Chapter 1666: Qizhian! Comrades of the Fourth Star Zone!

【Ding, slain one Life Stage 1 insectoid, Qizhian +5.】

【Ding, slain one Life Stage 1 insectoid, Qizhian +5.】

【Ding, slain one Life Stage 1 insectoid, Qizhian +5.】

【......】

Four consecutive notification tones rang out in Xu Jingming's mind.

Three seconds later.

The thunderstorm dispersed.

Only the shattered remains of the insectoid Empress remained.

She knelt half-bowed, her divine body dim, her aura dwindled to near nothing.

Her divine body had suffered over 70% damage.

If damaged further, she would sink into permanent slumber.

"Wh-why..."

She struggled to lift her head, her deep blue compound eyes filled with confusion and terror.

This human was merely Life Stage 1—how could he be this strong?

Xu Jingming did not answer.

His figure flashed, appearing before the insectoid Empress, his palm gently pressing against her forehead.

Sizzzz—!!

Lightning erupted from his palm, instantly obliterating all life within her.

The insectoid Empress stiffened, her eyes losing all light, and crashed to the ground.

【Ding, slain one Life Stage 3 insectoid, Qizhian +100.】

The system notification sounded again.

「Qizhian? The notification for slaying Life Stage alien species seems different from before? 」

Xu Jingming activated his thoughts.

He opened his system panel and directly looked at the final column.

【Qizhian】: 915.4

「The cosmic-stage insectoids I just killed each had close to 800 billion Source Points. 」

「Converted to current Qizhian, that means 1 Qizhian equals 1 billion Source Points? 」

Xu Jingming quickly understood, yet felt no great surprise.

When he first arrived from Blue Star to the Noa Empire, his Ability Points had transformed into Source Points.

Now undergoing another transformation, it was not strange.

The only pity was, nine hundred-odd Qizhian.

They could only be spent on combat techniques, not other options.

「It seems I still don't have enough Qizhian. 」

「But this is just the beginning—take it slow... 」

Xu Jingming activated his thoughts.

The brilliant Sunlight Divine Thunder erupted again, clearing the remaining insectoid army.

A few seconds later.

Xu Jingming slowly retracted the Lei Guang, his divine sense sweeping over the charred battlefield below.

Three million insectoids, four Life Stage insectoids—all perished.

And he had not even activated the Zi Yan Demon Body, only unleashing the Sunlight Divine Thunder.

Far away, Lin Qianxue, who had been silently watching, finally flew over.

Her black battle suit fluttered in the wind, outlining her slender, curvaceous figure.

Her pale golden eyes fixed on Xu Jingming, brimming with unhidden awe.

「Jingming, are you now this casual against Life Stage 3 insectoids? 」

「The Empress's divine body was only a Second-Rank Divine Body. 」

「Her four subordinate Life Stage insectoid warriors were merely Third-Rank Divine Bodies. 」

「Though her rank was high, our divine power levels were not on the same tier. 」

「Naturally, it's easy for me to handle her. 」

Xu Jingming smiled.

After entering the Life Stage, his lightning power had surged.

A single strike could now cover thousands, even tens of thousands of kilometers.

Against the insectoids' swarm tactics, it was practically a perfect counter.

「Vila, did you record the mission just now? 」

He summoned Vila.

「Recorded. Mission progress is now 5/100. 」

The succubus little girl Vila floated midair, shaking her head.

She didn't understand how foolish Royce and the others were.

At Xu Jingming's current pace, he'd likely finish this mission in under three months.

「Good. 」

Xu Jingming grinned.

Collect the loot from the Queen of the Insect Race, then quickly leave with Lin Qianxue.

Maybe it was just luck on the first try.

As a result, Xu Jingming and Lin Qianxue flew for four days without encountering another insect.

Vast mountain ranges stretched to the horizon, lined with gray-brown rocks and twisted, monstrous trees.

