Chapter 536: Plucking the Star

Zhou Kongming had never believed this mission world contained only human civilization.

But what he saw now still surprised him.

Yet the astonishment lasted only an instant; then his spiritual sense surged forth in a vast tide, instantly engulfing the Changyuan planetary system and encompassing the entire planet within moments.

The defenses created by the Changyuan civilization were as if nonexistent before the power of another system.

Everything within the planetary system appeared without reservation in Zhou Kongming's perception.

His omnipresent spiritual sense dissected every aspect of the Changyuan civilization.

The deformed bodies scattered across the planet's surface, the transformed and modified head-ships hidden beneath those deformed limbs, and the white spheres floating above the surface, resonating in communication.

They seemed to have crudely and brutally modified the human genes they acquired, resulting in all this.

Zhou Kongming paid them little attention, instead carefully searching for the location of the Pinxing Project No. 1 Gene Vault.

During this time, two more head-ships passed by him, attempting to leave the Changyuan planetary system and head toward the planetary system where Qixing resided.

But after traveling only a short distance, they became like insects trapped in resin—slowing more and more until they came to a complete standstill.

In the instant his spiritual sense covered the entire Changyuan planetary system, the boundless magic power of his Fully Returned Void realm had already formed an impenetrable, terrifying magical field, enveloping the entire system.

Soon, Zhou Kongming's spiritual sense found, deep within Changyuan, a black ship entangled by countless fleshy tentacles.

Its shape was unmistakably the "Pinxing No. 1 Gene Vault" that Qixing civilization had once launched into the universe.

"..."

After a brief silence, Zhou Kongming closed his eyes and exhaled slowly; his vast spiritual sense retracted.

When he opened his eyes again, the golden light swirling in his gaze had dimmed, leaving only clear, black-and-white eyes calmly gazing forward.

He had intended to find it and take it away directly, but given this situation...

"Better to take it all."

Immediately, Zhou Kongming slowly raised his hand, fingers spread wide.

Boom—!

The dark, profound space of the universe erupted into a terrifying storm sweeping across the entire planetary system, with visible, twisted distortions coiling around the entire Changyuan planet.

Grasp the sun and moon, shrink a thousand mountains!

Divine Skill: Universe Manipulation!

This divine skill was created by Holy Emperor Yuan, and shortly after its creation, he publicly revealed it.

It was originally meant to be named "Sky in the Sleeve," but that name was already taken by another divine skill, so it was changed...

In short!

It was an extremely mysterious, immensely powerful, and extraordinarily versatile divine skill.

Genes...

He had never studied this area in depth; better to simply pack up the entire planet and take it away, to avoid any damage.

"Come!"

Amid the terrifying distortions, the white spheres floating on the planet's surface resonated more frequently, flashing thousands of times per second.

The entire Changyuan planet steadily shrank, drifting outward from the planetary system.

Only at this moment did the white spheres realize something was wrong, and they all flew outward in panic.

But their fate was the same as the two head-ships that had tried to escape—they froze in midair.

In this world, Zhou Kongming, a Fully Returned Void cultivator, stood at the apex of existence; they could not possibly resist him.

Soon, the entire Changyuan planet shrank to the size of a thumb and floated before Zhou Kongming, hovering above his palm.

Now, at this close distance, beneath the dense cluster of white spheres lay layers of twisted, deformed limbs—utterly repulsive!

Zhou Kongming glanced at it once, then turned his gaze away.

He was about to seal it away when a sudden thought struck him, and he looked again at the Changyuan planet in his palm.

Hm?

After a brief sensory probe, a flicker of surprise appeared in his eyes.

His magic power...

Had been invaded?!

Though only an extremely faint trace—equivalent to a single thread of light and heat among the vast output of a star.

But he was a Fully Returned Void cultivator!

The absolute limit this world could contain!

A group that had never even touched spiritual energy had invaded his Fully Returned Void magic power—this was beyond astonishing...

After a pause, Zhou Kongming still clasped his hands and sealed it away; his eyes glowed golden again as he gazed at the Changyuan planetary system, now missing one planet.

Perhaps, compared to humans, they are the group favored by this world...

Their innate talent for directly penetrating essence and transforming matter, their extraordinarily long lifespans—their only limitation was their self-awareness...

But they were rapidly compensating for this, observing Qixing people and intercepting the Pinxing Gene Vault to analyze their thought patterns.

Had there been no external interference from him, and had the Changyuan civilization absorbed everything from Qixing civilization...

They might truly have risen to become a super group capable of comprehending the universe's essence and converting and utilizing cosmic laws.

