Ink-Clad Creator

The tearing sensation from the energy vortex finally stopped.

Li steadied himself and found himself in a wide passageway. The walls of the passageway were not made of rock, but of a smooth material with a silvery-gray metallic sheen, cool to the touch, and with a shimmering, water-like glow flowing across its surface. A faint fragrance of flowers and grass filled the air, but there was no sign of any flowers or grass in sight.

There was no light source overhead, yet the entire passageway was as bright as day. The most eerie thing was that when footsteps sounded, the eerie light on the walls on both sides would change in brightness with the rhythm of the footsteps, as if it were breathing.

"This, this is..." Shen Aonan's voice came from behind, filled with disbelief and shock.

Peng Shutao reached out and lightly touched the wall. As soon as her fingertips touched it, the wall rippled and a complex geometric pattern appeared. In the center of the pattern was a rotating spiral symbol that seemed familiar.

"Inside the Starship," Li Xian whispered. Despite the knowledge instilled in him by Boltzmann's brain, seeing this creation ahead of its time still made his heart race.

Superman hovered to the side, indicator lights flashing regularly: "Environmental Analysis: Air composition is safe, gravity is slightly higher than the ground, no lethal radiation detected. Strong energy reaction is detected 300 meters ahead, presumably the core area."

"And biosignals?" Batman added. "I hear... a heartbeat. Lots of them, very faint, but they're definitely there."

Miss Chunmeng emerged from another passage, holding the Star Messenger Token in her hand. The token was slightly warm, and the star patterns on its surface shimmered with a dark silver luster. "The control room is in the east, the medical pod is in the northeast, and the energy core is in the very center—where the remains are." She looked at Li Xian, "Should we split up as planned?"

Li Xian nodded and handed two boundary-breaking talismans to Shen Aonan and Miss Chunmeng: "At midnight, regardless of whether you have gained anything or not, you must return to the main control room to reunite. Daya and Brother Shen, Dark Knight and Madam Meng, keep in touch."

"And what about you?" Peng Shutao asked.

"Superman, Batman, and I are going to the energy core." Li paused. "This place is eerie; be careful."

The three groups went their separate ways.

Li Xian walked along the main passageway. The passageway seemed to possess some kind of intelligence; wherever he went, the dim light ahead would brighten, and even glowing arrows would appear at forks in the road to guide him. The arrow symbols were unfamiliar, but the manager in his consciousness could translate them: [Energy Core, Source of Life].

"The source of life..." Li Xian mused.

[A similar frequency of consciousness fluctuation detected.] The administrator's voice carried a rare fluctuation. [It comes from the remains. It is... emitting some kind of call.]

"Can we communicate?"

[One-way emotional radiation, nonverbal information. Emotional keywords: loneliness, waiting, warning.]

Warning? Li Xian's heart tightened.

At the end of the passageway was a large circular door. The door had no lock or bolt, only a palm-shaped indentation.

Li Xian placed his hand on it, and a slight amount of holy water energy emanated from his palm.

"Click-clack."

The sound of precise mechanisms turning came from inside the door, and then the door slid open silently.

The sight behind the door made Li Xian gasp for breath.

It was a huge spherical space, more than thirty feet in diameter. In the center of the space floated a transparent coffin, inside which lay a humanoid body—exactly the same as in the star map projection, dressed in silver-white clothes, with a calm face as if asleep, and a rhombus-shaped crystal embedded in the center of its forehead.

But what's truly astonishing is the area around the coffin: countless hair-thin, dark red energy threads extend from the void, connecting the coffin like a spider web, and also... Li Xian himself.

No, it was the dark red crystal that connected to his consciousness space.

The threads seemed to wriggle slightly as if they were alive, some piercing into the coffin, while others extended towards him.

"It's resonating," the administrator said urgently. "The remains, in their unconscious state, are resonating with my energy frequency! It's drawing energy from me to maintain its own existence!"

"Disconnect!" Li Xian hurriedly retreated.

But the three threads had already touched his skin and instantly pierced through! Cold, vast fragments of consciousness surged into his mind!

"Ugh—!"

Li Xian knelt down, clutching his head, as countless fragmented images exploded before his eyes: the sinking of the starry sea, the explosion of fire, the desperate screams... These were the last fragments of memories before the wreckage crashed, so vast that they almost shattered his sea of ​​consciousness.

[Hold fast to your core principles!] The manager's voice acted as an anchor for his turbulent consciousness. [It's unconsciously spreading remnants of memory, not an attack! Guide the energy, channel it into your meridians!]

Li Xian gritted his teeth, frantically circulating the Northern Darkness Divine Art to forcibly suppress and transform the surging chaotic energy. The dark red crystal in his consciousness space spun rapidly, and the pointer began to jump:

81→ 85→ 88→ 91!

