Source Essence Channels, Casualties (Bonus Chapter)

Lin Yi suddenly stood up.

This wasn't a slight jolt; just now, the entire training room shifted laterally.

He almost immediately thought of the Black Silence Beast.

The warship continued to rock.

Lin Yi could clearly feel that the gravitational field inside the cabin was increasing significantly.

This superposition of force fields usually occurs in only one situation: when the warship is performing a violent evasive maneuver to prevent its internal components from being smashed and destroyed.

He instinctively took a step forward, then stopped.

Military regulations.

He consulted the Imperial Army regulations immediately after the badges were distributed.

Military regulations clearly stipulate that in combat situations, non-combat personnel should remain in place unless they receive clear instructions and are not under direct threat to their lives, and are strictly prohibited from acting without authorization.

Although he has now received official treatment, he is still considered a non-combatant.

Lin Yi retracted his foot and regained his footing.

The shaking is intensifying.

He could even hear the dull scraping sound coming from outside the armored layer, as if some huge object was rubbing against the hull.

Then, the warship suddenly turned sharply to the side at an extreme angle, as if the entire ship had been violently thrown off by something.

He hesitated for a moment, then called out softly, "Zero Three?"

There was no response.

Soon, the cabin suddenly rose upwards and then plummeted downwards, the whole process resembling a giant beast pouncing and rolling.

Lin Yi narrowed his eyes slightly and did not call out again.

About fifteen minutes passed.

The warship's rolling motion began to decrease, the jarring impact gradually subsided, and finally, the ship stabilized.

The gravitational field gradually returned to normal levels.

The Light Sphere from Zero Three emerged from the void and hovered in front of Lin Yi, its surface shimmering with a slow, steady light.

I was busy just now.

It wasn't that it failed to notice Lin Yi's call earlier; it was just that it had a lower priority. However, now that the battle is over, it can handle any requests that were missed earlier.

Zero Three's tone contained no hint of apology, "What's wrong?"

Lin Yi stared at the Light Sphere, remained silent for a moment, and then asked, "May I ask what just happened?"

"It's nothing," Zero Three said. "We just encountered a group of Crystal Snail Beast."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yi felt a chill run down his spine.

Crystal Snail Beast.

The information in the Blood Crystal contains records of this.

The Crystal Snail Beast, an early-stage first-tier Black Silence Beast, possesses strength comparable to the True Source Realm cultivator.

The adult form is known for its crystallized exoskeleton, which provides incredible defense. These Black Silence Beast never act alone; they always travel in groups of at least several hundred. The leader of these beasts can usually grow to the late stage of the first tier, and its strength is enough to rival that of a late-stage True Source Realm expert.

He was currently a Bloodrage-class Assault Ship.

According to the Imperial Army's organization, this type of ship is usually captained by a powerful expert at the late or perfect True Source Realm, and is accompanied by one hundred True Source Realm Blood Armor Warriors.

"The leader of the Crystal Snail Beast is a bit troublesome." Zero Three's voice remained calm.

Lin Yi couldn't help but press, "And the result?"

"You can't withstand my Annihilation Cannon," Zero Three said calmly.

Lin Yi remained silent for a moment.

"As expected of you, Zero Three."

After several exchanges over this period, he has discovered that the shipborne AI Zero Three of the Bloodrage-class Assault Ship is somewhat narcissistic.

The Annihilation Cannon is a heavy ship-borne weapon of the Bloodthirsty class, and each shot is comparable in power to a full-force attack from the True Source Realm expert at the peak of their cultivation.

"Of course." Zero Three's expression flickered slightly as he acknowledged Lin Yi's words, then added, "The combat status has been lifted; you are free to move around."

After speaking, the Light Sphere quietly disappeared.

Lin Yi stood there, replaying the conversation in his mind.

Bloodrage-class Assault Ship, at least a late-stage Tier 1 Crystal Snail Beast leader, plus a Crystal Snail Beast.

From the start of the tremors to the end of the combat state, the entire process took less than fifteen minutes.

He took a deep breath, stopped thinking about it, and turned to walk towards the hatch.

With the warship under attack, he wouldn't remain secluded in his training room any longer; he had to inform everyone.

It's easy to imagine that everyone in the warehouse area is eager to know what happened, but even if they ask Zero Three, due to their different levels of authority, Zero Three won't give them a detailed answer.

