Chapter 400: Baichuan: Invincible After My Breakthrough? Mistakenly Entering the Warship

In the final moment, Baichuan could only see the opponent's expression twist from smug satisfaction to utter disbelief, and then his vision went black, and he was back above the Time Changhe once more.

Presumably the other party never imagined someone like him who feared death so little — at the slightest disagreement he'd just "go all out" and slap it in their face, catching them completely off guard.

An attack unleashed by an Immortal-level Burst to shatter everything is not something one can take so easily; from the Xuanwu he had fought before, the cold energy capable of freezing the Xingkong and bringing time to a standstill already gave some hint of that.

However……

Thinking this, Baichuan's mind stirred and he took out an object from his space — it was a sphere of light that looked somewhat damaged, yet the moment anyone gazed at it, it vaguely gave off a sense of "roundness."

As if it contained within it some kind of "circular" essence, or perhaps "concept"!

Yes, "concept" was the only word Baichuan could think of!

No matter what shape this thing actually was — arc, ellipse, square, or other strange forms — the moment it was observed, every mode of observation would inevitably extract from it the concept of "circle."

This was the mysterious thing that had shot out from within the youth behind that player, in the final moment when Baichuan attacked him and the youth's expression suddenly turned horrified as if wanting to stop something.

A sphere of "light" imbued with the concept of "roundness"!

Baichuan had some guesses about this thing — after all, in his previous life he had lived through an era bombarded with all kinds of information, so he was hardly a stranger to such things.

Not to mention he had previously seen explanations of certain abilities on those players — Out of Control.

He just didn't know why this broken sphere of light had flown out from the other party's body and chosen him.

Could it be that it judged that flashy Immortal-level youth to be no worthy bearer?

After thinking it over, Baichuan put it away again.

The thing was already in his hands, so there was no need to rush; better to sort out his current gains first — breaking through to a true "Immortal" was the ultimate choice.

With this thought, Baichuan opened his Ability Panel.

In an instant, accompanied by a flash of black lines in his eyes, the familiar Ability Panel slowly unfolded:

【Name: Baichuan】

【Race: True Dragon】

【Source Points: 2】

【Abilities: Dragon Blood · Wheel Rotation Seal LV6 (Immortal · Fire/Incomplete), Mycelium Sovereign · Life-Death Seal LV6 (Immortal · Earth/Incomplete), Embrace Yin Bear Yang LV6 (Immortal/Incomplete), Sharpness LV6 (Characteristic), Moon Dream LV6 (Characteristic)】

【Ability Structure Library: (Expand)】

【Kedianji……】

【Drivable……】

Baichuan's mind stirred; he opened the Ability Structure Library column and selected the latest ability model obtained from the Xuanwu.

"Boom!"

On the calm Time Changhe, a colossal wave suddenly rose. An incomparably massive shadow slowly emerged from beneath the river's surface, sending up boundless crystalline splashes containing countless images. A colossal beast — part dragon, part turtle, bearing a hard shell on its back — descended with a thunderous crash and roared toward the heavens.

Under the influence of some invisible force, the rolling roar slowly transformed into an Ability Panel held in the jaws of the Xuanwu's head:

【Race: Xuanwu Descendant (Star Beast) / Ming Yi】

【Abilities: Four Spirits of Heaven · North LV6 (Immortal · Water), Kuishui LV6 (Characteristic), Renshui LV6 (Characteristic), Demon-Slaying LV5 (Planet)……】

"Four Spirits of Heaven……"

"As expected! My guess wasn't wrong — the complete 【Immortal】 is the realm that Zishu and the others have touched! That realm called Ancestor, Divine King……"

"And the Star Beasts I was once so curious about — I never expected to encounter one so serendipitously…… Xuanwu, divine beast, Star Beast…… what is the relationship between them?"

His gaze fixed intently on that complete 【Immortal】-level LV6 ability above. After a long while, Baichuan finally exhaled and said that the significance of this ability could not be overstated — it was a power that made one nearly invincible beneath this Xingkong!

Possessing it, he would never need to fear anything again. From now on, when facing Zishu, the one who would need to flee would no longer be him, but the other party!

This power, compared to the strength he now possessed called True Immortal, was far more terrifying, far more worthy of the legendary name of Immortal. No wonder in that past era, the realm he now stood in was merely called 【Pseudo-Immortal】.

