National Star Sea Era...

Chapter 904 The Secret of Dimensional Ascension: The Mystery of the Immortal Realm
The ethereal figure held the Key to the Time Temple's Legacy and the Shattered Gate of the Time Temple in its hands. As these two relics from the Time Temple approached the core of the ruins, they no longer trembled simply, but emitted a mournful hum, as if a long-wandering traveler had finally seen the ruins of his homeland, feeling both excited and sad.

Especially the black key, whose surface was no longer flowing with ripples, but bursting with dazzling lightning of time, forcibly tore apart the solidified nothingness in front of it, pointing to an inconspicuous corner deep in the ruins, entangled by countless broken rules.

There, seemingly no different from other places, with only a few particularly large fragments of the palace, imprinted with blurry clock patterns, floating about, but the key's direction was unwavering.

In response, Song Chi remotely controlled the mirror warship, using the Eye of Truth to precisely analyze the rules and carefully avoid the spacetime traps that could annihilate mythical creatures, while steadfastly advancing.

Finally, the mirror ship stopped in front of a relatively flat, altar-like broken boulder.

"The hub... is right here..."

Song Chi had already left the all-attribute cultivation room. He held his breath and concentrated his mind.

Under his control, the ethereal body gently pressed the [Key to the Temple of Time] into an almost indistinguishable groove in the center of the altar.

The moment the two sides made contact—

"Boom!!!"

A deafening roar, directly impacting the soul and the dimension of time itself, erupted violently.

In an instant, the absolute void of the entire "Star Sea - Southern Pole" seemed to be violently stirred by an invisible giant hand. Those fragments of rules that had been dormant for countless epochs ran wildly like startled birds, transforming into billions of colorful yet deadly spacetime rifts that shot out in all directions.

The mirror ship's shields instantly lit up with a blinding light, and its energy index plummeted.

The altar then erupted with a seven-colored divine light that was tens of millions of times more intense than a typical mythological explosion. Within the light, countless enormous phantoms flashed by—these were magnificent palaces that spanned countless rivers of time, towering figures that created and destroyed galaxies with the flick of a finger, and incomprehensible manifestations of rules…

These imprints of time are like a final burst of light, briefly revealing the former supreme glory of the Temple of Time, before quickly fading and crumbling.

Finally, a very unstable, seven-colored light gate, barely wide enough for a warship to pass through, painstakingly coalesced above the altar.

The edges of the light gate kept collapsing and repairing, emitting a terrifying cracking sound, as if it would completely disintegrate at any moment.

The aura emanating from inside the door was ancient, vast, and soul-stirring, like the beginning of the universe or the source of time.

"Hold on!" Song Chi roared inwardly. He not only pushed the engine power of the mirror warship to its limit, but also activated the "beyond the Three Realms and Five Elements Certificate" property of the replica component without hesitation. Even though the mirror warship had completely turned into nothingness, it was still like a broken boat tossed about in the torrent of blazing seven-colored divine light, unable to even achieve the most basic stable navigation.

Fortunately, they were lucky enough to manage to force their way into the crumbling portal.

Boom!

It seemed as if they had pierced through a viscous barrier made of time itself, instantly isolating the destructive fluctuations from the outside world, and the mirror warship appeared in an extremely small, less than 10,000 cubic meter, seven-colored space.

There is no concept of up, down, left, or right here, only the slowly flowing, liquid rainbow-like power of time itself.

In the center of the space, four items floated silently, their existence seemingly the last stand of this heritage site that was about to be completely annihilated.

A long spear, its shaft like flowing, eternal sand, gathering the seven-colored river of time; a cold glint at its tip, seemingly the condensation of all "ends" and "annihilation"; seven solid, mythical-like colored halos encircling the spear, their slight rotation altering the flow of time around it—the seven-colored mythical artifact, the [Time Spirit Spear].

Compared to the five-colored Rakshasa Heaven-Slaying Sword in Song Chi's hand, the seven-colored [Time Spirit Divine Spear] before him exuded a divine power far beyond imagination. Only the [Candle Dragon Axe] fused in the core of the floating continent's origin in the Tianxu Continent's core space could be compared to it, but in reality, it was still a notch below.

The mere existence of this [Time Spirit Spear] exudes an unparalleled majesty that "controls the order of time and holds the power of life and death."

There was a pile of crystals, about a hundred in total. Each one was not a regular polyhedron, but constantly flickering and changing between three dimensions and higher dimensions. Its light was restrained to the extreme, yet it aroused an instinctive, almost greedy desire deep in Song Chi's soul.

