Even though he was prepared, Andrew Han still couldn't avoid being shaken to his core.
"That's right!"
"This is absolutely a relic of the Pangu–Nüwa–Atlantis Era!"
Andrew Han’s eyes brimmed with astonishment as he gazed into the palace interior. It was like a vast, dark starry sky—countless points of starlight drifting all around, while above and below, the floor and ceiling were paved with black crystal.
At first glance,
it seemed like an infinitely extending mirror surface, making one hesitate to step onto it.
Andrew Han secretly clicked his tongue: "Fortunately, with Inspiration, I can sense the true solidity of the black crystal floor. Visually, it seems like an endless world—there’s a vast, boundless, ancient feeling to it."
And that wasn’t all.
Those thousands of points of starlight swirled ceaselessly, following beautiful trajectories, still in motion.
And as the palace’s main gate swung open, all the starlight illuminated, shining upon the vast, empty interior. Looking in from the doorway, there were twenty rectangular slabs, seemingly stone tablets, quietly suspended in midair.
"My god."
"A relic from an era unimaginably distant—after so many years, it’s still operating."
Just the light-shield enveloping the relic was already unbelievable. Now, combined with the solemn, profound spectacle inside the palace...
Andrew Han couldn’t help but take a deep breath.
Relying on Inspiration and probing with Internal Power, he carefully stepped into the palace, passing through the giant gate inlaid with hundreds of door-rings and setting foot on the black crystal floor.
But what was most astonishing—
Just like the external light-shield and crystal-diamond tunnels, the black crystal floor was also gently flowing, as if everything here was made of pure energy.
"This is terrifying."
Andrew Han couldn’t help but feel a chill in his heart.
The Pangu–Nüwa Era—tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of years ago—was so ancient, so distant, it surpassed human understanding. Yet today, this newly revealed relic seemed to operate as if it had never stopped.
Anyone would be shaken at heart.
Even the passage of time that erases all traces cannot overcome the relic here.
"Hmm."
Andrew Han crouched, touching the solid black crystal floor. "No Graywhite Aura here."
After pondering for a moment, he slowly circled the palace. Though it appeared vast and limitless, in truth it was only a few thousand square meters... Black crystal covered every direction, with countless points of starlight flickering, lending the palace an ethereal, transcendent feel.
It seemed as if it didn't belong to this world.
A pity.
Having reached a preliminary conclusion, Andrew Han shook his head.
"It looks spacious, but in reality, it's just average."
"I was just awestruck, thinking this palace contained a world of stars." Andrew could only marvel at his own imagination, realizing he'd overestimated the palace.
He thought for a moment.
Andrew Han searched the palace interior again. His clear eyes revealed a lively smile as he scanned the unmoving black crystal palace walls, his gaze openly burning with intensity.
In truth, he wished to bring something back.
For example, these indestructible black crystals—if humanity could study and replicate them, constructing tight war fortresses would greatly aid the coming final battle.
...
After a while.
"Sigh."
A soft sigh echoed through the palace.
Treasures have always belonged to the virtuous. Andrew Han felt a special affinity with the black crystal palace, but it was of little practical use.
"The black crystal is truly extraordinary, but what use is it if I can't take any?" Even with all his strength, Andrew Han couldn't cut through the palace walls.
So.
He could only turn back to the center of the palace.
Twenty rectangular blocks, resembling information-recording slabs, floated in midair. Strange, indescribable patterns and symbols were etched on them, along with faint marks—likely from repeated rubbing.
Countless slightly concave traces covered their surfaces.
Examining them more closely.
The rectangular stone slabs were about half a centimeter thick.
Their edges gleamed, smooth and rounded, showing no signs of age or decay—pristine as if newly made, even faintly reflecting Andrew Han's face.
The first slab was a twisted line, coiled like cotton, its meaning unclear.
The second slab seemed to depict a constantly rotating sphere, hollow within, beside a larger, motionless globe.
The third slab... the fourth slab... The further he looked, the less he understood. The patterns grew chaotic, as if the being recording them became panicked—flustered, lost.
He guessed that the beings of the Pangu–Nüwa Era were probably human too.
At the same time,
They must have had hands and feet as well.
At this moment, standing inside the palace, Andrew Han began to ponder. Outside, everything was still shrouded in gray mist, with occasional flashes of light—Netherfiends and Sky‑Soaring True Persons at war.
But the gray fog concealed everything.
Even the aftermath of battle and shockwaves were confined to a range of several hundred meters.
"Interesting."
"What do these patterns symbolize?" Andrew Han gazed at the slabs, a bit at a loss.
Carefully speaking, he was still an ungraduated university student, merely outstanding in grades, never having studied pictographic language structure.
His eyes focused on the slabs, pondering for a long time.
Andrew Han scratched his intelligent forehead and sighed. "Even a poor student has curiosity, let alone me..."
He was puzzled by these records.
Why not use written words, but express such inexplicable things with pictorial symbols?
The Pangu–Nüwa–Atlantis Era left behind countless treasures, surely with extraordinary wisdom—even modern human technology pales by comparison... So it was impossible for that era to use pictographic language as their main form of communication.
"Forget it."
"I'll memorize everything first and copy it down for our Sinoveran scientists when I get out."
Professional matters should be left to professionals!
Time is of the essence—he couldn't afford to waste it here.
