Starfall

The frozen Ice Layer of Profound Ice Star was exceptionally solid. Even the soil beneath it had frozen together, harder than steel.

The two aliens dug away laboriously.

However, Bai Xiaowen could tell that neither alien was weak. Both had Lord Grade templates.

If an Evolutionist Lord was also Chosen, then with God-Bestowed Skills, their inherent strength would surpass that of ordinary Lord Grade beings. If they also possessed Master Grade or even higher Combat Specialization, challenging King Rank Spirit World Creatures above their level would be no problem.

If these two aliens went all out, they could quickly dig through the Ice Layer.

However, the two of them seemed unwilling to make too much of a disturbance. They were digging very cautiously, which was why their progress had been so slow.

Finding it amusing, Bai Xiaowen said with a smile, "Hey, being this careful, you're digging slower than it's freezing over. How long will it take you to finish? Staying here too long is dangerous too."

"Hmph, it's none of your business." The Bristlemane said irritably, "It's already giving you plenty of face that we haven't chased you away. Stop talking."

Apparently, aliens understood the concept of "face" too. Of course, Bai Xiaowen could not understand the other party's language, but he received Thought Waves while they spoke and grasped their meaning—only novels had situations where the entire universe spoke Chinese.

Bai Xiaowen's brows twitched slightly as he smiled. "I'd like to stop talking... but it seems you've run into trouble."

Both aliens grew impatient. They were working hard, and someone was still standing around making snide remarks. Anyone would find that unbearable.

However, just as they were about to snap at Bai Xiaowen, the Scalefolk's expression suddenly froze.

"Not good."

The Bristlemane was still unaware. "What is it?"

"Danger! Move!"

Spiritual Power erupted from beneath the Scalefolk's feet, and his body slid away like a slick loach.

The Ice Layer cracked loudly as a swarm of enormous Ice Leeches suddenly burst forth!

One Ice Leech after another bit madly at the Bristlemane alien.

The Bristlemane only reacted when his companion warned him. With no time to dodge, he let out a roar, and his body abruptly swelled by a full size. In an instant, he transformed into a muscular Minotaur Giant with a pair of curved horns on his head.

"Roar!"

The Ice Leeches struck what seemed to be a transparent wall, producing only ripples of Pale Gold light.

"He looks pretty much like a Minotaur from World of Warcraft... I wonder if he's green up top." Bai Xiaowen stroked his chin in appraisal. The Bristlemane alien had seemed familiar to him from the start, and apparently it had not been an illusion.

After transforming into a Minotaur Giant, the Bristlemane alien suddenly drew a Battle Axe flickering with Purple Light and smashed it down with all his strength.

Clang!

Air waves rolled outward and the ground shook. The Ice Leeches in front of the Bristlemane trembled all over, unable to advance or retreat.

The Scalefolk, hiding to one side, also took out a staff and rapidly began chanting.

As he chanted, Blue Light Dots gathered into crystalline forms and arranged themselves before him like stars.

"Stars, fall into formation!"

The Scalefolk pointed his staff, and seven beams of starlight immediately descended from the sky in seven successive eruptions! Every beam precisely struck an Ice Leech.

Two Ice Leeches had their attention drawn away. They quickly burrowed into the Ice Layer and began traveling through it.

Bai Xiaowen's Eye of Evolution could even see the meridian structures of the Ice Leeches moving through the Ice Layer. These ice-element monsters actually possessed some innate skill similar to an Evasion Technique, allowing them to move through ice.

It seemed that the Ice Soil Layer of Profound Ice Star was the home of these Ice Leeches.

The two aliens had originally not wanted to make too much noise, lest they alert monsters. Yet they had taken too long, causing many Ice Leeches to appear at once. They had provoked an entire Ice Leech swarm.

From the look of it, the Bristlemane acted as the tank, providing crowd control while defending, while the Scalefolk took the role of a spellcaster, casting wide-area Star Magic. Their coordination was quite good.

However, when Bai Xiaowen saw the Scalefolk's Star Magic, he secretly shook his head.

Most of the power of this Star Magic was wasted, turning into flashy but impractical blue light effects. Very little power actually entered the Ice Leeches' bodies and caused damage.

The result was that it looked intimidating, but it was actually far from enough to bring down Ice Leech monsters with Lord Grade strength.

Sure enough, under the assault of the starlight spell, the Ice Leech swarm was briefly stunned for two seconds. During that time, the Bristlemane killed one with his Battle Axe, and that was all.

