by <unknown>
The Lotus King replied, "Leave the guy alone. You have more important work to do, which is to expand your forces on Spider Den and become the real tyrant of space pirates!"
Fengyu Zhong was stunned. "But right now, my manpower and reputation have hit rock bottom."
The Lotus King explained, "Weakness is strength in disguise. Take Li Yao for example. As a Building Foundation Stage Cultivator, wasn't he weak as hell compared to you? But he caused you a great fiasco and a huge loss of subordinates. Even yourself were almost trapped by him. You behaved better when you were chased by almost ten Core Formation Stage Cultivators before!
"Why? Because you thought that he was weak!
"If he were a Core Formation Stage, or even a Nascent Soul Stage, Cultivator, would you have been fooled?"
Fengyu Zhong was deep in thought.
The Lotus King continued. "Right now, the entire Spider Den is aware that Storm Prison has just endured a storm. You've also released the fake news that you are seriously wounded. Those who have second thoughts should be making plans now, and those who have been lurking in the darkness will show up shortly!
"Your wife is the daughter of the leader of Black Spider Tower. Other people may hesitate to act if she's still on your side. So, the two of you can act like she's betrayed you and make everyone think that you are all by yourself now. When your opponents have shown all their trump cards, we will counterattack and finish them once and for all!
"This is the move we are going to make. You can take your time to settle the details when you're back. Draw up a proposal with the estimated budget in three days. Whatever manpower, money, or magical equipment you need, you will have them.
"In short, make it big and worry about nothing. I'm very confident in you!"
Fengyu Zhong took a deep breath and replied, "Alright. With Lotus King's promise, I'm definitely going to take down Spider Den. However, you can never be too careful about that guy, Li Yao. It's not just because of my personal hatred. The guy is truly cruel, crazy, and cunning. He is even more dangerous than the most brutal bandit! The organization must not regard him as an ordinary Building Foundation Stage Cultivator. I suggest that we mark him as an enemy in the Core Formation Stage level and ask the experts of Black Spider Den to assassinate him as a priority!"
The Lotus King smiled vaguely. "You don't need to worry about that. Do you know why I asked you to choose the Iron Plateau Space Zone as your battlefield?"
Fengyu Zhong was dazed for a moment. The Iron Plateau Space Zone was a forbidden area for Cultivators, where all kinds of perils were looming. Even he had almost fallen into the traps. He had thought that the Lotus King was merely trying to take advantage of the territory there. But now that the Lotus King had brought it up again, could it be—
Fengyu Zhong beamed with joy. He exclaimed in surprise and excitement, "Do we have men on Iron Plateau?"
The Lotus King smiled but gave no replies. He sipped the remaining bean curd jelly and smacked his lips. "Landing on Iron Plateau? He is asking to be killed!"
…
At the periphery of the constellation, an encounter had just ended.
A starship of space pirates discovered a broken 'Ox-level' carrier in a remote route.
Judging from the appearance, it seemed to have been brought there by a severe space storm and had barely any impetus left. The shell of the starship was torn apart; the crystal cannons on the surface were askew. It was unable to move at all, like an animal that was mired in a swamp.
The overjoyed space pirates immediately jumped forward and docked to the starship while threatening it with the fearsome crystal cannons. A lot of space pirates boarded on the unfamiliar starship.
They were surprised that the carrier was empty without a single human being.
Right then, the cabin door was locked. Deadly gas was released nonstop and killed all the intruders instantly.
In the meantime, the shell of the carrier glittered. The peaceful appearance of a carrier was torn apart, revealing almost a hundred dense cannons that made the starship look like a hideous steel hedgehog.
The Rising Dragon of the Nine Stars flag rose up on the light beam projected by the head of the starship.
Sparkle had revealed itself!
Since the two parties were next to each other and docked by magnetic field, there was no way to avoid the bombardment at all. After twenty minutes of barraging, the starship of the space pirates had completely lost all combat ability.