His energy surged, but Li Xian felt as if his meridians were about to burst! Spiderweb-like dark red lines appeared on his skin, a sign of energy overload.

Just then, the rhombus-shaped crystal on the forehead of the remains in the coffin suddenly lit up.

A beam of pale blue light shot out, weaving into a blurry humanoid silhouette in the air.

The illusory figure spoke, its voice directly entering Li Xian's mind. It was an ancient language with a peculiar rhythm, but the administrator translated it instantly:

[Latercomer...you possess the aura of 'divine wisdom' within you...does it...still exist?]

A ray of light from outer space? The Boltzmann brain?

"It's lost contact," Li replied, enduring the excruciating pain.

The illusory figure remained silent for a long time: [I am the "Starfall Child," who crashed here three hundred years ago aboard a starship. We were ordered to spread the seeds of civilization, but… the experiment went awry, infighting broke out on the starship, and I was severely injured and on the verge of death. Using a secret technique, I sealed my remnant soul within my remains, awaiting a destined one.]

It looked at the energy thread connecting Li Xian: "The Wisdom Light Imprint within you is constantly drawing upon your life essence to maintain this interdimensional connection. If this continues… your lifespan will not exceed three years."

Three years to live? Li Xian was shocked.

Is there a solution?

[Yes.] The illusory figure raised a hand, and a beam of starlight entered Li Xian's brow. [In the northeastern region of the Star Chariot lies the 'Pool of Life-Creating Power,' where spiritual liquid can reshape meridians and replenish one's essence. However, this method comes at a price: you must dissipate all your internal energy, allowing your pure body to be cleansed by the spiritual liquid, and begin your cultivation anew.]

Dissipate your power and start over?

Li Xian recalled the hardships he had endured, from being an ordinary person to absorbing other people's inner strength, creating holy water, and breaking through his cultivation level.

[The choice is yours. Continue to bear the mark of wisdom, and within three years you may attain the supernatural powers of creation, but your lifespan will end; or disperse your power and begin new cultivation, gaining longevity and health, but losing all your strength and returning to the level of an ant.]

This choice is too cruel.

"If I dissipate my power, what will happen to the celestial wisdom light?"

The mark vanishes, the connection severed forever. It may lie dormant in the void, or seek another host.

Li Xian fell silent. He thought of Boltzmann's unfinished human creation experiment, of the two little dolls, and of Xiao Lingshan's disappointed look when she held them.

"Where exactly is the Pool of Life Creation?"

The phantom sent him a map.

[Northeast District, past the Herb Garden. But there... it has been overrun by mutated creatures. Be careful.]

As soon as the words were spoken, the illusory image vanished. The rhomboid crystal dimmed.

The energy threads slowly retracted, and Li Xian felt the tearing sensation in his body lessen slightly, but the pointer on the dark red crystal dropped from 91 back to 84—the resonance just now had consumed a lot of energy.

He stood up, looked at the remains in the coffin, and felt a mix of emotions.

Three years of lifespan in exchange for supernatural powers. Disperse the power and start over, and you'll gain an ordinary but long life.

"Boss!" Batman's exclamation came through the comms, "Something's happened to Shen Aonan! There's something strange about the medical bay!"

The medical wards in the northeastern area were far more bizarre than Li Xian had imagined.

Countless transparent cylindrical vessels are neatly arranged, each containing various indescribable tissues: some resemble human organs but have many veins, some resemble plants but have pupils, and some are simply a mass of writhing flesh and blood.

Shen Aonan and Peng Shutao stood in front of the vessel at the deepest part of the room, their faces pale.

A woman's body was submerged in the vessel; she was naked, with underdeveloped, transparent wings on her back. Most horrifyingly, her face bore a striking resemblance to Peng Shutao.

The jade plaque on the surface of the vessel is engraved with ancient seal script characters, which Daya is translating:

[Test Subject - No. 7, Gui Mao Year]

Source: Peng's Female Ancestor

Change: Water Vein Spiritual Body

Drawback: The icy energy corrodes the uterus (the refining method is not perfect).

State: Hibernation, still alive.

"This, this is..." Peng Shutao's voice trembled.

"The Profound Yin Meridian Severance is not an incurable disease." Shen Aonan gripped the sword hilt tightly, his knuckles turning white. "It's a flaw left over from three hundred years ago when Xingyunzi modified your ancestors, because his refining technique wasn't perfected! Passed down through generations, it has become a hereditary disease!"

Peng Shutao staggered backward, only managing to stay upright by catching herself on the vessel. It turned out that the hidden pain that had tormented her for many years and the despair of being unable to conceive all stemmed from an unfinished experiment from three hundred years ago.

"Is...is there a solution?" she asked hoarsely.

