Swallowed Star: Primordial Artifact

Chapter 300 Mysterious Place
Jiang Ye was in the core area of ​​the energy storm, just as he was preparing to teleport away to avoid the impact of the explosion.

"Om~~~"

Out of nowhere, without any warning.

A spatial vortex with a diameter of approximately tens of thousands of kilometers appeared in front of Jiang Ye. The powerful pressure generated by the spatial vortex made it impossible for Jiang Ye to break free, and he was instantly drawn into it.

"Starry Sky Cloak." Jiang Ye quickly activated the Starry Sky Cloak behind him, a treasure. With Jiang Ye's current understanding of the laws, the originally intricate Starry Sky Cloak was actually made up of countless threads.

Countless threads intertwined around Jiang Ye, forming a dazzling star net, and the secret patterns flowing on the surface of the starry cloak resonated with the space.

Under the pull of the Starry Sky Cloak's spatial power, a stable space was directly formed.

Jiang Ye's figure was forcibly fixed in the crevice of the distorted space.

"Break!" Jiang Ye struggled desperately as he was trapped in the spatial vortex, but the vortex was completely isolated from the outside world and he could not teleport. Jiang Ye could only use his Starry Sky Cloak to stabilize the surrounding spatial turbulence and prevent himself from being swept too far away.

"Peng!"

In just two and a half seconds, the spatial vortex dissipated like smoke.

Jiang Ye breathed a sigh of relief, but when he looked around, he was taken aback.

"W-where is this?"

What came into view was a land that was both dreamlike and eerie. Strange plants grew on the land, emanating a hazy and unpredictable halo, their colors as vibrant as a dream that had been broken and reassembled.

Some of these plants resemble winding, coiling dragons, while others look like blooming, magnificent stars, all exuding an air of mystery.

Looking into the distance, a majestic and magnificent mountain range stretches across the sky and earth.

Lightning flashed across the mountain range, yet all was silent, as if time had stood still.

The sky above this land was shrouded in a mysterious purple light curtain. The light curtain, like flowing liquid, faintly outlined an obscure pattern, which was constantly changing and elusive.

"Check the cosmic coordinates." Jiang Ye hurriedly checked, only to be astonished to discover, "Huh? This is the core of the Sandstorm Earth, located in the very heart of the Morning Sand Starfield!"

Legend has it that the Sandstorm Core of the Morning Sand Starfield is a forbidden zone that even Cosmic Venerables avoid. This is because it is shrouded in a storm eye more violent than the gravity of a black hole; once caught in it, anyone below the Venerable level is certain to die.

Jiang Ye frowned as he looked at the seemingly quiet and harmonious surroundings, thinking to himself, "That spatial vortex must be a natural passage that allowed me to avoid the eye of the storm and directly enter the core of the sandstorm in the Morning Sand Starfield."

Encountering this spatial vortex that appeared out of nowhere not only allowed Jiang Ye to escape the self-destruction of the King of Destiny, but also led him to the very center of the Morning Sand Starfield by accident.

"Is this the core area of ​​the Morning Sand Starfield? In all the intelligence I've gathered... there's absolutely no description of this place." Jiang Ye looked around, his eyes filled with vigilance.

An unknown place, and one arrived here through a spatial vortex that appeared out of nowhere. Clearly, this unknown area is not simple, and danger may be lurking in every corner.

At that moment, Jiang Ye quickly activated large and micro detectors to conduct a comprehensive survey of the surrounding area.

"Time here seems to be completely isolated from the outside world, which seems to be caused by that purple light curtain." Jiang Ye looked up at the sky, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart.

Because everything around the flowing purple light curtain seemed to be still, Jiang Ye could not sense any fluctuations in time from them.

Environments that can isolate space and prevent teleportation are not uncommon in the secret realms of the universe, and Jiang Ye has encountered quite a few, but this is the first time he has encountered a place where he cannot perceive any fluctuations in time.

"There's trouble."

The detector rapidly searched every corner where danger might lurk, while Jiang Ye stood still, not taking any rash action.

His eyes were sharp as he carefully examined everything around him. The flowers and plants here were incredibly beautiful, yet there was an unusual stillness about them; there was no trace of any other living creature.

Soon, a large amount of data appeared on Jiang Ye's arm guard screen.

Jiang Ye looked down and frowned slightly: "Is this normal?"

……

"This way!"

Jiang Ye chose a direction and flew directly through the air.