The remaining space pirates fled in their crystal suits. But the current route was too remote and far away. Without the support of a starship, their crystal suits did not have enough fuel to support themselves to fly to the next supply point. They would become space dust half way through their trip.
It did not take long before the space pirates realized the situation.
Ten minutes later, all the space pirates who had surrendered were shot dead.
The Cultivators from the depths of the Grand Desolate Plateau of the Heaven's Origin Sector who had fought the demon race for five hundred years did not know what 'mercy' was at all.
"The first hunting in disguise has succeeded."
"But it took us too much time. We suppressed a starship of the lowest level in over twenty minutes. The distribution of our cannons is not accurate enough. We need to redesign the positions of the fire points."
"The space pirates that were attracted into our starship were not many, either. The scheme to lure the enemy needs to be further revised."
Inside the empty Sparkle, four clusters of liquid metal shivered and occasionally formed human faces.
The 'Four Kings' of the Refining Department of the Grand Desolate War Institution in the old days, four spectral Cultivators today, had grown accustomed to the training of their souls. They could simulate the shape of humans once in a while now.
An even larger cluster of liquid metal rolled inside and bulged into a silver human figure. But it was only half a meter tall and looked like an uncolored statue. It was Professor Mo Xuan, the previous dean of the Refining Department of the Grand Desolate War Institution and the founder of Project Mystic Skeleton.
"Li Yao has been found!"
Chapter 546: Rough Iron Plateau |
Ten minutes later, the five spectral Cultivators from the Heaven's Origin Sector finished analyzing the information that Li Yao had transmitted to them.
Sparkle fell into a brief silence.
Mo Xuan said, "According to Li Yao's message, and the information we collected from the Spiritual Nexus recently, we have two options right now.
"Firstly, we can stand by and watch because it's none of our business. We can continue hiding in the periphery of the sea of stars and let the Cultivators and Immortal Cultivators of the Flying Star Sector fight each other. We won't do anything about it even if the Flying Star Sector might be occupied by the Immortal Cultivators.
"Secondly, we can get us involved and fight against the Immortal Cultivators together with the Cultivators of the Flying Star Sector in some way!"
The 'Four Kings' slightly shivered. The liquid metal was shrinking and expanding, as they began talking enthusiastically,
"It appears that the Temple of Immortals is a very large organization that has been hiding its capability in the shadow for a thousand years. Now that it has decided to act, it definitely has backup plans. This is not the end of everything yet!"
"We have nothing but a tiny Sparkle. The odds of success when fighting against such a giant are not very high. We might be destroyed if we are reckless for a moment!"
"The Heaven's Origin Sector is still waiting for us. We cannot afford to die in this place."
"But Li Yao has already become a sworn enemy of the Temple of Immortals. If the Immortal Cultivators really take over the Flying Star Sector, they will absolutely try everything they can to dig us out!"
"Then we should run. To a different world!"
"Which world? We were already unbelievably lucky to have jumped into a world
with abundant resources. Who knows whether or not we can find a similar world in our next jump?"
"Even if we find a new world, who can be certain that it will be a peaceful one? For all we know, it might be even more chaotic than the Flying Star Sector!"
"Fight! We should stay and fight! These so-called Immortal Cultivators are in fact demonic Cultivators, who are our sworn enemies! Don't forget that the demon race that savages the Heaven's Origin Sector nowadays was on the same boat as the demonic Cultivators before!"
Mo Xuan listened to everyone's opinions quietly. In the end, he remarked, "Everybody has made good points. Allow me to make a conclusion.
"Firstly, the Flying Star Sector is a world with bountiful resources and spiritual energy. Besides, the remnants of all kinds of starships can be found in this place, which makes it the best place for us to build up ourselves at this moment. It's highly unlikely that we find a similar world again after another super-long space jump. It's more likely that we will be lost in the four-dimensional space and torn into pieces.
