Chapter 266: Piercing

As "Pandora," like a moth diving into flame, plunged with vast resources and reckless daring into the unknown sea marked by the "leaked" beacon signal in the South Pacific, the "battle" deep within the Kunlun Mountains entered its most perilous and critical phase—Piercing.

After days of relentless probing, adjustment, and fierce spiritual struggle, Xia Wan finally, with immense difficulty, carved out a narrow, unstable "crack" within the chaotic, twisted energy field, using her unique Bloodline Power.

This "crack" was not a physical passage, but rather a fleeting frequency synchronization—a temporary authorization "tolerated" by ancient prohibitions. It was as fragile as a soap bubble, ready to shatter at the slightest external energy fluctuation or her own spiritual lapse, swallowing her whole into the chaotic fusion of information and energy.

Xia Wan's face was as pale as paper; prolonged mental exhaustion had hollowed her eyes, yet those calm eyes burned with startling intensity, like a lone star in a cold night. She could feel it—the core region, wrapped in layers of anomalies—emitting a more ancient, more pure, and far more… dangerous resonance.

There, was the origin of Shenhua Tianfu's anomaly.

She did not hesitate.

Taking a deep breath, she pushed the Bloodline Power within her to its absolute limit and stepped into the twisted "crack."

In an instant, the world spun wildly!

As if piercing a thick, icy membrane, all sound, light, and perception were violently stretched, twisted, and reassembled! Countless shattered fragments of information, saturated with negative emotion, stabbed into her consciousness like ice spikes! Ancient whispers became frenzied screams; distorted light and shadow transformed into monstrous illusions ready to devour her!

This was no physical attack—it was direct erosion upon the spiritual and soul level!

Xia Wan grunted, a trickle of blood seeping from her lips. She clung to the last sliver of clarity in her spirit, wrapping her mind in a shield of her own ancient, primordial power, struggling to resist the all-pervading spiritual corruption.

Each step felt as heavy as a thousand catties, as if wading through mud.

She saw illusions—collapsed bronze palaces, shattered jade steles, figures clad in ancient robes screaming and dissolving within energy storms… These were fragments of the land's ancient memories, awakened by the anomaly, turned into weapons against intruders.

She did not know how long it lasted—perhaps an instant, perhaps eternity.

The chaos ahead suddenly cleared!

She had finally "Pierced" the outermost layer of chaos and reached the edge of the core region.

The sight before her stole her breath.

This was not the ancient ruin she imagined, filled with traps and mechanisms—but a… void.

A roughly hundred-meter-wide irregular spherical "Hollow." Within this "Hollow," there was no light, no sound, no matter—even the concept of space had grown hazy. Only the purest energy, like background static, flowed slowly. At its very center floated a stone, roughly the size of a fist, entirely black, its surface etched with intricate, naturally formed silver patterns resembling stellar veins.

No, it was not a stone.

Xia Wan clearly sensed that within the Black Object pulsed an indescribable force—cold, immense, and ancient, as if born at the dawn of the universe. It was this object that warped the surrounding space, disrupted energy flows, and leaked the chaotic spiritual corruption.

It was the origin of Shenhua Tianfu's anomaly!

What shook Xia Wan's spirit even more was that as she gazed at the Black Object, her Bloodline Power surged uncontrollably in resonance with it! A deep, familiar yet alien tremor swept through her entire being!

As if this thing had always been… or rather, had always been of the same origin as her Bloodline!

At that moment, the floating Black Object seemed to sense her arrival—its silver patterns flared suddenly!

Hum—!

A Spiritual Impact a hundred times stronger than before surged toward Xia Wan like an invisible tsunami. This time, the impact carried not only chaotic information, but also a cold, indifferent will—intent on erasing all intruders!

Xia Wan was struck as if by a hammer; the glow on her suit dimmed to near nothingness. Her body flew backward like a severed kite, blood gushing from her nose and mouth!

The "crack" began to violently fluctuate—on the verge of collapse!

At this critical moment, Xia Wan's eyes flashed with resolve. Instead of stabilizing the "crack" or retreating, she used the momentum of her recoil to channel every ounce of her Bloodline Power, along with a fragment of her spiritual will, into a single, razor-thin imprint—bearing her unique frequency—and slammed it directly into the Black Object!

She did not know if it would work—it was pure instinct in desperation!

Yet, a miracle occurred.

The instant her imprint—charged with the same origin—touched the Black Object, the violent Spiritual Impact abruptly faltered. The silver patterns on its surface flickered several times; the erasing will seemed to hesitate… for a moment?

That moment of hesitation!

Xia Wan felt a faint, yet real, connection form between herself and the Black Object!

She "saw" more fragments of information—not attacks, but fleeting images of the Black Object's origin: it was not native to Earth, but had fallen here in the distant past, accompanying a catastrophe that swept across the stars… It was a "Beacon," a "Recorder," or perhaps… a "Lock"?

No time to think!

The "crack" was on the brink of collapse!

With her soul screaming as if torn apart, Xia Wan used her last strength to forcibly record, compress, and transmit to the waiting Low-Altitude Skimmer the image of the Black Object, its energy signature, and the fragmented information she had perceived.

Almost the instant she completed the transmission—

Pop!

Like a bursting bubble.

The fragile "crack" linking her to the outside world vanished completely.

Xia Wan's figure was utterly swallowed by the renewed, even more violent chaos of energy and spiritual pollution.

The Belly of the Kunlun Mountains returned to silence.

Only the Black Object, suspended in the void, slowly calmed its silver patterns—as if nothing had ever happened.

The Low-Altitude Skimmer received the brief, heavily corrupted signal, rich with astonishing data, and immediately encrypted it, transmitting it with the highest priority back to the New Era.

At the Command Center.

Qin Feng stared at the fuzzy image and data transmitted by the Low-Altitude Skimmer—especially the Black Object radiating ominous energy, and Xia Wan's final fragments about "Beacon," "Recorder," and "Lock"—his gaze grew immeasurably deep.

The secret of the Kunlun Mountains had finally been torn open, just a corner.

And Xia Wan…

His gaze seemed to pierce through layers of space, falling upon the mountain range shrouded in chaos.

This time… could she still create a miracle?