Thirteen days hence. Within the immortal palaces and demonic dens across the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, countless mighty experts stared intently at a wheel of spiritual light before them.

Within the gate of the Nine Hells Dao, deep underground three thousand zhang, in the chilling Yellow Springs Cavern, I, Daoist Wuchen, was bound tightly by the Dragon-Binding Ropes, suspended above a viscous current of yellow vapor like a mummy. Filaments of cold yellow mist coiled around Daoist Wuchen, sealing off his Qijing Baimai and all surrounding qixue. A palm-sized talisman made of white bone was affixed to the crown of his head, suppressing his nascent spirit and freezing all his divine powers and magic. Despite his cultivation at the second stage of Golden Immortal, he was now barely capable of drawing breath.

A golden lotus pedestal floated opposite Daoist Wuchen, its spinning golden Buddha-flames repelling the surrounding miasma of the Yellow Springs with faint, sizzling sounds. Gu Xiachen squatted beside the lotus, chin resting in his hands, gazing at Daoist Wuchen as he asked dryly, "Daoist, where do you hail from? Your cultivation is truly remarkable!"

Daoist Wuchen rolled his eyes and wheezed weakly, "Youngster, attacking from the rear hardly makes one a hero!"

Hearing this, Gu Xiachen immediately clapped his hands. Banruo and Mohe emerged from the dense yellow vapors surrounding them. Mohe was carrying a dagger that glittered brilliantly, its edge shaped like the sharp teeth of a viper. He gleefully sidled up to Daoist Wuchen and, with a backhand, tore off the Daoist’s robes. "Hey, old bull-nose, Mohe-daddy's dagger is sharp! Your little frame can’t take a single slice from it! Hmm, tell us, what exactly do you do?"

Daoist Wuchen stared coldly at Mohe, his lips sealed tight, refusing to utter a word.

The dagger immediately drew close to Daoist Wuchen’s heart. His eyes widened, and he immediately shouted, "This poor Daoist is Wuchen, a solitary cultivator from Mount Zhongnan! That valley was my place of secluded practice before I attained the Dao. Who are you people, and why have you brought me here? I merely wished to retrieve an unfinished magic treasure from my former practice grounds!"

Gu Xiachen gasped sharply, staring blankly at Daoist Wuchen, and asked in surprise, "You are Senior Wuchen?"

Daoist Wuchen shot Gu Xiachen a curious glance and nodded. "This poor Daoist is Wuchen, but I dare not accept the title of Senior. Have you ever seen a Senior tied up like a slaughtered pig?"

Gu Xiachen rose and began peppering Daoist Wuchen with questions, picking out numerous unique techniques and incantations—all original to Daoist Wuchen—from the artifact refinement methods he had obtained years ago. Daoist Wuchen’s eyes lit up, and he answered Gu Xiachen's questions fluently and smoothly. The exchange flowed seamlessly, perfectly matched, without the slightest hesitation.

Finally, Gu Xiachen pulled a silver liquid sphere, the size of a fist, from his robes. Daoist Wuchen’s eyes brightened, and he exclaimed in surprise, "Ruyi?"

Gu Xiachen laughed heartily, pocketing the liquid sphere and casually gesturing to recall the Dragon-Binding Ropes. Mohe, standing nearby, sheepishly peeled the white bone talisman off Daoist Wuchen’s head and began trying to ingratiate himself with the Daoist with a playful grin. Daoist Wuchen glared at Mohe with annoyance, retrieved his robe, and meticulously draped it back over himself.

A crisp clinking sound ensued. Nearly a hundred bean-sized pendants on Daoist Wuchen’s robe struck each other, stirring up a magnificent array of light. Gu Xiachen watched the pendants thoughtfully, sensing an unusual aura emanating from them. Some radiated a sense of grandeur, profound righteousness, and vast power; others carried a chilling, sinister, and murderous aura. Yet, regardless of the type of energy, all hinted at a feeling of transcendence—beyond this space, beyond some form of restriction.

Pointing at the minute pendants, Gu Xiachen frowned. "Senior Wuchen, what are these things?"

