Under the gaze of the many Astrologers of Star Chart Island, the silver train slowly drove into the dark waters east of the Erald Sea.
The further east they went, the deeper the seawater beca and the dimr the light grew.
Outside the portholes, the deep blue of ordinary waters was gradually replaced by an inky blackness that was almost pure black.
There were no schools of fish, no coral, and even the ocean currents seed to have stagnated; the entire world had fallen into a deathly silent viscosity.
"Entering the edge of the Deep Sea Forbidden Zone." Data streams flickered in Leng Ningxue's icy eyes. "High concentrations of divine pollution residue detected; multiple abnormal distortions have appeared in the spatial structure."
"Navigation signals have been completely cut off. We can only rely on the resonance of the Starfire to guide our way."
Bai Cheng stood before the main control console, her silver eyes staring ahead.
Deep within her soul, five clusters of Starfire burned steadily, but at this mont, the golden cluster from Cuiluo Bay flickered slightly, pointing toward a certain direction in the darkness.
That was precisely the general location of the Enforcent Officers' main base, which she had seen in the mory fragnts of the Erosion Heart.
"Slow down and activate full-spectrum stealth mode," she ordered softly.
The silver light on the train's surface slowly retracted, and all energy fluctuations were compressed to their minimum. Like a silent fish, it quietly dove into deeper waters.
Zi Yuan gripped her hilt, the intent of the Tide Breaker flowing silently, ready at any mont to slash through any potential attacks.
Thunderous light surged within Qingniao's fists, and nine thunder dragons lay dormant within her body, ready to strike.
Lu Duo's erald radiance enveloped the entire carriage, forming a warm life barrier that isolated the increasingly heavy aura of death from the outside.
The pure heart vine in Yu Nian's arms wound tightly, their silver-white buds fully blooming and emitting a calming halo that smoothed the oppression growing in everyone's hearts due to the environnt.
Ahead, the scenery began to change.
Within the inky black seawater, massive shadows resembling mountain ranges began to erge.
Those were not undersea mountains, but the remains of so kind of creature.
The vertebrae stretched for dozens of nautical miles, each segnt the size of a mountain peak, their surfaces covered in honeycomb-like holes.
A thick, dark-golden liquid seeped from the holes, emitting a stench that mixed bloodiness with decay.
"The remains of the ancient divine sea beast, the Abyssal Whale." Leng Ningxue pulled up a comparison chart from the database.
"It was torn apart by the Abyss Sovereign during the Third Great Cataclysm. Its corpse sank here and has not fully decayed even after ten thousand years."
"Its marrow has combined with divine pollution, forming the 'rotten marrow mist' unique to this sea area."
Just ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) as she finished speaking, a pale golden mist appeared ahead of the train.
The mist drifted slowly; everywhere it passed, even the seawater was dyed a sickly dark gold.
A piece of seaweed that happened to drift by touched the mist and instantly withered, carbonized, and dissipated into ash.
"The rotten marrow mist can erode all living organisms and energy structures." Leng Ningxue quickly adjusted the train's shield paraters.
"Conventional shields cannot fully block it; we must rely on the Starfire for purification."
Bai Cheng raised her hand, and the phantom of the Star Rail Gate unfolded behind her.
Among the five clusters of Starfire, the dark-gold cluster from Sighing Cliff brightened slightly. A strand of tragic yet resilient light flowed out, turning into a thin film of light that covered the train's surface.
The mont the rotten marrow mist touched the film of light, it made a sizzling sound and lted away rapidly, like snow eting fire.
But the concentration of the mist was far beyond imagination.
The deeper they went, the thicker the mist beca, changing from pale gold to dark gold, and finally almost condensing into a liquid state, wrapping around the train like thick syrup.
The dark-gold film of light began to vibrate violently, its surface brightness dimming at a visible rate.
"The consumption rate exceeds expectations." Leng Ningxue's voice was low. "At our current speed, we can hold out for one hour at most."
Bai Cheng's silver eyes were calm. Instead of imdiately increasing the Starfire output, she sank her consciousness deep into her soul.
She felt that this rotten marrow mist was more than just a pollutant.
It carried the pain and resentnt of the Abyssal Whale at the mont of its death, as well as the madness of being eroded by the Abyss.
It was a distorted obsession with protection, similar to that of the Abyssal Wardens of Sighing Cliff.
"I have not co to destroy you," she spoke softly, her voice passing through the train's shield into the toxic mist outside. "Abyssal Whale, I know you are in pain."
The dark-gold film of light suddenly stopped vibrating.
On the surface of the thick dark-gold liquid, countless tiny whirlpools erged. In the center of each whirlpool, a cloudy eye opened, all of them staring at Bai Cheng inside the train.
A heavy, chaotic whisper, sounding like thousands of overlapping voices, exploded in everyone's minds:
"Pa... in..."
"Pro... tection... failed..."
"Abyss... tearing... everything..."
Bai Cheng did not resist the intrusion of these voices. Instead, she opened her consciousness, allowing the Abyssal Whale's remaining obsession to directly feel the five clusters of Starfire deep within her soul.
The prayers of Broken Shell Island, the tragedy of Sighing Cliff, the hope of the Forgotten Corridor, the persistence at the edge of the Returning Ruins, and the rekindled Starfire of Cuiluo Bay.
And that firm determination to end all this suffering.
"Your protection did not fail," she said word by word, her voice clear and firm.
"You used your own body to block the expansion of the Abyss, gaining three thousand years for the Erald Sea."
"Now, it is my turn."
The dark-gold liquid began to churn violently.
Within those cloudy eyes, the madness gradually receded, revealing a trace of ancient, almost forgotten clarity.
"...Suc...ces...sor..."
Amidst the overlapping whispers, a clear word appeared for the first ti.
"Yes," Bai Cheng nodded.
"I am the successor who has co to end this war that has lasted for far too long."
"I need to pass through here to reach the Enforcent Officers' main base and destroy the seed of world purification."
The dark-gold liquid fell silent.
After three breaths, they peeled away from the train's surface like a receding tide, parting to both sides to reveal a wide passage without a trace of mist.
At the end of the passage, the silhouette of a massive complex built of dark-red crystals was vaguely visible.
"...Be careful..."
The Abyssal Whale's final remnant sent a faint warning.
"...There... are more than just Enforcent Officers..."
"...The Constellations... are also there..."
As the voice faded, the rotten marrow mist completely dispersed, returning to its state of drifting slowly, yet it no longer approached the train in the slightest.
Bai Cheng took a deep breath, her silver eyes looking toward the dark-red buildings at the end of the passage.
"Speed up and maintain stealth."
The train turned into an almost invisible silver shadow, racing down the passage.
Shortly after they left, twelve brilliant starlights quietly erged within the rotten marrow mist.
The Lion Star Guard stood in the mist, his spear pointing in the direction the train had vanished, his gaze beneath the helt cold as iron.
"She really ca."
A Star Guard beside him asked in a low voice, "Captain, why not intercept and kill her here?"
"This is not the place to make a move," the Lion Star Guard's voice was deep.
"The Abyssal Whale's remnant has already acknowledged her. If we attack forcefully here, it will trigger a backlash from the entire rotten marrow mist."
"Wait. We will act when she and the Enforcent Officers have both been wounded."
The Twelve Star Guards turned into starlight and quietly faded into the mist, like lurking hunters waiting for the perfect mont to strike.
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