Linde withdrew his consciousness from the deep perception of that ancient battlefield ruins. The detailed spatial structure, energy flow, and material distribution of the planet Tar and the surrounding star field, as well as the vector direction of the faint trace of the "rule correction", were all imprinted in the depths of his consciousness like a precise holographic map.
This star map, which he personally surveyed and updated in real time, is far more reliable than the dragons' ancient and potentially flawed markings.
The goal is clear—to explore deeply along the direction from which that "purifying light" originates.
Without further delay, he appeared outside the thin atmosphere of the planet Qitar in a flash, once again immersed in the cold and vast sea of stars.
Looking back, the yellowish-brown planet that nurtured the primitive insectoid civilization appeared as small as an insignificant grain of sand against the vast dark backdrop.
Without a trace of emotion or lingering attachment, Lin De's mind stirred, and the pure magical power within him began to surge.
Unlike his deliberate concealment on the continent of Til to avoid attracting attention, in this boundless and unknown sea of stars, he chose a more efficient and conspicuous method of movement.
A powerful surge of magic erupted from his body, not in a chaotic burst, but under his exquisite control, forming a thick and dazzling magical shield.
This shield is not a single color, but rather, due to the high-speed flow of magic and its interaction with various micro-rays and energy particles in the universe, it refracts and stimulates countless brilliant colors such as red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple, which intertwine and entwine, transforming his entire being into an incomparably dazzling shooting star with a long, seven-colored tail of light!
This is a combination of efficiency and deterrence. High-speed movement itself requires overcoming the resistance of interstellar matter and the "viscousness" of the void itself. This dazzling magical glow is not only a powerful propulsion system and a protective layer, but it can also, to some extent, dispel and purify any possible minute cosmic contaminants or energy parasites. At the same time, its conspicuous existence itself serves as a warning to some potential threats—anyone who dares to approach an existence of this energy level needs to carefully consider their own strength.
"Whoosh—!"
The colorful meteor moved, its initial speed exceeding the perception limits of ordinary creatures. Following the direction indicated by the star map in its mind, it sped towards the depths of the starry sky where the power of "rule correction" had once descended!
At the same time, the [Deconstruction Halo] deep within Linde's consciousness was operating at full speed with unprecedented power.
It no longer targets a specific objective, but rather acts like a greedy, tireless hyperdimensional scanner, meticulously recording all the information it encounters along the way.
• A Symphony of Matter: The asteroid belt that passes by, its composition, structure, age, and orbital parameters; drifting interstellar ice fragments, traces of ancient gases and organic matter frozen within them; the occasional comet encountered, its nucleus composition and the patterns of volatile substance release…
• The tides of energy: the stable radiation and gravitational fields emitted by stars; the rhythmic death shrieks of pulsars; the distorted spacetime and high-energy glow emitted by the accretion disk outside the event horizon of black holes; the faint gravitational ripples created by the flow of dark matter between galaxies…
• Folds in space: naturally occurring, tiny wormholes or warping points in space; weak areas in the spatial structure caused by massive celestial bodies or ancient events; unusual fluctuations emanating from the edges of imperceptible dimensional rifts...
• Ripples of Life: Deep within the clouds of certain gas giants, the faint collective consciousness of strange life forms, possibly based on silicon or energy states; beneath the surfaces of some barren planets, the almost imperceptible "life field" released by tenacious clusters of microorganisms…
• Remnants of Civilization: More broken, drifting warship wreckages, varied in style, some resembling the Zedu civilization, others completely unfamiliar, telling tales of the rise and fall of civilizations from different eras and star systems; some abandoned, depleted interstellar monitoring stations or navigation beacons, like dried-up seashells in the ocean…
Information, like a vast torrent, continuously flooded into Linde's consciousness, where it was quickly categorized, compressed, and stored by the purple crystal and the system interface.
His brain was like an infinitely large database, calmly processing everything, constantly enriching and revising the star map in his mind, and establishing an increasingly clear understanding of the "normal" and "abnormal" aspects of this universe.
He witnessed the tenacity and diversity of life, as well as the impermanence and fragility of civilization.
He sensed the grandeur and order of the universe itself (such as the birth and death of stars and the gravitational constant), and also perceived the ubiquitous chaos and danger hidden beneath the order (such as space storms, dimensional traps, and... traces of the lairs of certain malicious void lurkers).
During this long and solitary journey, Linde, like a most meticulous cosmologist and explorer, used himself as a probe to map the magnificence and darkness of this unknown sea of stars.
Time becomes blurred by relativistic effects and subjective perception. It could be months, or it could be years.
The seven-colored meteor that Linde transformed into traversed countless light-years, streaked across countless strange galaxies, and recorded countless unimaginable cosmic wonders.
He continued to move in the general direction indicated by the remaining traces of the "rule correction," and also passed by two other coordinate points marked on the Dragon Clan star map.
One of them, similar to the first, is a larger but more thoroughly desolate remnant of an evil god. The remaining pollution has been almost completely purified by some force, leaving only an empty shell of a building and a small amount of unanalyzable information remnants, which are of little value.
The other coordinates pointed to the remnant of a slowly burning star—the remnant of a supernova explosion. The violent energy turbulence and deadly radiation were enough to destroy any nearby conventional civilization. Lind observed and recorded the observations from a distance before driving around it.
It seems that the ancient "purifying light" did indeed carry out a very thorough cleansing.
However, just as Linde began to doubt whether this clue would ultimately lead to a "Guardian" who had long since departed or fallen into silence, [Deconstruction Halo] detected a faint but... "fresh" energy signal that was different from the previous ones!
The signal did not originate from a fixed celestial body, but rather permeated a vast, seemingly empty region of interstellar medium ahead.
It is extremely well hidden, almost blending into the cosmic microwave background radiation, but its essence carries a kind of artificial "order" characteristic, which is completely different from the chaos and distortion of evil gods, and also completely different from the fluctuations emitted by any natural phenomenon or civilized creation known to Lind!
More importantly, the underlying code of this fluctuation in order is somewhat of the same origin as the trace of "rule correction" he sensed on the outskirts of the Tal system! It's just weaker and more... "everyday," like a "standby" signal emitted by some continuously running system.
Linde immediately reduced his speed, and the dazzling seven-colored light around him also slightly subsided in order to reduce the interference of his own energy radiation on the detection.
He hovered in the void, his [Deconstruction Halo] focusing on the area from which the signal came, conducting a deep scan.
(A large-scale, low-power stealth force field was detected... covering an area of approximately 0.3 light-years... the force field structure is stable, with an extremely high technological level, and does not match the technology lineage of Zedo and other known evil gods... there is a weak but orderly energy flow inside, suspected to be a maintenance function... several periodically opened, standardized "entry" nodes were discovered, with traces of faster-than-light vehicles entering and exiting. The traces are relatively recent, and the most recent opening is expected to have occurred within the last three standard months...)
A hidden, highly advanced civilization outpost? Or... the very force that originated from the source of that "purifying light"?
Lin De felt a chill run down his spine. He had finally found a clue that might indicate someone was "alive"!
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