The Unclaimed Land

Beneath the starry sky, you and I are but ants.

The future is uncertain, yet you and I shall both become immortal.

A triangular spacecraft is traveling at 90% the speed of light. Inside the ship:

"A bountiful harvest." The man holds a small, silver-white cube in his hand. He stands seven feet tall, with a dignified appearance, clad in a black robe over crimson, fish-scale armor. His eyes are like torches, and fragments of memory flash through his mind.

More than two hundred years ago...

At that time, Chen Beixun was still at the Planetary level. One day, he chanced upon a World Lord whose lifespan was nearing its end. Seeing that Chen Beixun possessed some talent, the World Lord gifted him several treasures, among which was a seed of an auxiliary plant lifeform known as the Demon Island Vine.

With the help of these treasures, he advanced to the Stellar level and obtained a mysterious fruit called the Fanwu Crystal within the World Lord's realm. He used this fruit to elevate the Demon Island Vine to the sixth rank of the Universe level! He then used it to kill a Universe-level powerhouse and seized a soul secret technique that had driven everyone in the World Lord's realm to madness. (The protagonist ran fast and was lucky enough not to encounter any powerhouses conducting searches.)

It is rumored that this soul secret technique was created by a powerful Immortal.

"After fleeing for several years, I have entered this strange region today; there is even a Black Domain here," Chen Beixun says.

In a Black Domain, ordinary spacecraft cannot shuttle into the Dark Universe. The speed of the ship is also affected and restricted.

"Normally, places with Black Domains should be marked on the star charts by the Empire."

"Damn it, the coordinates of this star field are not on the star chart at all."

Chen Beixun's brows are locked in a frown as he paces back and forth in the cabin, his heart filled with unease.

"If I am trapped and die here, wouldn't that be... hmm?" Chen Beixun swallows his words, his gaze shifting toward the outside.

Suddenly, Chen Beixun's eyes widen.

"The reference points in the starry sky are wrong!"

The space dust in the black starry sky is changing.

Chen Beixun stands rooted to the spot as if struck by lightning. After a long while, he finally speaks: "We have been going in circles the whole time!"

Chen Beixun lowers his head to look at the carpet made of beast fur and sighs gloomily: "In these decades, this is the first time I have encountered such a thing."

Since leaving the World Lord's realm, he has changed ships several times, stayed in asteroid belts, passed through hundreds of star systems, and switched back and forth between the Dark Universe and the main universe; he has been excessively cautious.

"I... I am not reconciled!" Chen Beixun roars, slamming his hand against the table.

"Chunqiu, turn on automatic navigation and reduce speed to 15% of the speed of light."

"But," the intelligent lifeform says.

"No need to say more. First, I will try to comprehend this secret technique to see if I can break through to the Universe level," Chen Beixun says. "Breaking through to the Universe level will increase my lifespan; perhaps then I can get out."

"Leave it to fate," Chen Beixun says with a faint smile, looking at the intelligent lifeform with melancholy. "If I can get out, I will take you to get an upgrade."

"Let's start with this secret technique."

"This secret technique is truly formidable. Eighty-seven crystals arranged into eighty-eight formations."

"Crystals born in the sea of consciousness, with a hundred facets. Used to guard the soul?"

Shape-shifting, Spirit-controlling, Saint-entering.

Shape-shifting allows the soul to form arrays from its own essence, enabling both offense and defense.

Use arrays to face the enemy, use arrays to trap the enemy, use arrays to kill the enemy.

"Hmm, I have some leads."

"But crystallizing the soul is truly agonizing."

Chen Beixun feels the two crystals in his sea of consciousness.

First, tear off a portion of the soul, then compress it into a spherical shape, and carve it using the special methods of the secret technique.

This process is excruciatingly painful, but the reward is that the soul, once transformed into crystals, will actively absorb cosmic energy to strengthen itself, feeding back to repair and expand the soul, and even causing the soul to undergo a metamorphosis!

The path of the soul is a great path. All living things possess a soul, except for some lifeforms that do not.

The path of the soul cannot be touched by those without great perseverance.

"Twenty years have passed. I am now at the ninth rank of the Stellar level. Counting from my birth, I have lived two hundred and ninety-five years," Chen Beixun says, looking outside the ship.

The ship has completely entered this unknown region and has lost its way.

Getting lost during a voyage is essentially a death sentence.

As long as there is a reference point, one can re-determine the direction.

Any reference point will do—light, objects, preferably light.

On a planet twelve light-years away, two figures hover in the air. One holds a pitch-black long spear, wears a bronze-colored ghost mask, stands nine meters tall, and is draped in a strange battle robe with a red lotus pattern. The other is eight meters tall, his upper body bare but wreathed in flowing light and obscure runes, holding a battle halberd.

"Mutuo, you intend to stop me too?!" the Immortal God shouts, looking at Mutuo not far away.

