<h4>Chapter 1600: Stepping on the Heart of Destiny</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Guided by the Aiur, the Petrachelys slowly approached the, which was shrouded by an energy barrier and filled with thick clouds as well as endless thunderstorms: the Heart of Destiny.


    The ship hovered near the top of the atmosphere, and the external monitor sent in a sharp close-up view of the. The strikingary shield was more solid at that distance, showing distinct textures and “blocks”. It wasposed of enormous hexagons with brightly-glinting edges, and its interior flowed with light, giving the shield the appearance of crystal armor that was several kilometers thick. Unlike any shield Hao Ren knew of, the shield had no apparent energy dissipation structure and no detectable sources of energy projected from the.


    Inside the shield were rolling clouds and electro-optics. Due to the thick atmosphere, it was almost impossible to see the surface of the directly from space. They could only get a glimpse of the through the asional cracks in the clouds. What Hao Ren saw through his nce was and full of crystal clusters.


    “Here atst...” Hao Ren stood on the bridge of the Petrachelys, looking at the hologram projection and muttering to himself.


    From seeing the in the illusion of the Crimson Moon, following the star map engraved in Vivian’s soul to the gxy, encountering supernatural storms in that mysterious and dangerous gxy, discovering the traces of star folks toing into contact with the forces of the ancient guardians and the Mad Lord...


    Finally, he was standing there, next to one of the miracles created by the goddess of creation, which was closely rted to Vivian.


    He could feel that he was one step away from some ultimate truth.


    Sman’s figure appeared on the holographic projection in front of the captain’s chair. The giant was now of normal height, which mademunication much easier. “My mother built this ce in extreme secrecy. All the heavenly bodies in the Holy Land were shaped out of thin air by her mighty powers. Even the space here was modified by her to ensure that the evolution of the physical universe did not interfere too much with it, thus ensuring the permanence of the Holy Land. In this universe, we, the guardians of the hidden sanctuary, are the only ones who know about it...


    “Unlike our brothers and sisters, we were not born in the Star of Creation’s sea of lifeblood. We were created in a more secret ce. Mother adjusted our mentalwork so that we could exist independently of other guardians.


    “From the day we were born, we were trained and our minds were hardened. It was our mission to defend this ce. We’ve stood guard here for 10,000 years, waiting for the guide toe. Today, you are here, and you have passed the test of the Naqdal Crystal—but this woman must undergo a more formal ‘verification’ before we can confirm her identity. Don’t think it unreasonable: no amount of strict prudence is too much for an eternal mission.”


    Hao Ren nodded softly. “After that, will you tell us the secret of this ce and the final n of the goddess of creation?”


    “That is actually something the guide has known from the beginning, but...” Sman gave Vivian a slightly embarrassed look. “I’m afraid that even my mother didn’t expect her creation to lose her memories... Yes, I will tell you all the secrets if you pass the test.”


    “I have another question,” said Hao Ren. “Don’t worry, it’s not about the. It’s about the Denizens of the Stars. We found a number of warships belonging to the dormant Denizens of the Stars in Star Cluster X. Their energy and consciousness were transmitted here, and if I’m right, thisary shield above the Heart of Destiny...”


    “It was an emergency,” Sman said with a slight nod. “The lines were breached from the inside, and the Denizens of the Stars who were guarding the outer edges of the cluster had no time to return, so they used their abilities to transfer power to the Heart of Destiny. The corrupted have approached the final defense circle many times over the years, and without this extraary shield, our defense may not have held up.”


    “In the outer universe... the Denizens of the Stars have been gone for years. I didn’t expect them to be still alive,” Hao Ren sighed and said


    “The Denizens of the Stars... They have been Mother’s allies from dark and chaotic times, but few, including the guardians, know of their existence. It was only in this era that they’ve reappeared beside Mother,” Sman said, shaking his head. “Even we do not know the whole history of these ancient creatures. They are the ghosts of dark and chaotic times that have survived to this day. They have been wandering along the border of the orderly world, and only Mother knows everything about them. Well, I have said enough. If you want to know more, you must wait until I have verified the identity of the guide.”


    Hao Ren did not object. Although he would have liked to ask now about the divine blockade and the crystal throne, themander was clearly more stubborn and cautious than Muru, Lemendusa and Heve. While Vivian’s identity was theoretically wless, he still wanted to identify the “authentication” system left by the goddess of creation, not to mention, there was not enough evidence to prove Vivian’s identity.


    Let’s see what this “verification” was all about.


