3: Chapter 3 The Chaos Emperor, His Unique Talent

October 1st, 10 minutes to midnight.

Lin Ye lay flat in the game capsule, the cold nutrient solution slowly covering the surface of his body.

This special conductive gel automatically adjusted its temperature upon contact with the skin, maintaining a comfortable 36.5 degrees.

The neural connection probes on the inner walls of the capsule extended like living things, gently attaching to key nodes such as his temples, back of his neck, and spine.

"Brainwave synchronization completion: 99.8%"

"Vital signs monitoring: Heart rate 62, blood pressure 118/76, neural activity excellent."

"Consciousness transmission channel stable, countdown: 9 minutes 47 seconds."

A cold mechanical female voice echoed in his ears.

Lin Ye closed his eyes and adjusted his breathing rhythm.

Three years of gaming experience in his past life made him incredibly familiar with the neural connection process; at this moment, he could even perceive those faint electrical currents gradually aligning with his brainwave frequency.

In the adjacent capsule, Chen Hao's voice came through the internal communication: "Brother Ye, I... I'm having a little trouble breathing..."

"It's a normal reaction. The Early Stage of neural connection will cause a slight feeling of suffocation; that is the brain's stress response to detaching from physical control. Take deep breaths, imagine yourself swimming." Lin Ye guided him calmly, "The discomfort will disappear in thirty seconds."

"Okay, okay..."

Outside the capsule, the real world was experiencing the final countdown.

Although Lin Ye couldn't see it, he could imagine the scene across the globe: hundreds of millions of people lying in game capsules or wearing VR helmets, their eyes fixed on virtual or physical countdown boards before them.

Light pollution in the cities reached its peak at midnight, yet the streets were empty—everyone had returned indoors, waiting for the opening of the new era.

This was not just the launch of a game.

This was the watershed of civilization.

"Countdown: 5 minutes 00 seconds"

The inner walls of the game capsule began to glow.

It wasn't a blinding white light, but deep, dark blue light spots like a starry sky; those light spots slowly rotated and converged, eventually forming a three-dimensional number in the center of his field of vision: 300, 299, 298...

Time flowed by in seconds.

Lin Ye sank his consciousness into the depths of his memory, beginning the final review of the key steps for character creation:

First, at the moment of launch, the System would briefly open the "Pre-emptive Creation Channel," lasting 0.5 seconds.

Characters created within this 0.5 seconds had an extremely low probability of triggering hidden rewards.

In his past life, out of over a billion players globally, fewer than a hundred grasped this window.

And Lin Ye's goal was to be the first person within that 0.5 seconds.

Second, the character ID must use his real name, "Lin Ye."

This was not a coincidence, but one of the underlying rules of the "Heavenly Dao" System—True Name Binding.

Players who used aliases would experience rejection reactions where the Soul and body did not match when abilities were manifested in the later stages; at best, their strength would plummet, and at worst, their consciousness would collapse.

Third, choose the Human Race, and leave all attributes at default.

Any manual adjustment would destroy the Awakening conditions of the Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body, which was the uniqueness Legacy hidden in the deepest part of the character creation algorithm.

"Countdown: 60 seconds"

The load curve of the global server soared into the red alert zone on the monitoring screen.

Over a billion consciousness connection requests surged toward the central optical brain simultaneously; the torrent of data was enough to instantly overload any traditional server.

But the processing core of the "Heavenly Dao" System was as steady as a rock; those requests were orderly diverted to three hundred and sixty secondary nodes, each node corresponding to a Star Domain.

China Region, "Big Dipper" server, ninth login point—Mount Tai, Jade Emperor Summit.

This was the coordinate in Lin Ye's memory.

"Countdown: 30 seconds"

Chen Hao's breathing came through the communication channel, having steadied significantly.

This brother, who could fight to the last moment in his past life, possessed a resilience far exceeding that of ordinary people in his bones.

"Ah Hao, remember: use your real name for the ID, Human Race, default attributes. Don't do anything after entering, just stand there and wait for me." Lin Ye instructed one last time.

"Understood!"

"Countdown: 10"

"9"

Lin Ye's muscles tensed all over, not out of nervousness, but to adjust his body to the optimal stress state.