After the brief stun ended, the Ice Leech swarm lunged at the Bristlemane in rage. Their horrifying Mouthparts stuck to the Bristlemane's Spirit Power Shield like suction cups.

Bai Xiaowen could "see" waves of energy being drawn from the Spirit Power Shield into the Ice Leeches' bodies.

"They're absorbing my Spiritual Power!" The Bristlemane screamed as he leaped up, quickly rising into the air. At the same time, he released a shockwave to shake off the Ice Leeches.

However, several Ice Leeches clung tightly to the Bristlemane's Spirit Power Shield like bloodthirsty leeches, refusing to let go.

The shaken-off Ice Leeches changed targets and pounced on the Scalefolk nearby.

The Scalefolk handled the first two Ice Leeches with ease, but upon seeing more approaching, he could only flee in a sorry state.

"Friend, my friend! Quickly, have your Frost Dragon fight and help us!" the Scalefolk said urgently.

"I'd like to help you, but what can a mere Lord Grade Summoned Creature do?" Bai Xiaowen said with a smile.

The Bristlemane had not expected his quiet muttering to be thrown back at him in mockery. His brown-haired face turned red, though thankfully the fur hid it from view.

The Scalefolk hurriedly said, "Sorry, but if we want to excavate this place, we must work together. Otherwise, if we run away, the Ice Worm swarm will turn around and deal with you!"

"That does sound somewhat reasonable... Wait, are you asking me to join? Will I get a share of the excavation gains?" Bai Xiaowen said, half serious and half joking.

"Of course! I swear in the name of the Lord of Stars... no matter what we excavate here, we will definitely give you a share!" The Scalefolk said, "Please have the Frost Dragon use Frost Breath to slow these Ice Worms. I'll use more powerful Star Magic against them!"

"You seem quite familiar with the Frost Dragon's skills... Unfortunately, Frost Breath is too weak against these ice-element monsters."

Bai Xiaowen spread his hands slightly, and a powerful Coercion spread outward.

True Yuan Power Intimidation activated.

Both the Ice Leech swarm and the two aliens fell within the range of the Intimidation.

Bai Xiaowen had not done it on purpose. The skill Intimidation simply released domineering force in all directions without blind spots, completely disregarding friend or foe. It was far inferior to the mental Intimidation of the Awakened stage.

Even though Bai Xiaowen's Spirit Power Mastery had reached Expert Level 5 and his Intimidation had reached the proficient level, that fact could not be changed. Bai Xiaowen felt that this was likely because the Evolutionist world's datafication was incomplete.

That was why Bai Xiaowen rarely used this skill anymore, lest he end up harming his own troops or Summoned Creatures.

Still, he had no pressure about slightly inconveniencing these two Alien Friends.

Naturally, the two aliens only had to use a little Spirit Power Self-Harm and suffer minor injuries to break free from the Intimidation's control.

"Nice one!" The Scalefolk, green blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, saw the Ice Leech swarm controlled by Bai Xiaowen and shouted his praise. Then he waved his staff and rapidly began chanting.

Bai Xiaowen suddenly felt enormous pressure above his head. Looking up, he saw what seemed to be a black shadow falling through the pale white sky. It grew larger and faster, and its friction with the atmosphere even showed signs of ignition as a tail plume began to form.

"Damn, it's Starfall!"

The Bristlemane glared at the Scalefolk. "Chadu, are you insane? Using Starfall in a place like this... What if you pull over one of the other eight large planets? We won't even have time to escape!"

"Fortunately, it looks like it's only a relatively large meteorite." Bai Xiaowen silently retreated some distance, putting himself farther away from these two lunatics.

The Bristlemane's concern was actually somewhat unnecessary. Among this Planet Cluster, even the nearest of the other eight planets as large as Profound Ice Star was a million kilometers away. Even if Chadu's Starfall pulled one over, it would take quite a long time—perhaps several hours or even longer—to complete the Planet Collision.

A few hours would be enough time to escape in advance, but not enough to reach another planet, nor would there be time to find a Teleportation Gate. They could only wander through the Starry Sky of the star region for a while, flying across a distance of over a million kilometers before choosing a new planet to land on.

That process would undoubtedly be extremely troublesome and time-consuming.

Bai Xiaowen thought to himself that Chadu's strength was only so-so, yet he possessed such terrifying Star Magic. Especially in an environment like the Land of Origin, if he fought desperately, he could create serious trouble for an opponent. It seemed that no Evolutionist in the Land of Origin could be underestimated. Who knew whether one of them was hiding an Ultraman?

