Second planet exploration. But the power held by that Luoqun Hall was too mysterious, and even after exhausting every means, Gu Yechen could not approach the Luoxi Hall. In the end, with no other recourse, after wasting several days, he ordered the fleet to continue its journey. Under Gu Yechen's instruction, the production of clone soldiers began aboard the mothership. These clone soldiers violated over three hundred laws and regulations of the Earth Federation, big and small.

But who on a super-mothership speeding through subspace at full throttle would spare a thought for the Earth Federation's laws?

Within the vast propagation bay, dense rows of cloning pods were arranged like a honeycomb. Inside each pod floated a silently suspended young man, tall, robust, his physique having achieved the perfect human state. Thick psychic probes were inserted into these soldiers' brains, repeatedly channeling mental suggestions of absolute obedience to all of Gu Yechen’s commands. Various combat skills were synchronously uploaded to their minds—from starship operation to special forces jungle survival tactics—every conceivable tactical skill was included, leaving nothing out.

》Kan Hua stood on the ringed sky-bridge along the cabin wall, a massive cigar clamped in his mouth, looking down upon these cloning pods with the gaze of a creator.

Every thirty-six hours, a batch of one million clone soldiers emerged from their pods. They expressionlessly dried themselves, donned their uniforms, and marched in perfectly straight ranks toward the upper chambers. There, veteran Federation martial arts instructors awaited them, where all clone soldiers would begin cultivating the sinister martial arts techniques specially tailored for them.

The so-called sinister martial arts were characterized by incredibly swift efficacy, lightning-fast power growth, immense killing force, and the comprehensive enhancement of soldiers' physical attributes, speed, reaction time, and other metrics.

Combined with specially formulated elixirs and nutritional agents, these clone soldiers, whose meridians were naturally unblocked, would reach the peak of Post-Heaven strength within a mere three months, achieving the level of a Pre-Heaven Fighter within six months. Upon entering the Pre-Heaven realm, their strength would advance by leaps and bounds, like a wild horse breaking free from its reins; relying on this technique, they were projected to possess the power of an Earth-level Fighter in about ten years.

Ten years later, these clone soldiers would be unable to control the tyrannical, fierce, and violent Zhenqi within their bodies, and their forms would self-destruct like bombs.

If any lucky survivors escaped the danger of Zhenqi self-detonation after ten years, the bio-bombs implanted in their brains would obliterate their lives.

And if any even luckier individuals had the biological bombs extracted from their brains, a dormant gene sequence hidden within their DNA would activate after ten years, causing them to perish within a mere three hours.

"These pathetic creatures... but expendables are just expendables!"

A batch of clone warriors had just stepped out of the cloning pods. Kan Hua gazed at their robust, tall bodies, every muscle seemingly chiseled by a blade, and sighed mournfully, "Since they are all consumables anyway, why not produce female clones? They would be much more pleasing to the eye, so much more pleasing! Tsk, tsk, big chests, big hips, perfectly formed figures—on the battlefield, strip off their clothes, and when the enemy hesitates for a moment, open fire! Tsk, tsk, a perfect tactic!"

In several other adjoining compartments, emerging from identical propagation pods, were insectoid soldiers with slightly darker skin that bore a faint sheen like an insect's carapace. Superficially, these soldiers looked no different from humans, but their physical structure was genuinely insectoid, endowing them with many unique insect traits.

These soldiers possessed powerful physiques the moment they were created; the resilience of their bodies could directly withstand the bombardment of large-caliber armor-piercing rounds.

They boasted tenacious vitality; they could survive for months in extreme environments such as deserts, snowfields, high mountains, or swamps without food or water. Furthermore, some insectoid soldiers could continue to function for several days and exert their full capabilities to complete their mission even after their heads had been severed, relying on the internal nerve-cord system.

They possessed terrifying strength. A tiny ant can lift a weight a hundred times its own mass. These specially gene-enhanced insectoid soldiers could, through pure muscular power alone, move metal ingots weighing tens or even nearly a hundred tons. The instantaneous explosive force of their fists could punch through several meters of standard alloy armor.

They possessed astonishing speed; they could easily run at supersonic velocities. Their reaction speeds were unmatched by ordinary beings; conventional heavy machine guns posed absolutely no threat to them, as they could clearly discern the trajectory of every metal bullet moving through the air and effortlessly evade them.

