"August 12, year 899 in the Star Ocean Calendar.
"The mission this time requires us to enter the depths of Boneyard. Therefore, Sparkle is undergoing large-scale modification in the maintenance base on the orbit of the Hazy God Planet. A lot of subterranean stealth modules and a strengthened shell that is resistant to high temperature and pressure are being installed.
"What annoys me most is that the 'Star Piercing Dragon', the main gun of Sparkle, is to be modified into a super-large rock crusher of light energy. To put it more straightforwardly, it is a giant drill made of mystic rays!
"Sparkle will drill into the depths of the underground with the drill of mystic rays that has been modified by the main gun!
"Sparkle is the most advanced multipurpose assault starship in the Imperium. It is often modified. In the past, many warships of the same level have been badly modified. I used to laugh at my comrades on those warships. I didn't expect that it would be my turn today.
"I used to be the most awe-inspiring main gunner. When I launched a full-strength attack with the Star Piercing Dragon, I had a chance to blow a demon emperor into pieces!
"But today, I have to learn how to control the drill of mystic rays and wriggle underground like an earthworm. If I had known this earlier, I would've stayed in the Phantom Moon Space Zone to suppress the bandits.
"August 15, year 899 in the Star Ocean Calendar.
"The mission this time was very urgent. We had just finished the modification and hadn't had a full examination, but we couldn't wait to perform a space jump and appear in the gravitational sphere of Boneyard.
"The great expedition took away the best refiners of the Imperium. Those who stayed behind were all amateurs. They had modified Sparkle into a pile of garbage. Although they had only installed a few subterranean stealth modules, they were already in conflict with the space jump system.
"Many people on board were affected by the sequelae of the space jump. They were vomiting and having diarrhea. Some of them were even mentally deranged.
"Thankfully, 'sequelae' is a common disease on the battlefield. We stayed in the orbit for half a day and recovered our combat ability.
"According to the intelligence, the planet in front of us. It was probably at the beginning of the Great Dark Age thirty thousand years ago. It was one of the residences of 'Skeleton Dragon', the strongest demon.
"It seems that the remnants of the demon race, who had nowhere else to go, were trying to excavate a lot of secret treasures from the experts of the demon race thirty thousand years ago.
"How could we let them have their way?
"Galaxy Calendar Year 899, August 16."
"We encountered an unprecedentedly huge tide on Boneyard. Terrifying beasts almost a thousand meters long were living in the depths of the ocean. They seemed to be hybrids of armored demon beasts and soft-bodied demon beasts. Even the gigantic tentacles are covered in sturdy armor. "
"Our main cannons have been modified into drills of mystic rays. They don't have any long-range attack ability at all. The rest of the secondary cannons can only tickle the spiritual beasts."
"The tide outside is too fierce. Our hands are limited. The captain is unwilling to release the Crystal Suit to fight. If a few Exos are killed, it will be detrimental to the operation later."
"At the last moment, I came up with a solution. The captain maneuvered Sparkle to crash into the b * stard brutally. At the moment of impact, I activated the Mystic Light Drill and drilled a huge hole more than fifty meters in diameter into the bastard's body. Then use the secondary cannons to attack its internal organs and drill it to death! "
"Ha. I didn't expect that the Sky Dragon Star Piercing Cannon would still be as powerful as before after being modified into a drill.
"We cut off the body tissues of some enormous sea beasts for analysis. The cell structure and the circuits where the demonic energy flows inside the cells are very different from those of the demons today. They are more like the ancient demons from thirty thousand years ago.
"According to our analysis, it is very likely to be thirty thousand years ago. It was a kind of demon beast that Skeleton Dragon had brought to this planet after the extinction of the Skeleton Dragon Clan. Their intelligence deteriorated and they became mindless again. They are now spiritual beasts with only survival instincts.
"So to speak, the possibility of Skeleton Dragon's residence on this planet is much higher than before."
"Galaxy Calendar Year 899, August 17.
"We have found an enormous relic where the skeleton of a demon beast is bound by countless pillars. It should be an ancient barrier. Perhaps, it was used by the Skeleton Dragons to torture their enemies and traitors."
"Not far away from the relic, there is a canyon ten thousand meters below the ground. In order to save spiritual energy, we drove Sparkle to the bottom of the ground and built a temporary landing point on the cliff. Then, we drilled toward the center of the planet at a slightly slanted angle.
"The surface of Boneyard is desolate and barren, but the underground world is unbelievably prosperous. Most of the mother lodes of the planet are half-liquid. Rivers of spiritual liquids and oceans of spiritual energy are formed below the ground. Countless beasts and Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures are living and thriving in this place.
"In the afternoon, we were harassed by demons. After a brief battle, we captured a captive.
