I want to tread the heavens

The deathly silence of the Boundary-Breaking Shuttle sinking into the icy pool didn't last long. Above the wellhead, Guo Yun's communication bone talisman trembled again, her voice as taut as a snapping string: "The demonic energy reaction has surged! The three 'Bone-Eating Demonic Coffins' have broken through the node buffer zone and are falling towards the Old Earth's atmosphere! Trajectory calculations... the impact point covers a hundred miles around the Guo family, including here! They're not just searching; they're determined to plow the land to the bone!"

The Corrosive Demon Coffin—a standard vanguard drop pod for the demon race, equipped with a self-destructing magic array. Upon landing, it becomes a small demonic domain node, spewing low-level demons and corrosive poisonous mist. It also carries a precise positioning beacon to guide the subsequent main force's artillery fire.

"There's no time to slip through the undercurrents." Uncle Rong's eyes flashed, his last shred of hesitation shattered. He yanked open a hidden compartment in the cabin wall, pulled out two bundles of high-explosive fire talismans and earth-fiend thunder pearls prepared by Guo Yun, and stuffed them into his robes. His movements were so fast they left afterimages. "They're going to use saturation bombardment to force us to show ourselves, or destroy the entire area. The Boundary-Breaking Shuttle needs ten breaths to activate. Those ten breaths are the line between life and death."

He turned around, his large hand like an iron clamp, gripping Ling Xiao's shoulder with such force that his knuckles turned white: "Listen! I'm going to the surface to activate the remaining 'Earth-Defending Returning to Origin Array' on the outer perimeter of the underground palace with Guo Yun. That was a protective array set up by Senior Xingyun back then. Although it's broken, it can draw upon the power of the earth's veins, enough to temporarily withstand the first wave of impact from the demonic coffin and buy you time to ascend."

"I'll stay and help you! My Star Power is complete, I can fight..." Ling Xiao said urgently, grabbing Uncle Rong's wrist with his backhand.

"Foolish!" Uncle Rong slammed his fist down, his voice booming like thunder, making everyone in the cramped cabin wince. "Your battlefield is in the Star Sea, not in this well of Old Earth! If you stay, you'll play right into their hands! Guo Yun and I are expendable pawns; you are the seed! The seed must live, must leave! This is a military order, not a matter for discussion!"

His gaze was like a knife, piercing into Ling Xiao's eyes: "Remember your father's blood oath: Live, and live a life of your own! Every second you linger is a further betrayal of them! Do you want our blood to be shed in vain?!"

Ling Xiao trembled at the roar, biting his lip until it tasted blood, his nails digging deep into his palms, but he couldn't utter another word. Uncle Rong's decisiveness was colder and hotter than the blade of the demon race.

Fa Cai growled, biting Ling Xiao's trouser leg and pulling it outwards, his mind racing: "Go! Listen to the old man! He's fierce... but yes! I smell it... there's a giant mouth in the sky!"

Uncle Rong said no more, and gave Ling Xiao one last deep look. His eyes were as complex as the sea—stern, reluctant, entrusted, and with the same unwavering resolve he had shown seven years ago when he stepped onto this familiar land with an infant in his arms. He suddenly pushed open the emergency hatch, and the icy pool water rushed in. He swam upstream like a fish, rushing towards the wellhead.

"Guo Yun! Open the array eye! Let me in!" His roar could be faintly heard through the water.

Ling Xiao froze for two seconds, then abruptly wiped his face, forcefully suppressing all his emotions. He turned and lunged at the driver's seat, frantically channeling Starfall Power into the control array core, roaring, "Get rich! Keep an eye on the energy readings! Let's go!"

The Breakthrough Shuttle engine roared with overload, and the ghostly blue flames exploded into boiling bubbles in the water.

On the ground, at the edge of the Guo family's ancestral land. Uncle Rong, dripping wet, leaped out of the well, his broken sword already in hand. Guo Yun was slamming her phoenix-headed staff into the eye of an ancient stone array that had cracked in the ground. Eight trusted nannies stood in their respective positions, their faces pale, pouring their spiritual power into the runes spreading underground without regard for cost.

"Return to the homeland, rise—!" Guo Yun shouted hoarsely, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.

The earth rumbled, and a thick, murky, yellowish-brown light barrier rose from the depths of the earth's veins, barely covering the small courtyard and the surrounding hundred feet. Runes flowed on the light barrier, and the illusory shadows of mountains seemed to rise and fall, which was precisely the earth's vein energy that had been deposited for thousands of years.

Almost simultaneously, a piercing tearing sound echoed from the sky. Three meteors, trailing jet-black flames, ripped through the clouds, accompanied by a sickeningly shrill demonic shriek, and hurtled down! It was the Bone-Eating Demon Coffin, its surface covered in grotesque demonic patterns, its lid half-open, overflowing with purplish-black poisonous mist.

"Boom boom boom—!"

Two deafening explosions almost occurred simultaneously! The two demonic coffins slammed heavily onto the protective earth shield. Demonic flames and earth vein energy clashed violently, causing the shield to dent and cracks to spread. Guo Yun and the other women coughed up blood, and half of the array plates shattered. However, the shield ultimately remained intact, blocking the devastating shockwave and most of the poisonous mist at the outer perimeter.

However, the third demonic coffin suddenly twisted in mid-air, bypassed the light barrier, and plummeted to a desolate valley three miles away—a blind spot on the edge of the earth-guarding formation, where it could quickly hatch a demonic nest upon landing!

