The silver sands of the hourglass drained away, and the Holy Flame Emperor's body crumbled into dust. Six blood beads fell into Ming Qi's hands.
At the spot where the Holy Flame Emperor's body had once stood, a burst of intense light suddenly erupted, and a small space-time portal quickly took shape. A series of vortices surged through it, flowing towards another world.
Ming Qi gripped the blood beads tightly and pondered for a moment. He then swung the Fire Emperor Sword, collapsing the cavern. Then, resolutely, he stepped into the space-time teleportation array.
As he stepped into the vortex, resembling a violent nebula, he felt his body lighten. His surroundings instantly vanished into boundless darkness, and even his consciousness was completely devoid of light.
This was Ming Qi's first time traveling through the space-time teleportation array. Fear of the unknown initially made him panic, but he quickly calmed down. He had previously witnessed instances of Heavenly Sin Warriors passing through the teleportation array. They were only at the Innate Realm, yet they were able to maintain full combat effectiveness after passing through the array. This indicated that the array would not harm those who traveled through it.
After adjusting to the boundless darkness, Ming Qi calmed down completely.
The Holy Flame Martial Emperor had made it clear that the star field was fraught with danger and murderous intent. Although he still didn't know the true nature of the enemy within, since the Holy Flame Martial Emperor had stated so, he had to be in top form. Perhaps once he left the teleportation array, he would immediately be thrust into battle.
Ming Qi had no knowledge of the star field. Saint Flame Martial Emperor's brief introduction alone couldn't fully capture the entire field. Even Saint Flame Martial Emperor's knowledge of the star field was apparently limited. However, the fact that he had established a space-time teleportation array on the Tianhuang Continent that led to the otherworldly star field showed that he had some understanding of the star field's source power. At the very least, the information he provided Ming Qi wasn't significantly off.
At this moment, traveling through space and time, Ming Qi felt like he was riding a train through a tunnel. All around him was pitch black, save for the whistling wind in his ears. There was no sign of life, no breath of anything.
Once one entered the space-time teleportation array, one completely lost all concept of time and space. Space-time teleportation arrays are based on the distortion of time and space, creating a continuous passage between two distant points. Therefore, those within them naturally lost their concept of time and space.
Ming Qi even wondered more than once: Being within time and space, yet unable to perceive their existence, wasn't that absurd?
But that was the reality.
The boundless darkness seemed to last an eternity, yet it seemed to pass in an instant.
With no concept of time, Ming Qi's mind was filled with other thoughts. When a ray of light appeared before his eyes, he knew he had reached his destination.
Instantly, his nerves tensed, his right hand tightly gripping the Fire Emperor Sword. The moment the darkness dissipated, he launched himself outward like a projectile.
This move wasn't taught to him by the Holy Flame Martial Emperor; it was something he'd developed during his brief journey through the space-time teleportation array. At the very least, he felt it would significantly reduce the chances of a surprise attack.
Boom!
Ming Qi, flung like a cannonball, didn't even have time to see anything around him before he slammed heavily into a stone wall, showering him with rubble and dust, and sending sparks flying from his head.
Even with the strength of a mid-stage Martial King, a head-on collision with a stone wall wouldn't have been a good outcome.
Fortunately, despite a miscalculation and a bump into the wall, there were no signs of a sneak attack.
After rolling a few times on the ground, he finally found himself in a stone cave. The cave wasn't large, but it was unusually bright, as the walls were covered in rocks that shone like starlight.
Clearly, this was the exit from the teleportation array, a well-hidden location.
After a quick glance, Ming Qi, holding the Fire Emperor Sword, headed towards the cave entrance. His path was filled with glittering rocks, resembling the dazzling stars in the night sky.
After walking for about a few hundred meters, he heard a resounding sound of water ahead. Looking up, Ming Qi was shocked to see a massive waterfall cascading down, roaring past him.
Seeing this massive waterfall, Ming Qi once again admired the Saint Flame Emperor's clever choice of exit, making it virtually impossible for anyone to discover it.
With a sudden leap, Ming Qi, who had originally intended to fly directly over the waterfall, suddenly and inexplicably soared only three or four meters before landing uncontrollably in the water, tumbling down into the waterfall.
"Fuck!"
A burst of curses was instantly drowned by the roar of the water.
Luckily, the pool beneath the waterfall wasn't deep, and Ming Qi struggled a few times before scrambling out.
Looking up at the hundreds-meter-high water curtain, Ming Qi secretly congratulated himself. If there had been a bottomless pool below, he would have been the first Martial King cultivator to drown.
Using his True Energy to dry his clothes, he experimented with exerting his strength a few times before finally understanding why he had fallen into the water.
It seemed as if this place held some powerful restriction, preventing cultivators from accurately controlling their strength. Often, the effect would backfire, like when you intended to strike with your sword, only to find, to your horror, that the sword not only didn't strike, but instead stabbed you.
Yes, that's right. The Star Region is so strange, nothing can be reasoned with according to common sense.
It took Ming Qi a long time to master the most basic common sense. I don't know if it will be useful, but at least it will prevent him from getting killed in the future when facing an enemy.
Once entering the Star Region, the concept of time returns to him. While it's unknown how much the time difference between the Star Region and the outside world is, anyone within it can still clearly feel a day just like in the outside world.
In other words, although the speed of the Star Region differs significantly from that of the outside world, Ming Qi can still pass a 24-hour day just like in the outside world.
Time here isn't shortened; it's just that the source of time here is different.
Ming Qi roughly estimated that it took him more than ten days just to master the most basic laws and common sense. Fortunately, within the Star Region, he could still absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to replenish his body's functions, preventing him from starving to death due to lack of food.
After ensuring that his movements were unimpeded, Ming Qi finally had time to carefully observe the terrain and environment of the star field