Forty millenniums of cul.., p.474
Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 474
His roar was echoing inside the small room.
"New era… New era… New era… New era…"
Xiao Tianbao, 'star child' and Xiao Xuance's foster son, was like a mountain of meat standing in the center of the room. Almost ten big bowls were placed in front of him, in which various kinds of candies were packed.
Xiao Tianbao was grimacing. Every time he blinked, a piece of candy would slowly fly into the air into his mouth.
Crack. Crack.
Xiao Tianbao was eating the candies faster than other people ate a meal. While chewing the candies happily, he calculated the sum of resources that all the sects were willing to devote.
Complicated numbers were blinking rapidly in front of him, and his expression was one of extreme joy.
Around him, starry brilliance popped up like gold fireflies. Glamorous rays of light emanated from him and interconnected into a translucent structure, wreathing himself inside.
It was a golden brain, one that seemed to be made of billions of stars in the boundless cosmos.
Suddenly—
"Dad!"
Xiao Tianbao suddenly burst into tears because he had bitten his own tongue.
…
Three days later, at the edge of the Flying Star Sector, in an unknown place, the Black King was pacing anxiously like a black viper that had fallen into a trap. His bloodshot eyes hiding behind the black mask seemed as if they would spurt venom at any moment.
"It's been a month. You finally responded, Lotus King!"
Ripples spread out on the light beam before the Black King and gradually formed a phantom that was wearing a white robe.
The phantom was wearing a mask just like him, except that the mask was shaped like a blossoming lotus. Two long and narrow eyes that looked like sickles were exposed on the above of the mask.
The Lotus King chuckled. "What's all the fuss about? Haven't we made a deal?
"After the assault of Heavenly Saints City, the Cultivators were always going to be mad and would search for us with all their manpower.
"Long-distance communication across space zones has to be established on the Spiritual Nexus. There are many experts of crystal processors in the world of Cultivators, so it's possible that they will track us and lock onto us.
"Therefore, we agreed to not get in contact with each other in the one month after the attack. Why were you so desperate to contact me? Wasn't it a successful assault?"
The Black King gnashed his teeth. "Successful?"
"Of course," the Lotus King replied casually. "We tricked the Cultivators with the Mist Plan at first. Then, the extraterrestrial devils arrived in Heavenly Saints City, the heart of the Flying Star Sector, for the first time in the thousands of years. A lot of Core Formation Stage Cultivators and Building Foundation Stage Cultivators were slain. As for those in the Refinement Stage, there were too many to count.
"The operation was a major strike for the fame of Cultivators. We planted seeds of doubt and fear in the heart of countless Cultivators and ordinary people. Of course, it was a very successful mission!"
"But we've lost a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator!"
The Black King burst into fury and smashed the desk hard, as if he were trying to cross the space and smash the Lotus King's head into pieces, while he said, "We failed to reach out to Hellsword when we were retreating. There was no response when we sent messages to him through the dark net. In fact, there has been no response from him even to this day!
"In the meantime, Cultivators have confirmed that Sand Scorpion, the best warrior of the six tribes of Iron Plateau, detonated the crystal reactor of a 'Fire Tyrant Battlesuit' at a close distance during the battle with Hellsword in hope of dying together with him.
"Right now, the world of Cultivators has gone crazy and regard Sand Scorpion as a great hero and a fearless warrior. It is said that statues of Sand Scorpion will be built in Heavenly Saints City, and that movies featuring him will soon be made!
"Damn. In such a case, they must be very confident about their conclusion."
The Lotus King observed calmly, "I've read the report myself, but they didn't find Hellsword's crystal suit and his body."
The Black King glared at him. "It's simple. Hellsword was heavily wounded during the explosion and was not able to retreat with us. He could only hide himself and treat his wounds first!
"But it's been more than a month. Even the most serious wounds should be partly recovered now!
"We agreed on a secret code. As long as he posted several absolutely normal threads on certain websites, we would know his situation immediately.
"But until now, there's been nothing!
"Then, the only possibility is that he was so heavily wounded that he died eventually after he fled from the battlefield!
"A Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator. Nascent Soul Stage! Although at the beginning level, he was still a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator!
"Do you know how much time and effort I spent on him and how many benefits I promised him in order to recruit the lone wolf in the Nascent Soul Stage?
"But now, he has died an uncanny death, killed by a junior who was in the high level of the Core Formation Stage at best!"
