The Realm Battle at Reincarnation Ferry
[System notification: Main quest "Realm Nexus" activated. Current area: "Reincarnation Ferry". Quest objective: Defend the ferry's core, the "Realm Stele", against three waves of invasion by Outer Realm races (countdown: 72 hours). Success will activate the Myriad Phenomena Mirror's full functionality. Quest reward: Unlock "Cross-Realm Teleportation" privileges; every team member's Dou Qi quality will rise by one tier.]
Chapter 1: Wonders of the Ferry and the Laws of the Realm
Reincarnation Ferry floated amid chaos, assembled from countless broken continental plates. Glowing chains connected the plates, and runes spanning realms covered the chains. At its heart stood the Realm Stele, a thousand zhang tall and made entirely of "Realm Source Stone". Phantoms of countless stars flowed across its surface-those were the planes it connected.
"The law here is 'realm overlap'," Lu Mu said, running his hand over the runes on a chain. "The plates to the east follow 'reversed gravity', while those to the west have 'elemental disorder'. Don't go barging around." He pointed to a floating rock nearby. Water was climbing upward over it, while flames beside it dripped downward.
Xiao Yan tried releasing his Heavenly Flames, and they split into three streams in midair: one burned normally, one turned ice-blue (elemental disorder), and one suddenly exploded (unstable energy). "Looks like Dou Qi output has to be controlled precisely here."
A white-haired elder stood beneath the Realm Stele, dressed in a mismatched outfit: his left sleeve belonged to a Gu Clan robe, his right shoulder bore Evil Clan armor, and a jade pendant from the Central Plains hung at his waist. He called himself the "Spirit Ferryman", the guardian of Reincarnation Ferry, and had been stationed there for a thousand years.
"The three waves of invasion will come from the 'Shadow Realm', 'Elemental Prison', and 'Mechanical City'," the Spirit Ferryman said, tapping the Realm Stele. "The Shadow Realm excels at concealment, Elemental Prison can manipulate chaotic energy, and Mechanical City's puppets are impervious to blades and spears. Hold the stele while I keep the chains stable. If the chains break and the plates collapse, the entire ferry will fall into chaos."
No sooner had he finished than a sudden crack came from the eastern plate, and a patch of runes on the chains dimmed. The Spirit Ferryman's expression changed. "The Shadow Realm's 'Light-Devouring Beasts' are here. They can devour light and travel through shadows. Don't let them entangle you!"
Chapter 2: The Shadow Realm's Surprise Attack and the Light-Devouring Trap
Light-Devouring Beasts resembled black panthers. Their bodies were pitch-black, and their eyes were two clouds of gray mist. Wherever they went, light was sucked away, leaving areas of darkness. Rather than attack directly, they first left "Shadow Marks" on the ground. Once the marks joined into a net, any creature trapped inside would gradually lose its shadow-the instant it did, it would be dragged into the Shadow Realm and become nourishment for the Light-Devouring Beasts.
"Don't step on the black markings!" The Spirit Ferryman tossed over a handful of "Realm Source Sand". "This can make Shadow Marks visible."
Xiao Yan scattered the Realm Source Sand into the air, and sure enough, countless weblike black shadows appeared on the ground. The Light-Devouring Beasts were hiding at the nodes of the shadow net like hunters lying in wait. He tried to set the net alight with his Heavenly Flames. When the flames landed on the Shadow Marks, ripples spread across them, and the Light-Devouring Beasts let out piercing shrieks and sprang from the shadows.
"They're afraid of 'cross-realm energy'!" Xiao Yan discovered that when the star phantoms from the Realm Stele were infused into his Heavenly Flames, the flames turned silver-white. When they burned the Light-Devouring Beasts, their bodies melted like snow.
Zi Yan spread her dragon wings, and Dragon Phoenix Flame formed a golden halo around her. Wherever the halo passed, Shadow Marks snapped apart. She discovered that the Light-Devouring Beasts' shadows were solid: when her dragon tail swept over their shadows, the beasts themselves rolled about, screaming.
Lin Yan and Wu Hao teamed up to clear the western plates. Lin Yan used flames affected by elemental disorder to deliberately set off small explosions, driving the Light-Devouring Beasts out of the shadows. Wu Hao's Space-Splitting Axe struck with spatial power, and the spatial rifts could temporarily restrain the movements of Shadow Realm creatures.