The current intensity of the neural connection began to increase, and he could feel his consciousness being slowly pulled out of reality.

"8"

The dark blue light spots before his eyes began to twist and stretch, turning into a rotating galaxy. In the center of the galaxy, a tiny black hole slowly took shape.

"7"

All over the world, parents paced in front of their children's game capsules, couples hugged and waited, those living alone stared at the clock, and homeless people found abandoned VR devices in the streets...

"6"

Lin Ye recalled his father's last phone call: "Little Ye, protect yourself." He remembered his mother's hesitant worry, and his sister excitedly saying she wanted to choose a beautiful character...

"5"

The encrypted email from "Star Gazer" flashed in his mind.

That mysterious Rebirth person should also be lying in some game capsule at this moment, waiting for the same moment.

"4"

The description of the Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body emerged in his memory: [All attributes +100%, EXP acquisition +200%, ignore Realm Bottlenecks, unlock a Chaos Divine Ability upon breaking through each major Realm]—this was the Foundation of Solely Deciding the Ages.

"3"

His consciousness began to accelerate its extraction.

Perception of the real world blurred rapidly; the touch of the game capsule, the temperature of the nutrient solution, the sound of Chen Hao's breathing... all were fading away.

"2"

The black hole in the center of the galaxy expanded, devouring all light. Lin Ye's consciousness fell toward that darkness.

"1"

Zero.

Hum—

It wasn't a sound, but a tremor that acted directly upon the Soul.

Lin Ye's consciousness fell through the void for what felt like eternity, or perhaps just an instant. Then, light appeared.

It wasn't a process of opening his eyes, but rather light simply "existing" within his consciousness.

He "stood" in a pure white space; there was no solid ground beneath his feet, yet there was a sense of stable support.

Floating before him was a translucent System interface, with data streams flowing along the pale golden border.

[Welcome to "covering the heavens era"]

[System has detected you are among the first batch of connecting players, allocating creation permissions...]

It's here!

Lin Ye's full attention was focused on the bottom right corner of the interface—there was an almost invisible shimmering point, which was the entrance to the "Pre-emptive Creation Channel."

In his past life, he only learned of this hidden mechanism when reading the forums on the third day after launch.

But in this life, he would be the first person to push open this door.

His consciousness turned into an invisible hand and "pressed" down on that light point.

There was no tactile sensation, but the System interface changed abruptly!

The white space shattered like glass, replaced by a vast starry sky.

Nine massive Dragon corpses lay across the sea of stars, each the size of a mountain range, with ancient ice frozen on their pitch-black Dragon scales.

Behind the Dragon corpses, a Bronze Ancient Palace was dragged by thick divine iron chains; the surface of the coffin was engraved with ancient runes, and those runes were breathing, flickering with some eternal rhythm.

[You have entered the Pre-emptive Creation Channel]

[Remaining time for current channel: 0.48 seconds]

[Please complete character creation]

Time almost stood still.

No, it was Lin Ye's thinking speed that had reached its limit under the enhancement of the neural connection.

0.48 seconds, in the eyes of an ordinary person, was just a blink, but for him, it was enough to complete a whole set of complex operations.

The character creation interface unfolded against the starry sky background:

Name: ________

Race: Human Race / Yao Race / Ancient Race / God Race / Spirit Race

Initial Attribute Allocation: Strength, Agility, Physique, Spirit, Comprehension Ability (Free points: 20)

Appearance Adjustment: +/- 30%

Confirm Creation

Without a hint of hesitation.

Lin Ye's consciousness entered "Lin Ye" in the name field—two characters, taking only 0.02 seconds at his thinking speed.

Race selection "Human Race"—0.01 seconds.

Initial attribute allocation... all default!

Not adding a single free point, maintaining the System's initial 5-point average distribution—this operation actually took longer than manual allocation because he needed to find the hidden "Default Confirm" button, taking 0.05 seconds.

Appearance adjustment... skip!

Not making any modifications, maintaining a 100% restoration of his real appearance—0.01 seconds.

Finally, confirm creation.

[Character creation complete]

[Time taken: 0.097 seconds]

[Congratulations! You are the first player globally to complete character creation!]

