Two hours later.

Floating before Yu Nian were thirty-six seeds, each the size of a thumb and crystal-clear, with the faint glow of Starfire and Astral Scripts flowing within.

Her face was noticeably paler, and even the luster of her pure heart vine had dimmed somewhat.

"It's finished," she said softly, her voice tinged with exhaustion.

Bai Cheng walked to her side and injected a wisp of Cuiluo Bay's golden Starfire into her body. "Thank you for your hard work."

Yu Nian shook her head and divided the seeds into two sets of eighteen, handing them to Zi Yuan and Lu Duo respectively.

Zi Yuan and Blue Bird formed one team, responsible for the eighteen node islands on the western side of the Emerald Sea.

Lu Duo and Yu Nian formed the other team, responsible for the eighteen node islands on the eastern side of the Emerald Sea.

"Remember, evacuate immediately after the seeds are planted. Do not look back."

Bai Cheng gave her final instructions.

"It takes time for a single spark to start a prairie fire. We will meet in... seven days, at the Tianxuan Reef in the central waters of the Emerald Sea.

If I haven't appeared after seven days, return to Star Chart Island immediately and activate the final contingency."

"The final contingency?" Blue Bird was taken aback.

"The last secret legacy method of Star Chart Island that Senior Mo Yan gave me before he fell unconscious: Astral Fall Return."

Bai Cheng's voice was soft, yet it sent a chill through everyone's heart.

"It uses the three thousand years of accumulated astrological force fields of Star Chart Island as a catalyst to turn the entire island into a final torrent of conviction, forcibly impacting the foundation of the Emerald Sea's laws to win a single chance... for reincarnation for all living beings."

A deathly silence filled the train carriage.

That was a last-resort measure of mutual destruction.

"So, don't make me use it."

Bai Cheng smiled, a smile carrying a heart-shaking resolve.

"Go. I'll see you in seven days at Tianxuan Reef."

Zi Yuan took a deep breath and tightened her grip on the seeds and her long blade. "Miss, take care."

The lightning on Blue Bird's fists crackled. "We must meet again alive!"

Lu Duo's emerald radiance gently enveloped Bai Cheng, silently conveying worry and blessings.

Yu Nian's pure heart vine lightly wrapped around Bai Cheng's wrist before letting go.

The two teams boarded the small Submersibles on either side of the train.

They were temporary modifications made by Leng Ningxue using spare materials from the train; they had excellent stealth, but their defense and firepower were almost zero, built purely for rapid infiltration.

The hatches closed, and the Submersibles dove silently into the deep sea like two silver fish, heading east and west respectively.

Only Bai Cheng and Leng Ningxue remained in the carriage.

"Your route has been planned." Leng Ningxue transferred the final data to Bai Cheng's personal terminal.

"Along the way, you will pass three remnant Enforcement Officer outposts, one known Star Track Battle Group outpost, and... the Chaotic Vortex Zone at the edge of the Emerald Sea's central waters.

That is a natural law-disorder zone, which can maximize interference with the enemy's tracking and predictions, but it is also exceptionally dangerous."

"The Chaotic Vortex Zone..." Bai Cheng looked at the area marked in deep red on the terminal.

"I heard that is where a certain Star Lord fell in ancient times, and the lingering law conflicts formed a never-ending spatial storm."

"Yes. But it is also the best stage." A flicker of complexity crossed Leng Ningxue's icy eyes.

"If you want to attract everyone's attention, there is no better choice than appearing publicly there.

The chaotic environment will prevent them from easily setting traps, but it also means you cannot leverage environmental advantages."

"That's enough." Bai Cheng put away the terminal. "How much longer can the train run?"

"Energy reserves are at seventy percent, but with continuous high-intensity leaps, it can only last until ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) we're near Tianxuan Reef."

Leng Ningxue pulled up the energy monitoring chart. "After that, we'll need to find new energy supplements, or... wait for the Starfire Prairie Fire to succeed and draw stray energy from the Conviction Network."

"Then let's set off." Bai Cheng walked toward the main control console, her silver hair flowing under the soft lights of the carriage.

"Let us go and ignite the final, and brightest, fire for this war."

The silver train slowly turned, its engines emitting a low hum before it transformed into a streak of silver light, hurtling toward the deepest and most dangerous core waters of the Emerald Sea.

Not long after they left, above the ruins of the purified Deep Sea Forbidden Zone, a faint speck of golden light quietly spread, like a pebble dropped into a calm lake, rippling out in soft circles.

Wherever the ripples passed, the dark red receded, and the seawater regained its clarity.

Far to the east and west, on the thirty-six node islands, those glimmers still struggling in the darkness seemed to sense something and trembled slightly at the same time.

The prelude to the Starfire Prairie Fire set sail from the deep sea, whispering in the darkness.

The true flames were about to engulf the entire vault of the Emerald Sea.

The train sped silently through the dark deep sea, the view outside the portholes gradually transitioning from the purified ruins of the forbidden zone to more chaotic and distorted waters.

The seawater was no longer a pure deep blue or ink black, but presented a mixed, bizarre coloration like an overturned palette.

Dark purple, crimson, muddy yellow, pale green... various ominous colors floated and swirled like oil slicks.

Occasionally, massive, unnamable shadows or broken, shimmering law fragments flashed by.

This was the necessary path to the central waters of the Emerald Sea, a graveyard of laws after the fall of an ancient Star Lord, known reverently by the creatures of the Emerald Sea as the Star-Burial Vortex.

On the monitoring screen before Leng Ningxue, data writhed and jumped like a pack of frenzied snakes, and the alarm indicator lights silently flashed a dangerous red.

Her icy eyes were focused, and her hands flew across the virtual control interface, constantly adjusting the train's shield frequency and energy output.

This was to deal with the malicious law turbulence outside that changed every second.

"Spatial curvature fluctuation abnormal, intensity level three, rising steadily... High concentration of inert stardust detected, suspected to be weathered remains of a Star Lord, possessing a strong energy-inerting effect..."

"Small cluster of spatial rifts appearing at seven o'clock portside, unknown life signatures detected within... Evading..."

"Warning, large-scale energy accumulation detected thirty thousand nautical miles ahead, signature match... Enforcement Officer remnant Mind-Devouring Fleet flagship-class fluctuations, quantity... at least twelve ships, in a circular encirclement formation."

Bai Cheng stood before the main control console, her silver eyes calmly watching the silhouettes of the fleet emerging in the deep sea like lurking giant beasts.

Those warships were composed entirely of dark red crystals fused with some kind of pitch-black biomass, their surfaces covered in energy conduits pulsing like blood vessels.

The bows were as hideous as skulls, with dark cannon muzzles all aimed at the direction the train was approaching from.

Clearly, her intentionally exposed route had worked—the Enforcement Officer remnants had reacted quickly, setting up the first interception net here.

"They want to wear us down here to buy time for their forces to gather in the rear."