They also possessed strange abilities, such as carapace hardening for increased defense, the ability to spit highly corrosive venom, to expel odorless, invisible, and colorless toxic gas, or to manifest membranous wings for brief periods of flight.

In summation, the Insectoid Unit was a terrifying bio-weaponry army, whose capabilities were sufficient to render them horrifying harvesters of life. Consequently, their control was even more stringent: the clone soldiers had a lifespan of ten years, whereas the Insectoid Unit had a self-destruction timeline of one year, characterized by complete cellular and genetic level collapse—once destroyed, they would leave behind nothing but the most basic carbohydrate or silicon-based compounds, leaving no residual biological characteristics.

Lili became the supervisor of this Insectoid Unit. Into every insectoid warrior’s pod, Lili infused a stream of Pre-Heaven Green Wood Qi. Possessing this spiritual energy of destiny, the vitality of these insectoid warriors became exponentially more tenacious, their recovery rate became perversely enhanced, and all their attributes increased by at least threefold.

Clone soldiers and insectoid soldiers poured continuously from the propagation pods. Meanwhile, in another massive chamber, Dukat and Xiao were excitedly arguing. Dukat’s mental fluctuations directly interfaced with Xiao’s master control chip, allowing their thoughts to collide and merge hundreds of millions of times in an instant. The imaginative power of the human brain perfectly fused with the precise logic of electronic machinery as they designed newer propulsion systems, newer energy cannons, and newer energy shields.

The technology of the Star Alliance’s Four-Star Civilization, the technology of the Roman Kingdom provided by Pol Pot, and the technological system of the Earth Federation were gradually synthesized under their efforts, progressively giving rise to a unique bloom of civilization. Dukat even incorporated elements of the formations and artifact refining methods used by Daoist cultivators into their new equipment, forging a completely novel technological system destined to astound observers.

And the orchestrator of all this, Gu Yechen, was secluded in a top-secret chamber, simultaneously guarding Fuya Ming and racking his brain to repair the thirty-six destroyed Golden Armor Puppets.

Fuya Ming had entered a deep state of cultivation; her refinement of the Sheyuan True Canon had reached its final juncture, on the verge of attaining the supreme state of "Five Qi Returning to the Origin." Once she completed the cultivation of the Sheyuan True Canon, Gu Fuya Ming’s physical body had already been transformed into one most suitable for cultivation. With the power of the Grand Yin Dark Pearl used to lay her foundation, it would be easy to guide her into the cultivation of the Grand Yin True Scripture.

Of course, without the Grand Yin Dark Pearl as an auxiliary implement, Fuya Ming’s cultivation progress would be slower than Gu Yechen’s, but still much faster than that of ordinary Dao cultivators. As for the Grand Yin Dark Flame, that was something even Gu Yechen had no immediate solution for. Lacking a Pre-Heaven Body, Fuya Ming could not withstand the corrosion of the Grand Yin Dark Flame. The only hope of possessing such a potent Pre-Heaven power lay in Fuya Ming cultivating the Heaven scroll of the Grand Yin True Scripture herself in the future and then painstakingly condensing it.

The chamber was protected by layers upon layers of formidable formations, with the Qilin Seal, specifically designed to counter extraterrestrial Heavenly Demons, serving as the core of these grand arrays. Fuya Ming resided at the heart of the formation, her safety absolutely guaranteed.

Gu Yechen sat cross-legged beside Fuya Ming, his brow furrowed as he stared at the wreckage of the thirty-six floating Golden Armor Puppets before him. The Grand Yin Dark Flame swirled slowly around him, causing the surrounding air to condense into pale blue snowflakes that slowly drifted down. The sparks of the thirty-six Golden Crow Heavenly Fires flickered within the remains of these puppets, their red halos encircling Gu Yechen. The blue snowflakes, upon approaching this red light, were instantly vaporized into gas that rose to the ceiling, only to condense back into snowflakes and fall again.

This cycle repeated endlessly as Gu Yechen immersed his entire focus into the myriad profound artifact refining techniques within the Tianqi Collection, which naturally included the methods for forging these thirty-six Golden Armor Puppets.

Gradually, Gu Yechen understood every refining technique in the Tianqi Collection with crystal clarity, and time passed silently for three months. Yet, Gu Yechen still could not find a method to repair these Golden Armor Puppets. Methods existed, and materials were not lacking, but Gu Yechen’s current cultivation was insufficient. Even possessing the Grand Yin Dark Flame, flawlessly repairing these puppets using the ready-made means in the Tianqi Collection required Gu Yechen to possess at least the cultivation of a Golden Immortal. But if he possessed Golden Immortal cultivation, why would he need these Heavenly Immortal-grade puppets?

