The corrupt tide of Cuiluo Bay slowly receded, but the mottled bands of color on the horizon grew increasingly intense.

The distant rumbling was like the heavy breathing of a giant beast, and every tremor sent ominous ripples across the sea's surface.

It was already late at night when Bai Cheng's group returned to the train.

Inside the medical pod, pale green restoration fluid was slowly injected, and gentle life energy enveloped the scarred bodies of Bai Cheng and Zi Yuan.

Lu Duo stood guard nearby, emerald brilliance flowing from her fingertips as she meticulously smoothed out the residual law turbulence within them.

Yu Nian brewed a pot of calming tea infused with pure heart vine petals and distributed it to everyone.

The tea's fragrance was crisp and clear, slightly dispelling the heavy oppression in their hearts.

At the main console, Leng Ningxue's icy eyes were fixed on the tide charts and the constantly refreshing battlefield intelligence.

On the light screen, a crimson tide of light representing the Enforcement Officer forces was launching an assault on the Constellation's star sector barriers from three directions.

Meanwhile, the Constellation's defensive lines were slowly but firmly shrinking inward, like reefs eroded by giant waves, constantly peeling away and crumbling.

"The war situation is worsening," Leng Ningxue's voice came through the internal comms, calm yet carrying a hint of tension.

"The vanguard of the Enforcement Officer's World-Purifying Tide has broken through three star sector defense lines in the north. The Constellation has lost two high-level combatants, including Libra."

"The aftershocks of the clash between King-class entities from both sides are forming a new law turbulence zone in the middle of the Emerald Sea."

Blue Bird slammed a fist against the cabin wall, lightning exploding into tiny arcs of electricity at his knuckles.

"Those lunatics... what exactly are they trying to do? Who benefits from turning the entire Emerald Sea into ruins?"

"To those above, ruins might be purer than an uncontrollable living chess game," Bai Cheng's voice drifted from the medical pod, calm with a cold insight.

"They are clearing the board, paving the way for the next stage of reshaping."

"And for the Constellation Leader to break through to the Sovereign rank, he also needs vast amounts of law energy and absolute control... To both sides, the living beings of this sea are merely fuel and dust."

The cabin fell silent for a moment, save for the faint sound of the restoration fluid circulating.

Suddenly, the pure heart vine seedling in Yu Nian's arms trembled once more.

This time, the tremors were slow and heavy. The tip of the vine pointed northeast, and its silvery-white buds seeped dark gold teardrops.

"Another distress signal..." Yu Nian's voice trembled. "But this fluctuation... it's very ancient, very sad... like a requiem that's about to be forgotten."

Leng Ningxue quickly pulled up the data: "Northeast, seven hundred nautical miles away, there's an unmarked law anomaly point. The energy reading is extremely low, but the structure is unusually stable... Wait, the life signals are weak but continuous, like a... sleeping colony?"

Bai Cheng sat up from the restoration fluid, her wet silver hair clinging to her shoulders.

She closed her eyes ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) to sense it. Deep in her soul, the Stardust Imprint pulsed with a strange throb—not a warning, but a distant, hazy resonance, as if an equally ancient and faint conviction was softly calling from the other side.

"Let's go see," she said, opening her eyes. The fatigue in her silver gaze hadn't faded, but her resolve had coalesced anew.

"But your injuries..." Lu Duo said worriedly.

"We'll continue to recover on the way." Bai Cheng stepped out of the medical pod and took the dry clothes Yu Nian handed her.

"Ning Xue, plan a route. Try to avoid known battlefield areas and turbulence zones."

"Chi Yan, Huang Yu, Lan Xiaoyu, keep the train in stealth mode at medium speed."

"Blue Bird, Zi Yuan, Lu Duo, Yu Nian, accompany me."

She looked out the porthole at the northeastern night sky, which was reflected dark red by the flames of war, and added softly:

"This time, perhaps it isn't a rescue, but... a witnessing."

The silver train quietly turned, like a silver fish sliding into the deep and turbulent night of the Emerald Sea.

During the seven-hundred-nautical-mile journey, they bypassed three star sector debris belts where conflicts were erupting and a newly formed crimson tidal vortex.

The closer they got to the target point, the calmer the environment became.

The law color bands in the sky grew thin, and the sea surface was undisturbed, even revealing a strange clarity.

Moonlight spilled down, and the sea surface shimmered with a silver-scaled luster, looking unrealistically beautiful.

"Detected a large-scale Dormant Law Domain, covering an area of over fifty nautical miles."

Leng Ningxue stared at the monitoring data, a hint of surprise flashing in her icy eyes.

"The flow of time within the domain is exceptionally slow, and life activity has dropped to a minimum, but... it's not death; it's a deeper kind of stagnation. External law turbulence is completely isolated."

The train slowly entered this eerily quiet domain.

At the edge of their vision, the silhouette of an island gradually became clear.

It was neither a verdant fishing island nor a pale crystal reef, but a massive thicket of coral composed of some pale gold, translucent crystal.

Crystalline branches crisscrossed to form natural fortresses and domes, within which traces of buildings were faintly visible. The style was ancient and bizarre, resembling neither palace nor tower.

The most shocking thing was the entire island—or rather, this massive crystalline coral thicket.

On its surface flowed an extremely faint yet continuous pale silver halo.

The fluctuations of that halo produced a clear resonance with the Stardust Imprint deep within Bai Cheng's soul.

"It's the residual conviction of the Ancient Stardust..." Bai Cheng whispered, her silver eyes reflecting the pale silver halo. "The civilization that forged the star rail anchors... their survivors are still sleeping here."

The train stopped at the periphery of the crystalline coral thicket.

Everyone stepped onto the island. Beneath their feet was a crystalline ground as warm and smooth as jade, not cold to the touch but carrying a faint warmth.

The air was filled with a tranquil scent like a mix of sandalwood and stardust. Time seemed frozen here, and even breathing became elongated.

From deep within the crystalline forest came a faint, ancient song that sounded like both a chant and a dreamlike murmur.

Following the guidance of the song and the resonance of conviction, they arrived at the center of the island.

There was an open circular plaza paved with pure milky-white crystals, with a monument about ten meters high standing in the center.

The monument itself was also made of pale gold crystal, its surface covered with flowing star maps and unrecognizable ancient script.

In front of the monument sat dozens of figures cross-legged.

They were clad in pale silver robes that seemed woven from starlight. Their forms were illusory, somewhere between physical and spiritual. Their expressions were serene, eyes closed as if immersed in the deepest of dreams.

Each person was surrounded by an extremely faint pale silver halo, originating from the same source as the island's halo—the manifestation of that ancient conviction.

And at the very front of these sleeping figures, beneath the base of the monument, sat an old man with the most solid form.

His hair and beard were entirely silver, almost blending in with his robes. His face was ancient and simple. His hands were folded on his lap, cradling a pigeon-egg-sized stardust crystal with restrained light.

As Bai Cheng's group approached, the old man's eyelashes trembled slightly, and he slowly opened his eyes.

Those were silver eyes that seemed to contain an entire sea of stars—weathered and wise, yet carrying endless fatigue and a faint sense of relief.

His gaze passed over everyone and finally landed on Bai Cheng.

"scion of the gate... Light Guardian carrying the Stardust Guide..."

The old man's voice rang directly in everyone's consciousness, gentle and distant, like an echo traveling through vast spans of time,

"You have finally... arrived here."