Andrew Han's gaze flashed as he scanned the twenty rectangular slabs, memorizing the symbols and patterns. After confirming them several times, he extended his left hand, intending to touch a slab.
The door rings contained Graywhite Aura.
Then the slabs should also contain Graywhite Aura.
Pop!
The instant his fingertip touched the slab, a faint sound was heard—the slab shattered, dissolving into drifting dust.
"Eh?"
"I couldn't absorb the Graywhite Aura in time—the slab broke first." Rather than regret, Andrew Han felt relieved.
If every little thing could survive for so many years, it would be too absurd.
Obviously, relics made of energy—like the light-shield, crystal-diamond tunnels, and palace black crystal—were all intact due to their special properties. But these rectangular slabs could not withstand the passage of time and gradually decayed.
He touched three slabs in a row; all turned to dust.
"Forget it."
"Let's see what the other palaces hold."
Andrew Han shifted his focus and left immediately. Before departing, he hesitated, then swept his sleeve and shattered all the rectangular slabs with a gust of wind.
This was to prevent Netherfiend Giants from entering the palace and seeing these patterns.
No matter what information it was.
No matter if it was important or not.
It was best if only humanity knew... Andrew Han infused Inspiration, exerted force, and closed the black crystal palace's massive black doors.
Turning around, Andrew Han looked at his surroundings.
"So many palaces."
"I have to enter each one, leaving nothing unchecked."
He resolved that anything he could take, he would take. And as for records like the rectangular slabs, if they could be destroyed, he would destroy them—never letting the enemy acquire them.
After all.
He had already memorized all the information before destroying it.
...
The second palace was still empty.
The black crystal walls covering all directions had turned milky white and somewhat viscous.
Inside the palace stood two or three pillars, impossible to move. Only in the corners were small piles of crystal-diamond objects, glittering, their purpose unknown.
Click! Click!
He formed his hand into a blade, prying at the crystals bit by bit.
...
The third and fourth palaces were still empty.
Aside from the colors, the structures were nearly identical. But Andrew Han, always meticulous, immediately noticed that the palace pillars were inlaid with two or three concave disks.
"What are these disks?"
"Never mind, I'll pry them all off—treasures belong to the virtuous, and it seems these are fated for me."
Muttering to himself, Andrew Han reached out with both hands, trying to pull off the concave disks. Perhaps they could serve as defensive artifacts.
Huff, huff.
Taking a deep breath, he surged his internal power. His mighty strength couldn't budge the palace rooted in the relic, but the disks embedded in the pillars trembled slightly and were slowly pried loose.
He cleaned out everything!
He couldn't leave behind anything that might be a treasure!
"Come off quickly."
"I'm not forcibly occupying anything. Our Greenmount Sect has always upheld virtue..." Andrew Han exhaled, his legs planted on the red crystal floor as he struggled to pull out the disks.
The owner of these relics had long since vanished from the world.
As one of the living successors, he could take and use these things with a clear conscience.
"I don't really want to do this."
"But it's not for myself, nor am I excited about collecting treasures (≧▽≦)/... I'm doing this for all of humanity! If the beings of the Pangu–Nüwa Era saw this, they'd probably praise me too."
Take what can be taken, gather what can be gathered... Of course, that's not quite accurate. Andrew Han preferred the phrase 'strive for every possible source of power to resist demons and monsters.'
...
Thud, thud!
He knocked on the central platform of the black crystal floor in the nineteenth palace, his eyes lighting up. "This one will do!"
Cloud-Sea State Internal Power surged.
Streams of light swirled around him.
Andrew Han lowered his center of gravity and began to move the platform. "Yes, this one can be taken."
...
Rumble!
An irregular diamond-shaped pillar, weighing tens of thousands of tons, was kicked loose at the base by Andrew Han, who cheerfully picked it up.
...
The square platform was dragged out of the palace, with a thin wire attached to its base.
However.
The palace’s massive doors closed, helping Andrew Han snap the nearly indestructible wire. This further confirmed his suspicions and fueled his enthusiasm.
Heaven above!
Look at that—the entire relic seemed to be helping him.
...
The thirty-second palace.
"Open!"
Andrew Han, carrying a large bag woven from Cloud-Sea State Internal Power, stood before the door.
He infused Inspiration and exerted force, about to open the palace doors as usual, when a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.
Who?
He turned to look back at the gray mist.
A muffled tremor spread, as if two savage giant beasts had arrived, their presence suffused with a ferocious, terrifying aura.
Suddenly, two lesser giant fiends, each rivaling a Sky‑Soaring True Person, emerged from the gray fog. The one on the left was a giant wolf; the one on the right, an enormous green turtle.
Boom!
The giant turtle stepped forward on its short ten-meter-high legs.
Its legs were completely out of proportion to its massive body. The emerald shell gleamed, as if formed from countless hexagonal diamond plates.
"Heh heh."
"Foolish human, still trying?"
The giant fiend with the green shell shook its head and sneered, "Don't be afraid to hear this—we've tried countless times. The palaces are indestructible and cannot be opened. You're supposed to be humanity's top genius, but are you so unwilling to accept reality after being defeated?"
Beside it.
The giant wolf opened its bloody maw, mocking and laughing until its pitch-black eyes nearly teared up. "Maybe Andrew Han thinks he's special, able to open these palaces... Go ahead, if you can open the door, we'll spare your life today."