7: Chapter 7 Ancient Road Through the Stars, the Big Dipper in Sight

The bronze coffin glided silently through the starry sky.

There was no sound, no vibration, only a profound sense of weightlessness, as if slowly sinking into the deep sea.

The runes on the coffin walls emitted a ghostly green fluorescent light, outlining the limited space inside the coffin within the absolute darkness.

Over five thousand survivors were squeezed into this not-so-spacious world, most of them still immersed in the lingering fear of having escaped death and the confusion about the unknown road ahead.

Lin Ye sat with his back against the coffin wall, holding the pale golden bodhi seed in his hand.

Under the ghostly green fluorescent light, the fruit radiated a warm, gentle luster, its natural Dao patterns flickering like breathing.

He could feel that with every breath, a faint, cool energy flowed from the bodhi seed into his glabella, making his thoughts clearer and his perception sharper.

Comprehension Ability +30%; this attribute was simply a Divine Artifact in the Early Stages of the game.

He looked up and, through the tiny gaps between the runes on the coffin wall, could see the scene outside—it was not pitch black, but countless stars slowly receding.

Some of those stars were as bright as diamonds, some as dim as candlelight; some gathered into rivers, while others hung alone in the wild.

They moved along profound trajectories, connected by invisible lines of gravitational force, forming a massive network that covered the entire starry sky.

This was the Ancient Star Road.

It was not a tangible road, but a natural "shipping lane" between the stars.

The reason Nine Dragons Pulling the Coffin could traverse the void was because it was traveling along this ancient road, using the gravitational pull of the stars to slingshot and accelerate, avoiding those dangerous void turbulences and Star Domain faults.

"So... the Universe is like this."

Su Qingyue's voice came from the side.

She had unknowingly moved to the coffin wall as well, peering through the gaps at the starry sky outside, the light of billions of stars reflected in her eyes.

"It's not like what the textbooks say, right?" Lin Ye said softly.

"Completely different," Su Qingyue shook her head. "The Universe in textbooks is a cold vacuum, dead and silent. But the starry sky here... has life. I can feel those stars breathing, operating; there is a kind of... rhythm between them."

As expected of a Vast Cold Spirit Body, her perception of heaven and earth energy far exceeded that of ordinary people.

Lin Ye praised her inwardly, while guiding her: "Try to remember that rhythm. The trajectories of the stars, the gravitational pull between them, and that... indescribable 'Dao Rhyme'. This will be helpful for cultivating star-type Cultivation Techniques or unleashing starry sky-type Divine Abilities in the future."

"Dao Rhyme?" Chen Hao also leaned over, trying hard to look out, but soon made a bitter face, "I only see a bunch of stars blinking; where is any rhythm..."

"Because you are not concentrating." Lin Ye handed the bodhi seed over, "Hold this, calm your mind, and try to 'listen' to the starry sky as if it were a piece of music."

Chen Hao took the bodhi seed and closed his eyes, half-doubting.

Three seconds later, his body jolted, and he opened his eyes wide, his face full of disbelief: "I... I heard it! Like the sound of a bell, and like the sound of a zither; so many sounds layered together, but not chaotic, very rhythmic!"

"That is the 'voice' of the stars," Lin Ye explained. "Or rather, it is the external manifestation of the fluctuation of stellar energy. Continue listening, and try to distinguish the different 'timbres' of different stars."

Chen Hao closed his eyes again, this time with more focus.

Lin Ye did not stay idle either. He placed his palm against the coffin wall, closed his eyes, and sank all his focus into perceiving the starry sky.

The Comprehension Ability bonus from the bodhi seed, the Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body's affinity for Laws, plus the experience bonus from the Pioneer title—the combination of these three made his comprehension efficiency reach a terrifying level.

Those originally chaotic stellar trajectories gradually became clear, decomposed, and reorganized in his consciousness.

He "saw" that the seven stars in the east connected in a ladle shape had thick and stable gravitational lines between them, like seven zither strings; when plucked, they emitted a deep and resonant timbre—that was the big dipper, one of the most important coordinates for the Human Race in the starry sky.

He "saw" that the spiral nebula in the south, where every star was slowly rotating along a spiral trajectory, had gravitational lines as dense as a spider web, with a sharp and varied timbre—that was an ancient Star Domain where it was said an Immortal had once attained enlightenment.