Daoist Wuchen knitted his brows, shook his head bitterly, and looked up at the sky. A strange flash of blood-red light crossed his face. A deep, demonic energy surged out from within him, forcing Banruo and Mohe to involuntarily take several steps back. Even Gu Xiachen, wrapped in the golden flames of Buddhism atop the lotus pedestal, felt his body shudder. Just one glance at the blood-red light gave him the illusion that his innate spirit was sinking into the vast Crimson Blood Sea. What a powerful, sinister demonic cultivation technique!

A sharp cry of surprise came from behind. A streak of blood-red light flashed near Penghua, who had been idling behind Gu Xiachen. Han Yan, who had been cultivating in seclusion for a long time, darted out and flew directly toward Daoist Wuchen. The moment Daoist Wuchen saw Han Yan, he instinctively convulsed as if seeing a ghost; his body instantly stiffened, unable to move even a finger. He stared at Han Yan with utter shock, stammering, "Senior, could this Senior be an ancient Golden Immortal who has reincarnated and cultivated anew?"

"Eh? Good eyesight!" Han Yan slapped Daoist Wuchen's shoulder heavily, easily pulling a human-head-sized lump of dark purple plasma from within him and stuffing it into his mouth, swallowing it down like a piece of jelly. Smacking his lips, Han Yan looked up coldly and sneered, "Not bad, cultivating the Cang Qiong Blood Scripture. You've developed quite a bit, haven't you! Very good, little demon, you must have reached the cultivation of the Four Brahma Heavens, right? Grand Unity Golden Immortal?"

Daoist Wuchen shouted out in ecstasy, flailing at his own body before suddenly throwing his head back and laughing loudly, "Crimson Blood Demon Ancestor, has the restriction you placed on the Dao been dissolved?"

Outside the Thirty-Three Heavens, across the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, dozens of powerful divine senses instantly pierced the void and converged on the Crimson Blood Demon Ancestor, mocking him relentlessly. The Ancestor’s eyes turned crimson with rage. He smashed the blood mirror he had been using to spy on Daoist Wuchen with a single punch, ferociously smashing everything around him into debris. "Who is that woman? How did she know the Ancestor cultivates the Cang Qiong Blood Scripture? Who exactly is she? Damn it, the Ancestor must drain her essence and blood! How dare she break the Ancestor's restriction!"

Furious, the Crimson Blood Demon Ancestor was powerless against Gu Xiachen and the others. Despite his profound cultivation, his power was insufficient to affect the lower realm.

Just as the mocking divine senses were about to withdraw, everyone simultaneously cried out in alarm. All the secret artifacts they had placed on Daoist Wuchen for surveillance instantly lost contact with them. A force utterly alien to the established rules of heaven and earth—a force they had never encountered—had destroyed the trace of divine thought they had attached to those artifacts, losing control over Daoist Wuchen.

In the Yellow Springs Cavern, the profusely sweating brothers Banruo and Mohe slowly retracted their hands, nodding to each other. "Boss, cleaned up!" Black and white currents surged around them, exuding power signatures clearly distinct from the universal rules of this cosmos. A faint blue light and demonic energy wafted from the nearly one hundred secret artifacts on Daoist Wuchen; the divine thoughts affixed by the great experts had been jointly shattered by the brothers.

Gu Xiachen snatched all the artifacts. The Haotian Mirror flew upward, shooting out a beam of blue light. A sound of shattering followed as all restrictions on the strangely shaped artifacts were cleanly broken. Gu Xiachen then swept them into the Sun Profound Orb, where various pure Yang flames surged skyward, tempering every artifact until it returned to its original, freshly forged state. The great experts were now completely unable to locate Daoist Wuchen through these items.

Under the astonished gaze of Daoist Wuchen, Gu Xiachen forcefully stuffed all these artifacts, along with a dozen other magic treasures glowing with various strange lights, into the Daoist’s hands. Then, with a flip of his hand, he forcefully shoved a short rod into his grip—three chi and three cun long, entirely emerald green, with a sapphire-blue young dragon coiled around it.

The secret artifacts were one thing, and the dozen famous magic treasures from the ancient Investiture of the Gods era could also be overlooked, but this short rod startled Daoist Wuchen greatly. He clutched the short staff, trembling, and sent a thread of divine sense to probe the aura on the staff. He cried out, both surprised and overjoyed, "This is an Innate object?"

Gu Xiachen slowly nodded. He smiled. "The Innate Spirit Treasure, the 'Dragon-Binding Stake.' Senior has shown me the grace of rebirth. This junior wishes to treat you with the respect due a half-master. Such mere external trinkets are nothing."