Shaking his head in frustration, Gu Yechen set aside the techniques in the Tianqi Collection and sank his consciousness into the vast, boundless Great Desolation Scripture.

As a result, in just half a month, Gu Yechen discovered a method within the Great Desolation Scripture that perfectly suited his current conditions. He burst into ecstatic laughter toward the sky and immediately set to work.

First, he completely pulverized the remains of the thirty-six Golden Armor Puppets, extracting the Golden Crow Heavenly Fire seeds and allowing them to merge back into one. A scorching miniature sun instantly appeared in the cabin. If not for the protection of the heavy formations and the hundreds of Grand Yin Talismans blocking the extreme heat released by this miniature sun, it is likely that the super-mothership carrying Gu Yechen would have been vaporized into a wisp of smoke instantaneously; the power contained within this fire seed was truly overbearingly dominant.

Next, Gu Yechen took out all of the Pre-Heaven Sacred Blood—roughly two thousand cubic meters. He carefully cast the Golden Crow fire seed into the Pre-Heaven Sacred Blood. In that moment, it was as if a spark had fallen into a pot of boiling oil; the two thousand cubic meters of Pre-Heaven Sacred Blood violently churned, igniting in a furious blaze in the blink of an eye, releasing a heat and blinding light so intense that it almost instantly melted Gu Yechen’s own physical body.

Fortunately, Gu Yechen possessed numerous protective treasures. He hastily forced out the Grand Yin Dark Pearl, which easily resisted the power of the Pre-Heaven Sacred Blood.

An ancient, desolate chant erupted from Gu Yechen’s lips. The sound of this chant carried the grit of the primeval desert wind, the sound of the vast primeval forests swaying in the breeze, and even the prayers of the ancient pioneers of antiquity. A majestic and strange power slowly emanated with this single chant. Gu Yechen formed intricate, bizarre hand seals, striking streams of purplish-black light into the Pre-Heaven Sacred Blood, causing its volume to continuously shrink. In the blink of an eye, it was reduced to less than ten cubic meters.

The consequence of the reduced volume of Pre-Heaven Sacred Blood was that the heat and intense light it spewed became even more ferocious. The light condensed into a tangible form, slicing like blades against the Grand Yin Dark Pearl suspended above the Sacred Blood, eliciting countless ripples and screeching sounds of clashing metal.

Gu Yechen’s body trembled violently. He gritted his teeth, channeling every ounce of strength to urge the Primordial Turbid Qi and Primordial Clear Qi stored in his cells, constantly converting them into Grand Yin Dark Gang to replenish his depleted power. His Zhenyuan rapidly depleted, yet it also recovered rapidly. In this very process of depletion and recovery, Gu Yechen’s cultivation of the Grand Yin True Scripture was advancing by leaps and bounds.

Soon, the Pre-Heaven Sacred Blood was refined into a viscous gel resembling melted crystal, within which countless black-and-purple, bizarre runes floated. Each rune was faintly connected to Gu Yechen’s spiritual consciousness; he felt an effortless, commanding connection to this gelatinous mass, able to manipulate it as if it were an extension of his own will. “Excellent!” Sensing the terrifying energy fluctuations emanating from this mass, Gu Yechen praised it with satisfaction.

With another mental command, the Haotian Pagoda, concealed deep within Gu Yechen’s sea of consciousness, suddenly emitted a faint green light. This faint green light sliced like a sharp blade, excising a piece of flesh from the heart of the Sun True God, whose physical body was housed in the pagoda's first level. Relative to the Sun True God’s enormous frame, the piece of flesh excised was as insignificant as a sesame seed falling from the Earth, but to Gu Yechen, it was a massive chunk of flesh tens of miles across, radiating scorching flames and overwhelming power!

This was the heart tissue containing the Sun True God’s last drop of Pre-Heaven Sacred Blood—the most vital and active tissue, identical to the God’s form when he was alive.

Gu Yechen retrieved this large piece of flesh and immediately used the esoteric method from the Great Desolation Scripture to refine and compress it into a single mass. The Grand Yin Dark Flame slowly tempered this flesh, gradually condensing it into a meatball about a hundred meters in diameter, and within it, channels resembling meridians, blood vessels, and other bodily structures were formed.