It worked!

The starry sky shook violently.

The nine Dragon corpses opened their hollow eye sockets simultaneously, with ghostly green Soul fire burning within them.

The lid of the Bronze Ancient Palace slowly shifted, opening a gap; Chaos-colored mist poured out from the gap, and the mist converged into a beam of light, enveloping Lin Ye's consciousness.

[Generating exclusive talent...]

[Detected player True Name Binding...]

[Detected Human Race Bloodline purity 100%...]

[Detected attribute allocation meets hidden conditions...]

[Detected creation time breaks historical threshold...]

[All conditions met, triggering uniqueness Legacy]

The Chaos mist within the beam of light began to rotate, gradually forming a blurred human outline.

That figure stood with hands behind its back, a three-legged, two-eared cauldron floating above its head; Chaos Qi surged within the cauldron, evolving scenes of earth, water, fire, and wind, and the creation of the world.

Although he couldn't see the face clearly, that aura of suppressing the ages and Solely Deciding the Ages made Lin Ye's consciousness tremble.

Chaos Heavenly Emperor!

Not some NPC in the game's setting, but the one who truly existed at the end of the legends of the "Covering the Heavens" Universe—the supreme existence who merged with the Dao, suppressed the Heavens, and Solely Deciding the Ages!

[Legacy confirmed: Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body]

[Quality: Unique (Gold)]

[Binding: Soul binding, cannot be stripped, cannot be transferred]

[Effects:]

1. All base attributes increased by 100% (Strength, Agility, Physique, Spirit, Comprehension Ability)

2. EXP acquisition efficiency increased by 200%

3. Ignore all Realm Breakthrough Bottlenecks (Wheel Sea → Dao Palace → Four Extremities → Dragon Transformation → Sendai...)

4. Automatically unlock a Chaos-type exclusive Divine Ability upon breaking through each major Realm

5. Chaos affinity permanently +100%, can Cultivate Chaos-type Cultivation Technique and Divine Ability

6. Resistance to Chaos, Space-Time, and Fate-type damage increased by 50%

7. Hidden effect: ??? (Requires reaching corresponding Realm to unlock)

The text description appeared line by line on the interface, each word feeling as heavy as a thousand catties.

Lin Ye took a deep breath—although his consciousness body didn't need to breathe, this action helped him stabilize his emotions.

In his past life, he obtained the "Innate Dao Physique"; although it was also a top-tier talent, compared to the Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body, it was simply the difference between a firefly and the bright moon.

What is the concept of All attributes +100%?

Assuming a normal player reaches Rank 10 and their Strength attribute is 50 points, then Lin Ye's would be 100 points.

And this was just the base attribute; equipment bonuses and skill multipliers would all be established on this doubled Foundation.

Moreover, EXP acquisition +200% meant that when others killed a monster and got 100 EXP, he got 300.

When others needed to kill a thousand monsters to level up, he only needed three hundred something.

Even more terrifying was "Ignore Realm Bottlenecks."

The Cultivation System of "covering the heavens era," from Wheel Sea to Dao Palace, from Four Extremities to Dragon Transformation, every major Realm Breakthrough required completing harsh trial quests, comprehending corresponding Law fragments, and undergoing Heavenly Tribulation.

Many players got stuck at a certain Bottleneck for months and couldn't break through.

But Lin Ye... as long as he had enough EXP, he could level up all the way without any obstacles!

The beam of light began to shrink.

The phantom of the Chaos Heavenly Emperor slowly dissipated, but before disappearing, he "looked" in Lin Ye's direction.

It wasn't a gaze, but a piece of information branded directly into the depths of his Soul:

[Tribulation begins in the humble, the road ends at the peak. Person of future generations, do not fail this body.]

The voice was vast and ancient, carrying the exhaustion and anticipation of crossing eras.

Immediately after, Lin Ye felt a warm current surge from the depths of his consciousness, rapidly spreading to his "whole body"—even though he didn't have a real body yet.

That was the Origin power of the Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body, which was transforming his Soul structure and branding it with the mark unique to Chaos.

[Talent Fusion complete]

[Generating initial attributes...]

