Forty millenniums of cul.., p.362
Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 362
The room fell into prolonged silence. The only thing that could be heard was the spluttering noises of the sparks.
Lei Dalu suddenly asked, "Old Bai, why do you think the man inside the escape capsule irritated Fengyu Zhong without a reason?"
With a bitter smile, Bai Kaixin replied, "Isn't it obvious? He took down one of Storm Prison's starships at first and then lured all of Fengyu Zhong's troops to go after him. His sole purpose was apparently to rescue us!"
"To rescue us…"
Lei Dalu scratched his blood-stained beard and murmured, "I seem to know who is inside the escape capsule now."
Bai Kaixin squinted, sharpness beaming out of his eyes. He remarked, "It all makes sense now. I've guessed it, too. And if it really is the guy we think it is, I also know how he managed to piss off Fengyu Zhong now.
"Captain, it appears that luck is truly on your side!"
Lei Dalu grinned. He laughed so loud that his tears were flowing on his big, greasy face. He mumbled, "I don't know whether or not luck is on my side. But I do know that my brothers are on my side!
"Old Bai, do you think we can let our good brother fight alone and be pushed to the desolate land when he has come such a long way here to rescue us after hearing that the Great Horn Exo Society was in danger?"
Bai Kaixin blinked quickly and maximized his computational ability. A moment later, his eyes were glittering with confidence again. He replied, "Indeed. I've thought of a plan. If it works out, our good brother's pressure will be reduced to minimum, and we can even tear a big chunk of flesh off Fengyu Zhong's body!"
Five minutes later, they were connected to the communication channel of the other two starships.
Appearing on the light beam were another two faces that were equally blood-stained and stubborn.
They were Xin Hongde, an elder of the Flying Flower Sect, and Jing Yong, First Deacon of the Swooping Eagle Sect.
Flying Flower Sect and Swooping Eagle Sect were two medium-sized sects at the edge of the constellation. Xin Hongde and Jing Yong were both in the beginning level of the Core Formation Stage, just like Lei Dalu.
They had joined the collective operation of the major sects to ambush the space pirates under the impression that they could cheer for the strong Cultivators and fish for the small fries at the back.
However, they encountered a space storm due to bad luck. The shells of their warships were seriously damaged, and they were not able to perform a space jump.
When the crystal warships of other sects were returning to their homes via space jumps, they could only form a fleet with Gold Horn, hoping to find a port to repair their shells so that they could jump to their homes.
Never did they anticipate that they would be assaulted by large troops of space pirates on the way. They suffered great losses, and their men had nearly all been killed.
Compared to the Great Horn Exo Society, which was the space pirates' main target, these two sects could almost be called 'collateral damage'. Therefore, their anger was so obvious that it was written on their faces.
"Captain Lei, we were meaning to contact you a moment ago. Did the space pirates retreat because our reinforcements are coming?" asked Xin Hongde.
Xin Hongde was in his nineties. For a Core Formation Stage Cultivator, he was in his prime years. His eyes were vigorous, but he was apparently a very prudent man.
Lei Dalu replied, "The reinforcement have not arrived yet. The space pirates have shifted their routes because they are chasing after another Cultivator with their full might!"
"What?"
Xin Hongde couldn't have been more surprised. "Who is this guy? Is he more valuable than three crystal warships that are about to be blown up?"
Lei Dalu said, "Right now, we don't know for sure who the guy is, but it is obvious that he has come to our rescue after a very long journey at the risk of his own life! Now, we have a new plan that can help him and fight side by side with him!
"Please take a look. The engine compartment of the remaining four crystal warships of the space pirates have been damaged to different extents. Their maximum speeds are not the same.
"Fengyu Zhong must've ordered the four crystal warships to chase after the escape capsule at full speed. As a result, the four crystal warships are now in a long line. The one with the most damaged engine compartment has been left far behind.
"Fengyu Zhong thinks that we've been daunted by him and we will only cheer for his retreat. He thinks that, while he is gone, we will stay here to recover and wait for the reinforcements. He thinks, we will never be bold enough to fight against him again!
"But in fact, we are going to take advantage of his assumption. We will follow him quietly and knock down the last starship at an appropriate time!"
Chapter 535: Planetary Rings |
Audacious was not enough to describe the plan; it was nuts. Purely nuts!
Xin Hongde and Jing Yong both fell silent.
Jing Yong was only in his sixties. For a Core Formation Stage Cultivator, he was still very young. He couldn't help but ask, "The power rune arrays of the three starships on our side have all been seriously wrecked. We don't have sufficient backup components, and there is no way that we can restore the full speed of the starships in several days. How are we going to catch our enemy?"
Fengyu Zhong had, of course, calculated everything before he summoned all his troops to attack the escape capsule. He was well aware that the three starships on the Great Horn Exo Society's side were all exhausted and damaged. They wouldn't be able to counterattack even if they wanted to.
Bai Kaixin blinked, and with a mysterious smile, he observed, "Of course, we cannot afford to maintain all of the three starships. But what if we gather the usable units and components of the three starships into one starship?