Recalling that realm he had briefly reached through sheer physical body before, Baichuan nodded in agreement. He even suspected now that the realm he currently stood in, called True Immortal, might actually refer to the 【Immortal】-level beings of the past.

It was just that over the long passage of time, true Immortals had become too few, or had not walked the cosmos for too long, remaining aloof for so long that gradually beings of the Pseudo-Immortal realm replaced the name of this realm, while the true Immortals were given an even higher honor.

Called Ancestor, called Divine King, Immortal King?

He couldn't be blamed for thinking this way — after all, among the LV6-level abilities in his own panel, the suffix for those belonging to Immortal-level beings was 【Immortal】, while only True Immortal's was 【Characteristic】.

Over the long passage of time, all of this was entirely possible.

But for him now, who possessed this ability and was about to master this power, there was no need to dwell on it too much.

Whatever it was called 【now】, that was what he would call it.

After all, this power (拋瓦) was already within his grasp!

After marveling for a while, Baichuan did not hesitate further. He had longed for this power, that realm, for far too long — his current strength could no longer give him the slightest sense of security.

In an instant, as he pressed the confirm button, the Xuanwu drifting in the Time Changhe shattered in a breath, transforming into a sea of light that then madly poured into him.

At the same time, the dragon body coiled in negative space was also gradually submerged by a familiar, viscous liquid.

A familiar drowsiness surged like a tide — at this moment, evolution began once more.

……

Time flowed quietly on; within the evolution, years were unknown.

Meanwhile, in the Xingkong, in some unknown corner.

Boundless fleets of warships nearly filled the entire Xingkong. Blinding beams of light shot out densely from them, gleaming with deadly radiance in the pitch-black Xingkong.

From time to time, several absurdly thick pillars of light swept across.

And facing them across the standoff were bugs of all shapes and kinds, stretching beyond sight, likewise filling an entire stretch of Xingkong!

Yes, bugs!

Bugs of all manner of bizarre shapes — the only thing they shared was surviving in the harsh environment of space through sheer physical bodies.

Facing this brilliant rain of beams, the swarm showed no fear. Some sprayed out strange beams of their own to exchange fire, some spewed bizarre liquids, and some simply roared silently in space and charged at the rain of beams with their bodies.

This was a silent war of flesh-and-blood creatures fighting against steel technological creations with their own power!

Endless deadly beams swept across — every moment bugs of the swarm died, and likewise cold steel warships exploded, the soldiers exposed in large numbers torn apart and devoured by the swarm.

"Report! The right-side G513786 Jianqun has lost contact…"

"Report! The right-side G513562 Fleet has lost contact…"

"Report! The left-side G314283 Qijian is under siege and about to fall…"

"Report! The first line of defense has completely fallen! I repeat, the first line of defense…"

"Report! …"

In the middle-rear of the warship fleet, aboard a super warship countless times larger than those around it, a blue-haired girl in military uniform sat solemnly on the main seat, gazing at the large screen ahead. Listening to the reports coming in one after another, a trace of imperceptible worry flashed through her eyes, only to be hidden the next instant as she clenched her small fist.

As the commander-in-chief of this Star Sea Federation campaign against the Tianling Worm Swarm in the Xuanbei Xingxi, she could not easily show emotions unrelated to a war of intellect.

Even if they had already fallen into a disadvantage and were about to have the Dier Fangxian torn open!

Scanning the personnel below who, under the barrage of grim news, turned their heads one after another to give her their attention, she took a deep breath and spoke in a cold, emotionless voice: "Where is the commander of the Dier Fangxian?"

"Here!"

Hearing this, a resolute man with a square face below stood up and answered in a deep voice, like an unyielding ancient pine.

"Transmit the order: three rounds of defensive cannons, full salvo… once the worm swarm exposes the position of the armor worms, activate the anti-star cannon…"

"…to wear down the protective carapace of the Tianling Worm Swarm… then have the Disan Zhanjia Junduan engage…"

"If necessary, the stationed Xuanjia Jundui detachments may enter to provide support…"

With the issuance of the indifferent yet clearly structured orders, everyone aboard the flagship became busy once more.

But we have to hold on…

At this moment, watching the crowd busy themselves again, the blue-haired girl seated on the high seat fixed her agate-clean, crystalline eyes unblinkingly on the warships being destroyed one after another on the screen, whispering inwardly.

……

"Stretch! Strain! Bind!"