"I never expected you to betray the race for such a trivial matter!" Mutuo roars, his eyes blood-red and wide. "It is simply incomprehensible!"

The two were close friends, adventuring together and slaying enemies in the perilous extraterrestrial battlefields for fifty million years.

"Do you think you can stop me!" Yu Wu roared, his eyes bloodshot, before erupting with heaven-shaking momentum to strike at Mutuo.

Suddenly, a strange light bloomed in the brilliant starry sky.

"Light!" Chunqiu, the intelligent lifeform piloting the spaceship, was shocked. A glimmer of light flashed in the boundless darkness, fleeting as a mayfly's lifespan, vanishing in an instant.

Even if its appearance was illogical, it was better than nothing.

Chunqiu hurriedly confirmed the flight path.

"Destination: Hunting Map Galaxy, Spiral Arm, Six Paths, Five-Star System, Wudi Planet."

Energy crystal consumption pushed to 51%.

Several years passed, and the spaceship entered the preset orbit, advancing at 57% the speed of light.

In the seventh year after entering the preset orbit, the speed was increased to 59% the speed of light.

In the ninth year after entering the preset orbit, the spaceship exited the edge of the Black Domain and changed course; the original destination of W981-132-143 was changed to N781-591-599. The spaceship departed from its original preset orbit and began searching for reference points.

There is a passage in The Peach Blossom Spring: "At first it was very narrow, only allowing one person to pass; after walking a few dozen steps, it suddenly opened up into a wide expanse."

"Is that... a star system?!" the intelligent lifeform exclaimed.

Immediately, the intelligent lifeform reported this news to Chen Beixun.

"A star system?" Chen Beixun, who had been cultivating, felt a jolt and quickly stood up, running to the control cabin.

"Master, look!" Chunqiu pointed to the information transmitted back by the detector.

Chen Beixun fell into deep thought. After a moment, he ordered: "Increase speed, engage stealth, shut down the detectors, and maintain absolute silence."

Chunqiu replied: "Understood."

"I hope there is no danger." Chen Beixun raised his eyes, a flicker of excitement dancing within them.

"About how long until we arrive?" Chen Beixun asked.

"About seven years," replied Chunqiu, who was busy piloting the ship.

Chen Beixun nodded slightly.

"Seven years of seclusion; it will take some time to reach the Universe Level, but it should be about right." Chen Beixun calculated in his heart, then walked toward the rest cabin.

The star system to be visited was a binary star system. Binary star systems are very stable. The two planets orbiting the twin stars—one 0.3 times larger than Earth named Dili Planet, and one 0.6 times larger than Earth named Tianwen Planet—were what the indigenous people called them.

Dili Planet had two moons, while Tianwen Planet had five.

On an island called Horn Territory Barrier Reef in the Dili Planet sea region:

"Mako, how did the matter go?" a tall, burly figure stood on a rock and asked.

"Reporting to Your Highness, Luoduo is dead for sure this time."

"Enough, stop the nonsense!" the man referred to as Your Highness said unhappily, a fierce glint appearing on his face.

"I will reward you well."

"Thank... Your High—?!" Before Mako could finish his sentence, he felt a sense of weightlessness.

Mako's head flew half a meter away, and blood splattered the ground.

This man named Xien was a Spirit Reader who controlled a telekinetic weapon that reached the peak of the third grade, known as Thousand Mechanism Wind, composed of thirty-two flying blades.

"Not bad, kid. You have a sliver of what I was like back in the day."

"Who's there!" Xien jumped up in a rage.

Eleven flying blades floated beside him, and black gas surged from his body.

"Force Armor?"

"Senior recognizes this treasure? This humble one, Xien, is willing to offer the treasure to Senior," Xien said respectfully to the air. Xien was well aware of the intruder's terror, as he had not detected a single trace of presence even with his spiritual telekinesis fully covering the area.

Suddenly, an invisible force drilled into Xien's sea of consciousness.

Xien immediately howled in agony, curling up on the ground like a shrimp.

"Do you know who I am!" Xien roared in despair.

"A dead man," Chen Beixun said coldly.

Chen Beixun's gaze was sharp as he looked at the two corpses on the ground. "Damn it, I haven't even reached the threshold for soul-searching. I overdid it and didn't get any information."

The frustration and irritability were not because Chen Beixun feared retaliation from the planet's powerhouses; he had done thorough research before coming.

"A third-grade telekinetic weapon and Force Armor—only children of major families in the universe possess such equipment."

"These planet natives are not that simple." Chen Beixun's expression was grave. He extended two fingers, flicked them lightly, and then flipped his hand. The two corpses were instantly frozen and then shattered into fine ice dust. Chen Beixun watched as water vapor rose from his surroundings and drifted into the sky. Only after finishing this did Chen Beixun depart. Not long after, the island was covered in dark clouds, and a torrential rain fell for three days.