Greeting Gu Xichen with a broad, grinning smile, he bowed slightly. Gu Wuchen shook his head, unable to say much to such an indolent individual.

The Death Star Ship continued its patrol route, the youths aboard unaware of the true sequence of events. Gu Xichen had deliberately fabricated traces suggesting the black-and-white intense light that supposedly attacked the ship had only made off with a few spare Divine Crystals and spirited away a dozen girls from their cultivation pods before vanishing without a trace.

The youths on board had been knocked unconscious by the shockwave; upon waking, they could only deduce the 'truth' from the clues Gu Wuchen had intentionally left behind. After reporting the supposed attack to the high echelons of the Elder Council, the Death Star Ship completed three more months of patrolling before awaiting the arrival of their replacement.

This Death Star Ship immediately engaged full speed, retracing its path back to their base for thorough repairs. Though the patrol had taken over a year, this Death Star Ship’s return speed was astonishingly fast.

Along the way, it passed through seven fixed secret stellar gates, suddenly breaking free from the star cluster so densely packed with planets it felt suffocating, emerging into a vast, empty expanse of space. This spherical region measured about a hundred light-years in diameter.

At the exact center hung a black hole with a diameter of several hundred thousand kilometers. The black hole, resembling an octopus, extended dozens of massive black light-ribbons, each billions of kilometers long, reaching in all directions.

Vast amounts of stellar dust were sucked into these ribbons, silently vanishing from this sector of the universe. Over a thousand Death Star Ships floated in this void.

Countless battleships of varying sizes and all manner of bizarre flying craft bustled in and out of this space, their activities a mystery. A continent composed purely of metal floated in the void, roughly circular, with a diameter of about a million kilometers.

An immense energy shield enveloped the landmass, creating an extremely comfortable living environment within. On this continent, there were mountains, rivers, flowers, and grass, punctuated by cities large and small—truly picturesque with an exceedingly pleasant climate.

A water-mirror, several meters in diameter, subtly rippled in the compartment. Gu Xichen used the Mirror Flower Water Moon technique to display the external scenery to Raskov and the others.

Raskov stared intently at the continent, his voice low, "The Bloodline Fortress. This is the Bloodline Fortress...

Heh, hehe, are my kin from the Flame Family still inside?" The Bloodline Fortress? Gu Xichen looked towards Raskov, filled with doubt.

Sighing deeply, Raskov recounted everything he knew about the origins of the Bloodline Fortress. The planet Star Davilmus was the core controlling the large and small civilizations of the Star Alliance.

But the Bloodline Fortress was the true heart of the Elder Council. All the true elites, the core figures, and the deepest secrets of the Elder Council were stored within the Bloodline Fortress.

Periodically, the Dragon Star Envoys dispatched by the Elder Council to oversee the Star Alliance would lead a contingent of cultivators to inspect the royal families and descendants of the great families of the major six-star civilizations, using some secret technique to test their bloodlines. If any of the younger generation showed outstanding aptitude, or possessed unique traits favored by the Council in their lineage, they would be taken away by the Dragon Star Envoys and forced into the legendary Bloodline Fortress.

Except for those belonging to the Elder Council’s core families, no one who entered the Bloodline Fortress was ever seen in public again. By chance, a member of the Flame Family encountered someone who had managed to escape the Bloodline Fortress, learning through him what kind of place it truly was.

Those selected and sent to the Bloodline Fortress were tormented like lab rats. Those with superior cultivation talent were designated to practice cultivation methods that were deliberately flawed or misleading.

The Star Alliance, utilizing its vast energy reserves, would periodically deliver batches of new cultivation techniques to the Bloodline Fortress. However, the Elder Council leadership’s understanding and comprehension of ancient cultivation methods were deeply flawed; a single, common technique could yield thousands of different interpretations, resulting in thousands of different cultivation outcomes.

The cultivation geniuses sent to the Bloodline Fortress were guided, without knowing the truth, to practice these prescribed methods. If they succeeded and benefited, they were marked for priority training.

