Deep Sea Starship Apocalypse

The evil wind outside the palace, carrying yellow sand, continued to howl incessantly in front of the Chenjin Palace. The hoarse cries of crows were like poisoned needles, pricking Yu Moyan's consciousness and causing it to tighten. He held Jiang Duyue's hand, his fingertips touching the skin on the other's wrist, which trembled slightly due to the surging of star energy. That slightly cool temperature was the only reality he could grasp in this desperate situation.

The gentle imperial light within the hall could soothe the wounds, but it couldn't dispel the suffocation and despair in his heart. The howls of the evil creature within the blood cocoon grew clearer, and that malevolent power, surpassing all heavens, was like an invisible net, slowly tightening. In Yu Moyan's azure eyes, the glimmer of light that had ignited in the face of despair ultimately couldn't overcome the deep-seated powerlessness—he knew that with only his own and Lin Yueheng's Star Crown power, they simply couldn't contend with that ultimate evil creature. Only by finding a way to break the deadlock within the inheritance could they have a sliver of hope.

"Duyue," Yu Moyan's voice was still hoarse, but with a hint of determination. He turned to look at the man beside him, "What we're looking for shouldn't just be a place to temporarily escape disaster."

Jiang Duyue's brow relaxed slightly, starlight gently flowing across his Universe Star Armor, and he replied, "I know. The records in the Inheritance Hall should contain secret methods to deal with the evil spirits of the end times, especially... the clone technique."

The two exchanged a glance, needing no words, their hearts already in sync. In the instant the intelligent life form stepped aside to make way, they sensed an unlocked inheritance area hidden within the hall, and that faint, ethereal stellar energy was pointing towards a certain spot deep within the hall.

The two walked slowly along the long white jade staircase inside the hall. The soft imperial light flowed along the pillars, making the ancient hall appear even more solemn and majestic. Ancient imperial runes were engraved on the walls on both sides, with tiny fragments of star-element crystals embedded among them, shimmering faintly, a stark contrast to the gray-yellow, murky mist outside the hall. After walking for about a hundred breaths, the feeling of being drawn by star-element energy grew stronger, as if an invisible hand was leading them towards the location where the secret treasure was hidden.

"My lord," Yu Moyan stopped and bowed towards the depths of the hall, his voice respectful yet filled with an earnest plea that left no room for refusal, "we know you can hear us, please lead us to the storage room of the clone technique."

As the words fell, the hall fell silent, save for the soft murmur of the Emperor's radiant light. After a moment, a gentle voice echoed in their minds, tinged with hesitation: "Yu Moyan, Jiang Duyue, the Clone Technique is a core secret of the inheritance, which cannot be opened by those who are not inheritors. Although you are the inheritors, you have not yet completed your bloodline binding. If you rashly come into contact with it, there is a risk of a backlash from your stellar essence."

"We are not afraid of the backlash!" Jiang Duyue stepped forward, her star essence flowing into Yu Moyan's body, merging with the imperial power within the hall. "Now that evil spirits have appeared in the Land of the End, if we do not find the secret method, we will only be left to slaughter all living beings. My lord, I beg you to make an exception. We swear by our star essence that if we obtain the secret method, we will protect the inheritance with our lives and not fail the responsibility of the ancient lineage!"

Yu Moyan also cupped his hands in greeting, his emerald eyes filled with determination: "My lady, Du Yue and I are willing to pledge our Star Essence and our divine souls as proof, begging you to open the secret treasure. Even if we are shattered to pieces on this journey, we will never regret it."

The two pleaded and begged, their earnest words echoing in the empty hall. The voice remained silent for a long time, as if weighing the pros and cons, or perhaps testing their resolve. Finally, a soft sigh rang out, tinged with helplessness: "Very well, since you've made up your mind, I'll take you there. But remember, once you enter the storage room, you must use your own star energy to activate the secret sealing technique. If your star energy runs out halfway through, immediately retreat. Do not force yourself."

