Chapter 1191 - 543: At This Very Moment! (Part 2)

Just a mere graze caused such terrifying consequences!

Everyone felt a chill rush from the soles of their feet straight up to the top of the skull. If their leap had been even a ten-thousandth of a breath slower, at this moment, they might have already turned into a nonexistent "concept" within the cosmos.

"What... exactly is that thing?" Cang Shi’s voice was somewhat dry.

Xu Ran did not speak. He slowly stood upright, his face a bit pale, yet his gaze remained solemn. He lowered his head, looking at the tome in his hand that had already closed again, resuming its ancient appearance.

"’Pioneer’ mission: Seize the core of the Divine Court Daoist Repository."

"Mission accomplished."

"Overall assessment: Perfect (achieved the highest value target at minimal cost and successfully exposed hidden threats)."

"Reward: Strengthening the Origin of the Realm of Gui Xu, Daoist Monarch Insight +50."

"Unlock new ability of Gui Xu: Dao Decode (can consume the origin of Gui Xu to analyze and dissect targets on the law level, with a chance to permanently grasp some of their law characteristics)."

"New warning: You have been marked by the ’Celestial Order’ as a ’first-class elimination target’. Your coordinates will remain locked, greatly increasing survival difficulty."

The system prompt sounded in his mind, a surge of immense insight and pure origin power flooding into his body, rapidly restoring his heavily consumed spirit and strength, even subtly improving them.

However, Xu Ran’s mood was exceedingly heavy.

Celestial Order...

These four words seemed to contain some kind of mystical power that immediately cast an invisible shackle, looming toward him from distant spacetime.

What he had seized seemed to be not just an ancient tome, but also a scorching "trouble" enough to burn the heavens.

"My lord, what should we do now?" Zhen Shan came over, a trace of bewilderment on his face. They had fled the ruins of the Divine Court but had ventured into an entirely unfamiliar star domain, with the divine ship severely damaged, faced by an unknown terrifying entity, with the road ahead utterly bewildering.

Xu Ran put away the tome in his hand, his gaze slowly sweeping across the faces of those on the bridge. He saw fatigue, fear lingered post-trauma, yet more so, there was trust—trust in him, with lives entrusted to his hands.

He took a deep breath, the heaviness and confusion in his heart replaced by a more potent will.

That was the responsibility and awakening as a "Pioneer".

"Convey my orders," Xu Ran’s voice regained its composure and authority.

"First, Cang Shi, immediately organize personnel to assess the vessel damage, activate backup energy sources, do everything possible to repair the ark. We need a safe harbor."

"Second, Zhen Shan, lead the Hundred Kings’ Guard to clear the planet we’ve crashed onto, ascertain the surrounding star domain environment, and establish a provisional alert line. I need to know exactly where we are and whether new threats exist nearby."

"Third..." Xu Ran paused, his gaze growing deep as the abyss, "Everyone, prepare yourselves. From today onwards, we will not only face cosmic disasters and fierce spirits within ruins, but also a... bygone Divine Court’s ’Order’."

His words made everyone’s heart tense.

Yet soon, a strange sense of heroism surged from their hearts.

To fight against heaven, against earth, against the "Order" of a bygone civilization! What a challenge, and what an... honor!

Failure would mean utter annihilation, erasing even the traces of existence.

But should they succeed, they would tread upon the corpse of a glorious civilization, embarking on a path untrodden by any before!

"At the master’s command!"

Everyone responded in unison, their voices driving away confusion and fear, leaving only the surging fighting spirit.

With orders issued, the Pioneer—this warfare divinity ship that just sustained severe damage—once again operated like a precise machine.

Xu Ran, alone, ascended to the highest level of the bridge, his exclusive silent chamber, as well as the absolute core of the entire ship.

He sat cross-legged, and at a thought, the ancient tome appeared again in his palm.

"First Daoist Scripture..." he caressed the smooth, jade-like cover, "Celestial Order..."

He did not hurriedly peruse it. He knew that the knowledge and secrets contained within were surely vast as seas, not something that could be comprehended overnight. Moreover, the "Celestial Order’s" warning also made him wary. Who knew what consequences might follow from rashly opening it?

What he needed to do now was to digest the rewards of this event, transforming them into tangible power.

"System, analyze the new ability, ’Dao Decode’."

"’Dao Decode’: Advanced application of the Path of Gui Xu. Gui Xu is the endpoint of all paths. The host can reverse this process by analyzing the endpoint, reverse deducing the ’Dao’ and ’Law’ forming the target. When used on matter, it can decompose it into the most original particles; used on energy, it can analyze its operating laws; used on laws, it can discern their essence. Note: The Dao Decode process will consume a large amount of Gui Xu origin, and when used on targets far beyond the host’s current realm, the chance of success is very low, and there may even be backlash."

Xu Ran’s eyes instantly brightened.

This was practically a divine skill tailored for him!

His Path of Gui Xu was originally adept at devouring and ending. But that was more of a "knowing the result without knowing the reason" instinct. Yet "Dao Decode" offered him a way to "know the reason"!

This meant that when he encountered powerful enemies or miraculous creatures in the future, he would no longer simply destroy or devour them but could "understand" them thoroughly, incorporating them as part of his foundation!

His gaze fell on a palm-sized dark golden shard detached from the damaged ship hull, lying in the corner of the silent chamber.

This was a fragment of the Pioneer hull which carried both the Gui Xu path mark he personally imprinted and the divine text of the Divine Court naturally born after merging with the immortal Fire.

"Let’s start with you."

Xu Ran extended his hand, a pure gray Power of Ruins flowed from his fingertips, forming myriad runes finer than strands of hair encircling the shard.

"Dao Decode, initiate!"

Buzz!

That fragment, indestructible enough to withstand the full impact of a mighty being from the realm of divine fire, under the wrapping of the gray runes, began with an extremely slow speed, to be "peeled" layer by layer from the most microscopic standpoint.

Its material structure, its energy circuit, the two entirely different path marks it bore... all information transformed into a torrent, poured into Xu Ran’s mind.

Xu Ran’s consciousness seemed to enter a microscopic world composed of countless law lines. He saw how the Gui Xu runes devoured energy and directed it towards Nirvana. He also saw how the divine text of the Divine Court constructed a stable guardian field and emanated immortal sacredness.

Two completely different "Daos," at this moment, were seen clearly and understood thoroughly in a manner unseen before.

In his mind, countless sparks collided and burst forth.

His understanding of the Path of Gui Xu deepened.

He also gained initial insight into the Dao of the Divine Court, the foundation of this civilization once glorious to the extreme.

Time, in this profound retreat, slowly slipped by.

And in the depths of this deathly silent unknown star domain, no one knew, a divine ship bearing the seed of a nascent civilization was silently licking its wounds.

Even fewer knew, a Pioneer hunted by the previous "Order" was ravenously absorbing nutrients at a terrifying pace, amassing power for the next even more magnificent voyage.

The path ahead, is an abyss, and yet... a stairway to the supreme Daoist Monarch!

The path ahead, is an abyss, and yet... a stairway to the supreme Daoist Monarch!

In the silent chamber, all was in absolute silence, save for the steady heartbeat of Xu Ran, like an eternal dao bell, in rhythm with the fate of this battered divine ship.

His fingertips, that gray power of Gui Xu had transformed into the world’s most precise carving blade, cautiously probing into the source beneath that dark golden shard.