Chapter 1174: Marching into the Forbidden Zone
The pitch-black fleet of mother ships advanced through the cold cosmos, traversing the long Stellar Ancient Path, finally nearing their destination. The vast steel jungle gleamed with a somber luster.
"Almost there, I've returned!" Ye Fan's heart was stirred with emotion. He never imagined he would return in this manner, riding within a metal warship.
Two years had passed since he left this starry sky—not an extremely long time, nor a short one. He wondered how his old friends from the past were faring now.
Had the path to immortality opened? How many sages from beyond the domain had arrived? Had great changes occurred in this world? Everything was unknown, awaiting his return to explore and understand.
Starlight flickered as the cold, metallic fleet of ships cut across the heavens. On this day, they directly entered this star domain, reaching the destination of their expedition.
The Big Dipper Star Domain exuded a vast, surging vitality, penetrating into the starry void even from a great distance!
"This is it, this great star!"
"Indeed, it truly is a mysterious ancient life star, no smaller than our Eternal Main Star. Creation is truly wondrous, giving rise to such a cradle of life!"
"From now on, this place will shine with the eternal radiance of our Eternal Kingdom, becoming the sacred land of our revival!"
Even the various princes could no longer contain themselves. They were extremely excited, beams of light shooting from their eyes, brimming with fervor.
"These natives are too incompetent. They sit on a gold mine without knowing how to develop it. The spiritual energy here is abundant, yet they only know bitter cultivation, lacking comprehensive development. We shall guide them."
Based on intuition, they guessed that this was a very ancient life source, certainly holding secrets from the primordial chaos era. Divine minerals and immortal medicines were sure to exist.
Many burst into laughter. After crossing the sea of stars for over half a year, they had finally reached their destination. This journey would definitely not be in vain!
"I hope the bloodlines of these natives are strong. They can serve us later, mining divine ores and such. Moreover, their bloodline power can aid our cultivation."
The experts of all races were energized, rubbing their hands together, ready to make a big move and become interstellar heroes of colonization.
A cold smile curled at the corner of Ye Fan's mouth. They really thought of this place as a resource treasury, believing they could kill or spare as they pleased?
The densely packed fleet, gleaming with cold metallic luster, exuded a sense of oppression as they arrived above the ancient star, making contact with this massive celestial body.
As soon as they arrived, the distances between the twelve royal clans automatically widened even further. They were all on guard against each other, fearing that someone might secretly strike at their own people to compete for divine medicines.
A flash of lightning passed through Ye Fan's divine eyes. The Big Dipper was somewhat different. The aura of the Great Dao was chaotic, dark and unpredictable, as if covered by a great curtain.
"How strange. Could the path to immortality have truly opened? It feels unfathomable now, impossible to deduce?"
At this moment, the accompanying sages emerged from their cabins one after another, gazing down at the magnificent star below. They furrowed their brows—they could not see through this place.
"Without a doubt, this is an ancient treasure land, shrouded in a layer of mysterious aura. We must not be careless; caution is paramount." A sage warned, feeling uncertain in his heart.
"Heh, what could be here? Just a bunch of natives focused solely on physical cultivation. This place will become our resource treasury!"
"According to what was recorded in the Demon God's sea of consciousness, this ancient star has a few sages. But with all the sages accompanying us, so many mother ships, and the Saint King armor here, we can flatten them!"
A few princes were unconcerned, brimming with confidence, treating this place as their own territory, wanting to start dividing the spoils immediately.
Of course, many princes, such as the Purple Cloud Royal Clan and the Zhao Family, were still very cautious. They believed in seeing before acting, and immediately began dispatching probe ships to assess the situation.
"Tsk, something's off. This great star is very strange—can't see through it!"
A sage spoke, his gaze like lightning. He personally sat within a mother ship, staring at the large screen, unable to perform a full scan. He eventually extended his powerful divine sense.
"Hmm, there are ancient supreme formations protecting this great star, acting as a defense."
The crowd was stunned, all showing surprise. Only stars that had once housed ancient deities would have such characteristics, with formation patterns autonomously guarding them.
"Yes, there was once a Wan Qing, who later likely touched that realm. And that Wu Shi..."
They quickly thought of Wan Qing and Wu Shi, believing that the appearance of such ancient formation patterns was understandable; otherwise, it would be abnormal.
"The probe ships will perform a spatial jump to the Immortal Mountain region for observation. Please wait patiently," said the prince of the Zhao Family.
Not long after, signals came through, and clear images appeared on the large screen. The cultivators of the Eternal Main Star were under attack.
"What is this thing? A treasure falling from beyond the domain? Could it be a sage's artifact?"
"Perhaps it's a weapon lost from a battle of deities beyond the domain, falling onto our ancient star. Chase it! It might be a great opportunity!"
A group of cultivators at the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm were in pursuit, and they even attracted several great powers at the Immortal Platform realm to join the chase, trying to capture the probe ship.
In the various mother ships beyond the domain, all the cultivators who saw this scene were stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, tears almost streaming down their faces.
"A bunch of bumpkins, truly pitiful, still unenlightened. They don't even know what a probe ship is, thinking it's a divine artifact. Heh!"
"This is what they call bitter cultivators. Sounds nice—'excavating the treasures of the human body'—but they know nothing. If we sent down a saint-level mother ship, it could sweep through an entire domain!"