The personal attribute panel unfolded before his eyes:

Player: Lin Ye

Race: Human Race

Rank: 1 (0 / 1000)

Talent: Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body (Unique)

Qi and Blood: 200 / 200 (Base 100 × 2)

Divine Power: 200 / 200 (Base 100 × 2)

Attack: 20-24 (Base 10-12 × 2)

Defense: 16 (Base 8 × 2)

Strength: 10 (Base 5 × 2)

Agility: 10 (Base 5 × 2)

Physique: 10 (Base 5 × 2)

Spirit: 10 (Base 5 × 2)

Comprehension Ability: 10 (Base 5 × 2)

Luck (Fortune): ?

Luck: ?

[Detected player is the first to create a character globally, obtained special reward]

1. Title 'Pioneer' (All attributes +5%, EXP acquisition for first exploration of areas +20%)

2. Free attribute points × 10

3. Initial funds: 100 Spirit Stone

4. System storage space expanded to 20 slots

Lin Ye didn't rush to distribute the attribute points, but first equipped the "Pioneer" title.

A faint golden halo appeared around his consciousness body; although weak, it truly increased that sense of "presence."

As for the 10 free attribute points... he temporarily reserved them.

Attribute point allocation must be decided based on subsequently acquired Cultivation Techniques and equipment; adding points randomly in the Early Stage might limit his development path.

[Character creation phase ended]

[About to teleport to initial login point: Mount Tai, Jade Emperor Summit]

[3]

[2]

[1]

The starry sky rotated again.

The images of the nine Dragon corpses and the Bronze Ancient Palace faded, replaced by the landscape of mountains and rivers flashing by rapidly.

That feeling was like overlooking the Earth from space, but the proportions were completely wrong—the outlines of the continental plates below were unfamiliar, and the orientation of the mountains and the distribution of the rivers were all different from the real Earth.

This was the Human Race ancient star of the Big Dipper Star Field, the main stage for the early game.

His field of vision dropped rapidly.

Passing through the clouds, skimming past birds, a towering mountain peak rapidly magnified in his view.

The platform on the mountaintop was paved with bluestone slabs, an ancient altar stood in the center, and it was surrounded by vigorous pines and cypresses.

Mountain winds whistled, rolling the pine waves like the sea.

Mount Tai!

But not the Mount Tai in reality, but that holy mountain in the "Covering the Heavens" Universe where the plot of Nine Dragons Pulling the Coffin began.

The mountain was ten times larger than the one in reality, every rock branded with the traces of time, and the air was filled with faint Spiritual Qi—although thin, it was indeed energy that could be absorbed by Cultivators.

Lin Ye's consciousness body condensed on the mountaintop platform.

First the outline of the skeleton, then muscles, blood vessels, skin, and finally clothing—a set of rough hemp clothes and trousers, the standard initial equipment.

The feeling of having his feet on solid ground came.

Not the fake tactile sensation of virtual reality, but truly "standing."

The slight pain of the mountain wind scraping his cheeks, the fresh scent of pine needles in the air, the cold hardness of the bluestone slabs under his feet... all perceptions were so real it made him tremble.

99% realism, truly well-deserved.

"I... I'm in?"

A trembling voice came from beside him.

Lin Ye turned his head and saw Chen Hao's figure condensing not far away.

His initial appearance had not been adjusted, still that slightly chubby round face from reality, only the hemp clothes on his body looked a bit tight.

"Ah Hao." Lin Ye walked over, "How do you feel?"

"Too, too real..." Chen Hao looked down at his own hands, clenching his fists hard and then relaxing them, "I can really feel the muscles contracting! And... and is this really Mount Tai? Why is it so big?"

"The Mount Tai in the game." Lin Ye looked around.

The Jade Emperor Summit platform at this moment was staging a strange scene.

One after another, points of light emerged from the void, and each point of light quickly condensed into a human shape after landing.

Hundreds of players descended every second, and in just a few minutes, the originally empty platform was already crowded with people.

Exclamations, praises, and voices calling for companions rose one after another, merging into a noisy wave of sound.

"Holy crap! This image quality! This physics engine!"

