Extraordinary Pedigree.

Chapter 689: Interstellar Navigation Dilemma.

"Blackstone Fortress..."

Xia Xiu's voice repeated softly, his mind rapidly searching for any clues about the name.

He went through all the books, journals, and even the secret research reports and top-secret files of the Heavenly Kingdom in his mind, but he did not find any information related to this term.

His brows were furrowed, and his gaze gradually turned from his deep thoughts to the General Commander, "What on earth is that?"

The commander-in-chief didn't say much. He slid his finger in the air and called up a virtual projection.

A blurry but shocking outline appeared on the screen - it was an enormous space fortress. The black giant shadow was like a sleeping beast, suspended in the endless abyss of the void.

The ominous outline exudes endless power, and even the image itself seems to exude a certain heart-pounding sense of oppression.

Alex's voice was low and slow, and every word weighed on the heart of the fourth sword bearer of the Kingdom of Heaven:

"Based on the fragments we extracted from the wreckage of the Night Ship, this 'Black Stone Fortress' is not a mortal creation."

He paused, his eyes sweeping across the projection. "Its structure is completely different from any technology we know of, and even exceeds the existing technology of Heaven. Preliminary judgment shows that the core design of this fortress is likely to come from some ancient existence, involving the manipulation of void power - this is why we speculate that it is related to the Void Dragon or Star God."

Xia Xiu stared at the virtual projection.

Void power, ancient existence...the combination of these nouns foreshadows unknown horror.

He was silent for a moment, and finally couldn't help asking: "How do they compare to the Holy See of the Gospel of Yahweh?"

The General Commander did not hesitate at all and responded almost instantly: "The two cannot be simply compared. The Holy See of the Gospel was built by great power, while the Black Stone Fortress... is a heavy weapon of civilization."

He turned to look at Xia Xiu, his eyes as deep as the sea:

"The Holy See of the Gospel relies on divine power, which is enough to pry open destiny and divinity, but the Black Stone Fortress... it is the pinnacle of ancient civilization. They do not rely on divine power, but are based on civilization and technology, and contain technology and energy that far exceeds our understanding."

His tone became more serious: "Whoever can control the Black Stone Fortress will be invincible in the Ether Chain."

"More importantly, we not only found information about the Black Stone Fortress in the wreckage of the Night Ship, but also found their coordinates, as well as something chilling..."

The commander-in-chief began to zoom in and out of the screen. A huge virtual projection screen slowly lit up in the center of the command room. Through the misty light screen, a star map gradually unfolded.

The deep cosmic background is shrouded in dim light, and the faint light of hundreds of stars flickers on the star map, like silent signals conveying the loneliness and coldness of the Milky Way.

In the upper right corner of the screen, Terra’s coordinates were marked with bright dots of light, while on the other side of the star map, a strange red light appeared like a nightmare.

As the light spot moves, the view focuses on the red area.

In the center of the screen, a huge irregular structure slowly appeared - this was the Blackstone Fortress.

The structure is huge and complex, like a twisted maze suspended in the depths of the galaxy.

The black crystal surface outside the fortress flickered with a faint light, and the surface was covered with countless rune carvings, as if it was constantly absorbing the undercurrents in the universe.

The star map system began to automatically zoom in. The huge fortress rotated, and the virtual light depicted its external outline more and more clearly. Each side of the fortress showed a different geometric structure - some parts were sharp and abrupt, as if an out-of-control force was pushing it outward; while other parts were seamlessly integrated, as if some unknown technology had forcibly merged the various structures into one.

Purple and green veins of light flashed across the smooth surface from time to time. These energy veins seemed to connect the entire fortress, like an ancient, awakened behemoth.

The data below the projection screen showed flowing: [Blackstone Fortress No. 1].

===Virtual Star Map Navigation System===
Current location: Terra

Current location coordinates:
[X: 412.12, Y:-320.88, Z: 89.00]——
Destination: Blackstone Fortress No. 1

coordinate:
[X: 35.99, Y:■■■.25, Z:-■5.12]
Distance: 13.000 light years (straight line distance, near the ■■■ star region)
Sailing time: 12/Terra days (Aether/subspace navigation, no chaos influence, no aether storm and radiation influence——)
--------

The data was constantly updated, and the energy intensity of the fortress's shell was marked as extremely high. The pulsating light began to change frequently, suggesting that it was absorbing the surrounding energy.

