Finishing his words, the stern-faced man abruptly cut the communicator. The bullet-shaped warship, with a sharp whistle, tore through the void, displaying astonishing speed as it hurtled toward the distance.
A cold light flickered in Nuwa’s eyes. Though she strove to keep her expression calm, faint blue veins pulsed beneath the skin of her hands and forehead. She subtly clenched her delicate fingers, her voice retaining little change as she softly commanded, “Accelerate.”
Hearing this composed order, Ye Chen inexplicably felt a prickling sensation on his scalp. He couldn't help a wry internal smile, realizing that it was an absolute truth: better to offend a villain than a woman!
The Heavenly Emperor’s Castle sped up, tearing through the void, yet it failed to catch the Demon Realm civilization’s vessel. Instead, Ye Chen detected traces of airflow left by other ships that had rushed past. As he observed the data displayed on the screen, his brow slowly furrowed. Judging by these aerial flow marks, the forces heading for Falling Leaf Peak this time were by no means few!
Whoosh!
The Heavenly Emperor’s Castle executed a short-range spatial jump. After flying for a while, it arrived before a magnificent, towering golden mountain peak. The sand and stone of this mountain were golden-yellow; every common grain of sand was high-concentration pure gold. Within the peak were numerous gold crystals and rare minerals—top-tier materials for forging weaponry.
Ye Chen looked out through the Heavenly Emperor’s Castle’s virtual light-screen at the vast mountain. He saw that the entire castle was like a speck of dust before it, minuscule to the point of being invisible.
“So this is Falling Leaf Peak…”
As the ship approached, Ye Chen noted that the peak was barren, supporting only a sparse scattering of trees and faintly visible towering weeds. From the mountain, he could dimly hear the mournful roars of beasts.
“To the summit,” Nuwa stated quietly.
Whoosh!
The Heavenly Emperor’s Castle abruptly surged upward, hugging the mountain face as it ascended against the slope, the ethereal white clouds whistling past the hull.
Fuxi gazed at the mountain’s rocky face, his expression grave. He murmured, “There is a dense aura of treasure qi permeating this entire peak. No single area is overwhelmingly concentrated, suggesting no single source. The artifact may not necessarily emerge at the summit. We should search the surroundings first, lest we reach the top only to confront other factions immediately, leaving us weakened for the ultimate prize acquisition.”
“Mhm,” Nuwa nodded slightly and instructed, “Deploy onto the peak and conduct a 'Swarm-and-Search' pattern.”
“Understood.” Adam bowed respectfully, then joined hands with the beautiful girl beside him to jointly pilot the Heavenly Emperor’s Castle. They brought it close to Falling Leaf Peak, piercing through a faint layer of airflow enveloping the mountain’s perimeter, finally reaching the entire massif. Though it was a mountain, it was essentially equivalent to a planet, possessing a slight natural atmosphere, the difference being one manifested as a sphere and the other as a peak.
Once inside Falling Leaf Peak, vast grasslands, sweeping great rivers, and smaller streams rushed beneath the Heavenly Emperor’s Castle. The vessel traversed at high speed, moving in an irregular pattern, scanning every grain of sand below using its radar system, yet finding nothing unusual.
Roar!
From a stretch of grassland, a tiger-like demonic beast covered in deep crimson fur suddenly leaped high, terrifying and fierce. Its razor-sharp claws struck towards the Heavenly Emperor’s Castle.
Encountering such a powerful beast during such rapid transit was an extremely dangerous event for an aircraft. Nuwa’s brow twitched slightly, and a flash of seven-colored light crossed her clear eyes. Before the monstrous beast could even land upon the hull, it was seized by a mysterious energy and hurled away.
“Such great agitation,” Fuxi chuckled lightly. “The castle itself could handle this. With its advanced systems, a simple energy wave from the shield would shatter it. Why exert yourself? Are you still concerned about what that man said?”
Nuwa’s delicate eyebrows knitted together. After a moment, she slowly shook her head. “No. It was that same person who led many Demon Realm elders to catch my clan completely off guard last time, resulting in Di Ku being severely wounded. If we ever have the chance, the Demon Realm civilization must not be allowed to remain!”
Fuxi nodded. “When those people from the Demon Realm civilization first tried to have their kin reincarnate among the descendants of our spiritual civilization, their attitude was incredibly polite. Now, facing this Ancient God’s Cave Mansion, they turn hostile without hesitation. It seems the entire Ancient World will tremble this time.”
The Yellow Emperor next to them remained silent, understanding the profound significance of the Ancient God’s Cave Mansion.
As they conversed, the entire mountain suddenly rumbled violently. Even the rapidly flying Heavenly Emperor’s Castle felt the intense vibrational wave, as if the very void were shuddering. For a moment, it was forced into emergency stop.
“The artifact is emerging!” Fuxi’s eyes lit up as he stood up.
Nuwa acted without hesitation. “Quickly, locate where the energy fluctuation is most violent!”
Adam’s fingers danced rapidly across the controls. In less than a second, he replied, “At the summit.”