"Wife! Wife, where are you?"

"Who stepped on my foot!"

"Form a team, form a team! Let's raid the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Land together!"

"Are there any big shots to carry a newbie?"

Chaotic, but full of vitality.

Lin Ye looked at these faces, these expressions of excitement, curiosity, and eagerness.

Many of them would die in the Dark Turmoil a year later, lose their loved ones, and turn into monsters they wouldn't even recognize.

But for now, they were just ordinary players immersed in the fun of the game.

"Brother Ye, what do we do now?" Chen Hao leaned over and asked, "Should we go down the mountain straight to the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Land?"

"No rush," Lin Ye shook his head, "The Nine Dragons Pulling the Coffin plot starts in three minutes. Before that, there is something more important to do."

He walked toward the southeast corner of the platform.

According to his memory, there was an inconspicuous stone tablet there, half-buried in the soil, its surface covered in moss.

In his previous life, it was only on the third day after the server opened that a lucky person accidentally discovered the hidden treasure chest beneath the stone tablet.

And Lin Ye was going to be the first person to open it.

He pushed aside the weeds and brushed off the moss.

The stone tablet revealed its true form—it was not ordinary mountain stone, but a type of deep cyan jade with natural Dao patterns on its surface.

At the base of the stone tablet, the soil showed slight signs of loosening.

Lin Ye squatted down and plunged his hands into the soil.

The touch was cold and damp, and his fingertips could feel the texture of the soil particles.

He dug hard, and his ten fingers were soon covered in mud.

Some players around cast curious glances, but most were busy familiarizing themselves with the controls or chatting in parties, and no one paid attention to this strange person digging in the dirt.

When he dug to a depth of thirty centimeters, his fingertips touched something hard.

Lin Ye sped up his movements, and soon, a palm-sized bronze box was dug out.

The surface of the box was covered in rust, but at the gap of the lid, a faint glimmer could be vaguely seen.

【Discovered: Ancient Bronze Treasure Chest】

【Status: Unlocked】

【Description: A container buried here for an unknown amount of time, exuding the aura of the ages】

Without hesitation, Lin Ye opened the lid directly.

There were no traps inside the box, only three items lying quietly:

The first was an irregular bronze fragment with sharp edges and half a blurred rune carved on the surface.

The second was a bamboo slip wrapped in animal skin.

The third was a grey stone, the size of a fist, with honeycomb-like holes on the surface.

Lin Ye picked up the bronze fragment first.

【Obtained: Bronze Ancient Key Fragment One】

【Quality: Special (Quest Item)】

【Description: It seems to be a component of a key. Collecting three fragments can synthesize a complete Bronze Ancient Key, used to open the gate of a certain ancient palace】

【Current Collection Progress: 1/3】

As expected.

The Bronze Ancient Key was the key prop to open the hidden dungeon of the Bronze Ancient Palace.

In his previous life, this item was only collected by someone a month after the server opened, by which time the Bronze Ancient Palace had already been mostly explored.

In this life, Lin Ye was going to get the complete key on the first day the server opened.

The second item, the animal skin bamboo slip.

【Obtained: Incomplete Cultivation Manual】

【Quality: Common (White)】

【Description: A cultivation note from a certain Wheel Sea Realm Cultivator. The content is incomplete, but it records the basic Qi-guiding method】

【Effect: After use, comprehend the basic Cultivation Technique "Qi-Guiding Art"】

Lin Ye used it directly.

The bamboo slip turned into specks of light in his hand and surged into his brow.

A piece of information appeared in his mind: how to sense Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, how to guide Spiritual Qi to circulate in the small cycle within the body, and how to convert Spiritual Qi into usable "Divine Power".

【Comprehended Basic Cultivation Technique: "Qi-Guiding Art"】

【Effect: Passively increases Divine Power recovery speed by 10%. Actively circulating it can slowly recover Divine Power】

【Current Proficiency: Novice (0/100)】

Although it was only the most basic white-tier Cultivation Technique, in the Early Stage of the server opening, 99% of the players didn't even know what a Cultivation Technique was.

With this Foundation, Lin Ye's Divine Power endurance would far exceed that of players at the same stage.