Aside from the occasional surge of chaotic energy, the surroundings were so silent it weighed on the heart.

"This efficiency is too slow."

Xu Jingming frowned slightly and halted his flight.

From Haili's end, just now settled in, the information transmitted via the Corroding Heart Mark showed:

She was following the three Insect Queens to learn the power distribution of the Fourth Star Zone.

She could not yet provide specific coordinates of insect concentrations.

To swiftly harvest battle merits and essence points, they must act from their own side.

"Jingming, should we switch regions?"

A clear, melodious voice came from beside him—Lin Qianxue.

"No change of region."

Xu Jingming shook his head, his gaze sweeping over the distant rolling mountains:

"It's true the Insect Race is active in the Fourth Star Zone, but the entire region is simply too vast.

We haven't found the right method—flying blindly is too inefficient.

Let's try the Virtual Universe—see if we can gather some intelligence."

"Okay." Lin Qianxue nodded obediently.

The two transformed into streaks of light and flew into a nearby hidden cave.

After descending hundreds of meters, Xu Jingming waved his hand and retrieved the Xinghen spacecraft.

Its silver-gray, streamlined hull unfolded within the cave, the hatch sliding open silently.

Entering the ship's lounge, they directly connected to the Virtual Universe.

Hum—

Their consciousness was instantly pulled, the surroundings rippling like water.

The Virtual Universe—the most critical strategic support for the Human Realm in the Outer War Zone!

The Cosmic Spirit Network permeates the entire known universe.

Unless entering certain special secret realms, the connection never breaks.

Though the Seven Stars Continent lies deep within the Outer War Zone,

it can still stably connect via the Spirit Network.

Swish—swish—!

Xu Jingming and Lin Qianxue's forms coalesced within the Virtual Universe.

They appeared in a boundless mountain range, little different from reality.

"Is this the access point of the Virtual Universe in the Fourth Star Zone?"

Lin Qianxue glanced curiously around.

"Yes, a dedicated Outer War Zone zone."

Xu Jingming nodded, his gaze sweeping over the massive floating holographic screen overhead.

It continuously rolled battle updates, emergency distress signals, and more.

The Virtual Universe's function here far exceeded ordinary communication.

It integrated all key systems: battlefield intelligence, ally coordinates, real-time support.

It could display ally coordinates up to ten billion kilometers away.

"Vera, check nearby allies," Xu Jingming ordered.

"Got it~"

The phantom of the succubus girl Vera bounced into view, her tiny hands tapping the air.

Meanwhile, Xu Jingming glanced at his battle merit balance.

After upgrading the Ninefold Thunder Prison Spear and purchasing the spacecraft,

his account held only 22 billion battle merits.

Now, killing one Eternal Stage Three insect instantly replenished his balance.

"You're accumulating battle merits too fast."

Beside him, Lin Qianxue murmured in awe.

In the Cosmic Stage, as a Nine-Star War General,

she had spent thousands of years to accumulate 12 billion battle merits.

Now, killing a single Eternal Deity granted over twenty billion.

"It's only because of the Insect Race—their hordes are endless.

Otherwise, killing an Eternal Deity from another race would yield at most one billion battle merits."

Having killed too many demons, Xu Jingming understood the battle merit system's stinginess.

At that moment, Vera beside him spoke:

"Scanning three Eternal Deities within ten billion kilometers!

Their signals are clustered in the same direction—they appear to be gathered together.

One of them seems to have detected us."

"A meeting request has been sent—accept it?"

"Accept." Xu Jingming did not hesitate.

He had logged into the Virtual Universe solely to gather intelligence.

Naturally, he would not refuse such an initiative.

Swish—

The teleportation light instantly enveloped the two of them.

When he regained his senses, he found himself inside a refined octagonal pavilion.

Inside the pavilion were three people: two men and one woman.

Upon seeing Xu Jingming and Lin Qianxue appear suddenly, they all turned their gazes toward them.