With a chant imbued with ancient sorrow, Gu Yechen spat out a mouthful of vital heart blood and sprayed it onto the mass of flesh that was continuously writhing and merging. The condensed Pre-Heaven Sacred Blood writhed like a living thing, swiftly lunging toward the chunk of flesh of the same origin and sharing the same aura. Gu Yechen commanded in a low voice: "Return to Origin, Refine Spirit to Serve, Heavenly Star Configuration, Congregate My True Form!"

As Gu Yechen chanted, he tore open his own chest and gently pulled a small slit over his heart, sprinkling three drops of his heart’s essence blood onto the writhing, merging mass of flesh. The three drops of heart blood immediately merged into the mass, and Gu Yechen faintly felt that he had become one with this flesh. In normal space, the stars corresponding to the Twenty-Eight Mansions of the Zhou Tian Constellations ripped through the spatial barrier and plunged into subspace. In the blink of an eye, twenty-eight streaks of strange light shot directly into the super-mothership where Gu Yechen resided, illuminating him and the mass of constantly wriggling flesh.

Kacha! A tenth of the volume of Gu Yechen’s Soul Orb suddenly separated. Excruciating pain surged into his soul, causing Gu Yechen to let out a miserable howl. He struggled to focus his spirit, placing all his attention on this separated piece of the Soul Orb, controlling it as it flew out of the Haotian Pagoda and shot into the flesh before him.

In the blink of an eye, the Soul Orb disintegrated within the flesh, dissolving into a mass of five-colored light that completely enveloped it.

Under the illumination of the misty, silvery starlight, the flesh convulsed violently, releasing intense light and heat. Gradually, the flesh took on a semi-transparent energy state. It rapidly transformed its image, and the shape of a large bird with long feathers began to emerge from the intense light. The phantom of this great bird frantically drew upon the stellar energy of the Twenty-Eight Mansions, and gradually, its form became clearer and more distinct, down to the minute details of every feather.

It was a strange bird, possessing three sharp talons, entirely golden-red, radiating boundless majesty, immense light, and heat—a Three-Legged Crow.

Although called a crow, this bizarre bird bore a crown of feathers like a Phoenix on its head, and its tail trailed dozens of long plumes. Its elegant majesty bore no resemblance to a common crow whatsoever. It hovered before Gu Yechen, carrying an aura of ancient nobility with every glance, like an ancient monarch who had just crawled out of his sarcophagus.

Rings of red fire waves spread outward from the Three-Legged Crow’s surface—magnificent and powerful, making Gu Yechen feel like an insignificant ant, capable of being annihilated by this creature in an instant. Heavenly Immortal-level power—according to the memories of the Grand Yin True Monarch, this Three-Legged Crow also possessed Heavenly Immortal-level strength, but its power was countless times stronger than those Golden Armor Puppets. Even among Heavenly Immortals, there were vast differences in strength; a top-tier Heavenly Immortal could be tens of thousands of times stronger than an ordinary one.

The Fire of the Golden Bird, the heart flesh of the Sun True God, combined with that massive drop of Pre-Heaven Sacred Blood, and complemented by Gu Yechen’s three drops of heart essence blood and one-tenth of his soul origin, created this formidable being resembling a clone or perhaps even a second primordial spirit of Gu Yechen. Its body existed between a physical form and an energy form. Although it possessed no other specific spells or divine abilities, the Golden Crow Heavenly Fire churning around it provided terrifying killing power. Its physical body was even more robust; Gu Yechen could not gauge its current level, but the current Gu Yechen absolutely could not inflict any harm upon it. Satisfied, Gu Yechen nodded at the extraordinarily majestic and unique creation.

The Three-Legged Crow nodded, smiled almost humanly at Gu Yechen, and rapidly shrank its body. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into an ordinary sparrow the size of a fist, emitting no energy fluctuations, and landed softly on Gu Yechen’s shoulder. The form it manifested was dull gray, its feather color and shape identical to a common sparrow, and its movements were sluggish, as if it had just finished a satisfying, heavy meal.

However, if anyone were to mistake this creature for an ordinary sparrow, the most tragic encounter of their life would surely await them.

“I’ll call you Fire Crow. Hmm, since we are one entity, the name being a bit crude doesn’t matter,” Gu Yechen gently flicked the Three-Legged Crow’s head, teasing it lightly.

