The moment Lin Yi's consciousness returned to reality, a terrifying pressure that could shatter the heavens and annihilate the earth crashed down upon him. From the rift, the giant eyes fully opened, and countless chains snaked out, forming a vast, pitch - black canopy that enveloped Myriad Sound Valley. The resonance level on the device interface hovered at 34.8%, stubbornly refusing to breach the crucial 35% threshold.
"Hang on! Just a bit longer!" Yun Ge's voice was hoarse yet resolute. Her guqin, after resonating with the Ark's energy, was covered in cracks, each one a testament to the overloaded spiritual power. With all her might, she poured her bloodline energy into the sound waves, creating a trembling protective net around the Ark, barely holding back the onslaught from the rift.
Seeing the situation spiral out of control, the Blood Fiend Sect Master's eyes flashed with determination. "Retreat! This battle is beyond our reach!" With a wave of his hand, he led the remaining disciples in a hasty escape, fearing the destructive power that threatened to consume all. Although the black - robed man had been sent flying by the star meteorite chain, he wasn't deterred. Hiding behind a distant rock, his eyes glinted maliciously as he clutched a black jade slip inscribed with strange runes, muttering incantations as if summoning some terrifying entity.
Taking a deep breath, Lin Yi forcefully circulated the Meteor Chime technique, attempting to smooth out the chaotic spiritual energy within his body and reach the final resonance level. But the mysterious force within the rift seemed to sense his intent. A pillar of light infused with chaotic energy shot out, slamming into the Star Meteorite Ark. The runes on the Ark's surface dimmed, and its energy fluctuations became wildly unstable.
In that critical moment, the voice of the 0th adapter suddenly echoed in Lin Yi's Sea of Consciousness: "Use yourself as a guide to anchor the dimension!" These words were like the first rays of dawn, illuminating the path forward. Gritting his teeth, Lin Yi channeled all of his spiritual energy, the power of the star meteorite iron, and even part of his life force into the device.
The resonance level began to soar: 34.9%, 35%! The device interface finally displayed the prompt [Dimensional anchor activation successful], but it was immediately followed by [Unknown energy interference detected. Anchoring process hindered]. From the rift, a colossal figure emerged—a giant swathed in star meteorite iron chains, exuding a putrid aura. Each step it took sent shockwaves through the very fabric of space.
"Puny insects, daring to stop the descent of the great being?" The giant's thunderous voice shook the air. With a wave of its hand, countless chains shot towards Lin Yi and the Star Meteorite Ark once more. Without hesitation, Yun Ge stepped in front of Lin Yi. Her guqin shattered completely, transforming into a shower of sound - wave fragments that could only slow the chains' advance slightly.
Seeing this, the black - robed man grinned maniacally. Holding the black jade slip high, he shouted, "Great Lord of Chaos, devour this adapter and seize control of the device!" A jet of dark light erupted from the jade slip, merging with the giant's power and surging towards Lin Yi.
Facing the impending crisis, Lin Yi once again summoned the device's power, conjuring a massive star meteorite shield in front of him. But he could clearly feel that after the previous overexertion, his body had reached its breaking point, and his consciousness was fading. Just as the shield was about to shatter, he remembered a secret technique from the First Valley Master's memories—"Meteor Synchronization," a forbidden art that involved sacrificing oneself to merge completely with the Star Meteorite Ark.
"Yun Ge, I'm sorry..." Lin Yi silently apologized in his heart before resolutely activating "Meteor Synchronization." In an instant, his figure merged with the Star Meteorite Ark, and the energy readings on the device interface skyrocketed. A power beyond imagination erupted above Myriad Sound Valley. But would this power be enough to anchor the dimension and fend off the terrifying being behind the rift? And what unknown fate awaited Lin Yi after merging with the Ark? This life - or - death battle, which held the world's fate in the balance, was hurtling towards its most heart - stopping climax.
The instant Lin Yi merged with the Star Meteorite Ark, the space above Myriad Sound Valley distorted and shattered like a broken mirror. The energy readings on the device interface went into overdrive, bursting through the critical threshold. A silvery - white pillar of light shot into the sky, vaporizing the chains lunging from the rift. The giant let out a deafening roar as the star meteorite iron chains coiled around its body began to grow in reverse, piercing its own flesh. Dark green blood rained down like a storm.
The black jade slip in the black - robed man's hand shattered into pieces under the pillar's impact. He stared in horror at the quantum star rings encircling Lin Yi—a sign that the device had entered its ultimate form. "Impossible! The First Valley Master clearly said..." His scream was swallowed by the sound of space tearing apart. A sudden temporal current swept him away, and before disappearing, a half - piece of jade pendant fell from his bosom. Engraved on it were patterns identical to those on the 0th adapter's scepter.
Yun Ge was sent flying hundreds of meters by the shockwave. Blood trickled from her lips, but she still forced herself to look up at the sky. She saw Lin Yi's eyes shining with a light like a galaxy after the merge, each gesture capable of causing spatial tremors. Yet beneath the dazzling exterior, she keenly sensed that his aura was growing weaker by the second—"Meteor Synchronization" was rapidly consuming his life force. This momentary strength was nothing but a final burst of energy before the end.
