Swallowing the Stars: The cheat system only comes when I'm almost a god?

Under the moonlight, the mountain peak of the central island resembles a sacred mountain floating above the sea of ​​clouds.

The colossal palace atop the mountain, radiating ancient spiritual light, silently overlooks the entire Guixu Cave Heaven.

Tonight, deep within the grand palace, a secret gathering, reserved only for the highest beings of this realm, is taking place.

The interior space is extremely magnificent, with lifelike reliefs of the sun, moon, stars, mountains, and rivers on the four giant pillars that seem to support the heavens and the earth.

The warm, smooth jade ground was so shiny it could reflect a person's image, and in the center stood a goddess statue, tens of feet tall, carved entirely from some kind of divine jade.

Her face was perfect, and her hands were held out in front of her. A ball of light slowly rotated in her palms, with nebulae seemingly rising and falling within it. However, the light was weak and could only barely illuminate the outline of the statue.

Three figures exuding immense power have taken their positions surrounding the goddess statue.

In the eastern position, a blue dragon is coiled.

His body was only about eighty meters tall, yet he appeared somewhat petite in this enormous hall.

The dragon's body is long and elegant, covered with jade-like scales, with a blue luster flowing between the scales, as if it were a condensed version of a vibrant forest.

The dragon's head is majestic, its golden vertical pupils deep and profound, containing wisdom accumulated over countless years, yet also bearing an inescapable heaviness.

In the west, a white tiger lies crouching.

He was about seventy meters tall, his body was as white as snow, and sharp black lines were imprinted on his powerful body.

The tiger's amber eyes flashed with a sharp light as it opened and closed, revealing its restlessness and ferocity. Its thick tail thumped the ground impatiently, each thud causing the air to tremble.

In the south, a magnificent Vermilion Bird hovers low in the sky.

Its wingspan is about sixty meters, and its body is burning with vermilion flames. Every tail feather is shimmering with rosy light, like a work of art.

"I've said it countless times," the Azure Dragon's voice echoed in the hall, its weariness barely concealed. "The spiritual energy of the outside world is far thinner than that of our increasingly decaying grotto-heaven. I've repeatedly sensed it using the reverse scale that fell to earth, and the result has never changed!"

"absurd!"

The White Tiger suddenly raised its head: "Azure Dragon, the goddess has been asleep for over three thousand years. The light of the Zhou Tian Divine Source in the palace is getting dimmer day by day, and the spiritual energy in the cave is less than one-tenth of what it used to be."

In at most two thousand years, the spiritual energy of this place will completely dissipate, turning it into a dead land.

At that time, we, the Four Spirits born from the very origin of this grotto-heaven, will also face annihilation. How long will you continue to use those clichéd platitudes to appease us?

Zhuque's clear voice rang out immediately afterward: "Brother Qinglong, it's not that we don't believe you."

If the main realm is truly so barren, how could the grotto-heavens that depend on it have retained spiritual energy for three thousand years? This doesn't make sense.

It must be that your scales have become spiritually damaged over time, or that they have fallen into some isolated place, which is why they are transmitting the wrong message.

We must find a way to break out; we can't just sit here and wait to die any longer!

Azure Dragon's golden pupils were filled with helplessness: "Charge out? Charge into a world even more barren than this? How is that any different from courting death? I understand your feelings, but it is precisely because it concerns survival that we must be even more cautious."

"Caution? Any more caution is just waiting to die!" The White Tiger abruptly stood up, radiating a sharp killing intent that seemed to lower the temperature of the entire hall. "I've had enough of this endless debate and waiting. If I can't come up with a concrete solution today, then..."

Just as the atmosphere inside the hall was tense and ready to fight.

hum...

A pulse emanating from the deepest part of the earth resounded, a clear vibration was felt on the jade floor, and fine dust fell from the dome.

The White Tiger's roar abruptly ceased, the Vermilion Bird's flames suddenly froze, and even the Azure Dragon slightly turned its head.

Their gazes turned in unison to the north of the temple, where there should have been another divine beast.

But all they saw was a ground covered in mysterious patterns, which glowed as the ground trembled, and then a deep voice rose from all directions:

"Arguing...is... pointless..."

The sound made the temple's tremors even more pronounced, but the surrounding barrier firmly contained the commotion within the temple, preventing it from leaking out in the slightest.

"Azure...Dragon...you...said...today...there...is...an...outsider...entering...the...cave...heaven..."

The one speaking was Xuanwu, one of the Four Symbols.

He was not standing in the temple.

To be precise, the entire central island's peaks, and the magnificent temple atop them spanning thousands of meters, are now carried atop a shell from which their entirety cannot be seen.

The true form of Xuanwu is this incredible being that carries the divine mountain and the temple on its back.

Qinglong took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "That's right, there was indeed a group of outsiders today. They safely passed through the Guixu Sea Eye and arrived at the inner sea."

"So what?" The White Tiger bared its teeth, but lowered its voice slightly, clearly wary of the Black Tortoise. "They're just a group of weak humans, the strongest of whom is only at the initial stage of Qi Refining and Nascent Soul. What kind of turning point can they bring?"

"Precisely because they are humans from the outside world in this era," a profound light flashed in the Azure Dragon's eyes, "their ability to cross the sea eye is extraordinary in itself, and I also sensed Ji Xuanyuan's aura from some of them."

"Ji Xuanyuan?" Flames flickered around the Vermilion Bird. "The human emperor who once received a token from the goddess and briefly connected to the celestial realm?"

"Exactly." Qinglong nodded, his tone becoming resolute. "Once they come to this temple on their own, the true situation outside will become clear."

If you still insist on forcibly breaking the seal at that time, I will not stop you.

He looked specifically at Baihu: "I know you've been holding back a lot, but you must not make any rash moves before they arrive, and you must not go down and disturb those people."