He "saw" the isolated, crimson giant star in the west, where the surrounding space was slightly distorted, and the gravity was so strong that not even light could escape, with a timbre as heavy as muffled thunder—that was an aging star about to collapse into a black hole.

Billions of stars, billions of trajectories, billions of timbres.

But beneath these complex appearances, Lin Ye gradually captured some commonalities.

They were... fragments of Laws.

The Law of Space, which kept the stars at a distance while attracting them to each other.

The Law of Time, which allowed the stars to operate along fixed trajectories, unchanged for billions of years.

The Law of Gravity, which kept the stars from dispersing and maintained the stability of the galaxy.

And even... the Law of Life? No, not life, but the Law of "Existence". Every star from birth to death had its inevitable trajectory; that was the most fundamental rule of the Universe.

【Contacting Starry Sky Dao Rhyme, Comprehension Ability judgment in progress...】

【Comprehension Ability: 13 (Base 5 + Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body bonus 5 + bodhi seed bonus 3)】

【Judgment passed】

【Star Insight +1】

【Space Insight +1】

【Time Insight +0.5】

The System notification sound rang in his mind every few minutes.

Lin Ye was completely immersed in this comprehension. In his previous life, he had also tried to comprehend while inside the bronze coffin, but his Comprehension Ability was ordinary back then, and without the bodhi seed's boost, he had only gained 5 points of Star Insight after three hours. In this life, after just half an hour, his Star Insight had already exceeded 20 points!

And it wasn't just Star Insight; the associated Space Insight and Time Insight were also improving. Although Time Insight grew slowly, at least it had a beginning. It should be known that the Law of Time was one of the most difficult Laws to comprehend in the "Shrouding the Heavens" Universe; in his previous life, many players couldn't even touch the threshold until they reached the Saint Realm.

"Brother Ye..." Chen Hao's voice was weary, "I... I can't hear clearly anymore, my head is buzzing."

Lin Ye opened his eyes and saw Chen Hao's face pale, sweat on his forehead; clearly, he had over-exhausted his mental energy.

"Rest for a while." He took the bodhi seed back, "Comprehension cannot be rushed; mental exhaustion will instead damage your Foundation. You sleep for a while first, and continue after you recover."

"Okay..." Chen Hao sat down against the coffin wall and quickly fell asleep. His breathing was heavy; clearly, the comprehension just now had been a great burden for him.

Su Qingyue could still hold on, but she wisely stopped her comprehension and began to close her eyes to regulate her breath.

Lin Ye continued.

His spirit attribute was twice that of ordinary players, and with the support of the Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body's Origin, his stamina far exceeded that of ordinary people. Moreover, as the comprehension deepened, he felt a wonderful "positive feedback"—every point of Star Insight gained made his perception of the starry sky clearer by a fraction, and the speed of comprehension actually accelerated.

This was the terrifying aspect of high Comprehension Ability.

Two hours passed.

The scenery of the stars outside the coffin began to change. The originally sparse starry sky gradually became dense, and the brightness of the stars was also increasing. More importantly, Lin Ye felt the course of the bronze coffin slightly adjusting—from its original straight-line flight, it turned into a huge arc, seemingly avoiding a certain area.

He looked carefully through the gap.

In the starry sky about a million miles ahead, there was a "blank" area. It wasn't that there were no stars, but that the stars in that area... were all dead.

Not extinguished, nor collapsed, but a more thorough "dead silence". The surfaces of those stars were covered with a layer of grayish-white substance, like a layer of liver spots on a corpse. There were no gravitational lines between the stars, no energy fluctuations, and not even the most basic radiation was being emitted.

It was like a graveyard drained of all life.

"That is... the Ancient Star Burial Domain?" Lin Ye was startled.

The Ancient Star Burial Domain, one of the most dangerous Forbidden Lands on the Ancient Star Road. Legend has it that in the Primordial Era, Supremes fought here, shattering countless stars, with Death Qi permeating for billions of miles. Later, for some unknown reason, the Laws in that area became distorted; any living being that entered would be slowly drained of life and turned into dry bones.