In this unknown area, he did not choose to teleport, because flying would allow him to better observe the surrounding environment and deal with any possible emergencies.

……

"Natural wormhole detected." After flying a distance, the detector alerted Jiang Ye.

"A natural wormhole?" Jiang Ye, who was flying in a streak of light, immediately slowed down, glanced at the map displayed on the detector, and after confirming the location, rushed towards the wormhole.

After flying tens of millions of kilometers, Jiang Ye arrived at the mountainside. Looking into the distance, he saw a slight spatial distortion in the air ahead—that was the location of the wormhole.

"A wormhole actually appears in this place?" Jiang Ye stared at the wormhole. Wormholes are relatively common in the universe. Each wormhole connects two places. As long as you step into it, you can instantly reach the other side.

If this were in the vastness of space, Jiang Ye wouldn't care too much, but this was the sandstorm core of the Morning Sand Starfield...

Moreover, the wormhole in front of him was enveloped in a purple halo, making it look particularly eerie, completely different from the wormholes Jiang Ye had encountered in the universe.

"Where does this wormhole lead?" Jiang Ye pondered for a moment.

The ancestral dragon's clone instantly transformed into human form and appeared beside the human original.

With a thought, the golden armor, Devouring Abyss Sword, Starry Sky Cloak, Flowing Light Gale Disc, and other items on the human body were all taken into the hands of the Ancestral Dragon clone.

……

"Human beings are small in size, so even if they perish unexpectedly, they can quickly regenerate," Jiang Ye thought to himself.

While allowing the human to explore, the Ancestral Dragon clone, wielding the Chaos Core, acts as a living marker. Unless isolated by some powerful being, Jiang Ye can easily sense each other's locations.

The human being carefully flew into the wormhole.

……

Passing through the wormhole, Jiang Ye instantly arrived at another location.

"Hmm?" Jiang Ye looked ahead. In front of him was a huge basin with a lake that was tens of thousands of kilometers wide in the basin. Above the lake, there was a cone-shaped mountain peak that was more than a thousand kilometers high. It looked inconspicuous, but it just floated above the lake.

"A lake? Floating mountains?" Jiang Ye stared at it carefully for a moment. "Yes."

"The Ancestral Dragon's clone is less than 10 billion kilometers away from here." Jiang Ye could easily sense the location of the Ancestral Dragon's clone. It was so close that he could reach it in an instant.

On the other side, the ancestral dragon's clone continued flying forward. He had also learned about the situation at the other end of the wormhole, but he was in no hurry to explore it.

Fly for a short while.

"New wormhole detected," the detector alerted again.

"New?" Jiang Ye was taken aback, and then quickly rushed over in the direction indicated by the detector.

This new, strange passage is located in a river flowing with golden liquid. The golden liquid in the river emits a dazzling light and creates a strange fluctuation as it flows, a fluctuation that resonates with the fundamental laws of time.

"Hmm, that feeling is back again..." At this moment, Jiang Ye felt that there seemed to be something in the wormhole, which made every cell in his body feel a strong desire.

However, Jiang Ye would not allow the massive ancestral dragon avatar to rashly enter the river. Instead, he would have the human main body teleport back and let the main body try it.

The human figure itself leaped into the river with a "plop".

“It’s not this liquid. Apart from containing abundant energy, this liquid has nothing special about it,” Jiang Ye quickly concluded.

He immediately used the power of the world to condense it into a huge ceramic jar, which he filled to the brim with golden liquid.

"It might be something good. I'll study it more carefully when I get back," Jiang Ye thought to himself.

"Ok?"

At this moment, Jiang Ye noticed that there was also a huge wormhole at the center of the river bottom, which was continuously devouring the golden liquid in the river.

"Let's go take a look," Jiang Ye said, and without hesitation, he crawled into the wormhole in the river.

……

At the other end of the passage was still golden liquid. When Jiang Ye emerged from the liquid and looked around, he was once again speechless with shock at the sight before him.

"Hmm, this, here..." Jiang Ye looked up at the sky and was instantly shocked by the scene before him. A cone-shaped mountain was suspended in the sky, covering his head, while the river flowing with golden liquid was still all around. The terrain outside the river gradually rose, presenting a peculiar topographical structure.

"Last time, the other end of the wormhole was on the riverbank, but this time it's in the middle of the river."

"Both wormholes lead to the same place."

Jiang Ye was somewhat stunned.