Song Chi did not recognize these crystals, and there were no related records in the ship's database.

A seven-colored token, its entirety adorned with an ancient clock pattern, yet upon closer inspection, the hour, minute, and second hands move at an extremely slow and steady pace, radiating a warm, sturdy protective power that seems capable of withstanding the erosion of eternity—this is the seven-colored group protection component, [Blessing of the Time God King], which can be transformed into a shipboard component.

Finally, there was a dim, flickering stream of incomplete data, like a candle flame about to go out.

It has no fixed form, seemingly composed of countless fragmented points of light and symbols. It is the most inconspicuous, yet perhaps the most essential, element in this space of inheritance.

Without the slightest hesitation, Kong Ling Shen quickly put away the first three treasures that exuded earth-shattering energy.

However, when Song Chi's thoughts touched that seemingly fragile and incomplete data stream, a sudden change occurred.

The data stream seemed to have found its only suitable successor. It was no longer being transmitted slowly, but instead transformed into an irresistible torrent of information. In the most brutal and direct way, it instantly rushed into the ethereal body and, through the soul link, exploded in Song Chi's consciousness like the Big Bang.

Hiss!

Inside the All-Attribute Cultivation Room of the Zhutian Market, Song Chi gritted his teeth, feeling quite uncomfortable from the stinging and throbbing pain deep in his mind.

He firmly believed that if his own life essence had not already reached the mythical level, such a massive amount of information fragments would have caused his mind to collapse instantly.

At that moment, his consciousness seemed to be thrown into a turbulent current of time composed of countless broken secrets. As time passed, a large amount of chaotic and incomplete information surfaced in his mind.

"The Palace of Time..."

"The era...restarts..."

"The four dimensional poles... not the poles of location, but the poles of rules, the pinnacle of dimensions..."

"The anchor of an era, which establishes the foundation of time and space, can only be anchored in a specific extreme region to build a foundation for transcendence..."

"...The path to dimensional ascension involves stealing the creation of an era, using the extreme realm as a furnace to ignite the flame of civilization, only then is there a glimmer of hope..."

"The four extremes are ethereal and cannot be found without extraordinary artifacts from different eras... Destiny has ordained them, and the compass will guide them..."

……

Although this information is mostly fragmented, it contains some key details.

These incredibly secretive fragments of information were frantically assaulting his cognitive barriers. What they revealed were not ordinary relics or treasures, but rather the ultimate operating rules and transcendence paths of the entire Shattered Star Sea Era, and even all eras.

"The only... place of dimensional ascension in every era?!"

When he finally understood this core concept, Song Chi felt as if his soul had been struck by a bolt of lightning that seemed to split the heavens and earth. He froze on the spot, even his trembling temporarily stopped, leaving only boundless horror and blankness.

What he had always pursued was the pinnacle of personal strength, the supreme power to traverse the starry sea, and the ability to lead his family and civilization to stand firm in the upcoming chaotic battle at the Botian Ruins. He believed that being a mythical-level captain, or even a more powerful twelfth-tier transcendent captain, might be the end of that path.

But now, this incomplete data stream tells him that beyond mythology and transcendence, there is actually a final secret to dimensional ascension.

Does a truly higher-dimensional world exist above this vast sea of ​​stars? Are the shattered star sea and the myriad realms merely so-called lower-dimensional domains?

Even the Chaos God Continent has never completely escaped this low-dimensional realm.

The four dimensional poles, namely the four extreme regions of the newly formed and shattered star sea, are the basic "qualifications" for true dimensional ascension in each era. They are "ladders to dimensional ascension" that require the foundation of one extreme region and the full power of a top-level civilization to forge.

The impact of this information was so great that he couldn't process it for a while, and it even gave him a strong sense of unreality.

It's like a fish vying for supremacy in a pond, suddenly told that there's a vast ocean beyond the pond, and all it has ever sought in its life is the power to leap out of the pond.

"The Mandate of Heaven is bestowed, the compass points the way, the Immortal Realm civilization... the Heavenly Mandate Compass... so that's how it is! So that's how it is!!"

The clue in this data stream about the "Epochal Artifacts" necessary for locating the four poles was like the final piece of a puzzle, instantly connecting all his previous doubts.

Why would a powerful civilization like the Immortal Realm suddenly face annihilation? Why would the mastermind behind it all go to such lengths to launch such a devastating attack?
It wasn't some ordinary struggle for resources or power struggle at all. Rather, it was because the information from the [Heavenly Fate Compass] in the hands of the Immortal Realm civilization was leaked, revealing the ultimate secret of being able to locate the four dimensional poles. This attracted the attention and murderous intent of those terrifying forces behind the scenes who had been plotting for several, even dozens of eras.

