Another Fragment of the Sky-Fall Starship

The Dragon God's Messenger was a rumor that had recently appeared around the Bison Mountains.

Quite a few people said that the reason the three independent Mountain Folk tribes had been wiped out at the sacred Radiant Haze Lake was that they had faced the Dragon God's Messenger and been annihilated by heavenly lightning.

Although many merchants and bards spread the tale as though it were absolutely true, Chief Jiamu dismissed it with contempt.

Heavenly lightning? Just a new Imperial weapon.

The Dragon God's Messenger? Nothing more than an excuse the remnants of those three tribes, whose leaders had been killed, had invented to cover up their incompetence and evade responsibility.

At most, it was simply a tactic by the Avude Tribe to mislead the other Mountain Folk tribes. If there really was a Dragon God's Messenger, why had he not appeared earlier?

But now...

Not only the Jiamu Tribe, but even people from the distant Blazing Flame Lands and the Imperials around Rust Mountain Pass saw a silver-white blaze rise amid the mountains.

The radiance turned into ripples, surging and flowing through the clouds like waves as it spread in every direction.

But unlike the Mountain Folk, who felt tremors deep within their souls, they were merely puzzled—was it the aftermath of a battle? Or was some powerful magical beast rampaging?

There were too many possibilities. Too many secrets lay buried within the Bison Mountains.

"Send people to investigate!" At the Southern Ridge headquarters in the Blazing Flame Lands, Captain Naimo gave the order in his office, his tone indifferent. "I want a detailed report within three days!"

"Just how many secrets are these Mountain Folk hiding from me?" After the relevant officials had all left, he furrowed his brow and muttered, "It's all those useless fools' fault. They lost so much armor and equipment that more than half the special operations team's budget is gone. Now even our reconnaissance manpower has to be cut back!"

"Holy Rust-Steel Mountain... As expected, many of the legends behind these Mountain Folk holy sites were neither false nor exaggerated. There must be secrets behind them..."

"But why didn't the Imperials search for the truth back then? Could they not, or did they not want to?"

"Or could it be Dragon Island..." Naimo sank into thought.

"Quick! Record all of this!" At the pass, Nauman City intelligence personnel pulled out cameras and began filming. They took out simple communication devices and contacted Nauman City directly. "An anomaly has appeared at the Mountain Folk's Holy Mountain. We have no further intelligence at present. Requesting Patrol Knights to investigate!"

"Received!" Nauman City's response came quickly. "A Patrol Knight is already near the Avude Tribe, codename 'Guide.' Establish contact with him as soon as possible!"

"As expected, sending Ian over was a good move."

In an office in Nauman City, Colonel Mayowa was also trying to contact Ian. But due to electromagnetic interference, the communication crystal plate Ian carried could not function, so he could only give up regretfully.

Still, he was not particularly frustrated—thanks to Ian's sharp instincts and his own decision-making, the Empire now had a Patrol Knight near Holy Rust-Steel Mountain, one who also had close ties to the Dragon-Worshiping Cult and the Avude Tribe that had triggered this disturbance.

If nothing unexpected happened, then when Ian returned, they would obtain the most authentic firsthand intelligence from the scene!

Naturally.

After all, the one who was theoretically supposed to be gathering intelligence was standing at the very center of this upheaval.

All of that was merely aftermath.

At this moment, beneath Holy Rust-Steel Mountain.

The blazing light atop the Mountain Summit gradually stabilized.

Unlike Azure Tide, who could only exclaim, "Oh my heavens," Elder Manyan raised his head and stared fixedly at the surging psionic blaze at the summit of the Holy Mountain—the clouds and fierce winds in the sky rapidly shook and spun within the suddenly changing psionic field, forming a vortex like an inverted mountain range.

The bottom of that vortex connected to a massive altar atop the Holy Mountain, as if two mountain peaks between heaven and earth had collided to form a gigantic hourglass.

And the vast Nature Psionics were like an inverted sea, manifesting where the two peaks met before pouring into the Holy Mountain and becoming silver-white flames.