The Lotus King was as calm as before. "Think about it positively. At least, he killed Sand Scorpion, too. Although Sand Scorpion's combat ability was in the Core Formation Stage at best, he was cruel and cunning, and he influenced enormous resources in space and on Iron Plateau. He should never be underestimated.
"In my mind, he was one of the top five troublemakers for our cause!
"Thankfully, he is dead now, with no ashes left whatsoever. I felt greatly relieved when I heard the news."
The Black King raise his voice. "What can Sand Scorpion's death help with anything? The real problem is that the Cultivators have initiated the Grand Illusionary Soldier Project ready to launch a counterattack!"
The Lotus King smiled. "Of course there is going to be counterattack. You didn't think that a visit of extraterrestrial devils could intimidate all the Cultivators and make them beg for mercy, did you?"
"I knew there would be counterattack, but I did not know that it was going to be so tricky, nor did I know that there would be such a thing as 'star brain' that could turn the puppets that were no better than scrap iron into reasonably good soldiers," the Black King replied gloomily. "If the Grand Illusionary Soldiers are stationed in every space zone and important trading route, the activities of the space pirates and us will face major problems.
"Over the past few days, I've even been wondering if we jumped out too early."
"Huh?"
The Lotus King's eyes turned narrower, longer, and sharper.
"Tactically speaking," the Black King said, "we secured one victory after another. We stagnated business, we ambushed towns, we assassinated Cultivators, and we even savaged Heavenly Saints City, the heart of the Flying Star Sector.
"However, the world of Cultivators is too large, and there are too many Cultivators. Maybe, we underestimated them. We exposed ourselves too early and infuriated them too early!
"Have we been too radical from a strategical point of view? Should we have kept hiding in the darkness for another several hundred years before we took any action?"
The Lotus King leaned forward, as if he was crawling out of the virtual light beam to the Black King's face. He asked coldly, one word after another, "Are you questioning our path?"
The Black King's body shook slightly before he burst into fury and yelled, "Of course not! The Immortal Cultivators are the only direction of mankind's evolution. I have never doubted that!"
"That's good." The Lotus King retreated and said, "Anyways, the battle of Heavenly Saints City has passed. For now, let's focus our attention on Spider Den. We must control the entirety of Spider Den and every space pirate!"
The Black King sniffed. "Control the entirety of Spider Den? The place is a total mess right now! Bai Xinghe is an out-and-out lunatic and does not know what is good for him at all. He refused the great path of immortality. The man is destined to be a bandit for the rest of his life!
"Now, Hellsword is dead, too!
"Before, of the three Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators, namely Hellsword, Fengyu Zhong, and Bai Xinghe, we had two under control.
"But Hellsword is dead. Fengyu Zhong is a newly-risen Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator. Even though he is supported by us, it will be an arduous task for him to defeat Bai Xinghe, the seasoned Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator and the notorious, wealthy 'Pirate Potentate' who has dominated Spider Den for thirty years!"
"Spider Den is must more than a nest for space pirates," the Lotus King said. "It is of paramount importance for us and must be under our full control!
"Kill Bai Xinghe whatever the cost!"
…
Meanwhile, in a secret dock somewhere in the Cross Wind Space Zone, Sparkle had been upgraded yet another time.
The purpose of the modification was not to increase the firepower or the speed, but to increase the computational ability of the mainframe crystal processor.
Right now, the mainframe crystal processor of Sparkle was even more advanced and sophisticated than that of the super space towns that could accommodate millions of people.
On the bridge, the shells of the five spectral Cultivators were standing aside, while their real entities, which were the mustard-seed level liquid metals, were rolling on the ground.
That was their favorite form.
"They found the scraps of Li Yao's crystal suit and concluded that Li Yao died after detonating his own crystal suit."
"However, it was not the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit but a Fire Tyrant Battlesuit that Li Yao modified himself."
"If Li Yao was truly at his wit's end, he would have been wearing the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit. Even if he detonated himself, it should have been the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit that has exploded!"
"So, Li Yao is not dead yet. Not dead. Hahahaha!"
Four clusters of liquid metals were twisting on the ground excitedly.
"Everyone!"
The largest cluster of liquid metal extended two hands that looked like sprouts and clapped them.
