Peak Immortal Palace

The water column slowly fell, and the figure walked on the water as if it were flat ground.

The mist swirled around him, making it impossible for Zhang Dianfeng to see his face clearly.

"Who are you?"

Zhang Dianfeng gripped the metal disc in his pocket, his spiritual energy quietly circulating within him, ready to respond to any unexpected situation.

In this mysterious realm, any unfamiliar presence could be dangerous.

The figure did not answer directly, but instead raised its hand and waved.

A giant lotus flower on the lake suddenly bloomed slowly, revealing the crystal-clear lotus seeds in its stamen. The seeds shimmered with a faint spiritual light and emitted a fragrance that refreshed the mind and spirit.

"This is one of the core areas of the Kunlun Secret Realm, the Enlightenment Platform. Three thousand years have passed, and finally someone has managed to come here with just a fragment of a star map. It seems that the 'variable' mentioned in the ancient texts refers to you."

"Variables? What exactly is going on? Star map fragments, the Kunlun Secret Realm, the Black Skull... Can you tell me the truth?"

The figure paused for a moment, seemingly considering how to phrase his words:

"The star map is not an object of Earth, but a coordinate map left behind in the solar system by an alien civilization that cultivated immortality in ancient times, pointing to nine secret realms containing primordial spiritual energy."

Collecting all nine fragments will not only unlock all the secret realms but also awaken the dormant interstellar teleportation array.

Zhang Dianfeng's pupils shrank dramatically: "An alien cultivation civilization? An interstellar teleportation array?"

"Behind the Black Skull stands another interstellar force. They come from the withered Alpha system, coveting Earth's spiritual resources. They want to find the secret realm through the star map, plunder its primordial spiritual energy, and even turn Earth into their colony. The traitor three years ago was misled by them and leaked information about the secret realm."

Zhang Dianfeng suddenly realized: "No wonder the Black Skull is so obsessed with the star map, no wonder their technology and combat power far surpass ordinary criminal organizations. It turns out they have an alien force backing them!"

"The Kunlun School..."

"We are descendants of ancient guardians, protecting Earth's secret realms for generations and preventing alien forces from encroaching upon them. But over the past few hundred years, spiritual energy has gradually thinned, and our power has grown weaker and weaker, making it almost impossible to stop the Black Skull's infiltration."

Zhang Dianfeng's heart sank. He finally understood why Ling Xue said "the consequences would be unimaginable," and he also understood that the star map fragment in his hand was not only related to the secret realm, but also to the survival of Earth.

"You just said I'm the inheritor of the star map..."

"You possess the aura of ancient jade, a relic left behind by ancient guardians, capable of resonating with fragments of the star map. More importantly, your spiritual energy operates in a unique way, unlike that of traditional cultivators, instead carrying a sense of... logic and order."

Zhang Dianfeng's heart skipped a beat; the other party had actually seen through his use of scientific thinking to analyze psionic energy.

"Come with me."

The figure turned and walked towards the island in the middle of the lake, and the water beneath their feet automatically parted to create a path.

Zhang Dianfeng hesitated for a moment, but still followed. He could sense that the other party meant him no harm, and this might be his only chance to learn the truth and improve his strength.

Upon stepping onto the island in the middle of the lake, Zhang Dianfeng discovered that the "Enlightenment Platform" stele was not broken, but rather covered with densely packed runes.

The runes were slowly circulating, emitting a soft glow. Before the stone tablet lay a futon, covered in dust, clearly unused for a long time.

"Sit down. Place the fragment of the star map on the stone tablet and try to understand it in your own way."

Zhang Dianfeng sat down as instructed and placed the metal plate in the center of the stone tablet.

The moment the metal disc touched the stone tablet, it burst forth with a dazzling light, merging seamlessly with the runes on the tablet.

Countless streams of information, like a burst dam, flooded into his mind:

There are cultivation techniques, formulas for converting spiritual energy into physical energy, and even vague concepts about spatial folding and anti-gravity, which subtly echo his previous scientific knowledge.

"This is……"

Zhang Dianfeng was shocked to discover that although this information was mysterious, he could decipher it using his logical thinking.

For example, the operational route of the cultivation technique is like the circuit of an electrical circuit; the transformation of spiritual energy is similar to the law of conservation of energy; and those spatial concepts are even somewhat similar to string theory, which he had studied.

"Use your coding mindset to compile this information into a 'program' that you can understand. This is your path, the path of technological cultivation."