Even a Supreme treasure like Nine Dragons Pulling the Coffin had to take a detour.

And just as the bronze coffin adjusted its course, preparing to bypass the Ancient Star Burial Domain, an unexpected change occurred.

"Hum—!"

The coffin body vibrated violently.

It wasn't that they had encountered an attack, but that some of the runes on the coffin wall were resonating with the Law of Death on the periphery of the Ancient Star Burial Domain! Those runes were originally intended to stabilize the space inside the coffin and isolate external dangers, but at this moment, they were flickering wildly like iron filings attracted to a magnet, and the energy fluctuations became chaotic.

"What's going on?"

"An earthquake again?"

"It's not going to crash, is it!"

The players were panicked. Having just experienced the hunt by the Crocodile Ancestor, everyone had become a frightened bird.

Lin Ye, however, had his eyes light up.

Rune resonance... this meant that some of the Law fragments contained within the Law of Death on the periphery of the Ancient Star Burial Domain were of the same Origin as the runes on the bronze coffin! If he could capture these Law fragments, perhaps he could...

He did not hesitate, placing his palm on the coffin wall again, sinking all his focus into perceiving the runes.

This time, it wasn't to comprehend the stars, but to comprehend the source of that "resonance".

His consciousness extended along the energy fluctuations of the runes, passing through the coffin wall, through the void, and touching the edge of that grayish-white, dead Star Domain.

Cold. Dead silence. Decay.

That was the most superficial manifestation of the Law of Death. Lin Ye felt his consciousness as if it had reached into an ice cave, or touched the skin of a ten-thousand-year-old corpse; a sense of trembling from the depths of his Soul surged through his entire body.

But he gritted his teeth and persisted.

The Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body's affinity for Laws played its role at this moment. When those cold and dead Law fragments touched his consciousness, they did not immediately assimilate or destroy it, but... slowly "flowed" over, like water flowing over rock.

He captured the first fragment.

It was a segment of the Law regarding "life passing away". It wasn't about killing life, but accelerating the process of life's natural passage—just like speeding up a person's time flow by a thousand or ten thousand times, letting him walk the journey of a lifetime in a few seconds, from youth to old age, and then to death.

Terrifying. But also... profound.

Lin Ye incorporated this fragment into the depths of his consciousness, wrapping and analyzing it with the Origin of the Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body. His HP began to slowly decrease, -1 point per second; this was the price of contacting the Law of Death.

But he didn't care.

He continued to capture the second fragment.

Regarding the Law of "material decay". It wasn't about destroying the material structure, but accelerating its natural aging process. Steel would rust, rock would weather, and even energy would "decay".

The third fragment.

Regarding the Law of "Soul dissipation". The Soul is not eternal; it wears away and dissipates as time passes. This fragment reminded Lin Ye of the Crocodile Ancestor's divine thought—that was a state where obsession did not dissipate and the Soul was not extinguished, but even a divine thought was worn to the limit over the long years.

【Contacting Law of Death (Edge), Comprehension Ability judgment in progress...】

【Judgment passed】

【Death Insight +1】

【Life Insight +1】

【Current Blood Qi: 187/200 (continuously draining)】

Lin Ye gritted his teeth.

The erosion of the Law of Death was more terrifying than he had imagined. Even if it was just edge fragments, and even with the resistance of the Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body, his HP was still steadily decreasing. At this rate, he could only last another twenty minutes at most before "dying" because his HP reached zero.

But the harvest was also huge.

With every additional fragment, his understanding of "death" went a level deeper. This understanding seemed useless now, but later, when cultivating life-and-death type Cultivation Techniques, or when facing enemies who mastered the Law of Death, these insights might be the key to saving his life.

"Is it enough?" He asked himself.

Not enough.

Lin Ye's gaze turned toward the deeper parts of the Ancient Star Burial Domain. There, the Law of Death was more concentrated, but also more... pure. If he could capture a core fragment, even if it were only the size of a grain of rice, it would be enough to put his understanding of the Law of Death ahead of other players by at least a year!

Go for it!

He took a deep breath and extended his consciousness toward the depths of the Ancient Star Burial Domain.

Ten kilometers.

One hundred kilometers.

One thousand kilometers...

His consciousness drifted through the dead, silent Universe, surrounded by gray-white Death Qi mist.