Mo Xuan said solemnly, "Right now, the speculations of Li Yao and me before the event have become reality one after another. Cultivators have indeed initiated the Grand Illusionary Soldier Project.
"Whatever secret motives are behind the project, we must take action immediately!
"The Immortal Cultivators are absolutely inhuman. Their creed is the opposite of ours.
"Besides, they have a deep grudge with Li Yao.
"If the Immortal Cultivators have the Flying Star Sector under their control, ordinary people will certainly be butchered, and we will be mired in trouble, too. There will be no telling when we can go back home.
"Therefore, from the perspectives of both ideology and personal interest, we must fight against the Immortal Cultivators until the end!
"In three days' time, the Grand Illusionary Soldier Project will open the original data and source code of the 'star brain'. That will be our best shot.
"I hereby announce that the 'Brain Concussion Plan' is officially activated!
"One day, Li Yao will be back. I hope that we can give him our full support when he is here!"
Chapter 708: Reborn in a Labyrinth |
In the depths of the Flying Star Sector, through more than ten fatal stone belts and areas where cosmic storms were active, somewhere near the Spider Den Space Zone, a fat 'black-behemoth' level carrier was avoiding the meteoroids at an amazing speed while flying toward Spider Den along a secret route.
The black-behemoth-level carrier was one of the thousand starships that had fled out of the tenth space ring of Heavenly Saints City a month ago.
Developed more than 180 years ago, the black-behemoth-level carrier was an old model. Since they were simple in structure and sturdy, many such carriers were purchased by dealers of second-hand starships when they were declared total losses, before they were repaired, modified, and sold again.
Many black-behemoth-level carriers were sold and resold almost ten times. After multiple times of modification, they often looked entirely different from what they were supposed to be.
That was exactly the case for this black-behemoth-level carrier.
In the space port of Heavenly Saints City, it was registered under a perfectly legal identity and claimed to be from a remote space town of a remote space zone.
There were few Cultivators in the space town. Most of the folks there were bumpkins who never went to cities.
All the files and data were real. If the Cultivators of Heavenly Saints City really went to the edge of the Flying Star Sector where the starship was registered, a bunch of farmers there would stand out and admit that they did own such a starship.
But in fact, the black-behemoth-level carrier belonged to the space pirates.
Hiding behind the plate armor that was full of patches were the deadliest crystal cannons and the most advanced, vigorous, and fastest power rune arrays.
After fleeing out of Heavenly Saints City, the starship returned to the remote space zone where it was registered after seven space jumps. Then, it hid itself on the back of a desolate planet for ten days to make sure that it had no followers before it performed another space jump and left the place.
During the twenty days after that, it had been cruising along a secret sailing route that only the space pirates knew.
Today, the carrier had finally reached the periphery of the Spider Den Space Zone.
The black-behemoth-level carrier, which had undergone tremendous modifications, boasted enormous power rune arrays that were disproportionate to its size. It had eighteen main power rune arrays, each of which was ten meters in diameter.
Other than them, there were more than five hundred ancillary power rune arrays to help the giant object move more swiftly.
Such an enormous group of rune arrays was stuffed into a carrier that was not designed to be so fast. Naturally, a complicated heat-emitting system was mandatory.
The black-behemoth-level carrier was installed with an air cooling system. A circle of cooling tubes that looked like a labyrinth surrounded the engine compartment and took up five times more space than the engine itself did.
As different power rune arrays functioned or halted, the tubes would spurt burning air currents hundreds of degrees high one moment and then freeze into a frigid hell of minus a hundred degrees the next moment. It was truly the roughest place in the world.
It appeared that no creature could survive in such a cruel world.
Right now, it was 4:33 p.m. in the standard time of the Flying Star Sector.
Li Yao turned off the refreshing music in his crystal processor and stretched his arms comfortably in the frost of one of the cooling tubes.
He sensed that the No.12 main power rune array in the engine compartment below him was functioning at 75% of its capacity.
It meant that the cooling tube he was hiding in would be filled with scorching air of 2,400 degrees in 13.3 seconds.
Besides, the air currents contained very corrosive components, which consisted of the waste gas from when the cooling liquids that the rune arrays employed were vaporized.
Even with the protection of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit, he would not be able to last for half an hour in such a high temperature and such fatal venomous gas.
On the other hand, the No.7 and No.8 power rune arrays on his right side had just spurted rapidly for acceleration.