"Therefore, before we find our way home, we can only stay in the Flying Star Sector.
"Secondly, we cannot count on the remnants to strengthen ourselves forever. As Sparkle grows stronger and more advanced, cutting-edge technology and magical equipment will have to be applied to it one day.
"Such things are not available in the ancient battlefield at the periphery of the sea of stars. We can only expect to find them in the central part of the Flying Star Sector.
"The central part of the Flying Star Sector is definitely the place that Cultivators and Immortal Cultivators are going to fight over.
"It means that we will have to get in touch with one of the two sides someday if we keep building up ourselves. We will communicate with them, learn their techniques, receive their assistance, and even form an alliance with them.
"The only question remains, which of the two sides are we going to get in touch with? Cultivators or Immortal Cultivators?
"I think the answer to the question is obvious.
"I said just now that we had two options. But in fact, we have only one. If the Flying Star Sector really turns into a great swirl of war, we will definitely be involved. The only thing we can choose is how to be involved. Do we accept whatever happens to us, or strike our way forward?
"Yes. The Heaven's Origin Sector is waiting for us. But how do you envision our return? Are we coming home alone, with nothing but Sparkle, or with countless allies and thousands of starships?
"I believe that, if the Cultivators of the Heaven's Origin Sector resist the Immortal Cultivators together with the Cultivators of the Flying Star Sector today, the Cultivators of the Flying Star Sector will stand side by side with the Cultivators of the Heaven's Origin Sector and demolish the Blood Demon Sector tomorrow!"
The 'Four Kings' were silent for a moment. Then, they each extended a small metal sprout from the center of the metal balls and shook.
It was a gesture of consent among them.
"Alright. It's decided then. We will cruise slowly toward the Iron Plateau Space Zone now while we explore more ancient battlegrounds on the way in order to further modify Sparkle so that it will boast a higher combat ability within the atmosphere.
"In the meantime, we can disguise ourselves as a business starship and continue hunting space pirates in order to accumulate more battle experience!
"According to the messages from various sources, Li Yao has probably been forced to land on Iron Plateau. When the moment comes, we might have to break into Iron Plateau to rescue him!
"Let's just hope that he is not dead by then!"
…
"I'm going to die!" Li Yao shouted and leaned backwards, his arms waving.
He stomped on the ground and dashed back weirdly like a leaf that was being swept away by furious wind.
The moment he jumped back, a cluster of black, stinky air hit where he had been standing brutally. Countless iron ores were mixed in with the stinky air and blew hundreds of holes in the ground from which blue smoke was popping up.
"HOOO!"
A gargantuan worm that looked like an earthworm, only billions of times larger, was roaring scarily. It was more than ten meters long and one meter in diameter. The front end of its body was a bloody mouthpart where countless sharp, circular teeth were spinning rapidly.
Li Yao turned back and slashed his saber. The aura of his blade spurted out, only to leave a shallow trace on the skin of the bizarre worm, which was emitting a metallic glow, as if the worm was made of super alloys.
Li Yao's attack further infuriated the bizarre worm. The front end of its body blossomed, expanding its mouthpart to more than three meters in diameter. A cluster of even more vicious, venomous gas was being condensed rapidly inside its body!
When the cluster of black gas was compressed to the bare minimum, Li Yao snapped his fingers.
Four Floating Six-barreled Machine Guns appeared weirdly deep inside the bizarre worm's throat and opened fire!
In an instant, more than ten burning lines of bullets barraged and triggered the high-pressure gas inside the bizarre worm's body.
The surface of the bizarre worm was as tough as steel, but the interior of its body was extremely soft and stored a huge amount of water. It was blown into smithereens immediately. The worm was split in two, and yet it was not killed, still struggling crazily, driven by natural instincts, stirring the environment nearby into chaos.
Li Yao fled with his face hidden in his palms.