The image on the screen suddenly shook slightly. On the northern edge of the Milky Way, a violent and chaotic force was stirring - it did not belong to this sea of stars, and it had never truly belonged to any known material world.

In the center of the projection screen, a vortex-like crack began to gradually appear. It was like a huge vortex with the characteristics of a crack. The center was like the "pupil" of the eye, the most active and dangerous part, and the surrounding vortices were like the "iris" or "white of the eye", always "watching" the outside world in this area of the Milky Way.

It is like an eternal eye, suspended in the starry sky, gazing at the surrounding universe.

Its core is like an endless abyss, deep and cold, swallowing up any soul that tries to peek into its secrets.

In this bottomless darkness, energy flows like a living thing, rippling, spinning, and twisting.

The light was constantly twisted at its edges, forcibly stretched and compressed by the power of the eye.

Those bright stars gradually lost their luster as they approached the Eye of Terror, as if they were dragged into some alien abyss, never to escape.

Its outer layer is like a blood-red halo, emitting strange energy fluctuations that constantly vibrate around the galaxy.

The shape of the vortex is full of irregular changes, like a never-ending storm.

Purple, red, and dark blue energy ripples intertwined, sometimes expanding and sometimes contracting, as if absorbing the surrounding starlight and matter.

The center of the eye is deadly—a pure void, a cosmic rift that connects to an ineffable depth.

The data stream on the screen flickered, indicating that the fluctuation index of ether radiation was rising sharply.

【warn! ! ! 】

The note next to it warned that, as if some hidden taboo had been triggered, the details of the image became blurred, and chaotic ripples gradually covered the entire star map, and it seemed that even light could hardly maintain its own form.

It is a huge, burning eye, always watching the surrounding galaxies.

In the final frame, the eye twists and turns again, as if a pupil contracts momentarily and then expands again.

【Puff——】

*
*
The collapsed star map was reflected on Xia Xiu and Zong Xia’s faces, and the distortion of light seemed to cast a heavy shadow on their expressions.

Xia Xiu frowned slightly, staring at the torn and rotating void crack, his mind filled with questions.

"What's that eye?"

His voice was low, with an undisguised uneasiness.

The commander's eyes were still fixed on the afterimage of the star map, and his voice became deeper, as if he was recalling some horrific scene:

"The coordinates copied from the wreckage of the Night Ship. We observed this phenomenon using the tools of the Superastronomy Department - it is an abnormal rift located in a sector called Cadia." He paused and continued, his tone filled with an indescribable heaviness.

"According to their analysis, it is a huge, vortex-shaped crack that connects the real space and the ether. The laws of time, space, matter, and even energy in that area are no longer as stable as in the universe we are familiar with."

Xia Xiu's expression became more solemn. The scene of the crack seemed to be much more complicated than he had imagined.

The commander-in-chief's words pushed the scene deeper, making the conversation even more gloomy.

"There, we clearly observed the fluctuations of the Four Sovereigns' domains for the first time... They also saw us."

"The observation angel of the Hyperastronomy Department was attacked by the over-the-horizon Meme from a distant galaxy."

The commander-in-chief's voice was low, but it triggered a chill.

The old man recalled the scene on the observation deck that day, a moment that could never be erased from his memory.

His expression grew increasingly serious, as if he was reliving that horrific moment—the eyes of several observing angels exploded in an instant, and blood gushed out like a waterfall.

Their bodies were corroded by an unknown force and covered with a layer of strange red hair. Even the pure light of the [Unknown Land] could not resist the sudden terror.

Those angels did not suffer ordinary injuries, but were struck by an extremely rare curse.

The commander whispered, with a hint of repressed gloom in his tone:

"The healing angel later told me that those curses were not accidental. They were cursed by Prince of Pleasure. They saw Prince of Pleasure's kingdom, a paradise of decadence and distortion."

Upon hearing this, Xia Xiu frowned, and couldn't help but recall the so-called deal between the Four Monarchs and himself. His keen intuition told him that the real purpose of the Four Monarchs' cooperation with him was related to the huge vortex eye.

The commander-in-chief's voice was still low, and he continued:

"That rift... the power of chaos nearby is extremely strong. The influence of the Four Lords is more obvious there than anywhere else. Through that rift, the power of chaos can directly affect the real universe and change the laws of physics."