According to the pattern that he discovered over the past month, the two power rune arrays would rest for at least an hour and function at only 30% of their capacity.
It meant that, as long as he passed the intersection 37 meters behind him in ten seconds and changed his position, he would be granted with at least another 49 minutes of peace.
Of course, that was only if the carrier did not run into any accident.
Li Yao still felt scared as he remembered the scene three days ago when the carrier was in a cosmic storm.
At that time, all the power rune arrays had been activated to the maximum. Sweltering venomous gas had raged inside the cooling tubes without any pattern.
He could only improve the activity of all the cells on his body to their maximum while holding back the excruciating pain of his bottom being roasted. He rushed among the cooling tubes and searched for a chance of survival in the deadly flames.
Compared to the adventure three days ago, the heat right now that was licking his face was merely a cool breeze during an autumn dusk.
Before the entire cooling liquid was consumed by fire, Li Yao turned into a streak of blackness and zigzagged to a new area that was temporarily safe.
"Hehe."
Sensing that burning air currents had rushed past him as if they were doing him a massage, Li Yao felt that his every cell stretched out like unfolding tea leaves that were put into hot water. He could not help but smile.
He had been lurking for a month in the cooling tubes of the carrier.
Over the past month, he would move in the cooling liquids every hour to dodge the hot stream and venomous gas in order to look for new place of survival.
Sometimes, he had to sprint every few minutes and search for the small area that was safe when 99% of the cooling tubes were filled with flames.
However, for some reason, struggling in such a harsh environment made Li Yao feel cheerier than when he was living a peaceful, carefree life in Flying Star University.
The peaceful life in Flying Star University was good, but it was short of something.
Maybe, he was born to live such a life, a life of walking beside a bottomless abyss and seeking safety amid peril.
"I'm alive again," Li Yao mumbled and took a long breath.
The air was smelly despite the multiple filters of the crystal suit, but it was no less intoxicating for him. With a fascinated expression, he repeated, "I'm alive again!"
Swoosh!
Li Yao crouched and turned into a black ball lightning, flashing inside the narrow cooling tubes. Now and then, he would draw a deadly curve with the tip of his left foot!
The sword art he had been practicing was different from his saber arts. It was more sordid and mysterious, like a viper without bones.
"New era… New era… New era… New era…"
Xiao Tianbao, 'star child' and Xiao Xuance's foster son, was like a mountain of meat standing in the center of the room. Almost ten big bowls were placed in front of him, in which various kinds of candies were packed.
Xiao Tianbao was grimacing. Every time he blinked, a piece of candy would slowly fly into the air into his mouth.
Crack. Crack.
Xiao Tianbao was eating the candies faster than other people ate a meal. While chewing the candies happily, he calculated the sum of resources that all the sects were willing to devote.
Complicated numbers were blinking rapidly in front of him, and his expression was one of extreme joy.
Around him, starry brilliance popped up like gold fireflies. Glamorous rays of light emanated from him and interconnected into a translucent structure, wreathing himself inside.
It was a golden brain, one that seemed to be made of billions of stars in the boundless cosmos.
Suddenly—
"Dad!"
Xiao Tianbao suddenly burst into tears because he had bitten his own tongue.
…
Three days later, at the edge of the Flying Star Sector, in an unknown place, the Black King was pacing anxiously like a black viper that had fallen into a trap. His bloodshot eyes hiding behind the black mask seemed as if they would spurt venom at any moment.
"It's been a month. You finally responded, Lotus King!"
Ripples spread out on the light beam before the Black King and gradually formed a phantom that was wearing a white robe.
The phantom was wearing a mask just like him, except that the mask was shaped like a blossoming lotus. Two long and narrow eyes that looked like sickles were exposed on the above of the mask.
The Lotus King chuckled. "What's all the fuss about? Haven't we made a deal?
"After the assault of Heavenly Saints City, the Cultivators were always going to be mad and would search for us with all their manpower.
"Long-distance communication across space zones has to be established on the Spiritual Nexus. There are many experts of crystal processors in the world of Cultivators, so it's possible that they will track us and lock onto us.
"Therefore, we agreed to not get in contact with each other in the one month after the attack. Why were you so desperate to contact me? Wasn't it a successful assault?"
The Black King gnashed his teeth. "Successful?"
