Global Era of Star trekking Chapter 1858 - 902: Star Sea·South Pole (2)

Indeed, the Shattered Starry Sea stretches out endlessly, so immense that relying on three Mythical Space Traversal Components demands a prolonged buildup of moments just to spot the elusive "South Pole."

Discouragement doesn't grip Song Chi at all, since this outcome matches what he anticipated, and luckily, time remains on his side with a buffer spanning thousands of years until the Heaven-Fighting Ruins fully crumble.

Therefore, he persists in firmly guiding the Heavenly Ruins Cang Qiong southward without pause, while the flow of time marches onward in the midst.

In a flash, two millennia slip by.

From the moment he first seized command of the Heavenly Ruins Cang Qiong and embarked, three thousand years have now elapsed, and throughout this span, he hasn't eased up for a single instant.

One particular day, right as Song Chi assumed the pattern would drag on unchanged, a subtle glow flickered from the Heavenly Destiny Compass Territory Star Map, which had shown scant variation before.

Glancing over, a spark ignited in Song Chi's gaze.

Upon this Territory Star Map, without his notice, the "Star Sea·South Pole" marker had precisely matched the Component's indicator.

"Star Sea·South Pole... is it here at last?"

Without thinking, Song Chi whispered the words.

With his mental concentration sharpening, he senses how the nearby cosmic laws grow remarkably sparse and odd, as the fabric of time and space displays a bizarre weakness and...edge-like feel.

It feels like the boundary of the familiar physical cosmos lies here, where pushing ahead leads into the realm of "void" untouched by any laws.

Slowly, the Heavenly Ruins Cang Qiong eases its speed, after finishing the full Fourth Rank of Soul Devouring buildup at the Soul Devouring Altar, transforming into Seven-Colored Quality for the Eye of Truth sky patrol radar, which now runs at peak power to carefully scan the deepest shadows where light vanishes entirely.

Song Chi's awareness ramps up to peak alertness too, fully aware that this last leg could mark the real start of the trials.

After quelling the excitement stirring deep inside, Song Chi steadies himself swiftly, choosing not to impulsively drive the Heavenly Ruins Cang Qiong further; instead, after a brief reflection, he calls back the Mirror Image Warship stationed at the Immortal Domain Continent Ruins, swapping it in for the Heavenly Ruins Cang Qiong's core to press on southward.

As for this mysterious "Star Sea·South Pole," he holds zero knowledge; unsure of lurking threats, it's wiser to send the Mirror Image Warship to probe first.

Acting like a wary vanguard, the Mirror Image Warship inches ahead through the nearly total emptiness.

Never before has the Seven-Colored glow of the Eye of Truth swept the area with such fervor, but the results come back scant and peculiar.

No substance exists, no power flows, and even notions of time and space blur into ambiguity, like every fundamental principle and law of the cosmos fails here, slipping back to a primal "void" condition.

Were it not for the Heavenly Destiny Compass clearly directing to this spot and syncing flawlessly with the Territory Star Map's scale, Song Chi might suspect he'd strayed into a sheer "Star Sea Void Forbidden Zone."

At the helm of the Mirror Image Warship, Song Chi boosts the energy field and Rule Realm to their limits, merging his consciousness deeply with the Eye of Truth for a tentative push onward.

This utter "void" drags on for an indeterminate stretch, maybe a split second or maybe infinite cycles; within this lawless space, time sheds all sense of measure.

Right when a deep isolation and weight settle into Song Chi's very essence, the probing pulses from the Eye of Truth at last detect a hint of odd "ripples."

Those ripples don't stem from substance or power, but resemble...traces of laws, marks etched in time.

"Something's there!" Song Chi's mood surges, steering the warship with care toward the ripples' origin.

With the gap narrowing, the "ripples" sharpen into focus.

Amid the pitch-black nothingness, faint, nearly see-through shards of ghostly forms start to appear; these forms loom huge, intricate, and enigmatic in design, faintly outlining halls, pillars, and open squares, though they're no solid things; rather, they're woven from hardened, splintered Time Law and Original Rules.

"Could this be... a remnant site?"

A jolt runs through Song Chi's core, having witnessed nothing quite like this spectacle.

These ghostly structures appear to hover in a separate layer, layering over and crossing the present space, yet remaining beyond reach.

Deeper the Mirror Image Warship delves, as more shard-like ghosts multiply around, slowly shaping a colossal, limitless expanse of wreckage.

This hushed, tranquil wreckage radiates an unfathomable age and depth, as if it has slumbered in this place across uncounted ages.

A strange weight hangs in the air; this weight targets not living beings but the laws themselves, making the Mirror Image Warship's mechanisms stutter faintly.

Running at maximum, the duplicated Eye of Truth breaks down the nature of these law shards.

Bit by bit, scattered bits of data start to unravel:

"... Time... Sequence... Foundation..."

"... Eternal... Slumbering Place..."

"... High... Dimension..."

"... Trans..."

Yet these data scraps prove too hazy, leaving Song Chi stumped on their key meanings no matter how he puzzles them out.

Then, at a certain point, the Mirror Image Warship weaves through and nears the heart of this boundless wreckage.

Inside the All-Attributes Cultivation Room of the Ruins Market, Song Chi, sitting with eyes shut, abruptly lifts an eyebrow; via the Soul Link's feed, he beholds the eternal ruin's central sight, and as it registers, an abrupt wave of recognition floods his mind.

This recognition hits out of nowhere, blocking him from pinning down its source right away; even after mulling it over, the matching memory eludes him.

In his bewilderment, Song Chi's gaze lights up.

"That's the one..."

With the mutter, he flicks his hand, summoning a unique object right into his grasp the instant after.

A fractured bronze hall entrance it was.

This bronze hall entrance came from a brief stretch of the River of Time, tied to the Key of Time Divine Hall Inheritance, and the recognition stirring in his thoughts traced back to the ruins within that River of Time fragment.

Intent on verifying, Song Chi promptly instructs the Ethereal Body on the Mirror Image Warship to engage the Ruins Market Projection Rank, passing the bronze hall door over to it.

Soon enough, as the Ethereal Body leaves the market and rejoins the Mirror Image Warship, the bronze hall gate clutched in its grip starts to quake fiercely, just as expected.

"As suspected, these are the Time Divine Hall ruins..."

Song Chi draws in a steadying breath; though he'd guessed it, confirming this spot as the fabled supreme power's Time Divine Hall location still leaves him in awe.

The mighty faction that spanned endless eras, said to have produced multiple transcenders, in the end fell to the doom of lost legacy.

While lost in thought, Song Chi picks up on an irregularity.

"Didn't they say the Time Divine Hall's primary chamber sat at the River of Time's terminus? Why would it end up in this 'Star Sea·South Pole'?"

As his instincts scan the vast ruins and beyond, Song Chi verifies no thick cluster of time laws and rules in the Southern Star Sea Extreme Domain, signaling the famed River of Time isn't present or doesn't pass through.

Still, for all his questions, clearly no explanations await; he opts to set them aside, pressing on with the Mirror Image Warship under the Heavenly Ruins Cang Qiong's control.

No matter the reason for the Time Divine Hall's presence at this Star Sea·South Pole, the priority lies in whether the Key of Time Divine Hall Inheritance he possesses can still perform its intended role.