"After all, we don't have so many soldiers at present. Fixing up three starships would be wasteful for us. We can consider dismantling the units and components from your starships and use them to repair Gold Horn.
"If so, we can definitely restore the speed of this starship to an acceptable speed!
"Then, we will leave all the wounded to your starships where they will wait for the reinforcements.
"All the men who can still fight will gather on Gold Horn. We will launch a counterattack and catch them off guard!"
Jing Yong gasped and said, "But the space pirates have four starships, and we will only have one."
Bai Kaixin narrowed his eyes and sneered, "But time is on our side.
"This is the most dangerous gamble, with time as the wager!
"Think about it. Now that Fengyu Zhong is chasing the Cultivator at full speed, his starships must be consuming fuel crazily at the moment.
"When he discovers that the starship left behind has been attacked by us, he will be caught in a dilemma.
"If the starship is to turn back, it has to decelerate from the rushing state slowly and reset the sailing route. Twice as much fuel and time will be wasted!
"By that time, our reinforcements could show up at any moment. Fengyu Zhong must keep enough fuel spare to run away. If he cannot finish us quickly, he will be stalled by us and even fail to get away. Do you think he will risk that?
"Fengyu Zhong values his life more than anything else. He definitely won't dare come back and fight us. His only option will be abandoning the last starship in order to keep himself safe!
"This is our plan. Of course, it is very risky. But we cannot stand by and watch the Cultivator be surrounded by space pirates while doing nothing about it!
"If Flying Flower and Swooping Eagle do not wish to continue the battle, that's alright, too, as long as you can provide the usable components in your engine compartments so that we can repair Gold Horn.
"You are free to stay and treat your wounded. We will take care of the rest!
"Time is of the greatest importance. Please make a decision soon. We are in a hurry to catch up with our brother and fight side by side with him!"
Xin Hongde and Jing Yong both fell silent.
But the surging flames inside their eyes were burning more and more furiously.
The flames were thick and solid. They did not look like flames, but the flowing, boiling blood inside the two Cultivators' bodies!
…
In the middle of the boundless sea of stars, a weird hunt was taking place.
Fleeing quickly in the lead was a tiny escape capsule. Despite the bright exhaust flames exiting its rear, it was nothing but an insignificant speck of dust in the desolate universe.
Four murderous, aggressive starships were closely behind that speck. They were going at full speed in a line. The dazzling brilliance emitted from their power rune arrays tore apart the darkness of the vacuum like the roars of a ferocious animal.
One starship as sharp as an arrowhead was at the front. It getting closer and closer to the escape capsule.
Li Yao lay inside the escape capsule comfortably as he analyzed the speed and various parameters of his pursuers with the scanning of the crystal cameras.
Even though he was being hunted by a Core Formation Stage Cultivator who was leading four starships and more than a thousand Exos, a weird smile appeared on his face, as if he was quite enjoying the thrill and excitement.
Music from the Heaven's Origin Sector was echoing inside the sealed escape capsule. It was a popular song that every household in the Heaven's Origin Sector had listened to named 'Conquering the Universe'.
"Look, the dense clouds cannot stop the running sea of stars.
"Endless darkness will disperse. Lights of life will illuminate the sky.
"When I feel desperate, I always hear a song played in my heart.
"The meaner fate is to you, the tougher you will become!"
The bouncing number on the light beam indicated that the hunters were drawing closer and closer. The giant beast had opened its bloody mouth, ready to launch its fatal attack.
Li Yao smiled and triggered a telepathic thought to activate a gadget.
…
Inside the cockpit of Blood Rain, Fengyu Zhong and his advisor were also observing the situation of the battle through the most advanced probe magical equipment.
After half a day's crazy hunting without bothering about the cost of fuel, the distance between them and the escape capsule had been greatly shortened.
Squid, at the front, could almost catch the tail of the escape capsule now.
"General Feng, one of the enemy's power rune arrays has exploded!"
On the light beam, the fuzzy light spot that represented the escape capsule was suddenly much brighter. The advisor exclaimed in excitement after he improved the quality of the picture by concentrating his computational ability.
Fengyu Zhong sneered, "That's inevitable. It is an escape capsule after all. After rushing for such a long time at full speed, the power rune arrays must have already surpassed their limits. It's only normal that they have exploded now.
"Even if the power rune arrays were fine, he won't have much fuel left. Very soon, he will be in our pocket!
"Ask Squid to deploy the assault team and harass the enemy!"
Almost a hundred crystal suits flew out of the arrowhead-like starship in the front as if it were a honeycomb.
They were riding specially-made cylindrical magical equipment known as 'Assault Rockets'. Bright orange exhaust flames spurted out of their vehicles as they dashed at the escape capsule at the maximum speed!
The main guns around the starship started glittering, too. Spiritual energy was being condensed. Once the escape capsule entered the best attack range, they would immediately open fire.
Right then, at the tail of the escape capsule, which had supposedly run out of spiritual energy and suffered the explosion of multiple power rune arrays, a glamorous flower of spiritual energy suddenly blossomed. Seven-colored mystic rays spurted out. The escape capsule was given an unbelievable speed boost and leapt forward!