Zhang Dianfeng suddenly understood.

He closed his eyes, treating the vortex of energy in his dantian as a "central processing unit" and the incoming information as "raw code," and began to build models and write "algorithms" in his mind.

He optimized the flow path of spiritual energy into the simplest "roadmap", set the rhythm of the cultivation technique to a "fixed frequency", and even labeled the spiritual energy of different attributes with "variable parameters".

As the "compilation" proceeded, the vortex of energy within his dantian began to operate according to the new "algorithm," growing faster and faster, and increasing the efficiency of absorbing spiritual energy several times over.

The surrounding spiritual energy seemed to be drawn in, frantically converging towards him, surging into his body, and tempering his meridians and physical form.

"Psionic Advancement... Intermediate!"

Zhang Dianfeng could clearly feel that his strength was improving rapidly. Before, he could only control small objects, but now he could feel the dew rolling on the lotus leaves a hundred meters away, and could even vaguely "calculate" the flight trajectory of the three-headed giant eagle at this moment.

He opened his eyes after an unknown amount of time, feeling refreshed and invigorated. His spiritual energy was abundant and refined, and his mind was clearer than ever before.

The runes on the stone tablet had stopped flowing, and the metal disc had returned to calm, but he knew that he had mastered a completely new power.

"Very good. You achieved a breakthrough that others take decades to accomplish in just three hours. Your path may truly save this world."

Zhang Dianfeng stood up, about to express his gratitude, when he suddenly heard a loud noise from outside the island, followed by the sound of the lake water churning violently.

"What happened?"

The figure's face darkened: "They've come in."

Zhang Dianfeng's heart tightened: "Black Skull?"

"Not only that. There's also that traitor, and... the pioneers from the Alpha system."

Following his gaze, Zhang Dianfeng saw a crack appear in the sky above the lake, from which more than a dozen dark figures sprang out, the leader being the one-eyed dragon.

Standing beside him was a middle-aged man dressed in Kunlun Sect attire, with a sinister look in his eyes, and the spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from him were even stronger than Ling Xue's.

What's even more terrifying is that behind the man are two tall, strange figures with bluish-gray skin, pure black eyes without pupils, and an aura of coldness and inhumanity.

"They're monks from the Alpha Galaxy!"

Zhang Dianfeng recalled the information from before, and a chill ran through him.

The one-eyed man saw Zhang Dianfeng and a ferocious grin spread across his face: "Found you! Hand over the star map fragment, and I'll spare your life!"

The middle-aged man, the traitor, coldly watched the figure:

"Senior brother, how have you been? I didn't expect you to still be guarding this wretched place. If you know what's good for you, hand over the core secrets of the secret realm, and I might let you die a quick death."

The figure ignored them, only looking at Zhang Dianfeng, his tone grave:

"They've broken through the outer defenses. Ling Xue, I'm afraid... You take the star map fragments and go through the secret passage to find the remaining fragments, collect the star map, and activate the teleportation array. Only then can we fight against the main force of the α star system."

"And what about you?"

"I am old, it is time for me to stay here. Remember, your path is hope."

Looking at the resolute gaze of the figure, and then at the enemy closing in, Zhang Dianfeng gripped the metal disc in his hand tightly. He knew he couldn't back down.

"Take care of yourself."

He bowed deeply to the figure, then turned and ran towards the secret passage behind the island.

A deafening explosion came from behind, along with the roar of a figure and the screams of enemies.

Zhang Dianfeng didn't turn around; tears welled up in his eyes, but he held them back tightly.

He ran out of the secret passage and found himself in an unfamiliar forest.

He touched the metal disc in his pocket, and at that moment, the patterns on the disc lit up with a new light, pointing to the location of the next fragment of the star map.

Zhang Dianfeng took a deep breath, his eyes becoming incredibly determined.

"To survive, to find the remaining fragments, to avenge Old Wang, to save Ling Xue, and to stop the conspiracy of Black Skull and the Alpha Galaxy."

He didn't notice that after he ran far away, the gray-skinned Alpha galaxy pioneer suddenly sneered and spoke a strange phrase into the air.

Immediately afterwards, a barely perceptible black dot of light silently attached itself to Zhang Dianfeng's backpack, like a tracker.

In the distant reaches of space, a massive, skull-shaped spaceship is slowly approaching Earth.

In the spaceship's main control room, a figure shrouded in a black robe stared at the dots on the screen, a cruel smile playing on his lips:

"Prey, marked."