The Fire Crow stared blankly at Gu Yechen like a sparrow too full to bother flying, its eyes and brows showing only dullness.

The twenty-eight Mansion starlight, like silk and mist, still enveloped Gu Yechen. Among them, several streams of starlight were particularly frigid and cold, faintly resonating with the Grand Yin True Scripture. Gu Yechen pondered for a moment, cross-referencing the techniques in the Grand Yin True Scripture and recalling the memories of the Grand Yin True Monarch, before finally carefully drawing several streams of this inherently cold starlight into his body.

This starlight was scarce in quantity, but the power it contained was immensely vast. As the thin starlight entered his body, Gu Yechen felt a sharp pain shoot through all his meridians. Vast energy erupted from the starlight, almost bursting his physical body. Furthermore, the ruthless, sharp essence contained within the starlight aggressively sliced at his body, making him feel as though his flesh were pork on a butcher’s block, being hacked and chopped by several drunken, crazed butchers.

Amidst the intense pain, Gu Yechen hastily summoned back the Grand Yin Dark Pearl and submerged it into his Dantian.

Once the Grand Yin Dark Pearl entered his body, the rampaging starlight immediately smoothed out. Like weary birds returning to their nests, they obediently flowed into the Grand Yin Dark Pearl, transforming into streams of pure and massive Grand Yin Dark Gang that circulated throughout Gu Yechen’s body, gradually nourishing his flesh and strengthening his cultivation.

Simultaneously, certain information hidden within the starlight was extracted by the Grand Yin Dark Pearl and fed back into Gu Yechen’s sea of consciousness.

Pre-Heaven Primordial Chaos; the desolate world was first opened. Twenty-eight great stars were nurtured and born from the boundless Primordial Clear and Turbid Qi. Within each great star, a remarkable Pre-Heaven lifeform arose. These twenty-eight great stars gradually drifted through the cosmos, eventually settling in a void. Their stellar energies radiated outward into the surrounding void, and gradually, due to their shared origin and lineage, the stellar energies of the twenty-eight great stars became intertwined, forming an inseparable whole.

They shared everything they saw, everything they comprehended, selecting from the truths realized by their many companions the Path that resonated most deeply, gradually following that Path to cultivate their own unique power. Though their physical forms were still gestating within celestial bodies, their divine consciousness spanned the boundless void, perceiving the magnificent Dao from the moment heaven and earth were first separated.

Gu Xiechen's hermitage was drawn into that immense, boundless starry expanse, and he witnessed countless things. The transformation of seas into plains, the ebb and flow of time and space—everything was so magnificent and awe-inspiring, beyond mortal imagination.

More and more starlight converged from all directions. This starlight followed the pathways of the Taiyin Qi (Great Yin Essence), evolving into pure Yin starlight. Without hesitation, Gu Xiechen drew all this starlight into his body, using the power of the Taiyin Xuanzhu (Mysterious Pearl of Great Yin) to refine every particle of starlight into one unified force, which steadily nourished his frame.

Time passed moment by moment; Gu Xiechen’s cultivation continuously advanced, while his Soul Treasure tirelessly extracted the information embedded within the starlight, growing rapidly like bamboo shoots in a spring night. Gradually, a grayish-white radiance began to emanate from within Gu Xiechen, causing his skin to peel away layer by layer.

A plume of white vapor shot out from the crown of Gu Xiechen's head. Within this white vapor, a swirling mass of five-colored energy carried his Soul Treasure, now the size of a fist, bobbing and dancing aloft.

A spectral projection of the Haotian Pagoda materialized around the Soul Treasure. With a deep thud, a massive surge of five-colored energy erupted from the Soul Treasure and was absorbed into the pagoda, making the Pagoda's form sharper. Beams of azure light continuously showered down from the Haotian Pagoda. Gu Xiechen’s body absorbed this clear azure light, and the white radiance emanating from within him grew increasingly intense.

Finally, the starlight absorbed by Gu Xiechen reached its limit, and a golden shackle suddenly appeared on the surface of his physical body.

This shackle traversed his meridians and key acupoints, subtly glowing with several profound and ineffable runes.

Gu Xiechen opened his eyes, and two white beams pierced the darkness several feet away. Within his crimson irises, twenty-eight great stars could be vaguely seen rapidly revolving. He extended his right hand, grasped the base of the spectral Haotian Pagoda, and brought it down forcefully onto his own forehead.