Daya scanned the jade tablet: "The following is recorded: To cure this ailment, one needs the 'Original Spiritual Liquid' in the center of the 'Pool of Life and Creation'. However, there are guardian spirit beasts around the pool, which are extremely ferocious."

As soon as he finished speaking, heavy footsteps echoed from deep within the medical pod.

A monster emerged from the shadows. It had a humanoid torso, but its limbs were sharp, bony claws. Its head was faceless, consisting only of a round mouth filled with sharp teeth. Its four tattered, transparent wings on its back were exactly the same as those of the woman in the vessel.

"A failed attempt to refine a guardian spirit beast." Shen Aonan drew his sword, shielding Peng Shutao behind him. "Shutao, go get the spirit liquid, I'll hold it off!"

The monster screamed and pounced!

Shen Aonan's sword light cascaded like a waterfall, unleashing the full power of the icy pool's sword energy! But when the blade struck the monster's bone claws, only sparks flew! The bone was as hard as black iron!

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Peng Shutao rushed towards the central Creation Pool. A ball of spiritual liquid emitting a soft green light floated in the pool—the Origin Spiritual Liquid. There were no ladles or spoons at the edge of the pool.

She gritted her teeth and reached out to grab it—

"Don't touch it!" Li Xian's shout came from the doorway, but it was too late.

The moment Peng Shutao's fingertips touched the spiritual liquid, the green light in the pool burst forth! Countless tiny specks of light separated from the spiritual liquid and burrowed into her skin like living things!

"Ah—!" she cried out in pain and fell to the ground, her whole body convulsing.

Shen Aonan was distracted and turned around, only to be struck in the chest by the monster's claw, spitting blood and flying backward!

At the critical moment, Li Xian arrived. He pushed with both palms, and the holy water energy condensed into a water curtain barrier. The monster crashed into the barrier and was bounced back several feet!

"Superman! Find the weakness!"

"Scanning in progress—there is an energy node in the seventh cervical vertebra, which is the control center!"

A dark red light flashed in Li Xian's eyes, and his figure shot out like lightning! Dodging the monster's frenzied slashes, he struck the back of its neck with a single finger!

"Click!"

The monster stopped moving abruptly, the red light in its eyes went out, and it collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Li Xian rushed to Peng Shutao's side. She was curled up on the ground, green veins visible beneath her skin, and her breath was faint.

"The spiritual liquid is forcibly reshaping her meridians," Da Ya said urgently, "but her current constitution can't withstand this impact! It must be channeled immediately, otherwise her meridians will shatter!"

Shen Aonan struggled to his feet and helped Peng Shutao up, pouring his inner strength into her continuously, but it was like throwing a stone into the sea.

Li Xian bit his fingertip, squeezed out a drop of blood infused with holy water energy, and pressed it onto Peng Shutao's brow: "Relax, follow my guidance."

Peng Shutao nodded with difficulty.

Li Xian used the Northern Darkness Divine Art as a guide to gradually regulate and channel the rampant spiritual energy into her meridians. The process was extremely dangerous; the slightest mistake would have resulted in both of them losing all their power.

time flies.

Finally, the green light beneath Peng Shutao's skin gradually faded. She opened her eyes and weakly coughed up a mouthful of blood, which was tinged with green light.

"How do you feel?" Shen Aonan's voice trembled.

Peng Shutao looked inward for a moment, tears welling up in her eyes: "The chill... has dissipated. The erosive feeling in my uterus... has disappeared."

A 300-year-old genetic ailment has actually been cured!

"Is it worth it?" Li asked first.

Peng Shutao looked at Shen Aonan, her smile tinged with tears: "It was worth it."

Shen Aonan hugged her tightly.

Li turned his face away. Xiao Lingshan's image resurfaced in his mind.

At that moment, Miss Chunmeng's urgent voice came through the communicator: "Something's happened in the control room! The Star Chariot's protective barrier has been triggered! Someone is forcibly breaking through Peach Blossom Village's protective array from the outside, triggering the Star Chariot's self-defense mechanism! The Star Chariot is about to... self-destruct!"

"What?!" The three of them paled.

"Get to the control room immediately! Self-destruct countdown: half an hour!"

The control room was a circular space filled with light screens. Miss Chunmeng stood in front of the central jade platform, her fingers rapidly tapping on the light screens, attempting to stop the self-destruct program, but all commands were rejected.

"No! The restriction was set by Starfall Child before his death; once triggered, it's irreversible!" she gritted her teeth. "Unless... it's authorized by Starfall Child's own soul imprint!"

Li Xian looked towards the energy core. The Starfall Child's soul imprint? That meant the remnant soul of the remains would be completely awakened, but what would happen after that was unknown.