"The war has been going on for hundreds of years. The demons today are no longer as arrogant and domineering as they were in the heyday of the Demon Beast Empire. It didn't take us long to pry open his mouth and get a lot of intelligence out of him.
"Our analysis is correct. They are a bunch of fish that escaped from the siege of the Phantom Moon Space Zone. They discovered the residence on Boneyard by accident. Since all the space zones nearby were surrounded by us and there was nowhere to run, they decided to take a gamble and look for a slim chance of survival here.
"August 18, year 899 of the Star Ocean Calendar.
"The remnants of the demon army were just an arrow at the end of its flight. Very soon, they were crushed by us. Even their last devilish warship was sunk.
"We also discovered an underground world of an unprecedented scale, with an underground ocean that boasted infinite spiritual energy!
"The scale of the underground world is so enormous that it is beyond the limits of the geological structure. It must be supported by some sort of ancient secret arts.
"The world of Cultivators is indeed mysterious. There are countless secret arts and techniques in the primeval times waiting for us to discover.
"I'm starting to like the feeling of driving a giant drill to move forward underground.
"Skeleton Dragon's nest is in the depths of the underground ocean. There is a quaint town here. The giant cone-shaped building in the middle of the town should be where the residence is located.
"We are sailing toward it and preparing for the most thorough study.
"August 19, year 899 of the Star Ocean Calendar.
"We couldn't have been more wrong! This is a trap! It's a trap with no hope of redemption! "
"August 19, year 899 of the Star Ocean Calendar.
"We are screwed.
"Sparkle has been damaged to 83%. Most of the core components have been scrapped in the fierce battle. It is basically an empty shell now.
"The mainframe crystal processor has been damaged to 95%. The space jump system has been damaged to 91%. The superstar communication system has been damaged to 93%. Twenty-two of the twenty-four main power rune arrays have been blown up. We are stranded on the seabed, completely trapped in the depths of Boneyard.
"Not to mention breaking the void and performing a space jump, we can't even send a signal to the nearest base.
"Seventy percent of the crew members have been killed, including me. The survivors are all heavily wounded and unable to escape from the warship.
"Three Yuanying Cultivators, the captain, the chief mate, and the stargazer, have all perished.
"Even if the control system has been repaired, it will be impossible for us to maneuver Sparkle flexibly until we receive three to six months of training from the 'tiny spirit ship'.
"The crystal processor is seriously damaged. We have lost the stargazer. It is impossible for us to detect the star beacons accurately.
"Even if the space jump system has been repaired, God knows where we will be teleported if we try to jump.
"However, if it weren't for the sacrifice of the three Yuanying Cultivators, I'm afraid that we would've been killed a long time ago, or even ended up in an even more horrible place.
"Of all the survivors, my Cultivation and military rank are the highest. According to the regulations of the Imperium, I am the temporary captain.
"Thankfully, we have an agreement with the base that we will send a signal every five days. If we don't receive the signal two to three times, the base will probably send out new crystal warships to search for us.
"The idea reassured me a bit. While assigning more manpower to repair Sparkle, I thought about what happened to us.
"There is no doubt that the so-called residence on Boneyard is an out-and-out trap. This is not a residence at all but … Skeleton Dragon's grave!
"No. It should be called a place where he hibernates, a nest that has been dormant for tens of thousands of years, waiting to be woken up!
"Considering all the intelligence we have and everything we've been through, I speculate that this is how the whole thing happened.
"Thirty thousand years ago, at the end of the Great Dark Age, more than ten top experts of the demon race had a fierce battle to unite the sea of stars and fight for the title of Demon Emperor. Skeleton Dragon was one of the losers. It was very likely that Skeleton Dragon was heavily wounded and dying.
"He was unwilling to die just like that. Therefore, he put himself in a state of suspended animation with secret arts and treated himself slowly in the underground ocean where spiritual energy is abundant.
"It is also possible that Skeleton Dragon's life form is different from that of other demons. He can exist as a demon soul for tens of thousands of years in a certain way.
"After all, it was tens of thousands of years ago. We lack a lot of information and don't know the details of Skeleton Dragon.
"Skeleton Dragon finally woke up thirty thousand years later. But for some reason, he was trapped in the underground ocean and couldn't escape.
"Or maybe he needs some intelligent life forms in order to return to the sea of stars through possession!"
"Possession of the soul was very popular in the world of ancient Cultivators. Since Skeleton Dragon was an unparalleled expert of that era, he must've been adept at such sordid arts, too.
"All in all, he was trapped below the ground and couldn't get out with his own strength. He could only break the barriers with the help of external forces.
"The remnants of the demon race, as well as the idiotic idiots like us, were all lured to this place by it!"
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