Dense arrays of inscription patterns lit up and dimmed all across Holy Rust-Steel Mountain, flickering as they absorbed that immense energy.

"Psionic reflux..."

Elder Manyan muttered, gradually raising his voice. "The sacred fire is reigniting?!"

This was the truth behind the Holy Mountain's Dragon God's Ritual Flame—a self-charging structure that drew upon Nature Psionics to replenish its own energy.

The phenomenon now was caused by its first activation after a long dormancy. But after some time had passed, the outward signs would fade, leaving behind nothing but pure psionic flow.

By then, to ordinary people, the Dragon God's Ritual Flame would be an undying sacred flame that burned almost eternally without any fuel at all.

Elder Manyan could not see that much. He merely sensed that the environment atop Holy Rust-Steel Mountain was the ideal place for him to advance to the Third Energy Level!

Such immense wind-aspect Origin Matter had gathered here, and its structure was nearly perfect. If he advanced here, he would certainly achieve a perfect advancement.

Yet he did not hastily climb the mountain and consume his Magic Potion.

Because the old man was waiting.

Waiting for a "result" that could persuade him and make him believe.

"Ian..."

He muttered softly, clenching his fists. His voice trembled slightly with excitement and anticipation. "It's true... It really can be done?!"

The old man took a deep breath. At that moment, he completely made up his mind. "No matter what, whether you are or not—from this day onward, you are the only Dragon God's Messenger supported by the Avude Tribe!"

At that moment, fires had already been lit throughout the Avude Tribe.

Countless Mountain Folk took up torches, lit oil lamps, and raced toward Holy Rust-Steel Mountain in haste and anticipation.

Whether they were running or had only just awakened at home, everyone gazed up at the distant Holy Mountain, watching that sacred fire from afar.

And a figure stood at the center of the silver-white flames. Vast and boundless Nature Psionics washed over his body, cleansing his flesh while transmitting information from the deepest roots of the Holy Mountain.

Permission confirmed: Highest Administrator

Disinfection procedure in progress... "Glimmer Cradle" is undergoing comprehensive purification...

Unable to connect to central processor...

Unable to detect Spark status within Cradle...

Warning: Glimmer Cradle System is damaged. Please repair as soon as possible!

Welcome, Administrator

Countless streams of Origin Matter, guided by an extraordinarily exquisite force, poured into Ian's body and washed away its impurities—according to the information transmitted into his mind, this was merely a disinfection and purification procedure carried out by some "Cradle System." But for people living upon the land, even Sublimers could not avoid the poisons, illnesses, and injuries that plagued them.

At first, Ian thought the disinfection procedure would not take long, and that even if it did, it would not cause any harm.

Indeed, it caused no harm.

But it hurt far too much!

As the Cradle System began its washing and purification, Ian felt a faint numbness all over his body, as if he were being shocked by a weak electric current. Then warmth slowly spread through him, followed immediately by scorching pain like sunlight burning his flesh!

In an instant, that searing pain flowed through every part of the youth's body. His heart, lungs, hands, torso, legs, back, and head all burned. The heated sensation drew the silver-white Dragon God's Ritual Flame into his body, continuously intensifying both the heat and the pain!

"This feeling is familiar!"

As Ian gritted his teeth and endured it, he found the pain strangely familiar. He quickly recalled it. It was the pain I felt when I first received the Silver Chip! But amplified hundreds of times over—good thing I'm now at the Second Energy Level, and I have the Immovable Fortress. Otherwise, I might not have been able to withstand the Cradle System's disinfection and purification!

Heat! Scorching heat! It was as though every cell in his body were burning. The extreme heat, accompanied by shock-like numbness, seeped into Ian's marrow.

Yet... Ian instead felt an instinctive joy!

Even a prophet could not make every step flawless, especially when constrained by circumstances. Many times, even knowing that certain medicines might leave toxins behind, or that certain Magic Potions might leave useless Origin Matter Structures in the body and make future advancements more difficult, one still had no choice but to use them.