Without waiting for Daoist Wuchen to speak, Gu Xiachen knelt on the ground and kowtowed several times to him, formally establishing their relationship.

Daoist Wuchen shook his hand, very gracefully stuffing all the magic treasures into his sleeve, then grabbed Gu Xiachen’s arm. His eyes narrowed into slits as he laughed, nodding repeatedly. "So be it. This poor Daoist... well, as a master, I have always been a solitary cultivator. I thought my lineage would surely end, but today I have gained such a capable, generous disciple."

Penghua chuckled on the side. If one Innate Spirit Treasure earned him the title of a 'good disciple,' how many would it take for the title of 'heart and treasure disciple'—three or four?

Gu Xiachen was not one for idle talk. After thinking for a moment, he opened his mouth and spat out a streak of blue light. He pointed a finger at the light, which transformed into a small flag, about a chi in circumference, landing in Daoist Wuchen's hand. He smiled, "The Dragon-Binding Stake is for attacking enemies; Master lacks a defensive treasure. This Azure Lotus Treasure Banner was snatched by your disciple. With your current strength, Senior, it is perfectly suited for your use."

His body shuddered, and Daoist Wuchen looked at Gu Xiachen in horror, his voice almost cracking as he cried, "The Azure Lotus Treasure Banner? How can you give away such an ultimate Innate treasure?"

Penghua burst into laughter beside them, proudly spitting out a streak of black light, which revealed the Profound Origin Water Control Banner. He roared with laughter, "Senior, just accept it. You don't know how lucky my junior brother is. He has already obtained three of the Five Elemental Banners of Innate Five Directions, and he is giving them all away—please accept it!" Even Han Yan nodded repeatedly, urging Daoist Wuchen to take the Azure Lotus Treasure Banner. Currently, among everyone around Gu Xiachen, Daoist Wuchen possessed the highest cultivation and could best utilize the banner's might, making it perfectly suitable for him.

Daoist Wuchen stroked the Azure Lotus Treasure Banner for a moment, then silently tucked it into his sleeve. He looked deeply at Gu Xiachen and nodded. "Very well. You recognize me as a half-master because you already have a master who taught you the Way. However, this master will only regard you as my sole disciple. I have some important matters to discuss with you all."

Gu Xiachen and Daoist Wuchen exchanged knowing smiles. Although they had only just met, they felt as if they had spent countless years together as master and disciple; an inexpressible tacit understanding arose between them. The fact that Daoist Wuchen had left his cave dwelling without setting any restrictions spoke volumes about his character; Gu Xiachen gifting two supreme Innate treasures upon meeting spoke equally well of his. With a simple look, they understood the caliber of the other person, and they understood that the other person understood their own character.

Penghua manipulated the golden lotus pedestal, carrying everyone out of the Yellow Springs Cavern and into the guest quarters of the Nine Hells Dao. Once seated, disciples of the Nine Hells Dao brought fresh tea and exotic fruits. Daoist Wuchen and Gu Xiachen spoke alternately, exchanging various pieces of information. Daoist Wuchen was greatly astonished that the Nine Dragon Heaven-Ascending Ladder was also connected to Gu Xiachen, while Gu Xiachen and the others worried about the decisions made by the mighty experts of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.

If those old monsters from the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths truly set their sights on the Mortal Realm, who knew what they might do?

But then again, was there anything in the Mortal Realm worth their concern? According to Daoist Wuchen, the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths were vast and resource-rich; even a single mortal kingdom there often held more population than the Earth Federation. They lacked nothing in terms of spiritual energy, resources, or population base. They were all figures who could claim lordship over the heavens, so why bother calculating the Mortal Realm?

Daoist Wuchen could not answer this question, nor could he figure out why he had been so unlucky as to be forcibly sent to the Mortal Realm, just as he couldn't understand why he ascended to the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths when he first ascended. In any case, he told Gu Xiachen everything he knew; as for what actions to take, that was for Gu Xiachen and the others to consider.

Watching Gu Xiachen fall into deep thought, Daoist Wuchen idly released his divine sense. Having been blindsided and knocked to the ground by a punch from the Giant Spirit God earlier, Daoist Wuchen felt such an event was deeply humiliating and must never happen again. However, given the lesson he just learned, he dared not let his divine sense linger close to the ground; instead, he projected it beyond Paradise Star, covering nearly a million li of space around it.

