Desperate Straits

In the void of space, there was no air, no sound—only endless darkness and sparse starlight in the distance.

Golden Horn floated outside Rocksplitter's hatch, his scales gleaming with a dim, cold sheen beneath the stars. His golden horn glowed faintly, while the body-tempering secret technique within him operated at full force.

Opposite him, a blue-gray warship twice the size of Rocksplitter slowly approached. A ghostly blue light shone through its forward windows, and the Sirius clan emblem—a silver giant wolf howling at the sky—was emblazoned on its hull.

Azure Wolf's hatch opened, and a figure stepped out.

It was a burly Wolf Demon clad in dark blue armor, barehanded and carrying no weapon. He stood in the void, an invisible pressure radiating from him, making even the surrounding starlight seem to dim.

Not good. A Universe level!

Golden Horn's pupils contracted. This was the strongest enemy he had faced since his rebirth.

His inherited memories clearly told him that Stellar level and Universe level were separated by an insurmountable gulf. Even a first-order Universe level powerhouse could already begin to wield the power of origin laws and deploy a complete domain. Their overall combat strength was several times—even ten times—that of a peak Stellar level warrior.

With his current cultivation at merely Stellar level, first order, facing him head-on meant he had almost no chance of winning.

The Wolf Demon sized up Golden Horn, a teasing smile curling across his lips. "Stellar level, first order? That piece of trash Steel Fang was actually killed by something like you?"

His voice was transmitted directly through spiritual power, crystal clear.

Golden Horn did not answer. He lowered his head, and his golden horn flared brightly. The muscles beneath his scales writhed madly as he pushed his body-tempering secret technique to its limit. Whether he could win or not, he had to strike first!

However, before he could charge out, the Wolf Demon raised his right hand and turned his palm over.

A silver-white streak flew out from behind the Wolf Demon. It was a crescent-shaped saber, silver-white from end to end, its edge as thin as a cicada's wing. It drew a graceful arc through the void as it slashed toward Golden Horn at high speed.

There was not even a sound of it cutting through the air, but Golden Horn's spiritual power caught a sharp stab of pain, as though the saber was not aimed at his body, but piercing directly into his soul.

A Universe level spiritual psychic! Run!

Golden Horn was horrified. Without a second thought, he turned and rushed toward Rocksplitter.

The Wolf Demon snorted coldly. "Trying to run?"

The curved saber turned in midair and slashed toward Golden Horn's back. The spiritual power attached to its blade clung to him like maggots to bone, locking firmly onto his aura.

Golden Horn sensed the killing intent behind him and did not dare take it head-on. He violently twisted his body, his thick tail sweeping out like an iron whip.

Clang!

His tail collided with the curved saber, throwing out a shower of sparks. The saber was knocked away and spun several times through the void, while a bone-deep wound was carved into Golden Horn's tail.

But using the recoil, he became another thirty percent faster.

Within a few breaths, Golden Horn had reached Rocksplitter's hatch and plunged inside.

"Close the hatch! Full speed ahead!" Golden Horn roared, unable to suppress the pain in his voice.

The hatch slammed shut. Rocksplitter's engines let out a piercing roar, and the entire ship abruptly accelerated, fleeing madly forward.

Golden Horn collapsed inside the cabin and lowered his head to look at his tail. The wound was ghastly, blood still seeping out. He circulated the energy within him and barely sealed the wound to stop the bleeding, but he would not be able to use any strength in that tail for some time.

"A Universe level spiritual psychic!" Golden Horn gritted his teeth.

The gap was too great. If that Wolf Demon had not seemed to be holding back, the first strike could have split him in two.

He struggled to his feet and staggered to the main console, pulling up the star map.

His original destination had been Myriad Monster Star, but with the pursuers biting so closely at his heels, if he continued along the original route, the Universe level powerhouse behind him would catch him before he could even get near Myriad Monster Star.

He had to find somewhere to shake them off.

Golden Horn's gaze swept rapidly across the star map, searching for any possible chance of survival.

An asteroid belt was too sparse to hide in. Barren planets offered no cover; landing a ship there would make it a target. A meteorite field might offer terrain complicated enough to throw off the pursuers.

Suddenly, his gaze stopped on an area at the edge of the map marked with a blood-red skull.

"Void Vortex Domain."

Beside it was a small note: "Danger zone. Survival rate after entry is extremely low. Rumored to contain highly chaotic spatial conditions and unidentified energy storms. Several Sector Lord level powerhouses have entered and vanished without contact. All ships are advised to avoid this region."

Several Sector Lord level powerhouses had entered and vanished.

Golden Horn stared at those words, his pupils narrowing slightly.

A place even Sector Lords could not escape from—if a Stellar level like him went in, it was practically a death sentence.

But if he did not go in, the Universe level spiritual psychic behind him would catch him, and he would die anyway.

The Golden Horned Beast's body was ten times stronger than others at the same level. Perhaps it could withstand the spatial cracks inside that secret realm? Maybe not, but it was worth gambling on.

Dying at the hands of a Universe level warrior and dying in a secret realm—one was certain death, while the other at least offered a sliver of hope.

"I'm gambling on it." Golden Horn gritted his teeth and tapped the star map. "Rocksplitter, change course. Destination: Void Vortex Domain. Full speed ahead!"

"Command confirmed. Recalculating route. Estimated arrival time: four hours."

The ship abruptly turned and sped toward the dangerous region at the edge of the star map.

Aboard Azure Wolf, the Universe level Wolf Demon stood before the main console, watching Rocksplitter's flight path on the screen with a cold smile on his lips.

"Run? Can you really escape?"

He had indeed held back just now. The elder wanted the beast alive, so he could not kill it with a single strike. But it did not matter. The beast was already injured and could not run far.

"My lord, the target has changed course," reported a Sirius clan warrior operating the ship.

"Where is it heading?"

"Toward the Void Vortex Domain."

The smile on the Wolf Demon's face froze.

The Void Vortex Domain was a death zone that even Sector Lords were unwilling to approach. He had heard rumors that the space inside was extraordinarily chaotic, filled everywhere with spatial cracks and energy storms. Entering it meant nine chances of death out of ten.

"Has that brat gone mad?" The Wolf Demon frowned.

He stared at Rocksplitter's trajectory on the screen, watching the ship draw ever closer to the boundary of the Void Vortex Domain, and his expression grew uglier and uglier.

"Accelerate! Catch up and cut him off!" the Wolf Demon ordered sharply. "He wouldn't dare go in. He's definitely just trying to scare us!"

Azure Wolf's engines erupted with an even louder roar, and its speed suddenly surged as it gave chase after Rocksplitter.

But Golden Horn had clearly gone all out as well. Rocksplitter was also operating beyond capacity. The two ships raced one before the other, neither willing to yield.

The distance was closing. Three hundred kilometers, two hundred kilometers, one hundred kilometers...

The entrance to the Void Vortex Domain drew closer and closer. It was a dim blue halo, like a half-open eye in the universe, silently watching everything that approached.

Through the viewport, Golden Horn could already see the chaotic energy faintly swirling within the halo, as well as spatial cracks that flashed into view from time to time. A chill ran down his back, but he did not order the ship to slow down.

"Rocksplitter, full speed! Do not stop!"

"Warning: High-risk area ahead. Immediate deceleration and evasive action advised."

"Ignore the warning. Full speed ahead!"