The light fragments in Xuanmingzi's palm exploded, and the burning pain came from the back of Lin Yi's hand, as if it were directly branded onto his nerves.
Three hours!
The first layer of maternal consciousness awakens!
Lin Yi knew perfectly well what this meant.
Once the Mother Nest consciousness is fully awakened, the offensive of advanced civilizations will no longer be a probe, but a real interstellar torrent capable of crushing everything!
"boom--!"
Just then, the heavy explosion-proof door of the forging area was once again blasted open by an even more violent blast of air!
An even more dazzling blue-purple light burst forth, like a nebula compressed to its limit suddenly exploding.
Inside the crucible, the void alloy melted completely, the liquid metal shimmering with billions of starlight-like points of light, emitting a heart-pounding energy fluctuation.
"Old man! Star Marrow Iron! Throw it in!" Aizen's voice was hoarse but extremely excited. He was shirtless, sweat mixed with metal dust, reflecting a bronze luster in the dark blue firelight. "Let these high-ranking bastards see that our furnace contains more than just metal! It also contains our indomitable will!"
The white-bearded master, his hair and beard bristling, his eyes flashing with madness and determination, roared and slammed a heavy piece of star marrow iron, which shimmered with a dark golden luster, into the churning liquid alloy!
"Sizzle—!"
An indescribable and violent reaction occurred!
It was as if ice water had been poured into boiling oil, and the entire forging area trembled!
An indescribable, terrifying power was brewing in the crucible, seemingly about to tear space apart!
Lin Yi's heart pounded wildly. He could clearly feel that, through the "faith link," the spiritual will of countless job changers was surging wildly into the forging area, empowering that furnace of wondrous alloy.
Whitebeard and Aizen, two craftsmen with vastly different personalities, are now using their lives and souls as fuel to try to create a miracle that can reverse the course of history!
"Not enough!" Aizen suddenly turned to look at Lin Yi. His eyes, which always concealed shrewdness and calculation, were now filled with sincere fervor. "Lin Yi! The potential of this Void Alloy is far more than this! It needs a core energy source! A core that can amplify its power a hundredfold, or even a thousandfold!"
Lin Yi's eyes narrowed: "What energy source?"
“The Heart of the Psionic Crystal!” Aizen exclaimed urgently. “According to the data I deciphered from the fragments of advanced civilizations, in the Death Starfield numbered Gx-734, there is an ancient civilization ruin called the ‘Temple of Annihilation’! It was once the energy center of a powerful civilization, and it is said that a ‘Heart of the Psionic Crystal’ lies dormant at its core! That thing… that thing can contain and infinitely amplify energy! If we can obtain it and integrate it into our Void Alloy Equipment, let alone the first layer of the Mother Nest consciousness, we can even touch their main fleet!”
"The Temple of Annihilation?" Information about this location flashed through Lin Yi's mind.
It was a forbidden zone marked as "extremely dangerous" by an advanced civilization, rumored to be filled with spatial traps, energy storms, and powerful extradimensional guardian creatures.
Even epic-level powerhouses rarely dare to set foot there.
"Too dangerous!" Chu Yao's calm voice rang in Lin Yi's ears, her virtual projection flashing a warning red light. "According to database analysis, the probability of successfully exploring the Annihilation Temple is less than 0.1%. We don't have time to make adequate preparations."
“We have no time to hesitate.” Lin Yi said decisively, his gaze sweeping over the blazing furnace in the forging area, feeling the scorching heat emanating from the longsword that the white-bearded man had handed him to his chest. “Chu Yao, calculate the fastest route to the Temple of Annihilation. Long Wu!”
With a loud shout, a figure burst out from the crowd like a dragon emerging from the sea; it was none other than Long Wu, who led the true dragon bloodline.
His muscles were bulging, and dragon-scale-like patterns were faintly visible beneath his skin. His eyes burned with a warlike flame: "Boss! What's up!"
"Summon your ten strongest True Dragon Bloodline users and come with me," Lin Yi said in a deep voice. "Senior Xuanming, could you open a temporary spatial passage for us?"
Xuanmingzi's deep gaze shifted between Lin Yi and Aizen. He nodded slightly, his aged finger tracing a line in the air: "The Temple of Annihilation... an interesting place. Its spacetime structure is indeed unique, a perfect opportunity to test the little trick I've recently mastered. However, you only have one hour. After one hour, regardless of success or failure, the passage will close."
"That's enough!" Lin Yi's eyes were as firm as iron.
A moment later, a strike team led by Lin Yi, consisting of Long Wu and ten top True Dragon Bloodline users under his command, descended directly to the outer edge of the Death Starfield known as the "Annihilation Temple" through an extremely unstable spatial rift torn open by Xuan Mingzi, guided by the shortest path planned by Chu Yao.
The moment you step out of the crevice, a suffocating stillness and desolation hits you.
Broken celestial debris floated in the pitch-black universe, while distant temple ruins emitted an ominous dark red glow, resembling an ancient behemoth ready to devour its prey.