******
Following this inexplicable force, Jiang Ye continued forward, filled with doubt. Soon, he discovered a new wormhole. Upon entering, Jiang Ye found that the wormhole led to another river.

Continuing onward, new wormholes appear one after another, leading to places on the river or along its banks...

Wormholes are being discovered one after another...

Finally, Jiang Ye couldn't hold back any longer and stopped exploring, instead teleporting directly to the riverbank.

“This is truly bizarre.” Jiang Ye stood on the riverbank, gazing at the river and the suspended cone-shaped mountain peaks before him, and muttered to himself, “I’ve explored seven wormholes in a row, and each one leads to this place. It seems this is the core of this place.”

"1 wormholes detected," the detector alerted Jiang Ye.

"what?"

Jiang Ye looked down at the screen on his arm guard. The screen displayed the locations of wormholes, which gave him a strange sense of familiarity, as if he had seen them somewhere before. These 100 wormholes, like the holes in a giant honeycomb, covered all sides of the cone-shaped mountain, completely surrounding it.

When Jiang Ye looked at these wormholes from different angles in the distance, they were no longer pitch black, but rather, like an LCD TV, a golden figure was faintly visible.

Jiang Ye was startled and quickly moved closer to take a closer look. The blurry figure became clearer and clearer.

"It's me!" Jiang Ye exclaimed in surprise.

The golden figure reflected in the wormhole sometimes appeared as Jiang Ye flew, and sometimes as he loaded the golden river into the pottery jar. In another wormhole, Jiang Ye glimpsed his future self surrounded by a powerful and boundless force, seemingly facing a thrilling and intense battle.

These images flashed by, yet felt incredibly real.

"The first two scenes are clearly the scenes of my previous exploration of wormholes, but the battle fluctuations... I didn't fight here just now. Could it be that these wormholes are closely connected to the laws of time, and as I travel through them time and time again, they reflect my past and future?" Jiang Ye was startled, and at the same time, a strong curiosity welled up inside him.

The Law of Time, as one of the two supreme laws, is mysterious and powerful, and few in the universe can truly fathom all its secrets.

The appearance of such a bizarre wormhole, related to the laws of time, in the heart of the sandstorm in the Morning Sand Starfield must be hiding a great secret.

"The more special the place, the more likely it is to contain treasures. Similarly, places with treasures are inevitably accompanied by dangers." Jiang Ye pondered to himself. This was experience that countless explorers throughout history had gained at the cost of their lives. If a place had treasures but no danger, it could only mean that the dangers had already been eliminated by other powerful individuals.

Jiang Ye looked at the cone-shaped mountain peak above his head.

He found the suspended cone-shaped mountain peak most suspicious, but he dared not trespass into it. This was the core of the Morning Sand Starfield, where even a Cosmic Venerable could perish. If there were deadly traps in that cone-shaped mountain peak, once alerted, it could very well annihilate his human body and the Ancestral Dragon avatar. At that point, not to mention whether he would die or not, it would be incredibly difficult to retrieve his Starry Sky Cloak, Flowing Light Gale Disc, and other treasures.

"Look, where are the other ends of these 100 wormholes?" Jiang Ye thought to himself.

Whoosh.

The human being immediately flew towards a wormhole in mid-air.

Drill into the wormhole and quickly arrive at the other end, which is about 30 billion kilometers away from the lake, in a silent desert.

The human being immediately returned and found a new wormhole by the lake to enter.

……

Jiang Ye frantically traversed between various wormholes, and gradually, he became more and more familiar with the situation of this mysterious place.

These wormholes lead to many places in this mysterious land, the farthest of which is about 1200 billion kilometers away.

What alarmed Jiang Ye the most was that he found some broken armor and weapons in five of the locations. These armor and weapons were made of very expensive materials and were generally only affordable for those with strength at the peak of the King level or above.

“These shattered armor pieces indicate that life has been here. Those who came here were likely immortal powerhouses from the outer battlefields, but given their strength, they couldn't possibly have crossed the eye of the storm outside the sandstorm's core. They were probably swept in by the spatial vortex, just like me. All that's left here are worthless items like shattered armor; there's nothing valuable, not even a world ring.” Jiang Ye held a fragment of broken armor in his hand, pondering to himself, “There must be survivors like me who survived here and took the treasures. Or perhaps this sandstorm's core harbors indigenous creatures like the Yanji natives who claimed the treasures for themselves.”

(End of this chapter)