But such lucky individuals were rare—perhaps less than one in a million. The majority, practicing these nonsensical techniques, suffered internal deviations, often exploding and dying violently.

Yet, those used to test cultivation methods were the lucky ones. Even more tragic were those whose genes exhibited strange variations, suffered genetic mutations, or possessed high concentrations of specific bloodlines.

These individuals were treated entirely as breeding stock, subjected to various hybridization experiments under the Council's control, all in the pursuit of finding a stronger bloodline combination formula to gestate the so-called Perfect Genetic Form. For these individuals, the Elder Council had a disturbingly sinister designation: "False Mothers!" In pursuit of this perfect genetic form, the Elder Council forced these False Mothers to mate with all manner of powerful creatures—not just humans, but all high-intelligence lifeforms known to the Star Alliance, and not just those, but all known powerful races, even including silicon-based and other lifeforms with different biological characteristics.

The Elder Council’s bloodline possessed astonishing compatibility; any biological gene could blend perfectly with their own, giving birth to all sorts of bizarre new lifeforms. But the torment and humiliation suffered by the False Mothers were unimaginable.

The person who escaped the Fortress did so precisely for this reason, but he was gravely wounded while being pursued by the Dragon Star Envoys. He luckily encountered a spatial storm that swept him into the territory of the Yanlong Empire, and after revealing these secrets, his entire being collapsed and he died.

Raskov watched the dumbstruck Gu Xichen and sneered, "My favorite daughter, granddaughter, and great-granddaughter were all selected to go in. Not just me—all the elders of our Flame Family..." "Nobles, hehe...

What are we? We aren't even considered slaves." Baxin, seated nearby, suddenly interjected, "Perhaps the Elder Council established our branch of the bloodline; one of their members might be our progenitor.

But that doesn't grant them the right to arbitrarily control our destiny and trample our dignity." Raskov sneered, "That is why we are here. That is why, even if it means crushing an egg against a rock, we must teach them a painful lesson." Gu Xichen remained silent, carefully expanding his divine sense to envelop the entire Death Star Ship.

This heavily damaged vessel was slowly approaching the Bloodline Fortress. When it was still tens of thousands of kilometers away in space, dozens of repair vessels swarmed it, rapidly fixing the damaged outer armor and replenishing it with a complete set of Divine Crystals, plus several spares.

Several transport ships docked with the Death Star Ship. The pregnant girls disembarked and were sent toward the Bloodline Fortress.

Subsequently, the Death Star Ship detached and flew toward the center of this spatial expanse. Raskov asked nervously, "Where are they going?

Let's charge out now and destroy the Bloodline Fortress!" Baxin nodded vigorously, adding hesitantly, "This is a rare opportunity. With so many of their elites deployed, we have a chance to destroy the entire Bloodline Fortress." Gu Xichen paused for a moment, then gently shook his head.

He smiled faintly, "No, we follow them. Let's see what they are up to." Noticing the puzzled looks from Raskov and Baxin, Gu Wuchen chuckled, "Let's follow and observe; it won't take much of our time.

Don't you want to know why the Star Alliance high command possesses so few high-grade immortal artifacts?" Gu Xichen looked at Raskov and Baxin with a knowing smile. Gu Xichen himself had long harbored suspicions about this matter.

The former Emperor of the Polar Star Empire, Empress Merlin, and even Daoist Mu had all possessed extremely powerful magical artifacts, some even being ancient God-Sealing Implements. Yet, the Star Alliance high command seemed utterly impoverished, with few even using mid-grade immortal swords.

Could the Star Alliance truly be that destitute? That was impossible!

Not only did this Death Star Ship bring back dozens of overwhelmingly powerful ancient treasures after patrolling for over a year, but among the myriad strange items regularly offered as tribute from the Star Alliance’s many civilizations, there must have been countless potent artifacts from the ancient immortals. For the Star Alliance leaders to lack superior flying swords and magical tools simply made no sense.

