dmims Page 83
Page 83
Lin Che's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed a mouthful of dry saliva.
Just one more step forward.
Once you step into that frozen space-time area, you can reach the heart of the oasis.
Then you can obtain the supreme treasure that exists only in the oldest myths - "Stardust of Destiny".
It was a miraculous creation that Jirachi extracted from its own essence when it made a wish, containing a trace of the law of "destiny".
The immense temptation transformed into streams of scalding blood, pounding against his heart and making it pound like drums in his chest. Every cell in his body screamed and cried out, urging him forward.
forward!
That's a miracle that could make any trainer rise to the top in one step!
Lin Che's breathing became heavy, and his fists clenched so tightly at his sides that his knuckles turned white.
But he ultimately didn't take that step.
He abruptly closed his eyes, his chest heaving violently, forcefully suppressing the greed that was almost consuming his reason.
A scene vividly appeared in his mind.
That was many years ago, when his mentor, the old man known as the "walking encyclopedia of secret realms," gave him his last lecture.
The old man pointed to a mural depicting an ancient battle between gods, his tone more serious than ever before.
"Lin Che, remember, as an adventurer, you can challenge the limits, explore the unknown, and even contend with powerful Champion-level Pokémon."
"But there is one ironclad rule that you must uphold with your life."
"Never disturb the sleeping gods!"
"Never try to fathom the power and wrath of the gods with your pitiful, mortal wisdom. To be an enemy of the gods is the most foolish and arrogant act in the world. Even a sleeping god, the power of rules that unconsciously emanates from them is enough to crush any mortal who dares to blaspheme into dust, along with their soul, and condemn them to eternal damnation!"
The mentor's earnest teachings resounded like a great bell in Lin Che's mind.
When he opened his eyes again, the fanaticism and greed in them had completely faded, leaving only an icy calm and clarity.
"．‖ Cannot go in."
He made his final decision in a voice only he could hear.
Yes, Fate Dust is a supreme treasure.
But compared to his own life and the safety of the entire team, it was worthless.
Only as long as you are alive can you have a future.
This simple truth is a lesson learned through the blood and tears of countless explorers who perished deep in secret realms.
Having abandoned that insane idea, Lin Che's mind quickly calmed down. His gaze no longer fell on the oasis's core, which was filled with deadly allure, but instead turned to the petrified relics of the explorers scattered in the outer area.
They are my predecessors and my lessons.
Lin Che began to carefully search among these frozen "sculptures".
His movements were gentle, showing respect for the deceased.
These explorers were undoubtedly top-tier warriors in life, with luxurious equipment and superior gear. But in the face of this disaster unintentionally caused by the gods, they were no different from those weak wild elves.
Lin Che's gaze finally settled on the skeleton of an explorer.
In the last moment before he was petrified, the man seemed to be reaching out, trying to grab a backpack in front of him.
Most of the backpack had been eroded and solidified by spacetime energy, turning into the same grayish-white color as the surrounding rocks. Fortunately, a small area at the opening of the backpack seemed to be protected by some kind of prop, maintaining its original material.
Lin Che's heart started racing again, much to his dismay.
He slowly walked forward, reached out, and gently touched the edge of the backpack with his fingertips.
Cold and hard.
He increased his strength, trying to "pull" the backpack out of the frozen space-time.
“Crack…Crack…”
After a tooth-grinding cracking sound, he successfully removed half of the backpack.
Inside the torn backpack, a folded map made of a special waterproof material lay quietly.
Most of the map has been completely destroyed by the dissipated energy, turning it charred and broken.
Lin Che held his breath and carefully unfolded it with trembling fingers.
The damaged area covers more than 90 percent of the land, and the countless precious mineral deposits, secret passages, and energy-rich areas marked on it have all been turned into unrecognizable ink marks.
However, in the lower right corner of the map, a route marked in bright red leading to "Exit B" was miraculously preserved intact.
That route perfectly bypassed the core area of the Time Oasis, leading to the outside world from the other side of the Stardust Grotto.
"There's always a way out..."
A surge of overwhelming joy and relief instantly swept over Lin Che. He could almost imagine the sheer delight of the map's original owner when he drew this safe route. It was just a pity that he ultimately couldn't escape that catastrophe.
