A sleek black-hued Dark Star Cruiser glided effortlessly through the narrow corridors between hundreds of neutron stars.

The clustered spheres, ranging from hundreds to thousands of kilometers in diameter, resembled a bunch of grapes strung together by invisible gravitational threads that wove an intricate web across space. The cruiser navigated these deadly celestial currents with the grace of a moth skimming water's surface - not disturbing even the tiniest ripple.

At times it skimmed mere meters above neutron star surfaces, where immense tidal forces and the ship's energy shields collided to create faint luminous trails in the void.

Within the core chamber, a mountain-sized shard of divine crystal pulsed with dim black light. Surging power from the crystal coursed through every system of the Dark Star Cruiser as thousands of translucent crystal panels flickered with argent data streams and holographic projections spanning three light-years.

Dozens of elegantly dressed youth floated in the chamber clad in skin-tight black suits, their slender forms darting between glowing interfaces to archive information or input commands. Complete silence reigned except for the soft hum of energy - until a corner of the room revealed two figures locked in primal congress.

The man's white skin was marred by taut muscles and bulging dark veins as he gripped his partner's shoulders, sending violent shockwaves through the chamber. A guttural groan echoed before they separated with mechanical efficiency. Micro-drones swiftly cleaned residual fluids while black energy surged over their bodies to reconstitute their uniforms.

"You've failed to produce offspring above 60% compatibility one hundred times already," he said flatly, "Any more failures will be punished."

The woman's face remained impassive as she responded: "We have a ninety percent chance of success this time."

They exchanged curt glances before joining the others at the crystalline interfaces. Their bodies moved like phantoms among glowing data streams with no further interaction between them.

Suddenly crimson emergency lights flooded the chamber while an emotionless voice announced: "Detected anomaly, initiate eradication protocol!"

The Dark Star Cruiser emerged from its neutron star passage past a dying red giant to reveal a massive planet where emerald pulses radiated from mountain ranges. Cracks spread across the surface as green mist and black vapors erupted from fissures, revealing two colossal arms emerging from beneath the mountains.

After fifteen minutes of excavation, a withered zombie rose through layers of rock wearing an extravagant celestial robe adorned with constellation patterns and gem-encrusted sashes. Its four skeletal wings billowed violent gales while its kilometer-tall form radiated green fire that incinerated all life in its path until only desiccated husks remained.

Within the cruiser, a recently finished "breeding task" participant examined the crystal projection of the creature with cold contempt.

"Another biological anomaly? What's its energy rating?" he asked, "Better be stellar-class or we'll waste too much power."

"The reading shows negative energy necrotic entity at first-stellar classification," the voice replied.

The man's face twitched before giving orders: "Divert 90% crystal energy for extermination!"

The massive shard erupted in blinding black light as its size rapidly diminished to a ten-meter core suspended in the chamber. Energy surged through weapon systems causing the entire ship to shudder under strain, forcing everyone to kneel from the gravitational shockwaves.

Beyond the planet's orbit, the cruiser's kilometer-wide armor rippled like water before revealing a trident-shaped crystalline lance extending kilometers long. Black lightning crackled along its surface as energy condensed into a thumbnail-sized black sphere that tore through space.

The green-skinned zombie suddenly lifted its head toward the void, roaring as it summoned an emerald sword hundreds of miles long to intercept the projectile. The collision shattered the weapon's blade while the black sphere pierced planetary defenses and struck the creature's skull with explosive force.

As the zombie collapsed into rubble, the cruiser deployed its crew who descended in various draconic forms - some transforming into six-winged bicolored dragons or multihorned serpentine beasts with twelve pairs of bat-like wings. They stripped the corpse bare while excavating treasures buried beneath mountains.

Among their finds was a thirteen-tier golden pagoda emitting pure energy that earned immediate praise from their leader: "Lucky find! This stellar-class relic will atone for any breeding failures."

While these creatures celebrated, an unseen observer watched them on another planet.

Guxiedust and the others stood atop a peak observing the distant battle through Guxiedust's enhanced vision. "This is the Council of Elders' elite force?" he mused, noting their hybridized forms.

Rasko from the Flameblood clan grimaced: "Genetic fusion has always been their strategy to cultivate new species."

The group remained silent until Rasko spat bitterly about forced breeding cycles and uncontrolled mutations. Even the eccentric Basin refused recognition of these creatures as kin.

"Back there is our final relay station," Guxiedust realized upon spotting the last teleportation array.

Navigating through the abandoned cruiser, they discovered far superior defensive systems than expected but posed no challenge for someone who'd studied ancient siege formations under a master. While the crew patrolled the surface hunting anomalies, they waited in an equipment storage bay masked by illusionary barriers.

Guxiedust meditated among recovered artifacts while Rasko refined his craft with Zakra crystals. Both knew these were the final stages of their mission - where every ounce of strength might determine survival against warriors whose transformed forms rivaled celestial beings in destructive potential.

After listening to Mao'e's account of the experiences with one's destined artifact, Gu Xiechen gained a deeper understanding of artifacts. Whenever he had spare time, he would meticulously refine various ancient treasures to enhance his combat prowess. He had collected hundreds of fragmented relics along the way, enough to serve him.

When an indeterminate amount of time passed and Gu Xiechen completed the refinement of seven ancient treasures, those young men finally finished plundering that planet. The dead starship resumed its patrol route, following fixed orbital patterns for a full year and three months.

Gu Xiechen maintained a divine consciousness on the surface of the dead starship, silently recording its patrol trajectory. Along this journey, the starship destroyed over a dozen so-called abominations - actually mutated zombies formed from remains of ancient immortal warriors and beasts, or lingering spirits born from residual resentment. Besides these creatures, the starship also supplied dozens of fixed outposts along its route with essential supplies for the garrison forces.