The third item, the grey stone.

When Lin Ye picked up the stone, his fingers suddenly paused.

The touch was wrong.

It was not the hardness of a stone, but a certain... warm and jade-like texture.

Moreover, the weight of the stone was much lighter than it looked.

He tried injecting a trace of the Divine Power he had just cultivated into the stone.

Hum—

The honeycomb holes on the surface of the stone suddenly lit up!

It was not a dazzling light, but a gentle, milky-white halo.

Within the halo, the grey shell on the surface of the stone began to peel off, revealing the crystal-clear texture inside.

Was that a... Spirit Stone?

No, not an ordinary Spirit Stone.

【Obtained: Earth Vein Spiritual Marrow (Slightly Damaged)】

【Quality: Rare (Blue)】

【Description: The essence condensed from the Earth's Spiritual Vein. Due to being buried for a long time, some Spiritual Qi has been lost, but it still contains pure Earth-attribute energy】

【Effect:】

1. Direct absorption: Gain 5000 Experience Points, Earth-attribute affinity +5%

2. Refining material: Can be used to refine Earth-attribute Magic Treasure or Medicinal Pill

3. Array core: Can be used as the core of a small Spirit-Gathering Array

Good stuff!

Lin Ye's eyes lit up.

5000 Experience Points were enough for him to level up several times.

And +5% Earth-attribute affinity would be helpful for cultivating Earth-attribute Divine Ability and exploring the Secret Realm of Earth Veins in the Late Stage.

However, he did not absorb it immediately.

Leveling up too fast now would attract attention.

Moreover, the value of Earth Vein Spiritual Marrow as a refining material and array core might be higher than direct absorption.

He would keep it for now and make a decision when needed.

Putting the three items into the System storage space, Lin Ye stood up and patted the dirt off his hands.

"Brother Ye, what did you dig up?" Chen Hao asked curiously.

"A small harvest," Lin Ye did not elaborate, "Get ready, the plot is about to begin."

As soon as he finished speaking—

"Rumble..."

The entire Mount Tai began to shake.

It was not the local shaking of an earthquake, but a low and heavy roar coming from inside the entire mountain.

Rocks rolled down, pine and cypress trees swayed, and the players on the platform couldn't stand steadily, exclaiming in succession.

"What's going on?"

"Is it an earthquake?"

"Look at the sky!"

Someone pointed to the eastern horizon.

There, the clouds were being torn apart by some invisible force.

It was not the natural dissipation blown away by the wind, but as if a pair of invisible giant hands had forcibly torn a hole in the sea of clouds.

Behind the gap was the deep starry sky.

Nine exceptionally bright stars were arranged in a strange formation in the starry sky.

Between the stars, dark red streamers connected like blood vessels.

"Nine Dragons Pulling the Coffin... is coming," Lin Ye said in a low voice.

Before he could finish speaking, those nine stars erupted with dazzling light at the same time!

In the light, nine huge black shadows slowly emerged.

They didn't fly in from the distance, but "appeared" directly at the crack in the starry sky, as if they had always been there, just obscured by the light.

Dragon corpses!

Each one was over a thousand meters long, with dragon scales as black as ink, reflecting a cold metallic luster under the starlight.

The dragon eyes were hollow, the dragon horns broken, and the dragon whiskers hung down like withered vines—these were not living dragons, but corpses that had been dead for who knows how many tens of thousands of years.

But even though they were dead, that pressure still made the entire Mount Tai fall silent.

The noise on the platform disappeared.

Everyone held their breath, staring blankly at the sky.

It was a shock that transcended cognition, a crushing of the life hierarchy.

Under this pressure, even thinking became slow.

Behind the nine dragon corpses, the giant bronze coffin slowly appeared.

The coffin was even larger than the dragon corpses, cast entirely from some unknown bronze, with dense runes carved on the surface.

Those runes were breathing, flickering with a certain eternal rhythm, and every flicker stirred the surrounding starlight, causing that piece of starry sky to twist and deform.

"Roar—"

It was not a sound, but a roar that acted directly on the Soul.

The nine dragon corpses "came alive" at the same time—not resurrected, but driven by some residual obsession in their corpses.