Within the mist were the wreckage of shattered stars, fragments of ancient warships, and even... the remains of living beings?

Lin Ye "saw" a massive skeleton stretched out between two dead stars.

The skeleton was dark gold, and even though it had been dead for who knows how many tens of thousands of years, it still radiated a terrifying pressure.

Judging by its form, it looked like some kind of bird, but its size was larger than any mountain on Earth.

"An ancient divine bird..." Lin Ye felt shocked in his heart.

An existence of this level must have been at least a Saint King, or perhaps even a Great Saint, during its lifetime.

Yet, under the erosion of the Law of death in the Ancient Star Burial Domain, it had still been reduced to dry bones.

He continued to push deeper.

His consciousness began to feel pressure.

The Law of death became increasingly dense, like the water pressure of the deep sea, threatening to crush his consciousness.

The rate of his HP loss accelerated to -3 points per second.

But he also sensed that not far ahead, there was a "special" fragment.

That fragment was not cold and dead like the others; instead, it radiated a... contradictory aura.

It possessed both the finality of death and the sprouting of new life, like a seed buried under the snow in winter.

A fragment of the Law of Life and Death conversion!

Lin Ye's spirit lifted, and he exerted all his effort to drive his consciousness, reaching out toward that fragment.

Just as his consciousness was about to touch the fragment—

"Roar—!"

A terrifying roar came from the deepest part of the Ancient Star Burial Domain.

It did not travel through sound, but was a roar that acted directly upon the Soul!

That roar contained endless malice, madness, and... hunger!

Something had awakened!

Lin Ye's consciousness felt as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer, and it snapped back violently.

He groaned, a trace of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, and his HP instantly dropped below 120 points.

"What's wrong?" Su Qingyue noticed the abnormality and opened her eyes.

"Quick, help me!" Lin Ye gritted his teeth and pointed to a specific rune on the coffin wall.

"Use your ice to freeze that rune! Quick!"

Although Su Qingyue did not understand why, seeing Lin Ye's pale face and the blood at the corner of his mouth, she immediately realized the gravity of the situation.

She raised her hand, and bone-chilling cold Qi surged out, precisely freezing the rune Lin Ye had specified.

That was a space stabilization rune, and after being frozen, the energy flow experienced a brief stagnation.

And it was because of this stagnation that the lock from the existence in the depths of the Ancient Star Burial Domain deviated for a tenth of a second.

That was enough!

Lin Ye's consciousness seized this opportunity, snatched up the fragment of Life and Death conversion, and retracted into the coffin at the fastest possible speed.

The moment his consciousness returned, he "saw" a giant claw covered in gray-white scales from the depths of the Ancient Star Burial Domain tear through the Death Qi mist and strike at the original position of the bronze coffin.

But it grabbed empty air.

Using the spatial ripples caused by the rune's stagnation, the bronze coffin had accelerated and escaped that area.

The giant claw swiped futilely in the Void Realm a few times before finally slowly withdrawing back into the depths of the mist.

It left behind only a roar full of unwillingness, which echoed in the Universe for a long time.

"Huu... Huu..."

Lin Ye slumped to the ground, panting heavily, sweat pouring down like rain.

That was too dangerous.

If he had been half a second slower just now, his consciousness would have been caught and torn apart by that giant claw.

If that had happened, it wouldn't just be the game character dying; he might have also become a vegetable in reality due to the severe mental trauma.

"Are you okay?" Su Qingyue supported him, her eyes full of worry.

"I'm fine..." Lin Ye wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and took out some red glow grass from his storage space, chewing and swallowing it.

His HP began to slowly recover.

He looked into the depths of his consciousness, where three Law fragments were quietly floating: Life Passing, Material Decay, and Life and Death Conversion.

Among them, the Life and Death Conversion fragment was the smallest, only the size of a grain of rice, but the aura it radiated was the most profound.

[Obtained: Law of Death Fragment x2]

[Obtained: Law of Life and Death Fragment x1 (Incomplete)]

[Quality: Special (Unrateable)]

[Description: A Law fragment captured from the edge of the Ancient Star Burial Domain, containing the Profound Truth of death and life and death.]