Gu Xichen's divine sense covered the entire Death Star Ship. He had eavesdropped on every word exchanged between the Elder Council elites and the youths; their conversation was quite revealing.

"The Ancestor will surely be pleased this time, with so many premium nourishment items. Perhaps the Ancestor will bestow some good things upon us." "Indeed, this haul is excellent.

If we let these youngsters come along, perhaps the Ancestor will favor them and grant them greater strength." 'Ancestor'... 'Nourishment items'...

Gu Xichen scratched his chin thoughtfully. Interesting.

The Death Star Ship flew at maximum speed toward the black hole at the center of the void. It passed through more than a dozen fixed Star Alliance waypoints, traversing the distance of tens of light-years in mere minutes after undergoing more than a dozen spatial folding maneuvers, arriving within close proximity of the black hole.

Here, there was no sense of the black hole's gravitational pull; it was as if the massive black hole before them was merely an illusory object. The Death Star Ship hovered above the black hole, and slowly, the hatch facing the black hole opened.

The Elder Council elites, along with the dozen youths leading the contingent from the Death Star Ship, drifted out, each carrying several ancient treasures acquired on their expedition. They boldly descended, and under Gu Xichen's astonished gaze, the group flew to within ten kilometers of the black hole's surface.

A faint black light emanated from the depths of the black hole, enveloping the main body entirely. The vast black hole gradually became transparent, then faded to match the color of the surrounding void.

Deep within the black hole, a faint cyan glow flickered, enclosing a furiously pulsing mass of black flame. The flame seemed determined to break free of the cyan light's containment, but every time the black flame swelled rapidly outwards, the cyan light would become a hundred times stronger, effortlessly pushing the black fire back.

Sweeping his divine sense over the area, Gu Wuchen, utterly astonished, instantly teleported out of the Death Star Ship, protected by the Seven Emotions and Six Desires Spirit-Bewitching Talisman, appearing outside the vessel. Staring blankly at the black hole, Gu Xichen's powerful spiritual sight discerned the cyan light and the black flame with perfect clarity.

The seemingly faint layer of cyan light was a tapestry woven from countless layers of dense cyan vines, forming a shadowy projection. These vines appeared to be composed entirely of light particles—flickering, elusive, and hazy.

Each tendril and strand was exquisitely intricate; every leaf resembled a piece of fine craftsmanship, the patterns detailed to the extreme. The leaves and vines were dotted with scattered flecks of pale gold light, which were, in fact, delicate magic runes of varying sizes, constantly emitting an intensely concentrated energy aura.

In Gu Wuchen's perception, that layer of cyan light was at least tens of thousands of kilometers thick. The interwoven vines formed a colossal sealing restriction, firmly trapping the restless black flame within.

And that mass of black flame was a three-headed giant dragon, spanning roughly eight hundred thousand kilometers! Entirely jet-black, possessing three heads and bristling with sharp spines along its head and back, it also bore three pairs of massive fleshy wings.

Gu Xichen instinctively touched his finger to his lips; the image of this dragon was identical to the one on the Elder Council's Bloodline Ring, lacking even the slightest difference in detail. This dragon was the Elder Council’s so-called Ancestor—a formidable, clearly fully mature innate creature!

As for the cyan restriction outside it, regardless of who set it up, Gu Wuchen guessed, merely by observing the flawless and exquisitely refined patterns, that the Romans must have been involved. "So that’s it...

The mortal enemy of the Romans, is that the Elder Council?" Gazing thoughtfully at the wildly pulsating black flame, Gu Wuchen narrowed his eyes. At that moment, the three-headed dragon within the flame suddenly lunged upward, roaring almost madly, "What have you brought me now?" The leading Elder Council elites hurriedly bowed and called out respectfully, "Honored Ancestor, we have brought you your favorite nourishment!" Dozens of ancient treasures drifted down, swept up by black currents.

