Floating Sand Sea lay an immense distance from the You Mountain Empire—tens of quadrillions of light-years away. Even a ship capable of breaking the Origin Continent's speed-of-light limit would take tens of millions of eras to reach it.
Fortunately, those traveling on a mission could take a dedicated imperial ship to the nearest wormhole, then transfer through another. That would get them to Floating Sand Sea in roughly ten thousand years.
Outside You Mountain City stood one of the empire's official mission transport ports.
Every ship here belonged to the You Mountain Empire's official mission transport fleet. There were over a hundred of them, large and small, dedicated to taking people to their mission destinations.
"Your Highness, that's the ship bound for Floating Sand Sea," an elderly steward said as he guided Luo Feng forward.
Luo Feng looked at the enormous triangular ship ahead. It spanned ten million kilometers, its black-and-gold hull radiating a power that made his heart tremble.
"Could I get my hands on a ship like that?" Luo Feng asked the steward beside him.
"Your Highness wants to buy a ship?" Startled, the steward hurriedly replied, "Each of these ships costs around ten million Qiankun Units. If you wish to purchase one, you could contact Lord Nine Absolutes. He oversees that side of the Thousand Treasures Pavilion's business and should be able to obtain one."
"Ten million Qiankun Units?" Luo Feng shook his head. "Let's go."
The steward led Luo Feng to the boarding passage, where quite a few Eternal True Gods were already waiting with their eyes closed.
"Everyone, we're about to depart for Floating Sand Sea," the steward announced.
Quite a few of those waiting opened their eyes.
"His Highness Galaxy happens to be going there too, so the ship can finally leave. Otherwise, you'd have had to wait a while longer." The steward smiled and cast a sidelong glance at Luo Feng.
Many turned toward Luo Feng. Some looked envious, others disdainful, while some glanced at him once and looked away.
"Your Highness Galaxy, are you going to Floating Sand Sea alone?" An Eternal True God of the Alien Race stepped forward with a smile. "It's an extremely dangerous place. Everyone here is traveling in groups of seven or eight. Going alone could be risky. If you don't mind, would you consider joining our team?"
Luo Feng smiled and shook his head. "No, thank you. I'm more used to acting alone."
The Alien Race member's expression shifted slightly, but he said only, "In that case, I won't trouble you any further, Your Highness."
He returned to his team. The others smiled disdainfully, and when he noticed, he gave a cold snort. He glanced back at Luo Feng, plainly displeased.
The steward watched it all with a smile before speaking up. "Everyone, board the ship."
Nearly two hundred people boarded in this group. None were in the Saint Realm; almost all were Eternal True Gods headed for Floating Sand Sea. Apart from Luo Feng, who traveled alone, they had formed teams of seven or eight, sometimes more than a dozen. Together, they could handle most dangers in the outer regions.
Only after boarding did Luo Feng learn that he alone traveled for free. The other Eternal True Gods each had to pay a fare of one hundred Qiankun Units.
"Having a bestowed title certainly has its perks." Luo Feng drank wine in his private quarters.
Morosa and Tie Nanhe sat beside him.
The long wait had nearly driven Morosa mad with boredom. Now that they were finally setting out for Floating Sand Sea, he had gotten his wish.
Luo Feng had planned this trip well in advance.
Once they reached Floating Sand Sea, he would find a way to hunt Saint Realm experts or make servants of them so Morosa could grow stronger. He also intended to build his World Beast army. By then, Morosa would truly become his King-level trump card, giving him a means of protecting himself even against a God King.
He had little choice. If either the Star Tower or his status as the Shadow God King's disciple came to light, Luo Feng could be driven into a desperate situation. Until he had a strong enough trump card, he had to keep his head down. With a World Beast army, however, things would be different. Even if his identity was exposed, he would have a way to survive.
"Come on. This is our first real adventure on the Origin Continent. In the style of my Ancient Earth, let's drink to our success. Cheers!" Luo Feng raised his cup, and Morosa and Tie Nanhe raised theirs.
At Lihua Palace on Muli Star, You Mountain.
"Palace Master, an informant just reported that the human Galaxy has boarded a ship for Floating Sand Sea. He's on his way there now, presumably for a mission." A maid entered the palace and immediately reported everything she knew.
"Oh?" Palace Master Lihua, who had been reclining on her throne, sat bolt upright, her eyes cold. "He's finally willing to leave You Mountain City? I've waited far too long for this day. Human Galaxy, once you enter Floating Sand Sea, I'll make sure you die there!"
After dismissing the maid, Palace Master Lihua used her connections to contact several Saint Realm experts in Floating Sand Sea. She swore by the Supreme Rule that she would exchange two Saint-level Peak Supreme Treasures for the human Galaxy's life. Whoever killed him could bring her the Blood God Armor from his body as proof and claim the two treasures.
At least five Saint Realm experts in Floating Sand Sea received the bounty notice at the same time.
