202: The star chart points to the first signs of a nemesis.
In the icy meteorite belt, Ye Chen sat cross-legged, motionless for a long time.
The fragmented images and cold intentions transmitted by the chaos ancestral talisman echoed repeatedly in his mind like a nightmare.
"Legacy... is also a shackle..."
"Collect... the scattered... Authority..."
"Great Calamity... is approaching... return... to source..."
"Beware... 'they'... are... searching..."
Each word was as heavy as a thousand jun, containing heart-palpitating Karma and secrets.
He had originally thought the chaos ancestral talisman was just a powerful Innate treasure, an aid to help him climb to the Peak of the Sword Intent, but he never expected it to be so deeply involved.
That ancient great battle that occurred in the depths of Chaos, those blurry and terrifying figures, the shattered Authority, as well as that unknown "Great Calamity" and the potential enemy "they"...
All of this far exceeded his current cognitive scope.
An unprecedented pressure quietly shrouded his heart.
But what followed was not fear or retreat, but a deeper, more determined will.
His Sword Intent, after experiencing the Nirvana baptism of the Guixu Sea and the impact of this ancient secret, seemed to have been tempered to be more transparent and resilient.
"Regardless of what Karma lies ahead, I will cut through it with one sword."
Ye Chen whispered to himself, a light as sharp as a sword reigniting in his eyes.
Pressure would only become his motivation to move forward.
He composed his mind and began to carefully sort through the fragmented information transmitted by the chaos ancestral talisman.
Besides those cautionary intentions, the information stream also contained some extremely blurry and intermittent star coordinates and directional senses, which seemed to point to the possible locations of some scattered ancestral rune fragments.
One of the senses was relatively the clearest, pointing to a direction that seemed to be even deeper within the Heavens Battlefield, in a forbidden area known as the "Star Abyss of Fallen Gods".
At the same time, he also felt that after completing the "Foundation of Existence" and fusing the chaos source core and the primordial fetus, the connection between the chaos ancestral talisman and him had undergone a deeper change.
It was no longer just a tool that passively provided power and insights, but more like a sleeping ancient consciousness beginning to awaken, forming a wonderful "symbiotic" relationship with him.
The burst of information just now might be a sign of this initial awakening.
"It seems that for the path ahead, not only must I improve my strength, but I must also actively seek out those scattered fragments."
Ye Chen understood in his heart.
This was not only to gain more powerful strength but also to cope with that unknown "Great Calamity" and the potential enemy.
He stood up, removed the surrounding Restriction, and scanned the unfamiliar starry sky.
The top priority was to determine his location and find the path back to the "star chaser" flying ship, or at least find a populated place to obtain information.
He attempted to spread his Divine Sense.
His powerful Divine Sense at the Late Stage of the Tiangang Realm poured out like mercury, instantly covering the Void Realm within a radius of millions of miles.
Compared to before the Breakthrough, the range had expanded several times, and his perception had become clearer and sharper.
Suddenly, his brows twitched.
On the edge of his Divine Sense, he captured a faint, somewhat familiar energy fluctuation—it was the residual breath of the "star chaser" flying ship's propulsion Formation!
Moreover, judging from the freshness of the breath, the flying ship had passed through this area not long ago!
They had actually also traversed the Shattered Star Belt and arrived in this unfamiliar Star Domain relatively close to the Gui Xu Sea Eye?
It seemed that after he entered the bronze giant gate, Iron Battle and the others had not left too far; perhaps they had found a relatively safe path to traverse the Myriad Thunder Desolation Domain, which had reduced in power, and the Shattered Star Belt, which had become much sparser.
This was good news.
Ye Chen did not hesitate.
With a movement of his body, he transformed into an invisible sword light, galloping towards the depths of the starry sky, following that faint residual energy.
After his cultivation improved, his Chaos Limitless Steps became faster, and his figure became more ethereal, as if merging with the Void Realm.
Several days later, in a silent Star Domain floating with a large number of frozen star wrecks, Ye Chen's Divine Sense finally clearly captured the familiar breath of the "star chaser" flying ship.
The flying ship was docked on a huge, mountain-like frozen star, seemingly undergoing rest and repairs.
He restrained his breath and quietly approached.
On the deck of the flying ship, Iron Battle was directing several crew members to repair several obvious damages on the hull, his face showing fatigue and relief.
Being able to survive from that absolute danger zone and find a relatively safe area to rest was already a huge stroke of luck.
Just then, he seemed to sense something, abruptly looked up, and stared at a certain point in the Void Realm.
He saw the space there slightly fluctuating, and a green-robed figure quietly appeared as if stepping out of an ink wash painting.