"Of course," the Lotus King replied casually. "We tricked the Cultivators with the Mist Plan at first. Then, the extraterrestrial devils arrived in Heavenly Saints City, the heart of the Flying Star Sector, for the first time in the thousands of years. A lot of Core Formation Stage Cultivators and Building Foundation Stage Cultivators were slain. As for those in the Refinement Stage, there were too many to count.
"The operation was a major strike for the fame of Cultivators. We planted seeds of doubt and fear in the heart of countless Cultivators and ordinary people. Of course, it was a very successful mission!"
"But we've lost a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator!"
The Black King burst into fury and smashed the desk hard, as if he were trying to cross the space and smash the Lotus King's head into pieces, while he said, "We failed to reach out to Hellsword when we were retreating. There was no response when we sent messages to him through the dark net. In fact, there has been no response from him even to this day!
"In the meantime, Cultivators have confirmed that Sand Scorpion, the best warrior of the six tribes of Iron Plateau, detonated the crystal reactor of a 'Fire Tyrant Battlesuit' at a close distance during the battle with Hellsword in hope of dying together with him.
"Right now, the world of Cultivators has gone crazy and regard Sand Scorpion as a great hero and a fearless warrior. It is said that statues of Sand Scorpion will be built in Heavenly Saints City, and that movies featuring him will soon be made!
"Damn. In such a case, they must be very confident about their conclusion."
The Lotus King observed calmly, "I've read the report myself, but they didn't find Hellsword's crystal suit and his body."
The Black King glared at him. "It's simple. Hellsword was heavily wounded during the explosion and was not able to retreat with us. He could only hide himself and treat his wounds first!
"But it's been more than a month. Even the most serious wounds should be partly recovered now!
"We agreed on a secret code. As long as he posted several absolutely normal threads on certain websites, we would know his situation immediately.
"But until now, there's been nothing!
"Then, the only possibility is that he was so heavily wounded that he died eventually after he fled from the battlefield!
"A Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator. Nascent Soul Stage! Although at the beginning level, he was still a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator!
"Do you know how much time and effort I spent on him and how many benefits I promised him in order to recruit the lone wolf in the Nascent Soul Stage?
"But now, he has died an uncanny death, killed by a junior who was in the high level of the Core Formation Stage at best!"
The Lotus King was as calm as before. "Think about it positively. At least, he killed Sand Scorpion, too. Although Sand Scorpion's combat ability was in the Core Formation Stage at best, he was cruel and cunning, and he influenced enormous resources in space and on Iron Plateau. He should never be underestimated.
"In my mind, he was one of the top five troublemakers for our cause!
"Thankfully, he is dead now, with no ashes left whatsoever. I felt greatly relieved when I heard the news."
The Black King raise his voice. "What can Sand Scorpion's death help with anything? The real problem is that the Cultivators have initiated the Grand Illusionary Soldier Project ready to launch a counterattack!"
The Lotus King smiled. "Of course there is going to be counterattack. You didn't think that a visit of extraterrestrial devils could intimidate all the Cultivators and make them beg for mercy, did you?"
"I knew there would be counterattack, but I did not know that it was going to be so tricky, nor did I know that there would be such a thing as 'star brain' that could turn the puppets that were no better than scrap iron into reasonably good soldiers," the Black King replied gloomily. "If the Grand Illusionary Soldiers are stationed in every space zone and important trading route, the activities of the space pirates and us will face major problems.
"Over the past few days, I've even been wondering if we jumped out too early."
"Huh?"
The Lotus King's eyes turned narrower, longer, and sharper.
"Tactically speaking," the Black King said, "we secured one victory after another. We stagnated business, we ambushed towns, we assassinated Cultivators, and we even savaged Heavenly Saints City, the heart of the Flying Star Sector.
"However, the world of Cultivators is too large, and there are too many Cultivators. Maybe, we underestimated them. We exposed ourselves too early and infuriated them too early!
"Have we been too radical from a strategical point of view? Should we have kept hiding in the darkness for another several hundred years before we took any action?"
The Lotus King leaned forward, as if he was crawling out of the virtual light beam to the Black King's face. He asked coldly, one word after another, "Are you questioning our path?"
The Black King's body shook slightly before he burst into fury and yelled, "Of course not! The Immortal Cultivators are the only direction of mankind's evolution. I have never doubted that!"
"That's good." The Lotus King retreated and said, "Anyways, the battle of Heavenly Saints City has passed. For now, let's focus our attention on Spider Den. We must control the entirety of Spider Den and every space pirate!"
