Chapter 299 The 9-Second Window

The "Po Jun" light corvette hovered in the vacuum of high orbit at an altitude of 200 kilometers. The main engine was in standby mode with its lowest power, and only the low-frequency hum that maintained microcirculation could be heard inside the cabin.

Six figures stood silently at the rear of the cabin.

The group includes Chu Qing, the top swordsman of Zhenyuan Army; Minghe Daoren of Kunlun Main Peak; Tieshan Zhenren of Mingshan Defense Line; Zhao Lao, the official worshipper; Lei Hong, who specializes in thunder and fire; and Qingyuan, a high-level array master from the Array Academy.

Six Golden Core cultivators.

Unlike Qin Lie, who was fully armed before, they wore no bulky high-pressure protective suits, only their own specially made tactical robes. On their bodies, layers of extremely condensed, semi-transparent golden core qi were slowly circulating, like an absolute domain, isolating them from the micro-circulation airflow inside the cabin.

The specially made military storage bags on the waists of Minghe Daoren and Tieshan Zhenren shimmered with a faint spiritual light. Twelve five-meter-long, several-ton titanium crystal [high-rail traction anchors] rested quietly in their internal subspace.

This is a privilege reserved for high-level cultivators—to traverse the void with their physical bodies and to carry massive, heavy objects in a single, unassuming space.

"Target 'Peregrine Falcon-07', 10 kilometers away."

Inside the cockpit, Qin Lie stared intently at the massive red dot rapidly approaching on the radar screen, his cold, hard voice ringing out in the internal circulation channel.

"This metallic meteorite has been captured by Earth's unusual gravitational field of spiritual energy, forming an extremely dangerous highly elliptical orbit. It's currently approaching its perigee, about 800 kilometers from its home planet." Qin Lie turned to the six people behind him. "The Po Jun has already absorbed most of the orbital velocity difference. But everyone, successful escort doesn't guarantee safety!"

Outside the porthole, the six-thousand-ton metal mountain filled half of the field of vision. It was lifeless, devoid of any murderous intent, possessing only coldness, silence, and immense physical mass.

"The real danger lies in its irregular rotation and the lateral force generated by the metallic ridges on its surface!" Qin Lie's voice was like ice water splashed on everyone's nerves. "Once you lose your footing upon landing, you'll be thrown off in an instant!"

"Each unit should verify the division of labor one last time."

"Chu Qing, Lei Hong, first group, break through the shell and open the hole; Ming He, Tie Shan, second group, deliver the anchor piles; Qing Yuan, Zhao Lao, responsible for array positioning and clearing obstacles to protect the array." Qin Lie's finger hovered over the hatch release button. "I'm on the Po Jun, responsible for guidance and the countdown. These ninety seconds involve multiple points working in parallel, so we must stick to the rhythm. If any anchor point is damaged, listen to my instructions; do not force it."

"Understood." The six people's telepathic communication sounded simultaneously in Qin Lie's tactical headset.

"Relative quiescence window countdown, ninety seconds." Qin Lie abruptly pressed the release button, "Open the hatch!"

"laugh--"

The side hatch of the Po Jun slid open, and the internal air pressure was instantly released.

The six Golden Core cultivators, like six heavy armor-piercing bullets fired from a gun, instantly burst out of the escort vessel and plunged into the unobstructed deep space.

The cratered surface of Peregrine-07 rapidly magnified before my eyes. As the meteorite slowly tumbled, a terrifying centrifugal force, almost tangible, crashed towards me.

"Maintain a steady landing point!"

Just before hitting the surface of the meteorite, Master Tieshan pressed his palms down sharply.

He didn't use his true essence to shake the six-thousand-ton celestial body; that would be suicide. Instead, he transformed his extremely thick earth-elemental true essence, typical of the Golden Core stage, into a powerful gravitational field ten meters in diameter, pressing it firmly onto a flat rock layer on the meteorite's surface.

This downward pressure brutally counteracted the lateral force that was trying to throw them away.

boom! boom! boom!

The six people crashed heavily onto the surface of the meteorite. The shockwave traveled along the meteorite's metallic base and directly into their bones.

"Time has passed! Eighty-five seconds!" Qin Lie's countdown rang out precisely on the divine sense channel. The laser-guided red dot had already struck the meteorite's surface. "Positions one through four, commence operations!"

Zhao Gongfeng braced himself with both hands, and a semi-transparent, hemispherical spiritual energy shield instantly opened, enveloping the six people and blocking all the tiny metal fragments brought up by the meteorite's rotation from his protective aura.

"break!"

Lei Hong's arms were wrapped in blinding lightning as he slammed his fist into the laser-locked position. The raging lightning and fire instantly blasted the weathered surface of the rock into powder.

Chu Qing followed closely behind, his broad, blunt sword transforming into a high-frequency drill. The Gengjin sword energy had no fancy variations, only extremely pure physical destructive force, fiercely chiseling open the iron-nickel base and cutting out a two-meter-deep anchor pit.

"Send an anchor!"

Master Minghe patted his storage pouch at his waist, and a streak of light flashed, revealing a three-meter-long, several-ton titanium crystal traction anchor in his hand. He slammed it into the anchor pit like a javelin. Master Tieshan stepped forward, his arm muscles bulging, and using the gravitational field as cover, slammed his palms down on the top of the anchor, forcing it into the rock strata!

"Array pattern access!" Master Qingyuan, who was in charge of the array, formed hand seals and precisely struck the tail end of the traction anchor with a burst of spiritual energy.

hum-

There was no sound, but everyone could sense through their divine sense that the [Stellar Origin Qi] at the bottom of the traction anchor had been activated. A dark blue, cold light spread along the cracks in the rock strata, completely "welding" the titanium crystal barbs to the high-density meteorite.