'Indeed, caution was right.'

Zhou Kongming grew even more convinced that his decision not to hastily plant the Spirit Source Seed had been correct.

With such an extraordinary innate talent existing in this environment, once the spiritual tide revived, who knew how far they might evolve...

Of course, they might also fail to adapt to the post-revival environment and perish.

These thoughts shifted in an instant; swordlight surged around him, and this time he directly vanished toward the direction of Qixing.

Shortly after Zhou Kongming departed.

Hum~!

A blade of light, spanning the entire star system, slashed down with a thunderous crash.

Boom—!

In a flood of destruction, gray-white ripples annihilated the entire star system, leaping outward to sweep across several light-years before gradually fading.

Where that blade of light had crashed down, the entire Rangyuan Star System had vanished entirely; the white spheres on other planets within the Rangyuan Star System perished along with it.

Other star systems where Rangyuan civilization groups had been active suffered the same fate—erased by a sudden, slashing blade of light.

To Zhou Kongming, what use was such a hostile species toward human civilization?

Better to erase them.

As for whether it was too cruel…

He simply didn't think so.

He had carried out similar missions countless times over his centuries of cultivation.

…

…

Qixing.

As the origin of Qixing civilization, it was the core of the entire Qixing civilization.

Qixing was one of the rare planets where humans could live directly on the surface without ecological modification.

Though a thousand years ago, overexploitation of resources had degraded Qixing's environment, making it temporarily uninhabitable for humans.

But after a millennium, Qixing civilization had conquered surrounding star systems, and the Qixing people had dwindled to only a batch of clones lacking even self-awareness.

Through its own ecosystem's self-regulation and Heng's intervention, Qixing had restored its original ecological environment.

Though some mutated flora and fauna remained…

But it was inconsequential.

Amid dense forests stood a mountain villa, nestled beside a lake like polished jade.

Birds occasionally startled from the woods, and the deep mountains echoed with the roars of wild beasts.

Soon, a tall, slender figure stepped out from within.

Chestnut-brown short hair, refined features, a long neck, dressed in a crisp white shirt and form-fitting black trousers.

It was Heng.

Yes, He had switched styles again.

His silver-gray eyes gazed at the sky, streams of data swirling within, as if awaiting something.

Just now, a thought—or rather, a message—had appeared in His mind without warning, transmitted through the restraints upon Him.

The Master had found the Pinxing First Gene Bank, and was already approaching Qixing.

In less than half a day, He had found the Pinxing Gene Bank that Heng had spent years failing to locate…

Soon, clouds churned; the already sparse haze was swept clean by a ring of invisible shockwaves.

The entire sky became utterly clear.

A figure appeared out of thin air before Him.

Heng's heart tightened, ready to kneel and bow as before: "Welcome, Master, to Qixing…"

But before He could kneel, Zhou Kongming waved His hand to stop Him.

Looking at Heng, whose entire demeanor radiated efficiency, he felt something odd.

Why does this thing always take on a new body every time they meet?

Logically, Qixing's current societal structure shouldn't have so many spare bodies on hand, right?

But he didn't bother overthinking it, and said directly:

"I've brought back the Pinxing First Gene Bank, but its condition is unusual."

As he spoke, Zhou Kongming opened his hand, and a white pellet the size of a thumb appeared in his palm.

Hm?

Heng initially didn't understand why Zhou Kongming was showing Him this.

But out of fear of him, He carefully observed the floating white sphere.

"What is this…?"

Although this body's performance was decent, it was still a planet shrunk down to this scale…

All He could perceive were countless tiny white dots.

"The Pinxing Second Gene Bank was destroyed when it fell into a star," Zhou Kongming explained. "The Pinxing First Gene Bank was captured by another civilization in the universe…"

He briefly explained the Rangyuan civilization's affairs.

Including how they observed Qixing people, intercepted and analyzed the gene bank to decipher Qixing thought patterns, invaded and transformed human genes, and planned to seize and assimilate Qixing civilization.

After listening, Heng paused.

"There are such a species in the universe…?"

Aside from a hint of wonder, He felt no real concern.

After all, He wasn't human.

Let them assimilate—if He had still been in His previous state, He would have either resisted, resisted and perished with them, or been successfully assimilated.

But now, since the Master said this, it proved his technological level surpassed that civilization's…

No need to worry at all!

On the other hand, the gene bank's invasion and transformation might not be entirely bad…

"So, Master, should I dispatch a fleet to help you retrieve it…?"

"No need." Zhou Kongming's gaze settled on his palm. "The planet where that civilization resides is right here."

Right here?! (End of Chapter)