This was especially true for the Mountain Folk. Most of their Magic Potion refining methods were exceedingly crude, leaving behind large quantities of toxins and greatly increasing the possibility of mutation... Even at the height of the Dragon God's Kingdom, their alchemical techniques had been far inferior to those of major powers like the Empire and the City of Knowledge.

But now, Ian could feel the flesh and organs within his body, his muscle fibers, and even every individual cell beginning to expel harmful substances and Origin Matter Structures incompatible with himself under the stimulation of pure Origin Matter.

All those useless Origin Matter Structures were stripped away and expelled, while the Origin Matter Structures he already possessed were stabilized and strengthened.

During this purification and strengthening process that reached down to his cells, Ian even sensed that the Extreme Domain brought about by his Half-Potion was gradually stabilizing as well.

This was something even a prophet could not make perfect... The Extreme Domain was, in the end, a new technique Ian had developed based upon Hilliard's theories. It was perfectly normal for it to have flaws, and it might bring him certain side effects.

Even though he had used a prophet's power to avoid most of the harm, the Half-Potion still contained minute toxins that might accumulate over time and damage his body.

But now, all of it was being healed and removed!

The special psionic phenomenon known as the Dragon God's Ritual Flame truly possessed formidable healing power. Even as it stimulated his body, it continuously healed him, preventing him from being harmed during the purification process.

"No wonder! This may be why the Mountain Folk once had Fourth Energy Level experts!"

At this moment, Ian's mind was as clear as a mirror. He suddenly understood why the Mountain Folk, whose alchemical techniques could not be called outstanding, had nevertheless produced Fourth Energy Level powerhouses in the past... The answer was this "purification procedure"!

The activated Dragon God's Ritual Flame was essentially a purification program. The Mountain Folk's Magic Potions were indeed of poor quality and could easily cause mutations and advancement failures, but once one reached the Second Energy Level or Third Energy Level, they could come to the Dragon God's Ritual Flame for self-purification... Then they could emerge anew in perfect condition!

With that, it was perfectly normal for them to have Fourth Energy Level experts.

Of course, not everyone had such good fortune. Sublimers without sufficiently solid foundations or strong enough physiques would likely fail the purification here, suffer grave injuries, or even die. They might even be placed on a blacklist and never allowed to enter again.

This was the Inheritance of Rust-Steel Mountain, different from the priestly Inheritance of Radiant Haze Lake. The Inheritance here was meant for Sublimers—the chiefs of the major tribes.

This also corresponded with what Elder Manyan had said before: the leaders of the Mountain Folk had once gathered here for grand assemblies. Perhaps those gatherings had been purification procedures!

Very soon, every "harmful substance" within Ian's body was purified, and his entire body received a nearly perfect round of treatment.

If Ian had suffered any serious injuries before, or lingering effects from hidden wounds, they would all have been completely healed this time.

Buzz, buzz... Blue and gold water-and-earth Origin Matter erupted from Ian's body and spread outward, forming a small vortex. This was the hallmark of the Second Energy Level: "manipulating natural Origin Matter." Originally, Ian had needed to consciously activate this ability with a thought, but now, it seemed to have become an innate instinct, completely ingrained into his flesh.

As the purification procedure gradually came to an end, Ian's consciousness slowly connected with the enormous cylindrical object at the very center of the Holy Mountain.

And the Silver Chip began to operate slowly.

Layers upon layers of information appeared before his eyes.

Important component detected: Glimmer Cradle—Seed Preservation Device

Status: Lightly damaged

Structure: Good. Energy supply system abnormal; repaired through rudimentary methods.

The Seed Preservation Device, which was detached from the energy supply system due to violent impact, is now largely structurally complete. However, the status of the Sparks contained within cannot be detected and may have been completely lost. Sealing treatment is recommended to prevent planetary/interstellar/subspace environments from contaminating and damaging the interior of the Cradle.

Repair difficulty: Moderate

...

Having already come into contact with the Nethercrystal Engine once, Ian was familiar with the process of searching through the information and quickly understood these details.