He did not return until half an hour later, by which time the bizarre worm had turned completely rigid. Then, he dissected the worm prudently and collected the materials that he needed.
"My bullets are running out."
Li Yao sighed and eyed his surroundings helplessly. He finally understood why the residents of the Flying Star Sector would rather live on cold, shallow starships than return to the planets.
Iron Plateau was not a place for human beings at all!
There was nothing but a desert the color of rust all the way to the horizon. Weirdly-shaped plants could be found occasionally, but they were all withered and half-dead.
The environment there was similar to that of the Grand Desolate Plateau in the Heaven's Origin Sector.
However, the Grand Desolate Plateau was a boundless plateau that could be reconstructed manually after all.
But on the surface of Iron Plateau, huge mountains, hundreds and even thousands of meters high, were standing next to each other!
The mountains defied the tectonic laws. They were separate from each other and simply protruded from the ground. Multi-colored and bumpy, they were similar to the commonly-seen meteoroids in the space.
In some places, mountains were replaced by giant pits, hundreds of meters in diameter. Many such pits were enveloped by black fog all the time. If one were to look at them from afar, they were the darkest abysses.
The altitude gap between the mountains and the abysses was extremely large, which made the climate on Iron Plateau disjointed and without any patterns. It was not unusual for a furious thunderstorm to be succeeded by scorching weather just a moment later.
Such an environment was definitely not natural.
Li Yao speculated that an enormous meteor shower had assaulted Iron Plateau thousands of years ago.
The bigger meteorites had landed on the surface of Iron Plateau and turned into the uncanny peaks of stones.
The meteorites that were smaller, on the other hand, were directly vaporized due to the intense impact, the blast of which swept across everything, leaving the bottomless craters on the ground.
The meteorites looked very odd and unnatural. Li Yao had seen many interconnected spiritual stripes on many meteorite mountains that constituted what seemed to be rune arrays.
Li Yao had never seen such circuits before. But he was sure that it was a model that could absorb and utilize spiritual energy.
The meteorites must have been made by certain intellectual c
reatures on purpose. They were some sort of 'magical equipment'!
The meteorites seemed to boast a strange power that had completely reshaped the environment of Iron Plateau. Not only was the land desolate, the demon beasts there had undergone unbelievable mutations, too.
The giant sand worm that had assaulted Li Yao a while ago was a frequently-seen low-level demon beast that was often used by high-level demon beasts as vehicles.
But on Iron Plateau, it had mutated in a terrifying way. Its skin was thick and weapon-proof, and it could absorb metals and pulverize them into ores inside its body. During a battle, it could spurt out the ores with high-pressure air like a storm of bullets!
However, this giant worm was one of the most 'docile' demon beasts that Li Yao had seen during his one-month stay on Iron Plateau.
"What kind of place is this? It is even rougher than the Dark Desolate Domain in the depths of the Grand Desolate Plateau!"
Looking at the ragged Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit on his body, the Boiled Blood Wind Slashing Saber, which was riddled with cracks, and the crystals inside his Cosmos Ring, which were about to run dry, Li Yao cursed loudly.
Chapter 547: Path to Core Formation |
An hour later, Li Yao appeared at the foot of a majestic meteorite mountain.
The meteorites from space were apparently of different origins. Some of them contain abundant spiritual energy and resources that were necessary for living creatures. This majestic meteorite mountain was a good example. Although it was surrounded by a bleak desert, a lot of green plants were thriving on the mountain, making it seem like an oasis in the desert.
However, the 'oasis' was not as peaceful as it appeared to be.
Li Yao lunged forward and climbed up to the middle of the mountain. There was an inconspicuous crevice covered by bushes and grass.
The bushes beside the crevice, noticing that a stranger was drawing near, suddenly wriggled as if they were animals. A cluster of bright grey thorns danced like hundreds of vipers. Their front ends blossomed and spewed dirty sap as they hissed like snakes.