The divine sense of a Golden Immortal was fundamentally different from that of a Celestial Immortal. It was closer to the Great Dao, possessing a higher degree of harmony with nature. Of course, Daoist Wuchen’s divine sense did not blend with nature as perfectly as Gu Xiachen’s innate divine sense, but the refinement of Daoist Wuchen’s sense surpassed what Gu Xiachen’s innate sense could match. Countless threads of divine thought, vibrating at frequencies reaching tens of millions of times per second, swept through the surroundings, rapidly scanning the void around Paradise Star.

It was during this scan that Daoist Wuchen was alarmed to discover something amiss. He hurriedly formed a hand seal and summoned a water mirror out of thin air. Pointing at the scene within the mirror, he asked, "Disciple Xiachen, look at these people—are they the Romans you mentioned? And the objects near them look quite similar to those so-called Death Star Vessels!"

Gu Xiachen and the others startled, rushing to look at the water mirror, upon which the entire group cried out in shock.

In the void less than three hundred thousand kilometers from Paradise Star, a man-made field of stardust perfectly obscured high-tech instruments. Zilingehuosuomu, accompanied by two adjutants, floated silently in the vacuum, frowning as they looked down.

A spherical fortress, less than fifty kilometers in diameter, drifted behind them. Forged from highly compressed divine crystals, the fortress reflected a mysterious and magnificent dark-purple sheen under the sunlight.

In line with the long-standing tradition of the Romans, the exterior of the spherical fortress was carved with countless exquisite patterns. It was unknown how the Romans managed to carve such designs onto divine crystals that were nearly a hundred times harder than diamonds and contained immense energy—a feat Gu Xiachen himself deemed difficult to achieve. The intricate patterns followed a specific trajectory, forming a massive magic array composed of thirty-six sets of demonic runes across the fortress shell. A vast, unparalleled tide of energy, like a chained demon dragon, brewed within the fortress.

Zilingehuosuomu was the half-brother of Bolpot. The Huosuoyao family's most outstanding fleet commander of the younger generation, he had defeated every peer in countless simulated command battles. Therefore, he was authorized to command the first Mother God-class super combat fortress created by the Romans. He was ordered to lead this super-fortress, whose power surpassed that of a Death Star Vessel by more than ten times, stealthily toward Paradise Star to monitor the battles between the Star Alliance coalition and Paradise Star.

According to the Roman plan, if Paradise Star could repel the Star Alliance offensive, Zilinge would only need to monitor from the sidelines with his super-fortress. If Paradise Star fell behind, Zilinge could independently decide how to weaken the coalition's fighting strength, ensuring the battle for Paradise Star devolved into a stalemate, held for as long as possible.

The ideal Roman plan was to inflict maximum mutual damage upon the Earth Federation and the Star Alliance, buying as much time as possible for the Romans to achieve their goal.

The unfortunate reality was that when Zilinge led the Mother God-class fortress to Paradise Star, Gu Xiachen and his group had already annihilated that massive Star Alliance fleet. The Earth Federation's combat power was astonishingly formidable! Zilinge worriedly calculated: Would such a powerful Earth Federation negatively impact the Roman ambition to dominate the universe?

Yes, dominate the universe! The Romans, having reclaimed their ancestral heritage, had devised an ambitious plan; their ultimate goal was to become the masters of the entire cosmos.

Shaking his head, Zilinge sighed and turned back toward the fortress with his two adjutants. They were not wearing energy armor but were flying purely by relying on their own formidable power in the vacuum of space. A strange energy fluctuation rolled around them—an aura blending Daoist immortal energy, Buddhist meditative power, demonic vital energy, and other intertwined forces.

A hatch on the fortress slowly opened. Just as Zilinge and his men were about to fly inside, a stream of water light flashed from the side. The three felt their bodies suddenly tighten as hundreds of glistening, white, thumb-thick water ropes spontaneously coiled around them, binding them tightly. An icy, bone-chilling force of Taiyin energy pierced their orifices and meridians, freezing their entire network of channels until a thick layer of blue ice formed on their skin, causing their joints to chatter uncontrollably.

