Beneath the starry sky, you and I are both ants
Our future is uncertain; you and I may both become immortal
A triangular spacecraft sped forward at 90% of the speed of light. Inside the ship,
"A bountiful harvest." The man held a small silver-white cube in his hand. He was seven feet tall, handsome and imposing, dressed in a black robe over armor patterned like crimson fish scales. His gaze was sharp as a torch as fragments of memory flashed through his mind.
More than two hundred years ago...
Back then, Chen Beixun had been at the Planetary Level. One day, he had happened upon a World Lord who was nearing the end of his life. Seeing Chen Beixun's talent, the World Lord had given him several treasures, including a seed for an auxiliary plant life-form called the Demon Island Vine.
With the help of those treasures, Chen Beixun had advanced to the Star Level. Then, inside a World Lord World, he had found a mysterious fruit called Fanwu Crystal. Using it, he had raised the Demon Island Vine to Universe Level 6! He had also used it to kill a Universe Level powerhouse and seize a Soul Secret Technique that had driven everyone in the World Lord World mad with desire. (The protagonist was fast and lucky enough to avoid being searched by the powerhouses.)
It was said that this Soul Secret Technique had been created by a powerful Immortal God.
"After fleeing for years, I've entered this strange region today. There's even a black domain here," Chen Beixun said.
Ordinary spacecraft couldn't travel into the Dark Universe from within a black domain. Their speed would also be affected and restricted.
"Normally, any place with a black domain should be marked on the Empire's star chart."
"Damn it. The coordinates for this part of space aren't on the star chart at all."
Chen Beixun paced back and forth inside the cabin, his brow furrowed and his heart uneasy.
"If I get trapped here, won't I... Hmm?" Chen Beixun stopped mid-sentence and looked outside.
His eyes widened.
"The reference points in the starry sky are wrong!"
The dust in the blackness of space was shifting.
As if struck by lightning, Chen Beixun stood frozen in place. After a long while, he finally spoke. "We've been going around in circles this whole time!"
Chen Beixun lowered his head and looked at the rug made of magical beast fur. He sighed. "In all these decades, this is the first time I've encountered something like this."
Since leaving the World Lord World, he had changed spacecraft several times and even spent time in an asteroid belt. He had traveled through hundreds of star systems, switching back and forth between the Dark Universe and the main universe. He had been excessively cautious.
"I... I refuse to accept this!" Chen Beixun slammed his hand on the table and roared.
"Chunqiu, activate autopilot and reduce speed to 15% of the speed of light."
"But—" the Intelligent Life said.
"No need to say more. I'll try to comprehend this secret technique first and see if I can break through to Universe Level," Chen Beixun said. "Once I reach Universe Level, my lifespan will increase. Maybe I'll be able to get out."
"Let fate decide." Chen Beixun gave the Intelligent Life a faint smile, his expression melancholy. "If I can get out, I'll take you to get upgraded."
"I'll start with this secret technique."
"This secret technique really is formidable. Eighty-seven crystals form eighty-eight different arrays."
"Crystals form in the sea of consciousness, each with a hundred facets. Are they meant to guard the soul?"
Shaping, controlling, entering sainthood.
Shaping meant forming the soul into an array, allowing it to attack and defend.
Use arrays to face enemies, trap enemies, and kill enemies.
"Hmm, I'm starting to understand it."
"But crystallizing the soul is just too painful."
Chen Beixun sensed the two crystals in his sea of consciousness.
First, he had to tear off a portion of his soul and compress it into a spherical shape. Then, he had to carve it using the secret technique's special method.
The process was excruciating, but the reward was that the crystallized soul would actively absorb cosmic energy, growing stronger and feeding that energy back. It would repair and strengthen the soul, and might even cause it to transform!
The Soul Path was one of the great paths. All living things had souls, except for certain soulless life-forms.
Without great resolve, one should not dabble in the Soul Path.
"Twenty years have passed. I've reached the ninth rank of Star Level. Counting from the day I was born, I've lived for two hundred and ninety-five years." Chen Beixun looked outside the spacecraft.
The spacecraft had now entered this unknown region completely, and it had lost its bearings.
Losing your bearings during a journey was practically a death sentence.
As long as there was a reference point, you could determine your direction again.
Anything could serve as a reference point: light, an object, but light was best.
Twelve light-years away, two figures hovered above a planet. One held a pitch-black spear and wore a bronze-colored demon mask. He was nine meters tall and wore a strange battle robe patterned with red lotuses. The other stood eight meters tall, bare-chested, with Flowing Light swirling around him and obscure runes appearing across his body. He held a halberd.
"Mutuo, you're going to stop me too?!" The Immortal God who had spoken glared at Mutuo in the distance and roared.