The Scalefolk Chadu no longer had the strength to speak. His eyes bulged out like a goldfish's, his face had turned green, and he struggled to control the landing point of Starfall.

As for the Ice Leech swarm, with Starfall about to land, Bai Xiaowen no longer needed to keep them under control. The powerful shockwave created in advance by the meteorite's Impact made them like cockroaches trapped in a cramped space, able only to watch helplessly as a slipper came down.

Boom!

Terrifying air waves swept through like a hurricane above Category 12.

The ground shook violently, icebergs collapsed, and the Hills cracked apart.

Once the winds settled, the scene before them was already a complete mess. A gigantic black crater several hundred meters wide had appeared on the ice, with steam and Blue Smoke rising from its edges. Even the biting chill in the air had temporarily been replaced by scorching heat.

"Hehehe, those damned bugs should be wiped out without a trace now!" The Scalefolk Chadu panted heavily, speaking with great satisfaction.

Chadu had not summoned such a huge meteorite through Starfall. Instead, he had used Traction to pull in an existing meteorite from nearby space.

Just like Bai Xiaowen's Heavenly Origin Thunder, that vast display of power did not belong to the Evolutionist himself, but relied on the power of nature.

Even so, Chadu's expenditure had been considerable. Likewise, Starfall's power far exceeded Heavenly Origin Thunder.

Bai Xiaowen curled his lips slightly. After his initial shock, he quickly saw Starfall's obvious weakness.

If someone wanted to trade Starfall for Bai Xiaowen's Heavenly Origin Thunder, he definitely would not agree.

"I hope the treasure buried beneath the Ice Layer wasn't smashed to pieces!" The Bristlemane sighed.

The Scalefolk Chadu smiled. "Of course not. I know what I'm doing. The Planet Teleportation Gate cannot be destroyed. No matter how powerful the Impact is, it will automatically divert it into an alternate-dimensional space..."

The two aliens flew into the crater with perfect unspoken coordination, acting as if they had forgotten Bai Xiaowen entirely.

Bai Xiaowen silently flew in after them. This was not the time to talk about face. There was no need to wait for an invitation. Besides, he had contributed according to their agreement by providing a control skill.

The two aliens did not speak to drive him away either. They were not yet shameless enough to burn the bridge after crossing it.

"Huh?" The Scalefolk Chadu suddenly cried out.

At one side of the deep crater, a collapsed passage had appeared.

Through the scattered dirt and ice fragments, they could vaguely see that only a short section of the passage had been destroyed by the meteorite. The rest should still be intact.

"There really is a Ruins here!" The Bristlemane said excitedly. "Chadu, I was right, wasn't I? You kept insisting there was only a Teleportation Gate below!"

The Scalefolk Chadu's gaping mouth finally closed after a long while.

"How... how could this happen? Damn it, why did I invite that person to help?"

It turned out Chadu had believed there were no Ruins below, only a Planet Teleportation Gate, so he had invited Bai Xiaowen to act in order to save some effort.

But now that Ruins had appeared, everything was different.

In the Land of Origin, the value of Ruins was difficult to estimate.

Perhaps there would be nothing to gain, but it was more likely that they would obtain valuable Artifacts and intelligence about the Land of Origin.

This was only the Second Layer Star Region, still far from the Core Star Region where the Central Hub was located. But who could say with certainty that the key to the Land of Origin's core secrets was not quietly waiting for its destined owner somewhere in the Outer Star Region?

Bai Xiaowen felt that these two aliens might turn hostile. With his arms folded, he calmly watched the stunned pair and waited for them to make their move.

Unexpectedly, the two aliens did not go back on their word.

The Scalefolk merely lamented to himself for a while. Had he known, he would rather have exhausted all his Spiritual Power than ask Bai Xiaowen for help. At worst, he could use the Spirit Crystals he had stored up. They had only just begun exploring, so everyone had plenty of Spirit Crystals in reserve.

"Hey, you really are one lucky guy!" The Scalefolk Chadu turned back and said, "My Starfall broke through a passage, creating two collapsed entrances. We'll choose this one. Whether you want to come along is up to you..."

Then the Scalefolk and the Bristlemane directly entered one of the collapsed openings.

Bai Xiaowen smiled. "Then I'll take the other collapsed entrance... I hope we both find something." He waved a hand, and the Frost Dragon took a deep breath, clearing away the soil and ice debris from the other collapsed entrance.