It will most likely just say that a battle was taking place, but it has now ended.

As the hatch slid open, Lin Yi strode through the corridor and quickly returned to the warehouse area.

Just as he had predicted, the group that had been quietly cultivating in the corner had already stopped.

Chu Yu and Zhaoyue stood side by side, discussing something in hushed tones.

Heng Shi stood a few steps away, his brows slightly furrowed.

Dark Annihilation crossed his arms and his face was ashen.

Bai Su, Xi Luo, Wu Qi, and others gathered in twos and threes, some checking their badges, others just standing silently.

Upon hearing footsteps, all of them turned their gazes in that direction.

"What just happened?" Heng Shi asked first.

"We asked Zero Three, and it only said that a battle was taking place, but it's over now. They don't have the authority to provide further details," Zhaoyue added, her tone relatively calm, though Lin Yi could sense the underlying question in her voice.

All eyes were now on him.

Lin Yi gave a brief explanation.

After he finished speaking, the warehouse remained quiet for a while.

"Crystal Snail Beast," Chu Yu repeated the word softly.

"The Imperial Army is indeed strong enough; it truly deserves to be the main force resisting the Black Mist," Heng Shi said in a deep voice.

Zhaoyue nodded slightly.

Dark Annihilation his arms, and the others didn't say much, but silently reconsidered the information in their hearts.

Just then, the heavy metal door of the warehouse slid open with a loud crash.

Three figures walked in silently.

Clad in blood-red full-body armor and covered by helmets, they moved slowly, their boots clattering against the floor.

They walked straight to the other side of the warehouse where the spoils were piled up, then reached up and swiped at their waist.

With a whoosh.

A huge pile of things poured out of the storage space, forming a small mountain.

Crystalline skeletons, large and small crystalline skeletons, some of which have a dark luster on their fractured surfaces.

And the snail shell.

The enormous spiral-shaped crystalline shell, with several shells still bearing huge cracks, was mixed with other miscellaneous spoils, all of which appeared to be materials from the Crystal Snail Beast.

After the three armored warriors finished unloading the loot, the leader glanced at the pile of spoils to confirm the quantity was correct, then turned and walked towards the door.

The other two followed behind him, their steps still silent.

From beginning to end, not a single person spoke, nor did they even glance in their direction.

The hatch closed again.

There was a moment of silence.

The remains of those Crystal Snail Beast were still piled up in the corner of the warehouse, gleaming with a dim, cold light.

"It probably won't be easy either."

It was Bai Su spoke.

"Did you notice? One of the warriors' armor was damaged; it was new."

Everyone naturally noticed it.

When the three blood-armored warriors entered, they remained silent, but the one at the back had a crack about two palms long on the lower side of his breastplate, with some kind of viscous liquid residue at the edges, clearly left from the battle just now.

At this moment, Dark Annihilation suddenly spoke.

"This feeling of being stuck inside a warship, at the mercy of fate, is really unpleasant."

His tone was devoid of emotion, as if he were stating a fact.

But once those words were spoken, no one objected.

Chu Yu lowered his eyes slightly.

Zhaoyue's hands tightened silently inside her sleeves.

Heng Shi remained silent, his expression even more somber than usual.

They were once the supreme rulers and masters of their respective races, beings standing at the pinnacle of the world.

Now, they can only stay in the warehouse, without even the right to watch the battle, and can only judge the battle situation outside by the swaying of the ship.

accurate.

That's an absolutely accurate summary.

Lin Yi didn't speak, but his feelings were exactly the same as everyone else's.

He disliked this feeling of powerlessness, and even more so, he disliked handing his fate over to others.

However, compared to everyone else present, he was much more confident about becoming stronger.

The Spiritual Enlightenment Qi over four million years lay dormant deep within the Purple Mist Space, providing him with the confidence to rapidly advance to the True Source Realm.

More importantly, he had already confirmed one thing when he was looking up information in the Blood Crystal.

That is, obtaining Source Essence Crystal in the Chaos Cosmic Sea is not difficult.

Because, to put it simply, the Source Essence Crystal is made by cutting the energy cores of Black Silence Beast at various levels.

