Chapter 369: New Partners

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Purple tides rose at the edge of the Bronze Sea, and corrupted mycelium spread between coffins like a spider‑web neural bundle. Ao Li thrust the World‑Cutting Blade into the core of the Bronze Sea, where the hellfire red lotus blooming on the hilt temporarily halted the mycelium's growth. Ao Li watched their fingertips gradually turning to stone, then heard the crisp sound of Star Sand falling—Lín Jìn's right pinky had become completely transparent, and Star Sand was dripping along the Vermilion Bird Tassel.

"There is a dimensional disturbance in the southeast quadrant." Lín Jìn's left‑eye celestial instrument suddenly spun faster, "It's not a Godslayer's shadow… it's a living being crossing Gui Xu."

Before the words finished, the dome of the Bronze Sea suddenly split open with a rainbow‑shaped gash. Seven figures, wrapped in Space‑Time Chaos, fell down; the leading silver‑armored warrior swung a three‑pointed, double‑edged blade to cleave the mycelial network, and when the blade struck a Bronze Coffin, familiar Dragon Clan sacred script burst forth.

"Azure Sea Dragon Guard?" Ao Li's dragon horns trembled; those heroic spirits who had fought the Star Sea alongside their ancestors should have long since faded into the river of time. Yet when Ao Li saw the face beneath the silver armor, their pupils suddenly contracted—the warrior's face was covered in star‑radiance tattoos, the distinctive branding scar of a Dragon Clan criminal.

The warrior sliced off the mycelium coiling around his ankle, his voice cold and mechanical: "Code Guiyou, ordered to pursue the Star Sea's wanted criminal." His blade pointed at the companions behind him, "These are Experimental Subjects No. 491 to 497."

Ao Li then noticed the abnormalities of the other six: the Girl with luminous wings had each feather formed of flowing Star Charts; the man shrouded in mist bore a Micro Hēidòng embedded in his chest; the youngest red‑eyed boy was weaving a doll from mycelium, the withered spores at his fingertips obedient as pets.

"We are not Experimental Subjects!" the light‑winged Girl suddenly spread her wings, and countless Stardust arrows shot toward the silver‑armored warrior, "You Star Law Court acted without permission…"

Code Guiyou's three‑pointed, double‑edged blade traced a cryptic arc, swallowing all the Stardust arrows. His mechanical left eye glowed red: "Rebellion detected, executing Clearance Program."

Lín Jìn's Vermilion Bird Tassel suddenly coiled around the blade. Hellfire spread along the blade, scorching a char on the silver armor: "Capturing people in someone else's ancestral tomb—have you asked the Tomb Guard?"

Ao Li's dragon tail churned the Bronze Sea water, and amid the waves ten hundred thousand dragon soul phantoms rose. Code Guiyou's blade suddenly emitted a wail, the Dragon Clan sacred script breaking free of control, turning into chains that bound his limbs: "Error… error… Dragon Clan legitimate bloodline verification passed…"

While the silver‑armored warrior was frozen, the mist‑shrouded man suddenly opened his arms. The black hole in his chest expanded rapidly, swallowing everyone into quantum foam: "Come with me!"

When Ao Li re‑sensed the Time‑Space Coordinate, they found themselves standing inside the skull of a colossal beast. The arched dome was covered with crystal clusters shaped like Neural Synapses, each crystal sealing fragments of countless civilizations' histories.

"This is the remains of a Time Whale." the red‑eyed boy stroked the crystal clusters, the withered spores blooming into flowers in his palm, "We hid for seven hundred years, until the mycelium lured the Star Law Court's hounds."

The light‑winged Girl folded her wings into a cloak, Star Chart patterns flowing across her face: "You carry the scent of the Mother God—those twins, right?" She suddenly seized Ao Li's crystallized wrist, "They planted a causal anchor inside you, so the Star Law Court could locate…"

Lín Jìn's Vermilion Bird Tassel pressed against the Girl's throat: "Explain clearly, or next time the fire will burn through an artery."

The black hole in the mist‑shrouded man's chest sighed: "We are the Star Law Court's Godslayer weapons. They once harvested an old god's residual body to cultivate a new god; we were the failures." He lifted the mist, revealing a body composed of Stardust and dark matter, "And your twins are the only successful Perfect Vessels."

Ao Li's Abyss Return Ruler suddenly resonated. Bronze Sea water surged outside the Time Whale Remains, forming a massive vertical pupil: "So those mycelium…"

"It's the Godslayer weapon recovery program." Code Guiyou's voice suddenly emanated from the crystal clusters, his mechanical body merging with the remains, "The Star Law Court deployed devourer mycelium across one hundred thousand space‑times; when the Perfect Vessel awakens, all failures will be reclaimed as nutrients."

The red‑eyed boy suddenly ripped open his own chest. His heart was a pulsating mycelium core, now emitting a strange rhythm: "They're coming."

The Time Whale Remains shuddered violently, the historical fragments within the crystal clusters exploding in succession. Through the shattered dome, everyone saw the mycelial network woven into a massive web covering the Star Sea, each node hanging a melting Godslayer weapon. A silver‑haired infant's silhouette flickered within the web, humming a song while harvesting the pallid cocoons.

"To the Eye of Gui Xu!" the mist‑shrouded man's black hole began to Collapse, "There the Mother God left…"

His words were torn apart within the Space‑Time Chaos. Code Guiyou's mechanical arm suddenly seized Ao Li and Lín Jìn, and the three‑pointed, double‑edged blade cleaved the Dimension Barrier: "Highest‑priority task change detected, protecting the Dragon Clan legitimate bloodline."

The moment everyone fell into the Eye of Gui Xu, Ao Li heard the wailing of the Dragon Clan ancestors. At the center of this absolute void floated a half‑broken jade basin—the missing half of the birthing jade basin. At the basin's crack, a colossal tree of fused bronze and flesh grew, its branches bearing three hundred sixty beating hearts.

"So it was here." Lín Jìn's Star Sand‑transformed right hand suddenly regained substance, and the flame on the Vermilion Bird Tassel turned a deep blue, "The Time Whale's prophecy is true…"

The silver‑haired infant's laughter suddenly detonated in everyone's minds. The mycelial giant web pierced the Dimension Barrier, and the Star Law Court's silver‑armored legion poured down like a torrential rain. Code Guiyou's mechanical eye flickered wildly, then he turned and thrust the three‑pointed, double‑edged blade into his own core: "Error… correction… freedom…"

His Zihui Mijian triggered a Chain Reaction, and all the silver‑armored warriors simultaneously exploded into a star nebula. The red‑eyed boy seized the chance to press the mycelium core onto the shattered jade basin: "Mother God, grant us the meaning of our existence!"

The Eye of Gui Xu began to Collapse. Ao Li saw the twins' silhouettes merging at the crack of the jade basin, and the bronze‑flesh tree suddenly burst with creation light. The light‑winged Girl's wings enveloped everyone, the Star Chart patterns resonating with the basin: "It is about to be born… the true…"

When the bright light faded, seven light cocoons floated above the Bronze Sea. The mycelial network, upon touching the cocoons, turned into nourishing spring rain, and the silver‑haired infant's angry shriek shattered twelve layers of dimensions. Ao Li discovered their crystallized body beginning to restore, while Lín Jìn's Star Sand‑transformation had spread to the elbow.

"They are not failures." The mist‑shrouded man's whisper, before vanishing, echoed through Gui Xu, "They are another possibility the Mother God left to the world…"