Countless skeletons turned at once, facing the surging tide of more polluted and twisted monsters and lingering thoughts from deep within the Sunken Bone District.

They formed ranks, charged, and slaughtered.

This time, they no longer indiscriminately attacked all living beings. Instead, they took the initiative to face those deeper pollutions and distortions, using their remaining strength to carve out a path for the train toward the target ember.

Ao Qin looked at Bai Cheng, his soul fire flickering slightly:

"Go forth... scion of the gate."

"Our remaining embers... will eventually burn out. But if we can light a new glimmer... then this thousand-year silence will not have been in vain."

As the words fell, his skeleton slowly sat down, and the soul fire gradually dimmed, finally turning into a warm golden speck of light that merged into the starlight at Bai Cheng's fingertips.

The entire skeletal army also disintegrated, with thousands of soul fires converging like a meteor shower, turning into a stream of pale-gold light that poured into the Star Rail Gate deep within Bai Cheng's soul.

Behind the gate, beside the ember of faith belonging to Broken Shell Island, an even more ancient and blazing golden flame appeared.

It burned, emitting a weathered and tragic warmth, causing the prototype of Bai Cheng's emperors imprint to solidify at a speed visible to the naked eye.

At the end of the passage cleared by the final strength of the skeletal army ahead of the train, a bright pale-gold ember was quietly burning in the darkness of the Sunken Bone District.

Like a lighthouse.

Like starfire.

Bai Cheng slowly stood up, her silver hair falling like a galaxy in the dim light of the carriage.

"Continue forward."

Her voice was calm, yet carried an unshakeable power.

"To welcome... our first cluster of starfire."

The silver train followed the passage opened by the Ancient Heroic Souls with their last remaining embers, slowly entering the deepest part of the Sunken Bone District.

The gel and skeletal debris outside the portholes gradually thinned, until finally, a strange sight appeared before everyone's eyes.

It was not the dark abyss one might imagine, but a massive, hemispherical, tranquil space.

The dome and walls of the space were composed of countless translucent, pale-gold crystals, with ripples of light flowing inside the crystals, illuminating the entire space like an amber palace at dusk.

In the center of the space floated a warm and pulsing pale-gold flame about the size of a house.

It burned quietly, without heat, yet emitted an indescribable sense of peace and compassion.

At the core of the flame, countless tiny specks of light could be seen flowing and converging, like a condensed galaxy, or the final whispers and smiles of countless souls.

This was exactly the ember Bai Cheng had sensed—not a corpse or a relic,

but rather a Collective Mindscape naturally gathered, settled, and refined over the long years at this special ley line node, formed from the final fragments of conviction from countless Stardust Remnants, ancient heroic spirits, and even guardians of older eras who had fallen here.

(This is the continuation of the previous thought regarding the Collective Mindscape's formation.)

It carried the unfulfilled protective wishes of the deceased, their deepest love for this sea, and their infinite expectations for those who would follow.

"Extremely high-purity ancient Stardust conviction aggregate detected." Leng Ningxue's voice carried a hint of shock. "Energy readings are stable, pollution index... zero.

Its structure... perfectly simulates the balance of the laws of Order and Vitality."

The train stopped a hundred meters away from the flame.

Bai Cheng stepped out of the carriage alone, onto the ground composed of crystals of conviction.

A warm and solid sensation came from beneath her feet; every step felt as if she were treading upon the dreams of countless watchers.

She walked toward the cluster of flame.

The closer she got, the stronger the resonance between the Stardust Imprint and the Star Rail Gate deep within her soul became.

The flame seemed to possess its own consciousness, transmitting to her a warm yet sorrowful greeting, and... an expectation that was almost like an entrustment. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

When Bai Cheng stood beneath the flame and looked up, the flame flickered slightly, and a strand of extremely condensed golden light, like a physical droplet, separated from it, slowly floating down and hovering before her.

Within the stream of light, blurred yet touching images flashed by:

A scholar clad in starlight robes calibrating a star chart for the last time before a collapsing boundary marker;

A scarred warrior entrusting an infant in swaddling clothes to a fleeing boat, then turning to charge at the pursuers;

An elderly priest leading his people in a final requiem, infusing the village's conviction into the ley lines... Finally, all the images faded into a tranquil darkness burning with pale-gold flames, and a common thought that spanned time and space:

"O successor... please take our light... and keep going..."

Bai Cheng closed her eyes, her silver eyelashes trembling slightly.

She did not reach out to absorb this ember, but instead unfolded the increasingly clear phantom of the Star Rail Gate behind her.

The gate opened, not to devour, but as if opening its arms.

Behind the gate, the golden prayers of Broken Shell Island, the sincere original heart of General Who Quiets the Seas Ao Qin, the hundreds of glimmers she had collected along the way,

and the vast silver radiance gifted by the Stardust Remnants, flowed out proactively like trickling streams, slowly contacting and merging with the ancient Collective Mindscape flame before her.

There was no violent energy surge, only silent resonance and convergence.

The ancient pale-gold flame and the newborn conviction interwoven with silver and gold light combined like long-lost friends, blending together perfectly.

The Star Rail Gate vibrated slightly, and the scene within the gate began to change.

In the originally somewhat empty starry background dominated by silver radiance, more specific and vivid images gradually emerged:

Broken yet reassembled boundary markers, fishing fires flickering in the storm that never went out, blurred figures holding hands in a circle and singing, and the small statue belonging to Bai Cheng herself erected in Cuiluo Bay... This was the preliminary manifestation of the Star Rail Path, the resonance and connection between the conviction Bai Cheng carried and that of all the guardians in the long river of this sea's history.

The ancient Collective Mindscape flame finally merged completely into the Star Rail Gate, not disappearing,

but instead becoming the most central and stable source fire within the gate, burning quietly, providing an ancient and solid backdrop and warmth for the entire starry sky.

Bai Cheng opened her eyes.

The prototype of the emperors imprint on her forehead appeared once more.

This time, it was no longer just a dim phantom; a circle of extremely fine yet very real pale-gold patterns had appeared around its edges, as if gilding this newborn imprint with a sacred halo.

The imprint itself had solidified significantly, emitting an aura that was even more vast and stable.

Although still far from the true Sovereign Realm, the foundation of the °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° path had been firmly established by this first cluster of starfire.

Her strength did not suddenly soar above the king-level peak because of the fusion with the ancient flame.

That would require the support of massive, continuous faith, but her understanding and control of the laws of the Star Rail Gate, as well as her guidance and application of the power of conviction, had all stepped into a completely new level.

More importantly, the authority and responsibility of a guardian within her soul became clearer, heavier, and... more resolute.