"Little insects, do you think fusion can withstand the origin?" A voice even huskier than the giant's rumbled from the depths of the rift. The entire sky turned a sinister purple - black. The giant's shattered remains reassembled amidst the energy tempest, and a massive shadow of illusion materialized behind it. The shadow of illusion wore a star - encrusted crown, and its face matched the patterns on the black - robed man's jade pendant exactly. "I am the Dimension Reaper under the Lord of Chaos. The 0th adapter's failure was inevitable!"
Lin Yi's consciousness trembled violently within the Ark's core as fragments of the 0th adapter's memories flooded in. He witnessed the First Valley Master stuffing a piece of star meteorite iron engraved with warning runes into a temporal rift just before the fortress collapsed—the very same fragment that formed the black - robed man's jade pendant. Even more shockingly, the final moments of the 0th adapter revealed that the Lord of Chaos didn't originate from the rift. Instead, it was an "error - correction program" born from the device to balance the universe!
"So... we're the mistakes to be corrected..." Lin Yi's murmur drifted away with a mouthful of blood. The star meteorite cannon he controlled suddenly turned towards the depths of Myriad Sound Valley—where the First Valley Master's last safeguard lay, a self - destruct device capable of reducing a thousand - li radius to quantum dust.
Yun Ge understood his intention and forced her broken meridians to carry her to the Ark's base. "Are you insane? This will destroy the entire Myriad Sound Valley!" The shattered pieces of her guqin suddenly reassembled on their own, and the strings pulsed with the lingering consciousness of the First Valley Master. "The 0th adapter spent his life rewriting the device's underlying logic and hid the key to defeating the Lord of Chaos... in the third chamber of the Ark's core!"
The shadow of illusion of the Dimension Reaper loomed closer. With a wave of its hand, space began to undergo irreversible collapse. Looking at the remaining 12% of his life force on the device interface, Lin Yi gritted his teeth and delved into the Ark's core. Deep within the chamber, a golden - glowing star core slowly ascended, inscribed with the Anti - Correction Protocol co - created by the 0th adapter and the First Valley Master.
Yun Ge looked into Lin Yi's determined eyes, and the lingering consciousness of the First Valley Master in her ears became clearer. She suddenly recalled that when she was a child, in the Forbidden Ground of Myriad Sound Valley, she had seen an ancient wall covered with star patterns. At that time, when she touched the wall, the star patterns glowed faintly, but she didn't think much of it because of her young age. Now, when she thought about it, the arrangement of those star patterns was extremely similar to the energy trajectories when Lin Yi controlled the Ark.
"Back then, the First Valley Master spent all his efforts hiding the information of the final safeguard in every detail of Myriad Sound Valley," the broken pieces of the guqin trembled as the voice of the First Valley Master, laden with the weight of years, echoed. "And you, as the legitimate inheritor of the Valley Master's bloodline in Myriad Sound Valley, are the only one who can decipher these hidden messages." Yun Ge finally understood that her innate sensitivity to spiritual energy fluctuations and her special ability to resonate with various prohibitions in Myriad Sound Valley all stemmed from this blood inheritance.
During the battles with Lin Yi, Yun Ge had felt faint vibrations from the depths of Myriad Sound Valley several times. The frequency of those vibrations had secretly resonated with the keepsake left by the First Valley Master. She didn't explore it further at that time, but now, at this life - and - death moment, these fragmented memories finally came together. Her gaze swept over every building and every stone tablet in Myriad Sound Valley, and she discovered that their layout actually coincided with an ancient star map, and the center of the star map pointed straight to the depths of the ground.
The half - piece of jade pendant dropped by the black - robed man before disappearing now lay in the ruins of the battlefield. Yun Ge picked up the fragment and found that the patterns on it were also related to the star patterns on the wall of the Forbidden Ground in her memory. The consciousness of the First Valley Master fluctuated again: "That jade pendant is one of the keys to unlock the safeguard, and the power in your blood is the other key."
The shadow of illusion of the Dimension Reaper was already approaching. The suction force generated by the spatial collapse drew gravel from the ground into the air. Despite the intense pain of spiritual energy exhaustion, Yun Ge mobilized the power of her bloodline and chanted incantations. As she did so, the protective formation of Myriad Sound Valley suddenly shone brightly, and hidden passages appeared on the ground, leading straight to the depths below.
"Lin Yi! I found the way!" Yun Ge shouted, her voice a mix of joy and tension. She knew that every second of delay put Lin Yi's life in more danger and brought Myriad Sound Valley closer to destruction. Without hesitation, she stepped into the passage and rushed towards the location of the First Valley Master's final safeguard, with only one thought in her mind: no matter what, she had to help Lin Yi find a way to confront the Lord of Chaos and protect Myriad Sound Valley and this world.
In the core of the Ark, Lin Yi felt the message from Yun Ge, and a warm current welled up in his heart. Looking at the decreasing life force on the device interface, he knew his time was running out. He exerted all his consciousness, trying to activate the Anti - Correction Protocol in advance to buy more time for Yun Ge. At this moment, the Dimension Reaper had already extended its huge palm and slammed it hard towards the Star Meteorite Ark.