Gu Xiachen immobilized Zilinge and the other two in one move. A cold laugh escaped his lips as his divine sense swept over them. Zilinge and the others possessed cultivation nearing the Celestial Immortal stage, and the chaotic, mixed auras about them clearly indicated they had not gained this power through orthodox means. However, so what if they were Celestial Immortals? In his current state, even an ordinary sixth-grade Celestial Immortal would struggle to escape his grasp without top-tier protective treasures, let alone Zilinge and his companions.

Penghua flapped his fleshy wings and rushed to the open doorway of the fortress, spitting a stream of black gas inside with a strange cackle. A sudden gale erupted, and the black, malevolent wind swept through the entire fortress. Countless zombies—swift in movement, their flesh, bone, and sinews hard as iron, their skin colored bronze, silver, and gold—cried out "Awoo!" as they rushed out of the black wind, hopping and leaping toward the fortress depths. Perhaps due to Penghua’s significant increase in cultivation, the puppets he summoned this time also included nine winged Celestial Yakshas, whose appearance was ferocious, their presence like heavenly demons, charging into the fortress core like bursting thunderclaps.

The fortress, only fifty kilometers in diameter, had an inner habitable area of about thirty kilometers across. This mere sixty li distance was covered by Penghua’s summoned puppets in just a few swift ascents and descents. Piteous howls rose continuously as the Romans, the Spirit Race servants, and the soldiers of various other servant races inside the fortress were pulled down by the zombies, their essence and blood sucked dry. In just a few breaths, the mass of zombies contentedly retreated, transforming into streaks of blood-red light and merging back into Penghua.

Taking a deep breath, a flash of bloody light rippled across Penghua’s body. Absorbing the essence and blood of so many people within the fortress, his cultivation deepened by another significant layer.

Gu Xiachen sneered a few times and walked into the fortress, dragging the three captured Romans. He couldn't be bothered to ask or interrogate; he directly struck Zilinge’s head with a Soul-Sifting Curse, forcefully reading the memories buried deep within his soul. Zilinge shrieked and struggled wildly for a moment, but the potent evil force hidden within the curse soon destroyed all his resistance. His will gradually dissipated, and everything he knew was exposed before Gu Xiachen, including the three most crucial bases currently held by the Romans.

The Roman Knight Order’s 172nd Conjunction Starfield, the Roman Academy of Sciences’ 39th Conjunction Starfield, and the Roman Royal Family’s 11th Conjunction Starfield. These three starfields, encompassing over two hundred planets, gathered all the current Roman strength as they desperately manufactured new-model warships and these infinitely powerful Mother God-class fortresses.

"These damned Romans, they actually possess a sacred artifact capable of creating God Crystals!" Gu Xichen's eyes narrowed; he exclaimed in shock, "They can actually forge a single, solid God Crystal nearly a hundred kilometers in diameter, using it as material to construct military fortresses? Bastards, their fortresses can automatically siphon free energy from the subspace, meaning they never have to worry about energy depletion!"

A chill shot from the soles of his feet straight to his scalp, causing Peng Hua, who had just finished burping contentedly, to shudder violently. He looked at Gu Xichen in terror.

Have the Romans solved the energy supply problem that has plagued the Elder Council for countless years? Although the war machines manufactured by the Elder Council, such as the Death Star Ships and White Wing-class battleships, were immensely powerful, a full-power attack would drain all the God Crystal energy onboard, necessitating a replacement of the crystals and a cooling-down period for the weapon systems before another assault could be launched.

But the Mother God-class fortresses, constructed entirely from God Crystals, naturally had no such concerns regarding energy supply. As for weapon system cooling, all energy originated from the fortress itself; energy and God Crystals were integrated, making energy projection as natural as human breath compared to the crystal itself—why would cooling be an issue? As long as the balance between the externally absorbed energy and the internally stimulated energy was maintained... the Mother God-class fortress could sustain continuous attacks.

A single full-force strike, instantly channeling fifty percent of the Mother God-class fortress's energy, could achieve destructive power equivalent to a peak third-grade Golden Immortal, after which the fortress would need time to slowly replenish its energy.

In an environment rich with ambient free energy, operating under the designed energy equilibrium for sustained attack, a single Mother God-class fortress could maintain continuous output equivalent to a third-grade Heavenly Immortal’s power, sustaining combat operations for over half a month. Only when the personnel inside the fortress exhausted all their spiritual power would the fortress's attacks cease.