The most troublesome opponent was the Shadow Realm's "Shadow Lord". It could manipulate the shadows of all the Light-Devouring Beasts, combining them into a giant shadow puppet. When the puppet's fist came down, the ground collapsed into a deep pit formed of Shadow Marks. Hu Gan used the Black Tortoise Indestructible Body to take a punch head-on, but the impact made his shadow grow several shades fainter.
"Attack its eyes!" the Spirit Ferryman shouted. "The Shadow Lord's gray mist eyes are the core of its Shadow Realm energy!"
Xiao Yan condensed silver-white Heavenly Flames, while Zi Yan's Dragon Phoenix Flame transformed into a long arrow. Both streams of energy shot toward the shadow puppet's eyes at once. The instant the gray mist eyes exploded, the puppet's body began to disintegrate. Countless Light-Devouring Beasts tumbled from the shadows and were purified by the Realm Stele's light.
[System notification: First wave of invasion successfully repelled. Obtained "Shadow Realm Core Fragment" (can be used to make a concealment detection device). Realm Stele energy restored by 10%.]
Chapter 3: Elemental Prison's Wild Energy Rain
After the Shadow Realm withdrew, the western plates suddenly shook violently. A swirling energy cloud appeared in the sky, shedding multicolored "energy rain": the red drops were exploding fireballs, the blue were corrosive streams of water, the yellow were gravity stones, and the purple were paralyzing plasma.
"They're Elemental Prison's 'Chaos Envoys'," the Spirit Ferryman said as he reinforced the chains. "They can absorb the energy rain to grow stronger. Whatever you do, don't let them near the Realm Stele!"
Chaos Envoys were humanoid creatures with skin made of flowing energy. They could condense fireballs in their left hands, summon streams of water with their right, and even make stone spikes grow beneath their feet. Most troublesome of all, they split into two smaller envoys when attacked, and only "realm power" could destroy them completely.
Ye Xinlan noticed a pattern in the energy rain: every three minutes, a "pure element interval" occurred. During those thirty seconds, the energy that fell had only one attribute and was easy to defend against. She took the opportunity to refine "Realm Pills". Once Realm Source Sand was infused into the pills, they could temporarily make their users immune to the effects of elemental disorder.
"Take the pills before you fight!" Ye Xinlan tossed pill bottles to the others. Xiao Yan swallowed one, and sure enough, his Heavenly Flames no longer split. The silver-white flames transformed into a fire dragon and burned a group of Chaos Envoys into particles of energy.
The leader of Elemental Prison was the "Elemental Lord". Its body was made of five kinds of energy, and it could unleash five kinds of attacks at once: fire, water, earth, wind, and lightning. It stood beneath the energy cloud, absorbing the endless rain and growing larger and larger. Before long, it reached ten zhang in height.
"We have to destroy the energy cloud first!" Lu Mu laid a "Spatial Diversion Array" on the ground. "I'll divert the energy rain to the empty plate on the left. Attack the lord while you have the chance!"
The array activated, and the energy rain abruptly changed course. Cut off from its energy supply, the Elemental Lord began to shrink. Zi Yan's Dragon Phoenix Flame focused on its fire core, Lin Yan's Burning Heaven Flame wrapped around its watery arms, and Wu Hao's Space-Splitting Axe cleaved through its stone legs.
Xiao Yan seized the chance and fully fused his Heavenly Flames with the star phantoms from the Realm Stele, forming a sword of light that spanned heaven and earth. "Realm: Illusion Breaker!"
The sword of light split the Elemental Lord's body, and the five kinds of energy annihilated one another in its radiance. At last, they became specks of starlight and were absorbed by the Realm Stele. The energy cloud lost its source and gradually dispersed into the chaos.
[System notification: Second wave of invasion successfully repelled. Obtained "Elemental Core" (can improve Dou Qi elemental affinity). Realm Stele energy restored by 30%.]
Chapter 4: Mechanical City's Steel Torrent
The calm lasted only half a day before a tremendous rumble came from the southern plates. Countless metal gears emerged from the chaos and assembled into a long steel corridor. At its far end stood Mechanical City's "Puppet Legion".