Each outpost housed between dozens to hundreds of young men. When the starship arrived, all pregnant women in the outposts were transferred aboard. The starship replenished an equal number of new girls to the outposts. The data collected on these women was exceptionally detailed - from their conception dates to energy fluctuations during pregnancy, emotional states, and even hormone levels.

After registration, these women were categorized into ten distinct attention tiers. Those in higher tiers received meticulous care with dedicated attendants and constant health monitoring. They dined on gourmet meals and fine wines while those in lower tiers still enjoyed basic accommodations in private cabins.

The two lowest-tier groups were placed in incubation chambers. These women subsisted solely on nutrient solutions while being injected with gene-modifying drugs daily, treated like experimental subjects for their developing fetuses. Yet both the administrators and the subjects accepted this as normal - even those writhing in pain from drug-induced mutations that caused scales and bone spurs to erupt across their skin.

When Gu Xiechen's hidden consciousness witnessed a girl in an incubation chamber suddenly disintegrate after her nine-headed serpent-like fetus attacked the laboratory, he no longer wanted to witness these violations of natural order.

"Damn the Council of Elders! What are they doing?" Gu Xiechen's hatred toward the council reached new depths. Through his interactions with members of the Flamefamily clan like Lasco, he learned some among these youths might be direct descendants of the Flamefamily - a clan known for its rebellious nature and now clearly resisting the council's oppressive rule.

After cursing the council's atrocities, Gu Xiechen devoted himself entirely to refining ancient artifacts. His cultivation progressed rapidly with the Yin-Yang Pearls constantly infusing his body with cosmic energies at an accelerated rate compared to Lasco and others.

Unbeknownst to him, when their ship suddenly came under attack, he had already broken through to Third Rank Immortal Sage level - possessing the clarity of Heaven's Child.

The dead starship violently shuddered as powerful attacks struck its hull. The tremors were so severe they disrupted everyone's cultivation, waking them all up. Piles of spare parts crashed down and walls warped while the metal floor rippled like water. Suddenly, cracks appeared in the deck beneath Gu Xiechen's feet.

Releasing his divine consciousness, he observed two beams of light - one black, one white - darting through space around the ship at impossible speeds. Their attacks shattered energy shields and battered the starship itself as it struggled to lock onto them with its main cannons.

The black beam suddenly struck the armor plating with thousands of rapid-fire impacts. A faint golden defense array activated briefly before being obliterated by the relentless assault, leaving the hull vulnerable. The several-kilometer-thick composite armor was pierced through multiple layers until the attack reached a critical chamber - the lowest-tier women's incubation facility where experimental drugs were administered.

The black-beamed attacker entered with sinister laughter, effortlessly dispatching the outpost guards who barely had time to react before being reduced to blood mist.

A two-meter-tall figure emerged from the darkness - an androgynous youth with porcelain-like skin and six pairs of pitch-black wings that shimmered with dark purple energy. His twin in white feathers followed immediately after.

The dual-winged figures exchanged grins then violently grabbed each other's hands before the black-winged one began his assault on the sleeping women. He roughly pulled a tall beauty from her incubation pod, devouring her lips like a starving beast while letting saliva drip down his chin.

The white-winged figure watched hungrily as drool formed at his own mouth. Reciting in an unknown tongue, he declared to a motionless woman:

"Dear lady, may I have the pleasure of some intimate physical contact with you?"

After another muttered confession about the woman's potential shyness, he smashed through her incubation chamber and gently laid her on the ground.

"Though your status is below my toe in every way, your beauty merits this humble attempt at physical union. Unfortunately, soul communication between our vastly different ranks seems impossible."

As both figures attacked their respective victims, Gu Xiechen transmitted his observations to Lasco via divine consciousness.

Lasco scoffed, "I've never seen such shameless creatures."

"Kill them?" he asked with a smirk.

After hesitation, Gu Xiechen summoned the Chaos Bell from above. After consuming countless resources across millions of planets, it had stabilized at two feet high and now floated ominously.

Flicking his finger against the bell, a low resonant tone spread through the ship. The elite guards collapsed while the attackers froze mid-action with stunned expressions.

In that moment, Gu Xiechen vanished from the chamber to appear before them. A peculiar black gourd emerged as he chanted an incantation, releasing shimmering tendrils toward their heads.

The two figures screamed as they convulsed - but suddenly bright light erupted from their bodies as strange twin swords of yin-yang energy materialized, creating barriers that protected their souls.

Smirking, Gu Xiechen identified them immediately.

"Typical Saint-Death Twin race. Their innate weapons and dual talents are indeed formidable."

The Chaos Bell's consciousness revealed these were twins from the ancient Saint-Death Twin species - a race born in pairs with opposing life/death powers. Each carried an inherent weapon that evolved through absorbing cosmic forces, making them nearly indestructible unless completely erased by fundamental laws.

Recognizing their unique threat level (their attacks bypassed 70% of standard defenses), Gu Xiechen struck the Chaos Bell eighteen times. The resulting chaos patterns shattered the twin swords before reabsorbing the surviving essence into the gourd.

After sealing their souls, he transformed the bodies with twin Buddhist relics - and - now inhabiting new vessels through chaotic forces that bridged dimensional differences between soul and body systems.

Hours later, the new occupants addressed Gu Xiechen:

"Leader, thank you for this second chance." ()

"Hey boss," moaned while continuing his movements, "my new body's way weaker than before - at least ten thousand times less powerful! Even my most important part shrunk three sizes!"