The Glimmer Cradle buried beneath Holy Rust-Steel Mountain was essentially a device for containing "Sparks." If Ian had never been to the South Sea Grand Labyrinth, he would certainly have found the term baffling.

But after seeing the Pre-Epoch Civilization's research findings concerning numerous extraterrestrial Spark ships and ecosystems, Ian understood that behind this seemingly weightless term might lie the entirety of a civilization.

Genes, ecosystems, culture, civilization, even "soul systems" like Karin's Flower—all of it could be fully carried within... Everything that represented a planetary civilization, or perhaps its tombstone, was what was called a Spark.

And the Glimmer Cradle was a device within the Sky-Fall Starship specifically designed to store Sparks.

That was precisely why it possessed such extraordinarily powerful purification and healing functions: to ensure that the Sparks would not be contaminated or damaged.

Once he understood this, Ian came to a realization.

The Silver Radiance Book recorded a secret art possessed by the Rust-Steel Dragon. It would burrow into the earth or mountain ranges and undergo a "metamorphosis." After a period of weakness, it could heal the vast majority of injuries that were theoretically impossible to cure.

This was the Rust-Steel Dragon's Metamorphosis Secret Art, from which the Mountain Folk had developed the unique Sublimer art of Earthly Healing.

At first, Ian had found it somewhat strange. The Rust-Steel Dragon was clearly not a True Dragon skilled at manipulating life force for self-healing, so why had it suddenly acquired such an incredibly powerful self-treatment ability?

Now it seemed... the Rust-Steel Dragon's Metamorphosis Secret Art for restoring itself might have been achieved by imitating the Glimmer Cradle's purification and healing functions.

After all, the Glimmer Cradle's energy system was damaged and could only activate by drawing upon nearby natural Origin Matter. It might have to enter dormancy again after a while. It had no way to completely heal a Fifth Energy Level being, so the Rust-Steel Dragon could only learn to do it itself.

But... why?

Ian realized that both Rust-Steel Mountain and Radiant Haze Lake were the results of the Rust-Steel Dragon handling scattered components from the Sky-Fall Starship. The power of the Nethercrystal Engine had been guided by the Rust-Steel Dragon to create the high-Origin-Matter environment around Radiant Haze Lake, while the Glimmer Cradle had been given a simple, primitive natural energy system that allowed it to operate once more.

And both forms of handling had fundamentally strengthened the Rust-Steel Dragon's power.

In other words, the True Dragons possessed the technology to repair and store parts of the Sky-Fall Starship. They could even use fragments of the Sky-Fall Starship to strengthen themselves.

But the True Dragons clearly were not the pilots of the Sky-Fall Starship—if they had truly been that formidable, what place would humanity have had on Terra?

Still, even if they were not, the civilization of the True Dragons must have been extraordinarily advanced in the past, or else they had possessed an exceptionally close relationship with the Sky-Fall Starship...

Drawing his thoughts back slightly, Ian realized that the Holy Rust-Steel Mountain he had restarted, along with the purification secret art it contained, was practically tailor-made for one of his friends.

Ian could not help smiling and shaking his head. "In my opinion, the Glimmer Cradle's healing and purification ability can definitely remove the void toxins from Sheo's body... She will most likely be able to have a healthy body."

"The Mountain King's family will like that."

But that was a matter for later.

At this moment, Ian sensed that, just like with the Nethercrystal Engine, an enormous amount of information was being transmitted from all of Rust-Steel Mountain, not merely from the Glimmer Cradle.

It was not only fragments of the Sky-Fall Starship. More likely, it was the memories left behind by the Rust-Steel Dragon, the Bison Dragon God, long ago.

Ordinary Mountain Folk could at most receive purification and obtain the "Dragon God's blessing." Only Ian, who possessed the Silver Chip, could obtain this deepest Inheritance.

Thus, at this moment, Ian closed his eyes.

He immersed himself and accepted those most precious memories, the ones that would bring him one step closer to the truth.

The memories of a True Dragon.

Thanks to Teardropss for becoming a league patron!

Although I can't add extra chapters recently, I've made a note of it. Once updates return to normal, I'll arrange it immediately!