The Puppet Legion consisted of three types of units: "Iron Guards" (close-combat units with armor as thick as city walls), "Gunners" (ranged units that could fire lasers), and "Mother Machines" (responsible for manufacturing new puppets, producing ten Iron Guards every ten minutes). Their cores were "Mechanical Hearts", made of a special metal that ordinary attacks could not break at all.
"The Mother Machine is at the very back!" Lin Xiuya's sword intent pierced through the mass of puppets and locked onto the enormous mechanical device at the end of the corridor. "We have to destroy it first!"
Hu Gan charged at the front, using the Black Tortoise Indestructible Body to withstand the lasers as he forcibly smashed a path through the Iron Guards. But their armor was too hard. His fists could leave only faint white marks, while the Gunners' lasers continued to sear his back.
"Use Heavenly Flames to heat their joints!" Xiao Yan noticed that the Iron Guards had no armor over their joints. "Thermal expansion and contraction can jam their gears!" He directed Lin Yan to roast the Iron Guards' knees with Burning Heaven Flame. Sure enough, when the Iron Guards took their next steps, they made strange creaking sounds, and their movements became noticeably sluggish.
Wu Hao's Space-Splitting Axe proved useful. Spatial rifts could cut precisely into the gaps around the Mechanical Hearts. He teamed up with Lin Xiuya: Lin Xiuya's sword intent ensnared a puppet's laser cannon barrel, and Wu Hao seized the chance to split its chest open with his axe and pull out the flickering Mechanical Heart inside.
Mechanical City's leader was the "Mechanical King". It sat on a throne made of countless puppet parts, surrounded by thirty-six "floating cannons". Their muzzles flashed red as they locked onto the Realm Stele.
"Its core is beneath the throne!" the Spirit Ferryman shouted. "But the throne has an energy shield. Only the core fragments from the first two waves can break it!"
Xiao Yan tossed the Shadow Realm Core Fragment and the Elemental Core to Lu Mu. "Fuse them into the array!" Lu Mu embedded the fragments in the spatial array's central eye. The array suddenly erupted with black and white light-black was the Shadow Realm's devouring power, and white was the elements' annihilating power. The two forces intertwined, forming a spiraling beam that struck the energy shield.
With a crack, fissures appeared in the shield. Zi Yan's Dragon Phoenix Flame, Xiao Yan's Heavenly Flames, and Lin Yan's Burning Heaven Flame shot toward the cracks at the same time. The beam pierced the shield and struck the Mechanical Core beneath the throne.
The Mechanical King let out a piercing alarm. The red light of the floating cannons gradually went out, and the Puppet Legion lost control. The puppets froze where they stood, then finally crumbled into metal powder and were scattered by the winds of chaos.
[System notification: Third wave of invasion successfully repelled. Obtained "Mechanical Core" (can be used to make precision puppets). Realm Stele energy restored to 80%!]
Chapter 5: The Myriad Phenomena Mirror's Activation and a Choice of Realms
With the three waves of invasion over, peace returned to Reincarnation Ferry. The Realm Stele absorbed three core fragments, and the star phantoms on its surface became incomparably clear. They could even see scenes from the various planes: the Shadow Realm's forest of eternal night, Elemental Prison's ocean of energy, Mechanical City's metropolis of gears...
The Spirit Ferryman walked up to the Realm Stele and pressed his hand against its surface. "The Myriad Phenomena Mirror can be activated now. It can reflect the plane you most wish to visit."
Xiao Yan took the fragment of the Myriad Phenomena Mirror from his robes. It flew to the Realm Stele and fused with the star phantoms on its surface, gradually forming a complete mirror. When the mirror lit up, it reflected not the group's figures, but scenes from the Central Plains-the reconstruction of Heavenly Mist City, new seedlings in Ten Thousand Medicines Valley, the morning sun over the sacred altar...
"It seems your choice is clear." The Spirit Ferryman smiled. "But don't worry. Reincarnation Ferry will always be open to you. As long as you have Realm Source Sand, you can return at any time."
The Realm Stele suddenly shot out a pillar of light. It fell on the Myriad Phenomena Mirror, and the mirror transformed into a gate of light. Beyond it stood Ten-Thousand-Ren Peak in the Central Plains.
"Wait," Lu Mu said, looking at a tiny star on the Realm Stele. "Is that... our original world?"
The Spirit Ferryman nodded.