The Black King sniffed. "Control the entirety of Spider Den? The place is a total mess right now! Bai Xinghe is an out-and-out lunatic and does not know what is good for him at all. He refused the great path of immortality. The man is destined to be a bandit for the rest of his life!
"Now, Hellsword is dead, too!
"Before, of the three Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators, namely Hellsword, Fengyu Zhong, and Bai Xinghe, we had two under control.
"But Hellsword is dead. Fengyu Zhong is a newly-risen Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator. Even though he is supported by us, it will be an arduous task for him to defeat Bai Xinghe, the seasoned Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator and the notorious, wealthy 'Pirate Potentate' who has dominated Spider Den for thirty years!"
"Spider Den is must more than a nest for space pirates," the Lotus King said. "It is of paramount importance for us and must be under our full control!
"Kill Bai Xinghe whatever the cost!"
…
Meanwhile, in a secret dock somewhere in the Cross Wind Space Zone, Sparkle had been upgraded yet another time.
The purpose of the modification was not to increase the firepower or the speed, but to increase the computational ability of the mainframe crystal processor.
Right now, the mainframe crystal processor of Sparkle was even more advanced and sophisticated than that of the super space towns that could accommodate millions of people.
On the bridge, the shells of the five spectral Cultivators were standing aside, while their real entities, which were the mustard-seed level liquid metals, were rolling on the ground.
That was their favorite form.
"They found the scraps of Li Yao's crystal suit and concluded that Li Yao died after detonating his own crystal suit."
"However, it was not the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit but a Fire Tyrant Battlesuit that Li Yao modified himself."
"If Li Yao was truly at his wit's end, he would have been wearing the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit. Even if he detonated himself, it should have been the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit that has exploded!"
"So, Li Yao is not dead yet. Not dead. Hahahaha!"
Four clusters of liquid metals were twisting on the ground excitedly.
"Everyone!"
The largest cluster of liquid metal extended two hands that looked like sprouts and clapped them.
Mo Xuan said solemnly, "Right now, the speculations of Li Yao and me before the event have become reality one after another. Cultivators have indeed initiated the Grand Illusionary Soldier Project.
"Whatever secret motives are behind the project, we must take action immediately!
"The Immortal Cultivators are absolutely inhuman. Their creed is the opposite of ours.
"Besides, they have a deep grudge with Li Yao.
"If the Immortal Cultivators have the Flying Star Sector under their control, ordinary people will certainly be butchered, and we will be mired in trouble, too. There will be no telling when we can go back home.
"Therefore, from the perspectives of both ideology and personal interest, we must fight against the Immortal Cultivators until the end!
"In three days' time, the Grand Illusionary Soldier Project will open the original data and source code of the 'star brain'. That will be our best shot.
"I hereby announce that the 'Brain Concussion Plan' is officially activated!
"One day, Li Yao will be back. I hope that we can give him our full support when he is here!"
Chapter 708: Reborn in a Labyrinth |
In the depths of the Flying Star Sector, through more than ten fatal stone belts and areas where cosmic storms were active, somewhere near the Spider Den Space Zone, a fat 'black-behemoth' level carrier was avoiding the meteoroids at an amazing speed while flying toward Spider Den along a secret route.
The black-behemoth-level carrier was one of the thousand starships that had fled out of the tenth space ring of Heavenly Saints City a month ago.
Developed more than 180 years ago, the black-behemoth-level carrier was an old model. Since they were simple in structure and sturdy, many such carriers were purchased by dealers of second-hand starships when they were declared total losses, before they were repaired, modified, and sold again.
Many black-behemoth-level carriers were sold and resold almost ten times. After multiple times of modification, they often looked entirely different from what they were supposed to be.
That was exactly the case for this black-behemoth-level carrier.
In the space port of Heavenly Saints City, it was registered under a perfectly legal identity and claimed to be from a remote space town of a remote space zone.
There were few Cultivators in the space town. Most of the folks there were bumpkins who never went to cities.
All the files and data were real. If the Cultivators of Heavenly Saints City really went to the edge of the Flying Star Sector where the starship was registered, a bunch of farmers there would stand out and admit that they did own such a starship.
But in fact, the black-behemoth-level carrier belonged to the space pirates.