God King Level Weapons were almost impossible to obtain; even many God Kings lacked weapons of that level. Two Saint-level Peak Supreme Treasures were more than enough to drive these experts wild.
The human Galaxy was suspected to possess First-Origin Saint Realm strength and had a guard of roughly Third-Origin Saint Realm strength. To those who had long since reached Fifth-Origin or Sixth-Origin, neither posed much of a problem.
"Two Saint-level Peak Supreme Treasures? That woman Mu Lihua is really willing to pay. A God King's disciple is something else! Heh. Human Galaxy, blame Mu Lihua. Her offer is just too tempting..."
Luo Feng, unaware of Palace Master Lihua's arrangements, sat aboard the ship reading information about Floating Sand Sea. The ship raced onward at fourteen thousand times the speed of light.
"The chief steward's information really is thorough. There's even a map of the islands." Luo Feng sighed. Of everyone in Nine Regions Palace, Wu Chen had shown him the most care.
Floating Sand Sea was one of the Origin Continent's most famous and perilous seas. It spanned over eighty billion light-years.
Its waters were no ordinary water. They were Superheavy Water, with a density and mass nearly a hundred million times greater than normal water. Anyone below Venerable level who fell in would be crushed to pulp.
There were two main dangers in Floating Sand Sea: natural disasters and attacks.
The natural disasters were the stranger and more terrifying of the two. They included hurricanes and sea tides.
Hurricanes varied in strength. The weaker ones could annihilate Eternal True Gods; the stronger ones could even annihilate God Kings.
Hurricanes were easy to spot and could usually be avoided, so they were not the primary danger.
The greatest danger was the tides. They arose at random, without warning. Once a tide formed, even a Saint Realm expert caught in it could be crushed and annihilated. If a God King was caught in the Central Great Tide at the heart of the sea, even they risked death.
Most attacks came from the sea's savage beasts, especially the vicious sea martens.
Sea martens were unique to Floating Sand Sea. Their harsh environment made every one of them immensely powerful: upon reaching adulthood, they possessed strength comparable to an Eternal True God of the sixth rank or higher. Each adult also formed a precious Sea Marten Stone within its body. Exceptionally hard, these stones were often the primary material for forging Saint-level and even God King Level Weapons. That drew factions from across the Origin Continent to hunt sea martens for their stones.
Over time, an irreconcilable feud had formed between the sea martens and the continent's many races. The races hunted sea martens for their stones, while the sea martens killed members of those races for food. They were effectively mortal enemies, and their encounters were all the more brutal for it.
There was, in principle, a third danger: people from the Origin Continent killing one another. Murder and robbery were commonplace. In Floating Sand Sea, nearly everyone was a potential enemy.
Floating Sand Sea held plenty of dangers, but it also offered treasures and opportunities.
Sea Marten Stones, precious materials for Supreme Treasures, were one example.
Another was the Floating Sand Fruit.
There were 10,081 distinct islands in Floating Sand Sea, each with a divine tree known as a Floating Sand Tree. Each tree bore one fruit every three Eras of Reincarnation. It took one Era of Reincarnation to flower, another to set fruit, and a third for the fruit to ripen. Only then could it be picked and consumed.
Every ripe Floating Sand Fruit offered extraordinary benefits to anyone below the God King level.
One fruit could leave a Saint Realm expert's soul clear and tranquil for a million years, or an Eternal True God's for ten million. During that period, their speed of comprehending Laws or Origin Mysteries could rise ten millionfold, even a hundred millionfold. For an expert at the Eternal True God Pinnacle, consuming one increased the chance of breaking through to the Saint Realm by ten percentage points.
It was easy to see how valuable Floating Sand Fruit was!
To a Saint Realm expert stuck at a bottleneck, a single fruit might be as tempting as a Saint-level Supreme Treasure.
That was why, whenever the fruit-ripening era arrived, experts flocked from all corners of the Origin Continent, each hoping to seize one!
Beyond the fruit, other opportunities depended on luck.
One might find treasures left behind by a fallen Saint Realm expert or even a God King, or a trial left by some supremely powerful being.
"No wonder Floating Sand Fruit is worth so much. What Saint Realm expert wouldn't go mad for it?" Luo Feng drew a sharp breath after reading. He doubted any Saint Realm expert could resist its allure.
Honestly, I've realized that writing is really hard.
The most important challenge is building a novel's larger world. Without that foundation, writing a good story is incredibly difficult.
The world of Swallowed Star is so vast that I've found I can't really do it justice. The plot hasn't been as good as it could be, so I hope you'll bear with me.
The second challenge is constructing the plot. A story without a strong plot feels stiff and doesn't draw readers in. I still can't put together a well-crafted plot, so I hope you'll bear with me there too.
Third is pacing. That's hard to manage as well, and as a beginner, I haven't mastered it. Please bear with me.
If you have any pointers, please share them in the comments. I'll gladly take your advice. Thank you, everyone!