These treasures entered the cyan restriction and were swallowed whole by the black dragon. Whether it was an illusion or not, Gu Xichen was astonished to observe that the scales on the black dragon’s body seemed to brighten slightly, while the external cyan restriction appeared to dim a fraction.

But in the blink of an eye, everything seemed to return to normal. The three-headed dragon let out a satisfied roar to the heavens, praising loudly, "Good things!

If I had ten billion such nourishment items, I could leave this place!" Ten billion! A bead of cold sweat slowly trickled down the back of Gu Xichen’s neck.

What a terrifying number. Ten billion ancient treasures just to allow this three-headed dragon to escape—the price was far too steep.

Flapping upward a few times in fury, the dragon roared, "My descendants, work hard to find what can free me! Go quickly, this is your mission!" The three heads fiercely slammed against the cyan restriction dozens of times.

The dragon withdrew its head, slightly dizzy, and cursed bitterly, "Those damnable Romans! Have you found their whereabouts?

Then you must work hard to wipe them out! Slaughter them all and see if their Mother Goddess is still hiding in her shell!

Slaughter them, kill all their males, and violate all their females, so that the blood of our Demon Scorching Dragon flows within the veins of the Romans!" Roaring to the heavens, the dragon shrieked with immense venom, "Romans, damned Romans, they all deserve to be eaten by me... Their Mother Goddess...

Sageson, Elroli! You will both be swallowed by me!

Sageson, I will devour you whole! Elroli...

Heh heh, you will become the mother of my offspring!" After several roars, the dragon commanded sternly, "You have done well this time; I am very satisfied with these supplements. This is your reward!" The central head of the three-headed dragon suddenly opened its mouth, spitting out several drops of black essence blood, each the size of a fist.

These drops floated out beyond the cyan restriction. Immediately following this, the long black light-ribbons surrounding the black hole trembled.

Immense energy gathered within the ribbons, and dozens of Divine Crystals, each about a thousand meters tall, materialized out of thin air from the black ribbons, slowly drifting towards the descendants of the Elder Council. Gu Xichen’s eyes narrowed.

So this is how the Divine Crystals were obtained? He wondered what method the dragon used to condense these miraculous crystals.

Having completed this, the three-headed dragon seemed exhausted. It let out a long, weak sigh and wheezed, "Retreat, my descendants...

Annihilate the Romans, erase them completely from this universe..." "Annihilate them... Kill all their males, plunder all their females." "I want the bloodlines of Sageson and Elroli utterly severed!" With a yawn, the three-headed dragon closed its eyes and drifted into sleep.

The faint black light above the black hole dissipated, revealing the black hole’s true form again, a subtle suction force spreading outwards in all directions. Gu Xichen hastily flashed back to the Death Star Ship.

Not long after, the ship returned directly to the Bloodline Fortress. Perhaps because the youths on board had performed so well this time, after each receiving a drop of the essence blood provided by the three-headed dragon, they happily dispersed from the Death Star Ship to various points within the Fortress.

Gu Xichen and the others also left the Death Star Ship and stepped onto the soil of the Bloodline Fortress. According to Gu Xichen's plan, they needed to figure out the exact situation here and inflict the most devastating damage possible on the Elder Council.

As the group stood on a hilltop within the Bloodline Fortress, discussing their strategy, a troop of young men and women suddenly charged past on horseback. Gu Xichen and his companions suppressed their magical aura, leveling their power to the Nascent Soul stage—a common level of strength within the Bloodline Fortress.

However, something astonishing happened to Gu Xichen: the leader of the charging youths was a strikingly beautiful and unusual young girl. When her eyes fell upon Banruo and Mohe standing behind Gu Xichen, her eyes instantly lit up, and a greedy fire, like that of a wolf spotting a rabbit, ignited within them.

Proudly pointing at Banruo and Mohe, the girl commanded sharply, "I see you have good aptitude; come with me. You will benefit greatly." Gu Xichen was stunned.

Banruo was bewildered. Mohe's eyes, however, lit up.

He cheerfully stepped forward and laughed heartily, "Go where? Why not right here?"