With a crisp sound like a shattered jade vase, the azure light of the Haotian Pagoda intensified, shattering the golden shackles on Gu Xiechen’s body into dust. A mysterious and indescribable aura surged forth from Gu Wuchen’s body. White clouds began to float beneath him, and streams of auspicious light descended from above his head. His entire being seemed to merge with the air; even when looking directly at him, it was difficult to discern whether his body truly existed in that space.

The final chapter of the Taiyin True Scripture, Human Character Scroll, was broken through. Gu Wuchen, leveraging the starlight of the Twenty-Eight Mansions, forcefully drew upon the power of the Taiyin Xuanzhu to complete the cultivation of the entire Taiyin True Scripture, Human Character Scroll.

A spark of enlightenment flowed from the depths of his soul, and Gu Wuchen unconsciously murmured the words: "When Primordial Chaos opened, the Heavenly Dao established the rules; the Shackles of the Grand Beginning separate Heaven and Man." "Heh, hehehe!" Gu Wuchen jeered softly, "So the shackles upon us Post-Heaven beings are the very rules you established. Hmph, no wonder the cultivation path in later ages is so arduous!"

Taking a deep breath, Gu Xiechen drew all the anomalous phenomena surrounding his body back inward; his external appearance returned to normal.

With the Human Character Scroll achieving completion (Dacheng), Gu Xiechen’s realm successfully broke through the Void Realm and reached the legendary Celestial Immortal stage. He couldn't help but smile, suddenly exhaling a stream of star-light auspicious energy so substantial it seemed tangible. His Taiyin Robe, the Five Waters Dragon Whisker Fan, the Taiyin Thorn, the Azure Lotus Ring, and the True Magnet Two Energies Separating Light Sword—all now refined into his natal magical artifacts—rapidly absorbed this auspicious energy. For a moment, brilliant lights shimmered around him again, flares shooting out several zhang meters. As his power increased, his natal artifacts also quickly advanced in grade.

Seated cross-legged in the cabin, Gu Xiechen frowned and pondered for a while. Then, he suddenly pointed a finger, imprinting the techniques of the Taiyin True Scripture, Human Character Scroll, deep into the souls of Fuya and Ming. He swiftly summoned the Taiyin Xuanzhu and slowly infused a stream of pure Taiyin Qi into Fuya-Ming's body, allowing it to integrate with every cell of Fuya-Ming.

Nourished by this strand of Taiyin Qi, Fuya-Ming’s skin suddenly emitted a white glow, and her entire body became exceptionally fair, soft, and resilient, as if condensed from ice and snow. Even the surface of her hair was veiled in a thin layer of white light, resembling a delicate sheet of white glazed tile.

The seed for cultivating the Taiyin True Scripture had been planted in Fuya-Ming. According to Gu Wuchen's estimation, even with sufficient spiritual energy nourishment, it would take Fuya-Ming at least a hundred years to reach his current realm. Possessing the Hanyuan True Codex to improve her physique, having the techniques of the Grand Beginning level, and now having the cultivation seed condensed by Gu Xiechen, she still required a century to enter the ranks of Immortals. It was no wonder that the Dao Alliance had not seen a single successful ascension in thousands of years.

Glancing up at the ceiling, Gu Wuchen suddenly smiled strangely: "No, it's not time yet. Ascend now? Does he take me for a fool?"

Taking a deep breath, the Haotian Pagoda suddenly cast a sheet of azure light to envelop Gu Wuchen’s body, completely isolating his aura. Unless Gu Wuchen willed it, no one in the entire world could sense his existence.

The Super Mothership suddenly shuddered. After a long journey spanning several months, the fleet composed of twelve Super Motherships had successfully arrived in the Spiral Starfield, emerging from the nearest available warp point to the Yaphic Kingdom. Almost the instant the Super Motherships cleared subspace, the ship's communication system intercepted a large volume of plain-text messages: The Rebel Forces of the Rewu Kingdom have breached the capital. The Rewu royal family has been forced to flee and is currently rushing toward the Yaphic capital. The current King of Rewu is broadcasting an open message to all quarters, requesting military intervention from the Yaphic Kingdom and other members of the Fourteen-Nation Alliance to suppress the rebellion.

As if fate intended it, the warship carrying the fleeing Rewu royal family happened to fly past Gu Xiechen's fleet. This contingent, consisting of fifty Star Alliance Class-One warships, was flying frantically toward Yaphic Star when the twelve Super Warships abruptly jumped out beside them.