"Anchor number one locked! Depth met!" Lin Feng reported loudly at the control panel of the Po Jun.

"Seventy seconds! Continue advancing! Activate positions two, three, and four simultaneously!" Qin Lie's command followed immediately.

Under the cover of the shield, the six Golden Core cultivators moved rapidly in the vacuum, breaking through their shells and driving piles, like a sophisticated yet brutal industrial machine.

The vital energy was being rapidly depleted during this high-intensity work. This was not a friendly exchange; it was a test of enduring the harsh environment and absolute mass of the universe.

"Forty-five seconds! Number five and six, take your positions!"

"Thirty-five seconds! Prepare to fire the seventh anchor!"

Minghe Daoist summoned the seventh traction anchor from his storage bag. Just as Lei Hong blasted open the surface, Chu Qing's heavy sword stabbed down fiercely.

"Zheng—!"

A dull thud traveled from the meteorite's surface to everyone's feet. Chu Qing's hands, gripping the sword, jerked violently, his protective aura trembling, and the heavy sword was actually deflected half a foot away.

The anchor that Minghe Daoren pressed down with the momentum, due to this slight deviation, was three inches off-center and got stuck in the middle of the rock layer.

"Stop!" Qin Lie's roar echoed through the channel. "The seventh anchor is misaligned! The force distribution is incorrect!"

Master Qingyuan stared at the frantically alarming force analysis diagram on the tactical panel, his face turning deathly pale: "There's a high-density tungsten-gold adenoid beneath! We missed! If this anchor point isn't aligned correctly, the subsequent dragging will tear the entire array's base apart!"

"Pull it out and hit it again? It's too late!" Zhao Gongfeng looked at the increasingly violent centrifugal debris outside the shield. The meteorite had begun to slide towards the edge of the perigee, and its rotational force was increasing.

"Twenty-five seconds!" Qin Lie's countdown was cold and devoid of any emotion.

It must be resolved on-site.

"Lei Hong, blow up all the surrounding debris! Qing Yuan, calibrate the red line!"

Chu Qing threw away the heavy sword whose blade had already chipped and shattered, and strode to the seventh anchor point.

Lei Hong bit his tongue and spat out a mouthful of his life essence. The lightning transformed into a precise cutting blade, flattening all the rock layers around the traction anchor and revealing the tungsten gold nodule at the bottom that reflected a ghostly light.

Chu Qing did not back down.

He crouched down, without using any magic, and instead pressed his right shoulder, which was covered with intense Geng metal energy, firmly against the end of the titanium crystal traction anchor that was inserted diagonally.

"What is he going to do?" Lin Feng exclaimed in surprise aboard the Po Jun.

Chu Qing treated his golden core body, along with the raging true essence within him, as an absolutely violent temporary hydraulic pile driver.

"Turn it right side up!"

Chu Qing let out a low growl like a wild beast. Golden true essence flowed wildly across his body, creating a terrifying thrust that surpassed the limits of conventional physics.

crunch--

Chu Qing's protective aura emitted a crackling sound as if it could no longer withstand the pressure. Even his powerful Golden Core body emitted a grating sound of bones grinding together under the immense pressure. His capillaries ruptured under the extreme pressure, and dark red blood spilled from his pores, instantly condensing into tiny ice crystals in the vacuum where it drifted away from the shield.

But he held on. In this vacuum environment, on the surface of a 6,000-ton iron mountain, he stubbornly held up the cold titanium crystal pillar, forcibly straightening it inch by inch.

Click!

With a muffled tremor as the internal tungsten carbide fragment shattered, the seventh traction anchor was forcefully straightened at the right angle and sank to the bottom with a thud!

"In place! The seventh anchor array pattern is synchronized normally!" Qingyuan Zhenren's spiritual sense trembled violently with excitement.

"Fifteen seconds! No time left! Five left, nail them down in one go!" Qin Lie's roar vibrated in our ears.

The final ten seconds became an extreme squeeze on the Golden Core cultivator's true essence and will.

Hatching, anchoring, applying intense pressure, synchronizing. Every action eliminated all unnecessary protection; it was a race against time, completely defying the meteorite's rotation cycle.

"ten!"

"five!"

"three!"

"Twelfth anchor in position! Lock all arrays!" Master Qingyuan cast the final spell, and dark blue starlight formed a giant dodecagon on the surface of the Peregrine-07.

"Mission accomplished! Retreat!" Qin Lie slammed his fist on the control panel.

The moment Tieshan Zhenren removed the gravity field, the six people were lifted into the air almost simultaneously.

Each of them activated the remaining true energy within their bodies, harnessed their flying swords, and sped back towards the escort boat along the previously calibrated retreat trajectory.

However, this ninety-second extreme pile driving had already exhausted them to almost nothing. The six sword lights were no longer as sharp and stable as when they left the cabin, and even had a bit of swaying and sluggishness.

Six people collapsed haphazardly onto the metal deck. Chu Qing leaned against the bulkhead, panting heavily, the right half of his Taoist robe stained crimson with blood.

No one spoke; only heavy breathing echoed in the cabin.

Qin Lie did not turn around; his gaze remained fixed on the main control screen.

On that 6,000-ton iron mountain that continues to glide into deep space along its predetermined trajectory, twelve titanium crystal traction anchors gleam with a cold, eerie light, firmly rooted deep within the rock strata.

"The main platform buffer array has been preheated. Ready to launch the titanium crystal anchor chain." Lin Feng's voice, tinged with suppressed excitement, came through the communication channel.

Qin Lie's fingers rested on the control lever, watching the iron mountain gradually pull away.