If the Romans could deploy one hundred Mother God-class super fortresses, the Elder Council’s regular fleet would be as fragile as clay chickens and pottery dogs before them. Even the Death Star Ships would be nothing more than ostrich eggs against a Mother God-class fortress—though seemingly much sturdier than a chicken egg, they would still crack open, spilling their contents upon being struck by a stone.

, Zheng Ou Bi Bei

Gu Xichen slowly tightened his grip on Zilin'ger’s head, snapping the neck of the man whose eyes were now vacant. Mo He was faster; seeing Gu Xichen deliver the killing blow, he immediately flew forward and smashed the heads of Zilin'ger’s two adjutants with heavy fists.

Glancing around, Gu Xichen swiftly issued a few orders, then entrusted Daoist Wuchen with the task of utilizing the Great Starry Sky Teleportation to carry him toward the Spiral Starfield.

Knowing the urgency of the situation this time, Daoist Wuchen exerted his full power while fleeing through the void. From Paradise Star to the Spiral Starfield, Daoist Wuchen only took three days. Of course, this speed was not solely attributable to his own (escape velocity); along the way, Daoist Wuchen utilized over a dozen ancient Starry Sky Transfer Arrays, information gathered during his travels in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths. This allowed him to arrive within three days.

Upon reaching the Spiral Starfield, Gu Xichen ignored meeting Fu Yaming and plunged directly into the Savage Star Sea bordering the Spiral Starfield.

Holding a camera, Gu Xichen stealthily filmed the colossal production campaign taking place in three Roman bases, focusing particularly on several Doomsday Guardian Knights, who had somehow regained physical forms, engaging in sparring matches. It was unclear by what means they had regained their bodies; the power of these Doomsday Guardian Knights was at least a hundred times greater than when Gu Xichen first encountered them, with the average strength reaching that of a second-grade Heavenly Immortal.

Naturally, this only referred to the external energy projection’s destructive capability reaching that of a second-grade Heavenly Immortal—these Doomsday Guardian Knights could shatter a small planet with every gesture, their lethal power certainly achieving the Heavenly Immortal realm. However, their divine sense was still comparable to Golden Core stage cultivators, and their comprehension of the Great Dao was abysmal. Once the energy within them was depleted, they required lengthy periods of rest to slowly restore their power, unable to recover their magical energy quickly through cultivation techniques like true cultivators.

Even this alone was terrifying: there were over three thousand Doomsday Guardian Knights—three thousand entities capable of instantly unleashing second-grade Heavenly Immortal destructive power. That force was formidable anywhere.

And the Mother God-class fortresses the Romans were building were not the one hundred Gu Xichen had initially guessed, but a staggering, almost monstrous figure of one thousand! One thousand super fortresses, each capable of outputting peak third-grade Golden Immortal destructive power, were simultaneously being processed on the production lines, with countless Romans toiling diligently around them.

The mental power intensity of these Romans had generally increased tenfold or more compared to when they were enemies of the Earth Federation. The strongest Roman nobles had seen their mental power intensity increase by thousands or even tens of thousands of times. They used specialized tools crafted from a certain black crystal; injecting their mental power into these tools allowed them to activate astonishingly powerful black light beams. They relied on this light to carve Demonic Runes onto the surfaces of the God Crystal-based super fortresses.

However, carving God Crystals was clearly a strenuous and difficult endeavor. Even with so many Romans working simultaneously, the construction progress remained alarmingly slow. By this rate, producing all one thousand super fortresses would require at least ten years!

As for the improved super battleships, the production lines densely packed in space numbered in the thousands. Every day, thousands of new super battleships lifted off from the assembly lines and flew into the docking zones in space. If not for the Romans apparently facing slight limitations in raw material supply, one couldn't fathom how many new battleships they would have manufactured by now.

Gu Xichen paid special attention to filming a peculiar object the Romans had positioned in space.

It spanned tens of thousands of miles in circumference, strangely shaped, resembling some kind of biological organ. Its surface was luminous, looking not like metal but material composed of some biologically active substance. As Gu Xichen watched, the object was writhing strangely. No matter how he looked at it, Gu Xichen thought it strongly resembled a human organ—the organ responsible for bearing offspring in females! Furthermore, this thing was emitting a dense aura of life, an energy signature similar to one Gu Xichen had sensed before.