"I can't believe you'd betray the clan over such a trivial matter!" Mutuo glared furiously, his eyes bloodshot. "You're completely unreasonable!"
The two had been close friends, adventuring together and fighting enemies in the perilous Outer-Domain Battlefield. Fifty million years had passed since then.
"You think you can stop me?!" Yu Wu roared, his eyes bloodshot. Then, with an earth-shaking burst of power, he charged at Mutuo.
Brilliant, strange light bloomed across the starry sky.
"Light!" Chunqiu, the Intelligent Life piloting the spacecraft, was stunned. In the endless darkness, a glimmer of light flashed by, as fleeting as a mayfly's life.
Even if it was so utterly illogical, it was still better than nothing.
Chunqiu hurriedly plotted a course.
"Destination: Hunter Galaxy Arm, Spiral Six, Path Five, Star System Wu, Planet Wu."
Energy crystal consumption raised to 51%.
Several years later, the spacecraft entered its preset course, traveling at 57% of the speed of light.
In the seventh year after entering its preset course, the spacecraft increased its speed to 59% of the speed of light.
In the ninth year after entering its preset course, the spacecraft left the edge of the black domain and changed course. Its original destination, W981-132-143, was changed to N781-591-599. The spacecraft left its original preset course and began searching for reference points.
There was a passage in the Peach Blossom Spring: "At first the opening was so narrow that only one person could pass through. After walking dozens of steps, it suddenly opened out into a wide space."
"Is that a star system?!" the Intelligent Life cried out in surprise.
The Intelligent Life immediately reported the news to Chen Beixun.
"A star system?" Chen Beixun, who had been cultivating, jolted to his feet and hurried to the control room.
"Master, look!" Chunqiu pointed at the information transmitted by the probe.
Chen Beixun fell into deep thought. A moment later, he ordered, "Speed up. Turn on stealth, shut down the probe, and maintain absolute silence."
"Understood," Chunqiu replied.
"I hope there's no danger." Chen Beixun lifted his eyes, excitement flickering within them.
"How long will it take to get there?" Chen Beixun asked.
"About seven years," Chunqiu replied, busy piloting the spacecraft.
Chen Beixun nodded slightly.
"Seven years in seclusion. It'll still take some time to reach Universe Level, but that should be about right." Chen Beixun considered his options, then headed for the rest cabin.
The destination star system was a binary system. It was very stable, with two planets orbiting its twin stars. One was 0.3 times larger than Earth and was called Dili Planet; the other was 0.6 times larger than Earth and was called Tianwen Planet. That was what the native inhabitants called them.
Dili Planet had two moons, while Tianwen Planet had five.
On an island called Horn Territory Barrier Reef in the seas of Dili Planet,
"Mako, how did it go?" A tall, burly figure stood on a rock and spoke.
"Your Highness, Luoduo is as good as dead this time."
"Enough. Cut the crap!" The man known as His Highness scowled, his face turning fierce.
"I'll reward you handsomely."
"Th-thank you, Your Highness!" Mako had barely started speaking when he suddenly felt weightless.
Mako's head flew half a meter away, and blood sprayed across the ground.
The man named Xien was a Spiritual Force user. He controlled a top-grade Tier 3 Telekinetic Weapon called Thousand Mechanism Wind, which consisted of thirty-two flying blades.
"Not bad, kid. You've got a little of what I had back in the day."
"Who's there?!" Xien sprang to his feet.
Eleven flying blades hovered beside him, while black gas billowed from his body.
"Origin Force armor?"
"Senior recognizes this treasure? I'm Xien. I'm willing to offer it to you." Xien spoke respectfully to the empty air. He knew how terrifying the newcomer was: even with his Spiritual Force fully spread out, he couldn't sense a trace of the man's presence.
Suddenly, an invisible force drilled into Xien's sea of consciousness.
Xien let out a scream of agony and curled up on the ground like a shrimp.
"Do you know who I am?!" Xien shouted in despair.
"A dead man," Chen Beixun replied coldly.
Chen Beixun's gaze was sharp as he looked down at the two corpses. "Damn it, I couldn't even meet the minimum threshold for searching his soul. I overdid it and got no information at all."
Frustration and irritation mingled in his heart, but Chen Beixun wasn't afraid of the planet's powerhouses coming after him. He had already investigated thoroughly beforehand.
"Tier 3 Telekinetic Weapons and Origin Force armor are only equipped by scions of great families in the universe."
"These native inhabitants of the planet aren't so simple," Chen Beixun said gravely. He held out two fingers and flicked them lightly, then turned his hand over. The corpses instantly froze and burst into fine ice powder. Vapor rose around Chen Beixun and drifted into the air. Only after finishing did he leave. Before long, dark clouds gathered over the island, and heavy rain fell for three days straight.