Lin Che solemnly put the life-saving map into his pocket. Then, he turned around, faced the desolate oasis where the gods slept, and bowed deeply.
This bow is for his own survival, and also for those who perished here.
Having done all this, he had no lingering feelings and resolutely turned away.
He strode confidently toward the direction marked on the map.
Chapter 79 Crossing the Time-Space Fault! The Ice Crystal Maze!
The tattered map he obtained in the Oasis of Time was now slightly warm in Lin Che's palm.
Its guidance ended at a jagged, gaping black chasm.
Inside the rift was not rock or soil, but some kind of twisted, flowing, ever-changing band of colored light. It was not light, but the wound exposed after the laws themselves had been torn apart.
This is the deepest part of Stardust Caverns, the core edge of the collapse of spacetime.
"This is it."
Lin Che's thoughts were clearly transmitted to his partner below him through telepathy.
The warrior eagle responded with a deep, resonant roar, its sharp eyes reflecting the bizarre and wondrous scene before it, showing no sign of retreat. Its massive wingspan tucked slightly, its muscles tensed, fully prepared.
Without further hesitation.
Lin Che leaned down, pressing his body against the broad back of the Warrior Eagle.
"Enter!"
At a command, the warrior eagle flapped its wings and transformed into a white arrow, plunging headlong into that chaotic land of laws.
The moment they burst in, all the sounds of the world vanished.
An indescribable sense of detachment enveloped Lin Che's entire body. He felt his hearing, smell, and even touch being stretched infinitely and then compressed into a single point.
Inside the passage, there are no up, down, left, or right directions.
The "walls" on both sides are countless slices of fragmented time and space, like broken mirrors reflecting phantoms that do not belong to this era.
Lin Che's retina captured an unforgettable scene.
To the left, a lush, ancient jungle flashed by. An ancient fossil pterosaur with a wingspan exceeding ten meters roared silently, its rough, gray skin tanned by the sun. Its eyes were fierce, full of primal wildness.
Right beside it, separated only by an almost invisible transparent barrier, lies another completely different space-time.
It was a virtual city composed of data streams, with cold neon lights outlining the silhouettes of skyscrapers. A futuristic Pompeii Z was performing spatial jumps at angles defying the laws of physics, its body rapidly switching between solid and virtual forms.
Fossil Pterosaur and Porygonian Z.
One comes from prehistoric times, the other is born in the future.
They brushed past each other in their respective time slices, so close they seemed almost within reach.
But neither of them noticed, like two parallel lines that would never intersect.
This eerie sense of disconnection caused a sharp pain in Lin Che's temples.
He forced himself to look away and gaze directly down the passageway.
There, there is a "long river" that flows endlessly.
The river wasn't blue, but rather a pure, indescribable silvery-white. It flowed without making a sound. The surface was perfectly still, without a ripple, only an absolute, breathtaking smoothness.
That is the "River of Time" formed by the compression of pure time energy.
Lin Che's Eye of Truth could even see a small piece of rock that had broken off from the cliff and silently fell into the silvery-white river.
There was no splashing of water.
That hard rock, upon contact with the river surface, underwent millions of years of weathering. It quickly became rounded, grew moss, turned into gravel, and finally decomposed completely, returning to its most primitive particle form.
The whole process took less than a blink of an eye.
A chill ran up Lin Che's spine to the top of his head.
Any substance that falls into it will be instantly washed away and decomposed by time, completely erased from every dimension in which it once existed.
Return to nothingness.
"Warrior Eagle, watch out!"
Lin Che's voice was somewhat dry due to extreme nervousness.
"Fly close to the rock face above!"
"Goo!"
The warrior eagle let out a steady cry, carefully folding its wings and compressing its enormous wingspan to its limit. The sharp wingtips of its feathers almost grazed the rock wall at the top of the passage, leaving shallow white marks on the rough stone.
It abandoned high-speed flight and instead glided forward in an extremely slow and steady manner.
Every step forward is accompanied by enormous risks.
Lin Che's muscles were tense, his mental focus was highly concentrated, and he kept scanning his surroundings for any possible changes.
Just then, a faint light caught his attention.
In a crevice in a fault line on the right, several glistening berries are growing tenaciously. They emit a soft, starlight-like glow, appearing exceptionally serene in this chaotic area.
Almost at the same time, the system's cold notification sounded in his mind.