They swung their bodies, the divine iron chains wrapped around the giant bronze coffin rattled, and then...

They began to descend.

Not in free fall, but in a way that defied the Laws of physics, slowly and heavily descending toward the Jade Emperor Peak of Mount Tai.

"Run!"

"We're going to be crushed!"

"What kind of plot is this!"

The players finally reacted and fled in panic.

But the platform was only so big, and tens of thousands of people were crowded together, with nowhere to run.

Lin Ye did not move.

He pulled Chen Hao to the edge of the platform, with his back against a protruding rock.

"Brother Ye, we're not running?" Chen Hao's voice trembled.

"We can't run," Lin Ye said calmly, "This is a forced plot. All players within the range of Mount Tai will be sucked into the bronze coffin and teleported to the Big Dipper Star Field. Instead of being trampled in the panic, it's better to find a safe position."

Sure enough, when the dragon corpses descended to a certain height, the lid of the giant bronze coffin slowly moved to open a gap.

What poured out from the gap was not the stench of corpses or miasma, but a Chaos-colored mist.

The mist poured down like a waterfall, instantly covering the entire Jade Emperor Peak platform.

Players touched by the mist began to blur and decompose, turning into countless spots of light flying toward the coffin.

"I, I'm disappearing!"

"This is a teleportation effect! Everyone don't panic!"

"Hold on to the people around you, don't get separated!"

Lin Ye felt his body also decomposing.

It was not pain, but a strange feeling of detachment, as if the Soul was separating from the body—although in the game, this body was just temporary data construction.

Before completely blurring, he took one last look at the sky.

The nine dragon corpses hovered at an altitude of one hundred meters, and the gap in the giant bronze coffin was like an open eye.

And in the depths of the clouds further away, it seemed... there was a pair of eyes watching him too.

Not the eyes of the dragon corpses.

Nor the eyes of the bronze coffin.

It was the gaze of some higher-dimensional existence, indifferent, ancient, and carrying a sense of scrutiny.

"Heavenly Dao... or something else?"

As soon as this thought arose, Lin Ye's consciousness completely fell into Chaos.

The spots of light gathered into a river and poured into the giant bronze coffin.

The coffin lid slowly closed.

The nine dragon corpses swung their bodies, the divine iron chains tightened, dragging the giant bronze coffin back into the high sky, and flew toward the crack in the starry sky.

The crack closed, and the clouds returned to normal.

Mount Tai's Jade Emperor Peak returned to calm, but the platform was empty.

It was as if the clamor of tens of thousands of players just now was just an illusion.

And inside the bronze coffin, it was another scene.

When Lin Ye regained consciousness, he found himself "standing" in the darkness.

It was not pure black, but there was a faint light penetrating from the coffin walls—those runes carved on the bronze were now emitting a ghostly green fluorescent light, illuminating the limited space inside the coffin.

His body had re-condensed, still in the same hemp clothes.

Chen Hao was right next to him, his face pale, clutching Lin Ye's arm tightly.

"Bro, Brother Ye... where is this?"

"Inside the bronze coffin," Lin Ye looked around.

The space inside the coffin was much larger than it looked from the outside.

This was space-folding technology—or rather, the "Sumeru containing mustard seed" Divine Ability in the cultivation civilization.

A rough estimate was that the length and width exceeded one hundred meters, and the height was thirty meters, enough to accommodate tens of thousands of people.

In fact, the coffin was already full of people.

All players on Mount Tai's Jade Emperor Peak had been teleported in, roughly estimated to be over fifty thousand.

Fortunately, the space was large enough, and although it was crowded, it was not to the point of people sticking to each other.

"Quiet! Everyone quiet!"

Someone tried to maintain order, but the voice was soon drowned out in the noise.

"What kind of dungeon is this?"

"How long do we have to stay here?"

"Are there any quest prompts?"

"I want to log off! This game is too scary!"

Panic was spreading.

Lin Ye ignored these noises.

He walked to the coffin wall and reached out to touch the glowing runes.

The touch was cold, and his fingertips could feel the indentations of the runes.

When his fingers slid across the surface of the runes, those ghostly green lights would fluctuate slightly, as if they were living things.