[Effect:]

1. Law of Death Fragment: Can slowly increase the comprehension speed of death-type Cultivation Technique/Divine Ability.

2. Law of Life and Death Fragment: After use, there is an extremely low probability of comprehending skills or traits related to 'Life and Death Conversion'.

[Warning: The Law fragment contains high-level rules. Forcibly comprehending it at your current Realm may lead to damage to your Soul. It is recommended to try only after reaching at least the Dao Palace Realm.]

As expected.

The Law fragments cannot be used now.

But at least he had obtained them, and that was an advantage.

Lin Ye put the fragments away and looked outside the coffin.

The bronze coffin had completely left the area of the Ancient Star Burial Domain and returned to the normal Ancient Star Road.

The surrounding stars had regained vitality and life, and that cold sense of dead silence had disappeared.

And in the Universe ahead, a brand-new scene appeared.

There were nine particularly bright stars arranged in the shape of a ladle.

In the direction the handle of the ladle pointed, there was an azure planet radiating a soft light in the Universe.

Three satellites orbited the planet; the surface of one was covered in white snow, while the other two were dark red and earthy yellow.

The big dipper, and... the Ancient Star of big dipper!

"We have arrived," Lin Ye said softly.

Su Qingyue and Chen Hao also looked through the gaps.

Chen Hao widened his eyes: "That blue one... is that the big dipper? It looks so much like Earth!"

"It is much larger than Earth," Lin Ye said.

"The volume of the Ancient Star of big dipper is more than a hundred times that of Earth, and the gravity is three times that of Earth."

"There are five major regions on it: Eastern Wilderness, Western Desert, Southern Ridge, Northern Plains, and Central Province."

"The place where we are descending should be the Southern Region of the Eastern Wilderness."

"How do you know?" Su Qingyue asked.

"Look at the position of the stars," Lin Ye pointed to the nine stars.

"The big dipper, plus the auxiliary star and the assistant star, form the complete Nine Stars of the big dipper."

"The direction the handle of the Nine Stars points to corresponds exactly to the Southern Region of the Eastern Wilderness. And..."

He paused, a complex expression flashing in his eyes: "I can feel that the concentration of Spiritual Qi there is more than a hundred times that of Earth."

"For us cultivators, it is a true paradise."

Of course, it is also a true... slaughterhouse.

The bronze coffin began to decelerate.

It did not decelerate slowly, but instead, in a way that defied the Laws of physics, it went from a superluminal state to being directly "frozen" in the outer space of the Ancient Star of big dipper.

The runes on the coffin wall flared with light, turning from dark green to pale gold, which was a precursor to entering the atmosphere.

The players became restless.

"We are about to land!"

"Finally here!"

"I wonder what it's like down there..."

Anticipation, nervousness, fear, excitement—all kinds of emotions filled the coffin.

Lin Ye stood up and brushed the dust off his body.

His Rank was still 7, but the gains from this journey through the Universe were far beyond what Rank could measure.

43 points of Star Comprehension, 58 points of Spatial Comprehension, 12 points of Time Comprehension, and three Law fragments.

These implicit accumulations would allow him to walk more steadily and faster than anyone else on his future path of Cultivation.

"Get ready," he said to Chen Hao and Su Qingyue.

"After we land, we might get separated. Remember what I said before: the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Land is in the west, with nine black mountain peaks. If we get separated, we will meet there."

"Understood," the two nodded.

The bronze coffin began to descend.

Passing through the atmosphere, the high temperature generated by friction made the coffin wall scorching hot, and the light of the runes became even more blinding.

The temperature inside the coffin rose sharply, and the players were sweating profusely, but no one complained; everyone was staring intently at the gaps in the coffin wall, wanting to see this New World at the first opportunity.

Lin Ye also looked outside.

Through the air distorted by high heat, he saw a vast and boundless land.

Mountain ranges stretched for ten thousand miles like the spines of Dragons, rivers meandered like silver ribbons, and forests covered the plains like a green ocean.

In the distance, there were outlines of cities, smoke rising from cooking fires, and birds and beasts soaring and running freely between heaven and earth.

And to the west of the land, that black Forbidden Land was also clearly visible.

Nine mountain peaks were like nine black sharp swords piercing the sky.