"We can't let it take root!" Uncle Rong roared, his body shooting out like a cannonball, even faster than the falling demon coffin! He stepped on the Seven Stars, each step causing the earth's veins to tremble slightly, the broken sword in his hand humming, the rust peeling off in the high-speed friction, revealing a dark red, blood-like blade.

Just as the demonic coffin was about to touch the ground, Uncle Rong leaped into the air, raising his broken sword high above his head. Behind him, a blood-soaked war god phantom seemed to appear, a desperate strike by him burning his life essence and remaining Dao foundation!

"Sky Dome - Formation-Breaking Slash!"

The blade flashed like a blood-red crescent moon, stretching across a hundred feet, and fiercely slashed into the core of the demonic coffin!

"Crack—Boom!!!"

The demonic coffin disintegrated in mid-air, the exploding demonic flames engulfing Uncle Rong's figure and completely destroying the nascent demonic nest. The shockwave uprooted the surrounding trees.

Inside the light barrier, Ling Xiao couldn't see this scene, but he could feel the violent tremors of the earth's veins and the mournful cries emanating from the Star Key. The Boundary-Breaking Shuttle had broken through the icy pool and was suspended above the courtyard, its body swaying violently in the magical energy shockwave.

"Uncle Rong—!" Ling Xiao's eyes widened in horror as he was about to rush out.

"Don't look back!" Guo Yun's mouth was full of blood. She supported herself with one hand on her cane, while the other hand was pressed tightly against the core of the formation. Her voice was hoarse as sandpaper. "Look at the sky! The nodes are still tearing apart! Something even more powerful is coming! Run—!"

Ling Xiao suddenly looked up and, through the distorted light shield, saw the outline of a dark, manta ray-shaped demonic light assault ship behind the crack in the sky torn open by the demonic coffin, attempting to squeeze into the Old Earth Realm! That was the real hunter!

"Go!" Ling Xiao roared, pushing the control stick all the way down.

The flames from the tail nozzle of the Boundary-Breaking Shuttle surged, transforming into a shooting star that shot straight towards the gap in the sky, towards the menacing front of the demon warship!

"Get rich! Prepare for impact! Full star power!"

Fa Cai clung tightly to the seat, his silver eyes bloodshot, and his body exploded with an unprecedentedly dazzling silver light. A blurry, enormous phantom of an ancient celestial wolf flashed past outside the shuttle, letting out a silent roar, temporarily pushing aside the turbulent flow of magical energy in front of him!

The demon warship seemed to have not expected that this tiny "insect" would dare to crash into it head-on. It slightly adjusted the muzzle of its side gun and fired a ghastly green demon beam.

The moment the Boundary-Breaking Shuttle was hit by the demonic light, it suddenly rolled to the side, its body shuddering violently. A large piece of its outer armor was scraped off, exposing its internal structure, but its speed did not decrease but increased. Using the thrust of the explosion, it was like a crazed dagger, narrowly squeezing through the gaps between the warship's not-yet-fully-closed side and nodes!

"Bang--!"

A violent sense of spatial compression washed over them, and the scene of the old land vanished instantly, replaced by a bizarre and chaotic void.

Ling Xiao was slammed against the bulkhead by the inertia, a sweet taste rising in his throat, his vision blurring. His last glance back revealed only the hazy outline of the old earth, and a point of darkness rapidly expanding and devouring the light shield above it—the shadow of the demon warship.

There were no farewells, no triumphant songs. Only a path to survival paved with blood and fire.

The void was no easy path. The Boundary-Breaking Shuttle broke through the blockade, but was also severely damaged by that demonic light. Its left engine caught fire, its power plummeted, and it veered off course and plunged into a chaotic asteroid belt.

The alarm blared, and red lights flashed inside the cabin. Ling Xiao struggled to climb back to his seat, pressing his bleeding ribs with one hand while desperately steadying the out-of-control control stick with the other. Following the emergency plan taught by Uncle Rong, he shut off the left fuel valve and activated the backup stabilizer.

"Get rich! Put out the fire! Use the cold air!"

Fa Cai reacted extremely quickly, opening its mouth to spew out a breath of extremely cold air carrying starlight, precisely freezing and extinguishing the engine fire, while its claws swiftly slapped the valves of several leaking pipes.

The shuttle temporarily stabilized, but its speed had slowed down, like a small boat bobbing in a stormy sea. Behind it, the spatial fluctuations from the direction of the Old Earth were receding into the distance; the demon warships didn't seem to be relentlessly pursuing the seemingly wrecked boat, or perhaps they were held back by Uncle Rong and Guo Yun's counterattack.

Ling Xiao, panting heavily, looked at the monitoring array panel—the entrance to the "Dark Current Path" guided by the Star Key and Star Map was just a thousand miles ahead, but that area was now filled with a violent void storm caused by the demons tearing apart the dimensional barrier.

"Uncle Rong..." he murmured, his eyes burning, but he forced back the tears. He touched the burning Star Key on his neck, then looked at Fa Cai beside him, whose fur was blackened but whose eyes were resolute.

"We didn't die." Ling Xiao's voice was hoarse, yet it carried a reborn coldness. "We made it out alive."

Fa Cai leaned closer and licked the back of his bleeding hand, conveying his thoughts: "It hurts... but you're alive. Old man... you're amazing. We... we need to be amazing too."

Ling Xiao nodded emphatically, the last trace of weakness stripped away from his eyes, leaving only a pure desire to survive in the sea of ​​stars and an obsession with returning stronger. He adjusted his course and steered the battered little boat, heading headlong into the dark currents of the void where even light was distorted.

The faint light of the old land has been extinguished, but Ling Xiao's journey to the stars has just begun, with the first flame ignited amidst blood and fire.