This was the first sensation Baichuan's consciousness felt upon awakening from the darkness.

Unlike the hunger he had felt when breaking through to the True Immortal realm, now he felt only a sense of completeness within himself, a perfect wholeness as if he had become a truly perfect, ultimate being.

The sensations of stretching, straining, and binding were not adverse reactions produced by his own body, but rather his body's tactile feedback about this space.

It was as if he, far too powerful, had been stuffed into a cramped chamber with a narrow range of movement, where every little action could easily touch the very edge of its limits.

He had never felt so close to the distance between "space" and himself.

Is this the power of an Ancient Immortal, which transcends the True Immortal?

Ancient Immortal was the name he had given to this unknown realm himself, meaning an 【Immortal】 from an ancient era.

Thinking this, Baichuan gently swung his Dragon Claw,

"Clang~~"

In an instant, a crisp sound like glass shattering rang out.

That was the result of his Dragon Claw, in its swing, truly touching space — and shattering it!

This space could no longer support his power!

Baichuan realized this instinctively.

Unlike his past breakthrough achieved through cleverness, which was only a breakthrough in physical strength — even though every movement could shatter space back then, he could hardly perceive it in combat.

But now, the perfect breakthrough had granted him a heightened perception of this realm, allowing him to easily detect every subtle change brought about by his own power.

With this, he awoke.

In an instant, the shell encasing the eastern giant dragon shattered into countless fragments scattering in all directions, and a slender dragon slowly condensed into a two-legged standing dragon-man clad in hard, fine, dense scales.

And only then did that earlier feeling of intense strain and binding — as though the slightest movement would break space — ease considerably, just reaching the critical threshold of space.

Having revealed his true form, his power seemed to have grown so great that this space could barely bear it; out of comfort, he instinctively took on the dragon-man form, in which his power was considerably reduced.

Then, his seemingly indestructible gilded-gold dragon eyes gazed toward a star not far across the Xingkong.

In an instant, Baichuan had a feeling: that seemingly distant, scorching star was within his reach.

Thinking this, he did exactly that.

The outstretched Dragon Claw vanished into the void ahead, and instead, beneath that seemingly distant star, violent ripples stirred in the transparent, invisible space. A claw covered in ferocious scales slowly emerged from those spatial ripples, its sharp talons ignoring the star's searing temperature as they gently enveloped it — like an ordinary person holding an egg — virtually cradling in its palm a star with a volume of 1.42×10^18 cubic kilometers, a hundred million times that of an ordinary planet.

This was undoubtedly a shocking and terrifying sight.

Yet at this moment, it happened with such ease that even the one who had done it all was indifferent, pondering what difference there was between a star and the eggs he had eaten.

A slightly warm little orange ball?

"What truly powerful strength…"

After carefully savoring this strange and wondrous sensation, Baichuan murmured a low sigh to himself. He finally felt a heavy sense of security wash over his heart, so much so that he could not help but whisper softly

It seemed he finally no longer needed to be overly afraid of the dangerous universe.

What replaced it was this: the universe needed to fear him!

In this endless Xingkong, everything he wished to explore — could he perhaps loosen the reins a little on his exploration?

After all, Baichuan knew well the power and status that Zishu had once possessed.

Still, he needed to be careful — after all, those terrifying beings who straddled the Time Changhe still warranted caution.

The cautious Baichuan silently decided on his next course of action.

Then, with a single step, in an instant he crossed the boundary of space as easily as pushing open a door or a layer of paper Membrane — something that in the past had required the aid of his Ancient Bell Faba to traverse between positive and negative space.

Oh, right — his Ancient Bell Faba had already been given to a certain Xiaolongnv far in the past.

Speaking of which, Baichuan was also a little curious: how was that Xiaolongnv, who barely held the status of his daughter, doing now?

Was the Ancient Bell he had obtained earlier the very same Ancient Bell he had given to Xiaolongnv in the past?

The mysteries of Time — even Baichuan, who now possessed a thread of Time's power, still could not figure them out.

Just then, Baichuan — who had been silently pondering the mysteries of Time and the experiences he had been through — suddenly froze, slowly coming back to himself from his reverie, and looked around at the Xingkong that had suddenly fallen silent in all directions: the boundless fleet of warships, and the swarming, sea-like mass of bugs.

It seemed he had… come to the wrong place?

……

(End of chapter)