"The observation angels of the Ultra-Astronomy Department said that the rift has been defined as the key portal for the power of the Chaos Gods to infiltrate reality."

As Xia Xiu listened to these words, his intuition became more certain.

That rift is an endless wound in the universe, connecting to an unknown abyss, and continuously infiltrating the corrupting power of chaos into reality.

Even more disturbing is that chaos is not just latent; it is actively affecting reality.

The commander narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice:
"People from the Super Astronomy Department... They saw countless Chaos legions. Those legions have occupied the planets around the rift and spread across the entire star region."

He paused, his tone filled with confusion and subtle shadows.

"However, it seems that due to some unknown reason, these Chaos Legions cannot completely spread out and can only shrink in that area, as if they were trapped by something."

Trapped by something...

Xia Xiu murmured these words in his heart, recalling the four [Seals] in the hands of the "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" - branches of the "History of All Realms".

And the apocalyptic war that they prophesied.

byd Four Monarchs, it turns out that this is where he is waiting...

"I think the only thing to be thankful for is that the Cadia sector is 13.000 light years away from Terra. This distance... if the Parker Solar Probe were to use real, non-black box technology, it would take a full 21 billion years to fly this distance."

The commander-in-chief's voice was heavy and helpless.

Xia Xiu raised his head and looked at the bitter smile on the commander's face. He couldn't help but smile bitterly as well, and then added:
"It's a pity that this is not just the physical universe, we also have the ether ocean. If we get rid of the guide chain and do real ether navigation, we can move forward nonlinearly in the subspace, and the distance of light years can be greatly shortened.

But the problem is that the ether is full of dangers such as distortions of time and space, storms, radiation pollution, etc.

If these obstacles can be avoided, theoretically even the longest distance can be reached quickly.

And those four monarchs... born from the ether, they can obviously easily ignore these problems that we cannot avoid."

Xia Xiu's words hit the nail on the head, pointing out the dangers of sailing in the aether and the inherent advantages of the Four Monarchs.

[Ocean of Aether] should have been the hope of all civilizations to break through the interstellar barriers, but in the face of the power of chaos, this hope has become a double-edged sword.

The commander nodded, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes.

He continued:

“As you said, many forces in Terra are now trying to solve these problems.

The current etheric chain technology is a channel established between Terra and the Sun relying on the crystal sky and spectrum.

This is currently the most reliable way to travel, not only can it avoid most of the dangers in the ether, but also forms a powerful defensive measure."

He paused for a moment, his tone becoming more thoughtful:

“As for future plans for interstellar travel, there are currently two mainstream ideas.

One is to continuously expand the guide chains until they cover all the star regions we can reach - this will be a huge project and too fantastic. What is the difference between building this thing and creating a wonder?

Another idea is to create and deploy a large number of chaos mapping stations and navigation stations, and use these stations to map out stable ether routes, while cultivating a large number of ether navigators, beings that are born with the ability to sense and manipulate ether flows - however, the speed at which mapping stations are scrapped in the ether far exceeds the speed at which they are created, and the creatures in the ether will not allow these things to exist. "

Xia Xiu recalled the terrifying crack on the star map, and the two possible solutions quickly ran through his mind.

He knew that expanding the chain guide might bring long-term stability, but it would be time-consuming and require a huge amount of engineering work.

With the current four-layer chain guide technology, even if it were to reach Terra and explode naturally, it is not known whether the chain guides could cover the entire solar system.

Moreover, the early stage of the chain guide depends on the stability of [Crystal Sky]. If it develops further...

[Crystal Sky] is the shackles that bind Terra.

And relying on ether navigators..., navigators are easy to train, but surveying stations and navigation stations are difficult to set up.

To chart one or more navigable routes across the Ocean of Ether, the number required would probably be in the hundreds of trillions.

Which civilization would waste so many resources to create so much "ether garbage"?
The current mainstream ideas on Terra are actually not very good.

Non-mainstream ideas are more bizarre and unreliable.

Some people are thinking of stealing the Void Dragon's superluminal navigation secret; some are thinking of using gravity slipstream; and some are thinking of seeking refuge with the monarch and gods, asking them to grant humans a few observable routes for navigation...

Whether mainstream or non-mainstream.

Xia Xiu could clearly see one thing from this:
Most people in this land have no intention of tearing through the hypocritical starry sky and leading humanity out of Terra's grand idea.