【Contacting ancient runes, Comprehension Ability judging...】

【Comprehension Ability: 10 (Base 5 + Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body bonus 5)】

【Judgment passed】

【You feel the fluctuation of the Law of space from the runes, and your understanding of space has slightly improved】

As expected.

The runes on the bronze coffin contained profound Laws of space.

In his previous life, many players spent a boring few hours in the coffin, not knowing that this was an excellent opportunity to comprehend the Dao.

"A-Hao, come here," Lin Ye pulled Chen Hao to his side, "Put your hand on these runes, calm your mind and feel."

"Feel? Feel what?"

"Don't ask, just do it."

Chen Hao skeptically pressed his hand on the coffin wall.

Three seconds later, his body shook, and his eyes widened: "I, I seem to feel... something flowing? Like water, and like wind..."

"That is space energy," Lin Ye explained, "Calm your mind and comprehend it. It can improve your affinity for space and help you learn space-type Divine Ability in the later stage."

After speaking, he closed his eyes himself, immersing all his mind in the perception of the runes.

The Comprehension Ability bonus of the Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body, plus the experience bonus of the Pioneer title, made his speed of comprehending the Law of space far exceed that of ordinary people.

Those originally obscure rune lines gradually "came alive" in his perception, began to decompose, reorganize, and evolve the basic principles of space folding, Void Realm travel, and dimensional jumping.

【Space perception +1】

【Space perception +1】

【Space perception +1】

System prompts popped up every few minutes.

Lin Ye didn't know if other players had discovered this secret, but even if they did, with their ordinary Comprehension Ability attributes, the gains would be far less than his.

Time passed in the darkness.

I don't know how long it had been—the time flow in the game was ten times that of reality, and the perceived time was even more blurred—the bronze coffin suddenly shook violently!

"What's wrong now?"

"Is it going to crash?"

"I don't want to die yet!"

The shaking lasted for more than ten seconds, and then stopped abruptly.

The light of the runes on the coffin wall flourished, and the ghostly green turned into a dazzling gold.

All players were forced to close their eyes by the strong light.

When the light dimmed, the coffin lid had already moved to open a gap.

The light from the outside world poured in through the gap.

It was not starlight, nor sunlight, but a kind of... dark red, as if the color of dried blood.

At the same time, an indescribable aura poured in.

Dry, dead, with the smell of rust and dust, and... the pressure left behind by the decay of some huge life form.

"We're here," Lin Ye opened his eyes, "Yinghuo Ancient Star, the ruins of the Great Thunder Sound Temple."

He looked at a certain place inside the coffin.

There, a girl in a white sportswear was standing blankly.

She had a cold appearance, with the heroic spirit unique to ancient martial arts families between her brows, maintaining basic composure even in the Chaos.

Su Qingyue.

The girl who fought side by side with him until the end in his previous life and eventually died to save him.

In this life, their meeting was going to be earlier.

The coffin lid opened completely.

The dark red sky came into view.

There was no sun in the sky, only a huge, rust-red planet hanging on the horizon; that was the satellite of Mars.

The ground was an endless dark red desert, with sand dunes stretching to the end of the field of vision, and red sand rolling up when the wind blew, like a blood mist.

And in the center of the desert, a dilapidated ancient temple stood quietly.

The temple gate was half-collapsed, the plaque slanted, and the three gilded characters on it were mottled, but could still be recognized:

Great Thunder Sound Temple.

"Let's go."

Lin Ye pulled Chen Hao and jumped out of the coffin.

His feet stepped on the red sand, and a soft sinking feeling came.

The gravity was slightly less than on Earth, and his movements had a light and unreal feeling.

The air was thin, and he needed to breathe harder.

Behind him, the players poured out of the bronze coffin like a tide.

Exclamations, praises, and panic sounded again.

But Lin Ye did not look back.

His gaze was already locked in the direction of the Great Thunder Sound Temple.

There were bodhi seeds, the bronze lamp, fragments of Buddha artifacts, and... the first fragment hidden deep in the ruins about the truth of this game world.

And further away, the nine sacred mountains of the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Land were beckoning to him at the end of the horizon.