On the wooden bow of the [Gu Family Flying Courtyard Star-Cruiser], the holographic projection from Sub-Warden Hanba’s master ledger hovered in the cold air like a glowing blood-red spiderweb.
At the center of the map stood the Central Frozen Astral Fortress—encased inside nine concentric spheres of dark blue star-ice known as the Nine-Layer Absolute Zero Barrier.
And running directly from all nine barrier shields into the ninth sub-zero dungeon level were thirty-six pulsing crimson energy veins. Every single vein terminated inside the heart-meridian of the prisoner chained to the Ten-Thousand-Year Frost Pillar:
Empress Luo Qingxue.
Beside the blueprint, [Dad’s Plot-Spoiler Notebook] flipped open on its own, its pages glowing with an urgent crimson Foreknowledge Decay warning:
[CRITICAL PLOT MUTATION DETECTED!]
[In the original timeline, when rebels besieged the Central Fortress 300 years later, Warden Tianfa activated the <Nine-Layer Blood-Sacrifice Defense Link>.]
[Because the Gu Family liberated the Outer Ring 292 years early, Warden Tianfa has already locked the Blood-Sacrifice Link into place!]