"There's another way," the administrator suddenly spoke, his voice unusually calm. "Let me temporarily take over your body and simulate the soul imprint fluctuations of the meteorite using my consciousness frequency. Since we share the same origin, there's a chance we can deceive the restrictions."

What are the odds?

[30%]

"What if it fails?"

The starship self-destructed, and everyone perished.

Li Xian looked around at everyone: Shen Aonan and Peng Shutao were embracing, Miss Chunmeng had a resolute look in her eyes, and the drones were hovering to the side.

"How long will it take?"

[Thirty breaths.]

Li Xian took a deep breath: "Alright. But if you take the opportunity to possess someone else's body..."

[Your consciousness is fading, and the simulation will end. At this moment, we are bound by the same fate.]

Li Xian sat down cross-legged, relaxing his mind. The administrator's cold consciousness instantly took over his body.

All the onlookers saw was Li Xian's eyes turn dark red, the spiderweb-like patterns under his skin spreading wildly, and his aura rising steadily, actually breaking through to the high-level of the Heavenly Origin Realm and reaching a breathtaking level—

Divine Origin Realm! Although it was only temporary, the oppressive aura made it difficult for Shen Aonan and the others to breathe.

"Li Xian" raised his hand, his fingertips tracing an arcane path in the air. The path resonated with a certain restrictive rune on the control room's light screen, emitting a sharp buzzing sound.

Ten breaths. Twenty breaths.

The self-destruct countdown on the light screen is still ticking: [00:17:42]

【00:17:41】

To fail?

At the twenty-fifth breath, "Li Xian" suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood! The blood contained dark red crystal fragments!

[The remains and remnant spirits are resisting! They've seen through the disguise!] The administrator's voice was urgent. [We must disconnect them immediately! Otherwise, we'll all be devoured!]

"Then break it!" Li roared deep within his own consciousness.

But it was too late.

In the direction of the energy core, the rhombus-shaped crystal on the forehead of the remains lit up once more. A solid blue beam of light pierced through numerous obstacles, shooting directly into the main control room!

The beam of light enveloped "Li Xian"!

"Ughhhhhh—!"

Li Xian felt his consciousness being torn in two! One half was the manager, and the other half was the remnant soul of the meteorite. The two high-dimensional beings used his body as a battlefield, frantically fighting for control!

The dark red crystal trembled violently within the consciousness space, cracks spreading. The pointer value plummeted.

84→ 70→ 58→ 41!

Energy is being frantically extracted!

"Help him!" Miss Chunmeng was the first to react, striking Li Hou's chest with a palm, pouring in her pure internal energy!

Shen Aonan and Peng Shutao attacked simultaneously! The three streams of internal energy merged, barely stabilizing Li Xian's meridians.

The drones formed a circle, releasing an energy field to insulate against some of the impact.

But this is only a temporary measure.

Just as Li Xian's consciousness was about to dissipate, a faint yet incredibly familiar green tinge suddenly seeped from his arms.

It's a small pine tree.

The nearly withered pine tree left behind by Xiao Lingshan suddenly released its last bit of life force, which flowed into Li Xian's heart.

Warm and resilient, like a hand reaching out from the darkness.

The consciousness, on the verge of collapse, was miraculously stabilized by this warmth.

When the remnant soul of the Starfall Child came into contact with this wood-based life force, it suddenly paused. It seemed... to have remembered something.

The beam of light slowly receded.

On the control room's light screen, the self-destruct countdown stopped at [00:09:13].

A mechanical, ancient voice sounded: "We are moved by your kind heart and your intention to protect life... Verification successful... Self-destruction ceases."

The crisis is over.

But Li Xian had already fainted.

Miss Chunmeng supported his limp body, checked his pulse, and her face was grim: "His meridians are completely shattered, and he has lost all his internal energy. His consciousness... is also very weak."

Shen Aonan and Peng Shutao exchanged a glance, both seeing the heaviness in each other's eyes.

Deep within the starship, the rhomboid crystal of the remains flickered one last time, transmitting a message that only the administrator could receive:

[Tell Huiguang... 'Mother' is not dead... Beware... 'The Reaper'...]

Then, it faded completely.

The administrator, deep within Li Xian's consciousness, had also fallen into a deep sleep. The dark red crystal, riddled with cracks, barely managed to hold on, but was powerless to control Li Xian's body.

When Li Xian wakes up, he will be an ordinary person who has lost all his internal strength and whose meridians are broken.

All of this resulted in the Star Chariot remaining intact and Peng Shutao's chronic illness being cured.

does it worth?

No one could answer.

Miss Chunmeng carried Li Xian on her back and looked at Shen Aonan and Peng Shutao: "Let's go out first. Outside... it's probably turned upside down."

The group walked silently toward the exit.