According to the information in the Blood Crystal, before the appearance of the black mist, the concept of Source Essence Crystal did not exist in the entire Chaos Cosmic Sea.

Back then, the powerful figures of various factions cultivated their skills either by grinding away at the time or by relying on rare, naturally occurring treasures.

Only after the Black Silence Beast in the Black Mist Sea began to be wiped out did people discover that the crystal cores condensed within the bodies of these Black Silence Beast that had reached a certain level contained a very special chaotic energy.

Although this energy is extremely impure and cannot be absorbed directly, after impurities are removed, it becomes a versatile aid for spiritual enlightenment.

Most importantly, its effectiveness does not diminish.

When the powerful figures first discovered this, they were overjoyed and called it "Source Essence".

It has the meaning of "directly reaching the source" and also the meaning of "usable in all source realms".

But they soon discovered that there is no such thing as a perfect thing in this world.

Although the effects of the Source Essence Crystal do not diminish, there is a limit to the total amount of Source Essence that the soul can absorb within a given time period.

Once saturation is reached, further absorption in the short term will have no effect; one can only wait for the soul to completely digest the absorbed Source Essence.

This thing can only be used once every long interval.

Of course, even if it takes a long time, the powerful beings in the Chaos Cosmic Sea will still use it regularly.

Firstly, its effects are indeed powerful, far surpassing the vast majority of natural treasures; secondly, if you don't use it, others will, over time, leave you far behind.

In Lin Yi's view, the powerful beings in the Chaos Cosmic Sea regularly use Source Essence Crystal, just like eating three meals a day.

Not eating is definitely not an option, but wanting to eat more is also not an option.

Of course, they all use finished Source Essence Crystal that have been purified and have impurities removed.

As for who does this arduous task of purification, it is naturally the weaker individuals at or below the Cosmic Source Realm who do it.

Furthermore, due to the spread of the Black Mist Sea, the production of Source Essence Crystal is extremely high, and they are often used as a general-purpose energy source.

For example, the Bloodrage-class Assault Ship he is currently aboard is equipped with Source Essence furnace, which can directly throw in the energy cores of the Black Silence Beast captured in battle as fuel.

Lin Yi had originally considered that after the batch of auxiliary resources stored in the Purple Mist Space was used up, he should try to find a pretext to exchange some of the Source Essence Crystal stored by various races.

In retrospect, it was completely unnecessary.

This stuff is cheap, plentiful, and plentiful in the Chaos Cosmic Sea.

He pulled himself out of his thoughts and glanced around at everyone.

Everyone's expressions were different, but the growing anxiety and longing in their eyes were common to all.

No one continued the conversation; some things were said enough.

"I'm leaving." Dark Annihilation around and walked towards the corner she had chosen earlier.

The group dispersed and returned to their respective training areas.

Having just experienced that battle, everyone felt an even greater sense of urgency than before.

Lin Yi also returned to the cultivation room.

The door closed behind me, shutting out outside noise.

He sat down cross-legged, immersing himself once again in his understanding of the Origin Law death.

But this good fortune didn't last long.

It was probably less than ten thousand years ago.

The warship shook again, but the hull only rocked a few times before quickly returning to calm.

Lin Yi did not get up, nor did he even open his eyes.

Since he can't do anything else right now, he might as well continue cultivating.

Soon, two Epoch passed. With the accumulation of numerous auxiliary treasures, he had fully mastered the Origin Law Death and began to comprehend the Origin Law of Metal.

However, Lin Yi also noticed that the frequency of these battles was ridiculously high.

a thousand years.

On average, a battle breaks out approximately every ten thousand years.

The types of Black Silence Beast he encountered were all different: Crystal Snail Beast, Black Mud Beast, Dark Leech, and Bone-Rending Worm. Almost all the low-level Black Silence Beast he had seen in the Blood Crystal appeared in turn.

The Bloodrage-class Assault Ship traversed the mist like a silent giant shark, relentlessly tearing apart every fish it encountered along the way.

Fortunately, this is only the outermost edge of the Black Mist Sea, and the Black Silence Beast we encountered were not too strong; they were either not yet at the rank of rank or were at the early to mid-stage of rank one.

I've only encountered someone at the late-stage first tier level once since the encounter with the Crystal Snail Beast leader.

Even so, Lin Yi's worries continued to accumulate little by little.