Gu Xiechen’s divine sense swept across the star sector instantly, and he mentally transmitted to Dukat's mental projection, "Annihilate them all! It saves us the trouble!"

Dukat's psychic energy was currently linked with Xiao Xiao. Upon receiving Gu Xiechen’s command, a red light flashed in Dukat's eyes, and Xiao Xiao immediately gave a sharp cry.

All twelve Super Motherships simultaneously activated every single weapon port. A thousand cannons fired as one. The fleet carrying the Rewu royal family vanished into the boundless void before they could transmit a single follow-up message. A small meteor swarm passing three hundred light-seconds ahead happened to be caught in the residual blast, instantly vaporizing the meteors. In space, a patch of empty stardust was newly created.

With a soft hum, Fuya-Ming awoke from her deep meditative state, stretching lazily, and gave Gu Xiechen a sweet smile. Gu Xiechen walked to Fuya-Ming’s side, gently took her hand, and pressed his lips firmly against her petalsoft, fragrant mouth. After a long, deep kiss, Gu Xiechen asked softly, "Did you remember all the steps clearly?"

Fuya-Ming smiled and nodded: "Rest assured, I remember everything. But are you certain our conventional fleet can withstand an intervention fleet from a foreign power?" Gripping Fuya-Ming’s waist firmly, Gu Wuchen smiled, "Relax, there absolutely won't be any problems."

Fuya-Ming nodded to Gu Wuchen and tightly linked her arm with his as they walked out of the cabin. At the moment of stepping out, Fuya-Ming suddenly remarked, "Jin is a very well-behaved girl." Gu Xiechen's body stiffened abruptly, and he said coldly, "Her father nearly killed us."

After a long silence, Gu Wuchen finally sneered, "I just want the truth... and her father must pay the price!" Perched on Gu Wuchen's shoulder, the Fire Crow squawked mockingly. She remembered that when they set out, this little creature hadn't been accompanying Gu Xiechen. However, Fuya-Ming's divine sense swept over the Fire Crow several times and found it to be just an ordinary sparrow. She assumed Gu Xiechen had adopted it as a pet out of boredom and paid it no mind.

The hatches of the twelve Super Motherships were wide open, and one hundred Roman Super Warships, freshly repainted, slowly glided out from within the Motherships. These warships, reaching an astonishing length of 100,000 meters, had all undergone comprehensive modification by the Earth Federation; their exteriors, propulsion systems, and command structures were completely overhauled, resulting in a definite boost to their combat effectiveness.

Each warship was staffed with five hundred control personnel, one thousand damage control and logistics troops, and five thousand internal defense combat units. These soldiers were all clones—clones absolutely obedient to orders and utterly fearless of death. While these soldiers might lack individual initiative, needing orders for every move, they were undeniably the finest killing machines, executing commands with the most precise and direct means possible, regardless of cost.

Accompanying the release of these one hundred Super Warships were one thousand Class-One warships, each six thousand meters long. These Class-One warships were also built by the Earth Federation. Their designs integrated Star Alliance technology, Roman engineering, and Earth Federation creativity, particularly utilizing vast amounts of innate materials in their hull structures, making their individual combat capability ten times that of Gu Xiechen’s former Honghuang-class warship.

In addition to these warships, another one hundred massive transport ships slowly emerged. These transports carried five million cloned soldiers, three hundred thousand insectoid soldiers, and countless supporting war machines.

Gu Wuchen, along with Fuya-Ming, Du Kahua, Daoist Xiao Zhang, and Daoist Zhengyi, arrived aboard the flagship of this fleet—the Shield of Yaphic. The Super Mothership Shield of Yaphic had also received a full refit from Dukat, significantly enhancing its operational performance. At this point, the Shield of Yaphic truly lived up to its name as the shield of the Yaphic Kingdom. Upon Gu Wuchen's command, the fleet swiftly steered toward the main Yaphic Star.

Meanwhile, Dukat, Lili, and Xiao Xiao controlled the remaining eleven Super Motherships, which carried over a billion carefully selected Earth citizens. They cautiously bypassed the vigilance networks of various nations in the Spiral Starfield, heading toward a weak two-star civilization's subordinate planet located between the Yaphic Kingdom and the Rewu Kingdom.