Hiding behind the plate armor that was full of patches were the deadliest crystal cannons and the most advanced, vigorous, and fastest power rune arrays.
After fleeing out of Heavenly Saints City, the starship returned to the remote space zone where it was registered after seven space jumps. Then, it hid itself on the back of a desolate planet for ten days to make sure that it had no followers before it performed another space jump and left the place.
During the twenty days after that, it had been cruising along a secret sailing route that only the space pirates knew.
Today, the carrier had finally reached the periphery of the Spider Den Space Zone.
The black-behemoth-level carrier, which had undergone tremendous modifications, boasted enormous power rune arrays that were disproportionate to its size. It had eighteen main power rune arrays, each of which was ten meters in diameter.
Other than them, there were more than five hundred ancillary power rune arrays to help the giant object move more swiftly.
Such an enormous group of rune arrays was stuffed into a carrier that was not designed to be so fast. Naturally, a complicated heat-emitting system was mandatory.
The black-behemoth-level carrier was installed with an air cooling system. A circle of cooling tubes that looked like a labyrinth surrounded the engine compartment and took up five times more space than the engine itself did.
As different power rune arrays functioned or halted, the tubes would spurt burning air currents hundreds of degrees high one moment and then freeze into a frigid hell of minus a hundred degrees the next moment. It was truly the roughest place in the world.
It appeared that no creature could survive in such a cruel world.
Right now, it was 4:33 p.m. in the standard time of the Flying Star Sector.
Li Yao turned off the refreshing music in his crystal processor and stretched his arms comfortably in the frost of one of the cooling tubes.
He sensed that the No.12 main power rune array in the engine compartment below him was functioning at 75% of its capacity.
It meant that the cooling tube he was hiding in would be filled with scorching air of 2,400 degrees in 13.3 seconds.
Besides, the air currents contained very corrosive components, which consisted of the waste gas from when the cooling liquids that the rune arrays employed were vaporized.
Even with the protection of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit, he would not be able to last for half an hour in such a high temperature and such fatal venomous gas.
On the other hand, the No.7 and No.8 power rune arrays on his right side had just spurted rapidly for acceleration.
According to the pattern that he discovered over the past month, the two power rune arrays would rest for at least an hour and function at only 30% of their capacity.
It meant that, as long as he passed the intersection 37 meters behind him in ten seconds and changed his position, he would be granted with at least another 49 minutes of peace.
Of course, that was only if the carrier did not run into any accident.
Li Yao still felt scared as he remembered the scene three days ago when the carrier was in a cosmic storm.
At that time, all the power rune arrays had been activated to the maximum. Sweltering venomous gas had raged inside the cooling tubes without any pattern.
He could only improve the activity of all the cells on his body to their maximum while holding back the excruciating pain of his bottom being roasted. He rushed among the cooling tubes and searched for a chance of survival in the deadly flames.
Compared to the adventure three days ago, the heat right now that was licking his face was merely a cool breeze during an autumn dusk.
Before the entire cooling liquid was consumed by fire, Li Yao turned into a streak of blackness and zigzagged to a new area that was temporarily safe.
"Hehe."
Sensing that burning air currents had rushed past him as if they were doing him a massage, Li Yao felt that his every cell stretched out like unfolding tea leaves that were put into hot water. He could not help but smile.
He had been lurking for a month in the cooling tubes of the carrier.
Over the past month, he would move in the cooling liquids every hour to dodge the hot stream and venomous gas in order to look for new place of survival.
Sometimes, he had to sprint every few minutes and search for the small area that was safe when 99% of the cooling tubes were filled with flames.
However, for some reason, struggling in such a harsh environment made Li Yao feel cheerier than when he was living a peaceful, carefree life in Flying Star University.
The peaceful life in Flying Star University was good, but it was short of something.
Maybe, he was born to live such a life, a life of walking beside a bottomless abyss and seeking safety amid peril.
"I'm alive again," Li Yao mumbled and took a long breath.
The air was smelly despite the multiple filters of the crystal suit, but it was no less intoxicating for him. With a fascinated expression, he repeated, "I'm alive again!"
Swoosh!
Li Yao crouched and turned into a black ball lightning, flashing inside the narrow cooling tubes. Now and then, he would draw a deadly curve with the tip of his left foot!
The sword art he had been practicing was different from his saber arts. It was more sordid and mysterious, like a viper without bones.