"Roar!" Long Wu roared, and surging dragon blood power erupted from his body. Golden dragon-shaped energy swirled around him. He took the lead, "Minions, follow me! Anyone who dares to block our way, tear them to pieces!"
Those with true dragon bloodlines manifested dragon-like features, their claws tearing through the vacuum, their dragon roars echoing throughout the starry sky, like an indestructible sword piercing straight into the depths of the temple.
Just as Aizen had predicted, the temple was filled with deadly traps.
Invisible dimensional blades appeared out of thin air, bizarre gravity fields shifted constantly, and a mind-corroding energy mist permeated every corner.
Countless ferocious energy guardian beasts roared out from the shadows.
"Time Reversal!" Lin Yi's eyes shone brightly. He gestured with his left hand, and the flow of time in a certain area suddenly slowed down. The dimensional blades that were originally incredibly fast became clearly visible and were easily dodged or shattered by Long Wu and the others.
"Spatial Warp!" With a press of his right hand, Lin Yi led everyone across a distance of several hundred meters in an instant, directly bypassing an area filled with destructive energy storms.
He was like a ghost walking in the gaps of time and space, leading the team deeper and deeper into the world with leisurely ease.
Long Wu and his true dragon bloodline followers were responsible for eliminating the fearless guardian monsters, their raging dragon breath and sharp dragon claws tearing all obstacles to shreds.
The fierce battle lasted for nearly half an hour. After several members of the True Dragon Bloodline suffered minor injuries, they finally reached the core area of the temple.
A massive energy altar stood in the center, and at the top of the altar, a fist-sized crystal, emitting a ghostly blue light and with what appeared to be a flowing river of stars inside, floated silently—this was the "Heart of the Ghostly Crystal"!
However, guarding the Crystal Heart is a strange beast whose size is comparable to a small starship!
Its entire body was covered in a dark purple crystalline carapace, its compound eyes gleamed with a cruel light, and each breath caused the space to tremble slightly.
"An epic-level nine-star peak... a guardian beast approaching mythical level!" Long Wu gasped, but his face showed no fear, instead filled with soaring fighting spirit.
"Attack together!" Lin Yi shouted, and the domain of [Time and Space Domination] instantly unfolded!
Time stands still!
In an instant, the terrifying beast's movements became incredibly slow, as if it had been trapped in solidified amber.
"Now! Long Wu, attack its compound eyes!" Lin Yi's voice rang in everyone's minds.
Long Wu roared, unleashing the full power of his dragon blood to its limit, transforming into a dazzling golden stream of light. A giant dragon-shaped axe appeared in his hand, which he fiercely cleaved towards the beast's enormous compound eye!
"Pfft!"
The hard crystalline shell shattered under Long Wu's full-force attack, and dark green liquid gushed out.
The beast let out a soul-shaking, agonizing howl, instantly shattering the time-freezing effect!
"Time-space Exile!" Without hesitation, Lin Yi mobilized all the time-space power within his body and pushed his hands forward forcefully.
A tiny, twisted singularity emerged beneath the beast, unleashing a powerful suction force.
The beast's enormous body was involuntarily dragged toward the unknown void.
It struggled frantically, its energy surging forth, yet it could not resist the exile force originating from the very source of space.
Finally, with a desperate roar, the powerful guardian beast was completely devoured and disappeared into the twisted singularity.
"We succeeded!" Long Wu and the others erupted in thunderous cheers.
Lin Yi quickly stepped forward and grabbed the "Psionic Crystal Heart".
It feels cool to the touch, yet it contains unimaginable, immense energy.
Without daring to delay for even the slightest, they immediately returned through the soon-to-close spatial passage.
When Lin Yi appeared in the forging area holding the Psionic Crystal Heart, Whitebeard and Aizen's eyes lit up instantly, like hungry wolves seeing the most delicious lamb.
"Quick! Integrate it into the alloy!" The white-bearded master's voice trembled with excitement.
The Psionic Crystal Heart was thrown into the churning void alloy.
In an instant, a terrifying energy surge far exceeding the previous one erupted from the crucible!
A blue-purple light shot into the sky, almost lifting the dome of the entire forging base!
The originally raging liquid alloy, after being incorporated into the Crystal Heart, strangely stabilized and emitted a profound and powerful aura.
"We did it! We did it!" Aizen roared to the sky, weeping with joy.
An unprecedentedly powerful feeling was transmitted to every job changer through the "Faith Link".
The weapons in their hands and the armor on their bodies seemed to be elevated at this moment, their connection with them became closer, and their power was significantly enhanced!
The entire base was immersed in an atmosphere of ecstasy.
However, at that moment, Xuanmingzi's aged figure appeared silently beside Lin Yi. He looked up at the starry sky, and an unprecedented solemnity flashed in his all-knowing eyes.
“Child, get ready.” His voice was deep and hoarse, as if it came from another dimension. “They…are coming.”
Before the words were even finished, a piercing alarm blared throughout the entire Seventh Star Gate defense perimeter!
On the holographic screen, countless red dots representing the advanced civilization's fleet surged toward their star system like a tidal wave bursting its banks!
The great battle has begun!
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