After pondering for a moment, Gu Xichen performed a sealing restriction, retrieved a large, round pearl—one of the gifts bestowed upon him by the Great Roman High Priest. It was claimed to be a Pearl of Wisdom left by their Mother God. This pearl pulsed with pure and potent mental fluctuations, containing a life signal that perfectly matched the signal emanating from the massive organ before him.

Daoist Wuchen regarded the Pearl of Wisdom in Gu Xichen's hand with a strange look, his peripheral vision frequently flicking toward the colossal organ.

The two remained silent for nearly a full minute before Gu Xichen slowly nodded. "That thing and this thing, they seem to be..."

Daoist Wuchen said gravely, "In the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, I have seen things like this. The object ahead is likely a reproductive organ extracted from a Primordial Being. And this pearl in front of us is likely a 'Mind God Pearl,' forcibly condensed after extracting the primordial spirit of some Primordial Being. It conceals all that being’s comprehension of the Great Dao and the source power of its soul."

After a slight hesitation, Daoist Wuchen pointed at the Mind God Pearl and added, "If the cultivation gap is too large, not only will you be unable to absorb this Mind God Pearl, but you must also guard against a backlash from the primordial spirit that could lead to your demise."

Pointing first to the immense object and then to the Mind God Pearl in his hand, Gu Xichen sneered, "Good, framing and scapegoating! But thank goodness for my caution."

Weighing the Mind God Pearl, Gu Xichen opened his mouth and swallowed it whole.

The massive, tens-of-thousands-of-miles-wide organ in the distance suddenly convulsed. Millions of Romans surrounding it shouted in unison, a faint glow flashing between their eyebrows, launching wave after wave of intense mental shocks toward the organ. Millions of mental fluctuations converged into a pale blue sphere hundreds of miles in diameter... Inside the gigantic organ, this massive structure writhed violently, continuously spewing out vital life energy. The surrounding void became hazy, the spatial barrier distorted by the life aura, and immense subspace energy surged forth.

The anomaly persisted for about an hour, after which a ball of deep black light shot out from the exit nearly a thousand kilometers in diameter at the base of the massive organ. A God Crystal sphere, about sixty kilometers in diameter, slowly floated out. Immediately, dozens of Roman warships flew over, activating tractor beams to drag the God Crystal sphere toward a prepared Mother God-class fortress production line in the distance.

Gu Xichen and Daoist Wuchen both sucked in a sharp breath. If this gigantic thing could produce a new God Crystal sphere so quickly, and if they allowed it to continue, wouldn't the Romans be able to manufacture countless Mother God-class fortresses? Given enough time, the Roman power would expand to an uncontrollable degree.

Staring blankly at the colossal organ in the distance, Gu Xichen shook his head helplessly. Daoist Wuchen swept the organ with his divine sense and also shook his head in resignation. The inherent power of that thing was too immense; its energy signature far surpassed that of a Golden Immortal level entity. Gu Xichen could not subdue it, and Daoist Wuchen could find no viable method to destroy or remove it.

, Wan Bi Bei

It seemed some extraordinarily powerful entity had refined this organ; it had transformed into something akin to a magic treasure, allowing the Romans to easily command it to manufacture God Crystals. Gu Xichen and Daoist Wuchen’s cultivation levels were nowhere near that stage, and even if they wanted to seize control of the object, they lacked the ability.

"Cannot seize it, but we definitely cannot let them have it easy!"

Gu Xichen sneered, slowly drawing the Primordial Yellow Qi from the Vast Heaven Pagoda and injecting it into the Azure Life Seal. Simultaneously, he rapidly formed hand seals, condensing a vat-sized Ball of Extreme Yin Thunder before him. A massive amount of Extreme Yin energy constantly poured into the thunder; as the light expanded slightly, Gu Xichen forcefully compressed it into a small, hanging bead.

When the thunder light was compressed to its limit, more Extreme Yin energy was continuously injected, causing the light to slowly expand again, only to be powerfully compressed by Gu Xichen once more.

This process repeated nine times. Before Gu Xichen now sat a head-sized, crystal-clear, pure white bead that emitted no light. He smiled, casually took out the Azure Life Seal, and drove it into the core of the thunder bead. Then, he swiftly hurled the Azure Life Seal toward the Romans who were controlling the massive organ and continuing to absorb subspace energy.