Around the mountain peaks, gray-white mist permeated; that was the Ancient Desolate aura, which could devour life and cause all things to wither.

But Lin Ye knew that in the depths of that deadly Forbidden Land, there were nine sacred fruits hidden that could allow a Mortal to ascend to the heavens in one step.

"Almost there..." He clenched his fists. "Almost there."

The descent speed of the bronze coffin slowed down more and more, and finally, in a way that was almost hovering, it slowly landed toward a valley surrounded by mountains.

There, a group of people had already gathered.

They were not players, but the indigenous people of this world.

They wore simple, ancient clothing and held weapons, looking up at the giant bronze coffin falling from the sky with vigilance and curiosity.

Among those indigenous people, there was a middle-aged Daoist priest wearing a cyan Daoist robe and carrying a long sword on his back, who was looking up at the sky, a sharp light flashing in his eyes.

He muttered to himself, his voice only audible to himself:

"Nine Dragons Pulling the Coffin... After ten thousand years, it has finally appeared again. This time, what kind of variables will it bring?"

The bronze coffin landed.

The heavy impact caused the entire valley to tremble.

The coffin lid slowly slid open.

Fresh air, dense Spiritual Qi, and all the auras of this New World surged into the coffin.

Lin Ye took a deep breath and stepped out.

His feet stepped onto the soft ground, and the triple gravity made his body sink slightly, but he quickly adapted.

The sunlight shone on his face, warm and real.

The wind blew through the valley, bringing the fragrance of flowers and grass and... a faint trace of a bloody scent.

He looked around.

This was a typical valley terrain, surrounded by mountains on three sides, with only one small path leading to the outside world.

The valley was full of strange flowers and Spiritual Plants, and some of the plants even emitted faint Spiritual Qi fluctuations—these were Spiritual Plants.

And at the entrance of the valley, that group of indigenous people had already gathered around.

The leader was that Daoist priest in the cyan robe.

He looked to be in his forties, with a thin face and eyes as sharp as an eagle's.

The long sword on his back was wrapped in coarse cloth, but one could vaguely feel the sharp aura coming from the scabbard.

The Daoist's gaze swept over the players who had walked out of the coffin, and finally stopped on Lin Ye.

He frowned slightly, as if he had noticed something unusual, but he quickly returned to calm and spoke in a loud voice:

"This poor Daoist is Daoist Master of Azure Cloud, the master of Qingyun Temple in the Yan State."

"Guests from outside the heavens, welcome to the big dipper, the Southern Region of the Eastern Wilderness, within the territory of the Yan State."

His voice was not loud, but it clearly spread throughout the entire valley.

The players looked at each other; some wanted to speak, but they were suppressed by the invisible pressure radiating from the Daoist.

Daoist Master of Azure Cloud paused and continued: "This place is called 'Falling Star Valley', and it is a dangerous area on the border of the Yan State."

"Yao Beasts often appear outside the valley. Since you are newcomers, if you have no power to protect yourselves, it is best to accompany this poor Daoist to Qingyun Temple to take temporary refuge."

"After you are familiar with the rules of this world, you can make other plans."

After speaking, he turned around and walked toward the outside of the valley.

The indigenous people followed closely behind.

The players hesitated for a moment, but eventually followed—in this completely strange world, following someone who looked like a "guide NPC" was safer than wandering around blindly.

Lin Ye and the other two also followed in the group.

But Lin Ye's gaze remained fixed on the west.

There, the black mountain peaks of the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Land cast long shadows in the sunlight, like nine giant beasts crouching on the horizon.

He knew that the real test had just begun.

And that Daoist Master of Azure Cloud... seemed to be no simple person either.

The group moved forward slowly, walked out of the valley, and stepped onto the winding mountain road leading to Qingyun Temple.

And behind them, the bronze coffin lay quietly in Falling Star Valley; the runes on the coffin wall gradually dimmed and finally extinguished completely.

But no one noticed that on the inside of the coffin lid, a tiny, almost invisible rune still retained a last bit of light.

The structure of that rune was seventy percent similar to the Law of Life and Death fragment that Lin Ye had captured in the Ancient Star Burial Domain.

It flickered slightly, then turned into a wisp of blue smoke and dissipated into the air.

As if it had never existed.