He once asked Zero Three how long the journey would take.

Zero Three's answer was clear: they were currently in the shallow outermost layer of the Black Mist Sea, and it would take them another eight to nine Epoch to truly escape the Black Mist Sea.

After leaving the Black Mist Sea, it will take another fifty Epoch sailing to rendezvous with the fleet.

At that time, we will have to obey the unified command of the fleet.

And now, only two Epoch have passed.

How many battles have broken out across two Epoch?

On average, it happens once every 10,000 years, which means it happens nearly 30 times.

This is only the outermost perimeter.

After one of the battles, Lin Yi finally couldn't help but ask the question.

"Zero Three, why is the frequency of battles so high? Is it like this Black Mist Sea?"

"Not exactly." Zero Three's Light Sphere appeared before him, explaining, "Because we're currently in the outermost zone of the spreading black mist, somewhat like the crest of a tide, the Black Mist Beast are relatively more concentrated. If it were a safe passage cleared by the Imperial Army year-round, their numbers would be much fewer."

Lin Yi paused for a moment.

Zero Three seemed to sense his emotions and added another sentence.

"Relax, as long as you don't encounter Second-Order Black Silence Beast or large hordes of first-tier Black Silence Beast, there shouldn't be any major problems."

Lin Yi's brow twitched suddenly.

"You can encounter Second-Order Black Silence Beast even on the outermost perimeter? Aren't the outermost perimeter usually only for non-tier or first-tier beasts?"

"Of course." Zero Three's Light Sphere flickered. "You might not know this, but Black Silence Beast also fight each other. Some Second-Order Black Silence Beast, after being defeated in battle, are banished to the outermost areas. It's not uncommon to encounter them."

Lin Yi remained silent for a moment, then slowly nodded.

This is information not mentioned in the Blood Crystal.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. Although Blood Crystal encompass everything, it's impossible for them to describe the ecological habits of Black Silence Beast in such detail.

He silently memorized this message.

Time continued to pass.

Nearly half an Epoch has passed.

That battle came very suddenly.

Almost without warning, the ship suddenly swung to one side, flipping more violently than ever before.

Lin Yi could even hear the ear-piercing tearing sound coming from outside the armor layer; it wasn't an impact, but more like something was tearing the ship's outer shell apart.

The gravitational field was instantly stretched to its limit.

Lin Yi's feet were planted firmly on the floor, his brows furrowed.

The battle lasted longer than usual.

The frequency and amplitude of the vibrations were also much more intense.

It wasn't until nearly a standard day later that the ship gradually stabilized.

Lin Yi was silent for a moment, then called out, "Zero Three, how's the battle going?"

Light Sphere appeared.

But this time, Zero Three remained silent for a long while.

Lin Yi's heart skipped a beat.

He had never seen Zero Three hesitate.

From the moment this shipborne AI first appeared, its tone remained consistently calm and confident, to the point that he had even grown accustomed to the Light Sphere stating in such a matter-of-fact manner, "It can't withstand my Annihilation Cannon."

"What's wrong?" Lin Yi asked in a deep voice.

"This time..." Zero Three's voice finally rang out, his tone much lower than usual, "Three soldiers have died."

Lin Yi's heart skipped a beat.

Zero Three didn't wait for his response and continued talking to himself.

"I... didn't manage to save them."

Lin Yi remained silent.

He hadn't had a chance to interact with these three Blood Armor Warriors, or even know their names, despite them True Source Realm.

But upon hearing this news, he felt as if something was pressing heavily on his chest.

Zero Three remained silent for a while.

After a moment, it slowly said, "Originally, we had already completed our combat mission and withdrawn from the black mist. It was to save you... or rather, your Cosmic Clam, that everyone, under Lord Li's leadership, voluntarily returned to the black mist."

Have they already evacuated? Or voluntarily?

Lin Yi suddenly looked up at Zero Three.

The cold light on the surface of the Light Sphere had stopped flowing at this point.

"They died here trying to save you."

Lin Yi's three clones stopped their deductions and silently stood up.

The meditation room was eerily quiet.

The Light Sphere hovered there silently, observing Lin Yi's reaction in the cultivation room, and finally sighed, "You must cultivate diligently and reach the Eternal Source Realm, so that their deaths will not have been in vain."