]

---

5 seconds.

The energy shield disappeared.

The data turbulence struck his Soul directly.

[Soul Damage - 1st Second]

[Lin Ye - HP: 100% → 95%]

---

He felt his consciousness trembling.

It was not pain.

It was "forgetting."

Those most distant memories were being stripped away bit by bit by the turbulence.

---

But he did not stop.

He swam forward.

In the 0G environment, every movement required a slight push.

His toes tapped on the data fragments drifting by.

The moment those fragments were stepped on, they exploded into a cloud of pale blue light.

Within the light mist, new images flashed.

---

6 seconds.

[Su Qingyue - Soul damage]

[HP: 100% → 95% → 90%]

---

She followed behind him.

Her martial arts were still precise in the 0G environment.

Every movement kept her 3 meters away from him.

---

7 seconds.

[Lin Ye - HP: 95% → 90%]

[Su Qingyue - 90% → 85%]

---

8 seconds.

They passed through the data turbulence layer.

Ahead was a relatively calm space.

A spherical area with a diameter of about 100 meters.

Within the area, countless pale blue light clusters floated.

Every light cluster was a "data fragment."

---

[Data Fragment - Quantity: About 1,700]

[Completeness: Varies from 1% to 17%]

[Content: Unknown civilization memory / System operation log / NPC raw data]

[Acquisition Method: Touch]

---

Lin Ye reached out.

He touched the nearest light cluster.

---

[Data Fragment - Acquiring]

[Completeness: 7%]

[Content: Unknown civilization - The last day of the 3rd Era]

---

His consciousness was dragged into a memory.

It was a dusk.

The sky was orange-red.

On the ground, countless people were running.

Behind them was a gray color that was devouring everything.

That gray was not fog.

It was "nothingness."

Any existence touched by it disappeared within 0.1 seconds.

It was not death.

It was "being erased."

---

In the crowd, there was a little girl.

She was about 7 years old.

She was running very slowly.

Her mother was running in front, looking back at her.

Reaching out a hand.

---

The gray caught up to her.

She disappeared.

---

The memory ended.

---

Lin Ye opened his eyes.

His right hand was tightly clutching that data fragment.

The fragment had already merged into his palm.

[Data Fragment - Collected]

[Current Quantity: 1/7]

---

He did not speak.

He continued forward.

---

The 2nd one.

[Completeness: 11%]

[Content: System operation log - Era Calendar Year 972 - 1st "Sentient Being Ingestion"]

---

He saw another memory.

It was a huge, silver-white space.

Countless people were lying on the ground.

They had their eyes closed.

Their chests were rising and falling—they were still alive.

Above the space, there was a giant light screen.

On the light screen, countless data streams were scrolling rapidly.

[1st Batch - Ingestion Complete]

[Quantity: 1,700,000]

[Source: Parallel World No. 17]

[Status: Soul separation complete]

[Next Step: Consciousness formatting]

[Estimated time: 72 hours]

---

The memory ended.

---

Lin Ye's hand was trembling.

Not from fear.

It was "confirmation."

Those NPCs.

Those flesh-and-blood, emotional, memorable NPCs.

They used to be—real humans.

---

The 3rd one.

[Completeness: 17%]

[Content: NPC "Li Ruoyu"'s raw data fragment]

---

He saw Li Ruoyu.

Not the valley-guarding Elder from Chaos Valley.

It was another him.

A middle-aged man wearing a white robe, standing in a laboratory.

In front of him was a light screen.

On the light screen were lines of data he couldn't understand.

But the last line, he understood.

[Experimental Subject No. 37 - Consciousness retention successful]

[Current status: Ready for deployment]

[Note: This experimental subject possesses "Awakening" potential, recommended to be used as a "Guide"]

---

Li Ruoyu looked at that line of text.

The corners of his mouth moved.

It was a smile.

But there was no joy in that smile.

Only—weariness.

---

The memory ended.

---

Lin Ye stood in place.

In his hand, he held three data fragments.

Three fragments, three truths.

The first truth: Those people swallowed by the gray were not dead; they were "ingested" into the System.

The second truth: After ingestion, their Souls would be stripped, their consciousnesses formatted, and they would become NPCs.

The third truth: Li Ruoyu was the only one who "retained consciousness."

---

He raised his head.

He looked at the 1,700 light clusters around him.

Every light cluster was a memory.

Every one was a person who once lived.

---

Su Qingyue floated to his side.

Her HP: 85% → 77% (Data turbulence was still eroding).

But she looked at him.

In those ice-blue eyes, there were tears.

---

"Lin Ye," she said softly.

"They..."

---

Lin Ye did not answer.

He just reached out.

He held her hand.

---

[System Prompt: You have collected data fragments x 3]

[Task Progress: 3/7]

[Remaining Time: 9 days 3 hours 47 minutes]

[Next Goal: Continue deep into the core of the rift]

---

Lin Ye looked up.

He looked towards the depths of this space.

There, there was a golden light larger than all the light clusters around it.

That light pulsed at a frequency of 1.7 seconds per beat.

With his heartbeat.

With that myriad things mother qi cauldron embryo deep within his brow.

With that drop of True Dragon blood essence that had already merged into his Bloodline.

Completely synchronized.

---

That was the 7th fragment.

And it was the most critical one.

---

[Chapter 191 - End]