Extracting all things: My attributes grow infinitely.

Zhou Tianyan led Jiang Chuan to a core forbidden area that only those with the highest authority could enter and exit.

What was presented to him left him stunned.

The so-called interdimensional teleportation array was neither a teleportation array surrounded by celestial energy nor a majestic and solemn ancient altar...

It's a train station.

An old-fashioned train station full of the feeling of time!

The gray-white platform, the dark red rusted rails, the faded green paint on the waiting shed, and the crooked station sign standing at the edge of the platform.

The text above is so blurred that it's almost illegible, but three large characters can still be vaguely discerned:

Origin Station.

Behind the platform is a two-story waiting hall with white tiles on the exterior walls, a feature typical of that era.

The windows were old-fashioned, with wooden frames and glass panes. Some of the windows had cracked glass, which was patched up from the inside with yellowed old newspapers.

Above the entrance to the waiting hall hangs a similarly faded clock, its hands long since stopped, frozen at some unknown moment.

"Isn't that surprising?"

Zhou Tianyan, leaning on his cane, slowly stepped onto the platform. His voice echoed softly in the empty underground space: "When I first saw it, I was even more surprised than you. I always felt that an ancient relic that could lead to the depths of the Origin Realm and cross the endless wilderness should have a more magnificent appearance."

Jiang Chuan didn't reply. His gaze swept over the long wooden bench under the waiting shed and the timetable sign covered in thick dust.

Everything was shrouded in that faint aura of energy, sealed away for countless years by a power he could not decipher.

"The federal government has been secretly studying this station for hundreds of years."

Zhou Tianyan walked to the timetable sign, raised his hand and wiped away the layer of dust with his fingertips, revealing the incomplete writing underneath: "Since the first marshal discovered it, the Heavenly Pavilion has never stopped studying it, but after hundreds of years, we have only figured out a few things."

He slowly said, "First, the name of this station is 'Origin Station,' but as for why it is called that, where it originated, and where it leads, there are still no answers."

"Secondly, the timetable shows a route, but the names of the starting and ending stations are too blurry to be identified."

"The only thing I could make out were the names of the dozens of stations in the middle."

"Every name."

"They all correspond to the territory of a known advanced race deep within the Origin Realm."

Jiang Chuan's brows twitched slightly.

Dozens of stations, corresponding to dozens of territories of advanced races? The route spans a much larger area than he had anticipated.

Zhou Tianyan concluded, "Thirdly, to activate this station and board that 'train' that might lead to the depths of the Origin Realm, the first thing needed is not strength, nor authority, but... buying a ticket."

"Buy tickets?"

"That's right."

Zhou Tianyan gave a wry smile. He turned and walked to the rusted ticket machine at the waiting hall window, pointing to the long, thin slot on the front of the machine: "The Federation has tried everything it can."

"Source stones, gold coins, banknotes, crystal cores, even the bloodline of an eighth-tier king... everything we thought was valuable has vanished without a trace."

"This machine has never responded at all."

He turned around.

A bitter smile appeared in his cloudy old eyes: "Qin Tianheng told you that activating the teleportation array would cost half of the national treasury, but that's not entirely accurate. If it really came down to spending resources, the Federation could certainly afford it if they gritted their teeth."

"But the problem is..."

"We have no idea what currency we should use to buy tickets."

"Without a real 'currency,' even if you moved the entire national treasury here, it would just be a pile of scrap metal..."

Jiang Chuan frowned slightly. He walked to the ticket station, gripped the edge of the machine, and tried to apply a little force.

The machine didn't move an inch.

His terrifying power was rendered useless when it came into contact with the machine, like a stone sinking into the sea.

Zhou Tianyan saw through his thoughts.

He added, "We've tried brute force, but this station is protected by a mysterious force. We tried everything, but we couldn't even pry off a single floor tile..."

His voice was filled with helplessness as he spoke.

The Origin Realm is too vast, and the human race is merely a race living on the very edge. There are far too many things in this world that are beyond human comprehension.

Jiang Chuan suddenly asked, "Since it's a train station, even if you can't buy a ticket, has no train ever stopped here all these years?"

"no."

Zhou Tianyan sighed: "This is one of the worst possible outcomes we predicted. The station has been abandoned, and even if we go to great lengths to buy tickets, we will never be able to board that mysterious train."

Jiang Chuan remained silent. He walked to the edge of the station and looked down at the rusty railway tracks beneath his feet.

Zhou Tianyan watched his retreating figure in silence for a moment.

Then he slowly began to speak: "There's one more thing I need to apologize to you about in person."

Jiang Chuan turned his head and saw the old man who had been in charge of the Federation for nearly a hundred years slowly bowing to him.

"The Heavenly Pavilion is hiding something from you regarding this teleportation array."

Zhou Tianyan straightened up and looked at Jiang Chuan apologetically: "The procedures that Dean Qin told you before are real. But even if all the procedures are completed, Tiange knows better than anyone whether this station can be used or opened. The reason we didn't say it out loud is because... we did have the intention of taking advantage of you."

Jiang Chuan looked calmly at Zhou Tianyan, waiting for him to continue.

"The Federation needs you."

Zhou Tianyan's voice was filled with honesty and helplessness: "Although the Corpse Dog Clan has been crippled by you, the Blood Cat Clan is still around. Those spirit blood races and holy blood races deep in the Origin Realm, as well as those beings whose names we don't even know, may notice this remote corner at any time."

"The Federation needs a strong leader who can truly shoulder the future of humanity, and all we can give you, besides resources and authority, is this station."

"That's why I had Qin Tianheng use this teleportation array as leverage to keep you here."

"Knowing that this path is most likely to be a dead end, I still held onto a sliver of hope."

"What if?"

"What if you get some clues after you've seen it? What if you have some kind of opportunity that we don't know about, that could bring this station back to life?"

"But in any case."

"The federal government does owe you something in this matter."

"I'm laying everything out on the table today. If you want to blame me, I'll take the blame myself."

"If you feel that the Federation has wronged you, you are free to take your honors and titles and go wherever you want; no one will stop you."

Jiang Chuan listened quietly, then simply shook his head.

"What's the point of saying all this now?"

anger?

Feeling anxious?

Jiang Chuan, on the contrary, was unusually calm.

Before coming, he had already prepared for the worst, and now he was just a little disappointed.

but.

Because he already had a boundary-breaking talisman.

So although he was disappointed by the matter, he did not fly into a rage as Zhou Tianyan had expected.

This path is blocked.

At worst, we can use a boundary-breaking talisman to teleport directly to the Molten City, the territory of the Cyclops.

Although the risks are greater, at least it's a path that's guaranteed to work.

Those who have a way out will never be driven to desperation by a single path.

He looked at the railway track beneath his feet again, and another image suddenly flashed through his mind.

Bottom of the Soul-Splitting Abyss.

That old-fashioned steam train, all black.

There are railway tracks there, and there are railway tracks here. Is it possible that these two sections of tracks belong to the same line?