The escape capsule ran away again before it entered the best attack range of the starship!
Inside the cockpit, the advisor was dumbfounded. He tapped on the light beam crazily. Sweat was dripping from his nose as he said, "That's impossible. The instantaneous acceleration and the maximum speed of the escape capsule have far exceeded the limits of 'Wild Butterfly'! How could he get such a high speed?"
"Don't you see?"
Fengyu Zhong closed his eyes and took a long breath. He gnashed his teeth. "Our enemy has modified the escape capsule and improved its speed and instantaneous acceleration. But he pretended that it was a normal escape capsule so that we would come after it!
"According to his current speed, it's very likely that he will run into the stone belts around Iron Plateau before we catch up to him!"
The advisor paused for a moment. "Then, should we abort the pursuit?"
Fengyu Zhong grinned hideously. "Such a delicate scheme, so many resources, and the victory so close to us have all been disrupted by the mysterious man!
"Not to mention that he murdered my son and humiliated me in front of everyone!
"We've gone too far to abort anything now! Just keep on chasing! Don't stop even if we have to trespass into the stone belts! Stop him, whatever the cost!
"This time, I'm going to tear off his head myself!"
The advisor was greatly shocked.
Fengyu Zhong, a Core Formation Stage Cultivator, was about to personally act!
The following five hours were just repeating what had happened.
The escape capsule was always in front of Squid, neither too far away nor too close.
Its speed was not very high. When Squid went at full speed, the distance between the two parties would be gradually shortened.
However, when the main guns of Squid refilled spiritual energy and the Exos on board were launched for battle, the escape capsule would suddenly accelerate under the spurt of unbelievable exhaust flames. The distance between them would return to what it had been originally.
One chasing and the other running, the two parties gradually entered the nearby of Iron Plateau in the center of the Iron Plateau Space Zone.
The splendid scenes in front of Li Yao's eyes made him momentarily forget to breath.
Iron Plateau seemed to be a hundred times larger than the planet of Heaven's Origin.
However, with careful observation, one would discover that it was because of the brilliant halos emitted by the hundreds of rings surrounding Iron Plateau.
The rings were made of the tremendous materials spinning around the planet. Generally speaking, only when the planets boasted sufficient gravity could they form rings. One planet usually had only one ring.
The planets with atmosphere and suitable conditions for human beings were usually too small in quality. They did not have a strong enough attraction force to generate rings.
However, Iron Plateau was surrounded by rings on an enormous scale. It was not one, but a super ring system made of hundreds of interconnected rings. It looked like a solid armor for the planet and made the size of the planet a hundred times larger than it should have been!
"Such intense and patterned spiritual waves! They do not seem to be from regular meteoroids!"
Li Yao sensed a mysterious and yet irresistible force from the hundreds of interconnected rings, which made him immediately realize that the rings were not natural-born, but a piece of large defensive magical equipment crafted by the Cultivators thousands of years ago to protect Iron Plateau based on unfathomable technology!
This was really a piece of planetary-level magical equipment that was bordering on the stellar level!
"A piece of defensive magical equipment made up of hundreds of rings? Magnificent! Splendid! Incredible!
"The Flying Star Sector had an extraordinary Cultivation civilization in the past!
"Was this magical equipment meant to resist what Huangpu Xiaoya described to be 'apocalypses'? It's a pity that the system seemed to fail its job. Iron Plateau was destroyed anyway!"
Li Yao snuck into one of the stone belts without any hesitation.
Chapter 536: Space Steles |
Compared with the vastness of space, human beings couldn't be more insignificant.
The seemingly thin rings turned out to be boundless worlds once one entered them.
Roaring stones and glimmering dust were everywhere. Invisible turbulences and radiation rays were rushing and raging like a flooding river.
Li Yao was floating on such a rampant river. Although he had experienced something similar when he cruised through the Dim Flame Belt, he still felt that his head was dizzy and the scenes were bizarre.
The stones inside the planetary ring were extremely dense. As small as the escape capsule was, he still had to calculate the angles and trajectories of the stones precisely in order to pass through the gaps.
Li Yao also discovered that, among the sweeping, nonuniform stones, there were occasionally rectangular objects that emitted a metallic glow.
These objects were not reflecting the brilliance of the star but emanating brightness by themselves.
Judging from the color of the objects, they were not natural minerals but more like man-made alloys.
These metal objects were space steles.
If one were to adjust the resolution and the observation distance of their crystal camera to the maximum, one would be able to notice that complicated runes had been carved on the steles.
Many steles were hollow. Translucent crystals were floating inside them.
After thousands of years, the crystals were still glittering and releasing spiritual energy.
Li Yao shut his eyes and extended his spiritual threads from his spiritual root, perceiving the steles with his mind.
He could feel clearly that each stele sent out almost a hundred spiritual waves, which tied up the stones nearby and formed a solid shield of stones.
Every stele was the core of such a shield. When thousands of shields of stones were combined, they constituted a planetary ring. Right now, hundreds of planetary rings were interconnected, but there was not the slightest mutual interference.
It was indeed a piece of formidable magical equipment almost bordering on the stellar level!