This two-star civilization possessed a fleet of nearly a hundred small warships and a total population of about 240 million. Their home planet boasted beautiful natural scenery, was roughly twice the diameter of Earth, and was famous for producing Darlisa Grass, a skin-nourishing elixir highly sought after by the female population of high-level Star Alliance civilizations.

While the women of the Star Alliance believed Darlisa Grass to be merely a cosmetic miracle cure, to cultivators like Gu Wuchen, Darlisa Grass was known as the 'White Jade Fungus' (Baiyuzhi)—a spiritual herb that promoted longevity and cleansed the marrow, typically only growing in Grotto-Heavens rich with spiritual energy. This planet was carpeted with Baiyuzhi, with several pieces hidden in almost every clump of grass, indicating the terrifying richness of the spiritual veins buried beneath the surface.

Even more ideal was the fact that the native inhabitants shared the same black hair, yellow skin, and dark eyes as the citizens of the Gu Kingdom, showing almost no discernible outward difference. If they could secretly control the rulers of this planet, a billion descendants of the Gu family could propagate and thrive there without alarming anyone.

Given the spiritual veins hidden within this planet, it could support the creation of thousands of Grotto-Heavens similar to Kunlun or Zhongnan Mountain. This would become the first base in Gu Xiechen's grand plan.

Setting aside Dukat and his contingent, Gu Wuchen's massive fleet also proceeded cautiously toward the Yaphic Kingdom. Every probe encountered along the way was destroyed, and several reconnaissance vessels from neighboring civilizations were shot down by the triangular superluminal fighters carried by the fleet. The fleet disturbed no one, and under the cover provided by Xin Jia and others, it landed upon a vast ocean on the main Yaphic Star. The Four Demon Generals, the Five Xin Brothers, plus Holm and Linghu, made their way into the warships to pay respects to Gu Wuchen.

The Four Generals of Wind, Rain, Thunder, and Lightning let out joyful shouts upon seeing the Four Demon Generals (Mo Family Brothers). After the Mo Family Brothers completed their deep bows to Gu Wuchen, the Eye of a Thousand Miles, the Ear of Clairaudience, and the Four Generals of Wind, Rain, Thunder, and Lightning rushed forward to exchange greetings with the Mo Brothers. They were old acquaintances from their time in the Heavenly Court: the Wind, Rain, Thunder, and Lightning Generals frequently went to the South Heaven Gate to summon rain and mist, while the Eye of a Thousand Miles and Ear of Clairaudience often loitered near the gate, monitoring the movements of the lower realms. To use a cliché phrase, these individuals shared a deep friendship forged by shared history.

The Five Xin Brothers, whose status back then wasn't high enough to converse with the Wind, Rain, Thunder, and Lightning Generals, mumbled a respectful address ("Honored Superior") to Gu Xiechen before lining up stiffly behind him. Seemingly returned to this familiar position, Xin Jia’s mood lifted considerably, and he let out a couple of hearty laughs.

Holm and Linghu also approached. Just as they were about to salute Gu Wuchen, a small figure suddenly darted out from under their arms.

"Hey, generous and wise Wuchen, Lord Gu, do you still remember your loyal and diligent Boluobolu?"

Dressed in a luxurious robe and wearing rings set with pure silver and gems on every finger, Boluobolu hopped forward to greet Gu Xiechen.

"I have brought a guest—the leader of the Rewu Kingdom's Counter-Conquest Army, His Grace Duke Nuyan, who was a hereditary Duke of the Rewu Kingdom back then. With our funding, he has successfully expelled the former King of Rewu. With your support, he can ascend smoothly and become the new King of Rewu!"

A tall, imposing old man, emanating the aura of iron and battlefield grit, strode forward and nodded coldly at Gu Xiechen.

"On behalf of the billions of subjects of the Rewu Kingdom, I thank you for all you have done for us. We pledge to be steadfast allies of the Yaphic Kingdom, and we are willing to—"

Gu Wuchen interrupted Duke Nuyan’s formulaic diplomatic speech. He scanned the Duke coolly and said indifferently, "Submit to the Yaphic Kingdom, and you may live out your remaining years as a respectable manor lord. Otherwise, death!"

When Gu Wuchen spoke these words, it was as casual as discussing what to have for dinner; his tone was so flat it left no room for reaction. Duke Nuyan froze, staring at Gu Wuchen in disbelief.

Linghu smiled faintly, shaking his head with mocking amusement.