The thunder light was swift. The thunder bead, carrying the Azure Life Seal, rapidly smashed onto the head of a Roman noble. The bead exploded, scattering fist-sized balls of Extreme Yin Thunder everywhere. They struck the object, which was absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to refine it into God Crystals; the concentration of Five Element spiritual energy in the void was terrifyingly high. The Extreme Yin Thunder continuously absorbed the surrounding water-attribute spiritual energy, causing clusters of Yin Thunder to detonate silently. Subsequently, more thunder light sources were generated endlessly, and more Yin Thunder exploded with increasing ferocity.

In a single blow, tens of thousands of elite Romans who had exhausted all their spiritual power were utterly annihilated. Following this, the Azure Life Seal, trailing a beam of black and yellow light, slammed into the object. With a muffled thud, the surrounding void trembled, and the exit beneath the object spat out countless massive spiritual energy clusters, hundreds of kilometers in diameter, like a string of firecrackers. These spiritual energy clusters, carrying blinding flashes, rocketed toward the 172nd Linked Starfield. Several battleship production lines actively under construction along the path were utterly devastated.

Resembling meteors, the spiritual energy clusters crashed into the planetary atmosphere with ear-splitting roars, immediately followed by chain explosions comparable to a casual strike from a Heavenly Immortal. Huge chasms were blasted open on the planet’s surface, and countless servant race warriors of the Romans were blown to dust in the explosions.

The Romans in the void panicked. Ignoring the raging Yin Thunder erupting around them, they risked their lives to rush near the object, pouring forth mental waves with all their might in an attempt to pacify the crazed sacred artifact. However, Gu Xichen’s Azure Life Seal was specifically designed to attack the primordial spirit and target all spiritual entities in heaven and earth. The artifact’s own consciousness had been thoroughly muddled by the attack; how could it possibly discern the control signals from the Romans?

More spiritual energy clusters spewed out, striking wildly in all directions. The Romans were routed, desperately fleeing for cover, clutching their heads, resulting in the death of nearly a million handpicked elites.

It was such utter chaos that the Romans had to dispatch hundreds of thousands of Temple Priests to finally calm the sacred artifact and restore its tranquility.

Gu Xichen smiled so widely his mouth nearly unhinged. After all the explosions subsided, he resumed filming the appearance of the sacred artifact slowly twitching and writhing.

Having finished everything, Gu Xichen cheerfully grabbed Daoist Wuchen and slipped away to Davilms Star, recently rebuilt by the Star Alliance. There, he copied all the footage he had taken into hundreds of duplicates and scattered them outside the doorways of various power departments within the Star Alliance.

A curious, low-ranking Star Alliance official was the first to examine the data on the storage chip. Minutes later, piercing alarms echoed throughout Davilms, and the Star Alliance high command issued a new call for war mobilization to all Six-Star Civilizations that had just suffered troop losses and heavy casualties.

This time, the Star Alliance issued a Death Mobilization Order to all civilizations: mobilize every single soldier to join the Allied Forces, or face extermination!

Under the intense coercion of the Star Alliance, the various Six-Star Civilizations, which had just selected new emperors, reluctantly gathered a fleet, sluggishly collecting the fleets of lower-tier civilizations. They then marched mightily toward the Spiral Starfield. Since the target of this expedition was within the Star Alliance's sphere of influence, the fleet consolidation was rapid. Many fleets that were originally en route to Paradise Star were recalled and quickly gathered near the Spiral Starfield.

Empress Fu Yaming of the Yafik Empire, which now ruled the entire Spiral Starfield, responded to the Star Alliance's summons. She granted a passage route for the Star Alliance Allied Forces to cross and rented out one hundred administrative planets at a nearly negligible cost for the Star Alliance fleet to store various war materials. Furthermore, she provided substantial manpower and resources to support the Star Alliance Allied Forces' operational plans. This action earned high praise from the current Star Alliance leadership!

As a result, in less than a month, a tidal wave of Star Alliance fleets descended upon the territory of the Roman Knights!

The Romans were completely stunned.

,

Comrades, Pig Head has recently been busy with life’s trivial matters, hence no time to fool around.

But there is one principle everyone must remember: be decent in life, and vote when reading!

. , Pig Head goes to write (To be continued)