Xuanwu's deep voice rang out again, carrying a rock-solid steadiness: "We can...discuss...after...meeting...them......"

The flames on Suzaku's body flickered, eventually turning into a soft sigh as he folded his wings: "Very well, I'll wait a little longer as my two elder brothers would. I hope they can bring some changes."

The White Tiger grunted unwillingly in its throat and glared fiercely at the Azure Dragon, but ultimately did not dare to continue its attack after the Black Tortoise made its stance clear.

He let out a heavy snort, his body transforming into a streak of white light as he smashed through the invisible barrier and vanished into the surrounding forest, clearly going to vent his restless rage.

The Vermilion Bird did not linger any longer. With an elegant flap of its wings, it transformed into a dazzling stream of vermilion fire, merging into the reliefs on the palace pillars.

Xuanwu fell silent, and the tremors of the temple gradually subsided, returning to its previous stillness.

In the empty hall, only the Azure Dragon remained, lingering alone before the jade sculpture of the goddess.

He gazed up at the goddess's face, his golden dragon eyes revealing a complex mix of emotions: dependence, confusion, and worry.

He lowered his head, his voice echoing softly in the silent temple: "Goddess, those people... could they really be your guide?"

The grotto was in decline, worsening day by day, and despair, like a bone-deep infection, eroded every living being.

The White Tiger's ferocity was nearing its limit, the Vermilion Bird's anxiety was growing ever deeper, and even the Black Tortoise's silence was like the deathly stillness before a mountain collapsed...

Although I have temporarily stabilized the situation, if these people do not bring good news, I am afraid I will no longer be able to appease them.

After a long silence, he slightly raised his dragon head, his gaze seemingly piercing through the obstacles to the distant metal flying boat that seemed out of place with its surroundings.

His eyes were filled with an unyielding look of doubt.

"Why have the descendants of Ji Xuanyuan arrived at this moment? Moreover, as the direct descendants of Xuanyuan, they should know about the tokens from back then. The dragon scales in that bronze box are proof of safely passing through the sea eye and gaining the recognition of the cave heaven, but you do not have their aura on you."

His whispers, filled with deep bewilderment, echoed in the empty temple.

"Without the guidance and protection of the dragon scales, how did you manage to safely pass through that sea eye ravaged by spiritual energy?"

"Enough," Azure Dragon took one last deep look at the goddess statue, his figure gradually fading away, turning into a wisp of azure cloud and merging into the giant pillar. "Let's see what you really intend to do."

……

Meanwhile, on the edge of an island far from the central mountains, the massive spaceship floated in mid-air like a silent metal fortress.

The night was deep, and most of the passengers had already settled down for the night. Only the constant soft lighting in the cabin and the low hum of the air circulation system remained.

However, in a corridor connecting the living area to the passenger cabins, a slender figure moved along the wall like a startled deer.

Honglian was wearing only a thin silk nightgown, her bare, fair feet exposed, and she tightly clutched an exquisitely embroidered sachet in her hand.

Her heart was pounding in her chest, and her cheeks flushed an unnatural red under the dim corridor lights.

Relying on her memories from the day, she cautiously made her way towards the direction of Lin Yuan's room, constantly rehearsing in her mind what she was going to say and do next.

But just as she turned the corner of a U-shaped corridor and saw Lin Yuan's door almost within reach, she froze on the spot, her blood running cold.

The corridor ahead was not empty.

On the contrary, on both sides of the last section of the corridor, there were six figures, some leaning and some standing.

They were all in different poses and with different expressions, yet they all gathered here silently, as if they had been waiting for a long time.

The soft lighting accentuated their graceful figures, making the originally tranquil space even more subtly atmospheric.

On the left, near the corridor wall, are Zi Nu and Jing Ni.

Zi Nu was still wearing her signature purple-gold fitted long dress, but she had removed her slightly formal hairstyle from the daytime, letting her smooth long hair fall loosely over her shoulders. She leaned lazily against the cold metal wall, casually fiddling with a warm jade hairpin in her hand.

A faint, enigmatic smile played on her lips as her gaze calmly fell upon Honglian.

Jing Ni was dressed in a black outfit, holding the thin sword she never parted with. Her cool and beautiful face showed no emotion whatsoever.

On the right are the three members of the Yin-Yang School.

Yan Fei wore a long, crimson-gold palace dress, her figure tall and proud, her arms crossed in front of her chest, making her already stunning curves even more striking.

Her delicate chin was slightly raised, and her eyes held not only scrutiny but also an undisguised hint of mockery.

The Moon Goddess stood half a step behind her, her long robe embroidered with the traces of stars and moon making her appear mysterious and ethereal. A light veil covered her face, and the only thing visible was her deep eyes, which seemed to see through everything.

The High Priestess stood in the shadows further back, her scarlet hands hanging naturally at her sides, her eyes filled with wariness of everything around her.

A little behind Zi Nu stood another person who surprised Hong Lian even more—Nong Yu.

This usually gentle and beautiful girl was now bowing her head deeply, almost burying her face in her chest.

She nervously twisted the hem of her clothes with both hands, her ears and exposed neck were flushed with a distinct blush, and she was so flustered that she wished she could disappear immediately or find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

Six pairs of eyes, six gazes, silently focused on the frozen red lotus.

The air was eerily quiet, with only the faint hum of the spaceship's internal circulation system, which only made the silence feel even more oppressive.

Apart from Jing Ni, who remained calm and composed, the others were surrounded by an invisible aura. While not quite at the point of drawing swords, there was certainly no harmony between them.

In the end, it was Zi Nu who broke the suffocating silence first.

She took a light half-step forward, her voice soft and alluring: "Sister Honglian, why aren't you resting so late? Are you going to find the master?"