A tragic scene seemed to unfold before his eyes: the once-prosperous Immortal Realm civilization might be secretly accumulating power, preparing to use the [Heavenly Mandate Compass] to find and control a remote region, plotting an unprecedented feat of dimensional ascension.

However, the news leaked out, and a catastrophe descended from the sky, causing the glorious civilization to collapse in despair... In the final moment, the powerful beings of the Immortal Realm may have used earth-shattering methods to dismantle the root of the disaster, the [Heavenly Mandate Compass]. The most important Compass territory, along with a fragment of a continent, vanished into the vast sea of ​​stars and disappeared forever... This hiding place lasted for more than 500,000 years.

Until... he, Song Chi, obtained it by chance.

And with this lost "map," he unexpectedly found one of the four dimensional ascension lands of this era—the Southern Extreme Region—before all other forces in the myriad realms.

"I... found... the South Pole..."

Song Chi muttered to himself, his voice dry and hoarse, trembling with disbelief.

The next second, he abruptly stopped speaking. Before he could finish the word "domain," an extreme chill suddenly ran through his heart, as if uttering the complete name would immediately bring disaster.

In the main control room of the Sky Ruins Sky, in the Sky Ruins Market, he turned his head to look at the [Heavenly Fate Compass] component, which was currently trembling continuously. The "Heavenly Fate - Confusion of Heavenly Secrets" characteristic had been triggered at some point, and dense chaotic energy filled the entire exterior of the warship, trying its best to conceal the gaze of destiny that was secretly pursuing it.

Upon seeing this, Song Chi's heart skipped a beat. He knew that he had almost touched a super taboo in the myriad worlds, and this was only because he was in the myriad worlds market, and because of the confusing nature of the seven-colored [Heavenly Fate Compass], which prevented him from being exposed.

Thinking of this, his heart suddenly raced.

The chaotic artifact is most likely a chaotic artifact of the origin tracing type.

Those super forces that are hiding behind the scenes and have been trying their best to find the four dimensions of the Shattered Star Sea must possess the tracking ability at the level of Chaos Treasures. The entire Shattered Star Sea is even under their monitoring. Just mentioning this name will attract their attention.

After the initial shock came a surge of complex emotions, like the tides of the cosmos—excitement and thrill at uncovering the ultimate secret, elation at having the upper hand, but more than anything, a heavy, almost suffocating pressure and dread.

The lessons of the Immortal Realm Civilization are right before our eyes. If the news of our discovery of the Southern Extreme Region were to leak out, what would become of our own Flame Civilization?

Without even much hesitation, Song Chi could already imagine the scene of the ancestral civilization being ruthlessly wiped out.

Furthermore, for the ancient civilization of the Fire Spirit, which has only been passed down for a little over 300,000 years, this information is truly extremely secretive. But for the peak races on the Chaos God Continent that were left over from the previous era, or even several eras ago, are these things already known to all parties?

In the ensuing chaotic battle at the Botian Ruins, did the ultimate goal of the various dominant civilizations and elite races also point to the four extremes of this dimension?

Thinking of this, Song Chi took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his turbulent emotions, and his gaze gradually became sharp and firm.

Regardless, the current Civilization of the Flame is far from qualified to touch these things. The most important thing right now is to improve itself as much as possible, including the strength of the entire civilization.

His thoughts quickly shifted as he glanced at the three Time Temple relics he had just acquired.

Although the seven-colored artifact [Time Spirit Gun] cannot be converted into shipboard parts, it possesses terrifying power as an artifact weapon.

He had already learned about the pile of crystals from the previous data stream. They were called [Dimensional Ascension Origin Stones], which were key resources for seeking dimensional ascension after completely occupying a dimensional extreme domain. However, for the current limited resources of the Torchfire Civilization, these things were basically useless for the time being, and Song Chi directly sealed them into the Heavenly Ruins Market.

Finally, the [Blessing of the Time God King] piece, a seven-colored group protection item, is arguably the most valuable of the three items.

Unfortunately, as relics inherited from the former Temple of Time, neither the Time Spirit Spear nor this component of the Time God King's Blessing can be used freely in the outside world. At the very least, they cannot be used as the immortal ship of the Torch Civilization Myth. Otherwise, if they are noticed by a hostile alien race, the entire civilization will face the crisis of its inheritance being cut off.

(End of this chapter)