“Go!” Nuwa urged swiftly.
Whoosh!
The Heavenly Emperor’s Castle moved with the swiftness of light, immediately engaging its jump drive, tearing open a corridor in the empty space. It gathered surrounding antimatter, creating a temporary stable wormhole for spatial transition.
Ye Chen’s vision plunged into darkness, and immediately afterward, he found himself in a vast grassland. Scenery rushed past the exterior, indicating the ship was moving at great speed.
“Has it appeared?” A glimmer shone in Ye Chen’s eyes. He glanced at Bai Yijun beside him; they exchanged a shared smile and clasped hands tightly.
Soon, the Heavenly Emperor’s Castle swept over fields stretching tens of millions of kilometers, reaching the mountainside of Falling Leaf Peak. Faint mist permeated the area, and the temperature turned somewhat frigid. Some edges of the castle hull were coated with biting frost and snow.
“Hm?” Ye Chen suddenly felt a sharp jolt in his heart, as if the flesh and blood beneath his sternum had suddenly twitched. He raised an eyebrow, calmed his mind, and examined it closely, finding no cause. He frowned slightly.
Just then, this strange sensation washed over him again. The blood inside his body began to slowly writhe. His entire circulation boiled and burned involuntarily, rushing toward his brain. His mind became somewhat congested and hyperactive. Ye Chen focused his powerful brainwaves, desperately trying to calm down, his brow deeply furrowed. “What is happening? My body is actually excited, as if being pulled by some mysterious energy.”
His brow tightly locked, he suddenly caught a flash of insight. Watching the scenery rapidly receding outside, he mused, “Could it be that something atop the peak is attracting me? Or is the emerging artifact somehow tethering my body? How can this be? What connection does my body have with these treasures?”
He frowned. By this time, the Heavenly Emperor’s Castle had reached the airspace above the peak. As it approached, it encountered a vessel from another civilization. Both sides detected the other but refrained from immediate conflict. After all, engaging in a life-or-death struggle here before securing the artifact would be hardly worthwhile.
Ye Chen peered through the virtual light-screen at the other ship and recognized it as belonging to an Epic Civilization. The entire vessel was inscribed with numerous radiant, mysterious energy runes.
The two ships were separated by only tens of millions of kilometers, and both accelerated to maximum velocity, hurtling toward the summit.
Whoosh!
The Heavenly Emperor’s Castle arrived above the peak. Looking into the distance, they could see a pillar of black light shooting straight up, connecting with the cloud layer across the entire sky, like an energy conduit reaching the firmament.
“The artifact!” Nuwa’s eyes flashed. “Hurry!”
“Yes!”
Whoosh!
The entire castle roared past, streaking toward the distant black column of light. Despite accelerating, Nuwa calmly instructed Adam to engage the signal exploration, jamming, and shielding systems to their maximum capacity, guarding against ambushes from other hidden civilizations.
As the Heavenly Emperor’s Castle drew level with the black energy sphere, the strange sensation within Ye Chen’s body suddenly intensified tenfold. His entire blood surged and burned, making him intensely excited, every cell in his body seeming to rejoice.
“It really is this emerging artifact,” Ye Chen thought with shock. “Why would my body react like this? Is there something within me that is identical to this?”
Ye Chen’s mind felt hazy as he frowned and pondered.
At this moment, as the Heavenly Emperor’s Castle closed in, many surrounding ships came into view. Looking out, countless colossal flying craft rushed past, all converging on the same location.
“…Hmph!” Nuwa’s expression hardened when she spotted the Demon Realm civilization’s vessel not far away. She let out a cold snort before turning her gaze back to the distant black energy sphere, her eyes holding both delight and apprehension.
A few minutes later, numerous vessels gathered before this black energy sphere. About ten million kilometers outside the colossal, sky-piercing black pillar of energy, several ships were anchored, displaying disparate identifying flags. Among them, a few flags were particularly striking: one was a vessel bearing a banner of flame—a symbol representing only one power: the Red Lotus Divine Temple! Beside it was the Earth Divine Hall, marked by a giant yellow axe, and the Heavenly Wood Empire, displaying a verdant divine tree!
Seeing these two banners, Ye Chen frowned, wondering if the Earth Hall Master and the Wood Withered Emperor had come this time. Although he hadn't directly fought the Wood Withered Emperor in the previous battle, he sensed instinctively that this elder was an exceptionally formidable figure!
Currently, all these ships were hovering ten million kilometers away from the black energy sphere, daring not to cross that line, as if the area within were forbidden ground. The Heavenly Emperor’s Castle also stopped alongside them. Nuwa gazed at the energy sphere thoughtfully. “It appears the treasure has not fully materialized yet. That makes sense; an artifact of this magnitude would take time to fully emerge.”
Whoosh, whoosh…
More ships rushed in from the distance. Upon seeing the still-emerging artifact, they all anchored in the surrounding area, hesitating to cross the ten-million-kilometer boundary, as if the space within were a forbidden sanctuary!