The twelve princes finally relaxed. Many experts couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, bursting into laughter. Such a group of bitter cultivators was nothing to fear.
Whoosh!
That probe ship performed a spatial jump, disappearing from that region, leaving the natives dumbfounded. They lost their tracking target and retreated in disappointment.
Beyond the domain, the twelve royal clans grew even more at ease, their expressions light and carefree. Such natives posed no threat.
"This is just one corner of the land. Calm down. It's best we investigate more thoroughly and not let our guard down."
Being at ease was one thing; being reckless was another. After all, this was an expedition of monumental significance. No one would truly act impulsively or take risks.
"The probe ship has neared the Immortal Mountain. It captured clear images in the sky outside. Oh, this is truly a magnificent range of black great peaks—they are the kings of mountains!"
They couldn't help but marvel. The vast, ancient aura rushed toward them, causing everyone's heart to tremble.
"Wait, what is that?" The probe ship hadn't entered the Immortal Mountain, but from a great distance, it captured a series of images. They saw a strange sight.
"Just a flying turtle. What's there to make a fuss about?" When the image froze, a prince sneered, speaking to another.
Another prince suddenly widened his eyes. "No, this is a Black Tortoise. Oh, no—this is actually an ancient medicine! It... can choose its own dwelling place, flying through the sky."
"What? Here..." Even the sages were stirred, staring at the frozen image, examining it closely.
It appeared to be a turtle with a dragon's head, or perhaps a Black Tortoise, but it had roots and stems, flying through the air within the Immortal Mountain, scattering crystalline light.
Not only the various princes, but even the "native Ye Fan" was dumbfounded, his eyes wide. After many years, he had seen this immortal medicine again—the Black Tortoise!
Back then, when he, Little Nannan, Pang Bo, and Li Heishui accidentally entered the Immortal Mountain, they had seen this divine medicine, startling it into flying away through the sky.
"This is a strange ancient medicine. A great fortune! We have received the favor of the heavens. There will be astonishing gains here!" A prince swallowed his saliva as he spoke.
"I think this should be the legendary... immortal medicine. It can be refined into a nine-turn immortal pill by deities, and we can also extract a nine-layer perfected evolution liquid from it."
Their voices trembled. They never imagined such abundant resources existed. The value was so shocking it could make one faint.
"According to the sea of consciousness imprint of the Demon God, there are several such immortal lands, of equal value. Could there be the same immortal grade?!" The group's breathing grew rapid.
All of this was too astonishing. For them, the ninth-stage evolution liquid was the greatest temptation in the world. Their eyes turned red.
"Damn it, the Cao Family has made the first move, charging toward the land below!"
"The Lanto Clan has also broken their promise, descending first. Four mother ships are moving together, charging toward the Northern Domain direction."
The twelve royal clans had already separated, each guarding their own side, wary of each other. Now, seeing two clans make their move, charging toward their respective targets, none could remain calm anymore. They all feared that the good things would be snatched away by others.
The massive warships set sail, a pitch-black mass. Four more clans moved, charging toward the life source below.
Then, no one cared about anything else. Each clan split up, charging into their target areas.
Puff!
The probe ship that had transmitted the images entered the Immortal Mountain and suddenly shattered, losing contact with them.
"How was it destroyed? It seems a strangely powerful native pierced through it. Hmm, this ancient star is said to have a few sages, all dwelling in key locations. We need to be careful."
"No matter. If a sage really appears, are our sages and ancient sacred war machines just for show? With so many mother ships, we can obliterate him in an instant!"
The many mother ships, filled with anticipation and beautiful hopes, officially entered the ancient star, charging toward the Primordial Ancient Mine, the Immortal Mountain, the Fire Qilin Cave, the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest, and other locations.
At this moment, Ye Fan finally made his move. The Sunset-That-Never-Sets Royal Clan was left with only one mother ship; their sage had fallen. The remaining hundred or so warships posed no threat to him.
He wanted to seize that mother ship and obtain that portion of evolution liquid.
"Calling the dead dog!" Ye Fan, now familiar with how to use the warship, tried to contact the people of Heavenly Village from within his own vessel.
Two years ago, outside the Immortal Mountain, he had acquired an extra saint ship. Although it no longer had an internal deity and couldn't perform spatial jumps, all its other functions remained, and he had left it with Black Emperor.
"Damn, am I hallucinating? I hear some bastard calling me?" At the entrance connecting Heavenly Village to the outside world, Black Emperor's large ship was parked. He looked puzzled.
A little bald head, clever and mischievous, poked out, clutching a small wine jar. He let out a burp and emerged, saying, "I hear it too. It sounds like Master's voice."
"That's right, it's me. Not a hallucination. I'm back!"
"Ah, Master!" The little bald head plopped down on the ground, rubbing his big eyes, staring at the large screen. "Master, Black Emperor forced me to drink. I didn't want to. I missed you."
"Damn it, you stole the wine again. What's that got to do with me?!" Black Emperor nearly swallowed him whole, then stared at Ye Fan in disbelief. "Kid, you... how are you back?"
"Don't talk about other things first. I have important news for you. We have a big operation this time. We're going to loot a large number of mother ships, all saint-level..." Ye Fan quickly relayed the message. The twelve royal clans all had evolution liquid and mother ships, worth the effort.
"Ooh, robbing wild aliens!" The little bald head was the first to get excited. (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to cast recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)