As soon as the words were spoken, the white jade staircase in the hall suddenly lit up with a dazzling golden light of star energy. A staircase formed of runes extended from beneath their feet to a hidden stone door at the deepest part of the hall. The stone door was carved entirely from star-element jade, its surface engraved with intricate inheritance runes. A faint green light flowed between the runes, which was the unique aura of the clone technique.

"Follow me." The gentle electronic voice sounded again, and the runic staircase slowly extended forward, as if guiding the two.

Yu Moyan gripped Jiang Duyue's hand tightly and stepped onto the runic staircase first. With each step, tiny specks of starlight emerged from around him, merging into the stone gate along the steps. Passing through layers of runic barriers, a breathtaking view suddenly appeared before them—

It was an extremely luxurious secret room.

The entire space is built with millennia-old Star Essence Jade as the floor and ancient flowing light wood as the beams. Dozens of fist-sized Star Essence Pearls hang from the dome, illuminating the room as if it were daytime, yet with a soft glow. The surrounding walls are inlaid with rows of crystal-clear jade shelves, each containing a scroll of secret techniques shimmering with Star Essence light. The scrolls are bound with gold thread and adorned with tiny Star Essence gems, making them incomparably luxurious.

In the center of the room stood a jade platform ten feet high, upon which floated a semi-transparent starlight screen. Within the screen flowed countless illusory figures of the clone technique, sometimes transforming into sharp star blades, sometimes into gentle star shields. Each illusory figure exuded world-destroying power, yet also revealed the mystery and agility of the clone technique.

Most alarmingly, the entire storage room was filled with an incredibly dense and pervasive stellar energy. This energy seemed to be alive, surging wildly into the two of them, flowing through their meridians and into their stellar energy sea, causing their stellar energy to resonate in waves, almost breaking free from its constraints.

Yu Moyan stood frozen in place.

He had never seen such a magnificent secret realm, nor had he ever felt such pure and boundless stellar energy. Everything before him was far more awe-inspiring than he had imagined—the shimmering jade cabinets, the dazzling stellar pearls, and the swirling stellar light throughout the room, every detail exuding the grandeur and mystery of an ancient heritage.

What truly shook him to his core was the pull of that stellar energy.

He could clearly feel that the scroll and jade platform of the clone technique were attracting his star essence in a domineering yet gentle way. His star essence sea was like a sleeping beast that had been awakened, frantically absorbing the surrounding star essence and merging with the aura of the technique, as if waiting for him to activate it.

Shock surged through my heart like a tidal wave.

He had always thought that the inheritance was nothing more than a few scrolls recording rudimentary methods, but he never expected that the secrets of the ancient inheritance were so profound, and that the storage room for the clone technique was so magnificent. Each of those floating scrolls of secret techniques might contain the key to fighting against the evil spirits of the end times; each of those phantoms in the starlight curtain might be the opportunity to break the deadlock.

The surging stellar energy was not only nourishing his stellar energy sea, but also awakening the dormant inherited bloodline within him. He could feel the bloodline beneath the Emperor Chen's Dragon Scale Armor slightly warming, resonating with the stellar energy in the room, as if telling the secrets of the inheritance.

It turns out that the path of inheritance is not a stroke of luck in dire straits, but a lifeline left to future generations by the ancient sages. It turns out that he was not fighting alone; those dormant powers of inheritance were waiting for him to awaken them in dire straits, to stand shoulder to shoulder with him against the final calamity.

The numbness and weariness in Yu Moyan's emerald eyes gradually faded, replaced by an indescribable shock and burning hope. He looked down at his palm, where his fingertips, clasped with Jiang Duyue's, were enveloped in starlight, and his star sea, under the influence of the secret technique, was more active than ever before.

He knew that this time, they had finally found the key to breaking the deadlock.

The starlight within the room shone ever brighter, and the aura of the clone technique lingered around the two, as if waiting for them to activate it and begin their own path of inheritance. The evil winds and howls outside the hall seemed to have become distant background noise; only this magnificent secret chamber, filled with starlight, illuminated their path forward in their desperate situation.