Who else could it be but Ye Chen?
"Senior Ye!"
Iron Battle was startled at first, then a look of ecstasy appeared on his face.
He quickly bowed with the crew, "You... you have finally returned! This Junior thought..."
His words carried unbelievable excitement.
To go deep into the Gui Xu Sea Eye and return safely was simply a miracle among miracles!
Ye Chen nodded slightly and landed on the deck: "It seems you also successfully traversed the Shattered Star Belt."
"Thanks to Senior's blessing!"
Iron Battle said respectfully, "After you entered that bronze giant gate, the power of the Myriad Thunder Desolation Domain and the Shattered Star Belt seemed to have weakened a lot."
"We were careful and finally found a path to traverse out."
"It's just that this Star Domain is completely unfamiliar, and the navigation Formation has failed, so we can only temporarily rest here and look for a way out."
Ye Chen scanned the damage to the flying ship and the lingering fear on the crew's faces, knowing that their journey had definitely not been easy.
"No matter. Since we have reunited, we will find a way out together."
Ye Chen said, "I need a sea chart and information about this Star Domain, as well as that 'Star Abyss of Fallen Gods'."
"Star Abyss of Fallen Gods?"
Iron Battle's expression changed suddenly upon hearing this, revealing a look of extreme awe and fear, "Senior, that is one of the famous absolute danger zones in the depths of the Heavens Battlefield!"
"Legend has it that it was the final battlefield of ancient gods and demons, where countless terrifying beings fell."
"The space is completely shattered, the Law is chaotic, and it is filled with all kinds of ominous and weird things."
"Even Peak Tiangang Realm experts have never returned after going deep into it!"
"Our existing sea charts have extremely vague records and danger warnings about it."
"I know."
Ye Chen's tone was calm, "I have my own discretion. You just need to tell me the information you know."
Seeing that Ye Chen's mind was made up, Iron Battle dared not ask further and quickly told him all the fragmented information he knew about the Star Abyss of Fallen Gods, as well as the inferred location of this unfamiliar Star Domain.
Based on Iron Battle's information and his own intuition, Ye Chen basically confirmed that the relatively clear ancestral rune fragment sensation indeed pointed in the direction of the Star Abyss of Fallen Gods.
The unfamiliar Star Domain they were currently in was located on the other side of the Shattered Star Belt and could be considered to have entered a deeper region of the Heavens Battlefield.
Although it was still an extremely long distance from the Star Abyss of Fallen Gods, the direction was already clear.
Just as Ye Chen was digesting this information and planning the next route—
"Hum!"
A cold, evil, and strongly predatory Divine Sense, like an invisible poisonous snake, suddenly swept across the "star chaser" flying ship from afar!
This Divine Sense was full of malice and greed, without any concealment.
Its intensity had actually reached about the 7th stage of the Tiangang Realm!
"Not good! It's the Star Sea Raiders!"
Iron Battle's face turned pale instantly, his voice trembling, "And... it's a leader-level powerhouse!"
Before he could finish speaking, he saw in the Void Realm in the distance, three black warships with ferocious shapes, like skull heads, tearing through space and surrounding the "star chaser" flying ship in a 'pin' Formation!
On the warships, flags were fluttering, engraved with blood-dripping scimitar patterns, emitting monstrous Evil Qi.
At the bow of the lead warship stood a middle-aged man wearing dark purple scale armor, with a sinister face and a single horn on his forehead.
His eyes were like a hawk's, piercing through the Void Realm and locking onto Ye Chen, with a cruel and interested arc at the corners of his mouth.
"Oh? I didn't expect to run into a 'big fish' in this godforsaken place?"
"Tiangang Realm 6th stage... the breath is quite condensed, there must be many treasures on you, right?"
The single-horned man licked his lips, his voice hoarse and ugly, with a playful tone, "Kid, hand over the storage ring on you and that sword. This seat can consider leaving you a whole corpse!"
The powerful pressure surged like a tide, making Iron Battle and the others have difficulty breathing, their faces showing despair.
Tiangang Realm 7th stage was an existence they could not contend with!
Ye Chen slowly raised his head and looked at the single-horned man, his eyes calm and waveless, as if looking at a dead person.
He just happened to need to verify what level his strength had reached after the Breakthrough.
These Star Sea Raiders who delivered themselves to his door would serve perfectly as a whetstone for his sword.
"Want my things?"
Ye Chen spoke lightly, and the guixu sword appeared quietly in his hand, gray light circulating on the sword body, Nirvana Sword Intent ready to be unleashed, "That depends on whether your life is hard enough."