    A hexagonal area on the thickary shield suddenly became clear and thin. The Aiur and Petrachelys passed through the opening, moving smoothly towards the.


    “I will keep an eye on the whole ‘verification’ process,” Hao Ren said to Vivian after hanging up. “It isn’t clear how the identification process left behind by the goddess of creation actually works, so we have to be vignt.”


    Vivian frowned. “You suspect that something’s wrong with what the goddess of creation left behind for me? Or is there something wrong with the guardians?”


    “Caution is the way to go. What’s left by the goddess of creation may be all right, but it’s not the case for the ‘goddess of annihtion’, and even if the guardian giants seem uncorrupted, you can’t tell whether the orders for them have been distorted,” Hao Ren said, shaking his head. “Even if all of that’s fine, you’re an uncertainty. Remember, you’re only one half of the divine being, and theplete ‘guide’ created by the goddess has already been split in two on Inferno.”


    Vivian sighed softly. “As an iplete guide, I may not be able to pass the test... Is that what you mean?”


    Hao Ren looked at Vivian, grabbed her hand and said, “Don’t worry, even if this doesn’t work out, there’ll surely be some other way to unlock the secrets of this. I have technical support from a real god.”


    After a moment, he added, “Of course I’m not saying that I want to blow up the...”


    “I wasn’t thinking that!”


    “Somehow, I suddenly feel certain that someone’s going to say I’m about to blow up the...”


    As they chatted, the two spacecraftnded on the Heart of Destiny.


    As a holynd, the was barely explored. Theary surface only had very limited infrastructure, which were built by the guardian giants.


    The spacecraftnded on a tform made of crystal and metal. The tform was surrounded by vast ins of crystal clusters in three directions, and there was a long crystal ramp behind it.


    At the end of the ramp was a peak made entirely of blue and white crystal.


    Hao Ren and Vivian approached the crystal ramp together.


    The crystal peak in the distance rose high into the sky, and the cliffs around it were so steep and straight that the entire mountain stood like a sword or a great tower on the earth. Continuous thunderstorms formed around the mountain, hitting the crystalline cliffs tirelessly.


    “I’ve seen this ce in my visions...” Hao Ren murmured to himself. “The crystal throne is in this mountain...”


    Sman’s huge figure appeared in front of the ramp. “Ahead is the heart of the Holy Land. I will take you there myself.” The old giant’s voice sounded like thunder.


    “Just you?” Hao Ren looked back and noticed that a lot of guardian giants had also left the ship, but they were just standing quietly in the distance.


    “They are with me,” Sman exined. “What I see, they can see too. And if anything goes wrong with the verification process, they can alwayse to me. But until then, the Holy Land does not need to be disturbed by more of us.”


    “Got it. You want to keep this ce quiet.”


    Sman took the lead and walked in the direction of the holy mountain.


    Hao Ren, Vivian, as well as the MDT, quickly followed him.


    After they walked for a while, the MDT started to make a fuss.


    “Do we have to walk? We can just teleport there, it’s a lot faster...”


    There was no response.


    “Okay, okay, I know we’re in the Holy Land.”


    “Can you tell me what the verification process is? So that we can get ready.”


    There was still no response.


    “Okay, okay, I know we’re in the Holy Land.”


    “The great in out here is very deste. I thought you’d have a base camp or something.”


    Again, there was no response.


    “Okay, okay, I know we’re in the Holy Land.”


    Sman suddenly stopped. He looked down very carefully at the MDT floating next to Hao Ren’s head and then at Hao Ren. “Is there a sprite in it?”


    “It’s been chattering like this ever since I got it! It has nothing to do with the sprites!”


    “Oh, there are so many talkative creatures in this world.”


    The MDT immediately flew into a rage. “I’ll fight you! A duel, you understand? Don’t stop me, bro, don’t stop... Damn, you’re really not going to stop me?”


    “Just shut up, will you?” Hao Ren grabbed the MDT and put it in his pocket.


    After a while, Sman stopped again. “Here we are.”


    Stunned, Hao Ren looked back in the direction he wasing from: he saw a very long ramp, which allowed nearly a thousand Nangong Wuyues in sea serpent form to line up on it, but he felt like they had been walking for only ten minutes at most.


    “Walking on this ramp means that you have passed the first test: anyone who has been polluted by the Mad Lord or who is malicious to the Holy Land can’t walk here at all. As for distance... That is an irrelevant issue in the Holy Land, where space is never continuous and uniform,” Sman exined.


    “I know it’s not that simple...”